text:
Geometric Succulent Planter (2pc)
Geometric Succulent Planter
These ceramic pots are perfect for allowing your succulents, cacti, herbs or flowers to really pop. Each pot contains a small hole in the bottom to allow water to naturally drain and help promote plant life. The removable bamboo drip trays catch excess water whilst creating a modern contrast to the white planter. Perfect for adding that minimalist appeal to your home or workspace.
- Planter - 1.6" (H) x 2.1" (W) - (4x5.5cm)
- Tray - 0.5" (H) - (1.3cm)


text:
DirectShow Decoder Filter for Windows Embedded Compact (Compact 2013)
Windows Embedded Compact 2013 supports an implementation of Microsoft DirectShow technology, which is an architecture that is used to play back, capture, and transform multimedia content. Embedded devices typically have hardware decoders for audio and video. Because the hardware for the device is specific to the embedded platform, developers may want to implement a DirectShow filter to enable DirectShow to work with their particular platform.
The following topics cover the implementation of DirectShow technology with the following formats: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and .asf, which is also known as .wma and .wmv. You can apply the guidelines in this development guide to other formats also.
In This Section
- DirectShow Overview
Defines terminology and discusses concepts such as the Playback Filter Graph, Registry Entries, and codecs that are supported by Windows Embedded Compact 2013.
- Implement a DirectShow Filter
Contains an overview of how to implement DirectShow and describes the four basic steps to implement a decoder filter. For the quickest implementation of a DirectShow filter, we recommend that you use the DirectShow base classes provided with Windows Embedded Compact 2013. As you continue through the implementation steps, you should refer to general documentation about implementing DirectShow filters as needed.
- Additional Design Considerations
Discusses additional design considerations such as the threading model, starvation avoidance, seeking behavior, scatter/gather techniques, and issues specific to the MPEG-4 format.

domain: design


text:
The inside scoop on the book world
''The Stars That Shine'' and ''No Apparent Danger'' made book news the week of March 10, 2000
Stars are born
Julie Clay, daughter of Brenda Lee, persuaded a dozen of country’s biggest stars — including Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood, and Tim McGraw — to share childhood stories for The Stars That Shine, coming from Simon & Schuster in October. Clay spun fictionalized tales from the singers’ memories — LeAnn Rimes‘ features a girl in a song-and-dance competition, while Willie Nelson‘s focuses on a little boy named ”Booger Red” (Nelson’s actual nickname). ”I knew a lot of them through Mother,” says Clay. ”But I was surprised at the gusto [with which] they all participated.”
A 1993 volcanic eruption that claimed the lives of six scientists and three tourists threatens to become the Mount Everest of book subjects. No Apparent Danger, by volcanologist Victoria Bruce, will investigate what really happened when Mount Galeras in Colombia erupted — including the role of the expedition’s lead scientist, Stanley Williams, who is writing his own account of what happened. HarperCollins executive editor Dan Conaway, who bought Danger for a mid-six-figure advance, says the book will focus not on ”a scientist’s negligence” but on ”the incredible man-versus-nature circumstance of volcanoes.” Williams’ book, purchased by Houghton Mifflin, ”will talk very eloquently to what the limits of our knowledge are,” says Eamon Dolan, executive editor at Houghton.

domain: library


text:
Couch ottoman – Reupholstering can be an economical way to revive an old piece of furniture or give you a style completely customized. Although you can reupholster any furniture from the Ottoman couch in your living room, follow the instructions carefully to reupholster is the key to getting the best results. Skill, time and effort required to follow the instructions for reupholstering furniture depend on which you will work and their current condition. For example, the instructions to reupholster an couch ottoman are not the same as a sofa. You can complete a project of an ottoman in a few hours, while working with a sofa can take several days.
Again, the condition before upholstered furniture determine the difficulty of the project. What helps is to start with a piece of furniture with a structure resistant. Sit in it, especially in the couch ottoman and other objects that have springs in their original construction. If it feels lumpy due to the springs damaged, you have a much more complex work reupholstering. Make sure the legs are partners and not wobbly. If no broken legs or arms, must be repaired before starting to reupholster.
12 Picture Gallery: Reupholster Couch Ottoman
This post topic: Couch Design


text:
Enchanted - fairytale dresses for little girls
- Credit: Archant
Two Lancashire designers have joined forces to create an ethereal childrenswear collection
From extravagant headpieces to striking editorial fashion, Karen Casper creates all things beautiful from her Tulle and Candyfloss studio in Rossendale. However the designer, who has had her pieces exhibited from France to Latvia, is now moving into something a bit different – bespoke occasion wear for children.
Working in partnership with her friend and fellow designer, Jennifer Pritchard-Couchman, the pair have launched Enchanted, a range of handmade stunning dresses for little girls.
‘My expertise is in detail and surface design, and Jennifer’s background is couture, so together we bring something a bit different. We first met when I was studying for my foundation degree. Jennifer was my tutor for a 12 week fashion module and we ended up becoming good friends and kept in touch.’
Toward the end of 2016 the designers got together and decided they wanted to do a creative collaboration that would be fun. The idea of high end dresses for youngsters was suggested, and the project went on from there with the duo sampling different designs. Jennifer, who runs a bridal house in Lancaster under her own name, makes the dresses, with Karen crafting and adding on the beautiful trimmings.
Traditionally, Karen would typically use antique and vintage lace for her trimmings, finding pieces in vintage textile fairs or importing from around the world. However, as this type of lace is becoming unsustainable, for this project Karen has been sourcing contemporary and modern lace that looks old, then hand painting or dying them to give the impression it is vintage.
‘I’ll then create the Tulle and Candyfloss look by stitching and embellishing the trimmings such as jewels, pearls and 3D flowers. People can be really specific about what they want; the world is their oyster when it comes to the designs. Everything about the dresses are handmade and each piece is bespoke – even if we were asked to produce three of the same design, they would all be slightly different as they’re handmade here. That’s our unique selling point.’
- 1 20 of the best places to eat out in St Ives
- 2 Win the full range of Bashall Spirits Gins
- 3 Seven Falls, Tintwistle - a hidden gem in the Peak District
- 4 6 waterfall walks in Derbyshire and the Peak District
- 5 12 beautiful waterfalls in Yorkshire
- 6 Win a G&H Spirits gin set with Sussex Life
- 7 Win a three nights stay at Nydsley Hall in Pateley Bridge
- 8 10 great circular walks in Lancashire
- 9 20 of the best restaurants in Hertfordshire
- 10 Win Castle Howard Prom Tickets & a VIP Hamper
The collection has been aptly named Enchanted, as the dresses all have a fairytale feel to them. Karen and Jennifer want the girls to love wearing the pieces as much as they’ve loved making them.
‘Although they are couture it’s about having fun in what you’re wearing. Plus with children, they’re going to do whatever they want in them anyway as we found out on the shoot in Lancaster!
‘Working with four year olds can be quite challenging – we had to entertain them while also directing to ensure we got the images we needed.’
This collaboration is a side project for both businesswomen, who are carrying on with their full time careers while this new brand launches. Karen said that it has been a really fun and positive experience, and that they are both looking forward to it developing.
‘This started off as a friendship and a passion for textiles. Creating Enchanted has taken a lot of time and effort but we do it for the fun of it. It’s been an amazing journey together and in a way it has reinvented us. We’ve had a lot of fun.’ w

