Jackson lost 100 pounds after gastric bypass surgery and maintains his weight loss and manages his diabetes with healthy eating and regular exercise. They stood on fields and locked arms with those players. Since that time, players across the NFL authentic throwback jerseys have followed in a variety of ways. Several teams hire part time mascots, who typically earn $100 to $200 per game.. She also said he threatened to kill her and put his hands around her neck.. "We know that for Canadians sport is a way of life, they are crazy about it and have had to put up with a costly experience for some time. 3 pick in 2014. Problems? Yes, those are problems. It emerges as a technology of biopolitical governance in that it is used to justify legal decisions on concussion. Still, plenty of positives, with QB Trevor Siemian looking sharp and a defence that showed it remains one of the best units in the league despite the loss of DeMarcus Ware and TJ Ward.. Jameis Winston left Tampa Bay's game at Arizona in the second quarter because of a right shoulder injury. "There are a number of players retiring in their late 20s and 30s now who are still able to play, but they've made their money and they don't want to take any further risk," said Cantu, who is also co founder and medical director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. The pipeline is strong with more to head that way.". He surpassed Anquan Boldin, who recorded his 300th catch in his 47th game.. Among issues spelled out the NFL's policy are "whether the League's collective interests (which include, for example, the League's television interests, the League's interest in strong and geographically distributed franchises, the League's interest in securing attractive stadium facilities in which to play its games, and the League's interest in having financially viable franchises) would be advanced or harmed by allowing a club to leave its assigned home territory to assume a League owned opportunity in another community. How would that happen? The Cougars have shown laser focus up to this point of the season, but it isn't news to them that six days after the Nevada game, USC, the nation's fifth ranked team, comes to town. The Vikings (6 5) are trying to stay close to the first place Lions in the NFC North. Michael's failure to master the art is the main reason he rarely saw the field in his two years with the Seahawks, and why he was traded despite his physical gifts. Our decisions going forward will be based cheap oakleys on what (Falcons coach Dan Quinn) and I feel is best for the team.". I pretty much put it out of my mind. 3, 2017″ > >Atholton volleyball edges Howard in five sets to remain atop county standingsJust before Atholton junior Lisa Zoch stepped to the service line with custom design basketball uniforms the score tied at 11 in the fifth set at Howard on Tuesday night, teammate Elise Park figured there was no better time to tell a joke. They're not yet the offense that went to the Super Bowl and had a 28 3 lead on New England once there. The only healthy one is rookie David Johnson (31), who is versatile eight TDs rushing, four as a receiver and can break a big play. I think our political leaders could learn a lot from the lessons of teamwork and the importance of working together toward a common goal. "I never pushed my boys in anything they did," he says. And ever since that first season Rice was off and running. DOUBTFUL: DE George Johnson (calf). The requirement especially hit season ticket holders who were willing to sell tickets below the printed price for games that were not especially popular, or late in the season when a team was out of a playoff hunt.. You've already seen it with the Conference USA TV deal. Lifelong fans will be here rooting for the team regardless if it's me or who is playing. Of the 17 who survived, 12 were entering their second season, five were entering their third. The Titans currently sit 29th overall in the defensive rankings, 28th in pass defense and a surprisingly low 21st against the run. And one of the Cowboy rookie's biggest supporters this season came from an unlikely follower a Giants fan. That includes two sacks and two quarterback hurries. Because of this, the paper argues that scholars ought to not only consider neuroscience research skeptically, but also ought to be aware of the dangers of neuroscience's emergence as an 'anticipatory discourse' that has the potential to reduce human behaviour to matters of the brain that thus transforms our very ontology of ourselves and the practices we perceive as 'good'.. I missed an awful lot of time. CT: NFL Classic Games: 2016 NFC Divisional GB vs. That's a far cry from the glory days of just eight years ago, when marketers like Aropostale and Forever 21 were erecting multifloor behemoths in Times Square, where foot where can i buy authentic nba jerseys traffic from tourists and New https://www.cheapfakeoakleysell.com/ Yorkers reached record levels. He featured in a total of three games for the Cowboys.. The Bengals expect his counterpart to be a rookie making his first NFL start, although the Texans hadn't said anything definitively. This is almost as pathetic as LSU AD Joe Alleva's stance last year when he claimed the Gators were ducking the Tigers by canceling a game as Hurricane Matthew was bearing down on our state. "We want to make it clear it doesn't matter how you define masculinity, professional football uniforms which is very different than some of the storytelling we've done in nfl basketball jersey the past," said Matthew McCarthy, senior director of Axe and men's grooming at Unilever. Yeah in the past, game developers used to do so much more with less technology. Year our goal is to win the Pac 12 championship, Taggart says. Therefore when it gets to the tail end of the season, the Premier League greatest prize is already safely housed away. The Heisman trophy winner jinx is still out there. He made the decision before protests by white supremacists at the University of Virginia. Their most accomplished and well known player plays offensive guard, unless Bears coaches change Long's position again before training camp.. As long as they were dealing in players with character questions, the Vikings easily could have said lovely things about a new and mature Joe Mixon, now an employee of the Cincinnati Bengals.


For those interested in fishing Point Clear's lakes, reservoirs and streams, there are some excellent choices including Louis Branch, Mobile Ship Channel and Weeks Bay. Whether you're fishing for Smelt, Pickerel or Warmouth, or one of the other fish found near Point Clear, we can tell you where to find them, how to bring them in, and who's having success. So get your fly fishing gear, baitcasting setup, trolling equipment, or spin casting gear out and find your new favorite fishing spot near Point Clear in state. All that, including links to your local fish and wildlife websites, records for a location, photos, videos, GPS coordinates for where the fish can be found, and much more.
Point Clear can be found in the great state of Alabama. More specifically, it can be found at 30.4740848541260 and -87.9191589355469. Explore our pages and find your next fishing spot.


The Social Democratic Party (SDP) senatorial candidate for Anambra Central Zone in the just concluded general elections, Chief Tony Chukwuelue, has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal in Awka over his exclusion from the ballot paper for the 23rd February election.
Chukwuelue is seeking to nullify the election conducted in the zone, saying that he was wrongfully excluded from the poll without any reason or warning, despite having the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on notice earlier.
Speaking with journalists after filling his petition, he said he was suing INEC, Senator Uche Ekwunife (the eventual winner) and her party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), to seek to have the result of the election set aside for a fresh election to be conducted in the zone where his name and party logo would be included in the ballot papers.
Coming near to tears while narrating what he described as a harrowing experience, ordeal and insult he had received on the matter, to SDP stakeholders who gathered to be briefed about his efforts to get justice so far, Chukwuelue lamented that the situation had extensively eroded his name, image and public standing.
He said those he tagged political traducers who apparently masterminded the wrongful removal of his name from the ballot were clearly afraid of his burgeoning political popularity ahead of the election in the area.
The senatorial candidate who tendered the Certificate of Return issued to him by the party dated Oct 3, 2018 in a party primary where he was the only aspirant, said he ran a well-coordinated and strictly issue-based point-to-point campaign resulting in endorsements by distinguished groups, stalwarts, communities and other political associations, which saw him coasting home to a landslide victory, but that the unfortunate happened about three days to the election date and threw everyone off guard.
Chukwuelue disclosed that all efforts he put up, including putting INEC on judicial notice on the discovery of the exclusion of his name, and seeking to stop or suspend the election in the zone pending the inclusion of his name, yielded no fruits.


text:
package boofcv.alg.feature.disparity.impl;

import boofcv.alg.feature.disparity.DisparityScoreSadRect;
import boofcv.alg.feature.disparity.DisparitySelect;
import boofcv.struct.image.ImageFloat32;
import boofcv.struct.image.ImageUInt8;

/**
 * @author Peter Abeles
 */
public class TestImplDisparityScoreSadRect_F32 extends ChecksImplDisparityScoreSadRect<ImageFloat32,ImageUInt8>{

	public TestImplDisparityScoreSadRect_F32() {
		super(ImageFloat32.class, ImageUInt8.class);
	}

	@Override
	protected DisparityScoreSadRect<ImageFloat32, ImageUInt8>
	createAlg(int minDisparity, int maxDisparity, int radiusX, int radiusY, DisparitySelect compDisp) {
		return new ImplDisparityScoreSadRect_F32<ImageUInt8>(minDisparity,maxDisparity,radiusX,radiusY,compDisp);
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: java.net.connectexception client socket failure Im trying to create a server, and running the server and client classes on 2 different computers under the same wifi. however, i always run into this exception when attempting to create a client socket
Exception in thread "main" java.net.ConnectException: Connection refused (Connection refused)
at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.socketConnect(Native Method)
at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.doConnect(AbstractPlainSocketImpl.java:350)
at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.connectToAddress(AbstractPlainSocketImpl.java:206)
at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.connect(AbstractPlainSocketImpl.java:188)
at java.net.SocksSocketImpl.connect(SocksSocketImpl.java:392)
at java.net.Socket.connect(Socket.java:589)
at java.net.Socket.connect(Socket.java:538)
at java.net.Socket.<init>(Socket.java:434)
at java.net.Socket.<init>(Socket.java:211)
at Client.main(Client.java:34)

my server class:
public static void main (String[]args) throws IOException{

    Scanner in = new Scanner(System.in);

    String fromClient;
    String toClient;

    boolean made = false;

    ServerSocket serverSocket = null;

    while (!made){
        System.out.println("Please input the port number");
        int port = in.nextInt();
        try {
            serverSocket = new ServerSocket(port);
            made = true;
        } catch (IOException e){
            System.out.println("could not listen on port " + port);
        }
    }

    System.out.println("server socket established");

    //ServerSocket serverSocket = new ServerSocket(port, 8, InetAddress.getByName(ip));
    Socket client = serverSocket.accept();

    System.out.println("accepted");

    Scanner sc = new Scanner (client.getInputStream());
    PrintStream ps = new PrintStream(client.getOutputStream());

    ps.println("agiftfromserver");

    while (sc.hasNext()){
     fromClient = sc.next();

