Staying within a certain budget is the lot of most brides. So finding discount designer wedding dresses may be essential. The average wedding costs about $25,000, but not everyone can spend nearly that much. A nice wedding can be assembled for much less and can even be put together on a shoestring if necessary. After all, you are not getting married just to have a big party! You are getting married, because you are in love. So if you find that you do need to cut some corners, do not despair. There are lots of ways to save some money and still look stunning.
Many wedding planners recommend spending about 6% of your wedding budget on your bridal gown. For the average wedding costs listed above, that would be about $1500. But there are many beautiful dresses for much less. You can find wedding gowns as low as $200 on sale or at discount bridal shops and outlets. Silk gowns generally start at about $2000 and designer gowns can cost $3000 – $7000 or more.
You may need to clean the gown if it has been worn before, so keep that in mind if you decide to buy a used gown. And remember, if the gown is polyester, you may be able to hand clean it yourself and save even more.
Consider the resources of a bridal shop, They are familiar with various wedding dress designers, fabrics, and have alterations resources readily available. Let them know immediately if you are on a budget so that they can recommend dresses that will work for you in your budget range.They may also be aware of sale dresses that will fit your pocketbook precisely.
Maggie Sottero is one very popular designer who specializes in polyester fabrics. Her gowns are well made, with lovely details and range from $500 – $1500 dollars. She also has a less formal line that is under $500. You can also find some websites that sell Maggie Sottero replicas.
Call around before you shop, as different bridal shops vary in the price range of dresses that they sell.
If you have fallen in love with a gown that is out of your price range, consider having a replica custom made. It is possible that an excellent seamstress could reproduce your favorite gown for a lot less than the designer. Be careful when selecting fabrics though.
Many bridal gowns are made of satin. But, be aware that satin is a type of weave, not actually a fabric. There are polyester satins, silk satins and even acetate satins. Stay away from acetate satin. It has a lovely sheen, but wrinkles terribly and loses most of it's body when cleaned. Do not be penny wise and pound foolish. Invest in excellent bridal polyester or silk fabric if having your gown made for you. And be sure your seamstress is well qualified.
Most men rent their tuxedos, so why not consider renting your wedding dress? If you are not determined to save your gown for your posterity, then you can consider renting a wedding gown. However, you may find it difficult to find a shop that rents wedding dresses. Check with your local bridal shop or look online to find a Bridal Shop rental service nearby.
If you are unsuccessful finding a gown to rent, consider selling your wedding gown online after your wedding to help offset the costs of the gown now. If this is your plan, use care in your wedding activities to ensure the gown remains in good condition. And look online to determine how much you may be able to get for your gown. Use that number to help you determine how much you can afford to spend.
You may find just what you are looking for in a price you can afford. Or you may decide to rearrange your wedding budget to give your gown higher priority so that you can buy the designer gown you love. After all, it is your big day.
Whatever dress you decide to buy, be sure to include wedding dress cleaning and preservation in your after wedding care. Your dress will be one of the few mementoes of your wedding day that you can keep forever.
Would you like to use this article in your ezine or web site? You can as long as you include the copyright notice above a link to our website.


JULY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH! Enjoy a delicious ice cream treat every Friday afternoon in July!
July 2nd – Join us for a patriotic Art Workshop program and create a "Firework Painting" at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR.
July 3rd & 31st – Zumba Class w/ Filomena at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR.
July 4th – Celebrate Independence Day w/ live music by Sean Mullady! A special treat will be served.
July 5th – Join us for a special visit with Buckley Day Camp at 10:15am I nthe 3rd FL DR!
July 5th – BBQ Season has Begun! Join us for a special BBQ Luncheon! Residents may bring 1 guest to this event. See Vinny to sign up. Reservations required. BBQ's will be held every Wednesday in July & August at 12pm in our Outdoor Patio (weather permitting).
July 6th – Travel back in time w/ Jukebox songs by Francesca! Root beer Floats will be served!
July 12th – Join us for Wii Jeopardy at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR!
July 12th – RESIDENT ART EXHIBIT at 7pm in the 3rd FL DR!
July 13th – Support our Glee Club/Bell Choir at their special Patriotic Performance at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR. Bananna splits will be served!
July 18th – Christian Worship Services w/ Pastor Bob at 2:30pm in the 2nd FL DR.
July 20th – Tender Touch Massages w/ Wendy 1-4pm in the Recreation Room.
July 29th – Join us for an afternoon of music from one of American Idol's top 80 contestants, Dan Berk at 2:30 in the 3rd FL DR!
July 30th – Art Workshop: Splatter Paint inspired by Jackson Pollock at 2:30pm in our Outdoor Patio (weather permitting).
Visit our Vendors for some summer shopping!
Join us Wednesday afternoons in August for a BBQ Luncheon!
Residents may bring 1 guest.
Seating is limited. Please see Vinny in Recreation to sign up!
Join us for two special Fundraising Events in August!
Sunharbor Manor is participating in the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Fundraiser.
If you are interested in joining TEAM SUNHARBOR for the Stephen Siller 5K Run/Walk in NYC on September 30th, please contact Jennifer Patten, Director of Therapeutic Recreation at (516) 621-5400 X:4242. See you at the event!
August 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st – Shabbat Services are held every Friday morning at 10:30am in the 3rd FL DR.
August 5th – Stephen Siller Ice Cream Fundraising Event at 2:30PM in the 3rd FL DR! Join us at a Meet & Greet w/ veteran Chris Levi and members of Warriors for a Cause! Enjoy some delicious ice cream and try your chance at winning some gift baskets! Friends & Family welcome!
August 6th & 27th – Hooks & Needles Crochet Club will meet at 10:15am in the Recreation Room.
August 6th – Join us for an afternoon of Music w/ Joyce Simantov at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR!
August 7th & 28th – Have fun at our Zumba Class hosted by fitness instructor Filomena at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR!
August 8th – Join Vinny and travel around the world on a quest for the Most Expensive Foods in the World, a special PowerPoint Presentation at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR!
August 9th – Devorah will provide a special religious education program about A Taste of Shabbat at 10:15am in the 3rd FL DR.
August 12th – Enjoy a Sunday afternoon of Music w/ Debra Toscano at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR!
August 13th – Our new Ladies Leisure group will meet for some Iced Tea and create Feathered Fans at 10:15am in our beautiful Outdoor Patio.
August 13th – Join Lauren in a fun, interactive Science Experiment program at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR!
August 14th & 28th – Catholic Mass will be held by Fr. McCartney of St. Mary's at 10:15am in the 3rd FL DR.
August 15th – Join us for Afternoon Piano w/ Joe Pace at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR.
August 16th – In honor of Elvis Presley's anniversary, join us for a Tribute to his life in a special PowerPoint presentation w/ Jenny at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR.
August 20th – Join Francesca down memory lane in a special live performance of famous Show tunes of way back when, at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR!
August 24th – Tender Touch Massages provided by lisenced massage therapist Wendy will be available from 1-4pm in the Recreation Room. $15/pp.
August 27th – Celebrate your August birthday at our monthly Birthday Celebration w/ Music by Jaques LasBas at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR! Ice cream will be served.
August 29th – Francesca will share her trip to Italy with us in a special PowerPoint Presentation: Let's go to Italy at 2:30pm in the 3rd FL DR!
August 30th – Community Trip: Your Mother's House – New Hyde Park at 11:30am.
August 31st – Stephen Siller Outdoor Fundraising Event w/ Music by Rob Carroll, Balloons by Brittany, special guests Warriors for a Cause and Italian Ices at 2:30pm in our outdoor Patio! Gift baskets will be raffled off at this event! Friends and Family welcome!
Art Workshop: Warriors for a Cause "Stars of Hope"!


I have been taking a little blogging break this week to enjoy the time off with my family. My parents and younger brother have been visiting us this past week from Arizona so I have taken some time off of blogging to be with them.
But, I don't want to let the year go by without highlighting some of my favorite projects from 2011. It's been a busy year for our family with a new home, a new puppy and a new community. Holy Craft has grown by leaps and bounds this year and I look forward to what 2012 has in store. If you missed some of my past projects, here they are in a nice tidy month by month package.
The year started off with lots of unpacking and settling in. I did manage to get my new silhouette machine humming and made these house numbers for my front door.
The month was a bit slow for me as I tried to make our house feel like a home and get into the routine of a having a new puppy.
I shared with you my skills on a lathe though and featured this ring that I made my husband out of a hunk of stainless steel.
I started March with a four part series I called "or current resident". I was getting magazine, after magazine, after magazine for the old resident and took advantage of the inspiration that I found from them. This shirt is one of the things that I made.
and a tutorial on how to make a fruit platter.
In July, I completed a master bedroom makeover. I spray painted all of our existing bedroom furniture and gave our bedroom a face lift. Check out the before.
My husband also made me a new mirror for our bedroom.
I took a little bit of a blog break to complete my second and third half marathons (then quit running and told you about it here) and to enjoy the last month of our kids summer at home.
I did manage to complete the "or current resident" series and shared this ruffle shirt with you.
In September I shared with you the "She's about to Pop" baby shower that I co-hosted. The shower provided several posts through September. You can read more about the sweets and treats here, and the popcorn containers here.
While September started baby season, October only continued it. I made two different versions of the 12 month onesies. You can find them here and here. I must say, it's been fun to see the babies wearing these onesies as they grow each month.
I also repurposed cashmere sweaters into soft and cuddly baby blankets.
And I tackled my sons room and made him this gear wall art.
and a few versions of book page wreaths.
Did you have any favorites that I missed?
I had such a wonderful time sharing these projects with you throughout 2011 and can't wait to share many more in 2012.
Great list. I love the subway art.
You've had a great year! I pinned the gear wall art. Love it!
You have so many great ideas..thanks for sharing!
Rachel, I'm so glad to know about your blog now!!! I'm excited to be your newest follower! I totally have so much or exploring ahead of me here at Holy-Craft!!! For sure, 2011 was inspiring...happy to be following through 2012!!!
what a busy year! i love the 'shes about to pop' party! thanks for sharing!


