Hadoop is a pretty neat set of tools for processing loads of data in a distributed, parallel and easy to scale-out manner, and so rightfully the Hadoop toolset owns a pretty high position in the data analysis and BI game, and a must consider when embarking on any new big data project. But that being said, the Hadoop eco-system, however advance in many areas, is still away from being a complete end to end BI solution, particularly when it comes to offering support for emerging data analysis and business intelligence concepts, such as exploratory data analysis and real-time data querying, or even fully-integrated data visualization and report authoring tools.
But when looking at solution providers such as Oracle and Microsoft, who delivers mature BI products that went through years of feedback, refinement and improvement, suddenly the idea of having a hybrid BI environment becomes very attractive.
So a healthy step towards allowing the integration of the Hadoop eco-system with Microsoft's BI infrastructure is connecting SQL Server with Hadoop, or specifically Hive, and subsequently SQL Server Analysis Service (SSAS). I have talked in the past about the various BI architectures for integrates Hive and Analysis Services, this is an expansion of the "All Data in Hadoop, OLAP Data in SSAS" architecture, showing exactly how to setup the Linked Server and views involved in this approach.
This is pretty simple, just download and install the Hive ODBC Drivers from Microsoft, and remember to follow the steps to "Create a Hive ODBC Data Source", which simply involves adding a new DSN (Data Source Name) on the server, this means you need to supply the Hive instance Host, Port number and other connection details.
After installation, you will be able to connect to and query Hive (using HiveQL) just like any other data source (using the DSN) in Excel, queries will be written and issued directly to Hive and turned into Map/Reduce jobs, with the results returned to the user as a table. The same ODBC driver can also be used to connect SQL Server to Hive.
In order to build an SSAS cube with data from Hive in your Hadoop environment, we need to use SQL Server as an interface, which can be done through adding a Linked Server to the Hive instance. The reason for not connecting SSAS directly to Hive is due to some limitation in the way SSAS data-sources are setup, even though it can be circumvented, the approach is a bit more complicated.
The new Linked Server can be queried using HiveQL and an OpenQuery transact-sql statement.
The newly created view, based on the linked server connection to hive, can now be referenced in an SSAS project just like any other table or view.
This approach allows you to leverage the Hive engine directly, so any optimization done on the Hive layer, such as using Hive Views, should help improve the speed at which the data is extracted.
I really recommend reading the Klout paper in the resources below, particularly the section on Best Practices.
Thanks for your post it was really helpful.
In my case i was abel to create the Linked server but it giveing me an error in fetching the data using openquery.
where rlo is database name in hive & abc is simple table with 2 columns of int ,int datatatypes.
It was giving error as below.
Any help is appreciated in advance I am really stuck due to this.


The bill sped through the state legislature with little debate in order to get the bill to the governor's desk in an effort to force a more sweeping initiative petition dropped from consideration for the fall ballot.
EdWeek's Steven Sawchuck reported in mid-June that the Massachusetts Teachers' Association (MTA) struck a deal with Stand, thus avoiding a costly fight at the ballot box and potentially more dramatic changes in the laws surrounding teacher evaluation and staffing decisions.
Under the terms of the compromise, nontenured teachers would still be dismissed before tenured teachers, during layoffs, but in all other cases performance would have to carry more weight in layoff decisions than seniority. The compromise allows for districts and unions to bargain the exact details.
I wonder if this leaves the door open for districts to change the way they grant tenure in order to circumvent the somewhat diluted performance-based layoff scheme in the law. I would think some districts would jump at the chance to extend immediate tenure (say, in April or May of their first year) to their top new teachers in order to prevent them from being laid off. If you're familiar with MA law in this area, please chime in and I'll update this post.
As I've argued previously, changes to LIFO policies have enormous potential to change the teaching population, because they shift the impact of layoffs onto the least-competent.
Another interesting aspect of on the new MA law is the pre-emptive nature of the compromise. MTA was facing a serious and probably well-funded ballot initiative effort from Stand for Children, which has successfully lobbied for sweeping reforms in a number of states. In Washington State, Stand has been pushing for charters for a while, a move that prompted Seattle Public Schools and the teacher's union to bargain a "Creative Schools Approach" option that might be seen as a "charter lite" approach.
The bargaining table, at least in union states, is still where the details of teacher evaluation systems get hammered out, but it's interesting to see how pressure from outside groups (not to mention the Department of Education, with its billions in RttT money) is influencing these systems both through legislation and through the threat of legislative action.


Patched-up Panthers' hopes of finishing top of the SGB Championship were hit by defeat last night (September 14).
The city side were beaten 52-38 at Workington in their penultimate fixture of the regular season – a result which left them vulnerable at the summit but clinched their conquerors' play-off spot.
Guests Ben Barker and Jordan Stewart were responsible for Panthers' four race victories at soggy Derwent Park despite both crashing out of their final rides.
Stand-in number one Barker scored 10+2 before tumbling out of second spot in the finale while his Redcar team-mate Stewart, again replacing Tom Bacon at reserve, racked up seven points before going down in heat 13.
The Australian suffered a leg injury which prevented him taking his place in a re-run in which fellow reserve guest Coty Garcia, who came in for skipper Simon Lambert, followed home Barker for a 5-1.
That followed up a Stewart-inspired 4-2 in the previous race, but Panthers couldn't go on to claim a league point. They were condemned to defeat by a 5-1 from Comets pair Rene Bach and Mason Campton in heat 14 before Bach also triumphed as the hosts took a 4-2 in the finale.
Danish rider Bach, who started his British career with Panthers many years ago, piled up 17 points while countryman Rasmus Jensen produced a four-ride full-house of 12 for Workington.
"The conditions were far from ideal," said Panthers team boss Carl Johnson. "In fact I've seen many meetings called off when tracks are in better shape than the one we rode on last night.
"It looked really good until it hammered down with rain for 10 to 15 minutes. The track did drain well in all fairness, but it was never going to produce good racing.
"It put a big emphasis on gating and Workington did that far better than we did and that's the story of the meeting to be honest.
"They wanted it more than us as they still needed to seal their play-off place whereas we were already confirmed.
"Our form has dropped recently and that's a concern. We've worked so hard to get here that we can't just let the season fizzle out despite the big losses of Scott (Nicholls) and Tom to injury.
Bradley Wilson-Dean contributed seven points for Panthers at Workington and his middle-order partner Michael Palm Toft struggled by his own high 2018 standards with 5+2.
Second string Emil Grondal bagged two second places but also brought up the rear in his other two outings, while Ulrich Ostergaard failed to score in his second meeting since returning from a two-month injury absence.
The Dane is a former Workington rider who can usually be relied upon to pile up the points at the Cumbrian track, but he was plagued by mechanical problems on a night to forget.
Panthers remain a point clear at the top of the SGB Championship on 41 points, but are merely one of three teams who could still finish in pole position as a fascinating conclusion to the regular season continues.
Third-placed Workington are now onto 39 points and still have a trip to Newcastle tomorrow (September 16) to come. The Comets have failed to fit in their other meeting against Lakeside ahead of the cut-off date to count towards play-off standings.
The Hammers themselves are down in fifth on 35, but only points difference keeps them out of the top four.
They could even move level with Panthers if beating both the city side and Newcastle tonight (September 15) in a double-header at their new Rye House base. Panthers are involved in the second part of that fixture and are due to be on track around 8.30pm.
Second-placed Glasgow can't improve on their current 40-point tally after losing 50-40 in Lakeside's final meeting at their Arena Essex Raceway home last night.
Fourth-placed Edinburgh are likely to miss out on the play-offs after losing 48-42 at home to Berwick when completing their season last night. Berwick themselves are sixth but could still qualify if they win at Ipswich tonight and Lakeside fluff their lines.
But Johnson is only concerned about how Panthers perform. He added: "Rye House is a track where we've had success in the past and it's one that several of our riders really like.
Panthers again use Barker as a guest but their plans to call on Stewart again have been wrapped due to his crash last night.
Glasgow man James Sarjeant not steps into a makeshift reserve combination with Newcastle man Carl Wilkinson replacing skipper Lambert who gets married today.
WORKINGTON: Rene Bach 17, Rasmus Jensen 12, Mason Campton 10+2, Tero Aarnio (guest) 6+1, Nicolai Klindt 6+1, Kyle Bickley 1+1, Rider replacement for Ty Proctor.
PANTHERS: Ben Barker (guest) 10+2, Bradley Wilson-Dean 7, Jordan Stewart (guest) 7, Michael Palm Toft 5+2, Coty Garcia (guest) 5+1, Emil Grondal 4, Ulrich Ostergaard 0.


