text:
**Last modified:** July 24, 2015

**Author:** Paolo Pialorsi - [www.piasys.com](http://www.piasys.com/) - [@PaoloPia](https://www.twitter.com/PaoloPia/)

 _**Applies to:** SharePoint 2013 | SharePoint Online | Office 365_

 **In this article**

 [The Goal](#thegoal)

 [Creating a Provisioning Template](#creatingtemplate)

 [Applying a Provisioning Template](#applyingtemplate)

 [Advanced Topics](#advancedtopics)

 [Requirements and Wrap Up](#wrapup)

 [Additional resources](#bk_addresources)

This short whitepaper introduces the PnP Provisioning Engine, which has been release in April 2015 within the [OfficeDev PnP](http://aka.ms/officedevpnp) project, and which will be updated on a monthly basis, accordingly to the release schedule of the Office Dev PnP Core Library. What you will see here is available thanks to the efforts of some of the Office Dev PnP Core Team members ([Vesa Juvonen](https://twitter.com/vesajuvonen), [Bert Jansen](https://twitter.com/O365Bert), [Frank Marasco](https://twitter.com/frank_marasco), [Erwin van Hunen](https://twitter.com/erwinvanhunen), and [me](https://twitter/paolopia)), as well as the whole OfficeDev PnP community.

## The Goal

Let's start from the main goal of having a provisioning engine. With the introduction of Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft SharePoint Online, developers are facing the new Cloud Add-in Model (aka CAM) as a new way of creating custom software solutions for Microsoft SharePoint 2013, Microsoft SharePoint Online, and Microsoft Office 365 more in general. However, while in the past developers were used to provision custom artifacts using the CAML/XML-based features framework, either with Full Trust Code (aka FTC) solutions or Sandbox Solutions, now days with the new CAM the approach should be based on provisioning artifacts using the so called "remote provisioning" technique. But what does mean to do "remote provisioning"? It means using the Client Side Object Model (CSOM) to provision artifacts, instead of using the feature framework.

Well, and what if I want to model and provision artifacts using a test and a production environment? Or what if I want to automate provisioning of artifacts, just because I want to sell my customizations to multiple customers? Or again, what if I want to define a custom site template that I want to re-use across multiple site instances, like customer-oriented sites, or project-oriented sites?

Using the new PnP Provisioning Engine, you can model – even simply by using the web browser – the design of Site Columns, Content Types, List Definitions and Instances, Composed Looks, Pages (either WebPart Pages or Wiki Pages), and much more. When you are done with the design, you can export what you have done into a persistent provisioning template format (XML, JSON, or whatever you like), and you can apply that template to as many target sites as you like.

If it sounds interesting ... go ahead reading, and let's learn how to use it!

## Creating a Provisioning Template

As already stated, the easiest way to create a custom provisioning template is to create a fresh new site collection in Microsoft SharePoint Online, to define your artifacts (Composed Look, Site Columns, Content Types, Lists Instances, Pages, Files, etc.) and to save the result as a Provisioning Template.

Thus, let's say you have defined a sample site with a custom look (custom color theme, custom logo, custom background image). You can see the resulting Home Page in the following figure.

![The home page of a template site](./media/Introducing-the-PnP-Provisioning-Engine/Figure-1-SiteTemplate01.png)

Moreover, you have defined a couple of Site Columns, a Content Type and a Library of Invoices with a custom View. In the two following figures you can see the result.

![A library of Invoices with a custom content type](./media/Introducing-the-PnP-Provisioning-Engine/Figure-2-SiteTemplate02.png)

![The settings page of the Invoices library](./media/Introducing-the-PnP-Provisioning-Engine/Figure-3-SiteTemplate03.png)

In order to export that site as a Provisioning Template, you can use either a bunch of PowerShell Scripting (thanks to the efforts of [Erwin](https://twitter.com/erwinvanhunen)!) or some CSOM code, with some extension methods, which are provided by the OfficeDev PnP Core Library.

In order to use the PowerShell extensions, you can simply browse to the proper URL ([http://aka.ms/officedevpnpcmdlets16](http://aka.ms/officedevpnpcmdlets16) for Microsoft SharePoint Online, or [http://aka.ms/officedevpnpcmdlets15](http://aka.ms/officedevpnpcmdlets15) for Microsoft SharePoint 2013) and install the OfficeDev PnP Core PowerShell extensions. Then, after having connected your PowerShell environment to Microsoft Office 365, by using the *Connect-SPOnline* cmdlet, you will be able to use the following PowerShell cmdlet:

*Get-SPOProvisioningTemplate -Out "PnP-Provisioning-File.xml"*

The *–Out* argument instructs the cmdlet about where to save the Provisioning Template.

On the other side, in order to use the CSOM extensions, you can simply create any kind (Console, Windows, SharePoint Add-in, whatever you like) of .NET software project, and add the OfficeDev PnP NuGet Package. The NuGet Package is available in two flavors: OfficeDev PnP Core V15, which targets Microsoft SharePoint 2013 on-premises, and OfficeDev PnP Core, which targets Microsoft SharePoint Online.

Let's target the Microsoft SharePoint Online, which so far has been more tested and was the main target of the PnP Core Team efforts. You will simply need to connect to Microsoft Office 365, create a *ClientContext* instance and retrieve a reference to a *Web* object. Thanks to a new extension method, called *GetProvisioningTemplate*, you will be able to retrieve a *ProvisioningTemplate* object that can be saved using a template provider and a serialization formatter. Both the template provider and the serialization formatter objects can be customized, so that you can implement whatever persistence storage and serialization format you like. Out of the box, the PnP Provisioning Engine provides support for File System, SharePoint, and Azure Blob Storage template providers, as well as for XML and JSON serialization formatters. In the following figure (credits to [Vesa](https://twitter.com/vesajuvonen)) you can see an outline of the overall architecture of the PnP Provisioning Engine.

![The architecture of the PnP Provisioning Engine Framework](./media/Introducing-the-PnP-Provisioning-Engine/Figure-4-PnP-Provisioning-Framework-Outline.png)

The result of extracting and saving a *ProvisioningTemplate* instance object will be for instance an XML file like the one shown in the following XML code excerpt:

