text:
Access to Attorneys
Online CPE
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Membership for Student Teachers
FAQs about TCTA
What Our Members Say About TCTA
Get involved with TCTA!
Preparation & Certification
Teacher Employment
TRS & Social Security
Districts of Innovation
Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS)
Legal Issues A to Z
TCTA Attorneys
Teacher Defense Fund
Ask-a-Lawyer
Updates From the Capitol
Bill Summaries - 2019 Session
TexasTeachersVote.org
ACT For TCTA
The Classroom Teacher
eUpdate
TCTA Structure & Staff
TCTA Leadership
TCTA Scholarship Program
2018-19 TCTA awards program
Join us at the 2019 TCTA Convention
Texas surprises nation by accepting conditional NCLB waiver
The Classroom Teacher, winter 2013-14
It wasn't a surprise in February 2013 when Texas asked the U.S. Department of Education for a general waiver to be free from certain requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. The request for the condition-free waiver was in line with Texas' refusal to adopt the Common Core Standards or participate in Race to the Top, which also came with strings attached. Texas is one of a few states that have avoided federal reform efforts to maintain, as Gov. Rick Perry wrote, "state sovereignty over matters concerning education." So it was a surprise when, seven months after Texas' initial request, the state accepted a conditional waiver that requires changes to its teacher evaluation system that Texas has resisted till now. (See Texas NCLB waiver to tie STAAR scores to teacher evaluations)
Why Texas accepted the waiver
Until Congress passes a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, more recently known as the NCLB, Texas (like most other states) needs exemption from the increasingly hard-to-meet accountability standards of the act.
Established in 2001, NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress standards were set to gradually increase until 2013-14 when 100 percent of each state's students have to pass the state's standardized tests in reading and math for the state to meet AYP. (Without the waiver, an estimated 95 percent of Texas school districts would have failed to do so.)
With the waiver, which was granted only for 2013-14 unless Texas fulfills the waiver's conditions related to teacher evaluation, Texas schools won't have to meet AYP. Rather, the lowest performing 15 percent of schools will be identified as Priority or Focus Schools and subject to a series of federal interventions.
As granted, the waiver also allows Texas school districts flexibility with how they spend Title I federal funds that they previously had to set aside for private tutoring. In 2013-14, districts may use those funds on academic intervention programs they choose.
Reauthorization bills in play
In July, the U.S. House approved an ESEA reauthorization bill called the Student Success Act. As amended, states and school districts would not be required, but would have the option, to craft teacher evaluation systems based on student outcomes. It must now go to the Senate, which is considering its own ESEA reauthorization bill.
The Senate's bill requires states receiving Title II funds to implement prescriptive teacher evaluation systems based in significant part on student performance on state tests. However, with Congress' attention on the federal shutdown and other financial issues this fall, neither bill has seen much movement.
According to TCTA's Washington, D.C., lobby team, there are indications that Congress could move toward finalizing an ESEA reauthorization bill sooner rather than later, however. "While it is increasingly difficult for this Congress to pass any legislation, Sen. Harkin [chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee] will want to move a bill before he retires in 2014," says Washington lobbyist Laurie Katz.
"Also, members of Congress are displeased that the USDE is taking matters into its own hands [with NCLB waivers]. There is a push now to pass all 12 agency authorization bills instead of funding FY2014 budgets from a continuing resolution as in years past. If that takes hold, perhaps compromise on an ESEA reauthorization bill will gain some traction."
The power of the waiver
Until a reauthorization bill passes, the USDE can continue to advance the current administration's education reform agenda in at least the 42 states that have accepted waivers.
"While everyone in the education community seeks a reauthorization bill, the waivers enable the administration to enact its preferred policies, and the Department can justify their use as necessary given Congress' inaction," Katz says. "The Department of Education is in the driver's seat until a reauthorization passes."
However, she says other states' recent push back related to the Common Core Standards adoption timelines could result in delays that may lead to states denouncing other mandated reforms. "Any delay gives Texas more time to play out waiver requirements," Katz says, "and states have a history of waiting out the federal government for a change in administration."
She also predicts that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan could see his power reduced during the next few years due to decreased funding support for the administration's legacy programs. "He will need to chart a course that balances both enforcement and encouragement tactics for states to raise standards and continue reforms," Katz says.
See also TCTA opposes elimination of STAAR-M
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Posted : November 11, 2013 - 3:46pm
Updated: December 4, 2013 - 12:45pm
Copyright© 2019 Texas Classroom Teachers Association® The Educated Choice® All rights reserved.


text:
Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace (A Felicity Carrol Mystery #2) by Patricia Marcantonio (2020)
Heiress and amateur detective Felicity Carrol makes a perilous journey to apprehend a notorious murderer who has terrorized England—and now continues his vicious killing spree across the pond.
Felicity Carrol would rather be doing just about anything other than attending balls or seeking a husband. What she really wants to do is continue her work using the latest forensic methods and her photographic memory to help London police bring murderers to justice, so when her friend, Scotland Yard Inspector Jackson Davies, weak from injury, discovers a murder in a wild mining town in Montana that echoes the terrible crimes in England, Felicity decides to go herself.
In Placer, Montana, her first obstacle is handsome lawman Thomas Pike, who uses his intuition as much as his Colt in keeping law and order in this unruly town. When the murderer strikes again, Felicity begins to suspect Davies is correct: Jack the Ripper has come to America. Felicity sets out to find the killer in a town chock full of secrets, shadows, and suspects, but as the body count rises, this intrepid sleuth faces her most dangerous adversary yet—and discovers that not all killers are as they seem.
I just love Felicity!
Felicity Carrol is a thoroughly modern miss with a quick mind and an equally quick tongue! She verbally spars with all the men around her and the banter is a lot of fun.
She doesn't hesitate to travel to America to solve a Jack the Ripper type murder which shows how brave and adventurous she is.
In America, she meets the lovely town Sherrif and they engage in a little flirtation even though he does find her exasperating. Felicity gets into all kinds of scrapes and dangerous situations as she tries to find a maniacal killer. There weren't many suspects on her list and I was completely stumped as to who the killer would be right up to the moment it was all revealed.
This was a delightful mystery despite the gruesome crimes. Quick-paced and entertaining! I missed out on the first Felicity Carrol mystery but I have it preordered for audio! I can't wait.
Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace is out now!
Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace (A Felici...
The Body Falls (Inishowen Mysteries #5) by Andrea...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This short film recreates the experience of Sylvie, a battered woman who seeks shelter in a Montréal transition house. Faced with the threat of violence, loneliness, the lack of financial resources or information about services, the victim is often understandably reluctant to seek help. Emphasizing the importance for women of speaking out, the film also points out the role of the transition house in putting victims of abuse in touch with appropriate legal and social services. Sylvie's Story is part of The Next Step, a 3-film series about the services needed by and available to battered women.


Scientists at the Mainz University Medical Center and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) have developed a new method to enable miniature drug-filled nanocarriers to dock on to immune cells, which in turn attack tumours.
In the future, this may lead to targeted treatment that can largely eliminate damage to healthy tissue.
The scientists have recently published their findings in the renowned scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology.
In modern medicine, patients receiving medication to treat tumours or for pain therapy are often given drugs that disperse throughout the entire body, even though the section of the organ to be treated may be only small and clearly demarcated.
One solution would be to administer drugs that target specific cell types.
Such nanocarriers are just what scientists are working to develop.
These contain, in a manner of speaking, miniature submarines no larger than a thousandth of the diameter of a human hair.
Invisible to the naked eye, these nanocarriers are loaded with a pharmacologically-active agent, allowing them to function as concentrated transport containers.
The surface of these nanocarriers or drug capsules is specially coated to enable them, for example, to dock on to tissue interspersed with tumour cells.
The coating is usually composed of antibodies that act much like address labels to seek out binding sites on the target cells, such as tumour cells or immune cells that attack tumours.
Professor Volker Mailänder and his team from the Department of Dermatology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have recently developed an ingenious new method of binding antibodies to such drug capsules.
"Up to now, we have always had to use elaborate chemical methods to bind these antibodies to nanocapsules," explained Mailänder. "We have now been able to show that all that you need to do is to combine antibodies and nanocapsules together in an acidified solution."
In their paper in Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers emphasize that binding nanocapsules and antibodies in this way is almost twice as efficient as chemical bonding in the test tube, significantly improving the targeted transport of drugs.
In conditions such as those found in the blood, they also found that chemically coupled antibodies almost completely lost their efficacy, while antibodies that are not chemically attached remained functional.
"The standard method of binding antibodies using complex chemical processes can degrade antibodies or even destroy them, or the nanocarrier in the blood can become rapidly covered with proteins," explained Professor Katharina Landfester from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research.
In contrast, the new method, which is based on the physical effect known as adsorption or adhesion, protects the antibodies.
This makes the nanocarrier more stable and enables it to distribute the drugs more effectively in the body.
To develop their new method, the researchers combined antibodies and drug transporters in an acidic solution.
This led - in contrast to binding at a neutral pH - to more efficient coating of the nanoparticle surface.
As the researchers explain, this leaves less room on the nanocarrier for blood proteins that could prevent them from docking to a target cell.


