RMIT Student Association of Industrial Design (RMIT SAID) is a brand new academic club at RMIT .
RMIT SAID aims to provide Industrial Design and Double Degree students at RMIT with a platform to discuss, collaborate and connect with other disciplines, industry and relevant professional networks.
The Association hopes to deliver a program of social, creative and professional development activities.
Annual membership to RMIT SAID is free.
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The atmosphere is getting tenser and tenser every minute!
As she says that, there are rumbling throughout the city!
And everyone can see dozens of black monuments rising like a pyramid from different parts of the city and every of the black monument appears to have four entrances at the end of the pyramid steps!
Yi Mu can see that the black monument that is nearest to him is numbered 7 and there is a black reflective entrance in the middle.
He could not see what is beyond the reflective entrance.
But somehow he is electrified by her enchantingly voice and did not doubt her.
However he is not the only one and the thousands of players are already looking at her with anticipation for further answers!
And the crimson phoenix becomes a streak of stunning crimson light as it disappears upward!
Yi Mu is already on the move as he rushes to the stairs of the black pyramid monuments with many others!
In that single instant almost everyone is caught in a mad rush toward the nearest black pyramid steps!
For a moment the situation did not seem to be as tense as before and everyone is actually excited.
To many, this has to be a quest line and not to be taken seriously!
Moreover there are nearly a hundred thousand players!
All of a sudden he was a little startled to see a beautiful girl leaping next to him and in the next instant she has already hopped to the steps in front of him!
Yi Mu is startled for several reasons.
Firstly, she is really stunning and because the program makes use of facial recognition for the players, he knows that it is how she looks like in real life.
Secondly, he did not see her coming and her movement speed exceeds his own!
He did not think much of it as there are at least dozens others that are rushing at the same time. His objective for now is very clear; be one of the first to explore the Araphel Citadel.
He is actually a solo player and did not like to party with the others.
He brandishes his long sword high and swings it as he shouts excitingly, "Out of my way! Out of my way! I am coming! Hooray!
There are many similar shouts and cries of excitements!
Elsewhere on a high platform that is overlooking the city, there are three heavenly maidens that have gathered.
One of the heavenly maidens is the Goddess Celestial Alice and the crimson phoenix that is behind her is stretching its flaming wings with a mighty shriek!
Yi Mu finds himself in a town and it is buzzing with excitement from thousands of people!
This town is insanely large!
Correction. It looks more like a large city with a medieval feel.
He knows instantly that they are real players because they are all looking so lost and are questioning the other players excitingly on their classes and skills!
All of a sudden he notices that the surrounding players are gossiping about him!
Yi Mu smiles weakly when his name is mentioned. It is because he has suddenly noticed that all the players that are around him have fanciful names like Fairy Sword, Little Chili, Black Musketeer, Lovely Doll etc.
But he is soon composed again. It is because he has noticed that almost everyone is now taking out their basic weapons and playing with it!
Therefore he tries to ignore the unnecessary comments and begins to experiment with the basic weapons in his inventory.
And inside is a mirror.
He taps eagerly on it for more information.
The description reads: An immortal artefact that hails from the Great Beyond. Artefact of the Arhat Immortals. The last owner is said to be the Goddess of Mercy, a Sixth Positioning Immortal. Sunders everything under the heavens, destroying evil with the inner light of the mirror.
Effect 1: Chance to reflect magic attacks.
Yi Mu is startled and is stupefied!
What kind of the boost this is! It is insanely good!
He realized that he has to get to know the rules of the game quickly. It is because many of the players that play the Immortal Realm Online are some of the best players around and they are probably picking up hints and information.
The most pressing thing that he has in mind is his choice of skills; what skills should he advance first to gain the best advantage?
He has 912 MP now versus his 853 HP. It will be a pity not to make full use of his large magic capacity.
With that in mind, he presses his skill tab again.
This time he is surprised to find out that he has actually unlocked two additional skills, Weapon Amplifier and Rippling Life Force Weaponry.
An arrow is pointing down from the Mana Weaponry that he has learnt earlier and it has unlocked the skill <Weapon Amplifier> that is on the left side and it has also unlocked the skill <Rippling Life Force Weaponry>. At the same time, the skill <Armor Amplifier> has an arrow that is pointing down to the skill <Rippling Life Force Weaponry> as well.
But no longer has he taps on the skill, a system notification pops up <Require Level 10>.
Being a careful player, he begins to examine his skills again as he begins to experiment with the various menus.
All of a sudden his eyes are beaming when he notices that the level requirement for the Rippling Life Force Weapon has dropped by 2 to level 8!
But he needs to prove if his theory is right. So he decides to level up his Mana Weaponry again.
The MP cost goes up by another 3 to 16 but the skill cooldown lowers down from 10 to 9!
As he taps on the Rippling Life Force Weapon, there is a lit in his eyes. Indeed, the level requirement has been lowered by another 2 to level 6!
He is now level 2 and he needs to pump his Mana Weaponry to level 5 in order to learn Rippling Life Force Weapon.
That is something he decides to do even though he knows that leveling to level 10 should be an easy thing to do. That is because this is going to be his strategy!
He has to see the skills that are beyond the Rippling Life Force Weapon in order to strategize even better!
220% Damage Boost. +5 Critical.
But that is not his real purpose.
He checks the Rippling Life Force Weapon next and is excited that it is now unlocked!
Without much ado, he taps to learn the skill!
10% Damage Boost. +1 Critical.
He smiles weakly and with a soft sigh, he taps on the panel again for more skill info.
Level 2 of the Rippling Life Force Weapon requires him to reach a player level of 12.
He has unlocked tier 2 of the last secret skill, Weapon Mastery with the Rippling Life Force Weapon.
At the same time, he has unlocked two tier 3 skills, Weapon Attune and Finishing Touch. Both at which requires level 20.
He has one skill point left and feeling a little cheated by the system!
Immediately all the players start to finger with their self-visible panels excitingly!
There are also many male players that are looking forward to this real social element and they are already chatting up with ladies!
Yi Mu sighs softly as he reaches for the guide book and taps on it.
He is disinterested now because he feels that he has made a bad mistake with his skills allocation.
When he has thought of that, he is a little agitated because as a pro player, he has actually miscalculated. Moreover, this is a whole new experience and there is no guide whatever so. He is expecting to be the leading player but now he has just screwed himself.
So he presses the tier 1 skills, Amplify Armor and Shield Mastery, allocating one point to them.
Why he did that baffles himself. He just needs something to vent out his frustrations!
All of a sudden his system announced with a beeping red light that only he can see!
This game has secret skills that can reveal only if specific skills are learnt?!
This is getting cooler than he has expected!
Description: Secret Skill of the Way of the Swords.
Passive Effect 1: 1/3 of the weapon attack will be added to block in additional to the effect of the Shield Mastery when it is casted.
Passive Effect 2: Block chance = chance to ignore defense and block of the opponent.
Is he the first one in the server to discover this secret skill? He has actually acquired this secret skill by combining two supposedly useless skills!
He is now smiling broadly, ignoring the laughing sight of the other players when they have noticed his less than fantastic name.
All of a sudden there are a bright light above the city as a beautiful crimson phoenix descends from the heavens!
And on top of the crimson phoenix is a heavenly forbidding maiden!
Yi Mu is stunned by her heavenly presence and by the enticing beauty of her every moment!
Yi Mu is smiling too. Somehow her smiles have the effect of lifting the spirits on all the onlookers!
Yi Mu is startled and is a little confused!
He is not the only one that is startled when he has heard that. Everyone around him are murmuring and looking at each other, not knowing whether this Goddess Celestial Alice is just using a game phrase to tense up the atmosphere or she is just drumming the anticipation for the upcoming adventures.
With that many of the players have turned pale immediately!
They have all realized that none of them know how to log off from the game!
The atmosphere here has suddenly become very tense and some of the girls around are beginning to cry and their sobbing sounds can be heard!
As she speaks, she taps on a menu <Initializing Status>.
Yi Mu can feel a wave of excitement as panel of his own status begins to pop up all around him!
New status begin to pop!
2) Double rate to hit.
4) Triple rate to evade.
Yi Mu nods and he transfers the new sword.
It is because he has suddenly found the skill menu and he is literally jumping with excitement as he begins to tap on it!
There are basically three skill tabs on it; Arms Synergy, Weapon Skills and Guard Skills.
He notices that he has 5 skill points to distribute.
He taps on the Arms Synergy and see that it is a skill tree with three branching skill; Mana Weaponry, Amplify Armor and Shield Mastery.
It seems that after unlocking the branching skills then he will be able to see the next skill. But until then, it is not possible.
So which skills are the best?
He takes a quick look.
Description: Charge up the weapon with mana energy and hit the target with a mighty force.
Level 1: Boast 100%. +1 Critical.
Type: Active, Single Target, Melee/ Range.
Description: Raise self defense force.
Level 1: Raise all defense by 10 for 10minute.
Level 1: Add 1% Block.
Yi Mu nods and he was looking at the <Weapon Skills>.
There are three and is formatted in the same way as the Arms Synergy; Basic Melee Skill, Basic Bow Skill and Basic Magic Weapon Skill.
Tapping on the Basic Magic Weapon Skill, it reads."+3 Damage/level when using Staff/Wand.
He has already decided in his heart to forfeit the guard skills.
The Goddess Eris claps her hands and a big gray wolf has suddenly spawned in the golden hall and is charging at him with a terrifying howl!
He has immediately engaged the monstrous wolf.
Instinctly as he swings his sword, he is able to see his suppose damage range <Physical Damage: 6 to 7, Average DPS 7>.
It seems that he is faster than the wolf and he has already made two quick hits with his sword, dealing 6 damage and 7 damage for a total of 13 damage!
The Gray Wolf's HP Meter begins to reduce by 1/5!
The Gray Wolf begins to pound at him.
Yi Mu can feel the sheer weight of the Gray Wolf that is upon him but instinctively, he has moved out of the way. It is like there is a force guiding him and that his reactions are being taught by a supreme being!
His sword has suddenly turns blue and a powerful blue bolt has shot forth, striking the gray wolf with a 12 Damage indicator, vanishing it into nothingness!
There is a pop up <All secondary status improved, +10 HP, +10 MP, +1 Attack, +1 Magic Attack, +1 Skill, +1 Magic Aptitude, +1 Agility, +1 Morale. +2 Skill Points>.
