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text:
Nunavut Initiatives
UPEI Master of Education Program
MEd Class 2006-2009
Final Report (2006-09)
M.Ed. Class of 2010-2013
Final Report (2010-2013)
Student Biographies (2010-2013)
Offering a program over three years, with students living in communities spread across the Arctic, and instructors and support staff travelling from communities in Nunavut, PEI, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and British Colombia required a great deal of coordination and planning! Officials from the Department of Education, Nunavut worked closely with the team members at the Faculty of Education, UPEI, to plan, organize and deliver this unique program. The program could not have taken place without this support and cooperation as well as the significant financial commitment from the Nunavut Department of Education. Many dedicated, committed and hardworking people helped to make this program a success.
Fiona Walton leads the programs and the research initiatives in Nunavut for UPEI. Her philosophy was significantly shaped by 17 years of experience living and working in the North where she worked as a consultant, administrator, teacher educator and researcher. While a CV provides a more formal perspective on any career, it is only by teaching, researching and working together collaboratively with many people in Nunavut that it is possible to make a difference for Inuit education. We want to thank everyone who supports this work.
The other main researchers are Sandy McAuley at UPEI and Joanne Tompkins at St. Francix Xavier University.
List of courses taught by each instructor:
Fiona Walton
2006-2009: Co-Instructor for Curriculum: Leadership in Learning (ED 625N), Theories of Research and Learning (ED 614), and Graduate Research Seminar (ED 695).
2010-2013: Co-Instructor for Leadership in Postcolonial Education (ED 631N), Theories of Research and Learning (ED 614N), Curriculum: Leadership in Learning (ED 625N), and Leadership and Reflective Practice (ED 618N).
Sandy McAuley
2006-2009: Co-instructor for Technology: Leadership in Learning (ED 626N), Introduction to Research (ED 611), Qualitative Research (ED 613), and Graduate Research Seminar (ED 695).
2010-2013: Co-instructor for Introduction to Research (ED 611N), Action Research (ED 616N), and Leadership and Reflective Practice (ED 618N).
Joanne Tompkins
2006-2009: Co-instructor for Educational Leadership (ED 615N), Curriculum: Leadership in Learning (ED 625N), Critical Pedagogy (ED 619N), Issues in Leadership (ED 617), and Graduate Research Seminar (ED 695).
2010-2013: Co-Instructor for Theories of Research and Learning (ED 614N).
Other Instructors
Cathy Lee
2010-2013: Co-instructor for Issues in Leadership (ED 617N).
Cathy McGregor
2006-2009: Co-Instructor for Curriculum: Leadership in Learning (ED 625N). 2010-2013: Visiting Instructor for Curriculum: Leadership in Learning (ED 625N).
Elizabeth Fortes
A counsellor from Vancouver with long-term involvement with education in Nunavut, Elizabeth attended all face-to-face courses, and provided instruction, student support, and counselling throughout the program.
Elizabeth Tumblin – 2006-2009: Co-instructor for Introduction to Research (ED 611), and Graduate Research Seminar (ED 695).
Gwen Frankton – 2006-2009: Co-instructor for Technology: Leadership in Learning (ED 626N).
Ian Martin – 2006-2009: Co-instructor for Leadership in Language and Literacy (ED 601N).
Jessie Lees
2006-2009: Co-instructor for Introduction to Research (ED 611), Qualitative Research (ED 613), and Graduate Research Seminar (ED 695). 2010-2013: Co-instructor for Introduction to Research (ED 611N).
Jim Cummins
2010-2013: Co-Instructor for Leadership in Languages and Literacies (ED 630N).
Jukeepa Hainnu
2006-2009: Co-instructor for Leadership in Language and Literacy (ED 601N), and Issues in Leadership (ED 617). 2010-2013: Co-instructor for Issues in Leadership (ED 617N).
Lena Metuq
2010-2013: Co-Instructor for Educational Leadership in Nunavut (ED 615N), and Theories of Research and Learning (ED 614N). Lena is a graduate of the Nunavut MEd program (2006-2009).
Lynn Aylward
2010-2013: Co-Instructor for Critical Pedagogy (ED 619N).
Marg Joyce – 2010-2013: Co-Instructor for Action Research (ED 616N).
Monica Ittusardjuat
2010-2013: Co-Instructor for Critical Pedagogy (ED 619N). Monica is a graduate of the Nunavut MEd program (2006-2009).
Naullaq Arnaquq
2006-2009: Co-instructor for Theories of Research and Learning (ED 614), and Graduate Research Seminar (ED 695). 2010-2013: Visiting instructor for Leadership in Postcolonial Education (ED 631N); Co-instructor for Theories of Research and Learning (ED 614N), and Leadership in Languages and Literacies (ED 630N). Naullaq is also a current PhD student at UPEI.
Nunia Qanatsiaq-Anoee
2010-2013: Co-instructor for Introduction to Research (ED 611N), and Curriculum: Leadership in Learning (ED 625N). Nunia is a graduate of the Nunavut MEd program (2006-2009).
Shelley Tulloch
2010-2013: Co-Instructor for Leadership and Reflective Practice (ED 618N), and Action Research (ED 616N).
Many classes also has special guest lecturers. A separate list shows these Visiting Instructors for 2010-2013 program.
Support Staff and Students
Kerri Wheatley – Project Manager
Darlene O'Leary – Post-Doctoral Fellow

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


• Joy-riding - those who steal any type of bicycle for transportation purposes and/or enjoyment. These offenders generally abandon the stolen bicycle after use. Younger offenders (16 and under) typically fit this group (Challinger 1986; Loder and Bayly Ltd 1986 ; and Sokol 1992).
• Bike freaks – better known as bicycle focused offenders - those who steal specific types of bicycles and/or large numbers of bicycles to order (Nuttal 2001).
• Acquisitive kids / criminals - those who exploit easy opportunities to steal anything, including any type of bicycle, and exchange it for cash or other goods (such as drugs).
• Drug Addicts - of any age, who are opportunistic and need a fix and in UK are found to sell bikes for cash to buy drugs (Van Kesteren and Homburg, 1995).
To understand who commits bike theft and why, the following information can help inform design and police interventions.


We had big news - and a special teaser video - to share at The Game Awards 2017 in Los Angeles. The highly-anticipated Bayonetta 3 is on its way to Nintendo Switch!
Platform: Nintendo Switch | Genre: Climax Action | Release Date: TBA | ESRB Rating: TBA | Publisher: Nintendo Co., Ltd. | Developer: PlatinumGames Inc. | ©SEGA. Licensed by SEGA.
Bayonetta 3 is on its way to Nintendo Switch!


text:
My Hero Academia Anime's 5th Season's Promo Video, Visual Reveal Spring 2021 Debut
posted on 2020-10-03 05:25 EDT by Crystalyn Hodgkins
New anime to cover "Joint Training" that features class 1A vs 1B
The official Twitter account for the My Hero Academia anime franchise announced on Saturday that the anime's fifth season will premiere in spring 2021. The account is also streaming the new season's first promotional video, which previews the "Joint Training" arc of the original manga that pits class 1A against class 1B.
The new anime will again air on YTV and NTV .
The anime's first 13-episode season premiered in April 2016. The 25-episode second season premiered in April 2017, and the third season premiered in April 2018 and ran for 25 episodes. The fourth season premiered in Japan in October 2019, and aired for 25 episodes. A two-episode original video anime for the franchise streamed in Japan on August 16, and Funimation and Crunchyroll began streaming the episodes on August 15.
Original manga creator Kōhei Horikoshi launched the manga series in Shueisha 's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in July 2014. Viz Media publishes the manga in English digitally and in print in North America. Shueisha 's MANGA Plus service also publishes the manga in English digitally.
Sources: My Hero Academia anime's Twitter account (link 2), MoCa News
News homepage / archives


text:
Q: list view setChecked() selects multiple items instead of one I have a listview which populates the data using CheckedTextView. Here is the xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<CheckedTextView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
    android:textSize="14dp"
    android:paddingTop="5dp"
    android:paddingBottom="5dp"
    android:paddingRight="5dp"
    android:paddingLeft="5dp"
    android:textColor="@color/blue"
    android:checked="false"
    android:id="@+id/listviewsubview_textview" >
</CheckedTextView>

On item click listener, show tick on the right of the item, but not only that item shows tick other multiple items also show tick. Wierd thing is all are ticks after same number of row. I dont know where I am doing wrong.
Here is the code
package com.chegg.android.account;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.Map;

import org.json.JSONArray;
import org.json.JSONException;
import org.json.JSONObject;

import android.graphics.drawable.Drawable;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.Window;
import android.widget.AdapterView;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.CheckedTextView;
import android.widget.ListView;
import android.widget.AdapterView.OnItemClickListener;

import com.chegg.android.R;
import com.chegg.android.api.RestClient;
import com.chegg.android.objects.StudentInfo;
import com.chegg.android.util.Util;

public class MajorActivity extends MainActivity {

    public ListView majorsListView;
    public String url;
    public HashMap<String, String> majorMap = new HashMap<String, String>();
    public JSONArray resultArray = new JSONArray();
    public JSONObject resultObj = new JSONObject();
    public ArrayList<String> majorNameArray = new ArrayList<String>();
    public RestClient restClient = null;
    public StudentInfo studentInfo = null;
    public HashMap majors = null;

    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);
        setContentView(R.layout.majors);

