Continental Diamond Tool (CDT) is a family owned company with main office and manufacturing located in New Haven, Indiana. Our reputation as a leading-edge manufacturer of Diamond and CBN wheels is the result of a disciplined commitment to excellence that has led the company since 1973 and keeps us poised for long-term growth.
Our culture and business longevity, along with a focus on innovation, make CDT a great career choice for individuals interested in professional growth. Our engineers are specialists in their field, leading the way in engineering challenges of all types. Our full machine shop of skilled technicians takes pride in maintaining the highest quality standards. Customer service, tech staff and manufacturing work closely together as a team to ensure a satisfied customer experience.
As a CDT employee, you will enjoy a challenging position where you can learn and grow your career. With our small company values and large company capabilities, you will find the best of both worlds—a work environment that is innovative, fast-paced and flexible, where your efforts are appreciated and you can see the results first-hand.
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text:
PART 15. SAN MATEO COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT [103000 - 103700]
( Part 15 added by Stats. 1974, Ch. 502. )
CHAPTER 5. Powers and Functions of District [103200 - 103399.1]
ARTICLE 6. Existing Systems and Services [103300 - 103303]
( Heading of Article 6 amended by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1358. )
Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, before the district may establish any transit service or system which may significantly divert, lessen, or compete for the patronage or revenues of any existing system, other than an existing taxi service, the district shall give a written notice to the public utility or public agency which is operating the existing system. The written notice shall describe the transit service or system which the district proposes to establish and shall state the time within which the district proposes to establish such service or system.
(Amended by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1358.)
Where notice is required pursuant to Section 103300, the district shall not establish the proposed service or system, or maintain and operate the service or system, until it has completed the purchase of any existing system or any part thereof.
103301.5.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, before the district may establish any demand-activated service or system which may, at any time, divert, lessen, or compete for the patronage or revenues of any existing taxi service, the district shall give a written notice to that service. The written notice shall describe the demand-activated service or system which the district proposes to establish and shall state the time within which the district proposes to establish such service or system.
If any demand-activated service or system operated by the district diverts or lessens the patronage or revenues of any existing taxi service by causing a loss of patronage or revenues in the affected service area of any existing taxi service to the extent of 10 percent or more, the district shall not continue its demand-activated service or system, or maintain and operate the service or system, until it has completed the purchase of any existing taxi service or any part thereof. No purchase of an existing taxi service, or part thereof, need be made by the district as a result of the establishment or operation by the district of any service or system other than a demand-activated service or system.
The district and entity operating the existing system or the existing taxi service may agree upon the purchase price or they may agree that the purchase price is to be established by arbitration and upon the method of naming arbitrators and the method of conducting such arbitration.
Section 851 shall not apply to any contract for sale or sale of an existing system or existing taxi service, or any portion thereof, pursuant to this chapter, and the Public Utilities Commission shall have no jurisdiction with respect thereto.
PUCPublic Utilities Code - PUC6

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This is the last four Audio Series of the topic that Pastor Ray Crocker shared about Heaven. In this Series, Pastor will discuss about the Population of Heaven as well as the Glories of Heaven. And lastly, the identification of the Bride mentioned in the last Book of the Bible, the Revelation.
As a Christian, knowning about the things that await us when our journey ends in this earth is truly comforting. And when we know that Christ Jesus is faithful in all things, even unto His death, so He will also be faithful to bring home in Heaven those who have put their faith and trust on Him.


1) You do not enjoy what you are doing.
Unconsciously every person seeks pleasure. If you are excited about doing a specific activity, then the time flies, you are in a so called "zone mode" (it's when you don't notice anything around you while doing the thing), and you accomplish everything in a blink of an eye.
If you do not enjoy what you are doing for any reason, then consciously or unconsciously you will try avoiding that. You will try to replace the activity you have to do with any activity that brings pleasure.
Break the unpleasant activity into smaller bits. Do one logical bit and then reward yourself by doing something pleasant. Then, take on another unpleasant bit.
Do the activity at the time when you feel most energetic. If you don't have energy already, then it will be even more difficult to start doing something that you don't enjoy.
Ask yourself whether the activity is really necessary.
See if you can find another person who might do the unpleasant activity for you, so you can concentrate your energy on more productive things.
2) You get tired while completing tasks.
If you get tired while completing task, it means something is not quite right with the task organisation or your habits.
First of all, get enough sleep. An average person needs 8 hours of sleep. Some need more. Make it eight hours and stick to it for at least one week. See how it will change your mood, energy, and performance!
Second, make breaks. Do one task for 45 minutes, then take a break for 15 minutes. During the break, do the opposite to what you were doing during the task. I.e. If you were sitting in front of a computer, get up and walk. Make tea, stretch, go outside for a fresh air. If a task was a physical activity, then do something non-physical – flip a magazine, sit and wait for a cat to comfort on your lap.
You get tired of accomplishing a task, if the task if too big or too long to finish in one go. Break it down into smaller tasks. If the task gets boring, you are at risk of not doing it at all. In this case see another point in this article on how to deal with that.
3) You have too many tasks on a plate.
Having too many tasks on a plate will make you anxious. You will end up doing none of them, or doing none of them properly.
If you see your calendar is occupied with tasks, if you can't finish the previous task when the next one starts, or if you can't accomplish everything planned for the day, then it's time to prune your calendar – re-allocate tasks to other days, to make each day less congested.
Say NO to things that don't fit your vision, mission, and short-term goals. You need to have things done now. For that you need time, concentration, and energy. Allow yourself to have that. For that, you need to be picky about what you choose to do and not to do.
If you have too many ideas floating in your head, that excite you and make you want to rush and start doing them – write them down somewhere. Let them rest for at least two weeks. Then return to them, in your spare time, and see if they still excite you to the same extent.
Balance your load. Have the maximum of 3 task per day. Make them three big chunks. Move the rest to another day. Group similar activities in a bundle. I.e. Replying emails is one bundle – reply as many emails as you can during that task.
4) You haven't planned it properly.
"Failing to plan is planning to fail", teaches us the famous saying. You might be struggling with accomplishing something, because you have no plan or the plan is not good enough for the particular task or circumstances.
Before you start with a task, think of an "actions sketeton" – smaller steps what you need to undertake to get the task's result. If a step is big, break it down again. Have a clear vision, see the path you need to follow to accomplish the task. Then, follow it without further thinking. You can adjust the steps along the way. Importantly, start doing now.
Have you ever struggled to accomplish what you've planned? Ever tried to finish what looked like a perfect plan? How did you deal with that challenge? What would you recommend yourself and others in this case?
Share in in the comments below.


text:
require_relative '../../spec_helper'

describe 'Pattern: Surveyor/Respondent' do
  before do
    @ctx = EM::XS::Context.new
  end

  describe 'SURVEYOR/RESPONDENT' do
    before do
      @client_handler = stub()

      @server_handler_class = Class.new do
        def initialize(id)
          @id = id
        end

        def on_readable(sock, parts)
          p parts
          sock.send_msg("#{parts[0]} : #{@id}")
        end
      end

      @server1 = @ctx.socket(XS::RESPONDENT, @server_handler)
      @server2 = @ctx.socket(XS::RESPONDENT, @server_handler)
      @client = @ctx.socket(XS::SURVEYOR, @client_handler)
    end

    # => CRASH
    # ENDPOINTS.each do |label, endpoint|
    #   should "works with #{label} endpoints" do
    #     @server1.connect(endpoint).should == 0
    #     @server2.connect(endpoint).should == 0
    #     @client.bind(endpoint).should == 0
    #
    #     @client_handler.expects(:on_readable).with(@server, ['msg : 1'])
    #     @client_handler.expects(:on_readable).with(@server, ['msg : 2'])
    #     @client.send_msg("msg")
    #
    #
    #     wait(0.2)
    #   end
    # end

  end

end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Animal Tracking and Gps System
Human cannot able to identify the actual health problem related to Animals, so this project will helps to diagnosis the Health Problem of Animals. Tracking provision of Animals is involved in this system.
Universal Magneto Resistive Current Sensor
The measurement of electric current strength is not always easy, especially when the measured signal requires further electronic conditioning. Simply connecting an ammeter to an electrical circuit and reading out the value is no longer enough.
Child Safety Wearable Device
It provides parents with the real-time location, surrounding temperature, UV radiation index and SOS light along with Distress alarm buzzer for their child's surroundings and the ability to locate their child .
Underground Electric Transmission
This overview contains information about electric transmission lines which are installed underground, rather than overhead on poles or towers.
Smart Voting
Our Proposed System is a finger-print based application that enhances our country with a better voting system to ensure 100%voting .Since the existing voting system isnot having high security our project will overcome this major drawback.
System is a computer system with a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electrical system, often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts.
5 Pen PC Technology
5 Pen PC Technology is a gadget package including five functions: a pen-style cellular phone with a handwriting data input function, virtual keyboard, a very small projector, camera scanner, and personal ID key with cashless pass function.
Smart Fabrics
Smart clothing, made from sensor-based smart fabric, could redefine the connected fitness and health industries and beyond.
X-MAX Technology
The company developed cognitive radio technology for mobile services using licensed or unlicensed radio pectrum.xG's initial product is xMax, a carrier-class cognitive radio network.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging test. OCT uses light waves to take cross-section pictures of your retina. With OCT, your ophthalmologist can see each of the retina's distinctive layers.
Global System for Mobile Communications
GSM (originally Groupe Spécial Mobile), is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile phones.
Mobile Phone Cloning
Cell phone cloning refers to the act of copying the identity of one mobile telephone to another. This is usually done to make fraudulent telephone calls. The bill for the calls go to the legitimate subscriber
Polymer Memory
Polymer memory refers to a new memory technology that uses conductive polymers instead of silicon-based constructions to store information.
Interferometric Modulator
The color is selected with an electrically switched light modulator comprising a microscopic cavity that is switched on and off using driver integrated circuits similar to those used to address liquid crystal displays (LCD).
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
ATM is a switching technique used by telecommunication networks that uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing to encode data into small, fixed-sized cells.
ZigBee Technolgy
ZigBee is a wireless technology designed for control and sensor networks. It defines a set of communication protocols for low-data-rate Short-range wireless networking.
The Wireless USB is the first the high speed Personal Wireless Interconnect. Wireless USB will build on the success of wired USB, bringing USB technology into the wireless future.
Steganography is the art and science of communicating in a way which hides the the existence of the secret message communication. It aims to hide information /covered writing. Information to be protected.
Satrack
Satrack is basically an acronym for satellite tracking system which uses a GPS i.e Global Positioning System for sending the signals to the missile launched in the space.
Today IP Telephony is a very powerful and economical communication options. IP telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks, services, and applications.


