text:
Swissinfo 2013-08-27: Reuters August 27, 2013 - 17:46 BERLIN (Reuters) - Former German President Christian Wulff will go on trial in November on corruption charges, more than 18 months after the man once tipped as a successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel resigned from the largely ceremonial role in disgrace. Wulff, who served just 20 months as president, will face charges of receiving favours, a district court in Hanover ruled on Tuesday, throwing out a bid by prosecutors to try him for the more serious offence of accepting bribes. The former state premier of Lower Saxony, 54, rejects the charges and in April spurned an offer to... more »
- published: 20 Feb 2012
- views: 289
- author: JewishNewsOne
German President Christian Wulff resigned after being caught up in a corruption scandal involving a dubious loan and a string of apparently undeclared favour...


text:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
|Statement||Dietrich von Hildebrand ; edited by Jules van Schaijik.|
|Contributions||Van Schaijik, Jules.|
|LC Classifications||BX1751.3 .V6613 2007|
|The Physical Object|
|LC Control Number||2007007171|
Dietrich von Hildebrand must have been an unspeakably great husband; this work is unlike any I've come across in my two years of research. For the interested Catholics: Pope Benedict cites von Hildebrand as one of the greatest ethical writers of the twentieth century. This book is not to be by: 6. Dietrich von Hildebrand – Dietrich von Hildebrand was an original philoso-pher, religious writer, heroic anti-Nazi activist, courageous Christian witness, and passionate propo-nent of beauty and culture. Born in as the son of a famous German sculptor, von Hildebrand grew up in the rich artistic setting of Florence and Size: KB. Dietrich von Hildebrand has 48 books on Goodreads with ratings. Dietrich von Hildebrand’s most popular book is Transformation in Christ: On the Chri. Von Hildebrand, Dietrich, Dietrich von Hildebrand lifeguide. South Bend, Ind.: St. Augustine's Press: In Association with the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project, (OCoLC) Document Type: Book: All Authors / Contributors: Dietrich Von Hildebrand; Jules Van Schaijik.
Dietrich von Hildebrand LifeGuide, The von Hildebrand, Dietrich. Pope Benedict XVI once said of Dietrich von Hildebrand: “I am personally convinced that, when, at some time in the future, the intellectual history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is written, the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time.”. The Paperback of the The Dietrich von Hildebrand LifeGuide by Dietrich von Hildebrand at Barnes & Noble. FREE Shipping on $35 or more! Due to COVID, orders may be : $8. The Dietrich Von Hildebrand Lifeguide () by Dietrich Von Hildebrand Hear about sales, receive special offers & more. You can unsubscribe at any : showing 1 - 8 of 8 results for "Dietrich von Hildebrand" Add To Cart Add To Wishlist. My Battle Against Hitler: Defiance in the Shadow of the Third Reich. Dietrich von Hildebrand. The Dietrich Von Hildebrand Lifeguide. Dietrich Von Hildebrand. Dietrich Von Hildebrand. St. Augustine's Press / / Trade Paperback. $ Retail: $ Save.
The Pope and the Philosopher. I would urge them to get a copy of the Dietrich von Hildebrand LifeGuide, published by St. Augustine’s Press. This book is a good place to encounter von. Kant lost sight of virtue, as did the utilitarians, even though the Greeks had placed it at the center of moral philosophy. Contemporary thinkers such as Alasdair MacIntyre have sought to recover the theme of virtue for moral philosophy, but long before they went to work Dietrich von Hildebrand had already recovered it in his phenomenological ethics. Looking for books by Dietrich von Hildebrand? See all books authored by Dietrich von Hildebrand, including Humility: Wellspring of Virtue, and Marriage: The Mystery of Faithful Love, and more on Marriage: The Mystery of Faithful Love by Hildebrand, Dietrich Von and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at

domain: library


text:
Cheese glorious cheese! Made and enjoyed on our sceptered isle since before history began. The dairy product that condenses the nutrition of milk into delectable, flavorful variations sustained peer and peasant alike through the centuries.
The ubiquitous Ploughman’s Lunch has fortified the populace in one form or another since medieval times: a chunk of bread and another of cheese taken to the fields for the midday’s nourishing repast.
Today, that cheese might be as commonly plated with fruit for lunch, or make its way into every course of dinner, from goats’ cheese in a salad, to sauce for a chicken or fish to cauliflower cheese. For afters, a cheese board with delightful offerings from a mild Caerphilly to a pungent Dorset Blue Vinney or a Sage Derby with grapes and biscuits. Then, perhaps a bit of port and Stilton?
As with most foods, the English reputation for cheese lags behind that of its French neighbors. In fact, while France boasts 350 different kinds of cheese, England produces more than 750 distinct cheeses today, crafted in creameries and farmhouse dairies from Cornwall to Cumbria.
In the capital, you can sample and acquire English cheeses at Neal’s Yard Dairy in Covent Garden. In fact, British cheeses are all they stock, and their specialty is a great range of delectable Cheddars.
Or, 200 miles north, pop into The Cheeseboard in Harrogate, where they stock 200 varieties of cheese, most of them English. Here is the gateway to the Dales, the local favorite is predictably Wensleydale.
While “cheddar” cheese is produced throughout the world, Cheddar is a decidedly English cheese, and certainly the most popular. It takes its name from its Somerset source, in Cheddar Gorge.
The original Cheddar cheese company still makes the eponymous cheese today. And while terrific Cheddars are produced in farmhouses and commercial creameries around the country, there is some argument that properly speaking, Cheddar is a Somerset cheese.
Good Cheddar is always crumbly if it is being aged properly. Joseph Harding, called “the father of Cheddar cheese,” described the ideal Cheddar as “close and firm in texture, mellow in character or quality, rich with a tendency to melt in the mouth and has a full and fine flavor somewhat like hazelnut.” Maturing 9 to 24 months, the cheese gets sharper with age.
First produced in Gloucester in 1498, Double Gloucester is a Cotswold cheese, still made principally in Gloucestershire today.
It is a full-fatted, hard cheese, made with whole milk, distinguished from Single Gloucester made from skimmed milk. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Double Gloucester variety has more flavor. As the local favorite, it is wheels of Double Gloucester that careen down the hill at the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling.
Double Gloucester is aged four months, but traditionally eaten as a young cheese, while it retains a buttery texture and a mild, but pronounced nutty flavor. This is a great cheese to accompany a real ale or a young red wine and is a wonderful choice to accompany cold meats on a fresh baguette.
One of the few world-famous British cheeses, Stilton has been called “the King of Cheeses” for generations.
It is the only English cheese that has EU-protected name status and a certification trademark. Stilton cheese can be produced only in the counties of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire, and is actually made at six creameries in those counties.
The strong, blue-veined cheese develops its hard, crumbly rind while aging, and remains soft and moist in its interior. Stilton has been traditionally paired with sherry or port, perhaps with a few walnuts.
It also goes down a treat with a pear or apple, or a crusty roll and butter. In recent years, Stilton has found a popular pairing in soup with broccoli, and in a pungent cream sauce for steak.
Yes, celebrated by Wallace and Gromit, Wensleydale takes its name from the longest and most famous of the Yorkshire Dales. The only place Wensleydale cheese is made today is the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes, deep into the dale near the Pennines.
Farms throughout the valley provide the milk, while the creamery (employing 200 people) produces five tons of Wensleydale cheese a day.
The creamery actually makes 24 varieties of cheese, all available to sample in their visitors’ center tasting room. The most popular is the traditional semi-hard white cheese, mild yet piquant, with a lingering aftertaste.
Next in popularity is the mature variety, like most firm cheeses developing piquancy as it ages. As a semi-hard, mild cheese, however, Wensleydale has proven a perfect cheese to infuse with apricot and walnut, for instance, cranberry or blueberry, to make an elegant dessert cheese.
Produced in the county of Cheshire and neighboring Welsh and English counties, Cheshire may be the oldest cheese in Britain. Legend has that it has been made since the Romans were here, and it was mentioned in the 11th-century Domesday Book. The firm, white cheese ages cloth-wrapped and develops a natural rind.
Milkier than many cheeses, Cheshire is firm, white and crumbly as a young cheese—aromatic, but mild. Aged Cheshire darkens and hardens into a highly flavored cheese without bitterness. With a much lower salt content than many cheeses, Cheshire is a great cheese to crumble on fruit or to use in vegetable dishes.
Red Cheshire is a variant with annatto added to create a deep orange color but does not affect either taste or texture. Blue Cheshire is a variety ripened with classic penicillium mold for added sharpness and flavor.
- 2 tbsp. olive oil or butter
- 1 onion – chopped or diced
- 1 stalk celery – chopped or diced
- 1 medium potato – diced
- 1 qt. chicken stock
- 1 head broccoli (about 1 lb.) – roughly chopped
- 4 oz. Stilton cheese
-2 dashes black pepper, dry mustard & nutmeg
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add onions until soft. Add celery and potato. Cover and simmer a few minutes over medium heat. Add stock and chopped broccoli stalk. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Add rest of broccoli, just for a couple of minutes.
Then, blitz in blender or food processor to a coarse puree. Return to a gentle heat and stir in Stilton.
Season with black pepper, nutmeg, and dry mustard. Between the chicken stock and Stilton, a little salt will be needed. Reserve bits of broccoli flowerets and crumbles of Stilton to garnish.
Makes four generous servings–at only 340 calories each.
* Originally published in Sept 2013.