        Object campusObj =  this.getIntent().getStringExtra("campus_id");
        restClient = new RestClient();
        if(campusObj!=null) {
            String campusId = campusObj.toString();
            url = "school/majors/"+campusId;
        } else {
            url = "school/majors";
        }
        String result = restClient.connect(url);
        try {
            JSONArray jsonArray = new JSONArray(result);
            for(int i=0;i<jsonArray.length();i++) {
                JSONObject jsonObj = jsonArray.getJSONObject(i);
                String name = jsonObj.getString("name");
                majorMap.put(name,jsonObj.getString("id"));
                majorNameArray.add(name);
            }
        } catch (JSONException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
        majorsListView = (ListView)findViewById(R.id.majors_listview);
        majorsListView.setChoiceMode(ListView.CHOICE_MODE_NONE);
        majorsListView.setAdapter(new ArrayAdapter<String>(MajorActivity.this, R.layout.list_view_subview,majorNameArray));

        studentInfo = (StudentInfo)this.getIntent().getSerializableExtra("studentInfo");
        if(studentInfo.getMajors()!=null) {
            majors = (HashMap)studentInfo.getMajors();
        } else {
            majors = new HashMap();
        }
        //majorsListView.setAdapter(new MajorsAdapter(MajorActivity.this, R.layout.list_view_subview,majorNameArray,majors));
        majorsListView.setOnItemClickListener(new OnItemClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int position,
                    long id) {
                CheckedTextView selectedView = (CheckedTextView)view;
                Drawable chevron = getResources().getDrawable(R.drawable.chevron);
                chevron.setBounds( 0, 0, chevron.getMinimumWidth(), chevron.getMinimumHeight() );

                String text = selectedView.getText().toString();

                if(!selectedView.isChecked()) {
                    selectedView.setChecked(true);
                    selectedView.setCheckMarkDrawable(R.drawable.chevron);
                    majors.put(text, majorMap.get(text));
                } else {
                    selectedView.setChecked(false);
                    selectedView.setCheckMarkDrawable(null);
                    if(majors.containsKey(text)) {
                        majors.remove(text);
                    }
                }
                JSONObject jsonFinalResult = new JSONObject();
                try {
                     Iterator it = majors.entrySet().iterator();
                        while (it.hasNext()) {
                            Map.Entry pairs = (Map.Entry)it.next();
                            JSONObject jsonObj = new JSONObject();
                            System.out.println(pairs.getKey() + " = " + pairs.getValue());
                            jsonObj.put("name", pairs.getKey());
                            jsonObj.put("id",pairs.getValue());
                            resultArray.put(jsonObj);
                        }
                    jsonFinalResult.accumulate("majors", resultArray);
                } catch (JSONException e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }

                String url = "account?access_token="+ accessToken;
                Log.i("json *****",jsonFinalResult.toString());
                String result = restClient.connectHttpsPostPutJson(url, jsonFinalResult.toString(), "PUT");

                Log.i("*******",result);

                String checkError = Util.checkResponseForError(result);
                if(checkError.equals("") || checkError == null) {
                    studentInfo = StudentInfo.getObjectFromJson(result);
                    cacheData(studentInfo, "studentInfo", "update");
                } else {
                    alertbox.setMessage(checkError);
                    alertbox.setNeutralButton("ok", null);
                    alertbox.show();
                }

            }
        });

    }

}

Any help is appreciated

A:
majorsListView.setChoiceMode(ListView.CHOICE_MODE_NONE);

That should be ListView.CHOICE_MODE_MULTIPLE, so Android will track your selections for you. Then, you can also get rid of your OnItemClickListener. When the user is done making selections, getCheckedItemPositions() will tell you which ones they chose, so you can update your data model.
Your current implementation ignores the effects of row recycling (one CheckedTextView widget will be used for any number of possible positions in your ArrayAdapter).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Toward a Woody Plant List for Antigua and Barbuda: Past and Present
Author(s): John Francis; Carlos Rivera; Julio Figureroa
Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. SO-102. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 28 p.
Station: Southern Forest Experiment Station
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/SO-GTR-102
PDF: View PDF (1.0 MB)
During the 17th and 18th Centuries, the island of Antigua was largely cleared for agriculture. Virtually all of the remaining forests were cut over, grazed, and burned. Since the abandonment of sugar cane cultivation, much of the land has returned to secondary forest. Barbuda suffered mainly from overcutting and overgrazing beginning in the 17th century. Very heavy grazing pressure continues in Barbuda. Despite great disturbances, a majority of the native species remain on both islands. List of native and exotic species are presented here. A protection plan should be established for several areas on both islands
You may send email to pubrequest@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication.
Francis, John; Rivera, Carlos; Figureroa, Julio. 1994. Toward a Woody Plant List for Antigua and Barbuda: Past and Present. Gen. Tech. Rep. SO-102. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 28 p.
Toward a woody plant list for Antigua and Barbuda: past and present.
Structural Changes in the Growing Stock of Important Tree Species Groups in the Central Hardwood Region
The origins of Tradescant's 'India Occidentali' wooden clubs: 14C dating, material identification and strontium isotope studies
https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/42


text:
Дом Отдыха, вариант написания Дом отдыха — посёлок в Калачёвском районе Волгоградской области России. Входит в состав Калачёвского городского поселения. Население  чел. () .

История
В соответствии с Законом Волгоградской области от 20 января 2005 года № 994-ОД «Об установлении границ и наделении статусом Калачёвского района и муниципальных образований в его составе», посёлок вошёл в состав образованного Пятиизбянского сельского поселения.

География
Расположен в юго-западной части региона, в степной зоне, в пределах Ергенинской возвышенности, относящейся к Восточно-Европейской равнине, в излучине Дона, неподалеку от Цимлянского водохранилища.

Население

 Гендерный состав
По данным Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года в гендерной структуре населения из 109 человек мужчин — 53, женщин — 56 (48,6 и 51,4 % соответственно).

 Национальный состав
Согласно результатам переписи 2002 года, в национальной структуре населения
русские составляли 83 % из общей численности населения в 159 чел..

Инфраструктура
Развит туризм

Транспорт
Расположен на автодороге межмуниципального значения «Клетская — п. Дом Отдыха» (идентификационный номер 18 ОП РЗ 18К-24).

Остановка «Дом отдыха». Автобусный маршрут 108 (по состоянию на 2018 г.).

Просёлочные дороги.

Ссылки

Примечания

Населённые пункты Калачёвского района
Населённые пункты на реке Дон

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Milwaukee Tools continues to rapidly expand its Hand Tool offering with the introduction of 5 new trade specific plier designs. Consisting of the; Ironworker, Long Nose, Side Cutting, Fencing, Crimping, PVC/Oil Filter, Nipping, Cable Cutting and Linesman's Pliers, each plier features durable over-molded comfort grips that will not only prevent peeling but will also add comfort for the user when completing tedious jobsite applications.
Developed to provide application specific solutions for the Electrical, Mechanical, HVAC, MRO and Remodeling trades, these new pliers are designed to please even the most exacting tradie. Built from the ground up, they are designed to eliminate downtime and provide a more efficient experience for the user. All pliers are forged for strength and feature rust protection for extended tool life.
Offering a winning combination of ergonomics and best in class performance, the new pliers are an exciting addition to Milwaukee's evolving Hand Tool offering, now featuring almost 200 solutions for the trades. .
Features of the Pliers include but are not limited to: an iron carbide edge, an optimised blade angle, an angled handle, comfort grips that won't peel or dig into hands during extended use, forged design for added strength and rust resistance.


Travel beyond the bustling cities of royal Rajasthan and immerse yourself in the rural villages, forts and homestays that offer some of the most authentic experiences. Begin your journey in unspoilt eastern Rajasthan at the beautifully restored 350 year old Ramathra Fort, before going in search of the Bengal Tiger within the picturesque Ranthambore National Park.
Moving on to the little known gem of Bundi, with its charming labyrinth of lanes, bazaars and ethereal hill top palace, and staying at the little known Bhainsrorgarh Fort, standing guard majestically, above the Chambal river. Relax at the grand garden estate of Shahpura Bagh with its airy suites and engaging village walks. End your stay at the opulent newly refurbished SUJAN Rajmahal Palace, a treasured palace of this regal city and capital of Rajasthan.
On arrival into Delhi stay at The Leela Palace Hotel.
Early morning transfer to railway station to board the train for Gangapur city. On arrival transfer by road to Sapotra for your 2 nights stay at the magnificent 350 year old Ramatra Fort in the heart of the countryside. Rest of the day free to enjoy various activities offered by the hotel.
Day free to enjoy local surroundings that reveal a hidden side to Rajasthan. Guided tours to the local village, cave temples and gorges and end the day with a sunset boat ride on Lake Kalisil, a haven for migratory birds.
Morning transfer by road to Ranthambore National Park to stay at the boutique hotel Sherbagh for 2 nights.
Early morning and afternoon game drives by jeeps or canter in the national park, hoping to catch sight of the elusive tiger and the many various rare species.
Morning drive brings you to the rural village of Bundi. Enjoy the tour of this unexplored rural gem of Rajasthan. Later drive to the breath taking Bhainsrorgarh Fort perched over the shimmering Chambal River, which is your home for next 2 days.
Morning visit the beautiful Badoli temples built in the 9th century by the Hun Rulers. Rest of the day free to explore local villages and the rural beauty or just relax under the Jharoka of your suite while admiring the sublime landscape.
Transfer by road to the wonderful 120 year old garden estate, formerly the summer home of the rulers of Shahpura. Evening enjoy an excursion into the countryside to explore the unique surroundings.
Day free to enjoy various rural activities that offer you a chance to really get under the skin of Shahpura. Optional visit to the stunning step well and exquisite temple near by.
Morning transfer by road to Jaipur and stay for 2 nights at the flamboyant SUJAN Rajmahal Palace Hotel. Afternoon at leisure.
Morning drive past the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) and continue on to Amber Fort. Ascend to this hilltop fort on elephant back. After lunch explore Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. See the City Palace and impressive Observatory.
Morning transfer by road to Gurgaon and stay at Trident Hotel. Rest of the day at leisure.


