text:
Los Angeles Clears Out Homeless People in Latest Cleanup of Sepulveda Basin
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - City sanitation crews cleared homeless people and piles of debris from about 34 acres of the Sepulveda Basin near Encino Creek today as part of a continuing cleanup effort in the area.
The basin has been under close scrutiny by the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation and Environment since fires erupted last summer in the wildland area, which is leased by the city from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Homeless people have been cleared from the Sepulveda Basin in three other areas because it's designated as parkland that closes at dusk and reopens at dawn, and is off-limits for camping.
Sanitation officials have broken the basin's cleanup into separate phases. The first phase focused on areas near the Sepulveda Basin Sports Complex, the second was around Haskell Creek and the third phase was near Bull Creek.
Wednesday's phase was in an area the public is never supposed to enter because it is in 34 acres of a floodplain near Encino Creek and can become inundated with water during heavy rains, city officials said.
Crews making their way through the area encountered a series of makeshift structures in the area, colloquially known as "The Bamboos," with what appeared to be boards and other materials stacked on top of one another, erected within the dense forest of palm trees and shrubbery.
"The Sepulveda Basin is not made for human habitation, and we are the next fire or flood away from losing lives. We must do everything in our power to avert that," said City Council President Nury Martinez, who represents the district in which the encampments are located. "As the fires and rain storms have shown us, it is a major public safety risk to people living there, people who visit the site for recreational purposes and those who live in the surrounding communities. For everyone's sake, it simply cannot continue."
In a video posted on Twitter by a Spectrum News 1 reporter, a homeless man said the city was not offering any housing vouchers to the people being essentially evicted from their illegal shelters.
Another person, identified as Jackie Canez, told the Daily News she has lived at the basin for more than six years, and while she received notice of the cleanup Friday, she didn't get a chance to talk to outreach workers until Monday. The newspaper reported her home was bulldozed during Wednesday's cleanup.
Canez eventually did receive a housing voucher after going through paperwork with city officials, the newspaper reported, but it was not immediately clear what kind of voucher she was given.
Notices were posted in the area warning that people who did not vacate the area would be arrested and cited for trespassing, and their property would be removed or booked at 507 Towne Ave. for 90 days.
Los Angeles Police Department officials said no one from the encampment had been arrested as of midday.
Hundreds of homeless people have been identified as living in the Sepulveda Basin by local advocacy organizations, and as many as 100 people may have still been in the area before Wednesday's cleanup.
Sepulveda Basin was the scene of fires last summer that charred dozens of acres. The most recent fire occurred Oct. 24, burning about 60 acres. Another fire burned 10 acres in July, days before the first scheduled cleanup, with some propane tanks spotted in the burn area, increasing the danger for fire crews.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and the nonprofit organization LA Family Housing have been referring homeless people removed from the basin and other encampments to housing services. The number of people who have been referred to services from the basin since last summer was not immediately available.
In addition to LASAN's cleanup and outreach CARE and CARE-Plus teams, LAPD and park rangers have been assisting with enforcement during cleanups.
Although Los Angeles challenged a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in a case known as Martin v. the city of Boise, the city cannot remove homeless people from public areas unless they have shelter or housing for them. The U.S. Supreme Court declined in December to review the case. But the city does have measures in place that bar people from residing in high-risk fire zones and floodplains.
California state legislators on Monday introduced a bill that would create a state agency, the Governor's Office to End Homelessness.


A chicken stew loaded with red peppers and beans and flavoured with Balsamic vinegar all cooked in one pot or skillet making it the perfect midweek dinner.
Red Pepper and Bean Chicken Stew.
Chicken thighs are no stranger here on my site and this chicken stew has them right at the centre.
They are by some distance the tastiest part of the chicken and interestingly among the cheapest!
Rather than being braised in the sauce as the chicken thighs are in my recent chicken hotpot recipe they are roasted sat on top of the stew.
This means that the skin stays wonderfully crispy but the juice drip into the stew ensuring we lose none of the flavour.
Whilst we are on the stew I have gone with red peppers and beans. These are flavoured with balsamic vinegar, garlic and thyme.
Most importantly it is all cooked in the same pot, chucked in the oven and left alone.
Should You Debone Chicken Thigh?
For me, the answer to this often asked question is 'not unless you have to'!
Sure if you are cooking my Chicken korma or General Tso's Chicken then of course you need to remove the bone.
There are also sorts of 'analytical tests' that say it make no difference.
But for me it does, the connective tissue and gristle break down and add to any sauce. This is, in the same way, it does when making stock.
I also usually find them juicier, the bone acts as an insulator slowing the rate of cook.
This means that the chicken thighs in this chicken stew are less likely to dry out.
I strongly favour a cast iron skillet for this chicken stew recipe, but you can cook it in any heavy based shallow pan.
Cast iron distributes heat beautifully, so for a stew like this it is great at keeping food warm.
I like cooking in cast iron for a number of reasons, not least that they are indestructible.
This pan has been part of my kitchen armoury for over 20 years!
Yes, it is heavy, but I do not have any other pan that has been as used and abused as this.
I use it on the oven, on induction hobs, it has been on gas and even the BBQ!
It even got as rusty to buggery from misuse and poor storage one year. I scrubbed it back seasoned it up and it was as good as new.
This one pot chicken stew is cooked in a cast iron skillet and is loaded with red peppers, white beans and simple Italian influenced flavours!
Peel and slice your onion into thin half moon shapes.
Cut your red pepper into 1cm strips.
Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy based pan over a medium high heat and when hot add the oil.
Place the chicken thighs skin side down in the pan and sear to get a nice golden colour.
When they are seared remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes followed by the garlic and cook for another 60 seconds.
Add in the peppers, beans and tomatoes along with the thyme and stir.
Pour over the balsamic vinegar, stir to combine and nestle in the chicken thighs and transfer to the oven.
Bake for 35-40 minutes at 180°C 350°F.
This is the perfect comfort dish! Perfect for this frigid weather that we are having, as of late! I just happen to have all of the ingredients too!
This sounds so tasty and comforting. I've made a dish in similar style with the chicken perched on top of the veg and agree it works out so well to get all the great flavors but crisp skin as well. Looks like a tasty one pot meal.
Thanks Caroline it is such a fab and simple way of cooking!
Such a simple yet delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing!
This looks incredibly tasty Brian. I love the colours and the beans addition. Just perfect for this time of the year and not only. I am definitely a cast iron advocate it definitely adds to flavour. Delicious dish, thank you for sharing.


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David Moyes sacking sees Manchester United fans breathe a sign of relief
Republik Of MancuniaWednesday 23 Apr 2014 9:31 am
David Moyes' short-lived reign at Manchester United came to an end on Tuesday (Picture: AP Photo)
When news broke on Monday that David Moyes was going to be sacked, most Manchester United fans were delighted. Whilst it was entirely unnecessary for the club to leak the news to the press, the relief was overwhelming.
Before yesterday, lots of people were under the impression that Moyes was going to be given until Christmas, with the club keen to do as much as they could to honour the six-year contract they presented the Scot with.
This would have been dreadful for the club though, as it was clear Moyes is nowhere near capable of managing a club of United's size. Giving him another half a season would just have ensured United were out of the Champions League for two seasons, likely having spent even more of the funds the Glazers, the club's owners, were prepared to release.
One campaign like this is a blip but a second season could spark decline, with players keen to leave, new players reluctant to join and potential managers facing an even more daunting job.
Thankfully, the Glazers have made the right call and ensured that the recruitment process can start now, not even waiting until the end of the season.
Unlike the last time they recruited the manager, it's likely the club will take a more professional approach than just allowing Sir Alex Ferguson pop round for a cuppa at one of his pal's homes and tell him that he is going to be the Manchester United manager.
Current Holland boss Louis van Gaal, middle, is one of the names being linked with the United job (Picture: Getty Images)
They can't afford to take any risks now and go with an unproven manager again. United need someone who has been there, done it and bought the T-shirt.
Jurgen Klopp reportedly has no interest in leaving Borussia Dortmund which makes Louis van Gaal favourite. Having won league titles and European trophies with the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Ajax, then he certainly has the credentials required, on paper at least.
Moyes will be fine too. He will probably replace Alan Pardew at Newcastle. Football managers always get another job, regardless of how well they performed at their last club, so Moyes will move to a club where he can do well again.
There's no shame in not being good enough to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world. But he will always be the manager that replaced Ferguson and failed, which is a title he should never have been in a position to earn.
MORE: Club Metro
Club Metro is a place for football reporting by fans, for fans. The opinions expressed belong to the author and are not necessarily shared by Metro.
AjaxAlex FergusonChampions LeagueDavid MoyesFC BarcelonaJurgen KloppManchester United FCNewcastle United FC
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals how club responded to Jesse Lingard Snapchat video
Brendan Rodgers reveals reaction to Harry Maguire bids from Man Utd and Man City

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Congrats to our AAGA Level 4-8 and Xcel Platinum teams for their performance at the Stars and Stripes Meet in Erie, PA on January 18-21, 2019. Special thanks to Doug Pershum and the members of Erie Gymnastics and Team Lightning for putting on such an excellent event! Our athletes represented AAGA exceptionally and we are very proud of their accomplishments!!


