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Over thousands of years, the human brain has evolved into an intricate and dynamic system that knows how to set its own internal clock. There’s a hormone, Melatonin, which is made by a small gland in the brain that works like the bodies natural “sleepy juice”. When we wake up in the morning (in fact it is the light passing over our retina that stops that Melatonin production) we become alert and ready to start the day as Melatonin production slows for the daytime. As the day wears on, our Melatonin production increases again around mid to late evening, making us tired and ready to hop into bed at night. The next morning, when the morning sun creeps into your bedroom, Melatonin production ceases and the wake/sleep cycle starts all over again.
Do you ever have trouble waking up and feeling energized in the winter months? Many people report a low mood and sluggishness when the days get shorter and it has a lot to due with less sun light each day and an over-production of Melatonin. Try throwing your curtains open when your alarm goes off, turn on lots of lights in your home, get outside each morning, even if it is only to grab a coffee. Research shows that social cues such as a brief conversation with your local barista can help to kickstart your wake/sleep cycle too.
Now that you are a Melatonin expert, there is one big problem to address –the use of back lit screens, like iphones and computers trick our cave man brain into thinking that we are looking at the sun (light passing over the retina) thus reducing the bodies natural “sleepy juice” production. It’s a simple formula: not enough sleepy juice at bedtime = not being tired when your head hits the pillow. With the pervasive use of iphones and ipads as household basics, the increase in reported sleep disruption has skyrocketed!! Instead of spending the before-bedtime hours reflecting on the day, households are plugging into devices and stimulating a tired brain.
Over the past 10 years, there have been more sleeping disorders reported than any other time in history! Frequently youth share honestly in therapy that they stay up at night, texting friends and watching utube clips because they can’t sleep. Well here’s the catch, watching a back light screen is the WORST remedy for insomnia; it only makes the problem worse because it turns off your brains natural sleepy juice production. See the negative cycle? Add to that, the impulsivity of teens and their inability to self-monitor and you have the perfect recipe for sleep problems. My recommendation: take all electronics, especially those with internet access out of the bedroom at night. (hint: buy yourself ear plugs for when your teenager throws an epic tantrum at the new rule).
Chronic sleep disruption can lead to an increase in depression, anxiety, poor coping skills and trouble learning. These serious symptoms have been observed by parents, teachers and professionals alike, so set a family rule to promote good mental health and positive life skills –UNPLUG 2 HOURS BEFORE BEDTIME.


Now is the time when Oystercatchers are nesting on the coastal islets around Bowen Island and elsewhere in Howe Sound. This year the only nesting site close to Bowen Island that we are aware of is on Onion Island, close to Tunstall Bay.
The population of Oystercatchers is limited, and restricted by habitat requirements and predation. Oystercatchers are ground nesters, often choosing a high, exposed location, and creating a shallow depression surrounded by shell fragments. Their eggs and chicks are camouflaged, but very vulnerable to trauma from walkers or dogs.
Nesting success this year is likely to be improved if you are aware of Oystercatchers at this vulnerable time, and restrict your activities on local islets until after the birds have fledged. In particular, please do not take your dogs on your exploration trips.


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When House Speaker John Boehner can get away with it, he appears to have a strong desire to cooperate with Democrats in Congress. And now here he is, with the committee chairs he has put in place, helping the Benghazi cover-up. Is he a closet Liberal? Mark Levin wonders whether the Democrats have something on him. Whatever it is, it’s not good. When there is something they really need, he delivers.
Why is he resisting setting up a select committee to investigate Benghazi? This is one of the worst scandals and cover-ups in American history. Almost 2/3 of his caucus have signed a petition asking for this select committee, and he won’t do it.
And then when these e-mails came out that clearly demonstrate that Hillary Clinton lied when she testified before Congress, I heard Mark Levin, on his show, suggesting that she had perjured herself, and that this should be pursued. However, it has come out since then that they allowed her to testify without first putting her under oath. So they aided and abetted in her being able to get away with her part of the screw-up.
Something is very fishy here. There needs to be a new Speaker.
Click here to visit the Liberty Musings conservative politics home page.

domain: politics


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Parents push for new preschool for Singapore: Parents push to create a new preschool
Parents are pushing for a new, inclusive preschool for the city of Singapore, with one advocate describing it as the “next stage” in preschool education.
The preschool will be operated by the Singapore Academy of Arts and Culture, which will be run by an expert panel composed of educators and parents.
Parents and children will work together, according to the Academy’s website.
The Singapore Academy has been a pioneer in preschool, with a new program for preschool that was launched in 2010.
The new preschool will include four classrooms, two groups of preschool children and two groups with preschoolers and other students.
The new preschool program has been touted as the best in the world.
“The new Singapore Academy will provide preschool students with a nurturing environment that is inclusive of gender identities, race, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and that is respectful of the children’s personal development,” the Academy said in a statement.
The Academy said the new preschool would be open to families and preschoolers of all ages.
More than 1.2 million children are enrolled in preschool in Singapore, according the Academy.
The country’s youngest children are more likely to receive early interventions in preschool compared to their peers in other countries, according a report released by the OECD in April.
More from GlobalPost: Why does Singapore’s preschool so much work for the kids?
More from The Hill: More from Axios: Read more about Singapore:

domain: sociology


WAC Tournament trip ends short for UVU’s women’s basketball
The Wolverines played their one and only WAC tournament game on Wednesday, March 13 against UMKC at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
UVU freshman forward Eve Braslis seemed to have the hot hand in the first half, knocking down four of her six shots, totalling eight points. She also made her presence known in the paint where she pulled down five rebounds.
The first half of play came to an end in favor of UMKC, 36-30. The Roos were up by 11 points in the first quarter but the Wolverines were able to cut that lead down to six before heading to the locker room at the half. UVU shot 31 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep in the first half compared to UMKC’s 41 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep.
“I could not be more proud of our team,” said an emotional head coach Cathy Nixon. “When you’re in the trenches every day you build relationships and you really want success.”
The Wolverines upped their intensity on both ends of the floor to start the second half, which resulted in the Roos going scoreless the first two minutes of play. This gave UVU the chance to cut the lead down and tie the game at 38 just three minutes in. From there the fight really began as the lead bounced back and forth several times between the two teams.
UVU junior guard Alexis Cortez really found her stride in the second half, scoring 16 of her 22 points on 9-11 shooting. 12 of those points came from behind the arc, where she shot 4-5 from deep. On the other side of the ball, UMKC junior guard Ericka Mattingly went off for 27 points on 8-18 shooting and an impressive 7-8 from deep. She also added six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The dagger came when the Roos went on a 12-0 run midway through the fourth quarter. The Wolverines were only down three points before that run started and by the end the score was 65-52, UVU down 13. The Wolverines would rally back to within three but it was too late. The buzzer sounded and the clock read zero, with the scoreboard reading 78-75.
The stat that stands out is the difference of free throws between the two teams. UVU shot 5-6 from the stripe compared to UMKC’s 13-17.
“We aren’t going away because we don’t have any seniors, we will just use this day to fuel us for next year,” Nixon said.
The Wolverines were predicted to be ranked eighth at the beginning of the season but proved everyone wrong when they snagged the fifth seed heading into the tournament. UVU ended their season with a record of 14-16, 8-8 in conference play, 11-5 at home and 3-10 when playing opponents on their home floor.
Photo courtesy of UVU Athletics


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Rheumatology is a branch of medicine dedicated to diagnostics, prevention, and treatment of rheumatoid diseases. It includes studying degenerative diseases affecting joints, bones, tissues, and it also focuses on autoimmune diseases of the connective tissue. Rheumatology’s main goal is the treatment of inflammatory joint conditions, crystal arthropaty, degenerative joint diseases, bone and soft tissue diseases, and connective tissue conditions.
- Initial examination plus joint ultrasound 40.00 BGN
- Secondary examination 25.00 BGN

