The Spring weather has us back on the Playground Tour again! After visiting 23 playgrounds last fall (you can check out the full list here) we took the winter off. However there are still a few playgrounds that we didn't make it to in the fall, so this week we started taking advantage of the warm days to go check some out. If you recently started reading the blog, the Playground Tour was an idea I had last Fall, when I started the blog, for us to visit as many local area playgrounds as possible. The idea really started as a way for us to spend time outside and keep everyone entertained. What I quickly realized was that what started as a few simple trips to the playground quickly became so much more. We not only got to spend our afternoons playing outside but we also met lots of new people, learned about new places, discovered neighborhoods and areas in our own city that we probably wouldn't have visited before and become super knowledgeable about playground equipment. So all that said last week I was looking online and came across this article on Yahoo "The 5 Coolest Playgrounds in the U.S." To my surprise the first playground on their list is a little less then an hour away from our house. So this week, while the Bee is on her pre-school spring break, we took a little field trip to check it out. The Clemyjontri Playground is located in Virginia just off of 495 (right past Great Falls) so from Baltimore it took us about an hour to get there with traffic, less to come home. However we spent almost 2 hours playing at this playground so it made the drive well worth it. All three of us gasped when we pulled up, this playground is huge! The whole play area is centered around a carousel that was actually not running the day we went, but with so much other stuff to do we didn't miss it. There are public bathrooms and vending machines at the entrance as well as a few picnic tables. The playground was sort of divided up into a few sections but each area easily blended into the next. This is a great playground for little kids, especially the 5 and under group. The ground is covered in a nice soft rubber covering, the space is very wide and open so it is easy to keep and eye on everyone and there are lots of different cars, climbers, swings, mazes, instruments, airplanes and games to keep everyone busy. A few things to note, the playground was pretty quiet on the day we went, but from what I have read it can get pretty crowded. Parking can be a limited but the do have an overflow lot 1/4 mile away. There also isn't a lot of shade over the play area. We went on a slightly overcast day, so this wasn't a problem but I could see where this playground could be brutal in August. Although they have done a nice job providing pavilions and other covered structure if you needed to get out of the sun. Overall this playground was so much fun and with so much cool stuff to do it is definitely worth a little trip!


Wikont company offers the Ditch Witch JT922 machine, used in horizontal directional drills, thrust force 40 kN. We carry out drills of section from O 50mm on the distance of 90m to O 300mm on shorter distances.
We, moreover, carry out drills with the usage of the pneumatic piercing tool called mole, the operating range from O 110mm to O 160mm.
WIKONT specializes mainly in electrical, sewerage and mechanical systems.


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Dominic Matteo gets all clear following brain tumour rehabilitation
(Image credit: Paul Barker)
Former Liverpool and Leeds defender Dominic Matteo has revealed he has fully recovered from his brain tumour.
The 45-year-old had surgery in November to remove the growth and has undergone six months of rehabilitation.
Matteo revealed the news on Twitter on Thursday and thanked the staff at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's Hospital.
Yesterday I got THE phone call, the one I've been praying for… my brain scan is clear. After 6 months of fear pain rehab surgery and treatment. I'm healthy! It feels unreal! The LGI &St James hospital saved my life. They were simply incredible. Thankyou will never be enough! pic.twitter.com/8nBY0NSHCt— Dominic Matteo (@Dominicmatteo21) April 23, 2020
"Yesterday I got THE phone call, the one I've been praying for… my brain scan is clear," the former Scotland international tweeted.
"After 6 months of fear pain rehab surgery and treatment. I'm healthy! It feels unreal!
"The LGI &St James hospital saved my life. They were simply incredible. Thankyou will never be enough!"
Matteo, who represented Scotland six times, retired in 2007 after also representing Blackburn and Stoke.
Dominic Matteo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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I love Qtag, I'm a university student who started a small-scale business and the low prices and reliable quality from Qtag is nothing but perfect! I'm left a happy customer every single time, low prices, constant communication and best of all, very fast delivery. Qtag, thank you!
Great products, great price and a very quick delivery.
I would highly recommend this company. Great product/ service and very reasonable prices.


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SoccerPunter > Player > Connor Riley-Lowe
Connor Riley-Lowe Profile and Player Statistics
Connor Riley-Lowe
First name: Connor
Last name: Riley-Lowe
Position: , Defender, LB, LM, Midfielder
We are going to show you the list of football clubs and seasons in which Connor Riley-Lowe has played. It includes the total number of appearance (caps), substitution details, goals, yellow and red cards stats.
FA Cup 2022/2023 Truro City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fa Trophy 2022/2023 Truro City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Non League Premier: Southern South 2022/2023 Truro City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Club Friendlies 3 2022 Truro City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fa Trophy 2021/2022 Truro City 180 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fa Trophy 2020/2021 Truro City 90 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fa Trophy 2019/2020 Bath City 55 3 2 1 0 0 0 0
Vanarama National League South 2019/2020 Bath City 2216 29 4 3 0 0 0 0
Vanarama National League South 2018/2019 Truro City 3690 41 0 0 3 1 0 0
FA Cup 2017/2018 Truro City 180 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Carabao Cup 2016/2017 Exeter City 77 2 1 1 0 0 0 0
EFL Trophy 2016/2017 Exeter City 111 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
League Two 2016/2017 Exeter City 397 6 2 1 0 0 1 0
Vanarama National League South 2016/2017 Truro City 406 5 0 1 0 0 0 0
EFL Trophy 2014/2015 Exeter City 90 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
FA Cup 2014/2015 Exeter City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Connor Riley-Lowe has played in the following competitions and football tournaments.
Carabao Cup(3)
EFL Trophy(2)
FA Cup(1)
Fa Trophy(9)
League Two(6)
Non League Premier: Southern South(6)
Serie C: Girone C(2)
Vanarama National League South(129)
07/01/2023 Hendon
Truro City 1-1 H2H +
0 - 1 11' C. Riley-Lowe
J. White 29' 1 - 1
B. Adelsbury 54' 2 - 1
2 - 2 54' F. Keita
02/01/2023 Truro City
Tiverton Town 2-0 H2H +
C. Riley-Lowe 22' 1 - 0
T. Harvey 26' 2 - 0
2 - 1 49' T. Purrington
A. Porter 52' 3 - 1
3 - 2 90' L. Vowles
26/12/2022 Plymouth Parkway
0 - 1 14' A. Porter
B. Seymour 25' 1 - 1
1 - 2 45+2' C. Riley-Lowe
J. Crago 88' 3 - 2
3 - 3 90+4' W. Dean
12/02/2022 Tiverton Town
D. Hayfield 23' 1 - 0
A. Booth 70' 2 - 1
Dagenham & Redbridge 0-0 H2H +
0 - 1 76' J. Walker
A. Neal 88' 1 - 1
27/11/2021 Binfield
0 - 1 7' T. Harvey
0 - 2 26' A. Neal
J. Howell 53' 1 - 3
O. Harris 77' 2 - 3
19/12/2020 Concord Rangers
0 - 1 52' T. Harvey
0 - 2 63' A. Battle
S. Blackman 90' 1 - 2
Wimborne Town 4-0 H2H +
J. Richards 5' 1 - 0
J. Richards 45' 4 - 0
4 - 1 51' L. Beale
0 - 2 56' D. Rooney
19/07/2020 Bath City
Dorking Wanderers 0-2 H2H +
0 - 1 6' J. McShane
0 - 2 41' J. Prior
R. Brunt 80' 1 - 2
14/03/2020 Hungerford Town
Bath City 0-1 H2H +
0 - 1 45' A. Mann
Weymouth 0-0 H2H +
29/02/2020 Braintree Town
J. Chiedozie 60' 1 - 0
L. Smyth 90+2' 2 - 0
0 - 1 39' R. Stearn
St Albans City 0-2 H2H +
0 - 1 20' S. Nwabuokei
0 - 2 34' J. Iaciofano
0 - 3 70' Z. Banton
Concord Rangers 1-1 H2H +
0 - 1 15' B. Roast
1 - 2 88' J. Nouble
25/01/2020 Wealdstone
B. Clifford 14' 1 - 0
F. Artus 24' 2 - 0
C. Stevens 42' 3 - 0
D. Lewis 54' 4 - 0
D. Green 69' 6 - 0
M. Phillips 80' 7 - 0
Hemel Hempstead Town 0-0 H2H +
T. Smith 78' 1 - 0
R. Stearn 84' 2 - 0
A. Pollock 77' 1 - 0
1 - 1 79' T. Smith
Billericay Town 1-1 H2H +
0 - 1 24' D. Noel-Williams
R. Stearn 90+1' 2 - 1
01/01/2020 Chippenham Town
C. Zebroski 42' 1 - 0
1 - 1 45+1' R. Brunt
1 - 3 90' L. Britton
28/12/2019 Hampton & Richmond
21/12/2019 Eastbourne Borough
G. Luer 41' 1 - 0
1 - 2 90+3' A. Hartridge
Sholing 1-0 H2H +
A. Watkins 59' 2 - 0
16/11/2019 Havant & Waterlooville
A. Rutherford 57' 1 - 1
D. Kedwell 73' 2 - 1
02/11/2019 Dulwich Hamlet
0 - 1 30' N. Chilvers
A. Yussuff 48' 1 - 1
1 - 2 53' S. Pearson
1 - 3 90+1' T. Smith
A. Mann 54' 1 - 0
19/10/2019 St Albans City
Maidstone United 0-0 H2H +
0 - 1 76' R. Johnson
R. Brunt 90+5' 1 - 1
28/09/2019 Hemel Hempstead Town
0 - 1 32' R. Brunt
L. Nash 45' 1 - 1
L. Howell 80'
J. Midson 86' 2 - 1
Eastbourne Borough 1-0 H2H +
1 - 1 76' G. Luer
1 - 2 79' E. Romain
H. Hamblin 85' 2 - 2
07/09/2019 Billericay Town
S. Deering 32' 1 - 0
Hampton & Richmond 1-0 H2H +
31/08/2019 Chelmsford City
S. Jeffers 64' 1 - 0
Oxford City 1-0 H2H +
T. Richards 26' 1 - 0
1 - 1 50' T. Moore-Azille
1 - 3 75' S. Brown
24/08/2019 Slough Town
D. Roberts 13' 1 - 0
1 - 2 38' T. Richards
M. Williams 87' 2 - 2
W. Harris 90+4' 4 - 2
Tonbridge Angels 0-0 H2H +
Hungerford Town 1-0 H2H +
H. Smith 38' 1 - 0
3 - 1 90' K. Halliday
10/08/2019 Welling United
0 - 1 10' A. Hartridge
06/08/2019 Weymouth
A. Hartridge 5' 1 - 0


