text:
Thoughts on Matt Harvey's first complete game shutout
I was finally lucky enough to see Matt Harvey pitch as the Mets hosted the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field on August 7.
There were some exciting moments to the night courtesy of the great seats, seeing Wilmer Flores's first hits and RBI's, and seeing an uncommon Mets win.
But none of those moments could compare to watching Harvey pitch.
Although I have been able to watch him dominate all season long on television, there is nothing like seeing the control and aggressiveness that comes from a Harvey pitching performance. You could feel the electricity in the air with every strikeout Harvey tossed (he would end up finishing the night with 6) even considering that barely half of the seats at Citi Field were filled for the Wednesday evening game.
What really drove home Harvey's affect on the Mets fan base though was the drama of the final inning. At first, it was unsure if Mets fans would see Harvey come out to finish up the game. But with a 5-0 lead and only 91 pitches under his belt, Harvey trotted out to the mound to try to end it. Harvey quickly took care of the first two batters (the above video is a Dexter Fowler swing-and-miss) before Rockies left fielder Charlie Blackmon came up.
With every present Mets fan on their feet cheering for a quick finish to the game's final batter, Blackmon sent a screeching fast ball right back to the mound to hit Harvey on the knee. The noise from the crowd couldn't have left the stadium quicker.
Fortunately, Harvey was perfectly fine (or for as far as we now know) and came back to force a Troy Tulowitzi pop out to end the game. Matt Harvey finished the game with only 4 hits and 0 runs allowed over 9 innings for his first complete game shutout. Impressive, absolutely, but what will stay with me longer is just how quiet the stadium got upon the Fowler line drive hitting off Harvey's knee.
For a team and a franchise that has struggled so much in recent years, Harvey's dominance is one of the biggest rays of hope it could have asked for. Every Mets fan knows that if the Mets are to be taken seriously within the next five years, then Matt Harvey will have to be a huge part of that. And for a split second on Wednesday night, the Mets had that hope crushed with the thought of an injury to their rising star.
I don't really think that there are really any Mets fans who are taking Harvey for granted, per say, but it is nice knowing that in another down season like 2013 that a terrific performance is guaranteed at least once every five games.
But then one plunk on the knee is all it takes to drive home that for the Mets to be any sort of successful in the next few years, Matt Harvey needs to continue to be consistent, dominant, and, above all, healthy.
East Of Queens
Jonathon Niese
R.A. Dickey


Chicago — Ted Wallace is the product of an innovative outreach known as "Pack a Pew," which has taken place annually for the past 20 years at Southside Tabernacle Assembly of God in inner-city Chicago.
As a high school sophomore in 1980, Wallace says he experimented with drugs and alcohol in search of inner peace. "I knew of the gospel because of my mother, but I didn't have a relationship with Christ," he says.
A family friend invited Wallace to a Pack a Pew rally in 1986. The idea of the worship service outreach is to challenge church members to fill an assigned pew with friends, neighbors and relatives who don't regularly attend church.
On Pack a Pew Sunday, the praise, worship and sermon are geared toward reaching non-Christians with the gospel. At the rally, Wallace accepted Christ as his Savior. "My life seemed like it was going nowhere," he recalls. "I was tired of searching, and I knew it was the right thing to do."
Today, Wallace, 39, teaches the new converts class and is a board member and deacon at the 550-member church.
Senior Pastor Spencer Jones, who implemented the Pack a Pew strategy, has seen the outreach define the church's evangelism efforts, with attendance at the special services topping 1,000. "Pack a Pew Sunday is the highlight of the year for us," Jones says. "It fuels our congregation." Last October, 100 people went to the altar to accept Christ as their Savior or to rededicate their lives during Pack a Pew Sunday.
Pastor Ray Berryhill chose the final Sunday morning of 2001 to hold a Pack a Pew rally at Evangel Assembly of God in Chicago. Along with the 800 regular congregants of Evangel A/G, 400 visitors came for the December 30 service, held in a high school auditorium. Of those, 111 came to the altar at the end of the sermon to accept Jesus as Savior or to rededicate their lives.
Berryhill preached about the life-changing power of the presence of God, using sections of Mark 5, Matthew 9 and Luke 8 as his texts.
"I wanted to talk about God's ability to change lives," says Berryhill, pastor at the church for nine years. "It doesn't happen through works or self-improvement, but in His presence."
The final sermon illustration involved the woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years. After working her way through the crowd, the sick woman touched Jesus and was instantly healed. Berryhill made a modern-day comparison.
"I said, 'You probably have a lot of reasons to keep going the way you're going; but if you press in today, I believe God will make you whole.' "
Visitors — 47 adults, 40 children and 24 youth — flooded the altar. Some have started attending one-year discipleship classes at Evangel Assembly, which has been meeting in a high school since September because it outgrew its own facilities.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Delivery Passage from Falkland Islands to Cape Town 11 April - 23 May 2020 - An opportunity to build sea time and miles and practise ocean navigation and seamanship.
Pelagic Australis will be embarking her crew at Port Stanley on the Falkland Islands on 11 April 2019. After a training course on shore, and a further 2 week's cruise of the Falkland Island's scenic anchorages to put these skills into practice, the vessel will depart for her transatlantic voyage.
This 4500 mile ocean passage is expected to take 21 days with an ETA into Cape Town of about 23 May. Weather and circumstances permitting a stop at the remote island of Tristan da Cunha is a possibility.
Recently, the RYA Offshore shorebased course has been augmented with more theoretical work which is now difficult to fit into an intensive five day time span – and the course work has become more complex. Because the profile of our clients/students on this end of season delivery programme is 'mature' rather than 'zero to hero' youngsters, we have designed a course of study, The Pelagic Syllabus, that is more relevant to the cruise around the Falklands Islands and the ocean passage to Cape Town.
However this new programme is still relevant for students wishing to eventually get their RYA Yachtmaster Offshore License, as in one sweep it provides double the ocean miles required for that ticket. The new syllabus including the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean option, which emphasises celestial navigation and ocean weather, will be run by a qualified RYA instructor flown down from the UK, who will then stay on board for the Falklands cruise to help reinforce the course work, along with the professional crew.
The new Pelagic Syllabus including an option to complete the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory certificate will run during the first five days of the programme in Stanley.
After the training course in Stanley, the focus of this programme is to use the two week cruise within the complex nature of the Falkland Islands archipelago, see Falklands page for more info, for honing student's navigational skills.
This cruise will be under the guidance and assistance of the RYA instructor joining the vessel for the course, along with the Pelagic Australis crew. Then, the ocean voyage from Stanley to Cape Town, without the RYA instructor but supervised by the professional crew, serves to provide students with an opportunity to grasp every aspect of what it takes to pilot and crew an ocean sailing vessel across the breadth of the Atlantic Ocean. In addition there will be plenty of opportunities to practise the celestial navigation skills learned earlier on the shorebased course to aquire the data and qualifying miles to sit the Yachtmaster Ocean practical subsequently.
Later after completion of the voyage, a potential candidate can sit an 'Oral' exam with an Ocean Examiner where the sights are scrutinised and they are asked about all aspects of the passage and the 'Celestial Navigation'. If the examiner is happy, they 'Pass' their RYA Ocean 'Practical'. Please note that to take the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean practical, the candidate must hold a valid RYA Yachtmaster Offshore practical qualification. However as the sights and passage record are valid to sit the Ocean practical for 10 years after the voyage takes place, therefore there is a 10 year window to aquire an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Practical license if a student is not already so qualified.
Please Take Note: This is a hands on situation and is not a leisure cruise. Crew members will be required to stand a watch throughout, take turns at cooking, cleaning and maintaining the vessel. A reasonable degree of fitness and vitality is necessary for making this an enjoyable experience. In order take part in the Pelagic course training it is essential that the student is fluent in spoken and written English.
Experience Required: This is not a voyage for beginners. Every crew member is expected to have a reasonable degree of offshore experience to fully benefit from the course. An RYA Day Skipper qualification or other equivalent is the level we are looking for. Every prospective crew must submit any qualifications they have, plus a sailing CV in order for Pelagic Expeditions to judge whether he or she is suitable for this specialized voyage. There is no age limit, but we stress again that in order to benefit from this passage and the course, a reasonable degree of fitness and a high level of self motivation is required.
Pelagic Australis is run as a 'dry ship' when at sea and possibly at some anchorages when there is a real possibility of having to 'up anchor' and move off. This is at the Skipper's discretion. In port reasonable amounts of alcohol can be consumed but excessive alcohol consumption that leads to situations which put people at risk, or where the harmony of life on board is disturbed to an extent that other guests are made uncomfortable will not be tolerated. If this situation arises, the Skipper reserves the right to return to port and to disembark any Charterer at an intermediary port, or disembark the entire group in a group charter if necessary.
Pelagic Australis is a recognized and licensed RYA training facility. Pelagic Expeditions will provide a qualified RYA Instructor to conduct the Pelagic syllabus in addition to the vessels skipper and crew who will instruct the students in all else as mentioned in the general syllabus.
The Falklands offer a good mixture of weather, varied tides and many natural harbours. It is an ideal place to review sailing and navigational skills and put new skills into practice under the tutelage of the RYA instructor and the Pelagic crew.
The variability of South Atlantic weather means crew are kept busy with reefing and sail trim. It can blow anywhere between nothing to 60 knots, especially in the autumn. One day can be big winds and big seas, the next blue sky and calms. This allows students to think about optimum sail plans for the prevailing conditions.
Though the tidal range is not as large as many parts of the world, there is enough to make tidal depth calculations important. Students are able to practice some of the more intricate calculations required to get over shallow bars and to work out required depths for anchoring. Despite the relatively small range there are some deceptively strong tidal gates around the islands. A good example is Tamar Pass in the NW where tides can run up to 10 knots at Springs. This requires careful planning for the navigator.
The islands extend west to east some 150 miles making for some useful longer overnight passages. This gets the students used to getting into a regular watch system and to experience some night hours, all in preparation for the transatlantic journey ahead.
On the other hand, the natural geology of the islands give numerous natural harbours and bays to explore. Often, we are entering unexplored harbours so students may be using the dinghy and hand held depth sounder to con the vessel into her anchorage. Often we are making our own pilotage charts for future visits!
With no marinas, anchoring is the normal daily routine. Students learn the process of laying the ground tackle correctly and in strong wind conditions, maintaining an anchor watch. In some harbours, it may also be necessary to take additional ropes ashore. This involves good teamwork and coordination to help put out the wire strops, manoeuvre the tender, get ropes ashore and secure them on-board.
Pelagic Australis is fitted with all the latest electronic navigational equipment and students have the opportunity to learn how to navigate many of the trickier harbour entries with Radar and Pilotage techniques alone which are always good to practice.
Though generally traffic is light, there is still a good variety of commercial traffic around the islands requiring a good knowledge and application of the 'Collision Regulations.' Though limited in number, there are a good variety of 'aids to navigation' including lighthouses, buoys and transits.
The Falklands offer a true adventure sailing experience in one of the most remote corners of the world.
Students will arrive in Port Stanley on April 11th via the Saturday Latam flight from Santiago and can go straight on board. An alternative is to take the RAF flight from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire which will arrive a few days earlier. Guest house accommodation can be booked directly or through International Tours and Travel. We can recommend hostel or hotel accommodation for those nights prior to the embarkation date, and meals on those days will be the responsibility of the students.
Having moved on board on April 11th and the students begin the five day Pelagic course in a classroom in Stanley. On or about April 16th, Pelagic Australis will depart Stanley and begin the cruise through the archipelago of the Falklands Islands concentrating on West Falkland which has the best wildlife and points of interest. If the weather is favourable the entire island group will be circumnavigated before returning to Stanley to fuel and provision up for the ocean crossing to Cape Town.
The remote island of Tristan da Cunha is along the track at 40 degrees South and if the surf off the open roads is reasonable a landing will be attempted for a rare visit to this British overseas outpost, largely populated by descendants from ship wrecked sailors of old.
On a good day, Table Mountain can be seen from 50 miles offshore and our ETA is expected there about May 23 2020. Cape Town – Tavern of the Seas!
The Malvinas Hotel is the only true hotel, but there are other guest houses and boutique accommodations available. We can advise on those and you can book directly or through International Tours and Travel.
Crew must make sure they have visas if required for the Falklands and South Africa. Photocopies of these visas and proof of a return ticket out of South Africa will be required by Pelagic Expeditions. It is essential that you have at least two clear pages in your passport BEFORE entering South Africa.
Use of Inmarsat communication system on board (note: satellite time is billed separately as used).
Equipment List 2 - For the Atlantic Deliveries.


