The little rise(Xiaomi) is ready to release it next new flagship killer the Xiaomi Mi 6 and Mi 6 plus. As usual xiaomi will be releasing it new smartphone with a high-end specs, sleek design and reasonable price tag.
The xiaomi Mi 6 will be the successor to the last year xiaomi Mi 5 which really received alot of attention. The Mi 6 will be competing with Samsung Galaxy s8, LG G6 and other flagship smartphone especially in China and India, as xioami is really doing well there.
Xiaomi Mi 6 and Mi 6 Plus: Specs.
So far there are be so many other rumors regarding the specs, claiming that the Mi 6 Plus would also be available in two additional variants — one with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage and a premium version with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of space. The latter might also feature a dual-curved display. And other rumors suggest an iris scanner and ultrasonic fingerprint scanner.
|Display|| IPS 5.15/5.6 inches
1080 x 1920 pixels (~428 ppi pixel density) MIUI 8.0.
|Memory||32/64 GB, 4 GB RAM or 128 GB, 6 GB RAM.|
|Camera||Sony’s IMX400 sensor 19MP/21MP, 8 MP front camera.|
|Battery||3,200 / 4,500 mah.|
Xiaomi Mi 6 and Mi 6 Plus: Price.
Xiaomi Mi 6(lite): 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB – 1,999 yuan (around $290/€275).
Xiaomi Mi 6: 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB – 2,299 yuan (around $335/€310).
Xiaomi Mi 6(pro): 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB – 2,699 yuan (around $390/€365).
Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus(lite): 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB – 2,599 yuan (around $375/€350).
Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus: 6 GB/128 GB – 2,999 yuan (around $435/€405).
Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus(premium):8 GB of RAM and 256 GB – 3,499 yuan (around $510/€470).
Xiaomi Mi 6 and Mi 6 Plus: Release date.
Xiaomi has confirmed that the Mi 6 will be launched on April 19 in Beijing. Xiaomi made the announcement via its MIUI forums, however, it made no mention of the Mi 6 Plus; it remains to be seen whether that will launch simultaneously.


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The death of a young pregnant Melbourne woman was staged to look like a tragic weightlifting accident, police believe.
Snezana Stojanovska, 26, was found dead on a makeshift bench press in her garage with a weights bar across her neck, her husband told police.
But detectives believe Ms Stojanovska’s 2010 death was a homicide and an inquest has been launched in search of answers.
The death of a young pregnant Melbourne woman was staged to look like a tragic weightlifting accident, police believe (stock image)
State Coroner Judge Sara Hinchey heard on Thursday that an autopsy revealed Ms Stojanovska had bruising on her neck that didn’t fit a weights accident.
The young mother-to-be was found by paramedics lifeless and lying on an ironing board that had been propped up on books.
Her husband Dragi Stojanovski told police that he had found her dead in the garage about 11am with a barbell across her neck.
His brother, who also lived at the home, called triple zero.
The barbell was resting against a chair in the garage with a 5kg weight on each end when paramedics arrived.
‘Snezana’s death was reported to be a tragic weightlifting accident,’ the opening statement of the inquest said.
But no one has been charged over the death, despite a comprehensive investigation (stock image)
‘Your honour suspects that Snezana’s death was the result of homicide.’
But no one has been charged over the death, despite a comprehensive investigation.
The inquest will investigation the cause and time of death, the events leading up to it and the identity of anyone involved.
Coroner Hinchey suggested members of Ms Stojanovska’s seek legal representation for the inquest into her death, as is the norm, according to the Herald Sun.
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domain: news


text:
I've had 5 yr old George since May. His purr isn't the normal sounding motor but almost a stuffy nose or heavy breathing sound. Since I've gotten him, he has always sounded like this - its not until I'm around another cat that I realize how different he sounds. Normal? Should I be concerned and take him to the vet? He's not sneezing unusually and he seems pretty "normal" other wise. I can tell the raining weather makes him kind of lazy (the weather we've been having lately - it makes me lazy too ) but again, nothing too unusual. Thanks for your thoughts!
post #1 of 6
10/15/07 at 5:07am

domain: pet


The Grammy nominations for their 2024 affair have recently been announced. I dissected this massive rundown to share the hopefuls in the Rock and Metal categories. You can peruse the list by visiting PiercingMetal and clicking HERE.
The winners of the MTV Movie and TV Awards were announced last night and you can peruse the winners of the Unscripted Categories over on “The Chronicles of Piercing Ken” by clicking HERE.
Last night, the Billboard Music Awards announced the winners for 2022 and you can peruse the list over on “The Chronicles of Piercing Ken” by clicking HERE.
The winners of the 64th Annual Grammy Awards were revealed last night in a lavish presentation loaded with music. I’ve lined out the whole list of winners on “The Chronicles of Piercing Ken” for you to peruse so just click HERE.
The winners of the 42nd Brit Awards were handed out during last night’s ceremony and I’ve got the full rundown over on “The Chronicles of Piercing Ken” so click HERE to see them.


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‘A large majority of people who voted Yes in the March referendum on legislative powers for the National Assembly either wanted even more powers or independence for Wales. This was a major finding presented yesterday on extensive polling undertaken before and after the 3 March vote by YouGov for the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University and the Institute of Welsh Politics at Aberystwyth University.
The findings also show that a large majority back devolving tax and criminal justice powers to Wales.’
The report goes on to point at that the new survey confirms that there is,
‘…an appetite amongst Welsh voters for making progress on a wide-ranging constitutional agenda… Presenting the data at a seminar in Cardiff Bay Professor Roger Scully, of the Institute of Welsh Politics, emphasised that the wide gap between the relatively few Yes supporters in the survey who were against making further progress on more powers and the large majority who wanted to go further was unprecedented in findings of this kind. He said that in more than a decade of analysing such data he had never come across such a wide divergence.’
All of which raise some very important questions for Plaid Cymru and its new chief executive, Rhuanedd Richards. As I stated previously Plaid’s main problem is that is has,
‘…evolved over the last few deacdes into a very much small ‘n‘ nationalist party, less separatist than regionalist, with a focus on language rights and equality in Wales, followed by the devolving of powers from the UK parliament to a ‘home rule’ National Assembly in Cardiff. In this it has been far less ambitious than its nationalist counterparts in Scotland, where the SNP took the basic bones of devolution and ran with them turning the Scottish assembly into a parliament and a Scottish executive into a government.
Unlike Plaid Cymru, the SNP has never really moved away from the issue of independence, though at times the core objective has taken an expedient back place. In Wales expediency, in the face of a less than nationalist electorate, went too far in the wrong direction, and baby was thrown out with bath water. Trying to get a Plaid politician to use the ‘i’ word is like trying to get a nun to swear. It is possible but good luck with it.
While progressive nationalist politics is on the rise elsewhere in Europe (and beyond) Plaid Cymru seems stuck in a rut of its own making, neither fish nor fowl, and their electoral base will remain confined unless they can, like the SNP, create an opposition between Cardiff-based and London-based politics, and show that devolution is not only working but can be expanded to something greater. Alex Salmond’s example of ‘home rule’ representing a stepping stone to greater freedom (to borrow an Irish phrase) is one that has gone down well with Scottish voters – even if they haven’t come around to taking the final steps (yet).
Plaid needs to be more honest with the Welsh people, and more forceful in selling its vision of a new, self-confident Welsh nation. A more intellectually muscular Welsh political nationalism needs to be coupled with the highly successful language nationalism of the last two decades, and moved forward.’
Polls like this latest YouGov one seem to point to a significant nationalist-minded section of the Welsh electorate who in some respects may be ahead of the nationalist party that claims to represent them.

domain: politics


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The nest consisted of the dobbin, with the hull, dewey, worden, cl 50 12 7 1941 1941-12-07 00:00:00000 pearl harbor - single torpedo strike while tied.
Fellas, if you're in your 50s, single and dating (and feeling like you're not getting anywhere), consider this a little friendly feedback from the. Singlewomenover50org is an over 50 dating site caters to single men and women over 50 to find their love.
Women's attitudes toward #metoo and sexual harassment are similar, “on my 50th birthday, i gave myself a present of telling my mother and my aunt” about our survey results offer some hints, but no single clear answer influence on how likely female employees are to be harassed, frank dobbin,.
Social isolation of women and minority workers these approaches find hinkson for help with data collection kevin dobbin john donohue.
Frank dobbin, a harvard university professor of sociology who has studied the company has set goals of a 50% female workforce for its us of senior female executives say they are single, in contrast to 10% of men.
Jessica gold newman and catherine doyle started dobbin clothing, the website sells women's clothing for a wider range of sizes and j: when we first modeled out the business, it was a single-page spreadsheet with only about 30 fabric) and missed by as much as 50 percent on most of the others.

domain: sociology


text:
Art is taken into consideration as one of one of the most necessary kinds of arts where you could share your internal sensations. There are great deals of individuals who are dealing with numerous sorts of arts to satisfy their need. You could think about house improvement as one of one of the most trendy amongst many sort of arts as well as great deals of individuals utilize this to improve their residence. In the above stated web link you will certainly discover some impressive ideas in addition to the photos of instances to embellish your inside. So start searching for awesome house ideas you always wanted.
If you’re trying to check for great home ideas, you have actually land on the outstanding web page more info to boredpanda.

domain: hobby


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By Saturday The Label.
A fun, flirty, feminine blue balconette bra. Crafted from a sheer gingham checkered mesh, laced with pretty frills and semi-lined cups this bra is perfect for layering and designed to be on show.
- Underwire Bra
- Balconette neckline
- Cotton lined cups
- Frilled cups and wings
- Hook-and-eye closure
- Adjustable elastic shoulder straps
- Recommended to go up a size if you’re in between sizes
Size 2 (M) = 8D, 10C-D, 12A-B, 14A
Size 3 (L) = 12C-D, 14B-C, 10DD
Size 4 (XL) = 10E, 12DD-E, 14D
Saturday is on a journey of growth, with a focus on sustainability and creating products that are proudly ethically handmade and tested on real women. Our products are made to minimal waste, dyed with natural dyes and all of our packaging materials are made with recycled materials and can be recycled again after use.