domain: biology


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ND WOMEN”S BASKETBALL – COMMENTARY: Fundamentals spark win streak
Bill Brink | Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Sometimes the formula for winning lies in the little things.Since Feb. 4, Notre Dame has won five straight Big East games by an average score of 12.2 points per game. Charel Allen has scored 25 or more points in four of those five contests. The Irish defense is better than ever. It even out-rebounded Louisville, the best rebounding team in the Big East. But no single factor is responsible. Regardless of what results may show, field goals, foul shots and turnovers have been Notre Dame’s strong points this season. But often they’ve had one or two and lacked the other. In a loss to USC Nov. 24, the team forced 27 turnovers but was cold from the free-throw line, sinking just 41.2 percent of its foul shots. On Dec. 30, the Irish shot well but made only 66.7 percent of their free throws and forced just 15 turnovers. Against Connecticut Jan. 27, the defense created plenty of turnovers but the team shot just 24.2 percent for the game.Sometimes all the factors are present, but still don’t add up to a victory. Against Indiana Dec. 3, Notre Dame shot 41.7 percent from the field, 83.3 percent from the free-throw line and forced 21 turnovers, but still lost 54-51. But in the past five games, the Irish have shined. They’ve averaged 19.8 turnovers per game, shot 45.3 percent from the field and 73.4 percent from the free-throw line.”We have shot the ball well at different times,” Irish coach Muffet McGraw said in her bi-monthly conference call. “Melissa Lechlitner, I think one of the best shooters on our team, has really in the last two games shot the ball very well. Breona Gray is shooting the ball very well right now, and Charel Allen has shot well the last eight games.”Field goals Allen is averaging 24.8 points per game on 52 percent shooting during the win streak, Gray is averaging 9.2 points per game shooting 41 percent and Lechlitner is averaging 8.6 points per game on 43 percent shooting. The Irish have steadily improved their shooting throughout the streak. They began sinking 40.4 percent against West Virginia Feb. 4. That number climbed gradually to 49.1 percent in their win over Providence Feb. 17. “I think overall, we’re really putting the ball in the basket a little bit more,” McGraw said. “I don’t think our shot selection is any different, I just think we’re really confident right now.”
Foul shots The free throw line has also been an important source of points for Notre Dame. The team set the tone by sinking 33-of-39 free throws against West Virginia, a scorching 84.6 percent. What’s amazing about this particular aspect is the lack of attention paid to it by McGraw.”Its funny, we haven’t worked on it at all,” she said. “We’re pretty good free-throw shooters in general.”Last summer, center Melissa D’Amico and forward Crystal Erwin were told to improve their free-throw shooting, as both were under 60 percent. The work paid off – D’Amico now shoots 81.1 percent from the line.”They both obviously worked on it very well, Mel in particular,” McGraw said. “She’s shot the ball very well from the free throw line. And I think our freshmen were good free throw shooters in high school and they continue to do that.”McGraw went on to call this year’s team the best free-throw shooting team she’s ever coached.
Turnovers Notre Dame has caused problems on defense all season, but the success wasn’t always coupled with the offensive production it now enjoys. Villanova’s offense was immeasurably hampered due to the turnovers the Irish caused, and the 24-turnover performance played a large role in upsetting then-No. 17 Louisville Feb. 7. Still, McGraw is not entirely pleased.”I was a little disappointed against Providence,” she said. “They have very good guards, and they handled our pressure very well. That’s the first game in a while that a team hasn’t turned the ball over 20 times, so we are really going to focus on that a little bit more, and try to develop maybe a little something different for the stretch run and the Big East tournament.”With three games left in the regular season, Notre Dame has a tentative hold on the final first-round bye in the Big East tournament. Nothing is guaranteed, but if the Irish continue to combine the successful elements of their game, it could mean good things for the postseason.

domain: news


Characterization of a continuous wave laser for resonance ionization mass spectroscopy analysis in nuclear forensics
Lau, Sunny G.
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The application of resonance ionization mass spectroscopy (RIMS) to nuclear forensics involves the use of lasers to selectively ionize elements of concern. While current systems incorporate pulsed lasers for analysis of debris from nuclear detonation, the possibility exists to consider using continuous wave, or CW lasers RIMS has the potential to provide rapid quantification of isotope ratios of important elements in debris from nuclear detonation. The current approach to ionize uranium and plutonium uses three Ti-Sapphire pulsed lasers capable of a fundamental wavelength range of 700–1000 nm to perform ionization in three steps. This thesis evaluates the use of COTS CW laser to replace one of the pulsed lasers exciting the second resonance step of plutonium near 847.282 nm. The thesis research consists of three elements: (1) completion of an initial feasibility study to determine the viability of the COTS CW alternative, (2) identification and acquisition of a candidate COTS laser, and (3) testing to evaluate the critical laser parameters necessary to achieve high precision isotope ratio measurements including the stability over time of the mean wavelength, bandwidth and spectral mode purity. This narrower bandwidth COTS CW laser may enable simpler operations, greater robustness and better utilization of the available laser irradiance.
RightsThis publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
Modeling of plutonium ionization probabilities for use in nuclear forensic analysis by resonance ionization mass spectrometry Hutchinson, Steven F. (Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School, 2016-12);Recent advancements in nuclear forensics have enabled the use of lasers via resonance ionization mass spectrometry (RIMS) to determine the isotopic composition ratios of U-235 and U-238. These technological advancements ...
Dmytryszyn, Mark; Crook, Matthew; Sands, Timothy (MDPI, 2020);The use of Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (i.e., LASERs or lasers) by the U.S. Department of Defense is not new and includes laser weapons guidance, laser-aided measurements, even lasers as weapons ...
Ferrer, Geraldo; Veronneau, Simon (Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate SchoolMonterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2019-12); NPS-19-N062-AGiven the limited availability of submarines to support SOF and the potential to save billions of dollars, as well as improve a capability through quiet, shallow-water capable submarines, a review of potential diesel-electric ...


In our July report we asked if the 2018 rent price increase had finally found the bottom, and according to August stats, both one-bedroom and two-bedroom prices are indeed on the rise.
Continuing the new upward trend, median national one-bedroom rents increased slightly by $5 to $1,013 while nudging closer to levels not seen since May. One-bedroom units are still down 3.15 percent YTD, however.
Two-bedroom apartments posted a large $32 gain to an median of $1,262 while cutting the yearly deficit by almost two-thirds to a mere 0.64 percent. This represents a significant move.
Big changes here as July’s number one increaser wouldn’t even make it onto August’s chart.
Interestingly, the August range of decreases mirrored the July stats as the top ten reported decreases of 4.6 percent to 1.6 percent.
Columbia, SC, Ann Arbor, MI and Baton Rouge, LA all fell by 2.9 percent. Jacksonville, FL, Denver, CO, Columbus, GA, Durham, NC and College Station, MD rounded out the top ten drops with an average decrease of 2.16 percent.d
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame host Cleveland, OH showed the biggest two-bedroom increase at 12.9 percent moving from a very affordable $737 to $832. Pricey Scottsdale, AZ followed with an massive 11 percent rise to $1,950 from July’s $1,756. Las Vegas, NV, Long Beach, CA, and New Orleans, LA were not far behind with increases in the 8.0 to 9.6 percent range.
The second half of the top 10 increasers all posted monthly gains of over 5 percent with Baltimore, MD leading at 6.3 percent, and San Francisco, CA, Orlando, FL, and Los Angeles, CA moving by 5.2 to 6.3 percent.
Like one-bedroom units, August drops were much tamer than August rises as Richardson, TX led the list with a 4.6 percent decrease to $1,479. Cold Fargo, ND and warm Jacksonville, FL shared decreases of 3.7 to 3.3 percent while Charleston, SC, Portland, OR, mile-high Denver, CO and Pittsburgh, PA all fell by 2.2 to 2.9 percent.
Rounding out the top ten two-bedroom declines were Mesa, AZ and Gainesville, FL with less than 2 percent decreases each.
Rent Report Recap: Where We Stand
July saw an end to consistent 2018 decreases, and August continued the modest up-trend.
As the Fed continues to raise interest rates while unemployment remains low, the fires of inflation look to be rekindled, and this will add to upward apartment rent momentum.
Locally, as in cities like Austin, TX where thousands of new apartment units have recently come online, increases may be muted for a while, but as of now, the national trend is up. Let’s see what September brings.
For press inquiries, please contact Sam Radbil.
Each month, using over 1 million Rentable listings across the United States, we calculate the median 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom rent prices by city, state, and nation, and track the month-over-month percent change. To avoid small sample sizes, we restrict the analysis for our reports to cities meeting minimum population and property count thresholds.


text: I have been a few times and each experience was as exhilarating as the other. It's a fun physical activity that you can do with groups of individuals of various ages. They provide outer clothing & equipment for you. All you need to do is turn up and have fun! It's a game of skill and strategy for those who are competitive and those who just like to participate in sport. I would do it every weekend if I could! There are many sites so you can choose one nearest to you. The staff are also very accommodating and well spoken, particularly to the children. There are also special offers to suit your purse, so no excuse! Hot food and drinks are available on site or you can bring a packed lunch. It will be a fun day that your group will never forget!

