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Here on the new Hope Rising Blog, we want to bring stories and messages of the hope we have because our God is good! In the midst of fear and uncertainty, we all need encouragement and examples to walk in faith. Our first story comes from Megan Krivsky, right after she found out the Race was unexpectedly ending early due to COVID-19. Her perspective is Kingdom-focused and her eyes are on Jesus. She reminds us that life with God is an adventure no matter where you are in the world and Christ has Kingdom opportunities for us everywhere.
I woke up Monday morning to a message saying all World Race squads will fly home within 72 hours.
I looked out the window at the leafy palm trees basking in the 85 degree weather under the bright blue sky. Life in Thailand seems normal. There’re many people wearing masks and the streets are less crowded than usual but life seems to go on.
We were supposed to head to Malaysia in a week and then fly to Indonesia on April 2nd for the last month of our race. My mind began replaying memories of the last 10 months. And then I started to accept that it’s all ending in just 3 days.
Faces of people from Central America to Morocco to Ethiopia to India to Nepal to Myanmar to Thailand flashed through my mind. Faces of my squadmates ran through my memory. So many good times, so many hard times, so much growth. No one will understand this year like them.
Gratitude filled me. What an amazing time of my life this year has been. And the biggest realization of all— it’s not over.
I went on the race because I wanted to fall more in love with my God, my Savior, and my Creator. I wanted to get to be a vessel for the Spirit that is Love so others would get to know the fullness of life. I wanted to get to know God better myself because when I know Him better, I reflect Him better. Traveling across the world, living amongst so many different cultures, experiencing different lifestyles, seeing the consistent beauty of this planet, and meeting so many incredible people has truly given me a deeper understanding and love for God, and that’s something I get to take with me the rest of eternity.
At first when I thought about the race being over, I thought about going back to cold weather and sitting in my house doing nothing with no one. That probably will happen for a day or so and I’ll love it, but longer than that and it’s depressing. And then I realized it doesn’t have to be like that. In fact, I’ve learned that life can be as exciting as it is on the race every day. Because that’s what life with Jesus looks like. It’s not Thailand that makes life exciting, it’s Jesus. It’s not the world race that makes life exciting, it’s Jesus. And maybe the coronavirus can cause organizations, businesses, schools, etc. to shut down, but nothing can cause the Kingdom to shut down. As followers of Jesus, our purpose stands even if the structure of the world doesn’t.
So as my “World Race” ends, I know the true race goes on. Getting to live with open arms and pursue perfect Love is a lifestyle, not just a 10 month trip. While I’ll miss the travel and the 36 amazing people I’ve gotten to do this thing with, I know there’s so much awaiting us after this.
A few things to remember during this pandemic:
- God has always been the ultimate Healer aaannnddd He still is!!
- God has been here before the world existed, which is a really really long time!! And He’s always been in control. (John 1:1-3)
- Don’t let fear overtake you! I’m not saying be reckless and ignore the facts— be smart, but have peace knowing that God has the victory. Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Life wins.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.” John 1:1-5
Thank you all for following along with me on this journey!


AUTOMATIC STANDARD POTTING UNIT
By joining Tank unit, Metering and Mixing, and Potting conveyor the automatic potting line is completed works are loaded on a palette and in potting process it is treated as one unit. The potting conveyor removes palette to next potting position intermittently after finishing potting. If you select the straight type potting conveyor, you may get automatic potting conveyor line with high production capacity. At the potting conveyor has plural nozzles, you may select measuring pump devices.


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Research at the Department of Art History
The research profile of the Department of Art History is characerized by an interest in visual art and visual culture ranging from naturalism through to modernism and contemporary art.
In the completed and ongoing research projects and PhD theses, an empirical focus on modern and contemporary phenomena prevails, while cutting-edge theoretical discussions suggest new directions for the scholarship, also in terms of a wider historical perspective.
At the University of Turku the discipline is anchored in an arts studies environment; the neighbouring fields also include cultural history and gender studies.
Examples of research themes:
- theories and strands of modernism, including alternative and middle brow modernisms
- history and theory of naturalism, symbolism, expressionism, and surrealism
- phenomenology of perception and new materialist theoretizations in relation to contemporary art
- posthumanism and cultural animal studies
- gender and queer theoretical approaches to modern and contemporary art
- photography research (e.g., materialities of contemporary photography, theatre photography and the history of colour photography in Finland)
- portraiture and self-portraiture as theoretical and empirical issues
- war memorials, post-war public painting and other public art in Finland

domain: artistic


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Personalized Wooden Razor with Name (4-6 working days)
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- Type: Personalised Gifts
Every man needs a razor this stylish. Hand turned from beautifully grained Pau Ferro (also named Bolivian Rosewood) wood, this wooden razor is attractive and unique. This beautifully artistic razor would make a well-appreciated gift or an impressive addition to a wet shaving collection to a man.
- Measurement of razor: 11.5 cm Length x 4.3 cm Width
- Measurement of stand: 3.5cm width, 3cm height
- Weight: 75g (Razor) , 55g (Stand)
- Hand-turned wooden handle with durable chrome-plated brass, make them be a beautiful fit and match; The stand is also made of chrome-plated brass. This kind of material will never rust.
- Finished with a waterproof coat
- Free 10 blades of Korean famous brand–DORCO with each purchase, the blade provides a smooth and comfortable shave
- Comes with ribbon-tied box
- All NSJ products are engraved with NSJ logo.
- No email drafts are provided, therefore, kindly enter the text carefull
- Free engraving your name on the handle (MAX: 10 alphabets / 5 Chinese words)
- No email drafts are provided, therefore, kindly enter the text carefully
Note: Natural bamboo/wood may feature differences in texture, knots and color, making it completely unique. These differences will affect the final engraving result as engraving on the bamboo/wood will reveal the inner layer of it. Kindly do not purchase if you cannot accept these natural attributes
Delivery Fine Print:
- Item will take estimated 4-6 working days to arrive (vendor is not responsible for delays caused by courier service).
- Nationwide delivery.


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Greetings from your friendly neighborhood veterinarian! In this article I’d like to concentrate on the importance of oral health and hygiene in your pets. Over the past seven years as a practicing veterinarian I’ve had to remove at least hundreds, if not thousands, of teeth due to severe dental disease. Dental disease in dogs and cats is a very common problem and if left unchecked may lead to other severe problems.
Periodontal disease is by far the most common problem I see in dog and cat mouths and affects the periodontal ligament that attaches teeth to the surrounding bone. This disease typically starts with an accumulation of calculus (tartar) along the gumline. This hard mineral-like material is brown in color and gives bacteria a place to hide. If not removed regularly, bacteria and calculus will continue to build and wedge themselves in between the gums and tooth affecting the periodontal ligament. In the advanced stages there will be bone loss and loosening of the periodontal ligament. At this point, the tooth is likely not salvageable and must be removed to stop the disease process in the mouth.
One cat specific problem is called chronic feline gingivostomatitis. This is long standing inflammation or redness of the mouth mainly surrounding all teeth. This, you can imagine, is quite painful and can result in your cat hypersalivating and not eating. As this disease process progresses, tooth resorption can occur, meaning the crown and/or roots are eaten away. For reasons we don’t quite understand, some cat’s immune system attacks their own teeth and the disease progresses unless all teeth are extracted. There are some cases that I’ve tried to manage with antibiotics and pain medication, but the problem usually returns.
So, what can we do to keep our pets’ mouths healthy? BRUSHING! Yes, I said it. Unfortunately, there are not many things that replace the benefits of brushing teeth. The American Veterinary Dental College (www.avdc.org) recommends daily teeth brushing ideally or I say three days a week at a minimum. I recommend a soft bristle brush or finger-tip brush and pet formulated toothpaste (not human toothpaste). There are multiple flavors of tooth paste out there and hopefully one that will tempt your pet. Most effort should be concentrated on the outside portions of the teeth, so you don’t have to open your pets mouth wide open, just lift lips. The tongue does a pretty good job keeping the inside portions of the teeth clean.
OK, what do you do if you absolutely can’t brush? There are plenty of other oral hygiene products out there that can help reduce the bacterial load in the mouth and brown mineral on the teeth. These can range from dental chews to water additives to oral gels to bones, hides or other chew toys. Please consult with your veterinarian to determine the best option for you and your pet. Please avoid poultry bones as these can splinter and get stuck in the gastrointestinal tract. If your dog loves to chew bones, I recommend the bigger the better, so small pieces don’t fracture off and cause problems.
If oral hygiene products are not possible or not working, please schedule a professional dental cleaning with your local veterinarian. At that time your veterinarian will carefully evaluate all teeth for any evidence of disease and formulate the best treatment plan, which may mean tooth extraction. Please consult with your veterinarian to ensure your pet is healthy enough for this procedure and what risks may be associated. It’s generally recommended that your pet have a comprehensive oral health assessment and treatment annually, but please consult with your veterinarian to determine the best frequency. If you have any questions regarding your pet’s health, please don’t hesitate to call us at Page Animal Hospital, (928) 645-2816.
Bret the Vet

domain: health


Item no. 14818 Petit Bateau
Earn + 63 loyalty points with this purchase.
up to 10 working days
- Previous Collection. Unisex baby long all-in-one in merino wool and cotton knit, with an iconic milleraies rabbit print! A warm, soft item, essential for winter.
- 57% Wool 43% Cotton
maximum temperature 30 °c • gentle spin
do not tumble dry
iron at a maximum temperature of 110 °c / ironing with steam can cause irreversible damage
do not dry clean


Stray Kids unveiled the track list for 'Clé 2 : Yellow Wood.'
The boy group is coming back with the new album which includes the tracks "Road Never Walked" (literal translation), "Side Effect" (title), Thoughts," and 4 "Mixtape." As always, the members themselves have taken part in writing and composing the tracks.
Check out the full track list below. The release will be on June 19.