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How to choose a Business School?
"There is no decision that we can make that doesn't come with some sort of balance or sacrifice." Simon Sinek
Have you ever come across the term "finding a needle in a haystack". Ask any B-School aspirant, and he is gonna agree that his aspirations have led him into a similar situation. Among the multitudes of business school, each having its traits, fanfare and rich illustrated brochures of their accolades, eventually it comes down to you and where do you find yourself fit.
I will try to elaborate my journey into walking you through the rationale behind how I filtered out my B-School choices.
N.B:The rationale is specific only to Full Time MBA Programs.
DisclaimerIf you are allergic to sarcasm and humor, please be advised the following sections are not meant for you then. Also no aspirant was harmed during the writing of this blog.
It's time to start applying
*Objects in the mirror are farther than they appear. Hallucinations are not helpful for any GMAT aspirant test taker.
If you're done taking the GMAT to let's start decoupling our choices and rationales.
"It's always the BRAND that sells.", denied no B-school ever. The Brand of a B-School is like its USP. It not only boasts about the alumnus pool and their accolades but how the brand resonates in the sweet ears behind the corporate doors.
To put it into context, if you are a website, the B School brand is your SEO.
Branding in the digital era has become a challenge and with the amount of data available, it has become quite difficult to find the sweet spot for the brand.
Google trends comparison of Indian School of Business Vs Harvard Business School in India
From the google trend report on the left side, trying to compare Harvard Business School to Indian School of Business, HBS is overshadowed as visibly shown in the interest shown for it amongst the aspirants from the world's second-most populous nation.
Google trends comparison of Indian School of Business Vs Harvard Business School Worldwide
Meanwhile, from a worldwide perspective, HBS has a bigger and higher global presence.
Most of the top B schools are featured regularly in the leading financial sites from Financial Times to Economist, Forbes, Fortuna and many more. Nevertheless, these rankings should be considered with a pinch of salt.
The rankings posted by the above institutions all have different methodologies. The frequent KPI metrics used in the rankings consist mostly of [1][2][3][4]
a. Current Salary
b. Student Quality
c. Employment Statistics
d. Faculty
e. Alumni/ Networking.
Each of the above indexes has different weight given by the above-ranking institutions and that is why the rankings of one cannot be compared to the other.
"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery." cit. Mark Van Doren
If the Brand of the Business School is the fact that the world will know you after you graduate, the brains of that face is certainly The Faculty that the business school consists of. These are the people who are going to nurture you, assist you, mentor you and ignite that inner spark that laid dormant since the yesterdays of reports, excels and power-points.
Find your John Keating, and rest will take it's shaping accordingly [5]
The cost is one of the most important factors that set back and offsets dreams with decisions.
Studying in a B-School is quite expensive and it not only sets you back financially but also the opportunity cost that is lost when you leave your employment to immerse yourself into a full-time program.
a. Financial Cost: Business Schools are extremely expensive and the top 10 B-Schools have quite high tuition fees. The rising of the tuition costs every year does exhibit a challenge to students who get admitted without a scholarship, and this is the part where they either have to let go of their dream school or immerse into an immensely high debt-ridden life onwards.
It's advisable to look at the cost correlating to the return of investment. [6][7]
b. Opportunity Cost: This a qualitative attribute that is very subjective to every applicant. If you're a company-sponsored candidate, it makes more sense to go for 1 year MBA program, but if you're looking to switch careers/ industry and increase on your networking in a more spread out period, a longer program brings more impact.
The curriculum of each of the institutes varies in their ways. Harvard exhibits a case-based curriculum while Stanford has more Critical Analytical thinking based courses under its belt [8]. The curriculum is also reflective of the graduates and their post-MBA goals.
Wharton is favored for its strong Financial Ties and its alumnus are quite synonymous in Wall Street, Kellog's portrays a stronger marketing-centric curriculum through its alumni while Oxford Said has stronger non-profit cohort connections.
Talk with a few of the alums and try to understand what kind of goals you would like to achieve.
Community is an integral part of the business school. It defines how the institute revolves and evolves. Each university has its specific community traits that mold the students during their time at the program.
The search for the lifelong allegiance
For example, the Oxbridge students tend to visit London every weekend, while students from LBS, STERN and SDA Bocconi have a circle of non-MBA peers. Meanwhile, in Berkley students live far away from each other.
The class size is also a factor in the bonding of the community. Harvard boasts of a class size of 934 students while Stanford GSB has half of Harvard's strength in terms of numbers. Smaller class size does proportionately increase higher chances of networking with more people.
For the European counterparts, INSEAD leads with a strength of over 1000 students followed by IE Business School with 735 and LBS with 485. On the other hand, IMD in Switzerland and Mannheim in Germany have 90 and 55 students filling up the classes. [9][10]
Employability and employment. Ahh, dreading those high paying cheques? Then stop dreaming. It's you who matters. The business schools open up the doors, but they don't use the imperious curse to sail you through an interview.
It's on the onus of the student to make the best use of one's self to increase the employability.
The employability, of course, varies for different nationals coming from different demographics. It's obvious that in spite of living in a Global village, visas and employability does cause a crucial impact along with the volatile social-political impacts.
But most of the top schools are famed for their brand and the students do get to enjoy these in terms of the employment and employability statistics. [11][12][13]
Money, where art thou?
The location of a business school is quite important for the following reasons.
The natural beauty.
The job opportunities surrounding the B School Region.
The living cost incurred by a potential student.
For point 1, a lot of students prefers natural beauty based lush green campus locations in compared to a super cosmopolitan environment surrounded by concrete walls.
For point 2, this does impact a lot. For example, if you want to work in Bay Area, then studying at Stanford, Berkley makes more sense than studying in a premier college at the East Coast as the students here are slightly more engaged with the diaspora flocking this zone.
For point 3, the living cost does directly correlate to the cost of your program and might put you back with a higher saving: financing ratio. Ideally, the aspirant decides which zone suits them best. [14]
Sorted?
Choose your place wisely because no one knows you better than what you want and where you want to see fit.
Because remember, the journey has just begun, the right fit shoes will ease your journey and make it more memorable in the years to come.
Good luck to all
And so where did I choose to go?
[1] https://www.ft.com/content/1bf3c442-0064-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5
[2] https://www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking-methodology-2018
[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattsymonds/2018/11/13/should-all-business-school-rankings-look-like-this-the-ranking-of-mba-rankings-2018/#1a6314bc54d4
[4] https://www.forbes.com/business-schools/#4ab392876d6d
[5] https://poetsandquants.com/2018/03/10/business-schools-with-the-best-teaching-faculty/
[6] https://poetsandquants.com/2017/08/11/what-a-harvard-mba-now-costs/
[7] https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/articles/2017-10-24/a-top-european-mba-may-cost-less-than-an-elite-us-b-school
[8] https://www.topmba.com/usa-canada/harvard-business-school-vs-stanford-graduate-school-business
[9] https://poetsandquants.com/2018/01/10/the-data-is-in-the-m7-schools-remain-on-top/
[10] https://poetsandquants.com/2018/10/31/mba-acceptance-rates-at-top-european-business-schools/2/
[11] https://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-rankings/4966/15-best-european-schools-for-jobs
[12] https://ceoworld.biz/2018/01/10/business-schools-employability-ranking-2018/
[14] https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/59k4xq/we-asked-students-if-dollar1730-in-rent-is-affordable