    <?xml version="1.0"?>
    <pnp:Provisioning xmlns:pnp="http://schemas.dev.office.com/PnP/2015/05/ProvisioningSchema">
      <pnp:Preferences Generator="OfficeDevPnP.Core, Version=1.2.515.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null" />
      <pnp:Templates ID="CONTAINER-TEMPLATE-1D3F60898418437E8B275147BEC7B0F5">
    <pnp:ProvisioningTemplate ID="TEMPLATE-1D3F60898418437E8B275147BEC7B0F5" Version="1">
      <pnp:Security>
    <pnp:AdditionalAdministrators>
      <pnp:User Name="i:0#.f|membership|paolo@piasysdev.onmicrosoft.com" />
    </pnp:AdditionalAdministrators>
      </pnp:Security>
      <pnp:Files>
    <pnp:File Src="PnP.png" Folder="SiteAssets" Overwrite="true" />
    <pnp:File Src="STB13_Rick_01_small.png" Folder="SiteAssets" Overwrite="true" />
      </pnp:Files>
      <pnp:SiteFields>
    <Field Type="DateTime" DisplayName="Invoice Date" Required="FALSE" EnforceUniqueValues="FALSE"
    	Indexed="FALSE" Format="DateOnly" Group="PnP Columns" FriendlyDisplayFormat="Disabled"
    	ID="{f1c6f202-f976-4f4e-b0a3-8b984991d00d}" SourceID="{5a15b9ca-4410-4854-bc61-d7fb0ff84e56}"
    	StaticName="PnPInvoiceDate" Name="PnPInvoiceDate" CalType="0">
      <Default>[today]</Default>
    </Field>
    <Field Type="Text" DisplayName="Invoice Number" Required="FALSE"
    	EnforceUniqueValues="FALSE" Indexed="FALSE" MaxLength="20" Group="PnP Columns"
    	ID="{5049a822-424c-4479-9648-79c4b3214375}" SourceID="{5a15b9ca-4410-4854-bc61-d7fb0ff84e56}"
    	StaticName="PnPInvoiceNumber" Name="PnPInvoiceNumber">
    </Field>
      </pnp:SiteFields>
      <pnp:ContentTypes>
    <pnp:ContentType ID="0x01010097931365769EE34E9078576A150FF52E" Name="Invoice"
    	Description="" Group="PnP Content Types">
      <pnp:FieldRefs>
    <pnp:FieldRef ID="5049a822-424c-4479-9648-79c4b3214375" Name="PnPInvoiceNumber" />
    <pnp:FieldRef ID="f1c6f202-f976-4f4e-b0a3-8b984991d00d" Name="PnPInvoiceDate" />
      </pnp:FieldRefs>
    </pnp:ContentType>
      </pnp:ContentTypes>
      <pnp:Lists>
    <pnp:ListInstance Title="Invoices" Description=""
    	DocumentTemplate="{site}/Invoices/Forms/template.dotx" TemplateType="101" Url="Invoices"
    	EnableVersioning="true" MinorVersionLimit="0" MaxVersionLimit="500"
    	TemplateFeatureID="00bfea71-e717-4e80-aa17-d0c71b360101" ContentTypesEnabled="true"
    	EnableAttachments="false">
      <pnp:ContentTypeBindings>
    <pnp:ContentTypeBinding ContentTypeID="0x01010097931365769EE34E9078576A150FF52E" Default="true" />
      </pnp:ContentTypeBindings>
      <pnp:Views>
    <View Name="{3D715498-8FA2-4B80-8D35-885B2A4CCBDE}" MobileView="TRUE" MobileDefaultView="TRUE"
    		Type="HTML" DisplayName="All Documents"
    		Url="/sites/PnPProvisioningDemo/Invoices/Forms/AllItems.aspx" Level="1"
    		BaseViewID="1" ContentTypeID="0x" ImageUrl="/_layouts/15/images/dlicon.png?rev=38">
      <Query>
    <OrderBy>
      <FieldRef Name="FileLeafRef" />
    </OrderBy>
      </Query>
      <ViewFields>
    <FieldRef Name="DocIcon" />
    <FieldRef Name="LinkFilename" />
    <FieldRef Name="Modified" />
    <FieldRef Name="Editor" />
      </ViewFields>
      <RowLimit Paged="TRUE">30</RowLimit>
      <JSLink>clienttemplates.js</JSLink>
      <XslLink Default="TRUE">main.xsl</XslLink>
      <Toolbar Type="Standard" />
    </View>
    <View Name="{D9BC935E-2154-47EE-A9E2-7C9490389007}" DefaultView="TRUE" MobileView="TRUE"
    		Type="HTML" DisplayName="All Invoices"
    		Url="/sites/PnPProvisioningDemo/Invoices/Forms/All Invoices.aspx" Level="1"
    		BaseViewID="1" ContentTypeID="0x" ImageUrl="/_layouts/15/images/dlicon.png?rev=38">
      <Query>
    <OrderBy>
      <FieldRef Name="FileLeafRef" />
    </OrderBy>
      </Query>
      <ViewFields>
    <FieldRef Name="DocIcon" />
    <FieldRef Name="LinkFilename" />
    <FieldRef Name="Modified" />
    <FieldRef Name="Editor" />
    <FieldRef Name="PnPInvoiceDate" />
    <FieldRef Name="PnPInvoiceNumber" />
      </ViewFields>
      <RowLimit Paged="TRUE">30</RowLimit>
      <Aggregations Value="Off" />
      <JSLink>clienttemplates.js</JSLink>
      <XslLink Default="TRUE">main.xsl</XslLink>
      <Toolbar Type="Standard" />
    </View>
      </pnp:Views>
      <pnp:FieldRefs>
    <pnp:FieldRef ID="5049a822-424c-4479-9648-79c4b3214375" Name="PnPInvoiceNumber"
    		DisplayName="Invoice Number" />
    <pnp:FieldRef ID="f1c6f202-f976-4f4e-b0a3-8b984991d00d" Name="PnPInvoiceDate"
    		DisplayName="Invoice Date" />
      </pnp:FieldRefs>
    </pnp:ListInstance>
      </pnp:Lists>
      <pnp:Features />
      <pnp:CustomActions />
      <pnp:ComposedLook
    BackgroundFile="{sitecollection}/SiteAssets/STB13_Rick_01_small.png"
    ColorFile="{sitecollection}/_catalogs/theme/15/Palette012.spcolor"
    SiteLogo="{sitecollection}/SiteAssets/PnP.png"
    Name="RED"
    MasterPage="{sitecollection}/_catalogs/masterpage/seattle.master"
    FontFile="" />
    </pnp:ProvisioningTemplate>
      </pnp:Templates>
    </pnp:Provisioning>

As you can see, the XML elements are almost self-explanatory. The XML schema used in the example references the 201505 version of the PnP Provisioning Schema (XML Namespace: *http://schemas.dev.office.com/PnP/2015/05/ProvisioningSchema*), which has been defined together with the whole OfficeDev PnP Community, and which can be found on GitHub at the following URL: [https://github.com/OfficeDev/Pnp-Provisioning-Schema/](https://github.com/OfficeDev/Pnp-Provisioning-Schema/). Within the same repository, you will also find a markdown (MD) auto-generated document, which describes the main elements, types and attributes available to manually define an XML provisioning template.

However, the real power of this provisioning engine is the availability of a high level and serialization format independent Domain Model. In fact, internally the PnP Provisioning Engine is completely decoupled from any kind of serialization format, and the whole engine simply handles instances of the *ProvisioningTemplate* type. For instance, in the following figure you can see the "Quick Watch" window of Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 showing a ProvisioningTemplate object instance.

![The structure - within a debugger watch - of a ProvisioningTemplate object](./media/Introducing-the-PnP-Provisioning-Engine/Figure-5-Domain-Model.png)

It is up to you to define the *ProvisioningTemplate* manually, using a model site, or by composing an XML document that has to be valid against the PnP Provisioning XSD Schema, or by simply writing .NET code and constructing the hierarchy of objects. You can even do a mix of those approaches: you can design the provisioning template using a model site, then you can save it into an XML file and do some in-memory customizations, while handling the *ProvisioningTemplate* instance in your code.

## Applying a Provisioning Template

Now that you have seen what a Provisioning Template is, and how to extract the Domain Model object from an existing site, you are ready to apply it to a target site. Let's say that you have another fresh new Site, which for instance is the root site of a new Site Collection in Microsoft SharePoint Online that has been create using the Team Site template, like it is shown in the following figure.

![The SharePoint Online page for creating a new site collection](./media/Introducing-the-PnP-Provisioning-Engine/Figure-6-Target-Site-Creation.png)

By default, the site will look like the following figure, which is the default layout of a SharePoint Online site.

![The home page of a fresh new target](./media/Introducing-the-PnP-Provisioning-Engine/Figure-7-Target-Site-Created.png)

One more time, you can apply a custom *ProvisioningTemplate* instance object either by using a bunch of PowerShell scripting, or by writing some .NET code. If you want to use PowerShell, in the following excerpt you can see the *Apply-SPOProvisioningTemplate* cmdlet in action.

*Apply-SPOProvisioningTemplate -Path "PnP-Provisioning-File.xml"*

The *–Path* argument refers to the source template file, and the cmdlet will automatically apply to the currently connected site (implied by the *Connect-SPOnline* cmdlet). In the following figure you can see the final result.

![The home page of a target site based on a Provisioning Templated](./media/Introducing-the-PnP-Provisioning-Engine/Figure-8-Target-Site-Provisioned.png)

As you can see, the site has the same look as the original template, and it includes the Invoices library, with all the provisioning stuff under the cover (Site Columns, Content Types, etc.).
And what about using .NET code? Here is an excerpt about how to use CSOM and the OfficeDev PnP Core Library extension methods to apply the template.

    using (var context = new ClientContext(destinationUrl))
    {
      context.Credentials = new SharePointOnlineCredentials(userName, password);
      Web web = context.Web;
      context.Load(web, w => w.Title);
      context.ExecuteQueryRetry();

      // Configure the XML file system provider
      XMLTemplateProvider provider =
      new XMLFileSystemTemplateProvider(
        String.Format(@"{0}\..\..\",
        AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory),
        "");

      // Load the template from the XML stored copy
      ProvisioningTemplate template = provider.GetTemplate(
        "PnP-Provisioning-Demo-201505-Polished.xml");

      // Apply the template to another site
      Console.WriteLine("Start: {0:hh.mm.ss}", DateTime.Now);

      // We can also use Apply-SPOProvisioningTemplate
      web.ApplyProvisioningTemplate(template);

      Console.WriteLine("End: {0:hh.mm.ss}", DateTime.Now);
    }

You simply need to create an instance of a Template Provider object, depending on what kind of persistence you will use to save and load the template.  You will have to load the template from the source repository, by using the *GetTemplate* method. Lastly, you will apply the template to the target site, using the *ApplyProvisioningTemplate* extension method of the Web type.

On an average, the library will take around a couple of minutes to apply the template, regardless you are using PowerShell, .NET or whatever else. If you want, you can register a delegate to monitor the overall process, while the provisioning is in progress. We are still improving performances of the engine, and so far we have focused our attention on capabilities and functionalities.