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Rihanna fans still want a new album, but when it will arrive is still up in the air. During a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Rihanna taunted her fans, while remaining tightlipped on any details on R9. “To be continued,” RiRi told the outlet.
“I like to antagonize my fans a little bit. Well, they antagonize me, too! So, they get it right back,” she added.
Rihanna was in New York City celebrating the launch of her new Fenty 2-20 collection at the city’s Bergdorf Goodman department store. “This is a monumental store in fashion, especially in New York City,” she said. “This is one the first places I ever came to in America. One of the first places that I could buy clothes when I got a check. And so to see my brand just sit here and be a part of this establishment is really wonderful… To see it in real life, it blows my mind. I mean, it really is special.”
Rihanna also touched on the journey of her Fenty fashion brand, which also includes her Savage X Fenty lingerie line. “The journey’s been incredible,” she said. “It’s a lot of hard work and just being true to your brand. I’ve always tried to stick with things that I enjoy doing and that I’m passionate about.”
She continued, “Fashion, being creative, that’s one of those things — it doesn’t matter the outlet, I always enjoy it. Fashion comes naturally, because of the industry that I’m in. It’s a part of my visuals, it’s a part of my videos, so it’s always been something that I’ve been interested in. To have this opportunity to do a Fenty brand with LVMH is special. It makes me feel validated.”
Rihanna’s last album, Anti, was released in 2016. Her record before that, Unapologetic, came out in 2012.


Dress your little one up nice and warm! The Jacksonwald trousers are perfect for the colder seasons. The trousers boast a knitted look and are made from beautifully stretchy organic cotton. The turn-ups have given the trousers a cool twist. This item of clothing won’t just allow you to make a sustainable choice for yourself or your child, but also for our planet. It’s completely made from organic cotton. The production’s use of natural processes fully supports the health of the soil, ecosystems and people. And had we mentioned how deliciously soft it is? These trousers are available in a range of different colours.
Material 100% Organic cotton Fit Regular Washing instructions Machine wash 30° Do not bleach Do not tumble dry Low temperature iron max. 110°C Do not dry clean. Noppies is the expert in maternity and children’s fashion in Europe. We’re there when young boys and girls first start exploring the world on their own. It’s what makes us so much more than just a fashion brand. It puts us in the position where we can help shape future generations: their dreams, their ideas and the world they live in. Our philosophy on life, the stories we tell and the choices we make mean we can directly impact the world where these children live and grow up in. We believe we have a responsibility to make a positive difference in that world.


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About Fall Out Boy From Under the Cork Tree Album Unisex Short-Sleeve Tee
Fall Out Boy fans, take a trip down memory lane with this epic Fall Out Boy From Under The Cork Tree Album T-Shirt! This isn’t just a shirt; it’s a time capsule capturing the band’s early energy and raw sound. “From Under The Cork Tree” launched Fall Out Boy into the pop-punk stratosphere, filled with unforgettable anthems like “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” and “Grand Theft Autumn.” Rep this tee and let the world know you’re down with Pete Wentz’s signature bass lines, Patrick Stump’s soaring vocals, and the era that put Fall Out Boy on the map. It’s a conversation starter guaranteed to be recognized by fellow fans and a chance to relive the glory days of pop-punk. So, crank up your iPod (or streaming service of choice) and rock out with this tribute to Fall Out Boy’s breakout album!
- 100% cotton
- Standard Fit
- Made in USA
- Machine Wash

domain: entertainment


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Perfect for parties! These Rice Krispies Treats®-filled, Fudge-Dipped Ice Cream Cups delight young and old alike.
1. Place about 1 tablespoon of the candies inside of each Fudge Dipped Ice Cream Cones. Reserve 24 pieces of the candy for garnish. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add KELLOGG’S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated. Cool slightly.
3. Divide cereal mixture into twenty-four 1/2-cup portions. Using buttered hands shape each cereal portion into cone with rounded top. Gently press into ice cream cups, rounded side up. Press sprinkles and reserved candy pieces on tops. Cool completely. Best if served the same day.
MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: Follow step 1 above. In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows at high for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Add cereal and stir until well coated. Cool slightly. Follow step 3 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.
Note: For best results, use fresh marshmallows.
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow crème can be substituted for marshmallows.
Diet, reduced calorie or tub margarine is not recommended.
Store no more than two days at room temperature in airtight container.

domain: food


Several right-to-repair issues have dotted the automotive landscape in recent years. In short, new car dealerships want exclusive access to repair modern vehicles. The controversy is that it forces vehicle owners to visit the dealership as opposed to giving them a choice for their automotive repair needs. The latest legislative battle, however, forces automakers to dealerships.
A bill was recently introduced in the West Virginia House that, among other things, could severely limit how manufacturers handle over-the-air updates on newer vehicles. HB 4570 was submitted on February 7 with bipartisan sponsorship, establishing various aspects of dealership – automaker relationships. The entire 44-page bill is available to read through the West Virginia Legislature website, but of particular interest to us is this section starting at line 242, describing what a manufacturer or distributor may not do.
“Except for experimental low-volume not-for-retail sale vehicles, cause warranty and recall repair work to be performed by any entity other than a new motor vehicle dealer, including post-sale software and hardware upgrades or changes to vehicle function and features, and accessories for new motor vehicles sold by a licensed new motor vehicle dealer. Provided, however, this language shall not include any post-sale software upgrades to the motor vehicle’s navigation or entertainment system.”
The key phrase in there is post-sale software and hardware upgrades. According to Clean Technica, this phrasing effectively bans automakers from offering OTA updates directly to vehicle owners. That could include everything from minor tweaks on the speed of power windows, to more critical functionality like adjustments to driver-assist systems and safety equipment. Curiously, the bill doesn’t include updates for entertainment or navigation systems.
Clean Technica says the bill was introduced by a dealership trade association and that it “would harm both customers and dealers by blocking online car purchases, over-the-air updates, and even advertising by auto manufacturers.” In addition, Clean Technica received a letter from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation that further criticized the bill, claiming it could lead to potential safety concerns by preventing simple updates from reaching drivers in a reasonable time. For an automaker such as Tesla that doesn’t have a traditional dealership network, it would effectively eliminate any vehicle updates in the state.
Gallery: 2021 Tesla Model S
Both Clean Technica and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation call the bill an overreach by dealerships, while stopping short of addressing possible financial implications. To that end, line 140 in the bill does include language stating manufacturers must “provide to the new motor vehicle dealer an amount equal to the retail parts markup for that part or component, which shall be calculated by multiplying the dealer cost for the part or component as listed in the manufacturer’s price schedule by the retail parts markup percentage.”
This applies to parts or components supplied to dealerships by the manufacturer at no cost, but it’s not clear how it might relate to software updates.
Source: Legiscan via Clean Technica
Source: Read Full Article


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Kidney beans are large, dry beans known for their kidney shape and usually a dark, red appearance though they do come in other colors. They are a staple of southern cuisine and make a great supplement to meat for vegetarians due to their high levels of protein, calcium and magnesium. Let’s look at how to grow kidney beans in your home garden.
Kidney beans come in both bush and vine varieties. Bush beans take up a little more space and usually yield all of their beans at once. Vine beans need a stake or trellis for support and yield a continual harvest for 1-2 months.
WHEN TO GROW
Kidney beans should be planted in the spring, after the last frost date for your area. They need 90-150 days to reach maturity. Soil temperatures should be 70° F – 80° F for successful germination. Avoid frost and temperatures below 60° F whenever possible.
WHERE TO GROW
Kidney beans are best suited for hardiness zones 4 and warmer. However, they can grow anywhere with enough frost-free days. Temperatures should be 65° F – 80° F for the majority of the growing season for good results.
Plant kidney beans in full sun. They can also be grown in 12 inch pots. Bush varieties are better suited for containers. You’ll need 6-10 plants for just one person, so container growing kidney beans may be impractical.
BEST SOIL FOR GROWING KIDNEY BEANS
Kidney beans grow best in loose, well draining soil. If you have heavy soil, amend it with lots of mature compost. Adding a couple of inches of compost will be good, even in sandy soil. Till it in when you prepare your garden bed a couple weeks prior to planting. Test the pH of the soil to be sure it is 6.0 – 7.0.
Kidney beans don’t transplant particularly well so direct sow them 1-2 inches deep. Keep the soil moist and seeds should germinate in 10-14 days. Vining varieties should be spaced 4 inches apart. Bush varieties need 8 inches between plants. Best to plant seeds every 1-2 inches and then thin them out once the seedlings have reached about 3 inches high.
WATERING & CARE
Kidney beans should be watered evenly but not too often. Try to let the top layer of soil just dry out before watering again. No need to keep the soil constantly moist but keep an eye on them during dry spells.
No need to feed kidney beans if they are planted in rich soil. If you choose to fertilize, use an organic fertilizer that is not based in nitrogen.
Kidney beans have shallow roots so be very careful when weeding. Best to use a thick layer of organic mulch, like straw or leaves to keep the weeds down. Mulch also helps maintain soil moisture and warmth, which will be very important in cool or dry climates.
DISEASE & PEST CONTROL
Kidney beans are susceptible to fungal diseases. Avoid overhead watering and water in the morning to keep the foliage dry.
The large leaves of kidney bean plants are targets for lots of different pests including slugs, leafhoppers, beetles and aphids. Organic sprays and hand picking are the best way to deal with bugs like these.
Use fencing and netting if squirrels, deer or rabbits become a nuisance.
Keep a tidy, healthy garden. Practice strict crop rotation: do not plant kidney beans where other legumes have grown the past 3 seasons.
Harvest kidney beans after they have completely matured and dried out. In humid environments, hang them in a dry, well-ventilated space to let them dry off the vine.
Shell dry beans and store them for up to 1 year in a cool, dark space.
TIPS & ADVICE
Raw kidney beans, as well as their sprouts, are poisonous.
Mix an inoculant powder to the soil when preparing for planting. Inoculant helps legumes like kidney beans draw nitrogen from the soil. This will get them off to a strong start.
Keep row covers on hand to protect young seedlings from late frosts and unexpected cold spells.
Do not plant kidney beans too early. Soil that is too cold or too wet will cause them to rot. Use plastic mulch to warm the soil prior to sowing seeds.
In cooler climates, choose quicker maturing varieties.
When in doubt, a dry kidney bean is ready when you gently bite into it and leave no tooth mark.
Do you have tips on how to grow kidney beans? Let us know in the comments section below.

