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R.J. O'Brien Promotes Heather Rucci to Chief Strategy Officer
Posted: January 12, 2023 / Press Releases
CHICAGO, January 12, 2023 – Chicago-based R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States,…
R.J. O'Brien Establishes New London-Based Global Metals Team
Posted: September 21, 2022 / Press Releases
Marchant, Bingley Co-Head Institutional Trade Execution and Clearing Desk CHICAGO / LONDON, Sept. 21, 2022 – Chicago-based R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest…
R.J. O'Brien & Associates Reports the Passing of John W. O'Brien, Sr.
Posted: July 11, 2022 / Press Releases
CHICAGO, July 11, 2022 – Chicago-based R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO) today announced the passing on Saturday evening of John W. O'Brien, Sr., following a…
Women in Construction Spotlight – Linda Besetzny
Posted: June 23, 2022 / Press Releases
Blueprint Magazine features a spotlight story on RJO's own Linda Besetzny, Direct or Global Facilities. Learn more about Linda's exciting career history and experiences at…
Amber Wright to Lead New R.J. O'Brien Initiatives on Fixed Income and Multi-Asset Electronic Trading
CHICAGO / LONDON, Jan. 25, 2022 – R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United…
R.J. O'Brien & Associates Mourns the Loss, Honors the Life of Chairman Emeritus Robert J. O'Brien, Sr. at the Age of 103
Posted: January 5, 2022 / Press Releases
CHICAGO, Jan. 5, 2022 – Chicago-based R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO) today announced the passing of the firm's Chairman Emeritus, Robert J. O'Brien, Sr., yesterday…
R.J. O'Brien Appoints Mark Phelps as New Managing Director, EMEA for RJO Limited UK Affiliate
Posted: December 7, 2021 / Press Releases
CHICAGO / LONDON, Dec. 7, 2021 – Chicago-based R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the…
R.J. O'Brien Rolls Out Next Generation of Hrvyst Ag Tech Platform for Commercial Grain Industry
CHICAGO, Dec. 6, 2021 – Chicago-based R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States,…
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Q: Iphone photo albums downloads I have 2 seperate photo albums on my iphone.  I have downloades one of the albums to my computer, but can't figure out how to switch to download the other album. When phone is hooked to computer itunes only reccognizes one of the photo albums and I can't figure out how to switch...any help out there?

A: Are you running iOS 5?  If so, the new albums you can create in iOS 5 are only for temporarily classifying photos from your Camera Roll.  But once you remove them from Camera Roll, they will also disappear from your Albums.
Thus, there is no circumstance where a photo would ONLY be in your Album and not in your Camera Roll, unless by Album you mean the Sync'ed Photos that have always been available through iTunes.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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On the Avenue and Beyond
Often, I have referred to St. John United Church of Christ as the "Church on the Avenue". Early in my
ministry in Bellevue people in the community would ask me where my Church was, and I would say, it's
the Church on Fairfield Avenue. Most people knew then what Church I was talking about. I like the name
"Church on the Avenue," however, unless we were going to change our name, I knew we needed to
market our official name to become known for who we are and to reach beyond our location.
We've done several marketing efforts over the past two decades: mass mailings, door hangers to every
resident in Bellevue, newspaper articles, ads in the Cincinnati Men's Chorus programs, magnets, pens,
festival booths, and more. For almost 20 years Music on the Avenue posters, post cards, radio and TV
interviews, and concerts, have gotten our name known beyond Fairfield Avenue and Bellevue.
From 1999 thru 2007 we grew numerically as did our witness and programs. We became known in the
region. We moved from an average of 42 in worship to an average of 92. A 119% increase in 8 years! But
in 2008 there was a major decline. Some told me it was because of the national economic recession. At
first, I didn't believe that, however, I've come to know from talking with people who stopped attending, that
economics did impact their continued involvement with the Church. There were other things that impacted
our decline, most of which related to relational connections, and the lack of children and youth ministries.
There are no magic answers to Church growth. Some will say non-traditional music and technology is the
answer. But there are still many congregations who are very traditional who are packing the pews and
meeting the needs of their community. Our first goal is to be faithful to God and go from there.
The most powerful mixture for Church growth seems to be relationship and focused programs. When we
know one another, we will work together and share the mission. When we know someone only by face or
acquaintance there is a hesitation to becoming involved beyond attending a worship service.
We do not need a ton of money to grow the Church. I say that because over the past two decades that
has been the main excuse for lack of growth. The good news is that we are not dead! We have quite a lot
of life and joy! In my opinion, we are sitting on the greatest opportunity for growth I've seen in a long time.
We are a progressive, caring, inclusive Christian congregation with a welcome that is wide. But, we have
become ingrown and are now dealing with the same ingrown behaviors as we did two decades ago. This
can be changed, if we want to change; and we need to change to grow. Two simple words describe the
change needed: Invite and include. We are great at welcoming people to worship when they show up.
But, we are not so good at inviting and including new people to what we are doing: Bible study, meals
after Church, prayer groups, Spiritual Growth Series, youth group, etc. The action of
inviting and including is free, it doesn't cost us a penny, just our effort and love.
I envision a vibrant spiritual community of Jesus-followers who love God, love all neighbors near and far as we love ourselves, and care for the earth; a spiritual community where our purpose is to be and to grow the church through: worshiping God, inviting everyone, welcoming everyone, engaging and encouraging everyone; making disciples of Jesus; and serving those in need, on the Avenue and beyond!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: Unable to add Anaconda environment to PyCharm? I have created environment py33 under Anaconda and trying to add it to PyCharm, but addition button is dimmed:

I was unable to find any subdirectory where OK is available.

A: I was to point to executable.

Also after restart and new environment variables came to effect PyCharm saw Anaconda options:


WATCH: Is climate change a threat to Estonia?
At the January event, the presenters will take a closer look at the current state of Estonian nature and environment; whether climate change is a threat to Estonia and what impact does Estonia have on global climate change.
While the World Health Organisation has ranked Estonia as one of the countries with the cleanest air in the world and the European Food Safety Authority study in 2017 rated the country with the second cleanest food in Europe, Estonia generates a whopping 35 times the EU average in hazardous waste per capita.
Within last few years, there have been many debates regarding large infrastructure projects, clearcut logging, fur farming etc – where the entrepreneurs, public sector and environmental activists do not find common ground. The event aims to find out where is Estonia heading to when it comes to environment.
The evening will start with presentations by Mattias Turovski, Joonas Plaan, Mihkel Kangur and Grete Arro.
Turovski will give an overview of global climate change and its causes; Plaan will talk about the potential cultural and sociological effects that climate change could have on Estonia; Kangur will give an overview of the current state of Estonian nature and environment and finally, Arro will talk about the aspects that impact and influence environmental behaviour.
The evening will continue with a panel discussion between all the presenters and the audience.
Kangur is an Estonian ecologist who is currently an associate professor of sustainable development at the Tallinn University Institute for Ecology. Arro is an educational psychologist, working as a researcher at Tallinn University. Turovski is an environmental educator and Plaan is an environmental anthropologist, studying the nature and experience of climate change on human cultures.
The event, taking place at the Erinevate Tubade Klubi (the Club of Different Rooms) at the Telliskivi Creative City in Tallinn, at 7:00 PM on 29 January, will be moderated by Silver Tambur, the editor-in-chief of Estonian World.
Cover: Cold day heating in Estonia (the image is illustrative/Wikipedia Commons). * Please note that the event took place on 29 January 2019.


Recently, India CCEA has ratified two railway projects with 32.75 billion rupees: one is Kiul-Gaya Railway Project in Bihar and the other is Ranchi (Hatia)-Bondamunda Railway Project in Jharkhand and Orissa.
Kiul-Gaya Railway Project is 124-kilometer long and costs about 13.54 billion rupees. Ranchi (Hatia)-Bondamunda Railway Project is 185.5-kilometer long and costs about 19.21 billion rupees.
It is expressed by India Ministry of Railways that Ranchi (Hatia)-Bondamunda Railway Project is predicted to be completed in 6 years to meet freight transportation demand of large-scale thermal power plants in Barch, Katni and Baruni regions.
Railway is the main travel mode for Indians and railway system transfers about 23 million passengers per day. Based on old road network and heavy transportation pressure, railway accident in India occurs frequently.
Secure construction of railway engineering is the guarantee for people's life and safety. So during construction of railway, especially railway tunnels, self drilling anchor bolt has higher bonding stress with structures and then provides reliable reinforcement effect. And Self drilling anchor system of Sinorock plays a decisive role in railway engineering.


The android media viewer cursor loader tutorial series describes how to implement android cursor loaders to the app.
A cursor loader is a convenient way to query the MediaStore and have a Cursor returned while running in a background thread.
This android development tutorial provided an example of how to implement a CursorLoader to the android activity. The CursorLoader will be used to query the MediaStore for images and videos. Then return this information in the form of a cursor. Which will then be provided to the RecyclerView adapter.
And one of the advantages of using a CursorLoader is that the query will happen on a background thread therefore not impacting the performance of the UI thread.


Buy 'Lord Buddha Painting' a beautiful painting by Indian Artist .
buddha paintings by indian artists - Google Search. "
Morning Walk by Khin Maung Zaw - Watercolour ~ "They should tell you when you're born: have a suitcase heart, be ready to travel.
Buy Divine artwork number a famous painting by an Indian Artist Pradeesh . Indian Art Ideas offer contemporary and modern art at reasonable price.
Supersonic Art: Hikari Shimoda's "Memento Mori" at Corey Helford.
A modern Newar painting of Chandramaharoshana (Acala) by the artist Raj Prakah Tladhar.