     System.out.println("from client " + fromClient);

     toClient = in.next();
     ps.println(toClient);

    }

    in.close();
    sc.close();
    serverSocket.close();
    serverSocket.close();
}

client:
public static void main (String[]args) throws UnknownHostException, IOException{

    Scanner in = new Scanner(System.in);

    String fromServer;
    String toServer;

    //System.out.println("Please input the ip address");
    //String ip = in.next();

    System.out.println("Please input the port number");
    int port = in.nextInt();

    Socket clientSocket = new Socket("localhost", port); //ERROR

    System.out.println("client established");

    //Socket cs = new Socket(ip, port);
    Scanner sc = new Scanner(clientSocket.getInputStream());
    PrintStream ps = new PrintStream(clientSocket.getOutputStream());

    while (sc.hasNext()){
        fromServer = sc.next();

        System.out.println("from server " + fromServer);

        toServer = in.next();
        ps.println(toServer);

    }

    in.close();
    clientSocket.close();
    sc.close();

}

I have looked at other threads and i:
tried using different port numbers,
turned off firewalls,
and made sure i ran my server before client
it works when i run both classes on the same computer but gives me the error on 2 different devices.
does cross computer connection work like this?
if so, does anyone know how to fix this error. thank you

A: You are connecting to localhost, according to your question that should be ip of that other computer...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Diamond Digs
by Jim the Realtor | Sep 5, 2010 | Thinking of Buying? | 4 comments
From the WSJ:
In what might be labeled a fire sale, J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon has chopped the asking price for his Chicago home by more than 25%.
We've previously written about Mr. Dimon's trouble selling the regal 13,500-square-foot home with eight-bedrooms and nine-bathrooms. Several years ago, Mr. Dimon was asking $13.5 million, but it was priced at $9.5 million earlier this year. Now, it's $6.95 million. Mr. Dimon can still come out ahead: He paid $4.68 million in 2000.
"They're trying to make a bold move to get ahead of the market," says Jim Kinney, vice president of luxury sales for Baird & Warner, a residential brokerage in Chicago. "This time next year, that house is not going to be on the market. They're going to find whatever it takes to get it sold."
The home built in 1870 boasts a chef's kitchen, a workout room that includes a steam room, a rooftop terrace and staff quarters. But be warned: The listing pictures were taken when the house was furnished. Mr. Dimon hasn't lived there since 2004 when he relocated to Manhattan after the J.P. Morgan Chase's merger with Bank One, where he had been chairman and CEO.
more photos: http://www.luxist.com/gallery/25-east-banks/3186049/
clearfund	on September 5, 2010 at 9:40 am
I would buy that Dimon house in a heartbeat if I lived there and had that style of life.
Assuming its in a mega high end submarket you couldn't rebuild it for $5mm. Look at all the detail and woodwork. Out here that would likely cost you $500/sf+ to build in a turnkey manner. Not to mention the land, historical nature of the facade, etc.
I think the high end exaggerates the general need for hyper-knowlegable local real estate advice (be it a REALTOR or JTR…). Understanding the nuance of property has always been much more detailed and deep that most people truly respect. Especially in a market which is very subjective relative to value.
Erica Douglass	on September 5, 2010 at 10:18 am
Even the uber-rich can follow the market all the way down.
Just think–if he would have posted it at about $8 million a few years ago, it probably would have sold in a heartbeat. Instead, he's had to carry an empty house for years.
-Erica
tj & the bear	on September 5, 2010 at 1:59 pm
As I mentioned on CR the other day, these multi-million-plus home's pricing is more about ego than some fundamental value. For the most part, the people that could afford them before can still afford them now. The go-go, bigger-is-better boom-time psychology is gone though.
ANON34	on September 6, 2010 at 10:48 am
My wife and I used to own horses. The thing about a horse is that the price of the horse is the least of your worries. The maintenance is what kills you. It's very easy to spend two grand a month owning a horse.
This house is a lot like a horse. No matter how low you price it on the front end you still have to consider what it's going to cast on the backend. The backend maintenance on this house is easily several hundred thousand per year.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Danao et al developed a quality of life instrument for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. This was written in both English and Spanish and can be quickly completed. The authors are from UCLA, USC and the University of the Philippines in Manila.


text:
Houghton 75 > Artworks > HIST 75H: A Masterclass on Houghton Library > Jill Lepore
Jill Lepore
David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History, Harvard College Professor
Jared Sparks
Notes and memoranda on Benjamin Franklin, 1836-40
In the 1830s, Jared Sparks, the first professor of American history at Harvard, went to see a widow living in Boston, a woman named Jane Mecom Kinsman. She was the granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin's sister, Jane Mecom. Sparks was preparing an edition of Franklin's papers, and wanted to know if Kinsman had any. She didn't. I came across Sparks's diary, recounting this meeting, when I was writing a biography of Jane Mecom. I wanted to know if Kinsman had any of her papers. But Sparks, who considered biographies of women like Jane Mecom to be worthless—"biographies of nobodies"—didn't bother to ask.
10.5 L x 8.5 W x 1.25 Th (in)
MS Sparks 18, Bequest of Jared Sparks, 1866.
Your ticket for the: Jill Lepore


text:
Highlights of FLP's Social Policies for 2014
// Display comment count + link
Labour will reduce high Cost of Living:
Labour will extend the list of basic food, medicine and consumer items zero-rated under VAT; this will include all baby-food
Labour will review all levies on goods and services which are imposed additional to VAT
Labour will reduce the high electricity rates to provide relief to domestic users
Labour will review the billing system of the Water Authority of Fiji in view of the high complaints regarding excessive and billing practices
Social Welfare:
Labour will provide $100 a month to elderly citizens over 65 with no other source of income
Labour will restore the welfare benefits of hundreds of families who were cut off from the Welfare Assistance Scheme in the past 2 years
Labour will ensure that all disabled and elderly persons living in genuine hardship receive State assistance
Labour will periodically review rates of Welfare Assistance to provide relief from increases in living costs
Housing for Low income families
Almost 20% of our population now live as squatters in unhealthy conditions as a result of . Housing Authority's failure to provide affordable housing for low income families. Its $70m Chinese loan for the purpose has failed as lots under the project as too expensive for low income workers.
Labour will redirect the redirect the operations of Housing Authority to developing affordable home ownership schemes for low income workers
Labour will subsidise the cost of housing to the poor in order to offset high building costs and high cost of land
Labour's agricultural estates are designed to address the critical squatter problem by encouraging people to move back to rural areas and engage in commercial agriculture. Labour will provide fully developed lots of 5-6 acres for the purpose with subsidized housing.
FLP will restore FNPF Pension cuts
The regime's unilateral and unlawful decision to slash pension rates last year by an average 50% across the board has caused severe financial hardship to existing pensioners. The reduction in annuity rates to 8% means that future pensioners will not receive an adequate monthly sum on retirement to enable them to maintain a reasonable standard of living.
ü Labour will restore the pension rates of all pensioners who have suffered a cut
Additionally, Labour promises to revert the annuity rate to 15%.
ü Labour will work with employers to increase the rate of contribution so that workers will retire on a decent pension
ü Labour will index FNPF pension rates to increases in the cost of living. At present it is fixed for life without any provision for cost of living adjustment
Workers rights and Fair Wages :
Labour will restore the rights of workers and their trade unions and revoke all harsh decrees that violate these rights, in particular those in the civil service who have lost the security of their employment
Labour will introduce a minimum national wage of between $3-4 an hour, indexed to increases in living costs.
Labour will restore the 50% cuts in FNPF pensions and restore the annuity rate back to 15%, increasing it gradually to 20%
Labour will index FNPF pensions to increases in the cost of living
Labour will restore the retirement age to 60; in the case of civil servants made redundant without compensation, Labour will consider appropriate payment
Labour will set up a special fund to promote self-employment
Labour will protect jobs for locals by monitoring the influx of foreign workers taking jobs away from local people.
Labour will set up a National Service Scheme for unemployed youth involving them in community service. They will be taught vocational skills and receive a living allowance.
Labour's Health Policies
Labour will undertake a study to establish a National Health Scheme similar to medicare in Australia
Management of specialist and divisional hospitals such as CWM, Lautoka, Labasa and Nadi will be contracted out to private health care providers to raise the standard of curative health care. There will be no job losses. Full fledged hospitals will be constructed in Nasinu and Ba.
Contracting out management will bring in expertise and technology not usually available through the public service system
More specialist doctors will be recruited under special arrangements to overcome skills scarcity in this area
Adequate funds will be provided for the upgrading of facilities and urgent maintenance work in hospitals and health centres
Labour will lay greater emphasis on primary or preventive health care. A vigorous campaign will be directed against the increasing incidence of substance abuse such as yaqona, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, which are major causes of illnesses among our people
Focus will be placed on the preventive aspects of lifestyle diseases such as hypertension and coronary diseases, diabetes, and kidney failure. The campaign to create awareness will be undertaken at school and community levels.
Fees and Charges – Labour will ensure that no-one is denied proper medical attention because of inability to meet fees and medical charges. The regime has imposed increased fees and charges on a number of services. Some of these are unaffordable by people with low incomes. Labour will review these fees and charges.
Affordable and Quality Education
Labour will introduce a fee-subsidy scheme for approved degree/diploma courses; with the possibility of replacing the Student Loan Scheme Labour introduced in 1999
Labour wil, meanwhile, review the Student Loan Scheme in light of rising costs of education, Students who successfully complete their courses will have the loan repayment cut by 50%
Labour will ensure that State scholarships are means-tested and fairly distributed among the various ethnic communities; priority will be given to disciplines relevant to the needs of national development
Labour will continue with fee-free education but will also provide for a part of the money to be given directly to the deserving parents so that they can use it more flexibly in the overall education of their children.
2014 Election Irregularities
GENERAL ELECTION 2014 INTERIM REPORT ON IRREGULARITIES BY THE MEMBERS OF THE PARTICIPATING POLITICAL PARTIES INCLUDING FIJI LABOUR PARTY NATIONAL FEDERATION PARTY SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC LIBERAL…read more →
FLP denounces failure to release Electoral Decree
The Fiji Labour Party is very concerned that important election details are being released by Voreqe Bainimarama during his campaign trail in the Lau group…read more →
One-day polling will be a disaster: Labour
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's confidence is totally misplaced, if she believes that one-day elections in Fiji in September is achievable, says Labour Leader Mahendra…read more →


text:
Q: Find max and min on some region
Find maximum and minimum values of $f(x,y,z)=x^2yz$ on the region $x^2+y^2\leq1,$ $0\leq z\leq1.$

First, I get $\nabla f= (2xyz, x^{2}z, x^{2}y) = (0,0,0) \implies x = y = z = 0$, so the critical point is $(0,0,0)$, and $f(0,0,0)=0$. There is no singular point, so I just need to consider the boundary points. From $x^{2}+y^{2}=1 \implies x^{2}=1-y^{2} \implies f(x,y,z)=(1-y^{2})yz = yz-y^{3}z = g$, then I get $\nabla g = (z-3zy^{2}, y-y^{3}) = (0,0)$ → critical point of $g$ are $(-1,0),(1,0),(0,0)$,then I insert $y = \pm 1, 0$ into $x^{2}=1-y^{2}$ → $x = 0 , \pm 1$ → the boundary point of $f$ are $(±1,0,0),(0,±1,0)$, and all the $4$ points lead $f=0$. So the max and min of $f$ are $0$.
Of course my idea is wrong, but I don't know where I did anything wrong, does anyone could help me, thanks a lot.