domain: artistic


text:
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Miniature, Face Painting, Paint Brushes, Watercolour, Nail, Telgoner 10 Pcs Fine Detail Paint Brush Set Artist Brushes Professional Art Brushes for Acrylic, ModelTelgoner
- Ideal for acrylic, watercolor, oil, miniature, Gouache, Face painting, Arts and Crafts painting, Body, Nail, Model, etc. Comfortable grip: ergonomic handle. The matte wooden handle for optimal control/grip and great hand feeling, tightly combined with the metal tube of the artist brush.
Easy to clean and reshape: soak the brush in the water for a few minutes to remove the lint before use, and wash it with warm soapy water after use and reshape the nid of the fine paint brushes with your fingers.
Especially suitable for sketching out lines. High-quality material: this detail brush set is manufactured from the finest pure Weasel hair, which has good elasticity, and is hand made.
Broad application: these small paint brushes are perfect for strokes and finely depicting details. Not falling out: the high-grade chrome-plated copper sleeve are double crimped, which well attached to the wood and the art brush hair, so there is no falling.
10PCS Fine Detail Paint Brush Set Miniature Artists Painting Brushes Mini Drawing Brushes Thin Brush for Art Acrylic Watercolor Oil Face Nail Scale Model Airplane Kits Line DrawingN\A
- Easy clean and reshape-for clean these thin brushes, students, brush nylon hair would do not stray or spread while painting, just need put them under warm water to wash out the paint, durable enough to maintain their shape and form even after multiple washes and uses,, professionals, you will get a neat brush, and use your fingers to gently reshape brush hairs, perfect for artists, beginners, kids and adults.
Widely use- these paint brushes widely use in fine painting, acrylic, oil, miniature painting, watercolour, face painting, miniatures, craft art painting, 40k models, It is a practical drawing tool for painter, etc. A must for artist, detailing, it can help you shape better works. Each brush comes with a plastic hat to protect the bristles.
Comfort for use - these model paint brushes with ergonomic triangular handle design, reduce hand fatigue, easier to control for painting for long hours, it can be provide you freely rotate the brush to better handle your drawing, classic black paintting handle works well gives comfortable and secure feel and not easy to peel off.10 size detail paint brushes - these artist paint brush set include complete range of sizes 00000/000/00/0/1/2/3/4/5/6, each brush has a clear size number mark for easy identification, assorted point tips with different thickness for various needs, great for gives you the right fine detail brush for intricate jobs, assist you draw flawless professional strokes .
Premium quality- these miniature paint brushes made of nylon stay soft and flexible, the seamless copper ferrules are double crimped and well attached to the wood and the brush hair, do not rust or crack, so there is no wiggling, with seamless ferrules, also sturdy enough not to bend, holding the brush hair firmly without shedding, the bristles are good at recovering shape even after using for long time.
3. Rock Ninja
Airplane Kits, Oil Miniatures, Warhammer 40k, Nail, Detail Paint Brush Set, Line Drawing, Rock Ninja 9pcs Thin Brushes for Fine Detailing & Art Painting, Acrylic,Watercolor, Scale ModelsRock Ninja
- 100% satisfaction guarantee: we take responsible for any un-expectable issues in 24 Months. Perfect for artists, students, sturdy enough not easy to bend or split with pressure, professionals, kids and adults. Safe material and high quality brushing: each brush handle and brush tip made from high quality materials making them non-toxic and odorless.
The paint brush tip is soft and flexible, beginners, trimmed and shaped neatly. It's unique anti-shedding bristle technology adds to a wonderfully satisfying painting experience. Allows you to have complete control over your artwork. We provide friendly after-sales customer service, if you have any problem, please feel free contact us.
Sizes 000 to 6; use them as face paint brushes, nail brushes for nail art, oil brushes for acrylic painting, miniatures, adult coloring books, watercolor brushes, rock painting, dollhouses, action figures, models, wargaming or paint by number.
New product promotion rugged and durable, no loosing hair: nylon brushes are secured with high quality copper ferrule copper ferrule crimped ferrules, No loose hairs or paint flaking off of these brushes, Durable enough to maintain their shape and form even after multiple washes and uses. We will help you to solve it until give you a satisfactory answer. Dull polished and then spray lacquer, comfortable to gripe and more smoothly creating nail works, aiding in muscular dexterity for painting with ease and control. Plus no rolling off the table too!
Scale Model Painting, Nail, Face, Watercolor, KINBOM 9 Pieces Fine Detail Paint Brush Miniature Painting Brushes Kit Mini Paints Brush Set for Acrylic, Oil, Line DrawingBlackKINBOM
- Fine tips-the detail brushes are made of good quality. Perfect size combination -the miniature painting kit has 9 assorted point tips with different thickness for various needs, including 000/00/0/1/2/3/4/5/6.
Reduce hand fatigue! a must-have for hobby artist-the fine detail paint brushes set is ideal for any detail painting, scale model painting, or oil painting, face painting, watercolor, nail art, acrylic, etc. No hair splitting or shedding! Easy to do spotting and long lines.
Good in shape-even after multiple washing and using, the acrylic paint brushes can hold their shape well. Comfortable grip handle-with delicate design, the miniature painting brushes handle is coated with UV protection, easier to control for painting long hours. The triangle grip can prevent your brush from rolling off the table. With great spring, the bristles are soft, absorptive and neatly stacked.
|Height||0.91 cm (0.36 Inches)|
|Length||22.6 cm (8.9 Inches)|
|Width||10.5 cm (4.13 Inches)|
|Model||Miniature Paint Brushes|
Watercolor, Oil, Face, Miniature Painting Brushes Set Artist Detail Paint Brushes for Acrylic, Nail, Scale Model Painting, 9Pcs Fine Detail Paint Brush, Art CraftJapace
- Different sizes available: these fine detail paint brush set contains 9 popular sizes: 000, 6, 0, 00, 1, 2, meets your needs in painting, 4, 3, 5, nail art models and any other types of detail painting. Multifunction detail brushes: these miniature art brushes are perfect for art painting, models, figurines, miniatures, gouache, watercolor, oil, nails art and face painting, acrylics, its also great for adult coloring books.
Round handle design: ergonomic designed wooden handle, more smoothly, comfortable to gripe, spray lacquer, safety polished, anti-slip, aiding in muscular dexterity for painting with ease and control.
Ideal gifts for you: 1 pack 9 sizes detail brush Miniature, beginners, students, ideal for artists, kids and adults, professionals, each brush have a plastic cover to protect the head.
Easy to clean, wooden handle and aluminum crimped ferrules, just by warm water to wash out the paint and use your fingers to gently reshape brush hairs. Detail paint brushes: the detail brush miniature is made of nylon hair, environmentally paints, pointed round, durable and smooth use.
|Height||1.2 cm (0.47 Inches)|
|Length||21 cm (8.27 Inches)|
|Width||12.5 cm (4.92 Inches)|
Line Drawing, Face, Acrylic, Nail, Oil, Paint by Numbers, Scale Model Painting, Fuumuui Miniature Fine Detail Paint Brush Set, Watercolor, 5pcs Art Brushes for PaintingFuumuui
- Suitable for: kids, Hobby, Adults, Professional paints. Usage:professional quality Artist Brushes for Oil/Acrylic/Watercolor Painting, nail brush. Hair material:nylon hair offer excellent Liquid Holding Capacity that results in an Easy, Consistent Smooth Flow of Paint.
Handle material:triangle matte wood, Ensuring No Hair Loss or Wobble and Providing Years of Excellent, no paint chips or crack, Reliable Service. Size:5/0# 3/0# 2/0# 1# 3#, hair shape:Round Tip, environmentally paints. Not stray or spread while painting.
|Weight||0.04 kg (0.09 Pounds)|
Oil，Models,Even Face Painting, Professional Detail Paint Brush Set,6 Miniature Brush for Fine Detailing & Art Painting,Acrylic&NailZHAOYANG
- Protective tubes: The brushes have its own plastic tube to keep the bristles protected. Easy grip handles:the detail paint brushes comes with the easy-grip triangular shape wooden handles, It gives a comfortable and secure feel.
Multiple use: you can focus on detailing, filling, fine lines, blending edges, bold strokes, detail coverage, face painting, short strokes, watercolour, and lettering.
Detail paint brush set:6 different paint brushed in size:00000, 0, 1, 3, 000, 2, Packed in a plaiin plastic bag and held via elastic onto a piece of card. Brush nylon hair would do not stray or spread while painting. The paint brushes made out of soft nylon and work well for painting art.
Oil Painting Tools, 3 Pieces Fine Detail Brushes Watercolor Brushes Set Art Painting Miniature Brushes, 3 Different Sizes for Fine Detailing Art Painting Acrylic Nail ModelsOutus
- Widely applications: these detail brushes are suitable for many painting process, acrylic, oil painting, watercolor, detailing and other crafts, miniature painting, can be applied for fine painting, face painting, they will be your necessary tools to get a vivid art work.
Delicate brush tip: the tip of this painting brush is made of nylon material, flexible and soft to use, also durable and not easy to break or bend, with the seamless ferrules, holding the brush hair firmly without shedding. You will receive: the package provides you 3 pieces fine detail brushes in 3 different sizes, 00, 0, including 000, you can choose the proper size to use during your painting process, and meet your various requirement.
Soft handle to hold: this watercolor brush set is designed for fine painting with comfortable handle design, you can hold the brush with ease, and won't produce much burden to you; And the seamless aluminium ferrules are double crimped and well attached to the wood and the brush hair to prevent wigging.
Easy to clean: our art painting miniature brushes are easy for you to clean after using, saving your time and energy, just wash them in warm water, and then use your finger to gently reshape the brush hairs, also convenient to store.
Models,Watercolour, Warhammer Figures.Golden Maple Series）, Fine Detail Brushes with Triangular Handles,10 Miniature Brush for Fine Detailing & Art Painting,Acrylic&Nail, Miniatures,OilWLOT
- These paint brushes made out of soft nylon and work well for painting art. Brush nylon hair would do not stray or spread while painting. Easy grip handles:these fine detail paint brushes comes with the easy-grip triangular shape wooden handles which gives a comfortable and secure feel, and the seamless copper ferrules are double crimped and well attached to the wood and the brush hair, so there is no wiggling.
Multiple use: these detail brushes are suitable for fine painting, 40k models, miniatures, watercolour, face painting, oil, acrylic, miniature painting, detailing, craft art painting, etc.100% satisfaction guaranteed -golden maple prides itself on the high quality of its products - Customer satisfaction is very important to us, so contact us if you have any issues or are unhappy with the product and we will guarantee a resolution.
Detail paint brush set: 10 different paint brushes in size 5/ 0, 3, 0, 1, 6, 2/ 0, 2, 8, 3/ 0, 4, packed in a plain plastic bag and held via elastic onto a piece of card.
15PCS Detail Paint Brushes Set Fine Detail Brushes with Triangular Handles,Nylon Miniature Fine Detail Brushes Miniature Brush for Art Painting,Acrylic,Nail,Models,Watercolour,Miniatures,Oil"N/A"
- For school & home- the miniature fine detail art paint brush set is suitable for fine painting, face painting, 40k models, miniatures, miniature painting, watercolour, detailing, oil, acrylic, craft art painting. Perfect gift for artists & beginners- these fine detail paint brushes artist are suitable for acrylics, enamel and oil paints, and suitable for students, these miniature brushes ideal for the beginner or artist who needs a lot of model paint brushes, gouache, watercolors, kids and adults.
15pcs paint brushes of the different sizes- you will get a paint brush set artist comes with 15 detail paint brushes of the different sizes, can meet you different drawing need. Safe & durable material- these fine detail paint brushes are made of wooden penholder and nylon wool, sturdy enough not easy to bend or split with pressure, non-toxic and odorless, the paint brush fine detail tip is soft and flexible, trimmed.
Easy-grip & triangular shape wooden handle- these miniature fine detail brushes come with the easy-grip triangular shape wooden handles which can help you keep your hand steady when you using these fine detail paint brushs.


text:
That’s right, folks.
That band Enter Shikari are recording.
Enter Shikari entered the studio over the weekend to record several new tunes.
The band will be in the studio for just one week, with SikTh’s Dan Weller producing.
In explaining the studio trip, the band writes: “Recording three new tracks just for the hell of it.”
Well, I can’t wait to not listen to them.
Yes, I am one of those dudes. The type of dude who does understand the overall appeal of Enter Shikari.
But Sikth were bomb. Totally bomb.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

