8×8, Inc. offers a variety of business-focused VoIP plans with near-perfect cloud-based communications. They integrate well with CRM, fax and even offer web conferencing to be an all-in-one solution for businesses of all sizes. With their unlimited local and long-distance calling, they are definitely an option for those in search of a VoIP solution. The only drawback to 8×8, Inc. is their activation fees – which are charged per user, per plan.
Unified business communications for small to medium-sized businesses with a favorable ROI.
Pricing is not something 8×8 is upfront about on their website, so it does take time to figure out just how much you would pay for their services. They claim they offer complete communications for half the price, but do not provide you with pricing on their site – instead, you must request a quote. While there is no contract required, you are still charged a cancellation fee of $59.00. Rates range from $19.99 to $49.99 per month per user, but there is no setup fee. You get unlimited local and long-distance calling in their plans and you pay as you go. Also, there is no money back guarantee with this service. There is also no reduced pricing for extra members or extensions.
Unfortunately, 8×8, Inc. can be very costly to setup. They have activation fees of $39.99 per user. Therefore, a company with 10 users will pay almost $400 in activation fees alone. There is no discounted activation fee either, so even if a company with 100 extensions sets up their service, they are still required to pay $39.99 per extension.
Account administrators do have excellent management tools at their disposal. First, they can access their account online and even get detailed call analytics for free. The service can be integrated with CRM and other third party apps like Outlook. They have a mobile app as well, but this costs extra.
With 8×8, you can keep your original number and port it over, but this may require a delay of a few weeks. They do offer toll-free numbers, but there are no vanity numbers at this time. Users can request additional numbers and extensions too.
They do not offer international numbers either.
When it comes to advanced features, 8×8, Inc. does offer an attractive group of features. Just some that users can expect include conference calling with an astounding 50 people, ACD queues (for an extra cost), hunt groups, find me-follow me, and of course the essential call features you would expect from a virtual phone service – including sending and receiving faxes from your VoIP line (for an added fee). The mobile app allows users to enjoy softphone calling as well as record calls, view and delete faxes and make video calls.
Overall, the administrative features are somewhat easy to use, though some have reported that setup is not as easy as the company claims. The software has a lot of bugs and issues that tech support seems less than helpful working out the kinks on and the call quality can sound muffled and is definitely not high-definition.
The sales representatives are available and helpful, but getting price quotes or detailed information seems to be difficult. They are not willing to provide upfront pricing until you give them all of the details, which is less than ideal. Also, tech support has been reported as very limited, even though they offer numerous ways to reach them. The online tutorials are definitely helpful, but they can only go so far before someone needs to speak to a live agent for assistance.
Unfortunately, pricing is not clear with this company. Quotes range from anywhere from $19.99 to $49.99 per month, per user without specification as to what plan that would go to. They do, however, have two plans.
Virtual Office: Includes unlimited calling, online call management and features. Does not include web conferencing with video, internet faxing or call recording.
Virtual Office Pro: Comes with all of the features of Virtual Office, but also includes video web conferencing, internet fax and call recording.
Starting Number of Users - Unlimited Minutes Plans: 1 - ?
Unlimited Calling: Unlimited local and long distance calling is surprisingly not a feature you find with all VoIP providers, so 8×8, Inc. definitely scores some brownie points with us by offering that. While they do not have a robust list of international call-capable countries, their rates have been reported as reasonable and unless your SMB plans on making a lot of international calls, it is still a viable options.
Good Deal of Features: There are a good deal of features that are included standard and while you have to pay extra for web conferencing and fax, that is a standard issue with most VoIP providers.
Call Reporting and Logs: Not all VoIP services allow users to check in on call reporting and take detailed analytics. This service does – which allows administrators a little more control over their accounts.
Third Party Integration: Business users can easily integrate their service in with things like Salesforce, Outlook and even SugarCRM, which is great for the company that needs it.
Fully Redundant Network and SLA: For their size, 8×8, Inc. does offer a high number of server locations and their highly redundant network means that you will never have to worry about losing service – and they have a stellar reputation for uptime.
High Activation Fees: It is one thing to have an activation fee, but an entirely other to have high activation prices per extension. Since most companies will require more than one extension, users can pay a significant amount of money upfront just to use 8×8, Inc. Considering there are companies with lower activation (about $9 per extension), this can force companies to choose different providers.
No Upfront Pricing: Companies should provide upfront pricing on their site for transparency. 8×8, Inc. does not offer information on their plans and when asked for a quote, they ask for more and more details until you can finally get a price – which doesn't reflect much for upfront honesty. While they boast about saving users up to 50 percent, their prices seem to stay in line with other services and their "advanced" features do not necessarily make it worth the price. The number of fees they add on to users is astounding and often adds up to way more than any other VoIP provider out there.
Cancellation Fee: There are no contracts and they advertise that you can pay as you go, but the company will still charge you a cancellation fee of over $50.
Poor Call Quality: Calls can be muffled, despite the number of servers this company has online at a time. For some business users, they may not like the delays and poor call quality.
Poor Tech Support: Tech support does not seem as knowledgeable as they should nor are they are responsive as you would expect from a company that boasts about their support.
Softphone App Issues: There have been numerous reviews and user feedback regarding the softphone app, which business users have described as less than business class and extremely unreliable.
Multiple features, but unclear pricing.
Unfortunately, pricing is not clear with this company. Quotes range anywhere from $19.99 to $49.99 per month, per user without specification as to what plan that would go to. They do, however, have two plans.