He is so excited that he simply grabs the Goddess Eris and has hugged her in his embrace!
It is a hard slap and Yi Mu's HP meter immediately dropped by 600!
There is a bright light around Yi Mu as he is being sent away to the newbie town.
This is the happiest day of his nineteen year old life!
He is literally jumping for joy as he rushed home with a package that he had just collected from his nearest postage service!
He is singing and whistling the name of the content that is in his heavy package, 'The Immortal Realm Online', developed by Asmodian Systems Technologies.
This is an inverse virtual reality massively multiplayer online game, IVRMMOG that promises to deliver the best gaming experiences to the online player, bring gameplay experiences to another level!
Not only that, just it is limited to only a hundred thousand players worldwide and those hundred thousand players must be the top tier players with a developer or publishing recommendation!
He is currently the top 10 player, actually the top player in Guardians Online, playing a fighter. However he was actually proficiency in all the classes as well!
He was now speeding back to his home and in the next few minutes he will be home!
All the chosen beta players must login within the next six hours to receive a special starter bundle. Exactly what is the starter bundle, the game developer did not mention and instead it was mentioned as something great and mysterious, creating a huge hype in the gaming community!
He has reached his home now, slamming the door hard after him as he rushes upstairs to his room!
He is the only child and he has stayed with his paternal grandparents. That is because his parents are working together in the other province.
He shrugged his shoulders when he recalled his father and grandfather telling him that he is the 33rd descendant of Yi Ping, a mythical hero and that their line of lineage for some unknown reasons has only a male descendant.
Now that he has reached his room, he immediately tears off the heavy package while hitting his computer screen to type rapidly with his left fingers to message all his friends, "Heya! I have got the package now and will be entering the Immortal Realm Online soon!
His attention is quickly distracted to a black Inverse Reality Helmet and he quickly put it on, ignoring the rush of congratulation messages that are on his monitor.
He has no need to read the activation manual, having already memorized the activation procedures from the tube channel of the Asmodian Systems Technologies!
He wastes no time to get into the game!
He takes a deep breath and let it go as his surrounding turns pitch black!
All of a sudden there was a bright light.
When the bright light has dimmed, Yi Mu finds himself walking in a spatial room and in front of him stood a smiling and revealing beautiful maiden in white with a beautiful intricate golden frame mirror in her hands.
He notices that he is now wearing a white and blue tunic.
Yi Mu is startled; he has the same exact features as before!
Yi Mu is already nodding excitingly with every new info that is updated to him as an interactive wall with multiple panels begins to flash in mid-air just in front of him!
It is because all his attention and excitement are on this unique character generator!
Immediately a panel with a pop up in front of Yi Mu!
Yi Mu immediately presses the roll and his eyes are already beaming as the stats begin to pop up one by one!
He is stunned. It is because he has never expected to see so many rows of attributes and what are these affinity types?
It seems that he has a high of 35 yet his is only a C!
It is the first time he is actually nervous!
Yi Mu's heart is now pounding hard!
It is because he wants to aim for the highest affinity!
Immediately a panel with a bundle package appears.
Yi Mu suddenly remembers that he is supposed to get a special beta bundle package as a beta player and he is immediately excited again!
He presses the panel as he thinks and the system begins to roll visually in front of him!
The real question is, should he rerolls or not?
If he rerolls then he will lose his rare S!
Even before he is in-game, he is already caught in a dilemma and he is eager to get in-game!
It is like he has lost half of his confidence!
Yi Mu nods and presses the option at the bottom.
Immediately his new status is flashed.
Yi Mu smiles weakly. He still gets a S but this time it is the Speed Affinity but his Sixth Sense Affinity is now a A. It is like he is only doing a switching.
But what he is thinking is opposite of his actions as he is already pressing the option!
There is a short silence as he stares at the panel.
He gets Sixth Sense Affinity SS and Speed Affinity S!
But he is soon startled to see that the rest of his affinities are a D!
Attack, Defense and Spirit Affinity are all D!
What can he do except to smile weakly to himself?
That is because he cannot reroll anymore!
He is impatient to play the game so he decides to use his very real name. There are a hundred thousand beta players and most of the popular catchphrase names will already be taken.
He quickly presses the next option to select his class.
The truth is that he is all too eager to look at the classes and to get started!
At the same time, his excitement level reaches a new height. This is a game that he has never experienced before and playing something so unique really get him to fire up!
But he is already tapping on the various classes.
Intuitive characters have better danger sense and sixth sense. Their instincts are sharper than any.
Characters that specialize in Natural Synergy have much more better physical attributes and endowed with inherent talents.
Arms Synergy is the art of enhance weapons and armors, amplifying their use.
Esper Synergy is a field for Characters that specializes in defensive magic and long range attacks.
Characters that have the ability to synergy their own spiritual energies, able to magically heal and inspire the others.
Magic Synergy Characters are capable of drawing much more powerful destructive magic energies.
And the surrounding begins to glow brightly!
The sundering light glows even brighter and Yi Mu finds himself being pulls away to a vortex!
Yunzi and Han Lin were temporary blinded by a bright light as they lost their orientation. They seemed to have lost control of their bodies and they were afraid!
When they finally regained their senses, they were greeted by jovial laughter!
Sweet fragrances welcomed them as they blinked their eyes to adjust their disorientated visions.
They were immediately greeted by the jovial sight of Yi Ping, Isa, Xian'Er, Han Lin, Youxue, Alice, Lie Qing and Lingfeng!
This little words from the Goddess Celestial Alice had the effect of stirring the emotions of Han Lin and Yunzi as the realization of reaching the Immortal Realm had finally sunk into them!
Youxue, Lingfeng and Lie Qing were already crowding around Yunzi as they jostled her happily while Aiel was embracing Han Lin joyfully!
It was Lele that was speaking to them!
Yunzi and Han Lin looked up and saw that atop of a hill that was in front of them was another group of people. They were none other than Shen Xingyue the Fiery Phoenix, Ye Yin the Ascension Goddess, Yu'Er the Eclipse Heaven Goddess, Mei'Er the Axis Heaven Goddess, the Goddess Asura, the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa and Lele!
As they looked up, it was only then that Han Lin and Yunzi had begun to grasp at the wondrous beauty of the Immortal Realm as they caught sight of the dozens of misty rainbows and floating islands that were drifting above them!
As he said that, it seemed that the entire Immortal Realm seemed to be shaking tremendously as lightning began to flash in all directions!
Yunzi and Han Lin were startled as a dark gloomy dome began to descend from above as it parted the heavens above!
They were even more startled that it was the Stellar Sanctuary!
Unlike the malevolent Stellar Sanctuary that had appeared in the Celestial Realm, this Stellar Sanctuary looked benevolent and had a red outline in the middle that looked like a sigil which resembled an eye.
And it was now vibrating a donging sound like a bell that tolled throughout the heavens!
She quickly looked at the other maidens but they had all fallen into a solemn silence.
His eyes were beaming. Perhaps this was the only emotion that he could still remember and had an emotional attachment till now.
Back then he was only a young startup. He had experienced many fights and experienced more than what others could in their entire lifetime. Because of that, his body pain threshold got denser and denser and his strength improved rapidly.
If a person had never been beaten before, if a person had never suffered before then they would never be able to overcome their own limits and that of that their opponents.
It was easier said than done. Even if you have the will to crush iron with your thumb, would you be able to do so?
Yi Ping had the resolute and the will. He was never deterred by his physical limits and his resolute will would always stretch against his entire strength to maximum his future potential. It was because failure to do so would mean between life and death!
That was the reason why Yi Ping was now able to stand on the lofty peak. But now he needed more challenges. It was because he was now at the initial stage of the Tenth Immortal Positioning and he was striving to attain the intermediate and the late stage of the Tenth Immortal Positioning!
That was why he had to summon the Stellar Sanctuary once again!
Only this time, he had sealed off the entrance of the Stellar Sanctuary to none other than himself!
So now he had become a flash of white brilliant outline!
In a few moments, he would be traversing to the Stellar Sanctuary to begin his new trials!
All of a sudden Lingfeng had flashed to give him a violent kick, causing his focus to be distracted!
All the maidens had already gathered around Yi Ping!
Yi Ping secretly smiled. It was because he knew that the two of them had already put aside their bitter rivalries and were now very close sisters. In fact, Xingyue, Ye Yin, Yu'Er and Mei'Er were particular close to each other!
All the maidens nodded happily and excitedly!
Before long, there were a brilliant white outlines that surrounded everyone as they were drawn into the Stellar Sanctuary!
The rest of the maidens were all laughing jovially as their white outlines flared brilliantly before they disappeared into the Stellar Sanctuary!
A Martial Odyssey first started off as a translated project of the Xianxia Genre. At the beginning, it was considered fun to introduce the unknown genre of Xianxia outside of China more than 3 years ago.
Till now, there aren't many Xianxia that are being translated, mainly because many people can't really distinguished the difference between Xianxia and Xuanhuan.
It literally spans 250 Chapters, 1.8mil chinese words/ approx. 1.3mil English words. There are small differences between the Chinese AMO and the English AMO mainly due to censorship and stricter editorial rules at jjdxc.
Each Chapter of the English AMO is a long chapter here, as long as 1000 Chapters when compared to Zhan Long.
As some of the readers may know already, AMO was scheduled to end at Chapter 240 but was extended by another 10 Chapters to show a preview of the Desolate Realm.
Whether the next part of AMO will start will depend on responds but that will be AMO 2 and not AMO1.
At the peak of the Unmoving Mountains where the Holy Ascension Sect was, oceans of drifting clouds were rolling rapidly as strong winds blew furiously!
Just below on a gigantic flat platform, countless celestial practitioners from hundreds of celestial clans had gathered for the first observed celestial ascension that would happen!
The numbers itself was staggering!
What was the Divine Wrath that was lying in wait for a celestial practitioner in order to reach the Immortal Realm?
That was the question that was in everyone's minds!
This may be the holy ground of the most powerful orthodox celestial sect the Holy Ascension Sect but today he was not the most important cultivation practitioner here. Nor were the many celestial leaders here.