domain: food


MFG Manufacturer Directory
Find the right manufacturer for your custom parts.
Big Lake, Minnesota
Job Shop / Contract Manufacturer
At UMA Precision Machining, our culture is customer focused – offering high end service and unsurpassed project turnaround time, advanced technology for precision work and a focus on quality – assuring consistent performance for the most demanding applications.
- Rapid Prototyping
- Short Run production
- Long Run production
- Unsurpassed Turnaround
- Swiss Machining
- CNC Milling
- CNC Turning
- CNC EDM
- Custom Finishing
- Custom Assembly
UMA utilizes a digital network for total control of all processes. Our network system controls:
- Receiving prints and models
- Manufacturing Processes
- Data and Documentation Control
- Control of Outside Services
- Inspection and Testing
- Shipping of your Parts
- Stainless Steel
- Steel - Carbon Alloy
- Brass and Bronze
- Food and Medical Grade Polymers:
Delrin, Radel, Ultem, Acetal, HDPE, PEEK™, UHMW - PE
- Teflon, Nylon, PTFE
We team with our customers on their product designs and specifications offering value added creative solutions for manufacturing process development assuring optimal results for prototypes, one-ups, pre-production and full production.
UMA's process development, document and data control manufacturing process controls and quality control meets or exceeds the quality system requirements of:
- 21 CFR 820 - FDA Medical Device, Good Manufacturing Practices and Quality System Regulation
- ISO 13485:2003 - Standard for a Comprehensive Management System for the Design and Manufacture of Medical Devices
- ISO 9001:2008 - Standards for Quality Management Systems
- MIL-STD - United States Defense Standards
Each operation of every job is under the watchful eye of UMA's quality management team - assuring each operation meets or exceeds specifications.
At UMA quality is more than a statistic: it is embedded in our work environment; it is our spirit; it is our culture.
Testing and Inspection
UMA has a full complement of Quality Inspection Equipment and Instruments - all are calibrated to industry standards and comply with testing & inspection requirements.
UMA founder Tom McChesney has 29 years experience as a machinist with a significant amount of this time assisting medical device manufacturers with development and improvement of their devices.
This experience helped Tom recognize the market need and opportunity for a machine shop focused on partnering with device manufacturers to develop and improve their devices and produce prototypes, one-ups and pre-production parts.
As a result, Tom founded UMA Precision Machining; it all started with one machine in his garage.
In 10 short years, UMA has grown rapidly - moving into new facilities and expanding to add new technology, talented staff and state-of-the-art manufacturing systems.
Today, with expanded capability, UMA is well positioned to meet the growing needs of our customers.
Our culture is customer focused - offering high end service and unsurpassed project turn-around time, advanced technology for precision work and a focus on quality - assuring consistent performance for the most demanding applications.
Find Manufacturers With the Capabilities You Need
MFG is Where Manufacturing Gets Done
Reviewed and Verified
26 Distinct Marketplaces
Aligned To Your Needs
Manufacturing RFQ Marketplace


text:
Production Processes in Complex Supply Chains
Richard SykesTechnical Director - Plater Group
Time & Location
Thursday: 10.40 to 11.00, Stage 3
About this presentation
Behind the scenes of Europe’s largest provider of specialist drying services to the chemical industry. With over 30 years of experience in spray drying and other drying techniques, providing customers many options to their drying problems including spray drying, spray cooling, vacuum drying, calcining, liquid and powder blending.
Working with clients’ R&D teams and aiding to advance their product development, providing insights into the flexible set up and approach enabling rapid response to customers’ needs and providing tailored solutions. Requirements for supporting fast turnaround projects as well as longer-term development processes. Providing a vision of taking product development from the initial laboratory testing through a pilot plant phase and into commercial scale production.
The manufacture and logistics required to supply a wide range of speciality metal salts including sodium, potassium and calcium-based products, typically used in a broad range of industries such as de-icing, food, animal feed production, pharmaceutical and general chemicals.
Richard is a chartered chemist and has over 35 experience in the manufacturing sector of the chemical industry, developing a wide experience of manufacturing, product and system development and process optimisation.
He thrives on working closely with customers to find solutions to their operation and product manufacturing issues.
Richard has played hockey since the age of 15 and now umpires which takes him all over the north of England and he is chairman of the umpire selectors for Yorkshire.

domain: chemistry


text:
Allyson Braithwaite Condie (born November 2, 1978) is an author of young adult and middle grade fiction. Her novel Matched was a #1 New York Times and international bestseller, and spent over a year on the New York Times Bestseller List. The sequels (Crossed and Reached) are also New York Times bestsellers. Matched was chosen as one of YALSA's 2011 Teens' Top Ten and named as one of Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Books of 2010. All three books are available in 30+ languages.
See more quotations from Ally Condie on Quodid

domain: artistic


text:
4 Male 1 Male, 4 Female 1 Female. Very healthy & great personalities.
Beautiful strong Male & Female Puppies born 22/05/2017. Will be ready to go to their new home on the 17/07/2017.
All Puppies will be Microchipped, Vaccinated and Vet Checked and have been Wormed. Puppies are well Socialised and have been raised with children. Both mum and dad can be viewed and are our family dogs. The puppies are not registered as we are not registered breeders. Buyer can collect or seller can arrange delivery at cost to buyer. Rocky and Sandy are our family dogs and we have little girls at home. They are great with kids, we are on property and you have to be aware that they love to be active and need lots of exercise. See some snippets of the internet below about their character, and please research the breed to see whether it is the right match for you before you buy.
Rhodesian ridgebacks are loyal, intelligent, and somewhat aloof to strangers. This is not to be confused with aggression; a ridgeback of proper temperament will be more inclined to ignore, rather than challenge, a stranger. This breed requires positive, reward-based training, good socialisation and consistency; it is often not the best choice for inexperienced dog owners. R idgebacks are strong-willed, intelligent, and many seem to have a penchant for mischief, though loving. They are protective of their owners and families. If trained well, they can be excellent guard dogs. Like any dog, they can become aggressive when they are not socialised properly.
Because of his size, intelligence, and power, he's not the breed for everyone. First-time or timid dog owners may find him to be much more than a handful. People who want an outgoing dog who will love everyone should keep looking. But if you are looking for a strong, confident dog, a dog who encompasses gentleness, hardheadedness, and a sense of humor in a shorthaired, easy-care package, the Rhodesian Ridgeback may be the perfect match.

domain: pet


text:
Overlay histogram showing HepG2 cells stained with ab129729 (red line). The cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde (10 min) and then permeabilized with 0.1% PBS-Tween for 20 min. The cells were then incubated in 1x PBS / 10% normal goat serum / 0.3M glycine to block non-specific protein-protein interactions followed by the antibody (ab129729, 1μg/1x106 cells) for 30 min at 22°C. The secondary antibody used was an anti-mouse Alexa Fluor® 488 (ab150113) at 1/2000 dilution for 30 min at 22°C. Isotype control antibody (black line) was mouse IgG1 [ICIGG1] (ab91353, 1μg/1x106 cells) used under the same conditions. Unlabelled sample (blue line) was also used as a control. Acquisition of >5,000 events were collected using a 20mW Argon ion laser (488nm) and 525/30 bandpass filter.
IHC image of UGT staining in Human Normal liver formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue section, performed on a Leica Bond™ system using the standard protocol F. The section was pre-treated using heat mediated antigen retrieval with sodium citrate buffer (pH6, epitope retrieval solution 1) for 20 mins. The section was then incubated with ab129729, 5µg/ml, for 15 mins at room temperature and detected using an HRP conjugated compact polymer system. DAB was used as the chromogen. The section was then counterstained with haematoxylin and mounted with DPX.
For other IHC staining systems (automated and non-automated) customers should optimize variable parameters such as antigen retrieval conditions, primary antibody concentration and antibody incubation times.
Immunoprecipitation image of ab129729. UGT antibody immunocaptured 57 kDa UGT from Human liver homogenate (HLH). Gel stained with Coomassie brilliant blue G.
Lane 1: Ladder
Lane 2: Human liver homogenate lysate
Immunocytochemistry image of ab129729 stained Hela cells. The cells were paraformaldehyde fixed (4%, 20 min) and Triton X-100 permeabilized (0.1%, 15min). The cells were incubated with ab129729 at 5 µg/ml for 2h at room temperature or over night at 4°C. The secondary antibody was (red) AlexaFluor® 594 goat anti-mouse IgG (H+L) used at a 1/1000 dilution for 1h. 1% BSA was used as the blocking agent for all blocking steps. DAPI was used to stain the cell nuclei (blue). The target protein locates to the endoplasmic reticulum.


text:
Weapon Alpha... LPJ might have changed the 'X' into 'Alpha', but it is clear where they got the inspiration from. And you really can build your own Wolverine or Sabretooth that way, but also several other interesting concepts. Many of a Weapon Alpha's powers, however, come at a cost of ability score points, and not all of them are actually worth it (Regeneration most definitely is, but Scent? That's up to you.).
All in all, it's a very interesting and well-written advanced class, recommended for comic book fans or simply fans of the new Wolverine movie.

domain: hobby


text:
Costa Rica is home to three members of the Iguanidae family, the green iguana (Iguana iguana) – the one most people are familiar with, the black spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis) – the one that you probably confuse with the green iguana and the five-keeled spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura quinquecarnata) – the one you’ve probably never heard of.
The star of today’s show is the black spiny-tailed iguana or in Tico Spanish, garrobo (you’ve got to push down that embarrassment and roll that ‘r’). They resemble green iguanas in that they are both giant lizards that are running around Costa Rica.
While the green iguana is distributed on both of Costa Rica’s coasts, the black spiny-tailed iguana is limited to the Pacific side of the country. And where they overlap, there can be some trouble distinguishing the difference between the two.
First, black spiny-tailed iguanas aren’t green. As adults, they are olive/gray/brown/sometimes blue with large black bands running down their back. Adult green iguanas are green. Sometimes. Sometimes they’re orange. Sometimes they’re a dark color that looks very similar to black spiny-tailed iguanas (which doesn’t help). Here’s the worst part, as juveniles both species are bright green and look almost exactly the same.
So coloration isn’t a homerun difference maker in differentiating between the two species. The best way to tell which one you’re looking at is the head shape. Green iguanas have more rounded, stubby heads and black spiny-tailed iguanas have longer, crocodile heads.
Another helpful hint as to which species you’re observing is the location. While both species like to hang out near water, the black-spiny tailed iguana can be also be found in very dry places and seems to be less dependent on being a short sprint away from a body of water.
Black spiny-tailed iguanas are excellent climbers. One of the most common noises I hear as I’m walking along a forested trail checking camera traps is the scratchy claws-on-bark sound of a garrobo skitter-skattering from a limb to the safety of a tree hole.
Sometimes when it’s a large male and he’s feeling feisty, he’ll stop short of running into the hole and opt for a more aggressive maneuver, the threat display.
A garrobo’s threat display is a common one in the world of lizards. He stops, looks deep into your eyes, and bobs it’s head up and down (I imagine while saying things like, ‘You want a piece of this?!’).
When they’re not running for safety or threatening people, black spiny-tailed iguanas are out eating food and getting eaten. They’re omnivorous, so a wide variety of plants and animals are on the menu, though adults eat more vegetation than juveniles.
They’re also an important prey item for a ton of species. I’ve recorded camera trap videos of big adult garrobos being eaten by ocelots, coyotes, and hawks. As juveniles their list of potential predators must be a mile long.
Black spiny-tailed iguanas are frequently the stars of my camera trap videos, and I’m happy to share a few clips with you in the video below.
About the AuthorVincent Losasso, founder of Guanacaste Wildlife Monitoring, is a biologist who works with camera traps throughout Costa Rica. Learn more about his projects on facebook or instagram. You can also email him at: firstname.lastname@example.org