Tag Archive | "name change"
1. f you took your spouse's last name, or if you hyphenated your last names, you may run into complications if you don't notify the SSA. When newlyweds file a tax return using their new last names, IRS computers can't match the new name with their Social Security number.
4. Form SS-5 is available on SSA's website at www.socialsecurity.gov by calling 800-772-1213 or at local offices. Your new card will have the same number as your previous card, but will show your new name.


On Wednesday, January 18, 2017, 21 students from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan entered the building of MacLean-Fogg Chesterfield. In a perfectly structured manner, all 21 were given safety glasses, ear plugs, asked to read and sign a safety policy and divided neatly into two groups.
The students' majors are Engineering, Business and Human Resources. They are enrolled in a Human Resource Development 404 Gemba Kaizen class. The course introduces students to "good change" academically, but what they really needed to see was "Lean" in action.
A team of nine MacLean-Fogg employees created curriculum and content to meet the course's objectives and the students' expectations. The learners received a thorough tour of the plant where specific operators spoke about their jobs and what Lean tools they use. The plant was meticulous and the visual management, 5S, and professionalism encompassed the experience.
The site-visit had a learning component where the students were taught through a presentation focusing on the products manufactured, learning opportunities and Lean projects currently at MacLean-Fogg Chesterfield.
The last part of the visit was a question and answer period where the General Manager spoke to the students in support of the plant, Lean, and the employees themselves. The students asked questions to the panel about the Lean journey, current frustrations, and challenges they face. Overall, the day was fabulous and much learning occurred.


Rich gave me my first three day win, and was the first event horse I ever owned. If I had him now he would have been a proper horse, but I lacked knowledge then and he forgave me all my faults and gave me the desire to try and pursue a career as an event rider.
Garth was my first 'serious horse'. Neale Lavis gave him to me when I worked with him. No oil painting, Garth was a big gangly horse with a big white face and roman nose. I remember saying to Neale when he offered him to me for free (!) that I couldn't ride something that ugly; Neale said 'don't you worry about that, that big horse is athletic and that's what you've got to worry about'. He could gallop and move, but wasn't the most careful horse show jumping, something I learned to live with.
Dougie was only 15.3hh, a wirey black New Zealand Thoroughbred. He wasn't the most talented horse I've ever sat on but he had a heart the size of a lion and he was an out and out trier. I bought him as a proven 3 star horse for long time supporter Ann Smurfit who was keen to have a horse at Badminton.
Dougie gave me my first ride around Badminton in 2000: it wasn't pretty, with several hairy moments most noteably at the Lake and the Footbridge, however we made it round with a few time penalties and ended up 15th which I was made up about for my first attempt.
One of the most talented horses I've ever had but one of the most unlucky. A beautiful grey intermediate horse, athletic over a fence and with great movement he was an Australian throughbred I found in Western Australia.
Charlie is probably the most successful horse I've had to date. He wasn't much to look at, a small 16hh bay Australian thoroughbred, but he had an amazing engine and number of gears. The best galloping horse I've ever had, light on his feet and didn't pull – he skipped across the ground and was consequently very fast. He was brave and a real competitor, and although he didn't have the greatest movement in the world, I got lots of help and learned to ride him very correctly which meant he was never far behind after the dressage.
His strength was his cross country and he gave me some of my best cross country rides to date. He completed many three days, placing second at Necarne 2 star, 10th at Blenheim and Burghley, and completed Badminton to name but a few.
Clancy was a failed racehorse, an Australian thoroughbred I bought off the track. He started eventing late in life at 8 but took to it from the beginning, winning Necarne CCI* in 2000 and coming third at Windsor CCI** in 2001. He was a big impressive chestnut horse who had it all: looks, jump, movement and gallop, but he was a bit lalah in the brain, a few sandwiches short of a picnic some would say. I'll never forget being in the counted down for phase D at Windsor with Clancy eating the foliage in the start box – I had to tear him away!
He had the talent for 4 star but not the desire, his comfort zone was 3 star and he gave me some good results at Saumur, Bramham, and several Advanced wins including Gatcombe.
Another antipodean thoroughbred, an older horse I bought from Chris Burton when he returned to Australia, for long term owners who wanted a horse at the top level.
He was extremely elegant and talented, a flashy bright chestnut with four white socks and white spots similar to Toy Town. He had a gallop that reminded me of Charlie but he was much more fragile in the brain and lived life on the edge.
A tall and talented New Zealand thoroughbred I bought at intermediate level for a syndicate of owners in 2001. He in many ways reminded me of Charlie – but the super size version.
He was a four star/three day event horse and not well suited to the one day format. He came in to his own on long galloping tracks as he had an effortless gallop stride and scope to burn giving me the most effortless four star cross country ride I've ever had in difficult conditions. He was tricky on the flat as he was very highly strung and found dressage difficult as laterally he was not the most supple. I wish I'd had him from the start as a young horse.
Nina was the first and only horse I've bought for us without Jenny! I loved her from the first moment I saw her, and I can't really explain why. She came from Vere and Clea Philips as a young horse. She was a complex horse, loved people, and hated other horses. She had it all in terms of ability, elegance, stamina, movement, jump, blood and gallop. She was a horse that I loved to work with – I really enjoy the process of producing a young horse and this is one of the horses I've most enjoyed producing.
She could do it all easily once she understood what was being asked of her. However she was an adrenalin junky especially cross country. She would gallop and jump but hated to be held up to a fence. We connected and she was comfortable with my riding style especially across country and we formed a good partnership.
Madge came to us in the twilight of her life at 18 years young, a 16.2hh grey mare of unknown breeding that we had been given. We had been blessed (third time lucky) with getting her in foal to Hand In Glove, with the foal due late August 2011. She was a real character, adoring polos and ruling the roost! We were given her by the How family which we were very grateful to them for.
Bill rode her a few times during her competitive career on behalf of Philip Adkins and she was a real competitor with lovely paces and a great jump. He had always loved her and wanted to breed a foal from her. We had been very excited to see what her foal would turn out like. Sadly in early December 2010 we lost her to a freak accident – a great loss.
I was given the ride on Sunny in 2011 by Caroline Edwards and Pam Scott, having admired him from across the collecting ring for several years. We won Hartpury CCI** and I believed he had the ability to be a top four star horse.
He was selected for the Eventing Futures squad for 2012 by Equestrian Australia but devastatingly suffered a freak accident in his stable.
Hipp, owned by the Leggetts, was on the Elite Squad for the Australian team and narrowly missed selection for the London Olympics. He finished 7th at Badminton in 2010 and was always a great favourite of mine. He retired at the age of 17 having won almost 700 BE points. Very sadly he broke his leg in a tragic accident at his retirement home.
I owe Hipp more than words can say. He was all heart and dug deep. Once you had his trust he would do anything for you.


Rick Bolt is a board certified family physician practicing in the Charleston, SC, area. Rick is a founding member of the Palmetto Primary Care Physicians, one of the largest independent primary care groups in South Carolina, and has served in a leadership role in the company for 20 years. He is currently Treasurer and chairman of the Finance Committee. Rick began medical mission work in Uganda in 2007 with his wife, Patty Coker-Bolt (who is a member of the HRF Academic Committee), and is committed to the advancement of medical education in Haiti. Rick is an avid photographer.


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Stanislavski
Constantin Stanislavski was born on January 17th 1863, in Moscow. Stanislavski evolved his own system of preparing plays which resulted After he finished school, Stanislavski did not like the melodramatic style of acting which was popular in Russia, and throughout the rest of the world. Stanislavski met with a successful playwright and teacher of theatre, called Vladimir Nemitovich - Danchenko to discuss ways of changing Russian theatre. They met on 22 June 1897. After this meeting they formed the Moscow Art Theatre, which was established with the aim of finding new truth and realism in theatre. In 1906 he began to develop a system for training actors. He was also working as an actor and a director at this time. In 1913 he set up an experimental theatre designed to develop acting techniques, On 29th October 1928 Stanislavski had a heart attack. This forced him to give up acting, but he was able to concentrate on directing, teaching and writing for the rest of his life. This method had a scientific approach and was developed over many years of trial and error. It requires an actor to experience the feeling of living the life of another person. The basis of his approach was that actors must believe everything that was happening on stage. Stanislavski made this possible by teaching actors to recall their own feelings and experiences. It aims first at getting the actor to arouse the emotions they have felt in the past. This can then be transformed into the character they are portraying. Observation was another important aspect of Stanislavski's teaching. He thought it helped actors to learn more about people and their behaviour. He believed the more an actor observed, the more they Another very important part of Stanislavski's teachings is a simple question. 'What if?'. Stanislavski called this the 'magic if'. This technique was designed to make the actor ask 'what if I was in this situation'. If the actor feels this is real, it automatically becomes realistic for the audience, and this was Stanislavski's aim. Stanislavski aimed to produce dramatic characterisations of great realism and psycological truth. He demanded a lot from his students, such as intelligence, complete self discipline, perfect control over voice, diction, physical movement and the ability to experience a whole range of human emotions from his actors. He expected actors to analyse completely their characters so they could understand why they behaved the way they did. He instructed all his actors to analyse themselves as Stanislavski developed a style of realism which still influences plays Bibliography:


UPDATE: The Silver Alert has been canceled. Police say the mother and child have both been located.
VERMILLION COUNTY, Ind. – A statewide Silver Alert has been declared for a 6-year-old and his mother.
Bryier Clark Fauquher, 6, is described as a white male, 3 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 67 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
The child's mother, Amy Jones, 32, is described as a white female, 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 128 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.
The Vermillion County Sheriff's Department says they were last seen around 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Clinton, Indiana.
They are believed to be in extreme danger and may require medical attention.
Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call the Vermillion County Sheriff's Department at 765-492-3838 or 911.


