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I write science fiction, fantasy, and horror in both short and long forms; I've published short fiction in NATURE, THE NASSAU LITERARY REVIEW, and COSMOS, been anthologized in FUTURES FROM NATURE, and twice won Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future contest. By day I'm a cognitive neuroscientist.
Much is not well in Altronne. The shadow government that controls the Champions has bloodily ousted its own leader; a capitalist-prince who funds sedition has eluded the police; the strange beings that support the city's unstable geology have begun to slip their chains. And the Dandelion Knight wants to give Mireille her memories back. No strings attached.
It's too good to be true, of course. But tampering with the Champions is high mischief -- and with high mischief come great spoils for the Champion who thwarts the plot...
The Dandelion Knight is a post-post-apocalyptic science fantasy. Its conclusion, The Flame in the Stone, will appear in late 2014.


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Housing slowdown puts damper on rent-backed bonds
SALES of bonds backed by debt associated with single-family rental housing has soared over the last 2 years, as rents climbed across the country. Now, with the housing market contracting, issuance is set to cool from record levels.
BofA Securities predicts that single-family rental (SFR) securitisations – which repackage a single loan tied to multiple properties – will fall to just US$2 billion for the rest of 2022 as Federal Reserve rate hikes send shivers across the industry.
SFRs were first launched in 2013 and issuance had been slow to pick up until last year’s credit boom, which saw a record US$18.4 billion in sales according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA). Issuance this year seems to be following a similar trajectory, having reached US$12 billion as of Aug 22 compared to $9.1 billion at the same point last year, a KBRA report shows.
But the ratings agency sees darker times ahead for this corner of the credit market.
“The sentiment has started to change from the last 2 years, as home price growth is slowing down, and some areas are even experiencing price declines,” said Akshay Maheshwari, senior director in commercial mortgage-backed securities at KBRA, in an interview. “We expect issuance to continue, but it may be slower than the first half of the year.”
The SFR securitisation market has been around for almost a decade, having launched soon after the 2008 financial crisis, when institutional and private equity firms bought up distressed homes in areas where prices were most impacted due to the downturn, write Maheshwari and Nitin Bhasin, KBRA’s co-head of commercial mortgage-backed securities, in their Sep 6 report.
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However, sales did not really pick up until 2021, when demand for housing soared and with it home prices. As a result, issuers started attaching additional houses to their portfolios and bundling them to seek financing in the structured markets, with the help of low interest rates and thus low cost of financing. Those portfolios tend to be highly leased when the bonds are printed, according to KBRA, which estimates 96 per cent on average is leased.
Avid money managers, optimistic about the sector, scooped up the securities. Meanwhile, high housing costs, rising mortgage rates and a lack of housing supply also helped the sector as many consumers turned to rentals instead.
“The sector has benefited from a fundamental housing supply and affordability constraints, in the backdrop of strong economic growth with increasing rents and home prices,” write Bhasin and Maheshwari. “The Covid-related disruptions did not put any downward pressure on values or rents. The sector’s stable performance during the downturn attracted more issuers and investors, which led to a rapid rise in and sustenance of higher issuance volume.”
But the tide is turning fast. In July, home prices recorded their first monthly decline in almost 3 years, and it was also the largest single-month drop since 2011, according to mortgage data provider Black Knight In August, home prices in San Francisco – one of the most expensive US housing markets – took a tumble as interest rates remained high and tech employees continued to work remotely and exit the city.
“Headwinds have been gathering with rising financing costs, uncharted inflation, elevated geopolitical risks, and increasing concerns about a general economic recession,” write the KBRA analysts.
At the same time, mortgage rates have jumped, with the average for a 30-year loan increasing to 5.89 per cent this week. It’s also costlier now to tap the structured markets for SFR transactions. A roughly US$1 billion FirstKey Homes deal issued in June paid a coupon of 4.25 per cent on the largest tranche, while the equivalent slice of a similarly sized deal from the same issuer a year ago paid 1.538 per cent.
The hot housing market has made many issuers rethink their expansion plans, said market participants. For instance, Home Partners of America, the single-family landlord owned by Blackstone, recently announced it would stop buying houses in 38 US cities, including Boise, Fresno and Memphis. Those markets represent less than 5 per cent of Blackstone’s recent activity, according to the firm.
“We and Home Partners remain fully committed to expanding access to homeownership and continue to actively purchase homes on behalf of our residents in more than 20 of the highest growth markets in the US,” said the firm’s spokesperson in an emailed statement.
Others, such as American Homes 4 Rent and Invitation Homes, are signalling a slowdown in their purchasing pace as well, according to an Aug 26 BofA Securities note.
Money managers are also being more wary when it comes to buying up the debt.
“Everybody is being more cautious because we are at an inflection point,” explained John Kerschner, head of US securitised products at Janus Henderson Group, in a phone interview. “Home price appreciation is going to be weaker, but that doesn’t mean the market is going to implode. It just means it will slow down.”
To be sure, the SFR sector still has some upsides as the rental market – on which its cashflows rely – remains strong. Rent growth has increased at around 3-5 per cent annually over the last several years and accelerated post-Covid, notes KBRA. And it’s 12.3 per cent higher over July of last year, according to real estate listing site Realtor.com. Still, growth has started to decelerate, with median rent across the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the US going up by only US$3 from June to July, reaching US$1,879, according to Realtor.com data.
“We are watching rent trends closely, but we are constructive on the sector as people can’t afford buying a single-family house now,” said Kerschner. BLOOMBERG
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domain: news


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This is the type of gluten-free cream of chicken soup that you can enjoy in a bowl, not just as a condensed replacement for your usual can. Even though the recipe is dairy-free, the soup is creamy and thick, without being heavy or gluey thanks to being made with only whole foods (no flour or cornstarch!). Plus, there are big, juicy chunks of chicken and real herbs, which we can’t say for the canned version! It can also be modified for use in low FODMAP casseroles!
I know I’m in the minority here, but I had a thing growing up with eating Campbell’s cream of chicken soup…in a bowl…as an actual soup and not the basis for some rice casserole.
This may come as somewhat of a surprise, since those of you who have read my book know that my origin story involved a lot of quinoa and carob, and not a whole lot of packaged foods.
But as a sick day treat, my mom would crack open a can of cream of whatever soup (chicken being a close favorite to mushroom) and I’d get to watch the Price is Right and guess the cost of the dishwasher where I’d eventually put my bowl.… Continue Reading about Blender Gluten-Free Cream of Chicken Soup

domain: food


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At nearly 3ft tall and 66lbs, Kodiak is a bear of a boy. He is a young bruin and stil has some lessons to learn about his size, but here we are in great luck - he LOVES a tennis ball. Or, specifically, an extra-large Chuck-It ball, tho a Jolly Ball would likely also do. The ball is a great training incentive, and he is also loves to toss and leap on it to entertain himself. Kodiak loves playing with and sweet talking the girl dogs. But like any reasonable bear, he will not share food and loudy defends his bowl. If his house holds more than one dog (and that is hard to imagine!), he will need fed completely apart in his own room with no food/treats left down ever. He will also need to leave the room before you pick up his bowl - this is where that Chuck-It! ball will help you. A qualified trainer can help him realize you are a good person to have near his bowl, because you are the one who makes the food happen. Adult-only home, please.
Est DOB: Aug 2013 Intake Weight: 66lb
"Young" is up to 3 years old. "Large" is over 20 inches at the shoulder. Fenced yard and approved application required. Visit or email for application. Shelter phone often does not work, please use email link on this listing.

domain: pet


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Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s ultimate confident, former Memphis Mafia member Jerry Schilling, revealed that “The King” was desperate in the 1970’s to finally tour globally. During a chat with Noise11.com, Schilling revealed the moment when things came to head with Elvis and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker — who unbeknownst to all, was an illegal alien from Europe. Schilling remembered, “I was at that late night meeting at the Las Vegas Hilton. Elvis wanted to tour overseas. He wanted to go to Australia. He wanted to go to Japan. The Colonel said, ‘if you go I am not going to go with you.’ Elvis said ‘that’s fine, you’re fired.’ We didn’t know (Colonel was an illegal alien) while Elvis was alive. That came out after Elvis passed away. One of the Memphis Mafia guys called the Colonel and said ‘Colonel, you never told us you were from Holland.’ The Colonel said, ‘well you never asked.'” Due to his lack of citizenship, the Colonel could never travel outside of the States — and because of that, made sure to keep his sole client landlocked, as well.
Schilling shed light on the legendary working arrangement between Elvis and Parker: “I think creatively Elvis outgrew the Colonel and that’s what caused a major conflict. Musically and acting wise Elvis didn’t want to do at 30 or 35 what he was doing at 19 and 20 (nor would anybody else). I lived and worked with Elvis and I was with Colonel Parker one day a week. As a young guy I learned a lot about the relationship between and artist and a manager. The manager must understand the creative needs of his artist. He doesn’t have to bring him Sgt Pepper. That is for the artist to develop and for him to get it done. The artist must understand what the manager needs to do to promote their artistic work. They need to understand each other’s role to make the whole thing successful.”
Schilling said of Col. Tom: “Colonel Parker is the most misunderstood person in the music industry. He was brilliant in a simple way. He could outsmart any mogul or film company owner. Don’t ever say Colonel Parker wasn’t a brilliant guy. Creativity was not his best quality. He was the go-to bad guy. Colonel Parker was an honest guy. I used to dread going to work for him but at the end of the day it was pretty damn interesting. I became very close to him. I was the closest person to him in the last 20 years of his life.”
Jerry Schilling, who went on to become the Creative Affairs director of Elvis Presley Enterprises — was recently involved behind the scenes as a consultant on Elvis & Nixon. He wrote about his life with “The King” in his recent memoir titled Me And A Guy Named Elvis. Schilling, who now serves as the president of the Beach Boys’ Brother Records Incorporated, had previously worked with Billy Joel and the Bee Gees, managed the Beach Boys and Carl Wilson, and told us that although the members of the Memphis Mafia were all close, their main focus was always on Elvis: “I have to say, my focus, day-to-day basis, was Elvis. And the guys, we all played an inner part — we were second tier to ourselves, because everyone focused on Elvis.”
Photo Courtesy of Pulse Evolution Corporation

