text:
\section{Introduction}
\label{section:intro}
Revealing the nature of dark matter has received
much more attention since
the successive results of the WMAP
cosmic microwave background all-sky observation\cite{ref:WMAP Spergel}.
Many dark matter direct search experiments
have been concluded\cite{ref:DAMA_aniso,ref:DAMA_Xe,ref:DAMA_annual,ref:NAIAD,ref:Sekiya_IDM2004,ref:Tokyo_CaF2},
are currently being performed\cite{ref:CRESST,ref:ZEPLIN,ref:SIMPLE2005,ref:PICASSO,ref:CDMS2,ref:EDELWEISS,ref:DRIFT2_NIM},
or are in the planning stage\cite{ref:superCDMS}.
Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are very
plausible candidates of dark matter.
Most dark matter search experiments are designed to measure
only the energy
transferred to the nucleus
through WIMP-nucleus scatterings.
In these experiments, the distinct signals of WIMPs
are the
annual modulation of the energy spectrum.
the halo is isotropic.
Because the amplitude of an annual modulation signal is
only a few~$\%$ of the rate,
positive signatures of WIMPs are
very difficult to detect with these detectors\cite{ref:DAMA_annual}.
On the other hand,
the motion of the solar system with respect to the galactic halo is considered
to provide a much larger asymmetry in the  direction-distribution
of the WIMP velocity observed at Earth\cite{ref:Spergel_WIMP}.
A detection method of a positive signature of WIMPs
by measuring the directions of the nuclear recoils have been
studied\cite{ref:DAMA_aniso,ref:Sekiya_IDM2004,ref:DRIFT2_NIM,ref:Anne}.
If the distribution of the local halo were not isotropic --
perhaps quite clumpy--
direction-sensitive methods would then
potentially provide information
on it.

Gaseous detectors are one of the most appropriate
devices to detect this ''WIMP-wind''\cite{ref:Gerbier,ref:Masek}.
The DRIFT project has performed underground measurements
for more than two years
with 1 m$^3$ time projection chambers (TPC)
filled with a low-pressure $\rm CS_2$ gas aiming to detect the
mainly WIMP-wind via spin-independent(SI) interactions\cite{ref:DRIFT2_NIM}.
Since former studies suggest to
perform the WIMP-search both via SI and spin-dependent(SD)
interactions\cite{ref:SDCollor,ref:SDtheory},
we proposed a SD-sensitive WIMP-wind search, named
NEWAGE (NEw generation WIMP-search
with an Advanced Gaseous tracking device Experiment)\cite{ref:Miuchi_PLB}.
We developed a $\mu$-TPC with a detection volume of
23 $\times$ 28  $\times$ 30 $\rm cm^3$ and
performed a direction-sensitive WIMP-search experiment in a
surface laboratory.

\section{Detector performance}
\label{section:micto-TPC}
In this section, we describe the detector performance,
which is
also described in Ref. \cite{ref:Miuchi_IDM2006}.
We mainly measured the detector response in the
energy range that we used for the WIMP-search analysis
(100-400keV, DM energy range).
The lower threshold (100keV) was set at
the lowest energy for an effective
gamma-ray rejection with a 150 Torr $\rm CF_4$ gas,
and the higher threshold (400keV) was set at
the expected highest recoil energy by the WIMPs at the escape velocity.

\subsection{$\mu$-TPC}
A $\mu$-TPC is a gaseous time projection chamber with a micro pixel chamber
($\mu$-PIC)
readout.
A $\mu$-PIC is a gaseous two-dimensional position-sensitive detector
manufactured by printed circuit board (PCB) technology.
PCB technology realizes an economical  mass production,
which is one of the most important
requirements to fabricate a dark matter detector.
After a general-purposed detector R\&D,
we studied the performance of a $\mu$-TPC with a detection volume of
$\rm10\times10\times10 cm^3$
using a 150 Torr $\rm CF_4$ gas
as our first step towards a dark matter experiment\cite{ref:Sekiya_PSD}.
In this study, we demonstrated the
tracking of nuclear recoils and the gamma-ray rejection
with a $\rm CF_4$ gas of 150 Torr.
We also found that we need some more studies
to operate the $\mu$-TPC with a $\rm CF_4$ gas at a design value of 30 Torr
for more than a few days.
We then developed a large-sized (31 $\times$ 31 $\rm cm^2$)
$\mu$-PICs\cite{ref:uPIC30}, and subsequently
developed a large-volume $\mu$-TPC with a detection volume of
23 $\times$ 28  $\times$ 30 $\rm cm^3$.
We studied the fundamental properties
of this large-volume $\mu$-TPC
with a standard Ar-$\rm C_2 H_6$ gas mixture
at normal pressure\cite{ref:Miuchi_IWORID8}.
The size is of the $\mu$-PIC is restricted by the working size of the PCB,
and we plan to realize a larger readout area by placing many pieces,
for instance 4 $\rm \times$ 4 pieces for a 1 m${}^2$,
of $\mu$-PICs.
Before we take the next technology steps, we performed a
first direction-sensitive spin-dependent dark matter search experiment
to demonstrate that a gaseous detector and a direction-sensitive
method can actually set limits on the WIMPs.
We report on the results of
a direction-sensitive dark matter search experiment
using this large-volume $\mu$-TPC with a 150 Torr $\rm CF_4$ gas
(9.0g effective mass) in a surface laboratory.

We used the $\mu$-TPC described in Ref. \cite{ref:Miuchi_IWORID8}, and thus
most parts of the detector were unchanged.
Herein, we describe only the significant properties and the modified parts
of the detector system.
Figure \ref{fig:TPC} is a schematic drawing of the $\mu$-TPC.
A $\mu$-PIC with a detection area of 31 $\times$ 31 $\rm cm^2$
(TOSHIBA/DNP, SN060222-3) was used as
the main gas-multiplier and as readout electrodes.
A gas electron multiplier (GEM\cite{ref:GEM}) with an effective area of
23 $\times$ 28 $\rm cm^2$,
which was manufactured by a Japanese company (Scienergy Co. Ltd.),
was used as a pre-amplifier.
The drift length was 31 cm and
the detection volume was
23 $\times$ 28 $\times$ 31 $\rm cm^3$.
The electric field of the drift volume was formed with a
field-shaping pattern on a fluorocarbon circuit board surrounding
the detection volume.
The detector was placed in a 3 mm-thick stainless-steel vacuum chamber
filled with 150 Torr $\rm CF_4$.
The data-acquisition system, which is described in Ref. \cite{ref:Kubo_IEEE},
was triggered
by the signals of the $\mu$-TPC itself.
Hence, the
absolute Z position was not measured, but only
the relative positions.
Typical operation parameters were
$\rm V_{\mu-PIC}=490V$, $\rm V_{GEMB}=630V$, $\rm V_{GEMT}=915V$, and
$\rm V_{DRIFT}$=8.25kV. $\rm V_{\mu-PIC}$ is the voltage
supplied to the $\mu$-PIC,
$\rm V_{GEMT}$ is the voltage supplied to the top of the GEM,
$\rm V_{GEMB}$ is the voltage supplied to the bottom of the GEM,
and $\rm V_{drift}$ is the voltage supplied to the drift plane.
These parameters were optimized to realize stable operation
at a combined ($\mu$-PIC $\times$ GEM) gas gain of 2300, which is high
enough to maintain the detection efficiency of the recoil nucleus.
We still suffer from discharge problems when operating a $\mu$-PIC alone.

\subsection{Energy calibration and energy resolution}
We calibrated and monitored the energy with alpha particles
generated by the $\rm ^{10}B (n,\alpha)^7Li$ (Q=2.7MeV) reaction
\cite{ref:Miuchi_IDM2006}.
We set a glass plate coated with a thin 0.6 $\mu$m $\rm ^{10}B$ layer
in the $\mu$-TPC, and irradiated the $\mu$-TPC with thermalized neutrons.
Alpha particles (5.6~MeV, 6.1~MeV, and 7.2~MeV)
from the decays of the radon progeny
were also used.
The track-length and the energy-deposition correlation down to the  DM
energy range agreed with a calculation by SRIM\cite{ref:SRIM}.

The measured energy resolution in 5--8MeV
was 50$\%$(FWHM), which was dominated by the gain inhomogeneity
of the $\mu$-PIC.
This would be the worst value when the gain inhomogeneity
of the $\mu$-PIC dominates the energy resolution.
The energy resolution could be dominated by the
the statistics of the primary electrons.
In this case,
the energy resolution at 100~keV with a CF$_4$ gas was estimated
from a measurement with an Ar-$\rm C_2H_6$ gas mixture,
because it
is not very easily measured due to
a small photo-absorption cross-section and a long range of the electron.
The energy resolution at 60~keV, measured
with an Ar-$\rm C_2H_6$ gas mixture, was 60$\%$ (FWHM)\cite{ref:Miuchi_IWORID8}.
We caliculataed with
$\Delta E_{\rm CF_4}=\Delta E_{\rm Ar}\cdot (\frac{60/W_{\rm Ar}}{100/W_{\rm CF_4}})^{1/2}$.
Here, $\Delta E_{\rm CF_4}$ and $\Delta E_{\rm Ar}$ are
the energy resolution at 100~keV with a $\rm CF_4$ gas
and that at 60~keV with an Ar-$\rm C_2H_6$ gas mixture, respectively.
$\rm W_{\rm CF_4}$=54eV  and $\rm W_{Ar}$=26eV are the
energies needed to created
an ion-electron pair in a $\rm CF_4$ gas and
an Ar-$\rm C_2H_6$ gas mixture, respectively.
Thus, the estimated energy resolution was 70$\%$ (FWHM)
at 100 keV with a CF$_4$ gas,
if the statistics of the primary electron dominates the energy resolution.
The energy resolution in the DM energy range was therefore estimated to be
better than 70$\%$.