## Advanced Topics

This is just an introductory article, in the near future we will go deeper about some more advanced topics. Nevertheless, it is important to underline that using the new PnP Provisioning Engine you can also provision Taxonomies, you can use variables and tokens, which can be replaced at runtime, based on what you are provisioning (List IDs, Parameters, Terms' IDs, etc.). You can invoke the provisioning engine from timer job services, provider hosted add-ins, external sites, or whatever else. Lastly, you can use the PnP Provisioning Engine to move artifacts from test/staging environments to production environments.

Moreover, on Channel 9 there is a [section dedicated to OfficeDev PnP](http://aka.ms/OfficeDevPnPVideos), where you can watch some videos about the PnP Provisioning Engine and the PnP PowerShell Extensions:

- [Getting Started with PnP Provisioning Engine](https://channel9.msdn.com/blogs/OfficeDevPnP/Getting-Started-with-PnP-Provisioning-Engine)
- [Deep dive to PnP provisioning engine schema](https://channel9.msdn.com/blogs/OfficeDevPnP/Deep-dive-to-PnP-provisioning-engine-schema)
- [Introduction to PnP PowerShell Cmdlets](https://channel9.msdn.com/blogs/OfficeDevPnP/Introduction-to-PnP-PowerShell-Cmdlets)

## Requirements and Wrap Up ##

In order to play with the PnP Provisioning Engine on-premises, you need to have at least the SharePoint 2013 March 2015 Cumulative Update installed. In fact, the engine leverages some [new capabilities](http://blogs.msdn.com/b/vesku/archive/2015/04/10/new-sharepoint-csom-version-released-for-office-365.aspx) of the Client Side Object Model , which are not available in previous versions of the product. If you target Microsoft SharePoint Online, the requirements are automatically satisfied thanks to the Software as a Service model.

Please, play with the PnP Provisioning Engine, give us feedbacks, and enjoy the future of the SharePoint Add-in Model and the remote provisioning!

## Additional resources

-  [Office 365 Development Patterns & Practices on GitHub](https://github.com/OfficeDev/PnP/)

-  [Yammer Network for Office 365 Professionals](https://www.yammer.com/itpronetwork/)


The Konuza Case Reopened: Part I of a new series.
A couple of months ago, BCS did a series on recreating a Paeonian beer mentioned by Hecataeus. The beer, parabiēn or parabias, supposedly was made with millet and an adjunct called konuza. Konuza is usually translated as 'fleabane,' a name commonly applied to various species belonging to the very large Asteraceae or daisy family. A brief search into the meaning of konuza also yielded 'inula,' which is a genus of 90 species in the daisy family that includes some of these 'fleabanes'. Thus, if we were to recreate parabias, we had to crack the case of which species of inula/fleabane to use.
A first contender we encountered in our research was Pulicaria dysenterica or "common fleabane." Kyle discovered that the sap of this plant was known for its bitter and astringent qualities, which sounded like an adjunct that could function like hop in a pre-hop era. Yet since there were so many other possible contenders to consider, we decided to try a different approach and see if the word 'konuza' came up in other ancient texts to see what else we might learn about our mystery plant.
After the elecampane experiment, Kyle and I felt we were really on to something. This is why we decided to reopen the 'konuza case,' to learn more about the term, its use, and its possible identification as 'elecampane' rather than 'fleabane'. As a first step, we would have to find other texts that mention konuza beyond Hecataeus and the Hippocratic corpus. Kyle suggested that I would consult the Liddell-Scott-Jones (LSJ) Greek-English Lexicon, a dictionary that not only gives the translation of words in Greek and Latin but also lists its occurrences. And this is where things got complicated.
Hardy, G./L. Totelin 2016, "Ancient Botany," London.
Liddle, H.G./R. Scott 1940, "A Greek-English Lexicon. Revised and Augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones, with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie", Oxford.
Riddle, J.M. 1985, "Dioscorides on Pharmacy and Medicine", Austin.
Schubert, C./U. Huttner 1999 (eds.), "Frauenmedizin in der Antike: griechisch/lateinisch/deutsch", Düsseldorf/Zürich, pp. 232-233, 238-239, 244-245.
the sap of the fleabane (found in the tissues) has a bitter and astringent quality. Perhaps, the addition of this herb produced similar effects as hops by helping to balance the sweetness of the brew with bitterness.
Konuza is defined in the literature as referring to various species of inula and fleabane. If we were to recreate parabias, we had to figure out which species to use specifically.
f we were to recreate parabias, we had to figure out which one.
a passage by Hecataeus, preserved in Athenaeus' Deipnosophists.
Konuza occurs in Hecataeus. Defined as referring to various species of inula; fleabane.
Found that it was also used in Hippocratic treatise. German translation uses Alant. Alant is German for Inula; often applied to Inula Helenium.
Hypothesis: Konuza is Inula Helenium. Turns out it makes sense: healing plant; various antisceptic properties AND used in beer since Medieval times.
So: we wanted to look into Konuza more in detail.
Step 1: find other texts that mention the word. In order to do this, Kyle suggested I would consult the LSJ dictionary, because it would give other occurrences.
The dictionary did but it also gave for some of these sources the specific species of inula. Inula Helenium was not one of them.


text:
Jon Batiste, Justin Bieber and Billie Eilish headline 2022 Grammy nominations
By Anastasia Tsioulcas,
LaTesha Harris
Published November 23, 2021 at 10:20 AM AKST
Anastasia Tsioulcas
Anastasia Tsioulcas is a correspondent on NPR's Culture desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including the trial and conviction of former R&B superstar R. Kelly; backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; and gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards.
See stories by Anastasia Tsioulcas
LaTesha Harris is NPR Music's editorial assistant. A relentless jack-of-all-trades, she takes turns writing, editing and producing music coverage. Invested in the culture behind pop, hip-hop and R&B, her work highlights the intersection between identity and history. Once in a blue moon, Harris moonlights as a talking head with no filter.
See stories by LaTesha Harris

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Big Easy - Trash Liners 38x58 60 Gal -100 ea.
Prime Source - Trash Liners 24x33 16 Gal - 1000 ea.
Prime Source - Trash Liners 33x40 33 Gal - 250 ea.
Prime Source - Trash Liners 38x60 Clear 60 Gal - 200 ea.
Prime Source - Trash Liners 40x48 45 Gal - 250 ea.
Prime Source - Trash Liners 43x48 Clear 60 Gal - 200 ea.


text:
Dalbergia malangensis är en ärtväxtart som beskrevs av Sousa. Dalbergia malangensis ingår i släktet Dalbergia, och familjen ärtväxter. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Ärtväxter
malangensis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Monticolaria meruensis är en insektsart som beskrevs av Sjöstedt 1909. Monticolaria meruensis ingår i släktet Monticolaria och familjen vårtbitare. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Vårtbitare
meruensis