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Q: Design Manager has several problems Environment: 2013 Enterprise, Server 2012, SQL 2012, single WFE with single SQL server
2013's Design Manager seems like a good idea, but it's causing me several headaches and I'm not sure where to start troubleshooting them. To begin with, I have complete and total access to everything, and my accounts have every permission available and are site collections admins, etc.
I'm trying to use Dreamweaver CS6 to create different prototype master pages for a single site. I've uploaded the templates into the master page catalog and converted them successfully and can preview them. As advised, I mapped a network location to the catalog. However when I try to open any of the index.html files that have been converted, Dreamweaver simply says "Encountered some invalid arguments" and refuses to open them. To combat this, I have had to edit the files locally and then copy them over top of the ones in the catalog. This worked for a bit, but now I can't even do that because the Design Manager "can't find converted html files". I've gone back to the conversion step and re-submitted the index.html files, but then I get a message saying it can't overwrite them because the templates are in use. I even bounced the server and it still says this. My next thought was to delete the existing file and upload the new copy in its place, which I can do through Windows Explorer, but after allegedly deleting the file, it doesn't go away. At that point I can drop the new file on top of it and it asks if I want to overwrite, I click yes, then it says it can't find the file (probably because I deleted it). When trying to delete it through the menu in SharePoint, it gives a similar "does not exist" message, but won't remove it from the list. To make matters worse, any time my workstation's connection to the server is reset (for example after rebooting the workstation or server), the network location becomes unavailable and I have to re-map it.
I get the feeling that if I can get step 1 to work (being able to edit the file from the network location in Dreamweaver) the rest of the issues will vanish. What's frustrating is that sometimes I can open it, and sometimes I can't because it gives the invalid arguments message. But even when I can open it, it refuses to save saying that the network location is inaccessible.
I'm fairly certain there are no NTFS or network permission issues, because my accounts are domain admins, local admins, farm admins, site admins, database owners, and every other type of admin you can think of. This is all on VMs on my workstation, so I have 110% control. Microsoft and Adobe's help resources have nothing relevant that I've been able to find. There are so many issues with this whole thing that I'm probably just missing one detail at the root of the problem, but it's tough to tell what.

A: I've found an article here that gives a decent explanation of how to make the Dreamweaver connection work, which does in turn solve the major issues. There are a couple parts of it that I don't think are really necessary, but the gist of it is there. Here are my observations:
1) Building up from a minimal master is not ideal for those who aren't comfortable designing websites to begin with, or those who already have a site design they want to use.
2) Syncing the .master file is not needed. SharePoint automatically updates it based on your page design when you push the files back to the server.
The bad news is that if you're looking for the level of customization that 2010 offered (like simply being able to completely control the color scheme) without building a site from scratch, you're SOL. Time to dust off the old web design skills...
Cheers!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Read Next:	Apple Services Grow 17% in Year-End 2019 Quarter, iPhone Sales Rise to Power Record Revenue and Earnings
May 15, 2013 10:00PM PT
Charles Gillibert Launches CG Cinema (EXCLUSIVE)
Franco producer has eye on upscale market worldwide
By Elsa Keslassy
Elsa Keslassy
International Correspondent @elsakeslassy	FOLLOW
Elsa's Most Recent Stories
Scandinavia's NENT Group Pulls Plug on Non-Scripted, Sets Sights on Drama and Film
Roman Polanski's 'An Officer and a Spy' Leads Cesar Awards Nominations
Distrib Films Acquires U.S. Rights to Studiocanal's 'The Perfect Nanny,' 'Someone Somewhere' (EXCLUSIVE)
Producer Charles Gillibert ("On the Road") is launching his new production vehicle, CG Cinema, with a strong slate of European auteur-driven pics, including Olivier Assayas' English-language debut "Sils Maria," starring Juliette Binoche and Chloe Moretz, and Atiq Rahimi's "Pour un seul Cortege."
Michael Gentile at Paris-based The Film is co-producing "Cortege" with Gillibert.
Gillibert, who spent 10 years at Nathanael Karmitz's MK2, producing pics from helmer such as Gus Van Sant, Assayas and Abbas Kiarostami, said he aimed at continuing to work with international auteurs on ambitious projects that can travel worldwide.
MK2 announced earlier this year it was pulling out of production and distribution to focus on international sales and exhibition.
"Cortege," co-written by Rahimi and Jean-Claude Carriere, is based on a novel by Laurent Gaude, which turns on the last days of Alexander the Great. Paris-based the Film is co-producing.
Also on Gillibert's development slate is Assayas' follow-up to "Sils Maria," a yet-to-be-titled U.S.-set genre movie helmed by Assayas and co-produced by Orange Studio, the film arm of the French telco company. Details are being kept under wrap.
"After he directed "Carlos," Assayas received many offers to make an action film in Hollywood but he's always wanted be initiate his own projects and maintain full creative control," said Gillibert.
"France is a wonderful country to start developing international projects because we have co-production treaties with so many countries, a well-oiled financing system, high-performing sales companies and the biggest film festival, Cannes," Gillibert told Variety. "The key is to have a dynamic approach to financing, combining coin from traditional outlets — such as TV — with other sources like private equity investors, crowd-funding and foreign distributors."
Gillibert is also developing "Lost in Paris," helmed by Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon.
CG Cinema
Charles Gillibert
Donald Ciaramella
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Jean Bureau
Paris Cinema
Sils Maria
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Merging New York Media with Vox Media wasn't a deal Pam Wasserstein felt she had to make. But she's glad she did. Now that the New York Media CEO-turned-Vox president is a few months into driving strategy for the combined businesses, Wasserstein is happy to report that her hunch that Vox and New York would [...]
UPDATED: The Hong Kong stock market tumbled by nearly 3% as it reopened on Wednesday. This was the first opportunity for local equities to be traded since the Chinese New Year holidays and the escalation of the coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan, central China. There were steep falls for some of the companies most [...]
Apple Services Grow 17% in Year-End 2019 Quarter, iPhone Sales Rise to Power Record Revenue and Earnings
Apple turned in stellar results for the 2019 holiday quarter — its biggest ever in terms of revenue and earnings — including strong growth in its services business and a return to growth in iPhone revenue, which climbed 8%. Revenue hit an all-time quarterly high of $91.82 billion, up 9% versus the year-ago period, for [...]
Ben Smith Stepping Down as BuzzFeed News Editor-in-Chief to Join New York Times
BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith is leaving the company to join The New York Times as its media columnist, stepping into the role once held by the late David Carr. Smith announced the news today to staff at BuzzFeed minutes before it broke publicly via NBC's Dylan Byers. His last day will be in March, [...]
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Ilker Ayci appointed as CEO of Air India by the Tata Group
Yesterday, the Tata Group announced they would be hiring former Turkish Airlines chairman Ilker Ayci as the new CEO and MD of Air India. This news comes a month after the Tata group formally acquired Air India from the Indian government.
Who is Ilker Ayci?
Ilker Ayci has been the head of Turkish Airlines since 2015, resigning from the role on 26 January 2022, a day before Air India was handed over to the Tatas. Acyi was born in Istanbul in 1971 and later attended the University of Bilkent in Ankara, where he studied in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. Since then, Ayci has held multiple positions in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and was an advisor to then-mayor, now president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Acyi has also served as CEO of several insurance companies and was the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies chairman from 2014 to 2015.
After almost 70 years, the Tatas have bought back from the government the airline they founded | © businesstraveller.com
Regarding his latest appointment as CEO, he said:
"I am delighted and honored to accept the privilege of leading an iconic airline and to join the Tata group. Working closely with my colleagues at Air India and the leadership of the Tata group, we will utilize the strong heritage of Air India to make it one of the best airlines in the world with a uniquely superior flying experience that reflects Indian warmth and hospitality."
What does the future hold for the flag carrier?
As well as appointing Mr Ayci as new CEO, the Tata Group have been making other changes to ensure a brighter future for Air India. Last month, a 40-member committee was formed to improve the airline's customer service, passenger experience and aircraft conditions. One can hope to see significant changes in the airline on the horizon with all the changes taking place. The Chairman of Tata Sons, N Chandrasekaran, said he believes Ilker Ayci will lead Air India "into a new era".
What are your thoughts on the new CEO of Air India? What changes are you hoping to see in the airline? Let us know in the comments below!
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- sad, irritable, angry, frustrated? All but sad (OK, sometimes a little sad).
- feeling like you are a terrible mother? Sometimes it seems the only possible conclusion.
- guilt, not feeling worthy? All the time.
- trouble sleeping, always exhausted? I've been awake more times at night than the baby is; so yeah, that would be a yes.
- thinking there is no light at the end of the tunnel? Oh, I know it's there, it's just so tiny and far away and I clearly didn't wear the right shoes.
- an extreme change in weight, or loss of appetite? I'm not actually feeding myself so well these days. I know I am hungry, but it's just too much bother to make something.
- you can't concentrate or remember things? I'm sorry, what did you just say?
- constantly worrying about things? Yep.
- you burst out crying for no apparent reason? No, but only because I am clinging onto that thread for dear life. My throat is almost raw from the pressure of holding it back.
- do not want to talk or be with friends and family? A dark, quiet room with a stack of books sounds so inviting… especially if there is a nice blankie.
- blaming your baby for your feelings? No.
- wanting to hurt yourself or your baby? Absolutely not.
Hmmm… that's an awful lot of affirmatives. So, I emailed my fabulous midwife and will go be a good girl and talk to her. I don't know what she (or anyone, really) can do for me, but I am obeying my message board friends, Daphne (thanks for the chat tonight, girl, I totally needed it) and everyone else and I am opening my mouth. And you know what? Everything I write, every call I get, every time I think, "this may all be explainable" I feel like the stone on my back gets chipped a little lighter. I've been through this once before and I did it alone and silent last times. How much better will it be to do it within the company and support of friends? And while I am struggling with the feeling of utter and complete embarrassment that there could be something "wrong" with me, I'd rather have it be something that millions of women deal with and overcome rather than something millions of schizophrenics are medicated for everyday. Besides, a thing looses so much power over you when you put a name to it.
And really, if I know I am in the company of mothers, I know I cannot fall to far; not without strong and caring hands to pull me back.
Older PostI really love my blogging chicas!