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You are at:Home»Media Articles»Zimbabwe: Selling elephants to questionable Chinese destinations damages country's tourism, say critics
©Michael Lorentz
Zimbabwe: Selling elephants to questionable Chinese destinations damages country's tourism, say critics
By	Don Pinnock	 - 30 January 2018	 - Daily Maverick	- FREE TO PUBLISH CREDIT CAT	Media Articles
Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. Photo: Vince O'Sullivan (flickr)
By the time Zimbabwe's new political winds of change reach its wildlife practices – the heart of its potential tourism industry – they appear to ebb to a light Chinese breeze. It appears to be business as usual, writes DON PINNOCK, and that's not good news for elephants.
The signs were encouraging at first. Soon after his inauguration, Zimbabwe's new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, endorsed a programme to save pangolins. He was quoted by his chief adviser as saying that, in light of the export of elephants, he would be reviewing conservation decisions and formulating a policy. He also pledged to conserve the country's environment.
"Conservation and tourism go hand in hand," he said, "and my government is committed to ensuring the safety of visitors and to working with partners to increase our conservation efforts to protect our natural world."
Damien Mander, founder of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, was enthusiastic. He said he believed the government was sincere in its desire to change: "Discussions with the new leadership leave me confident that Zimbabwe and its conservation policies are moving in the right direction, step by step."
Two local reports with unconfirmed sources fanned the enthusiasm. In January Bulawayo24 News ran a story that Grace Mugabe was under investigation for international ivory poaching. And the Daily News reported that Mnangagwa had banned the trade in live elephants following the global outcry in the wake of the sale of baby elephants to China last year.
The last report was a bridge too far. At Davos in Switzerland the president's delegation was asked if the ban on capture, sale and export of baby elephants was real. The answer was, essentially, "No, we haven't got a policy for that."
There's a reason and it poses a tourism conundrum for Zimbabwe's new leaders.
The country has huge tourist potential which was a central pillar in the economy before the Mugabe meltdown. Zimbabwe is visually spectacular with abundant wildlife and star attractions such as the Victoria Falls, Hwange, Mana Pools and Gonarezhou national parks and Great Zimbabwe.
But international tourists are generally well informed and stories like the killing of Cecil the lion by a bow hunter and running down herds in Hwange with vehicles and helicopters to capture baby elephants all do massive reputational damage to Zimbabwe's image. Banning trophy hunting and wildlife export, as Botswana has done, would be a logical first step. But there's a problem.
China is Zanu-PF's economic and political best friend. It may have banned the import and sale of ivory from January, but the living bearers of tusks are in hot demand, as is other wildlife, to stock Asian parks and zoos. Another best friend is US-based Safari Club International, a large, powerful and lucrative source of trophy hunters.
According to the country's National Elephant Management Plan, to secure a future, elephants must have value. In 2004 Zimbabwe set a massive export quota of tusks as trophies – 1,000 annually – which is still in place. This equates to 500 elephants which could be legally shot by hunters and their tusks exported. Between 2003 and 2013, according to the CITES database, more than 28 tonnes were exported from Zimbabwe by trophy hunters alone. How much poachers exported is anybody's guess.
Live export is another business. For many years, Zimbabwe has been selling baby elephants and other wildlife to questionable Asian destinations, creating extreme stress to Hwange National Park herds. In December last year 31 young elephants were flown to Chongqing and Daqingshan safari parks in China. According to eyewitness reports, the calves had open wounds and appeared ill and lethargic at the time of shipment on Ethiopian Airlines, indicating poor husbandry and handling.
This was one of at least three known shipments of wild caught elephants sent to China since 2012, totalling nearly 100 calves. There have been constant reports and video documentation of cruelty to the youngsters.
Conservationists are concerned that the elephants go to zoos with poor welfare records or where cruel methods will be used to make them into little more than circus performers. One destination is the huge and widely criticised Chimelong Wildlife Park, which includes a circus and stages a variety of dubious performances and stunts involving its animals.
There's little evidence that income from these animal sales is ploughed back into Zimbabwean conservation. A statement by Zimparks – quoted by Jeremy Hance on Mongabay – said "live sales of elephants to international destinations are done to generate financial resources for conservation programmes'. Grace Mugabe had other plans. Last year, before her political downfall, she is reported to have urged the sale of 35 young elephants, eight lions, 12 hyenas and a giraffe to settle a debt to China for equipment bought by Zimbabwe to help President Laurent Kabila in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Zimbabwe, unlike other countries, has a unique wildlife conservation funding system in that no amount is allocated for conservation in the national budget. This forces struggling parks to shoot protected game for the pot and let infrastructure decay.
Zimbabwe officials often claim that elephant sales are related to too many elephants and say selling is preferable to culling. They quite rightly point out that the transactions carry CITES permits. Total elephant numbers vary widely, depending on who's claiming them.
Zimbabwean environmental activist Kenesias Dambakurima was told by Zimparks Director-General Fulton Mangwanya that the country had 70,000 elephants but only the carrying capacity of 50,000, which leaves 20,000 for "export". He also told him that the elephants being captured and exported are not baby elephants but adults. According to the Great Elephant Census, the country has more – 82,304 – but notes that this equals a decline of 6% overall and 74% in the northern regions.
In 2016, during a visit to Chimelong Safari Park, Zimbabwean politician Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri told Chinese journalists her country would increase its export of wildlife, including elephants, to Chinese wildlife parks. She said she would not apologise for the export and added that the Chinese authorities had treated the elephants well. "There is a drought and soon the elephants will die," she said. "It is better we sell them, especially to those who can take good care of them."
Muchinguri Kashiri has close ties with China. Several years ago she received a $3-million donation from its ambassador for wildlife protection equipment, described by environmentalists at the time as "extractive philanthropy". She has been retained as Minister of Environment, Water and Climate in Mnangagwa's new cabinet.
This leaves Zimbabwe tourism at something of a crossroads. In plotting the way forward, President Emmerson Mnangagwa needs to urgently solve the conundrum between buying Chinese support through wildlife sales or rebuilding the country's tourism industry.
A letter to Mnangagwa from Humane Society International signed by 33 wildlife advocates globally in December 2017 urged the president to halt immediately the capture and export of young, wild elephants from Zimbabwe's parks.
"We plead with you to stop these atrocities and lead by example. It is a great opportunity for your new government to win further global support by halting the exports of wild elephants and use eco-tourism to promote Zimbabwe's wildlife and natural heritage on an international platform."
A petition on Care2, also urging a halt, had gathered nearly 300,000 signatures by time of writing. It urged Zimbabwe to stop "capturing and exporting its elephants under the guise of conservation, and instead invest resources in maintaining elephant safety and elephants' natural habitat, concentrating efforts on non-consumptive wildlife tourism".
It urged the president to join the African Elephant Coalition – an alliance of 29 countries that has proposed a ban on the export of African elephants outside their natural range. It also asked that China stop demanding wild elephants for the purpose of human exploitation.
Rob Brandford, Executive Director of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, pointed out that Zimbabwe – and any country that might consider selling elephants to zoos – needs to see the importance of elephants to their country, its environment and its tourism."People will travel to a country to witness elephants being elephants, living wild… they will pay for themselves through the tourists they bring."
The issue is well framed in an open letter to Mnangagwa by Simon Espley of Africa Geographic:
"Does it make business sense to endanger your tourism industry, just to keep this barbaric practice [of exporting baby elephants]going? Zimbabwe is a beautiful and diverse country, with good wildlife populations, fantastic lodges and warm, welcoming people.
"If you have any doubt about how the world of safari-goers feels about this practice …. why not ask them? Use social media to reach out – and ask them. Then get clever people to quantify the negative response into likely ongoing loss of tourism business.
"You decide if the cost is worth the supposed benefit."
Read original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-01-30-zimbabwe-selling-elephants-to-questionable-chinese-destinations-damages-countrys-tourism-say-critics/?utm_medium=email#.WnARsaiWbIU
african elephants Chinese wildlife parks elephant conservation elephant sales live elephant export wild-caught elephants wildlife export Zimbabwe tourism Zimbabwe wildlife
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PayPal pledges to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040
by Olafimihan Oshin - 04/07/21 11:10 AM ET
PayPal on Tuesday announced that they pledge to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, Bloomberg News reported.
By 2023, the payment giant vows to use renewable energy sources to power its data centers and pledged that by 2025 that they will reduce operational greenhouse gases by 25 percent.
In an email to Bloomberg, PayPal's chief technology officer Sri Shivananda said, "Our climate action goes beyond our science-based targets."
"As we continue to develop more effective and efficient payment solutions, we have an opportunity to identify financial-inclusion solutions that build greater climate resilience and maximize outcomes for underserved communities hit hardest by climate-related extreme events."
The pledges are a part of PayPal's promise to meet the standards of the Paris Agreement, where they are committed to helping limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
PayPal is joining other companies such as Amazon and Best Buy that vowed to achieve these pledges by 2040, in which investors and companies are finding ways to lower their use in climate change.
Tags Climate change greenhouse gasses net zero emissions Paris agreement PayPal