domain: entertainment


text:
|Megan Duffy||Maxwell Perry Cotton||Daniela Sea||Barton MacLane||Robin Riker||Estelle Winwood|
|Yukta Mookhey||Tiny Ron||Golshifteh Farahani||Sai Bennett||Jeany Spark||James Fox|
|Antoine Fuqua||Odette Annable||Red Buttons||Josh Peck||Ajay Devgan||Leslie Easterbrook|
|Lee Ving||Tabrett Bethell||Bre Blair||Paul Lacovara||Jared Gilmore||Richard Wilson|
|Bobby Deen||Tattiawna Jones||Ross Martin||James Keach||Wynn Everett||Luke Youngblood|
|Tyler James Williams||Adam DiMarco||Betty Buckley||Srinagar Kitty||Ciara Bravo||Bobby Simha|
|Kulbhushan Kharbanda||Jennifer Higham||Daniel London||Ambrosia Kelley||Nico Mirallegro||Sibel Kekilli|
|Brooke Hogan||Emmy Buckner||Doug Brochu||Patrick Kilpatrick||Todd Graff||Vivek Oberoi|
|Doris Day||Mather Zickel||Rachael Kathryn Bell||Pierre Coffin||Christian Slater||Shilpa Shetty|
|Elmore Leonard||Ornella Muti||Zasu Pitts||Jason Clarke||Patricia Barry||Bert Convy|
|Ko Shibasaki||Bayne Gibby||KayCee Stroh||Irene Papas||Aparnaa Bajpai||Christel Khalil|
|Kellye Nakahara||Hope Summers||Adolfo Quinones||Amy Weber||Jaleel White||David Paetkau|
|Dermot Crowley||Henry Rollins||Emmanuelle Chriqui||Tom Cavanagh||Debra McCabe||Claudette Mink|
|Adriana Lima||Julia Dietze||Kent McCord||Natalia Avelon||Kristian Nairn||Neil Jackson|
|Hugh Dennis||Shane Coffey||John Smith||Alex Macqueen||Michele Specht||Maurice Benard|
|Shari Headley||Peter Davison||Jonah Bobo||Robert Walker||Joey Luthman||Joel Schumacher|
|Tamla Kari||Bharat Jadhav||Billy Blair||Valarie Rae Miller||Gary Cole||Christopher Hewett|
|Rade Serbedzija||Joey Slotnick||Loren Dean||Eric Cantona||Larry Murphy||Jennifer Hale|
|Toni Braxton||John Barrowman||Jane Adams||Domhnall Gleeson||Sankaradi||Mary Woronov|
|Ryan Dunn||Kevin Costner||Craig Kilborn||Steve Burton||Tobin Bell||Eric Thal|
|Gary Collins||Sean Penn||Lindsey Alley||Sheryl Crow||Jack Webb||Richard Marquand|
|Bonnie Piesse||Neha Sharma||Chris Jarvis||Brenda Blethyn||Avan Jogia||Alexis Bledel|
|Finn Jones||Cote de Pablo||Bryan Fisher||Masiela Lusha||Amanda Noret||Emily Haine|
|Matt McCoy||Alex Russell||Griffin Kane||Phyllis Coates||Robert Ginty||Kenneth More|
|Eric Idle||Tenika Davis||Demond Wilson||Michael McGlone||Richard Riehle||Patty Maloney|
There either is or is not, that’s the way things are. The colour of the day. The way it felt to be a child. The saltwater on your sunburnt legs. Sometimes the water is yellow, sometimes it’s red. But what colour it may be in memory, depends on the day. I’m not going to tell you the story the way it happened. I’m going to tell it the way I remember it.
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is an innovative, original episodic video and social media series produced for the web. Adapting Pride and Prejudice to the modern era, Lizzie Bennet tells the classic Jane Austen tale from the point of view of an Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet who grew up in a world of cell phones, video cameras, and social media. The series was created by popular YouTube personality Hank Green and Streamy Award winning web video writer Bernie Su.
The holiday season is bringing more than cheer for actress Jessica Capshaw. The Grey’s Anatomy star announced on Monday that she and her husband, Honest Company co-founder Christopher Gavigan, are expecting their fourth child. “The holidays have certainly arrived … All of our lives are being added to by the lights, the music and cheer!!” she captioned a photo of her family at a Christmas tree farm on Instagram. “This year our family has reason to further broaden our smile … baby number four is on the way!! I am a lucky, lucky girl…”
The quickest way to tell whether an actor is serious about his or her career is to look at their “headshot”.Is it a professional photo? Or is it a snapshot taken on prom night? If you’re using a snapshot, it’s like showing up to race the Indy 500 in a VW Beetle. Nobody is going to take you seriously. I’m sorry, people… you can send me as much angry e-mail as you want about this, but it’s true! Don’t tell me you’re destined to be a major Hollywood star but you cannot scrape together the cash to get professional headshots.
The Grinch from Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical stole the spotlight at the Empire State Building’s 86th Floor Observatory December 14, 2012, to promote the musical’s limited holiday engagement. Discover the magic of Dr. Seuss’ classic holiday tale as it comes to life on stage. Featuring the hit songs “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas,” The Grinch discovers there’s more to Christmas then he bargained for in this heart-warming holiday classic.
All actors and actress | all rights reserved | photos by googler | design by en000t


text:
Minnesota’s high tax burdens rank as one of the top barriers to economic growth, according to annual surveys and Grow Minnesota! member visits. Minnesota businesses are required to pay taxes that are among the highest in the nation in many categories. In today’s world of global competition and increased mobility, tax burdens and related costs do matter – especially for rank-and-file Minnesotans.
We refer to them as "business" taxes, but that’s really a misnomer. Business taxes are regressive. Companies cannot simply absorb higher costs year after year and as the saying goes, "for every action, there’s a reaction." Businesses must look for ways to spread the rising cost of doing business, and there are three likely avenues to do this:
- They raise the cost of products and services to their customers.
- They lower the rate of return to their shareholders.
- They limit the amount of money available for their employee wages and benefits.
Minnesota businesses pay an extra property tax to the state that is paid in addition to all the local property taxes. This tax adds nearly 30% to business-owners property tax bill. Minnesota’s business property taxes rank among the highest in the country – 2nd highest for some types of commercial properties in greater Minnesota and 6th highest in the metro.
All Minnesotans will benefit from a tax system that makes Minnesota companies ready to grow – ready to compete in an everchanging global economy. Contact your legislator and ask them to reduce the state-wide business property tax for your Minnesota business.
Have question about business taxes? Contact us!