A: The answer given is correct. You do restrict to the level set $x^2 = 1 - y^2$ and the problem reduces to two variables. Then, you want to look at the boundary of this problem, which is $z=0$ and $z=1$. This will reduce to maximising $y - y^3$ and this yields $1 - 3y^2 = 0$ and maximizing: $y = \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}$. So, $x = \sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}$ and $x^2\cdot y \cdot z = \frac{2}{3}\cdot \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} \cdot 1 = \frac{2}{3^{3/2}}$ if you want to maximize. Alternatively, taking $y = -\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}$ and $z=1$, we get that the minimum is $\frac{-2}{3^{3/2}}$. This is the tried and true approach for solving this problem. Of course, shortcuts are useful, but largely defeat the purpose of the exercise.
A note on how I think about this:
I like to think of this as we have a $3$-manifold with boundary and we take the gradient and set to zero. Then we restrict the function to the boundary, which is a $2$-manifold with boundary. Again, we take the gradient and set to zero; then, we restrict the function to the boundary, which is a $1$-manifold (in this case, it is without boundary. Why?). Then, if a $1$-manifold with boundary, we take the gradient again and reduce it to a $0$-manifold and check the discrete points left over. But this is my way of thinking about it; if you haven't discussed manifolds, then you can ignore this.

A: I find the max f = 2/(3^(3/2)), and min f = -2/(3^(3/2)). To see this true let x = rcost, and y = rsint, and consider 0 <= r <= 1. If you look at g(x,y) = yx^2 = r^3(cosx^2*sinx) = r^3(1 - sinx^2)sinx = r^3(sinx - sinx^3). Let h(t) = t - t^3 on [-1, 1] then h'(t) = 1 - 3t^2 = 0 <==> t = +/- 3^(-1/2), and h''(t) = -6t. From this h(t) attains max when t = 3^(-1/2) and attains min when t = -3^(-1/2) and the max h = 2/(3^(3/2)) and min h = -2/(3^(3/2)). So if you let r --> 1 and z --> 1 then max f = max h = 2/(3^(3/2)) and min f = min h = -2/(3^(3/2)).

A: For a maximization problem, it's pretty safe to assume $z = 1$; as if $z \in [0, 1)$, $x^{2}yz < x^{2}y$. Substitution is a good approach as well. It allows us to get rid of the $x^{2}$ term. So $f = (1-y^{2})y$. This should be a more feasible problem to maximize.
The minimization problem is equivalent to maximizing $-f = -x^{2}yz$. I would again assume $z = 1$. I'll let you give this one a try.


I have a kitchen table with a solid marble top. No matter how much I clean it I can't remove some marks that look like drops, and a ring stain from a glass. You can't see it unless you look at it at certain angles, it looks like it took the shine off the marble.
I have read that marble can get "etched" by juice spills, does this sound like etching? And does anyone know of any products I can buy locally to clean them up or add the sheen back?
Not sure if you tried any of these methods but here is a link. Removing Stains from Marble (Tips.Net) Most of the stuff used can be found in the home already.
jln - thanks! I haven't tried the baking soda tip but will give it a try. I do prefer natural products where possible - thanks for the site!
If the BS doesn't work, unfortunately, I don't know what the stains are from so not sure exactly what is best to do. I did a web search and found products in the UK, but know we have to have them here, I suppose they are just not pulling into my search. I might go to a kitchen showroom, imagine they have something(?).
Try cleaning it with hydrogen peroxide or clear ammonia then buy/apply a marble polish. Marble is softer than ya think so use coasters and placemats on that kitchen table.
I used the baking soda paste on my granite previously and it took several applications to "draw" the color up. Depending on the color of your marble it should help a lot.
I seal my granite once a year at least just for peace of mind. My boys love grape & cranberry juice and that is all I DON'T need - big permanent purple spots!
Brooks - once I clean it and if I seal it, will I still need to use placemats and coasters? It's hard to get tweens to remember to do this!
All - thanks SO much for your suggestions and helpful links which I'm sure I'll be referring back to often!
Wet sand it with a fine grit paper,then reseal.
Quote: "Brooks - once I clean it and if I seal it, will I still need to use placemats and coasters? It's hard to get tweens to remember to do this!"
Sealing it will certainly help, as the more you can do to protect it from the potential hazards (aka children!) the better.
Or buy a super cool set of coasters - maybe a bunch of paper ones they can personalize so they are more prone to want to use them?
Other than that making them stand to eat or drink until they follow the new game plan (or make them scrub and seal the table) may get them into the program- LOL (kind of)!
Brooks...thanks, no free ticket for me I really thought I was buying something I could relax and not worry about. I'll be on coaster police for every sleepover Appreciate your ideas!


text:
Sizmek Is Shutting Down the Rocket Fuel Brand to Focus on Ad Transparency
Will also disclose media buying fees from suppliers
By Lauren Johnson
Sizmek said its moves will instill more trust and transparency for advertisers about how they purchase digital ads.
After acquiring ad-tech company Rocket Fuel for $145 million in July, Sizmek is folding Rocket Fuel's brand and said it will start disclosing the fees included in media buying to instill more trust and transparency for advertisers about how they purchase digital ads.
With the Rocket Fuel acquisition, Sizmek hopes to beef up its services to compete against behemoths like Facebook and Google that control the majority of digital ad spend. However, Rocket Fuel's controversial history may make marketers uneasy about forking over bigger budgets.
Rocket Fuel, one of the earliest successful ad-tech companies, went public in 2013. Shortly after, a Financial Times report accused Rocket Fuel of placing a significant amount of ads on fraudulent websites for Mercedes-Benz, claiming that more bots saw the ads than humans. Rocket Fuel never completely publicly recovered from the allegation and last year stopped serving ads to controversial news site Breitbart after it was discovered that the company's ad-tech software served ads to the site, among dozens of other ad-tech companies. At the time of Sizmek's acquisition earlier this year, Rocket Fuel's shares closed at $2.69 per share, down from the peak of $66.43 in October 2013.
"It became pretty clear when we were having conversations with a number of our customers that there were some things that they liked about Rocket Fuel and some things they didn't," said Mike Caprio, chief growth officer at Sizmek.
In a survey commissioned by Sizmek that asked ad-tech and agency execs about trustworthiness, only 11 percent of execs rated Rocket Fuel as a trustworthy partner.
Specifically, Caprio said that agencies "had some foundational issues around what was happening behind the scenes and the take rate in terms of the managed service and a wide variety of other things that Rocket Fuel wasn't willing to share." Take rates are the percentages of money that ad-tech companies keep after a publisher is paid for a media buy.
As for what marketers did like about Rocket Fuel, the company "has been known historically for really great performance and that's what's really carried their business," Caprio said.
Now, Sizmek is sunsetting the Rocket Fuel brand and rolling it up into Sizmek to create one brand with the goal of showing advertisers "radical transparency." The transparency model will break down fees from suppliers, provide more insights into performance and retool how artificial intelligence is used in media buying.
"What we want to do is make it really clear to our agency and our brand partners that when they do business with us, we're disclosing how we are making money," explained Caprio.
Sizmek provides a technology stack that manages creative, programmatic and data for advertisers. With the transparency tools, Sizmek believes that it can function more like a consultancy model and provide advertisers with data about audiences that can inform what media they buy as well as the creative process.
Artificial intelligence is another big part of the new transparency model and a major reason behind why Sizmek bought Rocket Fuel. In recent years, Rocket Fuel has pitched its artificial intelligence capabilities that uses AI to make decisions on where and when ads are placed on pages.
However, that AI model is "antithetical to how an agency works," since agencies focus on how humans guide the media-buying process, Caprio said. "The Rocket Fuel guys I think were unable to articulate how artificial intelligence adds value to the performance of media."
That's why Sizmek is refocusing its efforts from using an AI-decision engine to a recommendation and optimization engine that allows for more input from agencies. Caprio explained that AI can analyze hundreds of pieces of data in real time that a human cannot to determine which bids are best for an advertiser to serve an ad. For example, someone who likes red tones more than blue can be served ads in blue tones to increase their engagement with them.
http://adweek.it/2ySLXCA
@laurenjohnson
Lauren Johnson is a senior technology editor for Adweek, where she specializes in covering mobile, social platforms and emerging tech.
Why Your Brand Needs to Identify a Brand Character
KFC Just Launched a Bucket Hat That, If You Want, Still Doubles as a Chicken Bucket