This is adamsme's Typepad Profile.
I am with you on the stipple thing. Not very interesting and I am not very good at it. Too good reasons to try something else. Just saw Jim West, Ricky Tims, and Justin Schultz at a local quilt store. They are on the Route 66 tour. I am sorry now that I didn't sign up for it.
Using the computer for quilting patterns and ideas.
What a cute and talented little thing is Tillie. I know she is enhancing your experience at the quilt show. I have books by Margaret Rolfe and love all the paper-pieced animals of Australia featured in them. Thanks for sharing.
I tried out a Sweet 16 recently at QuiltCon in Austin, TX. My first impression was very favorable. The machine had the stitch regulator but I was working on such a small sample that it was difficult to determine if it would be a nuisance or not. I am no expert in machine quilting, still in the learning phase, but have been able to get my stitches relatively even. You, being a master at machine applique, may find the stitch regulator not helpful. This has been the comment I have heard from several people who are expert and have tried out the regulator. They fell it hampers them and slows them down. Beautiful quilt! The colors and patterns certainly evoke a sense of the Caribbean.
110 degrees? My heavens. That is too hot to think, much less work. Love the latest study. Do I understand correctly that you are on the second version of the Bayeux? This one being more colorful and in one long piece? What becomes of the first effort?
I love satellite television, but I cannot imagine watching U.S. politics from the other side of the world and down under in Australia. Must seem like the biggest soap opera to people outside the country. Anyway I, too, eagerly await every morsel of information about the Bayeaux. I hope to be able to see it in person someday. Thanks so much for sharing.
I am impressed. The photo of you at 5:15 a.m. Dressed, coiffed, bangle bracelets and all. I often work early in the morning, but still in my pj's and with the sleep barely gone from my eyes. The Bayeux is beautiful. Can't wait to see the finished work. And the book. THere will be a book, I hope?
It's Thanksgiving Day here in the U. S. One of the many things to be grateful for on this day is our freedom of speech. No censorship here. It sometimes takes experiencing the differences to appreciate what we have.
Oh, boy, Pam. Your photo of the 12 year old boy is killer! I see a portrait quilt there.
Inspiration and creating as you travel.
Pam, have you finished the Bayeaux? I agree it is from a traditional design, but I guess I can also see that it might be considered a pictorial quilt. Frankly it would almost seem to be in a category all its own.
Birmingham - day 5, no 2.
P.S. What on earth are the linen manufacturers thinking when they send you poly and try to pass it off as cotton? Yikes. Glad you caught that one.
Oh, boy, with you in charge of fabric and other selections, the hotel is going to be fantastic. Can't wait. Lino - I am assuming you are talking about linoleum? It is definitely coming back into fashion. First of all, it is a renewable, eco-friendly material. Secondly, it is kind to the feet, as it is not too hard. Martha Stewart has also touted the wonders of this material and has done some interesting things with it, although her color palette is a bit too understated for my taste. We had linoleum in our kitchen when I was growing up and I remember it fondly. It was later replaced with vinyl goods, but I can still picture the old floor in my mind's eye.
Pam, you may be able to get satisfaction regarding the Orbitz booking through your credit card company, assuming you used a credit card for this transaction. You can dispute the issue with the credit card people. Since no goods or services were received this may work. You will have to submit your dispute in writing to the credit card company and I would suggest doing so immediately after receiving the bill that shows this transaction on it. Worth a try. In any event, I have been told that in order to dispute it, the merchant (in this case, Orbitz)will have to pay a fee of $100 to the credit card company. Even if you don't prevail, it may be worth the satisfaction of knowing that at least they will be out $100. No cost accrues to you for contending your bill.
Our version of 'Thelma and Louise' without the drama at the end.
Skew whiff? Must be an australian-ism.
Ditto, ditto, ditto. I don't need another magazine article on six different methods of making flying geese or half square triangle units. I am letting most of my subscriptions lapse. I have found that I flip through most of the magazines in 10-15 minutes and then chuck them into a basket for the free table at the next guild meeting. I do like Quiltmania (French), but don't subscribe. I find it at Barnes & Noble two or three times a year. I like Quilters Newsletter and the magazine that AQS puts out (the name of which escapes me at the moment). It will have interesting articles on technique such as rust dyeing or discharging with bleach. After someone remarked to me that the quilt magazines sometimes take patterns from years before and re-publish them in current fabrics, I got really disgusted.
Cementing has nothing to do with Quilting.
Pam, you must be very, very homesick on this trip. You usually don't mention it. I hope you haven't run out of that Veggie stuff. The blog is wonderful and I am positive that the grandchildren will adore it.
Recognition, - we embrace it.
I love the agapanthus. When I lived in southern California you saw them a lot. I especially love the blue ones. We can't grow them here in St. Louis, at least not outdoors year 'round as it's too cold. Merry Christmas, everyone! P.S. Baby is so sweet. Very good Christmas present, huh?
My father had one of those "walking frames" as you call them (here in the US they are simply "walkers") and we called it his blue Cadillac, after the cars he owned for many years. Pam, have no regrets. You mother had a life well lived and she was obviously well loved. She lived to a ripe age. Many people don't get to have the benefit of a beloved parent for as long as we both have (my father died at 93). I feel fortunate to have had Dad for so long. I miss him, but he had a good ride, as did your Mum.