domain: biology


text:
GlitteratiBombastic, processed house music. Lots of fx and stutters, melodic synths and a pounding beat.
Leftist ElectricityRetro electronica with a driving synth bass, edgy electrical sequences and insistent arpeggios.
PumpSumpA pumping club track with deep bass and pulsating synth riffs. Moody pads and warped electro glitches add to the hypnotic dancefloor vibe.
Zero LimitsProgressive trance with melodic synth lines and cinematic percussion, sound design and occasional bass notes.


text:
So what’s beyond chatbots?
Brands across many industries struggle with the sales and service challenges with the “Now Generation.” Plus, the labor shortage exacerbates these challenges.
“To complicate matters further, companies across the board were faced with the issue of having agents miss work unpredictably, at a moment’s notice. The already costly and labor-intensive process of hiring, onboarding and ensuring new employees were up to speed became even more problematic than usual.” Total Retail, COVID-19 Has Given Rise to Mass Chatbot Adoption in the Retail Space, October 25, 2021
Chatbots Have A Sexy “ROI”
Frankly, it is hard to ignore the potential ROI. A recent article by Netomi highlights, “chatbots can help a business save up to 30% of their customer service cost.” Juniper Research also predicts that total retail chatbot sales will increase more than 15x soon.
“According to a McKinsey survey, at least a third of activities could be automated in about 60% of occupations. And in its recent Trends in Workflow Automation report, Salesforce found that 95% of IT leaders are prioritizing workflow automation technologies like chatbots, with 70% seeing the equivalent of more than four hours of savings per employee each week.” Despite challenges, Salesforce says chatbot adoption is accelerating, by Kyle Wiggers, Venture Beat, May 20, 2021
While enterprises spend millions deploying bots, the results have been consistently inconsistent. Some issues have to do with the execution, but more fundamental problems lurk silently in the background.
Chatbots have a long way to go before they realize their full potential… Virtual assistants like Alexa, Google Home, and Siri are “very limited in what they can do…In a lot of ways, they’re fancy toys at this point Chatbot Technology: Past, Present, and Future, Toptal Blog
The World Is Changing – Beyond Chatbots
Beyond the labor shortage, many factors are catalysts for moving away from text-based chatbots. First and foremost, with mobile phones becoming the predominant access method, typing into bots (when they are available) on mobile phones is cumbersome at best.
55% of page views in 2021 come from mobile phones.
More than half of all video views come from mobile devices.
51 Mobile vs. Desktop Usage Statistics For 2021, by Christo Petrov, Tech Jury, January 4, 2022
At the same time, marketing and customer success teams struggle to balance costs and user engagement. Getting found and acquisition costs are getting harder and more expensive. Consumers also expect bot technologies to improve access and engagement. A recent study suggests that “71% of consumers prefer to conduct queries by voice instead of typing.” The constantly changing demands of the Now-Generation create a higher bar for brands to achieve – especially as conversational AI moves to the spoken word and even interactive video engagements.
More than 50 percent of U.S. households now own a smart speaker. According to some estimates, 128 million people in the U.S. are using voice assistants. Where is the voice assistant industry headed, By Ben Dickson, TechTalk, January 10, 2022
Humanizing Bot Experiences
Like conversational marketing, chatbot vendors wax poetically about humanizing interactions. From persona to visual identity, the bot becomes part of the brand and, for the most part, falls short as a flat, non-engaging interface.
“Building a convincing character is often underestimated and often downgraded to a meager list of characteristics.” Developing Chatbot Personality: How to Guide 2021, by Barbora Jassova, Editorial Manager, Landbot, JUN 3, 2021
A recent study by CouponFollow found that:
- Convenience and saving time were the most popular reasons people used a voice assistant to help them shop; some people also cited saving time and money as major benefits
- Online shoppers who used voice spent an average of $136 more than people who solely shopped online
- About a third of “avid online shoppers” use voice to buy something at least once a month
The Move To Video Bots
With voice bots also becoming popular, visual engagement can be challenging. Research shows that most people are visual learners – especially since humans process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.
“65% of people are visual learners, so this is a great way to educate an audience…Video content is the fastest way to get into the brain of the viewer, which means people can consume content faster…Video content has a positive effect on a company’s bottom line: 70% of businesses report that video performs better than other content for producing conversions.” The value of voice: why video and audio content is on the rise, Trint Blog, May 30, 2019
A recent article by billo further highlights the trend toward video engagements:
- Videos Dominate Online Content – This is a vast market of consumers looking for content, so it’s no surprise why 87% of marketing professionals make use of video advertising.
- Video Advertising Leads to High Engagement – With video content, you’ll have the best chance of your business reaching the most influential audience.
- Videos are Sharable – Video content is shared by 92% of mobile video consumers, and according to Twitter, videos are six times more likely to be retweeted than photos.
- Video Advertising Drives Sales – 84% of consumers have attributed a brand’s video to their decision to purchase a specific product.
- Videos Humanize Your Brand – 83% of video consumers prefer an informal, chatty tone in marketing videos, so it’s a win-win for your business.
- Video Advertising Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive – video advertising doesn’t require nearly as much financial investment as it used to
Closed Systems Limits Brand Options
Current voice assistants like Alexa or Siri are closed systems with limited ability to control or manage the experience. The lack of openness is also true for enterprise voice and video solutions. Vocinity, on the other hand, has created a method for using best-in-class components to deliver maximum value.
- ASR (Google, Amazon, Deepgram, and others)
- TTS (Google, Microsoft, Wellsaid and others)
- NLU (Rasa)
- Tensor Flow (AI/ML)
Full-duplex virtual conversations go beyond the basics of conversational AI. In addition to commercial and open-source partners, Vocinity built a unique multimedia gateway from the ground up. The gateways reduce latency and noise, auto-correct ASR errors in context, and support adaptive bandwidth throttling for mobile users.
Moving Beyond Chatbots
Video brand assistants are accessible across all digital channels, including emails, text messages, social media, and websites. At the same time, marketing teams can use them to create interactive experiences that can replace introduction, support, explainer, and even testimonial videos. interactive introduction, support, explainer, and even testimonial videos. Consequently, enterprises that want to meet the demands of the Now-Generation need to look beyond basic chatbots to video, which is more engaging and produces more rewarding experiences.
No responses yet

domain: news


Rest assured, Jamie Dornan fans: The Northern Irish hunk is totally down for a Fifty Shades of Grey sequel.
The 32-year-old actor recently found himself at the center of speculative reports claiming his wife Amelia Warner forbade him to star in the follow-up flick—based on the best-selling trilogy by E.L. James—due to the sexually explicit content.
Dornan, who plays titular character Christian Grey, as well as co-star Dakota Johnson, who stars as ingénue Anastasia Steele, have both signed a three-picture deal. The first Fifty Shades film was an international success, breaking multiple box office records and raking in $158 million from 51 different markets during its opening weekend.
"The idea was that we honor the trilogy and do all three," Dornan told the U.K.'s Daily Mail.


text:
Ginger has sialagogue properties, meaning that it stimulates the production of saliva (and helps your drinks go down easier!). Get back to your roots with this ginger syrup with a hint of lime.
- 3 cups water
- 1 lime, washed and sliced into 1/4″ thick rounds
- 4 inch piece of ginger
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- Storage vessel of choice (make sure it has a tight-fitting lid)
- Fine mesh strainer
Peel the ginger – we like to use the back of a spoon to remove the papery skin. Slice the ginger into quarter-inch coins. You should have about 3/4 cup total.
In a small saucepan, combine water, lime and ginger. Bring to a soft boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain out the ginger and lime and return the liquid to the saucepan (you should have about 2 1/2 cups). Add sugar and stir until it fully dissolves. Let cool to room temperature. Pour into airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.


text:
…Well the world’s definition of greatness.
I once thought that in order to be “great” I had to be perfect, or a professional ballet dancer, a successful, out there person, who does huge, big things that change the world. I thought greatness meant grand actions, and being a prodigy. That’s not greatness. Not my definition of greatness. It was hard but about two months ago, I chose to entirely let go of the need to be “great” by the world’s standard. It had been a six year process but two month ago is when I finally realized it. I chose to let go of it and embrace my true heart’s desire. To be “simply, divinely, great.” To embrace what I’ve wanted all my life, eternity, and things of eternal worth. Forget what the world says!
The past six years I have been able to find greatness, true greatness. The last three months especially. I have realized that greatness lies in enjoying the most simple, eternal, moments. That’s really it in a nutshell. I’ve been able to let go of perfection more, and to see the greatness that is in a simple, spiritual, and Christ centered life. Truth is, I love to cook and create my own recipes. I love to play with my younger siblings. I love to study deeply about spiritual matters, to study deeply about anything really. I love spending time with my family, writing, watching movies, reading good books, and spending time with people!
My definition of greatness: Greatness is being focused on-and finding joy in-that which is eternal. Greatness is centering my life around Christ, Heavenly Father, and the gospel. Greatness is things of eternal worth. The family both future, and current. Homemaking, nurturing, loving, and my role as a *future* mother and current/future homemaker, are bits of greatness that will go with me into eternity. Those divine roles are eternal, and never ending. Greatness, is finding joy in an eternal focus, finding joy in those moments of changing a dirty diaper, mopping the floors, reading the scriptures, or cooking a meal. Greatness is not one’s resume, or taking actions that are grand and spectacular, although that can be great too. In the end it’s all about family. Our divine family Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father, as well as our earthly families who will go with us into eternity.
So I choose this day, and every day, to be great. I choose marriage, children, and homemaking. I choose my family, and the gospel. I choose this day and every day, Eternity.