domain: celebrity


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GOLD BESTSELLER! KASHAK HAS BEEN ADDED AS AN ADDITIONAL THANK YOU!
"[...] Written by some of the best Dungeons & Dragons writers today, Warriors of Sehanine works either as a standalone adventure or as lead-in to Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus [...]" - Chrisitan Hoffer (comicbook.com)
[https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/08/21/dungeons-and-dragons-warriors-of-sehanine/]... [click here for more]
This special bundle product contains the following titles.Shore of DreamsRegular price: $2.95 Bundle price: $2.00 Format: PDF "The writing, the artwork and the overall feeling of this adventure is absolute triple A quality!" - Mr. Tarrasque
We are ADAMANTINE Bestseller, thanks to you! The PDF & Print+PDF Bundle gets exclusive paper miniatures from TRASH MOB... [click here for more]

domain: literature


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Updated at 2:45 p.m. ET
ATLANTA The website for Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) encountered a glitch Thursday, preventing passengers from checking in for flights or booking new tickets there.
Delta's mobile app was down, too.
Visitors to Delta.com got the following error message:
The airline says the problems began before 11 a.m. Eastern time and that it was working to resolve the problem. By 2:40 p.m. ET, both the site and the app appeared to be up and running again.
A spokesman says airport kiosks worked during the outage and that customers could book tickets by phone.


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Are Cats Lactose Intolerant?
Cats are obligate carnivores and their diet does not typically include dairy products. However, many people still wonder if cats can tolerate lactose due to the fact that some cats seem to enjoy milk or other dairy products. The answer is yes, cats can be lactose intolerant just like humans.
What Is Lactose Intolerance?
Lactose intolerance is an inability to digest lactose, a type of sugar found in milk and other dairy products. This occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough of the enzyme called “lactase” which helps break down and absorb this sugar into the bloodstream. People who are lactose intolerant may experience digestive issues such as bloating, gas, cramps after consuming milk or any other dairy product containing lactose.
Do Cats Have Symptoms When They Are Lactose Intolerant?
Yes, cats can show symptoms similar to those experienced by humans when they are lactose intolerant. These symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea or abdominal pain after drinking milk or eating any food containing even small amounts of lactose (such as cheese). Additionally, some cats may also develop skin problems such as itching due to an allergic reaction caused by consumption of dairy products that contain casein (a protein found in cow’s milk).
Why Are Some Cats Considered To Be Less Tolerable To Dairy Products Than Others?
The primary factor determining a cat’s tolerance for dairy products is its age; kittens have higher levels of the necessary enzyme -lactase- than adult cats do so they tend to be more tolerant towards them (although it should be noted that kittens should never consume cow’s milk!). Additionally there might be individual differences between different cats which could make one cat more tolerant than another towards specific foods including diary items .
Can I Feed My Cat Milk Or Other Dairy Products ?
No – it is best not feed your cat with any kind of milks or other diary items – while some felines could tolerate certain types of these foods , most will develop unpleasant digestive system related issues if fed with them on regular basis . If you want your pet get used to something sweet , provide him/her dry treats instead .


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Iranian state TV reported that on Wednesday, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 struck Iran’s western province of Lorestan, adding that there were no instant reports of casualties.
This earthquake occurred near the city of Firouzabad and was at a depth of 7 km (4.4 miles), state TV reported. They further informed that “Four rescue teams have been dispatched to the area,”.
Criss-crossed by various significant fault lines, Iran is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the whole world.
In 2003, an earthquake of 6.6 magnitudes in Kerman province wiped out 31,000 people and flattened the ancient city of Bam.
In 2017, an earthquake of 7 magnitudes in western Iran claimed the lives of over 600 people and injured over 9,000.


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Predatory pricing practices can lead to attempts to monopolize the market, and resulting antitrust claims. Companies with dominant or significant market shares are more vulnerable to antitrust requirements. However, because antitrust law is ultimately designed to benefit consumers, the US Supreme Court has placed high barriers to antitrust lawsuits based on predatory pricing theory. The court requires plaintiffs to demonstrate the likelihood that pricing practices affect not only competitors, but competition in the market as a whole, in order to establish that there is a significant likelihood that the monopolization attempt will succeed. If there is a chance that market participants will not allow the predator to recoup their investment through ultra-competitive pricing, then there is no chance of success and the antitrust suit will fail. In addition, as previously mentioned here, in order for prices to be predatory, they must be below the costs of the seller.
However, the US Department of Justice argues that modern economic theory based on strategic analysis considers predatory pricing as a real problem and argues that the courts are outdated and too skeptical.

domain: economics


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New York University’s Center for the Study of Transformative Lives will host historian James Carroll, author of Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews, for a public lecture, “The Pope’s Uneasy Conscience: Why Bergoglio Matters,” on Tues., Sept. 23.
“Pope Francis has impressed the world with his modest demeanor and evident concern for impoverished peoples,” says Carroll. “But his steady rejection of the self-exoneration that marks not only prelates but most power figures suggests a deeper shift—not just for religion, but for a world politics centered on predatory capitalism. The Catholic Church, facing its failures, may prove to be the center of a much needed and quite broad moral reckoning. Is it possible? Can he do it? He’s the pope!”
Carroll is the author of 11 novels and seven works of non-fiction, including An American Requiem, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction; Constantine's Sword, now an acclaimed documentary; House of War, which captured the first PEN-Galbraith Award; and Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How the Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World, which was named a 2011 Best Book by Publishers Weekly. In November, Viking will publish Christ Actually: The Son of God for The Secular Age. Carroll is a Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Suffolk University in Boston.
The Center for the Study of Transformative Lives at New York University fosters research, teaching, and education centering on the lives of exemplary individuals whose dedication, genius, and moral vision helped shape the course of human events. The work of the Center is motivated by the conviction that the example of a great and good life, studied in depth and at length, can become a guiding influence on people’s lives today as they confront their own choices, decisions, and opportunities. Focusing on well-known and less-well-known figures from the present and the past, students and researchers study inspiring individuals in the context of their times and the circles in which they moved, using them as powerful lenses through which to view history and understand societal change.
For more, click here.