"Polly is an important part of my business team. She helps me to turn my thoughts and ideas into succinct and effective press articles, marketing materials and website content.
"Polly played a key role in getting my website launched with content that accurately described me and my services. She understood the essence of what I wanted to convey, listened to my needs and translated that appropriately.
"Being a small business with not enough hours in the day, Polly's support has been valuable. She is positive, proactive, thorough and a responsive and efficient communicator.
"Polly's approach is to question and understand your brand, your target audience and what you want achieve.
Would you like some help in your business too?
If you need help in planning, writing and promoting captivating marketing content consistently, please get in touch with me today.


text:
require 'hpricot'
require 'cgi'

module RForce
  class SoapResponseHpricot
    # Parses an XML string into structured data.
    def initialize(content)
      @content = content
    end

    # Digests an XML DOM node into nested Ruby types.
    def parse
      document = Hpricot.XML(@content)
      node = document % 'soapenv:Body'
      self.class.node_to_ruby node
    end

    private

    def self.unescapeXML(string)
      CGI.unescapeHTML(string).gsub("'", "'")
    end

    def self.node_to_ruby(node)
      # Convert text nodes into simple strings.
      children = (node.children || []).reject do |c|
        c.is_a?(Hpricot::Text) && c.to_s.strip.empty?
      end

      if node.is_a?(Hpricot::Text)
        return SoapResponseHpricot.unescapeXML(node.inspect[1..-2])
      end

      if children.first.is_a?(Hpricot::Text)
        return SoapResponseHpricot.unescapeXML(children.first.inspect[1..-2])
      end

      # Convert nodes with children into MethodHashes.
      elements = MethodHash.new

      # Add all the element's children to the hash.
      children.each do |e|
        next if e.is_a?(Hpricot::Text) && e.to_s.strip.empty?
        name = e.name

        if name.include? ':'
          name = name.split(':').last
        end

        name = name.to_sym

        case elements[name]
          # The most common case: unique child element tags.
        when NilClass then elements[name] = node_to_ruby(e)

          # Non-unique child elements become arrays:

          # We've already created the array: just
          # add the element.
        when Array then elements[name] << node_to_ruby(e)

          # We haven't created the array yet: do so,
          # then put the existing element in, followed
          # by the new one.
        else
          elements[name] = [elements[name]]
          elements[name] << node_to_ruby(e)
        end
      end

      return elements.empty? ? nil : elements
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Kate Bush — Aerial
(EMI 0946 3 43960 2 8, 2005, 2CD)
As listeners and consumers of music, we generally have contact with artists only through their work, and are only aware of their lives outside music as they present it in their recordings (unless they reach celebrity status – then we can hardly escape them). But all artists naturally have everyday lives, and in Kate Bush's case, she's been off living that life and not her musical one, not in public anyway. From the first piano tinkle of her first album back in 1978, it's been clear that she was a singular entity, creating music not so much for the world at large as for some private world only she inhabits. Luckily for her, the results have crossed over into our world and even enjoyed success, though the bulk of her output has been too eccentric for the pop charts, from the proggish pop of Never for Ever to the eerie experimentation of The Dreaming. So now, after a gap that almost makes Peter Gabriel look prolific, she is back with a sprawling double CD of new material. Those looking for the brash oddness of some of her earlier work will be initially disappointed at the seeming ordinariness of Aerial, though repeated listening slowly reveals details that no other artist could have produced. She starts off with the charming, bouncy single "King of the Mountain" with its tales of Elvis sightings, and then goes into something only she would attempt (let alone pull off): a song called "π" about a number-obsessed man in which she sings digit after digit in between the verses. Then she gets all medieval on us with the beautiful, if precious, "Bertie," an ode to her young son backed by antique instruments. The other songs on the first disc continue the diverse path, adding some percolating synthesizers and subtle grooves. The second disc features nine tracks grouped as a suite, an impressionistic journey through a day with recurring themes of birds and artistic endeavor. It's a marvelous and detailed achievement, with beautiful production and performance throughout, unpredictable and sure to continue to reveal its secrets over the years.
Filed under: New releases, Issue 33, 2005 releases
Related artist(s): Kate Bush, Eberhard Weber
Ain Soph - Five Evolved from Nine – This Japanese band has been around for a while and has put out some pretty damn good music. Unabashedly Canterbury influenced (album titles: Hat & Field, Ride on a Camel), it seems that Ain Soph... (1993) » Read more
People who live in paper houses shouldn't light candles


text:
Q: XSLT how to sort inside a  Hello im studying XML from w3schools and now im studying this example above.
I learned that we can use  inside a for-each and understood this.
But now im trying to use  inside  but its not working.
I already tested in many ways but nothing works, can anyone give a little help?
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>

    <xsl:stylesheet version="1.0"
    xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">

    <xsl:template match="/">

My CD Collection

      <xsl:apply-templates/>

    </xsl:template>

    <xsl:template match="cd">

        <xsl:apply-templates select="title">
          <xsl:sort select="title" order="descending" />
        </xsl:apply-templates>
        <xsl:apply-templates select="artist"/>

    </xsl:template>

    <xsl:template match="title">
      Title:
      <xsl:value-of select="."/>

    </xsl:template>

    <xsl:template match="artist">
      Artist:
      <xsl:value-of select="."/>

    </xsl:template>

    </xsl:stylesheet>

XML
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

    <catalog>
        <cd>
            <title>Empire Burlesque</title>
            <artist>Bob Dylan</artist>
            <country>USA</country>
            <company>Columbia</company>
            <price>10.90</price>
            <year>1985</year>
        </cd>
        <cd>
            <title>Hide your heart</title>
            <artist>Bonnie Tyler</artist>
            <country>UK</country>
            <company>CBS Records</company>
            <price>9.90</price>
            <year>1988</year>
        </cd>
        <cd>
            <title>Greatest Hits</title>
            <artist>Dolly Parton</artist>
            <country>USA</country>
            <company>RCA</company>
            <price>9.90</price>
            <year>1982</year>
        </cd>

    </catalog>

A: It looks like you want to sort cds by artist - not titles by artist. You cannot sort titles (directly) by artist anyway, because artist is not a child of title. And it wouldn't matter anyway, unless you had more than one title in a cd.

A: you've got to sort "cd"s based on "title", and this is the way I think you were looking for:
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">

<xsl:template match="/">

My CD Collection

          <xsl:apply-templates select="catalog/cd">
                <xsl:sort select="title" order="descending"/>
          </xsl:apply-templates>

</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="cd">

    <xsl:apply-templates select="title" />
    <xsl:apply-templates select="artist"/>

</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="title">
  Title:
  <xsl:value-of select="."/>

</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="artist">
  Artist:
  <xsl:value-of select="."/>

</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Bharti and Qualcomm announce partnership for 4G
· Bharti acquires 49% interest in Qualcomm AP's India BWA entities
· Partnership to roll-out state-of-the-art 4G networks on LTE TDD technology in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala
· Bharti establishes broadband footprint across India
New Delhi/San Diego : Bharti Airtel Limited ("Bharti"), a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, and Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM; "Qualcomm"), the world leader in 3G and next-generation mobile technologies, today announced that they have signed an agreement for Bharti to acquire an interest in Qualcomm Asia Pacific's (Qualcomm AP) Indian BWA entities.
Under the agreement, Bharti has made an initial investment of approximately USD 165 million to acquire 49 percent interest in Qualcomm AP's India entities that hold BWA licenses in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala - partly by way of acquisition of 26 percent equity interest equally held by Global Holding Corporation Private Limited and Tulip Telecom Limited, and the balance by way of subscription of fresh equity in those entities. The agreement contemplates that once commercial operations are launched, subject to certain terms and conditions, Bharti would assume complete ownership and financial responsibility for the BWA entities by the end of 2014.
Bharti already has BWA licenses in four circles - Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra - and 3G licenses in thirteen circles in India. With this agreement, Bharti has secured a nation-wide broadband leadership through a combination of 4G and 3G, with its own networks in 18 circles. Bharti has already taken the lead in LTE TDD space by launching 4G services in Kolkata and Karnataka Circles.
Commenting on the partnership Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Airtel said, "We are delighted to partner with Qualcomm, who shares our commitment to the Government's agenda of broadband for all. This partnership will combine the strength of Bharti's national telecom footprint and Qualcomm's technological leadership in the LTE TDD space. With a broadband ready network across India, Bharti is well positioned to lead the next phase of Indian's telecom revolution."
"One of our key objectives has been to include a strong partner in the Indian venture with the scale, experience and resources to deploy LTE TDD networks. We are pleased to have Bharti's participation and support in this effort," said Dr Paul E Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm. "GHC and Tulip have been great partners in facilitating this transaction. Qualcomm remains dedicated to the continued progress and success of the BWA venture and to fulfilling our commitment as a key equity stakeholder."
Qualcomm expects to provide technical assistance to Bharti in connection with network architecture and optimization, infrastructure and device testing, as well as continuing to develop and support the underlying technology and the LTE TDD ecosystem.
Qualcomm Labs Teams with EvoNexus to Expand Innovation in San Diego
Qualcomm Atheros Launches Skifta 1.0 for Android to Access Personal Music, Photos and Video in the Connected Home or on-the-go
Qualcomm Announces Leadership Change and Promotions


On every first Wednesday in a month, at 11am, there will be an exhibition tour for older citizens, who require longer breaks during the tour. At certain stations in the exhibition GREY IS THE NEW PINK there will be possibilities to take a break or sit down for a while. The guides will adapt to the pace of the visitors.