domain: literature


Exclusive: Border Patrol Official Invites Omar, AOC To US-Mexico Border
National Border Patrol Council union representative Chris Cabrera extended an open invitation to Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to tour the border privately without media to see the “real border crisis” from through the eyes of the agents.
“Everybody understands what’s going on where the disconnect is is in Congress,” NBPC SpokesMan Chris Cabrera
Cabrera, spokesman for the National Border Patrol Council and Local 3307 in the Rio Grande Valley, said recent comments from both Omar and Ocasio-Cortez reveal that they are not familiar with the actual border crisis. He said the problem is exacerbated by lawmakers who have not educated themselves on the realities of the crisis. On the second episode of the Sara Carter Show podcast, Cabrera promised that the trip would be private, without media, so the lawmakers can gain a real understanding of what is happening along the border.
“I think that they’re uneducated as far as what goes on down here and I would put out a blanket invitation whether it’s to Mrs. Omar or Mrs. Ocasio-Cortez, or whoever, Republican, Democrat, liberal, independent doesn’t matter, ” Cabrera told Carter. “Come down here, get with me, I will take you out there and show you. No reporters, no cameras, no press moments just we will go out there and I’ll show you, and that way, when somebody says well you don’t know well now you have a firsthand look, not a political look no politics just me and you I’ll show you.”
Ocasio-Cortez was criticized for her recent tweets and for calling detention facilities “concentration camps,” a description mainly used for the atrocities that occurred during World War II, against the Jewish population. Over 6 million Jewish people were killed in state sponsored concentration camps in Europe by the Nazi party.
She has refused to apologize for the comparison.
DHS ripped 1000s of children from their parents & put them in cages w inhumane conditions.
They call their cells “dog pounds” & “freezers.”
I will never apologize for calling these camps what they are.
If that makes you uncomfortable, fight the camps – not the nomenclature. https://t.co/eJpJWeYiot
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 19, 2019
Omar also railed against the Trump administration’s policies to crack down on illegal immigration and said the word ‘alien’ should be removed from the legal lexicon.
“No one is an ‘alien,'” she tweeted in response to President Trump’s announcement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would begin interior enforcement.
Cabrera believes that if the lawmakers take the opportunity to visit the border through the eyes of the agents and those of the migrants it may just change how they view the crisis.
Cabrera’s message to Congress: “We have children that are being molested on their journey over here, women that are getting violent and people are dying along this journey, and you’re worried about tax returns, get your priorities straight.”
This is not just affecting Americans, law enforcement agencies, but also the illegal migrants who suffer at the hands of trafficking and drug organizations. Cabrera said he also extends the invitation to any lawmaker that wishes to travel to the U.S. Mexico border in Texas. The Rio Grande Valley sector is one of the most heavily crossed border regions in the United States.
“I will take you down there,” he said. “I will show you what these people are having to go through and what your inaction is causing, and their inaction is causing more to come because they realize that if they come and they say a couple magic words, they’re free to go.”
Cabrera said there are days Border Patrol agents are seeing 2,000 illegal migrants being held in one station.
“It has gotten extremely dangerous,” he said. “There are very few agents in the field to deter or apprehend those looking to escape from us.”
- Border Patrol Seized Over $3 Million in Narcotics And $1 Million In Currency
- CBP Sees Record Number of African Migrants Crossing The U.S. Mexico Border
- DHS Ends Catch and Release, saying it’s Instituting New Protocols


text:
Many people these days are annoyed with God because he seems to be involved with a lot of secrets and lies.
The BIG secret that has troubled humanity for as long as we have thought about it is, in the words of a famous book by a famous rabbi: Why do bad things happen to good people? Lots of books have been written on the topic of this big secret, including an entire book of the Bible (the Book of Job), which ends with God more or less telling Job that it’s a secret, and how dare he, little, puny Job, ask great big God, who, by the way, made the earth and the heavens and set the stars in the sky, to divulge his secrets, in which case they wouldn’t be secrets any longer.
God has many other secrets, like what the songs of the whales mean, how to cure cancer, is there life elsewhere in the universe, what is happening to the honeybees, how to move faster than the speed of light, [and how did Roy Halladay pitch a perfect game last night against the Marlins]? Some of God’s secrets seem important to us; some seem trivial. Some we expect him to reveal; some seem unlikely to be uncovered. Some, like dinosaurs and Stonehenge, are secrets from the past; and some, like peace or the end of the world, are secrets of the future.
People would be upset with God if he only kept secrets, but they would get over it eventually and learn to live with a God who keeps secrets better than anyone else. What really annoys people is that they suspect God lies.
To begin with, there is the BIG lie: a lurking suspicion that God is not really God; rather, he is a made-up story, being manipulated by men behind curtains in Rome and Lynchburg, and anywhere a church like this stands. It might be truer to say that people don’t so much think God lies as they think believers lie. And all the other supposed lies flow from this one: that God is love, that humans are in the habit of doing something called “sin”, that prayer matters, that our hymns do not fall on deaf ears, that Jesus was the Son of God and came into the world to save us.
More and more these days there is a sense that most religion, and certainly the Christian religion, such as it is, are systems of secrets and lies. You can see this partly in the way the word “myth” has shifted in meaning. It used to be understood that a myth was a story, the facts of which might be debatable but the essence of which was a truth so deep that we didn’t have any other way to talk about it, and that religion was the guardian and caretaker of these important stories. Nowadays, when something is called a “myth” it is usually derided as “just a myth,” meaning it is most fundamentally untrue, and religion is the perpetuator of these lies.
In this rendering, Scripture is no longer a complex quilt of truths to be discerned from ancient stories and texts of various kinds; it is a web of lies that supports the delusions of people who are willing to live with a bunch of secrets.
And so God is a subject of secrets and lies. That his church has been manifestly shown to be an institution plagued by harmful secrets and willful lies has not helped this situation.
But this reality surely comes as no surprise to God. One burden of the Scriptures has been to show that thus has it ever been: God’s people, prodigal by nature, constantly disappoint him, as they disappoint themselves, and are called to repent and reform. That this pattern of human behavior is plainly neither a secret nor a lie, does little in the face of skepticism about God.
The Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures, if you will, shows us early-on God’s assertion of himself: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” And throughout so many of the early stories we see God at work, uncovering this secret for his people and declaring that all other gods, carved as they were in wood and stone, are nothing more than lies. We Christians have inherited this basic claim, that the Lord our God is one Lord, alone in power and majesty and might and glory. And into this landscape comes the Christian doctrine that although God is one: the singular, unrivalled divinity in the universe, God is nevertheless known to his people in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. If this is not confusing to you, then you are clearly ready for the AP course in religion. Most, of us, however, are at least a little confused by how God can be both three-personed and yet one. It seems a contradiction in terms. And the question it seems to beg is this: is this claim about the trinitarian identity of God a secret or a lie?
In either case, one could imagine that somewhere in the Vatican, or in Dan Brown’s study, there is a file cabinet with a locked drawer that contains a folder marked “Trinity” that has drawings, schematics, and at least a few paragraphs of explanation that either unlock the secret or blow the lid off the lie.
But there is another option, and it is this option that the church has long asserted about the truth of God’s triune nature and identity, namely that it is neither a secret nor a lie, but that it is a mystery. Long before there were detectives whose sole job was to solve them, there were mysteries. Real mysteries are not puzzles waiting to be solved, they are, rather, a category of truth that is evident to us and yet beyond our comprehension.
It is a reflection of modern over-self-confidence that we tend to assume that any mystery is either a secret waiting to be unlocked or a lie being perpetuated for somebody’s gain. Can we really not imagine truth in the universe that is beyond our comprehension? At the moment we are baffled by a hole that we dug in the bottom of the sea bed in the Gulf of Mexico; if we can’t even figure out how to plug that hole to stop an oil spill of our own making, can we really be so sure that the rest of the universe is available to us to be understood?
Our modern resistance to mystery in the world is paralleled by our confusion about knowledge and wisdom. We have forgotten that there is a distinction between the two, assuming that a wise person has extensive knowledge of the secrets and lies that assault the truth. But many more generations have known that real wisdom lies in the acceptance of mystery, and the willingness to live with and reflect upon the mysteries of life without needing to try to solve them.
From the pages of the New Testament, on the lips of Jesus, we hear that God is to be known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Do we understand this? We remember that the Holy Spirit brooded over the face of the waters at the beginning of time. We have no trouble conceiving of the God who made the world, who led his children out of captivity, and to whom Jesus prayed in the garden as a Father (even if we stumble a little on the overly gender-specific language), and we accept the claim of that heavenly voice that Jesus is the beloved Son of God. We know that Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to lead us into all truth. But none of this means we understand it.
The ancient wisdom of the church was never to de-code or explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity, it was, rather to reflect on it and rejoice in it: to realize that God is fabulously complicated, and that God nevertheless wants us to know him, even if it is hard for us to bear.
In our own day and age, the mysterious truth that our God is one Lord, but three persons, brings an important, ancient reflection back to mind: that God’s very nature, the essence of his being, is communal. God does not exist in the splendid isolation of a remote heavenly throne room, where he occasionally naps on his throne, when not hurling thunderbolts of judgment down to earth. God’s nature is to relate, to dialogue, to dance, to commune. Aloneness is not God’s thing.
Perhaps this is why Adam’s needy demand for a helper does not fall on deaf ears in the Garden of Eden. Perhaps this is why Noah is told to build a big ark, for all the animals and his family. Perhaps this is why Moses is allowed to have the help of his brother Aaron. Perhaps this is why Abraham is not sent on pilgrimage himself, he is told to bring his wife and family with him. Perhaps this is why Ruth will not leave Naomi’s side. Perhaps this is why Joseph is restored to the fellowship of his brothers and his father. Perhaps this is why another Joseph, centuries later, is an essential part of the Holy Family. Perhaps this is why Jesus tended to call his disciples in pairs, and sent them out two by two. We are made in God’s image: aloneness is not God’s thing, and when we follow God, it is unlikely to be our thing either.
The truth at the heart of the mystery of the Holy Trinity is that God wants us to know him, even if he knows that he is beyond our comprehension, just as he wanted to show himself to Moses even though he knew it was beyond Moses’ ken to perceive more than the divine backside.
And the crucial thing that God is able to show us is that he is not a lonesome God: he is always relating, always discussing, always dancing, always communing. Which we infer means that God does not mean any creature that he made in his own image (you and me) to be a lonesome creature, rather he means for us to be in relationships, to be in dialogue, to be dancing, and to be communing with one another.
The truth is that the alternative to showing us his triune self would be to keep it secret, or worse, to lie to us. And despite the suspicions of our age, and the secrets that God does keep from us, he does not seem to want to be defined by secrets and lies.
God is, however, entirely willing to wrap himself in mystery. God’s mysteries are not waiting or even available to us to be solved and revealed in a 90- minute TV special. God’s mysteries, are however available to us to ponder, to think and talk and pray about, to behold in something like the same way that the beauty of the night sky or the scent of honeysuckle remains a mystery to be enjoyed.
May God grant us the wisdom to know the difference between secrets, lies, and mysteries. May he give us patience with his secrets, confidence that he will never lie to us, and wisdom to ponder the mystery of his triune self, without the need to try to figure him out!
Preached by Fr. Sean Mullen
Trinity Sunday 2010
Saint Mark’s Church, Philadelphia