text:
The Guys' Top 10 Most Anticipated PS4 Games of 2016
December 14, 2015 Shaun Cordingley
While I do recognize the fact that there will always be games released that I do not see coming, or an indie game that blows my socks off, thus requiring me to go purchase new, fancier socks, I cannot lie and suggest that I do not have a set of PS4 games that I am really looking forward to trying out in 2016. Now while not all of these games will be PlayStation exclusives, they are games that will appear on the PS4, thus it will be where I would be playing them.
As we are going to be taking a holiday break here for a couple of weeks at theguysfrom.com (outside of the {PODCAST}), now seemed like the perfect time to deliver my list...so without further ado:
Firewatch - February 9, 2016
First person indie adventure game set in the 1980s where you get to piece together a mystery? Some of the best gaming bits of 2015 for me (which I will get to in the future when we do some looking back here on theguysfrom.com) were with indie games, so Firewatch is definitely one that I cannot wait to get my hands on.
Far Cry Primal - February 23, 2016
Considering I wrote an entire article about Far Cry Primal, I will be brief: I love the Far Cry series, I have a minor in history (started my University career in Archaeology and Art History) so this is right in my wheelhouse, and it's a caveman 'FPS' where I can call a giant owl and pet sabre-tooth tigers.
I am so in.
Hitman - March 11, 2016
I am a sucker for Hitman games; they are generally always my stealth game of choice (take that MGS), and I am very, very ready for a new Hitman, as there is just something about the intricate planning and execution of assassinations that I find fascinating. Some of my favourite gaming stories come from the Hitman franchise, and the concept of expanded contracts mode, the sandbox nature of every mission, and the endless challenge makes this one of the games I am looking forward to the most, and one that I miss having on my console the most (because there are just those bad work days where I want to poison everybody).
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - March 18, 2016
Look, this one is basically a no-brainer so I will not dwell on it too long:
1) It's the finale of Nathan Drake's story, the final Uncharted (at least done by Naughty Dog), and the first one on the next gen platform.
2) I'm a PlayStation guy, which means I have obviously played the hell out of, and adore the first three (I know one is choppy, but man...2 and 3)
3) It's basically an amazing pulp adventure game that delivers 10-12 hours of ridiculously awesome game play and story...and that is not something I have gotten on PS4 yet...and I mean, look at that trailer and tell me you don't want to see that movie, let alone play that game.
No Man's Sky - June 2016
Anyone who has spent any time listening to our {PODCAST}, talking to me on Twitter, or even reading anything we have been writing about video games around here knows that I am ridiculously excited for No Man's Sky, and I have been telling you so for years.
And now we are finally getting it...I just...this is the space game that I have always wanted (I hope)...I just hope against hope that this delivers on the promise of what it could be (a universe to explore, be a pirate in, merchant out that is seemingly infinite).
And yeah, I want to name a bunch of things Snozzwogglers.
Dishonored 2 - Spring (?) 2016
The first Dishonored sort of snuck up on me, and became one of my favourite stealth-action/adventure games on the PS3. There is just something about the amazing steampunk world that Bethesda and Arcane constructed that works for me, and I cannot wait to get back into sneaking around, and then stabbing robots in the face (because robots are jerks like that).
Mass Effect Andromeda - Q4 2016
The start of the next-generation Mass Effect is one of those games that suggests it will be out in 2016, so it instantly makes this list. Mass Effect is one of my absolute favourite trilogies from last gen, and the third person action-rpg series is one that I am very much looking forward to getting right back into.
I am one of those guys who spent hours just prospecting and harvesting minerals on planets in Mass Effect 2 because I just wanted to spend more time with my albino-african John Waters (character creation screens are the best).
Persona 5 - ??? 2016
I have never played a Persona game, but that is more because they have never been available to me, on something I own, at the right time...but as a jrpg fan, I have heard so, so much about the Persona series, and having seen gameplay, and the cat with a bandanna, I am now pretty much 100% sure that this is one of those games that I cannot wait to play. The only trick being, I have no idea when it is going to show up here, but the wind says 2016, so I'll listen and it's on this list.
Hellblade - ??? 2016
I know practically nothing about Hellblade beyond the fact that it is based on Celtic myth, and deals with a journey through a hellish underworld (that may or may not have a great deal to do with mental illness). This is a game that, out of all of them, I would not be at all surprised if it slipped out of this year, but it seems like they are still targeting 2016 for release. I am very much looking forward to seeing more about this hack/slash(?) game.
Horizon: Zero Dawn - ??? 2016
Speaking of cavemen, I'm all in for this third-person rpg where you get to be future cavemen fighting AI robot...dinosaur monsters.
It looks gorgeous, and like it is going to be a pile of fun, and I really hope that it does actually come out in 2016, but preferably later in the year, based on when everything else is coming out so far...that said, if Guerrilla Games needs to push it back to get this game right (and presumably roll out a new PlayStation exclusive franchise), that's fine by me...I can hit up some honorable mentions:
A few shoutouts as well to a few games that, while I am looking forward to them, I am a little more cautious/need to be in the right mood to play: Doom, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Tom Clancy's The Division, The Last Guardian, Adr1ft, and Final Fantasy XV
Thanks to PlayStation, Gamespot, and IGN for posting all these trailers and demos.
What are you more anticipated games for 2016 (on any system)? Let us know in the comments below
tags ps4, PlayStation, Top 10, Top 10 anticipated playstation games 2016, top 10 anticipated ps4 games 2016, ps4 2016, uncharted 4, horizon zero dawn, far cry primal, persona 5, hellblade, firewatch ps4, shaun cordingley
The Guys' Game of the Year 2015
Thoughts on the PlayStation Experience 2015 Keynote