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Minty And The Beeb Go Gigging
A place to capture our memories of the gigs we see
Minty And The Beeb .......
Surfin' Lungs and The Manges - GIG 2
GIG: Surfin' Lungs and The Manges - GIG 2
DATE: January 25th 2008
VENUE: The Hobgoblin, London Rd, Brighton
RATING: Another great gig, another crap toilet
Billed as a "Surf Punk Beach Party," Punkerbunker who organized this are one of life's optimists. It was pouring with rain the whole day! Still, with brolly in hand we were determined to "beach-party" the night away anyway.
The Hobgoblin can be a scary place. It's usually full of Goths. Yeah, they're harmless enough, but it's strange going into the gents and there's a row of them fighting for the mirror to fix their eye liner.
There were 6 bands on tonight…yes, SIX. We were a bit late arriving and missed the first band, Those Damn Owls. The second band on the bill, The Griswalds were mid-way through their set when we reached the pub and escaped from the pouring rain. A run-of-the-mill 3 chord wonders, but harmless enough. You can tell they enjoy what they play.
Next up were The Cheeseburgers(?). The singer had a speech impediment and looked really nervous, tending to introduce the songs away from the microphone so we couldn't catch what he said. Someone who knew him, described him as "intense." The guitarist looked like he was playing a toy guitar he was so big! Best guitarist so far tonight (and even played a lap steel for a couple of songs), the songs were pretty good too and we did enjoy their set.
We had our heads pummeled enough by The Hotlines on Friday night, so that gave us a chance to crash out for a bit in the main bar and get our heads pummeled by the old Scottish glass collector instead. A character to say the least.
Technical problems delayed The Surfin' Lungs' start as Clive wrestled with a dodgy amp. They finally got started after a spare amp was found and as a result of the delay, played a slightly shortened set. The lay out of The Hobgoblin made this set feel a bit more intimate than the Dirty Water Club. I felt the band were more electric and up for it than on Friday. Maybe that's what happens when you play regularly like this.
The Manges turned out as great a show as they did earlier in the weekend. They may have too much of the Ramones in them at times, but there's no denying they know how to rock. The crowd surfer was brave, considering he fell through a "gap" and was dropped on his head! We're glad The Manges came over from Italy. It was worth traveling to see them again.
So, another cool gig.
The venue is quite good for small gigs, as the back room is more than ample for the stage and a small crowd. The fact the gig was free, and we had the opportunity to see the Surfin' Lungs again, compensated for the quite pricey beer prices in what would be considered a student pub (pennies change from 7 quid for 2 drinks!). Did we mention the toilets!
DATE: January 23rd 2008
VENUE: The Dirty Water Club, Boston Music Venue, Tufnell Park, London
COST: £7 on the door
RATING: Great gig, not so great venue
A cold Friday night in Tufnell Park, London, and the first of 2 gigs over the weekend kicked off at 9.40 in the Dirty Water Club with the first of 3 bands on the set for that night - The Hotlines, a young Brighton Garage band pounding what seemed like seven shades of $*** out of the drum kit! And that's about all we remember from them!
Second on the bill, the band we had come to see – The Surfin' Lungs. Dressed in their trademark multicoloured beach shirts, they lost no time plunging into their vast songbook and delivered class songs ranging in age from the time of their first LP release, "Cowabunga", passing through Lets Go To Rockingham, through to the more recent Surf Drags And Rock & Roll through to a new beach song that will feature on their next CD release, with the polish and professionalism that oozes from these Godfathers of UK Surf.
"Hey Bo-Diddley" was sung back by the crowd gathered at the front of the stage, as well as cries of "Holy Guacamole". Their instrumental, The Godfather, reverberated through the venue, played in tribute to the recently deceased Patrick McGoohan, and Psycho Surfer with shades of Pulp Fiction was just ACE! The Lungs' recent shows have been outside the UK, playing to Surf festival crowds in Italy and Spain over the last few years, so it was great to be able to see them on home soil again.
The 3rd act had travelled from Italy, from a town not far from Pisa – The Manges. Dressed in burglar-style black and white striped t shirts, this band looked good and their sound did not disappoint. These guys are the Italian Ramones, with all the energy you would expect from a wild punk band but with the voices blended that makes every song sound great. Towards the end of the set, one of their friends got on stage and took the mic and the crowd were jumping so much The Manges did a few more songs before finally leaving the stage just after mid-night.
So the verdict of our night? Well, the music was great but the venue does leave something to be desired. The pillars in the room and the DJ booth make it hard to see the stage from any angle other than from right in front of it and seating is pretty much limited to 5 or 6 booths to one side with sticky tables and hard, worn out bench seats and a few hard wooden chairs dotted around a couple of tables mid way back from the stage, forcing you to stand for the whole time (which can be a pain for a gig that is spread over 3 or more hours!) if you don't arrive early to bag a seat with your coat!
Many of the music venues we have been to can't shout about having great toilets, but the ones in this place would have to rank towards the bottom of the pile. I suppose we should have been grateful that one cubicle on the ladies had loo paper!
Celtic Connections 2009, Shoeshine Records Showcase
GIG: Shoeshine Records Showcase
VENUE: ABC, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow
RATING: Brill
We traveled from Hemel Hempstead up to Glasgow for our second annual visit to the Celtic Connections festival. We tuned in to Radio Scotland as we reached the border just in time to hear on the news that there had been a murder in Maryhill. Class! This was real life imitating art. Taggart lives!We left our hotel to go for a pizza and who did we bump into? Only the BMX Bandits who we were going to see. Hugs all round. Hadn't seen these guys since The Pearlfishers gig at last years' Celtic Connections.
The Shoeshine gig was our first visit to the ABC, a converted cinema on Sauchiehall St. A great sized stage, good standing spaces, and a bar where you never had to wait very long to get served.
First up was a band called Boa Morte, who sounded like Leonard Cohen in a coma.
The BMX Bandits were next on. Just fantastic fun all the way through. Have to say though, 30 minutes is nowhere near enough time for these guys. Duglas must be one of the best front men a band could possibly have. Rachel looked as if she was preggers on stage and we decided it would be too dangerous to ask her in case we put our foot in it. Actually, when we met her later it was very obvious that she WAS. A new wee bandit due in April it seems.
Then we heard some new songs from Teenage Fanclubs' Norman Blake. They sounded very promising to us. Even though there was just the two of them on stage, we could hear some nice harmonies there.
Top of the bill was Attic Lights. All the months of touring last year showed with this very slick performance. Not contrived or anything, just really professional. Fame and fortune awaits them in the coming months. We couldn't decide on who was the best singer in the band.
It was a great show to be at, and they really enjoyed it too.
Afterwards we headed to the Central Hotel for the Celtic Connections club. But another £15 each in changed our minds.
Stay Tuned for:
Annie, Nelson & Duncan
Leicester & London
Christy Moore
Dream Syndicate


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Q: What is "timeout" and "open timeout" in Faraday? Since Faraday doesn't have documentation, I wasn't able to find it out anywhere. What is "timeout" and what "open timeout" in Faraday?

A: If you look at the source code at https://github.com/lostisland/faraday/blob/master/lib/faraday/request.rb then you'll see:
#   :timeout      - open/read timeout Integer in seconds
#   :open_timeout - read timeout Integer in seconds

Not very helpful, perhaps? Well, if you look at Faraday's Net::HTTP adapter at https://github.com/lostisland/faraday/blob/master/lib/faraday/adapter/net_http.rb, you'll see:
http.read_timeout = http.open_timeout = req[:timeout] if req[:timeout]
http.open_timeout = req[:open_timeout]                if req[:open_timeout]

So Faraday's open_timeout is equivalent to Net::HTTP's open_timeout which is documented as:

Number of seconds to wait for the connection to open. Any number may be used, including Floats for fractional seconds. If the HTTP object cannot open a connection in this many seconds, it raises a TimeoutError exception.

And Faraday's timeout is equivalent to Net::HTTP's read_timeout which is documented as:

Number of seconds to wait for one block to be read (via one read(2) call). Any number may be used, including Floats for fractional seconds. If the HTTP object cannot read data in this many seconds, it raises a TimeoutError exception.

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Home / Newsletters, Signs & Freebies / Friday-Freebie / Graduation Ceremony Letter: This Week's Friday Freebie!
Graduation Ceremony Letter: This Week's Friday Freebie!
Our Friday Freebie this week is a Graduation Ceremony Letter you can send home with the children in your service to tell parents about your upcoming graduation ceremony. Let them know why even at this age it is important to mark the occasion of graduating to "big school" and preparing for that transition.
Graduation ceremonies can be really fun. Why not make your graduation ceremony into a great party with games for children and adults? Short speeches can be appropriate. Can you think of some silly things that might have happened over the course of the year and remind children about some of their fun and funny experiences. Remember that your speeches should be fun for the children and adults. One idea is to have the children collaborate on writing an end-of-year poem ahead of time that can be read out at the ceremony. Writing silly poems together can be great fun.
A small gift for each family can be appropriate. Maybe something like a mini plant pot or some inexpensive art supplies. Another farewell gift idea is a goodie bag with a few sweets and a small toy.
Have you considered creating Graduation Certificates? We think these are a wonderful thing for the family to frame and hang on the wall, and some day this may be the first of many certificates the children can hang with pride to show their academic accomplishments! Our Early Years Resource Factory members have access to Graduation Certificate templates (along with hundreds of other customisable printables!). We also give free downloadable Graduation Certificates with every purchase of 5 or more graduation cap-and-gown sets, as well as a lovely customisable graduation banner for no extra charge.
New for 2019 we are offering the tassels with year charms on their own. This is very handy if you have purchased gowns last year that you would like to re-use this year. The family can then keep the tassel and year charm as a souvenir of the special day!
And remember, if you do want to order your graduation gowns for a guaranteed delivery date, place your pre-order with us now for only a small deposit per gown.
Graduation Ceremonies are great for the early years services, and we are also aware that primary schools and secondary schools will be hosting their graduation ceremonies as well! On the Early Years Shop we have caps and gowns in larger sizes along with tassels and year charms for the bigger children as well.