Mailbox Monday was originally hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page, but is now a traveling meme and for the month of April Mailbox Monday will be hosted by yours truly!!! For the month of May your new host for MM will be Mari @ Mari Reads!
This is my last time hosting Mailbox Monday and I'd like to thank Marcia for this opportunity. It has been so much fun meeting new bloggers and I thank all of you for dropping by and hope you will continue to do so!
This past week was another slow one for me, but quality trumped quantity as I received a book I have been lusting after for a long time now! I am a huge fan of author Karleen Koen and was so excited to snag a copy of her latest release, Before Versailles. I also was able to secure an interview with Ms. Koen and am beyond stoked for that! Thank you Rachel from Crown Publishing!
I haven't read any of Karleen Koen's books so I'm going to make a point of checking them out at Goodreads. Hope you love the newest.
This was a wonderful way to meet some wonderful new reviewers and I'll definitely be back.
I'm also a follower of your blog, I have gotten a few historical picks from some of your reviews.
Aaaah, so it's arrived. I can't wait to hear how it is.
I went straight to Goodreads and added Before Versailles to my TBR list!
Thanks for the awesome recommendation. I added my link above, and my IMM post is forthcoming!
So awesome that you got a book you've really been wanting. Enjoy!
Oh, you're book looks fabulous! Hope you enjoy it...and thanks so much for hosting this event this month.
I remember reading Karleen Koen's books in the past and being swept away. Can't wait to hear what you think of this one.
I really like how the Mailbox Monday is touring to different blogs because there are so many blogs I find and the books they get in the mail are so interesting and new to me.
This looks like a good one. I'll watch for the review.
Thanks for hosting. The covers of your books are gorgeous!
I've always been curious about Louis XIV, too. We got to visit Versailles a few years ago, and I thought I should read a good historical fiction novel set in that time about he and his wife. Do you have one you could recommend??
I can see why you wanted this book. Before Versailles sounds great. Thanks for hosting this month! I enjoyed visiting and I will be back.
Congrats on the good score Amy, I have yet to read her but I made sure I won every one of her released books to date. Someday I will get to her, enjoy the read.
It's always great when there's a week with one book when that book is something that we really really wanted! Enjoy and thank so much for hosting this past month!
This one looks good. I hope you enjoy it!
BEFORE VERSAILLES looks like a great historical fiction book. I've always been fascinated with that time period. Enjoy it!
Also, thanks so much for being the host this month. We're most appreciative!
Thank you for hosting for April. I will be following the meme next month as well.
The book is new to me and the subject is of course fabulous.
You were a wonderful hostess this month! I hope you enjoy your new book.
Thank you so much for taking the time to host this month. You did a wonderful job. Even though this meme adds to my evergrowing personal tbr bucket list, it is one of my favorite. Happy Reading!!
Thanks so much for hosting! I hope you enjoy the new book!
Thanks for hosting! I haven't posted a mailbox all month but posted today. I was visiting some blogs through Mr Linky and post #50 HGH Energizer is a spam post and takes you to a site without a MM post.
I am currently reading Madame Tussaud, so that book looks especially good to me! I look foward to your review!
This is the first I have heard of this book. It sounds most interesting.


The Avengers movie series is one of the most popular superhero movie series around the world, and the latest sequel Avengers Infinity War was just as well received by its fanatic movie fans as the previous ones. The best part about the Avenger series is that you get to enjoy the presence of various superheroes in one movie. In the Avengers Infinity War, we saw Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, and all the other Avenger superheroes united to battle one of their most powerful enemies, the evil Thanos. What we all love about these larger than life, big superhero movies is their action, the superhero themselves and their talked-about costumes that are remembered and copied for years to come. At New American Jackets, we very well understand our customers' love for the movie inspired and superhero costume jackets, which is why we introduce you our very special Avengers outfits, costumes, and jackets collections.
All our products are made using the finest quality of fabric with special attention to the specifics, like excellent detailing, intricate power suit designs, and mind-blowing upgrade adjustments. This section includes some of the most loved and iconic jackets and costumes from the Avenger movies. We have got an amazing variety from the Avenger clothing options to movie varsity jackets. We make sure we offer options for different body types, likings, tastes and preferences of our customers. Our Avenger Infinite War jackets section is like a dream come true for true movie fans and followers. We have gathered the biggest and greatest collection of jackets from Marvel, leather jackets inspired by the Avenger movies, Tony Stark Infinity War Hoodie, Black Panther jacket and lots more.
With our collection and our high quality standards, we make sure that our customers can enjoy our outer wears for many years to come and look their best on an everyday basis. At the same time, we also make sure that all you movie lovers out there can dress up to your fullest and make the best of all Halloween parties, dress up parties, and other events. Which is why, along with some cool regular wear leather jackets, this section also includes the full fledge options like the Civil War Scarlet Witch jacket from Marvel, and everyone's much-loved the Captain America Jacket.
So, come shop for your favorite movie jackets and costumes, only at New American Jackets, your online fashion store.


A simple dish of eggs poached in a smoky, vegetable tomato sauce and greens.
Heat a Calphalon Premier™ Space Saving Nonstick 3.5qt Sauce Pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add the diced onions, smashed garlic and a few pinches of salt. Cook for 1 minute.
Gradually add the cleaned and stemmed greens to pan. Bring the heat up to medium/high and cover.
Continue to add greens and cover until all 2 pounds have made their way into the pan, stirring as you add. Once all the greens are added, remove cover and cook until the greens are tender.
Remove cooked greens with tongs and place them in Calphalon Premier™ Space Saving Nonstick 3qt Sauté Pan. Evenly spread the greens in the pan and make four deep dents in the greens for the eggs.
Crack an egg in each dent of the greens keeping the yolk intact and then bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until cooked to your liking.
Once the eggs are done, remove the pan from the oven and add black pepper, red pepper and serve.


text:
Russians hail Capello after victory
Pundits welcome a 'new era' under Fabio Capello after Russia beat Group F favourites Portugal in World Cup qualifying.
Russia played a tight defensive game, restricting Portugal – and captain Cristiano Ronaldo - to only a few scoring opportunities [EPA]
Russia coach Fabio Capello has been hailed as a saviour by local media after the Italian masterminded the team's transformation following a dismal showing at Euro 2012.
"Russian Catenaccio!" read a front-page headline in Saturday's leading sports daily Sport-Express in reference to a tactical system with a strong emphasis on defence traditionally associated with Italian football.
Russia beat Group F favourites Portugal 1-0 on Friday to maintain their perfect start in their World Cup qualifying campaign under Capello with three wins from three matches without conceding a goal.
"A dream start! Three victories at the beginning of a qualifying cycle - when did we enjoy such a start? Only once - in qualifying for the 1994 World Cup," the Sport-Express report said.
"Our team played a tight game with emphasis on defence. They were able to contain (Portugal captain) Cristiano Ronaldo and once again kept their goal clean," it added.
"It now looks that the attacking game, associated with (Capello's predecessors) Dutchmen Guus Hiddink and Dick Advocaat has stayed in the past. Now, we have a new era - Fabio Capello and his Italian style of play."
Another sports daily, Sovietsky Sport, said Russia's win was good revenge for a 7-1 defeat by Portugal in a 2006 World Cup qualifier in Lisbon eight years ago.
"We paid them back for 7-1 - the most humiliating defeat in our football history," the paper wrote.
The Russians took advantage of Portugal's unfamiliarity with the Moscow stadium's artificial turf, scoring in the sixth minute when Kerzhakov broke clear on goal following a defensive mistake.
After taking the lead, the home team played a tight defensive game, limiting Portugal and their leader Ronaldo to only a few scoring chances.
"We knew we had to contain Ronaldo in order to have a good chance to win," Capello, who replaced Advocaat following Russia's Euro 2012 flop, told reporters after the match.
"We tried to stay as close to him as possible, often put two defenders on him. I think it worked pretty well for us."
The Portuguese blamed the defeat in part on playing on a slick Luzhniki surface.
"It was very difficult to play on such a pitch," said Portugal winger Nani.
"Obviously, the Russians were much better accustomed to it than we had."


text:
La Recopa Árabe 2001 fue la duodécima edición de este torneo de fútbol a nivel de clubes del Mundo Árabe organizado por la UAFA y que contó con la participación de nueve equipos campeones de copa de sus respectivos países.

El Stade Tunisien de Túnez venció a Al-Hilal Omdurmán de Sudán en la final jugada en Tunisia para ser campeón del torneo por segunda ocasión.