It's no surprise that we spend most of our days entering data into computer systems. In a business environment, we tend to deal with a lot of information that gets stored in a digital format. Usually, that information we enter gets kept on a local server somewhere in the office.
These days, a lot of companies have turned to "the cloud" to store their crucial business data. But, is that something you need to be doing for your firm as well?
Let's say that an unfortunate event such as a fire occurred at your premises. The fire was so severe that all your IT equipment is nothing more than molten metal and plastic. One of the computer casualties of the fire is your server.
"No problem," you tell yourself because you've got a backup of your server's hard drive. But, you discover that your backup wasn't completed, and so you've only got some data.
With cloud storage, if a server goes down for whatever reason, a backup system will take over. That means your data won't disappear forever!
The trouble with in-house servers is that access is rather limited. Sure, all your files are quick and easy to access within the local area network. But, what if you want to open a file from a remote location? You're limited to the speed of your office's Internet connection.
And if there are connection issues, you can't sort them out until you get back into the office. Cloud service providers ensure that your data is always accessible. They always have technicians on hand to diagnose and fix any connection issues.
Servers, to all intents and purposes, are just like "normal" PCs. They work in a similar way, and can get used the same as standard desktops and laptops.
The only trouble is server hardware costs more to buy and maintain. If you want to save your business some money, cloud data storage offers real value for money. You don't have to pay for any server hardware for a start. And the ongoing fees you do pay are small!
One headache for IT administrators is disk space. In-house servers are all limited to the size of the storage drives they have installed. When you opt for cloud storage, you don't have to worry about disk space limits.
Cloud storage services are scalable. So, if you are about to reach your disk space quota, you'll just get upgraded to the next tier in your price plan.
Believe it or not, your data is vulnerable in the office. It's likely you won't have many security measures in place to protect your data. The brilliant thing about data centres is they provide both physical and virtual security.
So, when will you make the move to cloud storage?


When a customer calls a dealership, they are shopping for a dealership to visit. This call will not be the only dealership contacted, so it is the sales representative's mission to become the caller's dealership of choice.
How? When fielding a phone call from a customer interested in buying a vehicle, the goal is to book an appointment. Customers who set appointments to come into the dealership have a closing ratio of 25%, or 1 in 4. Walk-ins, on average have a closing ratio of 10%, or 1 in 10. This is why it is so important to focus on the customers who call in and make sure we are asking for an appointment.
The automotive industry has a phone call to appointment conversion rate that varies from 4% to over 40%. The difference is the sales reps ability to earn the right to ask for the appointment and then simply ask for it.
Our Gold Monitoring program makes the dealership sales department accountable for every incoming sales call. Sales representatives are given an easy to follow process and training outline for turning a phone call into an appointment, and then independent resources are used to score the incoming calls on the dealership's behalf.
When sales representatives are following the process, and successfully book their appointment.
Each escalation will include a link to the actual sales call so that it can be used as a review and/or training tool.
In addition to the email escalations that are sent out, each week, key managers within the dealership will also receive a summary report showing how many appointments were booked, and comparisons of both the Dealership's performance overall, and of each individual Sales Representatives performance for the reporting period.


It was glitz and glamour as Prophet Joshua Iginla led champions Royal Assembly celebrated its 12th anniversary amidst pomp and pageantry on Sunday, December 2nd, 2018 inside their 80,000 seater auditorium widely known as City of wonders.
Tagged Majesty to Majesty, it was a touch of majesty when during the service, the Oracle gave out a 4 Bedrooms Duplex worth several Millions, 5 million naira cash and a promise of another edifice in 2019 under construction at Ekiti to his younger brother, Precious Iginla who is also a Pastor and a General Overseer of his own ministry.
Aside that, he dazzled 11 members of his choristers who have release an album each by supporting their dreams with cash gifts worth N5million.
Speaking during the anniversary he declared that he sees many of the guests moving from failure to favour.
Speaking further he enjoined everybody to live in love and let forgiveness be a virtue if they want to make heaven. He said he refused to hold anybody down at heart but has consistently live a life of forgiveness. This he claimed has helped him to love when those who hurts or betrays him because he wants to make heaven.
Arguably a life transforming event as worshippers thronged the programme, the ministry also recorded some notable events such as cutting one of the biggest cakes in the world weighing 50kg.


Crafted from premium quality silk, the Hemley silk print tie is set to complement both formal and professional ensembles. Featuring a dash print throughout, the tie is fully lined with a contrast fabric. Style the necktie from Hemley with formal shirting and your favourite suit to amplify your working attire.


Sarah will be available for book signing for her most recent release at Barnes & Nobles. Join us!
Ithaca's Take Back the Night empowers domestic, sexual violence survivors and allies. It creates a safe space for victims, survivors, and allies to speak out. The event includes opportunities for people to view the Clothesline project, participate in survivor and ally speak outs, hear music performance, and listen to guest speakers.
Michelle Courtney Berry and Sarah Jefferis: Join these two sly witted actors and award-winning writers as they dish with dismay and delight about relationships, heartbreak, love, labor, motherhood, and vulnerability.