The Harry Giddy Park is truly a hidden gem and less known, situated right in the center of Mossel Bay.
There are numerous pathways to take from the main entrance, leading you between huge Milkwood trees, lush plants, waterfalls, and fountains. There are benches, as well as tables and chairs for enjoying a picnic should you choose. The park was proclaimed on the Queen's Golden Jubilee on 21 June 1887 and was named the "Victoria Park". The historic gates at the Southern entrance were erected in 1903 to commemorate the Jubilee of the reign of Queen Victoria of Britain. The name of the park was changed to Harry Giddy Park in 1969 to honor the man, Harry Giddy, who took a great interest in the park from the 1930's and paid for much of the features, stonework and paths as seen in the park today. Efforts are being made to regain the interest of the public by holding an Art & Craft Market there occasionally on Saturdays and during the December holidays.
A section of the park has been enclosed where they have different species of birds including Exotic birds, free roaming duck and geese, turkeys, tortoises, "Billy-goats" and peacocks showing off their beautiful colors during courtship to say the least.
Entry is absolutely FREE, yes! No charge! There is a donation box, should you wish to make a small contribution which goes towards the feeding of the animals. There is an enclosed play park for the children as well with on-site ablution facilities should the need arise. This park is a must visit and great for families to enjoy the tranquility.Do not forget to take your camera!!
Next time that you are staying at Villa Chanté and planning a day out with the kids, Get your free town map at reception and head to the Harry Giddy Park and see why Mossel Bay has more!


So I started this blog in January 2010 to chronicle the ups and downs (but mostly ups!) of my life as one of my personal commitments to making some big changes in my life this year. So far, I've embarked on a number of lifestyle experiments, some big (like going natural and quitting my job) and some small, like cooking good food for myself a few times a week and drinking more water, etc. I wanted 2010 to be the year that I lived completely for me and did all the things that make me happy. I also wanted to get rid of the things that did not make me happy, which involved a massive Facebook unfriending and distancing myself from some toxic people in my life.
One thing that allowed me to follow through on these changes was that I called them experiments. Out loud and in my head. By calling my lifestyle changes "experiments," that meant there was less perceived risk in it for me if I failed. That meant I could always go back to my "old life" if the experiment didn't work out. It also meant that these changes didn't have to be permanent if I didn't want them to be. Everything seemed more flexible by calling them "lifestyle experiments" vs. OMG I have to change EVERYTHING in my life RIGHT NOW FOREVER or I'll DIE.
Even though I did the "big chop" to cut off all my hair to go natural, I knew that if I didn't like it, I could always get a weave or a relaxer down the line. Even though I quit my job to start my own consulting business, I knew that if it didn't work out, I could always polish up my resume and go find another job. When I thought about it that way, really I had nothing to lose.
And right now I'm in the midst of a dating experiment to aid in my quest for a boyfriend. I want a relationship, and this is a great way to force myself to actively pursue that goal. The beauty of it is that you can make up whatever kind of experiments you want to improve your life in whatever way you see fit.
What are some lifestyle experiments you can test out in your own life? Are there any goals you could make progress on if you simply put more effort into them? Do you need a lifestyle experiment?


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Q: What does "undefined" in the outputs mean? In the Node interpreter:
> 1+3
4
> var name=12
undefined
> console.log(typeof name)
number
undefined

What does undefined in the outputs mean?
Why doesn't 1 + 3 output undefined, while the other two do?

A: Because 1 + 3 returns 4. A variable declaration doesn't return anything, and neither does console.log. The value you're seeing as undefined is the return value. Variable assignments, however (var hello; hello = "hello") does return the value assigned (thanks VLAZ for pointing that out).

A: You are using node REPL (moreinfo)
REPL stands for Read-Eval-Print-Loop.
As the name says it will read you input, evaluate it (run it) print the result and repeat.
The print part will print whatever your code return. So what it is doing is something like this:
console.log(eval({your expression here}))

So applying to your cases we have:
console.log(1+3) // 4
console.log(var name=12) // undefined because an attribution doesn't return anything
console.log(console.log(typeof name)) // first the inner console.log will print the type of name (number) and then the outer console.log will print undefied (the return of the inner console.log).

Hope it's clearer like this.


TiECon Chandigarh 2017 is a two-day conference focused on the theme of 'Entrepreneurship in times of change'. These are my notes from Day 1.
TiECon Chandigarh 2017 is a two-day conference focused on the theme of "Entrepreneurship in times of change". The conference brings together a range of speakers from local and foreign governments (Canada, Israel, UK, and India), academia, angel investing, venture funding, mega-corporates and of course from startups. It is a confluence of ideas.
These are my notes from the first day of the conference. As you read remember that, I didn't attend all sessions and this is not a review of the sessions. These are "notes to self" that I'm sharing.
I.S. Paul, MD of Drish Shoes inaugurated the sessions. He rightly pointed out that if Chandigarh has to attract investments, it needs to build an ecosystem, and focus on a specific sector. He mentioned, "big data" could be that sector.
[As Alec Ross, advisor of Hillary Clinton mentions in his book "Industries of the future", big data and analytics will drive innovation in diverse fields like agriculture, health-care and so on. So I believe that would be a right choice to focus. If you are interested, read my review of the book].
Don't start a x for India. India is not China. In China, there is government protection to local businesses. So there is google of China. But google for India is Google itself, amazon for India is Amazon itself.
Look for local problems to solve.
There is still gold, but there is no gold-rush.
Create value; don't chase valuation.
AI may be a tool to create a moat; don't think AI can solve problems at a fundamental level.
Arvind Gupta, head of digital India foundation & IT head of BJP, spoke on "FinTech". Understandably, he talked in favor of demonetization and Aadhar. But he made sensible points as an entrepreneur.
A startup entrepreneur faces challenges in Acquiring customers, Retaining customers, Managing customers, and Monetizing customers. Financial institutions are focusing only on high value customers, because acquiring customers are expensive. What if they can acquire customers for ₹1, using Aadhar, like Reliance for its Jio launch? What if banks can acquire rural customers using Aadhar? Wouldn't that lead to disruptive ideas in financial domain?
Money in India migrated to digital long back. For long, we've been relying on bank statements, purchasing using cards, and transferring using online banking.
Last interesting session was "India, a land of opportunities". Ravi Mantha was one of the panelist. He is a prolific investor, having invested in more than 20 startups. His experience showed up in the ideas he discussed.
There are three main learning styles: visual, auditory, and analytical. Schools teach only through analytical manner. Kids with other learning styles fall behind. Startups like playspring are addressing the other learning styles.
[note to self: Marketing has to address all these three styles of learning. Marketing has to be on visual (youtube), auditory (podcasts), and analytical (analytical text) mediums].
Building pens isn't the solution to improve education. Similarly, building toilets isn't the solution to sanitization. Societal changes are possible only through behavioral changes.
We need Zomato for government offices. If we can rate offices like we rate restaurants, it will have impact on their services. [I don't think so. Customers have a choice of restaurants. Not so with government offices].
There was a pitching session too. Yolo Health was the first one to pitch. Their pitch was crystal clear and had a value. Investors closed the "ask" in the session (in fact, they poured more). I was surprised to watch investors pour money so quickly.
The speakers and sessions themselves aren't the most interesting aspects of such events. Often times, mini-discussions over a cup of tea are more interesting and illuminating. When the crowd is filled with founders and funders, there is no shortage to these mini-discussions. I had many such exchanges about cyber-security, marketing, execution styles of Jugnoo, Flipkart, and other startups.
If you are running a business in Chandigarh, come and be part of TiE Chandigarh. You'll gain and give back. Nothing satisfies an entrepreneur than these two factors.
Don't forget to read my notes from second day.