domain: hobby


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Understanding the Distinction: Asset Management vs Investment Management
In the landscape of finance, the terms "asset management" and "investment management" are often used interchangeably. However, while they share common ground in managing financial assets, there are nuanced differences between the two that are crucial for individuals and institutions to comprehend when seeking professional services for managing their wealth. In this article, we will explore the definitions, roles, objectives, and strategies inherent to asset management and investment management.
Asset Management Defined
Asset management refers to a systematic process of developing, operating, maintaining, and selling assets in a cost-effective manner. It typically involves the handling of a client's investments by a financial services company, which may offer a wide array of funds and investment products. The primary focus is on diversifying and managing a portfolio of assets to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of investors.
Asset managers are responsible for overseeing and optimizing the performance of these assets on behalf of their clients. They typically work for asset management firms or financial institutions.
The key responsibilities of asset managers include:
- Portfolio Construction: Asset managers create and manage investment portfolios tailored to their clients' objectives, risk tolerance, and time horizon.
- Investment Selection: They conduct research and analysis to identify suitable investment opportunities across various asset classes and make informed investment decisions.
- Risk Management: Asset managers monitor and manage the risk associated with the investments in their clients' portfolios, aiming to achieve a balance between risk and return.
- Performance Monitoring: They regularly review the performance of the investments and make adjustments as needed to maximize returns and align with clients' goals.
Investment Management Explained
Investment management, on the other hand, is a broader term that denotes the professional management of various securities (stocks, bonds, etc.) and assets (like real estate), to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors. Investment managers conduct financial analysis, asset selection, stock selection, plan implementation, and ongoing monitoring of investments.
Investment managers may work for various entities, such as investment banks, mutual funds, pension funds, or private wealth management firms. Their responsibilities include:
- Strategic Planning: Investment managers develop investment strategies aligned with clients ' investment objectives, risk tolerance, and time horizon. They consider factors such as market conditions, economic trends, and regulatory changes to develop a comprehensive investment plan.
- Asset Allocation: Investment managers determine the optimal allocation of assets across different asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, cash, and alternative investments. They aim to achieve diversification and balance risk and return based on clients' preferences and market conditions.
- Risk Management: Investment managers assess and manage the risks associated with investments, including market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, and operational risk. They implement risk mitigation strategies and monitor the portfolio's risk exposure.
- Performance Evaluation: Investment managers regularly evaluate the performance of the investments and compare it to relevant benchmarks. They analyze the portfolio's returns, risk-adjusted performance, and other metrics to assess its effectiveness in meeting clients' objectives.
Distinct Roles and Objectives
While both asset managers and investment managers aim to grow the value of client portfolios, their roles may significantly differ based on their operating frameworks and client objectives:
1. Scope of Services:
- Asset Managers: They typically provide a broader range of services that may include real estate, compliance, and due diligence, on top of traditional investment strategies.
- Investment Managers: They focus more on determining the best securities, such as stocks and bonds, to include in a portfolio and on executing trades to achieve optimal asset allocation.
2. Client Relationship:
- Asset Managers: Asset management services are often more relationship-driven, aiming to understand the comprehensive needs and circumstances of a client to provide tailored asset solutions.
- Investment Managers: Relationships in investment management can sometimes be more performance-driven, with a sharp focus on achieving superior returns relative to the market or specified benchmarks.
3. Strategies and Objectives:
- Asset Managers: They may have a more holistic approach to handling a client's wealth, considering long-term goals like retirement planning, estate planning, and tax strategy.
- Investment Managers: The strategies they employ tend to be more direct in terms of market participation—buying and selling stocks, bonds, and other securities to capitalize on market trends.
Trends and Tools
With the financial marketplace perpetually evolving, both asset and investment managers must stay abreast of the latest trends and utilize state-of-the-art tools to analyze and manage portfolios.
1. Technological Integration
Both disciplines have seen increased use of technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict market movements and enhance decision-making.
2. Regulatory Compliance
Asset and investment managers need to navigate a complex regulatory environment to ensure all activities are within the bounds of the law.
3. Sustainable Investing
There is a growing trend towards ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria in investment decisions, influencing both fields.
Understanding the difference between asset management and investment management is key for individuals and institutions looking to achieve financial growth and stability. While asset management takes a broader view, incorporating all elements of a client’s assets and managing them to achieve long-term financial goals, investment management is more narrowly focused on optimizing investment portfolios. Both require a sophisticated knowledge of the markets, a commitment to clients, and a clear strategy aligned with clients' objectives. By selecting the right type of management based on your needs, you can set a course to financial well-being and growth.

domain: finance


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India's Kingfisher shares jump on United Spirits, Diageo deal
MUMBAI Nov 9 (Reuters) - India's debt-laden Kingfisher Airlines extended gains after Reuters reported its chairman Vijay Mallya clinched a deal to sell a stake in United Spirits to Diageo, on hopes the money raised could be used to revive the carrier.
Diageo is set to acquire a 53.4 percent stake in United Spirits for more than $2 billion, according to an internal memo related to the deal obtained by Reuters.
Kingfisher's flight license has been suspended by aviation regulators. As of 0852 GMT, Kingfisher shares were up 4.7 percent, while United Spirits shares were up 1.5 percent. (Reporting by Rafael Nam; Editing by Anand Basu)
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The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party was set to make gains in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal that began voting on Thursday in the sixth phase of a mammoth general election that could help it build a stable majority in parliament. Read | Full Coverage: Election 2014
India may cede top rice exporter spot under Southeast Asian price onslaught. Full Article


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Antonia Wolf February 21, 2020 Personal Growth
Get from the way in your organization and also it grow. There Are of secrets to success but most of with believe. The conflict between consciously telling yourself you Will be Success and subconsciously predicting failure could an Outcome that's the answer to this mental desire . target at one Time works best, you ought to choose one issue to center on.
You will utilize your whole ability to benefit yourself and others. Today you ought to ask you expect doing to future years. So, sometimes it's better quit caring about personal . Personal development, the flip side, isn't the very same story. The baby's brain development in youth and adolescence results in he has the to make use of reasoning skills to find out the nuances of argument. In reality, career growth livelihood development.
Performing a personal And career evaluation will clarity how far you've come. Need less to sayyou ought to be honest as well as your objective shouldn't be to govern women and men, but it's a great idea to learn in you are able to better relate and with individuals. you are putting as much concentrate on the emotional results as the bodily outcomes.
Psychological growth a qualitative change the character of The personality which may caused by conscious energy and objective. Spiritual growth was to spiritual and expanding success. maybe not the identical thing as being religious. Personal growth is which happens over the length of own life. Successful private growth personal responsibility. Pursuing personal growth is a powerful thing. Personal rise and success mean something different for , you can find a number of crucial tailor to your own life to you keep to .

domain: psychology


Operational testing of Raytheon’s AGM-154 Joint Stand-off Weapon (JSOW) C-1 gliding munition has begun, during which it was deployed from a US Navy Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet and achieved a direct hit against a land target.
The new C-1 variant of the weapon adds the ability to counter moving maritime targets, in addition to land ones, through a seeker modification and the addition of a two-way Link 16 capability. The successful first test will lead on to subsequent sea trials in the coming months.
During testing the air-to-surface weapon demonstrated the ability to follow a pre-planned route once dropped from 29,000ft, destroying a land target with “precision accuracy”, Raytheon says.
“JSOW is truly a cutting edge to precision stand-off strike,” Mark Borup, business development for JSOW at Raytheon, tells Flightglobal. “It has a very potent penetration capability.”
Before the testing, the new variant achieved "seven-for-seven" against land and maritime targets during its developmental and integration phase, Raytheon says.
The net-enabled 475kg (1,050lb) C1 has a range of 70nm (130km) and a 10min flight time when released from 40,000ft. It will be released to the F/A-18 fleet in 2016, Borup says, at which point it will be operational with the USN.
Boeing F-15 and Lockheed Martin F-35 integration with the C variant of JSOW is expected to take place in 2017, and with the C-1 variant by 2020. For the F-35, JSOW will be integrated internally on the conventional take-off and landing A and C carrier variant models, and externally on the short take-off and vertical landing B.
In July 2015, the USN ordered 555 JSOW weapons for $180 million, including 200 units of the C-1 version for itself plus 355 Block III C-models for Saudi Arabia.


Vibration Motor Sensor Module for Steam education
It can be directly controlled by digital port, and the vibration intensity of motor can be controlled by PWM. Through this module, we can easily complete the conversion from electrical signal to mechanical vibration, which is suitable for the production of vibration interactive products, vibration reminder of wearable intelligent devices, etc.
Working voltage: 3.3V~5V
Output type: digital signal, PWM
Interface mode: pH2.0~3P
Module size: 34*25mm
Module weight: 45g


This is a collection of five tracks from the album “Floating Leaves” which was recorded sporadically during 2005-2006, and released in October 2013. I transcribed the first track in the summer of 2015, and the rest in the summer of 2016. Though the album was released as an album of “improvisation,” using that term tends to give the wrong impression about the music. There is nothing “jazz-like” about it, and any notion that it is casual or haphazard would completely miss the mark. The music was, indeed, spontaneously conceived and captured as MIDI files, however, they were edited and reworked until they were exactly the way I wanted them.
I feel that I am not only more original when I work spontaneously, but I am also able to take advantage of real-time expressive tools that are more difficult to work with when composing traditionally. However, because I conceive the music without respect to time or tempo, the transcription into notation becomes somewhat problematic. After literally years of trying different methods of transcription, I have settled on using a method that keeps the tempo shifts and rubato intact. I transcribe the music “against” a grid rather than following the metric suggestions of the music. Despite my original reservations, I have found this “illogical” transcription method to be the best and most accurate way to portray the original expressive content. It preserves the way in which I use different tempi at the same or nearly the same time. I have also found that this method stimulates a level of concentration similar to that needed to create the music in the first place.
Stylistically, “Floating Leaves” is somewhat transitional. Though my music is always spontaneous, my phrases were becoming more deliberately “linked” through different melodic gestures, or harmonic or textural references. I often think of my music as floating on the surface of a body of water. It rides on the waves of motion and emotion that propel the music forward. The titles of each of the movements should be prefaced by the phrase “floating leaves.” (i.e. – Floating Leaves “On a Reflecting Pool” or Floating Leaves “Flowing Past a Cathedral”)


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Shares of Research In Motion headed south Monday morning a day after the BlackBerry maker announced a management shake-up, but the tech sector managed to stay afloat aided by slight gains from Hewlett-Packard and Apple Inc. RIM RIM, +0.00% was down more than 4% after the company announced the departure of co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie. But H-P HPQ, -1.26% was up nearly 1%, while Apple AAPL, -3.20% traded up more than 1% as the Nasdaq Composite Index edged up by 0.2% to 2,791. However, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index SOX, -1.43% was off 0.5%.
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DELICATE RAYMOND JEWELRY
Mini Cross Charm Necklace with TurquoiseDELICATE RAYMOND JEWELRY ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Mini Cross Charm Necklace. Necklace measures 17” in length and makes the perfect layering piece. Vintage tools are used to make these tiny charms. Tiny polished turquoise bead accents bring beautiful energies when worn. Accented with signature lotus pearls at the clasp.