Oyster Bay Golf Links was voted the 1983 Golf Digest "Resort Course of the Year." It was all ranked by the same publication among the top 50 public courses in the country in 1990. It is a rare, harmonious blend of the penal, heroic and strategic philosophies of golf course architecture. Architect Dan Maples and developer Larry Young created a course where variety and innovation are the name of the game.
There are several marsh-oriented holes, two island green par-threes. This is combined with strategic (and stunningly beautiful) fresh water lakes, long holes and short holes. This all adds up to the consummate combination of shot making requirements. The par-70 course plays to just under 6,700 yards, but cavernous bunkers, wickedly undulating greens and lengthy par 4's make Oyster Bay Golf Course a test of one's mettle.
The beautiful water backdrops, as well as the unique design characteristics of many of the holes of the course make this a North End course that every golfer has to experience at least once in their Myrtle Beach travels.
Most people who play Oyster Bay, and up coming back many more times. It is the type of course, that you tend to both appreciate and play better the more chances you get to try. As part of the Legends Group, all rounds at Oyster Bay Golf Course include a free breakfast buffet, lunch from the menu, and two draft beers or fountain soft drinks.
The Legends offers great rates on both stay and play packages, as well as tee time only packages. Their specialties include four and five courses packages. This incorporates their five outstanding courses, and first-rate onsite accommodations at the Legends Resort complex.


text:
Q: Best Practice for Using Java System Properties Our code uses a lot of system properties eg, 'java.io.tmpdir', 'user.home', 'user.name' etc. We do not have any constants defined for these anywhere (and neither does java I think) or any other clever thing for dealing with them so they are in plain text littered throughout the code.
String tempFolderPath = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");

How is everyone using system properties?

A: I would treat this just as any other String constant you have scattered throughout your code and define a constant variable for it.  Granted, in this case "java.io.tmpdir" is unlikely to change, but you never know. (I don't mean that Sun might change the meaning of "java.io.tmpdir", or what system property it points to, but that you might change your mind about what system property you need to read.)
If you're only using a particular property within one class, then I'd define the constants right in that class.
private final String TEMPDIR = "java.io.tmpdir";

If you're using the same properties in different classes, you may want to define an static class of your own to hold the constants you use most often.
public final Class Prop {
    public static final String TEMPDIR = "java.io.tmpdir";
    ...
}

Then, everywhere you need to use that constant just call it using
System.getProperty(Prop.TEMPDIR);

A: SystemUtils provided by Apache Commons Lang package, solves this problem.
SystemUtils has defined constant for most of the system properties, which can be obtained by a lookup, for example:
import org.apache.commons.lang3.SystemUtils;

class Something
{
    public static void main(String[] args){
        System.out.println(SystemUtils.JAVA_IO_TMPDIR);
    }
}

Probably, that is a cleaner way to do it.

A: if you are using it in multiple places it might be a good idea to write a class to encapsulate reading the property and maybe other properties.
so maybe something like: Configuration.getTemporaryDirectory()

A: Since the question title is extremely broad, I'll throw in another good practice you should consider when using system properties. Access to system properties can by denied by the SecurityManager, so you may need to access them through a PrivilegedAction, like this:
String tmpdir = AccessController.doPrivileged(new PrivilegedAction<String>() {
  public String run() {
    return System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");
  }
});

Use a privileged action when your code constrains a sensitive action so that it will be safe even if malicious code invokes it.
For example, it would be unsafe to use a privileged action in a method like OutputStream open(File file). Untrusted code could invoke it, and use your code's privileges to write anything, anywhere.
However, if you had a method that saved user preferences for your application to a file you choose, that would probably be safe. A malicious caller can't choose the file location or its contents; those are specified by your code. So, your method can use a privileged action to allow it to be invoked by unprivileged code.

A: I think that in an object oriented software, you have probably an object (or a method) that have a dependency on a directory where a job has to be done. So, you can put in evidence this dependency on the constructor or the method.
After that, if you need a default for that directory and the default come from a system property, you can simply create a factory method or a constructor/method with less parameters passing to the other costrunctor/method a:
new File(System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");

You don't need to create a "dependency magnet" only to contain a configuration parameter.

A: I'd treat these as any other constant, probably with a P_ or PROP_ prefix, and put them in an appropriate constants class.
If you use lots of them, I'd even consider splitting them out to a PropertyNames constants class:
public final class PropertyNames
{
  private PropertyNames()
  {
     // no instantiation
  }

  public static final String P_VAR_DIRECTORY = "org.acme.app.varDir";

  public static final String P_TMP_DIRECTORY = "java.io.tmpDir";
}

Finally, I would seriously considering namespacing the property names themselves, with the standard reverse domain name used for packages. This is just to avoid clashing with third-party properties consumers.

A: In Java, Strings are immutable, which means the same object in memory space is not overwritten; a new String is created every time. The currently highest voted suggestion is to use a constant:
System.getProperty(Prop.TEMPDIR);

Unfortunately, the constant being used is for the actual property key. That means that every time you make this call, you're going to create a new String object to hold the value. In my opinion, you should make the constant the result of the call itself:
public static final String SYS_PROP_TEMP_DIR = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");


Collecchio, 15 March 2019 – Parma Calcio today completed a morning session at Collecchio with D'aversa's side working specifically on tactics and shooting.
Antonino Barillà and Leo Stulac both trained independently, while Francisco Sierralta also completed his own personalised regime due to an issue with his quadriceps in this left leg.
The Crociati will be back for a closed-door session on Saturday, with Coach D'Aversa's pre-match press conference set for 14:00 CET.


The Healing Craft is the medicine way of the witch, drawing on the healing power of Nature and our relationships with Nature. These sessions may include the application of Traditional Magic, Ritual & Personal Ceremony, Custom Spell Work, Initiation Recognition & Rites of Passage Ceremony, Body Work and Herbalism (Wortcunning.) Together we create a unique healing session.
The Traditional Witch as Healer and Initiator is an archetype that is returning to power, the voice of the witch at the counsel table is the voice of Nature. Nature has the power to heal, to restore, to hold us accountable, and invite us into a more potent relationship with ourselves and one another. The Healing Craft serves as both threshold and vessel for our healing; offering an initiation into deeper and often subtler relationships with our sacredness. I believe there are Three Pillars of true healing, with sustained healing best served through the empowerment of our relationships with each pillar. Wellness is served when we care for ourselves and our communities at the Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual (Energetic) level. The Healing Craft offers opportunity to tend well, honestly and deeply, your personal relationships.
It is my belief, from personal and professional experience, that the ceremonies of The Healing Craft positively effect change within the Physical & Emotional Selves as well as on the energetic and spiritual levels. In order to tend well to the healing process I strongly encourage that the Three Pillars of Wellness be tended, empowered and honored. Through our lives, our deeds, our learnings, blessings and challenges we become whole, more integrated expressions of nature. We cannot truly heal if we tend to one aspect of ourselves by turning away from another. It is imperative to your health to tend to your emotional, physical and spiritual health however you best can.
The ceremony of The Healing Craft can serve to initiate us into empowering our own healing, support us in wholeness and gift us tools to tend to what comes next. The word "craft;" art or skill and its application, has a common origin as the word "cunning;" wisdom and one who is carried by wisdom. The Cunning Craft is a way traditional witches call our relationship with and practice of the Magic of Nature. The Healing Craft is the application of the Cunning of Nature in serving your goals of sustained wellness. In addition to personal ceremony & one-on-one sessions, Crow Song offers The Healing Craft through community events and gatherings as well. On our path towards wholeness, it is important that we share the harvest and blessings of our journey with others. I thank you for sharing your time and ceremony with me.