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Nonprofit Boards Cover Eyes, Ears, Mouths
Do you remember the picture of the three wise monkeys. The three wise monkeys are about seeing, hearing and speaking no evil. The three wise monkeys come to my mind in a Washington Post story about some nonprofit boards in Washington, DC who have served as pass-throughs for a DC council member who was the end receiver of more than $350,000.
The trial of the City council member has just begun so no convictions are in place. But I do note that in this case, as in a number of cases across the country when elected representatives have managed to use nonprofits as pass-throughs for their end-gain, I do not hear much about the after-life of the specific nonprofits. And is it possible that the boards of these nonprofits are truly like the monkeys -- they have neither seen, heard or spoken of these arrangements and are truly innocent in the transactions?
So much for honest or prudent caretakers of the taxpayer's resources.
Nonprofit Book Review: Tiny essentials of an effective volunteer board
72 7x4.5 pages -- this book already lives up to its title: Tiny essentials of an effective volunteer board written by Ken Burnett and published by The White Lion Press Limited.
Similar to the approach taken by Eugene Fram in Policy vs. Paper Clips, Mr. Burnett provides his insights about boards in the persona of a new board chair visiting some of the bigger nonprofit "charities" in England.
The theme of the book is that there are 21 key aspects of governance. Relevant? For the most part. Essential -- not so sure, and definitely not earth shattering.
One big caution was number three which offered five main roles of the board of which one was about "Appointing and Monitoring the Exec" but included "approving appointment of management team". This I believe is a no-no. The board has one employee - the CEO or ED. The CEO hires and monitors their team -- not the Board.
All else in the book is ok and might be a good primer to introduce a prospective board member, plus it is not such a big investment and is easy to read.
Nonprofit Boards Set an Executive's Salary
One of the primary jobs of a nonprofit board is to hire an executive. One of the hiring tasks include setting the value of that executive. Value of course refers to salaries and benfits. And it is the nonprofit board's job to determine value based on any number of factors including job requirements and demands, comparable rates paid by other nonprofits, and of course, the skills, knowledge and experience of the particular individual.
Interestingly it is executive salaries and benefits that are often one of the elements the public and the media and sometimes the government raises the most questions about a nonprofit over pretty much any other aspect of a nonprofit including outcomes. Maybe it's because donors can best see how their dollars are being used in the form of the exec salary. And, I'm sure there are a bunch of other reasons, some more rationale than the next.
So it's really unlikely that the public or media will let salary go as a topic to discuss when thinking about nonprofits. And its really unlikely the public or media will let salary go as a topic when added information indicates that the recipient doesn't appear to be working full time for a full time job or even working at the location of the nonprofit. That's the story the Hartford Courant reported on about an area nonprofit.
Bottom line: it's still up to the nonprofit board to determine what it needs and is willing to pay to get the outcomes it values. Yes, there are consequences for decisions which on the surface maybe cause head scratching but nonprofit boards: this is your job. Let prudence be your guide and good luck if you fail at that.
Nonprofit Board Pushes Forward
I know in this blog I tend to favor sharing learnings by highlighting nonprofit boards that have mismanaged or otherwise proven their inefectiveness. However, trying to be effective after failure provides learning opportunities as well. The Slavery Museum is today's case in point.
The Wall Street Journal, in an article yesterday, noted that the Museum Board was stepping out of Chapter 11 with a plan that would address its debts and its longer-term sustainability issues through a combination of fundraising and increased revenues. In my humble opinion and based on all I know about the Museum's focus, the goal of raising $900,000 from individual donors, to repay debt, should be achievable. And increasing revenues from operations should be achievable too.
More importantly, I am thinking that the experience of the Museum's Board is worth documenting for all nonprofits. For example, how typical is it for a board to mirror many small business entrepreneurs who are driven by mission and hope to the point that they put aside prudence when all that flies are yellow caution flags? And, how much of the board's membership needs to change, if any, for the board to get to a place that it can renew its optimism while applying prudence?
I am hoping some academic institution will help answer these types of questions. In the meantime, if you would like to know more about what's next for the Museum, do check-out the Wall Street Journal article and click-on the link that will take you to the Museum's actual Chapter 11 plan for the future.
Nonprofit Boards and a sustainability strategy
According to a recent analysis, mega nonprofits that rapidly scaled up did so by pursuing one big funding stream rather than a diversity of streams. On the one hand, this idea is consistent with Jim Collins' advice of "doing what you do best". On the other hand, this idea flies in the face of the generally offered advice that a nonprofit does best to avoid over dependence on any one funding source, primarily because funding sources can be unreliable.
The authors of the study suggest that pursuing one stream "can better attract the resources neeeded to fuel programmatic growth and avoids spreading resources thinly across a variety of funding opportunities." The authors also suggest that a sustainability strategy is better determined early in the life of the nonprofit.
Two different lessons arise for me from this study. One is that an effective sustainability strategy is one based solidly on market research. The second lesson is that a sustainability strategy is just that: a strategy developed to achieve a particular goal. Developed as a part of a straegic plan and revisited with each new plan or sooner, determining a sustainability strategy is an important fiduciary act of the board -- one that obviously can have a large impact on the organization's future.
The study, Why More Nonrpofits Are Getting Bigger, can be found in the Spring 2012 Stanford Social Innovation Review: www.ssireview.org.
Nonprofit Board: Good or Bad
Is this nonprofit board good or bad? This is the question I'm certainly left to answer after reading this Port Orchard News article about a humane society which appears to be struggling but the basis for its struggles "ain't exactly clear".
Here's a few lines from the article:
the nine-member board parted ways with former executive director Sean Compton
The board of directors has selected a new interim executive director for the nonprofit.
An online petition was started on the website www.change.org alleging mismanagement by the nonprofit's volunteer board, ranging from financial dealings to tampering with board meeting minutes, and calls for an election of the board by donors in March
the idea that the board of directors would ever use the Humane Society for personal benefit, especially financially, is ridiculous says a former staff: one of the board's main functions is to choose a competent executive director, who then makes most of the decisions about contracting and financial matters.
The "behind smoke there's fire" addage comes to mind for me. The "sudden" departure of an exec and acusations by others.....for sure, there's something going on. I must say though that the idea of donors getting together to elect a new board.....I'd love to see the by-laws.
City and Nonprofit vs Citizens
What happens when a municipality and a nonprofit have an agreement but a group of citizens doesn't believe they benefit from the arrangement? What happens remains to be seen with this exact situation involving New York City, Lincoln Center a group of residents living around a city park that is rented out for the Big Apple Circus and Fashion Week.
I'm not particularly loyal to either the City or Lincoln Center but the idea that a city and a nonprofit could reach an agreement where lots of good stuff happens for the community and money is made for both the City and the nonprofit is unusual enough that it should be lauded. On the other hand the idea that a nonprofit is viewed as an offender of rather than filling a void for citizens raises some interesting questions about the general nature of nonprofits.
Note though: the Federal Government (the people) doesn't discriminate in its allocation of tax exemptions. Right wing and left wing and centrist groups can all get a nonprofit status.
Nonprofits to pick-up the shortfalls in cities?
Once again cities are turning to nonprofits, not only to provide the critical services that fill-in the voids the public sector doesn't address after its first priorities and/or are created by the failings of the for-profit sectors decisions to chose profits over everything elese.
Take for example the City of Providence, Rhode Island and Brown University. Now, admitedly, Brown has a lot of money in savings and it's a really big non-exempt property holder currently paying the same city-determained amount owed by all property holders who aren't tax-exempt. But Providence wants Brown to pay a much larger amount in the form of a PILOT (payment in liew of taxes). The impact on Providence would certainly be favorable but what about the long-range impact on Brown? If it paid what was asked, would it retain its economic security not to mention provide the added value that comes from bringing business to town? Likely not at the rate the city wants it to pay.
See the Wall Street Journal for the story.
Nonprofits Out of Business
Last week I noted the story about an LA "backroom" fiduciary nonprofit that misspent the money of the variety of nonprofits that had trusted the organization. According to the LA Times, these group's monies were spent on were "used to pay legal fees and other bills, including $12,000 a month for offices in Pacific Palisades, as well as back taxes and penalties to the IRS." Almost one million dollars of funds were depleted from these grops leaving almost all without any money.
I'm not sure what the groups could have done to prevent this situation. For sure they should take up a class-action suit to get their money back from the exec and the board (never mentioned in the article) that was responsible for this gross violation. I also have a tip. These digital versions of news stories permit related ads and on this page, at least when I was read the story, was an ad by BofA that said: "supporting the nonprofits that address critical community needs." While I can't speak to the nature of the needs being addressed by the groups that lost their funds here, seems like BofA should at least be a first stop.
Nonprofit exec says financials are confidential
The transparency police are up in arms when they hear this Maui (you know, Hawaii) nonprofit exec say that the organization's finances are "confidential". Perhaps you are thinking "doesn't sound that bad", but what if I tell you that "confidential" is the term the exec used to describe why the financials are not available to her board! Well that's just part of the story of obfuscation; check-out this article in the Maui News and then ask yourself -- what stopped this board from just outright firing their exec?


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White Lotus is a family owned and operated small business in the heart of old town Port Moody. Supporting our local neighbours is very important to us.
We have a large selection and our inventory includes products crafted from local artisans, jewellers, Shamans, wood workers and herbalists.
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Uci Is No 1 In Sierra Magazines 2020 Cool Schools Ranking Of Sustainability Leaders
UCI is No. 1 in Sierra Magazine's 2020 'Cool Schools' Ranking of Sustainability Leaders
Sierra magazine has named the University of California, Irvine (UCI) No. 1 overall in its annual "Cool Schools" ranking of sustainability leaders among U.S. and Canadian universities and colleges, marking the fourth time in the last seven years that UCI has topped the widely acclaimed list.
UCI's history of environmental stewardship dates back to the Nobel Prize-winning research by chemistry professor F. Sherwood Rowland into the depletion of the ozone layer almost five decades ago. This work led to the development and growth of UCI's campus culture of eco-friendly practices, groundbreaking sustainability research, and remarkable green accomplishments that has put the university at the forefront of American higher education.
"I am so pleased that once again Sierra magazine has recognized UCI as the nation's No. 1 'Cool School' for our leadership and achievements in this vital area," said Chancellor Howard Gillman. "Across our campus, in virtually every academic discipline, our faculty, students and staff are actively pursuing the effective stewardship of the world we all live in."
Today's "Cool Schools" ranking makes UCI the only university to score in the top 10 for 11 consecutive years. It was No. 1 in 2014, 2015, and 2018 on the strength of its curriculum, research, campus operations, and public engagement.
"The Sierra 'Cool Schools' rankings are respected as the most rigorous measure of an institution's commitment to environmental and energy research, climate solutions, and the full array of environmental stewardship metrics," said Wendell Brase, associate chancellor for sustainability at UCI. "Because of this comprehensive breadth, a high Sierra ranking is simply not possible without engagement of the entire faculty, student body and campus leadership. UCI's legacy of Sierra honors can be claimed by all Anteaters developing research, teaching or seeking solutions across every facet of climate impacts."
Advancing Green Transportation
Earlier this month, UCI was recognized by the 2020 Green Fleet Awards as having the 10th-greenest fleet of vehicles in the nation, making it the highest-ranked university on the list. The campus also won the Best University or College Fleet Merit Award for its reduction in fuel consumption and use of electrified student transportation.
The 100 Best Fleets website noted: "This fleet had amazing diesel reduction from 126K to 21K gallons from 2018 to 2019 through use of electric and hydrogen shuttle buses." Overall, UCI stood out for its fleet composition, fuel and emissions, policy and planning, fleet utilization, education, executive and employee involvement, and support programming.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the school's 20 all-electric shuttle buses and hydrogen fuel cell bus regularly transported students throughout campus. In 2018, UCI became the first university in the country to abandon its traditional diesel fuel-powered buses and shift to completely sustainable transportation.
Over the past three years, UCI has boosted its number of electric vehicle charging stations and converted its central plant to a system that conserves over 80 million gallons of potable water per year while cooling campus buildings – 20 of which are certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum and seven of which are zero-waste facilities.
One of the school's new pilot projects involves providing free insulation retrofits and solar installations in nearby low-income communities. And UCI faculty members are adapting medical and public health curricula to better prepare students to treat tropical diseases as they expand in range owing to climate change.
In addition, UCI is among 30 universities that made The Princeton Review's 2021 Green Honor Roll by receiving a score of 99 (the highest possible) in its Green Rating tallies this year.
The official publication of the Sierra Club, Sierra magazine initiated the college sustainability rankings in 2007 because – as the biggest purchasers and employers in many communities – universities can create demand for green services and products and lead by example. This year, Sierra evaluated more than 300 institutions in 19 categories, ranging from teaching and research to public engagement and campus operations.
"As UCI is the only university to have ranked in the top 10 'Cool Schools' for an unprecedented 11 years and counting, we're continually impressed with its commitment to modeling, teaching and embodying excellent environmental stewardship in all areas," said Katie O'Reilly, Sierra's adventure and lifestyle editor. "The Anteaters always have fascinating and often surprising sustainability endeavors underway and are truly standouts in this increasingly important space."
UCI's sustainability achievements also include:
UCI has expanded its Student Leadership Institute for Climate Resilience across the entire UC system, introducing first-year and transfer students to some of the major challenges and opportunities of building community climate resilience, as well as tools for action. UCI will be hosting climate resilience planning workshops beginning late this year.
More than 150 students are trained each year through the UCI Sustainability Resource Center. The SRC is a hub for students, providing resources, education and programming to advance environmental balance, economic vitality and social equity.
Energy use reductions
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative recognized UCI's energy efficiency improvement of 29 percent campuswide since 2009.
UCI's award-winning Smart Labs Initiative has reduced laboratory energy use by as much as 60 percent and improved safety in new and existing laboratories.
Recognized by the U. S. Department of Energy for attaining the 2020 goal of the Better Buildings Challenge seven years early, in 2013, UCI was the first educational institution in the nation to meet or exceed this objective, consuming 23 percent less energy in 2013 than in 2008.
Sustainable food service practices
UCI Dining received the 2019 grand prize for excellence in sustainable dining from the National Association of College & University Food Services. It also won NACUFS sustainability awards for outreach and education (gold) and waste management (silver).
Zero-emission landscape maintenance
UCI Student Housing has partnered with the South Coast Air Quality Management District to replace aging gasoline-powered equipment with cordless, emissions-free products. So far, three mowers have been retired, saving 3,000 gallons of fuel and cutting 26.7 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year. The transition to all-electric, hand-held equipment will be completed this year.
More than 220 faculty and students from 75 percent of the campus's academic departments are engaged in sustainability research.
Started in part by the UCI Program in Public Health, ¡Plo-NO! Santa Ana is a community-academic partnership bringing together city leaders, faculty, staff and students to discuss and address lead and other contaminants affecting residents of Santa Ana.
Sustainable transportation advances
UCI's Pump2Plug is one of the first university incentive programs to encourage faculty and staff to convert from fossil-fuel vehicles to electric and plug-in vehicles by offering three years of free Level 1 charging and reduced-cost Level 2 charging on campus.
The League of American Bicyclists has named UCI a platinum-level Bicycle Friendly University, one of only eight in the country to receive the highest designation. The campus has established itself as a leader in biking education, outreach and infrastructure.
Recycling leader
UCI has achieved a top 10 RecycleMania ranking for the past 10 years, with an 81 percent waste diversion rate, the highest in the UC system. RecycleMania is an annual, international competition to promote recycling and reuse on campuses.
LEED Platinum buildings
UCI has 20 new-construction LEED Platinum buildings, the most of any U.S. campus. With the opening of the Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Building this fall, that number will increase to 21.
UCI is a gold-level Leaders Circle sponsor of the Greater Irvine Chamber. For information on how to become a part of this elite membership group, contact Jessica Welch.
Category: Education News, Member News, Partner News, Leaders Circle
Joseph Castro Appointed to lead CSU, the Nation's Largest Public University
Cox Communications Commits $60 Million to Close the Digital Learning Gap
UC Irvine Partners with O.C. Businesses to Develop Safe Reopening Protocols
Transportation Corridor Agencies Expand Online Educational Resources for Kids