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Psychic Help FAQ
Craig Hamilton-Parker Psychic Help 4 comments
Psychic Help and Frequently Asked Questions
I've brought together some of our most important FAQ about psychic help to this page. It will give you advice about some of the main issues that people ask about the psychic world. You can also book psychic readings here with either the phone psychics or Craig & Jane.
Please feel free to ask questions in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
CRAIG & JANE: HERE TO HELP
MORE: FREE HELP ON FACEBOOK
OUR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
Are Psychic Powers and Spirituality Related?
Unfortunately, all types of people can be psychic. Rasputin had the power to hypnotize people from a distance yet was a man of evil intent, the Fox sisters were Spiritualism's most important mediums yet they were unintelligent country girls and Helen Duncan was an incredible materialization medium yet her way was coarse and sometimes vulgar.
Psychic powers may spontaneously occur in people who have attained a high degree of spiritual advancement but powers are not necessarily proof of good character. For example, if someone has a beautiful voice that can move people to tears it doesn't necessarily mean that they are a beautiful person.
These questions were originally asked me by a newspaper but they serve as a good summary of the basics of psychic help that mediums and clairvoyants can give.
Is Everyone Psychic?
Up to a point. You get a certain feeling about them. It's difficult to explain how you know this, but certain people you feel are open. You certainly meet people whom you know are never going to become psychics in a million years because they're completely closed to it, but I think everybody has the potential. It's a natural gift and would be useful. Knowing who's good and who's bad would be very good when it comes to bonding and sex, wouldn't it?
With Jane, was it a telepathic thing or did you just fancy her?
I was giving a demonstration at Spiritualist church and she was at the back. I was describing her grandmother who was dead and I blurted out: "I'm being told by your grandmother Ethel that you're a really good medium as well. Perhaps you could give me a sitting sometime." I wasn't chatting her up. I was wondering what made me say it in front of an audience. I expected them all to go (teasingly): 'Ooh.' I went for the sitting and it was love at first sight. I'd been through a hard time before in a previous marriage, and so had Jane. I'd brought a child up for nine years on my own from a baby and she'd had a similarly difficult time. So there were lots of things, as well as the psychic connection, that created empathy.
How do Tarot cards work?
You don't have to have a special psychic gift to read the Tarot Cards. It is a common misconception that tarot readers are clairvoyants. Tarot Card reading, like palmistry, is an interpretative skill that is learned from books. With so many people jumping on the New Age bandwagon the sitter must beware. Today finding someone who can interpret the cards and who also has a psychic gift is very much due to luck.
So how do you tell the future with Tarot Cards? The psychologist Carl Jung gave us the scientific theory of Synchronicity that states that "Anything done at a particular moment in time has the qualities of that moment in time". In other words, the fall of the cards is decided by past, present, and future events.
Every Tarot card has a specific meaning represented by the symbolism of the card's pictures. The imagery is a mixture of good and bad auguries.
The 78 Tarot card pack is divided into two sections: the major and minor arcana. The 22 major Tarot cards show dominant forces in the person's life and the 56 minor cards fill in the detail. The minor Tarot cards are subdivided into four suits representing different qualities: Cups-emotions, Swords troubles, coins money, wands enterprises. (Our modern playing cards evolved out of the Tarot. Cups became hearts, swords spades, coins diamonds and wands became clubs.)
Depending on which place the Tarot cards fall, and taking into account the surrounding cards, the Tarot reader can interpret the symbolism to find out the past, present and future events. But remember, no matter what the cards or 'clairvoyants' say, fortune-telling only tells us the potential future. What we make of it is in our own hands.
What is a medium?
A MEDIUM provides evidence of the survival of the human personality beyond the physical state we call death. S/he is the link between the two worlds communicating with people who have died through mind-to-mind contact. The psychic help a medium provides is to give proof of life after death.
Mediumship is the ability to communicate with people you know in the afterlife. Its aim is to prove the survival of the human personality after death and to help the bereaved come to terms with their loss. Mediumistic sittings are not for fortune-telling but are experimental sessions to give evidence of survival. Any attempt to communicate with Spirit is, by its very nature, purely experimental and therefore, results can never be guaranteed.
MEDIUM READINGS: What Are They?
WHAT IS A MEDIUM
WHAT DOES A MEDIUM DO?
MEDIUMS TALKING TO THE DEAD
Mediumship takes two forms:
Physical Mediumship: Physical phenomena is of such a nature that it is usually demonstrated only at private séances. Any person sitting with the medium can hear or see what is happening. By means of raps, audible voices or materialized figures the spirit people convey intimate information about themselves, their recollection of their earthly lives and details of their lives in the spirit world.
Mental Mediumship: Mental phenomena is demonstrated through the mind of a medium. Mediums use three forms of mental mediumship:
1. CLAIRVOYANCE the medium sees the spirit
2. CLAIRAUDIENCE the medium hears the spirit
3. CLAIRSENTIENCE the medium senses the presence and the thoughts of the spirit.
What is a Psychic?
A psychic is someone who has extra-sensory abilities. These may include clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition, and psychokinesis. The word psychic is sometimes used as an all-inclusive umbrella term to include mediumship (spirit communication) and fortune-telling. The type of psychic help a psychic gives may relate to solving life problems.
Psychic practitioners tend to give readings that deal with issues in a person's life such as their romantic situation, career opportunities etc. Their reading may include predictions of the future.
A mediumistic Reading is less concerned with predicting the future and life issues but has the primary purpose of proving to the sitter that there is life after death
How long after passing can a spirit person make contact?
The short answer is: immediately. There is nothing stopping us from contacting our loved ones the minute we leave our physical bodies. Having said that, however, people who have no knowledge of the continuation of life may take a little longer to adjust to their new surroundings. They meet with family and friends and when they realize they can contact their families left on earth, they will seek the necessary help to do so. A medium, or someone who has extensive knowledge of spirit communication, will know what has happened at death. They will adjust very quickly to their new life and can make contact as soon as they wish.
It must be remembered that not everyone has developed their psychic faculties to the extent that they can link with the people in the spirit world. To communicate with the spirit a medium is required. It is a sad fact that many people who have just lost someone they dearly love sit, waiting and watching for some form of contact from that person. That soul could be there trying to make direct contact but unless the required energies are available, as with mediumship, then it is not, and cannot happen.
Visiting a Spiritualist Church
However, there is nothing stopping you, or anyone else for that matter, from finding a reputable and/or recommended medium at any time after the passing of a loved one, and making it possible for them to communicate, should they so wish. A visit to your local Spiritualist Church is another avenue worth investigating. There are also a number of spiritual sites on the Internet in which readings take place and could be another opening for contact to occur.
How quickly contact can take place depends
(a) on the awareness of the spirit person and
(b) a need on his/her part to make contact.
Who are the spirit guides?
It is possible that the spirit guides may be aspects of our own psychology that have become disassociated from the personality and taken on a life of their own. They could also be what the Tibetans call Tulpas which are genie-like beings created by the concentrated power of thought.
However, my conclusion is that the spirit guides are real beings that come to help us. I come to this verdict because my spirit guides have supplied me with evidence of their reality via the mouthpiece of other mediums. All of us have a spirit guide which some call the guardian angel.
Will I meet the people I dislike such as my ex-marital partner in the next world?
Like attracts like. In the spirit world, you will come together with those you love most and who you are bound to by a higher 'Over-Self'. The people who have troubled you in life will go their own way. However when the purpose of your life is revealed to you then you may see that the negative people were sent to test you for a specific reason.
Despite the pain they've caused, you may understand that they are not evildoers but sent so that you may spiritually flower. God gives his hardest tests to his most advanced pupils.
Tagged as: Mediums, Mediumship, Psychic, Readings
Craig Hamilton-Parker Sep 13, 2019, 11:33 am
Determine first if the orbs are caused by an optical effect. My suspicion is that you are frightening yourself with misconceptions.
Karen fine Aug 26, 2017, 8:50 pm
I was told I was cursed by a monk years ago, now I have orbs following me. What do I do?
Suzanne Collins Dec 29, 2014, 3:13 pm
My son died a year ago and I am constantly getting the feeling he is trying to contact me. At night I feel his presence and often see moving shadows. Things come into my mind totally randomly as if they've been put there. None of this is scary but where do I go next? A spiritualist church?
Craig Hamilton-Parker Dec 29, 2014, 8:55 pm
Spiritualism is a good place to start if you are not quite ready to book an appointment with a medium. At a Sunday service you will get an opportunity to see how spirit communication works and you may get a message. The quality of the mediumship varies so stick with it.
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With apologies to Brooklynite Walt Whitman, I sing the borough delicious. King's County is arguably the best place to eat on Earth, but its own citizens hardly know it. Enter Edible Brooklyn, the magazine that celebrates the borough's diverse and illustrious food culture, that seeks to define and honor Brooklyn cuisine.
Look around, taste your community. Brooklyn has a mighty agricultural heritage (the second most productive agricultural county in the US in the 1880s) and today proffers a burgeoning network of farmers markets and community gardens. The "boro" is home to a rich fabric of ethnic neighborhoods, boasting the most diverse zip code in the U.S. (Midwood), restaurants lauded by Michelin and Zagat guides, and foraging like nobody's business—from the city's best Chinatown to handmade truffles. Our food industry legacy includes a century as the nation's sugar capital and the nation's largest fish smoker. And best of all, Brooklyn is delicious because of you, dear readers: a citizenry as food conscious and culinarily literate as they come. From old-timers swilling seltzer to hipster musicians brewing Fair Trade coffee to families paying in advance for the year's first local strawberries, Brooklynites know food and demand the best.
Edible Brooklyn is more than glam shots and restaurant reviews. This is a magazine with an opinion, one that advocates for sustainable agriculture, for relishing tradition, for seeking out taste experiences, and for pulling back the curtain on where Brooklyn's food comes from and how it got here.
I'm your guide, and I'm unabashedly biased. I've lived in the boro for a decade, and battle a longtime vegetable addiction: at its worst I was simultaneously a member of the Park Slope Food Co-op, tended a community garden plot, held a CSA membership, spent weekends on a farm upstate, and was a farmers market shopaholic. I still make jam and pickles in my apartment, pretending it's a farmhouse.
We live in Manhattan's shadow, but these pages—published with the seasons and available free of charge at your favorite edible businesses (or by subscription)—illuminate our own kingdom. We invite you to regard Crown Heights and Bensonhurst as culinary wonderlands, to consider Flatbush and Atlantic to be boulevards of gastronomic exploration. Go ahead, relish the cheesecake at Junior's lunch counter. Wash down horsemeat with vodka in Brighton Beach. Savor America's most authentic dim sum. Buy just-picked kale at Added Value Farm in Red Hook. Ruminate over some Brooklyn-brewed beer. Plan a weekend trip to Brooklyn's backyard wine country. And chew on this magazine.
Here's some more poetry: Dig in.
Whitefish, Acme Smoked Fish, Greenpoint.