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Vacation Rental Management
Rent a Property
Book an Attraction
At Beach Luxury Vacations, we prioritize exceptional luxury, best-in-class vacation rentals, property management services, and outstanding value on the Emerald Coast in the areas of 30A, Sandestin® & Miramar Beach, Florida. With over 35 years of property management experience, we pride ourselves on providing top-rated vacation rentals to our guests, and vacation rentals management packages to owners on Emerald Coast.
Our experienced team of property managers hand-selects the highest quality vacation homes to suit every style and requirement. We are confident that your Emerald Coast vacation rental will surpass your expectations.
Best In-class Service
Every guest has access to dedicated reservationists who are available to ensure all your needs are met.
Our mission is to guarantee your experience is second to none.
We are committed to providing you the highest quality accommodations and services at the best possible value. Our extensive portfolio of professionally managed properties has something to fit every budget.
Why Beach Luxury Vacations?
You have found the perfect vacation rental paradise on 30A, in Sandestin® and Miramar Beach, Florida. You are just a reservation away from feeling warm, powder-soft white sand between your toes as the gentle surf of the Gulf of Mexico echoes in the background.
Beach Luxury Vacations is proud to offer Florida guests our luxury properties, concierge service, and assistance providing everything you’ll need to complete your vacation rental on 30A, in Sandestin, and Miramar Beach. Our portfolio curators hand-select quality properties and our team enhances them with best-in-class services. Beach Luxury Vacations is one of the top Emerald Coast’s professional luxury vacation rental management company of choice on 30A, in Sandestin® & Miramar Beach, Florida.
We are the new standard in Emerald Coast luxury vacation rentals on 30A, in Sandestin® and Miramar Beach, FL. At Beach Luxury Vacations, we understand that you lead a full and busy life that consists of numerous day-to-day responsibilities. That is why our company offers the finest vacation rentals and management packages making owning or visiting a property on 30A, in Sandestin®, Blue Mountain Beach, Gulf Place, Seagrove, Seaside, Watercolor, Grayton Beach or Miramar Beach both hassle-free and profitable. Regardless of your specific needs, we are equipped to provide you with the assistance you require to maintain a successful and lucrative investment while giving you the freedom to enjoy more of your personal life.
Your Vacation Rental on 30A, in Sandestin® and Miramar Beach, Florida
As one of the best vacation rental companies on Emerald Coast in the areas of 30A, Sandestin® and Miramar Beach, we are proud to say we offer many exquisite homes for rent to our customers.
Our Emerald Coast vacation rentals are simultaneously luxurious and relaxing for all guests visiting us on 30A, in Sandestin® and Miramar Beach, Florida. All our vacation rental homes are managed by our exceptional staff at Beach Luxury Vacations. Our staff is trained to keep all our Emerald Coast rental homes in top shape, ready to be enjoyed by the next guest.
As a brand, we are all about affordable luxury, so you can be sure that any 30A, Sandestin®, and Miramar Beach vacation rental and vacation you book with us is of the best.
Explore our options for 30A vacation rentals on the Emerald Coast and see why you should book your next luxury rental with Beach Luxury Vacations.
Our Vacation Rental Properties
Here Comes the Sun
From $245.00 USD
Beds: 4 / Bath 3
From $275.00 USD
Beds: 3 / Bath 3
From $350.00 USD
Beds: 6 / Bath 6.5
From $189.00 USD
Beds: 3 / Bath 3.5
Vacation Rental Management
Along with offering top-tier vacation rentals and amazing attraction services in the areas of 30A, in Sandestin® and Miramar Beach, we are a well-established vacation rental management company in Florida.
We pride ourselves on offering the best vacations rental management services to Emerald Coast homeowners. Our portfolio includes Santa Rosa Beach, Miramar Beach, Blue Mountain Beach, Gulf Place, Grayton Beach, Dune Allen Beach, Seacrest Beach, Seagrove Beach, Seaside, and Watercolor Beach. In addition to our vacation rentals, our vacation rental management services include turn-key service. We supply your 30A, Sandestin®, and Miramar Beach vacation rental with all of the maintenance it needs from appliance replacement to lawn care. We even offer interior design work and remodeling in the off season!
We work with licensed and insured quality housekeeping vendors and we preform a 30-point inspection between guests so you can be sure your vacation rental home is well taken care of. Our complete vacation rental management service package includes advertising for your Emerald Coast 30A, Sandestin® & Miramar Beach vacation rental. We faciliate all administration, maintenance, inspections, laundry, housekeeping services, and accounting.
Another point of pride for us as one of the best vacation rentals management companies in the Emerald Coast is that we have no hidden fees. No other surprises here!
Areas We Serve
Dune Allen Beach
Blue Mountain Beach
Santa Rosa Beach
Beach Luxury Vacations exists to give our guests the most relaxing vacation rental experience possible in our homes on 30A in Sandestin and Miramar Beach, FL.
Our concierge is available to help with information about the 30A area, as well as booking many attractions and services. One of the most popular services is our golf cart rental service. See our full list of concierge activities below:
- Sunset Cruise
- Yacht Dinner Cruise in Choctawhatchee Bay
- Dolphin Cruise
- Bonfires on the beach
- Pontoon Boat Rentals
- Jet Ski rentals
- Yoga on the Beach
- Parasailing Excursions
- Deep-Sea Fishing Charters
- Fishing Party Boats
- Bike Rentals
- Golf Cart Rentals
If any of these activities sound like something your group would like to do, reach out to our excellent team.
Can't wait to go back
Beach Bumminn is well located to the beach and several locally favorite restaurants, shops, and bars. The house is well furnished and decorated. Located on 30A this has become one of my new favorite places to stay!
House was beautiful and all accommodations was what we expected, the only thing I can think of that we could have used was to have beach chairs available for use. I look forward to renting from this property management again.
Just what we were looking for!
Perfect location! Easy access to the beach, easy access to restaurants and stores. Beach was not crowded due to the private access and preserve area just west of this location.
Our family reunion at Bella Vita was a great one! We enjoyed the accommodations and space the property had to offer for our group of 8 adults and 8 children.
A Worthwhile, Florida Vacation Rental Experience on 30A, Sandestin® and Miramar Beach
Whether you are looking for a property to stay in, or for a vacation rental management company on Emerald Coast on 30A, in Sandestin® & Miramar Beach, we can meet your needs.
Explore what we have to offer today to see if we are the right fit for you!
If you are staying in one of our vacation rental properties and are looking for things to do on the Emerald Coast, our concierge has just what you need.
Complete our online contact form to get started today!
Things to Do in 30A
If you are looking for things to do on the Emerald Coast, we have concierge services available to help throughout your stay. There is sure to be something for everyone!
We have plenty of resources to help you find exactly what you need, even if it is outside of our concierge services. Take a look at some of our guides listed below to help plan your perfect getaway. There are so many things to do on the Emerald Coast that there is sure to be an activity for you! You can rent jet skis, kayaks, pontoons, paddleboards, and beach chairs to make your beach day worthwhile.
There are plenty of amazing restaurants, coffee shops, and shopping centers on the Emerald Coast to visit when you want a break from the 30A sun. And, if you want to take a beautiful ride on the beach, there are plenty of scooter rentals, jeep rentals, and fishing charters to enjoy the Emerald Coast scenery.
All You Need to Know About Golf Cart Rentals in 30A Florida. You are visiting 30A to enjoy the finer things of ocean life, avoid traffic, the endless hunt for a parking space, and noise. To save yourself valuable time, the team at Beach Luxury Vacations compiled the...
30A Florida luxury vacations are an unforgettable experience. If you’ve never vacationed to Florida 30A before, it can be difficult to know where to start as there are so many wonderful things to do! That’s why we’ve put together the ultimate guide for things to do in...
Adoringly called the Emerald Coast, Florida’s 30A area is one of the state’s best-kept wonders. Thirteen unique beaches span 20 miles across the Panhandle’s Coastline—There’s no better view. Even if there is, this isn’t one you want to miss! A bike trek along the 30A...
Frequently Asked Questions
Have more questions? We’ve got you covered!
10 Things to do on 30A Emerald Coast
There are plenty of things to do on the Emerald Coast when renting a property on 30A, but take a look at the list of our 10 favorite activities.
- Dolphin Watching Cruises
- Deep-Sea Fishing Charters
- Banana Boat Rides
- Destin Harbor Boardwalk
- Silver Sands Premium Outlets
- Air Force Armament Museum
- Wild Willy’s Adventure Zone
- Party Boat Tours
- Parasailing Excursions
- Sunset Cruises
What Celebrities live on 30A Emerald Coast?
For the reasons we just mentioned, the Emerald Coast is home to many celebrities. Take a look at the list below of celebrity sightings in 30A and see if your favorite celebrity lives or visits in town!
- Kenny Chesney
- Jason Aldean
- Luke Bryan
- Justin Moore
- Emeril Lagasse – He also has a restaurant in 30A!
- Ted Danson
- Mike Huckabee
- Sheryl Crow
- Jessica Simpson
- Matthew McConaughey
- Peyton Manning
- Drew Brees
- Courteney Cox
- And plenty more!
Why is 30A so popular?
30A is a popular rental destination. For many reasons, we can’t pin down just one reason! In addition to its white sandy beaches and the emerald green colored waters, 30A is a luxurious and serene beach town, with popular properties available for rent all year round.
There are so many things to do for residents and tourists alike that make 30A an exciting rental place to visit and spend your days. Almost every night in the summer, festivals and events are going on for the public to enjoy.
What is considered 30A Emerald Coast?
The Emerald Coast is considered the 24-mile stretch of coastline on the Florida panhandle. This area is home to beach towns like Destin, Okaloosa Island, and Fort Walton. 30A is the two-lane country road where these towns are located.
*SANDESTIN® is a federally registered trademark owned by Sandestin Investments, LLC (“SI”). Beach Luxury Vacations, LLC. is an independent entity, and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or associated with SI. Any use or reference to SI or its trademarks is merely to identify a property or a location and does not suggest an affiliation with SI.

domain: travel


Magicians, mentalists and the like are, these days, in an awkward position. If any of them wishes to see the inside of the Magic Circle, they must first agree to the proposition that it is unethical to lie to an audience; they must foreswear themselves as entertainers, not hucksters. In the last decade, this has intensified; encouraging people to believe in the supernatural is what many believe to be behind events such as 9/11, not least evangelical atheists like Richard Dawkins. Derren Brown, who has always been careful to emphasise his lack of mystical powers, has proved that this need not be the death knell for magicians; several times through the course of a show Brown will pander to an audience’s rationality, reassuring them “You’re intelligent people” before he nonetheless unveils some mind-blowing magic effect intended to confound that rationality. Brown is in this sense the natural successor to the magician and skeptic James Randy, exposer of shameless hucksters like Uri Geller, and his new show Derren Brown Investigates, in which Brown exposes people claiming to have supernatural powers, confirms this.
Perhaps Brown, like Dawkins, sees this as the good work, peddling rationality in a world seemingly under attack from religious zealots.
The first episode examines Liverpudlian clairvoyant Joe Power, who claims to be able to communicate with the dead using a primitive piece of psychological trickery exposed as such long ago. Episode two introduces us to Vyacheslav Bronnikov, a man who has built up a lucrative organisation that promises to give blind people the power of sight. Both shameless exploiters clearly in it for the money, the only interesting thing about them is to wonder if their need for cash is profound enough to outweigh their sense of reason and has allowed them to genuinely believe in their “powers”. Episode three presents a far more alluring character, ghost-hunter Lou Gentile, who seems to genuinely believe in his work and doesn’t charge for his service since that wouldn’t be “ethical”. An unbearably sweet man, even Derren Brown can barely bring himself to voice his skepticism.
What function does a show like this fulfill these days? Do we watch it for the same reasons we used to, because we want a glimpse of the fantastic? Or do we now simply want to have our rationality confirmed in a time when those who entertain notions of the supernatural are increasingly ostracised? Watching blind people being sold false hope for money is no doubt distressing and should be exposed, yet there is something disingenuous about the whole affair. Perhaps Brown, like Dawkins, sees this as the good work, peddling rationality in a world seemingly under attack from religious zealots. You’ll find Brown on the back cover of The God Delusion, declaring it as “brave”. There’s no doubt religion seems to give license for people to commit atrocities, but what’s less acknowledged is that the need to commit atrocities in the first place has more to do with material conditions, and that political injustices and acts of imperialism are the real root of such anger, as opposed to the Koran. The problem with this idea is that it doesn’t fit in so well with Western capitalist industrial society; we needn’t change our way of living to shoot down supernatural beliefs, but to forego the benefits of our imperialism in the East, that’s a different matter. When will someone be courageous enough to expose that? Derren’s new show is simply another way to distract from this, however righteously it seems to seek to defend those susceptible to supernatural beliefs from being preyed on by chancers; in an attempt to expose one level of exploitation, it services another.