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Where Will Senate Debate on Immigration End? - Integration Through Media ....!
Where Will Senate Debate on Immigration End?
(VOA): The U.S. Senate is set to begin an unusual debate on immigration Monday. The debate is unusual because it will begin with a blank slate instead of an actual piece of legislation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will open discussion with a shell bill that has no immigration provisions in it. Lawmakers will then propose amendments or provisions that will fill up the shell. The Kentucky Republican has said the amendment process "will ensure a level playing field at the outset." Lawmakers are expected to discuss the fate of immigrant youths now benefiting from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was implemented during the Obama administration. It has allowed young people who were brought into the country illegally as children to gain temporary protection from deportation and permission to work. Its beneficiaries are often referred to as Dreamers, a name taken from a legislative effort that would have provided similar protections but was not passed. President Donald Trump rescinded the program last September but gave Congress until March 5 to come up with a legislative replacement. Senators on Monday are also expected to discuss a proposed border wall, the diversity visa lottery, family sponsorship visas and just about anything else that comes under the heading of immigration reform. No 'permanent fix' seen So what legislation will come of all this? Not much, said Alex Nowrasteh, a researcher with the libertarian Cato Institute. Nowrasteh told VOA he did not see a "permanent fix" coming out of Senate after next week's debate. "At best, we can hope for a bridge bill, a bill that delays or allows some DACA recipients to extend it for a short period of time in exchange for border security," he said. Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute, has an even darker view. "As much as my gut is telling me that an ultimate bill could have just border security and a DREAM Act component," she told VOA, "the White House is really going to be the final determinant in whether or not such bill could go through." And President Donald Trump has said that no bill will meet his approval unless it contains his "four pillars": funding for the border wall, the end of the diversity visa lottery, a switch from family-based immigration to merit-based immigration and a solution for DACA recipients. McConnell's decision to have a shell bill on the floor was not made because Congress lacks other options. Republicans have introduced several bills to try to resolve the immigration impasse, among them the Senate's RAISE Act and the House's Secure America's Future Act — both of which call for comprehensive immigration reform and have Trump's support. Nowrasteh said no proposed legislation has a chance of getting the 60 votes needed to pass. He said another bill, the United and Securing America Act introduced in the House, is a "much more modern" approach to immigration. This narrow bill would give DACA recipients a chance to apply for permanent residency in the U.S. while also increasing funds for border security. A companion bill was introduced Tuesday in the Senate — and almost instantly was rejected by Trump. But Nowrasteh was no more optimistic about these bills: "There's not going to be a bill that's passed that resolves this issue." 'Really interesting' week Debate begins a week before the Senate's February recess and just a few weeks before March 5, when DACA recipients' protection will begin to phase out. It is going to be a "really interesting" week," Pierce said, noting that the senators' amendments could have serious consequences for many people. And while almost 700,000 undocumented young people are protected by DACA, many others aren't. "The Migration Policy Institute has estimated that there are 3.6 million individuals who are in the United States, who are unauthorized, who were brought back here under the age of 18," Pierce said. So, any bill, according to Pierce, is going to be addressing a subgroup of that population. Other factors that concern her are what kinds of benefits might be extended to the young undocumented population. "Will it be a path to legal status and citizenship or will it simply be an extension of this temporary nonlegal status that they currently hold? … So, in one week of debate, are they really going to be able to solve that issue? I think that's very much an open question," Pierce said.