In fact he had taken a seat along the sheltered walls of the stone pavilions with the other celestial leaders and their protégés!
They were all waiting for the most important person to arrive.
From afar, an unearthly breathtaking blonde maiden in a silver scale robe was walking calmly. Behind her were a contingency of protégés from the Celestial Aiel Sect, the Erudite Sect and the Infinity Sword Celestial Clan!
The sight of this unearthly breathtaking blonde maiden had all the thousands of celestials scurrying to their feet before they bowed on the ground with great reverence!
It was because this unearthly breathtaking blonde maiden was not a celestial practitioner but an immortal. Not only an immortal but an immortal of the Seventh Immortal Positioning and she was the Ruler of the Celestial Realm!
She was none other than the Goddess Isa.
She smiled as she arranged her Impervious Dragon Silver Robe under the dazzling sunrays, under the thundering resonates of reverences of her praises and name!
Behind her were the Celeste Wind Maiden the new protégé mistress of the Celestial Aiel Sect, Han Lin, Jing'Er the Lunar Heaven Fairy, Shi Shi the Stellar Heaven Fairy and Yang Min the Exalted Heaven Fairy.
Not far away from the Goddess Isa were Yun Zi the new leader of the Infinity Sword Celestial Clan. Also accompanying her was the Lady Winter Plum, Lady Snowflake the mistress of the Erudite and Ziyue her protégé.
Han Lin was startled because all of a sudden, she had heard a familiar shout and it was Aiel!
She was standing at the other side of the platform!
The Goddess Aiel smiled wryly before she pointed backward.
Indeed in just a little while, they could see Yi Ping walking up the platform and behind him were Xian'Er alias the Great Goddess Fantian, the Celestial Goddess Alice, Youxue, the Heaveness Lingfeng and Lie Qing!
All the thousands of celestials froze because the animus aura of this new group was so breathtaking. It was as though time had frozen in place and they were so captivated that they could not even move their little fingers!
Old Reverend Vanquisher Sage had clearly recognized Yi Ping but at the same time, he could not believe that this forbidding practitioner was the same Yi Ping that he had known!
Like all the other celestials, he was not able to move at all and could only stand rigidly!
"Yi Ping! Ping'Er! Yi Ping, Yi Ping!" Isa, Jing'Er, Shi Shi, Yunzi, Yang Min and Han Lin chorus one after each other!
This square platform spanned twenty miles by twenty miles but in a blink of an eye, Yi Ping had already sped to them as he patted and embraced Isa, Jing'Er, Shi Shi, Yunzi, Yang Min and Han Lin!
All the sudden the Lady Winter Plum was heartened as her countenance shone brightly!
Immediately Xian'Er, Alice, Lingfeng, Aiel, Youxue and Lie Qing had scattered to six different positions as they unsheathed their divine swords!
The Heaveness Lingfeng's divine sword was invisible but her divine sword was still shown as rainbow hues surrounded her invisible blade when held under the basking sun!
Yi Ping had also unsheathed his two divine swords, the Celestial Alice and the Fantian Sovereign!
Yi Ping nodded as the winds began to beat strongly and everyone could see that the entire heavens had turned dark and purple lightning were zapping in arcs!
When he had finished speaking, he had quietly merged his two divine swords into the Heaven Defying Divine Sword as a yellow lightning burst forth from the heavens and struck his sword!
At the same time, Xian'Er, Alice, Lingfeng, Lie Qing, Youxue and Aiel were generating sword energies bursts from their divine swords as they displayed the Seven Heavens Star Formation!
The entire platform began to tremble as strong winds and purple lightning began to strike all around furiously!
All of a sudden a silver lining broke the dark heavens and a rainbow had shone forth!
Yunzi and Han Lin were startled at the sight!
At the same time seven beaming white lights had shone upon Yi Ping, Xian'Er, Alice, Lingfeng, Lie Qing, Youxue and Aiel as it returned them to the heavens!
It was followed by two other beaming white lights as it spirited Yunzi and Han Lin upward to the heavens!
Yunzi and Han Lin were stunned!
It was because their Divine Calamity had become a Benevolent Divine Wrath!
Immediately the entire heavens become bright again and an auspicious rainbow cloud could be seen drifting above the platform!
The tavern was large but today it seemed to be a little too small. Hundreds of people had gathered inside and from the first floor to the third floor, it was fully pack with onlookers.
The onlookers were standing on the second floor and the third floor as they looked down to the first floor which was the center of the tavern.
He waved his fan as he looked squarely at the majestic bearded man who was sitting on the table. On his side were his four Hall Chiefs and thirty subordinates!
This majestic bearded man was none other than Master Sikong Zuo, the new Martial Alliance Chief of the Martial Fraternity and the Protégé Grandmaster of the Fraternity Alliance Clan!
Needless to say his martial skill was naturally formidable!
As for his four Hall Chiefs, their martial feats were the equal of the major orthodox clans and they were also known as the Four Hedonistic Butchers!
In recent years, the Fraternity Alliance Clan had swept aside all resistances to become the most powerful clan in the Martial Fraternity!
All the hundreds of onlookers from tens of clans began to lower their eyes and did not dare to say a word!
Even though he had appeared to be fearless, he was actually secretly fearful and his legs had already turned to jelly!
It was only because he had been practicing the Exuberant Divine Skill. Even in the direst of situations, his face would always be smiling!
Immediately the whole tavern was reverberating with the power of his martial shout!
"Then get rid of us as well then!" A voice was heard from the outside.
Nangong Le was startled as he quickly turned to face the entrance. It was because it was a familiar voice!
He had turned around to find not one familiar face but two!
Two middle noble men had walked into the tavern!
The onlookers were startled as they whispered incessantly to themselves!
Gongsun Jing the Benevolent and Qiu Wufeng the Windless Swordsman were the two most accomplished swordsmen of their time before they had retired!
And Gongsun Jing was the scion of the once powerful Gongsun Clan. Until today, there were many stories about the Gongsun Clan!
Sikong Zuo had already walked forward. He had an imposing aura and it seemed that in this entire world, nothing could hurt him. He was like a undefeatable titan!
Immediately Nangong Le and Qiu Wufeng flew left and right around Gongsun Jing as they attacked Sikong Zuo at the same time!
To the astonishment of the onlookers, barely had Nangong Le, Qiu Wufeng and Gongsun Jing made their moves, they were floored on the floor, struck by dozens of iron breaking blows that thundered tremendously!
Nangong Le, Qiu Wufeng and Gongsun Jing all coughed out blood as they struggled to stand again.
But Sikong Zuo had already made a quiet move and had raised his palm on Nangong Le's forehead!
This quiet move was so fast that Nangong Le could not believe his eyes. By the time he had seen Sikong Zuo moving, the iron crushing palm was already upon his forehead!
It was because a hand had caught the wrist of Sikong Zuo, stunning everyone!
It was a slender young man in white that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere!
On his back were two very long swords that seemed out of place given his slender body.
How did he appeared in the middle of nowhere without anyone noticing him? More than half of the people here were first rate fighters!
This slender young man in white was very charismatic and there was an air of righteous around him. Immediately, more than half the onlookers were moved to follow this slender young man automatically for reasons that they could not even finger!
This gentle push had the effect of pushing the astonished Sikong Zuo back all the way to the end of the hallway, stunning everyone!
Suddenly the aura of Sikong Zuo was diminished and this weak scholar that had just appeared was like an undefeatable titan!
How was it possible? He was only a young man!
Nangong Le, Gongsun Jing and Qiu Wufeng could only stare blankly at this slender young man in white, not knowing what to say!
The four hall chiefs were enraged as they raised their weapons. They moved with lightning speed to strike the slender young man!
But the slender young man appeared to walk past them. No one could see his martial moves but the four hall chiefs were fallen to the ground with blood in their mouths and their weapons were shattered!
All the onlookers were stunned!
It was because they were fully aware of the martial accomplishments of the four hall chiefs!
For them to fall in just a single move was unthinkable!
Moreover, they were grouping together to fight just a single foe!
All of a sudden a maiden in white had flew in from nowhere and had struck the chest of Sikong Zuo, breaking through his heavy iron clad sword with her fingers in the process!
Sikong Zuo could not believe his eyes and he could not even scream out aloud, such was his agonizing pain!
Only when this maiden in white stopped moving, everyone could finally see her looks and were awestruck by her heavenly appearance!
Next, everyone was now too stunned to believe that this maiden in white had actually destroyed Sikong Zuo's famous heavy ironclad sword with just her fingers alone and that she had also fell Sikong Zuo with just a single move!
Indeed this maiden in white was the Goddess of Mercy Xiang!
It was because everyone was astonished to see three other peerless heavenly maidens sitting on the table in the corner all of a sudden!
One of the heavenly maidens was even cuddling a baby!
If the white maiden that had just appeared was stunning enough, these three heavenly maidens were even so, causing everyone to be completely enthralled and losing their souls!
For these onlookers, they would never be able to forget about this scene ever in their lives. Some among the onlookers would even retire from the martial fraternity and be painters, attempting to recreate the scene that had mesmerized them forever!
Nangong Le, Gongsun Jing and Qiu Wufeng were all equally stunned. It was because they could recognize that two of the maidens were Shui Yixian the Celestial Fairy and the Heavenly Temptress Lie Qing!
Like Yi Ping, they had not aged at all!
Yi Ping had used his softened windforce to deflect Xiang's needles but another countering force had neutralized his attempts to stop Xiang.
The three heavenly maidens that were seating were indeed Xian'Er, Lie Qing and the Goddess Asura!
Yi Ping gave a gentle nod.
Almost immediately, the slender young man, the four heavenly maidens, Nangong Le, Gongsun Jing and Qiu Wufeng all vanished from the place, leaving all the onlookers stunned with astonishment!
From that day on, Yi Ping became a living legend in the martial fraternity and evil men dare not be as bold lest it attracted the living legend to return!
The protégés of the Fraternity Alliance Clan became fearful as the crowd began to storm down from the stairs with their brandish weapons!
Nangong Le, Qiu Wufeng and Gongsun Jing were taken away by Yi Ping and his group!
Nangong Le, Qiu Wufeng and Gongsun Jing were astonished at the swiftness movements that were displayed. In just a few blinks of an eye, they had already traveled ten miles and were in the wilderness of a forest!
Nangong Le, Qiu Wufeng and Gongsun Jing had noticed that Yi Ping and his group were still serene and they had only expended just a little of their internal energies even though they had enhanced their speed and had traveled ten miles!
They were astonished by their astonishing breathing techniques!
Nangong Le had already taken the pill from Yi Ping and had swallowed on the spot!
In the next instant, Yi Ping, Xian'Er, Lie Qing, Asura and Xiang had departed.