Sons of Valour Clan Charter (henceforth referred to as 'The Charter') hereby set forth on this date 01/09/2016 by the members of the Sons of Valour High Council declares this document to be Clan Law.
Sons of Valour (henceforth referred to as 'The Clan') is a community gaming group that is committed to providing a fun and friendly environment in which all people can socialize and enjoy themselves in a fantastic atmosphere. The core idea behind The Clan is the respect and honour that we have for each other; whether we be black, white, young or old, we all share a common interest: gaming. The Clan supports this interest by providing servers, infrastructure, and support for titles in which members of The Clan participate in, allowing both our members, and the general public a space where they can compete with and against each other. Our members are not exclusively dedicated to the one game but are also active participants in a number of other games, styles, and platforms. The Clan prides itself on the integrity of which we are held together, and as such the following rules were created to keep the well-being and enjoyment of the clan alive.
1.1) Members of The Clan will conduct themselves with valour, honour, and integrity.
1.2) Members of The Clan will respect other members, including their opinions and their views.
1.4) Any differences of opinion are to be expressed in a mature, sensible manner.
1.5) Members of The Clan have a right to have their voice heard.
1.6.7) The Clan's servers and forums.
1.7) All members of The Clan have the right to an investigation by the The Leadership Team if they feel another member is being offensive or negative towards them.
1.8) All members, regardless of position or rank, will be subject to disciplinary action in the breach of any rules contained within The Charter.
1.9) All clan members must abide by general server rules on both clan and any other public/private servers.
1.10) Misuse of Server Administration Permissions will result in disciplinary action.
1.11) All players and members of The Clan's servers have the right to appeal any disciplinary action taken against them.
1.12) Members of The Clan who are inactive for a period of more than 90 days will be classified as Inactive Members.
1.12.1) Inactive Members will retain their membership to The Clan; however, they will not be counted in The Clan's active roster.
1.12.2) Members of The Clan who inform the Leadership Team of their future absence are ineligible for such classification.
1.13) Members of the Leadership Team who are inactive for a period of 30 days without notification will be removed from the Leadership Team.
1.13.1) Members of the Leadership Team who provide notification of their future absence are ineligible for such classification, so long as the period does not exceed 60 days.
1.14) Full members of The Clan are not permitted to be a member of another clan.
1.14.1) Exemptions are made for games that The Clan does not actively compete in.
1.14.2) Exemptions are made for temporary members.
1.15) All members of The Clan are required to wear clan-tags in games the Clan actively competes in.
2.1) Members of The Clan have a right to vote on issues or changes that have a major impact on the clan.
2.2.1) All members of the High Council, regardless of position or role, will have an equal vote on all issues.
2.2.2) In the event that a tie is reached, the Advisory Council will be called upon to vote, in the event of a further tie, the vote will then be put to the members of The Clan.
2.3) The High Council reserves the right to veto any issue or action, provided that a majority vote is reached.
2.4) The election of members to the High Council and Advisory Council is decided by a majority vote from all full members of The Clan.
2.4.1) All full members of The Clan have an equal vote in this decision regardless of rank and role.
3.1) The Clan shall contain a Leadership Team consisting of no fewer than five High Council members and two Advisory Council members.
3.2) All members of the High Council will be responsible for the operation and moderation of The Clan as a whole.
3.3) Members of the Advisory Council will act in an advisory role to the High Council members on matters which the High Council feel that they require further input or a larger collective input.
3.4) All members of the High Council are to have equal moderation and administrative permissions.
3.5) All members of the Advisory Council are to have equal moderation and administrative permissions.
3.6) When taking disciplinary action, Server Administrators should follow a Warn -> Kick -> Ban protocol.
3.6.1) Obvious hackers are exempt from this protocol and can be immediately banned.
3.7) All Server Administrators must record evidence (e.g. punkbuster/game screen shot, game play video etc) prior to banning any player on The Clan's servers.
3.7.1) This applies to all bans, not just suspected hackers.
3.8) Scrim Captains and Team Captains reserve the right to manage the operation of their team(s) at their discretion, so long as it falls within the boundaries set by The Charter and other clan or server rules.
3.9.2) Recruitment on other platforms (e.g. forums, blogs, and social media).
3.10) Members of The Clan will not attempt to recruit potential members on platforms operated by other clans.
4.1) Applications to join The Clan are to be approved only by the Head of Recruitment or any other member of the High Council.
4.2.4) Consideration of previous and/or current clans.
4.3) Regardless of any relationship to members within The Clan, prospective members must go through the full recruitment process.
4.3.1) Exceptions to this rule will be treated as a minor issue as per Article 2.2.
4.4) Applicants who list themselves as having previously hacked in any game will be subject to a thorough investigation by the Leadership Team into the nature of their offense(s).
4.4.1) Decisions on whether applications should advance will be treated as a minor issue as per Article 2.2.
4.5) Under special circumstances temporary membership to the Clan may be granted for a specified time frame, following approval by the High Council.
4.5.1) Temporary members are subject to all of the rules and procedures of The Clan, including the contents of the Clan Charter.
4.5.2) Temporary membership may be terminated by the Leadership Team at any point.
5.1) Breaches of the Clan Charter are subject to appropriate disciplinary action by the Leadership Team.
5.1.1) Ignorance is not an excuse.
5.2) Official warnings will be handed out to Clan Members for breaches of the Clan Charter.
5.2.2) Severe offenses will result in immediate removal from the clan following a majority vote by the High Council.
5.3) Members who are found guilty of using third-party software to give an unfair advantage will be subject to immediate removal from The Clan.
5.4) Members and former members of The Clan have the right to appeal any action taken against them by the High Council.
5.4.1) Members of the Leadership Team will handle all appeals in an unbiased, professional manner.
6.1) All donations made to The Clan are to only be used for the payment of The Clan's servers and operations.
6.1.1) Payment for irregular activities must have majority vote by the High Council before proceeding.
6.2) All donations made to The Clan are non-refundable.
6.3) The Head of Treasury is required to post a Statement of Accounts to The Clans online forum at appropriate intervals throughout the year.
7.1) All members of The Clan may request or suggest a change or amendment to The Charter.
7.2) All changes/amendments to The Charter are to be approved by the High Council before being applied.
7.3) The Charter is subject to review at any time.
7.4) The High Council is required to provide 48 hours notice to any changes/amendments to the Charter.
7.4.1) All clan members have the right to appeal any amendments to the Charter.
The Charter is not a guide but the Code of Conduct that all members, regardless of rank, title, or level in the clan must abide by. Failure to comply with The Charter will result in appropriate disciplinary action being taken at the decision of the High Council.


text:
Princess Michael of Kent, Contributor
Author of the acclaimed Anjou Trilogy and frequent lecturer and historical writer
A Fly on the Wall in the Last Days of Chivalry
01/30/2015 08:16 am ET Updated Apr 01, 2015
Since my 'Anjou Trilogy' takes place at the French court in the first half of the 15th century, I thought I would try and describe what you might see, were you a fly on the wall.
Despite continual small skirmishes between two opposing royal factions from within the Charles VI and then Charles VII's family, and the English constantly invading France from their territory of Normandy, surprisingly this was also a time of tremendous artistic and cultural flowering in France due to the wealth of great connoisseurs and collectors within the royal family and aristocracy. Both the courts of Burgundy and Berry, headed by their royal dukes, first cousins of the king, excelled in luxurious and sophisticated living.
In architecture, a new vertical style emerged, later called Gothic, but not at the time. The Roman arch was replaced by the tall pointed arch resembling hands vertically clasped in prayer, and "flying buttresses" of stone pulled the walls from the outside to prevent them falling in. The aim was to build larger covered areas for a greater number of people to listen indoors to preachers speaking from the pulpit, their voices and those of the choir filling the great space. This "flamboyant" style was not really used for private houses but a number of palaces and castles did soar vertically as can be seen in the Duke of Berry's illuminated manuscript "Les Tres Riches Heures". This duke's collection of tapestries, goldsmith's work and objects d'art, manuscripts, precious stones - one ruby of 240 carats -- and even exotic animals -- was spread throughout his seventeen or more palaces and grand mansions in his vast sovereign territories.
The extravagance of the court of the Duke of Burgundy was also a by-word of the day - descriptions of the spectacular tournaments held there alone passed into popular folklore.
Did the tall towers of the churches inspire the ladies' headdresses or was it the other way around? Ladies wore incredibly tall conical caps on their heads from which fluttered soft chiffons in rainbow colours. These were called a "henin" and were worn perched on a high forehead from which the hair had been plucked back, creating a "high-brow". Walt Disney used these "henins" to great effect in his cartoon films featuring princesses in towers! On their forehead on the edge of the "henin", ladies would often attach a small flower shape or patch of black velvet to accentuate the whiteness of their skin. There were many different shapes of headdress for ladies; some looked like a pair of horns, or a bee-hive, but all covered most of the hair once a lady was married. Only a virgin wore her hair open and long hanging over her shoulders.
A lady's dress at court functions would be made of wonderful soft silks in every shade of the rainbow and have very long sleeves almost touching the ground. She would wear her waist very high and tie under her dress a head-sized cushion of down feathers to sit on her tummy, thus creating that fashionable "rounded look". When a lady at court was pregnant and it began to show, she could remove her pillow and still remain sometimes with no one the wiser until her last month, when she would absent herself, give birth and return shortly afterwards, her child left in the care of a wet nurse. Babies or children were never accommodated at court!
Even royal children were brought up at one of the king's castles and rarely saw their parents until able to play their part. Other aristocratic children in their teens might be brought to court as a page to their father or a great lord. As always, there were exceptions, and some grand ladies, like Yolande the heroine of "The Queen of Four Kingdoms", volume 1 of my current trilogy, spent a great deal of her time with her children at one or other of her many châteaux and took a very active role in their education.
Courtiers' fashions were also unusual. For a time gentlemen wore the "houpplande" or long flared coat which reached below the knees and with long trailing, pointed sleeves spreading down from the elbow. These sleeves and the neck and hem were often edged or even lined with soft fur. But for the dashing young courtier, the fashion was to wear tight hose, each leg often in a different colour, and with a tight, short jacket, with a short, flared frill coming from the waist. Each leg of his stockings would be pulled up front and back with tags to tie above the opposite hip at the waist on either side. Between their stockings, young gentlemen would wear a small triangular "nappy" -- or not -- but it was often said that they left little to the imagination when bending down. It was also the custom for some young courtiers to use hot wax to remove any pubic hair which might show, often burning themselves in the process. It was only in the next century that the "cod piece" solved this awkward problem. Courtiers and men of the bourgeoisie covered their heads with a variety of draped arrangements or at times wore berets, often of velvet, an elegant feather attached with a valuable brooch. Their shoes were of soft leather and seemed an extension of their hose with very long soft pointed toes. I have often wondered how they were able to walk!
It was the custom to stand at court, only royalty sat. At mealtimes, trestles would be brought in and wooden planks laid on top. Then a great sheet of damask would be brought as a table cloth. Benches and chairs would be brought then for seating. Thereafter, the gathering would move around until a dance was suggested by the king or queen. There was always music played by minstrels and the partner's hand was held at head height or higher for the formal dances - also when processing through rooms or to or from church services.
Outside entertainment consisted of the hunt or tournaments. Wild boar or stags were the prey of a hunt on horseback with hounds and sometimes with a hawk or falcon on the left arm to catch other birds or hares. An organised hunt on horseback always caused great excitement; hounds barking; horses jingling their tack, fretting to be off. Ladies rarely sat astride, but sideways in a kind of chair attached to the horse's back. Those who did ride astride wore a divided long skirt over men's tight trousers. When Joan of Arc appeared at court during this time she was seen wearing a long divided skirt over her thigh-high leather breeches, but she also wore a lady's court dress of gold lace or wonderful velvets, gifts from the king. With the army she always dressed as a man to avoid being raped if captured -- neither the French nor the Burgundians would rape a young soldier, but a woman... Cross-dressing was forbidden by the Church and considered a grievous sin since it was known that young courtesans would sometimes wear hose under their skirts which they could remove easily to appear more like a boy to certain customers....
Tournaments were fantastic occasions, usually held to celebrate a great marriage or a treaty. The most famous organiser of tournaments in France and who also wrote books on the subject was one of the principle characters in my trilogy called René d'Anjou, also known as "Good King René". He was the son of the heroine of the first volume, Yolande, "The Queen of Four Kingdoms".
After losing his kingdom of Naples and Sicily, on his return to France he held a number of dazzling tournaments, most notably for the wedding of his daughter Marguerite to King Henry VI of England. Famous knights came from all over the country to appear and joust at his tourneys, their horses caparisoned to the ground in cloth of gold or quilted velvet, some with tiny bells sewn on that tinkled with every movement. Tall exotic feathers were attached to helmets and also to the brow-band of a horse's bridle, and knights wore a scarf on their arm in the family colours of the lady in whose honour they rode. Lances were blunt and apart from the odd broken bone from a fall, little damage was done to the contestants.
These were the final days of the age of chivalry, and honour was still preserved - for a while longer.
Princess Michael is the author of several non-fiction histories and the acclaimed 'Anjou Trilogy', whose second Volume - 'Agnes Sorel, Mistress of Beauty' - is available now on Amazon and in all good bookshops.
For more information on Princess Michael, her lectures and essays, and The Anjoy Trilogy, see www.princessmichael.com