text:
While pregnant Devynity’s mom would place headphones on her stomach and play Quincy Jones, Basia, and a plethora of genre bending music, even create whole mixtapes hoping that Devynity; who was still in her womb, would share her love for music. Devynity remembers the music she heard as a child, “my mom's vinyl collection is a DJ's dream. She listens to a variety of artists. I was never pigeon-holed into liking one type of music. My mom is hands down my greatest musical influence.”
Our story starts in Southside, Jamaica Queens where Devynity was raised by her mom and grandmother. As an only child Devynity had to be very creative to keep herself entertained. "I was always reading something, words have been my oasis." This increased her love for the English language and consequently led to her battling kids at, of all places, school spelling bees and oratorical contests. Her interest in wordplay flourished and transformed into spoken-word, then her destiny was fulfilled. Devynity was introduced to a woman at church named Barbara Bethea who she credits with bringing her into the performance world. "She’s a spoken word artist, who at that time, took me under her wing and introduced me to that world officially." Building her buzz on the underground circuit, Devynity performed at The Vault, opened for N'dea Davenport, performed with Malik Yoba, the 2007 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, the Pyramid End of the Weak showcase, MTV's first MC Battle, the National Black Theater in Harlem, and the Nuyorican Poets Café. The Nuyorican Poet’s Café became a second home to her and she started slamming on a regular basis. It was in 2002 that Devynity made a name for herself as a slam poet, moving up the ranks winning slam after slam until she landed a spot at the Grand Slam finals. That season she made the Nuyorican Poet’s Slam team which went on to win 3rd at the National Poetry Slam among 53 other teams.
Her transition from competing at slams and writing poetry to spitting verses was seamless. "Spoken-word allowed me to express myself in such a fluid way, and on stage at spoken-word shows, I would just start rapping."
Devynity auditioned to attend F.H. LaGuardia High School of Music, Arts and the Performing Arts, most commonly known as the “Fame” School. After Devynity was accepted she was soon surrounded by like-minded individuals. "Going to LAG really helped develop my imagination. There would be days when full concerts would go down in the cafeteria." While there she worked with a group called Common Thred, a neo-soul collaborative. Devynity recorded and co-produced her 1st spoken-word album later that year. “I’m repping for the ladies in a different way than what we’ve seen more recently. I also love Hip-Hop and study MCs so I try to write at a level that’s comparable in terms of substance.” Currently Devynity is working with on her official debut Cooked Doos with music producers/engineers, Snake Eyes, D Real, Ryan Perfect and his company Audio Pictures; a dynamic collective of MCs, producers, graphic artist, and writers.
Education is something that has always been important to the young MC. “I’ve always been a very diligent student. I truly do believe that knowledge is power, as contrived as that may sound. My art thrives on the fact that I know what’s going on. Coming from a family where no one went to college, graduating was something I absolutely had to do.”


When the Detroit Lions kick off the 2018 regular season on Monday Night Football on September 10 against the New York Jets, their opponent will be a little shorthanded.
The NFL announced Jets linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis will be suspended for the Week 1 game for violating the league’s policy on substance abuse. It’s a one-game suspension for the new Jets backer. He was arrested for marijuana possession in March, at which time he was still a Kansas City Chief.
Pierre-Louis is the third Jet to be suspended this season, with more possibly on the way. Cornerback Rashard Robinson and wideout ArDarius Stewart are also suspended for the opener.
Top Jets WR Robby Anderson could also be facing a suspension after being arrested on multiple counts in Florida this offseason. The league has yet to rule on his case, which initially included a felony charge.


Join GitHub today
GitHub is home to over 28 million developers working together to host and review code, manage projects, and build software together.Sign up
Clone this wiki locally
When running the
rails g xapit:install command it will generate a configuration file in
config/xapit.yml. Each Rails environment can have a different set of configuration options. Here is a list of each option.
enableddetermines if Xapit is on initially. Records created while it is disabled will not be indexed automatically. Trying to perform a search will result in a
Xapit.enableto enable it. Defaults to
spellingcauses records to be indexed with spelling terms. The
spelling_suggestionmethod will still work when this is disabled, it will just not return any results. Defaults to
stemmingspecifies which language to be used when stemming. Any language that Xapian supports can be used here. Pass nothing here to disable stemming. Defaults to
database_pathis path to the database file relative to the project root directory. If no database path is specified it will use an in-memory store. Defaults to no path.
serveris the URL to the Xapit server which can be started with the included rackup file. If you have multiple processes needing to connect to the database (such as in production) it is important to use this server option because only one process can write to the database. If nothing is specified it will use a local database. Defaults to nothing.
In Rails the
config/xapit.yml file is loaded automatically when the app starts. You can reload the configuration at any time by doing
Xapit.reload. It is also possible to load the configuration file manually:
Xapit.reset_config # set to default config options Xapit.load_config("path/to/xapit.yml", "development")


text:
By Anna Peirano
Former New York City mayor Ed Koch died Friday morning at the age of 88 from congestive heart failure.
Koch was a controversial figure in New York politics, serving in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977, and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989.
Koch never married, and many believed he was a closested gay man throughout his life – something he first denied, and later refused to comment on. His supposed sexual orientation became an issue during the election of 1977 when posters, not endorsed by the Cuomo campaign, began going up with the slogan “Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo.”
In 1989, Koch gave a radio interview about a book he co-authored with Cardinal John J. O’Conner. When the interviewer asked him to clarify his views on homosexuality relative to O’Connor, Koch said, “it happens that I’m a heterosexual.”
In a 1998 issue of New York Magazine, regarding his sexual history, Koch wrote:
Listen, there’s no question that some New Yorkers think I’m gay, and voted for me nevertheless. The vast majority don’t care, and others don’t think I am. And I don’t give a shit either way! What do I care? I’m 73 years old. I find it fascinating that people are interested in my sex life at age 73. It’s rather complimentary! But as I say in my book, my answer to questions on this subject is simply “Fuck off.” There have to be some private matters left.
Koch was featured in the 2009 documentary titled “Outrage” about closeted gay elected officials. In the film, Koch was said to have had a boyfriend named Richard Nathan, who supposedly left the city when Koch was first elected mayor, and later died of AIDS. However, Koch denied having a romantic relationship with Nathan, according to the New York Daily News.
Koch is credited as having been instrumental in lifting New York from an economic crises to a level of prosperity during the 70’s. However, his term in office was also marked with criticism surrounding racial tensions, corruption among his political allies, and the rise in homelessness and crime rates.
In addition, many in the LGBT community felt Koch never did enough to address the rising epidemic of AIDS and HIV during his time as mayor. Writer and activist Larry Kramer called Koch “a murderer of his own people,” in reference to his supposed sexuality and lack of action or support of LGBT New Yorkers.
In a New York Times obituary published Friday, author Robert D. MacFadden writes, “Hundreds of New Yorkers were desperately ill and dying in a baffling public health emergency, and critics, especially in the gay community, accused [Koch] of being a closeted homosexual reluctant to confront the crisis for fear of being exposed.”
In a 1994 interview with New York Times correspondent Adam Nagourney, Koch insisted that New York had done more for AIDS victims than San Francisco. “But that never got through to the gay community,” he said. “They were brainwashed that they were getting short-changed in New York City and in San Francisco they were getting everything. And it wasn’t true, but you could never convince them.”
Even though Koch may never be known as an icon or role model of the LGBT community, he’ll live on as a seminal figure represenative of New York. He’ll be buried in Manhattan’s Trinity Cemetery where he secured a plot in 2008. On the reason for his choice, he gave the New York Times a very New York answer, saying, “The idea of leaving Manhattan permanently irritates me.”

domain: sociology


text:
Andre 3000 has two movies coming out, the drama "The Battle in Seattle" with Charlize Theron in April and the Will Ferrell comedy "Semi-Pro" dropping this week, but that isn't stopping him from doing more music. "[We're] doing solo albums," he told MTV News recently. "Big Boi is working on a solo album that should be coming out this summer. If I can finish in time, I'll have an album come out by fall, and we are planning on having another Outkast album afterwards. I don't know when that will be, but [we] just kind of start writing. Who knows?"
He said he didn't know what title he might use for his album, saying "I have a few [titles] dancing around in the head," he said. "It's
like, you may have a name for a kid, but when it's there or it's close
to it, you kind of know what it's gonna be or what it looks like. So, I
guess when I am down to the last three or four songs, I may know what I
am trying to say. "I've got a few people in mind," he added of the album's cameos. "But
it's kinda too early [to tell], because some people are traveling
around the world and can't do it in time, and I wouldn't wanna give
away the guest appearances before I actually lock it in."

domain: entertainment


Livabilty Score is a measure of proximity of the property to essential facilities and amenities on a scale of 0 to 10
Transit Score is a measure of how well a property is served by public transit on a scale from 0 to 10
Powered By: Smart Recommendation
This is an independent bungalow owned by retired Army personnel, neighbors too are all retired defense servicemen. The house is ground 1 Terrace floor. The ground floor is car and bike parking 1 BHK of carpet 550 Sq.ft. The first floor has 2 BHK of carpet 1000 sq. ft. the third floor is complete terrace half-covered with fabricated steel structure. The property has borewell and PMC water supply.