domain: agronomy


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As we approach the holiday season, our staff and volunteers are busy preparing to provide holiday gifts, home baked treats, homemade cards and holiday cheer to over 200 families. All of these families are in active treatment and are very much in need of our support. Each family is fighting their own battle against cancer and whether they need the financial support or simply the comfort of knowing that they are not alone in their fight, they need the support of the Breathing Room Foundation.
Help us bring the spirit of the holidays to our families this season.
For more information, please email Mary Ellen with any questions.

domain: sociology


Nationwide offers older interest-only mortgage borrowers a lifeline with an equity release plan to stop them having to sell their homes
Britain's biggest building society will today launch a 'lifetime mortgage' to help homeowners who are struggling to pay off their interest-only deals.
Nationwide is the first major lender to offer an equity release plan, throwing a lifeline to thousands of customers unable to clear mortgage debts.
Around 1.9m borrowers have interest-only mortgages, which were sold widely in the 1990s as monthly repayments were much lower.
Nationwide is the first major lender to offer an equity release plan, throwing a lifeline to thousands of customers unable to clear mortgage debts
Investments were supposed to cover the outstanding amount after a typical 25-year term, but research shows 200,000 pensioners are now struggling to repay what they owe.
With banks reluctant to lend to older borrowers, many face having to sell their family home.
Nationwide's deal will allow homeowners aged 55-84 to release cash from their home, and lets them stay put until they die.
Borrowers must also take independent legal advice.
Henry Jordan, of Nationwide, said: 'There is huge, unmet demand from older homeowners finding it difficult to borrow money.
'Our new lifetime mortgage will help them access money tied up in their property.'
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A Bite of Hollywood Glamour
In the glitzy world of Hollywood, where the sparkle of diamonds is often outshone by the golden statuettes of the Oscars, there lies a humble yet iconic culinary star: In-N-Out Burger. This fast-food chain, known for its simple yet delicious fare, has achieved an almost legendary status among the rich and famous, especially during the Oscars season. When the curtains fall and the awards are distributed, the glitterati, from seasoned directors like Steven Spielberg to the brightest stars of the silver screen, find common ground in their love for this burger haven.
The Spielberg Seal of Approval
Steven Spielberg, a name synonymous with cinematic genius, recently spotlighted this phenomenon. After the 96th Academy Awards, Spielberg was seen savoring the quintessential In-N-Out experience, capturing the moment with the same enthusiasm he reserves for his blockbuster hits. This isn't just a meal; it's a ritual, shared across social media platforms, showing that even the most celebrated filmmaker relishes a good burger post-Oscars frenzy. Spielberg, amidst the high-profile Vanity Fair Oscar Party, chose In-N-Out's offerings over gourmet canapés, highlighting the brand's unique appeal in the celebrity ecosystem.
In-N-Out: The Unofficial Oscars Cuisine
In-N-Out's infiltration into Oscar night lore isn't accidental. It's a testament to a brand that's mastered the art of subtle luxury. They've become the unofficial cuisine of Hollywood’s biggest night, managing to balance accessibility with exclusivity. The presence of their burgers at select afterparties, like the Vanity Fair event, serves as both a culinary treat and a cultural statement. Stars, despite their diverse tastes and backgrounds, unanimously endorse the In-N-Out experience, reinforcing its status as a beloved institution.
A Marketing Masterclass
From a marketing perspective, In-N-Out's strategy is brilliant. They maintain a low-key, unpretentious brand image that resonates with everyone, from the average Joe to A-list celebrities. Their product placement is natural, seamless, and authentic, powered by genuine preferences rather than paid endorsements. When figures like Spielberg and Ryan Gosling publicly indulge in their burgers, it reinforces the brand’s cool factor without a hint of trying too hard.
In-N-Out's journey to becoming an Oscars night staple illustrates the power of effective branding and cultural resonance.
At Ameno, we provide expert branding and marketing consulting services to help your brand achieve similar acclaim. Let's collaborate to create a compelling narrative and strategy that sets you apart.


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Two of the best tools used by veterinarians for diagnosing sick and injured pets are ultrasound and X-ray. Although physical examinations may give us a good indication of how your pet is doing from the outside, these images will allow us to get a proper diagnosis of your pet by observing their internal organs and bone structures. If you think your pet requires these services, please contact us at 416-444-7387.
What health issues can be best diagnosed with an ultrasound?
Soft tissue problems, such as the gastrointestinal, heart, and nervous systems, are usually identified with ultrasound. This is because ultrasound can provide us with a 3D view of your pet's internal chest and abdominal organs. It also allows us to obtain guided tissue samples if required for a comprehensive check.
What types of conditions would X-rays be most beneficial for?
X-rays can be beneficial to diagnose lung abnormalities, congestive heart failure, or foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract. Whereas ultrasound is typically used for soft tissue issues, radiographs examine hard-structure areas such as bones and ligaments.
Does my pet need to be sedated for internal diagnostic imaging?
Not usually! Both these procedures are non-invasive and pain-free. The only time we recommend sedation is if your pet has anxiety or if we will be manipulating an area that will cause pain. To find out if your pet will need sedation, it is best to discuss it with us!

domain: pet


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Mon 9th Mar 2015, by Meleah Maynard | Production
In the past few years artists have increasingly used 3D projection to transform basketball courts, ice rinks and football fields into lakes of fire, crumbling ruins, and the chess board, beach party and shooting star scenes in Katy Perry’s Super Bowl XLIX halftime show.
Quince Imaging is one of the main companies behind these types of visual spectacles. And the Washington D.C.-based video-production company is known for their work for the New Jersey Devils, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and many others. London-based motion designer Andy Needham recently worked with Quince on an elaborate Halloween-themed pre-show animation for the Sacramento Kings. Here, Needham and Quince Imaging Production Designer CJ Davis explain how they created spooky 3D illusions including a zombie graveyard, a stampede of spiders and a swarm of bats.
Andy Needham: I’ve been a freelance motion designer for nearly 11 years now. I’ve always been interested in art and design and I studied multi-media production at Nottingham Trent University. Before that I studied photography. I started out doing you name it: 2D motion graphics, editing, DVD authoring, websites and brochure design. After a couple of years, my desire to combine 3D with 2D became stronger as I was seeing more and more amazing pieces of work on sites like Motionographer and Stash.
I was exposed to 3D Studio Max at university. But it isn’t available for Mac so I decided to find something else. I tried Maya and a few others, but they weren’t what I was looking for. I honestly can’t remember where I first heard about C4D, but everything changed when I read an article in 2006 about blending Cinema 4D elements with 2D After Effects animations. That seemed amazing and I dived in and haven’t looked back.
Andy Needham: They wanted the pre-show to be 60 seconds long, so I knew that it was going to be a huge undertaking and I had about a month to work on this. During the initial Skype meeting, CJ showed me the storyboard, which was a kind of mood board with a few references.
I went away and created motion tests for each section, sending work-in-progress renders over for feedback. I like to experiment with different methods and techniques to achieve a result. Eventually, I created a version of the whole piece that was not final so the client could see how the show would run, including transitions before they signed off on anything. Quince used my test renders to see how things would look when projected and could advise on what worked best. Final delivery was 3600 x 1920, so I created a mini render-farm in my studio and made use of Team Render to get the frames out of C4D and into After Effects for comping.
CJ Davis: We installed twelve 20,000-lumen HD projectors that were positioned around the court to create a 2x2 array. Using powerful media server technology we are able to combine all 12 projectors into a single 4K canvas directly on the court.
The major challenge with this project, and most similar projects, is ensuring that when the final product is delivered, all graphics align perfectly to the court and all its painted logos. For this particular show, we received a reference image that we developed into a template that did not match what was physically painted. Through a mix of hard work to reprocess some of the renders and the assistance of some live projector output tools, we were able to correct and realign all elements perfectly.
CJ Davis: Having done numerous projection mapping projects for the NBA and NHL, we have developed a permanent setup in our studio with a home theater projector that we use to test on-scale prints of the teams playing surface. Using a large format printer and an accurate-to-scale (and color) template, we test all visuals from multiple angles to determine how light will reflect in all areas of the court then modify colors and shading to maximize the experience for all the fans.
Andy Needham: The zombie hands were supplied by Quince. I set up a few poses using the PoseMorph tag and animated the rig in C4D. This was a tricky scene. I wanted the ball to follow a specific path because if it went over the painted areas of the court, it would simply disappear and the illusion would be lost. I used a spline to guide the ball around and I had to do a lot of manual keyframing when the hands lifted the ball up.
I quickly modeled several gravestones. Then, I used a user data driven XPresso rig so I could select a different gravestone if the current one didn’t look right. I used a plane with a displace deformer to get the dirt effect under the gravestone.
Andy Needham: This was the most important part of the show and so much fun to make. I started by rotoscoping the supplied artwork in Photoshop. Then, I used PlaneSmart to bring the artwork into C4D where I lined up a skeleton model to each player, posing it very crudely, and then rendering a frame.
I used After Effects to comp flashes of the skeleton model over players’ faces and created a spooky portal using a several layers of Trapcode MIR. GenArts Sapphire plugins helped me finish off the look.
After rendering two passes, I brought the players, the portal and an alpha channel back into Cinema so I could put the players on a separate plane. When the lighting flashed, I’d get these long, hard shadows coming across the court, which added a lot more depth.
Andy Needham: It was both fun and challenging. The original concept called for lots of spiders coming out from under the Kings’ logo. But I wanted to have a really big spider appear and crawl across the court because that would look super creepy. I haven’t done a lot of character work and I’m not a very good rigger, so I researched the best way to approach this task. I found a very good spider model in C4D’s content browser but it was too detailed for projection. Still, if you’re not used to looking there, I’d advise people to check it out.
Quince provided a basic model that was low poly but needed rigging. I used C4D’s character object to create the rig and the insect template to build out the rig. To animate it, I added a walk cycle using CMotion system.
Next, I tweaked the settings to get the look I wanted and then baked the animation into Motion Clip so I could use Motion System to retime the animation if it looked like the spiders were sliding and no longer walking on the surface. X-Particles was used to drive the spider simulation.
Andy Needham: This is one of my favorite scenes and the effect worked great when it was projected. I created a custom shatter pattern because the ones generated by plugins weren’t giving me the look I wanted, and this way I had complete control over preserving painted areas of the court. I used MoGraph to drive the dynamics and I baked the simulation so it would render correctly over Team Render.
I used a low-res bat, rigged it with simple bend deformers and created a looping wing flap animation. Then, I cloned it and used splines to guide the clones up from under the court and towards the camera. We incorporated the Kings logo so the crown became the bat’s head. Part of the reason the scene looks so cool is the lighting. Jate Earhart from Quince gave me a really nice light rig that I tweaked slightly.
Andy Needham: I’ve just finished working with Nearly Normal on a spot for Smart Energy GB that mixes 3D created with C4D and stop frame animation. It has a really nice paper craft look and feel and I’m really pleased with the final result. Hopefully, it will become a series of eight videos.
I’m also planning my new lynda.com courses, which I should be recording towards the end of the year. They’ll be themed around a robot animation that we’ll be creating in Cinema 4D and After Effects, and I’ll also show you how to get the same result using C4D and Nuke.
• Client: Sacramento Kings
• Agency: Quince Imaging
• Creative/Technical Director: CJ Davis
• Assistant Creative/Technical: Jate Earhart
• Concept: Quince Imaging
• Designer: Andy Needham
• 3D Lead and Direction: Andy Needham
• Sound Design: Andy Needham
• Sound Design Assistant: Jate Earhart
• Sound Mix: Jonathan Shakhovskoy @ Script
Meleah Maynard is a Minneapolis-based writer and editor.
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Spiral Swirl Knobs
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domain: design