Parents do you have a High School student in need of Chemistry?
Then please join my high school class as we explore the world of Chemistry.
When: 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month beginning August 25th.
Time: 12 pm. until 3 pm. First hour instruction second and third hour lab.
Cost: Registration is $50 nonrefundable per family, registration opens June 1st and closes July 15th. Any additional supply cost not covered by registration fee will be divided evenly between the number of students in the class. There will be a small additional fee for safety equipment for students that do not already have it. (Students who participated in my forensic class should have all needed safety equipment.) Lab/instruction fees are $40 per month or $20 per class per student.
Curriculum: I will be using Life Of Fred Chemistry however students are not required to use this. Parents you may use any high school level chemistry you choose. I will send out a notice at the of each month letting parents and students know what will need to be covered in the next month. It is then up to the parents to match up the curriculum they are using to what will be covered.
Requirements: The main requirement for Chemistry is that students have enough beginning Algebra to use exponents including negatives and solve equations.


As a teenager, taken with himself, Joseph demonstrates his need for personal superiority by sharing with his brothers dreams in which they are depicted as bowing down to him. The ancient rabbis suggest Joseph spent more time "penciling his eyes, curling his hair, lifting his heel" than contributing to the well-being of his family and community. In fact, the Torah describes the early years of Joseph's life not in terms of accomplishment or deed but rather "Joseph was well built and handsome" (Gen. 39:6).
The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard divides humankind's existence into four cycles: 1) beauty, 2) morality, 3) laughter, and 4) devoted to sacred things. Joseph's early years-a period that found him separated from family and sold by his brothers to be a slave in Egypt-was defined by superficial dreams of physical beauty, grandeur, and power. Rabbi Artson notes, "Only [after having been sent to prison in Egypt] does Joseph learn to accept a fundamental principle of Jewish living: Kol Yisrael areivim, zeh ba'zeh-We are all responsible for one another!
In prison, Joseph realizes his knowledge and insight might better be used to help others less able. Again, he shares his dreams, this time for fellow prisoners-in particular, a butler and a baker. In this instance, his intent is to help them. He is no longer the central figure, they are. As Joseph matures, so does his understanding of morality and his devotion "to sacred things" like other lives.
The bumper sticker reads, "Everyone has to grow up, but you can be immature forever!" The superficiality and narcissism of youth are part of the often-painful process of growing up. Being able to finally distinguish the sacred nature of life, the importance of family, and the needs of others is maturity.


There are many ways you can be involved in and support your child's education at PS11. One of the most critical is that we all work together to reinforce the PS11 Community Standards and communicate the importance of making good choices to our children. When that happens, we all win. If you have a concern about your child's academic or social experience, please contact their teacher. Early intervention provides the best opportunity to help resolve issues.
Be involved. Keep yourself informed and up to date on what's happening in your child's classroom and at school by attending PTA meetings, reading notices sent via email and in your child's Home Folder. Visit this website often to see what event are coming up. And please make every attempt to attend Family Fridays, class and schoolwide events.
Congratulations! You are automatically a member of the PS11 Parent Teachers Association (PTA) if you are the parent or guardian of a child attending the school. Being a part of this powerful group can be a very enriching experience. We encourage you to take your membership in the PTA seriously and attend PTA meetings so you can contribute to the success of the school and so that your voice is heard.
In addition to meetings, we put on many fundraising and community events throughout the year, with the goal of supporting the many enrichment programs at PS11 that are 100% PTA funded. For a list of those events click here. If you are interested in getting more involved in the PTA and organizing school and community events and fundraising for PS11, consider joining the PTA Executive Board.
We also encourage interested parents to run for election to the PS11 School Leadership Team (SLT). This collaborative team is made up of an equal number of faculty and parents. Members include the Principal, Assistant Principal, UFT Representative, and PTA President (or their appointee) and our Community Based Organization (CBO) representative, in addition to five parent members and three elected members of the PS11 faculty.
The PS11 SLT has two primary responsibilities. One is to evaluate the academic needs of PS11 students and produce a Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) that proposes ways to meet those needs, in alignment with the school budget for the following school year. The other is to monitor whether the current CEP is being implemented, and to ensure that proper resources are allocated to implement the current CEP. To view the current CEP posted on the DOE Website, click here.
Class parents are volunteers who work closely with the classroom teacher to build a strong community of families in their class. They often assist the teacher in the planning and organization of classroom events, trips, book orders, etc. They serve as another communication link between the school administration, PTA and other parents and guardians in their class. This is a great job for someone who is comfortable with the use of email, is organized and enjoys communicating with people.
There are many ways to volunteer as a parent at PS11. You can see current volunteer opportunities here.


Welcome to our Alumni Spotlight Series. These stories will seek to update our community on the accomplishments of our very talented alumni network. We all have found varying degrees of success in our career paths thus far and we can learn from one another about what works, what doesn't work, and how we can all continue to solve today's Gaps in biotechnology. If you have someone in mind (including yourself) please contact us at cj.anderson@globalbiotechrevolution.com.
Victor Bustos (GapSummit 2016) was drawn to the GapSummit by a desire shared by many Leaders of Tomorrow. In the last year of his PhD, he was considering a career in academia or industry. Being less familiar with the industry side, he was curious to learn more about the world of biotech and, more importantly, discover what kind of people worked in that space. Victor's PhD lab was interested in understanding how aging can be modulated and how nutrient sensing and signaling could actually be beneficial for aging. The goal of his PhD thesis was to dissect how the transcription factor FOXO is differentially involved in diverse biological processes, including aging, metabolism, and wound healing. Victor and his team were seeking to understand the very basic biology of this tissue-specific regulation.
Q: Why did you want to go to GapSummit back in 2016?
Victor: I felt it [the GapSummit] was the perfect place to learn more about the industry, and I was absolutely right. Once there, I found myself surrounded by extraordinary people. Everyone there was trying to leverage biotechnology for the benefit of us all.
The summit helped make the decision of 'what to do next' easier. It showed me that there is a community of ambitious people that are not afraid of asking tough questions and aiming high to solve them. People who want to work to change the future.
That was simply too good for me to just let go, I had to be a part of it.
Q: As an expert in aging biology, what sort of job market did you think there was for you after your PhD?
Victor: After my PhD, I could have either continued in academia, moved to a biotech, or taken a more entrepreneurial route. In my 2nd and 3rd year of my PhD, I started to get more and more interested in startups. I loved the process of developing an idea from the ground up. However, I didn't want to stop being involved in aging research. Moreover, aging has not traditionally been a therapeutic target. It wasn't really considered a disease. Luckily for me, this mentality has been changing over recent years, and a number of companies have started to get interested in developing therapeutics to target aging. The interest in aging research has exploded among the general public, and both individuals and corporations are willing to invest in the development of technologies targeting aging. All these events worked great together to show me a clear path of what I wanted. Therefore, I decided to apply for an entrepreneur-in-residence program at Apollo Ventures, a VC firm that focuses on developing therapeutics against the hallmarks of aging.
Q: Building an idea from the ground up seems to be something that is applicable to academia. What do you think the differences are between that notion in academia (as a postdoc) versus at a startup or VC firm?
Victor: The postdoc would have given me similar degrees of freedom in developing an idea from a ground up. One of the main differences, however, is that you are thinking 3-4 years to the end of your hypothesis (in academia) versus 6-10 years down the road into clinical trials (at a startup or VC firm). There are a lot of things that are interesting, but if you don't have a clear plan to test this in humans you will not pursue such an effort in biotech. You need to think much deeper into what's going on, what is being tested at the moment, and what could you be doing that would make a difference in the long run.
Victor left the GapSummit with a clear desire to join the world of entrepreneurial biotech- sound familiar? Most of us leave the summit feeling enamored with biotech and the tantalizing idea of making a difference in the world. A positive can-do attitude and our sparkling CVs can only get us so far. What is the final boost to get us where we want to go?
It is a term we are all intimately familiar with. Networking. Whether you are a PhD student looking for your postdoc lab, an academic scientist looking for a home in industry, or a member of a sales and marketing team looking for the next big client, it often comes down to who you know. From a sales perspective, cold calling has a roughly 2% success rate while referrals (another version of networking) typically convert 50% of the time. So the question becomes, how do you get yourself out there?
Q: What does networking mean to you?
Victor: 'Uf', that's a great question. Networking can be an actionable thing like starting a conversation, but to me networking is not being afraid of reaching out. Networking is being open to the possibility of learning new things. Opening a door for infinite possibilities. A little bit like Schrödinger's cat, you know? You need to open the "box" to figure out what's inside.
Q: What is your strategy when it comes to networking?
Victor: My general thought on networking is, I believe, very simple. Introduce myself and ask questions. People are inherently interesting. Hence, by interacting with other people, asking questions, not only work related, and listening with intent, I can maximize my chances of learning new things and, of course, meeting great people. Because of this, I might be able to provide an opinion or ask for advice right then and there or perhaps at some time point in the future. My general strategy is based on that.
Everyone has something interesting to say as long as you are willing to listen closely.
Q: What experiences did you take away from the GapSummit? Did the summit help you with your networking skills?
Victor: I think the whole event was well organized, from the discussion panels to the VoT competition. However, the networking within the summit was, in my eyes, simply the best. From dinner at an Italian place with 25 people, all sharing thoughts and experiences, to taking a tour around Cambridge and discussing the latest biotech news. I think that, by providing these highly motivated people with an environment for them to share and discuss their ideas, GBR further encourages them to keep pursuing those tough goals they are after. It certainly did for me.
Q: Did you use your network to get your job at Apollo Ventures?
Victor: I didn't use my network to get the job at Apollo. Well, at least not directly. Perhaps indirectly. I heard about them because they contacted my lab, because of who my mentor was. At the end of 2017 they [Apollo] had started to reach out to some prominent aging research labs, to try and recruit people for their new "Venture Fellow" program. This entrepreneur-in-residence position offered the possibility of working from inside Apollo to identify exciting research and try to partner with scientists to accelerate that transition from discovery to a therapeutic. Among the labs they reached out to was my former lab at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging (the lab of Prof. Linda Partridge). In their email, Apollo explained how they were looking for motivated and independent people that wanted to start companies to tackle aging. Of course, they also wanted people that had a strong background in aging research. To me, it felt that the only thing missing on that list was my name! I did talk with some people in my network to have a better grasp of what an entrepreneur-in-residence does. This was actually really helpful, and it helped me define that was exactly what I wanted.
Q: Have you stayed in contact with people you met during the GapSummit? Do you think the GBR community can be a good resource for networking?
Victor: For sure! I try to stay up to date with the news and events related to GBR and the people I met during the summit. In addition, I have reached out to a couple of people to either discuss an idea, ask for a favor, ask for an introduction to someone else, or simply ask how things are going. A handful of people have also reached out to me for the same reasons, which I think is great. I feel the network of people GBR is creating is always willing to help, so I would encourage everyone to reach out. For example, a GapSummit alumni based in Australia saw what we [Apollo] were doing and reached out to discuss the science he was doing as a postdoc. He wanted to hear about my experience at Apollo to see if that was a career path that would interest him.
I advertised some jobs offers at Apollo and our Portfolio companies among the GapSummit alumni. Thanks to this, a couple of people contacted me and one of them successfully applied for a fellowship position. He was hired and started in March.
Q: What advice would you (now) give yourself (back when you attended the GapSummit) to expedite your career development?
Victor: Honestly, I think the best advice I would give myself would be to network even more.
I feel that every idea shared or discussed can lead to great conversations, insights, and possibilities.
Please feel free to reach out to talk more to Victor about his career path, his networking strategies, and more! You can contact him through LinkedIn or learn more about Apollo Ventures on their website.