\subsection{Nuclear recoil detection efficiency}
The nuclear-recoil detection efficiency was measured by
irradiating the $\mu$-TPC with
fast neutrons
from a $^{252}$Cf source of  0.72 MBq placed at several postitions.
We selected the tracks
within the fiducial volume (21.5 $\times$ 22 $\times$ 31 $\rm cm^3$).
We also required at least three digital hit points for a track.
A typlical track-length and energy-deposition correlation is shown in the
left panel of Figure~\ref{fig:scat252Cf}.
A nuclear recoil band is seen along the X-axis.
We set the upper limit of the
``nuclear recoil band''
at 1 cm.
We compared the spectrum after the selection
with a simulated one, and
the calculated ratio was the overall (detection and the selection)
efficiency.
The efficiency curve is shown in the right panel of Figure~\ref{fig:scat252Cf}.
The efficiency was about 40$\%$ at 100 keV,
and the efficiency dependence on the recoil
energy was phenomenologicaly fitted with an error function,  $\epsilon$.
The best-fit function was $\epsilon=1.0\cdot erf((E-45.8)/165.2)$,
where $erf(x)=\frac{2}{\sqrt{\pi}}\int^{x}_{0}exp(-x^2)dx$
is the error function and $E$ is the energy in keV.

\subsection{Gamma-ray rejection factor}
We demonstrated that
the track-length and the energy-deposition
correlation measured with a gaseous TPC
provided a strong gamma-ray rejection in our previous work\cite{ref:Sekiya_PSD}.
We performed quantitive measurements with a large-volume $\mu$-TPC for a
WIMP-search measurement in a surface laboratory.
We irradiated the
$\mu$-TPC with gamma-rays from a $\rm^{137}Cs$ source of 0.80 MBq,
placed at 25 cm from the center of the detection volume.
The measured track-length and energy-deposition correlations with and without the
gamma-ray source are shown in the left and the right panels
of Figure~\ref{fig:scat137Cs}, respectively.
The live time was 0.44 days for both measurements.
A band along the Y-axis labeled  ``electron recoil band'' is seen
only in the results
with a gamma-ray source,
which is obviously due to tracks of the recoil electrons.
Another band along the X-axis, seen in both results, is due to
the tracks of the carbon and fluorine nuclei by the neutron background,
and are labbeled ``nuclear recoil band''.
The spectra of these two measurements are shown in the left panel of
Figure~\ref{fig:spec137Cs}.
The spectrum of the no-source run was subtracted
from the that of the $\rm^{137}Cs$ run. The obtained "subtracted''
spectrum is shown in the right panel
of Fig~ \ref{fig:spec137Cs}. The subtracted spectrum is
consistent with zero
in the DM energy range,
within the statistical error.
We then derived the
gamma-ray rejection factor
by dividing the subtracted spectrum
by a simulated electron recoil specrum.
The measured gamma-ray rejection factor in the DM energy ranege was
$(0.57 \pm 0.69 )\times 10 ^{-4}$.
The error is statistical, which is dominated by the background
in the surface laboratory.
The 90$\%$ C.L. upper limit of the
gamma-ray rejection factor was $1.5 \times 10 ^{-4}$.

\subsection{Direction-dependent detection efficiency}
\label{section:derection-dependence}
The $\mu$-PIC has an anisotropic response
with regard to the three-dimensional track directions.
This non-uniform response is due to
a difference in the detection method of the Z-axis (time information)
and the other two axes (2-dimensional image taken by the $\mu$-PIC).
We measured this detection efficiency
dependence on the track direction, or a ''response map'',
by irradiating the $\mu$-TPC with fast neutrons from several positions
that generated uniform recoils.
We fitted the digital hit points with a straight line, and
determined the directions of each nuclear recoil track.
Because we did not measure the track senses in this measurement,
we fixed the sign of the x component to positive and determined the
(x,y,z) vector of the track in the coordinates shown in Fig~\ref{fig:TPC}.
The measured response map is shown in Fig~\ref{fig:responsemap}.
The map was normalized by a mean value.
It can be seen that the correction factor is quite large
because the fabrication technology of the large-sized $\mu$-PIC
is still in an R$\&$D phase, and the gain inhomogeniety is still large.
The detector showed
a relatively high efficiency for tracks in the X-Z and Y-Z planes, but
showed a relatively low efficiency for tracks in the X-Y plane.

We have not overcome intrinsic weak points of the
TPC that the efficiency to the tracks parallel to the readout plane
is relatively low.
It should be noted that the absolute detection efficiency was
measured by a method described in
the pervious sections, and this response map was used to
correct the relative efficiency.

\subsection{Position resolution and angular resolution}
We measured the position resolution using the tracks of the alpha
particles measured in the energy calibration.
We evaluated the position resolution using the same method as described in
our previous work \cite{ref:Miuchi_IWORID8}.
The measured position resolution was 0.8 mm~(rms).
The angular resolution of the carbon and fluorine nuclei in
the DM energy range was estimated in the following manner.
We calculated the sampling pitch of the carbon and fluorine tracks
from real data.
We then generated the hit points by a simulation
based on the measured position resolution  and the sampling pitch.
Simulated hit points were fitted with a straight line, and
the angle between the fitted line and the real direction was calculated.
The distribution of the calculated angle was
fitted with a Lorentzian and $\gamma=25^{\circ}$, where $\gamma$ is a
parameter of a Lorentzian that corresponds to HWHM.
We used this value for a direction-sensitive analysis.

\section{Measurement}
\label{section:Measurement}
A dark matter search measurement was performed in a surface
laboratory at Kyoto University
($Lat.$ $35^{\circ} 2'$ N, $Long.$ $135^{\circ} 47'$ E,
third floor in a five-story building).
The measurement was performed from November 1st, 2006 to
November 27th, 2006.
We set the $\mu$-PIC plane horizontally and
re-aligned the X- and Y-axis of the $\mu$-TPC twice
(three different $\phi$ indicated in Figure~\ref{fig:TPC})
so as to cancel any remaining static errors.
Table \ref{table:TPCoperation} lists the  measurement properties.
The total live time was 16.71 days and
the exposure was 0.151 kg$\cdot$ days.
The sum of the calibration and maintenance time was 7.51 days,
and the dead time due to the data acquisition was 1.0 days.

The $\mu$-TPC was filled with 150 Torr $\rm CF_4$,
and the vacuum chamber was sealed without any gas circulation..
The drift velocity, total gas gain, and the energy resolution
were monitored every two or three days during the measurement.
The drift velocity was 7.6~cm/$\mu$s at the beginning of the
measurement and decreased to
6.9~cm/$\mu$s at the end.
This decrease is thought to be due to the
out-gas from the detector components.
We used the measured velocities for the analysis.
The mean gas gain in the entire detection area was 2300, and
a time-dependent variation was not observed
within a measurement error of 4$\rm\%$ (rms).
The energy resolution was also stable within a
measurement error of 7$\rm\%$ (rms).
The time-dependence was small compared to the energy resolution, itself,
and the angular resolution in this measurement.

\begin{table}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{l l l}
X direction($\psi$) & source &live time [days] \\ \hline
$-5^{\circ}$ & - & 4.37 \\ \hline
$40^{\circ}$ & - & 5.25 \\ \hline
$18^{\circ}$ & - & 4.95 \\ \hline
$18^{\circ}$ & $^{137}$Cs & 2.14 \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\caption{Properties of the dark matter measurements.}
\label{table:TPCoperation}
\end{center}
\end{table}

\section{Results}
\label{section:Results}
The spectra did not show a statistically significant difference among the
four conditions due to the strong gamma-ray rejection.
We therefore combined the spectra obtained in the four measurements,
including even the spectrum obtained in the
gamma-ray rejection measurement with a $^{137}$Cs source.
Figure~\ref{fig:spec} shows
the obtained spectrum in the DM energy range.
The spectrum can be explained by
a typical neutron flux in a
surface laboratory of $O$(1$\rm \times10^{-2} n\cdot cm^{-2}\cdot s^{-1}$).
We initially derived the limits of the WIMP-proton spin-dependent cross section
only from the spectrum (conventional method).
We used the parameters given in Table \ref{table:app and nu params}, and
followed Ref.\cite{ref:LewinSmith} for the calculation.
The thin-dotted line, which is indicated by ''spectrum only'',
in Figure~\ref{fig:limit} shows the exclusion limits.

\begin{table}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{l l}
\hline
WIMP velocity distribution & Maxwellian  \\ \hline
solar velocity & $v_{\rm s}$=244km$\cdot \rm {s}^{-1}$ \\ \hline
Maxwellian velocity dispersion& $v_{0}$=220km$\cdot \rm {s}^{-1}$ \\ \hline
escape velocity &$v_{\rm esc}$ =650 km$\cdot \rm s^{-1}$ \\ \hline
local halo density & $\rm 0.3\,GeV\cdot cm^{-3}$ \\ \hline
spin factor of $\rm {}^{19}F$ & $\lambda^2J(J+1)=0.647$ \\ \hline \hline
\end{tabular}
\caption{Astrophysical and nuclear parameters used to derive the WIMP-proton limits. }
\label{table:app and nu params}
\end{center}
\end{table}