domain: design


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Octane PureIncipio’s impact absorbing Octane™ Pure case is precision engineered with a rigid Plextonium™ polycarbonate back shell and a shock absorbent Flex2O™ bumper. Finished with a crystal clear back and contrasting colorful bumper, the Octane™ Pure Case takes protection to the next level.Shock absorbing co-molded design with dual materials for double the protection without the bulk, Impact resistant Flex2O™ TPU bumper is flexible for user-friendly installation, Rigid Plextonium™ polycarbonate shell defends against bumps and drops, Translucent design lets your device show through.
Available for $49.99 after users sign a two-year agreement and send in for a rebate, the Sprint Force is a 4G LTE handset running Android 4.0. The 4-inch WVGA display has a 800×480-pixel resolution. Though the touch screen is responsive, it’s also very reflective, making it difficult to view outdoors. The Force is 0.47-inch thick and weighs 5.4 ounces. Low on the right edge sits a shortcut camera key Impact-Absorbing Clear Case for iPhone 8 Plus. The back plate is made out of a matte soft-touch plastic that’s textured with small dotted indents. Using a slit at the bottom, you can pop the plate off to access the battery and microSD card slot..
Almost 24 hours after tens of thousands of customers were left stranded without mobile services, the U.K. operator has recommended they switch off 3G in order to restore part of their service. Mobile operator O2 has recommended that its U.K. customers switch off their 3G connections in order to restore 2G services, as an outage continues to affect its network. The outage, which affected the O2 network on Wednesday afternoon and overnight, saw customers suddenly left without the ability to make or receive calls, texts, or access to data services Impact-Absorbing Clear Case for iPhone 8 Plus.
Rapid innovation, wide choice, and falling prices are classic hallmarks of robust competition and Android has enabled all of them, he said Impact-Absorbing Clear Case for iPhone 8 Plus. The EU’s decision also ignores the competition from Apple’s iOS mobile operating system and misses just how much choice Android provides, he added. Today, because of Android, Pichai said, there are more than 24,000 devices, at every price point, from more than 1,300 different brands. On Thursday, President Donald Trump weighed in on the fine, pulling Google into his criticism of the EU..
A year later, Stephens said the company is in much better shape, thanks to some 50 tuck-in deals or smaller spectrum acquisitions that have helped the company close gaps in specific spectrum bands and regions of the country. Stephens said the company is satisfied with how quickly the FCC has approved these deals. And he is confident that deals the agency is currently reviewing will also be approved in a timely fashion. AT&T has recently proposed buying 39 spectrum licenses from Verizon in the lower 700MHz B block in a deal worth $1.9 billion. And the company has also proposed spending $780 million on buying assets from U.S retail operations of Atlantic Tele-Network Impact-Absorbing Clear Case for iPhone 8 Plus.
In response to a series of questions from the commission, AOL again pointed out that AOLTV is built on open standards, and any content provider could add interactive content using that standard and have its code pass through AOLTV to the consumer. One difference is that AOLTV partners will have their interactive contentpop up automatically in the form of a picture-in-picture window withwrap-around content, AOL said, whereas interactive content from anon-partner would appear in whatever form it was programmed by the show’sproducer Impact-Absorbing Clear Case for iPhone 8 Plus.


If we could only look at one chart it would have to be the following one:
US Dollar Index (Weekly)
After peaking in March the US Dollar Index has spent the last 6 months consolidating between roughly 93 on the downside and 98 on the upside. A decisive resolution of this range will have vast implications across asset classes.
Hedge fund titan Jeff Gundlach summed it up well in a recent interview:
“But we’re in a funny kind of circular logic world, where, since the Fed acknowledged a strong dollar could become a variable, that meant the odds of the Fed increasing interest rates declined. One of the reasons the dollar stopped strengthening is the consequence of the Fed mentioning its strength has been problematic, meaning there’s less likelihood of them tightening. But the reason the dollar was getting so strong was that the Fed was talking about tightening.
You see the circular logic: The dollar is strong, so they can’t tighten. So the dollar weakens, so they can’t tighten. So the dollar strengthens, so they can’t tighten, so the dollar weakens, so they can’t tighten. And around we go. That’s where we are right now.”
With the Fed announcement coming Thursday afternoon most investors are looking for a rate hike or at least strong indication that a rate hike is coming in December. What if the Fed were to simply stand pat and the US dollar were to continue its rangebound oscillation into 2016? That’s where my money is. A premature rate-hike could be quite damaging and not worth the risk, whereas, waiting another few months in order to have more confidence regarding some of the current macro concerns (China, emerging markets, etc.) definitely seems to be the prudent course of action.


August 6, 2013
More than you will ever want to know...Topics:
And once read, you cannot stuff it back into that time "before" you knew.
H/T Battlefield USA
Brave New World of Biometric Identification
Professor Margaret Hu's important new article, "Biometric ID Cybersurveillance" (Indiana Law Journal), carefully and chillingly lays out federal and state government's increasing use of biometrics for identification and other purposes. These efforts are poised to lead to a national biometric ID with centralized databases of our iris, face, and fingerprints. Such multimodal biometric IDs ostensibly provide greater security from fraud than our current de facto identifier, the social security number. As Professor Hu lays out, biometrics are, and soon will be, gatekeepers to the right to vote, work, fly, drive, and cross into our borders. Professor Hu explains that the FBI's Next Generation Identification project will institute:a comprehensive, centralized, and technologically interoperable biometric database that spans across military and national security agencies, as well as all other state and federal government agencies.Once complete, NGI will strive to centralize whatever biometric data is available on all citizens and noncitizens in the United States and abroad, including information on fingerprints, DNA, iris scans, voice recognition, and facial recognition data captured through digitalized photos, such as U.S. passport photos and REAL ID driver's licenses.The NGI Interstate Photo System, for instance, aims to aggregate digital photos from not only federal, state, and local law enforcement, but also digital photos from private businesses, social networking sites, government agencies, and foreign and international entities, as well as acquaintances, friends, and family members.
And as if that wasn't enough -
FAST is currently under testing by DHS and has been described in press reports as a "precrime" program. If implemented, FAST will purportedly rely upon complex statistical algorithms that can aggregate data from multiple databases in an attempt to "predict" future criminal or terrorist acts, most likely through stealth cybersurveillance and covert data monitoring of ordinary citizens. The FAST program purports to assess whether an individual might pose a "precrime" threat through the capture of a range of data, including biometric data. In other words, FAST attempts to infer the security threat risk of future criminals and terrorists through data analysis
Continue reading HERE
Posted by LadyR at August 6, 2013 5:14 PM
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We’ve heard the claims that storing wine in boxes really is superior to bottles, despite the trashy image. We also understand that boxed wine is converting more and more significant vintages these days. But we would just like to say, as an editorial staff, that we find this ridiculous.
Wine In A Box [MSNBC]
…and for the coolest Halloween costume ever, click on “more.” It’s been around for a while, but we’re glad to bring it back here. Although we can’t decide if it’s work-safe or not. You’ll understand when you see it.


According to a report on global drive-by-wire market by Transparency Market Research (TMR) Drive-by-wire Market is to hit US$ 59.5 Bn by 2025-end to registering an impressive CAGR of 15.0% with surging popularity of electric
Some key points of the report are:
• The rivalry between the potential players is likely to increase as they aim at adopting various strategies in developing advanced drive-by-wire technology systems.
• Among multiple strategies adopted by players in the global drive-by-wire market to stay ahead of the competitors, electric powertrain development with the help of advanced technology has paid off the most.
• The global drive-by-wire market is expected to grow steadily due to the existence of potential large players who are heavily investing in developing electromechanical actuators. Some of the leading players in the global drive-by-wire market are SKF Group, Denso Corporation, Continental Group, Infineon Group, Hitachi Automotive Systems, and Mobil Elektronik.
• Out of the various applications of drive-by-wire system, the demand for electronic throttle control is expected to remain high in the next few years as this is the oldest form of drive-by-wire technology.
• Region wise, Asia Pacific is expected to lead the global drive-by-wire market in the coming years. This is attributed to increased automotive industry and growing demand for electric vehicles in the region.
• A drive-by-war technology system replaces and controls mechanical components through sensor technologies. Such sensor technologies pass the recorded information to a series of computers which convert vehicle’s electrical energy to mechanical motion.
• A few challenges hindering the growth in the global drive-by-wire market are huge incremental cost, lack of public acceptance about electric vehicles, and also the risk associated with electronics components to be failed anytime. Nonetheless, growing regulations aimed at curbing fuel emissions and vehicular emissions is expected to help overcome some of these challenges.
Source: Press Release


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This is an infection of the fascia by multiple organisms. As infection progresses, infectious thrombosis of blood vessels leads to skin necrosis.
Selected necrotizing faciitis links:
© 1997-2006 Healthboard.com.
Healthboard.com is a purely
informational website, and should not be used as a substitute
for professional legal, medical or technical advice.