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The breeding work
Genetics and selection
Basic Animal Breeding
by Admini
General biology is the subject of the basic laws of life phenomena. The importance of biology for medicine, agriculture and other sectors of the economy.
The basics of cytology
The main provisions of cellular theory. The cell is a structural and functional unit of the living. The structure and function of the nucleus, cytoplasm and its main organelles. Structural features of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
The content of chemical elements in the cell. Water and other inorganic substances, their role in the life of the cell. Organic substances: lipids, ATP, biopolymers (carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids), their role in the cell. Enzymes, their role in life processes. DNA self-doubling.
Metabolism and energy conversion are the basis of cell activity. Energy metabolism in the cell and its essence. The value of ATP in energy metabolism.
Plastic exchange. Photosynthesis. Ways to increase the productivity of agricultural plants. Protein biosynthesis. Gene and its role in biosynthesis. DNA code. Matrix synthesis reactions. The relationship of the processes of plastic and energy metabolism.
Viruses, the features of their structure and activity.
Reproduction and individual development of organisms
Cell division, meiosis and fertilization are the basis of reproduction and individual development of organisms. Preparation of cells for division. Doubling of DNA molecules. Chromosomes, their haploid and diploid set, constancy of number and form.
Cell division and its meaning.
Sexual and asexual reproduction of organisms. Germ cells. Meiosis. The development of eggs and sperm. Fertilization.
Embryo development (on the example of animals). Postembryonic development. The harmful effects of alcohol and nicotine on the development of the human body.
the emergence of life on Earth.)
The basics of genetics
The main laws of heredity and variability of organisms and their cytological basis.
Subject, tasks and methods of genetics.
Mono- and dihybrid crosses. The laws of heredity established by G. Mendel. Dominant and recessive symptoms. Allelic genes. Phenotype and genotype. Homozygote and heterozygote. Uniformity of the first generation.
Animal Breeding for Disease Resistance
Plant Breeding Basics


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Johan Brødsgaard (født 22. september 1993 i Silkeborg) er en dansk lokalpolitiker for Radikale Venstre og og 1. viceborgmester i Silkeborg Kommune. Brødsgaard har været medlem af Silkeborg Byråd siden kommunalvalget i 2013, og i dag er han udvalgsformand for Kultur,- Fritids,- Outdoor- og Idrætsudvalget og medlem af Økonomi- og Erhvervsudvalget.

Brødsgaard er opstillet som spidskandidat for de Radikale til Folketinget i Silkeborg Syd- og Skive-kredsene. Han er også opstillet i de øvrige opstillingskredse i Vestjyllands Storkreds.

Brødsgaard har også bestridt et udvalg af frivillige poster i Radikale Venstre, blandt andet som medlem af partiets hovedbestyrelse og forretningsudvalg.

I 2022 valgtes Brødsgaard til at sidde i KL's bestyrelse efter kampvalg blandt syv kandidater i partiet. Han er ydermere formand for Kultur- Erhverv- og Plan-udvalget og medlem af formandskabet.

Brødsgaard er uddannet lærer fra Silkeborg Seminarium og har tidligere arbejdet på Skægkærskolen i Skægkær ved Silkeborg. Han har været medlem af Radikale Venstre siden 2010.

Referencer

Viceborgmestre fra Det Radikale Venstre
Folketingskandidater fra Det Radikale Venstre

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It can seem like a daunting task, turning a space that used to belong to someone else into a home for you and your family. Here're a list of our top four things to consider when creating your home.
Some people opt to have a more formal room with the best furniture and a light colour that is not always compatible with family life. These rooms are for special occasions or when guests visit and are rarely a place you go to relax; they are a tidy reception space often designed to impress on some scale. The same home will often have a more comfortable space where the family can relax. The sofas here will be comfy to encourage snuggling up and the colours a little darker and forgiving on stains and mess. The difference in the feel of these two spaces has been achieved purely through decoration, and it reflects how the family like to live and receive guests. In short, it makes use of the space in their house in a way that suits their character, an essential element of a home. In contrast, some people prefer to use every available space and are happy to receive guest in rooms they also slob out in. It really does depend on your preference and personality.
This one may seem obvious, but it goes beyond a roaring fire in the winter, particularly if you have children to consider. Rooms that are too hot or too cold effect the way we sleep, the activities we do and how much time we spend in them. Making sure your family are comfortable is one of the easiest ways to ensure you home is a retreat during hot summer days and cold winter nights. Visit http://www.lairdandson.com to find out what heating or cooling system is best suited to your home and your family.
It is the first thing we think about when we buy a house or fancy a change. Decorating is our way of putting a personal stamp on four bare walls and transforming a plain space into a home we can relax in. How you use the space and the kind of look you are going for will all dictate how your rooms are styled. Some people love the cluttered, family look and others find it difficult to switch off if everything's a mess. Making a room feel cosy and welcoming whatever your personality is key to transforming your house into a home. Books, whether they are stacked on tables or arranged neatly in the bookcase, instantly transform a space and are a great choice for making a room feel homey. Make use of different textures by layering relaxing spaces, like your bedroom or living room, with soft throws, plush rugs and comfy cushions.
In the end, we create these welcoming spaces for the people in our lives. Whether we use our homes to entertain friends, catch up with family or play with our children, it is the people we fill them with that make them the spaces we want to be in most.


Trialogue's primary research shows that more than two-thirds of companies participate in collaborative activities. However, corporate willingness to fund advocacy programmes remains low (39%) and willingness to fund development research is not much higher (59%). Are corporates in South Africa achieving systemic change?
At the November CSI Matters Forum, Trialogue unpacked what is meant by systemic change in the CSI context and presented two case studies of systemic change initiatives in the education sector – an international example (Northern Kentucky Education Council) and a South African one (National Education Collaboration Trust). The discussion that followed explored how corporates can influence systemic change through collaboration, replication, research and advocacy, with corporates providing examples of programmes that have a systemic impact and the pros and cons of participating in programmes that aim to achieve such change.
Should CSI be funding systemic change?
The overall consensus is that corporates do have a role to play in funding systemic change.
Although most corporates recognise the importance of funding systemic change, there is some reluctance to do so, largely due to a lack of buy-in by management, a shortage of resources and time and concerns about brand dilution.
One of the disadvantages of funding big programmes is that corporates have less control over the programme. Mondi raised the example of corporates having more control if they work with one particular school as opposed to working at a district or national level.
Another potential issue is the intense competition in some industries. For example, Barclays Africa raised the difficulty of banks in SA collaborating, as all banks are competing in the same space. There needs to be an independent body that sets the ground rules or makes the intervention 'company agnostic' where there is no branding and no use of products.
A distinction was made between internal and external systems change, with a number of corporate CSI practitioners saying that they have a significant advocacy role to play inside the company to change the way that it does business.
Systemic change is a broad and overwhelming concept. It is therefore important to understand what part of the system your CSI project intends to influence. Creating boundaries within the system is key to remaining focused enough to have the potential to influence systemic change. Try to identify the pressure points that will trigger the change you seek.
CSI projects may be able to influence systemic change if they focus on creating projects that are replicable and scalable. For example, the concept of preschool started as a franchise in Germany and spread to the UK, and is now a recognised part of the education system globally. In this case, a key point to consider is whether the project can be adapted to different contexts.
Tiger Brands Foundation's in-school feeding programme partners with government and supplements government's school feeding programme. The Foundation realised that to provide breakfast to all school children in South Africa (i.e. to change the school feeding system), they would need to approach other corporates and organisations to assist in order to take the project to scale.
Shanduka Foundation is involved in public-private partnership with Kagiso Trust and the Free State Department of Education. The two organisations each contributed R100 million and the department matched the funding (a further R200 million). The five-year programme is incentive-based and operates in two districts in the Free State, impacting over 400 schools. The organisations have a shared vision to improve the education system in these districts and conduct continuous M&E to track performance. If the model is successful, government will be able to roll it out in other districts and provinces.
The Banking Association of South Africa's (BASA) Teach Children to Save initiative is a financial literacy programme to teach to children to save. The programme is a collaborative effort of the banking industry and broader financial sector with BASA playing the co-ordinating role. The initiative also promotes volunteerism in the sector where volunteer bankers and professionals in the financial sector deliver one-hour savings lessons to leaners in Grades 4 to 7.
BRIDGE is a non-profit organisation that drives collaboration and co-operation among educational stakeholders. It facilitates face-to-face and online engagement to share knowledge, working practice and resources within the education community in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the country.
The Hollard Foundation has partnered with the Midvaal community to ensure that every child in the community's rights are met. They are working with the non-profits and government in the area to build capacity and strengthen collaboration and co-operation.
RCL Foods recognises that the communities in their areas of operations are an important part of the success of their business. They work closely with local government identifying priority areas and partner with other organisations in the area to raise the necessary funds to roll out programmes that have scalable impact.
Do corporates fund advocacy and research and if not, why not?
Supporting research and advocacy in the relevant developmental field is another important way that CSI may be able to facilitate systemic change. Research influences how people respond to problems and changes in policies. Advocacy can assist by educating the beneficiaries and public as to what they should be expecting from the system, and plays a role in influencing both decision makers and policy makers.
Overall, it was felt that advocacy and research is expensive to fund and in many cases it is difficult to justify the expenditure. For example, research houses are typically for-profit organisations and therefore do not align with some CSI departments' financial management systems.
Others felt that they expect the NGOs that they work with to be the experts in the field and have the most up-to-date data.
Although research is sometimes commissioned by CSI departments, it is not often shared externally. The example was raised of the number of companies doing research in the mining industry, yet there is a reluctance to collaborate and share learnings.
Some organisations reported buying research when they need it, for example Prime Media buy reports off the internet for a fraction of the cost of conducting their own research.
In many cases, municipalities are key repositories of information (i.e. integrated development plans), but in practice the ability to get information is variable.
Corporates are less willing to fund advocacy programmes. However, Mondi highlighted that they do fund advocacy and recognise the business benefits of doing so – such as their partnership with WWF. WWF and Mondi have entered into a strategic partnership that focuses on increasing environmental stewardship in the packaging and paper sectors.
There needs to be a change of mindset from short-term project driven to much longer term societal change. Internal advocacy of CSI within organisations is key. CSI practitioners may struggle with gaining the support of board executives that have little understanding of the development space. A disconnect exists between the extensive time and effort required to develop a truly impactful programme, and the competitive business focus on short term results. Taking time to educate your seniors can help them to come around to a different way of working in the CSI space.
CSI practitioners are constrained by funding cycles, board cycles, and impact cycles. Nevertheless it is important to make room for organic developmental processes. We should attempt to design programmes that balance the constraints with the organic processes. Being too prescriptive can prevent the programmes from moulding to their local contexts.
There is a need to work with other corporates and to collaborate more as one organisation cannot achieve systemic impact alone. Barclays Africa suggested it is easier to do this with corporates who you do not compete with.
Collaboration between all parties – NPOs, private and public sector – is ideal. For example, Illovo Sugar raised the challenges that some of the unions pose if you don't have them in your corner.
Partners and collaborators need to agree on common outcomes and these outcomes need to be specific and achievable. A common set of measurements should be in place.