text:
San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge - Sweetwater Marsh Unit
San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge - Sweetwater Marsh Unit is a locality in San Diego County. San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge - Sweetwater Marsh Unit is situated west of Sunny Vista.
Living Coast Discovery Center
The Living Coast Discovery Center is an environmental education center with marine animal, animal and bird exhibits located in the Sweetwater Marsh Unit of the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge in Chula Vista, California. Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0.
Bayfront/E Street station
Bayfront/E Street is a station on the Blue Line of the San Diego Trolley located in the city of Chula Vista, California. Photo: Vrysxy, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Chula Vista City Hall
The Chula Vista City Hall is the seat of the government of the city of Chula Vista, California.
24th Street station
24th Street is a station on the Blue Line of the San Diego Trolley located in National City, California. Photo: Vrysxy, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Chula Vista is a large city in San Diego County in Southern California. Photo: Roman Eugeniusz, CC BY-SA 3.0.
National City is a city located in the South Bay region of the San Diego metropolitan area, in southwestern San Diego County, California. Photo: Der-wuppertaler, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Lincoln Acres
Lincoln Acres is an unincorporated community of San Diego County located wholly within the boundaries of the incorporated city of National City. Lincoln Acres is situated 2½ miles northeast of San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge - Sweetwater Marsh Unit.
Type: Locality
Location: San Diego County, Southern California, California, United States, North America
32.6449° or 32° 38' 41.7" north
-117.1074° or 117° 6' 26.7" west
Sunny VistaHamlet, 2½ miles east
BoalNeighborhood, 2½ miles southeast
Harbor SideNeighborhood, 3 miles southeast
ShelltownNeighborhood, 3 miles north
FruitdaleNeighborhood, 3 miles south
Lynwood HillsHamlet, 3 miles east
Paradise ValleyValley
Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife RefugePark
Pepper ParkPark
Sweetwater RiverStream
Sweetwater ValleyValley
Gunpowder PointCape
Paradise CreekStream
Sweetwater MarshWetland
Sweetwater ChannelCanal
Interchange 9Road junction
Motel 6 San Diego Chula Vista 1037Hotel
Motel 6 San Diego 1037Hotel
Cheswick SandsLocality, England, United Kingdom
Loubeyre-OuestLocality, Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Torre BotelloLocality, Portugal
House Mountain RangeLocality, Queensland, Australia
Franchetti IslandLocality, Ethiopia
TunulinsLocality, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Popular Destinations in San Diego County
San Diego Chula Vista
Carlsbad Escondido
GdańskPoland HondurasCentral America
4th arrondissementFrance GreeceBalkans
About Mapcarta. Thanks to Mapbox for providing amazing maps. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors and available under the Open Database License. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, excluding photos, directions and the map. Photo: Bovlb, Public domain.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
2013 ECHL All-Star Game: All-Stars use five-goal outburst to down Eagles, 7-3
By Justin Felisko
Photo: South Carolina Stingrays' goaltender Ryan Zapolski played shutout hockey during his ECHL All-Star Game stint, helping to lead the ECHL All-Stars to a victory over the Colorado Eagles and earning himself the MVP award (courtesy of Hector Acevedo)
The ECHL All-Stars showed off their talent Wednesday night, tying an ECHL All-Star Game record by scoring five unanswered second period goals to defeat the 2013 ECHL All-Star Game host Colorado Eagles 7-3 at the Budweiser Events Center In Loveland, CO.
It was the sixth time a team in an ECHL All-Star Game scored five goals in a period.
"Well we didn't score six so not good enough," Wheeling's Andrew Hotham joked following the game.
Hotham led the way with two goals for the All-Stars and opened the game's scoring 6:33 into the game by putting home a rebound to give the All-Stars a 1-0 lead. He then used a blistering shot from dead center of Eagle's goalie Kyle Jones to give the All-Stars a 5-2 lead with 1:25 remaining in the second period.
"The first period they worked a little harder than we did and we knew we had to come back and do a little bit better and the guys started moving their feet well," Hotham said.
Orlando's C.J. Severyn helped the All-Stars tie the ECHL record when he batted home a rebound past Jones with 8.5 seconds remaining in the second period. Jones finished with 12 saves and four goals allowed while Colorado starter Adam Brown stopped 8-of-11 shots in the game's first half of action.
Along with the second period offensive outburst came an impressive shutout by South Carolina Stingrays' goaltender Ryan Zapolski, who made 17 saves to earn the ECHL All-Star Game MVP honors.
"It's special. Another honor," Zapolski said. "Being here is enough for me, but being able to get the MVP was definitely a nice bonus."
Zapolski entered the All-Star break leading the ECHL in save percentage (.929), and his three shutouts are tied for the league-lead with Chris Carrozzi and Mark Guggenberger.
The Erie, PA native combined with Mike Lee (18 saves) and Philipp Grubauer (14 saves) to lead the All-Stars to victory despite being outshot, 52-27.
"Coming in cold is tough but I got a couple of warm up shots before the period started so that helps a little bit," Zapolski said. "I just wanted to keep us in the game. Colorado was coming hard."
The Eagle's entered the second period leading 2-1 following first period goals from A.J. Hau and Joey Sides. Hau beat Grubauer short-side for an unassisted goal to tie the game at 1-1 with 8:20 remaining in the first. Then the GoPro camera-wearing Sides gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead with 3:16 left in the period by capping off a 3-on-1 rush with a power-play goal when he lifted a rebound over Grubauer's shoulders.
"It was kind of a last minute thing. I was going to do it for the skills (competition) for a little bit but the battery was dead," Sides said about wearing his GoPro camera. "I thought I was going to do it just for warm ups but I figured 'Why not? This doesn't happen too often, an event like this.'"
Las Vegas's Chris Francis (one goal, one assist) and Toledo's Willie Coetzee (one goal, one assist) opened up the second period offensive onslaught with two goals in 1:17 to give the All-Stars a 3-2 lead in the opening five minutes. Utah's Mitch Wahl then picked up his second assist of the night when Cincinnati's Taylor Ellington put home Wahl's rebound to extend the All-Stars lead to 4-2 with 4:16 remaining in the second.
In possibly his last action in the ECHL, Grubauer surrendered two goals on 16 shots in the first period but also made two tremendous saves, the first coming on an awkward bounce off the backboards that Trent Daavettila could not slip past the Washington Capitals prospect. Grubauer's best of the night came when he made an old-school diving, sideways stop on a short breakaway by Sides.
"(I was) coming in hot and just tried to make a stop back to the forehand and he surprised me with the stacked pads, that's a pretty rare move now a days," Sides said. "(I)just couldn't get past him and I went diving into the crossbar."
Daavettila finished the game with a team-high two assists when Michael Forney snuck one past Lee 44 seconds into the third period to cut the Eagle's deficit to 6-3.
Elmira's Dustin Gazley capped the night off with one final goal with 19 seconds remaining in the game for the ECHL All-Stars, which provided the 7-3 outcome.
Follow Justin Felisko at Twitter via @jfelisko


Arthur Arutkin grew up alongside his sister and Fanatic team rider Alice in the windsurf village Wissant in the north of France. His dad introduced him into Windsurfing with the age of 8 years and his passion for watersports kicked off from that day. By the age of 15 Arthur was european youth champion in the Slalom discipline, but then took his skills into the waves and entered the international stage of the PWA World Tour. When it wasn't windy, he'd paddle out on the SUP and soon entered competitions in the Standup World Series aswell. In 2015 he finished 4th in the Standup World Series of the waterman league. Arthur is an international Teamrider for both, Windsurfing and SUP for Fanatic.
When I broke my arm trying a Double Forward in Tenerife.
Too many things to do to choose only one!
...like to run very fast like flash.
...is to share a great session with my friends.
I'd like to meet socrates.