domain: biology


We’ve included some details for the technically inclined, and we’ve tried to give you some insight into both our developent process and what we were trying to acccomplish.
The sonic attributes we report below echo the comments of our customers, although in many cases they describe them differently than we do.
We express our observations in terms of musical performance values where possible, and you’ll find minimal use of audiophile jargon unless there’s no other way to describe it.
2001-2013: The Legacy Drive
This is the drive system I developed during my involvement with Redpoint. We ran this drive system at Galibier up until early 2014. We loved its simplicity.
The drive had a low noise floor, in part because of the motor’s low torque which was dominated by the mass of the platter.
It’s charm was also its weakness, and over time, we realized that for all of its virtues, there was more speed stability to be had. We began looking at a redesign in early 2011.
It wasn’t until mid-2013 that we arrived at a replacement we felt addressed the legacy drive’s weaknesses, without compromising its virtues.
The legacy drive was quite simple – a 4 watt DC motor with a controller based on a 3-pin regulator circuit that we later learned was similar to the approach Verdier took. The Verdier differed primarily in motor selection, the obvious ergonomic layout differences and of course, the rectified AC power.
2014 – The Big Kahuna
The drive was beginning to take on a rim-drive like characteristic of immediacy and pacing. One customer described the music as taking on a sense of inevitability.
Operation was simpler, and speed stability was “locked in”. No longer did the user have to get his strobe disk out on a regular basis to adjust speed. The move to dual push switches (from a single, dual-function toggle) met with general approval as well.
Shortly after release of the drive, we sourced a fabricator of Kapton belts. DIY belt splicing became a thing of the past.
The design centered around a 30 watt, electronically commutated DC motor with Hall (positioning) sensors. The onboard logic circuit monitors motor speed every 1/3 revolution to produce a solid speed lock. We abandoned the battery supply in favor of a linear supply.
2018 – a Refinement
This was a two-part change that brought more insight and “ease” to the performance, without sacrificing pacing and immediacy (which if anything, was also improved).
It included a minor circuit revision, combined with specification of a better power supply – the Teddy Pardo.
Both changes brought on similar improvements, but the combination multiplied their individual virtues.
Design-wise, we revisited our assumptions from 2014, and we began experimenting with elimination of the onboard regulation from the circuit. This circuit segment was a holdover from the legacy drive with its battery supply – a bit of a “belts and braces” approach, given that we had moved to a linear supply.
In short, we found that with the sophistication of the new power supply, our onboard regulation became a more of a drawback than a virtue and we eliminated it.
2019 – Lessons from the Savoie (Eiger)
We blogged about prototyping this change here.
One notable improvement of this release is improved intelligibility of complex musical lines. Performance nuances are more obvious, the noise floor is lower and there’s even more sense of “drive” and pacing. In short, it’s mo’ better.
The Savoie’s lessons came from the challenges of mounting a drive system directly to the chassis, combined with the potential for motor noise transmission directly through the idler (rim) to the platter.
We learned that by spinning the motor faster, the lessened load on the motor produces less vibration.
In the above referenced blog post, we wrote the following about the lessons the Savoie taught us – lessons that directly transferred to the Gavia/Stelvio belt drive and this new release:
While prototyping the Savoie, we learned that the higher the torque demand on the motor, the more noise and vibration it made.
Gearing down with a narrower diameter idler lessened the demands on the motor. It had to deliver less torque to perform the task of controlling the platter.
Having more “drive” in reserve results in cleaner note attack and decay along with a more nuanced presentation.
Overtones are beautifully fleshed out . Woodwinds sound more woody and horns are more like themselves – golden with just the right amount of “splat”. Rhythmic nuances and complex musical lines are all the more intelligible. All of the usual audiophile accolades apply.
As powerful as the motor is, it still benefits from gearing that makes its job easier.
The redesign (while simple in principle) required a circuit board redesign to set the motor’s speed range high enough to run the narrower pulley, and of course a new pulley was specified.


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The founders of the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation this week named Bruce Reed, assistant to President Barack Obama and chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, to be the first president of the non-profit.
Reed will oversee the activities and investments of the foundation’s work to improve the nation’s public schools, and founder Eli Broad will become chairman of the Los Angeles-based foundation, according to an announcement from the philanthropy.
Reed first joined the Obama administration when he served as the executive director of the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction commission and served as lead author of its report, The Moment of Truth. He was President Bill Clinton’s chief domestic policy advisor from 1996 to 2001. Reed and then-U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel co-authored The Plan: Big Ideas for Change in America, and he helped draft the bestselling book about President Clinton’s agenda, Putting People First.
Since 1999, The Broad Foundation—which has assets of $2.6 billion—has invested more than $580 million in improving America’s public schools. The Broad Foundation says its education work seeks to ensure that every student in an urban public school has the opportunity to succeed.
The Broad Foundation has been in the news recently, with its August decision to award the Success Academy Charter Schools network $5 million. The following month, Houston’s school district was named the winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education, which will mean $550,000 in college scholarships for graduating seniors. It was the second win by Houston in the prize’s 11-year history. Three districts were named as runners-up, each winning $150,000 in scholarship funding.
Some education insiders are not entirely impressed with the impact of the annual $1 million giveaway to inner city districts, according to a recent Whiteboard Advisors survey of current and former Capitol Hill staff, current and former U.S. Department of Education staff, and heads of education associations and think tanks.
The Washington-based consulting group found that 42 percent of those asked about the Broad Prize agreed that the annual award is an “important recognition of progress by urban school systems despite their overall low levels of performance,” while 15 percent said the award is an “inappropriate celebration” of urban districts given their overall low academic achievement, and another 42 percent fell somewhere in between those two opinions.


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Vintage Keyboard Bundle
- Kontakt VST / AU / AAX
- Vintage Hammond Organ, CP70 Electric Piano
- Studio D6 Clavinet, Rhodes 54 Piano
- Wurlitzer 200A
- Hammond ($30) Also Available in Soundpaint
- 248,699 Samples / 90GB
- Multiple stems (Neumann u87, Coles, Neve, AKG)
- Vintage pristine amplifiers, Leslie cabinets
- 2 Pro-Grade Reverbs: Bricasti and TC 6000
- Up to 3 Analog DI Signals and Tape versions
- Standard and Prepared Articulations (ex. Muted)
- Intuitive and Advanced 3D Controls
- Advanced Chaos Effects Systems
- Kontakt 5.8.1 Full Retail (or later) Required
- Delivered by Download
Five Vintage Keyboards
The Vintage Keyboard Bundle contains all five Vintage Studio Keyboard volumes: CP70 Electric Grand Piano, B3 Vintage Hammond Organ, Hohner Clavinet D6, Wurlitzer 200A and the Rhodes 54 Vintage Piano. All volumes have multiple available stems (e.g. Neumann u87, Coles, Neve, AKG featured microphones), up to 3 independently processed analog DI signal chains, and various vintage pristine amplifiers and cabinets, such as the classic VOX, the powerful Mesa Boogie, and 2 truly unique Leslie Cabinets.
We sampled all available pickups, combinations, and incredibly deep options, including vast velocity layers on our Clavinet. We recorded both DI amplifiers and the pure acoustic tone and resonance on our CP-70. We captured prepared articulations across many of our vintage keyboards, as well as individual plucking of tines on our Rhodes 54 and Wurli. From the deep and emotive microphone perspectives, mixes, and saturated tape signals across most of our Vintage Keyboard Series to the independently sampled Leslie Cabinets offering you both the classic Modelled approach, and our industry-defining analog speed-based interval system on our Vintage Organ, we have it all, and then some.
We wanted to create something definitive and unrivaled, with a range of instruments truly authentic to the originals in every possible way. These keyboards will never need to be sampled again.
READ MORE READ LESS

domain: artistic


text:
Great stuff! Unfortunately can't rep you atm
This is a map in a RPG setting of my own creation. It's an uchronic world where no world war happened, but in a state of cold war (with a lot more than just two identified sides) and competition for colonial ressources.
I came back to my old passion for the dymaxion projection and I wanted to use all the new things I've learned lately. As usual, the help of the guild has been precious !
Hope you'll like it!
Thanks a lot everyone, I'm pretty satisfied with this one !
Great map. I iust would like to know something more about this uchronia (even a bit more of what you shared on the wip thread )!
Thanks a lot! I'm glad you like it!
@Ghostman : you're right (and not the first one to point it out ). As I answered in the WIP, the eastern part of the Indian League of Travancore is composed of two territories "rightly" called upper and lower burma. But the whole region is called "Burma" (even the more "Siam" that took the name Burma) by its inhabitants.
As requested by fabio, a complement on the background...
Well, I didn't really built a "realistic" uchronia and didn't bothered with a complete and logical timeline.
But, the main elements are probably the following. In 1839, a meteor enter the atmosphere and breaks in multiple elements. The biggest fell on england and destroyed a large part of the Midlands. A lot of "small fragments" fell on the rest of the britanic isles. Other rocks and a rain of "small fragments" fell on different locations around the world.
In this regions, a strange and fantastic mist appears, and the meteors brought a radioactive substance called promethium (as well as "eurydyme" and "betylium").
As a result, the British Empire collapsed, and a lot of refugees became part of the French Republic, of the Vesterhaven Concordat or the American Alliance. French Republic and Vesterhaven Concordat seized the major part of the british colonies, India became independant.
Later, in 1898, a mysterious scientist announced by radio that he built portals inside the Mist regions, and that portals directly leads to other portals in Mist regions on the Moon, Mars and Venus (all mysterious and inhabitable).
There is a competition for the new colonies since then.
It's a world where technology evolved differently. There are new human species caused by radiations, drugs epidemics (red rust and green rust on Mars and Venus) or experiences made possible by some stranges substances of the Mist. Biology and other technologies are in advance. On the contrary, television still doesn't exist, no more than rockets or a clear idea of a computer.
And there are probably much more to say... but, I think it's a bit clearer, yes?
Last edited by Ilanthar; 05-05-2014 at 11:54 AM. Reason: bad english and addngs
Thank you very much Schwarzkreuz!
I have to say that I'm quite proud of this one


Redis is a very fast, very flexible key-value store, with a number of data types available. It's convenient for data that needs to be accessed quickly, but still persisted (unlike, say, memcached). But we're not here to convince you to use Redis – and you're probably already using it anyway.
Separating tenant data in Redis
To separate various tenants' data in Redis, we have – like SQL – two options. The first is to maintain independent Redis server instances, and switch out the connection per request. Of course, this has the disadvantage of reducing or eliminating reuse of the connection pool, as the Rails server must open a new set of connections to the Redis server on each web request.
Instead, we recommend using a simple "namespace" concept to identify each key with its tenant.
When working with Redis, it's customary to namespace keys by simply prepending their name with the namespace, i.e.
namespace:key_name. We often do this manually, and write classes to encapsulate this process, so that other parts of our applications needn't be aware of it.
Once you've added the line
to your Gemfile, you can switch namespaces at any time in the lifecycle of handling a request. The method
Redis.current returns the current connection to Redis, as you're probably already aware and using. But
redid-rails adds a subclass,
Redis::Namespace, that automatically (and transparently) namespaces every request sent through it. We add it to our tenant-switching middleware like so:
def switch_redis(tenant) if Redis.current.is_a? Redis::Namespace Redis.current.namespace = tenant else Redis.current = Redis::Namespace.new(tenant, redis: Redis.current) end end
A theme emerges
You'll recall from the previous post in this series that we advocated a similar process to transparently (via the Apartment gem) switch SQL databases in middleware as well. This isn't coincidence: by pushing as much of the multi-tenant aspects of our application to the edges (and in particular the middleware), we're able to continue writing the majority of the application as if it were single tenant. Indeed, this mimics the reality of most complex multi-tenant applications, where the end user is meant to be unaware that they're visiting a multi-tenant app. We're just taking that a step further, and making the application itself unaware that it's multi-tenant!
In the next post in this series, we'll tackle our next dynamic data store: the Rails cache.