PCTuneUp Free Keylogger is designed as a type of surveillance software that has the capability to record everything you type on the keyboard such as passwords, user names, emails, credit card numbers, etc.
Downloads: 20748 - Freeware - Download Now
Battery Optimizer is an advanced laptop optimization utility that uses advanced diagnostics and testing to guide you to get better battery life.
Downloads: 20766 - Freeware - Download Now
Kernel for Access is the best MS Access file repair software used by home users, companies, institutes, and organizations.
Downloads: 20793 - Shareware - Download Now
Convert complete OST files and save into different files format by using GainTools OST converter tool. This tool will perform OST files conversion process without any data loss.
Downloads: 0 - Shareware - Download Now
Experience accurate Exchange to Outlook recovery with powerful and sophisticated Exchange EDB to PST Conversion tool.
Downloads: 20425 - Shareware - Download Now


text:
Early Childhood Education
Book titles in this section concentrate on the cultures, language, histories, and contemporary island settings within Hawaiʻi and the greater Pacific. Book formats are focused on ages 0-5 and include board books, picture books, and early readers.
Our 2023 Catalog
Learn about new & forthcoming books, access our textbooks' HCSSS alignments, explore relevant resources for your classrooms and communities by clicking through the links in the interactive digital catalog.
Educators enjoy a year-round discount on our titles (some exclusions apply). Check out our Education Sales Policy for more info.
Help with a PO
Looking for some title suggestions or help with a PO?
HIDOE Vendor Info
Our HIDOE Vendor number is 007324.


text:
“The process could change ethanol production in dry-grind plants so much that energy costs can be reduced by as much as one-third,” said Hans van Leeuwen, an Iowa State professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering and the leader of the research project.
Van Leeuwen and the other researchers developing the technology – Anthony L. Pometto III, a professor of food science and human nutrition; Mary Rasmussen, a graduate student in environmental engineering and biorenewable resources and technology; and Samir Khanal, a former Iowa State research assistant professor who’s now an assistant professor of molecular biosciences and bioengineering at the University of Hawai‘i at Mânoa – recently won the 2008 Grand Prize for University Research from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers for the project.
“Those chosen for prizes by an independent panel of distinguished experts address the broad range of modern challenges inherent in providing life-nurturing services for humans and protection of the environment,” according to a statement from the academy. “… Their innovations and performance illustrate the essential role of environmental engineers in providing a healthy planet.”
The Iowa State project is focused on using fungi to clean up and improve the dry-grind ethanol production process. That process grinds corn kernels and adds water and enzymes. The enzymes break the starches into sugars. The sugars are fermented with yeasts to produce ethanol.
The fuel is recovered by distillation, but there are about six gallons of leftovers for every gallon of fuel that’s produced. Those leftovers, known as stillage, contain solids and other organic material. Most of the solids are removed by centrifugation and dried into distillers dried grains that are sold as livestock feed, primarily for cattle.
The remaining liquid, known as thin stillage, still contains some solids, a variety of organic compounds from corn and fermentation as well as enzymes. Because the compounds and solids can interfere with ethanol production, only about 50 percent of thin stillage can be recycled back into ethanol production. The rest is evaporated and blended with distillers dried grains to produce distillers dried grains with solubles.
The researchers added a fungus, Rhizopus microsporus, to the thin stillage and found it would feed and grow. The fungus removes about 80 percent of the organic material and all of the solids in the thin stillage, allowing the water and enzymes in the thin stillage to be recycled back into production.
The fungus can also be harvested. It’s a food-grade organism that’s rich in protein, certain essential amino acids and other nutrients. It can be dried and sold as a livestock feed supplement. Or it can be blended with distillers dried grains to boost its value as a livestock feed and make it more suitable for feeding hogs and chickens.
Van Leeuwen said all of that can save United States ethanol producers a lot of energy and money at current production levels:
• Eliminating the need to evaporate thin stillage would save ethanol plants up to $800 million a year in energy costs.
• Allowing more water recycling would reduce the industry’s water consumption by as much as 10 billion gallons per year. And it allows producers to recycle enzymes in the thin stillage, saving about $60 million per year.
• Adding value and nutrients to the livestock feed produced by ethanol plants would grow the market for that feed by about $400 million per year.
• And the researchers’ fungal process would improve the energy balance of ethanol production by reducing energy inputs so there is more of an energy gain.
Van Leeuwen estimated it would cost $11 million to start using the process in an ethanol plant that produces 100 million gallons of fuel per year. But, he said the cost savings at such a plant could pay off that investment in about six months.
The Iowa State research project is supported by grants of $78,806 from the Grow Iowa Values Fund, a state economic development program, and $80,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Iowa Biotechnology Byproducts Consortium.
The researchers have filed for a patent on the technology and are looking for investors to commercialize the invention. And while the process needs to be proven at larger scales, there are high hopes it can do a lot to improve the efficiency of ethanol production.
“We will be saving ethanol producers money and energy,” Pometto said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Mike Krapfl | newswise
Invasive Insects Cost the World Billions Per Year
04.10.2016 | University of Adelaide
Malaysia's unique freshwater mussels in danger
27.09.2016 | The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
Researchers from the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo led the development of a new extensible wiring technique capable of controlling superconducting quantum bits, representing a significant step towards to the realization of a scalable quantum computer.
"The quantum socket is a wiring method that uses three-dimensional wires based on spring-loaded pins to address individual qubits," said Jeremy Béjanin, a PhD...
In a paper in Scientific Reports, a research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute describes a novel light-activated phenomenon that could become the basis for applications as diverse as microscopic robotic grippers and more efficient solar cells.
A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has developed a revolutionary, light-activated semiconductor nanocomposite material that can be used...
By forcefully embedding two silicon atoms in a diamond matrix, Sandia researchers have demonstrated for the first time on a single chip all the components needed to create a quantum bridge to link quantum computers together.
"People have already built small quantum computers," says Sandia researcher Ryan Camacho. "Maybe the first useful one won't be a single giant quantum computer...
COMPAMED has become the leading international marketplace for suppliers of medical manufacturing. The trade fair, which takes place every November and is co-located to MEDICA in Dusseldorf, has been steadily growing over the past years and shows that medical technology remains a rapidly growing market.
In 2016, the joint pavilion by the IVAM Microtechnology Network, the Product Market “High-tech for Medical Devices”, will be located in Hall 8a again and will...
'Ferroelectric' materials can switch between different states of electrical polarization in response to an external electric field. This flexibility means they show promise for many applications, for example in electronic devices and computer memory. Current ferroelectric materials are highly valued for their thermal and chemical stability and rapid electro-mechanical responses, but creating a material that is scalable down to the tiny sizes needed for technologies like silicon-based semiconductors (Si-based CMOS) has proven challenging.
Now, Hiroshi Funakubo and co-workers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, in collaboration with researchers across Japan, have conducted experiments to...
14.10.2016 | Event News
14.10.2016 | Event News
12.10.2016 | Event News
24.10.2016 | Power and Electrical Engineering
24.10.2016 | Life Sciences
24.10.2016 | Life Sciences


JAMES Cook University Hospital is set to get its own railway station. Sarah Judd gauged reaction to the plan.
PAUL Birch has been waiting a long time for Teesside’s biggest hospital to get its own rail link.
And the assistant director of hotel services at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - which runs Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital - has been working hard to secure the station.
Up to 12 trains a day could be calling at the Marton Road site withing two years in what will become a vital transport service for patients, visitors and staff alike.
The £2.2m investment is part of a wider £4.5m scheme to boost rail travel which will see 11 other stations also get a revamp.
“As a trust, we are over the moon, delighted,” said Mr Birch today. “A dream’s come true for us.
“I first came here in 1986 and the manager at that time was talking about rail links then. Now we have an agreement in reality.”
Mr Birch - who joked he has now acquired the nickname “fat controller” - said the new rail link formed a key part of the trust’s travel plan, which has already seen success in getting more than 300 of its staff to cycle to work.
“We now have more buses coming into the complex and this was the ultimate goal for us, to be able to offer rail facilities as well,” he explained.
“We had a lot of patients and visitors from East Cleveland that would take three buses to get here.
“And, while bus transport has improved, this opens up a whole new perspective - to be able to get on a train at Saltburn and get off at James Cook.
“We have a number of staff who commute from other areas of the region, such as Darlington.
“It will help the trust in the long term to direct staff to different modes of transport and reduce our carbon footprint. It’s just a major boost for us.”
Patients also welcomed the hospital rail link announcement, which follows a cash grant by Transport Minister Norman Baker which last week saw Teesside’s scheme named as one of three to benefit from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.
Commuters are crossing their fingers it will ease the daily “Marton Crawl”, shown above, which hits Marton Road at peak times.
And residents of nearby Beechwood and Easterside hope it help reduce parking problems.
Steven Lal, 50, lives in Beechwood and said the cars coming in and out of the hospital during visiting hours make it very difficult to get out of the estate on an evening.
“We have to go through the estate to miss all the traffic,” he said. “I don’t think it will be a bad thing for the area, but they should open up Ladgate Lane if they want to relieve the traffic instead of making it a one-way system on Marton Road.”
As part of the £4.5m transport scheme, improvements will also be made to passengers facilities at 11 existing stations.
These will include electronic timetabling, signage upgrades, shelters, improved lighting and seating and the installation of CCTV.
Among them are the facilities at Marton, Gypsy Lane and Nunthorpe, which are each expected to receive around £100,000.