As the year winds down, I thought I would give you a preview of what's to come on this blog.
I've mentioned in the past how much I enjoy being able to download free books from Project Gutenberg. Given a choice, though, I do prefer physical books. This month I received some holiday cash from relatives and I went a bit mad at the used books stores and library friends' sales. It's easy to justify buying classics when you have a blog about the Great Books.
In the picture: A complete set of the Durants' The Story of Civilization, both volumes of Somervell's abridgement of Toynbee's A Study of History, plus Toynbee's essay collection Civilization on Trial, The Federalist Papers, Herodotus' The Persian War, Milton's Paradise Lost and Other Poems, Virgil's Aeneid, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience, Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Allan Bloom's translation of Plato's Republic, de Sade's Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom and Other Writings, three tragedies of Sophocles, Joyce's Dubliners, Freud's Civilization and its Discontents, Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and Hesse's Siddhartha. Not shown is a collection of Aeschylus' plays that I have momentarily misplaced.
And of course I still have 36 more books of the Hebrew Bible to cover.
I plan to read and blog about all of these over the next two years. I must offer the caveat, however, that as I get closer to my own book deadline my blogging projects may be pushed to the back burner.
In regards to my next book, I am still in a very early phase of the writing and I don't want to give many details. I will say, however, that it deals mainly with modern American history. I can also confidently promise you it will be a much more enjoyable read than my last book–though I suppose that is faint praise, considering that my last book started life as an operations management thesis. Speaking of the operations/data science end of things, I'm sure I'll be writing a few more of those posts too. I also have some ideas for a couple of posts about the business side of writing which some of you should find interesting, since most of you are writers like me.
I'd like to wish a hearty "thank you" to everyone who has read and subscribed to my blog in 2014. See you next year!
I had originally planned to write one post about each of the traditional groups of books in the Hebrew Bible: The Law, The Prophets, and the Writings. As I read, however, I realized that this is not the most natural grouping. Therefore, this first post will concentrate on the first four books, of the five which make up the Law and also known as the Torah to Jews and the Pentateuch to Christians.
Most of the current arrangement of the Hebrew Bible is a result of the scroll-based book technology on which it was stored. Long scrolls are unwieldy, so the Hebrew Bible was divided into "books" which would fit on a standard 30-foot scroll. Also, it was common practice to store the scrolls in clay jars and it was convenient to have one jar for "Law" books, one for "Books by Prophets", and so forth. This traditional organizational scheme was retained even after the Bible began to be written on codex-type books with pages.
Even though they take up three scrolls, however, it is fairly clear that the books of Genesis, Exodus and Numbers are essentially a single, continuous work. Leviticus is a closely related, but separate work; even though the author places it within the same time-line as the other books by adding the introductory words "And the lord spoke to Moses saying:" at the start of each section, it is really not a narrative work at all so much as a ritual handbook for the priesthood.
Deuteronomy, while it is presented as Moses' last speech to his followers, is actually the prelude for a completely new series of books, a national history which follows the Hebrew people from the initial invasion of Canaan, though the golden age of King Solomon, to the final conquest of the promised land by Babylon. Deuteronomy sets out the major theme for the rest of the story, which is basically "As long as the people remain holy and follow the law they will be rewarded with peace and prosperity, but as soon as they transgress punishment will result." I will be writing about this Deuteronomistic history in my next post. For now, however, I will return to the other four books of the Law.
The Genesis-Exodus-Numbers cycle and the book of Leviticus were compiled at a time after the promised land had been conquered by the empire of Babylon. The Babylonian government prevented a possible insurgency by deporting the priests and aristocrats of Judah to other parts of the empire. In a semi-literate society, the elite are the main preservers and transmitters of culture. After they were removed, the native Hebrew culture was in danger of dying out. Meanwhile the upper-class Hebrews, living abroad, were at risk of being assimilated and adopting foreign ways. With the old verbal traditions imperiled, it became imperative to create a single, definitive version of the Jewish origin story and to write down as many of their key customs and rituals as possible.
The project was a remarkable success. There is no question that the existence of the Torah is one of the key factors which have allowed the Jewish people to retain their unique cultural identity throughout history. According to Edgar Schein, MIT Sloan's famous Organizational Behavior scholar, culture is made up of artifacts, values, and assumptions. All three of these are recorded in the Torah. Artifacts are behaviors and physical objects which are observable to outsiders. Examples of behaviors would be the cleanliness laws (Lev 11-18) and the rituals of the Levite priesthood. Examples of physical objects are the furniture of the Holy of Holies (Ex 25-27) or a special hair style (Lev 19:27). Deeper and more important than artifacts are values, such as the sanctity of marriage ("Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's wife.", Ex 20:17) or proportionate punishment for crimes ("An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth" Ex 21:22). Deepest and most important are assumptions, such as the idea that God created mankind in his own image (Gen 1:26). By identifying and codifying all of these, the Torah provides a static snap-shot of Hebrew culture in the 6th century BCE, a fundamental baseline reference for all future Judaic culture.
In fact, some noted historians, particularly Arnold Toynbee, have suggested that Judaic culture never changed appreciably after this time. In A Study of History, Toynbee refers to the Jews as a "fossil society". Toynbee probably should have chosen a more politic terminology; generations of writers have taken offense at the term and accused him of antisemitism. All he really meant was that the Jews, who 2600 years ago were one culture among numerous, relatively similar, Semitic cultures, have managed maintain their cultural integrity millennia after their neighboring cultures have become extinct or been assimilated into other civilizations.
So, having looked at why the books were written, let me turn to the story that they contain. I am, after all, a writer, so stories are my primary interest.
Genesis begins with two creation stories, then the story of the flood. In broad terms, these are similar to other surviving mythology which we have from the near and mid-east. Compare, for instance, the flood narrative in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, or the mythical battle between Marduk and Tiamat, which has echoes in the incident with the serpent (i.e. Tiamat) in Eden (Gen 3). Then, towards the end of Genesis 11, the book introduces Abram, who is herding sheep in Mesopotamia, where these myths come from. Abram, later known as Abraham,is the ancestor of all the Israelites. From this point on, the story follows his descendants from one generation to another.
The story itself is quite interesting from a historic point of view, even though we must make allowances for bias and the fact that the goal of whoever edited together to book was more to foster a sense of Jewish identity than to lay out an accurate historical account.
In the life of Abraham's grandson Jacob his descendent, now an extended family of 70, emigrate to Egypt to become what we would now call guest workers. They are able to get permission to settle there because Jacob's son Joseph has obtained a plum position in the Egyptian bureaucracy. They stay there for several generations, breeding prodigiously after the fashion of the poor everywhere. As time goes on, the narrative begins to describe them as slaves. Even today, in much of the world, the distinction between guest workers and slaves is often a blurry one.
Eventually relations between the Israelites and the Egyptian government deteriorate and they leave, either because labor conditions in Egypt had become intolerable, or because the Egyptians force them out. Probably, the political situation was complicated and messy and both sides were glad to see the last of each other. The Bible is only the Hebrew side of the story. The Egyptians of the time, while they kept extensive written records, were less interested in writing about what we would call "current events". The first Egyptian work that mentions the episode at all was written at a much later period by the priest Manetho. All we have is a paraphrase of it as cited by the Roman historian Josephus from the first century C.E.. According to this account, the Hebrews were living in poverty and squalor when an epidemic had broken out among them. The Egyptians evicted them from the country because the plague was beginning to spread to the natives. Moses was an Egyptian priest who went among them to teach them rules of Hygiene and cleanliness modeled on those of the Egyptian priesthood.
The biblical account, on the other hand, is that the Hebrews were oppressed by the Egyptians, who resented the incredible fertility granted under the terms of their covenant with God. Moses, an Israelite spokesman, created the plagues to force the Pharaoh to let them go. Perhaps in reality some elements of both stories are probably true.
Whatever actually happened in Egypt, the Hebrews migrate into the Syrian desert. During this period, Moses receives the Law from God and the narrative begins to be interspersed with passages of law. After living in the desert for 40 years, the Israelites have bred and trained enough fighting men to surge forth from the wilderness and overwhelm several small cities on the East bank of the Jordan River. The story in the Torah ends with the Israelite horde preparing to cross the river and invade the country of Canaan, under their leader Joshua. In my next post, I will talk about what happened after they crossed the Jordan and conquered their promised land.
I would like to conclude my study of Homer with some reflections on one more subject which I find fascinating. Both the Iliad and the Odyssey were originally oral works, composed completely in Homer's mind and and transmitted, possibly for generations, without benefit of writing. Let's pause for a moment and consider how monumental this accomplishment was. When we print each poem today it runs to about 500 pages of text. How many of us could commit something that size to memory? Yet even hundreds of years after the poems had been written down we read of aristocratic Greek boys memorizing them the full text of one or both poems. A fully trained bard like Homer might well have known a repertoire of dozens of epics. During the classical period poets often recited the Iliad and Odyssey, competing to give the most word-perfect rendition. Gladstone, in Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, points out that this tradition is probably why the versions of Homer that came down to us are so free of variation, since additions and improvisations would have been penalized. How did all of these people memorize such long poems?
Bards weren't unique to the Greek dark ages, either. It seems that the majority of cultures developed a similar role at some point. Our own Indo-European language group has a diverse tradition of (originally) oral epic poetry including The Bhagavad Gita, the medieval French chansons, the Celtic epics, and the sagas of Scandinavia. In many cultures the bard is also a priest or shaman. In ancient Ireland, for example, bards were members of the priesthood who ranked only slightly below druids. In Homer's Greece it was considered sacrilegious, or at least very unlucky to kill a bard. For this reason, the bard is one of the only men whom Odysseus spares when he massacres the suitors. Perhaps the bard's incredible memorization abilities were one of the reasons they were considered to be so special.
Or urged by wrongs, to Troy's destruction came.
A throat of brass, and adamantine lungs.
Their names, their numbers, and their chiefs I sing.
Gladstone's book, from which I borrowed the following maps, explains how Homer organized the information in the catalog to make it possible to memorize it. Basically, Homer uses a technique similar to a mind palace, an ancient technique in which information is visualized in concrete form inside an imaginary "mansion" or "palace". Fans of the television show Sherlock will be familiar with this from the interesting visual sequences showing Sherlock's thought process. Homer's mind palace, however, is the entire Greek world. He traces a nearly circular arc that encompasses the Greek mainland, Crete, and the islands. Along each subsection of this arc, he follows a zig-zag path which allows him to mentally recreate a journey through that part of the countryside, visualizing each city and its chieftain.
Locations Mentioned in the Catalog of Ships. from Gladstone (1855) [Public Domain]. Scanned by Project Gutenberg.
Locations Mentioned in the Catalog of Ships – Greek Mainland. from Gladstone (1855) [Public Domain]. Scanned by Project Gutenberg.
Homer most likely never saw a map in his life, so he was probably mentally stepping through his own memories from his wanderings, or imagining the oral descriptions of other travelers. The technique is surprisingly effective–much more so than the alternative. Have you ever tried to list all the state capitals without looking them up? I bet you missed one, and couldn't figure out which it was. Perhaps next time you should try mentally driving from each capital to the next. That's what Homer would have done.
My partner, who was a professional actor and performance artist for many years, gives another perspective on memorization. She says that she was trained to remember her lines kinaesthetically. She feels different lines in different parts of her body and uses particular movements to unlock memorized text. We don't know how much the Greek bard moved around while they were reciting, but they may well have used some of the same tricks to trigger their memories. Most likely, they used a combination of several different memory techniques, and learning these techniques was as important a part of their apprenticeship as learning the lines of the poems themselves.
With that, I leave Homer. I will be back to Greece and her poets before long, but, for now, I have begun reading another body of work which was initially transmitted orally: The Hebrew Bible.
I've just read the Odyssey, which means that I have finished reading the first author on my Great Books reading list. In some ways the Odyssey is much more accessible to us modern readers than the Iliad. The basic format, in which the hero journeys from one fantastic encounter to another before finally returning home, is quite familiar to us from works like Huckleberry Finn, The Hobbit, and thousands of others. Fans of Joseph Campbell will recognize it as a classic "hero's journey". The Iliad, on the other hand, is a type of epic that focuses on battles and the deeds and lineages of heroes. This form would have been just as popular in the ancient world, but seems a bit strange to us moderns. Also, in the Iliad, in the words of W.E. Gladstone (1855), "a more antique tone on colouring prevails, as it is demanded by the loftier strain of the action." Even so, I found that the Iliad was my favorite of the two. This might be due to the translations I used, however: Alexander Pope worked alone to translate the Iliad, but he subcontracted several chapters of the Odyssey, which may have made it harder to make the text flow smoothly.
The Odyssey is still a wonderful story, and very well worth reading. Few authors have ever had Homer's gift of sketching such vivid characters and locations in only a few lines of poetry. Even after nearly three millennia, these people and places live for the reader. As a writer, I have an almost irresistible urge to borrow from Homer and put my own stories in his universe, and I am hardly alone. Virgil, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and a legion of others through the ages read Homer and were inspired to write what our era would call "fan fiction". Homer is the mother of all expanded universes. Even today a quick scan through Amazon shows hundreds of modern novels, plays, and movies that adapt Homer's stories. It's easy to see why. I feel I could take nearly any character from the Odyssey, even bit players who are only mentioned on a few pages, and create a short story, if not a novel, about them.
This is gratifying, since my main motivation to read the Great Books is to improve my writing. I can only hope that the other 146 authors give me so many ideas.
Structurally, I found a few surprises about the poem. Most adaptations of the Odyssey focus on the journey itself. Of the twenty-four books in the original, however, the first four follow Odysseus' son Telemachus and his frustrations with the boorish suitors who have come to woo his mother. Unable to force them to leave, he sets off to the mainland to find news of his father. As characters, Telemachus and his mother, Penelope, are at least as developed as Odysseus himself. The last twelve books occur after Odysseus arrives home in Ithaca, so that only the eight books in the middle deal with his epic journey. Furthermore, I noticed that some of the most fantastic elements of the story, such as the encounter with the cyclops and the incident when Circe turns Odysseus' men into swine, are actually told by Odysseus himself in the form of flashback dialogue. One wonders if the cunning king was embroidering his stories a bit in order to impress his hosts. Overall, the story structure is much more sophisticated than I would have expected from such an ancient work. It is fabulous to me that his poem, composed (probably) in the 7th century BCE and translated in 18th century English, reads so much like a modern novel, but I suppose that is what makes a Great Book.
See also: You may be interested in an essay I wrote several years ago about the movie O Brother Where Art Thou? and its relationship to the Odyssey and Campbellian meta-mythology, or another essay I wrote about Constantine Cavafy's poem Ithaka.
I ask that you bear with me as I continue my detour of discussing books about Great Books. Reading the great books to improve myself as a writer is likely to be a pretty long project–probably even more time consuming than the time I decided to watch all 726 Star Trek episodes in chronological order. Before I get started too far into it, I want to be sure and examine some of the motivations for someone to launch on a Great Books reading program. Next time I will return to discuss the Odyssey.
I just finished reading The Closing of the American Mind: How higher Education has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students (1987) by Allan Bloom. Allan Bloom was a Great Books veteran, having produced well respected translations of Plato's Republic and Rousseau's Emile, as well as two books on Shakespeare. The Closing of the American Mind, written a few years before his death, is his magnum opus of popular nonfiction and is one of the last articulate 20th century pleas for greater integration of the Great Books in education.
The book covers quite a bit of ground, since Bloom was trying to trace a complete intellectual history of the purpose of a liberal education in our society. He brings up quite a few interesting points, any one of which would make a good blog article, but I will try to keep this post brief.
Bloom argues that in a liberal democracy, which by definition has no aristocracy or powerful established religion, the university is the only place where young people have a chance to experience a larger world of ideas and possibilities before going back to the "vulgar bourgeoisie" world of their future careers. Furthermore, a university is the only place where dissenting or new ideas are allowed to thrive, free from a democracy's moral consensus. However, the fact that modern universities exist within a democracy means that they have been under pressure to encourage "openness" to different ideologies, lifestyles, values, etc. This has caused the academy to fragment into a "Chinese restaurant menu" of different disciplines, depriving students of any commonality of experience or deep exposure to the core ideas that make up our civilization. Also, the wide acceptance of Neitzeism and other German philosophies has led to a new nihilism in both the academic Right and the academic Left, causing them to abandon teaching about The Good and instead teach a vague sort of value theory where nothing is good or bad and a dangerous relativism where all lifestyles and philosophies are equally valid as long as their proponents exhibit a proper level of commitment, leaving students adrift with no means to evaluate anything in terms beyond simple utility.
Bloom's solution is a return to the wellsprings of Western Civilization, i.e. "the good old Great Books approach." However, he admits that this is unlikely to happen now that the humanities have been stripped of their traditional prestige and allure, the physical sciences have decided they don't need the other disciplines, and an increasing number of undergraduates are shameless careerists, intent only on getting the prerequisites they need to get into professional programs. He points out, however, that even if there is no solution to the problem, the problem itself is eminently suitable as a subject for study by philosophers.
I honestly am not sure whether I agree with Bloom. Many readers have detected overtones of elitism in his argument. If we were to reset the curriculum to what it was in, say, the Victorian period, it would again create a massive advantage for upper-class, white males. On the other hand, I would embrace any program that could teach undergraduates to read and think, two things which very few of them now do well. Also, as a member of Western Civilization, I do think that it is important to protect and cherish our own intellectual and cultural heritage. On my most recent trip through college I was frequently shocked to learn what little awareness my fellow graduate student had of Western culture, literature and history. There education had failed in that respect, and there must be a better system.
However, by the 17th century, philosophers had come up with an even better scheme: Enlightenment. This plan was Machiavellian in the truest since of the word, given that Machiavelli was the one who thought of it. By simultaneously showing the world the fruits of scientific inquiry while teaching a theory of rights, the philosophers inspired revolutions which led to liberal democracy and allowed the existence of the modern university–an institute dedicated to teaching and protecting philosophy. Once the rule of Reason was firmly established, the philosophers no longer needed aristocratic patronage and switched to"the party of democracy".
Now, if we return to Bloom's main argument, the universities are in a state of decline and philosophy is no longer central to education, yet philosophers are now unable to survive outside the university. Bloom would like to change the university back to what it once was, if possible.
For my own part, I must ask if it isn't time for philosophers to come up with a new plan. If the aristocracy is gone, and universities are now more of a hindrance than a help, perhaps it is time to move on. To where? I don't know; I'm no Machiavelli. It seems, though, that this too is a good question for philosophic inquiry.