domain: artistic


RAJOURI, SEPTEMBER 18, 2020: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Baseer Ahmed Khan on Thursday visited Rajouri district and met several deputations and individuals to listen to their grievances and demands here at the Conference Hall of the PWD Dak Bunglow.
As many as 22 deputations and individuals met the Advisor during the public hearing and projected a number of issues and sought immediate redressal for the same.
A deputation led by President Beopar Mandal, Rajesh Gupta, demanded early completion of Mini Secretariat complex; warehouse for the business community; allotment of shops to the locals at fruit mandi Rajouri; completion of circular roads; blacktopping and repair of internal roads, solid waste management plant for Rajouri town, special package for the business community; replacement of obsolete water pipes ;beautification projects for the Rajouri town and parking facility in main town area.
Responding to the issues, the Advisor said a special package for the revival of the business in the UT is in pipe line and will be announced soon. He also directed the District Development Commissioner to identify a suitable place in the vicinity of the city for parking facility. He also assured to take up the demand for Solid waste Management plant with the concerned department.
A deputation of Municipal Council Rajouri led by president MC projected issues pertaining to the civic body and the township. The specific issues projected included, recreational park for Rajouri Town, view points on Rajouri-BGSBU road; blacktopping of old and new bus stand; a new WSS for the town.
Regarding the recreational park for Rajouri town,the Advisor said he will direct the director Floriculture to submit a proposal after identifying the land area.
A deputation of Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference Led by BDC chairperson Sunderbani, Arun Sharma and BDC Chairperson Rajouri Darbar Chowdhary raised issues pertaining to development of panchayats, protocol issues, sluggish progress in the completion of vital projects due to lack of funds; issues of individual beneficiaries schemes; revival of defunct water supply schemes/handpumps in all most all the panchayats of district; augmentation of power sector; replacement of rotten electric poles.
The specific issues projected included adequate funding for CRF Projects; hundred percent saturation of panchayats with Individual Beneficiary schemes, filling up of vacant posts in RDD; MGNREGA material payment for the year 2018-19, appointment of chowkidars in panchayat Ghars; release of funds under 14th Finance Commission and MGNREGA; Grid station for Ujjan/ChowdharyNar; renovation of irrigation canal Siot; provision of office for the BDC chairpersons; adequate funding under TSP and BADP; introduction of Urdu Subject in the Government Higher Secondary Schools of Qila Darhal; additional Bunkers and transformer workshop at Siot.
Deputation of refugees led by Subash Chander projected issues of Refugees and demanded proper implementation of Refugee package to provide benefits and mitigate their sufferings. He also demanded political reservation for the refugees; constitution of refugee board at par with OBC Board and other Auqaf property issues.
A deputation of Bharatiya Janata Party Rajouri led by Dinesh Sharma, Prabhari Poonch BJP raised many issues like special medical teams for the 100 percent covid testing; oxygen plant and pipelines for the GMC Rajouri; Replacement of Obsolete water pipes; sanctioning of new GDC Dhangri; KV Doongi to be opened at central place; funds for clearing the liability of Kotranka –Khawas road; up-gradation of schools etc.
A Congress delegation led by Lovely Gupta raised issues like installation of CCTVs in the city; enquiry to be conducted regarding installation and procurement of street lights; restoration of 4G internet services; release of wages for the contractual employees; Receiving Station for Gambhir Bhramana and appointment of Medical staff at GMC Rajouri.
A delegation of sarpanchs of Block Sunderbani demanded early release of MGNREGA payments, technical staff for RDD, and compensation to the land owners.
A delegation DHANGRI Block demanded GDC for the area, start of works projected during past phases of Back to Village programme, handing over of internal roads constructed by RDD should to PWD/PMGSY for maintaining better connectivity throughout the year.
Sanjay Sharma Councilor Ward no.9 Rajouri sought starting operation of CT Scan, X ray and ECG machines at GMC Rajouri in view the increase in the number of corona patients.
A delegation of Panchayat Bhawani A- led by Sunil Choudhary demanded Mangla Mata temple to be brought under the ambit of the Shrine Board; Ambulance for PHC Langer and additional bunkers for the left out households.
President MC Thanamandi, Shakeel Mir also met Advisor and raised issues like dilapidated condition of Rajouri-Thanamandi Road, upgrading of PHC thanamandi to SDH and special funds for the construction of lanes and drains for MC Thanamandi.
Another Deputation of engineers from the recently abolished self help group scheme demanded roll back of the decision.
A delegation of Apni Party sought early completion of Khawas-Kotranka road, sanctioning of Budhal Shopian road project and restart of work on the ANS canal.
A delegation led by BDC chairperson Doongi demanded early release of funds for construction of GDC Doongi, Trauma Hospital on Highway and Tehsil Doongi to be made functional.
A delegation from Kotranka demanded clearance of liability under MGNREGA; clearance of school building liability; supply of material under MGNREGA scheme and increase in per day wages of MGNREGA labourers.
Ayub from Kotranka, Gftar Ahmed Choudhary social Activist ,NYK members, sarpanches from Doongi and Narain also raised numerous issues pertaining to panchayats and common masses.
The Advisor gave a patient hearing and said that the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is committed to bring Governance at the doorsteps of the general public and has initiated numerous reforms to cater to the developmental needs of the people with special focus on public participation in the developmental process.
Responding to the demands of the visitors, Advisor Khan said that the merit of each demand will be analyzed and action will be taken on priority to redress the same and the same will be communicated to the applicants. He also gave on spot directions on issues that could be immediately redressed.
The Advisor also threw light on the objectives of the three week Jan Abhiyan launched ahead of third phase of B2V. He appealed to the masses to ensure maximum participation in the programme for the successful implementation of the same on ground level. He asked people to follow all the Covid SOPs during the participation in the programme. He also directed the DDC to organize Block Diwas at Block Headquarter and asked him to visit the far flung Block.


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LOCATION: 197 Main St.
HOURS: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
ONLINE: candlereadycakes.com or facebook.com/candlereadycakes
A popular Dubuque dessert shop plans to move to a new downtown location.
Candle Ready Cakes, currently located at 197 Main St., will move to 249 W. First St. within the next year. The new location at the corner of First and Locust streets is next to the business Planted.
“This has kind of been in the works for a couple of years now,” said Jill Takosky, owner of Candle Ready Cakes. “COVID slowed it down a little bit. We really have outgrown our current location. We need a bigger kitchen to employ more staff. Our kitchen is so small, we can only really put three people in there to work efficiently. The new kitchen will be three times as large.”
The new location still will be near many of the venues that buy its desserts, she said.
“For walking traffic, it’s going to be a little bit better,” she said. “There’s more traffic going past there. We’re hoping to increase visibility.”
Takosky said the First Street building will be completely remodeled, and crews already have started masonry work on the outside. While the building’s historic elements will remain, it also will have a new look to make the area that serves as a gateway into the neighborhood more attractive.
“It really is beautifying a corner of downtown Dubuque that really needed revitalization,” Takosky said. “It’s really going to amp up that first look when people come to Dubuque.”
She said she also hopes to hire more people in the larger space, though she is unsure of how many at this point. Candle Ready Cakes employs eight people.
The expanded space also will allow more orders to be filled. Takosky said the shop fully books up on custom orders one week in advance.
Takosky said she also plans to introduce more product lines to customers. Currently, the business focuses on specialty cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, macarons and edible cookie dough.
Takosky envisions a monthly rotation of new items, such as brownies and cheesecakes.
“It’s just to keep it fresh and exciting and to always have some good, new things for people to come in to the store and try,” she said.
The new location also will double as an event space to be rented for events such as bridal or baby showers, as well as space for cake decorating classes. Takosky said the shop has held decorating classes for years, but in-person classes and events have been on hold since the pandemic began.
Candle Ready Cakes also has the opportunity to win up to $28,000 to assist with its relocation.
Dubuque Main Street recently selected Candle Ready Cakes as one of eight Dubuque applicants to compete in Main Street Iowa’s Open 4 Business initiative, which supports business development and expansions in Main Street communities, said Laura Bertjens, event and program specialist with Dubuque Main Street.
Candles Ready Cakes was named one of the top five competitors in the state and awarded $8,000. The business could receive another $20,000 in August if it is named the winner in the state contest.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment to grow out of a business within 10 years and to need more space,” Bertjens said of Candle Ready Cakes. “It’s a testament to their quality product and customer service. It will create a pleasant gateway for Locust Street into Dubuque. They’re going to fix that up as part of their project. We couldn’t be more happy for them.”
The news of Candle Ready Cakes’ move comes as the business prepares to mark its 10-year anniversary in August. Takosky initially opened the business with her mother, Beth Schrempf, at the Main Street location.
“We’ve loved our Main Street location, and we didn’t know if a move would ever be in our future,” Takosky said. “But when this corner building went up for sale, it was perfect. … We are working on a rebrand. It’s just going to be really great.”