text:
The Latest NDA News
Unique Value Proposition Panel Includes Notre Dame Academy
by Joann Meyer | Apr 19, 2021 | 2020/2021
As an alumni school in the Healey Education Foundation's Advancement Methodology, Notre Dame Academy leadership was invited to participate on a panel for the April HealeyEd Talk. The panel focused on defining a school's unique value proposition and communicating that...
Solar Suitcases Arrive in Kenya
by Joann Meyer | Mar 25, 2021 | 2020/2021
Last year before the pandemic, students in Mr. Dargis's 7th grade Science class built solar suitcases as part of their STEM lessons. Thanks to a grant from the We Share Solar program, our students learned about solar energy, built the kits, tested them, and then...
Play tickets are now on sale!
Our middle school students were on stage all last week and are very excited to share the story of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with you! While we are saddened by the fact that we cannot invite you to a live show this year, we are grateful we could...
Screenagers Film Series
Parents: did you, like myself, come of age before the advent of the smartphone? I'm still unclear if that makes me an "old millennial" or a "Gen-Xer", but what I do know is that my wife and I not infrequently sense that we are gazing into an abyss of our digital...
Support the NDA Play and Local Businesses
by Joann Meyer | Feb 26, 2021 | 2020/2021
Middle School Play Notre Dame Academy's gym is currently transforming into a theater as construction & painting have begun with the set that will host our middle schoolers in their virtual performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. We invite your...
Catholic Schools Week Service Project
Coin War Results The coins have been counted and we have exciting news! NDA brought in over $3,700 for our friends at Risen Christ! Small things definitely added up and their families are grateful for your generosity. Next Thursday, February 25th, will be our all...
Math League Success!
NDA's Math League was full of success this year! Although many aspects were different, team successes were a constant. Our five virtual meets were held starting all the way back in September and concluded this past week. We have been practicing every Tuesday for an...
A message from our Development Director
by Joann Meyer | Feb 8, 2021 | 2020/2021
I am overwhelmed by the response to our third annual Day of Giving. In just 24 short hours, the Notre Dame community came together to raise $17,000. Thank you! The tremendous success of this campaign paves the way for NDA to begin a new, proactive, and planned...
Why Catholic Schools?
It's Catholic Schools Week!! Question: why Catholic Schools? Answer: Well how about another question: what is it like to transfer 4 children into Notre Dame Academy during the middle of the pandemic? Here I can be frank: transitioning a family of four children out of...
NDA Plans Catholic Schools Week Dress Up Days
by Joann Meyer | Jan 29, 2021 | 2020/2021


These problems invite the obvious question: What should be done about the small group market?Past scholarship on the small group market has largely focused on documenting the market's problems, evaluating the effectiveness of prior reform efforts, and proposing regulatory changes to stabilize the market.
There is very little chance of you recovering your money. Although you want to get the cheapest price available, you do need to be careful. Keep your wits about you, so you don't risk choosing a policy which will end up costing you more money than it's really worth. What to Avoid You should avoid car repair insurance companies that market heavily with scare tactic promotional materials. Those who send the cards in the mail or make the ominous telephone calls warning that your factory warranty is about to expire, often have the highest rates for the least amount of coverage. Also avoid pre paid service contracts sold by commissioned third party salespeople. These salespeople often have no concern about whether or not you get good service. Also, these policies often have many exclusions in their coverage, and may not be accepted by your auto shop. This increases the cost of the policy. Car repair insurance can be a lifesaver if your transmission fails, or an engine seizes. However, purchasing this coverage from the wrong company can mean paying excessive rates that make it inefficient and not cost effective.
I Have No Say How Repairs Are Done That is not entirely true.
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November 23, 2011 auto insurance quotes tx The insurance certificate or cover note issued by the insurance company constitutes the only legal evidence that the policy to which the certificate relates satisfies the requirements of the relevant law applicable in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Island of Guernsey, the Island of Jersey and the Island of Alderney.
November 21, 2011 auto insurance specialists phone Remember if you plan to file a lawsuit, each state has its own statues pertaining to how long you have to act, so you need to avoid unnecessary delays.
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There are different types of coverage at different costs for limited or full coverage.
: A comprehensive Car Insurance policy for your car that keeps it secure against damage caused by natural and man made calamities, including acts of terrorism.
In the vast majority of those claims, one or more insurance policies and/or applicable state law grants the insurer a right of subrogation against a negligent third party whose carelessness caused the accident.