SANDUSKY, Ohio (WJW) – Thrill seekers and Cedar Point fans have finally gotten a glimpse of Cedar Point’s newest record-breaking roller coaster.
The manufacturer unveiled the new train designs for Top Thrill 2 during the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo in Orlando this week.
Cedar Point posted a photo of the train on Facebook Tuesday with the caption, “Behold! #TopThrill2’s blue train has just been revealed! Learn more about the tech behind it in our latest Top Thrill 2 Pit Stop!”
“Welcome to the Top Thrill 2 Pit Stop video series, where we take you “behind the wall” to update you on everything that’s happening. Watch as we build the world’s tallest & fastest triple-launch strata coaster! Get your first look at one of Top Thrill 2’s sleek trains in this preview from IAAPA Expo in Orlando with Zamperla. The blue train is one of three that will be used in normal operation. For space purposes, only the lead car and trailing car are on display at the Expo. Are you ready to ride?” The YouTube video description says.
The blue train features red and white lines and a “CP” as a nod to Cedar Point.
Officials say the train was inspired by high-performance racing.
Top Thrill 2 will be the World’s Tallest and Fastest LSM triple launch coaster when it opens in 2024.


text:
Tech ran a team time of 2:06:10 for a total of 778 points at the 6K Yankton Trail Park course.This marks just the second time the Golden Suns ran a 6K course this season. Minnesota-Duluth finished first overall with 72 total points and a team time of 1:48:36. University of Mary’s Jennifer Agnew ran a 20:26 to take the top time in the field.
Other runners for Tech include Kaitlin Bounds of Russellville, who finished 150th with a time of 24:44, Meagan Duncan who ran a time of 25:11 to finish 168th, Cheryl Fleming who finished 183rd with a time of 25:57, Jasmin Urioste who posted a time of 26:52 to finish 198th, and Emily Stout who came in 200th with a time of 27:28.
This marked the Golden Suns final race of the 2013 season.
Tech finished the season fifth in the Great American Conference while placing one runner, Laura O’Dowd, on the All-GAC team.


text:
Our partner Gian Ducic-Montoya is stepping out to open our newest office in Irvine, located on the corner of Jamboree and MacArthur in the heart of Orange County. Our Orange County office has been a long time in the making, and we are excited to help Orange County residents with their Trust and Will disputes. The new address is 19800 MacArthur Blvd, Ste 300, Irvine, California, and the number is 949-608-0040.
At the same time, Gian is also overseeing our expansion into Los Angeles, with office space in Downtown Los Angeles just a stone’s throw from the L.A. courthouse where all probate matters County-wide are heard. We currently have quite a few cases pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court and our new Los Angeles location will help us better assist L.A. based clients. Our L.A. office address is 633 W. 5th Street, 26th Fl, Los Angeles, California, and the number is 213-670-7940.
While we are at it, we have also opened a new location in the heart of the Financial District in Downtown San Francisco. With help from partner Heather Côté, we will be able to help clients in the City of San Francisco. Our new San Francisco office is located at One Market, Ste 3600, San Francisco, California, and the number is 415-685-0909.
Wherever you are located throughout the State of California, we have an office to serve you. If you need some advise about a Trust or Will matter, feel free to call us.

domain: geography


text:
Viscometers are used in numerous industries of product development, quality and process control. They provide information on the flowability of liquids, which is a crucial quality characteristic in industries such as the cosmetics industry. Based on the viscosity, important decisions regarding the design of production plants or the suitable packaging are made.
The rotational viscometers of the ROTAVISC series determine the viscosity of liquids in all areas of application ranging from laboratory to quality control. In conjunction with suitable accessories, the four devices can deliver relative and absolute measurement results in different viscosity ranges. Regardless of simple or demanding viscosity measurement – thanks to latest technology ROTAVISC provides highly precise measurement results with a good reproducibility of +/-0,2%.

domain: chemistry


text:
The way people like to police the use of “literally” I hesitated to put it in the headline, but I think this ought to count. Business Insider published a hilarious article — well, hilarious if you’re from Maryland — displaying a map that ranks states by the number of Olympic gold medals their natives have won. California dominates with 122, but Maryland actually manages to squeak its way into the top ten with 18.
Of course with Michael Phelps’s 11 we’d be much deeper in the field. (Phelps actually has 18 golds, but for this, only individual medals were counted.) And Business Insider rightly that even if Phelps were a state unto himself, he’d still be ranked pretty high.
So, here’s to Maryland and our illustrious history of Olympic gold medalists.
Latest posts by Robert OBrien (see all)
- Baltimore Woman Accused of Stealing from Local Business to Stock Her Own - December 8, 2017
- Manny Machado Is No Longer the Best; That’s Good News for O’s Fans - December 8, 2017
- Baltimore Ravens 2017: A Tragedy - October 23, 2017