text:
Hard Science — August 6, 2021
How to take Earth's inner temperature with erupted sea glass
Scientists look to erupted sea glass — lava that erupted in the ocean and was instantly chilled by the surrounding water — to take Earth's temperature.
Photo by Tim Huyghe on Unsplash
Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office
Copy a link to the article entitled http://How%20to%20take%20Earth's%20inner%20temperature%20with%20erupted%20sea%20glass
Share How to take Earth's inner temperature with erupted sea glass on Facebook
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If the Earth's oceans were drained completely, they would reveal a massive chain of undersea volcanoes snaking around the planet.
This sprawling ocean ridge system is a product of overturning material in the Earth's interior, where boiling temperatures can melt and loft rocks up through the crust, splitting the sea floor and reshaping the planet's surface over hundreds of millions of years.
Now geologists at MIT have analyzed thousands of samples of erupted material along ocean ridges and traced back their chemical history to estimate the temperature of the Earth's interior.
Their analysis shows that the temperature of the Earth's underlying ocean ridges is relatively consistent, at around 1,350 degrees Celsius — about as hot as a gas range's blue flame. There are, however, "hotspots" along the ridge that can reach 1,600 degrees Celsius, comparable to the hottest lava.
The team's results, appearing in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, provide a temperature map of the Earth's interior around ocean ridges. With this map, scientists can better understand the melting processes that give rise to undersea volcanoes, and how these processes may drive the pace of plate tectonics over time.
"Convection and plate tectonics have been important processes in shaping Earth history," says lead author Stephanie Brown Krein, a postdoc in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). "Knowing the temperature along this whole chain is fundamental to understanding the planet as a heat engine, and how Earth might be different from other planets and able to sustain life."
Krein's co-authors include Zachary Molitor, an EAPS graduate student, and Timothy Grove, the R.R. Schrock Professor of Geology at MIT.
A chemical history
The Earth's interior temperature has played a critical role in shaping the planet's surface over hundreds of millions of years. But there's been no way to directly read this temperature tens to hundreds of kilometers below the surface. Scientists have applied indirect means to infer the temperature of the upper mantle — the layer of the Earth just below the crust. But estimates thus far are inconclusive, and scientists disagree about how widely temperatures vary beneath the surface.
For their new study, Krein and her colleagues developed a new algorithm, called ReversePetrogen, that is designed to trace a rock's chemical history back in time, to identify its original composition of elements and determine the temperature at which the rock initially melted below the surface.
The algorithm is based on years of experiments carried out in Grove's lab to reproduce and characterize the melting processes of the Earth's interior. Researchers in the lab have heated up rocks of various compositions, reaching various temperatures and pressures, to observe their chemical evolution. From these experiments, the team has been able to derive equations — and ultimately, the new algorithm — to predict the relationships between a rock's temperature, pressure, and chemical composition.
Krein and her colleagues applied their new algorithm to rocks collected along the Earth's ocean ridges — a system of undersea volcanoes spanning more than 70,000 kilometers in length. Ocean ridges are regions where tectonic plates are spread apart by the eruption of material from the Earth's mantle — a process that is driven by underlying temperatures.
"You could effectively make a model of the temperature of the entire interior of the Earth, based partly on the temperature at these ridges," Krein says. "The question is, what is the data really telling us about the temperature variation in the mantle along the whole chain?"
Mantle map
The data the team analyzed include more than 13,500 samples collected along the length of the ocean ridge system over several decades, by multiple research cruises. Each sample in the dataset is of an erupted sea glass — lava that erupted in the ocean and was instantly chilled by the surrounding water into a pristine, preserved form.
Scientists previously identified the chemical compositions of each glass in the dataset. Krein and her colleagues ran each sample's chemical compositions through their algorithm to determine the temperature at which each glass originally melted in the mantle.
In this way, the team was able to generate a map of mantle temperatures along the entire length of the ocean ridge system. From this map, they observed that much of the mantle is relatively homogenous, with an average temperature of around 1,350 degrees Celsius. There are however, "hotspots," or regions along the ridge, where temperatures in the mantle appear significantly hotter, at around 1,600 degrees Celsius.
"People think of hotspots as regions in the mantle where it's hotter, and where material may be melting more, and potentially rising faster, and we don't exactly know why, or how much hotter they are, or what the role of composition is at hotspots," Krein says. "Some of these hotspots are on the ridge, and now we may get a sense of what the hotspot variation is globally using this new technique. That tells us something fundamental about the temperature of the Earth now, and now we can think of how it's changed over time."
Krein adds: "Understanding these dynamics will help us better determine how continents grew and evolved on Earth, and when subduction and plate tectonics started — which are critical for complex life."
This research was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation.
Reprinted with permission of MIT News. Read the original article.
chemistryearth sciencegeologyhistoryoceansplanets
Without this genius optical trick, those gigantic telescopes aren't any better than the one in your backyard
Size matters, but it's not the only thing.
Ceramics, corn cobs, and other strange things we used before toilet paper
Some objects were softer than others.
Colorado is not a rectangle — it has 697 sides
The Centennial State is technically a hexahectaenneacontakaiheptagon.
The strange case of the dead-but-not-dead Tibetan monks
For some reason, the bodies of deceased monks stay "fresh" for a long time.


Solidly built home that still has room to grow into. Tons of area in the lower level that has been used for work-out and storage can easily be turned into more bedrooms. There are 2 master suites on the main level that could be used for master and mother-in-law areas. Also included is an elevator, heated driveway, back up generator , 3 refrigerators and a Jenn-Air stove. The views are the most amazing part of this home. The outside has been freshly painted for a good first impression. Lots of possibilities with this private home.


text:
Facebook Algo Change Hits Online Political Traffic
Guido predicted at the beginning of last year that the change to Facebook's algorithms would impact online traffic dramtically for those websites that specialised in making content go viral to drive traffic. Taking a look at some of our rivals; one site that bucked the trend was ConservativeHome, the turmoil in the party has been good for their trade, with pageviews up by 13% on the year, although the number of unique users has fallen slightly, likely as a result of there being no general election in 2018. Guido is relieved to only be down 1.89% year-on-year, not so bad in an off election year. On the left it would seem that The Canary, which used to be neck and neck in traffic terms with Guido, finished the year much weaker. Is that because of Facebook or outrage fatigue?
The other sites impacted badly by the Facebook algo change were the newspapers' websites. According to ABC figures Mail Online was down 16% year-on-year and Sun Online was down 12%. Guido understands that because of the New Statesman's new semi-permeable paywall it too has seen an even more dramatic collapse in online traffic…
mdi-tag-outline Facebook MailOnline New Statesman Sun The Canary
mdi-timer January 3rd 2019 @ 1:46 pm mdi-share-variant mdi-twitter mdi-facebook mdi-whatsapp mdi-telegram mdi-email mdi-printer


text:
Psychiatr Clin North Am. 1992 Jun;15(2):283-99.
1 Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City.
The aging population of the United States and many other countries guarantees that disorders common in elderly persons will continue to become more prevalent. In the past decade or so, we already have witnessed the beginning of this trend, with the rapid rise in the number of patients with degenerative dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease. On another track, sophisticated and timely medical and surgical interventions have produced a growing number of patients who survive serious head injury. These patients are typically young, and may live for many decades after their brain injury. In both examples, a core feature of the condition is impaired cognition and behavior; that is, defects in higher-level capacities such as memory, intellectual function, language, and decision-making. Neuropsychological assessment cannot be viewed as a luxury in cases such as these but rather, as a vital component of the neurodiagnostic evaluation. The neuropsychologist uses a set of standardized instruments to measure cognition and behavior in a comprehensive and precise manner, yielding rich information that may assist in accurate diagnosis, prudent management, and optimal rehabilitation. The neuropsychological examination may provide the only means with which to detect alterations in brain function, as in cases of mild head injury or low-level toxic exposure, which may not be revealed through other procedures. Finally, neuropsychological assessment will continue to play a key role in the scientific programs that are dedicated to advancing our understanding of the neural substrates of complex behavior.
Cognition Disorders / diagnosis
Cognition Disorders / etiology
Language Disorders / diagnosis
Mental Disorders / diagnosis*
Nervous System Diseases / diagnosis*
Neuropsychological Tests*
Personality Disorders / diagnosis
Personality Disorders / etiology
Speech Disorders / diagnosis