text:
Q: Splitting one cell into multiple columns in R So this is what one of my column looks like :

Infos

NAME: ANGELA SURNAME:SMITH AGE:22 CITY: LA

NAME: ANDREW SURNAME: D'ONOFRIO AGE:47 CITY: NYC

I'd like to create four columns :

NAME
SURNAME
AGE
CITY

ANGELA
SMITH
22
LA

ANDREW
D'ONOFRIO
47
NYC

I read that we can use "separate" from tidyverse, and this what i tried.
library(tidyr)
library(tidyverse)

df <- infos %>% separate(Infos, c("NAME", "SURNAME","AGE","CITY"))

But this is the output :

NAME
SURNAME
AGE
CITY

NAME
ANGELA
SURNAME
SMITH

NAME
ANDREW
SURNAME
D'ONOFRIO

Then i'd like to understand how to make R knows what it has to separate. Maybe that this exact topic have been treated here before (but i didn't find it) so feel free to redirect me if necessary !

A: 1) extract Use extract with the pattern shown.  The test data did not have any spaces within the contents of the fields but even if it did this should work.
library(dplyr)
library(tidyr)

pat <- "NAME: *(.*) SURNAME: *(.*) AGE: *(.*) CITY: *(.*)"
dat %>%
  extract(Infos, c("NAME", "SURNAME", "AGE", "CITY"), pat, convert = TRUE)
##     NAME   SURNAME AGE CITY
## 1 ANGELA     SMITH  22   LA
## 2 ANDREW D'ONOFRIO  47  NYC

2) Base R Alternately using only base R we get this general solution which will continue to work even if the number of columns or their names change.  This should also work if there are spaces in the contents of the fields. It works by converting Infos into dcf format followed by read.dcf.
dat |>
  with(gsub("(\\w+:)", "\n\\1", Infos)) |>
  textConnection() |>
  read.dcf() |>
  as.data.frame() |>
  type.convert(as.is = TRUE)
##     NAME   SURNAME AGE CITY
## 1 ANGELA     SMITH  22   LA
## 2 ANDREW D'ONOFRIO  47  NYC

Note
dat in reproducible form:
dat <-
structure(list(Infos = c("NAME: ANGELA SURNAME:SMITH AGE:22 CITY: LA",
"NAME: ANDREW SURNAME: D'ONOFRIO AGE:47 CITY: NYC")), class = "data.frame", row.names = c(NA,
-2L))

A: One more strategy
df <- structure(list(Infos = c("NAME: ANGELA SURNAME:SMITH AGE:22 CITY: LA",
                           "NAME: ANDREW SURNAME: D'ONOFRIO AGE:47 CITY: NYC")), class = "data.frame", row.names = c(NA,
                                                                                -2L))
library(tidyverse)

df %>%
  mutate(Infos = gsub('\\:\\s*', ':', Infos)) %>%
  separate_rows(Infos, sep = '\\s') %>%
  separate(Infos, into = c('N', 'V'), sep = ':') %>%
  pivot_wider(names_from = N, values_from = V, values_fn = list) %>%
  unnest(everything())
#> # A tibble: 2 x 4
#>   NAME   SURNAME   AGE   CITY
#>   <chr>  <chr>     <chr> <chr>
#> 1 ANGELA SMITH     22    LA
#> 2 ANDREW D'ONOFRIO 47    NYC

Created on 2021-07-15 by the reprex package (v2.0.0)

A: Base R option using strcapture -
strcapture('NAME:\\s*(.*)\\s*SURNAME:\\s*(.*)\\s*AGE:\\s*(.*)\\s*CITY:\\s*(.*)',
           infos$Infos, proto = list(NAME = character(),
           SURNAME = character(), AGE = numeric(), CITY = character()))

#    NAME    SURNAME  AGE CITY
#1 ANGELA      SMITH   22   LA
#2 ANDREW  D'ONOFRIO   47  NYC

A: Here is another solution using str_squish, str_replace_all and separate
library(dplyr)
library(stringr)
df %>%
  mutate(Infos = str_squish(str_replace_all(Infos, ":", " "))) %>%
  separate(Infos, c("helper1", "Name", "helper2", "Surname", "helper3", "Age", "helper4","City"), sep = " ") %>%
  select(-starts_with("helper"))

Output:
  Name   Surname   Age   City
  <chr>  <chr>     <chr> <chr>
1 ANGELA SMITH     22    LA
2 ANDREW D'ONOFRIO 47    NYC

A: You can insert dummy columns, then delete them.
tibble(dat=c("NAME: ANGELA SURNAME:SMITH AGE:22 CITY: LA",
             "NAME: ANDREW SURNAME: DONOFRIO AGE:47 CITY: NYC")) %>%
    separate(dat, c("DEL1", "NAME", "DEL2", "SURNAME", "DEL3", "AGE", "DEL4", "CITY")) %>%
    select(-DEL1, -DEL2, -DEL3, -DEL4)

 NAME   SURNAME  AGE   CITY
 ANGELA SMITH    22    LA
 ANDREW DONOFRIO 47    NYC

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger has declared his 'love' for the FA Cup and underlined his ambition to win it for a FIFTH time.
The Gunners will take a break from their Premier League title challenge when they host Coventry in their televised fourth-round tie at the Emirates Stadium on Friday.
Arsenal haven't tasted success in England's oldest domestic cup competition since 2005 after they triumphed in a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Manchester United and Wenger admits he would love to make it to Wembley on May 17.
"I have been lucky enough to win it four times, but unfortunately we haven't won it for a long time now so in fact I am even more focused to do well in this competition now," Wenger told the club's official magazine.
"I would love the club to win the FA Cup again.
"The magic of the cup is when you get close to the end of the competition, the dream becomes more real.
"We all had that dream as kids, we were educated by seeing people lifting cups that became our dream - to make it come true is one of our targets."
Meanwhile, Wenger was spotted at Heathrow airport this morning which sparked rumours that he was jetting to Europe to close out a deal.
But sources close to the club maintain he was coming back from a trip rather than setting off for a scouting mission.


AT&T has released new information that they will also start degrading customer network throughput for those that use more than what AT&T would consider average. You can read all the terms of service on the AT&T site.
... AT&T Uverse High Speed Internet throughput speeds may be temporarily reduced when a customer is using other U-verse services in a manner that requires high bandwidth. This could occur more often with higher speed Internet access products. ... While this performance optimization process will prevent some customers from obtaining the maximum downstream speed capability, service capability speed will not be set lower than the service tier you have purchased.
Isn't that the entire purpose of buying a higher speed plan, to avoid slow down? Just to be clear though, AT&T is actually selling you a minimum speed of service, which know that is better than some providers. The real test is how frequently does this happen. Is it infrequent enough to allow the advertisement of the higher speed or should the lower speed really be the only speed referred to? Only time will tell.
With that being said though, I think we need to recognize this is a better solution that what Comcast has offered, which is one speed for everyone, and if you violate it, then your service is terminated for one year.
Since I was looking at the Ts & Cs, I thought I'd highlight 3 others.
a. No Resale. The Service is provided for your use only (unless otherwise specifically stated) and you agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, transfer, trade, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes.
It looks as if you're okay to have an open wi-fi hotspot.
Isn't this a bit redundant. AT&T is not the government. Seems like the next step is AT&T will be monitoring our traffic, to make sure we are in compliance. We'd better keep an eye on this one.
I had to point this out, as it seems odd that AT&T would include anything about how to rear your children. It's a statement of opinion; it doesn't belong in a Terms of Service Agreement.
Despite some of these other odd conditions, overall I believe that AT&T is currently better to deal with than Comcast. In other words, given the choice, I'd take AT&T.


text:
Britain's bridges are falling down: why is the UK so terrible at infrastructure?
Simple and cowardly short-termism is a major reason for the UK's dismal performance.
One of the most exciting things that happened to me when I was a baby train nerd was the arrival at my local station of leaflets about Crossrail. This, a helpful map informed me, would be a sort of super-Tube line, by which suburban trains would continue past Liverpool Street, to Oxford Street, Paddington and points west.
I understood, I suppose, that this wasn't going to happen overnight. But I would still have been stunned to learn that, by the early Nineties, such a scheme had already been discussed on and off for around half a century; that it wouldn't receive government approval for another 15 years; and that, a decade after that, roughly a month after I selected a flat based in part on its proximity to one of the new Crossrail stations, its opening would be delayed from "next December" to "some time, possibly?" At the time of writing, the line has yet to open, but word is that it should do so in the first half of 2022. We shall see.
That the UK government is not very good at infrastructure should come as no surprise to anyone who has been to, say, France. But the result of an investigation published in Thursday's Times might still come as a shock.
Figures obtained from Highways England, the government-owned company in charge of motorways and trunk roads, showed that, out of around 9,000 bridges and large culverts (basically, huge pipes for rivers) in the network, around 4,000 "showed evidence of defects or damage that may significantly affect their capacity". As of April 2019, 858 had at least one "load-bearing or otherwise crucial" section in "very poor condition". Given everything that has happened in the last 20 months, it is probably safe to assume that matters have not improved since.
The 2018 Genoa disaster, in which a road bridge collapsed in northern Italy, killing 43, is a reminder of how bad the consequences of failing to maintain a road bridge can be. Thankfully, there's little suggestion of anything that dangerous here (most of these bridges will be much, much smaller). But Highways England has warned that reducing capacity – closing lanes, banning heavy goods vehicles – may be necessary to prevent further damage. It's not merely that the UK is bad at improving its transport infrastructure. It's so bad at maintaining it that things are getting worse.
The agency, incidentally, attempted to block the freedom of information request that uncovered these figures, on the grounds that they could be useful to terrorists – and not, say, that they showed it to be extremely bad at its job.
This is merely the tip of an extremely large iceberg. East of Docklands, it remains ludicrously difficult to cross the Thames, despite decades of unbuilt proposals. Until January, Leeds-Bradford was the largest metropolitan area in the EU without any form of metro whatsoever; the only reason that changed is that Britain is no longer in the EU. Birmingham makes do with a single, paltry tram line and traffic as far as the eye can see, and one of the strongest arguments for building HS2 is that, if we scrap it and try to come up with something better, it'll delay the capacity improvements we need by another 20 years or more.
Why is the UK so bad at this? One reason may be that the problem is self-perpetuating: if, instead of building scheme A and then scheme B, you wait a decade and then try to build both at once, you'll find that both are now a lot more expensive than predicted because they rely on the same pool of labour, plant and expertise. Another may be that our national love of house price inflation has fuelled both higher land prices and government nimbyism: investing in new transport infrastructure will cost a fortune, wind a lot of voters up, and probably won't open until the government after next. Why bother?
But I can't help but feel that a big part of the problem is simple and cowardly short-termism. It's easier to cut capital than current spending: changes to the latter will be felt immediately, while those to the former may take years to show. Once enough years have passed, though, you wake up to find that half your bridges and culverts are falling to bits.
Rishi Sunak is not a complete coward. Despite having a public reputation built entirely on handing out money, he's talking up austerity with the zeal of a man who has not stopped to consider the consequences this might have for his leadership ambitions. And despite such talk, last month's Spending Review did promise an increase in infrastructure spending, as well as a new national infrastructure bank to be based in the north of England.
One question is whether this is even close to enough to make up for decades of neglect. Another is whether it will be sustainable, if the Chancellor continues to insist that we should all be terribly worried about the national debt – even though it is possible at present for the government to take out long-term loans that are all but interest-free.
So perhaps I'm over-complicating things. Perhaps the reason the UK has such bad infrastructure is much simpler. Perhaps it's because of the Tories.
Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A great chart in today's WHIR breaking down the market shares of the largest cloud providers and how they changed in Q2 2017. Here is the link. From this data it looks like Amazon, Microsoft and Google continue to take market share away from everyone else except IBM.
Disclaimer: This post is for general information purposes and is not meant to be taken as financial advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks mentioned above, a comprehensive discussion of valuation or how to do any calculations. Please be sure to consult your financial advisors when valuing your company, considering the sale of your business or making other financial decisions.
Cheval Capital Celebrates Our 400th Transaction!