How do I find the perfect apartments near FSU?
Sometimes it takes a while to find the best apartment to call "home." After a long day's work or school, coming home should feel like you're crashing into your sacred space. With the stress and busy schedules that overwhelm us every day, being home should give you the best and greatest feeling ever. With RentTally's apartment reviews, search tools and FAQs, we can help you find the best apartments near FSU that fit all your lifestyle needs.
The best apartments near FSU are all up to you! Enjoy living in a cozy studio for one or a four-bedroom floor plan perfect for you and your roommates. Find apartments that are comfortable and choose from a variety of different layouts. Are you looking for a townhouse style apartment? Tallahassee has many to choose from that are great for any lifestyle. Spacious traditional style apartments are available too. Find the best apartments near FSU that are affordable and have great features like granite countertops, washer and dryers in the unit, and full bathtubs or showers. Discover the best apartments with open living rooms, vaulted ceilings, crown molding, energy-efficient features and even ceiling fans.
Finding the best apartments near FSU doesn't mean you'll have to pay crazy out of pocket fees for all their great amenities. Luckily, being near FSU there's no doing without. You're able to enjoy the best apartments near FSU that are near major retail and dining. RentTally can help you on your search for the best apartments near FSU with awesome community features. Love to swim? Don't want to pay an extra monthly fee for a gym? We can help you find the best apartments near FSU with sweet pools and great fitness centers. If you need that extra peace and quiet to study, some of the best apartments near FSU offer study rooms and computer labs for its residents.
The best apartments near FSU is up to you and your needs and whether they fit them. Uncover and really experience living in the best apartments near FSU without having all the trouble and stress of being overwhelmed by so many apartments in the area. We want to be apart of your journey to help you find the best apartments near FSU and we have great tools to help you narrow down your search. Let RentTally find you your best new place to call home yet!


There are many a reason few Westerners are here. Keep that in mind.
It's the hidden garden of Eden of Asia.
Safe, clean, good services, relatively cheap for the quality of living you can get here.
Friendly people and attractive girls.
You walk out of the house, sun is shining with this cool tower in the skyline, you get your coffee, and some 7 eleven snack you go do some work.
As Pieter said, you get to hang out with cool taiwanese ppl, many studied and worked in USA, and in general open to foreigners. Always felt treated well.
For some reason, Taiwanese people don't think as highly of their country, but having seen the rest of the world, believe this is Heaven.
I lived in 🇹🇼 Taiwan for 3 months. Here's my TL;DR on Taipei: great food, friendly people, mellow vibes, great for working, great infrastructure and slightly boring but in a good way.
First thing (and I recommend everyone does this wherever they arrive ALWAYS), get a 4G SIM card. It's only 1000 TWD (or $33) for UNLIMITED 4G! And it's VERY fast. The only other country I know that has this for foreigners is South Korea.
Da'an is my favorite area. It's the center of Taipei for fashion, shopping, hipsters, mixed Taiwanese and foreigners a like. Da'an itself is pretty giant and it has lots of sub-neighborhoods with third wave coffee shops, boutique vintage fashion and lots of excellent (and cheap) Taiwanese and (not so cheap) Western food.
For Taiwanese, Da'an is supposedly expensive af. But internationally it really isn't. I had a good deal but I paid $23/night for a clean studio with bathroom right smack in the center. The more normal price would be $40/night. That's $1,200/month for an Airbnb. That means the rent is generally half here, so $600/month. As I said, that's pretty cheap to live in a really cool area. I was told houses here cost upwards of a million dollars. Okay.
Now, if you're not Taiwanese. You might already have been in contact with Taiwan in your daily life. Your iPhone is made in China, but by a company from here called Foxconn. You used to have a laptop that always broke and it was probably by a company from here called ASUS. You might not have an ASUS laptop but there's a 30% chance your laptop is still made by a Taiwanese company called Quanta, who actually makes the laptops sold by Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba. Their microchips are great and they're probably in almost every electronic device you have made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC). This is most of their entire economy. It's high tech AF. And it's for a reason. They're smart AF too. They're the highest educated people in the world.
The fact that they're high-tech means that their internet is super fast and solid everywhere. Their 4G is also on-par with the best in the world, which is Korea. Generally, technology is approached just very proper in Taiwan. Government somehow gets it and most interfaces you'll use in Taiwan will work very very well.
So what's the vibe here? Culturally? Well, it's pretty unique. You can see the strong Japanese influence in their aesthetics. It's still here. Girls wear giant lenses to make their eyes look bigger (that's a predominantly Japanese thing) and their make up looks strongly Japanese, not at all Chinese. "Oh Pieter, why do you talk about how people look?". Well, because it's a pretty good indicator of their cultural influences.
Then there's that definite Western vibe. As in, people talk, move and behave very Western (unlike the rest of Asia). Now, there's not many foreigners here at all. So I can only presume that comes from the Taiwanese diaspora (that means people living outside the country), which is massive and predominantly in America. That means you get lots of American-born Taiwanese and Taiwanese studying and working in America. You know a few of them probably, like YouTube's co-founder Steve Chen and Yahoo's co-founder Jerry Yang.
Another thing is, it's a dense city but somehow it's not busy on the streets. There's so much space. I've never seen any crowds in the street in Taipei. That has a very calming effect.
Actually, yes, that's the keyword. Taipei is calm. It doesn't stress me out like Tokyo or Bangkok or (sometimes) Bali does. It's not loud here. It's not busy. People are mellow. I'd go as far to again call Taipei boring, but unlike when I was here 3 years ago, now I like that it's boring. It's boring in a good way.
There's one big thing that makes it hard to live in Taipei. The air is one of the most unhealthy in Asia.
And it's not so much their fault, but China's. When the wind blows east, China's pollution goes straight to Taiwan. But it doesn't pass over. Taiwan is pretty much an island that is half one big mountain that crosses it. And that mountain is so high it blocks the air pollution, so it gets stuck. I don't really know what you can do about this except blowing up that mountain. But that's probably unfavorable.
Here's my TL;DR on Taipei: great food, friendly people, mellow vibes, great for working, great infrastructure (like 4G, roads, etc.), slightly boring but in a good way.
The most important word though is, Taipei is mellow. Maybe boring. But in a good way.