domain: finance


text:
WORLD’S GREAT RELIGIONS
In pictures from space, we can see our world in one glance. By satellite, we can circle it for instant communications On a shrinking planet we are bound together in a way that hardly needs theological emphasis: humankind is one family. But if we are truly brothers, and if we feel safe in that knowledge, then we can afford to be different. Indeed, our differences become increasingly important lest our identity be swallowed up Given the global oneness, our pluralism is not a liability but an asset. God may be one, but religions are many. They center their power where the culture is most distinct—places like Banaras, Mecca, Rome, Jerusalem. This book is an invitation to marvel at, learn from, and feel the strangeness and attraction of the great religions of the world. As I turn its pages, I recall a basic rule for any study of religion: We must learn to compare equal to equal. For centuries we have suffered under the habit of comparing our own religion in its ideal form with the actual manifestations of other religions. Sophisticated American tourists still are prone to judge other lands’ religions on the basis of hasty impressions of popular piety—a safe way to maintain a sense of superiority, but an unsound method of comparing religions. In truth, the nature and structure of what we call religion differs dramatically from culture to culture.
Some Christians ask, “Is Buddhism, which doesn’t recognize God, really a religion?” The very question seeks to impose our Western concepts of creation, being, and significance upon a drastically different theology that begins and ends with a deep, inspired understanding of “nothingness,” nirvana. We must also learn not to compare our own faith today with ancient religious practices. Religions develop and change. Marked differences exist between the religious views expressed by Abraham the patriarch and by Abraham Heschel the theologian, yet both are tightly called Jewish. Or between the evangelist John and Pope John XXIII, between Martin Luther and Martin Luther King. We must compare contemporary with contemporary.
In this book, vivid pictures and text help us see and feel how faith expresses itself in different cultures. Religion speaks to most believers through symbols and ritual acts—rich and suggestive, rarely precise. For it would be a small god indeed who could be caught in the net of precise philosophical language. As we enter another man’s world to study his faith, we should seek to see how it looks from within — and not treat his convictions as artifacts, his temple as a museum. I do not have the right to visit his holy of holies insulated by the rubber soles of my globetrotter shoes His and ours are vital religions, with the power to cross all frontiers. Buddha will have his witnesses in the West as Christ will have his in the East. This is a serious book. It could strengthen religious vitality. Let us open our hearts and minds to what each of these great religions has to offer.
“LET THERE BE LIGHT”
The vacant lot beside our house in the Chinese town where my parents served as missionaries held a special fascination far me. On the day of a funeral, wealthy families would build on it an elaborate, full-scale paper house, fill it with paper furniture, paper effigies of servants, and piles of paper “ghost money.” Sometimes there would even he a paper Ford motorcar on the street out front. Later, straw was heaped against the house. Then, as monks circled it, chanting and playing cymbals and flutes, a torch was applied. In au instant the flames destroyed the paper symbols, making the amenities they represented available to the departed in his new life.
Not far away stood a large building I called the “hotel far the dead,” a mausoleum in which the bodies of the wealthier deceased lay far several years before burial. Here people came regularly to pay homage to their ancestors. How spectral that dark hall seemed, with its racks of tightly sealed wooden coffins. Some of its occupants may have arrived sooner than expected as a result of having purchased from Taoist alchemists elixirs to prolong life. These costly and secret brews could achieve the opposite of their intended effect, for they frequently contained danger-ous doses of arsenic and mercury. Folk superstitions mingled freely with Taoist precepts. The streets of our town curved for no apparent reason; I was told this was to thwart demons, who could move only in straight lines. The parents of my friends took their problems to wizened priests with musty books whose logic defied my young mind. They also consulted fortune-tellers who threw sticks to divine the future. I liked, respected, even loved the people of my town, but I could not under- stand their beliefs. When I left China to attend college in the United States, they slipped from my mind. I was busy learning American ways. But as the years passed and I devoted my life to the study of philosophy and religion, I remembered my Chinese friends with new understanding. Their rituals and beliefs however distant from our own —dealt, after all, with matters that concern us all: awe of death and what lies beyond, the need to cope with life’s hazards, and the tried to know who we are, why we are here, and where we are going.
Amid the dazzling variety of rituals and creeds that distinguish religions, these three themes recur again and again. Man feels the burden of time acutely; we grieve to see the flowers wilt and the leaves fall, for in our hearts we know that we too are transient and will soon (disappear. “Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away” — when we hymn such lines we don’t simply philosophize, we raise our voices in a human obsession. It was recognition of the inevitability of death that led a pampered Indian prince to renounce his throne and become Buddha—the Enlightened One. Tradition says he was shielded from all unpleasantness until he accidentally glimpsed three men, one aged, another diseased, a third dead. “Where is the realm of life in which there is neither age nor death?” he cried. His quest for an answer led to the founding of one of the world’s great religions.
Endlessly vulnerable to illness, accident, and heartbreak, man feels at times—in in job’s telling image—as if even a moth could crush him. We smile today at Pueblo Indian rain dances; our granary is constant, we doubt the efficacy of their rites. But what do we do when we are desperate? Fume impotently? Rage .against the dying of the light? Orate about being masters of our fate? On the two occasions when my life was shattered by the anguish of personal crisis, 1 did as those Indians did—I prayed for help. Prayer, of course, is more than petition; there are, besides, prayers of adoration and prayers of meditation. Yet prayer remains in part petition, wherein it is joined by sacrifice. Sacrifices seek results, but they are not simply payment to the gods for favors requested. The will to give is as deep in man as the will to receive-----or the need to feel worthy. When the Brahmins of early India offered libations for rain, they were not just bargaining; they were demonstrating their control of the elements. Their rites and formulas kept the monsoons on schedule.
Without a sense of right direction, man feels disoriented and confused. His life lacks meaning and wholeness. Sin pulls against right direction and the wholeness it affords, while atonement brings at-one-ment. One of the reasons for the pheno-menal spread of Islam, youngest of the great religions, lies in its answers to these questions. The Koran tells man he is the servant of his creator, then delineates the path he should walk in detail sufficient to help in every human endeavor. The very word “Islam” connotes the “peace that comes when one’s life is surrendered to God.” Man seems to have wrestled with these concerns as long as he has been on earth, for anthropologists have found no culture without religion. Primitive man sought his answers in ritual and myth. By participating in ritual actions which imitated the original creative acts of the gods—such as the “First Planting” or “First Mating” — he sought to partake of the timelessness of the gods themselves. Myths developed to embellish these rituals and enrich their meaning.
In time man developed the idea of a soul; he saw it as separable from, yet dependent on, the body. This is why pharaohs built pyramids — to protect their bodies and the possessions on which their souls depended . Scholars see a connection between the idea of a soul and dreams — in which a person can “travel” without his body leaving the room. Primitive man also shared with lno)Clern man the concept of “sacred space.” Such a vague thing, man’s hold on the sacred! It can announce itself with power, .only to withdraw in the face of all protestations.. “ Why hidest thou thy face from me? ~ sang time Psalmist. ‘To induce time sacred to linger, man has built habitats for it, trving to make a home for it in this bent and broken world. Caves, grottoes, and mountains served originally. Then buildings arose, crude and simple at first, later gathering glory’ into a Chartres, a Lingaraja, an Isfahan. Each summons the sacred with symbols: spires that aspire to heaven, stained-glass windows and mosaics that stun the senses, the play of light and darkness that speaks eloquently of mystery to the human soul. Temples also served another purpose; they joined heaven to earth. The central, towering pyramid of the temple at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat was conceived as a magic mountain that ran through both heaven and earth and—as cosmic axis—held the world stable aiid in place. its design repeated heaven: Its moat mirrored the heavenly ocean, its surrounding rock wall the heavenly chain of mountains that held the ocean at bay. As pilgrims crossed the temple’s rainbow bridge (rainbows often symbolized the arch from heaven to earth) they believed they were stepping into heaven on earth. They felt they were likely to find gods there too, fur gods would feel at home in a place so closely patterned after their own abode.
To archaic man, sacred places were awesome; they were places of power. Facing the burning bush, Moses was enjoined, “Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Sacred places had also to be guarded against pollution. If a woman chanced into the “dream spot” where Australian aborigines gathered to commune with their ancestors, she was immediately killed. Women were denied the appropriate purification rites and were thus regarded as profane—that which must be left in front of (pro) the temple (fane)
Sacred time complemented sacred space. We look on Mardi Gras and New Year’s Eve as times to let ourselves go. But behind our guarded release, our lowered inhibitions, move shapes dark and old: the orgies through which primitive man re-enacted the primordial chaos that reigned beft)re the gods established order and decorum. New Year’s resolutions echo dimly man’s determination to mirror this cosmic change by tidying up his own life.
In the period from around 800 B.C. to A.D. 650—a brief span in the life of mankind.-----religion took a giant swing. Then arose the geniuses who molded the great faiths we follow today: the prophets of Israel, Zoroaster in Persia, Buddha and the Upanishadic seers In India, Confucius and Lao Tin in China, Jesus in Palestine, and Mohammed in Arabia. This phenomenal outpouring of religious creativity across the globe coincided with changes in man’s secular history. Improved agricultural techniques had led to increased populations, expanded trade, and the accelerated growth of cities. As man found himself dealing more and more with strangers, the old tribal codes, the immemorial rituals and myths no longer sufficed. He had to learn how to behave toward people he did not know. The faiths taught by these great leaders introduced ethical systems that helped man answer this need. Each one had its Golden Rule: Christianity’s “Do unto others .....” Judaism’s “What the Lord doth require of thee: Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God .....” Islam’s man who gives his substance “to kinsmen, and orphans, the needy, the traveller, beggars.......”;
Buddhism’s “boundless heart toward all beings”; Hinduism’s highest yogi who judges pleasure or pain everywhere by “looking on his neighbor as himself”; Confucianism’s “Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you.” ‘These faiths offered common features: sacred scriptures, a systematized theology to relate these teachings to man’s life, a priesthood or ministry, rituals and prayer techniques, symbols, and pilgrimages. But profound differences also marked these Faiths, especially those of East and West. The stark monotheism of Judaism con-fronts the 33 million gods in the traditional Hindu pantheon; the Christian envisions a personal God who knows and loves each one of us, while the Buddhist may adhere to an impersonal god who remains aloof from human scramblings. The Western believer may cherish au individual soul that will endure for all eternity; the Easterner may see his soul merging ultimately with a single universal soul, as “the dewdrop slips into the shining Sea.”
These fundamental differences in the way man looks at his God and at himself lie rooted in the origins of the various faiths. Hinduism, for instance, evolved slowly th rough the millenniums, absorbing the belief and practices of many peoples. The morning prayers to the sun voiced by millions in India today echo the nature worship brought there 40 centuries ago by Aryan invaders. No act of the gods has ever disturbed the immemorial rhythms of the cosmos. But in the development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, God intervenes personally and dramatically in human events: Yahweh reaches down to rescue a band of Hebrew slaves from Pharaoh’s bondage; Cod sends his only begotten son to earth to atone for the sins of mankind; Allah speaks through the angel Gabriel in a (lark cave to bid Mohammed become his prophet
Scripture develops these differences. In the Bible, God yearns over his children like a compassionate father : “It was I who taught Epliram to walk I took them [the children of Israel] up in my arms How different the Supreme Being in the Hindu Rig Veda: “Who knows..... whence [this world’s creation] first came into being? He in highest heaven..... knows it, or perhaps he knows not.”These various outlooks have profoundly influenced the cultures and ways of life of the peoples who embraced them. The Book of Genesis gives Western man a buoyant optimism in his attempts to change the world. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth And, behold, it was very good.” Man was commissioned to “have dominion . . . over every living thing.” The Eastern out look is voiced in the Chinese classic, Tao Te Ching: “Those who would take over the earth and shape it to their will, never, I notice, succeed.”
Modern technology flourished in the West, while China strove to teach men how to live together in harmony and good order. Sometimes these differences seem to defy rational understanding. Entering the world of Zen Buddhism, for instance, is like stepping through Alice’s looking glass. One finds oneself in a topsy-turvy wonder-land in which everything seems rather mad. It is a world of bewildering dialogues, riddles, paradoxes, and abrupt non sequiturs, all carried off in the most cheerful and urbane style. One Zen master, when asked the meaning of Zen, lifted a finger. That was his entire answer. Another kicked a ball. Still another slapped the inquirer’s face. Is such a religion playing jokes? Not at all. Zen carries further than other faiths the recognition of the limitations of words and logic. At their best, words provide only a distorted reflection of reality. The highest modes of experience, Zen claims, transcend the reach of words entirely.
On a simpler level, the differences between East and West can be observed in their rituals. The Westerner usually worships congregationally; the Easterner traditionally goes to his temple alone or with his family. The Westerner closes his eyes in prayer to shut out external distractions; some Japanese, fearing internal as well as external distractions, meditate with eyes half-closed. In the the centuries since their found-ing, the great religions have shaped empires and nations. The fervor of Islam inspired the Arab conquerors to win a realm stretching from Spain to India—a realm which transmitted classical learning during Europe’s Dark Ages and displayed a tolerance not always matched by other faiths. The thrust of Christendom sent Crusaders for two centuries to battle in the Holy Land and molded chivalric codes of warfare.
Religion permeates the story of our own nation: Its impulse sent Puritans to. settle in Massachusetts, Quakers to Pennsylvania, Catholics to Maryland. “One Nation under God” declares the Pledge of Allegiance; our President takes his oath of office with a hand on the Bible; “In God We Trust” announce the coins in our pockets. Religion has inspired the greatest art: the Parthenon of Greece, the cathedrals of Europe, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling; the paintings of Raphael, El Greco, DUrer, Rembrandt; the music of Palestrina, Bach, Beethoven, Handel. More importantly, religion has answered affirmatively the Biblical question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” We see the response in hospitals, orphanages, schools, and social service organizations around the world. We see the same response in the lives of men like Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Pope John XXIII, and countless others whose names are not matters of history. Of course the record of the great religions has not been one of blessings only: Institutions are guided by men, so we see wars, persecution, and intolerance. But the great faiths have always stood ready to help man in his common quest to reach out beyond the confines of human experience with all its imperfections and limitations, to seek the fearful glory that contrasts with the banality and fragmentation that mark so much of life. Were we to observe only the seekers we might be tempted to side with the skeptics who see religion as wishful thinking,
A volume in “The Story of Man Library.”
Prepared by: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BOOK SERVICE
“GREAT RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD.”
Copyright @ 1971, 1972, 1978, ( pgs. 7-22.)
Church of the Science of God
La Jolla, California 92038-3131
© Church of the Science of GOD, 1993

domain: literature


Keeping in mind the varied necessities of our customers, we are involved in manufacturing a diverse series of Concrete Bump Cutter in the market. this is precisely designed and developed by professional engineers using of finest quality raw material and with an innovative manufacturing unit. this is well tested by the quality controller team on all restrictions as per industry standrds. we are made this in many models, dimensions and specifications. this is simple to use, highest working life, and works smoothly. we are p[resented this Concrete Bump Cutter at comparative worth.