A great opportunity for new and current parents at Waverley College to meet each other, the Parents' Association and College staff.
celebrating the commencement of the 2017 College year.
For more information call 9369 0753. RSVP – Friday 17 February 2017.


text:
Invisible Universe - Chapter Iii - Myth!
Gregory J Christiano
By this time, as the traveler was finishing his tale of the Spheres, he had shrunk to normal size and could enter the reporter's house. It was certainly a welcomed relief for both men. The reporter, whose name was James Creighton, was getting writer's cramp; the visitor was tired and hungry. A hot meal was prepared after they retreated to the warmth and comfort of Creighton's parlor.
The visitor, wrapped in a woolen blanket, decided it would be best if he put the reporter in a hypnotic trance for the remainder of the story. He guaranteed that there would be no ill effects, in fact, he assured Creighton that he would feel refreshed and rested when he was brought out of it and would remember everything that was transmitted in the smallest detail. Creighton could then chronicle the adventure at his leisure. The reporter agreed and soon was in a deep hypnotic trance, laying comfortably on his livingroom couch.
The traveler continued his incredible story:
I passed through the first stages of my descent without incident. I knew what to expect this second time around. The cycles had just begun and I was fully prepared for each phase.
Now down to the size of a super-cluster, I began to search for a host galaxy. One, in particular, spun near my right arm, a coffee cup, saucer size spiral shape. It twirled slowly around. A multitude of stars twinkled throughout, with intense super-novae popping in several parts of this galaxy. A pair of satellite galaxies spun lazily about this larger galaxy's equatorial plane.
Observing, waiting as I shrank, I marvelled at my surroundings. I could only guess at what wonderful sights awaited me on my journeys. When sufficiently small, I tried to be as motionless as possible, trying not to disturb my surroundings. I was attracted to a single bright yellow sun with twelve small planets orbiting around it. It would become my next temporary home.
I bypassed the cold, dead outer planets and headed for the ones nearer the star. I leisurely floated toward the sixth planet, but it was sheathed with ice that was, perhaps, several hundred miles thick! Number four was more to my liking. It had five medium-sized continents spread over its girth. I selected a continent toward the northern hemisphere and waited for the next orbital pass.
Anticipating the planet's speed, I was caught up in its gravitational pull and positioned myself in the usual manner, feet first. It was a pretty blue and green world. There were no moons around it, so I was able to concentrate on landing without being tugged away by another close orbiting object. When I was half the length of the diameter of this world, I slid a little closer, and waited till I was about ten miles tall. The planet grabbed me and pulled me down. Making my way, feet first, once again through the upper atmosphere, I made a perfect landing about two hundred miles off the western coast. I was getting better at my entrance, in both my judgement and skill. After all, this was only my second attempt!
After a few moments and at a more reasonable size, I waded ashore. The coastline looked formidable, guarded by massive, vertical cliffs for miles along its length. I noticed large whale-like fish swimming at my feet, but to me they were the size of minnows! I stepped carefully onto a nearby beach and scanned around, especially at my feet. I then took a step upward upon the nearest plateau and stood among broken patches of vegetation and rock. I was, perhaps, a mile tall at this point. Looking around, i searched over the same broken forested landscape. A wild, yellowish river wound in a sluggish manner across the escarpment, disappearing at the foot of the precipice, forming a thousand foot waterfall! It was breathtaking. I took a long and deep drink from the river's banks and refreshed myself.
I followed the course of this river upstream. After a ten minute walk, I found myself at the outskirts of a great green expanse. It was a steaming prehistoric jungle. There were huge fern-like growths of shrubs with twisted tree trunks of a variety I had never encountered. There were some flowering plants and other types of exotic vegetation. Mostly it was dark, forest green. Beyond this jungle were sweltering swamplands. It was stifling and hard to breathe as I became steadily smaller. There were no signs of life yet.
Standing near a towering cliff, I now observed a long row of caves just above the lower ledges, about a third of the way up the cliff face. I moved cautiously toward the ledge.
There! A tiny figure emerged out to the ledge. It was crouched low to the ground, looking terrified. I stood there staring back at this creature. He was humanoid in shape, vaguely like a Neanderthal species. This figure was eventually joined by others. They began to chatter among themselves with exaggerated hand signals. I could rightly assume that I was the cause of their great excitement.
They were squat, heavily muscled and covered with hair. And these were the females! They were four-limbed and stood erect and carried crude weapons. Suddenly one of them raised a bow almost as tall as himself and launched a tiny arrow at me. It fell far short, and i took it to mean he was the leader of this barbaric tribe. I was now about half a mile tall.
I gestured a sign of friendship to show I meant no harm. They began to gesticulate wildly, yelling, jumping around, and screaming. The leader raised his bow and fired another shot at me. The leader then dropped to his knees shielding his eyes from the sun and scanned the jungle below. I understood immediately, evidently there was a hunting party somewhere in that thick jungle, possibly in the vicinity. The people must be fearful that I would squash them flat if I moved around. Peering hard into the dense and dank vegetation below, it was nearly impossible to see anything within the tick clouds of steam hanging below the trees. However, I did catch a faint sound of shouting. Appearing suddenly in a long single file, were a group of these barbarian hunters running along an open path. They burst into a clearing and skidded to a halt. They began screaming in terror. Obviously, they spotted me for the first time.
Dropping the poles which carried the carcasses of their day's hunt, they all fell to the ground wailing. All but one. He tried to rouse his companions, yelling in a gutteral tone and gesticulating wildly, pointing back along the path. I heard a terrifying roar. It sounded like the roar of a great beast. Reacting to the bellow, the group scrambled to their feet grabbing their weapons off the ground. They formed a defensive semicircle facing the path. The monster roared again. it was closer.
The leader of the hunters climbed up a nearby limb of a large tree which overhung the path. He reached for a thick vine hanging off this limb and fastened it to a crude-looking weapon. With the help of a fellow tribesman he drew the vine up the tree. The weapon consisted of a large, pointed stake about eight feet long with a couple of heavy stones fastened at its midsection. The leader took the weapon and balanced it carefully, pointing the sharp end downward over the path. The others on the ground crouched behind their spears which were firmly planted at an angle in the dirt in front of each man. Then came another loud, shuddering roar, closer still.
These tiny hunters stood their ground. I admired their bravery. They did not flinch, they did not back down. There - the beast appeared in the clearing! It stood twenty feet tall at the shoulders, if not an inch more, and it was over fifty feet long. It looked reptilian, but I would imagine it belonged to a family of mammals instead. Its thick front legs ended in a horny, sharp claw. It looked like it could rip through metal. The body was balanced by its long tapering tail. Its snout revealed two twenty-inch curved fangs and two rows of twelve inch teeth top and bottom in its mouth. For a long while the monster stood twitching back and forth with its tiny, beady eyes glaring in a perpetual angry scowl. It looked as if it would lurch forward from its hind legs at any second. The warrior on the tree above launched the weapon. He let out a shriek as he flung it downward toward the animal.
With lightening speed, which surprised me, the beast moved aside as the stake fell harmlessly into the ground just ten feet from the creature's neck. The warrior in the tree was jolted off the limb and fell stunned at the monster's right foot. He seemed resigned to his death.
But just as the beast raised its massive, ugly head, the rest of the hunting party sprang to their feet and pressed forward, giving off a warbling cry in unison. I was very much impressed with their sense of loyalty toward one of their fellows. The beast snarled with rage and snapped forward. The band of warriors charged in a group and desparately tried to drive their primitive lances into the heavily armored skin of this animal. Its thick, leathery hide proved too invulnerable. One tiny man was picked up in the creature's jaws and was swallowed whole, one other was crushed beneath a massive paw. Another was locked into its vicious jaws and died screaming. Three of them perished in a futile attempt to save their leader. It was then that I reacted.
I swung my hand down in a flat arc as the beast was about to spring upon them a second time. I caught it flush in mid air, smashing it hard against a tree. Making a fist, I smashed it again and again. It scrambled to its feet snarling with rage as it sprung at my hand. I heard its bones crack as I pommeled it to the ground. It twitched a bit then lay still, a dark red stain of blood oozed out from beneath its lifeless body.
The natives stopped in their tracks. They jabbered noisily among themselves, but still kept their distance. They pointed to the dead beast and then pointed to me. The leader got to his feet and approached me. It took a great deal of courage for this tiny creature to come so close to me. I still towered above the tallest tree. He looked up at me and fell to his knees in reverent awe. He then bent low to the forest floor, bowing up and down, grovelling. The others followed the gesture.
Soon afterwards, these men went to work on the carcass of the fallen beast. Obviously it was much too gigantic for them to carry back to their cave. So, seeing their plight, I picked it up. I was perhaps around four hundred feet tall, the monster the size of a sewer rat. It was dripping blood as I carried it by its tail.
I hauled it back a short distance and placed it on the ledge near their cave dwelling and backed off. I wanted to give the primitives some room to breathe. I'm sure they had seen enough of me. I could well imagine the legends that would grow up around the events of today. I wondered of what cave paintings would be discovered ten thousand years from now recounting the story? What word of mouth traditional tale would be passed from one generation to another? A future civilization rising out of this primeval past would have many myths from the dawn of time! And one of these myths would tell of a great god-like being descending from the skies, leveling trees in its stride and how he saved a group of hunters from destruction. And great men, great thinkers of that future civilization would undoubtedly say, "Preposterous! What a stupid myth."
I walked away from the primitives deep in thought. The sun was far over the western sky and the shadows were growing long. The sunset had a familiar orange tint. I felt lonely. I was in this melancholy state when I heard a flap of wings above me. I fell flat to the ground just in time. A great shadowy shape of some large bird-like creature swept down behind me. Its sharp talons raked across my back. I looked up to glimpse the creature flying off towards the swamps. Its wingspread must have been over forty feet. I got up and hurried back to the coast, keeping close watch in all directions.
I reached the shore and the protection of the cliffs. I bathed my injured back using the salt water of the ocean as a medicinal aid. It certainly helped. The wounds were not that severe. I was normal size now. The long rays of the sun were glinting off the cliffs. I waited, shrinking steadily. At last I stood on a single grain of sand. The other grains of sand towered around me like smoothe, majestic mountains.
In the next few minutes I experienced the change again from a microscopic organism on a gigantic world to a giant organism floating in microscopic space! As I became smaller and the distances between the galaxies grew, I picked one globular cluster at random and headed in. The system I had chosen had a brilliant white star with a dimmer red companion. There were fifteen planets in orbit. When I approached the fourth planet I was surprised - a spaceship was heading towards me.
Next Chapter IV - City of the Machines
Copyright © 2003 Gregory J Christiano
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"