text:
Q: card over the end of a div Hello i searched and found nothing about i would like to put cards on the end of a div like this:

I imagine what would have to do with position absolute and relative but I can't imagine how to put the two divs
code:
export default function App() {
  return (

a

  );
}

css:
body {
  margin: 0;
  height: 100vh;
}
.App {
  font-family: sans-serif;
  text-align: center;
}

.Container {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  height: 100%;
  width: 100%;
  max-width: 100%;
}
.Header {
  position: relative;
  height: 80px;
  flex: none;
  background: #000;
  box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.35);
}
.Content {
  flex: 1;
}
.Carousel {
  background: #1976d2;
  background-image: url(http://planetbounce.m360.co.uk/wp-content/themes/planetbounce/assets/img/nottingham-park.png);
  flex: none;
  height: 280px;
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-position: top center;
  padding-top: 128px !important;
  padding-bottom: 128px !important;
  -webkit-clip-path: polygon(0 0, 100% 0, 100% calc(100% - 2vw), 0 100%);
  clip-path: polygon(0 0, 100% 0, 100% calc(100% - 2vw), 0 100%);
}
.main {
  height: 400px;
  background: yellow;
  padding: 0 0.625em;
  margin-left: auto !important;
  margin-right: auto !important;
  max-width: 97.2307692rem !important;
}

.footer {
  max-height: 40px;
  height: 40px;
  height: 100%;
  background: red;
  flex: none;
}

example on codesandbox:
https://codesandbox.io/s/angry-mestorf-6kmmo

A: Just add inside your code 3 cards:

Card 1

Card 2

Card 3

a

And then use css to adjust them:

*

*cardContainer height should be set to 0 to avoid spacing between the other divs

*negative margin-top could be applied to cardContainer or single divs to place them "on the end of a div"

*z-index could be required to prevent them from going under the div

*display flex and justify-content are used to place 3 div equally spaced.

CSS
.cardContainer {
  height: 0px;
  display: flex;
  justify-content: space-around;
  margin-top: -150px;
}

.cardContainer div {
  background-color: white;
  padding: 100px 50px;
  z-index: 10;
}

A: Make a Div with your cards and position it absolutely between the two sections. I put it inside the first section.

main {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
}

section {
  position: relative;
  height: 50vh;
  background-color: green;
}

section:last-of-type {
  background-color: yellow;
}

.cards {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: space-between;
  width: 300px;
  margin: 0px auto;
  border: 1px solid red;
  position: absolute;
  left: 0;
  right: 0;
  bottom: -30px;
  z-index: 10;
}

.card {
  width: 60px;
  height: 60px;
  background-color: #fff;
}

Card 1

Card 2

Card 3

Hi

A: With the tips from @Jhecht
code:
import React from "react";
import "./styles.css";

export default function App() {
  return (

a

  );
}

css:
body {
  margin: 0;
  height: 100vh;
}
.App {
  font-family: sans-serif;
  text-align: center;
}

.Container {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  height: 100%;
  width: 100%;
  max-width: 100%;
}
.Header {
  position: relative;
  height: 80px;
  flex: none;
  background: #000;
  box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.35);
}
.Content {
  flex: 1;
}
.Carousel {
  position: relative;
  background: #1976d2;
  background-image: url(http://planetbounce.m360.co.uk/wp-content/themes/planetbounce/assets/img/nottingham-park.png);
  flex: none;
  height: 280px;
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-position: top center;
  padding-top: 128px !important;
  padding-bottom: 128px !important;
  -webkit-clip-path: polygon(0 0, 100% 0, 100% calc(100% - 2vw), 0 100%);
  clip-path: polygon(0 0, 100% 0, 100% calc(100% - 2vw), 0 100%);
}
.main {
  height: 400px;
  background: yellow;
  padding: 0 0.625em;
  margin-left: auto !important;
  margin-right: auto !important;
  max-width: 97.2307692rem !important;
}

.footer {
  max-height: 40px;
  height: 40px;
  height: 100%;
  background: red;
  flex: none;
}

.card {
  transform: translateY(-100px);
}


HOWIMPORTANT IS CONNECTING TO YOUR BUSINESS?
WHAT DO YOUR CUSTOMERS BELIEVE IN? YOU?
WHAT IS IN A NAME? ASK TOLL HOLDINGS!
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM BOOMING APPLE AND STRUGGLING SAMSUNG?
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE?
IS REGULATION REALLY BAD FOR BUSINESS?
IS AUSTRALIA A THREE TRICK PONY?
WHAT IS WRONG WITH MEDIOCRE?
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM UBS?


The student handbook website is a resource guide to valuable information about Ithaca College, including residential life services and public safety issues. It also links to the student conduct code and related policies that outline students' rights and responsibilities as members of the Ithaca College community. The public safety section includes the annual security report, which provides information on personal safety and crime prevention strategies. It also describes the law enforcement authority of public safety, policies and procedures for reporting any crimes that may occur on campus, and crime statistics for the most recent three-year period. It is extremely important that students read and become familiar with this information.


Auto transport companies are companies you hire when it comes to transporting cars across different countries. Auto transportation can help you enjoy very many advantages. Enjoying professional service is a significant advantage associated with auto transport. When you hire an auto transport company, you will be dealing highly trained and knowledgeable employees. These drivers are very good at their jobs because they study defensive training courses. Therefore, they have skills they will use when transporting your vehicle throughout the entire journey. These drivers will also advise you when it comes to transporting your car. Before they transport your car, they will advise you on how you will make the necessary preparations. There is a lot of stress that is associated with moving your car from one state to another. You will have nothing to worry about when it comes to auto transport.
Hiring an auto transport company will be the best way of ensuring that you can save time and money. You will be the one responsible for paying for gas when you choose to drive yourself. The fact that you are driving your car from one state to another may make gas expenses to be very expensive. Driving yourself will also be a problem because you may end up losing a lot of time. This may be possible because you are not aware of the routes you should use. You may end up spending a lot of money if you get stuck on the road. You may even face more issues in a case where you are used to traveling for long distances. You may be unlucky and experience harsh weather conditions which you are used to. In this case, you will find it very hard to reach your destination. You will then end up expensive costs of repairing damages and breakdowns. You can avoid all these problems by hiring an auto transport company to transport your car.
Another advantage of auto transport companies is that they have insurance. In this case, your vehicle will be insured during transportation. This only means that your vehicle will be fully secured. You will not even have to worry about the safety of your vehicle. In this case, if there are damages you will be assured of full compensated. A thorough investigation has to be performed before your car starts being transported to rule out any damages. However, if any damages happen during the transportation, it will be the responsibility of the auto transport company to compensate you. When you hire an auto transport company, they will pick your car from your home and drop it off at your home. In this case, you will avoid having to pick your car or drop it off at the companys location.