We next performed a direction-sensitive analysis.
We created a sky map of the north sky with
the direction of
the three-dimensional nuclear recoil tracks.
Because we did not detect the sense of each track,
the map was restricted to half of the sky larger
and the southern part of the sky was folded.
We plotted every nuclear event (1686 events in  a 0.151 kg$\cdot$days exposure)
in Figure~\ref{fig:skymap}.
The larger mark, labled "DM expected'',
is the direction of the solar motion or the Cygnus
from which the WIMP-wind is expected.
The WIMP-wind direction has a diurnal motion around the polestar.
We calculated $\theta$, the angle between the WIMP-wind direction
and the recoil direction for each event, and drew the
the $\cos \theta$ distribution shown in
Figure~\ref{fig:costheta}.
We compared this measured
$\cos \theta$ distribution with the expected WIMP-signal.
The expected WIMP-signal was prepared by the following method.
We first created a $\cos \theta$ distribution for a
given WIMP mass and a recoil energy while considering the energy resolution.
The DM energy range was divided into 15 bins, and
the energy and angular resolution of the detector were taken into account.
We used $70\%$ (FWHM) for the energy resolution and an angular resolution of
$\gamma=25^{\circ}$.
We followed Ref.~\cite{ref:Spergel_WIMP}
for the angular distribution and Ref.\cite{ref:LewinSmith} for the count rate.
We then created a sky-map expected by the WIMP events
with this $\cos \theta$ distribution while considering
the derection-dependence(Figure~\ref{fig:responsemap}) and the angular resolution.
We used this sky map to create the expected
$\cos \theta$ distribution
for a given WIMP mass and energy bin.
Figure~\ref{fig:costheta} shows one of these $\cos \theta$ distributions.
Here, the data was fitted with the distribution for $M_\chi$=100GeV and
100--120 keV bin, and the cross section that gave the minimum $\chi^2$
was 1.36 $\times$ $10^4$pb and $\chi^2/d.o.f=22.4/9$.
This best-fitted WIMP signal was rejected at the 90$\%$ confidence level
by $\chi^2$ tests.
The cross section that would give the minimum $\chi^2$ was calculated for
each energy bin, and the smallest cross section was taken as the limit
for the given WIMP mass.
The upper and lower panels
in Figure~\ref{fig:limit} show
the cross section limits and the corresponding $\chi^2$ values
as a function of the WIMP mass, respectively.
The limits are shown with a thick-solid line (labeled ''direction-sensitive'')
and the $\chi^2$ values are shown by filled-square marks.
The $\chi^2$ values at the 90$\%$ C.L. upper limit are shown by a dotted line
in the lower panel in Figure~\ref{fig:limit}.
The WIMP signals were rejected at the 90$\%$ confidence level
because the best-fit $\chi^2$ values were all above the 90$\%$-$\chi^2$ line.
The data was also fitted with a flat $\cos \theta$ distribution and
$\chi^2/d.o.f=9.9/9$ was obtained independent of the WIMP mass.
The flat $\cos \theta$ was not rejected at the 90$\%$ confidence level.
It was demonstrated that the
direction-sensitive method
gave a limit slightly better than
the conventional
spectrum-only method.
The difference between this result and other experiments is explained by the
neutron background in the surface laboratory.
This is the first limit set by
a dark matter search experiment with a gaseous tracking device.
As for the spin-dependent limit, this is the first result
by a direction-sensitive experiment.
It should be stressed that
the dark matter search experiment with a gaseous tracking device
can actually set a limit on the WIMPs.
These results are
very convincing and encouraging
towards developing a future WIMP-wind detection with large-volume detectors.

\section{Discussions}
\label{section:discussion}
We have shown that WIMP-proton cross section
limits can be obtained by a direction-sensitive method.
However, much work is necessary to reach
the sensitivity achieved by other experiments performed with
solid and liquid detectors.
The sensistivity is restricted by the neutron background in a
surface run, therefore, we are going to perform
a dark matter search experiment
in an underground laboratory.
The fast neutron flux in Kamioka Observatory
((1.9 $\pm$ 0.21) $\rm \times 10^{-6} n\cdot cm^{-2}\cdot s^{-1}$) is
more than 3 orders of magnitude smaller than a typical fast neutron flux in a
surface laboratory.
It it expected that the background sources,
such as radioactive isotopes in the detector components, would
limit the sensitivity in the first stage of an underground run.
We are going to replace the detector components with low-activity materials.
The angular resolution is not good enough to
take full advantage of the direction-sensitive method over
the ``spestrum only'' method.
We are going to
investigate the detector response using a neutron source of a known energy.
We plan to study the operation of the $\mu$-TPC at a lower pressure of 30 Torr
to lower the energy threshold.
We are going to develop a larger readout area by placing many pieces of the
of $\mu$-PICs of 31 $\times$ 31 $\rm cm^2$.
After these technological breakthroughs are achieved,
we expect to reach the SUSY predictions
with an exposure of more than one hundred kg$\cdot$days, which
we have calculated in our previous work\cite{ref:Miuchi_PLB}.

\section{Conclusion}
\label{section:Conclusion}
We developed a three-dimensional tracking device,
and performed a direction-sensitive
dark matter search measurement in a surface laboratory.
By using 150 Torr carbon-tetrafluoride ($\rm CF_4$) gas,
we set the first limit on the spin-dependent WIMP-proton cross section
by a direction-sensitive method.
Thus, we have demonstrated that
a dark matter search experiment with a gaseous tracking device
can actually set a limit on WIMPs.
Furthermore, we have demonstrated that this method will potentially play a
certain role in revealing the nature of dark matter
when a low-background large-volume detector is developed.

\section*{Acknowledgements}
This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid in Scientific Research of
the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, Technology of Japan;
research-aid program of Toray Science Foundation;
and Grant-in-Aid for the 21st Century COE
''Center for Diversity and Universality in Physics''.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


I have to clarify the heading on this post by saying that Mother's day in the UK falls on Sunday 18th of March this year (that's next Sunday). I know that Mother's day in the USA and in India (where most of my readers and subscribers come from) is not until May. It took me a long time to get used to the idea when I first moved to Europe from South America. I got caught out the first year because all the mother's day cards and gifts were on sale in March. By the time May came around (when my mother celebrated mother's day) there was not a card or present in sight!
My own mother was taken from us suddenly, and in tragic circumstances. However, since I'm now a mother myself, mother's day still has some special meaning for me. The Relationship blog has always paid keen attention not only to romantic relationships, but to relationships with family as well. This is why, this year I've pulled out some important and very varied material from this blog's archives which pertain to women and mothers in particular.
A lot of the women who visit this blog are stay-at-home mothers. However, even if you're not, this article concerns you too. Whether you're working all day at home - or working outside the home then returning home to work some more, the last thing you want to do (or have time to do) is to spend hours in front of the mirror getting glammed up. This article discusses why it's important for the woman's own self-confidence and her relationship to put some effort into how she looks - all without spending ages doing it! The stay at home mum's guide to remaining glamorous.
This article is somewhat controversial in the way it relates to modern-day women's views. It examines the roles that the more traditional women played and outlines some of the elements which were present in older women's (like our grandmothers) relationships. It also looks at the way some of these elements may be advantageous to present-day women and their relationships, and asks the question: Women, should we recycle the old-time relationships?
Not all mothers have given birth to their kids. However, generally speaking, most mothers have gone through this horrendous process at least once. The fact that we keep doing it goes to show that we forget how painful it can become. Part of this selective forgetfulness may be due to our unwillingness to share (and dwell on) some of of the uglier truths of childbirth. Here are some of these painful facts revealed. Don't read this if you're pregnant or squeamish. Don't read, especially if you're pregnant and squeamish. Childbirth: 6 things they keep hidden.
A large percentage of the stay-at-home mums I know run some sort of business from home. Most of us aren't good at everything under the sun, and running a business all on your own can be frustrating if you don't get suitable help. This article points you in the right direction to getting that specialised assistance you need to run a successful business from your living room. You can do the bits you're good at, and get someone else to help you with the bits you don't know (or like) so well. Have you got business plans for 2012?
That concludes the selected Mother's Day UK women-based posts on this blog. The first time this article was written it was a lot longer. However, right at the very end, when I was sticking in that last link for the business plan post, I lost every scrap of material I'd put together in the composition editor. Yes, it should've been saved automatically, but I have no idea what happened.
Now, I'm going to put my head down and definitely NOT burst into tears :-).
If you liked Mother's Day UK please share it on your favourite social networking site. Thank you. If you'd like some help in choosing something special for your mother on Mother's day, the Amazon link above is bursting with ideas.
I hope you will have a great Mother's Day next weekend, Anne.
Romantic relationship as well as other relationships all need our attention!
Wishing you a wonderful Mother's Day Anne!
The joys of motherhood are wonderful and something that only a mother can know.
Would be checking out the wonderful links you left about mother's real soon.
Yes, you're right, Icy. We need to invest in all of them because they fulfil us in different ways.
Hi Harleena, thanks for the visit. I'm sorry for your loss. I know how painful it can be. I hope you and your family have been able to come to terms with it now.
Please do let me know when you've read the other articles.


text:
RSM Classic Betting Favorites
The PGA Tour's final stop of 2021 takes place in Sea Island, GA, with the RSM Classic at the Sea Island Resort. The event is played at both the Seaside and Plantation courses, giving players two different looks throughout the weekend. Famed golf course architect Tom Fazio redesigned the Seaside course in 1999, while Davis Love III and his brother Mark redesigned the Plantation course two years ago.
Robert Streb returns to defend his title, the second of his career and second at Sea Island. If Streb wants to hoist his third RSM title, he'll have to take on a solid field as players try to grab important FedEx points before the holiday pause. Each of the last six winners at Sea Island is slated to tee it up on Thursday.
Last week, Jason Kokrak picked up his third victory in nearly a year, beating Scottie Scheffler and Kevin Tway by two strokes. Kokrak shot a five-under on the final day of play, including four straight birdies on the back nine to charge into the lead.
Players who call Sea Island home include Harris English, Patton Kizzire, J.T. Poston, Keith Mitchell, Hudson Swafford, and Greyson Sigg. There will be five former major-championship winners in this week's field, Adam Scott, Jimmy Walker, Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen, and Webb Simpson.
Betting Odds for the RSM Classic
Scottie Scheffler, fresh off a T2 at the Houston Open, leads the field as the favorite to win his first PGA Tour event with the odds of +1000. Scheffler now has back-to-back top-5 finishes over the last two weeks.
Webb Simpson, making his first start in nearly a month, is next at +1200. This fall, Simpson has played in three events, cutting in two of them, including his most recent start at the CJ Cup, where he finished T14. Simpson lost in a playoff at this tournament in 2019.
Australia's Cameron Smith (+1400) and South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen (+1600) are next in line on the leaderboard, with Russell Henley and Corey Conners rounding out the top players at +2200.
RSM Classic Favorite Picks
Smith has played just two times on the Tour since the start of the new season and finished T9 and T15 in those starts. Smith has cashed in on all eight of his last events on the PGA, with four top-10 finished during that run.
Henley is another name that continues to pop up on the front page of the leaderboard on Sunday but hasn't been able to capture his fourth PGA Tour victory. A T7, last week at the Houston Open, tells us the form is there for the 32-year old to garb his fourth victory and first since 2017.
Another favorite of ours is Harris English (+2500). Harris withdrew from the CJ Cup and missed the cut in his other appearance this fall at the Shiners. The 32-year old won twice last season and had a good showing here last year with a T6, shooting a final round 62 (8-under).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home > Mansfield Library > Archives and Special Collections > Oral Histories > The Gathering > 87
William "Bill" McLaughlin Interview, April 1, 2011
William A. McLaughlin
Download Audio Interview (32.1 MB)
Bill McLaughlin of Butte, Montana, discusses the role unions played in his long employment in the masonry industry. He tells union stories and remembers the family's involvement in the building of Our Lady of the Rockies, where he and his brothers did the stonework.
Original Date
Montana; Ireland
Related Web Site
Montana Irish Gathering website
The Gathering: Collected Oral Histories of the Irish in Montana, OH 435, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana
University of Montana--Missoula. Mansfield Library
Copyright to this publication is held by the University of Montana—Missoula. For more information, please contact Archives and Special Collections at the University of Montana, Mansfield Library.
Oral History Number
OH 435-060
1 sound file (00:35:00): digital
00:35:00 minutes
OH_435_060.mp3
McLaughlin, William A., "William "Bill" McLaughlin Interview, April 1, 2011" (2011). The Gathering: Collected Oral Histories of the Irish in Montana. OH 435-060.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/gathering/87
Please be advised: Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."
The Scholarly Forum @ Montana Law