text:
By Joseph McCain The Winston County Journal
The shelves in Perry’s Department are past empty and many are sold. After 60 years of business the doors are permanently closed. Odie Keen, owner of Perry’s, never thought he would do anything else but the economy, loss of business and something else made him come to the hard choice of closing the family business. “It sure has been sad but a lot of wonderful memories,” said Keen who decided to close the business when had to find employment to that would pay for college for his two children and would not have to worry about store profits or losses. Keen who started working for his uncle Perry E. Lunceford Jr. straight of college in 1976 was glad to join the family business. Lunceford and his wife Bertha started the store in July of 1951. Lunceford’s business was a family business. When he first opened, he partnered with his brother H.W. Lunceford to build up the business and soon had 11 stores across the state. Lunceford with what appeared to be plans to build a stronger family side of the business hired his brother-in-law (Odie Keen’s) father to get his family moved from Memphis to Louisville. “He was helping my family by hiring my dad and moving from the rat race in Memphis,” said Keen. “My dad was working three jobs at the time and moving to Louisville was a relief for him.” The business continued to grow and while Keen’s father moved onto another job in the community, Lunceford had plans for Odie Keen to join the business and maybe with plans to take it over one day. “He never really though about retiring but I imagine he did plan to pass on the business to his family,” said Keen. Keen took over the business about 20 years ago and his uncle Perry Lunceford continued to help others in the community as well as serving his church up until his death. “My uncle was one of the humblest persons and was always helping others,” said Perry. While his uncle Perry Lunceford opened the doors on Perry’s to help his family to have a better future, Odie Keen closed the doors in order to insure his family had a better future as well. Keen thanked all the persons who supported the business over the 60 years and for all the wonderful times working in the store. To recognize those customers the store held a giveaway of prizes on its final days before closing. Several customers earned nice prizes with J.J. Jenkins winning the top prize of a laptop from the giveaway. Over 840 customers participated in the final sales day giveaways.

domain: economics


Realizing the future today: Digital Reinvention in consumer products
Digital technologies are altering how people and businesses interact. Digital forces are creating unprecedented levels of industry dislocation, fundamentally changing the economics of business. By embracing Digital Reinvention, organisations create an opportunity to fundamentally re imagine their operations and how they engage with consumers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Read this report to find out more.
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Turkey's tourism revenue hit nearly $3 billion in the second quarter of this year, the country's statistical authority announced on July 30.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has nominated former Finance Minister Natalia Gavrilita to try to become the country's new prime minister.
Two unlikely new British cycling heroes emerged on Friday as Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte claimed the country's first two Olympic medals in BMX.
Shriever, who once worked as a teaching assistant to fund her riding, produced a huge shock as she dethroned Colombia's BMX queen Mariana Pajón to win gold in a thrilling race around one lap of the Ariake Urban Sports Park circuit.
Minutes earlier Whyte took the silver in the men's race after losing out on gold to Dutchman Niek Kimmann. 'It means the world to British BMX,' Whyte said. 'We've never had a medal, we've got one now, well, we've got two now. So history has been made.' Continue reading...
[Namibian] THE country's commercial and communal food production systems are increasingly threatened by climate change, a government analysis has revealed.
Israel's young coalition has already sustained serious damage from the country's fourth COVID wave – as Netanyahu works manically to tighten his grip on Likud
The plan is touted by the Religious Affairs Ministry as a way of reducing the price of kosher food in Israel, and its impact could extend well beyond the country's borders
Haim Gouri was a prominent figure among Israel's founding generation. He received the country's highest honors for his work, including the Bialik Prize and the Israel Prize
Anastasia Gorbenko the country's first ever gold medal at an Olympic swimming event, also setting a new Israeli record
A session of the Italian Parliament has turned to chaos after a group of right-wing MPs protested the country's 'Green Pass' Covid vaccine cert system, which is soon to become mandatory for accessing most public venues.
Read Full Article at RT.com
The country's foreign minister blames "Iranian terrorism" for an attack that left two people dead.
Catapulted to stardom by her landmark silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games, badminton star P. V. Sindhu has become a sporting, social and cultural female figurehead in India. At 25 she's already the country's most marketable female athlete and her upward trajectory continues both on and off the court.
President Michel Aoun told the country's public prosecutor Friday he was ready to give a statement about last year's Beirut port blast if it were needed.


text:
Pastelon de Amarillos (Yellow Plantain and Meat Pie)
1 pound ground beef
5 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cup basic recaito
1/2 cup manzanilla olives, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
2 cups corn oil
7 very ripe yellow plantains, peeled and cut into 3-inch slices
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 pound green beans, cooked
6 eggs, beaten
1 Brown the meat in a large frying pan. Add the remaining filling ingredients and cook
over medium heat for 5 minutes. Set aside.
2 Preheat the oven to 350 F. Heat the oil and fry the plantain until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels.
3 Spread 1/2 cup of the filling in the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan. Add a
layer of half of the plantain slices and cover with the remaining filling. Add the
mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining plantain slices. Sprinkle the green beans on
top and pour the eggs over all. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the eggs are set.
Puerto Rican Recipes

domain: food


Part theatre part gig performs ballads of smugglers at Cecil Sharp House
- Credit: Archant
A show telling the stories behind eight traditional folk songs gets its premiere at Cecil Sharp House this month
A show telling the stories behind eight traditional folk songs gets its premiere at Cecil Sharp House this month.
The Theatre Ballads was co-commissioned by the English Folk Dance and Song Society who are based at the Primrose Hill venue.
Horse + Bamboo Theatre Company have combined live music, animation, puppetry and visual theatre to bring to life songs such as The Female Smuggler, about a young woman who disguises herself as a sailor to follow her father to sea. It will be told through puppets, while Con Yo’ Help us a Bit about the closure of the Lancashire mills will be recounted with stop-frame animation.
Top folk musicians, including Steeleye Span and the Albion Band’s John Kirkpatrick on melodeon and accordion, Bryony Griffith of The Demon Barbers on fiddle, viola and piano, and Scottish singer songwriter Ewan McLennan on guitar will perform the songs.
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Esther Ferry-Kennington, from Horse + Bamboo Theatre said: “This is a new style of performance somewhere between an evening at the theatre and a music gig that will bring theatre to the traditional music audience and traditional music to a theatre audience.
“Each of the eight pieces is a historic ballad arranged and performed live alongside puppetry and simple illustrations, drawing out the tales before your eyes to create an evocative new look at visual theatre and folk music.”
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The project to translate traditional folk ballads into theatre was chosen as the winner of a competitive commissioning process by the EFDSS with a grant from the PRS for Music Foundation’s talent development fund. They handed Horse + Bamboo a £4,000 bursary to research and develop the show, which premieres at Cecil Sharp House in Regent’s Park Road on March 23 before moving on to Bristol and Bury. Tickets £16 from cecilsharphouse.org.


Welcome to the future of conversational AI! OpenAI’s groundbreaking language model, ChatGPT, has taken the world by storm with its ability to effortlessly engage in intelligent and captivating conversations. Have you ever wondered how it works its magic? Look no further! In this blog post, we will demystify ChatGPT and delve into the depths of this revolutionary technology that is shaping the way we interact with machines. Prepare to be amazed as we unravel the secrets behind how ChatGPT empowers businesses, enhances customer experiences, and revolutionizes the field of artificial intelligence. Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or simply curious about cutting-edge advancements in language models, join us on this enlightening journey as we uncover all there is to know about OpenAI’s outstanding creation – ChatGPT. Let’s dive in.
Introduction to ChatGPT and OpenAI
ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a state-of-the-art conversational artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by OpenAI, one of the leading AI research companies in the world. It is built on top of the popular transformer architecture, which enables it to process large amounts of text data and generate human-like responses. OpenAI’s mission is to develop friendly AI that benefits humanity. They believe that artificial intelligence has the potential to greatly benefit society, but also recognize its potential harmful effects if not carefully managed. As part of this mission, they have released several groundbreaking models and tools, including ChatGPT.
ChatGPT was first introduced in 2019 as GPT-2 – a large-scale language model trained on 1.5 billion parameters using an unsupervised learning approach. This means that the model learns from vast amounts of data without explicit instructions or guidance from humans. In June 2020, OpenAI released an even more advanced version called GPT-3 with over 175 billion parameters – making it one of the largest language models ever created. This breakthrough model has garnered immense attention from both AI experts and the general public due to its impressive capabilities and potential applications. But what makes ChatGPT and OpenAI’s approach so revolutionary? Let’s take a closer look at some key features of this cutting-edge technology.
Unsupervised Learning and Self-Attention Mechanisms
As mentioned earlier, ChatGPT is trained using an unsupervised learning approach, which means it can process large amounts of text data without any human-labeled annotations. This is a crucial feature that separates it from traditional language models, which require extensive hand-crafted rules and supervised training. ChatGPT also utilizes self-attention mechanisms, which allow it to focus on different parts of the input text and capture complex relationships between words. This enables the model to generate more coherent and contextually relevant responses, improving its performance in conversational tasks.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) Capabilities
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has impressive natural language processing capabilities that make it stand out from other AI models. It can understand and generate text in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, and more. Furthermore, ChatGPT can perform a variety of NLP tasks such as machine translation, question-answering, summarization, and sentiment analysis – all without the need for additional fine-tuning or training.
Innovative Use Cases
The potential use cases for ChatGPT are endless. As a conversational AI model, it can be used in chatbots for customer service or personal assistants like Siri or Alexa.
Understanding Language Models: What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT, also known as “Conversational Generative Pre-trained Transformer,” is a state-of-the-art language model developed by OpenAI. It has gained significant attention for its ability to generate human-like text and hold coherent conversations with users. In this section, we will delve deeper into understanding what exactly ChatGPT is and how it works.
At its core, ChatGPT is a neural network-based language model that uses machine learning algorithms to understand and generate text. It uses a technique called “deep learning” where it processes large amounts of data in order to learn patterns and relationships between words, phrases, and sentences. This allows the model to generate responses that are relevant and appropriate in the context of conversation.
One of the most remarkable features of ChatGPT is its ability to mimic human-like responses. This is due to its pre-training on a vast amount of data from various sources such as books, articles, websites, and even social media conversations. As a result, the model has developed an understanding of how humans use language in different contexts.
OpenAI designed ChatGPT primarily for NLP (natural language processing) tasks such as text completion or translation. However, it can also be used for conversational AI purposes due to its remarkable abilities in generating coherent responses.
How ChatGPT Works: Breaking Down the Technology
The technology behind ChatGPT is what makes it such a groundbreaking and innovative tool for conversational AI. Developed by OpenAI, the powerful language model uses state-of-the-art deep learning techniques to generate human-like responses in natural language conversations.
At its core, ChatGPT is built upon a deep neural network architecture known as Transformer. This type of model has gained popularity in recent years due to its ability to process large amounts of text data and capture complex relationships between words. But what sets ChatGPT apart from other chatbots is its use of unsupervised learning. Unlike traditional chatbots that are pre-programmed with a set of rules and responses, ChatGPT learns through exposure to vast amounts of data from the internet. This allows it to adapt and improve its responses over time, making it more conversational and human-like with each conversation.
The key component of ChatGPT’s technology is the use of GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), which contains 175 billion parameters – making it one of the largest language models ever created. These parameters act as virtual “memories” that store knowledge about the English language, allowing for a wide range of responses while maintaining grammatical accuracy. Additionally, GPT-3 also utilizes attention mechanisms, which enable it to focus on specific parts of a sentence or context when generating a response. This helps ensure coherence and relevance in its replies, leading to more natural-sounding conversations.
Advantages of ChatGPT in Conversational AI
ChatGPT, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a state-of-the-art language model developed by OpenAI and widely used in various natural language processing applications. In recent years, this advanced technology has gained significant attention in the field of conversational AI and has shown impressive results in creating engaging and realistic conversations with users. In this section, we will delve into the advantages of ChatGPT in conversational AI and how it revolutionizes the way machines interact with humans.
1. High-Quality Conversations: One of the main advantages of using ChatGPT in conversational AI is its ability to generate high-quality conversations that are indistinguishable from human ones. This is due to its massive training on a large dataset consisting of millions of web pages, books, articles, and other sources. As a result, ChatGPT can understand context better and produce relevant responses without sounding robotic or scripted.
2. Extensive Knowledge Base: Another major benefit of using ChatGPT is its extensive knowledge base. It contains information on almost every topic imaginable, allowing it to provide accurate responses to user queries covering various domains. This makes it an ideal choice for chatbots used in customer service or support as they need to handle different types of questions from customers effectively.
3. Training Flexibility: Unlike traditional chatbot models that require specific training on the data related to their designated task or domain, ChatGPT offers more flexibility as it is pre-trained on a broad range of topics. This means developers don’t need to spend time and resources on training the model from scratch, making it a more efficient and cost-effective option.
4. Personalization: ChatGPT has the ability to personalize conversations based on individual user preferences. As it learns from each interaction, it can adapt its responses to match the user’s tone, style, and topic of conversation. This feature helps create a more natural and personalized experience for users, making them feel like they are speaking to a real human.
5. Multilingual Capabilities: Another significant advantage of ChatGPT is its multilingual capabilities. It can converse in multiple languages with equal proficiency, making it an attractive choice for businesses with global operations or customers from different linguistic backgrounds.
6. Contextual Understanding: ChatGPT excels in understanding context, which is crucial in maintaining natural and meaningful conversations with users. Unlike traditional chatbots that follow predetermined rules or commands, ChatGPT can understand the subtleties of language and consider previous interactions to generate relevant and coherent responses.