Esta fue la última edición del torneo, ya que para el año 2002 la UAFA decidió fusionar la Copa de Clubes Árabe, la Recopa Árabe y la Supercopa Árabe para crear la Liga de Campeones Árabe.

Fase de grupos

Grupo A

Grupo B

Fase final

Semifinales

Final

Campeón

Enlaces externos
Archivo.

Recopa Árabe
Fútbol en Túnez
Eventos deportivos celebrados en Túnez
Fútbol en 2001
Túnez en 2001
Stade Tunisien
Deporte en la ciudad de Túnez

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


i want to make 3D sound equalizer in maya… is there any easiest way ??
Unless there is a plugin that does this already I think you'd have to write one… that is to analyze the audio and to output amplitude values for specific frequencies.
Would it be possible for anyone to update the links to the turtorials in the first post? Many of the first links (under "basic") appears to be dead to me.
I'm new to maya and 3d modeling in general, so I need to find some turtorials and info on where to start and how do things.
@galrot if you go to http://lesterbanks.com/ and look through the maya section, you'll see where he links the maya tutorials from and that'll give you a good idea of where to get the ones you like.
^^ Thanks for your answer. I will check out the link you provided.
I've also looked at this so-called Beginner's Guide to Maya at a digitaltutors.com so I do think I have started to get a understanding of the absolute basic in Maya.
However the first step in that tutorial is to create a four wheels/cylindres in two rows next to each other. I don't really get how I'm supposed to do that … How do I get them do line up perfectly in two rows? Any ideas or any tutorials that explain it to me?
Please bear in mind that regardless of reaching the goal or not I will still release 3 Maya Dynamics courses, a RealFlow course as well as an Introduction to Maya for Effects. Each course is a bit over 12 hours of video and it will be in both English and Spanish.
If you are completely new, instead of tackling advanced tasks, I would suggest getting a grasp of the foundation even if it takes you away from your immediate desire of car modeling temporarily. With a foundational understanding, you can better understand tutorials for specific objects like cars and be able to troubleshoot.
I recommend Lynda.com and as you already know, Digital Tutors. Best to you.
I'm Paulo from Philippines, a frustrated graphic artist. I'm a fresh graduate in college and lucky to find job from a private local company.
I'm looking for someone who can help me on my frustrating problems.(Maya 2011) my superior gave me 2 weeks to study Maya 2011 but I'm so hard to find forums or any website that can help me on my specific problems.
I already downloaded some Maya tuts in youtube but some of its, did not help me a lot. Can anyone could be my mentor in Maya 2011? So I can easily be familiarize with this software.
I am 37 year old guy, always wanted to learn 3D since last 15 years but I didn't get the chance and obviously no resources to learn. I tried once in 2002 to learn 3D studio max but due to personal reasons was unable to complete.
Now I have chance and time to learn and I think I can do pretty well.
Any help and suggestions will be highly appreciated. Right now I am thinking about subscription of Digital tutor.
There are also several people, including Autodesk, that have extensive Maya tutorials on YouTube.
Thanks for advice!! I have subscribed to Digital tutor and already learning Maya 2013.
We all seen a welding machine in mechanical workshops. We are going to create the same machine in Autodesk Maya, with the use of particles. In this tutorial we will use distance dimension tool and few very simple lines of expression in Autodesk Maya. Hope you will enjoy the tutorial.
Flooding an Aquarium - Intergrating Realflow mesh and particles using Maya, Krakatoa MY and Nuke. (Original video here: www.vimeo.com/44535646) In part 1 I will show you how to simulate the liquid using Realflow 2013 and Hybrido. In the next two parts we will render this sim and its mesh in Maya using V-Ray and Krakatoa MY. And we'll color the Krakatoa render by velocity using Magma. And finally in the third part we'll composite it all in Nuke.
Part 2 is the Maya bit!
In this series you will learn how to plan out your work, how to model buildings and props using a variety of techniques, how to unwrap models using the uv editor and prepare them for texturing, how to texture your models & props in photoshop which is also explained in a slow and correct procedure.
I will be uploading 5 or so of them a day for the next few weeks, i hope they will be of value to some of the new users here.
you will find a link to the next part 10 seconds before the end of each video, enjoy.


text:
Pick a county Maine State Total Androscoggin County, Maine Aroostook County, Maine Cumberland County, Maine Franklin County, Maine Hancock County, Maine Kennebec County, Maine Knox County, Maine Lincoln County, Maine Oxford County, Maine Penobscot County, Maine Piscataquis County, Maine Sagadahoc County, Maine Somerset County, Maine Waldo County, Maine Washington County, Maine York County, Maine Maine NRCS
Pick a district 1st District of Maine (Rep. Chellie Pingree) 2nd District of Maine (Rep. Jared Golden)
Oilseed Program payments in Maine totaled $31,682 from 1995-2020‡.
Programs included in Oilseed Program payments
Oilseed Program - Soybean $29,016
Oilseed Program - Canola $2,550
Oilseed Program - Sunflower $116


text:
6.30.19 "Becoming Who We Already Are" Rev. Wiens Heinsohn
Today is the Feast day for the Nativity of St John the Baptist, who is the patron saint of this church. So it's the day we talk about him, and therefore also about who we are, where we come from, what our purpose is. Now you all know that I've only been with you, getting to know you, since this past October. But I've already seen that the people of St. John's love to hold the old and the new together. We love tradition and we love to innovate. We care about being on the forward edge of the way of Jesus, leaning into the future. St John's was one of the first Episcopal churches in Minnesota to embrace LGBTQ folks, and among the first to hire a female rector. You have been a church active in the recovery community and a church involved in international peace and justice issues. For the past five years at least, you've been talking about desiring deeper relationships with our neighbors and those we serve outside our doors, to become less about charity and more about walking together with our neighbors because our liberation is bound together. We are a strong and vibrant parish that values children and youth, in fact we are one of the few Episcopal parishes with a full time children and youth minister, Shane Sanders Marcus. We've been cultivating relationships with various folks on the North Side in Minneapolis for a long time—Circle of the Beloved, and the North Side Achievement Zone, and Liberty Church, and the Healing Space. We are one of the churches with the longest relationship with First Nations Kitchen in Little Earth.
So in many ways, we lean into the future. We want to be at the forward edge of the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement. And in that sense we have exactly the right patron saint. John the Baptist was an eccentric man, a prophet who lived in the desert and ate grasshopers and honey and wore camelskin for clothing. Today in our scripture we heard the story of his birth, his birth to parents who were well past the age of childbearing and who had been childless. From the beginning he was a miracle, new life coming out of that which was old and no longer generative. The purpose of John the Baptist was to prepare the people for the coming Messiah. He was born pointing to the future. Even his name was maverick, given to him by God and announced by his mother, not his father, even though the people around him wouldn't believe her until the father confirmed her words. His name, John, means God is gracious, God grants mercy and favor. The name John may even be linked to the ancient practice of the year of Jubilee, the year of God's favor, which was a massive amnesty when all debts were forgiven, slaves freed, no work was done, even the earth and the land was given rest.
John was born pointing toward the future, toward the coming Messiah, and toward the graciousness of God. And the way he did so was to insist that the religion of his day was bankrupt. He was a relentless prophetic truth-teller to the powers of his day, including the religious leaders of his day. But his answer to the bankruptcy of religious practice wasn't to abandon it. What he did instead was to baptize people, announcing the forgiveness of their sins. Have you ever wondered what the ritual of baptism was about when John performed it, before there was a Christian church with baptismal fonts? Baptism was the original rite for Gentiles who wanted to convert to Judaism. Yet John was baptizing Jews. What did that mean?
I think John was inviting people to finally become in reality who they already were in principle. He told the truth to power, and then he invited the powers and the people to embrace their divine vocation, to become fully who they were already created to be. He didn't tell Jews to stop being Jews. He invited them to become themselves more fully. He announced forgiveness. He knew that his answer to the problems of his day was not the whole story – he was still pointing toward the future, toward Jesus – but he got people ready, by helping them realize that what they were doing was empty, that they needed their religion to be about something real, that they needed to live into what their religion was about in the first place.
In today's world there is so much desperate need for prophetic truth-telling. This past week, during the month of Pride, when we celebrate and affirm LGBTQ people and their beautiful God-created diversity, the Covenant denomination voted to eject First Covenant Church in Minneapolis out of membership, and to defrock its pastor, Dan Collison, because they violated Covenant policy by marrying LGBTQ folks. Later today a group of people from every walk of life will march from Nicollet and Lake to First Universalist Church in Uptown to protest against our government's separation of families at the border and through the Muslim ban and deportations. I personally will be at First Universalist Church. I just returned from ten days in the north woods, in the Boundary Waters and the North Shore and Superior National Forest, where I soaked in God's amazing creation and was reminded again about our need to care for the earth and all its creatures. When I started thinking about the various issues in our world going on in relationship to today's sermon, frankly I got overwhelmed. How do I even choose what truth to tell to what power? What is the truth?
But John's answer isn't to get overwhelmed, and it isn't to digress into endless righteous indignation and finger pointing and hatred. It's to invite us to become again who we already are. It's to point toward the future, the future made possible when people follow the incredibly powerful and creative nonviolent Way of Jesus in which we love our enemies and refuse to do violence even to them, yet still continue to resist evil in ourselves and in systems in creative ways.
In 1996, a 19 year old young man named Danny Givens shot an off duty police officer named Art Blakey at an attempted robbery, and they exchanged fire. Both were rushed to the hospital, and from the hospital, Deputy Blakey asked if Danny was OK. During the trial, when Danny was on trial for a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison for the robbery and for shooting Art Blakey, Mr. Blakey testified that he thought Danny should be given a second chance. So the judge sentenced Danny to 12 years in prison. During his prison sentence Deputy Blakey checked on Danny's mother from time to time, and Danny became a Christian. When Danny got out of prison, Deputy Blakey was there to meet him. He gave him a hug and said "I'm proud of you, I love you, and I forgive you." This incredible act of true and holistic forgiveness changed Danny's life. Danny is now an ordained pastor who is a leader in the Christian movement for racial justice. He is active in the Black Lives Matter movement, and is living and modeling what a life of reconciliation looks like. He has created a praxis curriculum for congregations interested in working at the intersections of race, justice and faith, and continues to be motivated every day by the unexpected and overwhelming love of God he received from a human being, Art Blakey.[1]
Danny Givens is doing something that is inherent in Christian faith: he is incarnating the gospel. What does that mean? It means that he is making the love of God real, in actual, practical terms that we can see and describe. Most of us don't take that word "gospel," which means "good news," far enough. Gospel means something unexpected, undeserved, that is desperately needed but never anticipated. It's Art Blakey loving the man who shot him and tirelessly seeking his wellbeing. The gospel is like appealing to the bank for an extension on your mortgage that you're about to default on, hoping desperately you can get just a few months' reprieve, and winning the lottery instead. It's like hoping the latest anti-depressant can help you feel just well enough to get out of bed in the morning, and experiencing lasting joy instead. The Way of Jesus, the Way of Love, is about the radical future that becomes possible when we embrace the love of God enough to love our enemies while resisting evil through creative nonviolence. I think Art Blakey might have been able to forgive Danny Givens for shooting him because maybe he could see himself in Danny, in this 19 year old that was caught in violence but who was more than the worst he had done.
What does all this have to do with us, with St John's in 2019, on the Nativity of St John the Baptist? This is about us facing what is empty about our practice of religion, and becoming more fully who we already are as followers of Jesus' nonviolent way. This is about continuing to lean into the future, in the tradition of John the Baptist, by being grounded in the utter amnesty of God's forgiveness and love, which extends to all people, both victims and oppressors. This is about reclaiming the vocation of the Church to seek and serve Christ in all persons, even those who are committing the greatest violence. The world is full already of righteous indignation, on the left and on the right. What the Christian spiritual path offers is a way to break the chain of violence and hatred in which victims often become oppressors, by a radical commitment to love while still resisting evil.
This is made possible by the unfathomable love of God for us. In the scripture text for us, John's father Zechariah says "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has come to his people and set them free." The Greek word for "come to the people" means more than simple arrival. It means coming close enough to truly see the people, but seeing with the intent to heal, seeing with the intent to offer help. God is saying, I see you, and I choose you, to each person that exists.
Imagine that God sees you as you actually are, in your fullness, in all of what is going on in your life now and all that ever has happened. Imagine God sees fully, both your goodness and your hurt, and also your failures and addictions and the choices you've made that are hurtful to yourself and others. Then imagine that God sees you with the intent of loving and liberating. That God is seeking to liberate you to become who you really are: made in God's image, with the divine vocation of healing connection with all that exists. When we have received that love, it can liberate us from being curved in on ourselves, and flipped outward, no longer ego-centered but God-centered, to live without fear in service to God's reign.
[1] See this story as told on Danny Givens' Facebook Page, on "Steve TV," June 25, 2019, at http://www.stevetv.com/clip/the-cop-that-befriended-the-man-that-shot-him?jwsource=cl&fbclid=IwAR2XrzS6xx3lJ6JcswgQDDslrwhhJaeaw_bahX-sMoBOW8QdWP8b9dNdOUc