Do you want to move in a new direction? Do you long to assist people in a deeply meaningful way and do work that is truly special? You may be drawn to spiritual counseling and questioning whether this is the life work that you have been seeking.
Let's take first things first. There are different ideas of the role of a Spiritual Counselor. In this article, we are discussing a special form of counseling that focuses on helping men and women to bring an awareness of the spiritual realms into their every day reality. This approach transcends the concepts of a single religion into the deeper wisdom teachings that unite all of humanity's major religious and philosophical traditions.
There is a spiritual source that connects us all, which is the genuine source of spiritual strength and awareness. Through the study of quantum physics, science has now found this to be a fact. Spiritual Counseling offers the possibility to assist people to connect with the vast realms of spirit and make miracles happen in their daily lives.
Explore these purposes for becoming a Spiritual Counselor and ask yourself if any of these sound like you.
1. You enjoy life and love people. You experience the greatest joy when you can be with people. You appreciate having opportunities to share with them and uplift them.
2. You enjoy providing teaching. You always want to learn more and value growth. You treasure sharing information and assisting others in exploring transformational solutions to their challenges.
3. You seek deeper expression. You are self-inspired and long to do something that is spiritually rewarding to you. You are determined to transcend the ordinary and create an extraordinary life.
4. You feel a calling. You are excited and passionate about life. You know that everything happens for a reason. You want to be fully alive, and feel drawn to uplift people.
5. You are aware of the continuous presence of Spirit. You want to assist men and women to awaken to their deeper awareness, and create a strong connection with their higher awareness.
6. You can overcome limitations. You know you can help people to free themselves of barriers that block their progress so they can experience the joyful and fulfilling lives they deserve.
7. You understand infinite possibility. You want to help people to live fully and expand their awareness of chances for growth that they never imagined before.
If these thoughts excite you, the exciting news is that you are embarking on an extraordinary journey. Involvement in this profound spiritual work becomes more and more exciting as time passes. As your awareness increases, your ability to assist the people you serve becomes more and more profound.
From a spiritual perspective, we are all here to evolve and live to the fullest. We are only limited by the way we view ourselves and our possibilities. We all have boundless opportunities that are ready to be realized.
At the highest level, spiritual counseling assists people to release perceived limitations and expand their awareness of their infinite potential. Think what being a part of this spiritual expansion can mean to you.
Go to http://gettingthru.org/acertify.htm now to learn a way to study Spiritual Counseling in your own home.


A different way of serving potatoes! I came across this on an Italian Magazine and immediately tried it. Sooo good! It is great as a side dish but can also make a lovely snack!
Wash and peel the potatoes and then boil in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and leave to cool until you can handle the potatoes. Slice them lengthwise. On all eight of the halves, make little cuts on the rounded tops. (see photo).
Chop the rosemary finely and mix it with the minced garlic. Chop the bacon and then slice the Scamorza cheese into thin slices. Sprinkle a little of the garlic-rosemary mix on top of the potato halves that were scored.
Take the other halves of the potatoes and gently hollow them out a little and mix this with the remaining rosemary-garlic mix as well as with the chopped bacon. Put this mix back in the hollowed out potatos and place 2 slices of Scamorza Cheese on top. Place the scored potato half on top and secure with a toothpick. Do the same with the other potatoes.
Place them on a baking paper-lined oven dish and top each one with a knob of butter.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the top starts turning golden brown.


text:
Shining Bright.
Photo Courtesy of Golden Globes 2009, GettyImages, Instagram (baddiebey), H&M, Dazed, HBO, Vibe Vixen, Sandra Rose, JustJared, Thelifefiles.com, Popsugar
With all the proof we have that perfection does not exist, time and time again we create pedestals of aptness knowing such can not be achieved. I am rendered speechless at the level of shock most endure when flaws are made apparent or rather the nonchalance one has toward living freely, null of judgment or inhibitions. These pedestals are mostly molded for the people who we live vicariously through yet we stick our noses up at them when it is realized that they bleed red also.
I have become intrigued by the onslaught of criticism that Beyoncé Knowles-Carter receives. Is it just envy? Or does she appear to be perfect, thus many hate her for it?
I must add that I can not particularly call myself a fan, but I am aware of her supreme talent, diligence and ambition. I began to listen more closely to her music upon her 2004 Grammy performance of "Dangerously in Love." To be honest, her more mature and solo material struck my interest. Her presence can not be denied.
On April 22, 2013, Rakhi Kumar wrote a letter to First Lady Michelle Obama to inform her that Beyoncé is not a role model. The first sentence was "I'm addressing this to you because I admire you." I can't help but to sense a condescending tone. It conveys that because of her admiration for the First Lady it gives her the right to dictate and presumably correct her parenting decisions for her daughters. Michelle Obama deemed Beyoncé a role model. The author refers to the misogynistic nature of the music industry and the revealing embroidered nipple outfit that Beyoncé wore to kick off her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. The problem with this argument is that it often clashes with how any woman chooses to define her femininity.
I love the title of Beyoncé's tour; she's parading her marriage around the world, like a never-ending honeymoon. The promotional art, commercials and marketing is also something that I believe is clever. If your understanding of royalty and/or the crown is that it is something reserved for only those of powdery hue, then I completely understand your disdain and declarations of whitewashing. However, no alterations can remove the "oil wells pumping in [B's] living room." The images conjure Queen Elizabeth; "the virgin queen." Beyoncé story is quite parallel to Queen Elizabeth considering they are two women in history who accomplished unprecedented goals in both of their worlds respectively.
In my eyes, Beyoncé became legendary when she started performing and touring with an all female band. I have this high respect for female bands and Rock-N-Rollers. This solidified her as a contender without competition. Such as a statement alone is inspiring and affirming that women are forces to be reckoned with.
I am also a black love, black is beautiful connoisseur. Any and everything the factually promotes either of these mantras, I support strongly. Furthermore, upon watching her documentary, "Life is But a Dream," I understood that she too was a woman, just like me. Of course, we do not share the familiarities of wealth and fame but emotionally and spiritually we are all interconnected through our shared experiences. Although it may seem silly and trivial, the scene that resonated most with me is when Solange, Beyoncé and Kelly were singing The Cardigans "Lovefool." My sisters and I, there are three of us, would swoon this hit record to the top of our lungs, randomly throughout our childhood.
Particularly, America encourages individualism, thus it simultaneously fuels envy; mostly due to the dynamic of the pursuit of happiness, who can be the better American? This country's ideology of all men are created equal in many facets is a façade. Thus, our hearts have habits to condemn, crucify and contemn while secretly desiring the prestige and freedom in question. Society has a random, spin the bottle target ready morality when it comes to discerning piety, decadence and indecorousness. America has a culture of bringing people up only to break them down.
Our true age of enlightenment will be the moment we become completely adept to love others for who they are, not for who we want them to be (our differences)—and to accept the complexity of this concept by simply being.
America/Beyonce/envy/femininity/jealousy/Mrs. Carter tour/society


Well the craft room is now empty...a clean slate... ready for me to work my magic. Our garage is full of tubs of craft supplies. I had no idea I had that much stuff in this tiny room.
p.s. I'm loving these washi tape frames from kitschy digitals. I almost forgot I bought them.
I bought the paint last night. I'm hoping to get the pegboard and those ugly industrial shelves from home depot after the paint dries. About those ugly shelves, if you know of something better that I can get two of for $160 and will be 4 feet wide let me know. I like to buy those track system shelves from rubbermaid, but they really are expensive once you start to add up all the pieces and the shelves are only 12 inches deep. I like the idea of having shelves 24 inches deep to hold all of my crap. Since these are such a good deal, I'll probably just end up painting them, putting white sticky shelf liner on the mdf and adding some cute fabric scallops or something to the front. Eh, there are plenty of ways to make them look less garish.
I really wish I could redo the floor while I'm at it, but the brick and black tiles will just have to stay a little longer. Eventually, I plan to put laminate wood down in the dining room, studio, and the hallway of death so the back of the house will match the laminate in the kitchen and the rest of the natural wood floors in the front part of the house.
I am still trying to decide how the layout should be. Right now, I have the table on one wall and shelves on either side. the sewing station and fabric shelves are on the other side. I would like to have the table in the center of the room, so I have have people over to craft with me, but with the room being so narrow I don't see this as an option. I guess visitors will just have to craft in the dining room.
We're also painting the dining room the Sea Life color. We both agree that the aqua with the already red everything else will look good and have that retro flair we like so much.
My big question is lighting. I have to change out the overhead light but I have no clue what to put in. I have two windows that get pretty good daytime light, but since I have a day job, I do most of my crafting in the evenings. Any suggestions? What kind of lighting do you have in your studio or craft space?


text:
<?php

/**
 * @namespace
 */
namespace Bluz\View\Helper;

use Bluz\Proxy\Request;
use Bluz\View\View;

return
    /**
     * Return controller name
     * or check to current controller
     *
     * @var View $this
     * @param string $controller
     * @return string|bool
     */
    function ($controller = null) {
        if (is_null($controller)) {
            return Request::getController();
        } else {
            return Request::getController() == $controller;
        }
    };