text:
By John Michael Arthur June 5, 2019
Video: Grocery Shopping in Costa Rica
Going to the feria is a great way to pick up fresh produce at good prices, but sometimes you need something that the feria doesn't have. This is where a grocery store comes in. There are a few differences between grocery stores in Costa Rica and the U.S. so let's take a look at them.
We don't have Costco in Costa Rica but if I were to blindfold you and take you inside a Price Smart you'd swear you were in Costco. They're not the same company but they still use the Kirkland brands. There are about 10 Walmart supercenters throughout the Central Valley, where I live, too.
One of the first things that surprises people when they come to Costa Rica is they find eggs out on the shelf. In fact, its only a handful of countries like Japan, Finland, and the U.S. where we wash our eggs, this gets rid of a natural bloom that protects the eggs. So once it's been washed they have to be stored in the refrigerator but most countries don't wash the eggs until they're ready to be used, so they can stay on the shelf like this at room temperature for easily three to four weeks without any problem. Typically speaking you can find eggs on the shelf here that are only two days old, compare this to the U.S. where eggs will be at least two or three weeks old by the time they have been processed and packaged and washed, shipped and put on the shelf.
Most condiments come in plastic squeeze bags from jelly to mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup. Lizano is a mayonnaise that's very popular, its by a Costa Rican company but you can find Hellmann's as well if you're a Hellmann's guy. You can't find milk in the refrigerator section in most stores it's something that's a little bit new in Costa Rica. Interestingly the milk here doesn't contain all the preservatives that the milk in the U.S. has and so it's very fresh. It can take just a couple of days from the cow being milked before the milk gets processed and put on the shelf.
I thought for the longest time that I had a milk allergy or lactose intolerance in the U.S. but I found after I moved to Costa Rica I can drink all the milk that I want without any trouble because it's not really the lactose that was causing the problem for me, it's the preservatives that were put into it. Many other folks have found the same thing.
I told you before you didn't find a refrigerated milk until a few years ago, this is because milk has always been sold in Costa Rica in boxes on the shelf. The milk has been pasteurized under ultra-high temperatures and therefore it has a very long shelf life. Costa Ricans have used it this way for so long some families prefer to have it this way and are a little bit wary about that fresh refrigerated milk.
You're not going to easily find aged European-style cheese's in Costa Rica instead there's an abundance of fresh white cheese available at most markets. Regardless of size, every grocery store will have an entire aisle devoted to tuna. Ticos love their tuna; tuna with vegetables, tuna in oil, tuna in water, tuna with garlic sauce, tuna with oregano etc. Alcohol from beer to spirits are sold at almost every food market.
Here's a couple of tips for you, there are two things that people can never seem to find; the first is baking powder it's called polvo para Hornear, and the second is cornstarch look for Maizena, but be careful it also comes in strawberry flavor. Well there you have it a handful of hints about shopping in Costa Rica.
Fun & Interesting Facts About Costa Rica
An Overview of Traditions and Culture in Costa Rica
Maps of Costa Rica: Best Beachside and Mountain Towns
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24 - CHARLES LAMPKIN: ON THE LONG ROAD Remembering the actor and music man who was SCU's artist-inresidence from 1969- 1981. By James Torrens, S.J.
26 - HISPANIC CALIFORNIANS AND CATHOLIC HIGHER EDUCATION A look at the personal diaries of a Hispanic student who attended Santa Clara from 1857- 1864. By Gerald McKevin, S.J.
Santa Clara University, "Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 33 Number 4, Summer 1991" (1991). Santa Clara Magazine. 43.