I like boys who can't walk and my stories on the Blog spin around those boys and the girls who admire them. Here I give you "No Strings Attached" where you meet Jason and Ariana. This is my first story I had the courage to share with others. I hope very much you enjoy it.
"Jason came out of a motorcycle accident paraplegic. Getting through life in a wheelchair he is barely making ends meet living with his dad in Las Vegas. Not much is going on in his life until he meets Ariana. Her interest for him is real and deep but Ariana is making a living in a way not suitable when wanting a relationship and even when they realize their feelings for each other things are not going to be easy as they hit some obstacles in their life together. In this story you will find love, romance, and trust and along with it lots of drama. Jason and Ariana find out they have dreams of a different and better life in common."


I was very curious to know how to start hosta from seed, but everywhere I read said that it was not commonly done since the seeds are not always produced. Turns out that one variety of the hostas I collected in the fall of 2007 did indeed produce pods with hundreds of seeds. The hosta seed I collected this year was an open pollinated Elegans hosta.
The pods that form after the flowers die are about an 1″ long on this variety and hang down on the flower stem. You have to keep a close eye on these because once they've dried and opened a strong gust of wind could take off with all the papery seeds. The pods will become very woody and open when the seeds are ready for harvest. Removing the pods when they are still green may give you seeds, but they may not be mature enough at this point to germinate. The seeds are very small and have a papery, black tail on the husk.


Tripp Lite NetCommander 8-Port Cat5 1U Rack-Mount 1+1 User Console KVM Switch with 19-in.
Tripp Lite NetCommander 16-Port Cat5 1U Rack-Mount 1+1 User Console KVM Switch with 19-in.
Tripp Lite's B072-016-IP4 KVM Switch is the optimal solution for controlling up to 16 computers/servers locally, from across the room, down the street or around the globe on a network or the Internet.
The B072-016-IP4 uses inexpensive, user-supplied Cat5e/6/6a cabling with Server Interface Units (sold separately) so you can connect computers/servers located up to 100 ft. away from the switch. This switch features dual Ethernet ports and dual power supplies; if one fails, the other takes over, keeping access uninterrupted. Switch easily between the 16 ports using an on-screen display (OSD), hotkey commands or a remote toolbar. Multi-level password protection prohibits unauthorized users from accessing connected computers, and a local user and up to four remote users can each log on and access different ports simultaneously.
Virtual Media allows an.iso file to be mounted to a target server and accessed as if it were stored directly on it. Virtual Media data transfer rates up to 12Mbps are supported when using a B078-101-USB2 Server Interface Unit. Other features include RADIUS and LDAP/S authentication, system-sent SNMP messaging and an event log that tracks logins, reboots and network setting changes.
Free NetCommander-AXS Management Software is available to access and control all of your Tripp Lite NetCommander IP KVM switches (B070 and B072 series). From a single interface, you can access server ports on any of your KVM switches, power cycle or power on/off outlets of IP PDUs and manage KVM settings. This software can be downloaded free of charge from the model support page for the B072-016-IP4.
Directly connect up to 16 computers/servers.
Connected computers/servers can be located up to 100 ft.(30 m.) away from the KVM using inexpensive Cat5e/6 cabling and B078-101-USB-1 SIUs.
Supports up to 4 simultaneous remote sessions.
In addition to multiple remote sessions, a local user can access the KVM simultaneously to the remote users.
Java-based application allows for control of a target server via web browser from any location over a secure IP connection.
Accessing the connected computers is a breeze; a wide range of video and mouse sync settings ensure optimal remote session performance in any situation.
Supports the highest security standards for encryption(128-bit AES and HTTPS).
BIOS level control to any server's brand and model, regardless of the server condition and network connectivity. Covers the entire spectrum of crash scenarios.
PDU Control – Allows you to add IP PDU's as devices that can be controlled by the KVM. Individual ports on the KVM can be assigned to a port on a PDU, allowing you to Power Cycle or Power Off/On the computer/server connected to that port without leaving the KVM session screen.
Multi-Level account access – Administrator and User accounts can be created, with a password being required to access the KVM switch and your assigned permissions. Administrator accounts have full access, while User accounts can be set up to access only the ports and features necessary to that individual.
Dual Ethernet Ports – If one network port fails, the other takes over.
Dual Power Supplies – If one power supply fails, the other takes over.
Dual Serial Ports – Connect serial manageable devices, such as PDUs, firewalls, and routers.
Allows for system sent messages to SNMP server to notify of LAN or power failures.
Event log records events that take place on the installation, such as logins, reboots, network settings changes, etc..
Allows for the installation of a SSL certificate to ensure secure transactions between the Web servers and browsers.
Access and control the KVM via the graphical remote interface, or a text based local OSD.
Flash upgradeable firmware over the network.


D. Abdomen, Pelvis, and Genitalia. In: Warfield CA, Bajwa ZH. Warfield C.A., Bajwa Z.H. Eds. Carol A. Warfield, and Zahid H. Bajwa.eds. Principles and Practice of Pain Medicine, 2e New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2004. http://accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=411&sectionid=40429820. Accessed April 19, 2019.
. "D. Abdomen, Pelvis, and Genitalia." Principles and Practice of Pain Medicine, 2e Warfield CA, Bajwa ZH. Warfield C.A., Bajwa Z.H. Eds. Carol A. Warfield, and Zahid H. Bajwa. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2004, http://accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=411&sectionid=40429820.


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Q: What 2nd group with data (for example: Index::index on home) in ZendDevelopersTools Toolbar? I am not sure that question name is correct. Edit it please or suggest something better if it is not enought good.
ZendDeveloperTools Toolbar looks like:

What the data in 2nd group means? This data:

Or this:

Google doesn't want provide any help: Google — What data presented in zenddevelopertools
Thats why I am asking here.
I thought this block represents something like: Controller::Action on Module, but zf2 doesn't have module home, it has Application. And yes, Application module has IndexController controller and index action in it. But why home? Same for zfcuser. I have zfcuser module in my project — ok. But controller name is UserController, not zfcuser.
Can you explain me what data is represented in this block?

A: I would guess that's the name of the currently matched route.


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Recent: Measure & Predict COVID-19 Risk in Commercial & Public Buildings with AmbiAir
What do COVID-19 Outbreaks in Meat Plants in Ireland have in Common with Outbreaks in Schools in Israel?
On Wednesday I tuned into a 15-minute segment on RTE Radio 1 discussing the role of ventilation in managing COVID-19 risk with Prof. Orla Hegarty, School of Architecture in UCD and Kim Roberts, a Virologist in TCD and would encourage anyone with an interest in this topic to have a listen.
Perhaps the most surprising thing was Prof. Hegarty stating that while risks of contamination from surfaces represented the initial focus in March, it is now known that these risks are 'overstated' and airborne spread is now thought to be the primary factor in super-spreading events. If conditions are right, ie buildings with poor ventilation, it is likely that even following the 2m social distancing and 15-minute in-company rule, that the COVID-19 infection risk is still significant. She states that 'the key [to minimising spread of the pandemic] is not to tell everyone to have half their contacts but to de-risk the locations which can give rise to super-spreader events.' Further to this, were these factors considered, it would enable much safer reopening of the economy because assessing ventilation and air quality is measurable. Currently, at least in Ireland, NPHET (Ireland's answer to SAGE) are not factoring ventilation into their guidance in any meaningful way.
The k Number
However, we must understand where Prof Hegarty's comment is coming from. When talking about SARS-CoV-2 transmission, the strain of virus that causes COVID-19, we talk about the R0 (pathogen reproduction number) which as of October 24th was 1.06 in Ireland and Germany, 1.02 in Italy, 1.04 in the UK, and 1.1 in the USA. However, when estimating the transmission rate, we must look deeper into the characteristics of this virus and consider the k number (pathogen conversion). The k value tells us whether a virus will be spread in a linear manner or whether there are more likely to be clusters of outbreaks. Influenza for example has a median R-value of 1.28, and a k value of 1 [1] – it has a linear transmission making it easier to estimate infection rates. SARS-CoV-2, however, has an R-value of 2-3 but a k value of 0.1, this low k-value means that around 80% of COVID-19 cases are caused by 10% of people, and results from several studies support this. [2] This low k value is the reason behind the, now unfortunately famous, COVID-19 cluster outbreaks.
This k value also means that COVID-19 transmission is influenced by several general factors; biological, environmental, and behavioural.
Behavioural Factors
We can't change our biology, but we can reduce the risks of COVID-19 transmission by adjusting our behaviour and ensuring our surroundings adhere to certain rules. We obviously cannot know who is within that 10% of super-spreaders, so we should act like everyone is. As such, we must, at a minimum, ensure that we all follow the environmental and behavioural guidelines that were designed to minimise the chance of infection and be strict on the 'Covidiots' that we're seeing everywhere.
This fantastic article [3] shows how COVID-19 is spread in different indoor scenarios. It looks at behaviour, showing that talking increases the transmission rate by a factor of ten over the infected person remaining silent, and by singing or shouting you are fifty times more likely to transmit the virus. One of the settings for the analysis of potential transmission is a bar – after four hours (in a worst-case scenario) fourteen people would be infected, but if they are wearing masks then only eight people would be infected. However, if the people spent less than four hours in the bar and the bar was adequately ventilated then the infection risk drops down to one person.
This brings us neatly to environmental factors.
Let's look at the widely publicised outbreaks in meat plants in Ireland in the summer, and outbreaks in Israeli schools in September which contributed to the government implementing a severe lockdown. So, what is the link between them? Well in both cases, warm outdoor air led to high levels of indoor air recirculation, allowing virus particles to contaminate a significant number of people. The key then is to stop recirculating air and to pump in fresh air instead.
However, there is a trade-off with comfort, not to mention the cost, given that in the Northern Hemisphere, pumping in fresh air during the next 6 months (who am I kidding, 8 months) will dramatically increase building energy costs.
Dr Roberts states in the piece that there is a lack of hard data about how best to strike that balance, with one paper stating that windows should be opened for 5 minutes every hour, depending on the occupancy. We know, however, from speaking to teachers and principals all over Ireland that they are opting to leave windows and doors open permanently, but some building owners and facilities managers are actually at a loss on how they should proceed.
Data is the Missing Piece
It is clear (at least to me) that data is the missing piece of information. Yes, it may be required to leave windows and doors open permanently in some classrooms and yes, it may be required to pump fresh air continuously through HVAC systems in others, but we should be able to provide data to prove or disprove this and to help schools, commercial buildings and healthcare facilities to establish appropriate, location-specific rules and help them de-risk their premises and provide a safe working and teaching environment as we head into these critical six months.
[1] https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2334-14-480
[2] https://medium.com/data-in-the-time-of-corona/you-are-the-weakest-link-796d9eb5d560
[3] https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html
AmbiAir is a solution that combines low-cost, easily deployed hardware with our intelligent platform Ambilytics. This combination generates air quality data from every room in a building with high accuracy and at a low-cost, with Ambilytics quickly drilling through this high data load to analyse and model the situation in real-time, and predict based on room-specific data if and when a safe limit is likely to be breached.