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Florida's Privatization Plan, Why Teachers Quit, VAM, Privatization, Teachers Speak Out,
Texas SBOE, Children's Growth, ADHD
Texas SBOE, Children's Growth, ADHD
FLORIDA EXPORTS 'REFORM'
Jeb Bush’s “Florida formula” of education privatization in North Carolina
Does this look familiar to Indiana readers? This article describes how Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education used "ALEC-like" methods to export the "Florida Formula" to other states. One way was through the "Chiefs for Change" group, a group of state education commissioners, including Indiana's (and later Florida's) Tony Bennett.
Since its creation, the foundation has been largely devoted to exporting the “Florida formula,” an overhaul of public education [Jeb] Bush oversaw as governor between 1999 and 2007.
That agenda includes ideas typically supported by conservatives and opposed by teachers unions: issuing A-to-F report cards for schools, using taxpayer vouchers for tuition at private schools, expanding charter schools, requiring third-graders to pass a reading test, and encouraging online learning and virtual charter schools.
WHO WILL BE TOMORROW'S TEACHERS?
Why half of the nation’s new teachers can’t leave the profession fast enough.
One of the goals of the Global Education Reform Movement (GERM) is the destruction of the teaching profession. The lack of professional educators means lower overhead...lower pay, no pensions, no unions, no professionals to get in the way of for-profit "choices."
Around the nation teachers' job benefits are disappearing, pensions are being blamed for the economic difficulties caused by the banking crisis, and qualifications for becoming a teacher are watered down to the point that completely untrained college graduates can walk into a classroom and start teaching.
The "reform" movement is being directed by billionaires with no training in education, politicians with no training in education, and the media with no training in education. Soon public education will be delivered by people with no training in education.
….teachers quit because we have all the responsibility and little or no authority in the classroom. Administrators don’t support teachers and often don’t trust our judgment as professionals. It’s very hard to stay at a job where you are not supported, appreciated or trusted. Add disrespectful students and parents, and it becomes a daily battle to go to work.” A daily battle to go to work sounds like reason enough for anyone to leave the profession. She went on, “My stepdaughter has been teaching for three years and she’s done. It’s sad because she’s a teacher at heart – this is her calling. But she says no way. Her main reason: lack of support from administration and parents. She said she is held responsible for things she can’t possibly control.”
Virginia Teacher of the Year Tells Why He Resigned
Another intelligent, award winning, high quality teacher resigns.
I’ve seen teachers cry over Standards of Learning scores. I’ve seen students cry over SOL scores. I’ve seen newspaper and TV reports sensationalize SOL scores. These are all indications of an unhealthy obsession with flawed standardized tests.
SOL tests are inherently unfair, but we continue to invest countless hours and resources in our quest for our school to score well. This leads me to the following questions:
It’s tough to acknowledge that people in Washington, D.C., and Richmond (and sometimes decision makers in Waynesboro) develop systems and policies that affect my students and me negatively. But as they retire and sail off into the sunset, we’re the ones left with the consequences of ineffective measurements and strategies.
- Do we care more about student progress or our appearance?
- Why can’t we start a movement to walk away from these tests?
- Why can’t we shift our focus to critical thinking and relevant educational experiences?
Our new teacher evaluations focus heavily on test scores. But while teachers are continually under pressure to be held accountable, there seems to be very little accountability for parents, the community, or district offices.
It’s only going to get worse, and it seems that we have no intention of taking a stand or advocating against flawed assessments. Instead, we have submitted ourselves to these tools that misrepresent student growth. It is a game, and it is a game I no longer wish to play.
Indiana education dean: Teacher measures aren’t fair
VAM isn't reliable. Why do we continue to use student standardized tests for the wrong purposes? Is it because testing companies don't care what their tests are used for as long as they're being paid (with the public dollars)? Is it because the politicians making education policy don't know anything about educational testing? Is it because the policy makers are getting campaign contributions from said test makers?
The answer is probably "yes" to all three questions.
Holding teacher training programs accountable for measures such as how many graduates get jobs within a year of graduating, how well teachers perform on evaluations during their first few years of work or how much student test scores grow isn’t fair because the science behind those measures can’t be trusted, said Gerardo Gonzalez, Indiana University’s education dean.
...“We want to blame teachers, hold them accountable, pay them less than just about every other profession and then we worry why they are leaving within five years?” Gonzalez said.
NEED CAMPAIGN FINANCES? SUPPORT PRIVATIZATION
Will the Media Help Destroy Public Education?
The most important fact in American politics today is the Citizens United decision. With this, the hand of the Democratic Party was forced: in order to win major elections the party must accept major campaign funding from the Silicon Valley right libertarians, neoliberals and their financiers on Wall Street. For neoliberal Democrats who are forced to lick the Nikes of their major funders, the privatization of education has become the price they pay to get the dollars needed to win elections.
COURAGEOUS TEACHERS STAND UP
Teachers of Conscience
Read the position paper...a strong statement against corporate "reform."
The narrow pursuit of test results has sidelined education issues of enduring importance such as poverty, equity in school funding, school segregation, health and physical education, science, the arts, access to early childhood education, class size, and curriculum development. We have witnessed the erosion of teachers’ professional autonomy, a narrowing of curriculum, and classrooms saturated with “test score-raising” instructional practices that betray our understandings of child development and our commitment to educating for artistry and critical thinking. And so now we are faced with “a crisis of pedagogy”–teaching in a system that no longer resembles the democratic ideals or tolerates the critical thinking and critical decision-making that we hope to impart on the students we teach.
IGNORANCE IN THE TEXAS SBOE
Texas Freedom Network: Live-Blogging the Texas Social Studies Textbook Vote
The Founding Fathers: Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams, James Madison...and Moses?
According to the Texas State Board of Education, Moses (yes, that Moses) was a major influence in the formation of the nation's founding documents, aka the U.S. Constitution.
During a months-long process, publishers made a number of improvements to their textbooks. Those improvements included removing inaccurate information promoting climate change denialism; deleting offensive cartoons comparing beneficiaries of affirmative action to space aliens; making clearer that slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War; and revising passages that had promoted unfair negative stereotypes of Muslims. Scholars and the general public had ample opportunity to review and comment on those revisions.
However, the new textbooks also include passages that suggest Moses influenced the writing of the Constitution and that the roots of democracy can be found in the Old Testament. Scholars from across the country have said such claims are inaccurate and mislead students about the historical record.
Why Emotional Learning May Be As Important As The ABCs
A growing body of research suggests that teaching really young kids how to recognize and express their feelings can help them into their adult lives...and save society time, money, and social stress in the long run.
...common sense — along with a growing body of research — shows that mastering social skills early on can help people stay out of trouble all the way into their adult lives.
ADHD And Creativity: New Research Says ADHD Is Being Mistreated In Schools
Research now shows what many people who have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder — or those who parent someone who does — have long since believed there is a huge link between ADHD and creativity, often referred to as the “upside of ADHD.” And according to an extensive report by Salon, in focusing solely on the difficulties those with ADHD have — such as poor attention and impulse control — kids with ADHD are falling through the cracks, educationally speaking...
...recent studies in the field of cognitive neuroscience draws a strong connection between ADHD and creativity, as well, showing that both creative thinkers and people with ADHD have trouble “suppressing brain activity coming from the ‘Imagination Network.'”
All of this creativity — and with it, the inability to control those creative thoughts — can be seen as either positive or negative. Creativity is a valuable asset, but so is being able to control one’s thoughts and impulses, and obviously, a creative mind that is always spontaneously generating new ideas or constantly daydreaming interferes greatly with the ability to pay attention in the classroom.
For parents, teachers, and significant others...
10 Things You Should Never Tell Your Child
Most parents, teachers, and significant others don't say things to others to hurt their feelings on purpose, but sometimes, when living, or working with an ADHD child or adult we become frustrated and the hurtful words slip out. Unfortunately, hurtful words stay with people, causing humiliation and embarrassment which can last into adulthood and negatively impact relationships and one's ability to hold on to a job.
Here's an incomplete list of hurtful phrases ADHD folks have grown up and lived with.
People say some pretty insensitive things. ADHD myths and misinformation don't help. People blame us or our kids for behaviors controlled by the condition, and we know it's wrong. But sometimes frustrating behaviors can push even the most loving parents to say things we quickly regret.I would add a few more to this list:
- "Why didn't you think!?"
- "...if you'd only try harder..."
- "...if you weren't so lazy."
All who envision a more just, progressive and fair society cannot ignore the battle for our nation’s educational future. Principals fighting for better schools, teachers fighting for better classrooms, students fighting for greater opportunities, parents fighting for a future worthy of their child’s promise: their fight is our fight. We must all join in.
Stop the Testing Insanity!
Vermont State Board of Education: Statement and Resolution on Assessment and Accountability, Adopted August 19, 2014
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domain: news