text:
The tax on candy in particular had caused controversy, as it was not applied to candy that contained flour, meaning that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Three Musketeers, for example, were subject to the tax, while Kit Kat and Milky Way bars were exempt. It came into effect on June 1, as part of the state’s effort to plug its budget deficit.
The National Confectioners Association (NCA) and its members in the Washington State Confectionery Coalition welcomed the news, having collected nearly 400,000 signatures to put the repeal on this month’s ballot.
NCA president Larry Graham said in a statement that the coalition’s work was a model for confectioners in other states to follow.
“NCA and its members sent a clear message to public officials in Washington and beyond that it is not acceptable to avoid making hard but necessary budgetary choices by instituting taxes that discriminate against certain business and burden all consumers,” he said.
Washington State was not alone in its plan to tax candy in an effort to reduce the gap between spending and income. Last September, Illinois consumers started paying higher taxes on candy that does not contain flour, as well as some soft drinks, under new rules from the Illinois department of revenue; and the Colorado State Senate passed a bill in February to remove a tax exemption on candy and soda.
The Washington State sales tax on bottled water, which also came into effect on June 1, and a tax on soda that took effect a month later, have also been repealed.
Commenting on the election results, Governor Chris Gregoire said in a statement:
“There’s no doubt I’m disappointed that voters decided to repeal the temporary sales tax recently imposed on soda and candy. We are currently closing a $520 million budget gap and going into the next biennium we face at least a $4.5 billion shortfall. The additional cuts we will have to make due to this loss of revenue will have significant consequences.”
The taxes will continue to be collected until December 1.

domain: finance


text:
October 6 – November 7; The WKU Year of Ecuador Celebrates Dr. David M. Coffey
Dr. David M. Coffey was the driving force behind developing the WKU Year of Ecuador. Through art objects, personal stories and photographs, this exhibition celebrates “Doc” Coffey’s connection to Ecuador, the many students he influenced with his study abroad programs, and the way in which he developed lasting links between Ecuador and wider WKU community. Curated by Professor Kristina Arnold’s Gallery Studies class.
This competitive juried exhibition will showcase a selection of work created by students in the WKU Department of Art in the areas of Painting, Drawing, Graphic Design, Printmaking, New Media, Sculpture, Ceramics and Weaving.


text:
AN ELGIN EXCLUSIVE FEATURE
A tiny hamlet, one of the major tourist attractions in North Bengal is the picturesque and rustic hill station on the lap of the Himalayas – Kurseong. Tucked within the folds of the enormous Shiwalik Himalayan Ranges. Beloved among aficionados for its aesthetics and pleasant surroundings, this hamlet, 32 kilometers north of Darjeeling, is located at an elevation of 1500 meters above sea level, the ideal altitude to experience the most relaxed and welcoming weather throughout the year.
Every turn taken to reach the serene hamlet Kurseong, would make you appreciate the beauty it encompasses.
The ‘Land of White Orchids,’ Kurseong is well-known for its gorgeous waterfalls, gompas, temples, and, of course, its profusion of dazzling white orchids accompanied by lovely tea gardens on the steep slopes. While most tourists visit Kurseong as a stopover before exploring other popular destinations of Darjeeling, the little adorable hamlet is well worth a visit. It is well connected with other cities and towns by rail, roads and air.
access point: The Bagdogra airport is an access point to travel to places in Bhutan as well as Darjeeling. Places of attraction: This town is popular for its tea plantations, calm and pleasant environment and picturesque views of the Himalayas.
A small town that it is, Kurseong does not have direct air connectivity. Those travelling by flight must rely on Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri, which is around 40 kilometers from Kurseong. Bagdogra is well linked by flights from Kolkata and other cities; Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and more. Public and private carriers operate regular flights between the cities and Bagdogra. Tourists can catch cabs or buses from the airport to their desired destination in Kurseong.
Jalpaiguri Town is the oldest station in the area. Jalpaiguri Road was opened in 1944 and is the primarily crucial railway station of the city.
Kurseong does not have its own train station. The nearest rail head is 44 kilometers away from Kurseong – Jalpaiguri Railway Station. New Jalpaiguri is well connected to many of the prominent cities, including Kolkata. There are regular trains plying between the capital city of the state and New Jalpaiguri; Kanchenjunga Express, Kaziranga Express, Shatabdi Express, Teesta Torsa Express, Saraghat Express, Guwahati Express, and many others.
Image by OutlookIndia
Siliguri – Kurseong – Darjeeling… the routes with picturesque landscape would amaze you throughout and you will lose the track of time.
Remarkably, Kurseong has well-connected routes to adjacent cities and towns as well as other parts of the state. It can be reached by buses, taxis and jeeps from Darjeeling, located 49 km from Kurseong. Siliguri shares the same distance of 45 km. Buses and taxis ply frequently between Siliguri and Kurseong, chauffeuring visitors from the airport to the hill town. There are also regular buses that operate at night and throughout the day from Kolkata, Kharagpur, and other cities. Taxis and buses shuttle tourists to Kurseong from New Jalpaiguri station
Image by weekendthrill
The town – Kurseong could be best appreciated if you relish it the closest. Take a stroll down, connect to locals and you are bound by the charm.
Buses are available for transit within Kurseong. Jeeps and taxis stay as an option for tourists for sightseeing and explore the town. Hotels could be a reliable source to arrange local transportation to relish the serenity to the fullest. The best way to appreciate the town, though, is by foot. Walking down the winding roads, taking in the fresh mountain air and savoring the scenery is the best way to connect and make a relationship with this serene town.

domain: geography


text:
Read the full article here.
This content was originally published by BusinessLIVE. Original publishers retain all rights. It appears here for a limited time before automated archiving. By BusinessLIVE
‘Hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300km of the earthquake epicentre,’ the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says


text:
Over the past three weeks, the Blood Center has been forced to cancel dozens of blood drives (68, and counting) leading to a loss of more than 2200 donations due to record cold tempatures, snow, and ice.
If you are able to safely travel to donate blood this week, please do. To find a donation location near you, call (800) 747-5401, visit www.bloodcenterimpact.org, or use the Blood Center’s IMPACT mobile app.
With another winter storm on the way to portions of our service region, we will continue to provide information on the impact of winter weather at www.bloodcenter.org/weather.
News and Events by
The Volunteer Fire Department in Charlotte, Iowa will hold a blood drive in support of Adam Cain with Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center from 1 – 6 p.m. Mon., Jan. 21. The blood drive is being held in honor of Adam Cain, of Goose Lake, who was seriously injured in an explosion in Clinton, Iowa on Jan. 5, 2019.
In addition to the blood drive, Charlotte Fire Department is also conducting a “fill the boot” campaign for the Cain family, offering opportunities for supporters to drop off donations for the family during the blood drive.
Donors will also give in memory of Eric Hosette, Fire Chief of the Charlotte Fire Department and Lieutenant with the Clinton Fire Department, who was tragically killed in the Jan. 5 explosion. Window decals, T-shirts, and sweatshirts will also be available for purchase with proceeds benefiting the Hosette Family.
For information on additional opportunities to give blood, please contact MVRBC at (563) 359-5401, schedule online at www.bloodcenterIMPACT.org or via the IMPACT mobile app (www.bloodcenter.org/app).
About Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center
Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) is the exclusive provider of blood products and services to 89 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, including Mercy Clinton, Jackson County Regional Health Center, and University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where the Blood Center is the primary external supplier to the University’s DeGowin Blood Center. MVRBC is based in Davenport, Iowa, where its testing, processing and primary distribution center produces transfusable blood component products from more than 200,000 whole blood and platelet apheresis donations each year. For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org.


Skip to content
FOR 25+ YEARS AL RAZZ HAS BEEN HOSTING A TAMPA BAY BLUES JAM
AL RAZZ PLAYS BASS FOR THE BLUE LIGHTNING BAND
Al Razz Blues Jam with a Special Guest Host every week. Backline provided bring your band. Audition for the club meet new musicians and friends keeping the blues alive
FOR 20 YEARS AL RAZZ HAS BEEN HOSTING THIS JAM .
Gil & Rick’s Sports Bar and Pizzeria 1250 Seminole Blvd, Largo, FL 33770
8 TO 12 EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT..
Go to Top