Spring is here for most of the country, but if you are in Colorado then you got some snow last weekend. What better time to share one of my favorite new dyeing videos, Snow Dyeing Yarn with KoolAid! Last February we got a LOT of snow. I decided to take advantage of the snow and use it for some snow dyeing experiments. What will happen if you use melting snow as a method to apply dye from KoolAid to 100% wool yarn?
I knew this dyeing would take a long time so I started it while watching the Superbowl. This was the first time I've ever tried dyeing with snow. I'd seen some really fun pictures of ice dyeing (where you sprinkle the dye on top of ice cubes), and I know parents who will help their kids paint snow with food coloring so I thought it would be fun to use this as a technique to apply dye to yarn.
I wanted to do this experiment with unspun fiber, but I didn't have any white roving in my stash that I could use. I had some pale grey roving that would have worked, however I don't know how pale the colors will be after the dyeing is complete, and I didn't want to NOT see them at all if I end up with pastels. I used 100 g of Bare KnitPicks Palette yarn and 6 packets of KoolAid.
An hour into the dyeing (and the Patriots are winning, wahoo!) and there has shockingly been only a tiny about of melting. I have a feeling that this will take all night.
My bathroom smelled AMAZING as I was waiting for the snow to melt. I'd like to do an experiment sometime where I snow dye two miniskeins of wool. One I set with heat in the micrwoave and the other I just rinse out. I wonder how much of this binds to the yarn without heat.
Before I went to bed there were a few specks of snow left so I decided to leave it until morning. I filled my bucked up with more snow and left it in the back hall (below freezing). What do you think I'm going to try next? I am feeling so inspired and this (clean) snow will only be around for so long.
I hope that you enjoy my latest dyeing experiment! To see details and the final reveal of the washed yarn check out the following video. With these longer videos I try to include contents to make it easier to skip directly to the part of the video you want to see.
Video Contents (Skip ahead to the part you need!) Apparently the links only work to take you to the correct spot if you are watching from YouTube's website but at least you have the time marks so you can skip around as needed.


Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey's most comprehensive and integrated health network, today launched its new brand. The brand strategy will be accompanied by a new tagline, Life Years Ahead, to emphasize Hackensack Meridian Health's commitment to innovation, research and forward-thinking health care initiatives.
Hackensack Meridian Health is at the forefront of providing the most innovative and integrated health care. Its commitment to research is contributing to fast-track breakthroughs that are revolutionizing care. The organization is dedicated to educating the next generation of physicians and allied health professionals. Hackensack Meridian Health's full spectrum of services – everything from hospitals to home care to rehabilitation – are perfectly orchestrated and in tune with the needs of its patients. The more than 28,000 team members and 6,000 physicians across the health network are working together to provide the very best health care experience.
Network Integration – Hackensack Meridian Health is committed to upholding its reputation as a great place to work. It will accomplish this by integrating its new brand into the overall culture of working together to create an excellent health care experience.
Clinical Integration, Leader in Clinical & Quality Measures – Hackensack Meridian Health's new brand and logo stress the importance of clinical integration and population health, which will lead to improved patient experience and outcomes. The network is dedicated to becoming a high reliability organization (HRO). In response to consumer demand for transparency, Hackensack Meridian Health recently launched quality reporting on its website, as well as online physician ratings for employed doctors. The network is also positioned to implement bundled care and payment models to improve quality and produce savings for patients.
Physician Enterprise – Hackensack Meridian Health will be promoting this new culture by increasing physician alignment through population health, clinical integration, creating connectivity and engagement. The network will also focus on the future of health care by educating upcoming physicians, providers and leaders through the new School of Medicine in partnership with Seton Hall University.
Strategic Partnership – Hackensack Meridian Health has developed a number of innovative strategic partnerships in recent years, which includes Memorial Sloan Kettering and Seton Hall University. The network will continue to foster these new partnerships that will help advance the future of medicine by training the physicians, nurses and providers of tomorrow to focus on patient-centered care. The network will also emphasize creating a culture where health care professionals embrace a team based approach that will improve patient outcomes.
Expanded Continuum – Hackensack Meridian Health will continue expanding its wide-reaching continuum of care through acute care, outpatient and retail centers to ensure patients are receiving the right care, by the right people, at the right time. Partnerships with Memorial Sloan Kettering and JFK Medical Center will expand the network's reach.
Technology and Innovation – Hackensack Meridian Health is dedicated to advancing medicine and innovation through initiatives like developing an Innovation Center, elevating telemedicine and partnering with the ride-sharing service UBER. Embracing new technology will lead to more affordable care, better outcomes and an improved patient experience.
A media campaign featuring the new brand will launch on April 10, and will include print, digital, television, radio and social media advertisements. New signage will also be installed throughout Hackensack Meridian facilities in the coming weeks and months. All 13 network hospitals' names will be updated with Hackensack Meridian Health in front of the hospital's existing names.
The hospitals of Hackensack Meridian Health include: academic medical centers – HackensackUMC in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune; children's hospitals – Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital in Neptune; community hospitals – Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, and Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood.


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Photo © Alan Karchmer
Emory University Hospital Midtown
The expansion of Emory University Hospital Midtown more than doubles the size of one of the Southeast's largest and most prominent hospitals. It includes a diagnostic and treatment clinic, medical office tower and a low-rise oncology wing.
A glass-enclosed conservatory serves as the front entrance to the complex, with public lobbies, waiting areas and cafés integrated into an interior garden. Waiting areas and other public spaces line the perimeter of the building where patients, visitors and staff can enjoy light and nature and the sight of people passing through the public garden.
The building's form and granite and glass enclosure relate comfortably to the local neighborhood. The L-shaped complex maintains the street grid and shelters a large formal garden plaza.
Cousins Properties
Stanley D. Lindsey & Associates
CCRD Partners, Barrett, Woodyard & Associates
Beers Construction Company
Gross Square Feet
Gross Square Meters
Minnesota Senate Building
ER One


I am absolutely determined to create a gallery wall – not only did I put it on my 101 in 1001 list but I have created a Pinterest Board solely devoted to this task. In my mind making this a reality has two aspects, decide what the pieces are and then decided how to arrange them. Then a wrench got thrown into this plan.Yesterday morning I got up far too early and trekked across town to fill out an application for an apartment I had fallen in love with the night before. I must have jinxed it by posting about it on Instagram because while out for a lunch time stroll I got the news that someone else had gotten to it first. To say I was devastated is putting it mildly.
I had only been in the space for five minutes and had already envisioned myself living there. I am trying to look on the bright-side and the one thing is, the main wall of the apartment was entirely exposed brick and thus I would not have been able to make the gallery wall I have been dreaming of – the silver lining. Without further a-do, my gallery wall inspiration.
This is a big change from yesterday's post – one with lots of trends I do not care for – this fad I want to join as soon as possible. You can find each of these prints on my Pinterest board and many more and hopefully I find a new apartment where a wall like this will be possible! And I can not finish a post on artistic prints with mentioning the red balloon – my prayers go out to Ryan and will be buying this print in memory.
love the get it girl print! so cute.
I need to have one of these! It's so beautiful and gives lots of personality to a house!
my office is like this but in all black and white on a light blue wall. love these photos! xO!
I'm dying to get a gallery wall up in our home. Love these ideas!
Sorry you didn't get the apartment 🙁 But the good thing about New York is that there is a TON of other apartments. Hopefully you will get one you love!
Aw, missing out on the apartment stinks, but I love that you found a bright side! And what a pretty bright side it is! We are putting up our own gallery wall this weekend and I can't wait to share it on the blog. Love your inspiration!
Aw, such a bummer you didn't get the apartment, but there will be others! That happened to us TWICE this time around, but we ended up somewhere we love regardless. Good luck!
Shop Floral Long Dresses, Yellow Bikinis, White Pj Sets, Black Graphic Tees and more. Get this widget.