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BROOKSVILLE — Authorities on Thursday still had not released the identity of a woman who was killed in a mobile home fire Wednesday afternoon northeast of Brooksville.
The blaze started about noon at 25136 Evaline St., Hernando County Fire Marshal Richard Tincher said. It destroyed the single-wide mobile home in a heavily wooded area known as Forest Hills, near the Croom Wildlife Management Area.
Tincher said that investigators had not determined the cause of the blaze and that the name of the victim would not be released until they receive verification from dental records by the Medical Examiner's Office.
"We've got a sense that this was probably accidental," Tincher said of the fire. "But we're keeping the cause under our hat right now. The case is still open."
Tincher said the owner of the mobile home, Floyd Long, was inside when the fire ignited. Long, 48, tried to get the woman out of the house, but was forced to call 911.
The woman may have been disabled or ill, Tincher said.
"We're getting conflicting stories there," he said. "But we really can't get too much into that right now."


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NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has started their implementation of BadgerNet Maternity. As one of the largest maternity services in the UK, Glasgow has a unique set of challenges relating to the complexity and diversity of care across all of the west coast of Scotland. It has been really exciting to learn about their services and look and creating a full paperless solution across maternity. The implementation is looking at going live using the BadgerNet on laptops in the community and using the desktop and iPad for full intrapartum care and in unit events across all of the sites.
With Glasgow joining with the majority of Scottish units using BadgerNet Maternity, by the end of 2017 the vast majority of births in Scotland will be entered into BadgerNet, allowing for the creation of a single pregnancy record across the country. The joining up of care and better provision of information to all clinicians looking after the women will provide vast benefits across the country.
BadgerNet Maternity go live for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is scheduled for November 2017

domain: geography


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Fears of thousands of job losses at Irish airline Aer Lingus if the owner of British Airways wins its £1 billion bid for the carrier are nonsense, it has been claimed.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA parent the International Airlines Group (IAG), rejected comparisons with the 2,500 job cuts that hit the Spanish carrier Iberia after it was bought out by the global airline company.
The trade union Impact, which represents some pilots, cabin crew and ground staff at Aer Lingus, said if the deal went through it would result in up to 1,200 jobs being slashed in Ireland.
“That’s complete nonsense,” Mr Walsh said.
“We’ve been very clear. And it’s important to be honest. There certainly would be some jobs in Aer Lingus today in admin areas that would be duplicated by admin roles that we’ve got elsewhere. We would be looking to reduce in the head office, in admin areas, some jobs.
“But the big story is that we would grow the airline.”
Suggesting that up to 500 jobs could be added to the company payroll - pilots, cabin crew, engineers and mechanics - he said new aircraft would be added to the fleet each year over the next four to five years if the takeover goes through.
He would not be drawn on the size of possible lay-offs in backroom, head office and procurement divisions of the company.
Aer Lingus is understood to have a business plan of its own to add one long haul aircraft per year over the next four years, taking its transatlantic fleet up to 14 aircraft.
He said part of IAG’s business plan would be to double that growth.
“We believe we can add more to that ... it could be as much as one a year. The jobs that are created are very significant. These are good quality jobs that would be based in Ireland, primarily based in Dublin. These are pilots, cabin crew, engineers, mechanics, people required to support the growth in the passenger numbers.”


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Non-Bailable Warrant Issued Against Wrestler Sushil Kumar
Delhi Police has also announced a reward for his arrest.
A Delhi court on Saturday issued a non-bailable warrant against the decorated Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar and nine others with regards to the murder of 23-year-old former junior national wrestling champion, Sagar Rana.
According to The Indian Express, Delhi Police has also announced a reward for his arrest.
The police had moved an application before the court to issue the NBW against Kumar and they approved of their application. “We also sent a letter to the Delhi government, informing that their official, Sushil Kumar, and his associate, Ajay Kumar, who is a physical education teacher, have been named by the victims. Departmental action should be taken against him,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express.
“After registering an FIR, we served notice to him, but he switched off his phone and has been untraceable since. We also conducted raids at his friends’ residences and now have decided to announce a reward for information leading to his arrest and a file has been placed before senior officers,” police sources reportedly said.
Additional DCP (North-West district) Dr Guriqbal Singh Sidhu had said, “We have recorded statements of all the victims and they all named Sushil Kumar. We are conducting raids to nab him.”
The victims in their statements have also alleged that Kumar and his associates abducted Sagar from his house in Model Town to teach him a lesson for bad mouthing him in front of other wrestlers, police said.
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domain: law