text:
North Carolina rapper DaBaby‘s Rolling Loud performance has made headlines for a myriad of reasons, one of them being his surprise guest Tory Lanez and people having mixed reactions.
DaBaby Brings Tory Lanez On-Stage at Rolling Loud
DaBaby shocked the Rolling Loud audience when he undressed a man in costume to reveal that man was in fact Tory Lanez. Tory arrived in a bobble head suit and stood next to Baby on stage, DaBaby then bet the crowd $1 Million if they could guess who it was in the suit. This guest appearance has led to much uproar online as a result of Lanez, DaBaby, and Megan Thee Stallion‘s past history.
DaBaby has been a long time collaborator and friend to Megan but that all fell apart when DaBaby put out a song and video with Tory Lanez, who allegedly shot Thee Stallion in the foot back in July 2020. Thee Stallion and DaBaby then had a heated conversation on Twitter shortly after “SKAT” dropped, which ended with Megan and DaBaby unfollowing each other.
Tory Lanez then further fueled flames with his recent Hot 97 freestyle in which he points the blame at being framed by Meg for him and his peers not getting the rewards he feels they deserved.
Whatever side you stand on, DaBaby bringing out Tory Lanez during his set was still a huge statement, and one of the most talked about moments from Rolling Loud Miami sending the internet in a tail spin.
DaBaby + 50 Cent Show Love
It seems DaBaby has a pretty dope mentor and one of the most successful Black men in the entertainment biz. The rap heavyweight has let the world into his low-key close-knit relationship with none other than hip-hop heavyweight 50 Cent, who has vowed to keep him on the right path.
The “BOP” hit-maker posted a photo alongside Fif, and showed major love in the caption. Baby says he’s going to use the advice he received and was mad thankful.
Curtis Jackson kept it a buck and noted losing rising rapper Pop Smoke, who was murdered in 2020, before he could really understand how to move out here.
“Somebody I been studying for a MINUTE lent me a few hours of his time today. N*ggas so scared to let me in the room they f*cked around & let me end up in the room w/ @50cent 🤦🏾♂ BIG MISTAKE! Beyond grateful for the game📚 Couldn’t have come from a better source.💯 Now watch me put this shit to use👀 #BackToWork”
50 Cent went into the comments section and said DaBaby already understood a lot and promised to teach him all the mistakes he made so they weren’t repeated by the 29-year-old.
“I lost pop before he could get it, This one already got it and he listen. I’m a teach him all the mistakes i made, so he can be better than me. THIS IS HIP HOP!”
DaBaby Does First-Ever ‘Ball If I Want To’ Set
The North Carolina native did much more than perform an anthem at the 2021 BET Awards. The hip-hop star came through with his first-ever live set of the newly released “Ball If I Want To” smash.
The Southern rap heavyweight blessed the packed crowd and millions of viewers with an unforgettable set. Baby’s showcase featured everything from a school setting to non-stop twerking antics with women dressed in cheerleading attire alongside an infant mascot.
BET Awards Nominee DaBaby Cooking Up W/ Game
Hours prior, DaBaby went to his social media pages to share a major teaser to the world. Baby dropped a slideshow of pics showing both himself and West Coast rapper Game in a recording studio together.
“Game Time ⏰. @losangelesconfidential 📸: @thephotofalcon”

domain: celebrity


text: So I have been trying to figure this out for quite a while. Creating hair in MakeClothes is the same process as creating clothes. I created hair in Cycles as particles, and ended up with an incredible result. Unfortunately, MakeClothes requires a mesh and Blender Internal Render. I tried several different ways to turn particles into a mesh, but none created any less than 200,000 vertices. In addition, exporting these results to MakeHuman resulted in rendering flaws, including there being no coloration and the hair being visible from only some angles. So, step by step, how do I turn a Cycles particle system into MakeHuman hair?


text:
WEST LAFAYETTE – West Lafayette officials are worried about additional expenses the city will incur when it has to assume from the state the responsibility for maintaining several streets near the Purdue University campus.
That handover, which was agreed to in 1997, is expected to take place this fall when the Indiana Department of Transportation opens up the new U.S. 231 bypass around West Lafayette, the Journal & Courier reported.
The city will then be responsible for maintenance and snow removal on the streets that now carry five state highway routes through and around Purdue’s campus.
Mayor John Dennis said he hopes the state highway department helps defray the city’s added costs, such as it did last year when it gave neighboring Lafayette trucks, plows and salt spreaders, as well as millions of dollars that went toward the completion of projects some former state highways that city took over.
Dennis said he didn’t believe the highway department would just walk away from the former state routes, leaving West Lafayette in a bind.
I cannot believe that the state would be so naive to let that go away, Dennis said. It’s because of that good faith that we’re continuing with the negotiations to make sure the roads that West Lafayette will be taking over will be suitable and be able to basically carry the necessary transportation for the development for our community.
The streets that West Lafayette are to take over have 22 traffic signals that the city will be responsible for maintaining, in addition to the eight it currently maintains.
Alan Plunkett, the deputy commissioner for the state highway agency’s Crawfordsville District, said talks with city officials were continuing.
The agreement is in place that says once (U.S.) 231 is built, you take it over, Plunkett said. We’re looking at some things. I have been working with the mayor.
Dennis said he believes that work on a new agreement has been delayed because of changes in leadership of the state highway department since Gov. Mike Pence took office in January.
We’re trying to figure out the new pecking order and trying to figure out who we need to have conversations with, Dennis said. There are things they’re concerned about, and there are things that we’re concerned about, too.


text:
What makes Hawaii so unique?
We'll begin our exploration with the geography and geology of the islands.
Some of the things may seem very obvious, others are likely to surprise you. Whichever the case, you'll have to visit Hawaii to see these in person, since that's the only place on Earth that you'll find them.
From time to time we'll look at more things that you'll find only in Hawaii and which make Hawaii unique in the world.
Hawaii is the only state that is comprised totally of islands. How many islands are there in the Hawaiian Islands?
It depends on who you ask. In what is officially the State of Hawaii, there are eight major islands, from east to west: Hawaii Island which is often called the Big Island, Kaho'olawe, Kaua'i, Lana'i, Maui, Moloka'i, Ni'ihau, and O'ahu. These eight islands that comprise the State of Hawaii are, however, just a small part of a much larger chain of islands.
They are just the youngest islands in an immense, mostly submarine, mountain chain located on the Pacific Plate and consisting of more than 80 volcanoes and 132 islands, reefs, and shoals. All of these islands make up the Hawaiian Island Chain or Hawaiian Ridge.
The length of the Hawaiian Ridge, from the Big Island northwest to Midway Island, is over 1500 miles. All of the islands were formed by a hotspot in the earth's core. As the Pacific Plate continues to move west-northwest, the older islands move away from the hotspot. This hotspot is currently located beneath the Big Island of Hawaii. The Big Island was formed by five volcanoes: Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. The latter two are still active.
A new island has already begun to form about 15 miles off the southeast coast of the Big Island. Named Loihi, its seamount has already risen about 2 miles above the ocean floor, and within 1 mile of the ocean surface. In another thirty or forty thousand years, a new island will exist where the Big Island of Hawaii currently rests.
Most Isolated Land
The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated, inhabited pieces of land in the world. They are located almost 2400 miles from California, 3800 miles from Japan, and 2400 miles from the Marquesas Islands - from which the first settlers arrived in Hawaii around 300-400 AD. This explains why Hawaii was one of the last inhabitable places on earth settled by man.
Hawaii was also one of the last places "discovered" by settlers from the New World. The English explorer Captain James Cook first arrived in Hawaii in 1778.
Hawaii's strategic location, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, has also made it a highly sought after piece of real estate. Since 1778 the Americans, British, Japanese and Russians have all had their eye on Hawaii. Hawaii was once a kingdom, and for a brief period of time, an independent nation governed by American businessmen.
Most Continuously Active Volcano
We previously mentioned that the Hawaiian Islands were all formed by volcanoes. On the Big Island of Hawaii, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, you'll find Kilauea Volcano.
Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983 - over 30 years! This is not to say that Kilauea was quiet before 1983. It has erupted 34 times since 1952 and scores of other times since its eruptions were first tracked in 1750.
It is estimated that Kilauea began to form between 300,000-600,000 years ago. The volcano has been active ever since, with no prolonged periods of inactivity known. If you visit the Big Island of Hawaii there's an excellent chance that you'll be able to see nature at its most infant state.


text:
Taxpayers will not be spending more this festive season despite the recent surge in property prices on the east coast, according to the fortnightly poll of readers of The Australian Financial Review.
A whopping 94 per cent of readers said they had no plans to spend more than last year these holidays, despite signs property prices in Sydney and Melbourne could recoup their 15 per cent decline as soon as March.
Their views are at odds with the Reserve Bank's hope that a property rebound will boost consumer spending.
"Why would I spend more because property prices are up? The gain is illusory," one reader wrote.
Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer and chairman Lindsay Maxsted lost their jobs following revelations the bank had breached anti-money laundering laws 23 million times and possibly facilitated child exploitation in the Philippines.
About half of the Financial Review's readers thought the consequences for Mr Hartzer and Mr Maxsted were fair, while 38 per cent said punishment should have been tougher.
Australia's global education ranking fell to "average" in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for the first time last week, despite Australian governments spending more on education than most other countries.
Australian 15-year-olds were 3½ years behind in maths literacy compared with their peers in the Chinese provinces of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, according to a review by the Program for International Student Assessment.
More than a third of readers thought the solution was to declutter curriculums, while 29 per cent said teacher training needs to improve.
The S&P/ASX 200 index has climbed 19 per cent this year to approximately 6700 points. Almost two-thirds of readers were sceptical it would hit 7000 points by the end of 2019, while 11 per cent thought it would and one-in-four said they were unsure.
The poll, which runs once a fortnight, canvases the views of the Financial Review Business Leaders Panel, which is an online community of our readers and subscribers.
To join the Financial Review Reader Panel, click here.
Expert coverage of Australia's public sector.
Sign up to the Inside Government newsletter.
Fetching latest articles

domain: economics


text:
August 17, 2010
Today, Aug. 17, 2010, Jamie Kelso closes his show encouraging all VoR listeners to grab themselves a copy of Wilmot Robertson’s timely classic “The Dispossessed Majority”. Kelso points out that there are plenty of copies available on Amazon for $2.70 plus $3.99 shipping. Thanks to the Web, books and literature of our cause is more available (by far) than it has ever been before. Jamie’s argument, that the not-necessarily-nationalist White geniuses who have created the Internet and the Web have thereby done more for our White Nationalist cause than perhaps anyone, is exemplified by the fact that Wilmot Robertson’s classics are being distributed primarily on purely commercial websites which have been enabled by the mind-boggling capability of the Internet and Web to deliver ANY book EVER printed to anybody overnight…for peanuts.
13 MB / 32 kbps mono / 0 hour 57 min.