We wish we could all look as beautiful and relaxed as Emily does on her wedding day. And, um, can we just have a moment of appreciation for this couple's ceremony decor — those carpets (insert heart eyes emoji). Sending our love to the happy couple!


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Former NBA Player Chris Herren Featured in New Substance Use Prevention Film
July 11, 2019 by Partnership News Service Staff
Former NBA player Chris Herren is featured in a new substance use prevention education film, The First Day. The film will premiere on ESPN on July 16, at 8PM ET. It is presented by Center on Addiction and Cigna.
The film focuses on the reasons why young people turn to substances in the first place, instead of dwelling on later stages of addiction. It includes discussion materials, education curricula and resources to help communities prevent and treat substance use disorder. Herren teamed up with award-winning filmmaker Jonathan Hock to make the film.
"The focus oftentimes is about the worst day when it comes to speaking about addiction and not the first day," Herren said in a news release. "Kids and parents need to understand how this begins rather than how it ends. Prevention starts on the first day."
The First Day Film Resources
Download materials about the film, support materials and resources developed for The First Day film.
Download free resources
Tags 7-11-2019 Drug Addiction Drug Use Prevention Opioids & Opiates
More Than 100 Billion Doses of Opioid Pills Were Shipped Between 2006 and 2014
Data collected by the Drug Enforcement Administration shows more than 100 billion doses of oxycodone and hydrocodone were shipped nationwide between 2006 and 2014, The Washington Post reports.
Expanding Medicaid Linked With 6% Drop in Opioid Overdose Deaths
The expansion of Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act was associated with a 6% drop in total opioid overdose deaths nationally, a new study concludes.


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Joyce happy with Novopay progress
6:21 pm on 16 July 2013
The Government says good progress is being made in fixing the problem-plagued Novopay teacher payroll system.
Steven Joyce. Photo: RNZ
The Minister responsible for Novopay, Steven Joyce, said on Tuesday that pay periods are now performing as expected, with few issues of staff being underpaid or overpaid.
Since the system was introduced in August 2012, thousands of teachers and support staff have been wrongly paid.
Mr Joyce said clearing a backlog of over-payments is taking longer than expected and about 10,000 are outstanding.
"I have to understand that it's a pretty forensic exercise because you're effectively going to go back and ask people to repay money, so you've got to do the appropriate level of checks and re-checks before you go ahead and do that.
"Notwithstanding that I want it all fixed yesterday, I think the teams have made some pretty reasonable progress. We've just got some more work to do."
Mr Joyce said half the bugs in the system have been fixed and it's hoped they will all be resolved by September.


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Weight Loss v Cryolipolysis
Before & After Cryolipolysis
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CryoPen Solar Lentigo Removal
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Hifu Before And After
Sarahs Treatment-
Essex born-and-raised Sarah was naturally very sceptical about the apparent effects of HIFU, given her more holistic approach to health and life in general.
Thankfully she decided to give LA Lipo a try, extending to us a chance to really blow her away with the results and that's exactly what we're proud to say we did!
Sarah's case was one centred on the corners of her eyes in particular, posing a little bit of a firmer challenge than the regular areas of concern, like wrinkles and expression lines.
By default, what are known as crow's feet (the wrinkled corners of the eyes) bear furrows that make the appearance of the wrinkles appear a lot deeper, but it was even worse for Sarah because she was also self-conscious of the sagging bags under her eyes.
It was really a case of hoping for a miracle, by her admission, but to her surprise, Sarah started seeing a massive improvement having only undergone the first of a few treatments she would have to come in for.
She reports staring into the mirror and resisting the urge to constantly touch her face to see if her fingers tell the same story of just how much firmer her skin looks and feels.
Sarah's was one of the more severe cases LA Lipo's HFU treatment rather impressively triumphed over, with the wrinkles she had having appeared deeper and more pronounced as a result of spending lots and lots of time out in the coastal Essex sun.
Emilys Treatment-
Emily found it just a bit too much to handle, having to deal with a plethora of the visible signs of ageing, so she decided to try and tackle the biggest area of concern first, which is the face.
One can otherwise always attend to greying hair with some dye, but when it comes to your face, the tell-tale signs of someone who is getting on in the years always make for the first focus of an onlooker's eyes.
The 55-year-old from Derby is young at heart, something we picked up on in our very first consultation and treatment session with her, so the cause for concern made perfect sense. She came to the right place to take advantage of the HIFU treatment we have on offer, here at LA Lipo.
A mere three appointments later, Emily looks as young as she feels, if not even younger! In fact, the post-treatment picture she has, would have had some of the closest people to her fooled into believing that it was taken a lot earlier in her life, were it not for the physical proof she can now confidently provide in the flesh.
The matriarch's facial wrinkles are almost completely non-existent following the procedure and we've been wondering how much longer we're going to keep getting messages of gratitude from her…Not that we're complaining at all! Check out our blog post on fat freezing!
Specific areas targeted were the eye-lids, which have since been filled out and tightened, while the vertical frown-lines have completely disappeared along with the horizontal ones that were clearly visible on her resting face.
Peters Treatment –
49-year-old Peter, from Worcestershire, had quite a long history with other facelift procedures before coming to LA Lipo for HIFU , having previously had Botox done.
The results attained only demonstrate the flexibility of the treatment and just how unaffected it is by previously completed procedures such as Botox, but it is important for us to know of any such treatments the client may have had done in the past. Click here to see more about us!
It's all part of the consultation process though, aiding in the process of determining what the best way forward would be for the client with regards to dynamics such how many sessions would be required, the intensity of the treatment, targeted areas of focus, etc.
Peter's case was quite the delicate one because this is a gentleman who at 49 years of age, was about to cross a very important milestone of life – the magical number 50!
So it was a matter of correcting what had become the overcompensation of someone who decided to lay off on the Botox a bit, mostly out of the fear of repeatedly having to endure the invasive nature of the needles with which the Botox is administered. Click here to see why you should us!
Before coming into LA Lipo , Peter was worried about how quickly the effects of no longer getting Botox regularly were beginning to show up on his face.
With only two full HIFU facelifts, Peter boasts about how he can convincingly pass off as someone who is not anywhere near reaching the 50-year threshold, citing how great his skin feels to mirror how it looks.
Frasers Treatment –
59-year-old Fraser, from Birmingham, may be close to his retirement age, but his coming to LA Lipo for the HIFU treatment he'd heard about represents his young spirit, which is nowhere near ready for retirement.
The seasoned veteran of the corporate world is a very expressive character and so the frown lines all across his forehead represented a skin-level, visible part of his inner-character that would be lost to the world if these frown lines were to completely disappear.
That's the exact reason why it was mutually agreed between ourselves and Fraser that he'd best go for a HIFU treatment option that is not quite as intense as that which someone seeking to look decades younger would go for.
A couple of appointments were enough to account for Fraser's utter satisfaction, with the main "character-expression" lines still faintly visible so as to maintain the representation of his character and wisdom, while the nasty, two-tone clustered wrinkles have been done away with.
Click here to read about more on what we do!
LA Lipo speciality with HIFU is indeed to restore the appearance the client feels best fits how they feel on the inside and dare we say, we've proven at times to go beyond expectations in managing to shave off what looks like up to a decade or two in the telltale signs of ageing on the face.
Clients like Fraser are often surprised at just how quickly the results start to show up positively, especially considering just how non-invasive the HIFU procedure is. Click here to see why you should choose us!
We totally understand how lively gentlemen in the like of Fraser are not quite ready to take up their place as silver foxes as yet and LA Lipo can play a huge role in delaying that dreaded progression.
Julies Treatment –
Although we delight in sharing the great results with all of our clients who have come to LA Lipo for the Hifu treatment, Julie's case particularly stands out because it strikes at the very heart of what High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is all about.
In some of the earliest experimental and trial phases of HIFU's development and implementation, Julie's targeted areas for the treatment were noted as the most effectively treated.
Julie, who hails from Norfolk, came to LA Lipo for a HIFU treatment that would not only have her appearance improved visually, but would also have her feeling "like my skin still actually belonged to me," as she put it.
Julie specifically noted how the skin around her nose and mouth wasn't only seemingly ageing and wrinkling faster than the rest of her face and body, but was also starting to feel a bit too loose and unusually soft.
The jaw-line along with the cheek are indeed those areas where HIFU's visible results mirror the effectiveness of the treatment in decreasing order.
Which would say a lot about just how effective it is in lifting and tightening the jaw-line in particular, when you look at just how effective it is in treating other areas where it's been shown to be less effective.
Less-effective definitely doesn't mean not effective – there are just some areas where HIFU hits a clean home-run, as was the case with Julie's nose and mouth region.
Julie was particularly pleased to be part of an effective treatment process that isn't invasive as getting surgery or Botox.
LA Lipo Cryolipolysis offers a national fat freezing service for targetted weight loss for Men and Women. Proven weight loss solutions in a fast and effective way. For the whole body its a cost effective and safe way of getting toned without going tot he gym or waiting weeks. Call us today in to get the body of the your dreams.
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Research on the electrical activity of the brain began already in 1924. From this period is also already known the phenomenon of the so-called alpha block, a reaction of brain waves to increased mental activity. In addition to the alpha-waves the electrical brain activity is also separated in beta, gamma, delta and theta waves. Depending on the location of measurement on the surface of the head, conclusions can be drawn about various mental activities from the activities in the respective frequency bands.