This stately, one-owner sprawling brick ranch on a quiet cut-de-sac at Hawk Hollow is one you must see! From the moment you enter the grand double door front entrance you will see nothing but perfection. An open living room with 17 foot ceilings invites you in. The expansive gourmet kitchen features stainless steel appliances, a large gas range with custom hood, endless counter space and storage, a wine cooler and wine storage galore. The back hall features a spacious laundry room, powder room and plenty of storage. The kitchen flows into the dining area with beautiful backyard views out the abundance of windows. Great views of the 6th hole. Step out to the tiered composite deck with plentiful space for entertaining and relaxation. The glass railings make sure you don't miss any of the views! Down the stairs will take you to a stone patio. Back inside, the other side of the first floor features a lovely formal, but cozy sitting room, a guest bedroom, full bath and a master suite that could be out of Architectural Digest. The master has a white brick fireplace and a white brick accent well, a walk-in closet the size of some bedrooms and a roomy bathroom with a huge custom walk-in rain shower. Open the slider in the master and step out on to a private area off the back deck that has a hot tub for those cold Michigan nights. Moving downstairs you will find great entertainment space for watching the game, playing pool, relaxing and there is even a dance floor. The walkout features a gas fireplace and a gorgeous custom bar with a dishwasher and wine cooler. This area is huge and offers lots of options. Two bedrooms, a bath and two large storage rooms with custom shelving finish out the lower level. Don't forget the Hawk Hollow golf discounts. Truly no penny was spared by these owners to make this home exquisite and it shows!


The rose petals look lovely here, but don't worry if you can't get hold of any. With the pomegranate seeds there, the granita looks wonderful without them. Be sure to leave enough time for the liquid to properly freeze into crystals, about 8 to 10 hours.
Featured in: Yotam Ottolenghi: Eat Your Sugar.
Add sugar and 7 tablespoons/100 milliliters water to a small saucepan and place over high heat. Stir continuously, until sugar has dissolved and the liquid comes to the boil.
Add mint, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool, about 20 minutes. Strain the syrup into a large bowl, pressing on the mint to extract the water. Discard the mint.
Whisk the pomegranate juice and rose water into the syrup until combined. Pour into a container and freeze for 2 to 3 hours, until clumps form and the edges are solid. (The shallower the container, the shorter the freezing time.) Use a fork to separate the crystals and freeze for another 2 hours. Repeat with the fork again, scraping the tines across the frozen mixture, and continue this process until the liquid has frozen into separate crystals throughout, about 8 to 10 hours total.
Just before serving, divide the granita between small glasses and sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and rose petals.


Like Frodo standing at the precipice on Mount Doom, torn apart by simultaneous, conflicting emotions about casting the ring into the inferno (no reference to Michael Ring intended!), Enda Kenny stands on the political ledge of Government Buildings, eyeing the mob below, a large portion of which is shouting "Jump!". But will he? Or will he climb back safely into the Taoiseach's chair.


text:
Home/Observatory Staff
Observatory Staff
There may be up to 300,000 meteorites in Antarctica
US, WASHINGTON (NEWS OBSERVATORY) — Nearly two-thirds of all meteorites found on Earth have been collected in Antarctica. Researchers from…
Chinese are close to creating a system that breaks any ciphers
US, WASHINGTON (NEWS OBSERVATORY) — A group of Chinese scientists published an article in which they announced the development of…
British woman claims she was abducted by aliens
US, WASHINGTON (NEWS OBSERVATORY) — Briton Paula Smith said that she was abducted by aliens 52 times and delivered to…
Strange object discovered by astronomers in space
US, WASHINGTON (NEWS OBSERVATORY) — Astronomers have discovered for the first time a mysterious object that emits a huge amount…
Created a wetsuit that protects against shark bites
US, WASHINGTON (NEWS OBSERVATORY) — Scientists have created an entirely new way to keep Australian swimmers and surfers safe after…
In South Africa, a ufologist discovered a huge UFO
US, WASHINGTON (NEWS OBSERVATORY) — The famous ufologist Scott Waring, using the Google Earth service, studied the southern part of…
Scientists have created economical batteries from medical masks
US, WASHINGTON (NEWS OBSERVATORY) — Russian scientists, together with American and Mexican colleagues, have developed a technology that makes it…
Researchers from the United States have revealed the secrets of Bigfoot
US, WASHINGTON (NEWS OBSERVATORY) — Bigfoot, Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti – this mysterious creature has many names. However, almost everyone agrees…
Google accused of spying on users
US, WASHINGTON (NEWS OBSERVATORY) — New York Post: US prosecutors sued Google for defrauding users. Attorneys General of several US…
Water on Earth could have come from an ancient mineral
US, WASHINGTON (NEWS OBSERVATORY) — In the days of the early Earth, when there was high pressure in the mantle…


text:
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Explore the world as a traveller, not a tourist, on a trip packed with inclusions. VIP experiences and first-class, insider encounters.
Cosmos is for those that adore the explore without breaking the bank. Hassle-free and flexible, you dream it and we create it.
You're a lone ranger but don't want to be completely alone. We'll help plan your itinerary and set you up with our friends. Less hassles, more amazing, that's Monograms.
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THE BEST OF GREECE
Tour: 6670 ATHENS ATHENS
On this Best of Greece tour, discover the best of historic and mythical—as well as modern—Greece. As the birthplace of Western civilization, Greece has some of the world's most fascinating archaeological sites, and now is your chance to explore the Greek Isles on your affordable tour of Greece. Your tour starts and ends in Athens and overnights along the way in Nauplia, Sparta, Olympia, Delphi, and Kalambaka.
Step back in time as you visit some of Greece's ancient sites where the Mycenaean civilisation thrived in Greece between 1600 and 1200 BC. At the Mycenae archaeological site, learn about this civilisation as you enjoy guided sightseeing of the monuments erected here between 1350 and 1200 BC. In Athens, visit the Acropolis, still standing after 2,500 years. Dedicated to the goddess Athena, the Acropolis sits high on a rocky hill and is a symbol of the wealth and power of Athens at its apex. Visit the amazingly well-preserved, 2,300-year-old open-air theater in Epidaurus and marvel at the perfect acoustics. You'll step back in history—but not as far back as Ancient Greece—when you enjoy sightseeing of the medieval Byzantine Citadel of Mystra, a castle founded in 1249. Also visit the fantastic landscape of Meteora with its 24 rock-top monasteries set in almost inaccessible sandstone peaks.
On this affordable Greece tour, you'll travel to Olympia, legendary home of the Olympic Games, and Delphi, where people visited in ancient Greece to seek the advice of the Oracle. But that's not all…you'll experience modern Greece as well. Cross over the world's longest cable-stayed bridge, the spectacular Rion-Antirion Bridge, which links the Peloponnese to the Greek mainland.
From the ancient ruins to contemporary engineering —with beautiful landscapes in between—this tour through Greece is perfectly designed for value-minded travellers. You'll agree that your affordable Greece tour is a once-in-a-lifetime holiday!
Looking to explore even more of Greece? Why not extend your holiday with our 4-night Greek Island cruise extension. See below 'Personalise your trip' section for more information.
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On this faith-based tour, spend five nights in Lourdes, one of the world's most famous pilgrimage sites located in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. Here, in 1858, a 14-year-old girl named...
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Building fellowship and community among fellow travelers is just one of the ways to connect spiritually on this Biblical tour of Israel. Experience the power of the Scriptures as they come to life...
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The roots of your faith will come to life on this extraordinary journey through the Holy Land. Follow in the footsteps of Jesus as you learn more about His life and ministry. Visit places of biblical...
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Reaffirm and celebrate your faith on this Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy. Along the way, visit some of the world's most famous shrines, pilgrimage sites, and spiritual places. Santiago de...
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You won't see many games where the Calgary Stampeders' defence outscores the offence and everybody's happy.
But tonight was one of those nights, simply because so many things went right. The offence was effective; maybe not spectacular, but solid enough and relatively mistake-free (apart from a Nik Lewis fumble on the first drive that prompted a lot of thoughts of, "Oh no, not again" around McMahon Stadium).
The defence, of course, was terrific with three second-half touchdowns and a constant harassment of Argos quarterback Kerry Joseph (and, once again, turning Toronto offensive tackle Rob Murphy into a bit of a swinging gate, as they often last season when Murphy played with the Lions).
And, on the whole, there was the familiar swagger that we became accustomed to in the back half of last season as the Stamps drove to the Grey Cup.
Perfect? Well, not by a long stretch. Sixteen penalties for 141 yards will cause some consternation for the coaching staff, with many of them just sheerly unnecessary and selfish. Against a better team than the Argos, it could have been a real issue.
But for whatever reason, the Argos have become the free square on the bingo card for the Stamps, who have pummelled the Boatmen by a combined 155-39 in their past four meetings.
On the downside, there were some more injury issues; defensive tackle Alain Kashama spent the second half on crutches after hurting his left leg; long-snapper Randy Chevrier hurt his left knee making a special-teams tackle in the first half and limped his way through the final 30 minutes; and running back Derek Watson also missed the second half with what looked to be a sprained ankle. All three will be assessed on Saturday.
Meanwhile, I'm ashamed to say that I wasted most of my pre-game time figuring out whom Argos coach Bart Andrus looks like most.
He's the guy on top, and below him are Elrond from Lord of the Rings, Mr. Smith from The Matrix (both played by Hugo Weaving) and The Count. I seek your input.