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Published November 20, 2014 6:22pm EST
Windsor, Hall make history with Memorial Cup repeat
By | National Hockey League
Keyed by a relentless offensive effort, the Windsor Spitfires made history, winning their second straight Memorial Cup title with a 9-1 victory against the host Brandon Wheat Kings on Sunday at Westman Place.
Taylor Hall, NHL Central Scouting's second-rated North American prospect for the 2010 Entry Draft, had a goal and 2 assists to finish as the tournament's leading scorer with 5 goals and 9 points. He became the first player in the 92-year history of Canada's national junior championship tournament to win consecutive MVP awards.
The Spitfires also became the eighth team ever to win back-to-back titles, and the first since the Kamloops Blazers in 1994-95.
Last year, Windsor became the first team to lose its first two games and still win the Memorial Cup. This year, the path was far different, as the Spitfires trailed for a total of 3:02 in four games, and outscored their opponents by a combined 28-9.
Adam Henrique scored twice and added an assist, defenseman Ryan Ellis had 3 assists, and Greg Nemisz, Cam Fowler and Zack Kassian had a goal and an assist each.
Matthew Calvert scored for Brandon.
Windsor led 2-0 after one period, but the game turned in the second, when the Spitfires scored four times and outshot Brandon 27-7. It was reminiscent of the first period of the teams' first meeting, when Windsor scored five times in the first period of the tournament opener en route to a 9-3 victory.
For the game, Windsor outshot Brandon 52-28.
Brandon, which survived an overtime thriller against Calgary in the semifinals, pushed hard through the early part of the first period, but trailed on Henrique's first goal of the game. The Wheat Kings looked to escape the first period with just the one goal allowed, but Fowler made a sensational one-handed whack at the puck to keep it in at the Brandon blue line. Two quick, short passes later, Eric Wellwood found himself with the puck at the hash marks, and he rifled a wrist shot over the blocker of Brandon goalie Jacob DeSerres with 33 seconds left in the period.
Windsor dialed its play up even higher in the second period. Hall scored a power-play goal when Justin Shugg sent the rebound of an Ellis shot to Hall, who was alone in the faceoff circle to make it 3-0.
Calvert put Brandon on the board when he finished off a nice effort by Scott Glennie. Glennie drove to the net, but Windsor goalie Philipp Grubauer made the save. The rebound bounced over Brayden Schenn's stick right to Calvert in the slot, and he scored under the crossbar at 8:16 to make it 3-1.
Any momentum gained by the goal, however, was short-lived. Just 40 seconds later, Greg Nemisz was credited with a goal following a scrum in front of the Brandon net to make it 4-1. After a long video review, it was determined Nemisz, a Calgary Flames prospect, had shoved the puck across the goal line prior to the referee blowing the play dead.
Marc Cantin scored off a drop pass from Justin Shugg to make it 5-1, and Fowler scored on a point shot through traffic to make it 7-1 after two periods.
Zack Kassian converted off a Kenny Ryan feed to make it 7-1 early in the third, Henrique finished a two-on-one with Hall to make it 8-1, and Dale Mitchell scored the game's final goal.
Contact Adam Kimelman at akimelman@nhl.com


I'm a fiction writer, book reviewer, freelance editor, and writing mentor for WoMentoring. I also volunteer at Oxfam Books. Basically, my life is all books, all the time.
My writing has been translated into Japanese and Spanish, recorded for radio and podcasts, exhibited in galleries, and distributed from a vintage Wurlitzer cigarette machine. I regularly perform at events and festivals throughout the UK and Europe.
My next book is a collection of horror stories called Things We Say in the Dark. I'm also developing several film and TV projects, and collaborating with musicians and visual artists on new projects.
I'm 34 and live in Glasgow, where I mostly hang out with my wife Annie and our rescue dog Rosie, read books, drink coffee, fall into YouTube pits, listen to podcasts, and dream of the sea.


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How SCE Federal Credit Union Focuses on Service over Profit in Southern California and Southern Nevada
By: Matt Walker
In a Nutshell: Credit unions maintain a reputation for providing strong, personalized service to its members, and that can be said about SCE Federal Credit Union. The institution serves members across 10 branches in Southern California and Southern Nevada. The credit union not only offers an array of modern products and services, but it also offers programs such as its Credit Builder loan for those who may not be able to easily access credit elsewhere. The loan gives low-income borrowers the funds they need while helping them boost their credit score. SCE Federal Credit Union also stays engaged with the communities it serves through financial education workshops and partnerships with community-based organizations.
Americans have two main options when it comes to core financial services — banks and credit unions. Banks have a reputation for being larger and offering more services, but in the 21st century, that's only half true. Yes, many banks tend to have a larger footprint than credit unions, but most credit unions today offer just as many, if not more, services than banks.
And speaking of service, credit unions often go above and beyond to offer high-quality customer service to its members as well as providing strong support for the communities they serve.
That certainly holds true for SCE Federal Credit Union.
The credit union was founded in 1952 and today has $825 million in assets and boasts more than 60,000 members across 10 branches in Southern California and Southern Nevada. The credit union also maintains thousands of shared branch locations across the country and nearly 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs available to its members.
SCE Federal Credit Union also demonstrates a strong commitment to volunteerism, with its team members donating hundreds of hours to local community causes each year. The credit union educates and empowers its communities in numerous ways.
We recently spoke with Kitty Hunter, SCE Federal Credit Union's Chief Lending Officer, to learn more about the credit union's products and services, its impact on the community, and how it's responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Range of Financial Products and Services Built for Any Income Level
SCE Federal Credit Union bills itself as a "not for profit, but for service" institution. And that bears out in the products and services it makes available to its members.
"We offer a full range of financial services to our members, from basic savings and checking accounts to mortgage loans and complex investment planning," according to the credit union website. "Our members are our owners and each member has one vote and equal ownership in the Credit Union."
Accessing the full range of financial services is not always available for those in lower income brackets. Lack of credit history, low credit scores, annual incomes, and other considerations can stand in the way of loans and sometimes even checking accounts at some financial institutions.
SCE Federal Credit Union's Credit Builder loan helps people establish a healthy credit history and build savings at the same time.
But SCE Federal Credit Union aims to help not hinder its members, Hunter said. That's why it offers options such as its Credit Builder loan.
"We developed our Credit Builder loan program because in lower-income communities they have a difficult time with (accessing) credit," she said. "And that causes them to go to alternative sources like payday lenders and other high interest sources of loans."
Turning to those kinds of alternative lenders can result in borrowers who are already in a tough financial position paying much higher interest rates than they need to, Hunter said.
SCE Federal Credit Union allows these consumers to not only access credit but to build it as well, and help improve their future financial outlook.
"We get it, life happens. And sometimes that means your credit score might need a little help," according to the institution website. "We want to get you on the road to financial success and our credit building loan is one of the best ways to build credit… and save."
The program also helps borrowers develop healthy savings habits.
SCE FCU's Foundation Strengthens the Community through Financial Education Initiatives
Hunter also leads the credit union's efforts that directly impact the community a mission she and the organization are very passionate about, she said.
In fact, the bank's stated mission is "to improve the lives of our members, our communities and our team." This includes providing numerous financial education programs geared toward various segments of the community.
The credit union's foundation, the Center for Financial Empowerment (CFE), leads the charge on many of these efforts.
Kitty Hunter is the Chief Lending Officer at SCE Federal Credit Union.
"Making healthy financial choices involves understanding the difference between needs and wants, as well as the concept of opportunity costs," according to the credit union website. "While it may be important foundational knowledge for teens, everyone can benefit from a reminder of the basics from time to time."
That's why the CFE facilitates educational workshops and activities for high school students and young adults to empower them and teach real-life financial lessons.
Hunter said the credit union also helps make positive impacts in the areas it serves through partnerships with community-based organizations.
She recalled one story in particular where a workshop ended with an attendee making big financial changes in her life almost immediately. The workshop attendee stayed after the class was over to discuss her finances because she was having a hard time keeping up and had recently taken out some loans simply to get by.
The instructor took out his laptop and sat down to help her.
"They started working through her credit reports and found out that she had some old collections accounts, and at the end of their meeting, the instructor was able to work with her to consolidate her loans and have the collections removed," Hunter said. "We brought her payments down from $1,100 to $425 a month."
The credit union website also hosts a range of financial education modules to help people get back on healthy financial footing. The institution offers financial counseling as well.
Helping Out During the COVID-19 Pandemic
SCE Federal Credit Union, as so many businesses of all kinds, has grappled with how to best serve its customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. But with its service-focused mission, the credit union continues to do its very best to help its members through this challenging time.
"As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to impact our primary markets of Southern California and Southern Nevada, and throughout the nation, we're here to serve you," according to the credit union website.
SCE Federal Credit Union is helping its members stay safe while continuing to provide quality service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The institution had initially limited its branch hours and allowed only select transactions to occur inside the branches. Although branch hours and the ability to perform in-branch transactions have normalized, the credit union still welcomes its members to take advantage of its many online services.
"We're closely monitoring information from local, state, and federal health officials to ensure we're acting consistently with recommendations and guidelines from those agencies," according to the institution.
It is also offering remote work options for its team members to have fewer people occupying the branches at any given time. The credit union is also diligently sanitizing surfaces and has removed cookies, water, coffee, candy, magazine, and toys from branch lobbies.
Hunter said SCE Federal Credit Union has also been able to shift many of its financial education workshops online.
"When COVID broke out and people weren't being able to meet, we had to figure out how to still provide this information to our members," she said.
The credit union worked quickly to shift its in-person workshops to online portals like Zoom and Facebook Live.
"This year, we've done 65 workshops, and we've had 971 attendees, so I'm feeling pretty good about that," Hunter said.
If you're a Southern California or Southern Nevada resident — whether you're seeking a loan to help rebuild your credit or simply need an educational booster shot — SCE Federal Credit Union can help.
Matt Walker is a credit strategist and contributing editor for BadCredit.org. With more than 15 years of experience, Matt uses his in-depth knowledge and straightforward language to bring financial literacy to millions of readers. His articles highlight the technology, resources, and organizations that can help subprime borrowers get back on their feet. Matt focuses full time on producing the most in-depth guides and feature articles in the finance industry to educate consumers on ways to raise their credit scores and achieve and maintain financial stability.
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21 Ways To Save Money Around Your Home