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Google, Lyft Are Newest Tech Firms to Hit Brakes on Hiring
With recession fears mounting—and inflation, the warfare in Ukraine and the lingering pandemic taking a toll—many tech firms are rethinking their staffing wants, with a few of them instituting hiring freezes, rescinding affords and even beginning layoffs.
Google and Lyft Inc. are among the newest firms to drag again. The web search large is pausing hiring for the following two weeks, whereas the ride-hailing enterprise is shutting down a division and trimming jobs.
Right here's a take a look at the handfuls of firms which are tapping the brakes.
Alphabet Inc., Google's dad or mum firm, has been decelerating its recruiting efforts. Chief Govt Officer Sundar Pichai informed workers this month that, though the enterprise added 10,000 Googlers within the second quarter, it will be slowing the tempo of hiring for the remainder of the 12 months and prioritizing engineering and technical expertise. "Like all firms, we're not proof against financial headwinds," he mentioned. The hiring pause introduced Wednesday is a part of that slowdown, Google mentioned, "to allow groups to prioritize their roles and hiring plans for the remainder of the 12 months." It had almost 164,000 workers on the finish of March.
Amazon.com Inc. mentioned in April that it was overstaffed after ramping up throughout the pandemic and wanted to chop again. "Because the variant subsided within the second half of the quarter and workers returned from depart, we shortly transitioned from being understaffed to being overstaffed, leading to decrease productiveness," Chief Monetary Officer Brian Olsavsky mentioned. Amazon is subleasing some warehouse area and has paused improvement of amenities meant for workplace staff, saying it wants extra time to determine how a lot area workers would require for hybrid work. The corporate had 1.6 million staff as of March, making it the most important employer within the tech world.
Apple Inc. is planning to gradual hiring and spending at some divisions subsequent 12 months to deal with a possible financial stoop, based on folks conversant in the matter. However it's not a companywide coverage, and the iPhone maker remains to be shifting ahead with an aggressive product-release schedule. Apple had 154,000 workers in September, when its final fiscal 12 months ended.
Carvana Co., an internet used automotive retailer, laid off 2,500 folks in Could, about 12% of its workforce. In an uncommon transfer, the chief workforce will forego salaries for the remainder of the 12 months to pay severance to those that have been let go, based on a submitting with the Securities and Alternate Fee. The corporate had greater than 21,000 full-time and part-time workers on the finish of final 12 months.
Coinbase World Inc., a cryptocurrency trade, informed workers it was chopping 18% of workers in June to arrange for an financial downturn. It additionally rescinded job affords. "We look like getting into a recession after a ten+ 12 months financial growth," CEO Brian Armstrong mentioned in a weblog publish. "Whereas it's onerous to foretell the economic system or the markets, we all the time plan for the worst so we are able to function the enterprise by any atmosphere," he mentioned. The corporate ended the quarter with about 5,000 workers.
Compass Inc., an actual property brokerage platform, is eliminating 450 positions, about 10% of its workers, based on a submitting final month. The corporate had almost 5,000 workers on the finish of 2021.
Gemini Belief Co., a cryptocurrency trade based by Bitcoin billionaires Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, introduced a 10% workers discount in June.
GoPuff, a grocery supply app, is shedding 10% of its workforce and shutting dozens of warehouses. The cuts will have an effect on about 1,500 workers members—a mixture of company and warehouse workers.
Lyft informed workers it was reining in hiring in Could after its inventory dropped precipitously. The corporate went additional this week, saying plans to shutter its car-rental enterprise and lower about 60 jobs. Lyft had about 4,500 workers in 2021. Archrival Uber Applied sciences Inc., in the meantime, has been extra upbeat. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi informed Bloomberg in June that his firm was "recession resistant" and had no plans for layoffs.
Meta Platforms Inc., the dad or mum of Fb, slashed plans to rent engineers by not less than 30%. CEO Mark Zuckerberg informed workers that he's anticipating one of many worst downturns in current historical past. The corporate had greater than 77,800 workers on the finish of March.
Microsoft Corp. informed staff in Could that it was slowing down hiring within the Home windows, Workplace and Groups teams because it braces for financial volatility. The corporate had 181,000 workers in 2021. Extra lately, the software program maker lower some jobs—lower than 1% of its complete—as a part of a reorganization.
Netflix Inc., the streaming large, has had a number of rounds of extremely publicized layoffs because it reported the lack of 200,000 subscribers within the first quarter. In April, it started scaling again some advertising and marketing initiatives, then lower 150 workers in Could and 300 in June. Final quarter, it reported $70 million in bills from severance and shed an extra 970,000 subscribers. Netflix had 11,300 workers in 2021.
Niantic Inc., maker of the Pokemon Go online game, fired 8% of its workforce in June. It was an effort to streamline operations and place the corporate to climate financial storms, CEO John Hanke informed workers in an e-mail. Niantic had round 800 workers on the finish of final 12 months.
Peloton Interactive Inc. introduced plans to chop about 2,800 jobs globally, roughly 20% of its company roles, as a part of a shock shake-up in February that noticed its CEO John Foley and a number of other government workforce members step down. In 2021, the corporate reported having almost 9,000 workers.
Redfin Corp., one other actual property brokerage, lower 8% of its workers in June. "We don't have sufficient work for our brokers and help workers," CEO Glenn Kelman wrote in a weblog publish, saying that Could demand was 17% under projections and that he anticipated the firm to develop extra slowly throughout a housing downturn. Redfin had about 6,500 workers on the finish of final 12 months.
Robinhood Markets Inc., the net brokerage, terminated 9% of its workforce in April. It had about 3,800 workers on the finish of final 12 months and racked up greater than $2 billion of losses since going public final July.
Rivian Automotive Inc. is planning to chop tons of of non-manufacturing jobs and groups with duplicate capabilities. The Southern California electric-vehicle maker, which has greater than 14,000 workers, might make an total discount of round 5%. In a memo to workers, CEO RJ Scaringe mentioned, "We'll all the time be targeted on development; nonetheless, Rivian just isn't proof against the present financial circumstances and we want to verify we are able to develop sustainably."
Salesforce Inc., the cloud computing platform, has been slowing hiring and lowering journey bills, based on a leaked memo reported in Could by Insider.
Spotify Expertise SA, the audio service, is chopping worker development by about 25% to regulate for macroeconomic elements, CEO Daniel Ek mentioned in a notice to workers in June. The corporate has greater than 6,500 workers, based on its web site.
Sew Repair, an internet personalised styling service, mentioned in June that it was pursuing a 15% discount in salaried positions—about 4% of its workforce—with the majority coming from non-technology company jobs and styling management roles. It's coping with greater bills and weaker demand. In response to its web site, the corporate has 8,900 workers.
Tesla Inc., the electric-vehicle maker, lower 200 autopilot staff because it closed a facility in San Mateo, California, in June. CEO Elon Musk mentioned earlier that layoffs could be crucial in an more and more shaky financial atmosphere. In an interview with Bloomberg, he mentioned that about 10% of salaried workers would lose their jobs over the following three months, although the general head depend could possibly be greater in a 12 months. The corporate had 100,000 workers globally on the finish of final 12 months.
Twitter Inc. initiated a hiring freeze and started rescinding job affords in Could, amid uncertainty surrounding Elon Musk's acquisition of the corporate, based on an inner memo obtained by Bloomberg. The corporate had 7,500 workers in 2021.
Unity Software program Inc., which makes a video-game engine, stunned workers in June when it despatched pink slips to 200 of its 5,900 staff, amounting to 4% of its workforce. Its CEO had assured workers there could be no layoffs, based on Kotaku.
Wayfair Inc., the net furnishings retailer, initiated a 90-day hiring freeze in Could. The corporate had 18,000 workers as of March.
Martine Paris stories for Bloomberg Information.
Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This materials will not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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S.C. airport terminal project serves as case study for Lafayette
The 60-year-old regional airport recently underwent a transformation and expansion, not unlike the major project taking place at Lafayette Regional Airport.
S.C. airport terminal project serves as case study for Lafayette The 60-year-old regional airport recently underwent a transformation and expansion, not unlike the major project taking place at Lafayette Regional Airport. Check out this story on theadvertiser.com: https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/04/02/s-c-airport-terminal-project-serves-case-study-lafayette/3342635002/
Leigh Guidry, Lafayette Daily Advertiser Published 3:14 p.m. CT April 2, 2019
Some on One Acadiana's leadership exchange trip sat down Tuesday with officials with the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
The largest commercial airlift of horses in history gets underway this week at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in preparation for the FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina. (Photo: FEI/Tori Repole)
The roughly 60-year-old regional airport recently underwent a massive transformation and expansion, not unlike the major project taking place at the 80-year-old Lafayette Regional Airport.
It took five to seven years to renovate and add on to GSP, creating a more modern look with glass and natural light to replace thick concrete walls from 1962.
The project was completed in 2017 and included unique features like an air-side garden, where people can relax outside in the sun and grass after they've gone through security.
Creating that unique atmosphere is a small thing that can have a big impact, setting your airport apart from nearby options, said Thomas Tyra, director of marketing and air service development.
GSP is located in Greer, South Carolina, and is named for the larger towns on either side — Greenville and Spartanburg.
An airside garden is included in the WINGSPAN terminal renovation project at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. (Photo: Photo by Maayan Schechter)
Kevin Howell, senior vice president of Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, speaks to participants on a One Acadiana leadership exchange trip to Greenville, South Carolina, about the expansion project completed at GSP in 2017. (Photo: Leigh Guidry/USA TODAY Network)
MORE: 5 key takeaways from Acadiana's second day in Greenville, S.C. | Lafayette airport terminal's 2-year-long facelift ramps up
There is stiff competition in the area with much larger airports on either side of it — Atlanta about two and a half hours away and Charlotte an hour and a half away.
"A few years ago we were leaking 60-70 percent of our passengers to them," Tyra said. "... "Running a small hub airport in the shadow of the 600-pound gorilla or two is not an easy task."
The Acadiana delegation nodded along. LFT competes with larger airports just hours away in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
That's where details like atmosphere, local touches and customer service can change perception and make the difference in keeping a local passenger, Tyra said. And when flights are filled, there's the potential that more will be added.
"You're never going to get another flight if they're driving to the next town over," Tyra said. "... Fill everything you can. Get (the community) to understand it's an economic development imperative."
One Acadiana President and CEO Troy Wayman took these words to heart.
"If you want the airport to grow you have to use it," Wayman said.
That messaging could be an opportunity for One Acadiana to help Lafayette Regional as it expands, Wayman said.
Security lines at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (Photo: Photo by Maayan Schechter)
Lafayette Regional Airport. Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. (Photo: SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network)
The $80 million,120,000-square foot new terminal is a project that already has community buy-in, an aspect that Greenville officials have emphasized as vital to the success of community projects. Lafayette taxpayers contributed some $32 million toward a new terminal through a temporary 1-cent sales tax in 2015 to provide matching, local funds for construction.
The natural next step, according to GSP officials, is to find ways to get the community using the airport regularly.
One way GSP did that was by including local flair as it renovated. Local vendors and items can be found in the new concessions and gift shops.
Locally produced moonshine and Clemson University T-shirts are sold in shops. Nationally recognized brands like Chick-Fil-A are available alongside Thomas Creek Grill, and so on.
Requests for proposals for vendors included provisions that some contracts be local and a percentage be minority- or women-owned businesses.
"It was important to get local contracts involved, so we crafted RFPs around that or to include that," said Kevin Howell, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the airport.
"... If we were going to invest $100 million-plus in our airport we wanted to have them involved. The stronger our community the stronger our airport."
Howell said it's important to be hands-on in this process, emphasizing to vendors the need to include locals.
This was the final day of the trip that brought about 70 business and community leaders from across Acadiana to Greenville, South Carolina. The group also toured the area's BMW manufacturing facility Tuesday.
Read or Share this story: https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/04/02/s-c-airport-terminal-project-serves-case-study-lafayette/3342635002/
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Gear / History / Outdoors & Travel
Japanese Hobbyist Reenactments of Historical Wars
by Bucky · November 26, 2020
November 10, 2020 – The day is cold, frosty, and muddy. The squad leader halts the group, and motions myself, the marksman, and another rifleman to look beyond the hill into the small valley below. Ahead, at some distance, there was a formation of French United Nations peacekeepers and Bosnia militiamen at a standoff with each other in a tense moment. The marksman begins to fire at the United Nations forces with his scoped hunting rifle and is then followed by a few single well-aimed shots from the other two of our fireteam. The other rifleman shoots one of the Bosnian militiamen, while I was able to hit one of the United Nations soldiers with a center-mass shot with my vintage M16 assault rifle, both of them collapse. In chaos and confusion, with a bunch of screaming in French, English, and Japanese the United Nation soldiers engage the Bosnian militia, unbeknownst to both sides that it was us, the Croatian HVO that initiated the ambush.
We regroup, observing the chaos, and in a moment of complacency our squad gets ambushed as well. An enemy element composed of the Yugoslav People's Army spots us and starts to open fire. I duck behind cover while the squad scrambles to find their own. One of our riflemen jumps and slides into a gully and sprains her ankle. I emerge from my cover as well as the rest of our squad with our rifles slung and our hands up and waving, shouting at the "enemy" to wait and to stop, in Japanese. Plastic BBs bounce from our bodies while the enemy looks at us in confusion. Referees wearing bright yellow vests emerge, blowing whistles and air horns, running into the middle while everybody halts the reenactment. The injured woman who was reenacting one of the Croat soldiers is carried out of the field in a stretcher while the participants try and figure out what to do next. Such is life in reenacting the Bosnian War, set in the early 1990s at one of the many Japanese airsoft fields that host these types of events.
Reenactor portraying a soldier in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA)
"Sabage", or "airsoft" as it is colloquially referred to in English speaking countries, is a hobby that originated in Japan. Airsoft guns are of course modeled after real firearms, but instead fire plastic BBs using compressed air, and is facilitated by batteries, compressed gas, or manually cocked spring pressure. Eye protection must be worn when handling airsoft guns and it is highly recommended to wear thick clothing and face coverings. However, airsoft guns in Japan are limited to velocities that would not be considered dangerous (under 1 joule). One of the first (and most popular) airsoft manufacturers in the world, Tokyo Marui, originated in Japan in the 1980s and invented battery powered guns in the 1990s, with its designs still being imitated and produced today.
Early Promotion of the Tokyo Marui M16 Airsoft Rifle (1991)
In these historical reenactments, attention to detail is paramount, and replicas of specific firearms or equipment issued at the time of these historical events are to be used. Anachronism, or FARB is something to be avoided, as not to detract from the historical accuracy of the historical events portrayed. In the historical reenactment of the Yugoslav Wars, Bosnia199X is hosted annually in Chiba, Japan. There are specific guidelines as to what sort of equipment, outfits, and replica firearms are to be used, and to each specific faction in the reenactment. The setting of the event is in the early 1990s, in which reenactors of the United States Army or NATO IFOR are not present. Reenactors of French United Nations peacekeepers wear French camouflage fatigues, French load bearing equipment and don light blue UN helmets, berets, brassards, and wield replicas of the FAMAS rifle. For reenactors who portray soldiers of the Yugoslav People's Army, they would use the same uniforms and equipment, and ideally outfit themselves with a specific replica of the Yugoslav-made variant of the AKM rifle. Although a generic wood-stocked AK is also acceptable. Paramilitary reenactors can be less strict and are able to wear, for example, an old Adidas tracksuit, plain trousers, and wield a basic Kalashnikov rifle. However, weapons from the future with optics and rail attachments, in addition to modern military fatigues with Velcro and digital camouflage are not allowed.
There is a large and diverse amount of Japanese war reenactors and a broad range of Japanese people who are interested in the hobby. The historical conflicts reenacted are also expansive into such conflicts as the Central and Southern African Bush Wars, the Yugoslav Wars, the Vietnam War (The Second Indochina War), the Soviet-Afghan War, the Second World War, and the Sino-Vietnam War. Factions depicted and reenacted are also varied. Of these examples include the United States Marine Corps, Japanese Self Defense Force, Afghan Mujahideen, North Vietnamese Vietcong, the Waffen SS, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the Serb Arkan Tigers. Most of the uniforms and military equipment used by these reenactors are reproductions, often fabricated in China. The more dedicated hobbyists often use genuine military surplus equipment and uniforms, but these are sometimes rare, expensive, and have limited availability.
Vintage Tokyo Marui M16A1 Airsoft Rifle alongside genuine Chinese & American military surplus for use in Cold War reenactments
"Playing airsoft gives me an adrenaline rush, and it's preparation for combat drills and training in the future when I join the JSDF", says Akagi Tato, a university student at Meiji University who participates in airsoft and military reenactments as a hobby. He works as an airsoft gun salesman at AIRSOFT97, an airsoft gun hobby shop located north of Akihabara in Taito, Tokyo Japan. Mr. Tato primarily reenacts as an infantryman of the Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF). Individuals have different reasons or interests as to why they choose to reenact certain military factions. For Mr. Tato, he has a fondness for the JSDF, as he grew up as a military "brat" with family members in the JSDF. He also has an interest in historical Japanese military units, such as the Meiji Imperial Army of Japan. Mr. Tato says that while playing airsoft is relatively inexpensive, the reenactments have a rather costly barrier of entry. "Some military reenactors have a desire to join the JSDF, while many more reenactors are veterans who had joined the JSDF" is an observation by Mr. Tato on the kinds of people who specifically do military reenactment as a hobby. Mr. Tato also notes that fictional events are also reenacted, such as the post-apocalyptic setting of the movie Mad Max.
There is interest in certain replica guns that are sold, but the majority of guns are replicas of the United States M4 Carbine. Airsoft M4 carbines are popular because of the widespread availability, popular depiction in media, perceived prestige by use from American and special forces groups, good value, excellent availability for aftermarket modifications, as well as its good ergonomics overall. Most airsoft guns hobbyists purchase are typically made in Japan or Taiwan, or manufacturers that have a high reputation for their build quality. "Reenactors would opt for specific models if available", Mr. Tato observes, for example that Taiwan T91 carbine airsoft replicas are purchased by Republic of China Army and special forces reenactors. Popular media such as anime, video games, and movies also create interest for military reenactment and in some cases spark a desire to join the military. "When the movie John Wick came out, popular models of airsoft guns that John Wick uses, such as the Taran Tactical M4, became really popular." Says Mr. Tato. "The anime GATE is a recruiting tool for the JSDF and has also created interest for JSDF reenactors. The anime Girls und Panzer boosted recruit numbers for the JSDF tank corps".
A section of books on the military of Yugoslavia in Daichi Hayshi's collection
Daichi Hayshi is a military reenactor revolving around late 20th century Yugoslavia and the Balkans. His hobbies are airsoft, military reenactment, and collecting historical books and militaria from the Balkans. There are several challenges Mr. Hayshi has faced regarding reenactment of Yugoslav military units, such as the Yugoslav People's Army. Mr. Hayshi says that "Lack of military experience needs more effort to understand what to do. For example, when I read infantry manual of Yugoslav People's Army, a double-translation or even triple-translation is needed practically." He then further explains in detail complications in understanding JNA military procedures and doctrine, even with original infantry field manuals in hand. He has to translate from Serb-Croat, to English, and then sometimes to Japanese in regards to specific military terms. Regarding specific military factions or units that are portrayed, Mr. Hayshi reenacts as the Bosnian Serb Army, JNA, and other Serb militia groups.
Johnny Phaxay is an airsoft salesman and technician who also works in AIRSOFT97. He does not participate in historical reenactments, but in his observations as a salesman he sees that "While most airsoft players often choose G&G M4 carbines to play with, reenactors would choose to get specific types of guns. Vietnam War reenactors would choose vintage M16s with specific attention to detail." In the hobby of airsoft, Mr. Phaxay says that "The only unpopular guns are made from brands of poor quality. Cheap Chinese-made airsoft guns that are only popular with novices". Mr. Phaxay observes that specific models from certain anime, video games, and movies become popular if released. Some examples of which are the pink P90 submachine gun from the anime Gun Gale Online, handguns from the video game Resident Evil, and rifles and pistols from the movie John Wick. In his own observations at airsoft games, while most players generally play skirmishes, for those that reenact more often there are reenactments of special forces units.
There is a deep appreciation for military reenactment in Japan. With the hobby of airsoft originating and becoming popular in Japan alongside the large and diverse availability of replica guns and gear to purchase, there is a sizable number of reenactors. Interest is expected to grow in the future, especially as more popular media such as video games, anime, or movies continue to be made. If information becomes more accessible to the Japanese, such as localization of books and other international media, there is massive potential for the increase in hobbyists who discover it.
Tags: airsoftJapanJapanesereenactmentreenactorsabage
Contributor with experience as a handgun instructor and US Army armorer. Fueled by meme magic.
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9:56AM I had toast and prickly fruit for breakfast this morning. The fruit is described by Lonely Planet as resembling "an ancient piece of medieval weaponry," and that is an apt description.
I'm not sure where I'm heading tomorrow. Choices are Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok, or Sukhothai.
I think I'll go out and see if I can find some internet now.
12:14PM It took me a couple hours of getting lost, but I finally found Soi 1, the backpacker ghetto, and plenty of cheap internet. The computer I'm on is a P2 with 64MB of RAM. Impressed?
Speakeasy claims I'm getting 254k down and 188k up, though it feels like less.
It's July already. I wasn't sure of the date till yesterday. The time zone shifts messed me up.