Please consult TRUCK BODY FITTINGS CO., LTD. Customer Service for a specific model. van roller shutters, as one of our hot sales, has always been popular among different groups of people. According to the principle of customer-orientation in our company, providing perfect service and satisfied products for our customers is our purpose. For the customization, we can manufacture standardized product in accordance with the customers’ requirements such as shape, color, logo and so on. We will spare every effort to manufacture a delicate product to meet the customers’ demand. We will never make the customers lose their confidence and reliance on us.
TRUCK BODY FITTINGS is in a leading position in the world in the field of study and production technique of van roller shutters. van roller shutters is the main product of TRUCK BODY FITTINGS. It is diverse in variety. The product is energy efficient. When it is not in use, it will automatically turn off to help minimize power consumption. It has been proved that it has a superior waterproof performance. All damaged or defected rear door hinge
can be replaced for free. Made of strong materials, it is high-strength.
Our ultimate goal is to achieve balanced development between humans and nature. We are piloting a production way that focuses on eliminating waste, reducing and controlling pollution.


text:
Sweden’s Best Managed Companies is a quality award given to private Swedish companies on the basis of assessing strategic focus, operational structure, corporate culture, and economic development. This year an independent jury has selected 13 companies that received the recognition.
“We are honored to be featured in the list of Sweden’s Best Managed Companies for three years in a row. We had a fantastic long period of substantial growth and kicked off in 2021 with great plans and transformation ideas, starting up 9 new companies, launching in Norway and acquisition of the German company, getting new assignments and projects, and employing new talents. My team at Sigma Technology and I are proud to get this recognition and award,” says Carl Vikingsson, President and CEO at Sigma Technology Group.
“Future growth is built upon robust internal processes. These companies have a clear vision and a forward-leaning approach. Such ways of working are of course even more important in turbulent times”, says Therese Kjellberg, partner at Deloitte and responsible for Best Managed Companies in Sweden.
For more information, please contact: Nataly Lamkén, Chief Communication Officer at Sigma Technology Group, firstname.lastname@example.org
Carl Vikingsson, President and CEO at Sigma Technology Group, email@example.com
About Best Managed Companies Award
Best Managed Companies is a quality award to recognize the overall success of private Swedish companies based on strategic direction, ability to execute, corporate culture, and financial performance. Best Managed Companies was established in Canada in 1993 and has since then been introduced in more than 20 countries around the world. Sweden’s Best Managed Companies was launched in 2018 by Deloitte in cooperation with Nasdaq. This is the third year of the award.
About Sigma Technology
Sigma Technology Group, part of the Sigma Group, is a privately-owned global technology consulting company with operations in Sweden, Hungary, China, Norway, Germany, and Ukraine and global delivery to Europe, the USA, and China. Sigma Technology Group offers cutting-edge expertise in software development, product information, embedded systems design & development, and digital solutions with expert consultants, offshore delivery, and development teams.
For a complete picture, visit sigmatechnology.se.
Sigma is owned by Danir AB and has over 4 000 employees and a network of partners in nine countries.