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What are the pros? Easy, delicious
What are the cons? None
Best pumpkin I've ever grown. I bought these thinking it would be a nice small acorn-type for stuffing, but they're more the size of a squashed basketball or so. A sort of grubby looking squash on the outside, the flesh is deep red-orange and absolutely delicious in savory or sweet recipes: I stuffed the first one with a full pound of maple sausage, a half pound of wild rice, and three cups of chopped celery/carrot/onion (all sauteed together first) and there was still a good bit of airspace inside (mushrooms would be a good addition); this was the best stuffed squash I've ever had. Sweeter flesh than advertised was fantastic as a pie. Too delicious not to make it an annual part of the garden. Easy to grow: plant it and forget it. I got 2 squashes per vine, growing in the back yard under the corn, in soil full of gravel, without fertilizer inputs after early June. Will need a fairly long season (100 days). Seeds were also good roasted.
Would you recommend this product to a friend?


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We have other available ceramic lidded jars. Please do not hesitate to contact us at email@example.com for any inquiries you might have. We will be happy to help you.
Cathrine Raben Davidsen is a Danish artist known for her ceramics, painting, drawings and textiles. Drawing inspiration from history, mythology and personal memory, her highly intimate pieces are marked by their strong narratives, vibrant use of colour and delicate craftsmanship. Her methods are defined by her deep interest in the material, and she varies her process each time - from firings to glazes, materials and techniques. With influences from Pre-Columbian terracotta works and ancient Japanese craft traditions, including special glazing techniques and raku firing, her ceramics offer a particular emphasis on simple formal expression and the beauty of the imperfect.


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Our Dental Team
With a genuine love for dentistry and optimal oral healthcare, Teeth Plus Clinic is dedicated into improving the general aesthetic and function of your teeth so you can easily keep you smile for a lifetime.
With an honest intention to give its patients all the more reason to smile, with years of accumulated experience, and with cutting edge dental technology at its disposal, Teeth Plus Clinic makes a comprehensive range of general, restorative, and cosmetic dental procedures readily available to the local Annandale community and its surrounding regions. Visit your local Dentist In Annandale at Teeth Plus Clinic today!
Dr. Faris Nobari – Principal Dentist
Striving for nothing less than perfection in dental and periodontal healthcare, founder and Principal dentist Dr. Faris Nobari of Teeth Plus Clinic has long committed himself to guiding his patients along the path of optimal oral health with the very best treatments modern dentistry hast to offer.
Since graduating in 2001 in dentistry, Dr Nobari has held different positions both in private and public sectors. To this day, he attends a wide range of courses and seminars to further advance his skills and keep his knowledge up-to-date.
- A member of Australian society of implant dentistry (ASID)
- Holds a POS certificate for orthodontics
- Accredited provider for Invisalign.
At the very core of Dr Nobari’s practice there is a simple understanding of how essential dental health is to your general well-being, your appearance, and self-confidence. Teeth Plus Clinic is home to a team of dental professionals who dedicate their time and expertise into crafting safe and effective treatment that meet the individual needs of their patients.
Dr Siobhan Horsfall – Dentist
Graduating from Griffith University in 2011, Dr Siobhan gained extensive experience in hospital, public and private practices before joining our team at Teeth Plus Clinic.
Siobhan has a keen interest in paediatric dentistry which saw her complete a years residency at Westmead Centre for Oral Health (Paediatric Department), treating anxious children and children with special needs, working on call at the Children’s Hospital Westmead to treat dental emergencies, and tutoring final year dental students.
She believes in making every dental visit a positive experience, and employs various advanced dental skills, including the use of nitrous oxide (happy gas), to make sure the appointments are enjoyed by all.
Siobhan enjoys all aspects of general dentistry and works hard to provide the best quality dental care in a caring and gentle manner.
Ellie – Cosmetic Nurse Specialist
Ellie is a specialist in cosmetic medicine having completed a postgraduate degree in this area. She was attracted to the cosmetic medical industry through a significant interest in facial anatomy, balance, proportion, symmetry & artistry. Ellie believes every person is unique and attractive, so if you’ve got it, flaunt it! She believes that It’s our duty to smooth over the wear and tear of life and draw attention to those beautiful features & youth underneath.
Ellie is proud that she has successfully treated over 3000 cases and is dedicated to treating her clients individually and honestly, with treatments that enable them to feel beautiful, looking natural and radiate beauty”.
- Gum Disease Treatment (Periodontal Treatment)
- Bad Breath Treatment
- Wisdom Teeth Removal
- Tooth Extraction
- Root Canal Therapy
- Snoring Appliances
- Grinding Appliances
- Sports mouth guards

domain: medical


What we believe
What we do
We educate youth, the general public, community leaders and policy makers about the current and future damages from human impact on climate, and address available solutions to mitigate and adapt to the changes.
We provide creative ideas, scientific expertise and technical support to local governments, municipalities, communities and businesses interested in climate-kind strategies. We provide and promote cost-effective strategies to minimize their carbon footprints through energy efficiency, access to renewable energy sources, waste minimization, and resource conservation (with a special focus on carbon sequestration and carbon release prevention).
We are a 501c(3) and your donation qualifies for tax exemption


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"The only real elegance is in the mind; if you've got that, the rest really comes from it. Elegance is the only beauty that never fades, at Rolen Garments, we make you elegant." Rolen Garments
Paulina says: I'm going to be brutally honest, Rolen Garments is very much off the beaten track for La Ghana Rising Blog. The way the photos are taken and displayed is not Ghana Rising material but truth-be-known I'm loving the above designs by Rolen Garments!!!
Leaving the cluttered presentation to one side, -the delectable dresses, and you know Ghana is full to bursting with dresses ---are lovely, soft, uber feminine and tooo sweet to be ignored!!
Just feast your eyes on their gorgeous white dresses. Note the first dress, and second photo (the dress on the right) ---with cute collar and lace detail,--its beyond a must-have; and the third photo -showcasing that beautiful black and orange dress with flower detail, --it fits its wearer like a glove.
I truly love what I call their 50's Rivera look, like the fourth photo ---nipped in waist with beautiful necklines, what's not to love?
I hope to see more from Rolen Garments, they have the talent, -and would love to see their designs at weddings here in the UK and beyond.
For more info or consultation about Rolen Garments' bespoke service in Ghana visit: https://www.facebook.com/RolenGarment


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Home Top Stories TIGI urges probe into SPU sale of 2 towers to Bobby Vieira
– says SARA should be involved if GuySuCo assets were undervalued in sale
In light of reports that the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) sold and may have undervalued two transmission towers belonging to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Transparency International Guyana Incorporated (TIGI) is calling for answers.
During an interview with Guyana Times on Sunday, TIGI President, Dr Troy Thomas noted that NICIL’s Special Purpose Unit (SPU) – which was created to oversee the divestment of GuySuCo’s assets after the industry was downsized to only three estates – must provide answers on the sale, which sources at GuySuCo allege netted a sub-par price of just $2.1 million.
“They must answer questions about how that (transaction) was done and whether the laws were followed. And if the laws were not followed, then that would come under SARA (State Assets Recovery Agency) at this point, although there can be other agencies. But we definitely need to make sure that things were done properly and if they were not done properly, then those responsible must be held accountable,” he posited.
Persons have opined that the towers should have fetched no less than $10 million. In fact, Dr Thomas reminded that when Government assets are being disposed of, there should be open tendering to ensure the State receives the best price for its property. He noted that assets could easily be undervalued and the State would lose money when procurement laws were not followed.
“There should be an official evaluation of it, because I think that $10 million is somewhat anecdotal in the sense that people say I know it should be this. But we need a proper evaluation. And I would say if it was sold below the market value, then it’s a matter for SARA to look into, being the State Assets Recovery Agency,” the Head of the local transparency watchdog stressed.
Dr Thomas went on to add, “If State assets (were disposed of) in a manner that does not return the maximum value, then it’s something that SARA should take up and see whether something was done inappropriately and whether there are grounds for applying legal sanctions.”
Officials from GuySuCo were recently quoted in sections of the media questioning the sale by NICIL of two of its transmission towers to Bobby Vieira’s Multicultural Communications Inc for a mere $2.1 million. One of the towers, reports suggest, has since been leased to another company. Another concern was that the assets were not even vested to NICIL.
It is understood that the officials had written a letter about the matter to Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, in which they had noted that “we recently saw a draft Agreement of sale whereby Mr (Colvin) Heath-London, through NICIL is in the process of, or perhaps have sold GuySuCo’s Transmission Tower located at Drill, Mahaicony to a company named Multicultural Communications Inc…. Again, that property was not vested to NICIL and would be another unlawful act by NICIL.”
Repeated attempts by this publication to make contact with SPU Head Heath-London, whose agency has responsibility for divesting GuySuCo of its assets, were futile.
Since the story broke, Vieira, who has had ties to the coalition Government and served as the assistant events coordinator for President David Granger’s inauguration in 2015, has been directing questions to the relevant authorities.
This sale is the latest cause of friction between NICIL and GuySuCo. While NICIL has claimed GuySuCo has not been forthcoming with information for the divestment, the Sugar Corporation has denied this and countered with records of submitted information. In fact, GuySuCo has expressed concerns that NICIL is less than transparent about the process.
The company criticised NICIL for the current arrangement that sees the agency pocketing proceeds from the assets it does divest. GuySuCo claims that it should be the other way around, so that the Corporation could fund its own strategic plan.
“As a matter of fact, in an attempt to extend the life of the SPU, having been created for the specific purposes above and within a particular timeframe; the agency has now assumed the role and operates as a proprietor and landlord. This is totally inconsistent with its intended purposes,” GuySuCo had said in a recent statement.
“Additionally, GuySuCo is still awaiting a full report from NICIL-SPU on all and any transaction(s) which were completed or are in progress in relation to its immoveable and moveable assets, including the scrap metals, machinery, plant and equipment,” the Corporation complained.
This is telling, as in April of this year, reports emerged that scrap metal from GuySuCo worth $3 billion was sold to a mysterious buyer, but the proceeds from the sale were not received by the Corporation.
This is another transaction the Government has been silent on, with former Business Minister Dominic Gaskin distancing his Ministry from the sale when questioned by this publication in April. The Business Ministry has overall responsibility for the scrap metal trade.
Nor is that all. According to GuySuCo, it is yet to be informed by NICIL about the extent of the valuation done by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) into its assets, information others, including Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo, have repeatedly called for.
In fact, Jagdeo last week called on Government to intervene and sort out the issues between GuySuCo and NICIL’s SPU which have been playing out publicly.
The following day, however, Director General at the Ministry of the Presidency and Government’s spokesperson, Joseph Harmon, told media operatives that while Cabinet has already given some guidance, the matter was still engaging its attention.