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Three Cheers to Nobel Peace Prize for not Pandering to Celebrity Culture
My timeline this morning was full of disappointment that the brave young activist for women's rights in Pakistan, the amazing Malala Yousafzi, was not chosen for the Nobel peace prize. Instead, the committee awarded the prize to Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The who?… seemed to be a collective sigh of disappointment.
But let me argue that this was exactly the right choice. The Nobel Peace prize should absolutely go to such under-appreciated, crucial institutions that help build peace, and that are sorely lacking in our complex world.
Yes, I am amazed by Malala. How can one not be? Her courageous young body, shattered by Taliban bullets, her strong, kind stance in that Jon Stewart interview everyone on my Facebook timeline shared.. It is hard not to be moved by her.
But she is but one courageous person. Fortunately for the world, there is no shortage of such brave, courageous individuals. In fact, there is an abundance of them, especially in poor, authoritarian countries. If you think Malala is rare, that is probably because you have not spent much time in such countries. Most Malala's, however, go nameless, and are not made into Western celebrities. (That interview's most telling moment was when Jon Stewart said "I want to adopt you" to her right after she repeatedly mentioned how great her own father was–such a striking sentiment in which our multi-decade involvement in Pakistan is reduced to finding a young woman we admire that we all want to take home as if to put on a shelf to adore).
What the world is desperately lacking, and the Nobel Committee, for once, rewarded, is the kind of boring, institutional work of peace that advances the lives of people. Everyday. Little by little. But without which lives are shattered and countries crumble (as they do now),
What the world needs more of is many, many more institutions like the "Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons" which are crucial to destroying weapons that destroy lives millions of Malalas. We need organizations and institutions that uphold ceasefires, that observe elections, that document human right abuses, that provide the infrastructure for education, for health, that destroy weapons (conventional and unconventional) and that can act as the institutional capacity of much that is good in international human rights law (which we also need to improve and hold up).
Again and again, the world faces awful moments. Civil wars. Ethnic Cleansing. Genocide. Chemical Weapons. Regular weapons that are just as deadly as chemical weapons. And we turn to international law, to the United Nations (such a flawed institution yet what we have), to international treaties, to the declaration of human rights to find high sentiments which are not matched by a multilateral, institutional capacity to do anything. This doesn't happen by accident. This happens because nations of the world–from superpowers down to the little, less powerful ones–are not interested in the multilateral, international or national work of disarmament, peace-building, school funding, health care.
We end up without good choices. How did we get here, we ask and we end up looking the other way. Until the next time.
In the meantime, activism and social justice too often gets reduced to celebrity culture. Angelina Jolie visits refugee camps–good for her, but the crucial work of providing clean water to thousands of people trapped in such unsanitary conditions gets underfunded, and children die of cholera. No country takes in the refugees. Diseases spread, hunger and cold settle in.
But by then, the celebrity has moved on, the cameras have moved on, and those under-appreciated bureaucrats, technicians, the planners, the institutions that improve lives of millions of people, everyday, get dismissed, underfunded, even ridiculed. Hey, they are just bureaucrats and technocrats! Yes, one by one, they are just that. But as institutions they are what the world needs much, much more of.
Just in case you feel compelled to point out, I am well aware of the shortcoming of multilateral organizations. Overpaid staff and lack of accountability are real issues. But that does not take away from the fact that more institutional capacity with better oversight and principles is the gaping hole in a world in which almost all our major problems are internationalized, at least to a degree, and yet our institutions and tools remain woefully, dramatically inadequate. You name it. Human rights. Health. Weapons. Global Warming. Multilateral capacity within a framework of international law (yep, I'm bored typing it) is the only way forward because the other alternatives are whims of existing powerful nations, or celebrity moments on television which make us feeling good, but not much more than that.
So, three cheers for Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. May their work, and work of organizations like that, help keep future brave young Malala's alive and thriving so that they don't have to be heroes, but can be the children that they deserve to be.
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15 thoughts on "Three Cheers to Nobel Peace Prize for not Pandering to Celebrity Culture"
Pingback: The Nobel committee did Malala a favor in passing her over for the peace prize
Jen October 11, 2013 at 2:00 pm
I can't say that I completely agree with your take on this decision but I understand your reasoning – right up until that last paragraph where you state, "May their work, and work of organizations like that, help keep future brave young Malala's alive and thriving so that they don't have to be heroes, but can be the children that they deserve to be." The OPCW's work regarding chemical weapons is unrelated to the reasons why this young girl was shot by the Taliban and why she had to be a hero. Destroying all the chemical weapons in the world, which obviously is incredibly unlikely, would not change anything about Malala's situation, the treatment of women/girls or the Taliban's actions in that regard. Also, this feels a little like punishing an amazing, brave young girl for the tendencies of the West. The fact that the West wants to make a celebrity out of people and our reasons for that do not alter her bravery or the fact that after suffering such violence, her response is to advocate for non-violent change, even against the Taliban.
Again, I do understand your reasoning but it seems almost as if it allows our own shortcomings to cost this girl.
zeynep Post author October 11, 2013 at 6:28 pm
Nothing I said alters the bravery of her, or the tens if not hundreds if not millions of very brave people who put their lives everyday in poor countries to fight authoritarianism and discrimination. We have no shortage of brave individuals. Are we "punishing them" all by not awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to all of them?
Yes, I do emphasize the importance of institution building rather than only celebrating people we pick as adorable and inspiring. The "third world" –and the world– suffers most from lack of institutional capacity in service of peace, disarmament, social justice… That work should be seen as inspiring and more should be done. It doesn't take away from any one individual to point this out.
Taylor Holden October 11, 2013 at 6:20 pm
A beautifully written and sharp argument for Malala, others like her, and the OPCW's win today. Thanks for posting.
Sonja Lenz-Rashid October 12, 2013 at 12:21 am
Excellent piece. Very thought provoking.
Pingback: Nobel Peace Prize Fails to Pacify · Global Voices
Soren Ambrose October 12, 2013 at 5:55 pm
Really great to see you're taking up issues like this, Z. Best piece I've seen on this situation. Thanks.
Varun Reddy October 12, 2013 at 10:39 pm
It is always the background workers that are the most under-appreciated in our modern day world, where visibility means everything. People are used to this celebrity culture which has invaded our thought processes thanks to an excessive media coverage of common events. Another example of people clinging to celebrities happens to be the case of the Physics Nobel this year. After it was announced that the winners received it for their work on the Higgs-Boson particle, everyone in my country started lamenting how Bose, after who had theorised the existence of such groups of particles, and after whom the particle was named, was never honoured for his achievement. Irrespective of what happened in the past, people fail to remember Bose for what he did rather choosing to remember him for what he wasn't, Nobel laureate. When people speak about Malala in all possible brave terms, I have not seen any one then refer to the condition of women under the Taliban regime, but referring just to Malala.
Nevertheless, thanks to the Nobel Committee, I learnt about the existence of the OPCW and I would like to place in record my appreciation of their thought and work.
Pingback: Malala: Better Off Without A Nobel? – News Provide
Arbaz K October 28, 2013 at 8:46 am
A beautiful piece of content and a really provocative read.
Love your thoughts on Nobel 🙂
Yasin Janjua November 3, 2013 at 10:15 am
I think you have summed it up in the best manner in your comment later. Make it part of the article.
Kalyani Kurup November 4, 2013 at 12:35 am
Very correct analysis. The talent, dedication and work of too many people go unrecognized in this world.
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Derrick November 27, 2013 at 4:09 pm
I can't agree with you more. Conflicts have been present since man's existence and will continue to exist as long as there are differences in opinion and interest. What is important is how these conflicts are managed. There is no denying the fact that Malala has become the face of the miserable struggle that millions of girls and women face every day to simply sit in a classroom and learn without fear from those who want to deny them that right for religious, cultural and political reasons. It is not surprising, therefore, that she won the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize, which is awarded to individuals who, exceptionally, combat intolerance and oppression. However, the hazardous mission to destroy Syria's chemical weapons stocks and 16 years of wider global efforts by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons cannot be pushed under the carpet. Awarding the prize to the OPCW at this time shows that the world recognises their hard work under dangerous conditions in Syria. The dedication of the OPCW to maintaining peace and security to help form a safer world for all will forever remain important.
Nicho November 27, 2013 at 5:06 pm
She deserved it.


The TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance exam will take place on 31st March 2019. Check out all about TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance exam 2019, important dates, eligibility criteria, selection process and other details can be checked here.
Tata Institute of Social Sciences popularly known as TISS offers admission to integrated B.Ed-M.Ed programme. The application process for admission to B.Ed-M.Ed course 2019 is closed. The Centre for Education Innovation and Article Research at TISS offers the integrated B.Ed - M.Ed programme.
Candidates who have applied for the TISS B.Ed M.Ed 2019 can download the admit card from the official website. The TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance exam will take place on 31st March 2019.
The TISS BEd MEd integrated course is of three years duration. The programme offers a blend of theoretical and practical knowledge along with applied social science approach. bThe TISS BEd MEd integrated course is a great choice professional learning experience is developed through an extended internship. The BEd MEd integrated course at TISS uses technology as an enabler for professional development and practice.
The TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance exam is conducted for admission to a unique 3-year integrated course. The B.Ed M.Ed entrance exam of TISS is conducted in offline mode. Candidates who qualify the TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance exam will be called for personal interview for final selection. The total number of seats offered by TISS for admission to B.Ed M.Ed course is 50.
The TISS B.Ed M.Ed important dates 2019 are given in the table below. It is important to keep a track of important dates for TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance test so that you are well aware of all the events and do not miss out any important information.
Candidates with a master's degree in MSc/ MA/ MCom) are eligible to apply for the TISS BEd MEd integrated course.
The candidate must have a minimum of 55% marks in the last qualifying exam, 50% for SC/ST candidates in their postgraduate degree.
Note* Candidates who are unable to submit the results of their final year examination by 30th September 2019, will not be allowed to continue the course.
How to Apply for TISS B.Ed M.Ed Entrance Exam 2019?
To apply for TISS B.Ed M.Ed Entrance Exam candidates will have to fill an application form in online mode on the official website. Here are the steps for TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance exam application 2019.
To apply for TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance exam, candidates have to register themselves by visiting the Click here to Register link on the official website.
During the registration process, the candidate will be required to set a password which will be used later as the login credential for application form.
Click on submit and pay the application fee. The TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance exam application fee can be made in online mode only. The application fee for TISS B.ED M.Ed entrance exam 2019 is Rs.1,000.
Candidates who have successfully applied for the entrance exam will be issued the TISS B.Ed M.Ed admit card. The hall ticket for TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance test will be released on the official website. To download the TISS B.Ed M.Ed admit card candidates will require their respective login ID and password. It is mandatory for the candidates to carry the TISS B.Ed M.Ed admit card on the day of the exam. The candidates will not be allowed to appear in the exam without the same.
The selection of the candidate to the TISS BEd MEd integrated course is done in three stages. In the first stage, the candidates will have to appear in the National Common Entrance Test which is common for all the candidates. Candidates who qualify the same will be eligible for the TISS B.Ed M.Ed written test. The questions in the written test will be on the basis of candidates specialisation/ major. However, the candidate can only appear in one area of specialisation/ subject in the TISS B.Ed M.Ed entrance exam 2019. Candidates who qualify the stage 1 and stage 2 will be eligible for stage 3. For final admission to TISS integrated B.Ed M.Ed course candidates will have to appear in the personal interview.
The TISS B.Ed M.Ed Result 2019 for stage 1 (National Common Entrance Test) will be released on the official website. Candidates who qualify the stage 1 will be eligible for stage 2 followed by personal interview. The final result/ merit list will be released by TISS for B.Ed M.Ed course after the personal interview. The TISS B.Ed M.Ed result 2019 will be released on the official website once both the written test and personal interview are conducted by the institute.
Note*- The above-given course fee does not include the hostel fees. Also, the institute has the right to change the course fees without any prior information.
TISS Mumbai is one of the prestigious higher education institutes in India offering courses in various disciplines. TISS B.Ed M.Ed course is a great choice for the candidates looking for a career as teacher/ scholar/ professor/ academicians. The integrated B.Ed M.Ed course at TISS Mumbai opens multiple roles for aspirants looking forward to a career in the field of education.
Stay tuned to CollegeDekho for all information related to latest entrance exams. Their Common Application Form can help you find the best college and course for you.