Learn more about FST's WRITE-A-PLAY program!
Also read about the YOUNG PLAYWRIGHT'S FESTIVAL!
A fresh look at the timeless classic. Enter Sherwood Forest with legendary hero Robin Hood! Wielding a bow and arrow, Robin and his band of merry men join forces to stand up for what's right. This swashbuckling tale of good and evil is full of action, trickery, disguises, swordfights, and plenty of help from the audience.


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Summit Daily News names Ian Donovan as its new advertising director
Local | November 9, 2017
Ian Donovan
Hugh Carey / hcarey@summitdaily.com |
The Summit Daily News has restructured its advertising department and is pleased to announce Ian Donovan has been promoted to advertising director.
Donovan moved up Nov. 1 after starting with the Summit Daily as an account manager and most recently serving as its digital sales manager.
Leading a six-person staff as advertising director, he will be tasked with overseeing all advertising operations at the Summit Daily, including print, digital and niche publications.
"I'm ecstatic to be helping businesses in the Summit County community grow, both financially and as community partners," Donovan said of the promotion.
He lives in Summit County with his wife and loves the "endless possibility of fishing holes and ski lines" that can be found here.
Donovan has a bachelor's degree in resort and hospitality management from Green Mountain College in Killington, Vermont, and has worked for Swift Communications since September 2014.
Swift is the parent company of the Summit Daily News, in addition to more than two dozen other community newspapers and niche publications across the Western United States.
Donovan previously sold marketing solutions through the Colorado Activities Center before coming to the Summit Daily News.
At the same time Donovan is being promoted, advertising sales manager Emma Simmins has been named the general manager of the Sky-Hi News, a sister publication of the Summit Daily that covers Grand County.
In her new role, Simmins will oversee all operations in the Granby office, including editorial, circulation and advertising. She lives in Kremmling and is excited to be working closer to home.
Simmins will retain some responsibility at the Summit Daily News. She'll spend one day a week in Frisco, assisting with marketing efforts and niche-publication planning.
Simmins has been in newspaper advertising sales since October 2009, and she has a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Northern Colorado.
She started with Swift in May 2015 and formerly served as the classified ad manager for the Steamboat Pilot & Today, another publication in the Swift family, before coming to the Summit Daily.
"Ian and Emma are proven leaders. Both promotions are well-deserved, and the Summit Daily and Sky-Hi News teams are better for their leadership," said Meg Boyer, publisher of both newspapers.
—Summit Daily staff report
Summit School District wins $155K grant from El Pomar Foundation
Mountain Dreamers petitions Summit School District for protections against searches by ICE
Drivers at Christy Sports in FRISCO
The Christy Sports Summit County Warehouse NOW HIRING  Drivers Competitive Wage Free Ski Pass…


text:
You are here: Home / Industry Insider / Lavish Locations
Lavish Locations The early beginnings and luxury dispensaries of entrepreneur Susan Hwang
by R. Scott Rappold | July 4, 2019
You've heard the phrase "living hand to mouth."
That's how Susan Hwang was forced to run her first medical cannabis dispensary—taking the day's sales revenue to Phoenix, Arizona to buy more cannabis to sell the next day, spending eight hours a day driving around.
Even when the dispensary was making $1 million a month, she said and home was a one-bedroom apartment, not that it mattered. Who had time to be home sleeping? Such were the hazards of diving into the nascent cannabis business without a big chunk of cash or the backing of wealthy investors.
"I had to do what I had to do. I didn't want to sell ownership to a big investment group," she said. "I didn't want to be one of 20 board members. I had a vision, and I wanted to execute it."
Execute it she has. The 32-year-old now owns a chain of medical cannabis dispensaries and associated cultivation operations, as well as cannabis consulting firm SH Management Services—not bad for someone who immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 12 with nothing but a suitcase shared with her father and sister.
And she's just getting started. Hwang just might be changing how people shop for cannabis.
Hwang didn't speak a word of English in the late 1990s when her family fled South Korea's economic crisis that cost them everything.
The family moved to Los Angeles, California, then Tennessee, scraping by the best they could, sometimes living with friends, working multiple jobs. She spent nights after school working in the family's janitorial business.
After graduating high school she went to college at Arizona State University, graduating in 2009 with a biochemistry degree. Her parents hoped she'd be a surgeon someday. "They didn't want me to an entrepreneur, because of what they'd been through. They wanted me to take the safe route," she recalled.
She was studying for a master's degree when Arizona began implementing voter-approved medical cannabis. Despite her parents' worries, and despite the fact she'd never even tried cannabis, she had an "innate entrepreneurial spirit" that couldn't resist the possibilities of this new industry.
Arizona implemented a system with stricter limits on the number of dispensaries than states like California or Colorado, so when Hwang was approved for one of the precious few licenses, it was off to the races.
"I'm introducing some different concepts that the market has not seen. The words 'smoke shop' and 'luxury' don't always go together."
While many dispensaries were focusing on the population centers of Phoenix and Tucson, Hwang took a different approach. She opened a dispensary in Eloy, population 19,000, about halfway between those two cities. She opened a dispensary in remote Yuma, which is still that city's only one. Both are named Jamestown.
She chose off-the-beaten-path locations because she didn't want to compete with other dispensaries selling $5 grams. That's the same reason she hasn't considered expanding into crowded marketplaces such as Colorado or Washington. "If it's too easy to get licenses, I don't go for it," she said.
Since most of her initial money went to licensing and dispensary construction, the pace of growth was necessarily slow.
"Because I got into the industry with no money, I couldn't do what people with money were doing," Hwang said. "I needed to leverage existing business to continue to build."
Still, she was eventually able to move from her one-bedroom apartment to a house, and she was able to actually spend some time there. She obtained a third dispensary in California. Instead of driving around buying product, her chain was growing it.
She even tried cannabis, found she liked it and came out of the "cannabis closet" publicly.
Through it all, she resisted the urge to pull in major investors or become publicly traded, for fear of losing control.
"I'm not in it [to] get big, get a high valuation, sell out and retire," she says. Rather, she wants to use her science background to learn more about the plant and educate others.
That's a mission of her consulting firm, and it's something she hopes to further with a novel approach to selling cannabis.
Luxury Boutiques
Why, Hwang asks, does society glorify alcohol with expensive wine, fancy craft beer and upscale bars, yet cannabis is often sold out of boring, nondescript buildings, often in the seedier parts of town?
So, she wants to bring some luxury to cannabis with high-end cannabis boutiques with top-dollar smoking and vaping implements—think the Louis Vuitton or Neiman Marcus of cannabis.
"I'm introducing some different concepts that the market has not seen. The words 'smoke shop' and 'luxury' don't always go together," Hwang admitted. It's a way to challenge the stereotypes people have about cannabis consumers.
She is also eyeing places most sensible cannabis investors aren't even looking at. She says she is prepared to enter the medical cannabis markets of Georgia, Texas, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and even her native South Korea, which legalized medical cannabis nationwide in 2018.
Hwang takes a lot of pride in accomplishing so much out of humble beginnings. "I'm very honored and grateful and thankful," she said. "All the adversities and hardships and challenges I've been through as a child and am still going through today are what helped me and molded me and shaped me."
"When people ask me what it feels like to be successful, I don't know how to answer," she said. "My definition of being successful is inspiring others and elevating other peoples' lives and lifestyles. There are so many people I want to inspire. I want to continue to change their lives. I want them living like me but better than me."
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Eggstravaganza is 'about loving the community'
Thousands of plastic Easter eggs were scattered around Community Center Park in Camarillo, glistening in the grass under Saturday's bright spring sun.
Eggstravaganza is 'about loving the community' Thousands of plastic Easter eggs were scattered around Community Center Park in Camarillo, glistening in the grass under Saturday's bright spring sun. Check out this story on vcstar.com: http://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/camarillo/2017/04/15/eggstravaganza-s-loving-community/100418902/
Jeremy Childs, jeremy.childs@vcstar.com, 805-437-0208 Published 6:03 p.m. PT April 15, 2017 | Updated 7:03 p.m. PT April 15, 2017
Children rush to find eggs during the 2017 Easter Eggstravaganza and Craft Fair put on by the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Parks District in Camarillo. This year's event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 31 at Camarillo Community Center Park.(Photo: JEREMY CHILDS/THE STAR)Buy Photo
Within a minute, they all would be snatched up by eager children during the Easter Eggstravaganza and Craft Fair, an annual event hosted by the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Parks District.
Amy Stewart, recreational services manager for the district, said the Easter fair has taken place in Camarillo for more than 20 years.
"It's a way for our community to come together over Easter weekend, for free, without leaving the city," Stewart said.
Stewart expected about 4,000 people at this year's event. Linda Boyett, a parent who was there, said this was the first year she had seen the parking lot fill up.
Gallery: Easter Eggstravaganza in Camarillo
Lindsey and Issac Ordonez of Moorpark feed a pony at the petting zoo during the 2017 Easter Eggstravaganza and Craft Fair in Camarillo. This year's event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 31 at Camarillo Community Center Park. JEREMY CHILDS/THE STAR
Ismael Thenoz of Camarillo shows off the eggs he gathered during the 2017 Easter Eggstravaganza and Craft Fair in Camarillo. This year's event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 31 at Camarillo Community Center Park. JEREMY CHILDS/THE STAR
Children rush to find eggs during the 2017 Easter Eggstravaganza and Craft Fair put on by the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Parks District in Camarillo. This year's event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 31 at Camarillo Community Center Park. JEREMY CHILDS/THE STAR
The hunting grounds are covered in eggs during the 2017 Easter Eggstravaganza and Craft Fair in Camarillo. This year's event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 31 at Camarillo Community Center Park. JEREMY CHILDS/THE STAR
The Easter Bunny delivers eggs before the 2017 Easter Eggstravaganza and Craft Fair, an annual event put on by the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Parks District. This year's event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 31 at Camarillo Community Center Park. JEREMY CHILDS/THE STAR
Matthew Sanchez of Camarillo decorates a plastic pot with googly eyes during the 2017 Easter Eggstravaganza and Craft Fair in Camarillo. This year's event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 31 at Camarillo Community Center Park. JEREMY CHILDS/THE STAR
The Camarillo Community Center's Tap Dance 2 class, led by instructor Haley-Nicole, entertains during the 2017 Easter Eggstravaganza and Craft Fair in Camarillo. This year's event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 31 at Camarillo Community Center Park. JEREMY CHILDS/THE STAR
The main attractions were the six separate hunts which had more than 15,000 Easter eggs among them. Volunteers dispersed the eggs within a sectioned off area of the park, split into two parts — for children ages 5 and younger and those ages 6 and up. When given the green light, kids swarmed the field and tried to fill their baskets with as many eggs as possible.
It was highly competitive, with some children walking away with several eggs in their basket and others with none.
"I wanted to leave some so the little kids could get them," said Emily Ake, who gathered two eggs during a hunt for ages 6 and up.
The festival also had a crafting booth for children, offering them the chance to decorate the plastic pots of drought-resistant succulents. It also featured a petting zoo, two bounce houses, an Easter Bunny photo opportunity and booths with carnival games. A DJ played dance music next to a stage that featured gymnastics demonstrations from Cartwheel A Go Go and a tap dance performance from participants in the Camarillo Community Center's dance classes.
Journey: The Church, which congregates nearby at the Camarillo Community Center, sponsored the egg hunt for the sixth time this year. The church helped facilitate the event, provided eggs with prizes inside them and distributed bottles of water.
Jeremy Kays, a pastor, said he hoped the event would help bring people together in celebration of the occasion.
"It's about loving the community," he said.
Read or Share this story: http://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/camarillo/2017/04/15/eggstravaganza-s-loving-community/100418902/