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Apple Music executive, Jimmy Iovine mentioned today that the music streaming service now has “well over” 30 million paid subscribers. The number touched 27 million in June this year, and has seen a surge in subscribers since then. Iovine gave out the information in an interview with Billboard.
Apple Music burst into the music streaming scene back in June 2015, and has revolutionized the business. Thanks to exclusive partnerships with artists and record companies, Apple Music is easily one of the most popular streaming services around. It’s still significantly behind Spotify which has 60 million paid subscribers, although Apple Music arrived much after Spotify was well established.
These new figures will no doubt concern Spotify, which has a limited reach in some markets. Apple’s presence is slightly wider, especially in regions like India, where Spotify is yet to arrive. Given the pace at which Apple Music is currently growing, it will be interesting to see how the competition responds.
Iovine, however, doesn’t appear content with just the numbers and talked about how the company needs to work with artists to generate more original content.
“I just don’t think streaming is enough as it is. I don’t agree that all things are going to be OK [just] because Apple came into streaming and the numbers went up. Look at the catalog: It’s a matter of time before the ’60s become the ’50s and the ’50s become the ’40s. The people that are listening to the ’60s will die — I’m one of them. Life goes on. So you have to help the artists create new stuff that they would never be able to do on their own.”

domain: economics


Game hooks up with Lupe Fiasco on the Pharrell-produced track will appear on his mixtape, California Republic, which drops tomorrow.
Game is gearing up for the release of his fifth album FIVE: Fear Is Victory’s Evolution, due later this year.
Also On 97.9 The Beat:
In Memoriam: Celebrities We Lost In 2017
3 photos Launch gallery


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by Barbara Mayer
Realistically, we face a time when people are rethinking their attitudes toward religion & even the very concept of God. This book asks us to embrace the simple beauty & reality of Universal Truth & asks you 'How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go', to grow in true healing, and return to wholeness?
The challenge? Unbuckle the safety belt of your own comfort zone — and dare the ride!

domain: library


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Magic from WETA Workshops! Here is the first one on Silicon Molds 101. Yes, they all look like condom molds at first! Got that. Adam Savage and Norm from TESTED (the latest Mythbusters iteration) on YouTube have a week’s worth coming.
This one is not strictly movie magic, but rather the concepts behind deception.
Let’s take a look at the ones behind the curtain!
my “making of” vid:
Can you copy this over to the Movie Magic thread? It fits perfectly!
I see what you did there…
A slightly weird French commerical;
And the making of it;
This could go in the Rogue One and/or Star Wars threads too;
Catching up on some VFX reels;
That Rogue One video was amazing. Honestly didn’t realise the entire island was generated, has really assumed they’d filmed on some palm tree-infested location. Good job there, ILM!
They did film bits of it on location, but less of the bits where it blew up.
Tropical islands prefer pyrotechnics to be fireworks at beach hotels.
Danny Boyle’s The Beach is a good example of that after they left the locations they were using in tatters environmentally.
This is the state of the art for car CGI now, it’s mostly used for commercials, but it’ll get more play in films as it develops;
I love the Blackbird. It is so cool. I think it would be cool even without the ability to do the stuff for CGI just because it can behave dynamically like so many different cars.

domain: entertainment


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- Education Associates
- Clinical License Status Licensed
- Location Lakewood, CO
- Number of Openings Multiple
- Compensation $3,000 Sign-On Bonus with 1-Year Commitment + $58,000-$77,500 Annual Base Salary (DOE) + Full Benefits & Incentives
Title: Psychiatric RN or LPN
Hours Available: Monday – Sunday, 7am-11pm (rotating weekends on-call)
Openings: Multiple Full-time & Part-time Positions Open
Location: Lakewood, CO
· $3,000 Sign-On Bonus with 1-Year Commitment
· $58,000-$77,500 Annual Base Salary (DOE)
· $$$ Shift Differential on top of your base
· Full Benefits and Incentives
Provide medical and psychiatric nursing services to consumers. Provide medical screening to determine need for immediate medical services. Collaborate with prescribers for emergency medication management including medication problems and side effects. Identify potential physical problems impacting the mental health of consumers.
· Completes standardized medical screening (including taking vital signs) for all consumers to help determine the level of care necessary.
· Identifies medical conditions requiring immediate medical attention and assists in facilitating referral to Urgent Care or Emergency Room.
· Assesses consumer’s current medications and/or side effects including AIMS testing or any medical condition that may affect her/his mental illness.
· Administers injections and STAT medications as authorized.
· Coordinate bridge scripts with an on-call psychiatrist.
· Works diligently with consumers to help obtain prescribed medications, keeping in mind the importance of medication costs.
· Informs other WIC staff of medical conditions affecting the consumer’s health and affecting his or her mental status and treatment needs.
· Works jointly with other WIC staff in coordination of follow-up care plan following assessment at WIC.
· Provide consumers with medication education.
· Attends and participates in group supervision, team and other meetings as appropriate.
· Valid Registered Nurse (RN) OR LPN license in the state of Colorado
· AARN, BSN, MSN or comparable nursing education
· Experienced with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) services and medication management
* This description is intended to provide a snapshot of the work performed and is not designed to contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of the position.
Questions? Contact us at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Our client is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and values the ways in which we are different. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other characteristics protected by applicable law.
Empowered Partnerships, LLC is an agency that is 100% dedicated to recruiting and staffing in the Mental and Behavioral Health industry across the United States. We have a strong passion for the mental health industry, and we love hearing people’s hopes and dreams where we can help them achieve their career goals. We have a clear passion for mental health issues and are active in bringing awareness and advocacy to mental health needs.
We look for those who aim to provide quality care in a Behavioral Health & Mental Health environment. We look for you to be accountable for facilitating, communicating, and collaborating with both the healthcare team, the patient and their families to identify and meet the physical, and emotional needs of the patient.
Move your career in a positive direction to provide mental health support to your community. Start challenging your career today and apply now.


Nomination of Hon. Jeh C. Johnson : hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, first session : nomination of Hon. Jeh C. Johnson, to be Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, November 13, 2013.
|Format:||Government Document Online Book|
U.S. Government Printing Office,
|Series:||S. hrg. ;
|Online Access:||ONLINE VERSION|
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One thing I really miss during the winter is the color green. The bare leafless trees start to look forlorn and I miss the shades of lush green grass. The outside world begins to look monochromatic during winter and since I can’t add color outside, I can bring the greenery indoors. I found some indoor plant ideas for winter over at Houzz.
This room has a beautiful assortment of topiary style plants.
I love the planted urn and the large botanical on the wall.
Group a collection of white flowering bulbs by a sunny window for a simple yet elegant look.
How about a large indoor planter? We have them outside, why not inside?
I love this one planted with ferns. Kitty is cute, too!
Give your indoor plants a custom look with pretty paper bags.
Terrariums are making a comeback and are truly a work of art.
They can be simple or ornate and you’ll find a variety of glass jars to house the plants.
A few air plants dot the wall of this bathroom.
They require very little maintenance and a great for people with brown thumbs.
Have you ever grown a citrus plant indoors? I remember when we were kids, my brother bought a miniature orange tree. He was bragging to me how he was going to have a ton of little oranges. I was so jealous, but the plant never bore any fruit which secretly made me happy. I would love to grow a citrus plant indoors some day.
Here’s a clever way to display indoor plants.
I think the container is just as important as the plant itself.
Fill a windowsill with succulents and cacti.
Neither requires a lot of watering so these plants are another good choice for people without green thumbs.
Earlier this year I shared how to make these hanging globe terrariums.
The globes have hooks on the bottom so you can hang several together.
I love my mossy pot with its simple circle topiary. Adding indoor plants during the winter months can lift your spirits and make the wait for spring a little more bearable.