A method for processing electronic rebates is disclosed. In one embodiment, a purchase identifier is linked to a purchase of a product. The purchase identifier is listed on a receipt upon the purchase of the product or contained in an electronic mail message sent to an electronic mail address accessible using a user computer system. Information is then received via a network from a user of the user computer system to complete a rebate claim for the purchased product. The received information is verified to determine whether the purchase identifier was provided. The rebate claim is granted if the received information is verified as correct.
The invention relates to computer systems and computer software. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing electronic rebates.
Companies and manufacturers often use promotions to increase sales of its products. One common type of promotion is to provide a rebate to a purchaser of a particular product. Initially, the customer purchases an item or product. To claim the rebate, a customer must complete a rebate form, obtain proof of purchase information, e.g., a receipt and product code, and submit the rebate for processing. The customer waits for the rebate, while the company receives the rebate request, validates the rebate and issues a check to the customer. The customer then cashes the issued check from the company.
Although the rebate claim process enables a company to sell more products and a customer to purchase a product at a cheaper price, there are some disadvantages to this rebate process. For example, the current rebate process often takes a long time, e.g., often eight to twelve weeks, to complete. The customer is also required to obtain the original sales receipt, the product code and complete a rebate form prior to submitting the rebate claim. Moreover, the company must have employees to process and validate the rebates as well as issuing rebate checks. Therefore, a need exists in the art to provide a solution for processing rebates without the disadvantages associated with the current processing of rebates.
The invention provides a method for processing electronic rebates. In one embodiment, a purchase identifier is linked to a purchase of a product. The purchase identifier is listed on a receipt upon the purchase of the product or contained in an electronic mail message sent to an electronic mail address accessible using a user computer system. Information is then received via a network from a user of the user computer system to complete a rebate claim for the purchased product. The received information is verified to determine whether the purchase identifier was provided. The rebate claim is granted if the received information is verified as correct.
The electronic processing of rebates provides several advantages over the current (manual) processing of rebates. The customer is no longer required to cut the product code, e.g., UPC symbol, from the product, gather the original sales receipt, manually fill a rebate form, and send the contents to the manufacturer or third party used to process rebates. Moreover, the manufacturer does not have to manually verify the rebates submitted from the purchaser of the product. The processing of electronic rebates is potentially much faster than the current processing of rebates.
FIG. 4 depicts a flow diagram of a method for processing a request to process a rebate.
FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a computer system 100 for processing electronic rebates (e-bates). In one embodiment, the computer system 100 comprises a rebate server computer 102 and store computer system 104 and a user computer system 106. The rebate server computer 102 interacts with the store computer system 104 and the user computer system 106 to process electronic rebates.
One embodiment of the rebate server computer 102 comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 112 that is coupled to a memory 110, a database 114 and a network interface 118 via a bus 116. The memory 110 includes an operating system 120, an electronic rebate program 122, a http (Hypertext Protocol) server 124 and electronic documents 126. The memory 110 may comprise one or a combination of memory devices, including Random Access Memory, nonvolatile or backup memory, (e.g., programmable or Flash memories, read-only memories, and the like). In addition, memory 110 may include memory physically located elsewhere in the server computer system 102, for example, any storage capacity used as virtual memory or stored on a mass storage device or on another computer coupled to the computer system 100 via bus 116.
The CPU 112 is a processor that executes the electronic rebate program 122 to implement electronic rebates. The database 114 may comprise either a permanent or removable direct access storage device (DASD) used to store information used to process electronic rebates. One embodiment of stored information is in the form of a data structure 136. The data structure 136 may contain information about a particular purchase of a product. Such information may include a purchase identifier 134 and other information used to process an electronic rebate claim from a customer. The data structure 136 may also contain information entered from the user in electronically submitting the rebate claim. The network interface 118 enables the server computer 102 to communicate with the store computer system 104 and the user computer system 106 via the network 108. Examples of the network interface 118 include a modem and a network interface card.
The operating system 120 manages the operation of the rebate server computer 102 to process electronic rebates. Examples of the operating system 120 may include IBM OS/400, UNIX, IBM AIX, Microsoft Windows, Windows NT, Linux and the like. The electronic rebate program 122 enables the rebate server computer 102 to electronically process rebates. The electronic processing of rebates provides several advantages over the current (manual) processing of rebates. First, the customer is no longer required to cut the product code, e.g., UPC symbol, from the product, gather the original sales receipt 132, manually fill a rebate form, and send the contents to the manufacturer or third party used to process rebates. Second, the manufacturer does not have to manually verify the rebates submitted from the purchaser of the product. Third, the processing of electronic rebates is potentially much faster than the current processing of rebates. One embodiment to implement the electronic rebate program 122 is further described with respect to FIGS. 2-4.
The http server 124 is a computer program that enables the rebate server computer 102 to process rebate claims from the user computer 106. The electronic documents 126 include web pages that the rebate server computer 102 provides to the user computer system 106. These electronic documents 126 may include web pages used to enable the user to enter information for a rebate claim.
The rebate server computer 102 is coupled to the store computer system 104 via a network 108. The store computer system 104 interacts with the rebate server computer 102 to exchange information on the purchase of the product eligible for rebate. One type of information exchange is a unique purchase identifier 134 used for rebate purposes. The store computer system 104 may print the purchase identifier 134 on a receipt 132 for the purchase or send the purchase identifier 134 in an electronic mail (e-mail) message 140 to an electronic mail address specified by the purchaser of the product, e.g., accessible using the user computer system 106. The purchase identifier 134 may also be in an e-mail message from the rebate server computer 102. To implement these functions, the store computer system 104 executes various application programs 128.
The store computer system 104 may interact via the network 108 with server computer 102 when a customer purchases a product from a store. Information relating to the purchase is exchanged between the server computer 102 and the store computer system 104. More specifically, a purchase identifier 134 is linked to a purchase of the product at a store. The purchase identifier 134 comprises a unique identifier, e.g., a tracking code, to enable the server computer 102 to verify the purchase of the product by the customer. The rebate server computer 102 uses the purchase identifier 134 to subsequently verify the purchase of the product during the processing of the electronic rebate.
In one embodiment, the store computer system 104 creates the purchase identifier 134 upon purchase of the product. The purchase identifier 134 is then sent from the store computer system 104 to the server computer 102 via the network. In another embodiment, the store computer system 104 generates a request for a purchase identifier 134 during the purchase of the product by the customer. The server computer 102 receives the request, generates the purchase identifier 134 and transmits the purchase identifier 134 back to the store computer system 104. The purchase identifier 134 is then printed on the receipt 132 for the product or sent in an e-mail message to an e-mail address specified by the purchaser of the product.
The rebate server computer 102 is also coupled to the user computer system 106 via the network 108. The user computer system 106 may represent any type of computer, computer system or other programmable electronic device, including a client computer, a portable computer, an embedded controller, and the like. In one embodiment, the user computer system 106 is an AS/400 computer available from International Business Machines of Armonk, N.Y. In another embodiment, the user computer system 106 is a personal digital assistant (PDA) device.
The user computer system 106 runs different application programs including a web browser 130 and an electronic mail program 138. The web browser enables a user of the user computer system 106 to access the rebate server computer 102 via the network 108. The electronic mail program 138 enables the user of the user computer system 106 to access, e.g., receive and open, an incoming electronic mail message 140 from either the store computer system 104 or the server computer 102. The electronic mail program 138 also enables the transmission of an electronic mail message 140 from the user computer system 106 and the storage of electronic mail message 140 within a memory in the user computer system 106. The electronic mail message 140 may also contain the purchase identifier 134 (although not shown in FIG. 1).
To process the rebate request, e.g. a rebate claim, from the user computer system 106, the server computer 102 provides a web page upon a request for rebate, e.g., a customer depresses an option or button on the web page or accesses a particular web page. In one embodiment, the customer is only required to enter the purchase identifier 134. In another embodiment, the customer is required to enter at least some of the information listed on a typical rebate form. Examples of such rebate information include an address of the customer, a product code (e.g., UPC label) of the product purchased, a model number of the product, the store where the product was purchased, and the purchase identifier 134.
Once the customer has entered the required rebate information, the rebate server computer 102 determines whether to accept or reject the rebate request. If the request is accepted, the computer 102 issues the request with a check sent to the customer or an electronic funds transfer (EFT). Prior to accepting the request, the rebate server 102 verifies whether the request is valid. To perform this verification, the rebate server 102 determines whether information entered from the customer matches the purchase identifier 134 linked at or upon the purchase of the product. The server 102 may determine whether the user has previously processed the same rebate, returned the product at the store, or processed the rebate over a limit allowed for the product.
The network 108 may comprise any computer or telephone network to transmit the signals between the server computer 102 and the store computer system 104 and/or the user computer system 106. In one embodiment, the network 108 comprises a collection of networks known as the Internet. Individual networks within the Internet may comprise a point to point network, e.g., a plain old telephone system (POTS) network, a broadcast network, e.g., a wireless or RF network, and the like. Transmission of information, e.g., data files and control signals, via the network 108 is performed in accordance with standard transmission formats, e.g., TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) and the like. In another embodiment, the network 108 comprises a local area network (LAN).
Different types of network may be used depending on information transferred between the remote server 102 and the store computer system 104 and the user computer system 106. In one embodiment, the transfer of the purchase identifier 134 may occur via a LAN between the server computer 102 and the store computer system 104. The transfer of rebate information between the server computer 102 and the user compute system 106 may occur over the Internet.
Although the illustrative computer system 100 only shows one of each type of computer system, i.e., rebate server computer 102, the store computer system 104 and the user computer system 106, the computer system 100 may include multiple computer systems of a particular type. For example, a single rebate server computer 102 may interact with hundreds of store computer systems 104 and thousands of user computer systems 106.
In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the invention, whether implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions are in the electronic rebate program 122, or the program 122. The program 122 typically comprises one or more instructions that are resident at various times in various memory and storage devices in the computer system 100. When read and executed by one or more processors 102 in the computer system 100, the program 122 causes that computer system 100 to perform the steps necessary to execute steps or elements embodying the various aspects of the invention. Moreover, while the invention has and hereinafter will be described in the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodiments of the invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing or computer readable media used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of signal bearing or computer readable media include, but are not limited to, recordable type media such as volatile and nonvolatile memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, optical disks (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD, and the like), among others.
FIG. 2 depicts a flow diagram of a method 200 as embodied in the electronic rebate program 122. Specifically, the method 200 starts at step 202 and proceeds to step 204 where an event is processed. Such events include commands from the store computer system 104 and the user computer system 106. At step 206, a query determines whether the event is a request for a purchase identifier 134. The store computer system 104 may transmit such a request when a customer purchases a product eligible for rebate. If the event is a request to purchase a product, the method 200 proceeds to process the request at step 208 and to retrieve the next event at step 204. One embodiment of step 208 is further described with respect to FIG. 3.
If the event is not a request to purchase for a purchase identifier 134, the method 200 proceeds to step 210 where a query determines whether the event is a request for a rebate of a previously purchased product. The request for rebate is transmitted from the user computer system 106 after a customer has purchased the product from a store. If the event is a request for rebate, the method 200 proceeds to process the request at step 212 and proceeds to retrieve the next event at step 204. One embodiment of step 212 is further described with respect to FIG. 4.
If the event is not a request for rebate, the method 200 proceeds to step 214 where other events are processed. For example, if a customer returns a product at the store, the event may comprise a request from the store computer system 104 as to whether the customer has already claimed the rebate for a previously purchased product. In this case, step 214 would determine whether the rebate has been claimed for a particular purchase identifier 134 and transmit the result to the store computer system 104. Other events are also contemplated. If the event includes the receipt of the purchase identifier 134 from the store computer system 104, step 214 would store the purchase identifier 134 in the data structure 136 stored in the database 114. If the event includes a request for electronic documents 126, e.g., web pages, from the user computer system 106, step 214 would render or provide the requested web page to the user computer system 106 to enable a customer to proceed with a rebate claim. Step 214 may also include the transmission of an electronic mail message 140 containing the purchase identifier 134 to an electronic mail address accessible using the user computer system 106. After step 214, the method 200 proceeds to retrieve the next event at step 204.
FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram of a method 300 for processing a request to purchase a product. In one embodiment, the request is initiated from the store computer system 104 when a customer purchases a product at a store. The method 300 is embodied as step 208 described above with reference to FIG. 2. Specifically, the method 300 starts at step 302 and proceeds to step 304 where a purchase identifier 134 is created for a particular purchase of a product. At step 306, product information, e.g., UPC identifier and model number of the product, and customer information is obtained for the purchase of the product. The customer identifier may include a customer identifier at the store, a social security number, a previous identifier established with the server computer 102, and the like. The method 300 proceeds to step 308 where the purchase identifier 134 is configured for transmission to the store computer system 104. After step 308, the method 300 proceeds to end at step 310.
FIG. 4 depicts a flow diagram of a method 400 for processing a request to process a rebate or rebate claim for a previously purchased product, i.e., following the completion of a purchase of a product from a store. In one embodiment, the rebate claim or request to process the rebate originates from the user computer system 106. A user may execute the web browser to access a web page provided by the rebate server computer 102 and initiate the request via the web page. The method 400 is embodied as step 212 described above with reference to FIG. 2.
Specifically, the method 400 starts at step 402 and proceeds to step 404 where a prompt for rebate information is provided. In one embodiment, the prompt for information is provided in a web page. At step 406, a query determines whether a user or customer has entered rebate information in response to the prompt at step 404. If the rebate information was not entered, the method 400 proceeds to reject the request for rebate at step 420 and ends at step 422. If the rebate information was entered, the method 400 proceeds to step 408 where rebate information is received from the consumer or user.
The method 400 proceeds to step 410 where a query determines whether the rebate information received at step 408 matches with the product code and customer number received at step 306. Namely, step 410 determines whether the customer has previously purchased the product. If the rebate information does not match the purchase identifier 134, the method 400 proceeds to reject the request for rebate at step 420 and ends at step 422. If the rebate information matches the purchase identifier 134, the method 400 proceeds to step 412 where a query determines whether a request for rebate was already processed. Step 412 prevents multiple rebate requests for the same purchase.
If the rebate was already processed, the method 400 proceeds to reject the request for rebate at step 420 and ends at step 422. If the rebate has yet to be processed, the method 400 proceeds to step 414 where a query determines whether a limit of rebates has been exceeded for a particular customer. For example, the manufacturer may limit the number of rebates to one per household or residence. If the number of rebates exceeds the limit, the method 400 proceeds to reject the request for rebate at step 420 and ends at step 422. If the number of rebates does not exceed the limit, the method 400 proceeds to step 416 where a query determines whether the previously purchased product has been returned. Step 416 prevents a customer from receiving a rebate if a previously purchased product has already been returned.
If the product has been returned, the method 400 proceeds to reject the request for rebate at step 420 and ends at step 422. If the product has not been returned, the method 400 proceeds to step 418 where the rebate claim or request is accepted. Step 418 may also include the issuance of a rebate check or the performance of an electronic funds transfer (EFT). After step 418, the method 400 proceeds to end at step 422.
Although steps 406, 410, 412, 414 and 416 are conditions precedent for issuing a rebate, the method 400 is not limited to these conditions. In another embodiment, the method 400 may test whether the rebate was processed prior to an expiration date. Moreover, the method 400 may require the user answer additional questions prior to issuing the rebate.
accepting the rebate claim from the user if the received information is verified as a valid rebate claim.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the purchase identifier is listed on a receipt upon the purchase of the product.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the purchase identifier is contained in an electronic mail message transmitted from the store computer system to an electronic mail address accessible using the user computer system.
transmitting an electronic mail message containing the purchase identifier, to an electronic mail address accessible using the user computer system.
providing a web page, via the network, to the user computer system to enable the receipt of information for the rebate claim.
verifying whether the rebate claim is a valid request for the rebate.
determining whether the rebate claim was previously processed.
determining whether a limit of rebates for the product has been exceeded.
determining whether the product was previously returned.
issuing a check to the user identified on the rebate claim.
transferring the rebate electronically to an account of the user identified on the rebate claim.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the user computer system comprises one of a personal digital assistant (PDA) device and a personal computer.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the network comprises the internet and the received information is submitted from the user computer using a web browser program.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the purchase identifier is a unique identifier utilized only for rebate purposes.
15. The method of claim 1 wherein the rebate server computer system is operated by a product manufacturer and the store computer system is operated by a retail store.