text:
RETURN OF THE FORT ORD HORSE STOCK
This page belongs to greg krenzelok.
On January 7, 2011 in time for the 70th Anniversary Celebration of the Fort Ord Station Veterinary Hospital one of the original "Ajax horse stocks" were returned to the veterinary hospital. Donated by Coral Armstrong, DVM of Los Coches Animal Hospital, Soledad, Ca. and Tony Parga. Dennis Winfrey, Camp Warhorse of the California Historical Artillery Society donated his time, truck and trailer to bring the stock back to Fort Ord. Assisting were John and Greg Krenzelok. The stock was originally in "Ward A" and removed in the 1960's by Dr. Gary Deter, DVM and his associate. The stock was then moved to their Veterinary Clinic in Salinas where they were used daily for 40 years until the new owner of the Steinbeck Country Equine Clinic replace the stock with a larger newer one. Coral then became the new owner of the stock.
Camp Warhorse: loading up gear to pick-up the horse stock. Dennis Winfrey, Greg and John Krenzelok. Image: Margaret Davis
Image: Margaret Davis
Left to right: Coral Armstrong, DVM, Tony Parga, Greg Krenzelok, Dennis Winfrey, Camp Warhorse of the California Historical Artillery Society donated his time, truck and trailer. The stock (left) is loaded on the trailer and is ready to go back to Fort Ord. Image: Margaret Davis
Stock being return to the Fort Ord Station Veterinary Hospital (Horse). C-5 Veterinary Clinic in the background. Image: Margaret Davis
Cutting off leg extensions. Image: Margaret Davis
Time to muscle it into the C-5 building, it was heavy! Image: Margaret Davis
Stock inside the C-5 building. Image: Margaret Davis
Left to right: Laura, Greg and Dennis. Image: Margaret Davis
While we were at it, it was time to move one of the Ward's water troughs closer. A special "thanks" to Las Animas Concrete (Tyler) who moved the water trough and later had one of his employees grade the driving area in preparation for the 70th Anniversary Celebration of the Fort Ord Station Veterinary Hospital. Las Animas Concrete had donated their time to help out the Equestrian Center many times. Image: Margaret Davis
A special "thanks" to Tyler and Las Animas Concrete for their help. Image: Margaret Davis
We were hoping to put the water trough on it's stand but it was a little to large to move it through the door, for now this will work. Image: Margaret Davis
Veterinary Specialty Company
Return to The Fort Ord U.S. Army Station Veterinary Hospital (Horse) WW2 homepage:
FORT ORD U.S. ARMY STATION VETERINARY HOSPITAL (HORSE) WW2
Click on the below link:
Click on the below Homepage links:
11TH CAVALRY PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, 1919 TO 1940
76TH FIELD ARTILLERY REGIMENT PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, 1922 TO 1940
76th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Battalion
THE ARMY VETERINARY SERVICE DURING THE GREAT WAR, WW1
SERGEANT LEONARD MURPHY VETERINARY HOSPITAL NO. 18, A.E.F., WW1
U.S. ARMY VETERINARY CORPS HISTORICAL PRESERVATION GROUP
Motto: "Illic est Vires in Numerus" There is Strength in Numbers
"Working Hard to Preserve Our Country's History wherever it is being lost"
U.S. Army Veterinary Corps Historical Preservation Group is a group of individuals that are concerned about the preservation of the History of the Veterinary Corps, Remount Service and Cavalry or wherever our country's history is being lost in conjunction with our beloved "Horse and Mule". There is no cost to join and membership is for life. We believe by uniting together in numbers we will be a more powerful force to be heard. Our membership list is private and only used to contact our members. Email us and become a member.
Greg Krenzelok
gregkrenzelok@msn.com
FACEBOOK: U.S. Army Veterinary Corps Historical Preservation Group