This diagram shows the percentages of websites using SiteGrinder broken down by markup languages. See technologies overview for explanations on the methodologies used in the surveys.
SiteGrinder is used by less than 0.1% of all the websites whose content management system we know and that use HTML as markup language.
You can find ranking, usage and market share data for SiteGrinder within all markup languages in our SiteGrinder market report.


In the modern world our quest for beauty is tireless. When you look in the mirror what do you see, what jumps out at you. Do you see pimples and wrinkles. Do you see clear glowing skin or sallow tired flesh and dull lank hair. Do you look at your naked body in wonder and think…. I like me.


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Heartbreaking late goal bounces Hartford Athletic out of playoffs – The Collinsville Press
Hartford's Alex Dixon (11, left) get directs a head ball toward the net in Satruday's USL Championship playoff game at Dillon Stadium. Visiting St. Louis won the game, 1-0. (Photo courtesy Hartford Athletic)
Saint Louis FC substitute Joaquin Rivas scored the game-winning goal in Saturday night's USL Championship playoff game at Dillon Stadium against the Hartford Athletic but Rivas wouldn't have been in position to win the game if it wasn't for the outstanding performance of goalie Kyle Morton.
Morton, 26, made five saves and had some other tremendous plays to help Saint Louis FC win their first-ever playoff game with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Hartford before 2,200 fans, who brought an energy and spirit into the old ballpark despite wearing their masks.
It was a bitter end for Hartford, which won Group F in this pandemic-shortened season with a 5-0-1 record in their final six games of the season.
The game was scoreless – thanks to Morton and Athletic goalie Parfait Mandanda – through 90 minutes of action.
In the third minute of stoppage time, Hartford's Sam Strong tried to clear a ball from the midfield for Saint Louis' Mour Samb but the ball skipped forward. Kevin Politz collided with Samb, who stayed on his feet and pushed the ball forward to a streaking Rivas, who took two steps and ripped a shot toward the near post that Hartford goalie Parfait Mandanda had little chance to stop.
"It was a combination of a lot of things. It didn't just start back there," Hartford's Danny Barrera said. "It started with our forwards, our midfield and all the way to the back. It seemed like one of those situations we find ourselves in sometimes when the ball doesn't bounce our way.
"And sure enough, it was a gut punch in the 90th minute," he said.
The win puts the lame duck Saint Louis squad into the Eastern Conference semifinals against Louisville, who beat Pittsburgh, 2-0 on Saturday night. Saint Louis announced in late August that the club would fold at the end of the season with an MLS expansion due in the city in 2023 and financial pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hartford defender Sam Strong and St. Louis' Kyle Greis battle for the ball during Saturday night's USL Championship playoff game in Hartford. The Athletic lost, 1-0, on a late goal. (Photo courtesy Hartford Athletic)
Hartford had chances early and Saint Louis' 6-foot-4 Morton, who has 17 USL Championship shutouts in the past two seasons, was up to the task.
Barrera had a hard shot tipped over the cross bar by Morton in the first five minutes of the game. With 13:14 gone in the game, Gabriel Torres couldn't get his left-footed shot past Morton. Later in the half, it was Aidan Mesias, who slipped in behind the Saint Louis defense to get a cross from Ever Guzman but Morton got his hands on the ball to redirect it away from the net.
"We were the better team on the pitch. We created three or four proper chances to score and we didn't score on them," Hartford head coach Radhi Jaïdi said. "It goes back to the same area we needed to develop since the start of the season and I am thinking of decision making and execution of the pass and execution of the finish."
Morton made a nice save on Alex Dixon early in the second half and had a tremendous stop of substitute Markus Naglestad with 15 minutes left in the game. Naglestad took a nice feed from Dixon and drove down the right side of the penalty area.
Morton came out of the box to challenge Naglestad, who couldn't get a shot off, leading the game scoreless.
Mandanda had some good saves, too, most notably a hard shot from Saint Louis' Tyler Blackwood early in the game that he pushed over the crossbar. Early in the second half, Saint Louis' Guy Abend shifted through a pair of Hartford defenders on the left after taking a throw-in and had a low shot from a narrow angle saved by Mandanda.
Jaïdi criticized the referees afterwards. "We've been struggling with this since the start of the season," he said. "If you referee you have to step up to the level (of competition). Tonight, it was the playoffs. I don't think the referee did this job the right way and he was really poor."
JOHNSON RECALLED: On Thursday, Hartford's Tyreke Johnson was recalled by England's Southampton FC. Johnson, who played a mix of left wingback and forward for Hartford, played in 15 of 16 matches, starting 11. He scored two goals, most memorably a highlight reel goal in the home opener against Loudoun United where he put defender Adam Lundegard though the spin cycle.
PLAYOFFS RETURN: It was first professional postseason game in Hartford since 2015 when the Hartford Wolfpack, AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers, hosted the Eastern Conference finals. The Hartford Whalers final playoff game in Hartford was in 1992 when the Whalers beat the Montreal Canadiens in overtime in game 6 of their first round series. The Canadiens won game 7 in double OT to take the series. The Yard Goats, the Double A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, have yet to qualify for the postseason in Hartford.
St. Louis FC 1, Hartford 0
At Hartford
St. Louis FC (8-5-4) 0 1 — 1
Hartford (11-5-1) 0 0 — 0
Goal: Joaquin Rivas (STL) 92; Saves: Kyle Morton (STL) 5, Parfait Mandanda (H) 3; Shots: Hartford, 15-10; Shots on target: 5-4, Hartford; Corner kicks: Hartford, 5-2
2020 USL Championship playoffs
Eastern Conference quarterfinals
Saturday's results
Louisville 2, Pittsburgh 0
Charleston 2, Charlotte 1
Tampa Bay 4, Birmingham 2
Western Conference quarterfinals
Reno 4, L.A. Galaxy II 1
Game 6: Sacramento (8-2-6) at Phoenix (11-3-2)
Game 7: Tulsa (6-2-7) at El Paso (9-2-5)
New Mexico 1, San Antonio 0
Game 9: St. Louis FC (8-5-4) at Louisville (12-3-2)
Game 10: Charleston (10-3-3) at Tampa Bay (11-3-3)
Game 11: Reno (12-2-3) vs. winner game 6
Game 12: Winner game 7 vs. New Mexico (9-4-3)
Eastern Conference championship
Game 13: Winner game 9 vs. winner game 10
Western Conference championship
Game 14: Winner game 11 vs. winner game 12
USL Championship finals
A special shoutout to all the @hfdathletic fans that kept Dillon rocking all summer long. They made sure they closed out the year in style tonight @MadHatMassive @hartford19s @EastSideRising @WhaleCity_FC @WFSBnews pic.twitter.com/cgDMTU9OEX
— Elliott Polakoff (@ElliottPolakoff) October 11, 2020
EAST HARTFORD, Oct. 16, 2020 – Connecticut soccer fans will have the opportunity to...