When Toyota first unveiled the FT-86 concept back in 2009, the automotive community went into a collective frenzy. Finally, a manufacturer had summoned the courage to give driving enthusiasts what they'd long been calling out for: a low-cost, low-weight, rear-wheel drive sports coupé.
However, the long road of taking a car from concept to production can often be a perilous one, with focus groups and dispassionate accountants often corrupting the designer's original vision. Thankfully, project leader Yoshio Hirakawa (the man responsible for the development, testing and production of both the GT86 and BRZ) ensured that the production cars lost none of the purity that made the initial concept so enticing.
The key ingredients were compelling: a lightweight chassis, a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre flat-four engine and a centre of gravity lower than a Ferrari 458's. It sounded like a purist's dream, and for the most part, it was. But as with all cars, there were areas of the GT86 that we thought could be improved - areas that Toyota claim to have addressed with this mid-life update.
The relatively soft suspension has been stiffened, the cheap looking interior has been reupholstered and the ageing exterior has been treated to a whole host of changes - including LED headlamps, an all-new bumper design and more prominent aero. So, it's a rather minor facelift, then, but one that Toyota claims will make the car more responsive, as well as more liveable.
But what about the engine I hear you cry? Well, those craving straight-line speed are set to be disappointed, as Toyota has not seen fit to add more power - meaning that the car's 2.0-litre four-cylinder boxer engine still produces 197bhp and 151lb ft of torque. As a result, the 0-62mph time remains the same 7.6sec and the car's top speed is still a rather paltry 140mph. But as we came to find with the first generation car, power is not everything.
Unsurprisingly, with such minor modifications, the new GT86 feels very similar to the car it replaces – and by that we mean it's certainly not fast in a conventional sense. Peak torque – a rather weak 151lb ft - comes in at a heady 6400rpm, but thanks to direct injection and a Toyota-derived cylinder head, the four-cylinder boxer motor loves to rev. That means quick progress demands fast gearchanges and clever footwork, but it rewards with exhilaration, giving you the sense that driver's skill makes a real difference.
Turn in to a quick corner and there is still some initial body roll, but it's well contained and doesn't upset the balance of the car. More noticeable, however, is the revised steering, which immediately feels sharper and more direct. We suspect that the biggest contributing factor to this new found dartiness is the smaller diameter steering wheel - the smallest the brand has ever used - but the various chassis modifications and the tweaked electric steering have also contributed to increased communication through the rim.
By tweaking the dampers and stiffening the suspension, the new GT86 also feels noticeably more progressive up to, and over the limit. On a constant throttle, where the old car would push on, the new model holds its line valiantly, with the rear end stepping out in an easily controllable manner. On the right roads and in the right conditions, it's without a doubt one of the most grin-enduring cars currently on sale.
When you do eventually back off, however, it's unlikely that you're going to be as enthralled by the GT86s updated interior. For 2017, the cabin gets a new infotainment system, a small TFT instrument display and some nicer materials. And on first inspection, it's certainly an improvement, with audio controls on the new steering wheel a welcome addition. But if we're honest, it's simply not enough to lift an interior that wouldn't have felt out of place in the 1990s.
Despite the interior updates, the GT86 is still no easier to live with. Its stiffer suspension patters over small undulations, the engine drones away at low rpm and it's genuinely difficult to ignore the fact that you can buy a number of faster machines for similar money. But get the GT86 on the right road, and you quickly forget about all of that.
Back in 2012, we wrote that there was nothing on the market that offered the same level of "poise, balance and, crucially, accessibility" as the Toyota, and the same remains true today. Ultimately, the decision to buy one has never been easier.
Funny I mentioned "a rather weak 151lb ft - comes in at a heady 6400rpm" in the last news story on this car. Fun for the first month then it must be painful getting out dragged by Diesel Astra's up hills unless you charge down 4 gears.
It is way overpriced. They can use the excuse of it being a drivers car, but to me its just a cheaply finished throughout and underpowered. Also the engine always sounds so rough, like something from the 80s. It looks crude through out. It may steer wheel, but that doesn't make it a great car - at all.
That is the problem with no turbos they are even more gutless in the real world that you might expect. I remember a 6 Cyl 320I E46 I had overseas it was silky but couldn't hold on to a 110PS TD up a hill and you had to be north of 100 before it left one.
I think a lot of the posts here miss the point. Toyota have a long history of accessible "real world" sports cars, from the original AE through to the Celica and now the GT86. None had the crazy power such as that of the latest mega hatches but none were bad cars either. Far from it. We have a Golf R and a GT86 in our household and the race is always for the GT86 keys. The Golf is a fine car but it just cant deliver the real-world fun of the GT86 and Im convinced it has too much power for most normal driving situations (where the speed limit is 70mph). The beauty with the GT86 is that you dont have to risk losing your license to have fun in it and its by no means slow. I can remember when 120BHP powered amazing hatches like the Saxo VTS, peugeot 205 and original Golf GTi fast and fun but not stupidly so. I think adding a turbo would also take away from its purist base. Im really amazed that anyone thinks a naturally aspirated rear wheel drive coupe with 200BHP is underpowered but next to those newer mega hatches I can see why they do. I track an old celica at weekends in the toyota racing series and do a lot of other track days and Ive never seen hardly any of these mega hatches out for a run, Ive probably seen 2 or 3 RS3s a couple of Golf R and one of those weird A45 things. which makes me wonder where most people actually get to try these cars out anywhere near their limit - or if they do at all ? Also on the diesel comment, this sort of shows the mentality of the argument. If out and out speed is all that matters I can pick up a shed for £5K any day from classifieds that will out perform many of these high torque turbos. If it is just about out and out speed why doesnt everyone just do that ? What i do agree on is that its expensive, RWD and LSD perhaps explains some of that but i still cant see how its worth about £30K with the few additional options added, which is a shame.
I have a golf r, and agree, using the performance on the roads is tricky and the fun starts at warp speeds - it is licence threatening to have a laugh. I would like a gt86, but it is not an everyday proposition like the golf. It is a tough one, I want the thrills of the gt, but the performance of the golf for overtakes and motorway refinement. In the end, the practicality and lack of compromises for the golf won out for me. But I still hanker for the accessible fun of the GT and I am sort of jealous of those who have one.
But they make more sense as a 13k second hand play thing. Then you have the second car costs. I'd also say that I get more opportunities to use acceleration than explore handling. But also true to say that if you explore the capabilities speed or handling of a fast car its anti social and possibly dangerous.
I don't understand the lack of speed comments, of course high torque turbos will out blast it in top gear up a hill, part of the fun is down changing to keep it in the power band as you would an e46 m3, ctr, Celica t sport 190 etc, you don't always have to race tdi's up hills. These same comments could be aimed at an s2000, or an Elise. And being a coupe it's not meant as a family car but is certainly useable. About the only negative I will agree to is its price, this one is £27k, didn't they use to start around £20k? I personally prefer a naturally aspirated power delivery and would love one of these, as soon as used one's come within my budget I will buy one, I hope.
The GT86 is quite probably an excellent car. I just don't think it is good looking enough. I think it needs to be more muscular/aggressive maybe.


text:
package ru.job4j.springmvc.controller;

import com.google.gson.JsonArray;
import com.google.gson.JsonObject;
import org.apache.commons.fileupload.FileItem;
import org.apache.commons.fileupload.FileUploadException;
import org.apache.commons.fileupload.disk.DiskFileItemFactory;
import org.apache.commons.fileupload.servlet.FileCleanerCleanup;
import org.apache.commons.fileupload.servlet.ServletFileUpload;
import org.apache.commons.io.FileCleaningTracker;
import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
import org.springframework.context.support.ClassPathXmlApplicationContext;
import org.springframework.security.core.Authentication;
import org.springframework.security.core.context.SecurityContext;
import org.springframework.security.core.context.SecurityContextHolder;
import org.springframework.security.core.userdetails.UserDetails;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PostMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestParam;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
import org.springframework.web.context.request.RequestContextHolder;
import org.springframework.web.context.request.ServletRequestAttributes;
import ru.job4j.springmvc.models.Image;
import ru.job4j.springmvc.models.Order;
import ru.job4j.springmvc.repo.ImageRepository;

import javax.servlet.ServletContext;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpSession;
import javax.xml.bind.DatatypeConverter;
import java.io.File;
import java.util.List;