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Q: Material Design Lite Font Issue I started to develope a new Website by using visual Studio as the development Environment. In the nuget packet Manager I added "Material Design Lite" to my Project. I just started to test some components and I got one Issue.
Here is the Code of the menue that I wanted to implement.

    <button id="demo-menu-lower-left"
            class="mdl-button mdl-js-button mdl-button--icon">

        more_vert
    </button>

Some Action

Another Action

Disabled Action

Yet Another Action

In my html head: <link href="Content/mdl-v1.1.2/material.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />
In the Body:

As the result I get:

As you see in the top left it is just desplaying plain text and not the right Symbol.
How to fix that? Thanks in regard.

A: The font setup is not included in material design lite css (material.min.css).
To setup the icon fonts have a look to material-design-icons/

The easiest way to set up icon fonts for use in any web page is through Google Web Fonts. All you need to do is include a single line of HTML:

<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/icon?family=Material+Icons"
  rel="stylesheet">

This could be a first start. If this is not what you like to do have a look for the different methods like Self hosting
Or use Spritesheets explained on MDL styles:

Material Design icons come with SVG and CSS sprites for each category of icon we include. These can be found in the sprites directory, under svg-sprite and css-sprite.


text:
Chapter A War for Race and Space
Reading 14 The Battle for Western Europe
Reading 1 Isolated and Demonized
Reading 2 Targeting the Sinti and Roma
Reading 3 "Unworthy to Live"
Reading 4 Bystanders at Hartheim Castle
Reading 5 Protesting Medical Killing
Reading 6 The War against Poland: Speed and Brutality
Reading 7 Dividing Poland and Its People
Reading 8 Colonizing Poland
Reading 9 "Cultural Missionaries"
Reading 10 The War on Jews in Poland
Reading 11 The Jewish Ghettos: Separated from the World
Reading 12 The Jewish Councils
Reading 13 Voices from the Warsaw Ghetto
Reading 15 Waging a Racial War
Reading 16 Advice for German-Occupied Nations
Reading 17 The Invasion of the Soviet Union
Reading 18 Reaping the Benefits of War
Reading 19 The United States Enters World War II
Reading 20 Europe in Germany's Grasp
The Battle for Western Europe
Get an overview of the Nazis' occupation of France and its advances into Western Europe during World War II.
Questions of Complicity: France and the Nazi Occupation
Scholar Aliza Luft discusses the changes that took place in France when the Nazis invaded in 1940.
Although Nazi plans to create a thousand-year Reich were centered on the conquest of "living space" to Germany's east, Hitler knew that countries in western Europe might stand in his way. He was especially concerned about France, which bordered Germany and could force it to fight on western and eastern fronts simultaneously. Assuming that France would go to great lengths to prevent Germany from becoming too big and powerful, the Nazis decided that they must defeat the French before pushing farther eastward from Poland. 1
They had other reasons for this decision. Germany had a history of military conflict with France, and the Nazis detested the French political ideals of equality and liberty. Nazi leaders also resented the presence of soldiers from African colonies in the French military forces and saw them as a threat to European racial purity. 2
France and Britain responded to the invasion of Poland by declaring war on Germany on September 3, 1939. But they did not engage in a major battle with Germany until spring 1940, when the French, especially, found little success in halting the German advance in western Europe. Bolstered by a powerful air force and a new tactic, the Blitzkrieg ("lightning war"), in which ground forces broke through enemy lines with rapid and overwhelming force, Germany conquered much of western Europe in a few months. In April 1940, the Nazis invaded the neutral countries of Denmark and Norway in order to protect their supply of steel and other resources from Scandinavia. Then, in May, Germany invaded the Netherlands. By May 17, the Germans had overrun that nation and half of Belgium, and they were fighting their way to France. On June 14, the Germans captured Paris, and the French military was on the verge of defeat.
On June 22, France and Germany signed an armistice agreement in the same railroad car in the middle of France's Compiègne Forest where the World War I armistice of November 11, 1918, had been signed. (In fact, at Hitler's request, German soldiers brought the rail car from a local museum to the forest so that it could be used at the ceremony.) The armistice divided France into two zones. One zone, which included northern France and an area along the Atlantic Ocean, was occupied by the German military; the other zone, which included most of southern France, remained unoccupied. According to the terms of the armistice, a French government based in the southern town of Vichy and headed by Marshal Henri-Philippe Pétain, an 83-year-old French war hero, and Pierre Laval, a French politician, would govern France. While the Vichy government governed autonomously in the unoccupied zone, its power was subordinate to German military commanders in the occupied zone. The Nazis put in place a variety of arrangements to govern the other western European countries it defeated. Some, like the Netherlands, were governed by a Nazi-appointed civilian governor, while others, like Belgium, were governed by the German military.
After the conquest of France, Hitler turned his attention to Britain, which possessed a powerful navy and an empire spanning the globe. At first Germany offered peace. Recalling Hitler's previous false promises of peace, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who had succeeded Neville Chamberlain two months earlier, did not accept Hitler's offer. The Battle of Britain began in July 1940 with massive German air attacks designed to wipe out the British air force and expose its naval fleet. Every day for the next two months, hundreds of planes fought in the skies over Britain. Despite their best efforts, the Germans were unable to defeat the British, partly because the British did not fight alone. They had the support of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, as well as South Africa and other parts of their empire. In fact, if Britain had fallen to the Germans, the British government had made arrangements to continue the war from Canada. The British were also aided by refugees from German-occupied Europe. Poland, France, Norway, the Netherlands, and Czechoslovakia were among the occupied nations that set up governments-in-exile in Britain—each determined to carry on the struggle to the end.
1Gerhard L. Weinberg, Germany, Hitler, and World War II: Essays in Modern German and World History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 43.
2Gerhard L. Weinberg, Germany, Hitler, and World War II: Essays in Modern German and World History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 33–34.
German Troops in Paris
German troops parade past the Arc de Triomphe in Paris after they occupied the city in June 1940.
Granger, NYC — All rights reserved.
Why was it important to the Nazis' plans for "race and space" for them to defeat western European nations, especially France?
Why do you think Hitler insisted on signing the armistice agreement with France in the same railway car where the World War I armistice was signed?
Facing History and Ourselves, "The Battle for Western Europe," last updated May 2, 2022.
Most teachers are willing to tackle the difficult topics, but we need the tools.
— Gabriela Calderon-Espinal, Bay Shore, NY


Turena Johnson Lane was a five-time NCAA champion at Luther College. As a pro she has won a U.S. 20K title (2004) and ran her marathon PR at the 2005 IAAF World Championships. She recently ran 2:44:23 in the 2007 Boston Marathon.
B.A.A.: Who has been your biggest influence in running?
T.J.L.:I feel incredibly blessed to have been surrounded by people who support and encourage my in my running. It is often seems like a pretty selfish existence and I know that I couldn't have accomplished all that I have without the support from others. I would have to say that my two biggest influences have been the two favorite men in my life: my dad and my husband. My dad, who has since passed away, was very supportive of my running and his most important advice was to keep running as long as I was enjoying it. He said that if there was a point where I wasn't enjoying it, no matter how successful I became, then it was time to stop. After all this time, I still really am enjoying the process. My husband, Todd, who also serves as my coach, really is the one who deserves all the credit. He has always been one to look at the long term picture and never sacrifice the long term plan for any short term gain. I trust him with my training and he makes it surprisingly easy to have a husband as your coach.
B.A.A.: You and your husband have apparently named your two dogs Tanui and Tulu, after Moses Tanui and Derartu Tulu. If you had a third dog, what would be the next name?
T.J.L.: Well, actually, my husband had wanted to name each of our dogs Asskicker, but thankfully, we compromised on a runner name. So if we had a third dog you can take a guess at the name he would want.
B.A.A.: What is something interesting that the running community may not know about you?
T.J.L.:That when my husband is out of town for work I like to spend Friday afternoons at my local Barnes & Noble with my Venti nonfat extra hot chai tea latte reading all the latest celebrity gossip magazines. Silly, really. On the flip side, I also am the home improvement person in our house. We've lived in three different homes and I've re-done the floors in each one. I've pulled up carpet, laid hardwood floors, or re-sanded existing hardwood floors. I've also repainted the entire interior of these houses and taken down obscene amounts of wallpaper. I just had a deck built on our little patio and kick myself for not doing it myself. Of course, all this happens when my husband is out of town so it's always a surprise when he gets home!