text:
MacKay Shields selects emerging markets debt leaders
Rob Kozlowski
Philip Fielding and Valentina Chen were named co-heads of emerging markets debt with MacKay Shields' global credit team.
Based in London, they are new positions, a spokeswoman said. They will report to Eric Gold, senior portfolio manager and head of global credit.
They were previously co-heads of emerging markets debt and portfolio managers at BMO Global Asset Management, according to that firm's website.
Parent company Bank of Montreal completed the sale of BMO Global Asset Management's EMEA business to Ameriprise Financial on Nov. 8. That business is now a part of Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Ameriprise's global asset management business.
BMO spokeswoman Colleen Hamilton could not be immediately reached for further information.
As of Sept. 30, MacKay Shields had $164 billion in assets under management.
The MacKay Shields spokeswoman could not immediately provide further information.
MacKay Shields recruits 2 managing directors for institutional sales team
MacKay Shields takes on a new senior macroeconomist


The future of over 250 long-term employees at Barna Waste has been secured, following approval of a 'scheme of arrangement' by the High Court.
The company entered examinership in April and court-appointed examiner, Neil Hughes of Hughes Blake, last Thursday presented a Scheme of Arrangement prepared on behalf of the Directors of Bruscar Bhearna Teoranta, trading as Barna Waste, to the High Court, which was approved by Judge Brian McGovern.
As part of the examinership process, Cognito Asset Management Limited, an investment and corporate restructuring business, in conjunction with the existing management team, successfully completed the buyout of Barna Waste Group.
According to a spokesperson for the group, this investment puts Barna Waste on a firm financial footing for the future and secures the employment of over 250 long-term employees.
"The successful conclusion of this examinership process is another example that examinerships save jobs in the economy," said Hughes Blake Managing Partner Neil Hughes.
He added that the support of Cognito was critical to the success of the process as was the support of all creditors, employees, customers and Bank of Ireland.
A spokesperson for Cognito, Pat O'Sullivan, said they were delighted to have invested in the business and cited a wide range of key attributes, which attracted them to the deal.
"Barna Waste presented an attractive investment opportunity for Cognito. It has well invested assets and transfer stations with EPA licenses in strategic locations, a new composting facility on the outskirts of Galway, a leading market position across Connaught and loyal staff, suppliers and customers.
"In addition, we respect the capable management team and strongly believe in their ability to grow the business. The Cognito team will add its management expertise to the process, as we plan to work closely with existing management to realise our joint ambitions for the future of the company. The business is now adequately capitalized with sufficient resources to fund much needed capital expenditure to improve operating performance and grow the business," he said.
Following the announcement, Barna Waste MS Sean Curran expressed gratitude to the employees, customers and suppliers who have supported them over the past six months.
"While the past few months have been difficult and challenging, we were rewarded in our belief that Barna Waste continued to be a viable business. With the support of Cognito we now have new structures in place which will facilitate the continued growth and success of the organization.
Barna Waste Group is a major employer in Connaught with over 250 employees and over 30,000 customers. It has an extensive base of domestic customers across the region and provides a wide range of waste management services to commercial customers including skip hire, recycling, and sludge removal.


text:
import angular from 'angular';
import uiRouter from 'angular-ui-router';

import searchComponent from './searchBody/search.component';
import movieDetailsComponent from './movieDetails/movieDetails.component';
import movieDescriptionComponent from './movieDescription/movieDescription.component';
import onEnterDirective from './searchBody/onEnter.Directive';

import OmdbService from '../omdbService/omdb.service';

let searchModule = angular.module('search', [
  uiRouter
])

.config(($stateProvider, $urlRouterProvider) => {
	"ngInject";

	$urlRouterProvider.otherwise('/');

	$stateProvider
		.state('search', {
			url: '/',
			component: 'search'
		});
})

.factory('omdbService', ['$http', '$q',
	($http, $q) => new OmdbService($http, $q)])

.directive('ngEnter', onEnterDirective)

.component('search', searchComponent)

.component('movieDetails', movieDetailsComponent)

.component('movieDescription', movieDescriptionComponent)

.name;

export default searchModule;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
2023 Spring Regional
About District 4
LPA District 4, includes residents of Florida and Puerto Rico. We are a group of families, friends and professionals who are connected by our experience with dwarfism. Throughout the year, our District and Chapters organize social events, in providing support and resources to members of our community. Our District 4 hosts annual district regionals in the spring and fall.
If you are new or currently a member of LPA, please contact us to get involved with our district and find a chapter near you. LPA members and their families can stay up to date with our district by joining our private Facebook group!
Our Chapters
© 2023 Little People of America • District 4 • All Rights Reserved.
All Documents and Images on this website are protected by federal copyright laws. LPA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.


Psalm 34:12 Who out there has a lust for life? Can't wait each day to come upon beauty? Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? You must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days. What man is he that desireth life, And loveth many days, that he may see good? Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days Who is the man who desires life And loves many days, that he may see good? Do you want to live a long, good life, enjoying the beauty that fills each day? Then never speak a lie or allow wicked words to come from your mouth. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?
Who out there has a lust for life? Can't wait each day to come upon beauty?
You must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days.
Do you want to live a long, good life, enjoying the beauty that fills each day? Then never speak a lie or allow wicked words to come from your mouth.


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Home » Posts made in May, 2019
News Brief: Genesee Health Plan to offer bus passes, Your Ride vouchers through Rotary grant
A $1,000 grant from the Rotary Club of Greater Flint Sunrise can go a long way in helping students and families in Flint get access to needed resources. The recent award to the Genesee Health Plan's "Riding Above Barriers" programs will provide MTA bus passes and Your Ride vouchers to families within the Flint Community School District. The program will help reduce transportation barriers and improve access to...
MCC Culinary Arts Institute opens June 7, featuring celebrity chef Carla Hall
By Darlene Carey Opportunities for culinary arts students and downtown dining take a leap forward June 7 with the grand opening of the Mott Community College Culinary Arts Institute, in a renovated historic building at the corner of Saginaw and Second streets downtown. After a public ribbon cutting ceremony at noon, the doors officially open from 1 to 3 p.m. The public will be invited to tour the historic F.W. Woolworth building at...
News Brief: Eighth graders invited to open house, school year prep Thursday at Southwestern
Eighth grade students and their families from Flint and surrounding areas are invited to prepare for the upcoming school year at "Journey Into 2020," an open house from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, May 30 at Southwestern Classical Academy, 1420 W. 12th St., Flint. According to a release from the Flint Community School district, the school is "focused on higher expectations—for students, teachers, families and staff—in year ahead,"...
News Brief: Aspiring photographers offered chance to network, learn from pros
Three award-winning commercial photographers will be available to network and talk with aspiring photographers from 6 to 7:30 p.m. June 13 at Foster Coffee Company at the Ferris Wheel, 615 S. Saginaw St. in downtown Flint. Khalid Ibrahim, Leigh Ann Cobb and Marek Dziekonski will share stories about how they entered their field, why they love what they do, and offer insights on furthering creative careers, according to Heather Kale,...
Flint River Watershed Coalition wins $74K federal grant for youth program
By Jan Worth-Nelson Hundreds of area students and their teachers will have a chance to learn about and care for water resources, especially the Flint River, thanks to a new federal grant received recently by the Flint River Watershed Coalition (FRWC). A $74,000 grant to support youth-based water quality programs involving 1,200 students in 22 school districts was awarded to the FRWC by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...


Ironically, what distinguishes "Child Star" is that it's so forgettable. Even the addition of the two new Directions isn't going to stick. Next week we're all going to be surprised to see eight students in the choir room, and then after a moment we'll remember. Oh yeah, that little kid's a rich boy with some school board swing who made the New Directions perform at his bar mitzvah. And that longhair (do people still say longhair?) is some boy Spencer has a crush on. He's also friends with Roderick, the loner. Wonders never cease.
The reconstruction of the glee club has been admirably and uncharacteristically patient this season. I had just assumed New Directions would compete with five members, and then Kitty showed up and I assumed they'd compete with six. Now we have eight and a race. Can New Directions get to the quota in time for sectionals? Is there even a quota? Kitty's a telling addition as the oldest character in the current club. Whereas all seven of the other New Directions are types of characters Glee hasn't really used before, Kitty is a holdover from the second generation, when the new students were just reboots of old ones. She's Quinn 2.0 with the Santana levels turned all the way up. But what's interesting is she hasn't overshadowed the new members this season. Granted the main stories have been about Rachel and Kurt and Sue and Will, but even though we know Kitty better, the focus of the New Directions plots has been on the newbies. So we're spared a season four situation where the new kids are flailing about trying to compete for attention with the old ones.
But both of those last two sentences are wrong. Although we should, we don't know Kitty better than Roderick or Spencer. They're not exactly Tony Sopranos themselves, but they're no thinner than she is. That's a consequence of season four, too. Kitty never got developed the way Quinn or Santana did—and maybe "developed" is the wrong word; experimented on?—because her group had to split time with the originals, and when they couldn't compete, they got written out in favor of focusing on the old Directions exclusively, a development that was itself reversed for season six. The reboot cycle gets shorter and shorter. The characters have always been malleable enough to fit whatever alleged themes an episode foists on them. The problem is we don't know them, not really. And in season six, that means every time the focus narrows to McKinley, meaning the new characters and a skeleton staff of old ones, the episode can't help but feel like it's not tied down. So that's the other wrong sentence. We are in a season four situation. It's just that there aren't many episodes like "Child Star" that stick with the new kids, which itself perpetuates the problem.
The content doesn't have to float off into the atmosphere. It's just disadvantaged by focusing on new characters. Unfortunately, the performances aren't remotely good enough to rescue it. Roderick's gift for barely acting is perfect for the character as originally written, the shy kid who comes alive in song. (And credit where it's due, Roderick sure does light up a stage.) But here he's meant to be social to some extent, and it's less credible than Sue's hurt locker. That's nothing compared to Myron, the Jewish bar mitzvah brat. It's a Becky role, and one that clarifies how valuable Becky is. Diminishing returns—that's the Glee touch: Each iteration reveals how much better the previous one is, even when you never thought much of it to begin with. Myron doesn't yet have the physical control to sell his rage, so he looks like a cartoon character, tiny and mugging like crazy. When they're performing, the New Directions don't have a weak link. Myron doesn't nail his choreography, but he can sing. Jane blows the roof off the joint. Mason's rendition of "I Want To Break Free" is an episode highlight. But Glee's running low on double threats these days.
The New Directions plots tend toward the DeGrassier end of the high school drama spectrum in "Child Star." It's Glee, so it's all predicated on coupling up, but those relationships spark quite a bouquet of teen angst: Madison freaking out at her brother for liking a(nother?) girl; Roderick suddenly feeling picked on for his weight and just as suddenly completely turning his life around after basically no on-screen help from Spencer; Spencer trying to parlay his physical connection with Alistair into an intellectually and emotionally engaging relationship. At one point it looks like the episode's going to be about Roderick teaching Spencer to date (and not just hook up) in exchange for Spencer teaching Roderick to climb a rope to pass his physical fitness test. Instead Roderick gives Spencer no advice and vice versa, but both heroes wind up successful in their pursuits. Glee!
That's because the real plot is a monthlong bar mitzvah, which goes from a performance to a backstage heart-to-heart to dance rehearsals to a backstage malfunction to another performance to a backstage kiss—between Spencer and Alistair, who just happens to be watching the bar mitzvah, the way an interested party might attend a trial—to the final number. Sue gets in a fight with Will and vows once more to destroy the glee club. I lose track of my yawns. The really funny one is that Roderick gets physically fit, learns to climb a rope, and starts eating better regularly enough to report results. Like all bad episodes of Glee, "Child Star" never ends.