Gum disease affects your general health!
People with periodontal disease may be at 2-3 times the risk of having a stroke (brain attack) compared to people without periodontitis.
Dental X-rays help dentists visualize diseases of the teeth and surrounding tissue that cannot be seen with a simple oral exam.
Bad breath is also called halitosis. It can be an embarrassing problem, so some people don't want to talk about it. Bad breath can be caused by many different things. One thing is for certain no one likes it. What you can do about it!
Most cravings are actually misinterpretations from our bodies that we are dehydrated. By drinking a tall glass of water first, you may be giving your body exactly what it wants and alleviate the craving altogether. By some estimations, 80 percent of people are chronically dehydrated. So, before you reach for food to nix your cravings, quench them with some water. Then wait half an hour. More often than not, they'll be gone.
The first symptoms of periodontal disease may not be easy for you to recognize. It isn't too difficult to overlook your bleeding gums and bad breath— especially if you're a smoker — because these symptoms often come and go for long periods of time. But these early warning signs may indicate bigger problems ahead.
Periodontal disease often starts as gingivitis, a bacterial infection that causes inflammation of the gum tissues. If left untreated, this condition can progress to periodontitis, which results in loss of the bone that surrounds the teeth. When bone tissue is lost, the teeth and gums begin to separate, forming pockets that provide an ideal environment for bacteria to thrive. Ultimately, the disease may cause tooth loss, painful abscesses, and even systemic inflammation.
Brushing and flossing daily, and having regular professional cleanings are the best way to prevent periodontal disease. If it does develop, a number of treatments are available. Evaluating your oral hygiene techniques and seeking to improve them is a first step at control. Your dentist can also remove plaque and tartar with special tools, in the cleaning technique called "root planing" or "root debridement." In some cases, periodontal surgery may be necessary.
Teeth Whitening works by exfoliating stains from inside your teeth to bring them back to their natural color. Zoom teeth whitening is a process that uses a 25% hydrogen peroxide gel, the gel is activated via a special UV light. Your eyes, lips and gums are completely covered and protected throughout the entire procedure. Whitening is considered one of the safest procedures available in dentistry. The procedure consists of three 15-minute sessions. A fresh layer of whitening gel is applied after each session as the old gel is removed from your teeth.
Whitening results can not be predicted. The process can give different results for different patients. That being said, in our recent office study of all patients who had the whitening procedure in 2013, we have seen an 8.5 shade difference after three 15-minute sessions.
Before the procedure is started, we will measure your initial shade, and at the end of the procedure Our most successful whitening sessions resulted in 15 shades difference, while our least successful cases (very small number of patients) only got 4 shades lighter.
Have you ever seen someone with teeth that look like chiclets? Since the whitening process removes stains to bring out the natural tooth color, the results after in-office whitening will always look natural. Your smile will look natural and healthy.
Crowns and veneers are made of porcelain, bondings are made of curable resins the shades of which can not be changed. If you have had any previous cosmetic dental work, please know that the color of these restorations will not change.
This does not necessarily mean that all is lost and you should not whiten your teeth. On the contrary, don't forget that these restorations were probably done some time ago when your teeth were lighter. Years of drinking coffee, red wine, tea, as well as eating foods that stain the enamel have darkened your teeth and your restorations are probably lighter than your current shade anyway.
You always have the option of stopping the whitening after each 15 minute session. If you are unsatisfied with the color of your previous restoration, you may consider replacing it after your whitening.
Although zoom teeth whitening is a very safe procedure. Doctors in general do not recommend any elective cosmetic procedures for pregnant women. Even if the risk is just 0.000001% it's still something that's not worth taking. There has not been any harm ever reported, it's just not a risk worth taking. Additionally, because whitening uses a UV lamp to activate the whitening gel, whitening is not recommended for patients who use photo-reactive medications.
For a limited time, put one of these back in your pocket. Call before May 31st to book your appointment.
What are the consequences of delaying a root canal?
Having tooth pain can be debilitating. Even though some tooth discomfort can be caused by sensitivity to hot and cold, a toothache is more often a sign there's a problem, like a cavity, that needs attention. Although there are over-the-counter medications that can mask tooth pain, delaying a trip to the dentist when there are indications of a problem is never a good idea.
There's a difference between a simple cavity and the kind of infection that requires endodontic (root canal) treatment, though. In the old days before modern advancements in dental care, it was the difference between keeping a tooth and having it extracted. Today, diseased teeth can often be saved, but not always. Before we talk about the consequences of delaying a root canal, let's take a look at the type of infection that requires endodontic treatment [source: ADA].
The exterior of a tooth is hard and looks pretty indestructible, but deep inside it has a spongy core made up of soft tissue called pulp that contains nerves and blood vessels. The pulp extends down to the base of the tooth. In a perfect world, the pulp should be safe inside its enamel reinforced exterior, but because the human diet can be high in foods that attract and nurture bacteria, the pulp can sometimes become compromised. When the pulp becomes infected or injured, it has no way to protect or heal itself. This means that if a dentist recommends a root canal procedure, there's no upside to postponing treatment. An infection in the pulpy core of a tooth won't get better. It will only get worse.
The destruction of the pulp inside a tooth can result in tooth loss. Delaying treatment can also lead to an abscess near the root or tip of the tooth that can be excruciatingly painful, cause swelling of the face or neck, lead to bone loss in the jaw, or actually create a hole in the gum or cheek area that will leak pus and other fluids.
There's something else to consider, too. Postponing a root canal procedure can also lead to a serious condition called septicemia, a localized infection (like an infection inside a tooth) that spreads to other areas of the body like the heart, brain or lungs. Although rare, septicemia can be life threatening.


This page covers the author of The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam.
For other authors named Chris Ewan, see the disambiguation page.
Chris Ewan reads from The Good Thief's Guide to Venice.
Chris Ewan, The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam.
Chris Ewan , The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam.
"Chris Ewan" is composed of at least 2 distinct authors, divided by their works. You can edit the division.
Chris Ewan is composed of 2 names. You can examine and separate out names.


You'll have the ability to customize this incredible home to suit your discerning taste. Located on 2 expansive Lagoon front lots in The Placencia Residences- the 11,500 square foot estate will feature 6 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms.
Natural light floods the interior spaces with vaulted ceilings throughout. Spectacular sweeping views from every room and balcony abound. This will undoubtedly be the grandest property on the peninsula. A Home Theater, Wine Cellar, Pool, His and Her Master Baths and Elevator are all included. And you help select all the finishing touches to make it truly yours.
I was searching for a Property and found the listing (Grand Unfinished Opportunity). Please send me more information regarding Grand Unfinished Opportunity , The Placencia Residences , Belize, -. Thank you!
I'd like to request a showing ofGrand Unfinished Opportunity , The Placencia Residences, Belize, -. Thank you!


I am searching for an easy howto that explains how to play embedded mov-video files on websites with Firefox. Searching the web, I cam across an mplayer-plugin, but the rpm files there are quite old. The instruction for compiling it from source are not usable at the first step, because I cannot find any devel-package for mozilla (neither firefox).
So is there any simple howto that explains how this can be done?
You might find you need to convert formats, I recommend HandBrake for that.


Are You Looking for a Floor Sanding Company in Finchley Central?
From the suburbanisation of the area in the 1880s, St Mary's Church survives along with houses in old Finchley village. A modest but welcome collection – and a reminder of the continuity of English building.
And well represented by the natural beauty and durability of wooden floors. Whether hardwood, softwood, parquet, mosaic, mosaic or cork – they give great service in all kinds of settings: home, office, school, bar, cafe, shop, gallery or gym.
As the only floor surface capable of improving with age, they can be a great investment – adding value when well-maintained.
So your wooden floors are a valuable asset. And worth a makeover when they are underperforming through time and wear. Transform their grey and marked misery into a fresh new look - with wood floor restoration from a professional floor sanding company.
Call on Sanding Wood Floors for the complete wood floor sanding and polishing service in Finchley Central N3.
Whatever your floors need: repairs, gaps filled, staining for a new colour.. we'll provide the appropriate advice and treatment from our twenty years in the business.
Sanding itself strips away the old layers of paint, dirt and sealant to a smooth level finish. The bare surface may then be stained to change its colour – and then sealed with a protective layer of wax, oil or lacquer.
Have no fear about disruption and mess. Our machines collect virtually all dust. And we keep disruption to a minimum by working flexible hours – at weekends or even overnight. Any closure will result in the shortest possible period of inconvenience and loss of business.
You have a period floor? As our speciality lies in restoring herringbone, mosaic and parquet floor restoration – allow us to bring it back to life. We'll replace all damaged blocks with original materials. Your new floor - given the improvements in floor care products and techniques - may even surpass the original.
So ask us today for your free assessment. We provide restoration with only top quality floor products. To last longer, look better and provide superb long term value.
For a truly professional job in Finchley Central N3 - contact us today!
For a truly professional job in Finchley Central - contact us today!


The same rules apply here as they do in our World Food section.
Good fruity reds from either the New or Old World would be the best option. But remember, as the dish gets hotter, wine becomes the least best option and you will need to resort to beer.
Deep in colour and fruity on the nose with a velvety smooth palate. This is designed to be accessible whilst still young but the tannin will also soften with age making it very versatile. The balance and elegance are typical of this famous appellation.
An elegant wine with a silky texture of raspberries and plums. This 2009 vintage is just about starting to open up. Its full bodied character is rich and seductive and is one to watch evolve over the next few years.
Purple colour. Fresh black fruit nose (blackcurrant and blackberry), with spicy and liquorice hints. The mouth is powerful but supple, with silky tannins but consistent and balanced on the palate.
Made from a careful blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat, this is a juicy fruit driven red.
Quaffable, easy-to-drink red; well made and splendid value.
Rich ruby colour and intense aromas of smoke and red bell pepper. Hints of smoke, tart cherry and green herbs are presented in this well structured example.