domain: news


Best Tablet For Home Automation: Review & Buying Guide
We live in a modern era. Now innovative innovation and technology offer so many smart devices to live in comfort. With the help of these smart devices, you can do a lot of work effortlessly. In this article, we present the best tablet for home automation that can give you the power to control your home remotely with the best security.
Home automation gives you the ability to control items around the house. You can control those by a simple push of a button or a voice command.
To make your life easier and secure, you need help from some smart tools; Tablet is one of those smart devices, which is a must-have element of your smart home.
You may buy all the smart products out there, but without a convenient controlling system, it has no outcome. In that case, your favorite tablet comes handy. As you like it to use or carry wherever you go, so easily monitor your home automation system.
An effective smart tablet will open the doors of numerous possibilities and gives you a lifestyle where you feel the ultimate comfort without any security issue at an affordable price.
We are already enjoying wireless 4G technology and IoT (Internet of things) connectivity growing tremendously. Using a tablet for home automation, you can remotely control the entire home system and smartly overcome security issues. Here are the top 10 best home automation tablets in 2020.
- New Apple iPad
- Fire HD 10 Tablet
- Fusion5 Ultra Slim Windows Tablet PC
- Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite Tablet
- Lenovo Tab 4, 10.1″ Android Tablet
- Jumper Windows 10 Tablet
- Jumper EZpad 6s Pro Window 10 Tablet
- Asus Chromebook Tablet CT100
- CTL 9.7″ Chromebook Tx1 Tablet
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e 128GB WiFi Tablet
Comparison of 10 Best Tablet For Home Automation
Up to 10 hours
10.2‑inch Retina display
802. 11ac Wi-Fi
up to 10 hours
10.1″ 1080p Full HD Display
Up to 6 hours
up to 11 hrs
10.1″ IPS Display
up to 20 hours
10.1″ HD Display
16GB, 32GB, 64GB
up to 12 hours
up to 12 hours
up to 9 hours
9.7″ Qxga Touchscreen
up to 10 hours
up to 15 hours
10. 5″ Super AMOLED display
Reviews of 10 Best Tablet for Home Automation
You can connect all the smart devices to the internet, such as smartphones, clocks, cameras, windows, speakers, lights, heaters, appliances, etc. All those can communicate, send information, and take your commands. A smart home has these features.
Here we make a short list of 10 best cheap tablet for home automation considering some important features. Continue reading our reviews.
1. Apple 10.2 Seventh-Generation iPad
- 10.2-inch Retina display
- A10 Fusion chip
- Touch ID fingerprint sensor
- 8MP back camera, 1.2MP FaceTime HD front camera
- Stereo speakers
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi
- Up to 10 hours of battery life
- Lightning connector for charging and accessories
- Support for Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil
Apple 10.2 Seventh-Generation iPad Review
Are you ready to hands-on one of the latest seventh-generation iPad tablets in Apple’s line, with a wider 10.2-inch screen? It comes with 2,160 x 1,620 with 264 pixels per inch with a max brightness of 500 nits. So you can enjoy your favorite series outdoors at a cafe without facing any problem.
The sound quality is also awesome. You’ll see stereo speakers at the bottom but it is not as impressive as the quad-speaker setup. Though you can enjoy the ultimate feeling while watching movies or listening to a song with a couple of guys.
You know, Apple never compromises security. And so they cleverly set up a front-facing FaceTime HD camera at the top and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor at the bottom. Also, there’s a rear camera, don’t forget that.
This device comes with the latest iPadOS 13 updates. It is well known for a mobile operating system specifically build by Apple. Take full advantage of the new operating system that adds better multitasking features, and desktop-class Safari experience.
If you are you missing the original Apple Pencil? Good news for you, this tablet compatible with that. Now you will enjoy unparalleled precision, integration and feel a natural sensation of using a pen or pencil on paper. As it effectively detects a range of forces for pressure-sensitive drawing and writing.
You can use it for up to 10 hours without charging. The Apple Pencil offers a 12-hour battery life and a 15-second charge delivers a half-hour of power. Apple claims that, the A10 Fusion chip is up to 2X faster than that top-selling PC in the USA but weighs just about a pound, made from 100 percent recyclable aluminum.
- A bigger sharp screen
- A10 Fusion processor ensure good performance
- iPadOS 13 greatly improves multitasking
- Long battery life
- Apple Pencil support
- 100% recycled aluminum build
- 8-megapixel rear camera
- Smart Keyboard is expensive
- Same 32 GB base storage
2. Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet
- Brilliant 10.1" 1080p Full HD display (1920 x 1200), up to 1.8 GHZ quad-core processor, 2 GB RAM, and up to 10 hours of battery life.
- Our largest display, now with over 2 million pixels, stereo speakers, Dolby Audio, and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi—perfect for watching Full HD video, playing games, reading magazines, and streaming content seamlessly
- Use Alexa hands-free mode to pause videos, play music, open apps, show sports scores, display the weather, and more—just ask
- Call or message almost anyone hands-free, or make video calls to family and friends with a Fire tablet, Echo Spot, Echo Show, or the Alexa App. Instantly connect to enabled Echo devices.
- 32 or 64 GB internal storage expandable by up to 256 GB (using the microSD slot). Watch downloaded videos anywhere with a Prime membership, Netflix plan, or Showtime subscription.
- Enjoy millions of movies, TV shows, songs, Kindle eBooks, magazines, Android apps, and games—including Netflix, Facebook, HBO, Spotify, and more
- Prime members get unlimited access to over a thousand books and magazines, millions of songs, and thousands of movies and TV episodes—at no additional cost
Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet Review
If you feel something lack on the previous tablet that Fire HD 10 Tablet comes to fulfill your desire. With the help of a powerful quad-core processor, improved RAM gives you smooth performance. Because two 1.8 GHz cores and two 1.4 GHz cores run simultaneously.
It makes every day easier and amazon fire tablet as smart home control. Using fire tablet for home automation, you can control your smart devices such as switches, thermostats, and security cameras.So fire tablet home automation make it simple.
Imagine a hassle-free life where you dim the lights from the bed to watch a movie or change the temperature on your air conditioner while reading books in your favorite chair without lifting a finger. It’s all true now. Also, Alexa can make hands-free voice calls to almost any local number, message your contacts.
This cheap tablet for home automation also enriches with lots of entertaining features. You can enjoy millions of Amazon videos, watch Netflix shows, listen to prime songs. It can broadenyour knowledge too as you can read numerous Kindle eBooks, magazines and listen to audiobooks. Fire HD 10 Tablet smoothly support Android apps and games.
- An affordable full HD display
- Good overall performance
- Easy-to-use interface and hands-free Alexa integration
- Dual-band Wi-Fi
- Great for Amazon content
- Amazon’s Fire OS
- Plastic design
- Low-resolution camera
3. Fusion5 Ultra Slim Windows 10 Tablet
- Ultra Slim & Ultra Style: Windows 10 S Tablet - the ultimate user experience. This newest version of Windows Tablet PC from Fusion5 is fully-loaded with the latest user-friendly Windows 10 S package. Perfect Windows tablet PC for your daily requirement, be it education, office work or industrial use.
- Powerful & Mega Storage Space: Upgraded Intel Quad-core CPU with powerful GPU - 4GB of RAM and 128GB of on board Storage. Your new Windows tablet laptop PC is all ready for work, fun and play!
- 10" Graphic Display For Optimal Viewing: the 10 inch screen on this Windows 10 S tablet PC by Fusion5 is perfect for viewing our favourite TV shows, movies, Youtube and playing games!
- Want More? - this is a Bluetooth 4.0 Windows PC laptop tablet. Equipped with Intel Quad-core Processor, and full-size USB 3.0 port.
- Why Buy This Windows 10 Tablet PC By Fusion5? - this ultra-slim and stylish Windows laptop tablet not only ticks all the boxes in terms of ultimate usability, delicious graphics and overall specs but...it also comes with 12 months of full USA warranty @ our US service center.
Fusion5 Ultra Slim Windows 10 Tablet Review
We all familiar with Windows OS, Right? In that case, it can be a great value for your money. With the well-known interface you can be the best tablet for home inspections.
This Fusion 5 Tablet PC can easily replace a laptop because it has all the features to give you that a laptop can.You are free to carry a bag also it is much easier to carry as it weighs less than a laptop. The price is very reasonable.
You can easily hold this device in your hands and watching movies or playing games. The touch is quite accurate and is highly sensitive. But the battery life can be a concern as it supports around 6 hours.
Additionally, the screen to body ratio is perfect and it has got dual cameras with a 5 Mega Pixel rear camera which helps you to take good photos. The wireless connectivity is powerful. You can browse the internet even if you receive a very low signal. The Ink, OneNote, and other apps worked flawlessly. Using a stylus or your finger, you can highlight data or take short notes on web pages.
- It has a super-fast 1.83 Quad-Core Processor
- The dual cameras can take great pictures and make quality video calls
- The 10 inches’ display is great for gaming
- The battery life is 6 hours which is a bit less for the price
4. Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite Tablet
- 【Excellent Performance】2019 HUAWEI MediaPad M5 lite tablet features a Curved-edge 2.5D 10.1-inch 1080p(1920 x 1200)display. For an even better viewing experience, HUAWEI ClariVu technology further enhances display brightness and clarity. Kirin 659 and stable Wi-Fi network connectivity. 8 MP Rear camera; 8 MP Front camera. 3G RAM + 32G ROM HDD(expandable microSD to 256GB)
- 【Excellent Sound】Co-engineered with Harman Kardon, the tablet's quad-speaker system delivers fine-tuned and precisely optimised concert hall audio effects, more bass, and less distortion. Great sound immerses you into the scene. The HUAWEI Histen 5.0 stereo audio creates rich soundscapes to provide you with multi-layered and penetrating 3D surround sound.
- 【Pure. Simple. Stylish】Its gentle, minimalist curves provide a luxurious look, while its slim, lightweight design delivers a spectacular hand-feeling. Equipped with advanced 2048-layer pressure sensitivity, the HUAWEI M-Pen lite Stylus enables you to naturally jot down notes and write memos with full responsiveness.
- 【Quick Charge】It takes only 2.9 hrs to get M5 Lite fully charged. Its 7500 mAh (TYP) battery and Smart Power-Saving technology allow you to enjoy 1080P videos to 12 hours.(Depending on the using environment, such as screen brightness)
- 【Smart UI & Eye Friendly】This Tablet features EMUI 8.0 (Based on Android 8.0). HUAWEI MediaPad M5 lite offers an enhanced eye-comfort mode that effectively reduces harmful blue light and provides smart reminders when the device is too close to your child's face, or when your child reads while laying down.
Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite Tablet Review
The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite is one of the best android tablet for home automation. It is perfectly built by Huawei. The wide 10.1-inch display that is surrounded by bezels easily gets a good grip at any angle. The flat screen, minimal bezels, and metal back make it identical. The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite is so stylish and classy that you will like to take it to a coffee shop. Also, never afraid to leave this tablet with a young user.
You will feel the difference in the sound system between the previous device that it has significantly upgraded.It can produce 81 decibels, that is loud enough to fill a room. In this device, Huawei brought back the 3.5mm port. The M-Pen stylus handy for drawing app and work like a stylus.
One of the best features is that it comes with a 7,500mAh battery that provides 13 hours of video playback, 55 hours of music or 8.5 hours of gaming. But require less than 3 hours to fully recharge.
It got Kirin 659 processor, but you didn’t notice any poor performance for browsing and using Huawei apps. The base storage is 32GB but you can add a Micro SD to expand that up to 256GB.
Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite Tablet has an 8MP camera both on the front and the rear. It has the latest EMUI 8.0 and it boasts Android 8.0out of the box.
- It has kid-friendly software
- M-pen stylus works well
- Good performance
- The nice full HD display with High-end metal body
- Four speakers
- Fingerprint sensor
- Long battery life
- Rich audio
- Poor cameras performance
- Does not get frequent update
5. Lenovo Tab 4
- THEATER-LIKE MULTIMEDIA: 10-inch tablet has a brilliant HD display with booming Dolby Atmos Audio and built-in dual-stereo front-facing speakers perfect for binge-watching TV and movies on-the-go
- TABLET FOR KIDS: Transform to a kids tablet with Lenovo Kid's Pack, including a shock-resistant bumper, blue-light screen filter and fun stickers; family sharing is now a breeze
- MULTI-ACCOUNT: With multi-user and multi-space functionality, switch to Productivity Mode and add the Lenovo Bluetooth keyboard for a 2-in-1 tablet
- HIGH PERFORMANCE ANDROID TABLET: Wifi tablet has a 64-bit Quad-core Snapdragon processor of up to 1.4 GHz, 2GB of RAM, plus an epic 20 hour battery life for seamless performance on any day-to-day tasks
- BOX CONTAINS: Lenovo Tablet Tab 4 10, Charger, USB Cable, Safety/Warranty Guide, Quick-Start Guide; perfect tablet for kids, work or play
- Cameras - Rear: 5 MP Auto-Focus, Front: 2 MP Fixed-Focus
Lenovo Tab 4 Review
Lenovo Tab 4 may appear bulky but the overall design is amazing that easily catch your eyes. It has a thickness of 0.3 inches, the weight of 0.68 pounds, but Lenovo successfully balanced this clunkiness with some thoughtful design touches.
The front of the tablet has a front-facing camera. On the left side, you will see a microSD expansion slot. On the bottom of the tablet, there is a microphone, speaker and a rear camera.
It is one of the best android tablet for home automation with 16:9 aspect ratio. This feature making it excellent for watching widescreen video content. It has 1280×800 resolution which is slightly better than the minimum resolution to be classified as HD. But the IPS panel technology delivers good color reproduction and excellent viewing angles.
After setup is complete, you can activate Google assistant to do various tasks by voice command. Lenovo Tab 4 runs on the Android Nougat 7.1-based operating system. In terms of security measures, it gives you the standard options of a pattern, PIN, and password to protect your tablet.
Lenovo Tab 4 does a good job of producing fine sound. It is clear at maximum volume. There is nothing to complain about the sound system.
Lenovo Tab 4 has Epic run time, they claim it runs up to 20 hours. It can only focus on Wi-Fi capabilities. So it strongly maintains a stable connection from the router or satellite. Definitely you get what you pay for, it is a cheap android tablet for home automation.
- Low price
- Designed for widescreen video playback
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- MicroSD card slot
- Multi-user and child account features
- Great build quality
- Older version of Android
- No fingerprint sensor or facial recognition features
- Mediocre camera
6. Jumper Windows 10 Tablet
Jumper Windows 10 Tablet Review
If you are still in the confusion to choose between a notebook or a tablet? Jumper EZpad 6 Pro has the answer. It is budget-friendly and could be the best solution for tablet home automation control. Comparatively, at the lowest price in the market, you can get a new Jumper EZpad 6 Pro with amazing configuration.
The Jumper EZpad 6 Pro comes with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. It has an 11.6 inch IPS capacitive touch screen. The colors are very vivid and the reaction of the tablet is immediate but it has a 1.1kg in weight, so there is no problem carrying it around.
The Jumper EZpad 6 Pro has pre-installed windows 10 OS Operating System. Intel E3950 generates 1.1GHz to 2.2GHz which is enough force to do all your work smoothly. Intel Gen9 HD Graphics 500, frequency up to 700MHZ, can stand any demanding game you might need to play. Additionally, the 6GB DDR3L RAM and 64GB eMMC internal storage that can be expanded by 128GB. It has a 5MP rear shooter for while the front is governed by a 2MP camera.
- The Lithium Polymer battery gives up to 340 hours of support after one charge
- Powerful RAM and processor
- You can play any games fast and smoothly
- It has the latest pre-installed Windows 10 OS
- There is no LED flash for both cameras
- No cellular connectivity on the tablet
7. Jumper EZpad 6s Pro Windows Tablet
Jumper EZpad 6s Pro Windows Tablet Review
When you are thinking to buy a tablet for the best tablet for home automation Jumper EZpad 6s Pro may come into our mind. It has a similar slim and shiny body with a sharp screen like Jumper EZpad 6 Pro. Traditionally Jumper EZpad 6s Pro comes with FHD IPS display in 16:9 ratios.
It is a fantastic device with its 11.6-inch Full HD display. This display effectively provides good experience for watching videos and browsing the web. It supports a view angle of up to 178 degrees. So you can rotate the screen for a better view as much as you want.
Jumper EZpad series always gives us a cheaper rate than other expensive ones in the recent market without compromising the quality. The back of the device is made of plastic, but you can hardly feel it, as it provides a feeling of metal. The texture of the plastics is quite good that makes it more pleasant to hold in hands.
This tablet capable of giving you shocking gaming experiences. As the processor provides maximum high-efficiency performance using low power. Most importantly, the Ninth HD Graphics is equipped with 12 groups of EU processing units, and so it successfully brings more realistic pictures and game effects.
- Gigantic battery capacity
- Quad-core power saving processing units
- It has powerful Ninth HD Graphics
- Very much portable
- 11.6-inch Full HD display
- Plastic build on the back
8. Asus Chromebook Tablet CT100
- Asus Chromebook tablet Ct100 is built to endure intensive use with military-grade protection. All four exterior edges and corners are protected by a tough rubber bumper, which reduces the impact of physical shocks to ensure critical components are always safe and sound.
- Stunning 9. 7’’ qxga (2048 x 1536) Touchscreen designed to be used with the included stylus and in various lighting conditions both indoor and outdoor.
- Has a rubber safety grip to help drops from happening, and a durable 3d-textured finish to help with scratches and fingerprints. This is a must feature for Chromebook tablets to help prevent damage.
- Powered by the powered by OP1, Hexa-Core (Dual arm Cortex-A72, Quad Cortex-A53) for fast and snappy performance. Perfect for running lots of tabs and apps.
- 4GB DDR3 RAM; 32GB eMMC storage, USB Type-C (Gen 1), and Micro SD card slot. (Usb transfer speed may vary. Learn more at Asus website)
Asus Chromebook Tablet CT100 Review
Everyone knows about ASUS computer brands. They produce computers, laptops, motherboards, tablets and much more for over a decade.
If you need a tablet for both education purpose and home automation in this case, ASUS Chromebook Tablet CT100, is one of the greatest candidates. You can use it for educating your children and control your smart device in the home. After spending some time with it you will feel that it is flexible, agile, and unique as you.
Asus Chromebook Tablet CT100 has a micro-dimple textured finish that effectively prevents from getting fingerprints and scratches. Also, the corners and edges have a tough rubber bumper to protect the tablet from drops.
The stylus is doesn’t have any buttons or features that would make it interactive. But it’s simple well-designed Wacom® EMR Pen gives you effortless and natural writing experience.
It comes with the latest Chrome OS with the Google Play store, so you have access to all of the Android apps as well. It runs on the Hexa-Core dual 1.6 GHz Cortex-A72 + Cortex-A53 processor, it’s powerful enough to comfortably run any gaming app. Also, let you enjoy multitasking.
- It is a great multi-purpose android tablet
- You will quite happy with the display
- It has two cameras that are good enough to use for Skype video calls
- You can expect the battery support for up to 10 hours
- The battery-free stylus can capture screenshots or takes notes
- You will get a vivid and engaging viewing experience
- The plastic texture feels comfortable to hold
- It is not marketed as waterproof
- Stylus dock is in a weird place for some user
- Probably not enough for heavy-duty
9. CTL 9.7″ Chromebook Tx1 Tablet
- Ports: 1x USB-C 1x Micro SD card slot 1x Audio combo jack
- Storage – 32GB eMMC and optional Google Drive storage
- Cameras: Front 2 MP (1, 600 x 1, 200) Rear 5 MP (2, 560 x 1, 920)
- Weight: 1. 2 pounds – Compact size for lightweight portability
- Processor: Rockchip RK3399 (OP1) – highly optimized for Chrome OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e Review
Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e is one of the best android tablet for home automation that is perfectly designed. You will find the well-known Samsung pretty appearance. The entire body is easy to grip and the bezels around the screen are slim. This cool-to-the-touch metal body and thin screen bezels give it a unique identity. It puts a smile on your face when you have it.
The screen in not only good it stunning. The 10.5 AMOLED panel has a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, there is so much color and life, that you will desire to see your favorite movie or drama series once again. It didn’t tire your eyes. It allows extending play sessions when gaming because it has visually enhanced stunning colors and screen.
There is no question about sound quality. There are four speakers support Dolby Atmos. The audio automatically reorients when the tablet moves to landscape from portrait, and vice-versa.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor is more than enough to drive for watching movies, browsing, and reading. And you will never experience any problems playing games either.
The battery running the show has a 7,040mAh capacity and provides more than enough energy for sustained use. Another great feature is that Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e found Wi-Fi signals more reliably than a phone when far away from the router.
It has a single 13-megapixel f/2.0 aperture lens on the back and 8-megapixel front camera with the same aperture. They can capture attractive colors and contrast, detail in the shaded areas, and lovely blue skies without over-saturation.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e comes with its own One UI version 1.1 over Android 9 Pie. The uniform layout makes it stylish and modern. The app icons are consistent in size and shape. All the app is easy to use, simple to customize, and pretty too.
- It is incredibly clean, simple, and stylish
- The fingerprint sensor is accurate and fast
- Long battery life
- Impressively lightweight
- Beautiful Super AMOLED screen
- High-quality aluminum design
- Loud, punchy speakers
- Excellent battery life
- Close-up images suffer from a lack of detail
- Limited graphics
- No stylus support
Buyer’s Guide for Best Tablet for Home Automation
Crisp screen resolution:
The best tablet for home automation must have a crisp and clear screen. Expert advice that the tablet has a minimum 1280×800 resolution.
Fast processing speed:
According your workload, you have to choose a tablet that has enough GHz power. For home automation, you have to look at tablets with a CPU of at least 1 GHz. Anything below brings the risk of a glitch touch screen and frustrating load times.
Operating system (OS):
It is wise to choose a familiar operating system. It determines how you’ll interact and other utility apps run on the top of it. Fast OS produces a faster experience. Most of the people have strong personal preferences in that case.
Apple’s operating system has a massive app store. Android gives you more flexibility. There are a lot of widgets onto your home screen that give live updates. On the other hand, Windows is the most familiar User Interface for Tablet and PC.
If you want to stream YouTube, read books, play games and watch movies on a larger screen than chose one that has Full HD display with long battery backup.
On the other hand, if you like to do some professionals work as laptop alternatives such as multi-task, work on documents or spreadsheets or enjoy playing games then look for powerful processing units with enough Graphics.
Speakers for entertainment:
Bear in mind that the location of a tablet’s speakers can affect your entertainment experience. Generally, speakers surrounding all four edges offer better sound and the bottom isn’t as loud.
Tablet accessories for laptop replacements:
If you want to replace your laptop then you’ll need a tablet with a decent, portable snap-on keyboard, stylus with a precise sensor for handwritten notes and sketches.
If you want to use a tablet for the home automation, you have to consider the device weight, portability and look very carefully. Another important thing is that the battery backup. Though weight and battery are opposite features. You have to find one with the best combination.
One of the most important issues is your budget. There are lots of tablets in the market with numerous feature but your budget determines which one you can hands-on. After long research, we make a top 10 tablet list here with a maximum feature that comes at affordable prices.
Importance of Tablet For Home Automation
Make Tasks More Convenient:
Most of us want something that understands and takes care of us. Smart Home has those facilities to keep our feeling. When you watch a movie and want to turn off or dimming four different lights, you can do it without leaving your favorite sit. Only using a voice command or an App on your best tablet for home automation.
Save Money on Utilities:
You can set a timer when off lights or lower the thermostat. Sometimes you forget about it and attend an urgent party, don’t worry, you have full control of your home on the tablet. This can save several hundred dollars per month.
Increased Home Safety:
You have the ability to control the small appliances with the simple tap of your finger. If there is something goes wrong, you can get a notification or it can automatically shut down the infected device and take the necessary step to minimize the danger.
You can monitor the entire premises of your house and see live on the tablet on your hand at any time. It is one of the inexpensive solutions to home security. Also, you can lock or open the door and other incoming, outgoing path.
Good for the Environment:
Our listed top 10 best tablet for home automation a good solution to help preserve our natural resources. It reduces power consumption when they aren’t in use.
Peace of Mind:
After installing the proper home automation device and have your desire tablet, you can check on the status of your home or kids from anywhere in the world.
In this article, you can understand that those tables can be used for various tasks. You can do your office work as well as it can be used for your child’s education purpose. Especially Chrome OS design for that. Also, you can play video games for enjoying your leisure time. Our listed tablet can be turned into a home theater.
The FAQs About Home Automation Tablet
Q. What is Home Automation?
Answer: In a simple word, a home automation refers to a home that you can control, monitor and automate by remote access.
Q. Is there any other name for Home Automation?
Answer: Some people called it Home IOT (internet of things), as you have to use the internet and smart device.
Q. What is the Automation System Components?
Answer: A home automation system needs many things to operate well such as switches, sensors, lights, locks, hubs, Gateways, Wi-Fi, and a tablet to use all of those.
Q. Local Control and Cloud Control?
Answer: You can control your smart home locally by a local network. The smart device also controlled without an Internet connection. That means within your own premises you can turn your lights on and off. But all systems will not operate without an Internet connection.
What you can control by using a tablet?
Answer: You can control all the devices and successfully monitor and automate by using our listed best tablet for home automation. Just install an appropriate app. That’s it, you are ready to go to enjoy the tremendous power of technology.You can simultaneously use a central hub like the Samsung Smartthings, Amazon Alexa or a home automation system like a Home Assistant.
If you are future-oriented then the best tablet for home automation can help you to go one step ahead. It allows you to handle your needs in a more efficient manner.
Here we represent all the necessary information that may you need. So considering the point and buy a perfect one that has all the features that give you the best value of your money.
Always remember technology changes every day and frequently adds the latest features to make your life more comfortable. So keep an eye on the latest invention.
Thanks for reading the article. Trust me after long research we make this shortlist to make sure that you are investing in something really good and durable.