The highly touted Lesedi La Rona — the tennis ball-sized rough diamond weighing 1,109 carats — was expected to smash the world record for any gemstone sold at auction. Instead, it went unsold at Sotheby's London yesterday when the bidding stalled at $61 million, short of the undisclosed reserve price.
Experts had conservatively pegged the value of the gem-quality, Type IIa diamond at $70 million or more. Once cut, the rough was expected to yield a 400-carat flawless diamond.
It was an extraordinarily rare occurrence to see a rough diamond offered at a public auction. Typically, these stones are traded among a handful of sophisticated dealers within the diamond industry.
But, Lesedi La Rona was no ordinary rough diamond. It was the largest gem-quality rough diamond discovered in more than 100 years. Because of its "rock star" status, mining company Lucara decided to break with tradition and roll the dice at Sotheby's with a special auction dedicated to one diamond.
Lucara was betting that wealthy individuals outside the diamond industry would want to get in on the excitement. The New York Times reported that Lucara chief executive William Lamb had been working with Sotheby's and Julius Baer, a Swiss bank, to attract private clients from around the world.
The Sotheby's gallery was nearly filled to capacity when auctioneer David Bennett asked for the starting bid of $50 million. Viewers around the world watched online in real-time via streaming video.
The offers for Lesedi La Rona notched up slowly in increments of $500,000. But only a few minutes later, the bidding ground to a halt at $61 million. Bennett gave fair warning and then hit the gavel.
Soon the audience learned the gem had not reached the auction house's pre-established minimum price. Bennett announced the gem would not be sold and walked away from the podium.
The last time Sotheby's put a rough stone up for sale was in 2000. In similar fashion, the purple-pink 12.49-carat diamond failed to sell, the Times reported.
Interestingly, Lesedi La Rona's stablemate at Lucara, the 813-carat diamond called The Constellation, was sold privately to Dubai-based Nemesis International for a record $63.1 million back in May. It was the highest price ever paid for a gemstone, rough or polished.
If Lesedi la Rona had earned the same $77,649 per-carat achieved by The Constellation, it would have fetched upwards of $86 million.
For now, the 14.62-carat Oppenheimer Blue, which sold for a record $57.5 million at Christie's Geneva in May, will hold onto its record for the highest priced jewel ever sold at auction.
Had the Lesedi La Rona sold at auction, the buyer would have paid a 12% buyer's premium on the amount over $3 million and a 20% fee on the first $3 million. The reserve price was not made public.
Credits: Images courtesy of Sotheby's. Screen captures via Sothebys.com.
Devoted mom and Dreamgirls Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson turned to Instagram on Friday to show off a one-of-a-kind necklace highlighted by the first baby tooth of her son David. The tiny white tooth dangles from a simple gold heart on a fine chain.
"I like making things my own. I call it jenniferizing! Thank u guys," wrote the 34-year-old singer and actress on Instagram.
The necklace was Hudson's innovative way of transforming one of a parent's fondest memories — the loss of a baby's first tooth — into a cherished keepsake.
Although Hudson's first social media mention of the tooth jewelry was on Friday, a review of her Instagram account confirms that she's been wearing the special necklace for more than two months. In fact, nine weeks ago, Hudson posted a photo of herself and her six-year-old son, whom she calls Munch, in New York's Central Park. Dangling from her neck in clear view is Munch's baby tooth.
Munch's dad is Hudson's fiancé and long-time partner David Otunga. The brawny Otunga, 36, is a Harvard Law graduate, professional wrestler and WWE wrestling commentator.
This was not the first time Hudson, who has been starring on Broadway in The Color Purple, has used the term "Jenniferize." In fact, it's been part of her lexicon for at least 2 1/2 years.
Back in 2014, while promoting her third studio album, Hudson used the term to describe a certain creative energy that makes a project uniquely her own.
Later that same year, Hudson was on NPR revealing her new approach to music. Instead of just singing the right notes, her music was now a celebration. She called this infusion of energy "Jenniferizing."
In December, Hudson will be playing Motormouth Maybelle opposite Harvey Fierstein's Edna Turnblad in the live NBC telecast of Hairspray.
Three short films focusing on the mystical properties of rubies were premiered last Wednesday at the Hotel Café Royal in London.
Called "Ruby Inspired Stories," the 60-second vignettes feature an international cast that includes actresses Kamay Lau, Sophie Cookson and Aditi Rao Hydari, as well as model Grace Guozhi. The videos were produced by Gemfields, a leading supplier of colored gemstones.
The company maintains a core belief that there is "A Story in Every Gemstone," so the firm enlisted award-winning filmmaker Leonora Lonsdale to create a series of intimate portraits that explore how rubies play a pivotal role in the lives of three contemporary women. Each vignette weaves a narrative around one of ruby's mystical themes — prosperity, passion or protection.
In the prosperity-themed video, we're invited into the world of a sophisticated and successful artist played by London-based model and actress Lau. The artist is assisted in her studio by a dedicated apprentice played by Chinese model Guozhi.
Lau admires the work ethic of Guozhi, who tirelessly toils day and night preparing her canvasses and serving her tea. The final scene shows the women dressed up for a night on the town. In the back seat of a town car, Lau waits for Guozhi to join her and has a special gift waiting on the seat next to her. Presumably, it's a piece of ruby jewelry that Lau had been admiring in a storefront window earlier in the video.
The other two "Ruby Inspired Stories" star British actress Cookson in a video about "passion," and Indian actress Hydari in a feature about "protection."
"Rubies have been renowned for their magical properties since the beginning of civilization," Gemfields CEO Ian Harebottle told Mining.com. "As a leading supplier of responsibly sourced colored gemstones, we wanted to explore how these beautiful and mysterious gemstones resonate with women today."
Worked into the storylines of each video are product shots from designers Gyan, Fabergé and Aya, a new brand from Chelsy Davy. Each video ends with the slogan, "A Story in Every Gemstone," and the tagline, "Responsibly Sourced Mozambican Rubies by Gemfields."
Credits: Screen captures via Youtube/Gemfields; Facebook.com/Gemfields.
The 7.45-carat diamond engagement ring that presidential candidate Donald Trump gave to second wife Marla Maples in 1991 is heading to the auction block in New York. After their divorce in 1999, Maples sold the ring at auction for $110,000. On Wednesday, the same ring is expected to fetch $300,000 to $350,000.
The platinum ring by Harry Winston features an F-color, VS1, emerald-cut center stone in a four-prong setting. The sides are channel set with 16 baguette-cut diamonds.
In 1999, Maples entrusted the sale of the ring to auctioneer Joseph DuMouchelle. At the time, the ring was sold to an anonymous American couple, who have watched the ring triple in value. On Wednesday, DuMouchelle will auction the ring for a second time at the Lotte New York Palace hotel.
Contributing to the value of the Harry Winston ring are multiple levels of provenance.
"It's interesting when you consider the last time we sold it," DuMouchelle told the Detroit Free Press. "It was before Donald had his show The Apprentice and obviously before he was running for president. Now, he's running for president, while Marla just appeared on Dancing with the Stars. So it's completely different time frames."
DuMouchelle described the ring as being "very wearable" and having a "pretty design."
Trump and Maples were married in 1993 in a lavish ceremony at the Plaza Hotel, with the guest list topping 1,000 people. They had one child together, daughter Tiffany, before splitting up in 1997. The divorce was finalized two years later.
Credit: Image courtesy of Joseph DuMouchelle.