text: Picked up by Paul from Offas Dyke and taken to the BandB Plas Penucha. Very warm welcome, lovely warm, snug, cosy bedroom. Fire lite and tea in the Library. Excellent food and wine at the Picadilly Inn for the evening meal and a lovely breakfast. Fabulous place and great place to stay.

domain: library


text:
Middle Ages In European history, the Middle Ages, or Medieval period, lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: Antiquity, Medieval period, and Modern period. The Medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, the High, and the Late Middle Ages. Depopulation, deurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, which had begun in Late Antiquity, continued in the Early Middle Ages. The barbarian invaders, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire.
Villa Capra "La Rotonda" - Wikipedia Villa Capra "La Rotonda" in Vicenza. Villa La Rotonda is a Renaissance villa just outside Vicenza in northern Italy, and designed by Andrea Palladio. The proper name is Villa Almerico Capra Valmarana, but it is also known as La Rotonda, Villa Rotonda, Villa Capra and Villa Almerico. The name "Capra" derives from the Capra brothers, who completed the building after it was ceded to them in 1592. Along with other works by Palladio, the building is conserved as part of the World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto".
Florence Florence (Italian: Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] ( ), alternative obsolete form: Fiorenza; Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area. Florence is famous for its history: a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, it is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called "the Athens of the Middle Ages". A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865-71 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. Florence is an important city in Italian fashion, being ranked in the top 50 fashion capitals of the world; furthermore, it is a major national economic centre, as a tourist and industrial hub.
Modern history Modern history, also referred to as the modern period or the modern era, is the historiographical approach to the timeframe after the post-classical era (known as the Middle Ages). Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. Contemporary history is the span of historic events that are immediately relevant to the present time. The modern era began approximately in the 16th century. The study of modern history Some events, while not without precedent, show a new way of perceiving the world. The concept of modernity interprets the general meaning of these events and seeks explanations for major developments.
Art history As a term, art history (also history of art) encompasses several methods of studying the visual arts; in common usage referring to works of art and architecture. Aspects of the discipline overlap. As the art historian Ernst Gombrich once observed, "the field of art history [is] much like Caesar's Gaul, divided in three parts inhabited by three different, though not necessarily hostile tribes: (i) the connoisseurs, (ii) the critics, and (iii) the academic art historians".
Dark Ages (historiography) The Dark Ages is a historical periodization used originally for the Middle Ages, which emphasizes the cultural and economic deterioration that supposedly occurred in Western Europe following the decline of the Roman Empire. The label employs traditional light-versus-darkness imagery to contrast the "darkness" of the period with earlier and later periods of "light". The period is characterized by a relative scarcity of historical and other written records at least for some areas of Europe, rendering it obscure to historians. The term "Dark Age" derives from the Latin saeculum obscurum, originally applied by Caesar Baronius in 1602 to a tumultuous period in the 10th and 11th centuries. The term "Dark Ages" originally was intended to denote the entire period between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance; the term "Middle Ages" has a similar motivation, implying an intermediate period between Classical Antiquity and the Modern era.
Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy - The Anti-Media April 17, 2014 | admintam Eric Zuesse (CommonDreams) A study, to appear in the Fall 2014 issue of the academic journal Perspectives on Politics, finds that the U.S. is no democracy, but instead an oligarchy, meaning profoundly corrupt, so that the answer to the study’s opening question, “Who governs? Who really rules?” in this country, is: “Despite the seemingly strong empirical support in previous studies for theories of majoritarian democracy, our analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts.
House of Medici The House of Medici (/ˈmɛdɨtʃi/ MED-i-chee; Italian pronunciation: [de ˈmɛːditʃi]) was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside, gradually rising until they were able to fund the Medici Bank. The bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century, seeing the Medici gain political power in Florence — though officially they remained citizens rather than monarchs. Early modern period In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages of the post-classical era. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the post-classical age (c. 1500), known as the Middle Ages, through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions (c. 1800) and is variously demarcated by historians as beginning with the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, with the Renaissance period, and with the Age of Discovery (especially with the discovery of America, but also with the discovery of the sea route to the East), and ending around the French Revolution in 1789. From a global standpoint, the most important feature of the early modern period was its globalizing character — it witnessed the exploration and colonization of the Americas and the rise of sustained contacts between previously isolated parts of the globe. The historical powers became involved in global trade. Early modern timeline
Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint and compression we are simply objecting to the classicism of classic art. A violent emphasis or a sudden acceleration of rhythmic movement would have destroyed those qualities of balance and completeness through which it retained until the present century its position of authority in the restricted repertoire of visual images." Classicism, as Clark noted, implies a canon of widely accepted ideal forms, whether in the Western canon that he was examining in The Nude (1956), or the literary Chinese classics or Chinese art, where the revival of classic styles is also recurring feature. General term
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (or simply the Enlightenment, or Age of Reason) is an era from the 1650s to the 1780s in which cultural and intellectual forces in Western Europe emphasized reason, analysis and individualism rather than traditional lines of authority. It was promoted by philosophes and local thinkers in urban coffeehouses, salons and masonic lodges. It challenged the authority of institutions that were deeply rooted in society, such as the Catholic Church; there was much talk of ways to reform society with toleration, science and skepticism. New ideas and beliefs spread around the continent and were fostered by an increase in literacy due to a departure from solely religious texts. Publications include Encyclopédie (1751–72) that was edited by Denis Diderot and (until 1759) Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Some 25,000 copies of the 35 volume encyclopedia were sold, half of them outside France.
How Plumbing (Not Vaccines) Eradicated Disease - ORGANIC AND HEALTHY Government health organisations and big pharmaceuticals are quick to tell the world it is due to vaccinations that the numbers of disease in the population have fallen, when in fact you are better off thanking a plumber. Before plumbing was commonplace, the average 'sanitation' station in a house consisted of a basin and a jug to fill with water, human waste was disposed of wherever possible. The rates of death and disease during these times were incredibly high.
The Early Renaissance - Art History Basics on the Early Italian Renaissance - ca 1400-1500 Florence, or Firenze as it's known to those who live there, was the cultural epicenter for Early Italian Renaissance art, launching the careers of many prominent artists in 15th-century Italy. In the previous article on the Proto-Renaissance, several Republics and Duchies in northern Italy were also mentioned as artist-friendly. These places were quite serious in competing with one another for the most glorious civic adornment, among other things, which kept a lot of artists happily employed. How, then, did Florence manage to grab center stage?
Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery is a period of European global exploration that started in the early 15th century with the first Portuguese discoveries in the Atlantic archipelagos and Africa, as well as the discovery of the Americas by Spain in 1492, and the Portuguese discovery of the ocean route to the East in 1498, and by a series of European naval expeditions across the Atlantic and later the Pacific, which continued until the 18th century. It is sometimes regarded as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern era, along with its contemporary Renaissance movement. European overseas expansion led to the rise of colonial empires, with the contact between the Old and New Worlds producing the Columbian Exchange: a wide transfer of plants, animals, foods, human populations (including slaves), communicable diseases and culture between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