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home Rehab Blog & News Living with a Methadone Addict: What to Prepare For
Living with a Methadone Addict: What to Prepare For
If your loved one is among the 52 million people abusing prescription drugs like methadone, you know how hard it is to live with a methadone addict.
If you are living with a loved one who is in recovery from opioid abuse, they are no doubt taking some sort of "maintenance" medication to help reduce their cravings and withdrawal symptoms. One of the most common medications used in this capacity is methadone. Since the 1960's, methadone has been the go-to medication to help opioid addicts recover. While methadone is effective when used in a comprehensive treatment plan and when administration is closely monitored, there is a considerable risk in becoming addicted to methadone.
What is Methadone?
Created by German doctors during the Second World War, methadone is a synthetic opioid used to treat the extreme pain from war-related injuries. When brought to the United States, methadone was used to help treat the pain and discomfort felt after surgery or due to chronic diseases. In the 1960s, methadone started being used to help those struggling with heroin and prescription painkiller addiction.
Taken in tablet form or sublingually, methadone changes the way the brain and the nervous system responds to the pain associated with withdrawal symptoms. Methadone blocks the high that is felt from drugs like codeine, heroin, morphine, and oxycodone among other opioid drugs. Methadone's effects are similar to morphine in the fact that it provides a similar high found in other opiates and opioids. However, it is very effective making withdrawal symptoms more tolerable.
Methadone is an opiate drug used to relieve pain and in the right and supervised dose, it can be included in the treatment program addiction. However, methadone is a highly addictive drug that can cause dependence. Anyone on regular methadone therapy must taper down the dose to avoid withdrawals. While it does not cause a big rushes like heroin or meth, it can be very dangerous when you mix it with alcohol or other drugs. Second, to heroin, it is one of the most abused drugs in the country because it is more accessible and cheaper being a prescription drug.
Why many families are suffering from addiction-induced problems
NIH considers addiction as a treatable disease that not only changes the functions of the brain but the structure itself. It changes a loving responsible and honest person into a detached, irresponsible liar even if they don't want to. With 23.2 million Americans suffering from different types of addiction and only ten percent thereof have been receiving treatment; many families should brace themselves for the psychological, physical and financial impact of addiction.
A Question of Addiction
Methadone is an opioid in of itself. While people use the drug under close and experienced medical supervision, there still can be considerable risk that people can become addicted. While the drug does not create the same euphoric effects as produced by heroin and other opioids, it does produce sedative effects that are pleasant.
Some side effects associated with methadone use include the following:
Decrease in reaction time to stimuli
Decreased body temperature and blood pressure
Despite the advantages of using methadone, it is extremely potent. Because of the euphoric sedative effect it produces, people may try to obtain the drug on the street or will try to take more than the prescribed amount. When this occurs, an overdose can be very likely and can produce the following symptoms:
Constricted pupils
Discoloration in the user's nails and fingertips
Additionally, methadone is a strong depressant that affects the central nervous system. If users also use alcohol, benzodiazepines or other sedatives, they run the risk of shutting down their respiration and heart rate. In the worst-case scenarios, those who abuse methadone in this manner can slip into a coma and even death.
How Can Hawaii Island Recovery Help You?
If you or a loved one is struggling with methadone dependence or addiction, the best motivation to seek help often comes from those who successfully completed treatment. At Hawaii Island Recovery, several of our graduates have shared their success stories in order to help others.
Rene claims that Hawaii Island Recovery helped her do the most important thing she cannot do for herself when she was addicted to prescription drugs.
"I would have to stay the best thing I learned in recovery is to love myself and be myself and who I
am. It's because when you're on drugs, you don't know who you are. The only things you want are the drugs and alcohol or the gambling or the sex addiction and whatever your addiction is."
As a trainer, Vilma had to deal with personalities at all times. The HIR program helped her believe in herself and in her passion for fitness and health and to help other people.
"It is my way of being of service as an AA member" says Vilma.
If you will ask methadone users why they cannot quit methadone, they might probably tell you that trying to quit this drugs is like a million times harder than it is to stop cold turkey heroin because of the very painful withdrawal. Some try to taper off, other switch from methadone to heroin and back, but they remain stuck in the pattern of addiction. They always revert to methadone to avoid the pain of withdrawal.
Take Back Your Life Right Now
It's hard to give up the addict identity and get your real identity back. At Hawaii Island Recovery, experienced therapists will help you give up your addict identity which revolved around drug addiction and the factors influencing it, including your environment and physical health. They will equip you with the tools you need to discover your identity and become empowered in your recovery.
If you or a loved one need help, call Hawaii Island Recovery toll-free right now.
Living with a Methadone Addict
10 Things You Should Do Before Starting Drug Rehab
There Are Different Addiction Recovery Options That Help You Get Sober
Meth Addiction


After a National search, Hiram College Athletics, and Director of Athletics Ellen Dempsey, are pleased to announce that Phil Brua will take the reins of the Terrier baseball program for the 2018-19 academic year.
"We are very excited for Phil to begin the new chapter of Hiram Terrier baseball," remarked Dempsey on the hire. "Throughout the entire interview process, Phil continued to stand out to the search committee thanks to his experience in building winning cultures. His positive energy and his desire to cultivate a successful program pushed him to the forefront of the candidate pool."
Coach Brua begins his tenure with Hiram after serving two seasons at Pomona-Pitzer, a Division III affiliate of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
In two seasons with the Sagehens, Brua served as the main assistant, while also spending the fall of 2017 as the interim head coach.
Brua helped Guide Pomona-Pitzer to winning records in one of the two campaigns. In 2018, the Sagehens earned their way into the SCIAC Championship Tournament, posting a 12-win mark in conference play.
Additionally, in his two seasons, Pomona-Pitzer saw five earn all-conference honors; two garner All-Region selections; and one player named an All-American.
Under Brua's tutlage, Tanner Nishioka was also named the SIAC Player of the Year before going on to be drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round of the MLB draft. Along with Nishioka, right-handed pitcher David Gerics signed a minor-league contract with the Minnesota Twins organization.
Along with his west-coast experience, Brua, a native of Avon, Ohio, has a familiarity with the North Coast Athletic Conference.
A graduate of Oberlin College in 2011, Brua was a four-year member of the Yeomen baseball program. Currently, he still holds the record for pitching appearances (65) and ranks second in career wins (15).
Following his collegiate playing career, Brua went on to play two years of professional baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Pitching between short-season Class A Vancouver and full-season Class A Lansing, Brua compiled a record of 12-2 to go along with six saves and a 3.80 ERA. He appeared in 56 games as a professional, and in 2011 he helped the Vancouver Canadians win the North West League Championship.
Following his playing days, Brua spent three seasons on the coaching staff at Oberlin, helping lead the Yeomen to a NCAC Championship Tournament title in 2015.
While at Oberlin, Brua mentored Mike McDonald '14 to All-NCAC First-Team and Third-Team All Region selections. In 2015 he guided Sean Kiley '18 and Milo Sklar '18 to All-NCAC Tournament team honors. Sklar, who was tournament MVP, also earned Second-Team All-NCAC in 2016.
After two years away from the state of Ohio, Brua returns to the North Coast Athletic Conference and takes the reins of the Terrier program that looks for a fresh start.
Brua becomes just the third head baseball coach for Hiram since 1960.


The Studio Expressions Collection is a huge bundle featuring 100 raw, unedited, organic painted texture backgrounds, straight from the studio. Filled with rich color, amazing pattern, and dashes of metallic, these resources will help you create new and exciting art featuring your wildlife, domestic animals, still life, people, landscapes, and more of your favorite subjects.
This collection contains a total of 100 resources, all for one low price. Download is presented as TEN (10) large zip files. Textures are 6000x6000 pixels in size and are large size JPG files. Due to the large file sizes, the downloads may take several minutes to complete, depending on the speed of your internet connection.
Creating Art From Your Photos Has Never Been So Much FUN!
Watch Me Create The Powerful Grizzly!
Studio Expressions works exceptionally well when combining more than one photo together to create a fantastic, unique and original design featuring your favorite subjects. Watch the video below as I create The Powerful Grizzly, which combines two of my bear photos with multiple textures from this amazing collection!
Why stop there? Add more texture on top for even more interest!
Blend with previous photo art to create a whole new piece!
Have something to say? The backgrounds work great for your typography and text art designs, too!
"The Elegant White Pelican" was created using multiple textures from this collection in various layer modes. Topaz Impression was used at the end to give a soft, painterly look to the image as a whole.