The Duofold had been a design that changed every thing. Its success swiftly transformed Parker from 1 organization among numerous to the undisputed marketplace frontrunner. Its bold two-tone shade plan solidly put to rest the belief that the public chosen their particular pens ordinary and black colored, and set the stage for the extensive adoption of shade celluloid pens several quick years later.
The Duofold ended up being an offshoot of Parker's Jack Knife protection range. The very first Duofolds (introduced 1921) had been huge button-filling pencils in red-hard rubberized with black hard plastic end pieces and bandless limits – showy items which caught people's fancy in a huge way. The original full-sized Senior Duofold (5.5 inches/13.8 cm long) was shortly joined by a smaller Junior and a ringtop Lady Duofold. Colors had been limited to red and black colored until 1926, when production shifted to celluloid (called "Permanite" by Parker). 1st brand-new shade ended up being a jade green, nevertheless the "Jade Pens" bore no Duofold markings before the latter element of 1927 – from which time two new colors, both highly desirable these days, were introduced: Lapis Lazuli blue and Mandarin Yellow. In 1928, Moderne black colored and pearl (black colored lined pearl) was introduced. At the end of 1929, the Duofold line ended up being completely redesigned. The new pens were streamlined, with smooth, tapered finishes. Extra colors had been introduced: burgundy (red and black colored pearl); Moderne green and pearl (green lined pearl); and lastly, green and black pearl (black colored lined green pearl).
A groundbreaking study in the Duofold appeared in a seven-part show by Don Zazove and Mike Fultz in The Pennant, volumes X/1 to XIII/3 (Spring 1996-Spring 1999). This material and more is obtainable in the 2006 Duofold monograph by David Shepherd and Dan Zazove.
Throughout: Junior in red Permanite, c. 1926; Senior in red Permanite, c. 1927; Mandarin Yellow Senior, c. 1927; early jade green Senior, c. 1927; improve Senior in burgundy, c. 1931; lapis blue Juniorette, c. 1930; woman Duofold in purple Permanite, c. 1928.
Duofolds display many limit band variants, in which they may be dated. Besides the standard designs noted above, there is in addition the Unique (Senior size, Junior diameter), the Juniorette (much like a Lady, however with a clip), and the vest-pocket (a miniature design). Duofolds in colors aside from red and black colored are particularly at risk of stain, since reactive sac deterioration byproducts usually build in the tightly-sealed barrel. Pens in lighter colors (green, black colored and pearl, green and pearl, green and black pearl) demand a substantial advanced if undiscolored. The highly transparent pale-green very first made use of is especially delicate, though the subsequent, brighter greens are extremely tough to locate in their initial state.
The Duofold's importance for Parker cannot be exaggerated. Not only ended up being it a bestseller, it allowed Parker to cut back considerably how many different models with its catalog, considerably increasing effectiveness. Parker scored another hit because of the Duofold's successor, the Vacumatic, by 1934 the Duofold line was being displaced - though production quietly proceeded through the entire decade. Title had been revived in 1940 for various designs resembling Vacs in design, but at that time the period of classic Duofolds had been over.
Duofolds tend to be sturdy, dependable pens that compose smoothly and tend to be easy to service. Many have nibs that are quite fast, particularly the larger models, so pens with flexible, broad, or italic nibs are particularly desired. These kinds of nibs are more commonly present pens manufactured in Canada, plus US-made Duofolds exported to Denmark (these typically bear the anchor level associated with the Danish representative). Many Duofolds are actually discovered with "Arrow" nibs and comb feeds; most of these tend to be later factory replacements, though some late-production Duofolds were so prepared initially. Nonetheless, enthusiasts usually prefer their Duofolds with spearhead feeds and Duofold-imprinted nibs.
NOTE: there is certainly much misinformation in the beginnings of Duofold name. Some declare that it denotes your pen could possibly be converted into a table pen, or utilized as an eyedropper, or that its nib could possibly be used upside-down. Yet not one of those supposedly key functions had been much as previously mentioned in early Duofold adverts or company literature. In reality, the "Duo" prefix had been popular at that time, being used as a marketing superlative for a wide range of items (paralleled because of the ubiquity of "very" in postwar age). "Duofold" could have suggested your brand new oversize Parker had been twice the pen competitors could possibly offer – consistent with its rates, which forced current market norms - although the "-fold" suffix both held through the relative reference (as with "twofold") and alluded into size and rigidity of this Duofold's large, manifold-style nib ("manifold" becoming the word for stiff nibs created for use with carbon paper, with which one will make manifold copies of a document).


1. I will not be shopping today -- in fact, my goal is to not leave the house. :) Instead, I'm planning on a reading day (um, once I finish -- and start -- work).
2. The kiddos have decided to put up the Christmas tree by themselves. I wholeheartedly support this...but I'm wondering how long it will be before my help is required *checks clock*.
3. D's already had his first ski day (Tuesday) of the year -- and another first, skiing with his bff.
4. I'm all peopled out...I'm glad we have 3 days until 'regular' life begins again. I think I'd just snap at folks if I had to return to that today.
Hope it's been a good week for you, wherever you are! :) Any big plans for the end of November/beginning of December?


38 Park Avenue is now undergoing land preparation after its recent groundbreaking.
Fast project turnaround and strong sales take up have boosted first-half revenues of newly listed Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) to P1.807 billion, and increased net income by 164 percent to 634M year-on-year (YOY). This shows positive outlook for the company to surpass its P1.2-billion net income target by year-end.
The property developer described its financial growth in 1H 2017 as "outstanding" with its six-month revenues up by 107% YOY to P1.807 billion and net income after tax (NIAT) of P634 million higher by 164%.
Drone shot shows ongoing construction of Casa Mira Linao.
Soberano attributed this growth to the robust sales and strong construction progress of various projects such as economic condo project Casa Mira Towers, mid-end residential condominium developments Mivesa Garden Residences, Mesaverte Residences in Cagayan de Oro, and mixed-use development Baseline Center including the Citadines Cebu City to be completed in 2018. Aside from Mesaverte Residences, all aforementioned projects are in Cebu. Fast turnaround time has been observed in most CLI projects, from acquisition to pre-selling and construction. This can also be attributed to the Cebu-based CLI's ability to cultivate strong partnerships with local contractors and other local stakeholders.
Margin from the six-month Gross Profit of P918 million increased from 46% to 51% due to moderate price escalations and cost control procedures enhancing the company's work efficiency and output. Operating Expense Margin also improved, as ratio to sales decreased from 18% to 13%. As a result, NIAT Margin increased from 27% to 35%.
The sales velocity of its projects and timely delivery of units in Cebu and key VisMin cities have also made CLI the preferred developer in the region. In the first six months of the year, reservation sales of P2.87 billion went up by 155% YOY, almost breaching the entire figure for 2016 of P2.94 billion. This is particularly attributed to the company's newly launched projects in the first half of the year such as the premium residential development 38 Park Avenue at the Cebu IT Park (60% fully sold), MesaTierra Garden Residences in Davao (85% fully sold), and Casa Mira South straddling in the City of Naga and Municipality of San Fernando, Cebu (80% fully sold).
CLI said its balance sheet is largely geared to support this expansion. Total assets recorded in the first six months of the year reached P8.9 billion, a big boost from only P5.4 billion a year ago. Proceeds from the recent IPO and growth in receivables due to the robust sales performance of its properties helped bulk up CLI's asset profile.


Is your parent/teen relationship at risk? Techniques and tools to rebuild meaningful relationships based on respect, listening, understanding and open communication. Phone consultations/counseling also available.
Pyschodynamic, cognitive-behavioral depending on patient and issues involved. Parenting, Young Adults.


Celia Espinoza, Mexican Mestiza. She has been a coordinator with Freshet since June 2017 and became involved with Standing Rock as an organizer in my hometown in Idaho in September of 2016. We made two trips with donations to Oceti Sakowin in November and December. This movement changed my life in many ways so I am grateful to be able to reciprocate that.


Lisa Kahn-Allen, ASID, founded her award-winning interior design firm, Lisa Kahn Designs, in the summer of 2000. Designing homes around the world, she has always been intrigued by the relationship between the built environment and the human spirit. In her work and in her writing she seeks to explore how we can create spaces that nurture us – not only physically and esthetically, but also emotionally and spiritually. She sees her work as creating sanctuaries: peaceful spaces of beauty and order, creativity and light.


text:
This Is The Way It Was
Ken Murdock
Moving a railroad signal
The photo below shows our Plant City interlocking signal in service on CSX. It is the one on the left behind the signal shanty for the interlocking equipment. The CSX train approaching is on the old Seaboard Air Line main line from Bone Valley. The track bearing off to the right is the SAL main line to Tampa Union Station and their phosphate port on Seddon Island. The track crossing in the foreground is the old Atlantic Coast Line main line to Lakeland, to the left, and to Tampa, to the right. The Plant City Union Station, now a museum, is to the immediate right out of the photo. When CSX double-tracked the former SAL line, new signals were required.
Wes Coscia happened to be at Plant City when a signal gang was removing the old signals. There were three of them. He asked what they were going to do with the signals and they said he could have them. Being a contractor with a front-end-loader tractor, he quickly picked them up and took them home. During our group's visit to Wes Coscia's home near Dade City in 2010 he offered one of them to us. He even offered to let us take his trailer to haul it. So, it came to our museum where it lay on its side for five years. Finally, I had an engineer friend design a footing and three of us dug a 2' x 2' x 5' deep hole, inserted reinforcing steel and anchor bolts in the hole and filled it with concrete.
The above work was done first by obtaining a building permit from the city and having it inspected before pouring the concrete. Once the concrete had cured, we called Florida
Metal Craft on Dillard Street and they sent their crane over, at no cost, to lift the signal into place. In just a few minutes, their men tightened the one-inch bolts and the heavy
lifting was done. Former member Jayson Turcyn, having had signal experience with Florida
Central, aligned the signal heads and connected the wiring and we had a new display.
The signal stands at the east end of the museum along Tremaine Street.
The Arcadia, Gulf Coast & Lakeland Railroad
Florida Train Postcards
Central Florida Railroad Museum
info@cfrhs.org
Museum: 101 S. Boyd St, Winter Garden, FL 34787
Mail: PO Box 770567, Winter Garden, FL 34777-0567
©2023 Central Florida Railway Historical Society, Inc.
Website Designed and Maintained by Orlando Corporate Media, Inc.