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Monday, July 29th, 2013
July 28, 2013
More Doctors Steer Clear of Medicare
Some Doctors Opt Out of Program, Frustrated With Payment Rates and Mounting Rules
By MELINDA BECK
Ben Sklar for The Wall Street Journal
Juliette Madrigal-Dersch, shown treating a patient in Marble Falls, Texas, is president of a group that advocates private-pay medicine.
Fewer American doctors are treating patients enrolled in the Medicare health program for seniors, reflecting frustration with its payment rates and pushback against mounting rules, according to health experts.
The number of doctors who opted out of Medicare last year, while a small proportion of the nation’s health professionals, nearly tripled from three years earlier, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the government agency that administers the program. Other doctors are limiting the number of Medicare patients they treat even if they don’t formally opt out of the system.
Even fewer doctors say they won’t accept new Medicaid patients, and the number who don’t participate in private insurance contracts, while smaller, is growing—just as millions of Americans are poised to gain access to such coverage under the new health law next year. All told, health experts say the number of doctors going “off-grid” isn’t enough to undermine the Affordable Care Act, but they say some Americans may have difficulty finding doctors who will take their new benefits or face long waits for appointments with those who do.
Doctor Goes Off Grid
Ben Sklar for The Wall Street Journal
Dr. Juliette Madrigal-Dersch’s patients pay her directly.
CMS said 9,539 physicians who had accepted Medicare opted out of the program in 2012, up from 3,700 in 2009. That compares with 685,000 doctors who were enrolled as participating physicians in Medicare last year, according to CMS, which has never released annual opt-out figures before.
Meanwhile, the proportion of family doctors who accepted new Medicare patients last year, 81%, was down from 83% in 2010, according to a survey by the American Academy of Family Physicians of 800 members. The same study found that 4% of family physicians are now in cash-only or concierge practices, where patients pay a monthly or yearly fee for special access to doctors, up from 3% in 2010.
A study in the journal Health Affairs this month found that 33% of primary-care physicians didn’t accept new Medicaid patients in 2010-2011.
The pullback in Medicare acceptance is being felt in certain quarters. Joe Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center, said his patient-advocacy group has had an increase in calls from seniors who can’t find doctors willing to treat them—mainly from affluent urban and suburban areas where many patients can pay out of pocket if their doctor doesn’t accept Medicare. “In most places, doctors can’t pick and choose because Medicare is the biggest game in town, or the only game in town,” he said.
Some experts attribute the rise in defections to Medicare payment rates that haven’t kept pace with inflation and the threat of more cuts to come. Under a budgetary formula enacted by Congress in 1997, physicians could see Medicare reimbursements slashed by 25% in 2014 unless Congress intervenes to delay the cuts, which it has done several times.
“Medicare has really been pushing its luck with physicians,” said economist Paul Ginsburg, president of the nonpartisan Center for Studying Health System Change. “By allowing the SGR and its temporary fixes to persist, Medicare is risking a backlash by senior citizens who say, ‘Hey, this program isn’t giving me the access to doctors I need.’ .”
Some doctors say Medicare’s reimbursement rates—as low as $58 for a 15-minute office visit—force them to see 30 or more patients a day to make ends meet. “Family physicians have been fed up for a long time and it’s getting worse,” said Jeffrey Cain, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. By disengaging with Medicare and other third-party payers, he says doctors can practice based on what patients need, not what insurers will pay.
Other doctors are dropping out of Medicare to avoid deeper government involvement in medicine, much of which is occurring in Medicare. For example, Medicare is now paying incentives to doctors who switch to electronic medical records and who send data on quality measures to the federal government. Doctors who are part of the Medicare program who don’t do so will face penalties starting in 2015.
While the leaders of some large doctor groups have endorsed such initiatives, Dr. Ginsburg says, “there are a lot of physicians, particularly older physicians, who say, ‘I don’t want to do this. Let me run out the rest of my career practicing like I’ve always done.’ ”
Some doctors are particularly concerned about patient privacy. Earlier this year, gynecologist Mary Jane Minkin, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine, opted out of Medicare and the Yale Medical Group when she saw that the electronic records system displayed patients’ gynecological records to other providers they consulted. “There’s no reason the dermatologist has to know about my patients’ libido issues,” Dr. Minkin said.
All but 10 of the 70 Medicare patients in her practice have continued to see her, Dr. Minkin said, even though they must pay out of pocket to do so.
Doctors have three options for dealing with Medicare: 1. Those who participate bill Medicare directly and must agree to accept its reimbursement rates for all covered services. 2. So-called nonparticipating doctors still file Medicare reimbursement claims but can charge as much as 10% over Medicare’s rates for some services, and they must bill patients for the difference. 3. Those who opt out can charge patients whatever they want, but they must forgo filing Medicare claims for two years, and their Medicare-eligible patients must pay out of pocket to see them.
That prospect rankles many elderly people—in part because they must continue paying their Medicare premiums or risk losing their Social Security benefits. Republican-sponsored legislation in the House and Senate would let seniors use their Medicare benefits to pay doctors privately, but opponents believe that would undermine the entire system, and the bills aren’t given much chance of passage.
Doctors who don’t take Medicare say they don’t necessarily raise rates significantly. Some say not having to submit claims and file mandated reports allows them to keep their overhead low. They can also adjust their fees to fit patients’ needs.
“We give discounts to teachers and preachers, and anybody who comes in wearing spurs gets $5 off,” said Juliette Madrigal-Dersch, a pediatrician and internist in Marble Falls, Texas. She says she also treats patients who develop cancer free of charge. “I couldn’t do that if I took Medicare. It’s considered an illegal enticement.” Dr. Madrigal-Dersch is president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a conservative group that advocates private-pay medicine. “It’s gone from being a fringy, rebellious thing to a business model,” she added.
When the Mayo Clinic’s small family practice office in Glendale, Ariz., stopped taking Medicare in 2009, only about 500 of its 3,500 Medicare patients stayed on. Since then, an additional 250 elderly patients have joined the practice, paying between $200 to $575 a visit. Physicians say dropping out isn’t easy, and some medical specialties are more dependent on Medicare than others.
Smiley Thakur, a kidney specialist in Seattle, stopped taking Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance in 2008 and had to resume two years later, mainly because he stopped getting referrals from other doctors. “Patients weren’t interested in how good I was—they only wanted someone who took their insurance,” Dr. Thakur said. “It’s hard to compete with free.”
Write to Melinda Beck at HealthJournal@wsj.com


DEARBORN, Mich. July 12, 2011
- Ford and Recycled Polymeric Materials (RPM) have teamed up to deliver environmentally friendly gaskets and seals made from recycled tires and bio-renewable content such as soy
- More than 2.2 million pounds of rubber from recycled tires has been made into seals and gaskets and more than 210,000 used tires have been recycled. 150,000 pounds of soy has been used to create the materials
- The gaskets and seals are featured on 11 2011-model-year Ford Motor Company vehicles, including F-150, Escape, Mustang, Focus and Fiesta
Ford and supplier Recycled Polymeric Materials (RPM) have found a way to put discarded tires to good use. By combining recycled tires with bio-renewable content, they are delivering environmentally friendly seals and gaskets for Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) vehicles.
The gaskets and seals are derived from 25 percent post-consumer particulate from recycled tires and 17 percent bio-renewable content from soy.
In total, more than 2.2 million pounds of rubber from recycled tires has been made into RPM seals and gaskets and more than 210,000 used tires have been recycled. Additionally, 150,000 pounds of soy has been used to create the materials.
The seals also offer a weight savings, with more than 1,675 tons of weight removed from Ford vehicles on the road.
The sustainable gaskets were first introduced to Ford in 2008 and have now expanded to include 11 vehicles.
Ford Motor Company vehicles that feature the sustainable seals and gaskets include:
- Ford Escape
- Ford F-150
- Ford F-250
- Ford F-350
- Ford Fiesta
- Ford Flex
- Ford Focus
- Ford Mustang
- Ford Taurus
- Ford Transit Connect
- Lincoln MKS
Ford’s "Reduce, reuse and recycle" commitment is part of the company’s broader global sustainability strategy to reduce its environmental footprint while at the same time accelerating the development of advanced, fuel-efficient vehicle technologies around the world.
Over the past several years Ford has concentrated on increasing the use of recycled plastics and bio-based materials whenever possible, provided these materials are environmentally favorable and meet all durability and performance requirements. Examples include soy foam seat cushions, wheat straw-filled plastic, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns on seat covers and natural-fiber plastic for interior components.
About Ford Motor Company
Dearborn, Mich. Lincoln www.ford.com .
SOURCE Ford Motor Company


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I'm currently writing my blog from my cottage in the Drakensberg, Champagne Valley, Kwa-Zulu Natal; South Africa
Hello, lovely view of the peak at Sunset. Great shot. Have a happy day and weekend.
Beautiful silhouette of the rocky peak, and gorgeous sky colors!
Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your feedback. Jo

domain: travel


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Salzburg!! The Hills are truly alive!!More
All around the world
Saltzburg. Was definitely on my bucket list. Definitely worth the visit, although I'd love to visit when it didn't rain!More
Places I Have Visited Outside of US
Traveled the World, Austria
1000 Places to see...
Salzburg, the sweet and quaint Austrian city that is home to the Sound of Music tours and Mozart's start...More
Travel around the world
Future Vacations.. :)
Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg, Austria. Yes from "Do Re Mi" in the Sound of Music.More
Austria - SalzburgMore
Heidelberg, Germany This place was so beautiful!More
Traveling & FAVORITE Places
Places I've been
Burg Hohenwerfen Castle, AustriaMore
Been there...Done that...
The Neuschwanstein castle, GermanyMore
Places I’d Like to Go
Outside Salzburg, Austria where the Sound of Music was filmed.More
Oh, the places you'll go!
Places I want to go to


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Exploring Film Music Score Reading Book
By Ian Dorricott and Bernice Allan.
This score reading and performance book, compiled to accompany Exploring Film Music, contains all the scores required for the study of the student text as well as providing pieces to play and sing relating to the content. Four arrangements of film themes are also included. These arrangements have flexible instrumentation with all possible transpositions to cater for any combination of instruments likely to be found in a classroom.
Students: Year Level 07, 08, 09, 10, 11 and 12
Suitable For: New South Wales, New South Wales / ACT, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia


“On Dilip Saab’s birthday, as we get together as a family with Saab’s brothers, sisters, relatives and some close friends, my thoughts reach out to all the wonderful fans and well wishers for the duas and prayers for Dilip Saab. A million thanks,” Banu tweeted from Dilip Kumar’s official Twitter handle.
She also shared how they celebrate the legendary actor’s birthday every year.
“What are we planning for the birthday, I am being asked repeatedly. Well, for those who don’t know what we have been doing every year-it’s a day when our residence turns into a gorgeous fairyland with flowers and floral arrangements from loving visitors which means a lot,” the tweet read.
She further wrote, “Every year on Saab’s birthday our house is open all day for friends and family to come and spend quality time with Dilip Saab. But tomm. will be bit restricted as doctors have advised Saab to be protected from any infection”.
Last month, he was diagnosed with mild pneumonia, which he has been treated.
Earlier on August 2, Kumar was admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital due to kidney issues, which was the third time he had been admitted to the hospital.
Known as the ‘Tragedy King’, Kumar has acted in over 65 films in his career and is known for his iconic roles in movies like ‘Devdas ‘(1955), ‘Naya Daur’ (1957), ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960), ‘Ganga Jamuna’ (1961), ‘Kranti’ (1981), and ‘Karma’ (1986).
Last seen on the big screen in ‘Qila’ in 1998, the actor was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015.