"Hmm?" Janine Pike didn't want to open her eyes. The buttery smooth voice could have been conjured out of the decadent dream she'd been having. Something involving champagne, of course.
Silk lingerie. Candlelight. Chocolate. A Hemsworth giving her a foot massage.
"Signorina." The voice was insistent now.
She shaded her eyes, cracked one open just a slit, and instantly regretted it. Apparently she'd had a lot more limoncello to drink last night than she'd thought. "What is it?" she asked.
Her voice trailed off as she took in the scene around her. Plastic cups and empty bottles littered the sand near the ashes of a makeshift fire pit. A silver hoop earring glinted, half-buried, beneath an abandoned hot pink bikini top. Not hers—Simone's. But Simone, her boyfriend Christophe, and their gaggle of hot young European friends Janine had been partying with last night on the beach were nowhere to be seen. Neither was the boat. Or, to her horror, her backpack containing her entire wardrobe, her European journals, and her passport.
Panicked, she scrabbled in her pocket for her phone and came up with only a crumpled €20 note and some lint.
Oh, God. Her phone. Sometime last night she'd gotten up to charge it and—yep. It was probably exactly where she left it, plugged into one of the outlets in the galley of Christophe's cruiser, which was God-knows-where in the iridescent waters off the Amalfi Coast by now.
À Bientôt, indeed. So Long, sucker.
"This is not happening," she murmured, trying to quell her rising panic. She'd been in Europe for three months. Three months with no huge problems. When she'd stepped on the plane at Hartsfield International airport in Atlanta back in April, her mother had hugged her tight and made her swear to be cautious, to be safe, to come back in one piece. And Janine had promised. Up until now, it had been an easy promise to keep.
"What?" she barked, hating the panicky sound in her voice. This wasn't her.
She gulped. There'd been a lot of drinking last night. More than the pile of bottles here indicated. Definitely more than twenty euros' worth, that's for sure.
"My friend left his credit card with the bartender," she explained, pointing toward the marina's upscale rooftop bar.
Damn Cristophe and his expensive tastes. And his enthusiasm. Last night was the first time she'd let herself get really looped. Even at home, she wasn't a big drinker, and with the constant threat of "some lunatic with a pocket full of roofies," as her roommate Hannah warned, she was more likely to order one drink and nurse it, keep it close, than she was to indulge.
But not last night. Last night had been a beer (only one), limoncello (dangerously delicious), and grappa (kill me now)-fueled blur. Simone—blonde, giggling Simone—had kept pace with Janine, Christophe, and the trio of Italian layabouts they'd picked up in Portofino and seemed none the worse for wear. Typical. Simone's capacity had been campus legend at the small college they'd attended together. Ginormous linemen couldn't keep up with her. Janine was a fool to have tried. But she was nearing the end of her trip, so she'd gone for it.
Man, had that been a mistake. The departure date on her ticket—oh, God, the ticket!—was looming ever closer. She only had a few days left. Only a few days to indulge. Only a few days to soak in the culture she wouldn't be able to afford to visit again for years.
Only a few days to find her.
Janine had saved the Isola del Sole until last. Not just because it was famous for its turquoise seas, its flowers, its history. But because she lived here. Stéphanie, her sister.
Half sister, she mentally corrected. Half. They shared a charming father and nothing else. Janine hadn't even known Stéphanie existed until the day her letter arrived.
In all the years Janine had spent in the tidy suburban bungalow she shared with her family, she'd never really wondered about her biological father. She'd never missed out on love or attention, never wished he'd sweep her into a princess fantasy better suited to a Disney movie. Her mother never talked about him. Once Emily met Steve Pike, and Steve had fallen as hard for Janine as he had for her, that was it. Steve adopted Emily's seven-year-old daughter the day of their courthouse wedding, and he was the only father Janine had ever needed. Wanted.
The monogrammed envelope bearing the exotic foreign postmark had the same impact as a grenade. Stéphanie Harlen's letter did what twenty years of questions hadn't: pried open her mother's secretive lips. The man who made her, the one who never called or wrote, wasn't a wayward college student, a spoiled trust-fund brat, a long-haul trucker, or a regrettable one-night stand—scenarios Janine had conjured over the years in response to Emily's silence.
Nope. Her father was French. Famous. A household name, if you happened to adore food as much as you loved a legendary story.
She still had a hard time believing that Valéry Harlen, the dashing bad boy chef whose Mange Bien! TV series made him a household name, was the man responsible for her temper and her tenacious cowlick. And probably the uncharacteristic urge that goaded her into quitting her first real job and flying to Europe on this trip. As far as Janine knew, keeping her surprise daughter was the only impulsive thing her organized, no-nonsense mother had ever done in her life.
Linen Suit coughed pointedly and pulled out a silk handkerchief. Judging from the cut of his jacket and quality of the fabric, this man was no ordinary desk clerk. He was probably management, and probably beyond irritated at the irresponsible American with the wastrel friends. "I'm sure we can get this straightened out," she finally stammered as he dabbed at the beads of sweat forming along his hairline.
Nothing to be done. She had one card to play, and she hoped like hell Stéphanie Harlen wouldn't resent her for playing it.
She stood up and brushed the sand off the back of her shorts, located her shoes, and trudged up the beach behind him toward the cream stucco of the Hotel dei Fiori Isola del Sole.
Strange how things came full circle whether you planned them or not, she thought as they crossed into the cool shade of the stone tunnel leading from the beach to the lush front gardens of the hotel property. Valéry Harlen's career had been launched from this place, his passionate and creative approach to traditional French and Italian cuisine earning him fame in foodie circles and a river of lire to boot. His first cookbook swaggered to the top of the bestseller lists, and his Gallic good looks catapulted him out of the kitchen and onto television. The cookbook that followed, Riez Souvent, its title taken from the television show's closing toast, sent him on a worldwide tour of destination food cities and probably the bedrooms of a slew of enchanted women. Or book publicists, in Emily's case. The affair had lasted a week. The souvenir was currently 24, jobless, and regretting she'd trusted someone like Simone's Eurotrash boyfriend with all of her possessions.
They emerged into a sunlit garden ablaze in color and redolent with scent. Stately cypress trees encircled the space and gave it a cloistered feel despite being framed by the long curve of the hotel's driveway. Roses bloomed in multicolored profusion. Bright geraniums poked their cheerful heads from planters and urns set along the walkways.
Janine followed Linen Suit through the arch of blazing pink bougainvillea that marked the end of the garden and across a cobbled portico dotted with luxury cars. A quartet of smiling doormen swept open the massive carved doors to usher them into the lobby. She let out a low whistle at the opulence that greeted her everywhere she looked: silk sheers at the windows, embroidered pillows on the chairs, even gold leaf on the figured plaster ceiling. The hotel's signature floral arrangements cascaded from urns, vases, and baskets, sending dizzying spirals of lush scent into the air. Jazz music sparkled from a grand piano tucked into the curve of the wide stairway to the second floor mezzanine. Janine hunched her shoulders, feeling conspicuous at how shabby and out of place she must look in her travel-worn shorts and fading shirt. All around her, impossibly chic, slim women glided by in crisp resort wear and expensive sandals.
A harried porter pushed past her, toting a fortune in Louis Vuitton luggage. Janine thought ruefully of her now-missing backpack, its web of scars from being dropped, dragged, and shoved into compartments all over Europe. That backpack had been her home, really, for months now. It held everything—her few changes of clothes, the one cute dress she'd packed for slightly more formal occasions, a dried thistle from the Highlands of Scotland, a vintage scarf discovered at a flea market in Paris, flat pebbles she'd scooped out of the Rhine near the rock of the Lorelei, and a piece of millefiori she couldn't resist buying for her mother in Rome. Not to mention her watertight pouch containing the rest of her cash, her bank and credit cards, and her passport.
Geez, her passport. How in the world would she manage to replace that with no money and no other ID? Her American driver's license was in the pouch with it.
Linen Suit stepped behind the counter and spoke quietly with a woman holding a phone receiver. She glanced over at Janine, then handed a paper to Linen Suit.
Janine looked over the bill and blanched at the total.
"Will you be paying in cash or by credit card?" His bland face suggested that this amount was nothing special.
She suppressed a cough. How had they managed to run up a tab that large? It had a comma in it, for Pete's sake!
"Credit." He reached for a card reader.
"I'm not—" Her voice was louder than she expected. People were starting to whisper. She looked away from the counter toward the staircase. Her gaze collided with that of the man sitting behind the glossy grand piano. His dark eyes were steady, his sculptural face a smooth cappuccino brown. A charge rippled through her and dissipated just as quickly. He might be just a piano player, but even from this distance she could tell from the perfect tailoring of the jacket smoothed across his broad shoulders that he fit right in with the wealthy clientele of the lobby. Unlike her.
"I'm afraid that might not be good enough," he said. His blandly pleasant face had disappeared, replaced by one that telegraphed his disapproval. She'd never felt more like a stereotypical ugly American tourist, and she hadn't done anything except have too much to drink the night before. She was tired, she was hung over, and she needed a shower. She was out of options.
Shel Myerson ran his hand over his close-cropped scalp, marveling again at the smooth feel. It wasn't the most original idea in the world, getting a haircut to symbolize a grand change in your life, but it still took getting used to.
He had to admit that the new look really helped. Paparazzi the world over knew him from his signature dreadlocks and his height. Cameras were nothing new for Shel—you spent your life in front of one when your mother was a beloved 80s sitcom star—but he'd long since become bored of the photographers who followed him like gnats. Their persistence had only worsened when his own creative venture, the historical fantasy cult show Fortune's Fool, became a worldwide phenomenon and catapulted him onto the Forbes list. After that, he couldn't take a leak without one of the bastards following him into the can.
Three years of nonstop meetings, press junkets, and negotiations. Three years of parties, beautiful women, good times. The past six months alone had been an adrenaline-fueled blur, and not just because he'd been shadowing his best friend Rocco De Luca during the spring's F1 event calendar, taking notes for a new series idea in between stints behind the wheel at charity races. Writing and producing kept him busy and made him more money than he could spend in four lifetimes, but racing helped bleed off the energy that kept him up at nights, held the insomnia that had plagued him since he was a little boy at bay.
He stretched his long legs beneath the burnished Fazioli grand he'd been playing, then began a new piece. Something light and American, something pleasant. Nothing that would draw much attention. Anonymity had its perks. Get a crotchety old barber in Lake Como to cut your hair. Take a public ferry back to the Isola del Sole instead of his usual helicopter from Sorrento. Throw on a suit, sit at the piano bench, and you become a ghost. Just an employee. Just part of the background.
He looked around the opulent room. No one flicked a glance in his direction. Not the porters, not the front desk staff, and certainly not the women. He knew women like this. Hell, he usually dated women like this—polished, gorgeous, rich. The kind who spent more on sunglasses each year than most families did on groceries. They were like walking F1 cars: sleek, fast, and dangerous.
He didn't ask what kind of places she meant. During their tempestuous months together, he'd taken her to openings and events, galas and shows, sat front row during Fashion Week in both Paris and Milan marveling at her the way he was expected, and acted the perfect gentleman when she dumped him, yet again, in Venice. Considering they were both barely clothed at the time, he thought he'd done well not to have pushed her out on the balcony and let the swarm of lenses along the Grand Canal broadcast the news to the hungry world of gossip.
Instead, he'd paid for the suite, tipped the housekeepers an outrageous amount to atone for Pilar's mountain of makeup-stained towels and the wrinkled designer clothes she'd strewn everywhere, and left their five-star luxury inn for the relative quiet of Rocco's family's flagship hotel on the Isola del Sole.
Surprise number one was that Matteo, Rocco's older brother and the manager of the dei Fiori hotel group wasn't there. He'd gone to Venice to meet with Baroness Helena Von Lienz, a lovely and sophisticated ex-model, to negotiate, charm, or, if necessary, seduce her out of the ownership percentage in the dei Fiori hotels she'd inherited from her late husband. Surprise number two was that Rocco had scooped up Matteo's briskly efficient assistant and whisked her off to England.
But the staff knew him well from his many late night jaunts with Rocco. They ensconced him in a private cottage out back, the one in the corner closet to the staff apartments, for some quiet. He thought and wrote best in times of personal pressure. If this relationship implosion in front of the entire European gossip corps didn't qualify as personal pressure, he didn't know what would.
"…I'm sure my friends will come back soon and settle everything." Shel frowned. The conversation wasn't going well. He looked closer. She was American, he could tell from her accent. Alone, obviously. But she carried nothing with her. No bag, no suitcase, nothing.
"Signorina Harlen is not available," Fusco said.
1) Obsessive fangirls of the show who propositioned him.
2) Gossip blog readers who propositioned him because he was famous and had hot actor friends.
3) Gold diggers who propositioned him because he was rich.
Shel blinked in surprise. Steffi had never mentioned a sister. Ding! Ding! Ding! So that's what Janine was hiding. This day, and Janine, were getting more fascinating by the minute.
Fusco abandoned his tirade and his face shifted to rapt attention. Unlike Janine, he knew exactly who Shel was, including his relationship with the De Luca brothers.
published by the Holiday Books imprint of Tule Publishing. Find out more here!


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Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Tag: Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Hyatt Place Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Open
Hyatt Hotels Corporation today announced Hyatt Place Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Hyatt House Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport officially open. The openings mark the first Hyatt Place and Hyatt House dual-branded project in
Star Alliance Unveils Refurbishment Lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle
Star Alliance has officially completed the refurbishment of its lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport. The 980 square metre facility offers seating for more than 220 guests and features stylish elements inspired by
Air France Partners with Palace of Versailles
As ambassadors of French lifestyle and superior savoir-faire, Air France and the Palace of Versailles share many values and help to promote France's influence throughout the world. They are today teaming up in a unique
Air France will offer 5 new destinations
For summer 2018, Air France will offer 5 new destinations on departure from Paris-Charles de Gaulle – Bari in Italy, Cagliari in Sardinia (Italy), Dubrovnik in Croatia, Ibiza in Spain and Perpignan in France. To
Air France reopens Business class lounge at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Terminal 2
On 25 January 2018, Air France will reopen a completely redesigned, much larger and totally renovated Business class lounge. With an open kitchen, private saunas and a detox bar, the company has created a real
Air France to fly to Ireland
Air France Announces New Daily Route from Cork Airport from May, with a new Cork to Paris-Charles de Gaulle route. The daily flight during this year's summer season will not only link Cork to France,
Air France to open new routes
For the 2018 summer season, Air France will operate a daily service to Bergen (Norway), Cork (Ireland) and Wroclaw (Poland) on departure from Paris-Charles de Gaulle. As from 26 May 2018, Air France will offer


Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries is the premier source for reviews of academic books and digital resources of interest to scholars and students in higher education. More than 35,000 librarians, faculty, and key decision makers rely on Choice magazine and Choice Reviews Online for collection development and scholarly research. Choice reaches almost every undergraduate college and university library in the United States.