Who Could've Seen It Coming?
I can almost promise you when the dust is clearing you will hear "who could've seen it coming" everywhere you turn in the mainstream. You will hear the financial pundits say it, you will hear many titans of industry say it and you will certainly hear the politicians and regulators say it. The politicians and regulators will be running around with signs on their foreheads that say "don't look at me" while babbling "who could've seen it coming?"
Before going any further, I do want to tell you there have been many who have seen it coming and have voiced their opinions verbally and in print. Obviously, if you are reading this then you know I am included in this group who have been shouted down and labeled as "one of the crazies." If you think about it, "us crazies" were the only ones who saw 2008 and the financial crisis coming. We were the only ones who foretold "why" it was coming and have said all along that the "fixes" would not work. Were we laughed at and ridiculed in late 2006 and throughout 2007? Yes, of course we were but I don't remember the "fervor of our branding" as whackos as strong as it is now. Maybe because the vast majority at the time were also long and recommending gold which was pushing new highs at the time. Now, $1,230 gold which is some $400 higher than it was back then has "fallen" $700 from its highs so "we" must be even MORE wrong now? If you cannot understand that increased physical demand should result in higher prices and when it does not ...there must be a logical (nefarious) reason for it, then you surely must know "why" the stock market has reached its levels. Heck, even Bloomberg has reported on "it." "It" being the "Plunge Protection Team" which many of us talked about well over 10 years ago only to be followed by blank stares, the rolling of eyes, snickers, and the whispers of "conspiratorial crazy."
In any case, I figured I would write out a few thoughts now so when you do hear "who could've seen it coming" you can tell them "you" did! If you ask anyone on the street today whether or not the U.S. government is broke, you will get an 80-90% answer of yes, the government is broke (even John Boehner publicly said, "We are broke"). Everyone knows this but yet expect life to go on and not change compared to the old days when we weren't broke? Of course, dollars are issued (not really) and backed by this bankrupt government yet this 80-90% who believe the government is broke think that their issued dollars have value and are not affected by the bankruptcy of the issuer?
Then, we have the banking and financial systems. These are regulated, backed (FDIC and SIPC) by government agencies and supported by the Fed and Treasury, it should be "safe" to put your worthless currency into an overleveraged institution backed by a bankrupt government ...right? It should also be safe to put your money into the bond market where all bonds are priced off of a benchmark of bonds issued by the bankrupt entity ...right? And the stock market? This should be safe because the Plunge Protection Team has your back, the Fed will never raise interest rates, tighten credit or reduce their balance sheet ...right?
As a side not, if even Bloomberg admits to the PPT supporting the stock market and the Bank of Japan publicly admits they are the biggest owner of Japanese equities, then what other markets might the central banks be "playing in?" Yes I know, you are thinking the gold and silver markets ...but please don't go there because of the crazy looks you will get and who in their right mind wants to be labeled a "crazy?"
So we live in a land where the government has promised more than it can ever provide because the underlying economy isn't big enough, has too many sucking off the public and not enough worker bees. The economy doesn't "make anything" anymore anyway but don't let that bother you. 15% of the population is in a "bread line" but since this is 2014, it's no longer politically correct to actually "stand" in a line...and in public no less! Besides, those people were dopes back in the 1930's, standing in line is actually work. We now have more recipients than we have donors ...who could've seen it coming?
Finance is now over 30% of the economy and manufacturing 10% or thereabouts ...farming even less, who could've seen it coming? Derivatives are now about 20 times the size of the global economy and 10 times the size of the equity and debt markets, who could've seen it coming. Mom and Dad both work today and some even more than one job, I'm only 54 years old and really cannot remember ANY of my friend's Moms working except for the school nurse, has something changed? $1.2 trillion of student debt outstanding with an average graduate owing $30,000 ...which cannot be wiped clean in an honest bankruptcy? 50 percent or more of our population living from check to check with no savings at all? Nearly 15 years where 95% of the population's standard of living has decreased because "nonexistent" inflation has grown faster than their paychecks?
I've only scratched the surface of the financials above and did not even get into social or public issues. I didn't even get into racial issues either but ask yourself if we are now "more harmonious" between races, religions or even "nationalities" than we were back in the old days ...when we weren't broke? As for social and moral issues, I really shouldn't go there but let me ask a question or two. If an individual has poor morals, should they be trusted at their word? Should an entire country? I think this has been a common question and on a global basis recently.
Of course, we also have the largest military by leaps and bounds past the rest of the world combined. Ask the average person if we have used our military wisely, fairly and justly? Can a bankrupt treasury really afford the largest military in the world? The average person can get the answer to this one correct also.
I could keep on going and going with examples but I won't and rather finish with a few questions. If it was the crazy lunatic fringe who foresaw the financial crisis coming, voiced it publicly (amidst laughter) and were correct not only in what happened but more importantly "why" ...then why are "we" still crazy? Oh, I know, because gold and silver have fallen in price? "We" say gold and silver prices have been "diluted" with paper substitutes, are we crazy about this or does it make common sense that "something" is negating the simple laws of supply and demand?
If you agree that the façade, charade, house of cards, Ponzi scheme or whatever you'd like to call it is on its way down, please read my work tomorrow. I plan to write about some common sense preparations which by no means will be a complete "survival guide". Hopefully it will make your brain churn a bit as to what might be needed to be done. There is a possibility of "the worst case scenario" actually occurring, if this is the case, you should be thinking like a caveman here and now.


This section is my tribute to those Ballards who appear in the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission [CWGC] both military & civilian. I wanted to record something of their biographies to provide an abiding memory of where they were from, the loved ones they left behind and anything more that I could provide to thank them with more than cold stone and an epitaph.
After nearly 20 years of research I have tracked down almost all of the 171 Ballards in UK, ANZAC and Canadian forces killed during or as a consequence of World War I. For some of the victims I have entered their family trees on WikiTree & for all of the First World War victims I have entered information on Every One Remembered. This is a collaboration between the Royal British Legion & the Commonwealth War Graves Commission with the objective of ensuring that by the end of the Centenary in 2018, every fallen hero from across the Commonwealth is remembered individually by those living today.
For the period up to and including World War 2 I have tracked down many of the fallen, including civilians, but it is still very much a work in progress.
The loss of your child due to War must be very hard but spare a thought for the family of Henry & Sarah Ballard of Birmingham. Sarah had died in 1898 and Henry in June 1915 (with some suspicion that he committed suicide). This family lost the eldest son, Thomas, who died at Rooidam, South Africa in the second Boer war of 1900. They lost William in May 1915 as a result of shrapnel wounds & very soon George died in June 1915 at Ypres. In October 1917 Charles died at Passchendaele & in December 1917 Horace died reputedly as a result of war wounds. Walter died on 1st October 1918 at Sancourt, Nord, France. Finally after nearly twenty years suffering from war wounds the last brother, Alfred, died in 1935. Of eleven children there were nine brothers. Of these two died as small children, Alfred & Leonard, in 1892. The remaining seven sons all served in the Army & all died either in service or as a consequence of that service.
Alfred Abraham & Martha Elizabeth Ballard of St Pancras, London; Abraham – 1915 Gallipoli, John Samuel – 1917 Ypres & Sidney – 1918 Pas de Calais.
Charles & Grace Ballard of Sandown, Isle of Wight; Frederick – 1916 Pas de Calais, Richard – 1917 Jerusalem & Oliver – 1918 Nord.
Harriet Ballard a single mother of Basingstoke, Hampshire; George – 1916 Iraq and Arthur – 1918 Soissons.
Joseph & Mary Ann Ballard of Abingdon, Berkshire; John Henry – 1915 Pas de Calais & less than a year later Frederick (who won the Military Medal) – 1916 also at the Pas de Calais.
William Buggins & Elizabeth Ann Ballard of Battersea, London on consecutive days 12th & 13th September 1918. William Richard Ballard & Thomas W Ballard were in different units but died in action just 4.5 km apart.
The most senior ranking deaths were Lt-Col Charles Naesmyth Bruere Ballard of 15 Brigade Royal Field Artillery killed at Boulogne in 1915 and Commander Charles Frederick Ballard of HMS Formidable sunk on 1 January 1915 while on Channel patrol off Portland Bill by torpedoes of German U-boat U-24. The ship sank quickly during bad weather resulting in the loss of 547 men from her complement of 780, and became the first battleship serving with the British Royal Navy to be sunk during World War I.The most promoted was Charles Willard Ballard MC of the Royal Sussex Regiment who rose through the ranks from a Private in 1914 to a Captain when he was killed at Cambrai in 1917.Not all of the fallen were casualties of war, little Albert Ballard a 5 feet 2 inch Cotton Spinner from Lancashire succumbed to pneumonia and died in Canterbury, Kent. Several survived the combat and died in the Spanish Influenza epidemic that tore through the army in late 1918.


Please look out for your invitation to our Royal Wedding Celebrations on Friday 18th May.
We will be having a golf tournament in the morning, followed by a street party, traditional games and dancing.
All contributions to food are welcomed. We will also be purchasing our own platters of food from Farm Kitchen.