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National September 11 Memorial & Museum, New York (must see)
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (known separately as the 9/11 Memorial and 9/11 Memorial Museum) are the principal memorial and museum, respectively, commemorating the September 11, 2001, attacks, which killed 2,977 people, and the World Trade Center bombing of 1993, which killed six. The memorial is located at the World Trade Center site, the former location of the Twin Towers, which were destroyed during the September 11 attacks. It is operated by a non-profit corporation whose mission is to raise funds for, program, own, and operate the memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site.
On September 11, 2011, a dedication ceremony commemorating the tenth anniversary of the attacks was held at the memorial. Three months after its opening, the memorial had been visited by over a million people. In 2012 Tuesday's Children, a non-profit family-service organization dedicated to the individuals directly impacted by 9/11 and those who have lost loved ones to terrorism worldwide, joined with the 9/11 Memorial to offer private tours to family members of 9/11 victims and first responders.
There has been a lot of thought gone into making this tribute to all those who lost their lives.
You can go down 70 feet underground to the original bedrock and pillars the buildings were built on, or walk the grounds outside and look at the fountains.
Many personal belongings of the victims and remnants of structural portions of the buildings and city emergency vehicles are present to view, also.
Try purchasing tickets online in advance, especially during the busier months (holidays or vacation periods).
Daily: 9am-8pm
Image by MartinThoma on Wikimedia under Creative Commons License.
This sight is featured in a self-guided walking tour of New York, New York within the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" which can be downloaded from iTunes App Store or Google Play. Please download the app to your mobile phone or tablet for travel directions for visiting this sight. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
National September 11 Memorial & Museum on Map
Create Your Own Self-Guided Walks in New York
Sight Name: National September 11 Memorial & Museum
Sight Location: New York, USA
Best of Lower Manhattan Walking Tour
Walking Tours in New York, New York
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Creating your own self-guided walk in New York is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Manhattan Shopping Tour
New York City is considered to be a shopper's paradise. It features some of the best shopping centers in the world. Each of these places, like Manhattan Mall, Macy's or Rockefeller Center offers a unique style with one-of-a-kind shops. Take this self guided tour to explore some of the best and most famous shopping centers in Midtown Manhattan.
NYC Greenwich Village Walk
The tree-lined streets of Greenwich Village with its cafes, bars and restaurants, jazz clubs and Off-Broadway theaters amid the brownstones will enthuse you as a visitor. Writers and poets, artists and radicals, runaway socialites, and others seeking freedom from conventional lifestyles have long flocked to this spot, lit most famously by the counterculture figures of the 1950s and '60s: Jack... view more
Manhattan Architecture Walking Tour
Manhattan is often defined by the word skyscraper. But the city's architecture is not represented only by the huge number of tall buildings. It also features amazing and spectacular buildings constructed in significant architectural styles. These include Rockefeller Center, Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal and many more. Take this self-guided walk to visit some of the most famous... view more
Grand Central Station to Union Square
This self-guided walk, passing from Grand Central Station to Union Square, is bound to introduce you to some of New York's most iconic landmarks, such as Empire State Building, Macy's, Madison Square Garden and many others along the way. Not visiting any of these would be cheating on your own self.
Midtown Manhattan Walking Tour
Midtown Manhattan is the largest commercial, entertainment, and media center of the United States. The area is a home to some of NYC's most iconic landmarks, such as the Empire State Building and Chrysler Grand Central Station, as well as the world-famous Rockefeller Center and Times Square. Follow this self guided walk to explore Midtown Manhattan!
George Washington's New York
While not really a New York fan himself, George Washington held the city in high esteem, calling it "a post of infinite importance," and is even credited with coining the term "New Yorker". The scene of some of Washington's greatest military trials and political triumphs, NYC is a home to several important sites associated with his life and career, such as Fraunces Tavern, Bowling Green,... view more
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9 Best Drinking Places in Upper West Side, NY
With "Bar Tour of the Upper West Side" sample a cross section from NYC's great gamut of drinking establishments, including a Belgian Brasserie, a wine bar, Irish pubs, and one dive — just for fun! These spots offer something a little extra, like craft beers, inspirational artwork, a chance...
Bar Tour of Lower East Side, New York City
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NY Villages Best Tea and Coffee
This is a guide to the best tea and coffee shops and houses in the East, West, Washington Square and Greenwich Villages of Manhattan. None of these are chains, so tourists looking to avoid Starbucks can find sanctuary in this app. All of these run the gamut between W and E 14th Streets, and down 1st...
NYC Beer Tour
There are many great places to drink in New York City. Still, discerning connoisseurs are likely to find themselves awash in a sea of mediocre beer without first gaining a proper lay of the beer land. For those whose curiosity and taste buds urge them to venture beyond ubiquitious draft staples like...
NYC Souvenir Guide: 15 Authentic New York City Products to Take Home
In keeping with the song, one might think that, if they can make it in New York City, they can make it anywhere. Well, not always... Some of the things made in New York City aren't made anywhere else, and you'll definitely want to try or keep at least some of them to prolong your NYC...


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The Lord of Castle Black (Viscount of Adrilankha, Book 2)
Synopsis of The Lord of Castle Black (Viscount of Adrilankha, Book 2)
Continuing the swashbuckling epic begun in The Paths of the Dead
Journeys! Intrigues! Sword fights! Young persons having adventures! Beloved older characters having adventures, too! Quests! Battles! Romance! Snappy dialogue! Extravagant food! And the missing heir to the Imperial Throne!In the swashbuckling, extravagant manner of The Phoenix Guards, Five Hundred Years After, and The Paths of the Dead, this is an old-fashioned adventure--moving at a twenty-first-century pace.
The Interregnum is over. To everyone's astonishment, Zerika, a very young Phoenix, has coolly emerged from the Paths of the Dead, carrying with her the Orb, which everyone had thought was lost in Adron's Disaster. The Orb is the heart of the Dragaeran Empire, the source of all its magic--and the infallible sign that Zerika is the new Empress.
But not everyone is happy to hear the news. It's been 250 years since Adron's Disaster, and power vacuums never stay that way for long. K...na, a Dragonlord, has been expanding his holdings. He now controls almost half the area that was once the Empire -- in effect, the Empire re-created, with himself on the throne.
Among those opposing him is a young Dragonlord named Morrolan - the same Morrolan familiar to every reader of the Vlad Taltos adventures. Until recently, Morrolan was an orphan raised among Easterners, unaware of his lineage, but it has belatedly come to his attention that he's a high-ranking Dragonlord, and now he means to act like one. And from Sethra Lavode he has received a gift of immense significance and power: Blackwand, a magical artifact in the form of a sword.
He'll find plenty to do with it.
Reviews of The Lord of Castle Black (Viscount of Adrilankha, Book 2)
In short, this reviewer believes there is no coin better spent than in the purchase of this new work by Paarfi (and of any of his Books). Should you seek his work, be sure to look also under the name of Brust, his translator. -- Edward Carmien, SFRevu
I have to admit that I didn't really enjoy Brust's latest offering that much. Oh, sure, it's better than 95% of the Books on my shelves, and I devoured it in a day, but still... -- Dave Kennedy, DKennedy.org
Employing his "Dumas homage" presentation, the reader is both entertained by the story itself and by the humorous narrative of Paarfi the historian. -- R.F. Briggs, Yet Another Book Review Site