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Troon International Promotes Francisco De Lancastre David To Cluster General Manager
3.31pm 21st August 2019	- People
Francisco de Lancastre David
Troon, the global leader in upscale golf course management, has announced the promotion of Francisco de Lancastre David to the role of Cluster General Manager across all three of its championship golf courses in Abu Dhabi.
Troon's International division recently added Yas Links to its already impressive portfolio in the Middle East. It's a course that is ranked 44 in Golf Digest's Top 100, and will fall within Francisco de Lancastre David's remit in Abu Dhabi, alongside the two other Troon managed venues, Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.
Francisco de Lancastre David's role across these three properties is one of the biggest in golf club management worldwide due to the size and nature of the courses and in his position, he will manage the day to day operations of the cluster of golf clubs.
Mark Chapleski, President of Troon International, commenting on the appointment, said: "The addition of Yas Links to our portfolio is a testament to the quality of work that Troon has done in Abu Dhabi in recent years. With three of the top clubs in the region now under one ownership group, our primary goal is to make sure they are running as efficiently as possible and at the same time work with Aldar's hotels to create amazing golf packages that drive Abu Dhabi as a must play destination for golfers from around the world.".
"In order to maximise productivity across the three clubs, we have promoted Francisco de Lancastre David to the role of Cluster General Manager due to his proven success at both Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and prior industry experience at clubs such as The Els Club Dubai and Finca Cortesin Golf Club in Spain."
Commenting on his new position, Francisco de Lancastre David said: "I am extremely excited with the opportunity that our ownership group and Troon have extended to me. I understand the responsibility that this role carries, and I am looking forward to delivering the vision that we have set for all three Clubs."
"Our main short-term goal is to consolidate operations at all three clubs and ensure that members and guests start benefiting straight away from the synergies created by this. Longer-term we want to increase the visibility that golf in Abu Dhabi has on the international stage and drive up visitor numbers, by providing extraordinary guest and member experiences and by having a passionate dedication to quality, financial performance and development of our associates."
Troon strives to develop the operations of each facility that it works with, in disciplines such as course conditioning, food and beverage and recruitment whilst strengthening the reputation and prestige of its golf to ultimately attract discerning golfers who recognise the quality of the club. This strategy has underpinned Troon's success in the MENA region, which, with the addition of Yas Links, is now home to no fewer than 17 Troon venues.
Abu Dhabi Golf Club https://www.adgolfclub.com
Saadiyat Beach Golf Club http://www.sbgolfclub.ae
Yas Links https://yaslinks.com
Troon www.Troon.com
Abu Dhabi Golf Club / Mark Chapleski / Saadiyat Beach Golf Club / Troon / Yas Links
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From the beginning, it was clear that Fredericksburg Smile Center brought impressive differentiators to the market.
With a spa-like atmosphere, two therapy dogs, and decades of proven success in the region, we were able to develop a strategy for their target market. After a branded photography and video shoot, we launched their new website with key service information and a library of content to answer important customer questions. Our team continues to provide important conversion methods to create visitors into leads and leads into customer (with great smiles!).