text:
In Sri Lanka, anti-government website blocked – CPJ
By Colombo Telegraph –
The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that access to anti-government news website Lanka eNews has been blocked inside Sri Lanka, according to the site's exiled editor and users inside the country. All three language versions of the site, English, Sinhala, and Tamil, have not been available since Tuesday.
A Sri Lankan journalist told CPJ by email today that the shutdown could have stemmed from Lanka eNews' October 15 coverage of a shootout involving parliamentarians close to Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In Colombo on Saturday, a presidential aide and his bodyguard were shot dead in a fight involving opposing factions of the Sri Lankan ruling party during local elections, news reports said. Other Sri Lankan media either ignored the story or played it down. The government denies being behind the shutdown, Lanka eNews said.
Virtually all of the reporting for the site is now generated from outside the country. In March 2010, Lanka eNews' founder and editor Sandaruwan Senadheera went into exile in England after repeatedly receiving death threats.
"The blocking of access to Lanka eNews inside Sri Lanka is the next step in the government's move toward silencing this adamantly anti-establishment website," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator. "Lanka eNews is one of the country's few independent news sources left uncowed. This is another effort by the Rajapaksa government to stifle independent media criticism. The government must back away from this policy and allow the country's once-flourishing media to resume their proper role."
In June, access to independent news and analysis website Groundviews and its Sinhala version, Vikalpa, were temporarily blocked, CPJ research shows. Groundviews founder Sanjana Hattotuwa told CPJ at the time that the shutdown was no mistake and it could have been a signal to them to shut up. Transparency International, often critical of corruption within the Sri Lankan government, was also blocked temporarily at the time.
Lanka eNews has been targeted many times in recent years. In April, the site's staff members were arrested then released weeks later, and in the same month, the site was temporarily banned by a court order. In January, the offices were hit with an arson attack. The site's political cartoonist, Prageeth Eknelygoda, has been missing since January 2010.
Visit CPJ http://www.cpj.org
WikiLeaks - Maitree Wickramasinghe brings up economy; Ranil demurs
Bharatha Killing; Chief Investigator Transferred
sha / October 21, 2011
A few police and army members could rid Sri Lanka of the uneducated and uncultured brothers rajapakse.
shantha / October 21, 2011
Rajapakse family of dogs will eventually fall and will be executed on the streets
Cynthia / October 23, 2011
Blocking dissent is a futile exercise in damage control.It exposes the the government 's inability to
face criticism, the need to cover up certain omissions and commissions of those responsible, and fear
of becoming unpopular.Suppression in any form , of Truth does not pay.
Those interested can get access to reports from Lankaenews and other sites blocked, through contacts
from abroad, as the blocking is effective only in Sri Lanka.
The Lankaenews report on 17.10.2011 regarding Karuna and Gota dancing together at a recent high level function of the Army , provided interesting reading and a wealth of information. Its a pity that
citizens of Sri Lanka are denied their right to information.
D.M.Thushara Jayarathna / October 25, 2011
We must get together fits for our liberty