Manila, Philippines - Student life's seemed to be more difficult with so many things to do, from lessons to understand, tests to prepare for, projects to complete and short time to rest. That's why so many students are complaining about getting tired.
However, one student went viral and lauded by netizens for bringing positivity in the online world.
Darlyn Descartin, a senior high school student at Jose Rizal University in Mandaluyong City posted for her yearbook photo with a dedication for her parents.
She is holding a white board with dedication addressed to her parents.
"Hindi ko masabing nakakapagod mag-aral kasi alam kong mas pagod yung nagpapaaral sa akin. #ThankYouMama&Papa,"Darlyn wrote.
The heartwarming post has made the student an instant star - as she moves netizens to her positive outlook in life as a student.
Instantly, the day after posting her photo from the yearbook gained over 40K shares.
Well, while graduation day is still months away, a simple gestures like these coming from daughter would be a greater gift and honor to parents who made sacrifices for their children.


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By Kenneth Davids September 8, 2003 |Reviews Tasting Report
Beyond Antigua: The "Other" Guatemalas
Some adjectives become so firmly stuck to coffee country names that they almost lose their meaning. Antigua and Guatemala may be such a combination, so familiar together that coffee drinkers either don't know that there are coffee-growing regions in Guatemala other than Antigua, or don't even know Antigua is a region, not just a mysterious coffee word that must mean something positive or people wouldn't use it.
Antigua is, of course, a coffee growing region, a lovely, volcano-dominated valley surrounding the famous colonial town of Antigua or "Old" Guatemala. Perhaps Antigua is the best known of Guatemalan coffee growing regions because it is one of the oldest as well as the most accessible owing to its proximity to the capital, Guatemala City. Like Hawaii's famous Kona, it doubtless also has benefited from association with a favorite tourist site, the old town of Guatemala.
The Antigua valley also happens to produce some very, very fine coffee. But there are other regions where excellent coffee is grown in Guatemala – the dry, rugged mountains of Huehuetenango near the Mexican border, for example, the wetter Pacific-facing mountains of the San Marcos region, the Coban region with its moist, Caribbean-influenced weather, the high Fraijanes plateau, the abruptly steep, dream-like volcanic slopes surrounding Lake Atitlan.
The Not-Antigua Question
One goal of this month's cupping is to help get these other Guatemala coffee regions out from under the benign but conceptually smothering shadow of Antigua.
What coffees would we receive if we invited roasters to send us Guatemalas that were not Antiguas?
The good news is that the "other" Guatemalas we received were, as a group, outstanding, although three or four were half-ruined in the roaster, as usual. The bad news, at least for the non-Antigua growing regions: We had to work rather hard to source enough retail-roasted non-Antiguas for the review, and several of those we did were simply identified as "Guatemala" rather than being dignified by their regional name.
More on Guatemalan Regions
Those readers interested in learning about some of the differences among Guatemalan coffee growing regions may want to log on to the Anacafé (Asociaci?n Nacional del Café) website at www.guatemalancoffees.com. Differences among Guatemalan coffee regions include soil (most regions have volcanic soils, but three don't), climate (in particular, dry weather during maturation and harvest usually means sweeter coffee), average elevation (the higher the elevation the more acidity and – usually – the more nuance), and social and transportation issues (Huehuetenango and Atitlan growers are mostly small holders, often isolated by difficult terrain). All of these factors influence cup character, although in my experience all of the major Guatemala growing regions can produce outstanding coffee in a variety of cup profiles.
Huehuetenango and Atitlan Predominate
Among the six non-Antigua Anacafé-recognized regions, we received coffees produced in Huehuetenango (nine samples), Atitlan (six samples), Fraijanes (one sample) and San Marcos (two samples). We also received a sample from the slopes of the Fuego volcano, very close to Antigua, but not officially inside the Antigua region.
Huehuetenango, with its very high growing elevations, limestone soil and dry harvest weather, is an insider's favorite origin. Many roasters prefer Huehues, as they are called, to Antiguas, and many coffees from this region are organically grown by cooperatives of small growers, making them attractive choices for social and environmental reasons. Most Atitlan coffees also are organic and produced by small-holding growers working in cooperatives.
Although Fraijanes is a very old and well-established growing region with high elevations and a sunny harvest season, few coffees from this region reach the United States. Most San Marcos coffees to reach the U.S. come from a single farm – Dos Marias, a large farm lovingly and efficiently presided over by the Asturias family, one branch of which also imports the family coffees. An organic coffee from a San Marcos farm also turned up in the form of an excellent decaffeinated coffee roasted by Kaffé Magnum Opus. With decaffeinated coffees one is never quite sure how much the character of the final cup is owing to the green coffee itself, the impact of the decaffeination process, or the roasting, but in this case I suspect the coffee was a good one, the decaffeination certainly didn't hurt, and the roasting (decaffeinated coffees are notoriously difficult to roast) superlative.
Finally, there is the Torreo-roasted coffee from the Pacific side of the Fuego volcano, just over the hill, as it were (a very large hill) from the officially recognized Antigua region. Despite its proximity to the Antigua valley, this coffee qualifies as a non-Antigua for two reasons: The Antigua growers association does not recognize it as an official Antigua, and it probably is subject to different weather owing to its apparent origin on slopes that face outward toward the Pacific rather than inward toward the Antigua valley proper.
The Guatemala Cup
At present I think of Guatemala coffees as falling into two broad categories: those that tend to be delicate and balanced, often with floral as well as fruit nuance, and coffees with more intense and often simpler acidity.
My own assessment of this particular group of coffees may be colored by my preference for Guatemalas of the former style: those whose acidity is balanced by sweetness and nuanced by fruit. However, judging from my experience on international cupping panels, many American coffee professionals prefer intensely acidy coffees, even when the acidity is rather sharp. Such cuppers might well prefer the more assertively acidy coffees in the cupping like the Fraijanes from Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters or the San Marcos Dos Marias from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.
However, whether the choice is austerely acidy or gently floral, this review suggests that it may serve specialty coffee sellers and their customers well to fully explore the regional possibilities of Guatemala.


It seemed like a funny name at the time, because Abraham didn't have any children. He and his wife were old, and it didn't seem like they would ever have children. But by a miracle, God gave them a boy named Isaac. Everything seemed fine: Abraham believed God's promise about the land and about his children, and God had brought him to the land and had given him a child.
But God wanted to push Abraham to be even greater than he was already. He put Abraham through a terrible test by telling him to kill his son Isaac as a sacrifice. How could God give Abraham many descendants if Abraham's only son were dead? And how could God ask Abraham to kill his own child? But Abraham trusted God even when he didn't understand. He went to the appointed place, got everything ready, and raised his hand to do what God had said—but suddenly God's angel called out him and stopped him. He gave him a ram to sacrifice instead of Isaac, which is why today's ornament is a sheep.
Because Abraham had obeyed him, God promised him not only the land and many descendants, but also that all the nations of the world would be blessed through Abraham's descendant. With this promise, light dawned over the darkness left by Adam and Eve. God had begun something with Abraham that would become the Advent story we tell every year now.