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Even in the recent price crash, the miners have maintained their upbeat attitude, in part because they’ve died this death a few times before. In February, a day after bitcoin’s price dipped below $6,000, I checked in with Carlson to see how he was dealing with the huge sell-off. In a series of long texts, he expressed only optimism. The market correction, he argued, had been inevitable, given the rapid price increase. He noted that mining costs in the basin remain so low—still just a little above $2,000 per coin—that prices have a way to fall before bitcoin stops being worth mining there. Carlson is, he told me, “100 percent confident” the price will surpass the $20,000 level we saw before Christmas. “The question, as always, is how long will it take.”
Here’s how it works: Say Alice wants to transfer one bitcoin to Bob. First Bob sets up a digital address for Alice to send the money to, along with a key allowing him to access the money once it’s there. It works sort-of like an email account and password, except that Bob sets up a new address and key for every incoming transaction (he doesn’t have to do this, but it’s highly recommended).
Bitcoin wallet addresses are case sensitive, usually have 34 characters of numbers and lowercase letters, start with either a 1 or a 3, and never use 0, O, l and I to make every character in the address as clear as possible. That’s a lot to take in. But don’t worry. What they consist of is largely irrelevant to you. Just know they’re a string of characters that denote a destination on the Bitcoin Blockchain.
Mining is the process of adding transaction records to Bitcoin's public ledger of past transactions (and a "mining rig" is a colloquial metaphor for a single computer system that performs the necessary computations for "mining". This ledger of past transactions is called the block chain as it is a chain of blocks. The blockchain serves to confirm transactions to the rest of the network as having taken place. Bitcoin nodes use the blockchain to distinguish legitimate Bitcoin transactions from attempts to re-spend coins that have already been spent elsewhere.
The other two BitFury mines are in Tbilisi, in the Republic of Georgia, where the weather is much warmer. According to Vavilov, the company has developed a two-phase immersion cooling technology with their subsidiary, Allied Control. The system bathes the mining machines in a dielectric heat-transfer liquid called Novec, which cools the computers as it evaporates. The system is now deployed at the Georgia data centers.
Bitmain gained an edge by supplying a superior product in large quantities, a feat that has eluded every other company in the industry. The Ordos facility is stuffed almost exclusively with Bitmain’s best performing rig, the Antminer S9. According to company specs, the S9 is capable of churning out 14 terahashes, or 14 trillion hashes, every second while consuming around 0.1 joules of energy per gigahash for a total of about 1,400 watts (about as much as a microwave oven consumes).
Several news outlets have asserted that the popularity of bitcoins hinges on the ability to use them to purchase illegal goods. In 2014, researchers at the University of Kentucky found "robust evidence that computer programming enthusiasts and illegal activity drive interest in bitcoin, and find limited or no support for political and investment motives."
This is the most basic version of dividing payments. This method shifts the risk to the pool, guaranteeing payment for each share that’s contributed. Thus, each miner is guaranteed an instant payout. Miners are paid out from the pool’s existing balance, allowing for the least possible variance in payment. However, for this type of model to work, it requires a very large reserve of 10,000 BTC to cover any unexpected streaks of bad luck.
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer version of electronic cash that allows payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. – Satoshi Nakamoto
Oct. 31, 2008: Someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto makes an announcement on The Cryptography Mailing list at metzdowd.com: "I've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party. The paper is available at http://www.bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf." This link leads to the now-famous white paper published on bitcoin.org entitled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System." This paper would become the Magna Carta for how Bitcoin operates today.
To lower the costs, bitcoin miners have set up in places like Iceland where geothermal energy is cheap and cooling Arctic air is free. Bitcoin miners are known to use hydroelectric power in Tibet, Quebec, Washington (state), and Austria to reduce electricity costs. Miners are attracted to suppliers such as Hydro Quebec that have energy surpluses. According to a University of Cambridge study, much of bitcoin mining is done in China, where electricity is subsidized by the government.
In March 2013 the blockchain temporarily split into two independent chains with different rules. The two blockchains operated simultaneously for six hours, each with its own version of the transaction history. Normal operation was restored when the majority of the network downgraded to version 0.7 of the bitcoin software. The Mt. Gox exchange briefly halted bitcoin deposits and the price dropped by 23% to $37 before recovering to previous level of approximately $48 in the following hours. The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) established regulatory guidelines for "decentralized virtual currencies" such as bitcoin, classifying American bitcoin miners who sell their generated bitcoins as Money Service Businesses (MSBs), that are subject to registration or other legal obligations. In April, exchanges BitInstant and Mt. Gox experienced processing delays due to insufficient capacity resulting in the bitcoin price dropping from $266 to $76 before returning to $160 within six hours. The bitcoin price rose to $259 on 10 April, but then crashed by 83% to $45 over the next three days. On 15 May 2013, US authorities seized accounts associated with Mt. Gox after discovering it had not registered as a money transmitter with FinCEN in the US. On 23 June 2013, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) listed 11.02 bitcoins as a seized asset in a United States Department of Justice seizure notice pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881. This marked the first time a government agency had seized bitcoin. The FBI seized about 26,000 bitcoins in October 2013 from the dark web website Silk Road during the arrest of Ross William Ulbricht. Bitcoin's price rose to $755 on 19 November and crashed by 50% to $378 the same day. On 30 November 2013 the price reached $1,163 before starting a long-term crash, declining by 87% to $152 in January 2015. On 5 December 2013, the People's Bank of China prohibited Chinese financial institutions from using bitcoins. After the announcement, the value of bitcoins dropped, and Baidu no longer accepted bitcoins for certain services. Buying real-world goods with any virtual currency had been illegal in China since at least 2009.

domain: economics


The Arecibo Observatory, a giant telescope in Puerto Rico known for its search for meteorites and alien life, had a mysterious accident that caused the telescope’s reflector to shatter into pieces. .
The main receiver dish of the Arecibo Observatory, one of the largest single-dish radio telescopes in the world, was badly damaged when a cable broke on Monday, August 10. School of Central Florida)
According to an announcement from the University of Central Florida, which operates a telescope owned by the US National Science Foundation, on August 10, around 2:45 a.m. local time, a metal cable at The base broke, cutting through the radar disc and creating a 30-meter tear.
The broken cable also pierced several other cables and disc supports, causing debris to fall to the ground below and making it harder for technicians to reach the site.
Francisco Cordova, the observatory’s director, said in the statement: “We have a team of experts assessing the situation. Our focus is on ensuring the safety of our staff, protecting our facilities and equipment, and restore the facility to normal operation as soon as possible so that we can continue to support scientists around the world.”
Arecibo began operations in 1963 after being built from the bottom of a natural sinkhole in Puerto Rico. At the time of its completion, Arecibo was the largest single-disc telescope in the world, measuring 305 meters in diameter.
Arecibo has also played a central role in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) since the 1970s. In 1974, astronomers used radio telescopes to transmit binary codes towards a dense star cluster 25,000 light-years away, in the hope that this message can be picked up by another technologically advanced civilization.
The SETI experiments are still an important part of the observatory’s program, and so is protecting our planet from asteroids. Arecibo’s Planetary Radar Project, part of NASA’s Planetary Defense program, is responsible for detecting and studying near-Earth objects, such as asteroids, that may pose a threat to Earth. our planet.
The above project, along with all other Arecibo projects, was halted due to the accident. Arecibo has recovered from previous damage, including fallout from earthquakes and Hurricane Maria. Hopefully this crash will be no exception.
However, the crash would have disastrous consequences if the aliens eventually send a signal back to our Earth.


U.S. Has No Plans to Expand Airline Laptop Ban to U.K. AirportsBy
TSA issues statement after reports in U.K. newspapers
Electronics ban now targets flights from Middle East airports
A U.S. aviation security agency said there are “no imminent” plans to add the U.K. or other nations to airports where passengers are banned from carrying electronic devices in the cabin on flights bound for American cities.
The U.K.’s Times and Guardian had reported that U.S. officials notified the U.K. they were considering such a move, citing unnamed Whitehall officials.
“There are no imminent changes to the electronics ban,” U.S. Transportation Security Administration spokesman Michael England said in an email. “However, we are continuously assessing security directives based on intelligence and will make changes when necessary to keep travelers safe.”
Starting March 21, the TSA prohibited passengers boarding flights to the U.S. in 10 Middle East airports from carrying devices larger than mobile phones in the cabin. They must be stowed in checked bags.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on April 5 that the agency, which oversees TSA, was considering expanding the ban to other origin airports. He said the intelligence that prompted the action was “real.”


Kyocera DuraXV will not turn on, although "Fully Charged". Phone only a few months old. Screen shows "Fully Charged", but phone will not work start up. Without the charger attached screen in blank, with the charger plugged in shows the battery as fully charged. This is a poor replacement for the Samsung flip phone which worked for years. However, no one has batteries for it.
My Kyocera is also unreliable. And neither Verizon nor Kyocera seem to think they have any obligation to do anything about the phone. (It's my second one -- I traded the first one after 2 days -- a one-time "courtesy" exchange. Thank you very much for the "courtesy" of exchanging a worthless phone.) My old Samsung stays charged for up to a week. This Kyocera needs charging every day, even when not in use. But the specs say "up to 16 days standby."


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Cosmic history ~ Black hole bending space and time ~ Our final frontier? © 2019 Gregory Vessar. All Rights Reserved. […]
Archive for ‘Poetry’
Spring Haiku 2
A haiku for National Poetry Month.
Spring Haiku 1
I am ready for spring!
Snow Haiku 4
It snowed on the last day of March in Misawa, Japan. When will it end?!
Driving in Japan is like driving anywhere else in the world; once you become accustomed to different traffic laws, signs, and a few idiosyncrasies, driving a car is driving a car. I’ve been driving in Misawa for about ten months and there are some things that have caused me to pause, think, and smile.
The Bittersweet Tree
I wrote “The Bittersweet Tree” in 1988. It was always a favorite of my Grandmother’s. It was published in the quarterly magazine Sunflower Petals back in 1989. The poetry magazine was published by the Kansas State Poetry Society. I have revised it a few times since that first publication, but it is still pretty true to my original composition. I hope you enjoy my poem.
Snow Haiku 3
Another snow fall, another snow haiku. I look forward to spring!
Winter Haiku 2
Sometimes the best way to stay warm in northern Japan is to indulge in some hot street food!
Snow Haiku 2
We had so much snow overnight in Misawa, I was inspired to write another snowy haiku. I think I have shoveled more snow in the past two months than I have my entire life. I am more than ready for spring!
The snow just keeps falling here in Northern Japan. So, another wintery, snowy haiku!


About this book
This unique reference gathers numerous new studies examining specific, prominent high-rise buildings around the world. Each nuanced study included undertakes the following pivotal considerations: environmental impacts; safety & social acceptability; energy consumption and comfort; planning contexts within the urban zone; physical footprint and size; services and risks; and a careful assessment of advantages and challenges. Architects and engineers exploring and optimizing sustainable building practices, energy managers, municipal and private project planners, as well as students will find edification and inspiration in the analysis provided by esteemed practitioners and professors within this fascinating volume.
Deisgn for Comfort Energy Consumption in Buildings Energy Efficiency in Buildings Green Building Materials Green Buildings High Rise Bulidings Sustainable Architecture Sustainable Building Sustainable Development Urban Design


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Experience with Orijen
After hearing so much about the quality of Orijen, and wanting the best nutrition for my puppy, I bit the bullet and ordered it. Eli has been eating it for over 3 weeks now and here are a few things I noticed:
- The ingredient list is really impressive; unlike any other dog food ingredient list I've read. Not sure why a dog needs chamomile or marigold flowers or a bunch of other stuff but it seems this is a very "wholistic" type of blend that helps to support health and immunity. It's also grain free.
- No smelly gas since we started!
- Poo is very firm and a lot less stinky.
- No tears at all, just a very tiny bit of dry eye crud, likely the results of dust and the dirt he plays with outside getting near/in his eye.
- Coat is silkly soft and luster is returning.
- Kibble is quite a bit larger than Science Diet so may not be appropriate for really small puppies.
- Smell. Great ingredients blended together seem to create a very strong, and a bit of an unpleasant, smell.
- Not available locally. Have to pay shipping charges.
- Biggest con by far - Eli has to be very hungry to eat it. Even though I mix with the same wet dog food, he has a very "take it or leave it" attitude toward it. This is a very food motivated dog so I am concerned when he skips meals or eats less.
I'm about halfway through the bag and not yet sure whether to continue with it. I know dogs won't starve themselves but I worry when he skips meals, particularly since he didn't eat for almost two days this week. It could be that he's growing up - 4.5 months and 6lbs 8oz - and simply doesn't need to be fed 3x per day. Still, 1/4 cup with more than half left over at each meal doesn't seem normal.
Since he pretty much ate the two other varieties I gave him before Orijen with gusto, I have to deduce that he doesn't like the taste very much. If anyone has experience with this food, please let me know how your dog reacted and if you still feed it. If I need to switch foods (again) I need to start the process soon and slowly. Thanks!