A Niangua man died Tuesday afternoon in a vehicle crash four miles north of Marshfield, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Dale G. Stafford, 19, was a passenger in a 2018 Hyundai Elantra driven by Larry G. Moore, 41, when the vehicle traveled off Route CC and struck a tree.
Stafford was airlifted to Cox South Hospital in Springfield but suffered fatal injuries. Moore was seriously injured and taken by ambulance to the same hospital, according to the patrol report.
Neither man was wearing a seat belt, according to the report.


Using saplings made from the basal sprouts of these super trees to plant new groves in temperate countries around the world means the growths have a better chance than most to become giants themselves. Their ancestors grew up to 400 ft (122 m) tall and to 35 ft in diameter, after all, larger than the largest living redwood today,?a giant sequoia?in California��s Sequoia National Park.
Online media companies were forced to rethink their advertiser policies last year because of the introduction of the online sports sites. The New York Times decided to stop using ad services that tracked you across the web; exactly what the GDPR was designed to do. Most people claimed that because marketers can't spy on you that media companies like the NYT will fail. The opposite has been proven true, revenues from advertising are up due to the fact that the NYT no longer uses these sketchy advertising services.


Welcome to the Flood Brothers World of Services - We are the only relocation company in our market that is committed to putting only company hired employees on every jobsite. We concentrates 100% commercial and government relocations.
Sell or list your Las Vegas home with the Las Vegas real estate company market leader with comprehensive Las Vegas real estate services for Las Vegas real estate investors and Las Vegas real estate buyers and Las Vegas real estate sellers.


The Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project, proposed in the 1990s as a connector between the major Durham and Orange County employers, including UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, and NC Central Universities as well as the VA medical center and downtown Durham, has been all but shut down as a result of a funding decision by Duke University administrators. In early March, the university said that representatives would not be willing to sign a cooperative funding agreement, nor would they be participating in a mediated negotiation with GoTriangle, the primary transit organizers for the project. Approval and support from Duke University would have been critical in gaining a federal grant which would fund over half of the project. Without this support, the project, which was expected to improve quality of life for the region by reducing emissions, congestion, and transit access disparities, is unlikely to move forward. In withdrawing support, Duke cited concerns of interruptions to hospital and university services during construction, as well as potential interference with research as a result of vibrations and electrical waves caused by the light rail. While interruptions to normal operations during construction could be inconvenient to the university community, the long-term value added for the entirety of the Durham-Orange region would almost certainly outweigh the short-term cost.
Duke University's inflexibility on this issue reflects a larger culture of university elitism within the Research Triangle region of North Carolina. In the mid-1950s, North Carolina, still reliant on manufacturing jobs, lagged behind the rest of the Southeast with a per capita income of just $1,049. Local leaders planned Research Triangle Park as a means of attracting what they deemed "modern industries" to the state. The idea was to capitalize on the proximity of three of the region's premier research universities (Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and NC State) to facilitate the growth of a modern research hub. RTP is now one of the top-ranking centers for research in the United States. RTP was planned as a non-profit venture, with support from the three universities. Planned as a non-profit venture, the RTP plan initially required support from the three universities for development. In turn, the universities gained massive influence on the region and the entire state of North Carolina, which manifest in a particular way as the universities, part of a private development park, influence public projects like the light rail system.
All three of the universities provide substantial development opportunities for the Triangle region. Duke holds particular influence over the city and county of Durham as a private institution and large stakeholder in the city. As a result, the university is able to use its funding and influence to shape the way in which the city and county of Durham, as well as the entire Triangle area, develops. Regardless of the potential benefits provided by an Orange-Durham light rail, the assumed and real importance and influence of the university is the top priority. The reality, unfortunately, is that while the university comprises a relatively small portion of the population , the entire population of Durham is suffering losses as the university pulls support for moving forward with the transit system.
There is certainly an argument for the notion that, because the universities employ so many Triangle residents, they should reserve the right to exert influence as they please. It is true that the universities directly and indirectly employ large numbers of the Triangle population. In the case of the light rail, however, the argument that this legitimizes exertion of influence is misguided, because the influence that Duke University in particular has chosen to exert is actually hypocritical when understood in conjunction with the values the university claims to espouse. The light rail would have been a huge stride forward in reducing automobile emissions and facilitating more active lifestyles in a corridor known for congestion and car travel. If Duke truly had the region's best interests in mind, the university would wholeheartedly support or at least provide recommendations to improve the Orange-Durham light rail plan. Instead, the university continues to perpetuate the norm of using influence to shape the development of the Triangle area in favor of selfish interests. Unfortunately, this story will be repeated until the universities can be understood as equal members of the Triangle development rather than gracious hosts to a dependent community.


The lead guitarist and songwriter of the band Milton and the Devil's Party are English professors, and it shows. The lyrics to these songs are heavy. Epic, almost. At times it can be a little much to listen to, in fact, but overall it's definitely worth a post and a listen from you all. I like the music a lot more than the words that go with it–I think they need to focus on writing a song as opposed to making a statement–but for every song on the album that doesn't quite work for me, there's a couple more that do. I'm curious to see where these folks are going in the future.
A repost. I don't usually do reposts, and I don't usually take requests, but I do so love this band. Too bad their last album is on Universal. Means I have mixed feelings even about posting their live stuff. Oh well, I'll do it for now but I won't do it often, and it's just because I think these guys are in, like, the top 10 bands around today.
The Hold Steady, Live in Minneapolis, October 24, 2006.
As a favor to a fellow blogger . . .
I saw this add that said something about how the human heart starts beating after 20-some-odd days but you have the right to stop it from beating for the next 100. An anti-choice ad, obviously, from a group that also supports teaching creationism in schools. Have you ever noticed that religious political activists are all into science when it tells you when a particular life begins, but aren't interested in science when it tells you how all life began?
WHERE THE HIP HOP BEEN?


Do you need a permit or authorisation to produce biofuel?
If you want to produce biofuel for commercial or personal use, you may need a pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit, waste management licence or, in Scotland, to register an exemption. This will depend on how much biofuel you want to make and the method you use.
a waste management licence if you make less than 5,000 litres per year.
If you produce small amounts of biodiesel by physical means you may also require a waste management licence. You will need a waste management licence if you make more than 100 litres per batch for business or personal use.
If you produce biodiesel or bioethanol by chemical means from waste or virgin vegetable oils you will normally require a PPC permit.
If you produce biodiesel by physical means from waste cooking oil you may need a waste management licence or to register an exemption.
If you produce biodiesel from waste edible fats and oils of animal origin that are not catering waste, you will also be subject to any relevant controls under animal by-product legislation.
In Northern Ireland, the Divisional Veterinary Office.
If you produce biogas from the anaerobic digestion of waste you must also have a PPC permit or waste management licence.
If you produce biodiesel by chemical means and need a PPC permit, your activity may be considered to be low impact. If you meet the criteria set out in the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) or the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) guidance you may be eligible for a low impact installation (LII) permit. The fees and charges you pay will be less to reflect the lower environmental impact.
You may need a waste management licence to store waste cooking oil.
If you store more than 1,000 litres of waste cooking oil at any one time you will need a licence.
You must always store your used cooking oil within a suitable secondary containment system, for example a bund.
You must register an exemption from waste management licensing for certain activities. If you have an exemption you must comply with its conditions.
If you treat waste vegetable oil from catering and cooking by physical means to make biodiesel you will need to register for a paragraph 5 exemption.
If you would like to make more biodiesel than this exemption will allow, you may need a waste management licence.
If you collect and transport waste vegetable oil, for example used cooking oil, for the production of biodiesel then you will need to be a registered waste carrier and follow your duty of care for waste.
How micro-brewers and distillers can reduce their environmental impact, A blog exploring the environmental obligations and responsibilities of micro-brewers and distillers, with advice on things they should and shouldn't be doing.
BREXIT 'No Deal' Guidance, With BREXIT approaching and no sign of a deal there is some uncertainty surrounding what could happen to regulations and legislation.
View our latest videos & subscribe to our channel.