What is a Christian policy ?
We are not presuming nor claiming to give you "the Christian policy" on such and such. We are Christians with policies, not politicians with Christian policies. We believe it is more important to have the right type of politician before we consider policy. The national distrust of politicians is not because of their policies but because many politicians cannot keep their promises - the current debate is largely about politicians themselve s, rather than policies alone.
1. to represent all Christians. We have never claimed this, although as elected politicians we will be happy to represent any individual Christian, and any constituent for that matter.
2. that only our policies are Christian. Some policies are evidently Christian and other parties may share them.
3. that we believe that there are 'Christian policies' on everything under the sun.
It is one thing for politicians to misrepresent the Christian Party. We expect that. For Christians to do so manifests that the prejudice that it is native to the human heart needs to be mortified in them by the Holy Spirit. Intelligent people can be very prejudiced, because they think they can see the answer better than others. Prejudice can be dispelled simply by asking the relevant question of the relevant person, but many people are too lazy to do so, or too isolated to do so. Many are in love with their prejudices and, worse still, like to give vent to their prejudices, ignoring the Saviour's warning: "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" Matthew 12:36. The Biblical answer to such prejudice is for Christians to acknowledge that they need one another's gifts to balance the whole body of Christ - "the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee" 1Corinthians 12:21 - and that means talking to each other, which will dispel many prejudices.
It will help people to understand our raison d'être and our philosophy if we begin with basics.
We are a political party. We are not a church. We are a political party comprised of Christians, just as the Tory Party is a political party compromised of Tories. Not all Tories join the Tory Party, and not all Christians join the Christian Party. Not everyone who votes Tory is a Tory, and not everyone who votes Christian Party is a Christian. We have had atheists supporting and voting for us.
A Labour supporter does not join the Tory Party and so a non-Christian will not join the Christian Party.
The Christian Party believes that there are enough Christians to make a useful political party with good policies for the common good of the country. There are a number of single issue parties, such as the Greens, UKIP or the SNP. These parties are united around a single idea, but in order to gain power and influence they need to broaden their ideas across the political spectrum. However independence from the EU and from Westminster have a terminus; what happens to these parties once they achieve their aim? When Green issues become mainstream, what happens to this single issue party? The Christian Party is united around the idea that Jesus Christ is Lord. This idea is not going away any time soon, just as the Lord Jesus Christ does not intend retiring off this global field. "The field is the world" Matthew 13:38. "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world" Matthew 28:20.


We love our volunteers. If you fancy being part of an indispensable team of like-minded superheroes, get in touch! Our trusty tribe of volunteers come from all backgrounds and from all over the city (and the world!) and would love to meet you.
Join our EcoMatters Volunteers Facebook group to connect with events and projects, or fill in the form to register on our database as a volunteer. Once registered, you'll receive our EcoMatters newsletter, which will include information on upcoming volunteering opportunities. You can unsubscribe at any time.
We're growing thousands of plants for local restoration and community projects. Help pot and care for baby plants and learn about our native plants along the way. To RSVP, email alanah@ecomatters.org.nz.
Support a leading waste-minimising project by divert incoming materials from landfill by sorting them for reuse or recycling, while getting to know our fun and friendly zero waste team. RSVP to sarah@ecomatters.org.nz.
We've helped Wesley Market reduce waste each market day by a massive 62.5%, but we're still on the journey towards going zero waste. Help manage the waste stations and work with the market community to reduce what goes to landfill. For more info, contact sarah@ecomatters.org.nz.
Our Bike Hubs offer free advice for people wanting to learn more about cycling. We recondition unwanted bikes and offer them to the community at affordable prices. We would love your help if you have an interest in bikes. For more info, email bikehub@ecomatters.org.nz.
As well as learning about stream restoration and monitoring, you will be sure to have a good time working with like minded people to keep our local streams beautiful. Come for as long as you like. RSVPs essential to pamela@ecomatters.org.nz.
Help out and get skilled-up in organic gardening. We'll be pruning, planting wildflower and bee gardens, and building up soil, composting, mulching, weeding and looking after paths and lawns. Bring gloves, sturdy shoes or gumboots and a raincoat or hat, and sharp secateurs if you have a pair. RSVP to meg@ecomatters.org.nz.
We love working with corporate groups. Email volunteer@ecomatters.org.nz to find out how we partner with businesses and other organisations.
We often need hands on deck to help with admin, marketing, research or events. If you're interested in volunteering with a particular set of skills, email volunteer@ecomatters.org.nz so we can match you with a project.


Duck Duck Goose Blog: Day #7 Give-Away: Yankee Candles!
Day #7 Give-Away: Yankee Candles!
Today's Give Away is meant to treat you when you have a moment to yourself. Snuggle up with a blanket and book, or pop in a movie, or pop in the tub...then light a candle. A Yankee Candle!!
This is a set of 6 votive candle and a candle holder from everyone's favorite, Yankee Candle. YEAH!
You'll get a set of 6 yummy flavors with a frosted candle holder to light when YOU are ready to relax.
OR when you need a little peace in the midst of chaos...you choose!
Leave your answer as a comment below. If you don't have a Google account, then comment anonymously including your name at the end.
Happy Saturday...do something for yourself today!
I'm a huge Disney fan...probably Beauty and the Beast!
Gone with the Wind, the best ever!
Knocked up is my favorite.


text:
Maculiparia curtipennis är en insektsart som först beskrevs av Scudder, S.H. 1875.  Maculiparia curtipennis ingår i släktet Maculiparia och familjen Romaleidae. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Hopprätvingar
curtipennis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It's a bit late and I am sleepy so I may have missed it ,but I was out at the website and there were two things that I did not see. No mention of Jousting, and no mention of a weapons policy. Can someone chime in and let me know of these thing.
Jousting: Noble Cause Productions is doing the joust this season. Not positive whether there are two or three joust shows this year, more when the entertainment schedule becomes posted on the website.
Weapons: Weapons are allowed but must be peace tied. Security at the gate will use zip-ties on all edged weapons. Firearms are not allowed unless they are non functional costume pieces that are obviously non functional(But this is more of a judgement call by the at gate security). It might also be best to make sure all weapons are sheathed so that there is no exposed edges or tips.


8th grader Keylei and School Psychologist Trevor Hammons with the final sundial.
Catherine Zane Middle School in Eureka, California has partnered with the Engineering Design course at Humboldt State University in order to provide an opportunity for students to exercise their skills in sustainable engineering design. Our project team is called Division by Zero. Team members include Hannah Gidanian, Caitlin Gundert, Rick Thomas, and Alex Watson. The front of Zane Middle School features a large rectangle filled with bark mulch, 10 feet wide and over 100 feet long. This empty space receives a large amount of uninterrupted sun throughout the day. Zane wanted to improve this underutilized space and decided that a series of projects would be conducted by the Engineering Design class of Spring 2017.
Students at Zane Middle School currently do not have an interactive and tangible way to learn about the abstract idea of how the sun relates to the earth and the concept of time as a derivation of this relationship. There is a large, vacant section of the front of the school at Zane that has not been serving any purpose over the past several years. As a result, the bark mulch gets trampled across, leaving debris all over the pavement in front of the school.
Safety 9 Must follow all safety regulations designated by the school.
A group of four Engineering Design students, by the team name of "Division by Zero" have partnered up with Trevor Hammonds and Kristopher Buihner at Zane Middle School in order to implement an interactive and aesthetically pleasing addition to the school front, directly in the center of the previously barren rectangle filled with bark mulch. The analemmatic sundial is stamped in a 9'x10' platform of cement on which middle school children serve as the gnomon. The student's shadow will tell the solar time. This sundial will serve to provide middle school students with an educational activity to emphasize the concept of solar time and the interaction between the sun and the earth in its orbital path.
Many prototypes were made before placing the sundial in concrete. Prototyping on a canvas sheet proved effective.
Final Design of Analemmatic Sundial.
Where the x and y are the xy coordinates.
2 Each number on the sundial is 15 degrees from the positive x-axis and the XY values of the numbers for the time were found using ellipse equation.
Radial units were then found by using sin(theta)=opposite/hypotenuse.
3 Each of the season lines which are plotted into the cement is based upon the shadow length at each hour of the day, throughout the year. The shadow length was calculated by taking the tangent of the angle of elevation of the sun at each hour of the day on the equinoxes as well as the solstices. Using right triangle trigonometry, it was determined that the shadow length equates to the height of the pole (24") divided by the tangent of the mentioned angle.
1 Cut out outlined Roman Numerals from 1/2" Plywood. Sand and round all of the sharp edges. Keep the numerals that are \being used in one stamp together to ensure similar size fit.
2 Cut out square base of stamp from the same size plywood. Again, sand and round all edges.
3 stamps impression will be correct.
4 to the center of each piece of wood.
5 Glue two pieces of pre-made wood letters together to make them thicker.
7 Create a form with plywood and fill five inches with base gravel. Fill the form with cement.
8 After the concrete has been poured and smoothed out allow the concrete to cure for 30 to 45 minutes. Begin laying out center string lines.
9 Using the center previously marked by string lines, stamp the standing positions.
10 Stamp all abbreviated months in the center of the corresponding box.
11 Layout string lines for each roman numeral.
12 Stamp all of the numerals by lining them up where the corresponding strings cross.
13 Be sure to use consistent pressure while stamping to ensure the depth is the same.
14 Allow the concrete slab to cure for 24 to 48 hours.
1 To find the current solar time, stand in the box with the current and corresponding month. Depending on what date it is within the month you may need to alter where you stand within the box. If it is early in the month, stand on the bottom line of the box, if it's the middle of the month stand in the middle of the box, and if it's the end of the month stand on the top line of the box.
2 Face forward and stand up straight then determine the time from the location of your shadow. Remember if daylight savings time is in affect the sundial will appear to be an hour behind.
3 To determine the present season, place the gnomon on the marker at the bottom of the sundial. Notice the three seasonal lines and locate the tip of the gnomon shadow.
4 Measure the shadow length on two consecutive days at the same time. If the shadow length appears to be shrinking and falls between the equinox line and summer solstice line the present season is Spring. If the length appears to be growing and is in the same location it is Summer. If the shadow location is between the winter solstice and equinox line and appears to be growing the present season is Fall and if the shadow is shrinking the season is Winter.
Rinse the imprint of the numbers with water to keep the sundial clean and the numbers visible.
Sundial season lines may need to be repainted depending on the rate of degradation.
Page was last modified 14:22, 7 October 2018. Based on work by Lonny Grafman, Alex Watson, Appropedia user Hjg109, Appropedia anonymous users 75.111.17.44 and 47.208.141.136 and others.