29mm 18K pink gold case, bezel set with 12 diamonds, chocolate brown diamond Roman VI dial, Roman numerals with 11 diamonds set on VI, Pearlmaster bracelet.
29mm 18K pink gold case, bezel set with 12 diamonds, pink champagne diamond Roman VI dial, Roman numerals with 11 diamonds set on VI, Pearlmaster bracelet.
29mm 18K pink gold case, bezel set with 12 diamonds, mother of pearl dial, diamond hour markers, Pearlmaster bracelet.
29mm 18K pink gold case, bezel set with 12 diamonds, mother of pearl dial, Roman numerals, Pearlmaster bracelet.
29mm 18K pink gold case, bezel set with 12 diamonds, mother of pearl diamond Roman VI dial, Roman numerals with 11 diamonds set on VI, Pearlmaster bracelet.


text:
Brainard Smith
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
In May and June 1886, Brainard Fowler Smith, a merchant from Sacramento, California, filed applications of two patents for keyboard driven adding machines. The patents (US360118 and US363972) had been granted next year (March and May 1887), as the second patent (US363972) was granted to Brainard Smith and Arthur Shattuck, and was implemented later with some modifications in the famous keyboard adder Centigraph (Smith and Shattuck must had been friends not only because of this joint patent, but also because both of them used to work for California state's prison administration. Smith was a secretary from 1888 until 1908, while Shattuck was a director in 1890s.)
Let's examine the operation of the first adding machine of Brainard F. Smith, using the patent drawing (see the image below).
By pressing down any of the keys the yoke (E) is elevated at its lower end, thus depressing the extended upper end of one of the arms (e), whereby the pawl (F), which is mounted upon it, engages the ratchet wheel (d) and turns the disk or wheel (D) forward. The disk or wheel (D) is provided on its periphery with the integers or digits from zero up, and with several series of these around the entire circumference.
The patent drawing of first adding machine of Smith's (perspective view)
It is the intention in this machine to make one of the keys turn the disk or wheel (D) one space or number, another key to turn it two spaces, another three, and so on, according to the number of keys; and as it has been shown five here, it is obvious that the fifth key will turn the wheel or disk five spaces or numbers. The key on the extreme right is here shown as the unit-key, while the one on the extreme left is the 5-key.
It is obvious, that instead of having five keys, we could have nine, here five keys are used for the purpose of convenience, as it is easier to operate them with the fingers of one hand, and the same result can be obtained by touching two of the keys consecutively to form whatever number above 5 which may be before the operator. If any number up to 5 is to be added, a single key corresponding to that number is operated. For a 6, the 5 and the 1 may he operated consecutively, or the 3-key may be operated twice, or the 4-key and the 2-key may be operated consecutively, according to the will of the operator.
The patent drawing of first machine of Brainard Smith (side view and upper view)
Let's see an example to add:
Both wheels are set at 0. First press the 1-key, whereby the figure 1 on the disk D appears at the aperture in the casing. Then operate the 4-key, whereby the figure 5 appears. Now for the 7, you touch consecutively the 5-key and the 2-key, whereby the figure 2 appears at the aperture over the wheel (D), and the figure 1 appears at the aperture over the wheel or disk C, which represents the tens, the movement of the wheel (C) being accomplished by one of the pins d' on the wheel (D) coming in contact with the arm (l') of the escapement-pawl and momentarily relieving said pawl from its engagement, whereby the spring (C') of the wheel (C) throws it forward one space, when it is caught by said pawl again. You now write down the 2 under the first column and have the 1 to carry; but you have first, before proceeding to add the second column, to adjust both wheels back to 0. I do this by touching enough of the keys to cause the wheel (D) to turn to the next 0, and then, with the thumb pressing upon the milled rim of the flange (c) of wheel (C), turning said wheel back to 0. Having now 1 to carry, you touch the 1-key and proceed with the second column, thus: For the 7, the 5 and the 2-key; for the 8, the 5 and the 3-key; for the 8, the 5 and the 1-key, consecutively, which will give us the result at the two apertures the figures 22. You now write down the 2 and again adjust the machine, as before described, by bringing both wheels back to 0. Having 2 to carry, you touch the 2-key, and then proceed with the last column. You touch the 5 and the 4 for the figure 9, then the 5, and next the 3, so that you get the figures 19 appearing at the apertures in the casing, which figures you set in proper place for the result.
Certainly, adding machines like this are of little practical use, because they needed many manual operations for resetting of calculating wheels and writing down the intermediate results. The later Centigraph of Shattuck will be the first successful machine of this type, as it will avoid the above-mentioned manual operations.
Biography of Brainard Smith
Brainard Fowler Smith was born in Madison, Indiana, on 4 July 1849, to Samuel Fowler Smith (1808-1879), a merchant, and Belvidere Roberts (1819-1866), a Yankee school teacher from Vermont.
Samuel Fowler Smith (1808-1879)
Samuel Fowler Smith (see the nearby photo from 1870s) was a remarkable man. Born in the Yorkshire village of Walton, England, on 22 Dec. 1808, in 1835 he decided to follow his two elder brothers Benjamin and John, who already immigrated to US and landed in New York on 3 Nov. 1835. Spending some time working as a shoemaker (in England he used to work in a shoe shop and as a shoemaker) in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then seeing his relatives, he settled in Madison, Indiana, and set up his own shoe business, and a choir and singing school. In 1844 he married to the 24-year old Vermont-born Belvidere Roberts, and soon they had three children, but only one of them, Brainard, survived to adulthood, moreover with everlasting health problems. Later (in 1851) they had another son, Charles Roberts Smith, and a daughter.
The family remained in Madison until 1855, when Smith moved to Indianapolis to enter a partnership with Judson Ostgood to make lasts and pegs for shoe making industry. Later they established a highly successful business for carriage wheels, and the establishment was at that time the largest factory in the West. After the death of his wife in 1866, Smith married to the young Lizzie Sinclair and they had one child. Samuel Smith died on 12 March 1879.
In 1862 Brainard Smith obtained one year of his preparatory education at Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, of which his uncle, Rev. Henry Harvey Curtis, was president. His second collegiate year was taken at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana. He entered the freshman class at Yale College in 1866, but upon the death of his mother he returned home and afterward finished his collegiate course at Indianapolis.
After graduating Brainard Smith entered the office of his father's factory and remained there until the ensuing autumn. Hearing a great deal of California, his curiosity was excited to spend a winter here. Carrying out his contemplated program, he liked the climate so well that he has ever since remained here. In 1871 he came to Sacramento with E. E. Ames, who was agent for the Studebaker wagons and for his fathers patent wheels, and remained with him first as commercial traveler and afterward as business manager until 1879, when he went to San Francisco to assume the management of a large agricultural house there.
Filling that position until 1883, Smith returned to Sacramento and opened a house of his own, under the company name of Brainard F. Smith & Co., but several years later he accepted a government position. Since 2 August 1888, Smith has been secretary of the Folsom State Prison, and on 2 May 1889, he was elected the secretary of the Preston School of Industry, to be located in Amador County. He has taken an active interest in politics as a Republican, having identified himself with almost every political movement. Smith remained in the office of Folsom Prison and then in the San Quentin Prison until his death in 1908.
Brainard Fowler Smith was scarcely five feet in height, one leg much shorter than the other, and he walked with two canes, rarely resorting to the use of crutches. He at all times was one of the best-dressed men in the community, and always wore a silk hat. Deformed and crippled as he was, no one ever heard him murmur or complain, and he was the life of every gathering of which he was a member. He wore diamonds, and always had money. With the latter he was very liberal, and did much for charity. His poor little emaciated and distorted frame encased a heart as bug as that of a bullock, and he had a brain and intellect equal to that of most men.
Brainard Smith married to Mattie S. Pinkham of San Francisco on 5 October 1892, in San Francisco. They had one son, Caryl Leigh Smith (born 29 Jan. 1894—died 2 Sep. 1959).
Besides the two patents for adding machines from 1886 and 1887, Brainard Smith had another patent for a pipe for smoking (US596832) from 1898.
Brainard Smith was a member of Sacramento Masonic lodge No. 6 Order of Elks.
Brainard Fowler Smith died on 30 August 1908, in San Quentin, California.
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Home » India » Centre choking breathing space of J&K people: Gupkar Alliance
Centre choking breathing space of J&K people: Gupkar Alliance
Civil liberties, freedom of press and freedom of speech are under assault while police stations and jails are being filled with innocent people, said Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami.
Statesman News Service | Jammu | October 15, 2022 6:00 pm
Centre choking breathing space of J&K people: Gupkar Alliance (SNS)
Expressing anguish over the 'fast deteriorating situation' in Jammu and Kashmir, People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Saturday alleged that "the Centre was choking even the breathing space of the people of J&K, leaving them suffering on every front."
The PAGD also expressed concern over the attempts being made to "distort" facts about the integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India in 1947.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar at the residence of Dr Farooq Abdullah after a meeting of the PAGD, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said that the alliance leaders discussed the present political scenario in J&K and expressed serious concern over the "fast deteriorating situation in Kashmir as well Jammu."
"After taking away the constitutional right of Article 370, other ways of survival are being gradually choked. Civil liberties, freedom of press and freedom of speech are under assault while police stations and jails are being filled with innocent people," said Tarigami, who was flanked by PAGD chief Dr Farooq Abdullah, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, ANC vice president Muzaffar Shah and others.
Tarigami said that it was high time that the people and the political parties of J&K must wake up and raise a collective and united voice against the "present onslaught of New Delhi on the people here." He said that outside every police station, parents are waiting to see their children out.
"Outside jails have now no capacity given the number of people of Kashmir lodged there," Tarigami alleged.
He termed the frequent visits of Union Ministers as a "move to push the people of Kashmir to wall further." "These ministers are coming to ensure suppression is tightened further and whosoever raises his voice is put behind the bars," he said.
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for stating that power and democracy was taken to grassroots level in J&K, Tarigami said in the Naya Kashmir document, decentralization has been prioritized and democracy was already at the grassroots level.
He said that if J&K is being converted into the Gujarat model, why is the sale of liquor, beer and drugs being allowed freely.
About giving voting rights to any one by authorizing the Tehsildar, Tarigami said that giving voting rights is the prerogative of the Election Commission of India. "How come the government was issuing orders," he asked.
"On the next day of the order, the media is being told that the order stands withdrawn. Isn't this a mockery of democracy," he further asked.
Replying to a query, PAGD chief Dr Farooq Abdullah asked the government where the 50,000 jobs are promised by it. "Situation is grim as the number of unemployed youth is swelling. I visited Marwah, Dachan in Jammu region and found that a Sub-District Hospital has no doctor at all," he said.
Gupkar alliance
Mehbooba welcomes Bharat Jodo Yatra in J&K with praise for Rahul
Steps to check outsiders' movement in J&K district ahead of R-Day
Jammu: Mushkoh valley in Drass to open for domestic tourists
The footmarch started from Kanyakumari in September 2021 and will end in Srinagar on January 30.