Medicare in the state of Pennsylvania is a federal health insurance program which will pay for a variety of health care expenses. It is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which is a division of the U.S. Department of Human & Health Services. Medicare beneficiaries are typically senior citizens aged 65 or older. Adults with ceratin approved medical conditions such as Lou Gehrig's disease or qualifying permanent disabilities may also be eligible for Medicare benefits.
Similar to Social Security, Medicare is an entitlement program. Pennsylvania residents like most U.S. Residents will earn the right to enroll in Medicare by paying taxes and working for a minimum required period. Even if a person does not work long enough to be entitled to Medicare benefits, may still be eligible to enroll however; they may have to pay more.
There are four different Medicare programs that are known as Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D. Parts A & B are often called Original Medicare. Medicare Part C is private Health Insurance and Part D will offer coverage for prescription drugs.
Medicare Part A is hospital insurance. It will cover hospice care, inpatient hospital care, limited home health care services, and limited time in a skilled nursing.
Most Medicare Part recipients in Pennsylvania do not have to pay a monthly premium to receive coverage under this part of the Original Medicare; this is called premium free Part A. Generally, if you have worked for at least 10 years and paid Medicare taxes while working, you are eligible for premium-free part A. Otherwise the recipient will have to pay monthly premiums.
Medicare Part A recipients typically will not cover the full amount of their hospital bill, so they will probably be responsible for a share of the costs. You will also have to pay a deductible before Medicare benefits begin. Medicare will pay 100% of your costs for up to 60 days in a hospital or up to 20 days in a skilled nursing home. After this, the beneficiaries will pay the flat amount up to the maximum number of covered days. Your Medicare Part A benefits will cover some of these costs for a total of 90 days in the hospital and 100 days in a skilled nursing home. Medicare will also cover up to 60 "lifetime reserve days." These are the days the beneficiaries stayed in a hospital longer than 90 days in a row. They will get a lifetime total of 60 reserve days.
Medicare Part B is medical insurance. Part B will cover certain non-hospital medical visits, outpatient hospital care, diabetic screenings and supplies, X-rays, blood tests, and doctors' office visits. The recipients will pay a monthly premium for this part of the Original Medicare. This fee can be higher if a person has a high income. A different government program, Medicare, can help cover Medicare part B premiums for low income households.
Medicare Part B beneficiaries are responsible for a portion of their health care costs. They will pay a small deductible each year before their Medicare Part B benefits kick, and then they will generally pay 20% of their bill when they visit a participating Medicare doctor. Medicare will pay the full cost of many services and lab tests that is requested by their doctor.
Medicare Part C or Medicare Advantage, insurance will often include every type of Medicare coverage in one health plan. It is offered by private insurance companies that are contracted through CMS to provide Medicare benefits package as the alternative to Original Medicare. Medicare Advantage is optional, but to obtain this private insurance, a person must also have Original Medicare, Part A and Part B. You also may continue to pay your Part B Premium if you have a Medicare Advantage plan.
While Medicare Advantage plans are required to provide all Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B benefits (except hospice care), plans may include different additional benefits, which vary among the individuals private health insurers. Many Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug coverage. Some plans could have lower deductibles, while also allowing you to pay a smaller share of any remaining costs. Medicare Advantage plans may even cover certain health care services that Original Medicare, Part A and Part will not cover such as dental care, eye exams, hearing aids or any health care received while traveling outside of the U.S.
Medicare Part is an optional prescription drug coverage. It is available as a stand-alone plan that is through private insurance companies, and the monthly fees will vary among the insurers. You will share the costs of your prescription drugs according to the plan you are enrolled. The costs can include a flat copayment, a percentage of the full drug costs (called "coinsurance") or a deductible.
If a person wants prescription drug coverage, they can get it through a Medicare Advantage plan if there is one in their area which offers this coverage. If you cannot afford medications or have a limited income even though you currently receive Medicare Part D benefits, you may qualify for the Extra Help program that will offer financial assistance for your monthly coinsurance, copayments, premium, and deductible.


A new gravimetric Co-geoid is produced for the Malaysian peninsula making it one of the most recent contributions to Co-geoid modelling in the region. Several data sources are included for the computations; these include 7447 terrestrial free-air gravity anomalies, 10243 altimeter derived gravity anomalies and 692881 mean digital elevation heights. The EGM96 global geopotential model to degree 40 is used in order to determine the long wavelength effect of the Co-geoid surface. Co-geoid undulations are determined through implementation of the remove-restore technique by combining the above-mentioned data sets with the geopotential model in a specific manner. The computations have been done using a two-dimensional spherical Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) with 100% zero padding. Terrain corrections are also computed using the FFT method and applied in the remove-restore technique. The absolute accuracy estimates are given for the Co-geoid undulations using 95 GPS control stations co-located with third order levelling. The comparisons show that using the Wong and Gore (1969) modification of Stoke's function for the long wave length effect using EGM96 up to degree/order 360 removed, and the modified Stoke's function with L= 40 and a spherical cap radius of 1.6°, with data padding for areas of no gravity data produces a Co-geoid which gives a bias of 0.378 meters and a standard deviation of ±0.277 meters respectively. Where no data padding is used a Co-geoid is produced which gives a bias of 0.439 meters and a standard deviation of ±0.284 meters respectively, thus showing the improvement of the Co-geoid solution through the data padding.