text:
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
I found this incredibly neat script which I’ve embedded into my site. I wrote up a blog entry saying what it was, and then thought, “Hey! Wouldn’t it be cool if I could explain how I implemented it, so that others could do the same thing?” So, I started writing up a tutorial. This tutorial is taking me a while to do, and I got bored with it. I thought, “now should I bother finishing the tutorial? It’s going to be of no use if noone reads it.” I decided to write up this blog entry instead of continuing.
I am going to finish it though. It’ll give me a chance to work on my tutorial writing skills, if those kinds of skills exist. I’ll return to it tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Update 04/17/05: Instructions are updated for Fotobuzz 0.2.
I wrote up a little tutorial on how to get it working with an EE photo gallery.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
- Whenever I look up my website URL at Technorati, all the results are links from within my own site. That doesn’t seem too useful. But I’m probably the only person linking to myself right now.
- MusicBrainz is one incredibly useful piece of software. It’s an mp3/ogg tag editor. It’ll analyze your music files, and hook up to its music database to retrieve the metadata for the music tags. My mp3 list was a mess before I used this, but the MusicBrainz software sorted the files all out.
- Apple announced a short while ago that they would be opening up the iTunes store in Canada in November. I wonder if it’s going to be open by tomorrow.
- I give up trying to get GnuPG installed with Thunderbird. I don’t think it’s very useful for me anyway.
- I mentioned that Jude Law was named the sexiest man alive. Well I picked up the People magazine with Jude on the cover, and I don’t think that pic does him justice. However I could stare at this one all day.
Gwen Stefani - What You Waitin' For?
Saturday, November 27, 2004
I didn’t realize that today was Buy Nothing Day! My mom and I actually went to the One of a Kind Show at Exhibition Place. There were rows upon rows of booths with vendors selling stuff from all across Canada. It took us about 4 and a half hours to get from one end of the hall to the other, and then we had to leave because we didn’t want to get caught in the rush hour traffic. We purchased some stuff there. Like a handbag and a coaster and some hand-made moisturizer. I ate lots of samples of chocolate and dips and I really liked the Campbell’s Gardennay soup. So all in all I consumed a lot of things today.
Friday, November 26, 2004
I’ve been working these past few days on an entry to the pMachine template contest. It’s open to anyone and there are several neat prizes. Submissions are closed on November 30 so if you want to enter, you still have a few days.
My design looks pretty normal, and it’s 90% finished. I had a lot of fun designing it. I also went ahead and wrote up the template code. I’ll link to a sample soon. And I can’t wait to see what other designs are out there. We get to vote on them.
Oh, and I have to say that the global variables are really very useful.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
I haven’t really been able to play the original Sims 2 game as much as I’d like, though. Here’s some of the things I have yet to see/do:
- Have the male get abducted and get pregnant
- Have twins
- Have one of the sims see a ghost
- Have a death by aging (I keep on using that elixir of life, because I don’t want my sims to die!!)
- Reach the top of all the different careers
Friday, November 19, 2004
I find the Popular Music search function over at amazon.com really hard to use. I’ve used their search before, but for some reason this time it took me some time to find what I wanted. I have this song called “Thief” on my computer, by the band Our Lady Peace. I wanted to find out which album that song was on. I thought that this would be easy.
Starting at the search box on the main page, I chose “Popular Music” in the drop-down box, typed in “Our Lady Peace”, and pressed the little “Go” button. The results were mostly the albums released by that band. There was a search box at the top of the results page, which I thought I could use to refine my search even further. I chose “Song Title” in the drop down box, and typed in “Thief”. I got 862 results, and nothing on the first page (showing the first 25 results) had anything to do with Our Lady Peace.
I scrolled down to the bottom of the page, to go to the next page of results. I guess I’m used to the Google search results page, where there are links to each page of the search results. With the Amazon search, there’s only an image saying “More Results”, so you can’t pick which page you want to browse to.
Now I really didn’t want to scroll through scroll through 862 results to see if I could find an album by Our Lady Peace. If it was listed on the last page of the results, and there are 25 results per page, that’d be ... a lot of clicking.
It then took me a long time to find the advanced search page and the search tips. If you’re in the Music section, it’s the first link (“Search Music”) on the red navigation bar at the top of the page. The thing is, it doesn’t say that it is an advanced search page. So from where I was, you can’t even tell that an advanced search page existed.
The advanced search page, however, was no help either. You can refine your search in the Popular Music section by specifying any of artist name, album name, and label. Or you could search by song title. I had just tried searching for the song title, and that didn’t work because there were too many results. What I wanted to do was get an album name given an artist name and a song name.
It makes a lot of sense for me to be able to do something like this. Say I heard a song on the radio, and the host told me the artist name and the song title, and I liked the song so much I wanted to buy the album. You don’t often hear radio hosts telling you the names of albums as well. If I went to Amazon and tried to search for it, I’d be lost. In fact I feel kind of stupid right now, because maybe it’s possible to do this, and I just can’t figure it out. :p
How did I solve this? I did another search for Our Lady Peace, went to each album, and then looked at the track listings to find the song name. (The song turned out to be in the album Happiness Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch.) Maybe I should have just done that in the first place, but I don’t think that is very efficient. What if I wanted to find a song by an artist that had 10 albums? Or 20 albums?
To end this post, I went to the iTunes Music Store, and did a search with the terms “Our Lady Peace Thief” and I got the album name on the first try. Ughhhh.
Edit: If I had gone to Google or A9.com and done the search “Our Lady Peace Thief site:amazon.com” I would have gotten the album name too.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Hmmm, speaking of sexy men, I wonder what’s going on with Joshua Jackson.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Having used ExpressionEngine for as my blog software for several months now, here’s what I think of it. (Updated to reflect the current release, 1.2)
What I do like
- Just look at the features! Multiple weblogs, custom fields, custom statuses, multiple categories, subcategories, pagination, custom member profiles, custom member groups, the ability to restrict access to certain pages based on member status, site stats, referrer logging, built in gallery module – and those are just some of the things I like.
- The flexibility. My site consists of several blogs, a gallery, bookmarks, and a couple of static pages. Except for the bookmarks everything is powered by EE. There are so many ways you can use EE to suit your needs. The templating engine is awesome and powerful – it is so easy to customize anything.
- The built in spam prevention measures work really well for me. I’ve gotten no comment spam or trackback spam. Any referrer spam I get I can block by the blacklist.
- There are plenty of people who help others out at the support forums.
- It seems reallly easy to develop plugins and modules. There is plenty of documentation available. I’ve written one or two plugins for myself, and those were very simple, but others have written some complex plugins and modules.
- I love the control panel interface. The colours are easily customizable using CSS. I like how you can specify the size for each field – so that there is less scrolling when you have a long long entry, or there is no extra space wasted if your custom field only contains a line of text. In the Publish screen, there is lots of control over what components you want, and the ordering of the custom fields. I like how the CP is full screen. I got around to installing MT 3.1x (I forget which version). Their CP was designed with a fixed width. The fixed width was to make sure it worked for people with lower resolutions, but for me, a person who uses a pretty high resolution, I got tired of typing an entry in what seemed like a really tiny textarea box (compared to the one in EE). The last feature I really like about the CP is the Quick Links that are at the top of each page in the CP. Each user can specify what links they want.
However, EE is not perfect.
What I don’t like
- Lack of export functionality (other than in SQL). However this export functionality is hard to implement because of the custom fields and all that.
- Import functionality – again, hard to implement for the reason listed above.
- The URL structure is quite rigid.
- EE is a CMS, and several modules are being developed by the pMachine team to turn it into an even better CMS. There are plans for a forum module, a community module, an eCommerce module, etc. That’s great, and I’m excited to see what the pMachine developers come up with, but as a user who’s using this software mainly for personal blogging, I know that I won’t be needing these modules. So for the developers there would be less attention focused on functionality that I want (mainly related to blogging). I know that this is selfish, and if I really wanted a certain feature, I’d try write it myself. But that’s what I think. It’s a bit harsh I suppose to say that this is something I don’t like about EE.
Monday, November 15, 2004
Read this metafilter post before you read my comments in the ‘more’ part. You’ll have to watch a video - and as a warning, that video took a while to load.

domain: hobby


text:
Hundreds of doctors, firefighters, emergency personnel and volunteers are converging on the East Coast to help devastated areas with recovery efforts.
Trent Smith, from Indiana expects to spend the coming days working long hours with little sleep, but he said the work will have its own rewards.
“The vast majority of people that work for (the) department do this because they have this internal feeling that ‘I want to help,'” said Smith, who normally works as a public information officer for the Indiana state police.
Most people traveling to the East Coast are part of organized groups. But some are heading out on their own, driven by a desire to help in whatever way they can.
(READ the featured story from NBC News)

domain: sociology


text:
Here is a another simple manicure! I used "Lacey Lilac" by Sally Hansen for the base color and Recollection's sparkles. I used tape in order to make the lines. It chipped pretty fast unfortunately, but it was pretty while it lasted! Here are some more pics...
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
This is a really simple manicure cause I'm kinda busy right now. It's two coats of "Lacey Lilac" by Sally Hansen Hard as Nails, and one coat of "Brooke" by Julep as a shimmer top coat. The "Lacey Lilac" color is a creme finish, while "Brooke" has a jelly finish. It was a really thick manicure, and once it tried it looked really good because of it. Here are a few more pics!
Friday, June 29, 2012
These are absolutely some of my favorite nails. They are so incredibly easy to do and they look really cool (: Just paint your nails whatever base color you want, mine is "White On" by Sally Hansen Hard as Nails, and then put dots of colors in the corner (one color at a time). Take a tooth pick and pull it through the dot a few times. That's all! Add a top coat and Viola!
The colors used for my dots are:
"Fushia Power" by Sally Hansen Hard as Nails
"Blue for you" by Sally Hansen Hard as Nails
Well unfortunately I had to attend a funeral the other day, and I figured that wearing bright purple nails wouldn't be such a great idea. These are what I cam up with! They're simple and elegant (: The black is "What's a Jack?" by OPI and the base color is "Snowflake Pink" by Revlon. I stamped the flower on with "White On" by Sally Hansen Hard as Nails. Here are more pics:
I know it's hard. I literally got over the habit a few months ago (I peeled them not bit them, but same concept)! Here are some tips on how to make this process easier. The first one is the most important in my opinion...
- Paint your nails! If you have an awesome design on your nails, it's much harder to destroy it! Plus, who likes the taste of nail polish - yuck!
- Dip your fingers in nail polish remover in the morning (non-acetone), the taste will help deter your fingers from getting near your mouth.
- Think. Think of everywhere your hands have been that day - door knobs, chairs, kitchen counters, trays, etc... Do you really want all of those things to be in your mouth?
- Finally, wear a rubber band. Every time you bite or peel your nails, snap it! Soon you'll associate biting/peeling your nails with a stinging pain.
Hope this helps! If you're still really having trouble, I can give you some more tips!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Here's a picture of the orange I used under it, Marmalade by Revlon. I used two coats of "Marmalade" and one coat of the Mango.
More pictures of the finished product!:
Friday, June 22, 2012
If you're always seeing these blogs where the girls all have every tool they could ever need and wonder how they can buy it all, you're not alone! Here are a few things that I have found can be switched for their more expensive doppelganger!
Cutitcle Oil --> Olive oil
Nail Polish Thinner --> Nail polish remover
Bad Tasting Nail Polish (for nail biters) --> Nail polish remover
Dotting Tool --> Pencil (the sharper the tip, the smaller the dot)
Pedicure for removing calluses --> Ped Egg (I love this thing so much)
Nail Art Colors --> One thin paint brush (make any color a nail art color)