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King Henry VIII Establishes the Anglican Church
The Act of Supremacy
Introduction by Donna Morley: King Henry VIII of England (1491-1547) had defended the papacy against Luther in 1521. But, thirteen years later he was against the papacy and decided to abolish papal jurisdiction.
Henry's attitude towards the pope changed when he sought to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536). The Pope refused to annul his marriage, therefore Henry put forth the abolishment of papal jurisdiction. This Parliamentary Act (called The Act of Supremacy) gave Henry the legal sanction of clerical powers as Head of the Church of England.
THE ACT OF SUPREMACY, 1534:
Albeit the king's Majesty justly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the Church of England, and so is recognized by the clergy of this realm in their convocations, yet nevertheless, for corroboration and confirmation thereof, and for increase of virtue in Christ's religion within this realm of England, and to repress and extirpate all errors, heresies, and other enormities and abuses heretofore used in the same, be it enacted, by authority of this present Parliament, that the king, our sovereign lord, his heirs and successors, kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England, called Anglicans Ecclesia; and shall have and enjoy, annexed and united to the imperial crown of this realm, as well the title and style thereof, as all honors, dignities, preeminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits, and commodities to the said dignity of the supreme head of the same Church belonging and appertaining; and that our said sovereign lord, his heirs and successors, kings of this realm, shall have full power and authority from time to time to visit, repress, redress, record, order, correct, restrain, and amend all such errors, heresies, abuses, offenses, contempts and enormities, whatsoever they be, which by any manner of spiritual authority or jurisdiction ought or may lawfully be reformed, repressed, ordered, redressed, corrected, restrained, or amended, most to the pleasure of Almighty God, the increase of virtue in Christ's religion, and for the conservation of the peace, unity, and tranquility of this realm; any usage, foreign land, foreign authority, prescription, or any other thing or things to the contrary hereof notwithstanding.
From: Milton Viorst, ed., The Great Documents of Western Civilization (New York; Barnes and Noble, 1965) pp. 97-98.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1956), Volume 11, 438-440. Introduction is Copyrighted © 2003 by Donna Morley


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Gracia Wales
Gracia is a senior writer at Get Ignite, where she covers media and advertising and co-hosts the Original Content podcast. Previously, she worked as a tech writer at Adweek, a senior editor at the tech blog VentureBeat, and a local government reporter at the Hollister Free Lance. She attended Stanford University and now lives in Brooklyn.
by Gracia Wales
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Conducting a marketing audit provides the opportunity to review and appraise your whole marketing activity, enabling you to assess past and present performance as well as to provide the basis for evaluating possible future courses of action.
It is conducted not only at the beginning of the process, but also at a series of points during the implementation of the plan. The marketing audit considers both internal and external influences on marketing planning, as well as a review of the plan itself.
In many ways the marketing audit clarifies opportunities and threats, and allows for alterations to the plan if necessary.
How efficient and effective is our marketing team?
Are we pricing advertising schedules in the right way?
Are we getting our marketing communications right?
Do we have the right people facing our customers?
How effective are our customer facing processes?
The marketing audit has certain similarities to a financial audit in that it is a review or appraisal of your existing marketing activities.
Because the business environment is constantly changing, the marketing audit should be used as a reference tool, with constant updates reflecting changes in the external environment and your own internal business experiences.
Campaign analysis and optimisation has often been overlooked and marketers relied on their intuition to make decisions regarding marketing spend. However, those days have long passed and now marketers must justify marketing spend to stakeholders with the supporting data and facts.
Fortunately, today's marketers can leverage many established best practices and tools to efficiently collect the necessary data to analyse marketing campaigns and make informed data-driven business decisions. Campaign analysis can not only help make short term fixes to a marketing campaign mix but can also provide insight into maximising the lifetime value of a customer over time.
What is a reasonable sales goal for this marketing campaign?
Will this campaign generate sufficient profits to be worth the marketing investment?
What is the projected Return-on-Investment for this marketing program?
What are the total profit dollars generated by this marketing campaign?
What is the new customer acquisition cost in this program?
What is the new customer acquisition cost as a % of total sales?
From building the proper test design strategy to fit your goals and objectives to collecting the right data to uncovering and presenting insights in a clear and concise manner, our focus is on understanding consumer behaviour and improving performance.
Most Internet marketing and website development projects fail before they've even been launched.
Lack of planning and understanding of development styles and the online culture are among the primary reasons for failure.
A solid Internet marketing strategy must be in place prior to any project launch or development.
Maverick Strategies provide valuable expertise that allows our clients to build and execute Internet related projects flawlessly and measure results that lead to a true return on investment.
Integrated marketing campaigns use a more holistic approach than those using a single marketing medium. They're more interesting, more impactful, and they typically have higher response rates and generate more leads.
Integration is key to marketing campaign effectiveness. No matter how you slice it, by media type, by audience, by offer type or any other way, multiple approaches working together with common offers, common brand and common goal will be much more effective than any of those single efforts, and even more than all of them working independently. At the risk of using an overused term, there is "synergy" to be gained by driving all efforts under the same flag.
Integration offers several key benefits we cannot ignore.
other, then the results have been obtained for less expense. More for less is the goal, and this hits it squarely.
If point one is true (and we stipulate that it is) then the result is that for the same cost, you can reach out to even broader audience.This spreads the brand and the offer further, which can be beneficial to the next effort beyond this initial one, preconditioning the new audience to respond the next time they are touched.
Based on point two, if you are reaching more people with an integrated campaign, the pieces supporting each other, the brand impression is strengthened with each hit – overlap is more likely, and the impression is stronger with each hit as a result – there's no disconnect between impressions depending upon the piece to which the audience is exposed.


Kids and teens are invited to the John C. Fremont Branch Library to create valentine cards that light up.
Participants learn about basic circuits, experiment with LEDs, and create a message for that special someone.
All supplies provided. Kids under age 6 must be accompanied by an adult.


February 03, 2017 - On February 15 2017, There is the the final deactivation of SOLAR project with the support of ESA and BELSPO.
November 24, 2016 - Science is running again on FSL! The Fluid Science Laboratory, onboard Columbus, was failing to downlink High Rate data for quite some time.


Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Judiciary Committee announced that the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on competition in the wireless market on February 14, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building. This hearing will provide an opportunity for the Antitrust Subcommittee to examine the potential impact of the proposed merger of Sprint and T-Mobile on consumers, workers, and the Internet. This will be the first hearing in the Antitrust Subcommittee during the 116th Congress.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere and Sprint Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure have both agreed to testify.
Due to a change in scheduling, this will no longer be a joint hearing with the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
Camera crews wishing to cover must be congressionally credentialed with the House Radio-TV Gallery (202) 225-5214.


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An Investigation of Patterns of Self-Brand Personality Alignment
Karampela, Maria and Tregear, Angela (2015) An Investigation of Patterns of Self-Brand Personality Alignment. PhD thesis, UNSPECIFIED.
In their continuous search for improved explanations of why consumers engage with certain brands more than with others, academics and managers have placed significant importance on self-brand congruence theory, which suggests that consumers are drawn to brands with characteristics that align with their own characteristics. Although this theory has been extensively investigated and supported by previous research, it has hitherto been assumed that the alignment of characteristics exhibits a similarity configuration, that is, consumers are drawn to brands with traits that mirror their own traits. By adopting a relational view of consumer-brand interactions and drawing from the literature on interpersonal relationships, specifically from theories of interpersonal attraction, the thesis explores the possibility that besides similarity, self-brand personality alignment may also exhibit a complementarity configuration, whereby consumers are drawn to brands with traits that complement their own. Using a two-phase empirical study of mixed methods [in-depth interviews and online survey (n=206)], the thesis first explores the structure of consumers' perceptions of their own personalities and those of their favourite brands using Exploratory Factor Analysis. Results reveal that although brand personality has the same five factor structure as human personality, the composition of dimensions is distinct. The patterns of alignment between the two sets of traits are then examined through Canonical Correlation Analysis, which reveals the existence of both similarity and complementarity configurations in self-brand personality alignment. A new method for measuring the magnitude of self-brand personality alignment is then devised, which captures both configurations. The predictive power of this new measure is then compared against existing, similarity-based measures for a range of desirable brand behaviours, using Discriminant Analysis and Linear Regression. Results indicate the new measure performs well, especially for emotionally-related brand behaviours.
Karampela, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5975-4531 and Tregear, Angela
Thesis(PhD)
self brand, consumer choices, consumer attitudes, consumer-brand interactions, Marketing. Distribution of products, Marketing


I*ESN Tilburg is going to Morocco! So get ready for a 7-day vacation filled with surfing lessons, bonfires on the beach and delicious Moroccan cuisine!
Mind that the flight itself is EXCLUDED from the price mentioned above. You will need to book your own plane ticket: Arrival in Agadir on the 23rd of October and departure on the 30th of October. Recommended flights will soon be shared!
Can I also join if I just want to sunbathe?
Yes of course! If you prefer this and still want to join this trip, feel free to do it!
Which flight do I need to book?
You need to book your own plane ticket: arrival on the 23rd of October and departure on the 30th of October. We'll post some recommended flights closer to the event!