Thank you for choosing to implement AeroCRS API.
API connector - A URL which you will use to send your XML requests according to the methods.
API entity name - This is the name your API entity shows to the airlines on their side.
Token - Unique token provided per implementation.
The API is open only for test companies during the basic configuration and testing from your side, once you want to go to production mode, please open a ticket in our support system (support@aerocrs.com) and we will move your API account to live mode.
It is not allowed to "load test" the API, any significant loads will result it immediate suspension of your account.
You are responsible to count your API calls in order to make sure you are within the allowed monthly limits.
Support is given at support@aerocrs.com, please state your API entity name when calling support, the support is only for "operational" issues and no code support is given.
AeroCRS is not responsible for the data provided by the airlines, and if there are any booking queries, you must direct them to the airline reservation team and not AeroCRS.
Once you are ready to go live, depending on your implementation type, you might need the airlines to enable your account to make bookings, in order to guide the airlines, you can send them the following document from our support system: https://aerocrs.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204893439-Activating-LDS-API-client and add your "API entity name".


I have an alternative that I've shared with my state representative. Eliminate the school property tax, leave the sales tax alone, expand the tax base to include pensions and Social Security and create a progressive tax (no more than three brackets). If structured properly, I believe the poor and unemployed can be protected against property seizure.
I support the current proposal for the short term but we cannot permit the state's lifeblood (working people) to be driven from the state by an ever increasing income tax burden.
Call your state legislators today. Let's finally get it done.


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Home»News»King Games
King Games
By Amber Heard August 29, 2022 Updated: November 4, 2022 No Comments2 Mins Read
King Games – How to Pick the Best Ones
If you love playing social games, you've probably considered trying out the king games. But how do you know which ones are the best? The answer to that question lies in how you approach the games you play. King games are a great way to keep up with what's trending in the social gaming world. Despite their popularity, they aren't as popular as other games. Here are some tips to help you pick the right games.
First, you should avoid Bubble Witch Saga, King's oldest game. While it was once one of the top games on Facebook, it's now down in the top twenty in the MAU rankings, with a little over 10 million monthly active users. That's a sign of an increasingly tired game with outdated graphics and pre-rendered characters from the mid-'90s. In addition, this game still features the same old Christmas decorations. Overall, though, it's not worth the money.
Before June 2013, King games made their revenue primarily through in-game advertising and microtransactions. The microtransactions allow players to buy "booster" items in order to clear levels faster. These boosts include extra lives or immediate access to new levels. As a result, King has seen significant growth, especially on mobile. This growth is due in part to its focus on social games. Moreover, King has many other popular games, including Candy Crush Saga.
How Many Jobs Are Available in Public Utilities?
Skills in Customer Service
Miami Heat NBA Injury Report Today


Despite being ready and waiting at the Stage 4 start line, the Dakar Race Director has not allowed Isuzu Motorsports to restart Dakar.
Isuzu Motorsports did not make the cut off time to start Stage 3 and as such, were forbidden from starting Stage 4.
Just 80 kilometres from reaching the end of Dakar's longest stage, 518 kilometres of hostile terrain in Stage 2, the Isuzu Motorsports team encountered a minor mechanical issue that prevented them from completing the stage.
Story about client Isuzu Motorsports driver Adrian Di Lallo that aired on Today Tonight on 19 December 2014.


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Football Jan 14th 2021 - 7pm
There's no avoiding coach Deion Sanders in SWAC season
A Minnesota town is offering no-cost lots and incentives to attract new residents
Halstad's free lots program is offering new homeowners in the town no-cost plots of land as well as a bundle of other incentives with the hopes of bringing in new residents.
Written By: Thomas Evanella | Nov 26th 2020 - 8am.
Halstad, Minn., a town of less than 600 residents in Norman County, is offering free lots in the hopes of attracting new residents. Illustration by Troy Becker
HALSTAD, Minn. — In Norman County, a county of less than 6,500 residents located on Minnesota's western edge, the town of Halstad is using a unique recruiting tactic to attract new residents: giving away land.
Halstad's free lots program is offering new homeowners in the town no-cost plots of land as well as a bundle of other incentives with the hopes of bringing in new residents. Three 12,400-square-foot and a pair 16,000-square-foot lots are available. Any takers will also have their electrical, water and sewer connection fees waived and be reimbursed for the first 75 feet, excluding trenching.
According to interim City Clerk Mike Trygg, the free lots program got its start in the mid-1990s.
"The city had a chunk of property within the city limits in the northeast corner of the town dating back to the 1990s that had been undeveloped," he said. "Around 1996 or 1997, maybe even as early as 1995, they platted the lots that are now part of the free lot program."
The city constructed streets and other infrastructure, creating at least 10 lots, Trygg estimated.
"As luck would have it, I actually live in one of the first of two homes that were built in the free lots," Trygg, a former Fargo-Moorhead resident himself, said. "They were the only two homes in the area for quite a few years and then a couple of other lots sold farther down the street."
Among the other incentives the free lots program boasts are tax abatements and two years of deferred special assessments for the infrastructure built. Special assessments run $5,720.40 for the three smaller plots and $7,150.20 and $7,380.60 for the two larger plots.
"For five years, the owners can apply each year for an abatement of the city portion of their property taxes," Trygg said. "They'll still have to pay county taxes and things like that, but the city property tax is abated for the first five years as long as they apply each year."
While other towns such as nearby Hendrum, Minn. offer similar incentives, Trygg believed Halstad was one of the only towns to give away free lots.
Halstad, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and Minnesota State Highway 200, is a 40 minute straight-shot to the Fargo-Moorhead area and 50 minutes from Grand Forks.
"If you don't mind the short commute, it's nice roads and it's flat and straight," Trygg said, adding that the drive pales in comparison to commuter traffic in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. "Even driving from south Fargo to north Fargo could take 20 minutes some days," he continued.
Other nearby communities include county seat Ada, Crookston, Minn. and Hillsboro, N.D., Trygg noted.
In August, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development named Halstad among 23 Telecommuter Forward! communities. The certification is given to towns and cities throughout the state that adopt a model resolution for telecommuting, which includes a statement of support and commitment to promote telecommuting.
"We have incredible infrastructure for high-speed internet. If somebody needed to run a home office, they could do it here," Trygg said. The town of 576 residents also has its own municipal utilities, which includes generators within its dyke that could power the entire town if the grid went down.
In the spring , Halstad unveiled its 21-foot-tall World's Largest Sugar Beet sculpture commemorating the area's sugar beet farmers. Trygg expects the roadside attraction and park will attract travelers to spend time in the town.
While the town's Valley General Store offers groceries, liquor and hardware, Trygg said the No. 1 thing he misses about living in the F-M area is access to a dine-in restaurant. That said, there are still some aspects of the metro area he can do without. "I can tell you what I don't miss and that's the traffic and the trains," he joked.
The last home constructed as a part of the free lots program went up three years ago. Trygg said the program hasn't been marketed as well as it could have been, but a robust real estate market in the town has him optimistic the remaining five plots will be claimed in due time.
"Life in a small town is what it is. It's not like Fargo-Moorhead," Trygg said. "I can tell you that the homes that do go for sale in Halstad are not on the market very long, so we're hopeful that we'll get additional interest."
HALSTAD
Business Nov 23rd 2020 - 8am
Abbiamo Pasta property tax break approved by Cass County Commission
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West Fargo's historic stockyards to be shuttered, sold for possible development
Historic Fargo home at risk of demolition gets 2 more weeks from city
Real Estate Jan 13th 2021 - 8am
New home going up for Designer Homes, RE/MAX Legacy Realty in south Fargo
Real Estate Jan 7th 2021 - 10am
Permit records shed light on possible future for former Grazie's restaurant location


Banjar hot spring is located in Banjar village, Banjar District ± 5 km to the west of Lovina. Banjar Hot Spring is a natural hot springs which believed by local people can cure the disease especially skin disease. Banjar Hot Springs predicted hundreds years old, which since the days of the Japanese occupation and this hot springs have been addressed and utilized. At that time the Japanese government was build three pools of water for bathing due the resulting water containing sulfur that can cure skin diseases so until now these baths are still used by the general public and tourists.
Hot springs pool is divided into three sections with different height levels. The hot water in the first pool flowed through eight fountain. The hot water of the second pool is flows into the pool through the five fountains. The third pool was rarely seen by visitors queuing to enjoy three fountains that flowed from a height of 3.5 m. The high water fountain keeps the body as if massaged by the water. The depth of the pool is average 1 meter.
In Banjar village there is also an Ancient Buddhist Monastery which also known as the Brahmavihara-Arama. This is the largest Buddhist Monastery in Bali. This monastery is located on a hilly terrain of Tegeha village with a quiet and serene ambience and a breathtaking view directly to the Lovina beach.
Brahmavihara-Arama began to be established around 1969 and was finish in 1970. While in 1973 just opened as a Buddhist temple. Previously has been established a monastery located in Banjar Hot Spring which at that time the followers (upcaka) very limited it's around 25 people. This monastery is built on a land area with approximately one hectare and has been do some expansion for the construction of Miniature of Borobudur Temple in the south of the monastery.