How does Veena Sud create the dreamy, hypnotic tone of AMC's "The Killing"?
By writing the show when she should be dreaming.
The show runner of the AMC series, which debuts Sunday, tricks herself into forgetting her deadlines by nestling into bed in pajamas, with her nice, warm dog and a hot cup of coffee — and then writing for hours.
The series follows a female Seattle detective, Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) as she tries to solve the murder of a young girl, Rosie Larsen. The supporting characters include a boundary-crossing new investigator; Rosie's parents, Mitch and Stan; and a mayoral candidate prone to secrecy.
And then there's that other show about a young girl's murder in the misty, mysterious Northwest: For our second edition of The Writer's Room, TheWrap's new feature on writers and how they write, Sud tells us how she and her writing team dreamed up "The Killing" — but not how they'll handle the Laura Palmer Dilemma that bedeviled "Twin Peaks."
You wrote the pilot, the next episode, the tenth episode, and the finale, in addition to supervising all of the writing as the show runner. Isn't that a lot?
I think that's par for the course. I did that on "Cold Case." Usually I would definitely do the first one and then jump in in the middle of the season and then do the last one. That was 24 episodes though, and this is thirteen. So yeah, I'm tired.
It's a group process… we spend a lot of time together in the room, myself and my writers. We spent a good solid month at the beginning of the series… and just kind of built these characters from the ground up. There's this giant board with all our secrets and all our characters.
It was just saying, who is Mitch? What are her dreams? Who is Stan? Let's talk about the marriage. … We wanted to make sure that there were deep, deep, deep character stories we were telling.
When you sit down to write your episodes, when do you write?
The normal workday is just jam-packed usually… the best times are really late at night, on the weekends and really early in the morning. When the phone's just ringing and there's silence. … For one hour, two hours, three hours I can just immerse myself in the story.
Does losing sleep help you write in a way? I've been told that Kurt Vonnegut used to set his alarm so he could write when he would have entered R.E.M.
I think it must, right? Because so much of your defenses are down if you're tired. You're forced to come to your screen or your writing pad tired, exhausted, unable to distract yourself. It certainly helps me. I started to do things like write in bed, write in places that didn't feel official. Here's a place where I can just sit and relax and be myself and let the characters speak.
Does that work when you're on deadline?
You know how Dalton Trumbo wrote in the bathtub? I remember being like, that's so bizarre, I wonder why he did it. And I think it's because you trick your mind a little bit. … There's so much time pressure in a TV script and on a television show to deliver. It helps me to almost psychologically trick myself like, gosh, this is such a wonderful, leisurely place, I can be in my bed and be in my pajamas with my dog. I'm working, and part of myself knows that I have a deadline, but I don't start cramping up and start worrying and fretting about that deadline.
And you never just doze off?
Coffee has been a huge key to the last year.
The big question "Twin Peaks" had to address was what to do after the murder was solved. What do you do about the Laura Palmer Dilemma?
We'll see when we get there. [Laughs.] We'll totally see when we get there.
Do you know who the killer is?
And did you have to know when you started?
Our killer's different from the Danish series, and no. I had ideas in my head, but that was one of the great things that happened. We locked ourselves in the room and said, how could this happen? And because there weren't any kind of preconceived notions that it has to be this person, coming to that moment where the decision was made was just great.
The first two episodes of "The Killing" air at 9 p.m. Sunday on AMC.


Hi there! I am new to these forums.
I hope everyone is having a great day so far.
I wanted to share a few ideas as what I feel could improve an already amazing game. Feel free to share your ideas here too!
1. I would love to see an expansion to the Ranch. I feel that the area behind Beatrix's house could have land placed there and be used to provide space to the Ranch.
2. I would like to see more upgrades for the Ranch and Lab. There is quite a large amount of the laboratory roof that is missing. I think it would be good to have upgrades that improve the overall appearance of the lab.
The "home" cell of the ranch is meant to be that way. It also makes it easier for new players to get rid of the Tarr, or for players in general to dispose items. The second idea however I would like to see.
Yo! I am the self-proclaimed king of the forums! Al, hail me!
But I'm Self-Proclaimed! Have I been Self-Dethroned?
Randomtangle wrote: But I'm Self-Proclaimed! Have I been Self-Dethroned?
Yes. I am now the self-proclaimed loser of the forums!
Guys, want to challenge me?
I am the self-proclaimed Noggy05 of the forums.
Can't argue with that, right?
I am the self-proclaimed self-proclaimer of the forums!
I'm the one who goes around the forums, murdering people's lore. I'm still on the run.
TheGreciansHousehold wrote: I'm the one who goes around the forums, murdering people's lore. I'm still on the run.
I'm the one making the random comments and also on the run, because in real life, I'm also quite annoying.
Randomtangle wrote: AL, HAIL ME!
Al has potential to be a new NPC who specialises in bootlegging 7Zee upgrades.
sure, why not have EmeraldPlay close the thread, or any moderator. Its the same thing as kill this thread.
I'm not a moderator, so I can't do that.
rabbitslime wrote: sure, why not have EmeraldPlay close the thread, or any moderator. Its the same thing as kill this thread.


Professional surveyors spend much of their time in doing tasks such as staking out and collecting data. One item that is equally, if not more important to the surveyor is providing comprehensive reports and documentation on the data collected in the field and processed in the office.
Trimble Business Center provides surveyors with the ability to document data from various projects as well as the flexibility to create and customize reports in their own way. The latest release of TBC v3.81 includes the new Customized Reporting feature which incorporates the data traceability and accuracy of TBC with the flexibility of Microsoft Word to generate deliverables with confidence.


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Home > Stockport House Prices > Somerford Road
Sold House Prices in Somerford Road
This page displays sold house prices for Somerford Road in Stockport.
Somerford Road in Stockport SK5 consists predominantly of terraced houses. Properties on Somerford Road typically have values around £100,000 - £150,000, ranging upwards of £150,000 for larger semi-detached houses.
1 Somerford Road, Stockport SK5 6QA
£143,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 20th October 2006
6 Somerford Road, Stockport SK5 6QB
£95,000 Terraced house, Freehold 7th June 2013
£36,950 Terraced house, Freehold 31st March 2000
£78,950 Semi-detached house, Freehold 17th April 2003
£110,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 30th November 2011
£40,000 Terraced house, Freehold 24th November 1999
10 Somerford Road, Stockport SK5 6QB
£117,000 Terraced house, Freehold 22nd March 2005
£121,100 Terraced house, Freehold 28th April 2008
11 Somerford Road, Stockport SK5 6QA
£60,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 15th March 1999
£124,000 Terraced house, Freehold 23rd June 2006
£93,500 Terraced house, Freehold 6th April 2004
£42,500 Terraced house, Freehold 22nd March 1995
£37,000 Terraced house, Freehold 25th September 1998
£83,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 22nd November 2010
£41,060 Terraced house, Freehold 20th April 2001
£41,000 Terraced house, Freehold 9th January 1998
£42,500 Terraced house, Freehold 7th September 2001
£97,950 Terraced house, Freehold 12th July 2004
£47,950 Terraced house, Freehold 15th December 2000
£108,000 Terraced house, Freehold 23rd December 2005
£29,250 Terraced house, Freehold 19th June 2000
£64,950 Semi-detached house, Freehold 19th July 2002
£90,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 19th December 2008
£42,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 1st November 1996
£62,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 17th May 2002
£103,500 Semi-detached house, Freehold 17th March 2006
£115,000 Terraced house, Freehold 10th February 2015
£47,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 12th October 2001
£29,000 Terraced house, Freehold 31st August 1995
£49,000 Terraced house, Freehold 21st February 2002
£113,000 Terraced house, Freehold 9th November 2007
£105,000 Terraced house, Freehold 11th October 2013
£46,000 Terraced house, Freehold 3rd September 2001
£124,950 Terraced house, Freehold 4th July 2007
£110,000 Terraced house, Freehold 11th August 2006
£110,000 Terraced house, Freehold 13th June 2007
£25,000 Terraced house, Freehold 4th December 1998
£113,000 Terraced house, Freehold 5th December 2012
£120,000 Terraced house, Freehold 20th December 2007
£52,630 Terraced house, Freehold 23rd November 2001
£110,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 7th December 2011
£109,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 18th February 2005
£85,000 Terraced house, Freehold 28th February 2006
£40,500 Terraced house, Freehold 8th July 1999
£30,000 Terraced house, Freehold 14th August 1997
£108,000 Terraced house, Freehold 5th April 2007
£110,000 Terraced house, Freehold 26th July 2013
£65,000 Terraced house, Freehold 7th October 2011
£90,100 Terraced house, Freehold 28th October 2011
76 Somerford Road, Stockport SK5 6QE
£64,700 Semi-detached house, Freehold 28th June 2002
£132,000 Semi-detached house, Freehold 2nd November 2007
£32,500 Terraced house, Freehold 10th March 1998
£90,000 Terraced house, Freehold 1st December 2004
87 Somerford Road, Stockport SK5 6QF
£27,500 Terraced house, Freehold 8th May 1998
£34,500 Terraced house, Freehold 31st May 1995
£110,000 Terraced house, Freehold 12th May 2005
£102,500 Terraced house, Freehold 6th May 2005
£106,500 Terraced house, Freehold 22nd June 2006
£47,950 Terraced house, Freehold 19th May 2000
£28,500 Semi-detached house, Freehold 7th February 1997
101 Somerford Road, Stockport SK5 6QF
102 Somerford Road, Stockport SK5 6QE
£65,500 Terraced house, Freehold 22nd December 2003
£98,000 Terraced house, Freehold 22nd May 2015
£45,800 Terraced house, Freehold 18th January 1995
£39,950 Semi-detached house, Leasehold 15th January 2001
£128,000 Semi-detached house, Leasehold 31st July 2007
£52,500 Semi-detached house, Leasehold 1st March 2002
£77,600 Terraced house, Leasehold 23rd May 2011
£64,000 Terraced house, Leasehold new build 2nd April 2007
£125,000 Terraced house, Freehold 29th March 2007
£125,000 Terraced house, Freehold 21st October 2013
£115,500 Terraced house, Leasehold 20th March 2015
£39,950 Semi-detached house, Leasehold 22nd February 1995
£44,000 Flat, Leasehold 19th July 2010
£24,000 Terraced house, Leasehold 19th October 1998
£37,500 Semi-detached house, Freehold 27th January 1995
£22,257 Semi-detached house, Freehold 19th August 1998
£25,000 Terraced house, Leasehold 16th January 2004
£74,500 Terraced house, Leasehold 19th December 2012
£62,950 Semi-detached house, Freehold 29th November 2002
Somerford Road
Map showing Somerford Road in Stockport.