text:
WAYJO Announces New Partnership with MinterEllison
The WA Youth Jazz Orchestra (WAYJO) announces an exciting new partnership with one of the Asia-Pacific's premier lay firms, MinterEllison.
MinterEllison are the naming rights partners for the WAYJO Monday Night Orchestra, henceforth referred to as the WAYJO MinterEllison Monday Night Orchestra.
WAYJO General Manager Simon Keen is positive about the benefits the partnership will bring to both parties.
"Partnering with MinterEllison, a law firm with a strong reputation for excellence, showcases the value we place in our orchestra members, and will contribute significantly towards our mission of offering outstanding opportunities to young musicians. The Monday Night Orchestra reaches audiences in excess of 3,000 people annually, and is a first step for many of our members as they hone their skills in big band jazz. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with MinterEllison over the coming years, and thank them wholeheartedly for their support".
WAYJO are also seeking naming rights partners for their Tuesday and Wednesday Night Orchestras.
In 2018, WAYJO played to 8,000 people at ticketed performances and reached over 30,000 people through all of the company's programs. 2019 has seen WAYJO sell out their first 5 concerts as part of the Jazz at The Maj season, embark on a regional tour through the South West of WA, visit Japan and Showa University of Music, and have many more performances coming up throughout the year.
For further WAYJO partnership enquiries, please contact General Manager Simon Keen on +61 8 9471 1950.
Monday Night Orchestra
by WAYJO


Detectives are urging witnesses to come forward following an armed robbery at a convenience store in Crewe.
At around 10.20pm on Tuesday 2 April two unknown men went to the McColl's shop on Gainsborough Road.
One of them waited outside while the second man entered the store and approached the counter.
The offender initially asked for cigarettes, before producing a knife and ordering a store assistant to open the till.
She refused and the offender then jumped onto the counter and stole a quantity of cigarettes.
The store worker sustained a minor wound to her right hand whilst trying to stop the offender.
The man who entered the store is described as white, around 6' tall with a slim build. He is estimated to be in his early 30s and had blue eyes and protruding cheekbones.
The offender was wearing a green fleece top with the hood up, dark bottoms and black woollen gloves and he spoke with a Crewe accent.
The man who waited outside was also white. He was around 5' 1" tall with a medium build and he was wearing a shiny black Puffa-style jacket with the hood up and dark bottoms.
Detective Sergeant Steven Smith said: "This was a terrifying ordeal for all those involved and we are committed to doing all that we can to trace the men responsible.
"Thankfully the store worker only sustained a minor injury. However, the outcome could have been far worse.
"The investigation is currently in the very early stages and we are following a number of lines of enquiry.
"I also want to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time of the robbery and believes they may have witnessed something that may be relevant to our investigation.
"The same goes for any motorists with a dashcam who were driving in the Gainsborough Road area around the time of the incident.
Anyone with information that may help detectives with their investigation should call Cheshire Constabulary on 101, quoting IML 363946, give the details via https://cheshire.police.uk/contact/general-enquiries or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


We believe that the best financial advice comes from advisors who truly know their clients. To this end, we sponsor regular Client Appreciation Events throughout the year. These events are a great opportunity to network with your advisor and other clients, and you are often invited to bring a guest. Our client events range from sporting events and cocktail parties to cooking classes and art shows. There's something for everyone! We also regularly host shredding events for the communities in which we are located so that our clients and neighbors can dispose of personal information safely.
Please select the event(s) you wish to attend below, and use the form to RSVP!
Check back frequently as events are added regularly!


text:
The State Lodge is the official residence of the President of Sierra Leone and is located in the affluent neighborhood of Hill Station in the west end of Sierra Leone's capital Freetown. Sierra Leone's president, the First Lady of Sierra Leone and their immediate family reside at the State Lodge.

Security

The State Lodge is under 24 hour protection by the presidential guards, an armed unit of the Sierra Leone security forces that is made up of soldiers of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces, and police officers from the Operational Support Division of the Sierra Leone Police Force. Only permitted individuals and permitted vehicles are allowed to enter the State Lodge.

References

Buildings and structures in Freetown
Presidential residences


Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.16.2-1-g112ccb8 (webtiles) character file.
Began as a Hill Orc Fighter on Feb 21, 2016.
Was a Believer of Beogh.
Quit the game on level 6 of the Dungeon.
The game lasted 00:36:00 (5919 turns).
You were on level 6 of the Dungeon.
Beogh was pleased with you.
You visited 1 branch of the dungeon, and saw 6 of its levels.
You collected 304 gold pieces.
It affects your dexterity (-5).
You had 7 spell levels left.
The worker ant bites you but does no damage.
You hit the worker ant but do no damage.
The worker ant is heavily wounded.
The worker ant barely misses you.
The worker ant is moderately wounded.
You block the worker ant's attack.
You slash the worker ant!
The worker ant is severely wounded.
You hit the worker ant. You feel better.
You kill the worker ant!
0 | D:1      | Anonymous1, the Hill Orc Fighter, began the quest for the Orb.
1165 | D:2      | Found a shadowy altar of Dithmenos.
1329 | D:2      | Found a basalt altar of Yredelemnul.
2495 | D:3      | Found a glowing drain.
3047 | D:4      | Found Grahong's Jewellery Emporium.
4397 | D:5      | Found Cruid's Antique Weapon Emporium.
5623 | D:6      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.


Providing specialist advice and information on child, family and education law to parents, carers and young people. This includes information on bullying and online safety.
MOSAC is a voluntary organisation supporting all non-abusing parents and carers whose children have been sexually abused. We provide various types of support services and information for parents, carers and professionals dealing with child sexual abuse.


I recently had a positive experience in the community of Sooke that I would like to share.
My mother, May Hollingworth who is 99 years-of-age and lives at Ayre Manor, recently needed to take a trip to the dentist.
Being 80-years-of -age myself, I find it difficult to get her from the wheelchair in to my vehicle. The wonderful staff at Ayre Manor, much to my surprise, informed me there was a wheelchair taxi in Sooke. I called Sooke taxi and they dispatched a driver and taxi that has wheelchair capabilities. The taxi driver, Shayna Cool, was wonderful, got my mother in and out of the taxi without her having to get out of her wheelchair. Not only that, my wife and I went along with her.
This is a wonderful service to have in a community and I wanted to let others know that this is available as it was a great help to me and good for businesses in Sooke as well.
I guess we will be able to take her out for a little treat once in a while.


It's a classic scenario: You give your kid his allowance with the caveat that he won't be getting more until the following week. The next day, he blows it all during a trip to the mall. Then when he begs and pleads for more money... you give in.
If you're considering loaning money to friends or family, make sure you fully understand your expectations throughout the entire process, and make a plan together for how the money is to be used -- before you give.
I turned to the pros who mastered the fine art of juggling it all, only to find that "work-life balance" may require rethinking. Read on to learn six top ways women CEOs are changing the definition of work-life balance.
It was after several months of blowing between $800 and $1,200 on food alone that I realized it was time for a change.
On Tuesday I joined Mayor Bloomberg and the New York Tech Meetup to unveil We Are Made in NY, a program that celebrates over 900 locally based startups, and helps people find a job, learn to code, or launch a new tech company -- all with the full support of New York City government.
Whether you're hitting happy hour with your boss or bawling your eyes out in the stairwell, time at the office isn't always the marathon of productivity and engaging meetings we might expect.
I'm worried that by the time my son turns seven, his dad and I will both have to take on additional jobs just to handle the expenses. And new research shows it's not just us -- it's the new reality of having kids.