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It takes money to make money, right? That’s especially true for a job search where budgeting skills can mean the difference between a job you love and a job you have to take just to pay the bills.
Budgeting isn’t usually viewed as a necessary skill in a job search. Whether your job search is voluntary or involuntary, the goal is to find a high paying job as quickly as possible, effectively negating the need to create a budget for your job search.
But in reality, budgeting is one of the first things jobseekers should do, even if they don’t anticipate being in the job market for very long. Although you may not want to hear this right now, good job searches cost money. The more accurately you budget for your search, the more options and success you will receive from your efforts.
The most important benefit of creating a job search budget is that it helps unemployed jobseekers gauge how long they can look for a job and remain financially solvent. By integrating your monthly bills and personal spending habits into your job search budget, a little belt tightening can let you hold out a little longer for the job you really want.
Here are a few other items that need to be addressed when you create a budget for your job search:
Technology has become an integral job search resource. At a minimum, you’ll need a PC (preferably a laptop), a printer, an Internet connection and a mobile or smartphone. Decent laptops are fairly affordable these days, but you’ll need to make sure it’s loaded with Microsoft Office solutions (Word, Excel, etc.), the standard file format for nearly all employers.
If you don’t have professional attire, you’ll need to get some. If you already have a professional wardrobe, it will likely need to be updated to make an impression on employers. Play it safe and budget at least a few hundred dollars for wardrobe.
It’s possible that your job search may require you to travel in order to job fairs or events in other cities. If you are invited to interview for an out-of-town position, the employer will usually reimburse you for the expense – but you’ll need enough cash or credit card availability to cover the upfront costs.
Memberships & Event Fees
Some career events and networking opportunities are free, while others require payment of a one-time charge or membership fee. In many cases, premium events and trade associations offer the best networking opportunities, so you’ll want to set aside several hundred dollars to participate in these types of activities.
Food, gas, parking, office supplies and other incidental expenses add up over time. Most jobseekers can expect to spend about $100 a month for these types of expenses. But think about this: if you job search lasts 6 months, incidentals will add up to $600 – and if you haven’t budgeted for it, other spending categories may suffer.

domain: finance


text: The poster is great condition though. It's a nice piece but it's been sitting in a closet. The item "SIGNED Walking Dead Poster Promo SDCC 2012 Signed by Original cast & Kirkman" is in sale since Monday, September 2, 2019. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Comics\Modern Age (1992-Now)\Horror & Sci-Fi".The seller is "dr_lbf" and is located in Los Angeles, California. This item can be shipped to United States.


Permits have been issued for a renovation and expansion of a three-story prewar rowhouse at 358 East Walnut Lane in Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia. The structure is situated on the southeast side of the block between Morton Street and Magnolia Street. Designed by PACE Architecture+Design, the project consists of a three-story, 1,410-square-foot addition to the existing 1,700-square-foot structure, which will comprise a total of three residential units and 3,110 square feet of interior space. The existing basement will be expanded, as well. Permits list Wyche Raydrian as the contractor and indicate a construction cost of $400,000.
Permits have been issued for the construction of a three-story, three-unit rowhouse at 531 East Chelten Avenue in East Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia. The development will rise from a vacant lot on the northwest side of the block between Magnolia Street and Musgrave Street. Designed by the 24 Seven Design Group, the semi-detached building will span 4,160 square feet. Permits list CRBN LLC as the contractor and specify a construction cost of $600,000.
Permits have been issued for the construction of a five-story multi-family building at 401-07 East Walnut Lane in East Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia. Designed by Designblendz, the structure will span 48,945 square feet and feature 57 apartments. Permits list construction costs at $6.5 million.
Permits have been issued for a multi-family development at 77 East Pastorius Street in East Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia. The building will rise four stories tall, with the ground floor being largely occupied by a garage that will hold space for three cars. Six apartments will be located above. In total, the building will hold 9,117 square feet of space. The construction cost is listed at $180,000 to build, although this number appears rather low.
Permits have been issued for the construction of a three-story, 43-unit mixed-use building at 912-22 Locust Avenue in East Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia, just north of LaSalle University. The structure will stand on a 21,272-square-foot lot on the southeast side of the block between Boyer and Devon streets, rising from a 10,800-square-foot footprint and holding 32,235 square feet of interior space. The development will include two commercial spaces, a cellar, and accessory storage space (to which the permits allocate a whopping 10,745 square feet). Permits list Bobby and Joyce M. Spears as the owners, RSG Management, LLC as the contractor, and a construction cost of $1.5 million.


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- This event has passed.
Course: The Long and Winding Road with Dr. Darla Shaw
September 9, 2020 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
An event every week that begins at 6:00pm on Wednesday, repeating until September 30, 2020
Ridgefield Library, 472 Main Street
As part of the Votes for Women: Ridgefield Celebrates the 19th Amendment series taking place in Ridgefield throughout 2020, the Long and Winding Road is a four-week, mini-course that will focus on the women of Seneca Falls, NY, the first Women’s Rights Convention, and the work of Ridgefield’s own Alice Paul. Registration is required. Classes take place on Wednesdays, September 9, 16, 23, and 30.
Votes for Women: The Long and Winding Road is a four-week, mini-course that will focus on the women of Seneca Falls, NY, and the first Women’s Rights Convention and the work of Ridgefield’s own Alice Paul, her strategic march on Washington, DC, and lobbying in front of the White House to get the Women’s Vote. The course will also feature Ridgefield residents who knew Alice, and other area suffragettes such as Elsie Hill, Mary Louisa Olcott, and Laura Curie Allee Shields. Suggested readings will be given prior to each session and there will be a showing and discussion of the movie, Iron Jawed Angels. The course will also be linked to women’s issues of today and the status of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Dr. Shaw is a well-known area storyteller, presenter at literacy conferences, musician, advocate for women’s issues, and humanitarian.
The Votes for Women series is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Ridgefield, Ridgefield Library, Ridgefield Historical Society, Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center, and Drum Hill Chapter of the DAR. This series is supported in part by CT Humanities.

domain: library


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Pharmacist Prescriptive Authority for Acne: An Evidence-Based Approach to Policy
The diagnosis of acne is typically straightforward and based on physical signs and symptoms. Some jurisdictions in Canada, the United Kingdom, and United States have enabled a pharmacist treatment model to diagnose and manage patients with mild acne using prescription medications. Studies have found the model to be safe and effective, while simultaneously increasing more timely access to care for patients which may reduce the potential adverse impacts of acne. Further, use of a standardized protocol may alleviate some of the concerns expressed over the model. This paper summarize answers to frequent questions to help policymakers consider the objective evidence for their jurisdiction.
Copyright (c) 2021 Jennifer Athay Adams, Alex J. Adams, Michael E. Klepser
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright of content published in INNOVATIONS in pharmacy belongs to the author(s).

domain: literature


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There is more space than substance in everything that we can see, touch, experience in the physical world. The Divine Presence dwells in those spaces. It is in the space between the breaths that I meet the Divine. Therefore…
Aware of the spaces within the substance of Who I Am, I breathe the Divine.
God’s language is Silence. Everything else is a poor translation.
I have nothing to add to that, dear hearts. Even if I did, I would rather meet you in the Silence. Be blessed today.
Glennon Doyle was one of the speakers on our Alaskan Cruise adventure. A few of her thoughts:
We are here to love and be loved. It is simple but not easy.
A life, role, or identity is not taken from us unless something truer or more real is waiting for us.
Love is a journey. It cannot be rigid. There is no solid ground.
Freedom is turning within to know your own Soul.
Freedom is turning within to answer the question “Who am I”
May your journey today be one of conscious freedom to turn within and discover that you are Divinely and Infinitely loved. You are Love and Light in form. From my sweet Soul to yours, I love you. Namaste.
Namaste to those who have waited patiently through the times I do not write. It has always been my practice to be inspired by my Soul, by the Divine Spark within. I am grateful for your time, attention, and comments.
Here we are again at the busiest time of year. I know many of you, much like myself, have experienced intense challenges this year. My own sadness and grief this year due to my brother’s difficult passing has reminded me that others have suffered as well. As a result, whenever my pain surfaces, I send blessings of love & compassion out to others whether known to me or not. This brings me the awareness that I am not alone.
Today I send blessings to you and hope this day is easier. As the days unfold and bring us to the end of this year, please be kind to yourself. With love & compassion for yourself, say “Maybe next time” to a few invitations and rest. If there are no invitations, know that it is ok to be glad this year is almost over. Let the new year bring a new start, even if you can’t quite feel truly optimistic.
You are loved even when you can’t feel it.
No one told me I was Love and Light in Form when I was growing up.
But I Am!
This form, my body, cannot exist apart from the spark of the Divine, my Soul, within. I was taught, very simply, that God is Love. Interesting, don’t you think, that neither “God” nor “Love” can be adequately defined and understood? And yet, we desire both with a passion that drives us. Why? I believe it is because we passionately seek to find the truth of who we truly are.
Sadly, many of us are taught that can only be found outside ourselves, and this Truth, The Truth, can only be found within….because God, Love and Light, manifests in me, and you….because
We are Love and Light in Form
One of the sweetest and most powerful gifts of compassion is mindful speech. It must be preceded by mindful listening of course. I find that it also requires that I hear my own thoughts and my own inner voice. How am I speaking to myself? Do I listen to my own pain? Do I speak gently to myself, even when I need to call myself to higher ground? If not, how will I ever give this to another? When someone is talking, am I listening or am I planning what I will say when it is my turn?
We all need to be seen, heard, spoken to, and loved. What we put in, comes out. In other words, what I am seeing, hearing, saying to, and loving in myself will express itself in how I see, hear, speak to, and love others. We’ve heard this all of our lives in one form or another: karma, you reap what you sow, etc. However, have we understood that it begins with what we give to ourselves or have we believed that it is based on what we give others so that they (or someone) will give us what we need?
Tend the inner garden and you will have little work to do “out there” because you will bear ripe, luscious fruit of the soul to share freely and easily with others.
I love this! And most of this at the end I have never said or heard myself (quite like this) before!
In the book of Matthew, chapter 5, there is a verse that says
Therefore, you are to be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.
Deeply committed Christians have used this verse form generations to judge themselves and one another. I was a bible teacher for many years and studied this verse at great length, plumbing the depths of its meaning. What I discovered liberated me and shocked my students into being set free themselves.
The word “perfect” was used in the earliest translations of the originals texts and does not convey the deepest, and most spiritual, meanings of the original word. A truer translation would be “come into fruitful maturity.” A simple example is a fruit tree. Fruit trees have to mature before they can produce, sweet, nourishing, edible fruit. And not all trees produce the same fruit.
Therefore, dear hearts, think on this idea:
Grow up into the Truth of who you are – a spiritual being learning to be human. Mature spiritually, emotionally, and mentally so that your purpose is fulfilled…so that you produce the fruit of your True Self, your Divine Essence: love, compassion, peace…