@RestController
public class ImageController {

    private ApplicationContext appContext = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("spring-data-config.xml");
    private ImageRepository imagesRepo = appContext.getBean(ImageRepository.class);

    @GetMapping(value = "/image", produces = "application/json;charset=UTF-8")
    public String getOrderImages(@RequestParam String order) {
        JsonArray array = new JsonArray();
        int orderID = Integer.valueOf(order);
        List<Image> images = imagesRepo.findByOrderId(orderID);
        for (Image image:images) {
            array.add(String.format("data:image/jpeg;base64,%s", DatatypeConverter.printBase64Binary(image.getData())));
        }
        return array.toString();
    }

    @PostMapping(value = "/image", produces = "application/json;charset=UTF-8")
    public String uploadOrderImages(HttpServletRequest req, HttpSession session) {
        boolean isMultipartContent = ServletFileUpload.isMultipartContent(req);
        SecurityContext securityContext = SecurityContextHolder.getContext();
        Authentication authentication = securityContext.getAuthentication();
        String login = ((UserDetails) authentication.getPrincipal()).getUsername();
        Integer orderId = (int) session.getAttribute("currentOrder");
        JsonObject object = new JsonObject();
        object.addProperty("success", false);
        if (isMultipartContent && login != null && orderId != -1) {
            DiskFileItemFactory factory = new DiskFileItemFactory();
            ServletContext context = ((ServletRequestAttributes) RequestContextHolder.
                    getRequestAttributes()).getRequest().getServletContext();
            FileCleaningTracker tracker = FileCleanerCleanup.getFileCleaningTracker(context);
            factory.setFileCleaningTracker(tracker);
            File repository = (File) context.getAttribute("javax.servlet.context.tempdir");
            factory.setRepository(repository);

            ServletFileUpload upload = new ServletFileUpload(factory);
            try {
                List<FileItem> items = upload.parseRequest(req);
                for (FileItem item: items) {
                    byte[] imageData = item.get();
                    Order order = new Order();
                    order.setId(orderId);
                    Image image = new Image();
                    image.setData(imageData);
                    image.setOrder(order);
                    imagesRepo.save(image);
                }
                object.addProperty("success", true);
            } catch (FileUploadException fue) {
                fue.printStackTrace();
            }
        }
        return object.toString();
    }

}


Interest is reviving in the old tepee-inspired rest stops, two of which are on Route 66.
The Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, Calif., isn't just a road icon, it's a part of my childhood. I was born at the tail end of the Eisenhower era, and a lot of things have gone by the wayside over the years -- drive-in theaters and drive-up carhop spots, to name two.
That's why I love the story of the Wigwam Motel. It should be dead and gone. It sits in the middle of what would politely be called an "economically challenged" strip of historic Route 66, the road that brought millions to Southern California. But it's not only still there, it's better than at any time in the past 20-plus years.
The change is because of the Patel family, which bought the rundown place a few years ago. It was in sad shape. The "Sleep in a Wigwam" sign had been replaced by one that beckoned, "Do It in a Tee-Pee." Charming. But over the past few years, the Patels have restored it to its status as roadside attraction.
"During the recession, we have found the slowdown with our overseas and out-of-state travelers," said Kumar Patel. "But we have not stopped updating the property."
Patel said the family is renovating the rooms again, with new beds, TVs and upgraded air conditioning. The parking lot is repaved and the pool restored.
The San Bernardino Wigwam Motel is one of three remaining from what was once a national tepee-themed motel chain. One is in Holbrook, Ariz. -- also a part of Route 66. The other is in Cave City, Ky.
Wigwam Village motels were the dream of Frank Redford. In the years after World War I, Redford was inspired by a Long Beach roadside stand shaped like a tepee. He decided the design would be a great draw for motorists along the expanding network of highways crisscrossing the nation. Wigwam Village No. 1 opened in Horse Cave, Ky., in 1935. Redford patented his concept in 1936.
Wigwam Village No. 2 was completed in 1937 in Cave City. Five more were built, in Birmingham, Ala.; Orlando; New Orleans; Holbrook and San Bernardino.
I've visited all three of the remaining ones, and the best combination of amenities and locations is in Cave City, near Mammoth Cave. It's outside of the main commercial strip and features broad, sloping lawns and a playground for kids.
The centerpiece of the motel is a 52-foot tepee called "the Big Wigwam," a structure of 38 tons of concrete and 13 tons of steel -- quite a bit more than the animal hides-over-wood poles design that inspired it.
Each of the 15 units has a small bedroom and private bath. A "misting deck" with spray nozzles, not unlike the kind you find in restaurants in Palm Springs or Las Vegas, keeps guests cool with a spritz of water while sitting outside in the sticky Kentucky summers.
The Holbrook motel was built by Chester Lewis, who had seen one of Redford's motels in the East. Redford struck a deal with Lewis to essentially franchise the idea. Lewis got the blueprints to the Kentucky motel complex in exchange for giving Redford a piece of the revenue for his coin-operated radios in the rooms.
The Holbrook location, Wigwam Village No. 6, opened in the summer of 1950, during the heyday of Route 66 -- often called "the Mother Road." It was a popular stop for vacationers and also the hordes of Easterners moving West in the post-World War II era.
But the same boom also led to a bust. When the U.S. government built Interstate 40, the Wigwam and many other local businesses were bypassed. The motel deteriorated and was closed in 1974. Lewis' family revived the hotel in 1989, just in time for the wave of nostalgia over Route 66.
The motel has been restored to its 1950s look, with the 15 units painted with a red zigzag line and red trim around the windows.
The Cave City and Holbrook locations have been put on the National Register of Historic Places, which helps the owners maintain their unique properties and draws attention to their pop-culture stories.
San Bernardino's Wigwam Motel opened with 11 tepees in 1949 and was so popular with tourists that eight more were added, along with a swimming pool. It was built by Frank Redford, the owner of the original Wigwam Motel in Kentucky.
As the fruit orchards and small shops along the roadway were replaced by auto repair yards and liquor stores, the area went into decline. The Wigwam went with it. Until the Patels came along.
Despite the dreary neighborhood, the Wigwam has become the star of this often-overlooked stretch of Route 66. It's a popular spot for motorcycle and vintage car rallies along the Mother Road. The Patels have been honored by preservationists for the work in making the Wigwam's comeback possible.
While German and French tourists can often be found there, Patel says it is locals and American vacationers who keep the business going strong.