text:
I retired in 2011 from a long career as a university faculty member, researcher, and administrator. Additionally, I was employed a number of years in the broadcast industry, the aerospace and electronics industry, and operated a successful small business with a partner. Prior employers include WBNS-TV, Rockwell International, RCA Corporation, DeVry University, the University of Kansas (KU) Center for Research, the University of Missouri–Rolla (UMR–now known as Missouri University of Science and Technology), and International Business Communications (IBC).
My work at WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio involved a wide range of technical activities supporting live and recorded TV productions. WBNS-TV maintained an amateur radio "shack" in a small building adjacent to the studio at the base of their TV transmitting tower for the exclusive use of its licensed employees and I was able to utilize some of this equipment to become familiar with amateur television which was quite popular in the Central Ohio area at the time.
I participated in the analysis, design, and testing of missile flight control systems (autopilots) for Rockwell International in Columbus, Ohio. This work required me to become familiar with many aerospace engineering concepts (such as aerodynamic transfer functions) which expanded my knowledge in this branch of engineering and allowed me to integrate those concepts with my knowledge of electrical engineering.
I participated in the analysis and design of communications and radar systems for RCA Corporation in New Jersey.
I spent over 25 years in teaching and administration at the Electronics, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering Technology level at DeVry University. I was a Professor and later Dean of Electronics Engineering Technology (at that time the largest EET program in the country) at the Columbus campus, Dean of Faculty at the Kansas City Campus, National Associate Dean for Engineering and Engineering Technology, Vice President of Accreditation, and later Vice President of Academic Affairs for this multi-campus system based in the Chicago area. During my tenure with DeVry I was very active with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), serving as a program evaluator and as a team chair/member of the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC) of ABET. Individuals are appointed to ABET positions by their engineering professional societies and in my case, I was appointed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). I was also an active member of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and presented papers, participated in panel discussions, and chaired sessions at several of their annual conferences and at their Engineering Technology Leadership Institute (ETLI) conferences. Additionally, I also served as a consultant/evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the regional accreditating agency for colleges and universities in the midwest and some western states.
As a Senior Research Engineer and Project Engineer at the University of Kansas Center for Research, I was responsible for conducting microwave remote sensing system design and research for sponsors such as NASA, the U.S. Army, Sandia Laboratories, Texas Instruments, and other organizations. I also assisted in teaching a graduate level lecture/laboratory course at KU related to my work in microwave sensor design and antennas.
As an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at UMR I was involved in teaching microprocessor and digital system design, antenna design, and microwave circuit design. I worked with a number of graduate students as their M.S.E.E. thesis advisor and advisory committee chair. Additionally, I taught evening graduate-level courses in the St. Louis area and served as the M.S.E.E. thesis advisor and advisory committee chair for several of these off-campus students. I applied for and was selected as a Doctoral Faculty Member for the University of Missouri system (Kansas City, Columbia, St. Louis, and Rolla). This appointment was based upon my prior education, research, and publications and it qualified me to chair and/or serve on the advisory committee of Ph.D. candidates at any of the four campuses. With this status, I did have the opportunity to serve on the Ph.D. advisory committee of several UMR students. I established the UMR Microwave Applications Laboratory and conducted applied research in microwaves and antennas in conjunction with my graduate students. I received hardware and software support from industrial firms such as Texas Instruments and EEsof in addition to support from the university. In 1990 at UMR, I was selected to receive the Amoco teaching award as an outstanding faculty member at the university during that academic year. An amateur radio connection at UMR was service as trustee for the student club station, W0EEE, and providing assistance to interested students in their pusuit of the hobby.
At IBC, I managed the IT systems and the business side of the partnership which specialized in the production of college level textbooks and educational software.
KØKC Web Site


Every now and then, the algorithms used by Amazon and Barnes and Noble and Overdrive and such actually work. I find a recommendation for a book that I might enjoy pop up on the side of the page or on a bar along the bottom or in my email, and I'll click on the link and lo and behold! This looks interesting!
I confess: I am a book addict. Some people buy shoes, or clothes, or watches. I buy books. They are my go-to for comfort and inspiration. Digital, mass market, paperback, hardcover; picture book, reference book, fiction, nonfiction, poetry -- doesn't matter. I devour books, absorbing stories and information and artwork.


More than 360 bachelor's, master's and PhD recipients are expected to attend Midyear Commencement Saturday (Dec 16). Ceremonies will take place at 10:30 a.m. in the Wood Gym of the Student Development Complex.
James Parm, partner at Inc. CEO Project, will deliver the commencement address for Michigan Tech's Midyear. Parm graduated from Michigan Tech in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and was inducted into the ECE Academy in 2012.
In his current position, Parm provides business strategy to corporate CEOs. He has a long and distinguished career leading international technology companies including Stratos, Inmarsat PLC and Shell Offshore Services Company.
Parm and his wife Jean, a 1982 Tech graduate, have established the Jim and Jean Parm Endowed Scholarship. The Parms live in Casey Key, Florida. At the commencement ceremony, Parm will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy.


text:
Realizing The Dream: How the Minimum Wage Impacts Racial Equity in the Restaurant Industry and In America
Lifting Wages, Racial & Gender Equity, Working Conditions
2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. One of the demands of that march was for a minimum wage high enough to secure a healthy and vibrant nation of workers who could provide for their families and participate in the nation's prosperity. Despite this historic effort, income inequality retards many of the gains of the civil rights movement.
The federal minimum wage for all workers has stagnated at $7.25 per hour, and the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers has remained frozen at $2.13 per hour for over two decades. As a result, millions of Americans find themselves struggling in poverty even while working a full-time job. Though many work 40 hours or more each week, their wages are low enough that they must rely on food stamps and other public benefits to sustain themselves and their families. The minimum wage, at its current level, economically excludes and marginalizes millions of people who could instead be generators of growth throughout the economy. This burden falls disproportionately on people of color, since they represent 42% of minimum wage earners yet only make up 32% of the total workforce.
The restaurant industry is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors of the United States economy, employing over 10 million workers. The industry is the largest employer of people of color, and the second largest employer of immigrants. Unfortunately, the restaurant industry is the largest low-wage employer, accounting for 39% of all workers earning at or below the minimum wage. Workers of color and immigrants are disproportionately concentrated in the industry's lowest paying positions. Forty percent of all tipped workers are people of color, and over 23% of all tipped workers are immigrants, a disproportionate number compared to the 16% of immigrants in the total workforce. Overall, 58% of workers with incomes below the poverty line, and over 50% of tipped workers and restaurant workers with incomes below the poverty line are people of color.
Nearly six million workers would be lifted out of poverty if the minimum wage were raised to $10.10 as has been proposed in Congress, of which 60%, or over three and a half million would be people of color. Over 500,000 of these would be restaurant workers, and nearly 300,000 of these would be workers of color. Nearly 50% of tipped workers lifted out of poverty would be workers of color. Examining all tipped workers and their families, over 400,000 individuals of color would be lifted out of poverty, and 150,000 of these would be children. Among restaurant workers and their families, over 700,000 people of color would be lifted out of poverty, and over 250,000 would be children.
On all counts, an increase to the minimum and tipped minimum wage is a sensible solution. It would raise millions out of poverty, including hundreds of thousands of children and their families; it would especially help African Americans and Latinos (populations that played a pivotal role in the 2012 elections), and lift up communities that have been marginalized and denied the opportunity to escape poverty. Similarly, any effort to block certain groups, such as tipped workers, from receiving the benefits of an increase to the tipped minimum wage would mean hundreds of thousands of children and their families would continue to suffer a dream denied.
Download the full report here.
This report was released on June 19th, 2013 by ROC United along with the Applied Research Center (ARC), Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), Center for New Community (CNC), Color of Change, The Greenlining Institute, Jobs With Justice (JWJ), National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Praxis Project, and the United Workers Congress released a report studying the impacts of the full and tipped minimum wage on communities of color.
Blacks in the Industry [Brief]
The potential for the growing restaurant industry to revive a lifeless job market is limited by both bad jobs and racial segregation. The industry's many poverty-wage jobs are disproportionately held by people of color and the livable-wage jobs, mostly server and bartender positions in fine dining restaurants, are disproportionately held by Whites.
The Case for Eliminating the Tipped Minimum Wage in Washington, D.C.
In collaboration with the National Employment Law Project (NELP), ROC United released "The Case for Eliminating…
Tipped Over: Employer Liability in a Two-Tiered Wage State
"Tipped Over: Employer Liability in a Two-Tiered Wage State," examines how rules necessary to regulate…
Dime A Day: The Impact of Miller/Harkin Minimum Wage Proposal on the Price of Food
The Third Shift: Child Care Needs and Access for Working Mothers in Restaurants


Hobby gardeners place particular importance on the condition of their lawns. It should always look perfect – a lush green colour, as dense as a carpet and accurately cut. Using the new GARDENA PowerMax™ lawnmowers – powered by mains electricity or battery – this dream can be achieved.
In particular in the summer months, the lawn has to be mown weekly; only this will ensure the required success. For the perfect mowing results, GARDENA has revised its Electric Lawnmowers, and will be launching four new models this coming gardening season.
The GARDENA Electric Lawnmower PowerMax™ 1200/32 has an impressive 1,200 Watt motor under its housing, which provides extremely high power. This manoeuvrable and lightweight mower with its cutting width of 32 centimetres is suitable for smaller gardens with lawn areas up to approximately 300 m2. The new PowerMax™ generation has plenty to offer here, in particular in terms of convenience. The cutting height can be easily adjusted centrally thanks to QuickFit. The specially-hardened blade provides optimum cutting results. The lawn is also perfectly mown along walls or kerbs. This is ensured through extra lawn combs at the sides of the housing. The new ErgoTec handle makes the mowing process particularly convenient, as the ergonomic handle shape supports the natural hand posture and thus makes pushing the lawnmower particularly easy. Thanks to the CnC System (Cut and Collect System), all models produce convincing results. An improved air circulation and the optimum posi-tion of the grass catcher permit clean and efficient cutting and collection.
f users prefer cable-free lawn mowing and full flexibility, then the GARDENA Accu Rechargeable Lawnmower PowerMax™ Li-40/32 or PowerMax™ Li-40/41 is the right choice. The PowerMax™ Li-40/32 has the same product features as the PowerMax™ 1200/32, but is operated using the new 40 Volt lithium-ion bat-tery. The other model, the GARDENA PowerMax™ Li-40/41, is suitable for larg-er lawn areas of up to 450 square metres. It has a coated steel deck and a particularly powerful and efficient PowerPlus motor. An intuitive key panel at the handle bar with integrated charging level indication ensures highest operat-ing comfort. The new GARDENA System Batteries the mowers operate on can be recharged at any time and are ready for use after just 1.5 hours (depending on the model). GARDENA System Batteries are available in two versions for different runtime requirements: 40 V/2.6 Ah* and 40V/4.2 Ah*.
In addition, the replacement battery is also available as an accessory in the smart version – either individually or in a set with Gateway. Here the smart App provides exact information on the charging level of the GARDENA smart Bat-tery. In addition, information is available on the expected battery cycle for each application. The app warns of excess heat or cold, e.g. when the battery is stored in excessively low temperatures, and ensures an extended battery life. The battery itself has three LEDs from which the charging level can be read. The smart Battery is available in a 40 V/2.6 Ah* und 40 V/4.2 Ah* version.
Den batteridrevne version giver fuld fleksibilitet til plæneplejen.