It's that time of year again, when we bundle up to brace for the cold, but this go-around we'll be cozying up with such pieces as top-to-bottom knits, extreme turtlenecks, dresses over pants, Astrakhan fur and shearling. The oversized coat trend, with its curved lines and enormous sleeves, is sticking around from last fall, while the new "robe coat"—a topper that could double as a bathrobe—is nipping at its heels.
When it comes to accessories, jewelry will make the season bright with new design trends that align beautifully with iconic sights of the winter holiday season: ribbons and bows, confetti, snowflakes and messages of good cheer.
Much like pink gemstones and pearls, ribbons and bows in jewelry design exude an exceptionally feminine charm. They're fancy, they're frilly and they add the perfect finishing touch to a piece, often wrapping themselves around a spectacular gemstone, heightening the excitement of what lies beneath. They're also quite fashionable, emerging again this season as a strong motif in numerous jewelry collections.
Renowned jeweler Tiffany & Co., for instance, included two outstanding bow-themed pieces in its 2014 Blue Book Collection, an annual publication showcasing the designer's latest and most spectacular jewels. One is the Diamond Bow Necklace, composed of strands of small and large round brilliant-cut diamonds set in platinum accented with a pavé-set diamond bow. The other is a matching pair of earrings that uses the bow as the post, while pavé-set diamond ribbons suspend along the neck. Then, of course, there's The Tiffany Anniversary Morganite Necklace, a magical, one-of-kind creation that features a 175-carat morganite "tied" with a diamond bow.
Designers such as Gumuchian have a similar offering with its platinum and diamond Bowlero collection, featuring a multi-strand diamond necklace connected on each side by a diamond-set bow, as does Prediletto with its Bows collection in various precious metals and gemstones. Other designers such as Erica Courtney and Omi Privé use an abstract form to imply the idea, creating a ribbon-like effect with swirls of precious metal and micropavé-set gems for an equally elegant approach.
When Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel filled the supermarket setting of his Fall/Winter 2014–2015 ready-to-wear show with brilliantly colored confetti-patterned clothing, the stage was set for an explosion of color in accessories that rivals those bits of brightly colored paper. It's no surprise then that jewelry this season is chock-full of colored gemstones, often set in the spectrum of a rainbow. What's more, the stones are bold and glowing, with many cut in the convex cabochon style that's highly polished but not faceted.
Eli Frei's linear earrings featuring citrine, amethyst, blue topaz, peridot and pink tourmaline set in yellow gold fit perfectly here, as does Goshwara's multicolored Y necklace from the Mischief collection, also in yellow gold. Equally as festive is Tamara Comolli's famous Flamenco bracelet in the Candy color scheme, which, with its clusters of colorful cabochons, is as enticing as a handful of Jujubes candy.
Complementing this vibrant look is the mosaic trend in fashion and jewelry, where various colors and materials form a picture or pattern. Dolce & Gabbana, in its Enchanted Sicily collection for Fall/Winter 2014–2015, gave us gorgeous ensembles encrusted in jeweled designs, topped off with huge crystal-flower statement necklaces. Jewelry designer Palmiero naturally comes to mind here with its Canvas collection, which combines diamonds and colored stones on a "canvas" of white gold to create exquisite "paintings." Look to Nanis, too, and its Notredame collection that reflects the Rose Windows of the famous Paris cathedral.
Jewelry with intricate cutouts, also called openwork jewelry (think the lacy pattern of a snowflake), continues its stronghold from spring, when sheer panels and perforated pieces in fashion were popular emphasizing that "skin is in." We saw this again for fall, when models at Alex Mabille's and Oscar de la Renta's shows donned embroidered-tulle jogging trousers and Guipure lace evening jackets, respectively.
Jewelry designers on board with this trend are plentiful. After all, not only is openwork jewelry stylish, it also offers consumers a more lightweight and often less expensive option because there's less metal involved. Carla Amorim rises to the occasion here with her scalloped-edge Genipabu Earrings in rose gold and diamonds from the Black Label collection, as does Mattioli with her Voronoi collection, also in rose gold and diamonds, that pays homage to the butterfly with openwork wings. Yoko London, meanwhile, gives us a magnificent necklace from its Masterpieces collection that showcases snowball-like Australian South Sea pearls on an openwork rose gold and diamond backdrop. Also superb is Katie Decker's yellow gold Mini moonstone ring with diamond detailing that resembles a small piece of frozen water. And Tiffany & Co. offers a literal interpretation with its delicate platinum and diamond Snowflake pendants.
When Albert Elbaz of Lanvin dressed his models for Fall/Winter 2013–2014 in gigantic necklaces and rings that spelled out such words as "love" and "happy," he gave a literal meaning to the term "statement jewelry." But even more than that, he turned jewelry into a greeting card, if you will, with a beautiful message for all to see.
And finally, for the digital age, we have Meeo Miia, a mother-daughter jewelry company specializing in jewelry designs inspired by secret codes, emoticons and social media abbreviations. Of particular note is the Digital Graffiti Heart necklace, which sends an instant love message to the world with such inscriptions as "<3" (heart) and "143" (the number of letters in the individual words "I love you"). No doubt we'll be tweeting about it with hashtag #RAOK.
Gumuchian Diamond Bow Necklace from the Bowlero collection featuring round brilliant-cut diamonds and marquise-shape diamonds totaling 8.61 carats set in platinum.
Prediletto ring from the Gift Box collection featuring pink sapphire "giftwrap" totaling 5.82 carats and a tsavorite "ribbon and bow" totaling 2.10 carats set in yellow and pink gold.
Erica Courtney earrings featuring crystal opals surrounded by a ribbon of Brazilian Paraiba tourmalines and diamonds with African Paraiba tourmaline drops suspended from skinny Huggies.
Omi Privé rose gold earrings featuring morganites totaling 21.88 carats accented with ribbons of round brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 1.06 carats.
Eli Frei earrings featuring amethyst, blue topaz, citrine, peridot and pink tourmaline totaling 16.34 carats set in yellow gold.
Goshwara multicolored Y necklace from the Mischief collection in yellow gold.
Tamara Comolli Flamenco bracelet in the Candy color scheme.
Palmiero ring from the Canvas collection "painted" with multicolored sapphires and diamonds in white gold.
Nanis necklace from the Notredame collection featuring a combination of full-cut and cabochon amethyst, blue topaz, citrine, hyaline quartz, peridot and rhodolite set in yellow gold.
Carla Amorim Genipabu earrings from the Black Label collection featuring diamonds set in rose gold.
Mattioli rose gold and diamond cuff from the Voronoi collection.
Yoko London necklace from the Masterpieces collection featuring natural-color white Australian South Sea pearls and 2,687 diamonds totaling 28.52 carats set in rose gold.
Katie Decker Mini moonstone ring featuring moonstones totaling 4.5 carats and diamonds totaling 0.28 carat set in yellow gold.
Red C Jewels yellow gold and diamond Love and Kisses earrings.
Image by Red C Jewels.
Red C Jewels white gold and diamond Forever Love necklace.
Red C Jewels yellow gold and diamond I Heart Y ring.
S&R Designs sterling silver and white topaz locket and chain from the Four Keeps collection featuring "love," silhouette, fine heart, ladybug, dragonfly, turtle and butterfly charms.
Meeo Miia sterling silver Digital Graffiti Heart necklace.


NuGet is free, open-source package management system designed by .NET Team for the Microsoft development platform to ease the task of integrating any 3rd party open source components in the project. NuGet has changed into a very big ecosystem of tools and services after it was introduced in 2010. NuGet is most commonly distributed as an extension in Visual Studio.
Click Tools -> NuGet Package Manager -> then select Package Manager Settings.
Try updating your Visual Studio to the lastest version, sometimes the updates helps you solve package issues which was previously not supported.
Try removing all the nuget packages. To do that, select NuGet and then right click to remove it, then go to the app package and remove the Packages Folder. After doing this just restart your visual studio (VS) and reinstall the Nuget Packages again.
If any of the solutions doesn't work for you, and you have found a solution yourself please post it in our Comments Section.