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Search results for 'Kadet CPA'
Erie County Democrats, Politics, and Governing
The Democratic Party in Erie County needs to change, and it needs to do so fast.
In just a short period of time – less than 10 years – the Erie County Republican Party has gotten its act together while the Democrats have foundered. The fault for this lies not with Len Lenihan or Jeremy Zellner. It doesn't lie with Erie County Conservative Party chairman Ralph Lorigo or with the state Independence Party chair Frank MacKay. It doesn't lie with Steve Pigeon. It lies with everyone.
Frank Max partisans will go out of their way to blame Jeremy Zellner. What good does that do? From a micro standpoint, it might make you feel better – even though we are without any evidence that any electoral outcomes would have been different had he been the party's chairman. But from a macro standpoint – for the overall good of Democratic politics in Erie County, it is a further descent down a rabbit hole of recriminations and unnecessary shaming and blaming, which is wholly counterproductive.
Want to blame someone? Look in the mirror.
I'm writing this because I want Democrats in Erie County to succeed.
Republicans don't even have to do battle with Democrats. Democrats are perfectly fine battling amongst themselves. It's dumb, it's counterproductive, and it needs to stop.
On Election Night, the Erie County Democratic Party lost key high-profile races, Kirsten Gillbrand, Barack Obama, and Brian Higgins will serve new terms. Mike Amodeo lost, Kathy Hochul lost, and David Shenk lost. While some factions will gloat about this, and declare that it proves some intramural point, it reflects poorly on everybody in every faction.
In the last ten years the Republicans in Erie County have gone from being an elitist club of enduring failure (excepting some safe suburban zones), and completely reinvented themselves into a party with young candidates, brash candidates, new and controversial ideas, and – most importantly – a large pot of money.
Let's look at the Comptroller's race. After two Poloncarz victories – countywide milestones for Democrats – we lost this time. Millionaires and developers like the Collinses, the Corwins, Paladino and his collection of companies have used their deep pockets to expand their political influence. That new reality allowed races like Stefan Mychajliw's to be exceedingly well funded against an awkward Democratic unknown from a small exurb whose selection was almost cynical in its electoral tone-deafness. After 2010, Democrats lost Paladino's money for good – he was sometimes a reliable Democratic donor in certain, key races. Mychajliw has no personal fortune from which to draw – indeed, he made much of his thrift during the campaign – beater car, cracked-screen smartphone. Whereas just 6 or 7 years ago, a Republican candidate like Stefan would have been expected to self-fund and expect little help from the party, there is now a vat of reliable fundraising from within and without the region. This is in large part thanks to the rise of suburban new-money political activism, but also the unchallenged leadership of its party committee, led by all-around nice guy/hardnosed warrior Nick Langworthy.
Republicans also suffer from infighting; they just don't turn it into World War III.
Shenk was poorly funded, unlike his opponent. Shenk was an unknown, unlike his opponent. Shenk seemed out-of-place, awkward, unlike his polished opponent. What Shenk had was a large Democratic enrollment advantage. His job performance as interim comptroller? He literally sent out a release critical of Poloncarz's proposed property tax hikes the day before election day – too little, far too late, and completely overshadowed by other news. His first advertisement was introductory; in a 30-second spot, he wasted 5 seconds telling you he commuted to work every morning. His script had him emphasize that he was "your" county comptroller, as if that was somehow persuasive to viewers who probably don't know what the comptroller does. Hell, the comptroller-elect ran on an "I'll stop patronage" platform – well outside a comptroller's job description. Shenk the unknown battling against Stefan Mychajliw – a person who came into your living rooms every night for years as "red coat" asking the "tough questions" of politicians – had to go directly on offense. He had to knock down Mychajliw's favorables immediately to have a fighting chance. It wouldn't have been hard – Mychajliw is uniquely unqualified to be comptroller; after the Republicans spent so much effort explaining that Phil Kadet (2009) or John Canavan (2005) were CPAs, now we had a Republican who had no finance background whatsoever. Instead, we learned about Shenk's commute.
Shenk's second ad was much better, but it was too late. In the end, it was a closer race than I expected it to be, but it was a failure nonetheless. Mychajliw had already wrapped up the Conservative and Independence fusion party lines, theoretically giving Democrats a way to vote for him without using the (R) line. Advantage: Stefan.
The Amodeo race was even more shambolic; he was never given a fair shot. Like Shenk, he was underfunded. Like Shenk, he didn't set out to contrast himself against his opponent's weakness. Like Shenk, he was the victim of the anti-Lenihan/Zellner faction, which used Steve Pigeon's ties with Ralph Lorigo's Conservative Party to run Chuck Swanick, first in a Democratic primary, and later in the general election, gleaning the 12% homophobe vote. Despite their protestations to the contrary, Swanick's sole reason for being in that State Senate race was to punish Grisanti for his vote in favor of same-sex marriage. He was funded almost exclusively by "loans" and money from the gay-hating "National Organization for Marriage". When he failed to get the Democratic endorsement, Swanick continued with his campaign, appearing in exactly one TV spot, paid for by the Conservative Party. In it, he looked like Ralph Lorigo's kidnap victim.
There was nothing whatsoever wrong with Amodeo as a Democrat, by the way – the whole thing had to do with the fact that Lenihan wouldn't endorse Swanick. And why should he have? Swanick was most recently a failed party-switcher; reeking still from the stench of the recent Erie County budget meltdown and tax hikes. Why would Lenihan have endorsed someone so virulently anti-marriage-equality and anti-gay that he accepted money from a PAC totally opposed to the type of progressive policies the Democratic Party should be promoting? Grisanti had buckets of money and support from bipartisan sources. He outspent Amodeo by a ridiculous amount, even going negative against him for no apparent reason. It was a uniquely vicious and relentless campaign from someone who really had the race sewn up tight. $20,000 per day in advertising, the Democrats were caught looking like beggars.
Yet Democrats I spoke with in the waning days of the campaign brought up Amodeo within their first breath. It was their big hope – he could still pull it off! But Amodeo wasn't just underfunded – he was the direct victim of an epic battle for control of the party, and had only one party line against a guy with the (C) and (I) endorsements lined up.
Some of the recriminations are hilarious. For instance, when Shenk personally asked Buffalo's Mayor for help with his campaign, the Mayor flatly refused. When others in the party tried to intervene for help from the Mayor's faction with the Hochul, Shenk, and Amodeo races, they were met with the mayor explaining that none of those people concerned him. Pigeon's faction went one step further – they actively opposed the Democratic candidates for Comptroller and State Senate. When Democrats are in the trenches, all Democrats should pull together to help out; to do their part. Primary season is one thing, but when they're over, that's no time to go AWOL because your guy lost.
Here is the most important lessons the Democrats in Erie County should take from the whole thing: you need to recruit new blood to what's become a shallow bench of candidates. Too often we see the same names over and over again, and most of them do absolutely nothing, except ensure their own longevity. You need to locate and cultivate new sources of campaign funding. You need to come to the realization that an enrollment advantage means nothing in the face of a Republican candidate who can credibly appeal to Democrats.
One of my biggest criticisms of Mayor Byron Brown is that he is too concentrated on the politics and interoffice management of the city's government, and offers up no broad, aspirational goals, nor any plan to achieve them. Democrats in Erie County need to maintain existing relationships with labor, and continue the hard work to reverse years' worth of right-wing demagoguery against worker rights, but start coming up with some new ideas and better plans for the future that can appeal across party lines.
Finally, Kathy Hochul's loss to Chris Collins was particularly devastating. The blame for that loss cannot be affixed to the party apparatus, or to any sort of factionalism. Instead, she was out-spent in a district that became even more red than the one she won in 2011. She had her own funding and her own excellent campaign infrastructure at her disposal, and she lost because she lost. She ran an aggressive campaign and did as well as any Democrat could be expected to do.
On the other hand, Justin Rooney from Newstead mounted a credible challenge to Mike Ranzenhofer in SD-61, which has recently expanded to the Rochester area – new territory for them both. We need more Justin Rooneys, and Justin Rooneys need more support and more money.
So, what can we do immediately to stop this? First of all, the best way to maintain weakness through factional squabbles is to start laying blame for it on anyone, or any side. Whether you're in with the Mayor, with Pigeon, or with Zellner: you're a Democrat. Start acting like one. That means the governing should be more important than the politics should be more important than the power. The factionalism exists because it's a battle over control – a battle over patronage and the money and political loyalty that comes from it. (The Republicans are not immune here – their cozy relationships with the (I) and (C) fusion parties has to do with overcoming their enrollment disadvantage in exchange for patronage and favors. This is why electoral fusion is a horror that anyone with any interest in good government should strongly oppose). I don't care how the factions decide to make peace and unify, but without it, the party will continue to fail or underperform. Things Democrats stand for will lose in the battle of ideas to things Republicans do – fiscal meltdowns, "trickle down" fantasies, union-busting, homophobia, corporate welfare, punishing the poor and working class, playing budgetary games to hide fiscal time bombs.
We need to not only stop associating with the likes of Ralph Lorigo, we should be openly challenging his party's entire platform (such as it is), and electoral fusion itself.
We need to not only stop associating with the so-called "Independence Party" and add "abolition of electoral fusion" as a platform plank.
We need to stop playing factions off each other and get back to the work of electing good-quality Democrats to office.
We need to overhaul our messaging and become more transparent and inclusive.
We need to start better appealing to suburban voters who self-identify as small-c conservatives.
We need to come up with a specific vision for this county, and propose ways to get us there.
We need to improve outreach to people who sit on the sidelines because the system is so sordid, and solicit ideas, advice, assistance, and counsel.
We need to grow our bench, and encourage more people to come in from the private sector to make government work better.
We need to locate and cultivate new and more reliable sources of funding of campaigns.
We need to especially target elected officials who have spent more than 20 years in office and have little achievement to show for it – regardless of party.
We need to start thinking outside the traditional Democratic box and realize that western New York's unique position within a unique statewide power structure leaves us as a political, economic afterthought, but with that comes flexibility and freedom.
We need to identify structural and infrastructural problems that cost us money due to years' worth of bad planning, bad politics, and bad government.
We need to outperform the Republicans on the battleground of ideas.
We need to change how we perceive ourselves before we can change how others perceive us.
We need to consider abandoning the practice of endorsing candidates in a Democratic primary.
When the primaries are over, Democrats should back Democrats, period.
We need to create and implement policy-based criteria for endorsements. Why, at the reorganization, did the party not consider adopting marriage equality, anti-fracking, or minimum wage platforms? Then use them as criteria for endorsements.
You know who cares about trivial gossip fed to the Gramignas and other Illuzzi heirs about this faction and that faction? No one, that's who.
We need to come to the stark realization that the infighting and toxic recriminations are repelling good people from becoming (or staying) involved in the system. What you'll have left is people with their hands out, looking for their cush jobs, and the region will be stuck in neutral, if not reverse.
We need to stop fighting Democrats and start fighting Republicans and Conservatives and the Independence Party.
By the same token, we should welcome, support, and encourage good ideas, regardless of their source.
At the very least, we should be having open, honest, vibrant debate about these ideas in a transparent process.
I've been writing about this stuff for almost ten years. I'm still hopeful about this region's future, despite how acutely screwed up everything is. I see a lot of good things happening on the fringes – things happening not because of government or politics, but in spite of them. There is so much love for this area, and so much energy out there just waiting to be unleashed if someone would just take the lead. If someone would come out and say, this is what we should be doing, and here's how we can get there together. Democrats in Erie County should be at the forefront, helping to lead that discussion and helping to formulate that plan.
But the longer we continue down the same, generations-long path of 50s era thinking, pandering to fusion opportunists, and reluctance to change, plan, and expand, the longer we'll keep seeing results like Tuesday's. Let's stop being Pigeonistas and Headquarters guys and Byron's people and start being Democrats.
Tags: Byron Brown, ECDC, erie county, Erie County Democratic Committee, politics, Steve Pigeon, WNY
Categories Local Politics
Mychajliw vs. Shenk for Chief Budget Nerd
The race for Erie County Comptroller is something we all know about, but understand little. Including one of the candidates for the office.
The Comptroller is our chief budgetary nerd. He keeps an eye on where the money's coming from, how much there is, and where it's going. He makes sure that the money is being spent the way it's supposed to be spent, and he conducts audits from time to time to examine just that. Because budgets are prospective, it's important to know throughout the year how we're doing with its predictions, and in the end, how we did – did we overspend? Is there a surplus? Did we hit it just right? So many variables can skew the numbers in a given year.
It's not an inherently political position, although it's an elected one. The comptroller should be independent of the legislature and the County Executive. The comptroller should conduct monitoring, auditing, and borrowing without regard to the political expediency of any of it, and instead act in what he believes is the best fiscal interests of county taxpayers. He should be a watchdog, and not anyone's lapdog.
That's why Mark Poloncarz and Chris Collins didn't get along; Collins was not used to, and didn't like, having his decisions subject to careful review and monitoring, so he clashed with the Comptroller's office almost constantly.
Now, we have David Shenk, the interim Comptroller appointed to complete Poloncarz's second term running against former journalist and current public relations specialist Stefan Mychajliw. Mychajliw, you'll recall, was Collins' campaign spokesman in 2011.
Mychajliw is running on his youthful vigor, his easy way of connecting with voters, his pledge to be independent, his immigrant bona fides, his personal thriftiness, and his experience as a Channel 2 "redcoat" TV journalist, who asks "tough questions" of politicians. Shenk is running on his record as Boston Town Clerk and having had his mettle tested in the military. It's been a relatively quiet campaign until this week.
First, Mychajliw ran an ad pledging that the first "audit" he would conduct would look into the "friends and family" hiring practices in county government. That's fantastic, but completely outside of the job description of a Comptroller. Hiring "friends and family" through patronage or nepotism may be something we don't like because it is, or seems, unfair, but it doesn't affect county finances unless you're creating a new job for the person. Presumably, the underlying position and its related costs would already be accounted-for in the budget, and the decision on hiring is not reviewable or subject somehow to audit.
Auditing is about money – not politics.
Pledging to audit hiring practices is silly, but how exactly will he have the power to "end it"? He doesn't have legislative powers, or even executive power with respect to changing that. And if a "friend" or "family" is qualified for the job, what objective harm is being done to the county coffers?
This is WBEN / Red Coat stuff. That's why Shenk replies with this:
But more importantly – what qualifications does Mychajliw have to be Comptroller? Remember how Poloncarz's detractors said he was unqualified because he didn't have a CPA? Well, he didn't, but his staff did, and Poloncarz has a JD and had extensive experience in corporate finance law. Mychajliw, on the other hand, has no such experience, no such advanced degree, no qualifications whatsoever to be chief budget nerd of Erie County. His LinkedIn page reveals undergraduate degrees in political science and broadcast journalism. That's it. Shenk has an undergraduate degree in management, and has been Boston Town Clerk and tax collector for 20 years.
But when you examine the two candidates, who has an understanding of what's going on? Here's a telling exchange from a recent debate between Mychajliw and Shenk:
Not an exciting race by any measure, but it seems as if one candidate – Shenk – has a better grasp of not only the facts, but the terminology.
Tags: County Comptroller, Mychajliw, Shenk
Political Money and Political Politics
In the race for Erie County Comptroller, no one can mount a credible attack that incumbent Mark Poloncarz has done a lousy job. Instead, the only attacks are that he's too political and that he "can't count". Specifically, Phil Kadet charges that Poloncarz projected that 2008 would end up with a deficit of $10 million, but that it actually ended up being a surplus of $10 million.
That would be great if it was true.
The ad references a January 2009 article where everyone – the comptroller and the county executive – expressed concern about a deficit. In the article Kadet cites, Poloncarz specifically states,
"There is a very distinct possibility, when all is said and done and we close out our financial statements, that we will end up with a deficit," Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz said Friday. "It will probably be less than $10 million. But you don't want a deficit. And a deficit is a deficit."
That alone is distinctly different from what Kadet's ad claims. And Collins' office was concerned, too:
County Executive Chris Collins, through his budget office, had slowed hiring to a trickle and froze other discretionary spending when sales tax income started cooling at midyear.
Collins' budget director, Gregory G. Gach, also canceled any employee travel plans that were not fully reimbursed by the state or federal governments or were not needed to "fulfill core missions."
Gach, in his final budget status report for 2008, told the Legislature in early December that he foresaw a $1.6 million surplus but warned that a further downturn in sales tax income could change that. Fuel prices, a major component of sales tax proceeds, already were falling.
In his forecast, Gach said he had not accounted for the potential $6 million-plus payment related to ECMC because it was only rumored at the time. Weeks later, however, the state Health Department alerted Erie County it owed the money, then took the $6.23 million on Tuesday.
When the final numbers actually came in, it turned out that there would likely be a surplus of $5 to 7 million – not the $20 million swing Kadet charges. That's not an inability to count, that's alerting government to a potential problem, and government reacting appropriately to slash spending.
So, we've established that Kadet's making crap up when it comes to who can and can't count. Let's turn to Kadet's "I'm a CPA" mantra. He also claims that the current comptroller's office is too political (read: anti-Collins). They charge that the cellphone audit, the parking audit, and other audits have all been too political.
But so what? What's wrong with examining everything that county government does? And Poloncarz has been criticizing the Democratic legislature when needed, too. For instance,
In 2006, the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a resolution granting raises to Giambra managerial-confidential employees in Sewerage Management. The resolution they approved also would have granted sewer management the perpetual right to grant their managerial-confidential appointees raises whenever they felt like it without legislative approval. The comptroller's office contacted the Legislature leadership before they voted on the resolution to alert them to the significance of what they were doing and to advise them against doing it. They did it anyway. Poloncarz alerted the public and the media, criticizing the Legislature action, which resulted in the Legislature going back at the next session and reconsidering the resolution to change it to ensure legislative approval and oversight of all such raises in the future.
In 2009, the Democratic members of the Legislature attempted to send a partisan mailing to election inspectors claiming credit for attaining higher election day pay for election inspectors. Upon learning of this, the comptroller's office immediately and publicly said this was inappropriate and violated the Legislature's rules of order pertaining to mailings at County expense.
Over the past several years, the comptroller's office has been critical of proposed Legislature Democratic amendments to the annual budget, noting that certain amendments would create negative variances and could contribute to deficits.
In 2006, the comptroller's office conducted investigations and stopped the Forestry Management Program (timber harvesting in County forests) and the Concession Project at Wendt Beach Park after the Democratic-controlled Legislature had approved each project and allowed them to move forward. Both projects had serious problems and potential improprieties in the RFP and contract award process with the winning vendors.
They have consistently warned and cautioned the Legislature about excessive capital borrowings and County debt and urged them to reduce annual proposed borrowing even when some legislators wanted more or certain projects in their districts funded.
In annual budget reports, when Democratic Legislature staff received upgrades or additional salary outside the normal process, we reported that in our reports and noted the incongruity (just like with administration political appointees).
So, the job of comptroller as taxpayer watchdog has been adequately executed for the past four years. Phil Kadet, on the other hand, was hand-selected by Chris Collins, and has been the beneficiary of at least two very high-dollar fundraisers hosted by Chris Collins, including one in Collins' own home. That hardly bodes well for Kadet's independence as comptroller.
Tags: 2009 elections, Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz, Erie County Executive Chris Collins, Kadet, politics, WNY