domain: artistic


Most bloggers – Especially newer bloggers – Are happy to learn content editing tips, or content editing hacks, as they are sometimes called. This article, by Janice Kersh, offers five to help you improve your content marketing performance…
Guest post by Janice Kersh
Are you a blogger looking for content editing hacks to improve your content’s exposure?
Day in, day out, you create web content. You have great writing abilities and the subject matter you share is comprised of topics that your readers want. Still, you have a hard time meeting your content goals.
Not everyone knows how to do content editing. This may surprise you, but the most successful content creators have a secret – they work with an editor.
You could hire someone for content editing services (if your budget allows) on Fiverr, and Essay Writer Pro, or you can learn the most powerful editing hacks for yourself.
Here are five content editing hacks to improve your marketing performance…
1. Check The Tense Of Your Language
Three types of tense are used in writing: Past, present, and future. Take the first step and scan your articles and other content for tense continuity. By default, everything should flow in the present tense.
Use past tense for flashbacks and future tense only to flash-forward. Writing with an uninterrupted tense creates ease of understanding.
Implementing the first of your five content editing hacks — As you make your way through the unedited piece, make sure that you use the same tense throughout your work. Commonly, slip-ups in this area create unnecessary confusion in your reader’s mind.
He wrote prose from the depths of his soul.
He writes prose from the depths of his soul.
He will write prose from the depths of his soul.
2. Trim The Excess Fat From Your Meat
The “meat,” in writing, is where the valuable mind nutrients exist. Web content needs only the words necessary to state your point. Unnecessary phrases become wordy and, frankly, boring. When you want readers to hang on until the end, cut off the excess fat – it will only weigh down your work.
Comb through your content, looking for unnecessary verbiage, and remove it.
Here are examples of heavy phrases and alternatives:
- “According to the data we’ve compiled” becomes “we find.”
- “Despite the reality that” becomes “although.”
- “It is frequently the case that” becomes “often.”
- “Under conditions wherein” becomes “when.”
Simple enough, right? Liking these content editing hacks so far?
3. Apply The Basic Comma Rules
Incorrectly used commas lead to confusing statements. You need to know when and where to use them correctly. Step three of the editing process is to check your comma placement.
Learn all of the basic comma rules and apply them…
Lists should include a comma before the final conjunction.
Using Commas Properly:
She has seven orange hats, six yellow shirts, and three red pairs of shoes.
Not Using Commas Properly:
She has seven orange hats, six yellow shirts and three red pairs of shoes.
Independent clauses should be separated with a comma.
Using Commas Properly:
He held the door open for her, then suddenly ran away.
Not Using Commas Properly:
He held the door open for her, while she struggled to hold her books.
Hopefully these content editing hacks are coming back to you from childhood language lessons. 😉
4. Lose These Boring Words
Overused words are boring – once they’re seen hundreds of times, they lose their effect. So, rather than seeming elementary, drop the overused words from your vocabulary.
Everyone knows what these words mean, but they paint a vague picture and should be avoided:
Some of these words need to be used, but only sparingly:
- Used to
- Have Got
5. Conclude With A Call To Action (CTA)
Web content is written with a goal in mind, and your readers need to be guided to the next step. When editing, the final step for you is to tell them what to do.
A CTA serves as a jumping point for readers making their way through your sales funnel at whatever stage they stand. So, though you may be wrapping up your content with some witty conclusion that is meant to make readers remember you, re-think that strategy. Your web content serves the purpose of generating leads and sales.
So, how will you make that happen?
Use CTAs to ask readers to go out and apply the knowledge they have gained, move onto another piece of content, sign up to your newsletter, or buy something. An understanding of online sales funnel stages will help you decide what type of CTA to use with the content at hand.
Note that a blog isn’t the best place to make a sales approach, so don’t ask your readers to buy your products. Instead, most of your content should lead readers to another piece of content that will give you an idea whether or not the reader fits your target market.
Ebooks and gated content are a great way to find out and gather contact information. After that, you can use your email newsletter to build a relationship. After proper tracking and nurturing, you’ll be ready to show people how your products or services will help them.
Listed above – All five content editing hacks to help your content performance.
Now that you know what you can do to exponentially improve your content with easy edits, decide for yourself whether you want to do it yourself:
- Check the tense
- Trim the excess
- Double check your commas
- Get rid of boring words
- Perfect your CTA
Then, once you’ve seen how easy it is to deliver polished web content, make your decision. Either use these content editing hacks each time you write a piece of content, or outsource the task to a specialized web content editor.
About the Author
Janice Kersh is a freelance writer and content manager. She is also a science-fiction nerd and a cookie lover. You can connect with Janice via Twitter.


Showing all 8 results
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Savvy Rest’s newest customizable organic mattress is the Zenspring. Made with 8″ of recycled pocketed coils, and one 3″ layer of natural latex, the Zenspring is designed to be both comfortable and durable. We wanted to create an organic mattress option that was more affordable without sacrificing the benefits of customization. Like the Savvy Rest Serenity mattress, the Serenity Spring allows you to choose between Soft, Medium, and Firm layers of Dunlop and Talalay latex.
Showing all 8 results


$129.99 for a Samsung WB100 16.2 MP black digital camera, 8 GB secure digital SD memory card, and compact deluxe gadget bag ($299.97 list price)
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Brazilian gold aggregator Fênix DTVM and Minespider, which runs a traceability platform for tracking down the precious metal through the supply chain, completed this week the first stage of a project that aims to make Brazil’s gold sector transparent.
The two companies have integrated traceability in gold sourcing and processing activities, delivering the first fully traced gold bar to one of Fênix’s clients.
By the end of 2023, Fênix DTVM plans to aggregate 100% traceable gold with the Minespider traceability platform, based on blockchain technology.
The milestone comes as Brazil’s government is increasing efforts to crack down on illegal gold mining in the Amazon, through legislation that would require electronic tax receipts for the buying and selling of the precious metal.
Electronic tax receipts can be an important tool for eradicating illegal mining,” Christian Ecker, Client Partner at Minespider, told MINING.COM.
Currently, gold is sold with paper receipts based on the “good faith” of the seller, making it impossible to trace its origin.
“Paper documents can be more easily faked or edited (…) If done right, electronic receipts can make this harder and thereby reduce gold laundering and smuggling,” Ecker said. “It might also make tax collection more efficient.”
The electronic receipt, or “nota fiscal” in Portuguese, would identify the name and tax number of the seller, the operation where the gold was extracted, as well as the authorization number of the mining license.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is preparing legislation to add transparency to the sector and end deforestation, which surged to a 15-year-high under his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
Lula has also pledged to take better care of indigenous populations in the Amazon who are threatened by armed wildcat miners.
According to Instituto Escolha, Brazil exported 229 tonnes of gold with “serious evidence of illegality”, between 2019 and 2022. The figure, the report says, accounts for almost half of all local production.
Mining industry lobby group Ibram’s figures are equally alarming. It claims that close to half of the 100 tonnes of gold Brazil produces each year is thought to be illegally mined and laundered by financial brokerages that are regulated by the central bank.
Fênix DTVM and Minespider Fênix DTVM and Minespider’s solution can be integrated with legacy systems and could, potentially, help the government achieve its objectives.
“This tool enables transparency about gold’s provenance as buyers know where it’s coming from,” Ecker said. “We want to get to a point where this traceability is considered ‘normal’ and buyers expect transparency and are skeptical about non-transparent gold.”
Fênix DTVM and Minespider will expand the use of their platform to all supply chains with the overall goal of having 100% traceability across all suppliers and operations by the end of 2023.


text:
The Law-related Education Department of the Oklahoma Bar Association was established in 1989 to further the goal of increasing public service and enhancing public understanding of the law and the legal system. LRE endeavors to educate citizens in a constitutional democracy and to create an active and responsible citizenry.
Constitution Day - Freedom Week
Legal Guide for Young Adults
Law-related Education Department
Oklahoma Bar Association
P.O. Box 53036
1901 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73152
To find out more information about law related education, please email John Williams, OBA Executive Director.

domain: law


text:
Dr Jackson, who speaks with Mr Trump a few times a day and travels with him, said he did not think the USA president needed cognitive testing based on medical guidelines - but added the 30-question Montreal Cognitive Assessment at Mr Trump's request.
But Jackson, who served as the White House physician since 2013, found allies in former Obama officials who called him a "saint" and "a phenomenal doctor". It is a well-known and well-tested assessment that doctors can quickly use to detect "mild cognitive dysfunction", according to the test instructions.
According to Michael Wolff, author of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, all of the president's White House aides see him as a "child" who needs "immediate gratification".
Past presidents are not known to have been tested for mental acuity while in office including Ronald Reagan who five years after leaving the White House in 1989 was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, an incurable, degenerative brain condition.
Dr Jackson performed a series of tests on the 71-year-old president on Tuesday as part of his first medical exam in office. The patient is asked to draw a clock and put numbers on it, and to draw a cube.
It's designed, he explained, to test for "minimum cognitive function to be able to do important things" and "does not absolutely assess personality issues".
Trump answered all 30 questions correctly, Jackson said. Jackson said he'd be arranging to have a dietitian consult with the White House chef to cut calories and would be recommending a low-impact, aerobic exercise program for Trump, with the aim of shedding 10 to 15 pounds this year. But he also added an extra exam - a cognitive screening test for memory loss or early dementia. It is "just one measure in a clinical judgment", he said in an email.
"Many of you may have picked up on the fact that we did do a cognitive assessment", Jackson said.
The White House, in an attempt to dispel concerns about Donald Trump's mental state, is highlighting the results of a test developed by a Canadian immigrant from Lebanon.
Jackson said on Tuesday that Trump asked him to perform the cognitive exam, which the doctor had not planned to do, having deemed it unnecessary.
He said despite the president's love of fast food and lack of exercise he was in good health, and that he has "incredible genes". Could you? Take a short version of the test above.
Jackson said that Trump's cholesterol level has jumped to 223, in the elevated range, and his low-density lipoprotein of 143 is borderline high, so he is increasing Trump's medication.
Jackson said that there is no reason Trump wouldn't be able to complete his first term healthwise, in addition to a second term if re-elected.
"This was a bit of a snapshot in time", she said.