2 Rd Best Shot Doubles Charity Event at Eagles Landing DGC located at Little Black Creek Campground & Park. This event will benefit the Homes of Hope for Children whose mission is to serve children in crisis throughout the state of Mississippi.
Come play 2 rounds at one of the best Disc Golf locations in the south and help support this awesome charity!
This event will be hosted by Southern Prohibition Brewery with Mike Munn as TD.


A gorgeous and classic little flower girl basket with a soft handle ribbon wrapped. Comfortable for the flower girl's small hands. This classic flower girl basket is covered in smooth white satin with a single white satin bow at each end of the handle. Measures: 7" tall x 4.75" wide. Opening measures 3.75" x 3" deep.
This is one of our BEST VALUE flower girl baskets!


NJ. NUP N. ○ Cylindrical Roller Bearings. Boundary dimensions. Basic load ratings. Limiting speeds1). Bearing numbers2) dynamic static dynamic static mm.. NUP N. 120. 43. 2. 2. 201. 233. 20 500 23 800. 4 700. 5 600. NU2311E. NJ. NUP —. 140. 33. 2.1. 2.1 139. 138. 14 200 14 100. 4 300. 5 000. NU411. NJ. NUP. N.
bearing. Roulements à rouleaux cylindriques. Zylinderrollenlager. Cuscinetti a rulli cilindrici. Rodamientos de rodillos cilíndricos. Rolamentos de rolos cilíndricos NU411. 17. NTN. 140,000 33,000. 2,48. NUP411. 19. NTN. 140,000 81,000. 6,96. SLX55X140X81. 26. NTN. 160,000 37,000. 4,26. NUP315E/55. 19. NTN.
NH-type cylindrical roller bearings consist of the NJ-type cylindrical roller The inner ring loose rib of a NUP-type cylindrical roller bearing should be.. NU 411. NU NJ NUP N NF. 66. 66. 75. 79. 87 129. 129. 119. 2. 2. 2.5. Bearing Numbers(2). (3). NU NJ NUP N NF. Abutment and Fillet Dimensions. (mm) da(4) db db(5) dc.
NF312 NTN Cylindrical roller bearing,complete details about NF312 NTN Cylindrical roller bearing provided by Landlion Bearing Co.,Ltd. You may also find other NJ 211 ECP *. NU 411. NJ 2312 ECML *. NUP 313 ECML *. NU 2209 ECJ *. NJ 2210 ECML *. NU 211 ECJ *. CRM 18 A. NJ 2312 ECN1ML *. NUP 313 ECP *.


to Golden gate. Just before Golden Gate take left and walk for 50 meters to Majstora Jurja 4.
Enter through the Golden gate, this is the side away from the water. It has the huge statue "Grgur Ninski" out front for reference. Once you enter through the "gate" make the first right hand turn onto a "street" Majstora Jurja. The street will just twist & turn but keep following it going straight. Look for Portas Pizza as a reference point on the left side under a beautiful gazebo. Keep going straight with the twists in the road. Look for Teak café on the left- it's where the locals go to drink coffee. This is where one of the apartments is.


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Bujumbura calling: preventing and responding to conflict in Burundi
12 months on from the beginning of a violent political crisis in Burundi, a group of local activists have expanded their project to monitor and respond to conflict. Kevin McCann reports on their work from a recent visit to Bujumbura.
Kevin McCann
The road to Bujumbura. Many areas of Burundi have seen serious violence during the deepening political crisis of the last 12 months. Image credit: Dave Proffer
Since protests began a year ago – and especially since an attempted coup nearly unseated President Pierre Nkurunziza in May 2015 – the situation in Burundi has steadily deteriorated.
More than a thousand people have been killed, with the worst violence so far taking place in December 2015. Armed attacks on military installations around the capital Bujumbura, and the fighting that followed, led to the deaths of over a hundred people. With the Burundian civil war still fresh in people's minds (it officially ended in 2005), events such as the December attacks have increased fears of a return to serious armed conflict. And this, in turn, has contributed to a regional refugee crisis. More than 250,000 people have so far fled to neighbouring Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But as the international presence dwindles – the US and other governments have issued broad advice against travel – Burundians are redoubling their efforts to stop a return to war. Some of them work for Peace Direct's local partner organisation, a violence monitoring and response network. We went to visit them in March of this year.
Good morning, Burundi
I would be surprised if anything happened in Burundi without them knowing about it
At 8am on Monday morning, we are the last to arrive at the office on our first day in Burundi. Our host, Fabrice, shows us straight to the meeting room. In it are a table, some plastic chairs on a hard tiled floor, and the network's central staff. They run what could almost be described as a small news agency, with a network of volunteer 'Citizen Reporters' reporting from around the country on outbreaks of violence in their area. We are here to see first-hand how our support to their work has helped.
I'm impressed. The network has doubled in size in just three months, and their work now covers the entire country. As we listen to the team discussing their work, it occurs to me that I would be surprised if anything happened in Burundi without them knowing about it. Having driven past the burnt-out offices of the main national radio stations – the usual source of information in the country – the situation reports the network provide are a priceless source of information that only local people can access. Testament to the quality of the information are the continuing requests we receive from people who want to read the reports; probably half the UN is on our mailing list.
Local knows best: filling the information gap in Burundi
Fabrice and the team take us in detail through how the network operates. The Citizen Reporters have received training on how to assess and report information, which they send in from around the country using a specialist mobile text messaging system. Each of the messages is logged, assessed for its relevance to the developing situation, and then verified by the staff in Bujumbura. They cross-check incident reports with other Citizen Reporters, any publically available information, and the network's own contacts in the police, military and elsewhere. The reporting is risky, so they take lots of precautions.
Their operation is building a picture of violent hotspots in Burundi – an 'Early Warning' network in every province around the country. With international reporting capacity generally limited to the capital, it provides an almost unique source of countrywide intelligence, which is why the UN is so keen to receive it.
Indeed, the whole project is testament to how a local network can penetrate much deeper into society than outsiders. The Citizen Reporters all live in the areas they report on, and are respected in their communities for their neutrality. This is vitally important in a conflict which is as much about politics as anything else.
Responding to conflict: the role of the Citizen Reporters
The Citizen Reporters calm tensions when violence spikes, or prevent it happening in the first place
Later in the week, I meet with some of the Citizen Reporters. The value of their work becomes even clearer because as well as reporting on violence, they respond to it. Drawing on their background in human rights and peacebuilding, the Citizen Reporters calm tensions when violence spikes, or prevent it happening in the first place. They also support those who are arrested without charge, or are victims or other abuses. As one Citizen Reporter, Jean, told me:
"Sometimes when we ask [the police] for the charges against people, they ask us what authority we have."
"'So it's you who works with Human Rights Watch,' they say."
This is meant as a generic term for human rights groups, and it's clearly intended as a threat – one that prevents people from trying to find out what has happened to their friends and family. This is where the Citizen Reporters help.
"We try and support people to ask after their own," Jean says. "We go with them when they ask the police and the military for information, acting as witnesses in case anything happens."
"I spoke to the mother of a girl who had been kidnapped," says Jean. "She thought her daughter was going to be sexually abused, so she called the police. They arrested every young man in the neighbourhood and tortured them."
Others are presumed guilty by association, "I know a guy who was arrested three times in a week," says Claver. "If he was really involved in anything, why would they release him?"
The power of working together
The network is a powerful example of how bottom-up initiatives can help solve top-down problems
Between them, the network coordinates nearly 200 Citizen Reporters around the country – reporting on and responding to violence. They work as a team, to gather information and send it to us. We then distribute it to diplomats, journalists and other peacebuilders themselves, to try and prevent atrocities.
"When we hear of something, we communicate among ourselves. Have you heard about this? Are you able to go and find out? We have to plan, because sometimes you need to take a motorbike and there are roadblocks."
It's a reminder of the logistical difficulties that the network faces, trying to separate fact from fiction and piece together what's really happening in Burundi. Not for the first time, I'm impressed at how much a small group of dedicated people can accomplish.
And as Claver explains, help can come from unexpected sources. The situation is complex, so it is important not to generalise: "Some of the police are cooperative, and they help us. They tell us very discreetly where people are being held, and other information. We can work together."
It's an extremely worrying situation. But I leave convinced that this network is proof that bottom-up initiatives can help solve top-down political problems – building trust from the ground up. It gives me hope for Burundi.
Names and other information in this article have been changed in order to preserve anonymity.
Kevin McCann is Peace Direct's Research and Engagement Officer. His work includes helping to run Insight on Conflict, developing new publications, and supporting Peace Direct's conflict early warning projects. He has an MA in International Security.
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Introducing Peacewatch: Yemen


'The Kadambini' is the largest circulated (certified by ABC) monthly family magazine of Odisha with the largest readership. A comprehensive family magazine 'The Kadambini' has captured the mindscape of all sections of people of the state. It has also created it's space in the heart of Odias residing in the country and abroad. This attractive monthly magazine with its broad content-mix and quality printing, caters to the taste of all cultured Odias regardless of age, gender and income level. 'The Kadambini' recipe of success is simple. It offers something for everyone. Every issue contains cover-features on topical social and cultural issues; life-style and fashion trends; movies and television; fiction, poetry, serial novels; Odia translations of classics from other languages; sports; health; beauty; cookery and household tips. The monthly magazine hits the stands with unfailing regularity on the 1st of every month. Apart from the regular issues 'The Kadambini' brings out four special issues every year. Each issue, be it regular or special is a keepsake — a glossy work of art with multicoloured layouts so beautiful that it catches attention of all section of readers. Needless to say, with so much going for it 'The Kadambini' provides the dream-vehicle for all to access the Odia cultural psyche.


text:
Q: Python Tuple Class Memory Why does the use of tuple instead of list in objects below increase memory usage?
from pympler.asizeof import asizeof

class myClass(object):
    __slots__ = ('l')
    def __init__(self, m):
        self.l = m

m = range(10)
ob = [myClass(m) for i in xrange(100000)]

print asizeof(ob)
for o in ob:
    o.l = tuple(o.l)
print asizeof(ob)

The first has size  64697936
The second has size 200697784

A: In your original code, every myClass instance points to the same list.
>>> ob[0].l.append('foo')
>>> ob[1].l
['foo']