[It] brings the need for ethical, transparent and accountable child welfare systems to the forefront. By ensuring systems are in place to help children remain in their family of birth, be reunited with family or be adopted locally or internationally, CHIFF promotes a holistic and preventative approach to strengthening child protections. This strategy is critical to decreasing children's exposure and vulnerability to trafficking, exploitation, violence and neglect.
Who could be against a holistic and preventative approach?
We love Captain America who goes out in the word to save it. And do good for 200 million orphans! But let's also see what he has in his wallet. He has, says the website "a small portion of $2 billion the U.S. Government already spends on assistance programs for children internationally." And politically savvy it adds it won't cost the American taxpayer anything. This whole thing, to save 200 million orphans, can be done for free? Not against that!
Now let's calculate that small portion of $2 billion. Would that be $50 million? I think that is a high estimate, but let's hope for the generosity of all the government agencies, which until now spent that money on other international child welfare issues and which are I gather happy to abandon the kids who they were helping. Of that $50 million, Captain America, says the plan, needs an office in the Department of Foreign Affairs to make sure Captain America can work in coordination and under strong leadership. I worked for Foreign Affairs, albeit for her small Dutch sister, but boy, those offices ain't cheap. $5 million annually, I guess? With spaces and people and communication and travel, lots of travel. And then this office has to find its place in an organizational context of seven different federal departments and 30 different government agencies. As said, I worked for Foreign Affairs, and I know what is going to happen: Let the infighting begin.
But let's look in the wallet again, in detail: Captain America has exactly 22 and half cent per orphan. Wow, that is disappointing. For that money Captain America has to work with the governments of China, Haiti, Poland, Congo, Korea, Vietnam, Ethiopia and so on to help them to set up child welfare systems that could actually provide the choices that CHIFF promises, ensures: family preservation, extended family adoption and in-country adoption. An investment of 22.5 cents per orphan won't you bring very far, even if you believe in America's power to convince other nations to change their ways drastically and to follow America's fine example of the organization of its own child welfare.
In the old lonesome cowboy and superhero tradition, Captain America goes it alone. Why work with other countries? Or with international organizations? 22.5 cents per orphan must do the trick of saving the world. Captain America thinks dollars and doesn't need other people's money.
It is scary that such an unrealistic financial proposal for an enormous human tragedy gets so much attention. Or is CHIFF about something else? Are there other sources of money? Before we go there, it might be good that Captain America researches the realities of child welfare in the countries he wants to help. He only has to open Kathryn Joyce's book The Child Catchers about child trafficking, corruption and fraud; and Laura Briggs' work on the disappearance of the first mothers and families in the common adoption narrative. He can go online and find the academic works on child laundering, of David and Desiree Smolin and their website "Fleas Biting." Captain America can browse in the "PoundPupLegacy" site and then read the Yahoo pages of PEAR (Parent for Ethical Adoption Reform). And he can find these days in the newspaper at least one international adoption scandal on a weekly basis. What Captain America will discover is the total lack of an ethically functioning child welfare system in most foreign countries and discover the corrupting influence of the money of all those American, Dutch, German and French citizens who want to adopt: babies are stolen and trafficked, mothers and fathers deceived. The idea that Captain America could help with family preservation in that dark world with 22.5 cents is fully illusory.
Back to the money. The only serious money available for international child welfare comes from parents who want to adopt through the many, many adoption agencies in the U.S. and elsewhere. But that kind of welfare is necessarily only focused on adoption, the opposite of family preservation and in-family and in-country adoption. The 22.5 cents the American government adds to the welfare money is so low that it can't compete with the money of the agencies. And so international adoption will stay the primary solution for the "orphan crisis." And so will the corruptive influence of private money of individual adopters continue. That means that 200 million children are waiting for an adoptive family: Captain America has to find 40 million viable families in the U.S. and have each family adopt five kids.
This law would not been so flawed and not so much in favor -- maybe not intentionally but for sure technically -- of international adoption, if from the get go those who experienced American international child welfare were not excluded from the discussion, that is the adoptees themselves. Those who were from the fifties on, adopted from Korea and China and other countries got voices, strong voices in their organizations, on the blogs, in their academic studies. These voices were passed by and are still not heard. A rather prestigious academic conference this week at the New York Law School, which is devoted for a part to CHIFF has as speakers only promoters and supporters of the law. Requests to change their panel into a more multi voiced and more democratic platform of exchange led only to haughty irritation with the organizers.
It is hard to tell in what way an orphan law with the input of adoptees would have been different from the current law, but it would for sure have given space not only for rigorous research in the practices in the countries with which the U.S. collaborates, but also in the practices of the adoption agencies here in the country, since money didn't corrupt just only the others, but also us. A law on international child welfare now, without serious reforms in the U.S. and in the target countries first, cannot be pulled of in an ethical manner, since it would continue the often horrible practices under which kids and their families currently suffer immensely. And one other thing would be addressed, I imagine: Captain America had to work with his colleagues in other countries. International adoption is, the term already expresses it, international. And so is the corruption and the fraud.


Belle Frank Apartments is one of 35+ apartments available through Place to Be Properties. PTB Properties has been assisting Denton students locate off-campus housing for over 20 years! Walk to class, restaurants & live entertainment! This community offers large, spacious 1 and 2 bedroom units, with a washer and dryer in each apartment. Each unit also comes equipped with a complete kitchen appliance package.


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Q: Can the image representing a rendering in Page Editor be customized? Can the image representing the rendering in Page Editor be customized?  I have been able to update the text below the image by changing the Display Name to "Call To Action"... was just wondering if I could update the image above the text with a snip from the comp instead of the little blue outlined box.

Sitecore 7 Update-1

A: You can change the image by editing the "Thumbnail" field on the Sublayout/Rendering. The field is hidden by default though, so you will need to check the "Standard Fields" checkbox on the "View" ribbon.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Q: How to get Adapter Name with Indy? I can get all local IP addresses using this code with indy:
uses IdStack;

var
  IPs: TStringList;
begin
  IPs := TStringList.Create;
  try
    GStack.AddLocalAddressesToList(IPs);
    listbox_localIPs.Items.Assign(IPs);  //My listbox
  finally
    IPs.Free;
  end;
end;

How can I get Adapter Name for each IP I find with Indy?

A: Indy doesn't provide such info. You must use WinApi (GetAdaptersInfo, GetAdaptersAddresses) or WMI (Win32_NetworkAdapter).

A: Indy is primarily just a wrapper around standard socket APIs that do not expose adapter information.  AddLocalAddressesToList() uses platform-specific APIs to get the local IPs, and some of those APIs may report adapter names (or expose ways to look up those names through other APIs), but AddLocalAddressesToList() simply fills a TStrings with IP address strings, so it has no way of reporting adapter names even if it wanted to.
With that said, AddLocalAddressesToList() has recently been deprecated in favor of a new GetLocalAddressList() method, which returns a collection of TIdStackLocalAddress-derived objects containing additional information (IP version, subnet mask).  So it is feasible that a future release might add adapter names, but that would still be implemented on a platform-specific basis and thus may not be available on all platforms.  Indy itself does not need adapter names, so you are best off simply using platform-specific APIs directly to get whatever adapter information you need.


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by Annabel H | Jan 3, 2023 | Attendees, Diversity and Inclusion, General, Volunteers
This week we held a Twitter Q&A with Jonathan and Craig all about the Community Corner, now you may have read that and thought… What is the Community Corner at SQLBits? Let us tell you! What is the SQLBits Community Corner (CC)? Community Corner is a place...
by Darren | Jul 1, 2022 | Diversity and Inclusion, Volunteers
At this point, you are most likely aware of our newest introduction at SQLBits – The Bits Buddies! If you are unfamiliar, they are a group of the best, friendliest people around who are there to make you feel like you belong, whether it's your first time at the event...
by Darren | Jun 17, 2022 | Volunteers
Volunteers are the bones of SQLBits and keep us going strong! We just wanted to say an extra special thank you to you all! You all inspire us at Bits every day with your kindness and dedication to giving us that extra helping hand. All we can say is WOW – ...
Join Us In The Community Zone…
by Darren | Feb 28, 2022 | General, Volunteers
SQLBits always has a "Community Corner" but it's usually just that. It's a table with people who can talk to you about the Data Platform Community. This year we have expanded the space and put it in a great position so that everyone can jump in and get involved. We...
We Are The SQLBits Buddies!
by Darren | Feb 18, 2022 | News, Volunteers
Perhaps you'd like a group of people to go for dinner with, where you can all share your experiences at different community events? Maybe, you'd just like a chat during the day? You can come along and meet us at the Community Zone! Join a bunch of like-minded people...


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I really believe my site rivals any accounting firms in its call to action, creativity, professional yet approachable and funny tone, simple – everything captured easily on one page.
Michael and the whole Lead Masters team worked diligently with our requirements to create a lead generating campaign for our company's latest offering.
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My four year old, Little K, wants to be just like her big bro. He knows how to write so naturally she decided she needed to learn to write. We took out a workbook so she could get started.
I opened the workbook to "K" because it is the first letter of her name and, as such, gets her the most excited.
"No big deal, Little K. Just trace the first line of the "K" and we'll put the book away." I said.
Little K quickly drew the best straight line she's ever written. And without thinking twice she finished the K.
Once the first step was taken the goal stopped being overwhelming.
Being able to write her name is a dream Little K holds close to her heart the way you and I have big dreams we hold close to our hearts.
And what has the potential to keep little K from writing her name is the same thing that separates us from our big dreams. The first step looked too hard. The first step was overwhelming.
Is there something you'd like to accomplish in your life or business but you just can't seem to get to it? Do you have a dream or goal that just lights you up when you think about it but when it comes time to making it happen, it just never happens?
If so, you are probably feeling like Little K. You may not even realize it. If the end goal feels good but the first step overwhelms you, that simply means the first step is too big. It is time to break it down into an even smaller group of steps.
You'll know you've reached the right size baby step when taking it feels simple, a "no brainer", easy peasy (you get my point).
Do you have a dream you're ready to make happen? Pull it out. Dust it off and baby step the heck out of it.
And if you've had some success with this process already, please leave a comment below! I love success stories and success feeds success! Here's to yours!
It is so true….I always have to break things down into little bits…errands, housecleaning, writing, paperwork, etc… everything!
Great post, Patty. Tell Little K to keep up the good work and when she is ready to write me a letter!
ps: I am including my latest posting about appreciation ..posting prompted by an article I read and the loss of power due to Irene.
Thanks Auntie Mary! Little K will be all over that letter!
Oh such a good reminder to keep our perspective. I have to say that most of my friends around here were very positive and stayed conscious of how blessed we are. Gratitude is a powerful force in this world. Thanks for carrying that torch so high Mar!
So maybe this isn't a dream of mine, but certainly something I strive for. Being conscious & present, all the time. Unrealistic. But here's my Little K Baby Step. Just one full, deep, conscious inhale & exhale every hour or so. That's about 15 mindful & deliberate moments a day. 105 a week. 420 a month. 5040 a year!
That's alot of mindful moments. I'll take it.
You go Little K! I suspect she will be writing her whole name by the end of the weekend. Great inspirational story.