text:
The use of water features for improving speech privacy and cognitive performance in open-plan offices
Abdalrahman, Zanyar Anwer
MetadataShow full item record
Noise in open-plan offices, especially irrelevant speech, has detrimental effects on the psychological and cognitive functioning of people. Noise masking has proven to be effective in reducing these effects. Within that context, this research examines the use of water features in masking irrelevant speech and improving the sound environment in open-plan offices. The research comprised five experiments. Experiment 1 examined the preferred sound pressure level of water sounds when used to mask irrelevant speech. The preferred sound pressure level of water sounds was found to be 45 dBA. In addition, the preferred masking level was independent from the intelligibility level of irrelevant speech as well as the type of the water sounds. Experiment 2 examined audioonly and audio-visual preferences of six water sounds when used to mask irrelevant speech. A 37-jet fountain was preferred in the audio-only condition, whilst a 4-step cascade was preferred in the audio-visual condition. The audio-visual condition increased the likelihood of making positive changes in people’s perception by 1.1 to 2.5 times, in comparison to the audio-only condition. Experiment 3 examined the effect of masking irrelevant speech on cognitive performance and subjective satisfaction. Results showed that cognitive performance of a serial recall task, as well as subjective satisfaction, to be significantly higher when irrelevant speech was masked by a water sound, in comparison to a speech-only condition. The gender of participants was found to have a significant effect on cognitive performance. Female participants’ performance was lower than their male counterparts. Furthermore, female participants benefited more from the masking of irrelevant speech. Experiment 4 examined the longer-term effects of adding a water feature in an open-plan office. Satisfaction with the sound environment significantly increased after installing a water feature in an open-plan office. Experiment 5 measured the reduction in the distraction distance associated with installing a water feature in two open-plan offices. The reduction in the distraction distance was measured to be between 8.64 m and 10.05 m, depending on the space tested. The layout of the workspaces played a key role in dictating the importance of the reduction in the distraction distance. Following recommendations and design criteria given in this study, it is possible to use water features in open-plan offices as a means of masking irrelevant speech and creating a pleasant soundscape and work environment which promote cognitive performance and speech privacy and increase subjective satisfaction.


The China Post
Date: October 16, 2016
By: The China Post news staff
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Kuomintang (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu will meet with party lawmakers later this week to discuss a key difference over the “one China” concept ahead of her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a leading KMT legislator disclosed Saturday.
Legislator Liao Kuo-tung, convener of the KMT’s legislative caucus, said the party’s lawmakers asked to meet with the chairwoman to see how she would explain the difference between “one China, different interpretations,” and “one China, same interpretation.”
“One China, different interpretations” is the KMT’s long-standing definition of the so-called “1992 Consensus.”
Last year on the presidential campaign trail, Hung proposed the controversial “same interpretation” version, which many believe caused her to be replaced as the party’s presidential candidate. [FULL STORY]


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text:
2 | searching
Wendy shaded her eyes with her hand and then glanced down at the hand-drawn map she had received in the small-town bar about half an hour ago.
“I have got to be close now,” she muttered to herself, looking out in the distance again. To her left and right, a dense forest bordered the broad expanse of grass. Stuffing the map in her pocket, she slung her canvas backpack over her shoulder again and kept hiking through the field.
Just as she was about to give up and go back, she saw a hill in the distance with what looked like a stone structure on top of it.
Commonly known as the Fairy King’s Castle, the area around it was shrouded in myth, with fairy stone circles and mysterious stories. In the year and a half since her flying attempt, Wendy had explored many supposed magical places, fairy circles, fairy steps and fairy gardens, but had yet to find anything that would help her to go to Neverland. She had never seen a small bright light flit out of sight, or even the telltale sparkle of pixie dust on a flower or a stone.
She came upon the first stone circle a few minutes later. As far as she could see, it was a perfect circle and the stones seemed to have been there for a long time. It wasn’t very large, maybe a meter and a half in diameter.
After glancing around the circle quickly to see if anything stood out, Wendy carefully looked at the twelve individual rocks and, after some measurements, found them all spaced the same amount apart. She scribbled this in her notebook and then looked up to the ruins of the castle that stood at the top of the hill.
Her parents had been surprised when Wendy had told them that she wanted to do something with research about British mythology and folklore. They told her to first finish her bachelor’s in psychology and after doing that, she had started working for a folklore research journal. This job had given her the excuse to go to all sorts of magical places all over the country, doing research for the journal and trying to find any sign of fairies.
Tramping up the hill, Wendy couldn’t help but smile as she thought about what her colleagues’ reactions would be if they knew that she actually believed in fairies and had even seen one.
The castle was not very large, but it was dimly lit, the only light coming from the sunshine that peeked in through holes in the ceiling, and Wendy rummaged in her backpack to find her flashlight. Turning it on, she slowly stepped over the threshold and looked around. The man at the bar had told her that the castle was safe and that tourists often came to look at it, but she was cautious nonetheless.
It was only one room, the rest had probably fallen away with time, the walls covered in vines and moss. The stone floor was cracked and grass and wildflowers sprouted in between them. A small tree had managed to break through some of the stones and it stood almost as high as the walls.
Wendy wished that she could tell when a place was truly magical or if it was just an old wives tale. She had this hope that if she came upon a place that had traces of fairy magic that she would be able to feel it.
She definitely did not have that feeling here, although she wasn’t sure what exactly it would feel like. This place felt old and it was fascinating, but it was not anything magical. But for the journal, she had to check everything out, to see if there was anything interesting enough to write about.
After taking a few pictures and scribbling down a few notes, she was ready to leave. She turned to go, but then she saw something glitter out of the corner of her eye. She whipped her head around and saw something sparkling in the moss at the far end of the ruin, where the thrones would have been in the Great Hall of the castle.
Her heart thumping, Wendy breathed out slowly and made her way over to the other side. What could it be? Not a fairy, their lights were much brighter; but it could just be some pixie dust left behind by one. This was the first time that she had seen anything that could help her, and she stopped for a moment, reminding herself that, more likely than not, it was nothing.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and looked at what was emitting the hopeful sparkle.
It was not pixie dust.
It was a chocolate bar wrapper.
Even though she had prepared herself for the disappointment, Wendy felt her heart sink. She licked her lips and closed her eyes for a moment. It was still just litter when she opened them again and she blinked a few times, trying to keep the tears at bay, breathing deeply to calm herself down.
Breathing in. It was going to be okay.
Breathing out. She would find a way eventually.
In. She just had to keep looking.
Out. Just had to keep looking.
But what if she never found anything? What if there were no fairies here, and they all just lived in Neverland, never leaving a trace on the mainland?
“What if...” she finally spoke aloud the fear that had been living in the back of her mind ever since speaking to John and Michael about Neverland. “What if I imagined the whole thing? What if it wasn’t real?”
She heard something behind her and feared for a second that someone had heard her, but when she spun around, she saw that it was just a sheep.
“Beh-eh,” the sheep bleated.
A brief relieved laugh escaped her lips and she picked up the garbage to throw out when she got back into town and left the Castle of the Fairy King. She felt as she usually did after an unsuccessful search for fairies, disappointed but still not allowing her hope to die.


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Medical - - Jun 07,2017
According to analysts, the bioreactors and fermenters market on the global canvas is projected to reach US$4461.0 million in 2024; CAGR growth anticipated to rise at 12.2%.
Bioreactors and fermenters are primarily used in research institutes and bioprocessing industries. The main application of bioreactors is for the cultivation of mammalian, plants, as well as insect cells, along with large scale production of antibodies, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, etc. On the other hand, Fermenters are employed for the growth and maintenance of a population of fungal or bacterial cells in a controlled mode. Over the years, the market for bioreactors and fermenters has enhanced with the growing application requirement.
According to a research report published by Market Research Hub (MRH), the bioreactors and fermenters market globally is projected to acquire a valuation of US$4461.0 million in 2024 at an impressive CAGR of 12.2%. Considering the product segregation, the market for bioreactors and fermenters consists of the single-use bioreactor and multiple-use bioreactors. These two varieties are the most popular and are utilized effectively in the geographical active market regions comprising North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa.
Looking at the influential factors for the growth of the bioreactors and fermenters, it has been analyzed that the increased adoption of hybrid technologies which use single-use and stainless steel systems, along with the growing popularity of single-use disposable bioreactors among biopharmaceutical companies and contract manufacturers, have played a crucial role.
Presently, the major companies operational in the bioreactors and fermenters market include names like Applikon Biotechnology B.V., Danaher Corporation, GE Healthcare, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., SOLARIS BIOTECHNOLOGY srl, Eppendorf AG, Finesse Solutions, Inc., Sartorius AG, PBS Biotech, Inc., Merck KGaA, PIERRE GUERIN TECHNOLOGIES and ZETA Holding GmbH.
For more information on this report visit- http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/bioreactors-and-fermenters-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-volume-growth-trends-and-forecast-2016-2024-report.html