In other words: you compared the memory usage of one list to that of 100,000 tuples. Compare it to 100,000 lists instead:
for o in ob:
    o.l = list(o.l)

with these results:
6424936
27224856

The original:
6424936
20024784

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
GPUs are not just for images any more…
|In Machine Learning
|By Filament
As a machine learning professional specialising in computational linguistics (helping machines to extract meaning from human text), I have confused people on multiple occasions by suggesting that their document processing problem could be solved by neural networks trained using a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). You'd be well within your rights to be confused. To the uninitiated what I just said was "Let's solve this problem involving reading lots of text by building a system that runs on specialised computer chips designed specifically to render images at high speed".
"In the age of the neural network, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is one of the biggest misnomers of our time."
Well it turns out that GPUs are good for more than playing Doom in high definition or rendering the latest Pixar movie. GPUs are great for doing maths. As it happens, they're great for the kind of maths needed for training neural networks and other kinds of machine learning models. So what I'm trying to say here is that in the age of the neural network, Graphics Processing Unit is one of the biggest misnomers of our time. Really they should be called "Tensor-based linear algebra acceleration unit" or something like that (this is probably why I'm a data scientist and not a marketer).
Where did GPUs come from?
One of the earliest known uses of the term GPU is from a 1986 book called "Advances in Computer Graphics". Originally, GPUs were designed to speed up the process of rendering computer games to the user's display. Traditional processor chips used for running your computer's operating system and applications process one instruction at a time in sequence. Digital images are made up of thousands or millions of pixels in a grid format. Traditional CPUs have to render images by running calculations on each pixel, one at a time: row by row, column by column. GPUs accelerate this process by building an image in parallel. The below video explains the key difference here quite well:
So I know what you're thinking… "If GPUs are so magical and can do all this cool stuff in parallel, why don't we just use them all the time instead of CPUS?" — am I right?
Well here's the thing… GPUs are specialised for really fast maths and CPUs are generalised for many tasks. That means that GPUS are actually pretty rubbish at a lot of things CPUs are good at — they've traded flexibility for speed. Let me try and explain with a metaphor.
The Patisserie Chef and the Cake Factory
Let's away from the computer for a second and take a few moments to think about a subject very close to my heart… food.
A patisserie chef is highly efficient at making yummy cakes and pastries to delight their customers. They can only really pay attention to one cake at a time but they can switch between tasks. For example, when their meringue is in the oven they can focus on icing a cake they left to cool earlier. Trained chefs are typically very flexible and talented and they can make many different recipes — switching between tasks when they get time.
At some point in history, Mr Kipling and those guys who make twinkies got so many orders that human bakers would never be able to keep up with demand. They had to add cake machines. A factory contains machines that spit out thousands of cakes in parallel. The key difference is that these machines are not flexible in the way that a human chef would be. What if we're churning out a batch of 10,000 french fancies when we get a call to stop production and make country slices instead? Imagine how long it would take to go around and stop all the machines, put the new ingredients in and then start the process again! A human chef could just throw out the contents of their oven and get started on the new order right away! The factory probably can't even handle doing lots of different jobs. I bet they have different machines for the different products or at the very least have to significantly alter the production line. In contrast, the patisserie chef can just change what they do with their hands! By the way, this post is not in any way sponsored by Hostess or Mr Kipling. I just like cake.
Did you spot the metaphor here? The slower but more flexible chef is a CPU — plodding along one order at a time, switching when he gets some availability. The cake factory is a GPU — designed to churn out thousands of similar things as quickly as possible at the cost of flexibility. This is why GPUs aren't a one size fits all solution for all of our computing needs.
Like I said earlier, GPUs are great at maths. They can be employed to draw really pretty pictures but they can also be used for all sorts of real world, mathematical operations where you need to run the same calculations on large batches of data. Training a neural network uses a lot of these streamlined mathematical operations regardless of whether they are trained to detect cats, play Go or detect nouns, verbs and adjectives in text. Using a trained neural network to make predictions is less computationally expensive but you might still benefit from running it on a GPU if you are trying to make a lot of predictions very quickly!
© 2022 Filament Consultancy Group. Registered in England and Wales – Company Number 10180537. Filament Consultancy Group Canada Limited – Registered in Ontario, Corporation Number 1995332


We go to the Zuni Pueblo to record the sounds of a relay run across New Mexico from Taos Pueblo to the Hopi Reservation commemorating the Pueblo Uprising against the Spanish in 1680, and walk with a Zuni elder to a Runners Meditation Rock on a mountain above the village where long-distance runners meditated in preparation for competition.
As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, America's soldiers are returning home by the tens of thousands. Some of them are coming home with physical wounds and will face enormous challenges in their readjustment. Many more are coming home with wounds of the heart and mind, and are struggling with depression, substance abuse and other symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). And while doctors and researchers work to develop cutting-edge treatments for this affliction, the VA Center in Salt Lake City is offering a healing ceremony that reaches back to America's first warriors: Native Americans. Each week, a group of vets attend a sweat lodge ceremony, held in a garden on the VA campus.
The sweats are conducted by Native American spiritual leader Arnold Thomas in a dome-shaped structure called a lodge. Sweats are common in Indian country, and ceremonies specifically designed to help returning warriors heal spiritually have taken place for centuries. Over the past several years, the sweats at the Salt Lake City VA Center have drawn increasing numbers of non-Native veterans as well, who've made them an integral part of their treatment for PTSD.
Visit the Salt Lake City VA: www.saltlakecity.va.gov.
Media producer Taki Telonidis found out about these sweats while conducting research for a larger project about Native Americans in the military called Healing the Warrior's Heart.
Our story reveals how a life-changing personal experience put Supaman, a Native American Hip Hop artist, on a different course, and infused his music with a new, positive message.
His music has followed the dramatic trajectory of his life on the Crow Reservation in southeastern Montana, from the early years celebrating the "gangsta" life he and his friends were leading, an existence marked by poverty, crime and substance abuse, to new messages of compassion, Christian love, and humor. Throughout, his songs still have signature rugged beats and heavy-hitting metaphors.
Supaman is part of a growing community of rappers on reservations in the West who are making music based on Native realities. Although Hip Hop was born in the inner city and originally reflected the experience of African American youth in the ghetto, it has resonated with Native Americans who face similar challenges out on remote reservations.
Our story traces the fall and rise of an animal that has been central to Navajo life for as long as anyone can remember, the Churro sheep. The Churro is woven into the tribe's creation story, which mentions that Talking God created the Churro by using clouds for the body, willows for the legs, and rainbows for the hooves and horns. The Churro was also key to the economic survival of the Navajo on the harsh desert of the Southwest, providing them with food and clothing. Yet in modern times, the Churro was hunted to near extinction by the US government. Beginning in the late 1860's with the forced relocation of the Navajo, and as recently as the 1940s these animals were hunted down by agents and shot on sight.
Then in the 1970s a Utah professor stumbled upon remnants of the once-great Churro herds and began a campaign to bring them back. He partnered with Navajo herders and elders, and together they began to systematically breed and reintroduce these animals to the reservation. The return of the Churro has contributed to a revival of Navajo weaving, and the tasty meat has meant increased income for herders.
Sheep rancher and Navajo spiritual leader Roy Kady hosts the annual celebration of Sheep is Life Celebration. This festival is organized by Navajo sheep herders and weavers to honor the central role of sheep and fiber arts in the spirituality, philosophy, and daily life of cultures throughout the world.
Hal Cannon accompanies a group of Lakota Indians on an odyssey to reclaim the remains of their ancestor, a Lakota chief who was killed at the massacre of Wounded Knee in 1890, and tells the story of past and present as those remains are brought home. This and other stories are included in our Deep West Recording, Stories From Native America, now out of print.


Access Floor is used greatly in the control room or mornintoring center of diiferent buidings. The cabling is complex in control to keep a strict managment or supvision in production, activities, safety.
This is the control center for dispatch manangement of mine production.
This is the mornintoring center of studio televesion center.
This is the control and management center of fire service center.


text:
Mets Morning News
Mets Morning News: It's a very sad Harvey Day
Your Saturday morning dose of New York Mets and Major League Baseball news, notes, and links.
By Steve Schreiber@sschreiber13 Oct 5, 2013, 11:58am EDT
Share All sharing options for: Mets Morning News: It's a very sad Harvey Day
Meet the Mets
The biggest news in Metsland yesterday was that Matt Harvey will in fact undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow later this month. Both Sandy Alderson and David Wright gave their takes on the news and both said that Harvey made the right decision. It's sad news for the 2014 Mets but they still have a season to play, so what should they do? Mets fans won't accept a lost 2014 even without Harvey, says Mike Vaccaro. Luckily, Will Carroll says that it's likely that Harvey will return from the surgery as good as ever.
Even with Harvey out, the Mets still have a glut of young pitchers and that bodes well for their future. Mike Kerwick spoke to Jason Parks about the futures of Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero, and Steven Matz.
Sandy Alderson says that the Mets need to add more quality arms in the bullpen.
Mike Puma reports that Carlos Beltran said he wouldn't rule out returning to the Mets for 2014. Puma also says that the Mets would consider Beltran, though his declining range in the outfield may be an issue.
Toby Hyde continues to recap the Mets' Sterling Award Winners, looking at St. Lucie winner Dustin Lawley.
The Binghamton Mets long rumored move to Ottawa seems to be officially dead, as the city is looking to add an independent league team instead.
Johan Santana has begun throwing again, which is great news for him. Of course, it remains to be seen if he ever dons a Mets uniform again.
Yesterday At AA
Eric created BringBackBeltran.com, a website devoted to bringing back Carlos Beltran. Be sure to give Carlos a high-five, too!
Should the Mets tender or non-tender Omar Quintanilla this offseason?
Jeffrey Paternostro wrote about Brooklyn righty Miller Diaz.
Around the Playoffs
There were four playoff games yesterday:
In the second game of their series, the Pirates beat the Cardinals 7-1 and evened things up at a game apiece. Rookie pitcher Gerrit Cole was excellent for Pittsburgh.
The Red Sox stomped on the Rays 12-2 in the opener of their series. Game two of that series is tonight at 5:30, as John Lackey matches up with David Price.
The Braves took game two of their series with the Dodgers by a score of 4-3, as the teams are tied at one.
Finally, the Tigers beat the A's 3-2 in the opener of their set. Game two of that series takes place tonight at 9:00, when Justin Verlander takes on Sonny Gray.
Around the Majors
Alex Rodriguez filed two lawsuits yesterday – one against Major League Baseball for pursuing him in what was termed as a "witch hunt", and a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Yankees team doctor.
The Reds canned Dusty Baker yesterday, the first move the team made after getting eliminated from the playoffs. While Tony LaRussa is said to not be interested in the job, Jim Riggleman is considered a candidate for some reason.
Despite rumors that one of them would be fired, both Mike Scioscia and Jerry DiPoto are now expected to be back for the Angels in 2014.
Executive director of the MLB players union Michael Weiner is said to have just 2-6 months to live due to a cancerous brain tumor.
Albert Pujols has sued Jack Clark over the steroids claims he made on the radio in August.
If you read an article or find a link that you think would be a great addition to a future edition of Mets Morning News, please forward it to our tips email address tips@grission.com and we'll try to add it in.