If you think of yourself as an enterprising individual, you may have already made attempts at starting a small business. You already know about what you have to give up, what you simply can't forget and how to sustain a business.
If you're considering setting up a small business and are still in the dark about what it takes to run a successful business, check out these start up tips for small businesses. The saying that your business becomes your baby has a lot of truth to it, so give it the best possible head start in life.
Your market is defined by those people that would benefit from your business, because you wouldn't set up a venture without aiming to satisfy a need or solve a problem, right? Determine the key demographics of those you expect to use your product or service, like age and income.
Study your major competitors and try to establish how much sales potential there is in the market for similar companies.
If you duplicate what someone else is already doing, your business will fall flat on its face. Choose a segment of the market and target it, instead of trying to appeal to everyone. Focus your niche on where your skills and qualities lie and use those strengths to your advantage.
Never dive right in to making important business decisions without first developing a thorough business plan. Detail how you will finance, advertise and manage your business. Your business plan should include information about your competitors, such as their strengths and weaknesses, and marketing strategies they use that seem to work.
Put together a 3 year and 5 year sales forecast that pinpoints where you expect to turn over a profit. The plan is something you need to get right, so employ business consultants in Melbourne to help if you're unsure.
It's no good to only conduct market research before you embark on your small business adventure. Instead, this should be an ongoing part of your business. Conduct studies and get feedback from your customers on a regular basis. Specifically, find out how satisfied your customers are with pricing, product quality and customer service. Focus on what isn't working and what works for your competitors, and tweak your plan if necessary.
The majority of companies will find benefits in creating a website and setting up social media accounts. Even a simple website will serve to provide information about your business, and being online gives potential customers instant access with open lines of communication. This can be a great way to gain feedback, encourage customers, take orders and show off your stellar customer service.
Whether this is your first small business venture or you've attempted an entrepreneurial project before, these tips for small business are a solid starting points and none of them should be neglected. For ongoing support from the professionals, you can hire business consultants.
TR Consulting offers a package for small business start ups to help you get started and provide additional ongoing support to keep you on the right track. The package includes (but isn't limited to) business registration, planning and strategy, financial aspects, business coaching and more. Call us on 1300 054 552 for more information.


Does Hip Hop Dancing Help You Lose Weight?
Children who are overweight are at risk for developing health problems. Children who are sedentary are much more likely to become obese, which can lead to diabetes, early puberty and other weight-related maladies. Regular exercise can help children stay healthy or get healthier.
Children benefit from exercise in several ways. They will experience a heightened ability to deal with the physical and emotional stresses of daily life. Also, exercise burns calories consumed, so children will benefit from a reduction in body fat and improved body image. Risks for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and blood cholesterol levels are reduced with exercise. Physical activity also helps children strengthen bones and muscles.
Children can engage in many activities that build cardiovascular endurance, strength and flexibility. These activities can include walking, jogging, organized sports, bicycling or just a simple game of tag, as well as any other repetitive movement that increases heart rate over an extended period of time.
Kids should exercise as frequently as possible. The American Heart Association suggests children age 2 and over should exercise at least 30 to 60 minutes every day. These periods of exercise do not have to occur in one 30-minute session. Kids can run and play in several sessions that add up to 30 minutes or more.
Exercise that produces physical benefits should be of moderate or vigorous intensity. According to the Centers for Disease Control, moderate exercise is activity that is equivalent to walking at a brisk pace, gymnastics, ballet or softball. Vigorous activity is the equivalent of most competitive sports, jumping rope, jogging or running.
Adults should do their best to make physical activity fun for children. This encourages the continuation of an active lifestyle through adulthood. Participating with your child or setting an example through your own exercise is a great way to encourage kids to lead an active life. Limit the amount of time children are allowed to spend in sedentary activities such as television or video games.


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Q: Sending mass emails in Salesforce using SendGrid or MailChimp I am working on Salesforce App where there is a custom object named Distributor (Distributor__c). A distributor has primary email address as one of the fields. When a new distributor record is added an email is suppose to go out welcoming them to the service with some other information (So on a bulk insert using dataloader, mass emails would be sent). Similarly, the user can send mass email notification to all the distributors (using a custom vf page and UI).
My problem is, I cannot use Salesforce's Messaging.MassEmailMessage since it wont work with custom objects and custom email templates. Neither can I use SingleEmailMessage since even if I put all the distributor email addresses in a list and email them, they can all see each others email addresses which is something the client does not want.
What I am looking for is a single email service that can also handle bulk. I came across SendGrid and MailChimp which provide mass email services. I would like your opinion on which one is better and can work smoothly with Salesforce. Or if there is another native solution without using these third party email service providers.
Appreciate the help.

A: If you are really looking into comparison chart for Mailchimp or SendGrid ,here are some PROS and CONS
Mailchimp
PROS

*

*Free appexchange on the salesforce

https://appexchange.salesforce.com/listingDetail?listingId=a0N3000000B3byfEAB

*

*Lightning ready now so you dont have to worry in future if you upgrade to lightning design

*Pricing seems to be fair for mailchimp service

*The salesforce appexchange is free of cost

CONS
The app has decent 3.0 rating on appexchange
SendGrid
PROS
There is a privately listed app on the appexchange

*

*https://appexchange.salesforce.com/listingDetail?listingId=a0N30000005uxj5EAA

*Excellent rating on appexchange

CONS

*

*No official app yet on the appexchange from the SendGrid and the app on the appexchange is from third party company called Manasa

*Apart from service you will also end up paying 20USD for one user per month .
Using appexchange will be quick win if you dont have enough devs to work on integrations and visualforce else you absolutely dont need any of those and can build your custom integrations .Both these services provides nice API .On the downside apps on appexchange are really secure and building a secure app will involve some resource and expense

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Tradition of Volunteerism Strong Among SCE Employees
Habitat for Humanity and Edison International partner to help build a house for the Nelson family in Long Beach.
Edison International and Southern California Edison employees take part in a Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles build in Long Beach.
Edison employees #GiveBack. @EdisonIntl @SCE_Communities http://3bl.me/dgma25
Wednesday, April 22, 2015 - 10:00am
Edison's Online Newsroom
Yvette Nelson knows first-hand the importance of permanent housing. For 17 years, she worked as a case manager for a nonprofit helping to provide long-term housing for those in need. But now, Nelson is focused on her own family.
After years of living in rental properties, she was about to become a homeowner for the first time thanks to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles and corporate sponsors like Edison International.
"I have lived in rental properties my entire life and have always wanted a home and the stability that it brings," she said.
The new two-story house in Long Beach will be a welcome change for Nelson, who currently lives with her sister, daughter and two granddaughters in a rental. Before she receives the key to her new home, she is doing Habitat's required sweat equity hours, the hundreds of hours of labor homeowners dedicate to building their homes and the homes of their neighbors.
During the weekend celebrating Martin Luther King Jr., 27 employees from Edison International and its utility subsidiary Southern California Edison (SCE) volunteered to put siding, insulation and roofing on Nelson's home.
Dalton Cobb, a senior project manager in SCE's Transmission and Distribution department, arrived early Saturday to do his part to make Nelson's dream of home ownership a reality.
"For me, it's this whole idea of helping somebody else out. We work for Edison and we're in a pretty good position and there's a lot of people who are not in the same position we are in," he said. "I like to come out here and do my part to help."
With the sound of hammering and drilling in the background, Marvene Raz, an SCE supervisor in Transmission and Distribution, took a break to reflect on her first volunteer event with Habitat for Humanity.
"I've always wanted to experience coming into the site and actually helping to build a home for people who are in need," said Marvene Raz, an SCE supervisor in Transmission and Distribution. "It's been a hard morning, but it's been a very rewarding morning."
The recent Habitat build for the Nelson family was part of a $50,000 grant from Edison International that the nonprofit received last year. A total of $37,500 was designated for the Lynwood Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, and $12,500 directed to the Family Investment Program.
Since 2010, Edison International has contributed more than $135,000 in grants to Habitat for Humanity (all shareholder money), and its employees have contributed 3,027 volunteer hours building and rehabilitating houses.
For more stories, visit Edison's Online Newsroom.
To learn more about Edison's philanthropic programs, read Power in Partnerships: Community Investment Report 2014.
CATEGORY: Social Impact & Volunteering


Pearl Harbor (2001) 183 мин.
Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001) 146 мин.
The Mummy Returns (2001) 130 мин.
Sweet November (2001) 119 мин.
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) 97 мин.
Kate & Leopold (2001) 113 мин.
Spy Kids (2001) 88 мин.
Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2001) 107 мин.
I Am Sam (2001) 132 мин.
From Hell (2001) 122 мин.
American Pie 2 (2001) 111 мин.
Mulholland Dr. (2001) 147 мин.
A Knight's Tale (2001) 132 мин.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) 104 мин.
Planet of the Apes (2001) 119 мин.
Legally Blonde (2001) 96 мин.
The Princess Diaries (2001) 115 мин.
The Wedding Planner (2001) 103 мин.
Rat Race (2001) 112 мин.


Cargo Door Stair - KWD Aircraft Support Equipment - KWD Aircraft Support Equipment specializes in the design, fabrication, and installation, of aerospace Ground Support Equipment.
The unit is constructed from aluminum with 72 inch wide stair treads. The unit has four manual jacks for up to 12 inches of vertical adjustment or leveling.
The stair provides access to the cargo hull with or without the cargo door installed.