The most vulnerable children parts of the Black Country are more than three times as likely to skip school as their peers.
New figures from the Department for Education reveal that Walsall's children in need missed 16,989 school sessions in 2017/18 without permission.
It means they were absent for 5.7 per cent of all sessions – or roughly one in 18 lessons.
Children who are not considered in need missed only 1.8 per cent of sessions over the same period.
The figures show 30.3 per cent of children in need were classed as persistent absentees – having missed at least 10 per cent of possible school sessions.
That compares with 11.1 per cent of children in Walsall overall.
A child in need is someone who has been referred to social services but whose parents are still responsible for their care.
Experts said the most vulnerable children who are missing school are at a greater risk of being groomed for criminal and sexual exploitation.
Iryna Pona, policy manager at The Children's Society, said: ""Participation in education may be difficult for these children and they might struggle to keep on top of their school work.
"In the short-term, if children are not in school they could face greater risks including grooming for criminal and sexual exploitation, especially if they are missing from home or care.
"Our research suggests that without adequate support, children's happiness and well-being is likely to be damaged and they are less likely to do well at school and college as they approach adulthood, continue their education or find work or training opportunities.
"It's vital that these children get extra support, both inside and outside school, which is focused upon improving their well-being and resolving issues in their lives.
There is a difference between children in need and children in care.
Parents remain responsible for a child in need, while a child in care is looked after by their local authority – either in a care home or in foster care.
The figures show that children in need are more likely than children in care to miss school for no good reason.
Some 5.0 per cent of all possible school sessions were skipped by children in care in Walsall.
The DfE data covers all primary, secondary and special-school pupils aged between five and 16.
Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner for England, said: "The key to keeping vulnerable children in school is to offer early help to prevent problems developing when they start school, not waiting to intervene when they are already skipping school or at risk of exclusion.
"That means investing in early support for families who are struggling and need targeted help to tackle problems like domestic violence, mental health problems or substance abuse help, alongside more investment in speech and language therapy so children are not starting school unable to communicate properly and providing stability for children in care so that they're not having to move around from one home to another and one school to another every few months.
"Talk to any child in prison, in trouble with the police or caught up in gangs and they will tell you that falling out of school was a trigger point.
"Gang members are 5.5 times more likely to have been excluded than the rest of the population. We need to do much more to keep children in school, where they have the structure, access to support and the opportunity to build relationships with trusted adults.
Elsewhere in the Black Country, children in need in Dudley, Sandwell and Wolverhamptom were 2.7 times more likely to skip school than those that weren't.
Damian Hinds, Education Secretary, said: "Education is the key to unlocking potential, and we cannot ignore the stark reality of the poorer outcomes for children who face chaotic lives or have experienced trauma or adversity.
"That is why we've provided practical advice to schools and social workers to adapt the way they support them, including having a consistent and trusted member of staff to talk to.
"We are also investing £84 million to support families and help provide stability at home.


You can adjust the 'Pitch Bend Range' in ROLI Dashboard to do this. If this is setting you're likely to return to, save it as a Mode via the File > Save As menu.
If a sound source which interprets full bend as 48 semitones is used, like eg Equator and a grid of 5 semitones (the default note grid with Hide Mode off) is used, then a setting of 8 semitones as pitch bend range for Lightpad will bend 2 octaves with a glide from a note on one side to a note on the other side, indeed. You lose a lot of precision doing this (unplayable with maximum Glide sensitiviy) and a vibrato gesture will cause the note to bend up/down wildly.
But actually, I don't think that's what Sanjay was asking. It's not clear in the question, but I think he wanted to know whether you can glide from a "pad" to any other "pad", even if it is in another row of the grid.
This is not possible with Lightpad out of the box. Using the available Lightpad programs, pitch bend is per note row, only sideways (think about it like sliding up/down the frets on guitar strings). In other words, any note can only bend to the leftmost or rightmost note in the same row. Any note on a side edge column can only bend in one direction (towards the other side edge).
Mismatching bend ranges, as proposed by Jay, can widen the bend range, but will still not make it possible to bend an edge note in both directions.
It's a cool project idea to write a Lightpad script that sacrifices the Slide dimension for direct pitchbend towards any note on the grid. It likely is possible for someone in the know (which wouldn't be me) to write it. Although - it may turn out to be awkward to cross rows in practice... food for thought.
It would be good if Sanjay comes back to make his question a bit clearer. At this point we don't even know if he can use Dashboard in the first place (Dashboard isn't available on IOS, as far as I know).
Ah yeah, thanks for clearing that, Sanjay. Then I guess Jay's answer applies, if you can use Dashboard or if noise can pull off the mismatching. Just be aware that the glide works only sideways, so there's not much room to handle the two octaves. Up/downward movement will do the Slide dimension (CC74) only.
Jay's answer is correct, and Frank makes a good point. Glide gestures are always left/right gestures, so if you'd like to go from the lower left corner to the upper right corner of a Lightpad, this will apply Glide to the right (in the range of pitch bend that you've selected in ROLI Dashboard) and Slide up. This won't go from the lower left corner's pitch to the upper right corner's pitch.
Please see my answer above – this isn't possible, as it will result in a Glide on the same row and a Slide up.