Donna Stevens Pillow July 28th, 2018 - 06:38:13
Shoulder problems are often caused by referred pain from the neck. Therefore, the stabilization of the neck during sleep is of utmost importance! Put some thought into choosing a good pillow - In addition to finally achieve the dream of a great night, you can end up saving yourself from neck and shoulder pain too!
Other vital traits of a good bed pillow that you should keep in mind are the firmness, size and the maintenance level the pillow requires. When it comes to size the standard pillow is for single or twin bed, the medium size is for queen size bed while the large ones are designed for king size beds. As for pillow maintenance, cotton and synthetic fiber pillows are the easiest to clean and are the most durable.
You will be amazed to know that earlier the pillows were only served to the wealthy people. Hay, fibers were used to rest the head. But nowadays the story is completely different. Bed pillows are common to see in every home. In addition to normal pillows you will also find anti snoring pillow, body pillows, reading pillows, nap bed pillows, buckwheat hul pillows foe bed & bedding furnishings as well as for your personal need. So there is a huge variety of bed pillows and it is not difficult to find the right one.
Choosing the right bed pillow can improve your sleep and well-being. For this reason, there are pillow consultants that specialize in the design and production of numerous forms of pillows for different body types and sleeping needs. Before one searches for the right bed pillow for the night, they should consider a number of factors such as their sleeping style.
Everyone has a special way that we feel is the most comfortable way to sleep. Because of this, choosing a Bed Pillow is a unique experience for each of us. The first thing to do before selecting a pillow to sleep on, is to determine your favorite sleeping position. Some of us like to sleep on our sides, some on our backs and some on our stomachs. There are different pillows suited for all of these positions.
One very popular type of feather pillow is a down feather pillow, down pillows are filled with feathers from a goose. Goose down is the material that is located under the feathers of a goose and it is very soft. It is used in pillows because it provides a very luxurious feel as well as being very soft. This type of pillow is the most costly and for many people it doesn't provide enough neck support. But when you find that perfect feather pillow you will be guaranteeing yourself a restful night's sleep.


text:
outstanding coloring pages birds bird color page best bird coloring pages ideas on bird by bird adult coloring pages and birds of prey printable coloring pages.
here reach outstanding coloring pages birds bird color page best bird coloring pages ideas on bird by bird adult coloring pages and birds of prey printable coloring pages for an ideas was engage in child activities. coloring is beautiful and fun, also includes proficient training activities in that regard. it has no matter what been a joy to discover things where start with that so simply from the more difficult letters or tricks. the most recognizable thing such as the cartoon character, or in the movie, may also be an interesting tom but not included in either.
here we are in coloring pages collection can also come in the shape of animals or flowers. there is many more for instance plants or insects. they are very interesting and give more high levels of difficulty. including giving a form that has never been encountered, is a form of learning also to children.
to more complicated levels is part of the teenager or more. here in theme outstanding coloring pages birds is one that you can choose and you attempt to finish. start with a base color or a higher level by playing gradations or color discs. everything becomes practicable if you begin to attempt it now. good luck hope this be be cheerful for you or maybe you can show it to friends or teacher or also parents.
coloring pages of state birds and flowers flying free printable best humming art images on,coloring pages of state birds and flowers outstanding free printable nature best adult book,free coloring pages bird nest birds and insects for adults flying,outstanding coloring pages birds angry colouring of prey printable nest,best golden eagle coloring page bird pictures to print pages free printable of birds and flowers realistic for adults prey,big bird face coloring page pages for adults printable feeders birds flying colouring of prey,bird coloring pages to print free printable page of birds animals feeders flying and flowers,outstanding coloring pages birds angry robin bird free houses of prey printable,colouring pages birds nest printable coloring pagesbirds and flowers free bird houses best images on books,outstanding coloring pages birds bird colouring free houses realistic printable pagesbirds and flowers.