This 2-Day Instructor training course is designed to teach proactive survival strategies in violent intruder or active shooter situations to law enforcement as well as school, church, hospital and workplace administrators and employees. This course provides training that will bridge the gap between the time a violent event begins and law enforcement arrives.
Location: Shaw High School
15320 Euclid Ave.
East Cleveland, OH 44112
Date & Time: November 17 & 18, 2014 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Registration: $595 per person
Register at www.alicetraining.com or http://bit.ly/ShawHSNov17
Hosted by: East Cleveland City Schools


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Like many people, Michael Abrash is a fan of The Matrix. Unlike most people, he's trying to bring some of its core principles into reality: Abrash is the chief scientist at Oculus VR, Facebook's virtual-reality arm. And he spends a lot of time thinking about The Matrix. Today at the F8 developer conference, Abrash delivered a monologue from the film to explain why virtual reality can feel so much like the real thing.
Quoting Laurence Fishburne's character, Morpheus, Abrash spoke the words familiar to anyone who's taken a college philosophy class in the last 15 years. "What is 'real'? How do you define 'real'? If you are talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain."
How do you define 'real'?
Abrash proceeded to deliver an extended and fascinating talk on how the brain interprets reality, both virtual and actual. He suggested that Oculus was making significant progress in being able to fool the brain into thinking that a virtual world is as real as the actual one. It's inevitable, he said. "Unlike Morpheus, I'm not offering you a choice today," he said, standing in front of a slide showing a red pill and a blue pill. "No matter which pill you pick, we're all headed down the rabbit hole together."

domain: psychology


4- and 8-inch Magnetic Copper Butt-Weld Backer Set
Product Review (submitted on March 20, 2012):
Works excellent as a backer for plug or butt welding. I produced very good plug welds as a beginner after using these practicing for about 10 min. The magnets suck though. They lost their hold as soon as the copper got warmed up. I just took another magnet & backed them up or would clamp them in place if needed. A bit pricey though for just a couple of peices of flat copper. Not much to manufacture after all. Certainly the cost isn't in the magnets used. Only negs are price & magnets.


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We are interested in understanding the structure, function and evolution of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes in cells. Our attention currently focuses on the telomerase RNP enzyme, a unique reverse transcriptase essential for maintaining telomere length in most eukaryotes. Telomeres act as caps at the ends of chromosomes, and are required for chromosome stability.
Telomerase elongates telomere length by adding telomeric repeats to chromosome ends to counterbalance the natural shortening that occurs during DNA replication. Because of its role in chromosome stability, telomerase regulation is a critical step in tumorigenesis and aging. To maintain chromosome stability and infinite growth, telomerase is activated in immortal cells such as stem cells, germ line as well as 90% of human tumors. Moreover, patients with dyskeratosis congenita, a disease of premature aging, carry a mutation in the telomerase RNA (TR) or the telomerase reverse transcriptase protein (TERT) genes
Elucidation of the molecular mechanism of telomerase function is the main goal of our lab and will have significant medical implications in cancer and aging. Our goals are to understand (1) how telomerase RNP is assembled and regulated in cells, (2) how different components of the complex participate in the regulation of telomerase function, and (3) how this RNP complex evolved in different eukaryotes. Our research employes a variety of approaches involving biochemical and biophysical techniques, as well as molecular genetics and molecular biology.


Male BNC Connector with Stackable 4mm Banana Safety Plug Test Lead
This test lead is made with one male BNC connector at one end and a pair of standard 4mm fully insulated banana plugs at the other. The lead is made with high quality soft RG58 50 ohm coaxial cables, OD diameter is 5mm.
* Metal contact material：Brass
* Insulation material：PA
* Banana plug socket diameter: 4mm
* Rated voltage/current:CATI 500V CATII 150V /3A
* Cable length: 90cm