The following code samples are provided for Android 7.1 (API 25). To download the samples in Android Studio, select the File > New > Import Sample menu option.
Note: These downloadable projects are designed for use with Gradle and Android Studio.
This sample demonstrates how to use the app shortcuts API introduced in Android 7.1 (API level 25). This API allows an application to define a set of intents which are displayed when a user long-presses on the app's launcher icon. Examples are given for registering links both statically in XML, as well as dynamically at runtime.
This sample demonstrates how to implement the Commit Content API, using the Android Support Library. This API provides a universal way for IMEs to send images and other rich content directly to a text editor in an app, allowing users to compose content using custom emojis, stickers, or other rich content provided by other applications.
This sample demonstrates how to write a custom image keyboard using the Commit Content API and the Android Support Library. This keyboard will be displayed inside compatible apps (also using the Commit Content API), allowing users to insert emojis, stickers, or other rich content into text editors.


Thanks to the patience of my son-in-law, David Alexander Baker, I still have a blog site. This is the third time in six years that I have determined to maintain a blog and failed. Well, this time I am going to do it and do it faithfully. There is so much to think about and so much to write about.
Books are for me like shoes are for some people. Some women buy shoes at every opportunity. I buy books at every opportunity. I hear about a book on NPR. I watch an author presentation on the book channel. A friend suggests a book. I find a book in a bibliography of a book I am reading. My husband finds a book for me in the books and magazines he reads. My daughter tells me about the best books she reads.
As I am reading a good book, I think about how and where I will be able to share the new ideas I find with other people. That's one of the things I hope to accomplish by blogging. I don't plan to do book reports, but rather to share ideas that teach and inspire me. Any suggestions about books that you make will be considered very seriously!


Nothing brings a community together like free coffee, free cupcakes, and free trike rides. Come on out for a laid back Saturday around Mueller's Paggi Square.
Qué Bueno Bakery will be offering free treats 9am-12pm or later as supplies last.
Trike Neighborhoods is inviting neighbors to come out and ride a trike or get a ride in a TrikeShaw and get the latest information on our new Trike Coffee Cafe from 12pm-4pm.
Good neighbors, good food, and good rides!


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The 148th Open Royal Portrush
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Champion Golfer of the Year
Shane Lowry wins The 148th Open at Royal Portrush
Shane Lowry is the Champion Golfer of the Year.
By Nick Menta
On the strength of a final-round 72 Sunday, the Republic of Ireland's Shane Lowry won The 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush in a six-shot romp over runner-up Tommy Fleetwood.
The win is the first major championship for the 32-year-old, who burst onto the professional scene a decade ago with a win at 2009 Irish Open as a 22-year-old amateur.
Ten years later, Lowry strode up the 18th fairway at Portrush to a raucous ovation, as the weather-braving crowd hailed an Irish Champion Golfer of the Year in only the second-ever playing of The Open on the Emerald Isle.
Four clear of Fleetwood and six clear of the rest of the field to start the day, Lowry got off to a shaky start, holing a 10-footer for an opening bogey. He rebounded with birdies at Nos. 4, 5 and 7. Bogeys at Nos. 8 and 9 saw him make the turn in even-par 36, ahead by 5.
Following dropped shots at Nos. 12 and 14, Lowry put a bow on the championship with a birdie putt and a clenched fist at 15. The celebration was in full force a hole later, with Lowry flanked by fans on winding walk from the 16th green to 17th tee, as Calamity gave way to coronation.
When he arrived at the 18th, he was surrounded by fans who had been serenading him since Saturday night. But this time, there was no doubt remaining. The engraver had already etched Lowry's name on the Claret Jug.
He pulled iron off the tee and fist pumped his way down the fairway to yet more song. On his way to the green, he hugged his caddie, removed his cap, threw his hands in the air, and let the Portrush crowd pile in behind him, carrying him home to the sounds of Ole, Ole, Ole. Two putts later, it was over.
Lowry's six-shot margin of victory was the largest for an Open champion since Louis Oosthuizen won by seven at St. Andrews in 2010.
This win officially puts to bed Lowry's final-round collapse from the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont, where he likewise staked himself to a four-shot, 54-hole lead. That Sunday, a closing 76 left him three shots behind Dustin Johnson, in a three-way tie for second.
Lowry was asked to address that disappointment both Friday and Saturday here at Portrush, admitting that it took him a long time to process and move past the sting of a forfeiting a major lead. Once again sitting on a four-shot cushion Saturday night, Lowry displayed humor and candor. He said that while it would mean a lot to win this first major, and while it would mean even more to win this major at this golf course, he has more important concerns these days, namely his wife, Wendy, and two-year-old daughter, Iris.
"At Abu Dhabi (where he won) at the start of this year, four ahead going into the final round, I said to my wife, just have her there waiting for me when I finish, because no matter what happens I'm going to be either standing there with the trophy or it's going to be a disappointing day," Lowry detailed Saturday night. "And it's going to be the same thing tomorrow."
Almost 24 hours later, there were Wendy and Iris, hugging Lowry on the 72nd green and walking him to the scoring trailer. On the way, he went through a lengthy receiving line that included Portrush natives Graeme McDowell and Ricky Elliott (Brooks Koepka's caddie), and Padraig Harrington.
Lowry is just the second player from the Republic of Ireland to win The Open, joining Harrington, who went back to back in 2007 and 2008. This is the fifth win for a player from Ireland in the last 12 years, following the Republic's Harrington and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke (2011) and Rory McIlroy (2014). Northern Ireland's Fred Daly became the first Irishman to claim the Claret Jug in 1947.
After nearly seven decades of waiting, Ireland's first Open in 68 years ended with an Irish champion.
The Open News
The 148th Open
Shane Lowry


Fashion design,100% Brand New,top of the range!
As a result of the difference between different monitors,the picture won't reflect the actual color of the item.
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Suitable for party, dating, engagement, wedding, anniversary, day-to-day wear, and so forth.
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The item "1999-2008 PDS & Silver Statehood Quarter set 200 Coins in 2 Littleton Albums" is in sale since Wednesday, October 24, 2018. This item is in the category "Coins & Paper Money\Coins\ US\Quarters\State Quarters (1999-2008)". The seller is "bjstamps" and is located in Glendale, Arizona. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, Sweden, Indonesia, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Bahamas, Viet nam.