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A new community development is nearing approval but its location is in the heart of Florida Panther territory. There are fewer than 130 panthers left in the wild, but leaders recommend going forward with the project.
Becca Bryan is with the Friends of Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. “Panthers are already in their backyard and now you’re going to have three more villages,” Bryan said.
She is not sure that building more homes here is a good idea. “Any more land development and use hurts panthers,” Bryan said.
The decision to approve another controversial rural village was made during a planning Collier County commission meeting. This move not everyone is fighting with.
“I would say we are against it because it does reduce a great amount of panther habitat it creates so many more roads and possibilities of panthers dying by vehicle,” said Bryan.
Other groups say this is the best place to build.
Meredith Budd is with the Florida Wildlife Federation. “It is proposed to be on completely clear farm fields,” Budd said.
Longwater is one of three villages that Collier County Enterprises is currently working on. It will be 1,000 acres built on what is known as the Rural Lands Stewardship area. This land is considered to be less environmentally sensitive to panthers.
“The program was developed with the panther in mind to allow for habitat connectivity,” said Budd.
The Florida Wildlife Federation and Audubon feel this project will actually help panthers by saving more land.
“In exchange for developing the 1k acres, the developer is preserving 4800 acres of land,” Budd said.
Brad Cornell with Audubon. “That is a terrific outcome for panthers and for Woodstock and for wetlands, and to us, that is the headline of the whole thing,” Cornell said.
Developers have also agreed to implement bear-proof trashcans in these new communities. They will give $3 million for wildlife crossing to be built.
The Longwater Village plans to go before Collier County Commissioners next month.


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"You will find in the movie that Rapunzel does not get killed, and the prince does not sleep with the [Baker's Wife]." He added, "You know, if I were a Disney executive I probably would say the same thing."
Anne Marie here. Playbill quoted Sondheim yesterday confirming our worst suspicion: Disney has changed (destroyed?) key parts of Into the Woods. The musical-loving corners of the internet responded with equal parts outrage and resignation. We knew it. After all, Disney is a company that has turned Happily Ever After into a business plan. Believing that Disney would leave untouched a fairytale musical where where wolves are sex predators requires the kind of wishful thinking that one would find in, well, a Disney movie.
Possibly more than any other studio, Disney has based its entire media empire on family friendly fantasy. From its golden period in the 50s on through its 90s creative renaissance, the studio’s bread and butter was not just beautiful animation and Oscar-winning songs but, crucially, princesses finding their True Love. Yes, for every Beauty and the Beast there was a The Lion King, but a quick trip through the Disney Store will tell you which story moves more merchandise. Since the early 2000s, Disney has attempted to keep pace with changing tastes by inserting a bit of revisionism. The playful mocking of Enchanted led to The Princess and the Frog and Tangled, which challenged conventions of princessery even while the end goal, a tiara and a kiss, remained unchanged. Mickey Mouse may be on the masthead, but the house that Walt built is in the shape of Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Fantasy rules supreme.
Disney's flirtation with the dark side after the jump.
Lately, Disney has been introducing shades of moral ambiguity into its fairytales. In the last year, we’ve gotten two reformed villains: Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen became Elsa the Perpetually Closeted Diva in Frozen, and Maleficent, formerly the most terrifying of all Disney villains, became merely misunderstood. (See also: The Evil Queen in Once Upon A Time.) As Frozen and Maleficent tell it, these ladies cast curses in a moment of anger against a world that was unfair to them, and spend the rest of their time doing whatever they can to repair that mistake. It’s the new Disney hero: the villain with the heart of gold. (If the rumors are true and Ursula is next, I’m skeptical that they can spin “tricked a lovesick teenager into a faustian bargain” into a positive.) One unexpected side effect of this defanging process has been a milquetoast moral relativism, wherein nobody’s truly evil, but everyone has the potential for good.
Which brings us to Into the Woods. In many ways, Into the Woods laid the foundations for Disney’s new deconstructed fairytales. In the play, Sondheim takes aim at all of these fairytale ideas that Disney has commodified--Good, Evil, Happy Endings, and True Love--and gleefully destroys them. Princes cheat, princesses die, Red Riding Hood becomes an allegory about sexual awakening (and, one might argue, returns to its roots). Basically: tons of moral ambiguity. Nobody is good, and everyone has the potential for evil.
Seeing how Disney’s big on reconstructed fairytales at the moment, producing Into the Woods keeps with their new, edgier methods of storytelling and story-changing. However, I think with these changes we’re seeing the line Disney isn’t willing to cross. After all, cursing a princess is one thing, but outright killing her is another. The “fixes” Sondheim indicates Disney has made so far--Rapunzel survives, the prince doesn’t sleep with the Baker’s Wife--keep in line with this dark-but-not-too-dark path Disney’s been following. But taking that bleak center from the play also hobbles its message. The entire point of Into the Woods is that fairytales are basically bullshit. Disney can’t say that without upending their entire business model of the last half century.
So instead, what comes to us at Christmas will be Into The Woods Jr., the elementary school production which stops at the first act, lest childlike innocence be forever ruined. As a Sondheim fan, I’m livid. As a Disney fan, I’m disappointed. While I wasn’t exactly expecting the Baker and the Baker’s wife to pop up as characters at Disneyland, I was hoping to see Disney push their paradigm even further and embrace Sondheim’s twisted take, if only for one movie.
Alas, morbid curiosity, Meryl-love, and masochism will inevitably draw me to the movie theater in December. But I’m convinced that now Into the Woods will fit the Witch’s admonition in Act 2: Not good, not bad, just nice.
Readers: is this enough to break you? Will you still go see it? Or do you prefer a watered down version?


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Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton early Monday renewed a call for gun control following the deadliest mass shooting in the nation’s history.
Clinton said on CNN’s “New Day” that the suspected shooter, Omar Mateen, used a “weapon of war” to gun down 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday.
“We have to sort through the decision,” Clinton said.
“Yes, there is a right for law-abiding, responsible Americans to own guns. And yes, there are reasonable common-sense measures to try to keep people safe from guns. We’ve got to figure out the best way to move forward on that,” she said.
Clinton called for the assault weapons ban to be reinstated. The suspected Orlando gunman had a pistol and an AR-15-style rifle, according to authorities.
Clinton also pushed back on attacks from her GOP presidential rival, Donald Trump, who has blasted her as weak in going after terrorism in the wake of the attack.
“I think that Donald Trump’s rhetoric is quite dangerous to our country,” she said.
“We also have to be conscious of the fact that a lot of folks who have no connection with terrorism are using these weapons to murder and maim people as well,” she said.
“I’m going to be as firm and strong and single-minded in going after [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] ISIS as anybody could be … but I also want to save lives from gun violence more broadly as well.”


Air Duct Cleaning
A clean heating/cooling system can reduce your energy costs by over 30%!
We recommend getting your chimney inspected and/or cleaned annually.
Built-up heat and moisture on the hood can become a major fire hazard.
Even if you clean the lint trap regularly, lint still builds up between your dryer and outside.


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In order to successfully register for the Summer Experience program, registration information must be submitted via the online registration form below AND a 50% non-refundable deposit must be received by Facetime Theatre via the PayPal button at the time of registration. Registration is only complete when both of these steps have been taken. Within 24-72 hours of completing these steps, you will receive an email confirmation that you have successfully registered.
Step 1: Registration Form
CLICK HERE to fill out the online registration form.
Step 2: Payment
Use the PayPal button below to finalize your registration. There are two options: you can pay a 50% deposit or you can pay the camp fee in full. If you pay only the deposit, you will receive an invoice for the remaining balance of your tuition by June 1.