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text:
The accidental success of Marin's beloved Sol Food
Food // Restaurants
Amanda Gold
March 2, 2016 Updated: March 2, 2016 2:55 p.m.
A view of Sol Food restaurant during lunch in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle
A year after opening Sol Food, a Puerto Rican restaurant then housed in a 12-seat shack in San Rafael, owner Marisol Hernandez noticed a pattern.
Namely, Puerto Rican customers started showing up.
"They'd take over the parking lot by 4:30," says Hernandez, recalling how large groups would drive to the Marin suburb from Hayward and line up. "There would be 25 people waiting for us to take their orders before the restaurant opened at 5."
Recipe: Sol Food's Plantains Two Ways (Tostones Con Mojo and...
Recipe: Sol Food's Pollo al Horno (Baked Chicken Thighs)
That was when Hernandez, who goes by Sol, and her husband, co-owner Victor Cielo, realized they were onto something. In the decade since, the tiny Caribbean hut has grown into a cult favorite with mass appeal with two restaurants, in San Rafael and Mill Valley (they moved out of that first spot in 2007), a bodega and an expanded, highly addictive menu for which customers go to great lengths to get a fix.
And to hear Hernandez describe it, the success was somewhat accidental.
"Honestly, there was not a plan involved. The ball rolled, and that's how it still is," she says.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Hernandez and Cielo are sitting in the back office of the San Rafael branch. From here, the restaurant's vibrant lime green facade and multihued pastel interior are hidden; rather than the transportive island tunes that blare out front, the only background noise comes from a rumbling fan. It gives the couple some extremely rare downtime to talk about Sol Food's humble beginnings, and why Hernandez's unlikely backstory is at least part of the reason she prefers to stay out of the limelight.
"When people meet me, they often say, 'Oh! I thought you were going to be an old Puerto Rican grandma sitting in the kitchen,'" she jokes. "I like that."
In reality, Hernandez, who declined to be photographed for this story, is a reserved 42-year-old brunette with a tough exterior. With Cielo playing more of the "out front" guy — and her team of cooks stealing the show in the kitchen — she keeps her head down, works hard and spends most of her time behind the scenes. That's how it has always been.
"I'm here seven days a week. Nothing is fun or glamorous," Hernandez says, admitting she's become a little jaded over the years. "I'm not supposed to be out on TV. I'm not a public figure. That's just not me."
Chefs cook during lunch at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle
A San Rafael native, Hernandez is half Puerto Rican, although she definitely wasn't raised that way. She lived with her mom (who is not Puerto Rican), as part of what she calls a family of "normal" good cooks. From a young age, she grew up with a fondness for good food, cooking simple things like eggs, pancakes and spaghetti. Meanwhile, her father lived in Puerto Rico until he passed away when Hernandez was 10; she has just a few childhood memories of visiting him and her paternal grandparents.
Those trips left an impression, though; at age 20, Hernandez moved to the island.
"I could remember the flavors and the feeling of being there," says Hernandez, who settled there for nine months — enough time to start dating someone, and then bring him back to the states.
During that three-year relationship, Hernandez cooked with her Puerto Rican boyfriend and his family — dishes liked pollo al horno (baked chicken), beans, salad and fried sweet and savory plantains.
She learned the basics of Puerto Rican cooking not for any particular reason, but just because they were cooking together and she was paying attention. "I'm picky," she says. "I know how I want things to taste, and I remember flavors."
1of15Maduros at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
2of15A view of customers picking up takeout orders at Sol Food in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
3of15A view of Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
4of15Alexander Eisner-Gordon from San Francisco buys a bottle of hot sauce and picks up a takeout for lunch from Sol Food in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
5of15Pollo Al Horno--baked chicken thighs served with salad and rice, pink or black beans, and tostones con mojo--seen at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
7of15Chefs make tostones con mojo at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
8of15Secret hot sauce made in the kitchen at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
9of15Chef Santos makes rice at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
10of15Chefs season pork at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
11of15Secret hot sauce made in the kitchen at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
12of15An outside view of Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
13of15Chicken being placed in rotisserie at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
14of15Part of the menu at Sol Food in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
15of15Housemade hot sauce transported on Lincoln at 3rd streets from Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
By the time that relationship ended, Hernandez was cooking on occasion for large groups, including her three half-siblings and their families. At the time, she was working as a children's hair stylist, but her sisters kept encouraging her to open a restaurant.
During that time, she also saw the powerful effect of her food. A regular at a salsa dancing ballroom in Emeryville, Hernandez would run into Cielo, but it wasn't until she invited him to a birthday party — and cooked him a Puerto Rican meal — that things took a turn toward serious.
"I called her about a week after, asking her to cook again. I had those flavors in my head," recalls Cielo, who is Mexican. "I thought, 'I'll do whatever it takes to get more of that food,' so I asked her out. She cooked for me again and I never left."
"I trapped him with my tostones," jokes Hernandez, referring to her garlic-slicked plantains.
On the business side, Hernandez's big break happened when her oldest sister urged her to sell her Puerto Rican food at a three-day event in San Francisco.
"Ha! I had no clue," Hernandez says, remembering how she ran back and forth between a friend's restaurant space and the event center, prepping and cooking for three days straight. "It was insane. I think about it now and wonder how it ever happened."
That eventually spiraled into a booth at the San Rafael Downtown Farmers Market on Thursdays. By the second season of the market, she'd found her original, tiny restaurant on Fourth Street — with a loyal following already waiting for the food.
Chef Santos with pollo al horno in the kitchen at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016. at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle
"Yeah, I was definitely there in the beginning, and many times since," says 32 year-old Marin native Mark Halen. "The food isn't overpowering or heavily spiced. You can eat it over and over again."
Halen says his go-to dishes are either the pollo al horno — a chicken combination plate served with plantains, beans, rice and salad — or the shrimp, breaded in plantains, fried and served with a creamy chile sauce. "Oh, and the Cubanos are awesome. And that limeade," he says, gesturing toward the Sol Food sparkling drink of choice.
Now, at both the San Rafael location and the newer 20-seat spot in Mill Valley, the lines are constant.
There's something about this food that makes people do crazy things. Cielo recalls one gentleman driving daily for six months from San Jose for lunch, while Hernandez one-ups him with the tale of a couple from Los Angeles who drove up, ate and went immediately back down to Southern California.
"I guess the girlfriend kept telling her boyfriend how much she missed it because she's from here and she's going to school down there," Hernandez says. "He said 'I had to shut her up, I couldn't stand listening to it anymore.'"
Another time, recalls Hernandez, a mom came in and bought enough food to freeze and send across the country to her son who was in college in New York.
Credit for quality remaining high over the past decade goes to Cielo, who, according to Hernandez, knows his flavors.
"It's too bad Victor's not a cook, because he would be a good one, but he just likes to eat," Hernandez teases.
Family pictures on order numbers including owner Marisol Hernandez (#11) and her husband Victor Cielo (behind left) as children at Sol Food restaurant in San Rafael, California, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016. Marisol's grandmother (#13) and father (#28) are also part of the order numbers.Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle
Cielo says he's there every day, trying the food and providing feedback to the chefs.
"I wake up at 3 a.m. to make sure the quality is what it's supposed to be," Cielo says. "I don't want people to hear about it and say, 'What's the big deal about this?'"
The couple has been approached more than once to sell and scale the operation, although they have no intention of doing so ( at least Hernandez doesn't). They say loyal customers in the real estate industry are constantly sending them links to available spaces around the Bay Area, and while they look, the prospect is always a little half-baked.
It's not that they worry about being successful; quite the opposite, in fact. The duo recalls a monthlong pop-up stint in San Francisco that made Hernandez's first three-day festival look calm. But they're not yet willing to relinquish control, and they lament that while their long-standing cooks pour their hearts into the food, it's hard to find good managers to run the show, especially when the cost of living is so high in Marin. So for now, that's their job.
One day, they say, there will certainly be additions to the Sol Food family. But by then, that image of the Puerto Rican grandma in the kitchen may not be so far-fetched.
Amanda Gold is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: agold@sfchronicle.com; Instagram: @agold_sfchron; Twitter: @AmandaGold.
Recipe: Sweet or savory plantains
Recipe: Pollo al horno (baked chicken)
Reach Amanda on
Amanda Gold has been a San Francisco Chronicle food writer since 2004. Currently, she writes a column called the Weeknight Dish, sharing quick and convenient recipes for busy cooks. In addition, Amanda writes other recipe feature stories and profiles, and reports on food trend stories. She also contributes to other sections of the paper. The Chronicle, she worked in the restaurant industry in both the front and back of the house, including a stint as a pastry cook at Kokkari Estiatorio. A graduate of the California Culinary Academy (Le Cordon Bleu), she also has a degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.