If 2 downloads were successful and one failed, it could be that the one is infected. Did Norton give a message noting a malware detection?
You try disabling your Norton (Security?) temporarily > follow this page to restore that video file manually. Then, update your Norton app to see if your issue continues. Also, you had better disable fast startup if you're using a Windows 10/8.1/8 computer.
Furthermore, plz give us more information by following this comment (about how to show known file extensions).


text:
Q: Floating Action Button Bottom-Margin doesn't work I tried to implement a Floating Button on the bottom-right of the screen, but the bottom-margin doesn't work for some reason :/ I tried to change the margin size only on the Bottom but it didn't work.
Layout Files:
activity_main.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:id="@+id/drawer_layout"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:fitsSystemWindows="true"
tools:openDrawer="start">

<include
    layout="@layout/app_bar_main"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent" />

<android.support.design.widget.NavigationView
    android:id="@+id/nav_view"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:layout_gravity="start"
    android:fitsSystemWindows="true"
    app:headerLayout="@layout/nav_header_main"
    app:menu="@menu/activity_main_drawer" />

</android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout>

app_bar_main.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
tools:context="de.js_labs.gaminggroups.MainActivity"
android:id="@+id/appBarMainRl">

<include
layout="@layout/some_content" // Changed by LayoutInflater in Java ...
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />

<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:theme="@style/AppTheme.AppBarOverlay">

    <android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
        android:id="@+id/toolbar"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
        android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
        app:popupTheme="@style/AppTheme.PopupOverlay" />

</android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout>

</android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout>

some_content.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
app:useCompatPadding="true"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingTop="50dp"
android:id="@+id/contentMyGroupsRl"
tools:context=".MainActivity">

<android.support.design.widget.FloatingActionButton
    android:id="@+id/fab"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    app:srcCompat="@drawable/ic_action_addgroup"
    android:layout_alignParentEnd="true"
    android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
    app:fabSize="normal"
    android:layout_margin="@dimen/fab_margin"
    android:layout_alignParentBottom="true" />

</RelativeLayout>

Screenshot: https://i.stack.imgur.com/COpgF.png

A: Try adding the app:useCompatPadding="true" in the FloatingActionButton tag as shown below:
<android.support.design.widget.FloatingActionButton
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
        android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
        android:layout_marginBottom="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
        android:layout_marginEnd="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
        android:layout_marginRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
        android:scaleType="center"
        app:fabSize="mini"
        app:useCompatPadding="true" />

A: First, try to remove this line
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"

from FloatingActionButton
Second Step, move FloatingActionButton from Relative layout to CoordinatorLayout itself, as a direct child.
Should look like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
tools:context="de.js_labs.gaminggroups.MainActivity"
android:id="@+id/appBarMainRl">

<include
layout="@layout/some_content" // Changed by LayoutInflater in Java ...
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />

<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:theme="@style/AppTheme.AppBarOverlay">

    <android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
        android:id="@+id/toolbar"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
        android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
        app:popupTheme="@style/AppTheme.PopupOverlay" />

</android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout>

<android.support.design.widget.FloatingActionButton
    android:id="@+id/fab"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    app:srcCompat="@drawable/ic_action_addgroup"
    android:layout_alignParentEnd="true"
    android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
    app:fabSize="normal"
    android:layout_margin="@dimen/fab_margin"
/>

</android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout>

A: Try this:
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
    <android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    tools:context="de.js_labs.gaminggroups.MainActivity"
    android:id="@+id/appBarMainRl">

    <android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme.AppBarOverlay">

        <android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
            android:id="@+id/toolbar"
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
            android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
            app:popupTheme="@style/AppTheme.PopupOverlay" />

    </android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout>

<android.support.design.widget.FloatingActionButton
        android:id="@+id/fab"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_gravity="end|bottom"
        app:srcCompat="@drawable/ic_action_addgroup"
        app:fabSize="normal"
        android:layout_margin="@dimen/fab_margin" />

    </android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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A Caregiver Support Group meets monthly at Bethel UMC (5000 Southwest Boulevard, Fort Worth, 76116). The next meeting is Thursday, January 15 at 6:30 p.m. This group is for caregivers who need support and a safe place to talk. If you have any questions, contact Theresa Wright.
A Caregiver Support Group meets monthly at Bethel UMC (5000 Southwest Boulevard, Fort Worth, 76116). The next meeting is November 20 at 6:30 p.m. This group is for caregivers who need support and a safe place to talk. If you have any questions, contact Theresa Wright.
Arborlawn offers an Al-Anon program of recovery for family members and/or friends affected by someone's drinking or drug use. This program helps these individuals make healthier life choices and develop relationships that are positive and supportive. Anonymity is an important principle of the Al-Anon program. Meetings are held in Room 214 near the side entrance by the Choir Room from 6:30-7:30 p.m. every Monday night.
A six-week Grief Support Group will meet Wednesdays, October 15 through November 19 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in Room 212. This group is designed to provide individuals who have lost loved ones with a comfortable environment to express their thoughts and feelings regarding their loss, find a sense of hope for the future, and equip them with the tools to help others.
A Caregiver Support Group meets monthly at Bethel UMC (5000 Southwest Boulevard, Fort Worth, 76116). The next meeting is October 23 at 6:30 p.m. This group is for caregivers who need support and a safe place to talk. If you have any questions, contact Theresa Wright.
A Caregiver Support Group meets monthly at Bethel UMC (5000 Southwest Boulevard, Fort Worth, 76116). The next meeting will be September 18 at 6:30 p.m. This group is for caregivers who need support and a safe place to talk. If you have any questions, contact Theresa Wright.
Beyond the Broken Heart? Is that really possible? Does our grief really turn to joy? How? When do we feel normal again? Ever? If these are just a few of the questions you have asked after the loss of a loved one, please consider joining Beyond the Broken Heart, a six-week grief support group that uses discussion, prayer, scripture, and video clips.
The group starts on Tuesday, October 8 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in Room 212 and meets each Tuesday through November 12. Registration closes Monday, October 7 for the group, so please contact Deb Sewell to register.
Is that really possible? Does our grief really turn to joy? How? When do we feel normal again? Ever? If these are just a few of the questions you have asked after the loss of a loved one, please consider joining Beyond the Broken Heart, a six-week program, which begins Tuesday, October 8 (6:00-7:30 p.m.) and will meet each Tuesday through November 12.
We will use a structured format with discussion, prayer, scripture, and video clips. To register, please contact the church office at 817-731-0701 or, for more specific information, please contact Deb Sewell.
Mark your calendars for Tuesday evenings, October 8 through November 12. On those nights a Grief Support Group called Beyond the Broken Heart will be meeting. The group is designed to provide those who have lost loved ones a safe, comfortable space to learn the skills and move gently through the pain and sorrow of a broken heart. We will use a format of group discussion, prayer, Bible Study, and journaling as participants examine a variety of factors that play a role in their ability to grieve adequately. Please feel free to contact Deb Sewell if you have any questions.
An Al-Anon group meets at Arborlawn every Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Room 214. Al-Anon Family Groups are a community health resource for friends and families who are affected by another person's drinking.
Arborlawn's Divorce class is a six-week class meeting Wednesdays, April 3 through May 8 from 6:30-8 p.m. in Room 210. The class is facilitated by Bryan Bellamy (817-731-0701).
Separation and divorce can be a painful and stressful experience. It's a confusing time when you feel isolated and have lots of questions about issues you've never faced before. This is a support group for adults in the process of separation and/or divorce. Over the course of six weeks, we will meet and explore aspects of the divorce experience in a supportive and spiritual environment that will help guide you through the healing process.
Many people feel overwhelmed these days juggling the demands of daily life. But for someone who cares for a loved one with dementia, the balancing act is tough. If you find yourself without the time to take care of your own needs, you may be putting yourself and your own health at risk. The challenge of caring for one's self increases as the needs of the person with dementia increases. By learning caregiving skills, however, you can make sure that your loved one feels supported and is living a full life. You can also ensure that you are taking steps to preserve your own well-being.
If this sounds like you, then consider joining a support group that you can rely on for help. In fact, not finding the support you need may lead to caregiver burnout, damaging to both you and the person with dementia.
An Alzheimer's Association Caregiver Support Group will be meeting the 3rd Tuesday of each month at Arborlawn. Join us at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15 for the first meeting. The group will meet in Room 212.
Join us to find help with issues concerning the Do's and Don'ts of working with persons with Dementia, How to Find Respite Care, Emergency Room Visits, Behaviors, Legal Plans, Basic of Alzheimer's Disease and many more helpful topics.
Alzheimer's Association support groups are offered free of charge and open to the community. For more details, contact Bryan Bellamy (817-731-0701).
A Grief Support Group is beginning Wednesday, May 2. Join us from 6-7:30 p.m. in Room 220. The group will meet for six weeks, concluding on June 6.
This six-week support group is designed to provide individuals who have lost loved ones with a comfortable environment to express their thoughts and feelings regarding their loss, find a sense of hope for the future, and equip them with the tools to help others. Through group discussion, prayer, Bible study, and journaling, the participants examine a variety of factors that play a role in blocking their ability to adequately grieve.
If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Austin-Weeks.
Make plans to be a part of the Roots of Change workshop Apr. 20-21.
Roots of change is a program designed to expose how patterns in our emotions impact the way we work, think, pray, and love. The program was developed by Charles Gaby, Director of The Center for Creative Transformation.
Roots of Change is a journey into deeper community that offers the opportunity to strengthen relationships and discover new insights into our lives. The core materials are drawn from the writings of Silvan Tomkins, Donald Nathanson, Sam Keen, Walter Wink, and Ted Wachtel.
Arborlawn is offering this program as a two day study on Friday, Apr. 20 from 6-9 p.m. and continuing on Saturday, Apr. 21 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. This intensive weekend study is an opportunity for you to not only have a personally transformative experience, but explore ways in which you can relate better with others.
The cost of the program is $35 and includes the cost of materials and meals. Reservations need to be made by Apr. 15. Register here.
If you have questions or would like more details, please contact Bryan Bellamy (or 817-731-0701).