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SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) - A fall tradition returns with the 26th Annual Pumpkin Shine on Line Tuesday, October 23 in Shreveport. It features a variety of pumpkins carved by schools, families, local businesses and more!
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package three_point_one.parser;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.Set;

/**
 * A parse table. Consists or rows representing states and columns representing
 * Symbols. Used to determine actions of an LRParser.
 * @author Joseph Alacqua
 * @author Kevines Dittmar
 * @author William Ezekiel
 * @version Mar 14, 2016
 */
public class ParseTable {
    ArrayList<LinkedHashMap<Symbol,TableCell>> table;
    Set<Symbol> allSymbols; // all symbols in the grammar
    private Map<String, Terminal> terminalLookupTable;
    private int longestSymbolLength = 0;

    /**
     * Create a parse table
     * @param table the list of maps representing the table.
     * @param symbols a set of symbols
     * @param terminal_lookup_table the terminal lookup table used by the
     *      LRParser.
     */
    public ParseTable(ArrayList<LinkedHashMap<Symbol, TableCell>> table,
        Set<Symbol> symbols, Map<String, Terminal> terminal_lookup_table) {
        this.table = table;
        allSymbols = symbols;
        this.terminalLookupTable = terminal_lookup_table;

        for (Symbol s : allSymbols) {
            if (s.getName().length() > longestSymbolLength) {
                longestSymbolLength = s.getName().length();
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * @return the terminal lookup table.
     */
    public Map<String, Terminal> getTerminalLookupTable() {
        return terminalLookupTable;
    }

    /**
     * @return the string representation of this parse table.
     */
    @Override
    public String toString() {
        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
        int counter = 0;
        sb.append("\t");
        // Padding method found here:
        /* http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15635273/\
           can-we-use-string-format-to-pad-prefix-with-a-\
           character-with-desired-length
         */
        for(Symbol s : allSymbols) {
            sb.append("|")
              .append(paddedTableString(s.getName()))
              .append("|");
        }
        sb.append("\n");
        for(LinkedHashMap<Symbol,TableCell> row : table) {
            sb.append(++counter).append("\t");
            for(Symbol s: allSymbols) {
                TableCell tc = row.get(s);
                if(tc == null) {
                    sb.append("|")
                      .append(paddedTableString(" "))
                      .append("|");
                }
                else {
                    sb.append("|")
                      .append(paddedTableString(tc.toString()))
                      .append("|");
                }

            }
            sb.append("\n");
        }
        return sb.toString();
    }

    /**
     * @param symbol a symbol.
     * @param state_id an id.
     * Note: state_id - 1 is used because the list starts at 0, but state
     *       numbering starts at 1.
     * @return the table cell for the given state at the given symbol.
     */
    public TableCell getTableCellAt(Symbol symbol, int state_id) {
        return table.get(state_id-1).get(symbol);
    }

    /**
     * @param string a string
     * @return a padded string for the string representation of this parse table.
     */
    private String paddedTableString(String string) {
        int left_num_spaces =
            (longestSymbolLength - string.length()) / 2 + 1;
        int right_num_spaces = left_num_spaces + (string.length() % 2);
        return String.format(
            "%" + left_num_spaces + "s" +   // left spaces
            "%s" +                          // table contents
            "%" + right_num_spaces + "s",   // right spaces
            " ", string, " "
        );
    }
}


text:
winning on March 15
George Beverly Shea 01/01/1909 – 04/16/2013
George Beverly Shea
104 years old.
George Beverly Shea was a Canadian-born American gospel singer and hymn composer. Shea was often described as "America's beloved Gospel singer" and was considered "the first international singing 'star' of the gospel world," as a consequence of his solos at Billy Graham Crusades and his exposure on radio, records, and television.
Shea himself has said that he became a Christian at the age of five or six, but made a re-dedication to Christ when he was 18:
There were times when I needed to rededicate my life to the Lord Jesus. When I was 18, my dad was pastoring a church in Ottawa, and I was feeling not too spiritual. The church was having a "special effort," as they called it, for a week. I remember that on Friday night Dad came down from the pulpit and tenderly placed his hand on my shoulder. He whispered, "I think tonight might be the night, son, when you come back to the Lord." Whatever Dad did or said, I listened to him and respected him. And, yes, that was the night!
Shea accepted Christ again as his Saviour at the Sunnyside Wesleyan Methodist Church in Ottawa, Canada.
During his career, Shea was nominated for ten Grammy Awards, winning on March 15, 1966, the 1965 Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording (Musical) for his album "Southland Favorites" (RCA LSP-3440) recorded with the Anita Kerr Quartet.
On February 12, 2011, Shea received the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.
Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Beverly_Shea
Tagged 104 years old!, 1966, George Beverly Shea 01/01/1909 – 04/16/2013, Music Charts Magazine Obituaries, Shea was nominated for ten Grammy Awards, the 1965 Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording (Musical) for his album "Southland Favorites" (RCA LSP-3440) recorded with the Anita Kerr Quartet, winning on March 15


Adapted from Dr. Judith Orloff's new book "Emotional Freedom"
Every day there are plenty of good reasons to be frustrated. Another long line. Telemarketers. A goal isn't materializing "fast enough." People don't do what they're supposed to. Rejection. Disappointment. How to deal with it all? You can drive yourself crazy, behave irritably, feel victimized, or try to force an outcome--all self-defeating reactions that alienate others and bring out the worst in them. Or, you can learn to transform frustration with patience.
As a psychiatrist, I help others see that patience doesn't mean passivity or resignation, but power. It's an emotionally freeing practice of waiting, watching, and knowing when to act. To many people, when you say, "Have patience," it feels unreasonable and inhibiting, an unfair stalling of goals. In contrast, I'm presenting patience as a form of compassion, a way to regain your center in a world filled with frustration.
In "Emotional Freedom," I discuss how to transform frustration with patience. To tame frustration, begin by evaluating its present role in your life, how much it limits your capacity to be happy. The following quiz will let you know where you are now so you can grow freer by developing patience.
Do I self-medicate letdowns with junk food, drugs, or alcohol?
Do my reactions hurt other people's feelings?
When I'm disappointed, do I often feel unworthy or like giving up?
Answering "yes" to 5-7 questions indicates an extremely high level of frustration. 3-5 "yeses" indicates a high level. 2 "yeses" indicates a moderate level. 1 "yes" indicates a low level. Zero "yeses" suggests you're dealing successfully with this emotion.
Even if your frustrations are off the charts, patience is the cure. You'll have plenty of opportunities to cultivate this invaluable skill. Life teaches patience if you let it.
Tip #1. Focus on a specific issue--don't escalate or mount a personal attack.
For instance, "I feel frustrated when you promise to do something but there isn't follow-through." No resorting to threats or insults. In an even, non-blaming tone, lead with how the behavior makes you feel rather than how you think the other person is wrong.
This attitude takes others off the defensive so they're more comfortable admitting their part in causing frustration. Describe everything in terms of remedies to a specific task, rather than generalizing. State your needs. For instance, "I'd really appreciate you not shouting at me even if I disappoint you." If the person is willing to try, show how pleased you are. Validate their efforts: "Thanks for not yelling at me. I really value your understanding." See if the behavior improves. If not, you may have to minimize contact and/or expectations.
In communication, patience is a powerful emotional currency. As you're more able to tolerate the discomfort of frustration and not blow it by acting out, your relationships will function on a higher level. In any interchange, always define what you're after. Is it to resolve a specific frustrating behavior? To say "no" to participating in a dead-end pattern? Or is it to simply to convey your feelings without expectation of change? Even if the frustration is irresolvable, patience sets the right tone to treat others and yourself respectfully.


Rod Kruse, FAIA, was featured in the cover story of the Business Record's "Trends to Watch in 2018" issue, published on January 5, 2018. As one of 13 recognized leaders in the Greater Des Moines business community, Rod was asked about upcoming trends in the design industry and elaborated specifically on changes in the workplace toward more human performance-based design. "More and more employers are expanding their focus on the health and productivity of their employees and staff and are seeking work environments that produce measurable metrics of human performance," he said.
Rod predicts that in 10 years, "All industries will acknowledge and address the importance of daylight and views on human health and move away from the windowless spaces often provided for the most important aspect of their business — people."