Thinking About Casa Milo? 10 Reasons why It's Time to Stop!
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Wedding is an important event in everybody's life. However, the cost it takes is not low at all, especially recent days. Currently, the average cost of a wedding is more than $20,000, making it one of the most expensive life events. In case you do not have $20,000 to spend, do not worry. With a much smaller amount of money, you could still have a fun, stylish, and memorable wedding while still saving money concurrently. These are creative and cool wedding ideas on a budget that Vkool.com collected from a large number of couples worldwide. Check them out!
The two things which are often decided on before the wedding venue are whether or not to get married and the date. In fact, the wedding venue could be expensive, yet you could save yourself a lot of money if getting married on such a day other than Saturday and if finding a suitable place outside the city centre. Even though Saturday is the day to walk down the aisle, you should consider Friday or Sunday. Wedding vendors often offers deals on off-days. Friday weddings should be hold in the evening while Sunday weddings should be finished early in the day.
A lot of public spaces, such as parks or the local village green, might be available to rent at such a low fee. Nevertheless, if that space is not equipped to deal with events, then you have to rent almost things from napkins to chairs and tables. So, make sure you check out all of the necessary things before renting any place.
Another idea for finding your venue is to choose an unusual venue, like an aquarium, a gallery, a zoo, or even an historical site. Besides, holding your reception and your ceremony is the same place will allow you to save multiple site costs and transportation fees from different locations.
When it comes to wedding planning, food and drinks also play a big part in the cost of a wedding. The best manner to save on foods and drinks as well as desserts for your own wedding is to supply your own. In order to do so, you can make a list of family members and friends to support and warrant that you do not overextend yourself with the complicated fare. However, your reception venue may charge a cake-cutting fee if you bring in outside baked cakes. So, you had better weigh the costs before ordering an outside vendor for your cake.
In case you do not want to make foods and drinks on your own, just consider serving heavy appetizers rather than a sit-down meal and find a venue which allows customers –- to bring their own beer, liquor, and wine.
In other words, talking about wedding cake, for most people, the menu as well as the cake often takes a bite out of the budget. You could save a considerable amount of money on this front by modifying the menu and food choices, especially the drinks, on decreasing your guest list.
Once the wedding is all announced and done, you should make sure that you prepare a keepsake which will remind you of that important day. However, unfortunately, this could be so expensive. The solution for this problem is to hire someone that is an amateur or has just getting started in their job or someone who choose to shoot wedding photos as their side gig.
It could be so expensive for you to hire those professional musicians or bands, yet luckily you can save money in this category by applying many ways such as hiring a student musician, or even a friend to perform, if possible.
When it comes to wedding decor, it is rather easy to get out of your control when decorating the venue, especially wedding flowers. Wedding flowers could take from you thousands of dollars. So, buy flowers that are in-season in your area. Just plan ahead so you can save the cost and effort of importing flowers from a different location. Yet, you can lower that cost to even a couple hundred dollars while still having great flower arrangements if you are lucid. Just be smart about the kinds of flowers you opt for and consider how you could repurpose them in your wedding.
Actually, the best manner to save your money on the wedding reception decors is to make it fun. Shop at flea markets to choose cheap and unique wedding decors. That means you should get creative and pick a solid, good theme. If you could do that, everything else will automatically fall into its place.
In some cases, less is more. That will help you keep the cost of decorating the wedding venue reasonable. Remember that basing on your own venue, the setting might be all you need.
This is an area that you could bring a lot of fun yet still saving your money if you could do all the centerpieces yourself.
Even most people often look at the price, it is still critical for your wedding that the groom also looks good. Luckily, menswear is not as costly as the dress of the bride. During the wedding, men need to be comfortable and flexible, so you should choose the most reasonable suit that will be wore on that big day and also consider alternatives to tuxedos.
When it comes to wedding ideas on a budget, wedding dress should not be skipped. It is really easy to get out of your control when spending money on the bride's wedding dress. Yet, you can still save money on the dress if shopping wisely and sticking to the scheduled budget. For saving money on wedding dress, you can rent or purchase a used wedding gown. Though all of us love to have a designed, brand new dress, you do not have thousands of dollars to spend; you could use the online service to look for a gown, which another bride just wore for a single day. Or, you can scale back and purchase a wedding gown from last year's rack. Not only are these kinds of wedding dress dramatically reduced, but you also could save even more by applying your negotiation skills to work.
Though having a professional stylist coming to you on that big day might be so great and convenient, that also means the bill will be big, causing unwanted stress. Thus, if possible, doing your own hair or going to the Costmetology School will be two good ways to lower the cost of your hairdo.
Similar to bride's hair, making up for the bride is also expensive if you hire a professional. Purchasing your makeup and doing it by yourself also could be costly. Therefore, you should look for a coupon to buy makeup or visit a department cosmetics store to get a free makeover.
We both know that there will be an exchanging of wedding rings during the wedding ceremony, yet the bride will most likely want to wear several pieces of jewelry to complement her beautiful wedding gown. The best manner to avoid being out of budget for rings, you can stay out of high-end stores and borrow some family members or friends.
Nowadays, the Internet puts designing your own invitations within reach. The wedding invitations are also what you could save ton of money by doing just part of it or all of it by yourself. Consider supplying your own cardstock to the printer or even go electronic by sending out email invitations.
it is common to give those wedding favors to the guests as an appreciation for their appearance and loving support of your marriage. If you hold a large wedding with the long list of guest, the cost of those favors could be high, so consider making handmade favors by yourself. Store-bought wedding favors might be pricey, no matter how small your guest list. Consider some easy and creative ideas to do something as simple as burning a CD or bagging up some candy.
From your honeymoon to the vendors, there are a lot of hidden discounts that can help you maintain your wedding budget. A lot of hotels offer honeymoon packages that is a good way to save money.
The creative and cool wedding ideas on a budget above aim to help you create the best possible plan to organize a memorable wedding while still saving your money for other purposes after marriage.
If you have any idea to contribute for this "Creative & Cool Wedding Ideas On A Budget" article or any relationship tips in Vkool.com, leave your words below to let us know your thoughts. We will answer all soon!