Somalia has finally "surprised" and "shocked" the world – but predictability doesn't make the obtuse international reaction any easier to digest. The bombings in Kampala are atrocious. Yet with inane reports like "Who is al-Shabab" and "al-Shabab seeks to replace government," the setup is clearly on too.
The lights have been switched off.
Reporting from the Western media is dangerously blacked out, distorting Somalia's instability to generate the appropriate reaction in their populaces. Africa's media offers a more complete account, although it's trending in the same direction. The possibility of military retaliation has quickly arisen as Western governments orchestrate the media machine to their best ability.
But using public relations to deflect reality ends in futile strategy. Rather than illuminating Somalia's crisis, the Kampala bombings are being exploited to destroy incriminating evidence. Why single out al-Shabab and al-Qaeda when so many other factors are equally to blame? "Evil terrorists" only explains so much. All the blame is being pinned on them in the heat of the moment.
Thus less attention has fallen on the weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG), whose commendable attempt to survive merely funnels US arms to al-Shabab through Somalia's black market. Corruption of millions in US and EU aid remains rampant. Child soldiers wielding US arms go unmentioned as do heavy-handed, unpopular African Union (AU) troops untrained in counterinsurgency and responsible for scores of civilian deaths. African experts recently testified to the US Congress that supporting the TFG without oversight does more harm than good.
Meanwhile Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, al-Qaeda's former chief in Somalia, pops up sparingly and only to invoke the SEAL strike that killed him in September 2009. That al-Shabab and al-Qaeda officially allied together in February 2010 goes unsaid. It's useless for people to realize that targeted assassinations have minimal effect.
And scant reporting has downplayed Uganda's new deployment of 2,000 emergency troops to Mogadishu, as requested by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Uganda's story runs deeper than being one of two contributors to the AU force (Burundi being the other), and the deployment sparked fears that Ethiopia, generally disliked in Somalia, is on deck. Specific references that Somalia had reached a tipping point are similarly neglected; most reports opt for the standard copy-and-paste biography. Yet Blackhawk Down hasn't been referenced much either. None of Washington's sordid history in Somalia is.
All the back-story to Kampala has been edited out, leaving it the hollow shell of a "pointlessly brutal" al-Qaeda attack. A freeze frame of explosions and blood soaked American teenagers for Western consumption.
Kampala's tragedy isn't isolated, but orbits the larger tragedy in Somalia. Uganda deployed more troops without a strategy and al-Shabab retaliated. This war is ongoing and more troops beget more violence, as they've already started to do. One cannot expect Uganda or other African nations to deploy troops without consequence when blood has stained everyone's hands. Nor can one blame al-Qaeda for outmaneuvering America from Afghanistan into Somalia.
That attitude has brought and will continue to bring chaos to Somalia.
Glints of truth can still be spotted amidst the smoke of Kampala. William Braniff, a US instructor at the Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point, advises, "Regionalization of the conflict is a rational strategy for al Shabaab. They are stronger when there are foreign boots on the ground, and weaker otherwise." Where he is at a time like now?
Many Somalis themselves, much as they dread al-Shabab, also fear that overreaction from the West or Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia – all US allies.
Unfortunately none of this seems to matter. The world's strategy up until Kampala and its subsequent reaction offers few reasons to expect a sound counter-response. In fact the main hope is that very overreaction. Washington officials closely monitoring the US and international media understand the threat of military retaliation is highly anticipated. But al-Shabab and al-Qaeda's actions suggest that its bombs possess dual motives: deterrence against additional forces and bait into the trap. They expect retaliation and will strike US allies if attacked by US forces; if not they continue about their war.
Either outcome serves their purpose.
The West can keep blaming al-Shabab and al-Qaeda, but that won't stabilize the conflict. Though the temptation may be to perceive AU or US troops as liberators, given that al-Shabab's popular support is low, they would likely throw dynamite on the fire. Going in is easy. Instead Somalia needs a full-spectrum exit strategy, and the countdown for a solution is running out. The smart political play thus aligns with the best counterinsurgency: fusing international and regional diplomacy into a tone-down reaction that doesn't further inflame the region.
What's needed to avert a military catastrophe is a grand political strategy – an international Task Force for Somalia. The failed state rivals Iraq or Afghanistan and yet receives a fraction of the time and resources. Not only does a Task Force appear to be the most realistic solution to the conflict (despite its apparent idealism), nearly every actor is calling for international intervention.
The same demand came from Sunni militia Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, formerly allied with the government and now dangerously isolated after falling out with the TFG. Upon denouncing the TFG group spokesman Abu Yusuf Al-Qadi added, "We are requesting from the international community to know and see that the government had violated the deal signed." He wants international assistance too.
Now add in General David Petraeus's Special Forces directive that expanded operations in Somalia, plus the SEAL raid on Nabhan, an event which solidified al-Qaeda and al-Shabab's alliance. It becomes clear that the West's response to Somalia has remained military-centric despite a change in rhetoric. Reversing this mindset is critical to the mission.
Wetangula illuminates what a potential Task Force may look like: several US officials to act in the UN, EU officials to oversee regional initiatives, a heavy African unit comprised of high-level officials from all of Somalia's neighbors, and representation from Somaliland and Puntiland to exercise regional authority with TFG. Egyptian and Saudi Arabian officials may also be enlisted for the purpose of Islamic reintegration programs. A dozen or so members could form the team, America operating from the back and Africans up front.
Restoring the TFG to working order would be the first task, either by reforming it or disbanding and replacing it with a more solid structure. This would necessitate a deep level of participation from Somalia's local power-brokers, who must be recruited to play an active role in the Task Force. A bottom-up strategy will never succeed without assistance from the top, making it essential to promote diplomats who sincerely understand they serve the Somali people.
Among many secondary issues to address are investigations into the TFG's use – and America's arming – of child soldiers and the harassing of journalists who reported on the story. At the top of the list: a regional construct for Somalia, Somaliland, and Puntland, a peace treaty with Ethiopia, piracy (which will never be solved at sea), and proxy negotiations with militant groups. None of this will be easy, cheap, or quick.
The Task Force's ultimate objective, as politics alone won't resolve the conflict, is devising an all-encompassing framework to run potential AU/EU/US military operations through, or a more robust UN peacekeeping mission. This isn't advocation of those operations, only the acceptance of their inevitability. The Task Force must minimize the need for military action and alleviate negative reaction through the proper political and cultural knowledge. And it must act before al-Qaeda strikes a Western target from Somalia, before Ethiopian or US brigades are forced to storm Mogadishu and other al-Shabab positions.
Before the war is lost for good.
James Gundun is a political scientist and counterinsurgency analyst based in Washington D.C. Contact him in The Trench, a realist foreign policy blog, at www.hadalzone.blogspot.com.


I have started watching this tv show called Revolution.
The premise? All of the power all over the world goes out. It was instantaneous. Cars stopped, communication ended, planes fell from the sky. The world went from an electronic age back to a primitive way of life. Those that were smart left cities and formed little villages where they grew their own food and each person had a job to fulfill to keep the community going. Fifteen years after the blackout, a group of people have banned together to revolt against an authoritarian regime. It is such an awesome show, full of sword fights and crossbows and revenge.
On another level, though, it is very thought-provoking. I mean, what would you do if something like that happened? Would you be able to live off of the land and go back to a pioneering way of life? Where would you go?
Craig and I talk about that fairly regularly - not because we foresee it happening but because he is a "survival" junkie. He loves researching "bug out bags" or how to make fire with a soda can or what foods work are best to eat when stuck in the middle of nowhere in a snow storm. Aside from all of that though, we actually talk about where we would go if something like that were to happen. There is no doubt. We would go to Reform, AL. You remember that place: we visit my grandmother there once a month.
My grandparents own over 100 acres of land out there and they divied up 20+ acres for each of their children. My dad's section is large enough for all of us to prosper. The soil is good for growing food and the surrounding land supports plentiful wildlife. It is minimally populated, and most that do live there are related to us in some way. It seems the perfect place. Of course we would have lots to learn like how to hunt, how to make all foods from scratch, or how to keep our home warm in the winter. But it would be ok because there is so much beauty there. And sometimes - just sometimes - you could see something like this.
Yep, that would be a horse. It made it's way into the field beside my grandmother's house. Sure it belongs to someone who eventually came and got it, but the point is it was free to roam. It was free because that is the country life. There are hardly any cars that pass through those roads, everyone knows and trusts everyone else, and life in general is just simpler. Sometimes that just sounds like heaven. Or at least it sounds like the place to go when all power goes out.
Hey, it could happen. I guess.


Alan Kyle's life in farming began at the Diamond, Fintona in County Tyrone.
From here, in 1944, he moved with his parents to a 72 acre farm near Omagh. In due course, he took over the running of the farm from his father and with the support of his wife, Agnes.
From the age of 15, in a series of diaries, Alan recorded on a daily basis the trials, tribulations, rewards and highlights of more than 50 years in farming. In this book, using extracts from the diaries, Alan shares his experiences and views on the changing world of agriculture with a wider audience.
I was fortunate to work Alan and Agnes Kyle on the design and artwork of their 464 page book "A Touch of Grass." It was a pleasure to work with the couple and to have been introduced to the various events throughout their lives that have been included in this book.
The book has been a great success and has seen two print runs to keep up for the demand for the publication.
When I first spoke to Alan he expressed his passion for high quality milk production from high quality grass, hence the title, 'A Touch of Grass'.
With this in mind I decided to use the theme of grass as a page background, and subsequently pulled handfuls of grass out of my garden which I then scanned and placed onto the pages. The results turned out great and really give the design a fresh agricultural feel.
Turned out great and Alan, Agnes and their family were very pleased with the result.