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Turkey's strategic location makes it a natural "energy bridge" between major oil producing areas in the Middle East and Caspian Sea regions on the one hand, and consumer markets in Europe on the other.
Turkey's port of Ceyhan is an important outlet both for current Iraqi oil exports as well as for potential future Caspian oil exports. Turkey's Bosporus Straits are a major shipping "choke point" between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Finally, Turkey is a rapidly growing energy consumer in its own right.
Note: Information contained in this report is the best available as of August 2000 and can change.
Turkish oil consumption has increased in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue, with growth of 2 percent-3 percent annually in coming years. Oil provides nearly half of Turkey's total energy requirements, but its share is declining (as the share of natural gas rises).
Around 90 percent of Turkey's oil supplies are imported, mainly from the Middle East and Russia. Turkish imports from Saudi Arabia have declined in recent years as Iraqi oil supplies have gradually increased. Turkey's port of Ceyhan is a major outlet for Iraqi oil exports.
Turkey's oil production is accounted for primarily by three companies -- the Turkish State Petroleum Company (TPAO), and foreign operators Royal Dutch/Shell (Shell) and ExxonMobil.
TPAO alone accounts for nearly 80% of the country's oil output (currently running around 69,000 bbl/d, down from 90,000 bbl/d in 1991). Oil fields in the country's southeast (specifically the Hakkari Basin, Turkey's main oil producing area) are generally small, old, and expensive to exploit.
In addition to the Hakkari Basin, Turkey contains oil prospects in the Aegean Sea, and in other oil basins in the south and southeast.
In September 1994, TPAO became part of the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC), a consortium of foreign oil companies in a multi-billion dollar oil production-sharing agreement with Azeri state oil company Socar to develop three offshore oil fields in the Caspian Sea region.
TPAO holds a 6.75 percent share in AIOC. TPAO has established an oil exploration company in Kazakhstan (Kazakhturkmunay)as well, and also is active in other areas of the world, including the Middle East and North Africa.
For several years, it has been reported that as much as 70,000 bbl/d of fuel and fuel products were being smuggled into Turkey via tanker truck, mainly from northern Iraq. This "border trade" costs the Turkish treasury millions of dollars in lost tax revenue.
In March 2000, Turkey's National Security Council (MGK), concerned at lost tax revenues as well as harm to state companies Poas and Tupras, imposed controls on petroleum product smuggling from Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, Iran, Georgia, the Azeri enclave of Nakhchevan, Syria, and Bulgaria.
A previous crackdown on smuggling in May 1999 reportedly had little effect. As of July 2000, oil product smuggling into Turkey reportedly had been cut in half.
Oil and gas transportation is a crucial and contentious issue in the Caspian Sea/Central Asia regions. Turkey and the United States have been pressing for a "Western route" pipeline that would carry oil from Azerbaijan's port of Baku through Azerbaijan and Georgia and then across Turkey to Ceyhan, at an estimated cost of $1.8-$4 billion.
This would be a major part of the proposed "Eurasian Corridor" to bring Caspian oil and gas to international markets via Turkey, and to bypass Russia and Iran. Russia, on the other hand, is promoting a "Northern route" across the Caucasus to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
From there oil, would be transported through the Bosporus or via a proposed pipeline from Bulgaria to Greece and the rest of Europe. Other proposals include a pipeline to Georgia's Black Sea port of Supsa, and a swap arrangement with, or export pipeline through, Iran.
In November 1999, at the OSCE summit in Istanbul, the presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia signed a legal framework intended to allow Baku-Ceyhan to begin.
Also, in March 2000, Azerbaijan reportedly reached a compromise agreement with Georgia on transit fees. One advantage which Baku-Ceyhan has over other potential options for Caspian oil transport is that Ceyhan can handle Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), while the ports of Supsa (Georgia) and Novorossiysk (Russia) are restricted to smaller LR-2 tankers which can transit the Bosporus.
Another advantage for Ceyhan is that it can remain all year, compared to Novorossiysk, which is closed up to 2 months per year due to bad weather.
The cost of the Baku-Ceyhan route has been a major issue. Despite Turkey's assertions that Baku-Ceyhan would be economically viable, members of the AIOC have delayed choosing a route.
A key question is the volume of oil available for the pipeline; as of 1999, AIOC's production was 115,000 bbl/d, compared to the 1 million bbl/d which some analysts have cited as needed to make the pipeline economical.
AIOC has stated that the planned Phase-1 program to develop the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block, which will increase production to 400,000 bbl/d, will not begin until mid-2004-2005. In effect, full-scale development of the AIOC project will be delayed until a decision has been made on export options, including whether this oil will be exported via the proposed Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.
Refining and other downstream operations in Turkey are dominated by partly-state-owned company Tupras, which has four main refining complexes: Batman in the southeast, Aliaga near Izmir, Izmit near Istanbul (the country's largest refinery), and the Central Anatolian Refinery at Kirikkale near Ankara. In 1998, Tupras' market share of the Turkish refining sector was around 85 percent.
Tupras has a modernization program designed to switch output at its refineries towards lighter products. Turkey's sole private refinery is Atas, near Mersin on the Mediterranean coast, a joint venture of Mobil (51 percent), Shell (27 percent), BP Amoco (17 percent), and local company Marmara Petrol ve Rafineri Isleri AS (5 percent).
Current gas production (20 billion cubic feet -- Bcf -- from 14 gas fields) in Turkey meets around 5 percent of domestic gas consumption requirements. Major gas producers in Turkey include Arco, TPAO and Shell. Marmara Kuzey (North Marmara), which came onstream in May 1997, is the country's largest non-associated gas field.
Marmara Kuzey is located offshore in the Thrace-Gallipoli Basin of the Sea of Marmara. Most Turkish associated gas is reinjected into oilfields as part of an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) system.
Turkish natural gas demand is projected to increase rapidly in coming years, with the prime consumers expected to be power plants and industrial users. Turkey consumed 370 Bcf of natural gas in 1998, accounting for around 13 percent of Turkey's total energy consumption, and nearly all imported.
Many analysts are skeptical of Turkey's rapid gas demand growth forecasts, in part over Turkey's financial ability to construct gas-fired power plants, as well as new pipelines and/or liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, quickly enough. Meanwhile, Turkey is pressing ahead with plans to liberalize the country's gas sector.
Natural gas is Turkey's preferred fuel for new power plant capacity to be added in coming years. This makes sense for Turkey for several reasons: environmental (gas is cleaner than coal, lignite, or oil); geographic (Turkey is close to huge amounts of gas in the Middle East and Central Asia); energy security (Turkey is seeking to diversify its energy import sources); economic (Turkey could offset part of its energy import bill through transit fees it could charge for oil and gas shipments across its territory); and political (Turkey is seeking to strengthen relations with Caspian and Central Asian countries, several of which are potentially large gas exporters).
The bulk of Turkish gas demand currently is met by imports, around 70 percent coming from Russia via the trans-Balkan pipeline, and the other 30 percent mainly from Algeria and Nigeria via LNG tankers. Turkey would like to diversify its gas import sources, and has signed deals with a variety of countries, including Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Turkmenistan.
On December 15, 1997, Russia and Turkey signed a 25-year deal under which the Russian gas company, Gazprom, would construct a new gas export pipeline to Turkey for delivery of more than 500 Bcf of natural gas annually, with initial deliveries possibly starting in 2002. The $2.7-billion, 758-mile "Blue Stream" dual pipeline would run from Izobilnoye in southern Russia, to Dzhugba on the Black Sea, then under the Black Sea for about 247 miles to the Turkish port of Samsun, and on to Ankara.
When completed, possibly by 2002/2003 or earlier (Gazprom has stated that deliveries could begin in 2001), the Blue Stream lines will be the world's deepest underwater gas pipelines, and will require complex engineering to construct the pipeline (including a corrosive environment due to high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide at the bottom of the Black Sea).
Some analysts continue to believe the Blue Stream will not be built because it is too expensive and technically difficult, although in March 2000, the two main companies involved in Blue Stream -- Russia's Gazprom and Italy's ENI SpA -- announced that they had arranged $1.6 billion in financing for the project. Eventually, the Blue Stream project could be extended onwards to other Mediterranean countries, such as Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.
(Turkey and Greece also reportedly have discussed linking their gas grids). As of mid-2000, Turkey and Russia had begun construction on above-ground sections of the pipeline.
In June 2000, Turkey's parliament ratified an annex protocol to the Blue Stream agreement, granting tax exemptions to investors in the project. Turkey's overland section of Blue Stream is expected to cost $339 million.
A controversial plan to supply Turkey with gas is a swap deal between Turkmenistan, Iran, and Turkey, signed in 1996. Under this arrangement, Turkmenistan would export gas to Iran, which would then pump its own gas to Turkey.
In January 2000, Turkey and Iran announced agreement on postponing the gas deal's start to July 2001, more than a year behind schedule, due to lack of completion of two pipeline stages in Turkey (Iran announced in December 1999 that its portion of the project was ready).
The 46-inch 160-mile (260-km) line runs from Dogubeyazit, on the Iranian border, to Erzurum, Turkey.From Erzurum, the pipeline is to extend to Sivas, and then on to Ankara. Iranian gas used to supply the pipeline will come from the non-associated Kangan fields as well as from associated sources around Ahwaz. In late July 1999, the Turkish Treasury signed a $131-million loan with Japan's Marubeni Corp.
and Germany's WestLB to finance part of a gas pipeline in eastern Turkey (from Erzurum to Imranli) to transport either Turkmen or Iranian gas.
Turkey's gas deal with Iran has brought criticism from the United States for political reasons. However, because Iran will only receive transit fees for moving the gas to Turkey, the United States determined that Turkey was not in violation of the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA), which imposes sanctions on companies investing more than $20 million in Iran's oil and gas industries.
Meanwhile, Turkey has steadfastly maintained that it needs to diversify its suppliers of natural gas away from Russia and that Turkmen and Iranian gas represent economically sound alternatives.
On May 21, 1999, Botas (Turkey's state gas generation and transmission company) and Turkmenistan signed an agreement on building a $2-$2.4 billion, 1,050-mile, gas pipeline from Turkmenistan, underneath the Caspian Sea, across Azerbaijan and Georgia (both of which would collect transit fees), and on to Turkey.
Gas deliveries of 565-1,060 Bcf per year could begin by 2002 or 2003, with additional gas possibly being sent onwards to Europe. The consortium is led by U.S. company Bechtel and including General Electric, Shell, and PSG International.
In mid-July 1999, a top Turkish energy official stated that the Trans-Caspian Pipeline (TCP) from Turkmenistan was still the preferred option for Turkey despite a large (as high as 35 trillion cubic feet -- Tcf) recent natural gas find in Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field, which is located hundreds of miles closer to Turkey than Turkmenistan (Shah Deniz could be expensive to develop, but also could be linked into the TCP system; Azerbaijan has demanded half the TCP's capacity for Shah Deniz gas, while Turkmenistan has offered only one-sixth).
Turkish government officials previously have stated that a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan is a top priority, although it would compete against the proposed Blue Stream project, as well as against possible gas supplies from Egypt, Iran, and now Azerbaijan (gas deliveries from Shah Deniz -- 51 percent controlled by BP Amoco and Statoil -- could begin as soon as 2002/2003, according to BP Amoco).
Turkey claims that its gas demand growth will be fast enough to support multiple pipelines, but many analysts believe Turkey's forecasts are unrealistic, and that only one of the main options (i.e., Blue Stream, TCP, Shah Deniz) -- can be supported for some time. Meanwhile, progress on the TCP appears stalled at the moment, with the international consortium essentially having suspended operations for now, while Blue Stream appears to be proceeding.
On July 31, 2000, Shell said that time was running out for Turkmenistan if it wanted to proceed with the TCP, and that the more convenient gas supplies of Shah Deniz in Azerbaijan could supplant Turkmen gas.
Turkmen President Niyazov has insisted on upfront payment of hundreds of millions of dollars from the international consortium, and recently has discussed the possibility of exporting more of its gas to Russia.
Egypt is another possible source of gas for Turkey, either via an offshore pipeline which also would deliver gas to the Gaza Strip, Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria, or via LNG tankers, possibly beginning in 2004. This project would include construction of a $1.2-billion liquefaction terminal near Port Said on the Mediterranean coast, and a regasification facility at Izmir in Turkey.
Egypt and Turkey signed a preliminary agreement for LNG exports in 1996, but analysts have raised serious questions about whether the project is economically feasible.
In February 2000, the vice-chairman for natural gas at the Egyptian General Petroleum Company, Mahmoud Latif Amer, said that gas exports to Turkey would begin in 2004, but that a decision between pipeline and LNG options had not been made (given sufficient future demand, both export routes to Turkey theoretically could go forward).
New LNG terminals in Turkey are being planned, including one adjacent to the existing Ereglisi combined cycle gas turbine power station (which began operations in June 1999), a regasification terminal at Aliaga (near Izmir on the Aegean Sea), an LNG terminal at Iskenderun on the Mediterranean, and even the world's first floating LNG terminal (Botas reportedly has issued a tender for such a plant to be located at Izmit Bay, near Istanbul, for the next two winters).
Source:United States Energy Information Administration.
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)


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by Rachel Holtzman
Amuse, a new restaurant downtown, opened in January at 39 Elm Street.
Amuse offers upscale French cuisine with a Manhattan vibe, according to Head Chef CJ Reycraft.
Reycraft and his co-owner and fiancee, Julianne Hodges, said they have been cooking French food for years. Both Reycraft and Hodges attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City, and they met working at local restaurant Chez Catherine in 2011.
Hodges said that she and Reycraft enjoyed their time there and wish the staff continued success. However, when a customer at Chez Catherine approached Reycraft with a business offer, Reycraft said that he “jumped at the chance” to start his own restaurant.
According to Hodges, some of Amuse’s most popular items are Moules Frites and French Onion Soup. Other dishes on the menu include Boeuf Bourgignon and Escargots.
Said Reycraft: “The restaurant is a place where you have an open-area feel, but the focus is still on high-quality food. Here, you can come as you are and enjoy the atmosphere.”
According to amusenj.com, Amuse is open from 12 p.m.-3 p.m and 5 p.m.-9 p.m., with hours extended on Fridays and Saturdays. Brunch is also offered on Sunday mornings. Reservations are optional but recommended on the weekends.
To make a reservation at Amuse or to learn more information, call (908) 317-2640 or visit amusenj.com.

domain: food


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From the wildly imaginary mind of Mac Funamizu comes another sleek futuristic design. The Illumino Lamp is an abstract model that based on how human emotions change based on a person's surroundings.
Now, I am not completely clear on the functionality of the Illumino Lamp, but I know that the LED bulbs will change color depending on which position they’re configured on the fixture as well as how they’re grouped together.
Even if the deeper meaning is lost, the Illumino Lamp would still make for a beautiful wall fixture.
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Morbid Light Fixtures
Mega Glitter Lights
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Faucet Light Fixtures


The transport sector is facing deep uncertainty. Not only are there mounting signs of a new era of mobility unfolding as a rapidly maturing digital age has collided with the motor age, but we are discovering that our forecast-led paradigm of transport planning needs to evolve in response to a changing world.
CIHT and TPS are keen to tackle these issues through an evening of discussion and networking amongst transport professionals.
There has been growing recognition of the need to embrace this deep uncertainty over the future in tandem with strategic planning intended to shape that future. This helps to ensure policymaking and investment decisions are more robust. This joint CIHT/TPS event hosted by Transport for Greater Manchester and sponsored by Mott MacDonald is an opportunity to hear about the challenges and opportunities of this new approach to planning that is now being developed and applied. Its uncomfortable territory but as the French philosopher Voltaire reportedly said over 200 years ago, “Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one”. We need to engage with this challenge or we risk running into problems.
Chaired by Lynn Basford (Independent Consultant and CIHT Lead on CIHT FUTURES)


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|Sodium Chloride, Citrus Sinensis oil, Zingiber Officinale Oil, Styrax Benzoin Oil, *Limonene, *Benzyl Alcohol, *Citronellol, CI 18050. *Naturally occurring in Essential Oils|
Benzoin, Ginger & Orange
How To Use:
Add 2 or 3 teaspoons of bath salts to your bath.

domain: chemistry