Dr. Michael Morris was born and raised in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky. The third son of tobacco farmers and elementary school teachers, in an impoverished region, he was very fortunate to learn from an early age not only the value of an education but also a hard day's work.
"These values which allowed me to realize my dreams, I utilize in my everyday practice to my patient's benefit. My surgical practice has deep roots based in honesty and service for the benefit of those who choose to trust me. I always say there are a couple reasons why you have to trust your surgeon: first he holds a knife and secondly, he should have only your best interests in mind because at the time of surgery your surgeon's voice is your voice and only your interests are your surgeon's interests.
I was very fortunate in life, but fortune favors the prepared. Taking back the control in your life is a difficult journey. It's a process that requires assistance. It's a process that will take you from 'the supported' to 'the supporter' a unique but powerful tool to actually help others along their journey. This is our program approach.
Dr. Morris attended Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara's School of Medicine where he obtained his Professional Title as Médico Cirujano. The New York Medical College granted him a Medical Doctor degree after finishing one year of Internship in Manhattan, NY. Then he completed his general surgery residency and one year fellowship in laparoscopic and bariatric surgery at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York.
Dr. Morris is a Board Certified General Surgeon licensed in the states of New York and Texas. He is certified on both Advanced Cardiac and Trauma Life Support. He's the Trauma Director, Sub-director of ICU and Medical Director of Bariatrics at the Laredo Medical Center.
Dr. Morris practices general, laparoscopic and bariatric surgery. He has a deep sense of community and believes in broad scope of practice in order to treat the patient's needs. Through a continuous commitment to surgical education and technology, he's has traveled extensively in the United States and the world for advanced-level training in order to deliver cutting-edge modernized patient care.
Lap-Band®, Advanced Laparoscopic Fellowship Program in Chicago, Illinois.
Covidien VATS Course, Covidien Training Facility in Norwalk, Connecticut.
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Talk about comin' in hot… What a goal by Leonardo Bertone to go up 1-0 in FC Cincinnati's first-ever MLS game.
Then reality set in pretty quickly. The Seattle Sounders scored three times in the first half, then tacked on one more for good measure to close out a not-fully-encompassing 4-1 win. Welcome to MLS, FC Cincinnati. It won't get any easier this weekend, either, as they head to Atlanta for Week 2 (Sunday, 5 pm ET | ESPN in US; TSN4 in Canada).
It's easy to pick on FCC after the Week 1 loss. They looked out of their depth. Here's the thing to remember, though: A lot of teams look out of their depth in Seattle.
I maintain this notion about FC Cincinnati: They have the roster strength to make the playoffs. Is the roster perfectly constructed? No. Good enough? Yes.
Look at Philadelphia's roster last year that made the playoffs – was that a more talented XI entering the season than Cincinnati's? Ditto the Rapids team in 2016 that came within a whisker of winning the Supporters' Shield. Seattle-level talent helps, but it's not a prerequisite for making the knockout games.
Philadelphia and Colorado set their teams up to maximize the players and make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. Cincinnati have the foundation to do the same. The next step is doing it.
So what adjustments does Alan Koch need to make in advance of Atlanta on Sunday?
Against Seattle, the expansion side opted for a 4-2-3-1 in attack and a 4-4-2 when out of possession. Both pretty standard. The surprising part… they started with a high line of confrontation. They consistently positioned their forwards about 5-10 yards beyond the top of the center circle, hoping to begin to get pressure on the ball somewhere in that area. It's an adventurous starting point; not even the proven-elite teams around the league position their forwards that high in Seattle.
FC Cincinnati's high line of confrontation in Seattle.
Pros: You can win the ball higher up the field, as the Red Bulls have demonstrated over the years. But more relevant to FC Cincy, I think, is the statement of intent; you show you aren't scared of anyone. You're stepping into the arena with the gladiators and demonstrating you won't back down to anyone.
Cons: You start from a position of exposure, with increased distance between your lines. Everyone's asked to cover more ground. If they don't handle the responsibility, the opponent has more space.
And Seattle had space, which they used to the tune of 663 pass attempts (second most on the weekend) and 64 percent possession.
Cincinnati took a risk and got crushed by it.
Here's the tricky part in the film breakdown: It wasn't the initial high line of confrontation that hurt Cincinnati; Seattle didn't create any scoring opportunities from full buildouts. It was the extension of that overly-aggressive mindset to other scenarios.
FCC continuously tried to step their lines everywhere to get pressure on the ball.
They did so before they were ready as a full unit; they started the pressure before they had their ducks in a row, so to speak.
If you attempt to pressure the ball before your teammates have aligned behind you, the person on the ball makes a simple pass to bypass you.
Before you get pressure on the ball, you have to make sure they can't make a pass through the middle of your team. If they will be able to pass through you, then you have to adjust your positioning to block the entry pass before you do anything else. Deny an entry pass, then apply pressure to the ball.
Cincinnati rarely had Seattle blocked in front of them. The Sounders always had FCC chasing from one situation to the next.
That type of pressing can work, but you need athletic and/or energetic players (Tyler Adams, Roger Espinoza, Chad Marshall). Cincinnati doesn't have those guys.
Specifically, they don't have the center backs for it. Kendall Waston and Nick Hagglund are excellent in the air and at winning individual duels (same for Forrest Lasso), but they can't cover space (compared to Tim Parker or Aaron Long, for example). It's fine to assume risk if you have center backs who can clean up the mess in open space. Cincinnati don't.
Hagglund and Waston have usable attributes – Waston is a two-time MLS Best XI selection and Hagglund started 13 games for an MLS Cup-winning team – but you need to play to their strengths. Keep the game in front of them; force the opponent to pound crosses into them. Good luck attacking headers in the box through Waston and Hagglund.
Drop the line of pressure.
Don't ask players to step without proper shape behind them, keep the game in front of you.
The opponent might have time to make a successful pass, but make sure it goes lateral. Hagglund, Waston, and Lasso can deal with crosses all day. Use the elite aerial ability of the center backs to gain control of the game, even if you don't have control of the ball.
If you're constantly chasing the ball fruitlessly, you're chasing the game. And if you're chasing the game, you can't implement anything to harm the opponent. FCC have exciting pieces when they get can ahold of the game – give me Darren Mattocks, Kekuta Manneh, and Fanendo Adi running at a back four all day. But they have to get ahold of the game first.
I appreciate Koch's opening-game approach. He's clearly instilled a mindset into the team. But FCC need to trade some of that fearless for thoughtfulness.
They aren't that far from being a playoff team. But only if they get 11 to function as one, and play to the strengths of the players.


Dollar Slides As Trade War Fears Revive.
The USD/JPY continues to strengthen against the US Dollar, with a well-respected downtrend channel from early still very much in force. A clear break below the 105.20 might lead to short term downtrend towards 105.00 as 104.00 is exposed Resistance stands at 105.90 and a break above might lead 107.00 area.
EUR/USD continued gaining for four consecutive trading days, heading into the European markets testing into 1.2430 looking to reclaim lost ground. On the upside, a breakout of 1.2340 might lead to 1.2500 resistance area as 1.2600 is on the horizon A clear break below 1.2300 might indicate downside movement towards 1.2200 level as 1.2100 is exposed.
GBP/USD is trading lazily ahead of the London market open, consolidating around the 1.3900 handle. Support stands at 1.3865 and a clear break below might indicate downside movement towards 1.3800 level. Key resistance holds at 1.3930 level and a break above will target the next resistance area 1.4000.
Gold prices were boosted as expected, due to the trade war fears leading the precious metal to a short-term uptrend. Resistance stands at 1340 and a clear break that level might lead to upside movement as 1345 is on the horizon. Support stands at 1330 and a clear break below will target 1300 handle.


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Magen Tracy and Juliana Hatfield collaborate to 'Move a Crowd'
Photo Credit: The Secret Bureau of Art and Design
After years of playing backup, Magen Tracy's blessings are two-fold: One, she's finally readying her debut album for her solo project Magen Tracy & the Missed Connections, and two, she's got a slew of former collaborators behind her for it.
Specifically, she's got Juliana Hatfield in her corner.
After performing on keys with the Boston alt-rock legend last year — including for Olivia Newton-John cover shows and the Bed 20th anniversary gig — Tracy gave Hatfield full creative reign for her portion of their collaboration, called "Move A Crowd" (out today, July 12). The track is the second single for Tracy's record Long Fuse Burning, which drops next month.
"Working with her [Juliana] on my tunes was a whole other level of awesome — this tune started out with no backing vocals, so we just gave it to her to and told her to have at it," Tracy tells Vanyaland. "The parts she came up with are so cool, and not always the obvious ones; I love the way she heard and layered the harmonies on. There's something about what she does on the last line on the chorus on this track – 'like the way I moved with you' – that makes me think of 'Please Mr. Please,' an ONJ song she covered on her album (and, more recently, live with Liz Phair!). We managed to get her to do the same with two other tracks on the album before she left that day, and each time she brought out something new."
Tracy adds: "I love the way she comes at music — her own and other people's — she seems to have such a strong sense of what she hears in her head and wants it to sound like. I remember watching her mixing Weird at Q [Division] one night, and it was the same there — she's got a vision, and it's awesome to watch her enact it."
With a little more than a month to go until Long Fuse Burning debuts on August 16, Tracy has already ducked would could have been a major meltdown for her project; when she hit $200 to go on her Pledge Music campaign goal, the crowdfunding company was also about to buckle, and Tracy had to make the last minute switch to re-launch the campaign on her own before her generous backers were charged.
"Now that we're in the home stretch it, feels like this boulder I've been pushing up a hill over the past six months is finally rolling its way down the other side," she shares. It's not unlike the theme of "Move A Crowd" itself, which documents the emotional yo-yo-esque lifestyle that comes with being a working musician.
"'Move a Crowd' is about the intensely charged and often tumultuous relationships musicians have with each other, and with the music we make," Tracy says. "I've always felt that to be a musician you need to be at least somewhat comfortable with the roller coaster of highs and lows that go along with it, and with the intensity of sharing that with other people. Relationships, like shows, start and end, and leave you wondering — were the highs worth the crash? They must be, if we get up the next day and do it all over again."
JULIANA HATFIELD WITH OPENER MAGEN TRACY & THE MISSED CONNECTIONS :: Monday, July 22 at City Winery, 80 Beverly St. in Boston, MA :: 6 p.m. doors, $25 to $35 :: City Winery event page :: Advance tickets
Juliana HatfieldMagen Tracy And The Missed Connectionsmove a crowd


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MUSIC 046 | High School, Middle School Course
In this course, you will significantly expand your understanding of the ukulele and music in general. The course is designed as a modular exploration of multiple musical keys through playing the ukulele. As you progress through the course, you will also learn about different musical intervals. Beginning with the smallest (2nds) and ending with the largest (7ths), you will learn how to both play these intervals and identify them by ear. Several units also feature a history or listening segment, giving you the opportunity to increase your understanding of music history.
Nacde Bobadillo
Must have daily access to a playable ukulele, a way to make a video recording of yourself playing a ukulele, and a webcam for appointments with the instructor.
Ukulele Basics, Part 1 (MUSIC 045)
Unit 1: C Major
Unit 2: A Minor
Unit 3: F Major
Unit 4: D Minor
Unit 5: G Major
Unit 6: E Minor
Unit 7: D Major
Unit 8: B Minor
Unit 9: B-flat Major
Unit 10: G Minor
Unit 11: A Major
Unit 12: F-sharp Minor


The American Waterways Operators, Inc., Washington, D.C., has announced that 124 industrial plant facilities located along the navigable waterways of the United States during the fourth quarter of 1977, creating over 15,000 permanent job opportunities.
Of the total, 97 facilities reported capital investments of $6,027,550,000, an average investment of $62.1 million per plantsite.
Thirty-five of the facilities reported a total 15,400 new jobs, for an average 440 jobs per plantsite reporting.
The Great Southern Paper Company on the Chattahoochee River in Cedar Springs, Ga., is expanding its facilities, relying heavily on the river to receive fuel oil and coal used to fire its boilers. James Stewart of the company's transportation department stated that to transport the 375,000 barrels that will be used this year by any other means than water would "simply be prohibitive for several reasons, even if you could find enough railroad tank cars." AWO records show that 54 of the facilities were chemical and petroleum refining operations, 34 were metal-producing, 13 were paper and wood-producing f a c i l i t i e s , four were terminals, docks and wharves, and the remainder were general manufacturing and miscellaneous installations.
The Mississippi River accounted for 31 of the plantsites, the Houston Ship Channel 12, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway 10, and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and Columbia River eight each.
This brings the total number of plantsites for 1977 to 418, with a total capital investment of $12,- 679,550,000. A total of 48,905 new jobs were created as a result of these investments in 1977. This represents a slight increase in total plantsites over 1976, but a more than double amount in total investment. Total job opportunities created also increased by 6 percent.
The total number of plantsites located or expanded along the waterways of the United States since 1952, when AWO began compiling data on water-oriented construction, has reached 10,621 facilities with a corresponding capital investment in excess of $190.6 billion.