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HomeFeatureBest Five Batting Innings by Indian Against Australia in ODIs
Best Five Batting Innings by Indian Against Australia in ODIs
With contradictory track records this year, India and Australia are ready to lock horns in down under after 5 years, from Tuesday. While Australia is riding with 24 matches streak, India has lost their back-to-back series against South Africa and England. While India had a remarkable T-20 series victory last tour, India lost their ODI series 1-2. Smriti Mandhana had her first-ever ODI century, Mithali Raj's remarkable knock gained a consolidatory victory.
Let's look at the best ODI innings from the Indian side against Australia:
Harmanpreet Kaur: 171* from 115 balls (20*4, 7*6), 2nd Semi-Final, Derby, Jul 20 2017, ICC Women World Cup 2017
It was one of those gloomy days of English Summer. India was ready to lock horns against Australia for the 2nd Semi-final of the World Cup. Derby has been the favourite hunting ground for India in that tournament. Out of India's 5 victories of the group stage, 4 came in Derby in as many matches.
Out of the 6 matches that happened at Derby in WWC, the team batted first had won the matches all the time. So, Mithali Raj had no hesitation to ask Australia field first, once she had won the toss.
Smriti Mandhana (6) continued her poor show for the 6th consecutive match and once again Mithali was forced to come out to bat earlier than she would have expected. Punam Raut and she added 29 runs in 50 balls before off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner got rid of Raut, who made a century against their previous encounter in the group matches. Kaur who was shuffled in the batting order, came out to bat at number 4. After a couple of low scores in the tournament, she started to found herself in the grove and scored a 60 against New Zealand in the last group match which was a must-win game for them.
Though her average against Australia was better than her carrier average, she at the same time was struggling with her injury that occurred in the previous match, facing Hannah Rowe. But back of her mind, she felt that it was her day. A brisk partnership of 66 with skipper Mithali Raj had stabled Indian batting but the run-rate was around 4 at the end of the 25 overs. Kaur sensibly saw off the new ball under overcast conditions before unleashing her wrath. Harmanpreet though completed her half-century in 68 balls.
Harmanpreet Kaur took the side to the finish line. Image: Twitter
After the fall of Mithali Raj, Deepti Sharma came out to bat but it was Harman's day. The six she hit against Kirsten Beams of a free hit opened the flood gate. A couple of fours against Beams and left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen took her to 90s in no time.
She had a put a valiant dive to save her wicket on her way to a brilliant hundred in the Semi-final after the miscommunication with Deepti Sharma created the palpitation among the Indian fans.
India was 185/3 at the end of the 35th over and she got her 2nd fifty in just 26 balls. Australia threw everything at Kaur and she dealt those with disdain. Ash Gardner who was economical in her 7 overs came to bowl the 36th over. Deepti gave the strike back to Harman after the first ball. And in the next 5 balls, Gardner conceded more runs (22) than she had conceded in her previous 7 overs (20). Two sixes followed by two fours.
While the sixes were hit through the mid-wicket regions, the fours bisected the offside field. The devastated look at Gardner's face depicted the whole story. Schutt, Villani, Jonassen all were torn apart. Kaur took 17 more balls after her century (0,0,4,6,6,4,4,2,0,4,4,0,6,4,1,4,1) to reach her 150-run mark. India added 96 runs in the last 7 overs out of which 71 came off 25 balls from the blades of Harmanpreet Kaur.
She ended her innings with an unbeaten 171 in 115 balls with a strike rate of close to 150. She became the highest individual scorer for India in World Cup and the highest Individual scorer in knockouts. India finished with a mammoth total of 281, their highest total against Australia where Kaur scored 60% of the runs of her team and 71% of her runs came in boundaries.
Punam Raut: 106 from 136 (11*4), Group Stage, 23rd Match, Bristol, Jul 12 2017, ICC Women World Cup 2017
India once again lost Smriti Mandhana very early. As her form went downhill after the first two matches, Mithali Raj and Punam Raut took control of the match. Both of them played a more cautious role at the beginning of the innings. As the Australian bowlers tried to choke the batting, both of them tried their level best to break the shackle.
They have dots after dots in the middle overs. Jess Jonassen and Kirsten Beams bowled in tandem while Raut tucked the balls for singles and doubles. Though she hit occasional boundaries that didn't help the run rate to rise. A couple of boundaries against ash Gardner took her to the forties.
Punam Raut scored a valiant 77. Photo: Reuters
Raut biffed this across the line a much fuller ball by Perry to the wide long-on boundary. She was down on one knee and fetched the slog from outside off. Plenty of muscle as she got under the ball nicely. She competed for her half-century in 74 balls. As Raj tried to accelerate, Raut hit a couple for boundaries against Schutt. Even after Raj's wicket, Raut struggled to get to the boundaries. A boundary through cover-point against Jonassen in the 44th over took her to 98. In the last ball of the over, she went deep in her crease to clip to the right of midwicket for a single to complete her 2nd ODI hundred.
Raut finally fell to Ellyse Perry after scoring 106 from 136 balls with 11 boundaries. India managed to go past the 225 runs mark. Australia rode on an unbeaten half-century from Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry to win the match by 8 wickets with 29 balls to spare.
Smriti Mandhana: 102 from 109 (11*4), 2nd ODI (D/N), Hobart, Feb 5, Women Championship, 2016
After losing their first match of the series India, opting to bat, lost their opener Thirush Kamini off the very first ball of the match. 17 years old Mandhana who had scored a brilliant 76 against England in Wormsley then led a recovery along with captain Mithali. This lefty opener took on Holly Ferling at the beginning of the innings. She hit 5 boundaries against her at the beginning of her innings. Picking up a couple of singles against Megan Schutt in the 21st over, she completed her first half-century on Australian soil.
A couple of boundaries against Perry took the Indian tally to 150 runs mark. Both of them batting together for 31 overs to put up a 150-run partnership. Mandhana struck a century, while Raj played the more patient foil, stroking 58 off 98 balls.
Once Mithali Raj fell to Perry in the 31st over, Smriti once again joined hand with Harmanpreet Kaur. But that did not stop Mandhana's ability to rotate strike. A couple against Rene Farrell in the 40th over took her to the first century in the ODI century. Before getting out to Schutt, she scored 102 from 109 balls with 11 boundaries.
However, a flurry of wickets towards the end halted India's charge, as, despite a 33-run blast from Shikha Pandey, the visitors could only manage a total of 8 for 252. Ellyse Perry was the pick of Australia's bowlers, collecting 3 for 54. Australia won the match by 6 wickets with 20 balls to spare.
Jaya Sharma: 104* from 140 balls (15*4) 3rd Match, Chennai, Feb 23 2007
Jaya Sharma's unbeaten century, which was a judicious blend of defence and attack, carried India to their second successive win in the Quadrangular tournament in Chennai. Defending a total of 213, Australia fought hard to defend their modest target and had India in early trouble at 63 for 3, but Sharma steadied the innings with a 56-run partnership with Hemlata Kala and provided the calming influence at the end.
Sharma began slow and eliminated any risk from her batting especially after the fall of Karuna Jain (21) in the ninth over and then Mithali Raj (0) in the 13th. At 37 for 2 Anjum Chopra joined in and it looked like a partnership between the two left-handers, would keep India in the game. But Anjum was run out when she failed to make the crease at the non-striker's end after Sharma had hit a shot straight to Alex Blackwell at midwicket. Blackwell threw down the stumps and India's chase looked highly tentative.
Jaya Sharma
By the time Kala joined Sharma, the spinners – Sthalekar and Shelley Nitschke – had been brought in and the two upped the run-rate working off singles and hitting fours all over the field. Sharma went down on her knee and heaved Sthalekar's short-pitched offbreak for a four to midwicket. In the next over she pulled another to the boundary off Pike. Dropped twice in her innings – once by Rolton when she was at eight and by Blackwell at 42, Sharma gave the Australians much anguish driving and pulling fours.
A couple of boundaries in the 2nd over of Shelley Nitschke took her to a 78 ball half-century. After the fall of Kala, India needed 95 from 114 balls. Dhar came to the crease and fired off a quick 22 off 23 balls and at the fall of her wicket – trapped lbw to Pike – India needed 63 to win from 78 balls. While Dhar took the attacking mood, Sharma nudged the ball here and there to rotate the strike. Amita Sharma got out after hitting back to back boundaries to Cathryn Fitzpatrick.
Sharma approached the 90s with a savage pull off Pike to the square leg boundary. She slowed down considerably after she reached 90 taking another 48 balls to get to her century. Two wickets fell in a short space of time as India were close to victory but fittingly Sharma ended the agony with a four off Fitzpatrick and India won with an over to spare. Her unbeaten 104 was constructed with 15 boundaries.
Mithali Raj 89 from 113 (12*4), 3rd ODI (D/N), Hobart, Feb 7 2016, Women Championship
After Smriti Mandhana's century went in vain in the 2nd ODI, Mithali Raj was the architect of India's consolation win in the third and final ODI.
Sikha Pandey' 3/50 restricted Australia 231 after they won the toss to bat first. Ellyse Perry and Alex Blackwell were instrumental with 50 and 60 respectively. India started off well. They put up 36 before Veda Krishnamurthy fell to Perry. Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj then once again engaged themselves to repair the innings. Smriti Mandhana scored a brilliant 55 and added 58 runs for the 2nd wicket.
When Raj and Mandhana were batting, Mandhana was played much more aggressively. After her fall, Mithali took on the Australian bowling. After completing her half-century from 82 balls, Mithali Raj hit three boundaries against Jess Jonassen. India were driven by a succession of partnerships. Raj's stands of 58 and 71 with Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur (22) respectively help allay fears of a middle-order meltdown.
After a couple of quiet overs, Kaur fell to Perry. Raj reciprocated with a couple of boundaries against Ferling. Raj was on her way to a sixth ODI century but was run out for 89. But by then, she had taken India to within 35 runs of the target, which was polished off by Pandey, Punam Raut and Jhulan Goswami to claim a remarkable victory. Raj's 89 came from 113 balls with 12 boundaries.
AUS vs IND: India Looks To Find The Answers Against Redoubtable Australia
Injury scare for Rachael Haynes ahead of second ODI


The U.S. media is quite a curious creature. Whether it is a major news network like CNN or MSNBC or one of the local outlets, American media tries to up the ante on itself on a daily basis. Everything is 'Breaking News' or a 'Developing Story'. From the latest high speed chase to Obama having a cheese sandwich for lunch. Oh, and it needs to be pointed out if he is wearing his flag pin, while eating that sandwich, cuz if not, you know what that means!
The main media-idiom I struggle with, is the equal importance that is given to 'true' news story like the bill that was passed in Congress or the uprisings in the Middle East but also the wacky 'news' story of Charlie Sheen's implosion of his career. One effects us all directly, the other only marginally - if at all.
As the occasional jet-setter that I am, I've encountered rather curious behavior on long distance and also not so long flights. So here is a quick rant on how you can successfully piss me off on a plane.
The day that Hollywood is waiting for all year has finally come. It's Oscar Day! Or more officially - the day of the Academy Awards. Actors, actresses, gowns, suits, pasties, double-sided tape, a copious number of real and fake smiles, and many, many starved bodies.
Yes it's cheesy, yes it's unattainable for the regular Joe Shmoe to attend BUT it's also fun just to watch! Probably more for women and the gays. Sorry (straight) boys. The excitement is palpable in the entire city of Los Angeles in the days leading up. Maybe even through the entire award season. SAG, Writer's Guild, Golden Globes, Independent Spirit Awards - we love to watch them all.