text:
A Call to Arms
Posted on Monday, Feb 6, 2017 12:20AM Sunday, December 30, 2018 by Akim Reinhardt
by Akim Reinhardt
I have a friend of Indian descent who was born in Africa, but raised almost entirely in London.
Or, I should say, I had such a friend. About a year ago, maybe more, we got into an online argument about the Pope, and that was that. Much to my surprise, he de-friended me from social media. And since we haven't lived in the same town for well over a decade, it was over.
That we're both atheists just makes the whole episode even stranger.
No matter. The point is that I recently heard from a mutual acquaintance who said my ex-friend is now attempting to move back to Great Britain.
"Have you spoken to Nigel lately?" the mutual acquaintance asked me
"Not in about a year," I replied, not wanting to give anything away. This mutual acquaintance didn't speak with Nigel much after the latter had moved, but remembered him fondly and had occasionally asked about him.
"Not in about a year," he echoed. "Well, he's looking at a job in London. He wants to move out of the country because he cannot abide the Trump administration."
"Ah, I see. That's all well and good I suppose until England gets its own strong man."
The mutual acquaintance, an elderly gentleman from sub-Saharan Africa, smiled and chortled. Then his chuckle bubbled up into a laugh, as loud a sound as I've ever heard emanate from this very calm and quiet man.
He knew. My quip wasn't just a commentary on Brexit and lord knows whatever comes next after the towering doltishness of Theresa May. He knew that it can happen anywhere. No society is immune from falling under the spell, either through ballots or bullets, of a shitty nationalistic strongman; the kind Donald Trump aspires to be, although he is probably too inept to ever attain such lofty heights of villainy.
We each turned and wandered off to our respective destinations, the mutual acquaintance still laughing.
I don't begrudge my former friend for wanting to move back to Great Britain now that Donald Trump and his cavalcade of cronies have infested the White House. For at least the next two years, the United States, and sadly much of the rest of the world given the United States' size, power, and influence, will endure a stunning string of short and long term setbacks that, while difficult to predict the specifics of, will almost certainly range from the ridiculous to the serious and even the frightful.
Why sit in the center of the storm when you have a way out? Especially as a person of color with a British passport, why endure the absurdities and horrors or America's Trumpist turn?
No, I don't blame him one bit for wanting to get out.
But me? I'm gong to stay here and fight. And this is not a decision I have reached recently. It's a conclusion I drew 25 years ago.
I am not a person of color. According the American racial palette, I am white. But I am a half-breed of sorts. My mother is Jewish, the daughter of Eastern European refugees who arrived not long before World War II. My father is a redneck from rural North Carolina whose family, at least according to the amateur genealogy assembled by my great aunt, has been in America for close to 300 years.
Racial whitness is a mutable concept, and a hundred years ago, even less in some quarters, my mother's family would not have been considered white, despite my grandfather's red hair and blue eyes. Jews simply weren't in the club. That all changed with America's transformative WWII experience. Afterwards Jews, Italians, and other eastern and southern Europeans were "in."
So I'm white and have been my whole life. I have all the perks and privileges of American whiteness. And maleness. And middle classness.
Basically, I hit it big in the global lottery.
I wonder if that explains why I like to gamble. I mean, how can I possibly lose? I'm just playing with house money.
Anyway, despite my whiteness, I am not ethnically homogenous. My identity is somewhat riven by disparate parentage.
If you are not descended from a family that claims residence back before the French-Indian War (1754-63), then allow me to explain the sense of belonging and entitlement that can stem from it. It's a lot like that one scene in The Good Shepherd, a mediocre movie about the early years of the CIA starring Matt Damon and directed by Robert Deniro.
Damon plays a well to do WASP, Yale-educated, CIA official meeting with a mob boss played by Joe Pesci. After the two strike a corrupt bargain, Pesci poses a question Damon. Let me ask you something, he says.
"We Italians, we got our families and we got the church. The Irish, they have the homeland. The Jews, their traditions. Even the Niggers, they got their music. What about you people Mr. Carlson, what do you have?"
"The United States of America," Damon calmly responds. "The rest of you are just visiting."
That's what it can feel like to have deep and enduring American whiteness.
Even if you're not a racist prick, even if you're a decent, warm, welcoming person who doesn't think everyone else is just visiting and that they're Americans too, you can still come away with a sense that you're just a bit more American than them. That your roots are deeper and stronger. That you help form the ownership class of this nation, if not materially (you might be poor after all), then spiritually.
What does it mean to be American? You're what it means to be American.
Like a lot of things, that sensation can be quite seductive despite its ugliness.
I was never seduced by that feeling, thankfully. But I'm not going to toot my horn and claim it's because I'm so smart and insightful or morally superior. Quite to the contrary, under different circumstances I might have fallen into that identity trap. And I know exactly why I didn't.
It's because I'm half-Jewish.
Being Jewish, like being anything else, can mean a lot of things. For centuries, one thing it has meant is that you don't feel like you fully belong. There are too many expulsions across Europe and north Africa to keep track of.
There are the pogroms and the blood libel, the inquisitions and the scapegoating. And there is of course, above all else, the Holocaust that my grandfather's family escaped by not much, and in my grandmother's family's case, mostly not at all.
Lots of Jews living in the aftermath of expulsions and the Holocaust were (are) plagued by a uncertainty. No matter how good it got here in America, there was always caveat.
They've thrown us out before, they might throw us out again.
Most Jews don't think about this consciously all that much. Rather, it's a fear that exists deep down inside for many of us. You don't belong. You'll never fully fit in. It can all go very wrong at any moment.
This insecurity does not afflict all Jews of course. Many integrate quite easily and feel quite at home in America. This sense of belonging increases as the generations pass. But for many Jews, the tension of an uncertain future never really goes away. And if you want to understand why so many American Jews support Israel no matter how badly it behaves towards the Palestinians, then you need to understand that.
Outsiders are occasionally perplexed. How could some Jews, who are otherwise secular and progressive, display what seems to be such an irrational support of Israel even as its right wing government continues building a program of colonial rule over the indigenous Palestinian people?
The answer does not lie solely in some tribal kinship towards other Jews, in bigotry towards Muslims, or even in the old notion of Israel as charming, upstart underdog, a premise that now seems quite ludicrous. Rather, for some Jews, loyalty to Israel is connected to what it represents: a life raft. A way out. A safe exit strategy for when things go wrong again.
These fears are fading generationally, which is on reason why American Jews are split over Israeli policies towards Palestinians in a way that seemed inconceivable when I was a child. Polling from three years ago shows that only 40% of Jews still believe Israel was given to them by God (while 64% of Protestant Christians do, which in a way is much more frightening). Among orthodox Jews, that figure is 84% (and 82% among Evangelical Protestants), but among secular Jews it's a mere 16%.
Many American Jews also display a healthy skepticism over Israeli government policies towards the Palestinians. Only a fifth of secular Jews believe Israel is making a good faith effort to find a two state solution. Even among all Jews, that figure is just 38%. Meanwhile, a firm majority of Jews believe the ongoing Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories do not help Israeli security, with 44% recognizing that it actually hurts it.
Yet the emotional attachment to Israel remains. Thirty percent of American Jews said they felt very emotionally attached to Israel. Another 39% categorized themselves as somewhat attached. Despite the growth of secularism among American Jews, and even increased criticism of Israel's behavior, only 9% of them said they felt no emotional attachment whatsoever to the Jewish state. And nearly half of all American Jews have found the time and money to visit Israel.
Living in the shadow of the Holocaust, overcoming such insecurities is a generations-long process for American Jews that will continue to unfold during the 21st century.
I earnestly struggled with these issues for the first time during the early 1990s. After finishing my bachelor's degree in East Asian History and eventually returning to the Bronx, my early 20s were given to an autodidactic pursuit of books. I read a lot of American Indian history, which eventually led me to pursue graduate studies in that field. It also forced me to begin thinking seriously about issues of indigeneity. During this period, I also read a fair amount of modern literature by great African American writers, such as Richard Wright's Black Boy and The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
I found myself deeply contemplating my own identity for the first time. Swimming in ideas, I asked myself one day, what would I do if the weather turned stormy and the tide brought fierce waves crashing upon me.
If it got really bad here in the United States, would I stay or would I go?
My mother was Jewish, I had had a bris and a bar mitzvah. Israel would take me. My mother, the daughter of Jewish refugees, taken care to keep the appropriate documents for me and my sister so we could cash in on the Law of Return and escape to Israel if we ever needed or wanted to.
On the other hand, I could probably pass for non-Jewish. Having a last name like Reinhardt was a big help. So were my blue eyes and my ability to channel my father's speech patterns and persona. Back in Michigan where I went to college, I'd had the experience of listening to people who didn't realize I was Jewish tell me Jew jokes. I could play it off if I needed to.
But in the end, neither of those options appealed to me.
I realized that I, like the 9% mentioned above, don't have any real attachment to Israel. As an atheist, the overt religiosity of the place unnerves me, and I obviously put no stock in the fantasy that some omnipotent God has decreed it to be my special place. As someone who thinks ethnic nationalism is a blight on humanity (the fact that modern Israel exists largely as a reaction to the horrors ethnic nationalism only adds deep irony to the situation), the idea of a Jewish state did not appeal to me; I still hope it finds the wherewithal to become a genuine and earnest multi-ethnic democracy in the truest sense. And as someone who has never been to Israel, the physical land had no hold on me. Yes, my mother spent two years on a kibbutz during the early 1960s, and some of her father's family moved to Palestine in the early 20th century and remain. But that's them, not me.
At the same time, I find the idea of consciously passing to be fairly repugnant. In no way do I judge people of color who choose to pass for white when possible, or Latinx who pass for Anglo. That's their choice and I absolutely respect it. Passing is an intensely personal decision. However, it simply has zero appeal for me. As God said to Moses, I am who I am.
What then was left for me in the event of the United States turning sour and completely giving itself over to brutal racism and anti-Semitism?
A young and vigorous man, I decided that I would stay and fight should that day ever come.
That despite my divergent family backgrounds, the common thread was indeed America, a place born in the blood of dispossessed Indigenous peoples, African slaves, and poor whites, and also a place of relative opportunity and freedom, which allowed my mother's parents to come here when there were precious few places to escape to.
When it all goes down, this is where I will make my stand. This is where I will give my all to beat down the final convulsions of our bloody, hateful legacies, and to nurture the still growing promise of what America can be, and sometimes has even been.
Thus, I do not begrudge my former friend who seeks to high tail it back to Great Britain amid the fatuous roars of Donald Trump. Not in the least. We all must make the decision that seems right for us.
He will leave if he can. And I will stay here and fight, as I swore to do a quarter-century ago.
This is not 1939. The dangers facing us are nowhere near as great. And I absolutely do not think Donald Trump is the next Adolph Hitler or Benito Mussolini. I don't even think he's a fascist; he's too artless and unlearned to adopt a coherent and complex dogma.
But I do think he's a racist, sexist piece of shit. I do think he's an impetuous, ignorant, greedy, bully given to fits of rage. I do think he's a narcissist, a chronic liar, and a con man who cares about absolutely no one but himself. I do think he is authoritarian by nature, has no real understanding of or respect for our democratic republic, and has surrounded himself with petty villains and incompetent cronies. I do think in his shameful and infuriating charge to the White House he has stirred up angry and hateful passions among some of his supporters. And I do think he's very, very dangerous.
This is my home. This is my nation. And it is every bit as much yours. It is ours.
Let us make union and defend it. Let us join together and fight. Let us beat him back at every turn until we have vanquished this abominable cancer from our body politic and the corpus of our society.
We, Americans all.
Akim Reinhardt's website is ThePublicProfessor.com
Tagged Adolph Hitler, Autobiography of Malcolm X, Benito Mussolini, Donald Trump, Matt Damon, Richard Wright, Robert DeNiro, The Good Shepherd
CATSPEAK
Are we deranged? (global warming part 2)


If you think reading Wall Street Journal would make you a more intelligent investor, think again.
U.S. stocks jumped on Tuesday as many investors sent a plea to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke: Come to the rescue of the stalling economy and battered financial markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 322.11 points, or 3%, to 11176.76 as a new round of bleak economy data helped buoy investor hopes that Mr. Bernanke will step in with some sort of monetary stimulus.
[Guest post by Christopher Guest] One of the areas of estate planning that causes the most confusion is gifting. Gifts are transferred from a donor to a done in several ways. Gifting has a huge diversity of answers in how gifting is accomplished.
On March 6, 2009, about lunch time, I got a call from Mrs. C. Apparently she was in some sort of a panic; she asked me when the market would stop falling. I couldn't predict the future, all I could tell her: the market will eventually turn around, and when it does, it will stage a huge rally and we won't know it in advance.
Medicare and Medicaid costs alone account for 23% of total federal spending.