domain: hobby


text:
On a bright Sunday morning in September, in a shady spot down the hill behind Lemon Hill Mansion, Kristina Murray bowed her head to the students in her outdoor yoga class.
“Take a moment to notice how your body feels after our hourlong practice,” Murray said.
Her students then started to stand up, stretch, and roll up their mats from the grass.
Murray, 32, teaches a yoga course on Sunday mornings in Fairmount Park. In 2019, she received her certification to teach yoga and had been teaching classes part-time at the now-closed Yoga Movement Sanctuary on Girard Avenue. When COVID-19 hit earlier this year and state officials ordered gyms and yoga studios closed, Murray could no longer teach in-person.
She had been looking forward to a career as a yoga instructor, but with most of her classes canceled, she found herself stuck.
“I was subbing at the Yoga Movement Sanctuary for about three months before COVID happened, and the studio immediately stopped working,” Murray said. “They didn’t really transition things online.”
Still, she was determined to keep working, and looked for ways to continue her practice online as well as outside.
She tried to offer classes wherever she could. She began by teaching two classes on her own, one on Zoom and one outside, asking participants to donate whatever they could for each class. When Yoga Movement Studio eventually went online as Your Movement Sanctuary, she took on two classes, teaching them over Zoom. She now rounds out her schedule by teaching gentle yoga for seniors over Zoom for the Cheltenham Adult School.
“I was so new at teaching,” Murray said. “I knew that I wanted to, just like, kick in my entrepreneurial spirit. I didn’t want to lose the momentum that I’d gained.”
Yoga is well known for relieving anxiety and stress, but it also can assist individuals suffering from depression, ADHD, schizophrenia, and PTSD, according to reports from Mental Health America.
As the COVID-19 pandemic began to move through the United States in March, millions of people found themselves isolated, working from home, and managing heavy levels of stress. A report from the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics found that a third of Americans show signs of depression and anxiety and that those conditions have been amplified since the pandemic.
“You can learn enough to begin to calm your mind and body down and it can really let go of all the anxiety that’s building up,” Larry Mangel, a yoga instructor who co-founded Shanti Yoga and Ayurveda, said.
Yoga has been a staple of Murray’s life for several years now. She began using it as a form of therapy after an automobile accident.
“I had a therapist that I was working with who actually taught me to breathe,” Murray said.
Murray had a traumatic brain injury, and the therapist taught her how to use her breathing to calm down whenever she began to feel overwhelmed.
“He was like, ‘Just take five minutes to breathe,’” she said.
After using yoga as part of her therapy, Murray discovered her love for the practice and the benefits it offered for those struggling with anxiety.
“I have anxiety and I used to be medicated with several medications,” Murray said. “When I hit about 30, I was just like I don’t want to do these anymore. Between yoga, meditation, and breathing and then changing my diet, I’ve been off of any sort of medication for quite a long time now.”
Mangel believes in the connection yoga practice offers specific techniques for relieving anxiety.
“Something as simple as just breathing through your nose and breathing deeper into your belly,” Mangel said. “It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which totally begins to take away all the cortisol and all the adrenaline based in our reactions.”
Colleen Kropp works as a yoga instructor for Philly Power Yoga, a studio that immediately went online when the virus arrived and still remains virtual.
Kropp has encouraged friends and family to take up yoga during the pandemic because it helps alleviate feelings of discomfort and anxiety.
“I’ve always found it problematic, especially now, when you attend the class and the instructor says, ‘Leave your baggage at the door,’” Kropp said. “I don’t think that that is helpful. I don’t think it’s productive.”
Yoga can give people the tools to face troubling circumstances head-on, she said.
“I think it should be a means of letting you work either alongside these really complex thoughts, feelings, experiences,” Kropp said. “Just, like, working through it and alongside it, rather than, like, banishing it to the corner.”
Yoga cannot only calm the mind, but it can also work as a physical aid during a pandemic, according to a 2020 report by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. All yoga practices use deep relaxation, releasing tensions and stressors, making the immune system stronger against bacteria and viruses, reported the NCBI.
If an individual is experiencing anxiety magnified by the pandemic, Kropp recommends therapy. However, therapy is not always the most affordable option, she said.
“People are realizing that they need to do more for their mental health and wellness,” Kropp said. “And I guess to put it plainly, therapy’s really expensive. So yoga can at least be an entry point to kind of work through some stuff until you can afford a therapist.”
Given the benefits of yoga, Murray has found it important to try and keep bringing her practice students, despite the barriers of online instruction and social distancing.
“I have had to completely change my teaching style,” she said.
Kropp explained that the lessons taught in yoga can go beyond the mat, and can help with potentially uncomfortable situations that arise in daily life.
“Sometimes being able to take a single deep breath can give you that moment of pause to then respond in a way that’s a little bit more productive or healthy for you and the people that you’re interacting with,” Kropp said.
Murray acknowledges that starting yoga can be intimidating for new students, especially given the way yoga practitioners are presented across social media as already healthy and thin, seemingly perfect.
“You don’t have to be super flexible to do yoga,” she said. “Anybody can do yoga, you just have to find a good teacher who can show you how to make the pose work for your body.”
Please email any questions or concerns about this story to: email@example.com
Be the first to comment

domain: psychology


Editor’s note: this post comes from our engineering team, for those interested in a technical view under the hood.
It’s important to make data-driven decisions when you can. Sometimes at a startup it can be hard to set this infrastructure up quickly. We prioritized being data-driven from day 1 at Kindbody. We’re pleased to share that within the first three months of opening our first clinic, we were well on our way. Our goals were:
Transparency: everyone should be able to see how the company and different departments were progressing towards goals, whether it’s customer satisfaction, intake form completion, or revenue.
Actionability: the ability to dig into the “why” across marketing, clinical, ops, or finance.
As engineers coming from a range of data science and engineering backgrounds, we have seen a number of business intelligence solutions. These range from cron jobs spitting out CSVs, and semi-automated R scripts, to Tableau and Domo setups. In recent years, a number of dashboarding and ETL tools have come on to the market, making it faster and easier to get access to your data. We pieced together our data suite, which we affectionately call KindSight, in anticipation of data-driven requests as soon as we opened up shop.
About our Stack
KindSight has two main pieces, a data engineering stack and an analytics stack. We chose a data engineering stack that was cheap, easy to set up, and fairly future proof. The basics of the stack include replicating our production database powering our EMR into a data warehouse, Segment analytics populating the same data warehouse, and data from a few other sources that we hook together with Stitch into (you guessed it!) our data warehouse. We didn’t go with a fancy warehousing database like Vertica or even Redshift because we simply don’t have Big Data (yet).
Our data analytics stack is even simpler. To manage data that requires decoration or data joins that we do often, we write views and materialized views directly on our data warehouse. One major area for improvement is version control of our views.
Our dashboarding and query tool is Metabase, one of our favorite new tools in the past 3-4 years. I dabbled with Metabase at previous companies and have monitored its progression over time. I previously worked with Tableau, Looker, and Domo. But the cost of these solutions was considerable, and the feature set and potential for improvement of privately sourced solutions seemed limited. In contrast, Metabase is open source and free, so it is constantly improving with community feedback. It deploys super easily on Heroku. You can also do a number of really easy installs on other infrastructure. There’s even a Helm chart out there if you want to Kubernetes your dashboarding tool.
Here is our Highlights dashboard, blurred out for privacy reasons:
We can easily tell what our KPIs and goals are for previous, current, and future months and how we’re tracking. Our KPIs include revenue numbers, appointment bookings, customer service metrics, and most of these are overlaid with goals. The KindSight data engineering stack refreshes about once an hour, which is a feat we’re extremely proud of!
Our dashboard did not always look like this. Because Metabase makes it so easy to edit cards (one or more graphs) and add/remove cards, we’re able to iterate quickly. Initially, I chose the metrics that either I was interested in or that I anticipated others would be interested in. As people joined the team and functional teams grew, we moved cards to more focused dashboards. For example, we moved breakdowns of conversion cards to our Marketing dashboard. We also created and refined the set of revenue based cards to ensure team alignment on goals and progress.
To keep company goals top of mind, we display our Highlights dashboard on a TV screen that refreshes every 1 minute. The dashboard operates in full screen mode with auto-refresh via the Metabase UI, powered by a small Raspberry Pi. We also enabled users to log into Metabase themselves via SSO to view the dashboard anywhere.
Now, every employee in the company has access to our business metrics in real-time, so everyone can take ownership of making our product a great experience for our patients. We review this dashboard weekly, and many individuals, including myself, review it daily. In addition to our Highlights board, we have Marketing and Customer Service (CX) dashboards to allow different teams to track in real time how they are performing. Additionally, data pulls for sanity checks, one time access, or other one offs are done via the table format and export features.
KindSight impacts the engineering team as well. We no longer have to manually pull data. We still make minor updates to the data warehouse and complicated queries. But now that dashboards and tools are available, we do not need to repeat work. This means we can spend our time on developing new features and product work instead.
The accessibility to data allows teammates to make data-driven decisions in real time. I had not anticipated the eagerness to learn how to dig into our data more thoroughly. With access to data, certain members have enrolled in SQL classes. Even very non-technical teammates have been able to create basic charts and access data without engineering team help. I’m thrilled by the culture of the data-driven independence!
There is no doubt Kindbody will continue to heavily utilize data as we grow. Given the success of Metabase during our first year, we decided to harden our data engineering and analytics infrastructure. We migrated our Metabase instance off Heroku to Elastic Kubernetes Service. From the time I started this post to its publication, we revamped our Highlights dashboard to take into account the opening of our first California office in San Francisco. Being data-driven is important to us, and we’re looking forward to continued actionability and transparency!
Sr. Director of Engineering— Sarah Griffis is a seasoned engineering leader with expertise in systems architecture, data trends, and engineering management. She leads the Kindbody engineering team building applications to improve clinical efficiencies and patient experience.