domain: geography


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I am so deeply touched by this story of “Mahalakshmi and the Boon of True Knowledge.” It recalled for me the following experience.
During my most recent holiday in France, I strolled a lot through beautiful nature. One day I discovered a pathway lined on each side with huge trees. As I walked through this natural promenade, admiring the breathtaking natural scenery and feeling the warm summer wind on my face, a feeling of absolute freedom and happiness took hold of me. Although I had nothing with me, I felt as incredibly rich as a queen.
This experience made me realize that true wealth is an inner feeling that is wholly independent of whether I have material wealth or not.
Reading the story of Mahalakshmi, the boon giver, reminded me of my infinite nature. And it reminded me that I had forgotten the infinite blessings that have come my way without my even asking for them. I realized that every day is a miracle, when I allow my small mind to rest in the infinite nature of the Absolute.
Florida, United States
This beautiful story reconnected me to many thoughts and feelings about the spiritual path that I had forgotten. It is a very powerful story that makes me reflect once again on the concepts and experience of outer wealth and inner wealth, and how I relate to Mahalakshmi as the representation, and bestower, of abundance.
Mexico City, Mexico
As I read the first half of this story, my mind did its guesswork about the consequences likely to befall Madhava, who focused primarily on the attainment of great material wealth. When the story shifted, taking on a probable transformational ending, my eyes filled with tears of gladness. At that moment, something within me shifted too.
Reading about Madhava’s experience transformed a piece of my own inner puzzle and inspired me to find a meaningful way of being in the world.
New Jersey, United States
I feel Saint Madhava was very persevering. I want to be like him. I also want to worship Mahalakshmi. I felt love and compassion while reading this story.
an eight-year-old from Dubai, United Arab Emirates
What an example of perseverance! I reflected on how this story relates to my sadhana
I perform arati
every morning, but after reading this story I was inspired to perform it with greater care, intention, and devotion and to pray to Gurumayi and honor her with the same reverence that Madhava extended to Mahalakshmi.
The next morning I did not change anything in my outer performance of the arati
, but on the inside I invoked a more profound feeling of worship. And it was so sweet!
I realized that on the Siddha Yoga path, a slight change in perception and feeling can give rise to a profound experience. I love these subtle changes; they taste like nectar.
Reading this story reminded me of an experience with Mahalakshmi that I had in the Siddha Yoga Meditation Center in Los Angeles. In one of the halls, there is a beautiful life-size wooden statue of Mahalakshmi. I was in the hall with my family, and I was worrying about our finances. I turned to Lakshmi, thinking with reproach, “You are meant to be taking care of us.”
Instantly, an infinite field of gleaming, colorful gems stretched out before my eyes. And I heard within me, “It is the inner wealth. It is the inner wealth. It is the inner wealth.” I sank into the profound stillness of my heart.
Now, years later, I weep in gratitude as I realize the blessing of my ever expanding awareness of the Truth. Indeed, my family has never suffered lack in our simple, but inwardly rich, life of sadhana
. This is the fruit of Mahalakshmi’s blessing and Gurumayi’s grace.
When I first read this beautiful story, I was surprised to realize how much I had been experiencing Mahalakshmi throughout my day. The first sign was a stunning sunrise that cast a rose-pink glow across the clouds and transformed a rainbow into an astonishing arc of pink light. I knew at the time, this was an auspicious sign.
Later in the day, as I took a walk in the countryside near my home, I was deeply conscious of the beauty in what I was seeing. It was easy to see beauty in the autumn colors of the trees, but today I discovered beauty even in creatures I have previously found unattractive, such as an old crow perched on barbed wire and a brown rat emerging from a stream.
As I reflected more on this tale about Mahalakshmi, I knew that beauty exists in everything. I understood how my own perception of beauty had deepened and become subtler, thanks to the Siddha Yoga path. And I felt my heart expand with love and gratitude.
Havant, United Kingdom
I chant your name from a palm-leaf manuscript.
The wind sings it back to me from every golden leaf in autumn.
I love this story so much. I recognized myself in Madhava, in how I have prayed for so many things over the years. Some things were granted, and I could sometimes see a gift bestowed. Some things were not granted, no matter how often I prayed for them. With hindsight, I see how these “prayers denied” were blessings in disguise.
Little by little, the things I pray for—and how I pray—have changed. Over time, being connected to the grace-bestowing power of the Guru is polishing my heart, my habits, and my state.
As I read this story, I can identify some recent moments of clarity when my heart has been suffused with peace and a shining stillness. This story helps me to see how this is a state free of grasping. That is the space I want to live in. And I see that even the act of praying with focus, time, and humility is a gift and an end in itself.
As always, the timing of this story has been a boon.
California, United States
As I read the story of Madhava, my heart expanded. I could actually feel a movement in my heart, and joy along with tears. I felt that I had had an experience of connecting to God, and felt both gratitude and inspiration from Madhava’s devotion to Shri Lakshmi. I long for that desire, will, and devotion. What an example! It gives me great hope.
Ohio, United States
What a beautiful story of Madhava’s sadhana
journey! What I loved in the story was that Madhava learned to appreciate the simple beauty in life—and that’s what the Siddha Yoga path is guiding me toward, especially as I view all the images in the various Nature Galleries each month. So now, the teachings and practices are not confined to just my puja
room; they are becoming, for me, a way of life.
This story gives me more clarity and confidence on this beautiful path, and appreciation for the simple beauty in life.
New Jersey, United States

domain: literature


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November 2, 2012
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Vintners’ house in Rača
Barónka 3, Bratislava
The two-wing structure served as the centre for local wine-growers as well as the cultural house of the German community in Rača. According to the original design, it was to have formed the centre of a grouping of village-like single-family houses built for German settlers. In the cellar were the spaces for pressing and storing wine, with the ground floor reserved for social events. The upper level and attic contained offices and residential spaces. The ‘Germanic’ aesthetic character is founded in the staircase plinth, the arcades with pronounced keystones at the peak of the arches, the steeply pitched roof with many tiny dormers, the balconies with solid railings and the rusticated corner quoining.
STOLIČNÁ, Elena: Architektúra & urbanizmus 31, 1997, 4, s. 162 – 176.
DULLA, Matúš – MORAVČÍKOVÁ, Henrieta: Architektúra Slovenska v 20. storočí. Bratislava, Slovart 2002. 512 s., tu s. 409.

domain: design


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Chris Colepaugh, Sunday Night Review
Connect with Chris Colepaugh: Facebook |Instagram
Chris Colepaugh is at it again, with another smoking single “Sunday Nights.” With southern rock-inspired blues, the multiple award-winning Canadian frontman of the group Chris Colepaugh and the Cosmic Crew has performed at prestigious festivals such as SXSW, CMW, NXNE, NEMO, Evolve, Canadian Music Cafe and has spent more than two decades actively touring Canada and the United States. Part of his itineraries has included dates with Government Mule, North Mississippi Allstars, and Big Sugar as well as CCCC performances at the House of Blues, the Hard Rock Café, tours of New England and southern US, the U.S. West Coast, Southern California and multiple cross Canada tours. Colpaugh is releasing a single a month, we reviewed “Mamma’s Eyes” (read review HERE), “Louder” (read review HERE), and now he is releasing his third single, “Sunday Night.”
Sunday Night (single)
Release Date: March 29, 2019
Heavy Gauge Records, Ltd.
The third in a stream of singles since January of 2019, Colepaugh hits it in the pocket with “Sunday Nights,” adding up to a solid listen!


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There’s nothing more fun than a holiday cocktail party. The atmosphere is festive— standing in a roomful of friends, favorite drink in hand, sampling those little bite-size creations called hors d’oeuvres. I love tasting a variety of different foods in small bites, like Chinese dim sum or Japanese sushi. Hors d’oeuvres are the closest Western food equivalent, and they’re fun to make, too, not requiring as much technical kitchen knowledge as other dishes. After all, a canapé can be as simple as brie on a cracker with a dollop of blackberry jam.
At the Inn at Easton, where we must regularly provide hors d’oeuvres for functions, we find it’s easier to create these unusual combinations than to retool our main menu— the effort keeps us on our toes. Some canapés can be really complicated, but my rule of thumb for simple, well-defined flavors and textures also applies to these appetizers. From the easy but stylish oyster stew shooters to the decadence of eggs and caviar to the more complicated crab and curried couscous spring rolls, these appetizers will give your next cocktail party that extra little zing.
Deep-Fried Green Olives with Stoli Aioli
Herbed Egg Tartlets with Sturgeon Caviar
Crab and Curried Couscous Spring Rolls


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"man someone take out that Rofl'ing gun when it needs a reload!"
"it probably just got reloaded!"
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The Grouch & Eligh Say G&E!
Left-coast luminaries The Grouch and Eligh have made a tradition of sharing wisdom and morality […]
Left-coast luminaries The Grouch and Eligh have made a tradition of sharing wisdom and morality over mesmerizing production, so Say G&E!, the Living Legends’ members third shot as a tag team, is a business-as-usual affair. It’s loaded with substantive wordplay and laidback beats, with just enough nod factor to make necks cramp. MC Eligh also produces a majority of the album, crafting lush, somber soundscapes (“Say G&E!,” “Do It Again”) and upbeat jams (“All In,” “Worried About the World”). Also notable is the A-list lineup of collaborators, which includes Slug waxing nostalgic over Amp Live’s bouncy “!BOOM!,” and Blu kicking knowledge beyond his years on the Flying Lotus-produced “Old Souls.”