While a lot of folks are talking about Ram's newest 6.7L diesel engine, which can produce 1,000 pound-feet of torque, as well as the death of the final manual full-size truck here in the States, there's still a lot more to see in their 2019 heavy-duty lineup. Working from the ground up, they've introduced new noise and vibration reduction technology integrated into the frames, bodies, and suspension systems of each updated platform, and used new materials to reduce weight while adding strength. In addition, they have also unveiled all-new transmission options and improved motors to the fleet. In truth, there is so much to talk about it's hard to know where to start, so let's just begin with the crowd favorite: the 2019 Power Wagon.
Starting at the front, you'll immediately notice the updated grill and headlights, along with the flatter profile. These give the truck a more modern and aggressive look, while also improving its aerodynamics and adding visibility via LED daytime running lights. I thought those were a particularly nice touch. Beneath the bumper, you'll find an all-new integrated 12,000-pound Warn Zeon-12 winch, along with a new EPIC style fairlead and retainer. At first glance, this winch package may not appear abundantly different, as they were already equipped with the 12,000-pound model, BUT the 2019 version comes with synthetic line. This is not only safer and easier to handle, but helps the truck shed 28 pounds on its own! The new winch package also includes Warn's Epic hook, which matches the new fairlead. It is worth noting that there has been no improvements to winch-line access or visibility, so care must be taken during long pulls or side pulls.
Another big addition for 2019 is the 360 camera, which can give the driver an overhead view of the scene surrounding the vehicle. The forward view camera even features gridlines, which can help the driver self-spot and navigate difficult terrain. That's an extremely useful addition for anyone who travels solo on a regular basis.
The 2019 stock curb weight drops from 7,044 pounds down to 6,907 pounds, while payload jumps a full 194 pounds to 1,660 from 1,466. Towing gets a bump as well, up from 9,910 to 10,620 pounds, despite retaining the same 6.4L Hemi producing 410 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque. This is likely due in part to the new stronger and lighter frames, as well as the 8-speed automatic transmission that replaced the old 6-speed one. Other changes include a redesign of the shift column to a rotary knob (dang it), and an improvement in crawl ratio from 35:1 to 51:1 (score).
Of course, they still retained all of the components that made us fall in love with the Power Wagon in the first place. A specially tuned Bilstein suspension, factory lift, solid axles with 4.10 gears, disconnecting sway bars, and front and rear locking differentials all come standard, and thankfully are still available with the Tradesman trim package. After killing off America's last full-size manual, which you can read about here, we were worried that option might have been up on the chopping block as well. We're grateful to say it's safe for now.
In addition to these Power Wagon-specific updates, the heavy-duty lin, in general,l received some big improvements, starting all the way down at the frame. It's now built lighter and stronger using 98.5 percent high-strength-steel with six individual crossmembers, hydroformed main rails, and fully boxed rear rails for immense torsional rigidity. This enables it to handle the titanic loads the vehicles are now rated for without adding an unreasonable amount of weight.
Noise vibration and harshness (NVH) was clearly a major factor for the 2019 redesign, and the new heavy-duty models are going to be the quietest and most comfortable yet. They updated both the engine mounts and exhaust system attachments specifically to reduce NVH, and actually installed two active-tuned mass modules (ATMM) on the frame rails which detect unfavorable vibrations and apply a countermeasure in order to eliminate them. Yes, seriously. But that's not all. They've also integrated C-pillar hydromounts as well as active noise canceling into the cab to ensure as much exterior sound is deadened as possible.
Adding to the package is an overhauled suspension system with frequency response damping (FRD) shocks, which can differentiate between various types of upward wheel travel to provide "sports car-like" handling on the road while still maintaining a smooth ride on the dirt. This is all done through bypass valving, which stays closed on slow compressions allowing the shock to stay stiff, but opens during quick or harsh impacts allowing more oil through and inducing a softer response. Progressive springs, new bushings, and an exclusive five-link coil system are now used on the 2500, which they claim provides improved load-carrying characteristics and articulation off-road. There's also an active level rear air suspension available on non-Power Wagon models, which can operate in Normal Mode, Trailer Mode, or Bed Lowering Mode, the latter of which actually allows the truck to kneel down for easy trailer hookup.
The interiors have all been updated with new features and creature comforts to improve your journey as well. Additions like a new customizable instrument panel are available, as is a massive 12-inch configurable Uconnect touchscreen display. As mentioned previously, acoustic glass and active noise canceling have been integrated into the cab, which can reduce exterior noise by up to 10 decibels. You'll also find wide and comfortable seats, an HVAC system capable of delivering larger quantities of air with less noise, increased legroom, and enough power ports to charge every device in your arsenal and then some. All told there are five USB-c ports in the console, and up to three 115-volt household plugs throughout the truck, all of them equipped to handle up to 400 watts in order to charge or for power tools.
In short, the 2019 RAM heavy-duty lineup is combining the hard-hitting capability we love, with the modern tech and amenities you'd expect to find in most luxury sedans. The Power Wagon looks great and promises to be more effective than ever off-road, while the 2500 and 3500 platforms are setting new standards in towing and efficiency. While RAM may have killed off our last manual full-size truck in 2019, we're more than pleased with the rest of what they have to offer, and can't wait to see what they can do on the trail.
To learn more, check out all the details on their website here.
Love the interiors, and the Power Wagon's updated exterior. Now AEV needs to get to work on a new Prospector.
Great article! I LOVE my 2006 Power Wagon I've had since new. Over 140,000 hard miles on that bad boy. Toughest truck I have ever owned, by far. Would love a brand new one but just can't see letting go of my old friend. Probably be buried in this one.
Personally, I'd pass on the "sports-car-like handling" and the TV set in the dash, if they made these with Warn hubs and manual transmissions and LEVERS instead of those passive-agressive round knobs.


This listing is for the original painting, this is not a print.It is a one of a kind piece of art and is signed on both the front and the back of the painting. My abstract paintings are almost always a combination of many types of paints; acrylic, oil, water as well as graphite and oil pastels.I often scribble into my works with different inks, grapites and oils... really anything that I can get my hands on is free game when I am creating. This piece is titled "Sipping Whiskey Out The Bottle".The great majority of my abstract art pieces are titled from song titles or song lyrics.It is always a lyric or title of a song that I am listening to while creating that just stands out to me and takes over as the 'theme' for the basis of my creation.Many times a lyric will hit me in the midst of painting and I will find myself hitting the 'replay' over and over until the completion of the painting.Other times I seem to paint almost in a dream like state and the title of the painting is chosen as I am just feeling my painting coming to an end.As I feel the end of the painting drawing near I often choose a lyric that strikes me in whatever song I am listening to as the painting is being finished. I do not create without music.It is the one thing that is a constant in my studio.It is probably the only thing that is a constant in my studio.When I am painting one of my original abstract paintings it is a result of simply 'doing' not thinking.It is an automatic process for me.. like breathing. If you are not in the market to purchase the original you can click here for a paper print of this work, or click here for a canvas print of this work. This one of a kind original is on unstretched canvas.It has been sprayed with a museum quality protective coating.You may choose to hang this original on your wall as is from clips as many galleries/collectors now do, or have it framed or stretched. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me direct at .
the grass is always greener..


Adolescents' mood swings decline as they get older, according to a study by psychologists at several Dutch Universities. They followed 474 adolescents-40 percent of whom often displayed aggressive behaviors-from ages 13 to 16. Using internet diaries, the teens rated their daily moods during three weeks of the school year for five years. The researchers found that during the course of adolescence, teens' moods became more stable. Girls had higher variability than boys in happiness and sadness, but the rate of change across adolescence was similar for both sexes (Child Development, November/December). So parents have faith that your teen's moods will stabilize as they get older. However, if your teen exhibits aggressive behaviors or symptoms of depression or their behavior patterns strange drastically, please consult with your psychologist.
By age 5 children have a sense of self-esteem to that of adults, according to a study by University of Washington researchers. They administered a task to 235 five year olds to measure how strongly the preschoolers feel positive about themselves. The task used small unfamiliar flags with researchers instructing the children which of the flags were "yours" and "not yours." Then, using buttons on a computer, children responded to a series of "me" and "not me" flags and "good" words such as fun, happy, and nice, and "bad" words, such as mad, mean and yucky, presented over a loudspeaker. The patterns of presentation and responses indicated that the 5-year-olds associated the "good" words more with the "me" flags than the "not me" flags, indicating generally high self-esteem, to an equal degree in girls and boys. This pattern is similar to self-esteem patterns in adults (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, January).


Create A Vision and LIVE IT!
Create a vision – It's BELIEF that creates certainty and is the difference between stopping in fear or striding onwards to make it happen.
I wish you every success in running your home business. Create a vision and live into it.
Create a vision and live into it..
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Michael Kors Cyber Monday 2013 It was Roaring Twenties but there wasn much roaring during this little Southern town. This is a place where progress progressed additional slowly than in other parts of the nation. It was Roaring Twenties but nothing much roared in a place where a small, entrenched oligarchy maintained a business, almost autocratic grip on all facets of civic life.