domain: biology


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The Gravity of Us, an all-new gripping and emotional standalone from Brittainy C. Cherry is available now!
The Gravity of Us by Brittainy C. Cherry
Release Date: April 13th, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Designer: Quirkybird Designs
Graham Russell and I weren’t made for one another.
I was driven by emotion; he was apathetic. I dreamed while he lived in nightmares. I cried when he had no tears to shed.
Despite his frozen heart and my readiness to run, we sometimes shared seconds. Seconds when our eyes locked and we saw each other’s secrets. Seconds when his lips tasted my fears, and I breathed in his pains. Seconds when we both imagined what it would be like to love one another.
Those seconds left us floating, but when reality knocked us sideways, gravity forced us to descend.
Graham Russell wasn’t a man who knew how to love, and I wasn’t a woman who knew how to either. Yet if I had the chance to fall again, I’d fall with him forever.
Even if we were destined to crash against solid ground.
We didn’t know how to act with one another after our first kiss. Our situation wasn’t the norm when it came to building a relationship. We did everything backward. I fell in love with a boy before our first kiss, and he fell for a girl who he wasn’t allowed to have. Our connection, our heartbeats, matched one another in our fairytale world, but in reality, society deemed us as an awful accident.
Maybe we were an accident—a mistake.
Maybe we were never supposed to cross each other’s paths.
Maybe he was only meant to be a lesson in life and not a permanent mark.
But still, the way he kissed me…
Our kiss was as if heaven and hell collided together, and each choice was right and wrong at the same exact time. We kissed as if we were making a mistake and the best decision all at once. His lips made me float higher, yet somehow descend. His breaths somehow made my heart beat faster as it came to a complete halt.
Our love was everything good and bad wrapped in one kiss.
A part of me knew I should’ve regretted it, but the way his lips warmed up the cold shadows of my soul…the way he left his mark on me…
I’d never regret finding him, holding him, even if we only had those few seconds as one.
He’d always be worth those tiny seconds we shared.
He’d always be worth that soul-connecting feeling we created when our lips touched.
He’d always be the one I spent my nights dreaming of being near.
He’d always be worth it to me.
Sometimes when your heart wanted a full-length novel, the world only gave you a novella, and sometimes when you wanted forever you only had those few seconds of now.
And all I could do, all anyone could ever do, was make each moment count.
After we went home that night, we didn’t talk about it at all. Not the following week, either. I focused on Talon. Graham worked on his novel. I believed both of us were waiting for the right time to come up for us to speak about it, but that was the tricky thing about timing: it was never right.
Sometimes you just had to leap and hope you didn’t fall.
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❝I fell in love with a boy before our first kiss, and he fell for a girl who he wasn’t allowed to have.❞
I dragged it out. I hesitated. I found that I allowed life to interrupt me. Because the last thing I wanted to do was FINISH this beautiful book. The Gravity of Us will definitely end up on my Top Faves of 2017. WITHOUT DOUBT. I loved every word, every sentence, every paragraph. Brittainy C. Cherry is a magician. Her words are like a slight of hand trick, just when you are comfortable she swiftly switches it up and even though you sense it coming, she magically flips your emotions over and over until you are reeling from what you’ve just seen, read, experienced.
❝Love. The emotion that made people both soar and crash. The feeling that lit humans up and burned their hearts. The beginning and end of every journey.❞
Lucy, Mari, and Lyric were three sisters with contrasting personalities. Where Lucy was carefree, Lyric was rigid. Where Mari searched for love, Lyric ran to escape it. Their mother was a free spirit. She raised her daughters to explore, experiment and love life. Lyric resented the lack of structure. She became a lawyer while Lucy and Mari became best friends.
Graham was raised by a tyrant. His father was an alcoholic self-obsessed man. He was evil and unloving. He was cruel. What he taught his son was to not trust others. And to not love.
An accidental encounter throws Graham and Lucy in each other’s paths. A common bond keeps them together.
❝She wore her heart on her sleeve, and I kept my heart wrapped in steel chains deep within my soul.❞
The pain and anguish these characters experienced were this angst lovers dream.
Warning! I have not cried this much while reading a book since …
The way this author freed our hero and rooted our heroine was breathtaking. But the romance, the romance was built from need, anger, dislike, hate and mistrust and blossomed into the most beautiful, hopeful destiny.
The Gravity of Us is about giving and taking. Loving and trusting. Being vulnerable and being strong. It is about good and evil, sadness and despair, hope and happiness.
The perfect ending to the Elements series, Cherry ends with what I think is her best book, yet!
Start the Series of Standalones Today!
(Free in Kindle Unlimited)
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(Now ONLY 99¢!)
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text:
9th November 2017 - 06:00 GMT | by Beth Maundrill, Gordon Arthur in Bangkok
Save this for later
As Defense and Security 2017 draws to a close Gordon Arthur, Asia/Pacific editor at Shephard Media, talks through some of the news from the week.
Stay up to date with our daily news alerts
Shephard Plus provides access to industry datasets, magazines, daily news services and show reports.


text:
Wilmington man is top 3 finalist on 'America's Funniest Home Videos'
Telling someone you're going to put their hilarious mishap on “AFV: America's Funniest Home Videos” has become almost a cliche. The show is in its 20th season, making it the longest-running prime time show in ABC history.
But how many people actually send in those tapes? Or, these days, take the time to download it to the “AFV” site?
Wilmington resident Joe Cook decided to put his video where the money is, though it took some prodding from friends and family.
Cook recently received a call from an “AFV” producer saying that his family's funniest moment would be one of three finalists in an upcoming episode. Cook converted the High 8 tape to a digital format and sent it in about a month ago.
Although the network is barring him from saying exactly what's so funny in his submission, Cook could say his mother filmed him and his brother during Christmas about four years ago.
“America's Funniest Videos” is flying Cook, his mother, step-dad and one of this brothers to Los Angeles on Tuesday. Then, Wednesday, a limo will pick them up for the show's taping.
“I'm looking forward to it,” Cook said. “My mom hasn't really ever been on an airplane, so that's going to be kind of exciting for her.”
A live audience will decide if the Cook family video will receive the $10,000 first place prize. And if it does, it will also be eligible for a chance at the $100,000 grand prize awarded at the end of each season.
This week's taping is scheduled to air in February, according to ABC.
Episodes of “AFV” air 7 p.m. Sundays on ABC.
Amy Hotz: 343-2099
On Twitter.com: @AmyHotz


text:
As 2021 finally winds down, it’s time to start thinking about how to ring in the New Year. Though there’s uncertainty due to the pandemic, vaccinations are allowing for larger gatherings. Chicago restaurants and bars are here to help by putting together special menus and events so that folks can celebrate in style. Enjoy fine-dining feasts, open bar packages, bottles of bubbly, and much more. Because everyone deserves to treat themselves for making it through another long and arduous year.
As of August 20, the city has mandated that everyone wear facial coverings while indoors. For updated information on coronavirus cases, please visit the city of Chicago’s COVID-19 dashboard. Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; the latest data about the delta variant indicates that it may pose a low-to-moderate risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial transmission. The latest CDC guidance is here; find a COVID-19 vaccination site here.
Note: Restaurants on this map are listed geographically.
If you book a reservation through an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy


This high-end project aspires to be at once a functional creative workspace and a formidable architectural showroom. The street-level location in downtown Los Angeles inspired the concept of urban abstraction and a true integration between the interior space with the surrounding city. The design resolved many obstacles, including monumental ceiling height, three sides of full-height window walls, and noise management from the adjacent lobby. In 2012, this project won the IIDA Calibre Award in the category of Xsmall workspace. This project was completed while at a former design firm.


text:
Have you ever seen a mom that regarded tired and annoyed on a family vacation? In fact you may have, we have all been there. This summer you possibly can actually take pleasure in a vacation with out returning dwelling exhausted. This is learn how to plan the perfect vacation the place you get to loosen up and your children nonetheless have a blast.
One closing word in regards to the larger picture in all of this. Brigham’s publish is a reflection on how Christian colleges and home faculties can begin fostering a novel tradition that helps their unique missions in the world. It’s true that the majority colleges’ very structure—the bells, the age segregation, the separation from household life, the Soviet-like structure—is closely progressive, in order that kids and academics alike are absorbing ideas and feelings which might be antithetical to the Christian and conservative norms they educate extra explicitly (sometimes) within the curriculum.
Anybody who grew up with Yogi and Boo Boo will get a huge kick out of introducing these lovable characters to their children at a Jellystone campground park. These parks are situated all through the Midwest and have turn into the favourite destination for many households. Along with the thrill of camping, Jellystone parks supply waterslides, pools, and bike trails. There’s additionally the chance to get involved in sports like volleyball and mini-golf. Within the night, families take pleasure in high quality time across the campfire, or at the movies!
Positioned in Thailand is the island of Phi Phi Leh. Probably the most effectively-recognized seaside is the area is the Maya Seashore. The area was damaged in the tsunami a number of years again, however, for essentially the most part, the realm has seen a rebirth. In addition to conventional seashore activities, new amenities, providers, and activities have been added for tourists.
Florida or Southern California – Obviously, you cannot trip at these two spots at the similar time; nonetheless, each offer related features and are perfect for people searching for a relaxing, exotic domestic vacation. Since both are stateside, you will not break the financial institution attempting to get there or during your stay. As well as, each offer warm, sandy seashores, stunning coastal towns, and opulent beachside resorts. The only distinction? The humidity in Florida!


text:
The Vanishing Sky
There are some times and places which are difficult to write about with any sort of happiness. Germany in 1945 is one of those. Even for ordinary civilians, life grew hellish at the end of the second world war. The Vanishing Sky follows a family of four as they struggle to survive without falling apart.
The book alternates between following Etta Huber, the mother of the family, and her younger son Georg, who grows disillusioned enough with the Hitler Youth to flee his group and try to run back home. As he makes his way across Germany, Etta has her own struggle to face. Her older son, Max, has come home from the front changed. At first, he seems merely shaken by the war, but as the days go on, it becomes clearer that something is very wrong with his mind. She vows to hold onto him as best she could, though she knows it won’t be easy. Nothing is these days.
The Vanishing Sky reminded me a great deal of All Quiet on the Western Front. It isn’t an easy book to read, but it’s magnificent all the same. The tone of the narration may seem distant at first, but by the end, I couldn’t imagine it any other way.
|L. Annette Binder
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