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Happy Tuesday, Ya’ll! Hope y’all had an awesome holiday weekend! We lucked out with great weather and took full advantage! I realized recently that I hadn’t written this in forever, so I thought I’d share a little bit about myself for those who may have just started reading. This bio has actually been under my ‘About’ tab for the past few years, but I realize many forget to check out that area when you’re on SSP. So here you go…
Launched in 2010, Sweet Southern Prep continues to be an outlet to share my love of fashion and family.
I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and earned my degree in Communications. While in college one summer, I interned as an event planner at a local country club in Charlotte, NC and realized after a month in, that the hospitality industry just wasn’t my calling. After graduation, I decided to go back to school and get my teaching degree in Elementary Education. I loved teaching first grade, but after five years and a new baby on the way, I decided to stay home with her. After my second daughter arrived seventeen months after my first, I was spending a lot of time at home with both of them. While I loved being with them, they were napping both mornings and afternoons, and I wanted something else to do to bide my time.
I didn’t think too much of it at the time, but my friend and I both attempted to enter new accounts on blogger. Blogging was a fairly new outlet at the time. Keep in mind, until this point, I’d hated writing all of my life. It began with standardized writing tests in 4th grade up until class essays in college. Dreaded all of them. Initially, my mindset for my blog was lifestyle and some fashion. More pictures, less words. All I knew then was that I wanted a really cool blog name (which by the way, it took me forever to come up with it), but I still absolutely love it to this day!
Entering the blogging world, I had no idea what I was doing. I would spend hours while the girls napped trying to google how to post content with pictures, change fonts, research html codes, etc. I watched lots of ‘How-To’ videos and started to figure it out. Until this day, I’ve still never taken a blogging class or ventured into Photo Shop. One day, maybe that will happen. But not yet. All I remember is that I went into it to have fun. I always told Lanier that if I ever got burned out from posting meaningful content everyday, that I’d stop. I wanted to enjoy doing what I was doing, and I wanted my readers to enjoy it too. I love sharing the latest sales (because I clearly love to shop), outfit inspirations, cocktail recipes and pics of my family with my audience, which I still continue to do to this day.
After eight years (wow, that’s crazy to think I’ve been at it that long!), I consider myself so lucky to have worked with so many amazing fashion brands, including Nordstrom, Kate Spade, Boden, Lilly Pulitzer, Target, Kendra Scott and Tory Burch in both creative partnerships and brand representation.
A Little Bit More
I’m a wife and mother, blessed with four wonderful children (two girls and two boys) and a 10-year old Boston Terrier. I’m an eternal optimist with a sunny disposition, who is energetic and runs on little sleep. I clearly love to shop! When I’m not at home, I’m playing tennis or running, spending time with my family, usually near the water (pool, beach, lake, etc), or eating at one of my favorite restaurants – so many good ones here in town! Lucky to call Charleston, SC my home! While I do love fashion, I’m a guy’s girl too and love watching sports (who I pull for: Carolina Tarheels, Georgia Bulldogs, Clemson Tigers, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Braves). If there’s sun, I’m in it!
Most importantly, I want to thank those of you for following along. Your support means the world. As I’ve always said, my hope is that what I’m loving lately, you are too!
I get lots of questions about my hair. If you’ve recently started reading, you’ll be surprised to know that I used to be a brunette. Head over to this post for my whole hair story.
Another question asked regularly is about my make-up routine. You can find that post here, with all the products I use.
On Family Names
Many of you have reached out asking about my childrens’ names. Here’s a recent post where I shared their origins.
My Blog Topics
All of these topics are also located on my tabs above my header.
Each week, I try and post on a different theme each day. On Mondays, I used to run a ‘How I Do It’ series. Hoping to start those back again soon. Head over here to check out my most recent ones. You’ll see that most are outdated, but like I said, I’ll start those up again soon. If you have any suggestions for a ‘How I Do It’ topic, please feel free and email me! Tuesdays, it’s usually random, but I try to post my favorite products and trends lately. For Wednesday Whereabouts, I share what we’ve been up to that week. On Thursdays, it’s Thirsty Thursday, where I share a favorite cocktail either I’ve enjoyed lately or a yummy recipe idea. And Fridays, it’s all about latest fashion trends and favorites, or what I’ve been wearing lately. If I’m really organized, I’ll share a recap at the end of the week of my most recent blog posts…
Latest Blog Posts
An Easy OOTD (Outfit of the Day)
Hope y’all have a great start to your short week!
To shop my most recent looks, head over here. It’s also located in the ‘Shop’ tab above my header.


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● Adjustable width of stripes.
● Multimanifold dies, single manifold dies, without coextrusion
Featuring precision control and saving electricity consumption, this model has earned a solid reputation in Taiwan, mainland China, Thailand, Indonesia, and South America. It produces PET sheets featuring high transparency, high brightness, high strength, high resilience, and environment-friendliness, which are now replacing PVC sheets.
Featuring high transparency and excellent water-resistance, PLA
(poly-lactic-acid) is physically similar to plastics, yet it is 100% decomposable.
Now this model is widely applied in the USA and Europe, flexible TPU sheets are top-grade materials for diving suits, waterbeds, windbreakers, snow jackets, plasma bags, shoes, knee pads, etc.
Available in models producing double/triple-layer sheets, this machine, allows separate sheet-thickness adjustment
This machine provides conductive sheets of even thickness, with a minimal error of within ±05μm in thickness, which have now become main materials for electronics and semiconductor elements packages.
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domain: chemistry


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|Bring Me the Head of Tatsurion the Unchained|
|Season Two, Episode Sixteen|
|Air date||October 12th, 2013|
Forest for the Trees
Ray and Tatsurion rush to the Fire Realm when hostile forces kidnap Tatsurion’s mother - and to make matters worse, Tatsurion must face enemies from his past - the Creatures responsible for his being branded a traitor and chained.
- It is revealed that Skycrusher has been using Alakshmi Verma and Master Tiera to capture various spies.
- It is revealed that Tatsurion had been growing up with Headstrong Wanderer in his youth.
- It is revealed that there was a bounty on Tatsurion because he protected Headstrong Wanderer from Brutalus which ended with Brutalus' wing injury. Also, it is revealed that an crippled Dragon is cast out, especially, when the dragon can no longer fly.
- Alakshmi and Tiera successfully escape from Skycrusher.
- Scott Wolf - Raiden Pierce-Okamoto
- Dee Bradley Baker - Brutalus
- Grey DeLisle - Janet Pierce-Okamoto, Moorna
- John DiMaggio - Lord Skycrusher, Vorg
- Andrew Kishino - Grandpa Raiden Okamoto
- David Sobolov - Tatsurion the Unchained
- Kari Wahlgren - Allison Underhill, Headstrong Wanderer, Master Tiera (credited as "Sensei")
- There is a scene where Bob hits Razorhide but after a couple of seconds he is depicted with Prickleback's colors.
- This is the first, (& apparently only), episode where Gabe is not present.
- The title "Bring the Head of Tatsurion the Unchained" is a reference to the 1974 film "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia".
#01 The Butterfly Effect
#02 Cease Fire
#03 Boiling Point
#05 Caught in The Spotlight
#06 The King's Speech
#07 Quest In Fire
#08 Rising Son
#09 Mixed Vegetables
#10 Extracurricular Activities
#11 Gargle, Gargle, Toil and Trouble
#12 Darkness on the Edge of Town
#13 Into the Void
#14 The San Campion Hexagon
#15 Exchange Program
#16 Bring Me the Head of Tatsurion the Unchained
#17 Forest for the Trees
#19 Dueling Partners
#24 Clash of The Monarchs
#26 The Evolution Will Not Be Televised

domain: entertainment


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I have been missing my craft supplies! I am slowly getting the unpacking done (it's quite a slow process with a 2 year old in tow!) and managed to find some of my crafty supplies over the weekend. So I got busy making some cards with some scraps and bits and pieces I could find. It's almost easier making cards with less supplies...it means I have to use what I have available :-)
So here are the few cards I have made this week...soon to be sent off for a very good cause...
Now I just need to get caught up with my Document 2012 album!
I'm linking up with Our Creative Spaces today. Why not head over and see what everyone else has been busy making this week?


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#progressive metal, guitar virtuoso, melodic rock, rock, hates america
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There are two groups with the name Hess: 1) Harem Scarem vocalist's 2003 solo album is scheduled for earliest release & includes one bonus track, 'Up hill Climb'. The musicians featured on the album include, Eric Martin (ex-Mr. Big), Pete Lesperance (Harem Scarem), Darren Smith (ex-Harem Scarem), Mike Turner (ex-Our Lady Peace), Justin Abedin, Mike Borkosky (Mullmuzzler, Lee Aaron, Alannah Myles), Creighton Doane (Harem Scarem, ex-Honeymoon Suite), & Ray Coburn (ex-Honeymoon Suite).