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← An Appeal to Black Ladies From Our Egg Donor
Impact of Donating My Eggs →
30. June 2015 Jenny Blog, Community, South African Egg Donation (0)
In the July 2015 issue of babys and Beyond...
Egg donation is a solution to persons who have no other recourse to conceive. It is a chance where there is no other.
The field has increased in awareness and popularity in the last decade.
South Africa has established a very reputable and ethical base of egg donation practices and principles making our country a sought after destination for these very services from persons from all corners of the earth. Professional medical care coupled with high success rates for treatments at the key cities in South Africa is also highly advantageous for persons wishing to include medical travel with some leisure time.
We have a very advantageous system of providing extensive information about egg donors, but not to the extent that confidential and identifying information is compromised. This means that recipients receive adequate content of their anonymous egg donor and the latter has the reassurance of knowing that her responsibility about her good deed ends on the day her donor eggs are retrieved. She is not obliged to be available in the future and has the comfort of knowing that any child(ren) conceived of such egg donation will never be able to contact her. This is the basis upon which South African egg donations are managed, supporting the concept of anonymous tissue donation. To understand further – this is anonymous in terms of identifying details, but known in terms of physical traits, academic and personality traits. No adult pictures of egg donors are divulged. Recipients only have access to childhood pictures of egg donors. This is a highly attractive option for both egg donors and recipients who can then continue their lives in privacy, with the focus on helping namelessly for egg donors and becoming parents for recipients.
Ethically, egg donation in South Africa takes on a kind and gentle vive. Egg donors are given a donation (amount approved by the Department of Health) for their participation and devotion to the process and appointments. This keeps the motivation on an ultruistic and loving nature. The profit and greed incentive is completely removed. Financially, the process is therefore viable and affordable by comparison to other areas in the world.
The increased popularity of egg donation is due to a change in lifestyles, information and understanding of egg donation. People are living longer, so the option to start a family later in life becomes more feasible and accepting. A fast paced life also forces people to focus on careers fully delaying the decision to start a family. At such a point, woman may find their fertility levels have declined and they need to consider egg donation. This typically happens from late 30's.
Finding the ideal life partner may only happen later in life when women's egg reserves have been depleted. Many cases have also surfaced where second relationships have been initiated later in life and one of the partners does not have children. The desire to have a family of this union compels people to consider egg donation as the solution to conceive.
Woman are born with a fixed ovarian reserve and this 'basket' depletes throughout life due to eggs being lost in the monthly cycle, exposure to pollution, auto immune disease, etc. Accordingly, around late 30's, egg donation is encouraged as a means to conceive to limit excessive fertility treatments with own eggs.
Woman who are carriers of genetic concerns who seek not to recreate these challenges also look to egg donation as a means to stop such. The beauty of these processes really comes to a notion of giving and understanding, really improving life. An egg donor, who was actually conceived through egg donation too, elected to help because she was grateful that her parents took the effort to stop the genetic hearing problem in their family. She looks at her older sibling with a hearing struggle, conceived naturally, and knows that her parents considered another option to prevent her from inheriting this same disability.
Egg donors are woman aged between 18 and 34, with a healthy BMI and who have the ability to contribute in a mature and disciplined manner. All egg donors have an appointment with a psychologist and have appropriate medical screening and counseling before embarking on the process of donating their eggs. Full and dedicated support is offered to the donors.
The process of donating eggs involves a facilitation of synchronizing menstrual cycles between recipient and egg donor so that the bodies are behaving as one. Ordinarily the uterus and ovaries work together to get ready for pregnancy, now the readiness of uterus of the recipient has to be aligned with the ovarian function of the egg donor. An egg donor has to avail herself for about three scans during the two week process during which the eggs are stimulated to ripen. This is undertaken by injections. It is important to note that an egg donor will shed the same amount of eggs during an egg donation cycle as a normal cycle. The purpose of the treatment/ injections is to aid the ripening. In a natural cycle, it is predicted that hundreds of unripe are simply lost.
The egg retrieval is a vaginal process of sucking the eggs from the follicles of the ovaries. Whilst the egg cell is one of the largest cells in the human body, it is still only about 10% of 1mm. The egg retrieval does not involve an operation and egg donors are not cut, but sedated to reduce the discomfort of the process.
The eggs are then fertilized by the sperm and grown in a medium that mimics the uterine environment for a couple of days, then transferred into the recipient. A pregnancy test is done about two weeks later and the recipient is able to enjoy the full benefit of being a mom, including breastfeeding and preferred type of birth – where possible.
Whilst egg donation is a medical process largely, there is a significant emotional involvement that is key. In over eight years of egg donation facilitations, I have found that egg donors and recipients love to send messages and care to one another - anonymously. They want to know how the other is coping, they want to send letters, wishes and hopes. They will not meet, but they shed tears of emotion together – at the news of joy or loss. They are connected in a way, that is so special. There is a spiritual and emotional connection. Egg donation is a way for people to care and unite.
By Jenny Currie, founder and owner of baby2mom Egg Donation Agency, www.baby2mom.co.za
Tags : egg donation in south africa
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Travelling for Egg Donation to South Africa
The global world has made everything smaller and the option of searching worldwide for ideal egg don


Frog Blog » Frog Thoughts » Are You An Artist Or A Scientist?
To me, the difference between artist and scientist is one of modes – or ways of thinking – in addition to underlying knowledge. Our education system forces decisions between the artistic and scientific early on. Declaring their difference. Daring you to cross between what appears to be a large cultural divide.
This is a false dichotomy. A fool's choice. Never leave home with half a toolbox. Embrace the duality!
There are strong reasons to rethink how we look at the connections of art and science. The creative process depends on it. One of my biggest challenges in teaching undergrads has been to remind them of their own inner creativity-regardless of their focus.
Snow picks on the literary and physical sciences world intentionally. I don't think you'll find two areas that view the world so differently. Their objectives are different. What they measure is different.
This is a natural outgrowth of focus. Disciplines develop what is a language of their own to describe the subjects and activities of interest. Modes of thinking. It highlights their difference. It makes communication difficult. Understanding disagreeable.
It's the difference that can create insight. Not uniformity.
Tagged Creative-Fire, Management. Bookmark the permalink.
10 Responses to Are You An Artist Or A Scientist?
Hi Fred, Great post – I'm glad mine prompted you to examine this much bigger picture. I agree wholeheartedly that the dichotomy between science and art is a false one. Most of us lean one way or the other in our temperaments, but we need to be open to a holistic view. Our experiment is a good example. This is definitely an exercise in number crunching, but as you will see when we publish our findings, there is quite a bit of art involved in what we are actually trying to measure, and more important, why the measurements are useful.
Imagination is at the heart of great strategy — we need to reconnect with the 9 year old kid living in the back of our head.
Gordon MacKenzie used to talk about this in his work on Creativity. Kindergartners all thought they were creative yet few 8th graders kept that feeling. When I asked my entrepreneurial students last semester, about a third raised their hands. Your 10% continues the trend line. Glad you're re-awakening that creative spirit!
First of all – the mime video was excellent! Parlez vous Francais?
I am a writer. I never considered myself an artist until just recently. I was talking to the Iowa Cultural Affairs people and they said they had grants for artists, and that includes writers. Hmmmm – who knew?
I think how we go about our every day to day helps determine whether we are artistic, scientific or both. I've found that I simply must write, and that its a scientific process for me. Now I'm looking at the idea that maybe what I do really is creative and artistic as well.
How are we teaching our students? I was taught writing is a process and some people follow the path better than others. What if I had been taught that the science of writing is also an expression of art?
With news that IBM's computer won the Jeopardy match and a scientist arguing in the Wall Street Journal that in seven years the cloud will have that winning computer's power available to all of us….we should be so lucky as to have a job! In any case, it's a both and. I do think that scientists tend to be more sensing — seeing detail with artists more intuitive, but the great ones are both and. More important, both groups needs to understand the methods of each side as there is much to learn from tools boxes of other talents as they can be adapted to fit your own sandbox.
As a science trained commercial guy who is now emerging as a contemporary artist, I agree with you that it's about modes of thinking. I find that they can be turned on and off or combined at will.
Hi Deb, Funny how even in the creative world there are divisions. Glad you liked the video!
"…the great ones are both…" Couldn't agree more.
Hi Robin, I like that idea of 'on-off-combined at will'. Glad this struck a chord.


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NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 30: Juelz Santana attends In Conversation with The Diplomats - The Making of "Diplomatic Immunity" at the Harlem School of Arts on September 30, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Paul Zimmerman/WireImage)
Juelz Santana Loses Home to Foreclosure After Announcing Return to Rap
Days after announcing his return to rap, Juelz Santana has lost his home to foreclosure. A final foreclosure judgment was issued on the 2,300 foot New Jersey condo on April 22, and the condo will be sold in a sheriff's auction.
Santana bought the condo 11 years ago with a $486,000 Wells Fargo mortgage. After failing to make the $3,754 monthly payment since 2013, the bank filed a lawsuit against the Harlem rapper earlier this year. Santana was issued a warning regarding the pending foreclosure of his property and he was given 10 days to respond. His failure to do so led to the judgment being filed at the end of April.
He now owes a reported $688,219 plus $7,000 in lawyers' fees. Let's hope his return to the hip-hop scene will help alleviate his financial woes.
In this article:dipset, Foreclosure, Juelz Santana, Rap