PHOTOS, from top: Hope yet for the northern end of the mall? Cops checking take-away grog buyers • Tourism promotion of Rock doesn't help Alice. • AFL match telecast, featuring the MacDonnell Ranges in the wide shots, was great advertising for Alice Springs. • Should our tourism pitch be drinking cocktails in a swimming pool – something tourists can do anywhere in the world?
Full marks for law and order, but the tourism promotion focus needs to be shifted from the Rock to the Alice, and lots more work is needed on cranking up the economy.
On the second birthday of the Country Liberal Party government, that's the view of Daniel Davis (pictured), vice-president of the CLP in the Territory (president Ross Connolly is Darwin-based).
He says his views are not necessarily those of the local branch, of which he is a past president. The Alice Springs branch pre-selects the candidates for Namatjira, Araluen, Greatorex and Braitling. It usually gets a say in Stuart but candidates for that seat are preselected by the Katherine and Barkly branches.
Mr Davis says law and order in the town has turned around with the decision by local police chief Jamie Chalker to post cops at bottle shops.
"Over in Gillen, where we live, the interruptions you used to get with people coming through, yelling and screaming, which is what you noticed the most, has declined significantly since the police have been at the bottle shop at the Flynn Drive supermarket," he says.
"Although it is clearly mostly affecting a single racial group, it would not be fair to say that the legislation is racially motivated.
He says a "significant number of shops" have closed in Todd Mall and Alice Plaza, but this is part of the national growth of online shopping.
Mr Davis speaks from first-hand experience: he and his wife were running the tour booking agency, Adventure Net, in the mall for four years. When tourism slumped in in 2008 and 2009 they could no longer afford the rent. Mr Davis now works as the IT manager at the casino.
"Landlords seemed reluctant to adjust the rents based on what the market will bear. The prices have now dropped but look at the large number of vacancies in the mall. It will probably take some time to recover.
"In the southern mall there is a small number of people who own a significant percentage of the property, and they set the rates for a long time.
"Alice Plaza is the same. They charge huge amounts and don't seem to be able to attract tenants for the money they are asking.
"That hasn't helped businesses in the CBD and has contributed to numerous business moving out of the CBD into the industrial areas where rents are cheaper.
NEWS: The NT Government gave the town council $5m to refurbish the northern mall.
DAVIS: I'm not yet convinced it was money well spent. The shopkeepers and the landlords also need to come on board. Why are we not seeing Alice Plaza shops open out into the mall?
NEWS: Should that have been a precondition for the $5m grant?
DAVIS: I think that should have been.
NEWS: Of course it was the previous government that gave the grant. But has the experience made this government gun shy when it comes to making a deal with the Town Council? Mr Giles is baulking at the request of putting a mere $2m into the $70m council and Uniting Church partnership for public space and apartments adjacent to Flynn Church?
DAVIS: We need to make use of our current commercial property first. At the moment though I don't see the demand being there, especially in regards to commercial space. I would only support a council and Territory government cash input with a caveat that the public money be used for improvements in the public use spaces. I wouldn't support government throwing $2m at a concrete tower.
NEWS: It is difficult to get access to politicians without going through PR minders. Are the government politicians accessible to the public?
DAVIS: On all sides of politics and in all tiers of government the PR minders essentially act as if their job is to get their masters re-elected. I have a problem with that, that's the role of the party, not the public servants. Their job is to keep the public informed of the actions of government. Politicians should be accessible and open. You should not have to fight with some minder to get access to a politician. Obviously time constraints mean the politicians won't be able to meet everyone's requests for meetings but the minders' job is to manage that fairly, not hinder access.
NEWS: What is the government's role in stimulating the economy?
DAVIS: Where should the government start? It should not give handouts to prop up private enterprise to fill gaps in demand, that is not sustainable. We have seen this in the building industry, with SIHIP. Governments spent a huge amount of money, suddenly you have an influx of trades people. They buy a house in Alice Springs and stay on, but as soon as the government stops spending, a lot of people find it hard to get work. You need to build on it slowly, not dump a heap of money all at once. A lot of people in the construction industry are struggling to find work now but the government can't continue to spend money for the sake of propping up the commercial construction industry. Especially whilst there is a glut of commercial premises currently available for rent in town.
NEWS: The conundrum in residential real estate – as Mayor Damien Ryan has previously explained – is that land prices went through the roof because of slow land releases. If now the government dumped cheap land on the market, this would rob people, who had bought at the height of the market, of the assets backing their mortgages. On the other hand, Councillor Steve Brown fears that failure to provide much cheaper land will accelerate the migration out of town and discourage families from settling here. He says if Alice became a ghost town, house prices, too, would be heading south.
DAVIS: We need to match release with demand so that the increase in home prices closely follows the cost price index, not follow trends in government spending in town. Land prices went through the roof not only because of slow release, but governments were spending big and people had money. Now it's pretty difficult to reduce these prices. If you – say – released 100 blocks for $70,000 these would go quickly. The problem would not be fixed, you'd just have 100 people making a lot of money off the blocks when they resell them at market value. You'd have to keep releasing cheap land if you wanted to keep the price low. If you keep on releasing cheap land you'd upset everyone who's got a mortgage, who's, say, bought a block at Mt Johns for $300,000, and they've been sitting on it for three years and haven't built anything. [With prices at $70,000] the bank's going to be very reluctant to lend you money to build on your $300,000 block when you have negative equity in your asset.
NEWS: Should the government spend public money to promote the Ayers Rock Resort?
DAVIS: The NT has a healthy 7.6% share of the international visitors coming to Australia. They are long-stay visitors, not tourists just doing three or four nights in Australia. In Central Australia many do only Ayers Rock which, in the way it is set up, is to the detriment of the rest of the Territory. The direct flight option is bad for the rest of Central Australia. Only 50% of visitors to the Rock visit the rest of Central Australia. Promoting the Rock increases the number of international visitors to the NT but you're robbing Peter to pay Paul. And Paul, the Ayers Rock Resort, doesn't live here, he spends his money outside the NT. That's a company from outside the NT. Ideally we would have direct flights to Alice Springs and a secondary flight to Ayers Rock. People want to go to the Rock, so these international visitors would be going there even if they had to go via Alice Springs. Yet they might spend an extra day here.
NEWS: But we've blown it. We sold the Rock. We don't control the flights any more.
DAVIS: It's a private airport. It's up to them if they want it to be a national or a regional airport. It's up to the company that owns the resort airport.
NEWS: But it's up to the NT Government to promote or not promote the Rock. That could be reduced to zero.
DAVIS: I'm not necessarily a fan of promoting the Rock. There's essentially only one operator at the Rock. If you are promoting the Rock you're giving one company a handout amounting to however much the promotion costs. It wouldn't have been such a problem if the government had sold the hotels individually, retaining competition. At least then you're helping multiple operators. Territory operators would have had the opportunity of buying some of those. No private enterprise within the NT could have afforded to buy the entire resort. So it was sold off elsewhere.
NEWS: Germans, for example, get five to six weeks' holidays. Why don't more come here, and for a longer time?
DAVIS: The West Macs are not being promoted as well as they should be. That's been the big problem. We've always promoted the major two – The Rock and Kakadu – and hoped this would have a flow on effect to the rest of the Territory. For the most part this just hasn't happened. Look at the room costs at Ayers Rock and Darwin. You often can't get a hotel room for less than $250 a night. Ayers Rock runs at extremely low occupancy rate, around 50%, with a high room rate. This means lower volume of tourists paying higher prices. Although that may be a good business model for the Rock this don't encourage tourists to spend time in the NT when they are booking a holiday.
NEWS: Is Tourism NT's promotional narrative the kind of thing that would get Herr and Frau Huber out of bed in Frankfurt, jumping on a plane and coming all the way to Alice? The ads seem to consist of a few happy snaps of pretty people at pretty locations, or sipping martinis in a pool, or riding camels with the Rock in the background. The context seems to be missing, that we have no pollution, fantastic weather, wide open spaces, light traffic, the most ancient living culture, a friendly outback town – all the things people in congested Europe, USA and the rich Asian countries are yearning for.
DAVIS: We've had some very bad publicity which has put off a lot of tourists. Travel agencies recommend to just go to Ayers Rock because they think Alice Springs is pretty bad. We've got to get around that. The numbers have stopped declining and stabilised which is positive. We have to start with the national market. We have only around 2.6% of that. Our share of the international market is almost triple that.
NEWS: What do we tell the national market?
DAVIS: We need to make the place accessible without a four wheel drive – or make it clear that you don't need one to see half of the MacDonnells, as well as Ayers Rock an King's Canyon. And tell them that there are places in the Territory that are reasonably priced. Don't just look at the Rock where you pay $40 for an unpowered camping site.
NEWS: What does spending money on footy matches do for the industry?
DAVIS: The sports promotion is aiming at the national market. The Melbourne Demons have reasonably affluent supporters. But to target a small number of people is not going to be very effective in the long run. They might come once every 10 years. The Do the NT logo at the back of a press conference box is not going to bring people here. However, the AFL game at Traeger Park, televised nation-wide on a Saturday afternoon, with the MacDonnell ranges in the background, that was the best advertising I've seen for Alice Springs for a long time.
NEWS: Nothing substantial has happened for a long time to enhance visitor facilities in the MacDonnells.
DAVIS: The Mereenie loop road needs to be sealed. That's the number one thing. That will add the West Macs to the King's Canyon and Rock experience for many people.
NEWS: It's common belief that the Central Land Council's blocking access to a quarry is making the cost of sealing the Mereenie loop prohibitive. Is there a case for the government talking to the Aboriginal land trust direct? After all, they are the organ grinder and the CLC is the monkey.
DAVIS: I can't imagine that the traditional owners living there would have any objection to the road being sealed. We keep hearing that communities want better roads, the people at Santa Teresa have been screaming for their road to be sealed for a long time. Sealing the loop means the traditional owners will have a road which will be much safer. Over the years a number of people have died on the Mereenie loop road and there have been many serious accidents from the condition of the road. It will also offer local Aboriginal communities opportunities for trading with tourists.
NEWS: Could the government, for example, develop headworks in some locations in the MacDonnell national parks, east and west, put in roads, water, power, sewerage, phone, and invite private developers to build wilderness lodges there, or pubs?
DAVIS: Is there a market for that? If so, is it significant? You'd need to get visitors travelling there first. Getting better access to all the beauty spots would be an earlier priority. Many places need 4WD at the moment, in most cases the dirt sections are only a few kilometres. It's not much road to improve but it's been neglected for a long time.
NEWS: Is the tourism industry recovering or just stabilising after a sharp decline?
DAVIS: The market we can expand is the national market and that's now mostly self-drive. Trouble is, people now base themselves at roadside stops and do day trips, and often don't spend money in towns aside from food and petrol. We've seen visitation numbers now stabilising last year after they had been constantly dropping for some years. Some operators are now seeing a 15% increase in occupancy rates on the previous year which hasn't happened in a long while. The government is now advertising the whole of the NT with the "Do the NT" ads, and not just the Rock and Kakadu. As you know, people could spend a week here and wouldn't have seen the half of it. I think the outlook for the tourism industry as a whole though is positive.
NEWS: We've had a very detailed account, supplied by the government, of Alice Springs' water reserves at current extraction rates. It is 300 years. However, if we are looking at an expansion of the town, or to start horticulture and agriculture, we have no guide as to how much water would be available other than cutting into the 300 year reserve. Just this week the Department of Land Resource Management told us it has a budget of $9.6m for water exploration across the NT for the next four years. "We are currently working with the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries to identify areas with the best potential for development. So in other words we are currently in the planning stages," we were told by a spokesman. This seems to be an amazing omission by the decade of Labor governments and a slow catch-up by the CLP.
DAVIS: If there is a lot of interest in agriculture and the reserves drop to, say, less than 100 years then we need to look at the options. If we can't find more we may have to build a pipeline from Darwin or from other catchments in the north. A lot of people here are doing pretty well growing food. Most of the town's lettuce is grown here, there's a market garden in Heffernan Road, it's obviously a viable industry. I think it's important to gauge the interest in agriculture first. If we have 300 years' supply at current consumption the government has time to gauge interest in primary production.
Mr Davis says the increase of Kilgariff blocks from 30 to 80 "is a good thing," giving construction companies the opportunity of spec building on five blocks spread over times when other work dries up.
NEWS: Should we draw people into town with cheap land?
DAVIS: I'm not sure cheap small blocks are necessarily the answer. If you want to expand you expand from the centre outwards. There is plenty of land. When Kilgariff was started there were already two private subdivisions under construction, Ron Sterry's Coolibah Estate and John McEwen's Emily Valley Estate [adjoining Mr Sterry's land to the east]. The government was saying to them, if you want sewerage, water and headworks you have to pay for it. And then the government put all that out to Kilgariff and is building Kilgariff. Why did they make it hard for the two private developers? The government could have helped them to keep down the cost of blocks.
NEWS: The Alice has been stagnant for a decade. Should we blame construction costs?
DAVIS: The cost of construction here, for some reason, can be double the cost of interstate. Two and a half thousand dollars a square metre is pretty expensive for just a residential building. The cost of road building here is huge, which is holding back a lot of development of our roads. For example, I've heard the cost of sealing the NT side of the Plenty Highway [part of the east-west Outback Highway] is two and a half times of what it costs to seal the Queensland side. There are not many companies here with the capability to supply asphalt for significant sealed road construction leaving us stuck with a virtual monopoly. So they can say, this is our price, take it or leave it. In Sydney you'd have 10 different companies tendering for the work. There could be a case for these sorts of services to be done by the shires or government. Governments used to do much of that work themselves – maybe bring back a Department of Works type of situation where there is insufficient competition to keep prices low.
NEWS: It seems the government's do-it-yourself Kilgariff may be just the way to go.
"Common belief" – is that the best the Alice Springs News can do?
How about the facts: In October 1993 the CLC and the NT Government signed an agreement to permit the Mereenie Loop road to be constructed for tourist use. The agreement specifically provided for the CLC to undertake all sacred site clearances for the new road, gravel pits and so on, and the existing road was built.
Without very significant concessions by traditional landowners over the years there would have been no road and despite its considerable commercial value as a tourist link the owners have never received acknowledgement of the benefit their decisions have brought to the local tourist industry.
The CLC is not "blocking access to a quarry … making the cost of sealing the Mereenie loop prohibitive". This is a convenient excuse for government inaction. The CLC and traditional owners are ready and willing to move the process on and look forward to the government re engaging in discussions.