Acne or a pimple is a skin disease which is medically known as Acne Vulgaris. It is mainly caused by oil glands that are present at the base of hair follicles. The word 'acne' came from the Greek word 'akme,' which meant spot or point. It is mostly seen occurring at the neck, face, back, shoulder and chest. The skin pores in the human body come in contact with oil glands present under the skin, which produce an oily substance known as sebum. A follicle connects to the skin pores. Oil transports dead skin cells to the skin surface of these follicles, clogging these follicles thus causing acne.
Whitehead – This form when dead skin cells, oil, and bacteria become trapped within the pores of the skin.
Blackheads - The small bump that appears on the skin due to clogged hair follicles is known as Blackhead, which is so called because the skin surface looks dark or black.
Papules - Papules seen on the skin surface, are usually small bumps, which are pink in color.
Pustules - Pustules are distinctly visible on the surface of the skin, which is red at their base and have pus at the tip.
Nodules - This type of acne is large, painful, solid pimples, and are buried deep within the skin.
Cysts – Cystic acne is visible on the surface of the skin and are a painful form of acne, loaded with pus and capable of making scars.
What causes Acne / Pimples during Pregnancy?
Due to the increased levels of hormones during pregnancy, acne gets triggered mostly in early pregnancy. High level of hormones known as Androgens is primarily responsible for the increased oil production leading to acne. These hormones can boost the sebaceous glands in the skin to produce sebum, which combined with dead skin cells in the hair follicles, block the pores allowing bacteria to multiply rapidly.
Though it cannot be predetermined who is going to get pregnancy acne, if one has a history of acne, she is more likely to develop acne. Women who get acne during the first trimester, are unlikely to have acne during the second or third trimesters. The condition of acne in pregnancy can range from mild, moderate or severe, i.e., it can last for a short duration or through the entire period of pregnancy. Acne is mostly seen on the face during this period but may also spread on shoulders and back.
Here are five natural remedies that can be used to prevent acne at home. However, consulting with your gynaecologist and dermatologist before the application is highly recommended to avoid allergies and infections.
With the antimicrobial properties of cinnamon mixed with honey, a natural antibiotic., it can do wonders to resolve acne.
The acids present in milk and yoghurt helps to tone down redness along with moisturization of the skin. It also helps to get rid of any residual matter skin caused by dead skin.
Egg white is an easy way to decrease breakouts as it contains proteins and vitamins which help to revamp skin cells. It also soaks up excess oil, which means excess sebum, thus reducing the breeding ground for bacterial infection.
The use of orange peel mask, containing vitamin C, citrus extract, and astringent properties, helps to develop new skin cells, therefore, keeping the skin in healthy conditions.
Unlike other oil, tea tree oil acts as a solvent that penetrates through sebum and dead skin cells, unblocking the skin pores. The antibacterial properties of tea tree oil help to get rid of infecting bacteria and prevents it from growing in further.
Here is a list of foods that helps to keep acne in check. However, consultation with doctors before the intake or application is highly recommendable.
Dab a cotton ball with unfiltered apple juice vinegar and apply to your skin to absorb oil. Blend one-section vinegar to three-sections clean water to make a natural toner that is rich in natural enzymes and alpha hydroxy acids.
It dries the oil on your skin and escalates healing. Prepare a natural treatment by blending one tablespoon of baking soda with one tablespoon of water. Apply to acne and pimples and allow it to dry.
Lemons and limes contain alpha hydroxy acid which penetrates in your skin, unclogs pores and sheds dead skin cells. These astringent and antibacterial qualities make it useful as an exfoliant.
Honey has antibacterial and antiseptic properties which are calming to the skin. Applying honey to the affected area is proven to prevent acne and breakouts.
Coconut oil has antibacterial and antifungal characteristics which soothe the skin and easily gets absorbed. Apply virgin coconut oil before going to bed for better results.
Natural remedies will be helpful to prevent or treat mild acne. In case your acne is not improving and continues to persist you might want to try to some products containing natural and organic ingredients as BELLI ANTI BLEMISH FACE WASH. It is one of best anti-acne face wash which has won Women's Choice Award (US). With ingredients like cucumber extract, lemon peel oil, green tea extract it not only helps remove acne but the redness and associated acne scars & blemishes as well. Belli products are Dermatologist & Ob gyn recommended and are gluten-free & cruelty-free.
Acne and skin break out are very common during pregnancy. More than one out of every two females can develop acne problem during pregnancy. At times, it might be severe, but one should never pop the acne, as it might result in permanent acne scars. In the case of clogged pores, one can get always opt for a professional facial. The ultimate truth is, pregnancy is not at all bad for your skin! While some of you may have to tackle a few new skin ailments, For some lucky few, pregnancy can help clear up their skin for others who have to deal with few skin ailments opt for products which are entirely safe and certified to use during pregnancy. You can find a great range of such natural and organic pregnancy and post-pregnancy products at NULUV.
We at Nuluv have two famous US brands for acne treatment and prevention –Bella B and Belli. Natural foaming face wash of Bella B has natural and organic ingredients. It is suitable for sensitive and oily skin as this is more like a foam. While on the other hand for dry sensitive skin a gel based cleanser from Belli again containing mostly natural ingredients (like green tea and cucumber) would be more suitable. Both of these are award winning brands so depending on your skin type you can choose which one to go with.
Is there any good recommended product for acne? Mine is horrible and embarrassing. I tried to apply Dermal Md facial wash as someone suggested but I can't seem to be getting help from it.


The City of Vallejo strives to keep streets, sidewalks, City-owned facilities, and utilities in good condition. We can't see every problem around town, so we need your help to let us know if there is a maintenance issue that needs attention.
Potholes - Potholes are created by weather changes and heavy traffic, we work to fix (not just cover) all street damage. Please take a moment to visit our Street & Pothole Repair FAQ.
Streetlights - There are 8,373 streetlights in Vallejo.
Graffiti - We are responsible for removing tags and graffiti from public property, using Measure B Funds as well as with the help of local citizens who are a part of a Graffiti Removal Program.
Illegal Dumping - We have one Maintenance Worker whose sole job is to clean up approximately 3,500 tons of illegally dumped trash and debris on public property each year!
Street Signals - We maintain 121 traffic signals in Vallejo.
Street Signs - We install new signs as directed by the Traffic Engineer, and maintain over 19,000 already installed signs as well as street and curb markings.
To report a non-emergency Maintenance problem, please use our online reporting tool, SeeClickFix.
In order for us to address the problem quickly, please tell us the exact nature and location of the maintenance issue. Locations can be cross streets, identifiable landmarks, addresses, or streetlight pole identification numbers.
You may also call the Maintenance Division at (707) 648-5235 during regular business hours.