The first dolls were made out of corn husks, wood and wax. Rag dolls were introduced during the American Colonial period 1630 to 1762. Manufactured dolls where expensive and hard to get. Perhaps the rag doll was an invention of necessity. Families moved away from home, often as part of a wagon train or on long voyages aboard a ship, for better opportunities. Children had to leave behind their toys. A doll made out of rags provided comfort and security along the way.
All materials for making a rag doll and directions for making more are included. Easy instructions and photo images are inside the kit. All you will need are a pair of scissors and a 12 inch ruler. The completed doll size is approximately 15 inches high and 12 inches across her out-stretched arms.


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'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' review: Returning favorites and girl power
There are sequels, then there's "Star Wars." A film property that has spanned generations, and leaving the 20th century for the 21st century, I suspect no other film property is as highly scrutinized as this space opera. Inspired by "Flash Gordon" serials from the 1930s, the films of Akira Kurosawa (particularly "The Hidden Fortress") and westerns like John Huston's "The Searchers," George Lucas's little movie that no one wanted to back, save Alan Ladd Jr., the former 20th Century Fox executive who greenlit the 1977 film changed Hollywood, for better or worse. "Star Wars" drew critical raves and was an unstoppable force in theaters as crowds wrapped around blocks waiting to see a movie involving a princess, an all-Galaxian farm boy, a cocksure, scruffy-looking space pirate and his walking carpet of a co-pilot, and clearly the most menacing and iconic villain to grace the screen.
The last time we saw Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca they were dishing high-fivesies with those Ewok creatures back in 1983, in "Return of the Jedi," celebrating the defeat of the Empire and cashing in on Lucas's blockbuster stratagem. With great marketing and merchandising comes lots of moola.
Now, minus those little fuzzballs, George Lucas, or the backing of 20th Century Fox (Disney bought Lucasfilm, a production outfit founded by Lucas that includes the lucrative "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" properties among other holdings, back in 2012 for a cool four billion), the old – literally – gang is back with some new blood to help bridge the past to the future. Yes, even in a galaxy far, far away from a long time ago.
For launching the seventh "Star Wars" in a year that also gave us a seventh "Fast & Furious" and a seventh "Rocky" (with the spin-off "Creed"), "The Force Awakens" succeeds in reestablishing a brand with characters fans love while introducing new ones that new and old fans will grow to enjoy.
J.J. Abrams, a director of some repute if judging only by his previous efforts which fall into the mostly good range and includes two "Star Trek"s, a "Mission: Impossible" and "Super 8," got the Steven Spielberg seal of approval to be the one to take us back to the world of "Star Wars" and its expansive galaxy of planets, alien beings and sinister forces. Abrams, who also shares co-writing duties with Michael Arndt ("Toy Story 3") and one of the original writers of the Holy Trilogy – well, Episodes V and VI – Lawrence Kasdan, takes command and delivers a solid entry that is nostalgic but something that clings to its serial roots: leaving audiences wanting more.
Young eyes will marvel at the whiz-bang effects that are comparatively subdued to what Lucas presented with those prequel installments where everything looked like a special effect. Even the old wizened one, Yoda, wasn't immune to digital trick-, treach- ery. Lightsabers glow blue and red, but the red one has some added flair this time around. The amount of detail on fighter jets, space cruisers and that bucket of bolts the Millennium Falcon is amazing. For kids, they will be baited by new rolling droid BB-8 and asking their parents, "Can I have one of those?"
The biggest compliment to "The Force Awakens" and the reason why the "Star Wars" franchise has maintained a strong legacy is its characters. The original trilogy maintained a nice balance of characters, story and for its time state-of-the-art special effects. The prequels, which came sixteen years after "Jedi," were effects-driven with wooden acting and poor story competing for primary impediment. Here we get the best of both. Opening with that legendary line, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…" adults get to be kids again, giddy with excitement as John Williams' rousing score kicks in as the title crawl catches us up to speed to what has transpired in the thirty years after the fall of the Empire. The First Order has arisen and Luke Skywalker, the last remaining Jedi, has vanished. A secret mission will whisk one pilot and his trusty droid to the desert planet Jakku where we will encounter key players.
The character MVP is Rey (Daisy Ridley). She collects scrap pieces that weren't burned to smithereens when the rebellion blew up the Death Star many moons ago. Rey ends up with BB-8 who contains something coveted by the First Order, led by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and his secondary, General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson). Turning to the bright side is Finn, a Stormtooper (John Boyega), that develops a conscience, and the best fighter pilot in the resistance, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).
Of the three, Poe has the most combat experience, is direct and flies by the seat of his pants. He's like "Top Gun"'s Maverick minus a Jakku beach volleyball scene. Finn shows potential but needs some seasoning. As for Rey, she is the biggest surprise and impresses Han with the way she pilots the Millennium Falcon. She is strong and independent; a character that will make girls put down their tiaras and look to the stars.
Unfortunately, these added characters are saddled with a familiar story which involves an even bigger Death Star that appears to draw its power from the sun. I am at a loss if this means it is good or bad for intergalactic warming.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" gets off to a rollicking start until someone engages autopilot on the Falcon. The narrative meanders a bit but is of great importance, particularly for the legacy characters. Abrams and company plays it safe so that there isn't much disturbance in "The Force Awakens."
What is surely going to be one of the big movers on home video for 2016, the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Blu-ray comes equipped with a stellar video transfer with colors that pop off the screen (the yellow scrolling preface; sandy Jakku; lightsabers; BB-8). The audio is nearly equally great with engaging surround sound as part of a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack.
Moving to the supplemental package, all extras can be found on the second Blu-ray disc. The first-run home video release also comes with a DVD copy and a Disney digital copy voucher. The crown jewel bonus feature is Laurent Bouzerau's Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey, a four-part making-of feature that runs 69 minutes and covers the franchise's transition to Disney and the film's development; principal shooting and development of characters; new settings and familiar faces (R2-D2, C-3PO and Carrie Fisher); and finally approaching a key scene and its aftermath, both for the film and the direction the franchise may take.
Beyond the documentary are a series of individual featurettes that are pretty self explanatory (The Story Awakens: The Table Read, Crafting Creatures, Building BB-8, Blueprint of a Battle: The Snow Fight, ILM: The Visual Magic of the Force, and John Williams: The Seventh Symphony). Rounding out the extras are six, short deleted scenes and a quick look at how "The Force Awakens" has spurred a charity movement.
Everything old is new again with "The Force Awakens," where a reunion of old friends begets a passing of the torch to new characters. While some of the story seems like a rehash of "A New Hope," J.J. Abrams' latest is both fan service to the original trilogy but takes old concepts and moves them in a new direction. The Blu-ray is worthy of your collection with an outstanding video presentation with audio that is nearly equally impressive. The supplements are good but it wouldn't surprise me if some stuff was saved for an eventual special edition once episodes VIII and IX are released.
'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' movie review: Is the Force with Episode VII?
The Force is strong with 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' fans in Hollywood
Movie review: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' practically serves as a remake
Review - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' from its prequel slumber (A spoiler-free review)


At Willow, we care deeply about our planet, and the legacy we are leaving our children. While we are by no means perfect, we believe our 100% natural latex mattresses and Organic Cotton covers provide one of the most eco-friendly sleeping options available in Singapore.
The natural latex we use is tapped from Hevea brasiliensis – a.k.a. the rubber tree. Our latex is grown in Thailand. The trees are not harmed in the process, and a single tree can produce latex for up to 25 years.
The process that transforms natural liquid latex into latex for Willow Mattresses not only doesn't produce greenhouse gases - it actually absorbs them. In addition, our rubber trees absorb tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.
Our manufacturing process (the Dunlop Process) doesn't involve hundreds of chemicals. The Dunlop Process is water based – and uses less water than other processes of making latex. The process generates no harmful by-products. Of course, the finished product is also free of toxins of any kind, including the volatile compounds "outgassed" by synthetic foams.
Because Latex is made from 100% natural materials, it means they're fully biodegradable. Your mattress will not pollute the planet for millennia to come. The cover of the mattress is also fully biodegradable. The only thing that isn't, is the zipper, and we're working on that.


We meet every Monday morning during term time at the Church Hall on Neville Road from 9.30-11.30am. We have a very welcoming group of volunteers to get alongside you and make your first time with us, less daunting! We have lots of different play equipment on offer, ranging from movement development areas to role play and more. At each session there is an age appropriate craft set up for you and your child to have a go at exploring your creative sides. We serve a healthy snack with toast, fruit and water for the children (highchairs and lidded cups provided) There are also hot drinks and toast for the parents. We have a soft play area for the children and nappy changing facilities are also available. At 11am we do our Rhyme Time singing session. We also teach 'Babies Can Sign' during our rhyme time and encouraging lots of dancing and joining in with the actions.