text:
Q: Problem getting the most recent uploaded videos of a channel using the YouTube Data API V3 I am using the Google APIS explorer's youtube.playlistItems.list.
I've set the part parameter to "snippet", the maxResults to 10, the playlistId to UUzoVCacndDCfGDf41P-z0iA which is the uploads id for the JSConf YouTube channel (the channelId is UCzoVCacndDCfGDf41P-z0iA), but for some reason I don't see some of the recent videos uploaded on the channel. I assume maybe because the videos are not returned in a particular order?... if so, how can I can make sure that I get the most recent uploaded videos that corresponds to a specific maxResults value that I specify?
Update: the API works just fine with other channels & the videos are even returned in order which is what I would expect...

A: Please note the fact that the PlaylistItems endpoint queried for the uploads list of a channel produces an items list which is ordered by videoPublishedAt. But the items themselves contains publishedAt datetime properties attached.

videos#snippet.publishedAt (datetime)
The date and time that the video was published. Note that this time might be different than the time that the video was uploaded. For example, if a video is uploaded as a private video and then made public at a later time, this property will specify the time that the video was made public.

Then the output obtained is fact correct:
$ youtube-data \
--playlist=UUzoVCacndDCfGDf41P-z0iA --videos \
--max-results=20 --page=- \
--table --relative-date
09V_JAGTs2E   2   days 14  hours ago    What Tamagotchis Can Teach You About...
Mnc8ck_DuaE   2   days 14  hours ago    How (Not) to Fail at Accessibility -...
UM-RhglTyKA   2   days 14  hours ago    GraphQL, the Domain Way - Thais Corr...
NdKAUXAvt8E   2   days 14  hours ago    The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Guid...
g3jwd0kAIDU   2   days 14  hours ago    Improving React Native Performance i...
HkRrJvvnlvU   2   days 14  hours ago    JSParty Live at JSConf Hawaii 2019 o...
I4ugdJRCj9Q   2   days 14  hours ago    Building Up the Electron Project: Te...
F4G2i4eS7x0   2   days 14  hours ago    How to Make Your Website Not Ugly - ...
LFUnn-8IAjQ   2   days 14  hours ago    Where Did All My Servers Go? - Garth...
VGcqkF2XDgA   2   days 14  hours ago    Navigating Unconscious Bias - Emily ...
el9fhSbby5E   2   days 14  hours ago    JavaScript is AsynchroWAT? - Crystal...
JybbgAz3meQ   2   days 14  hours ago    How to Calculate the Phase of the Mo...
_0ij8vY2gzE  11  hours  4   mins ago    Music and Art with ML by Monica Dinc...
Zyoztl_7l7g   5   days 13  hours ago    Navigating the Wild Seas of Native E...
ZMZMMuXRFcE   1    day 11  hours ago    Web Components and the AOM by Léoni...
pEVGAn2qNtU   4   days 13  hours ago    Designing Components for Fun, Profit...
skml8SjOtKg   3   days 12  hours ago    Real World Problems - Internet beyon...
v2Au9Rlj6XM   6   days 14  hours ago    The Browser as a Modular, Networked ...
BBWMIxXqr-E   6   days 13  hours ago    Variable Fonts and the Flexible Natu...
aQBYAkaABkU   5   days 13  hours ago    artistic.css by Agnieszka Naplocha |...

If you want to obtain the latest published say 10 videos of a particular channel you should query the Search endpoint instead, passing to it proper parameters: channelId=..., maxResults=10 and order=date.
The output then would look like the one below:
$ youtube-data \
--channel=UCzoVCacndDCfGDf41P-z0iA --videos \
--max-results=10 --page=- \
--table
_0ij8vY2gzE  2019-06-27T02:44:21.000Z  Music and Art with ML by Monica Dincu...
Vk9bPDaZELQ  2019-06-26T12:10:11.000Z  Block, unblock, block! How ad blocker...
ZMZMMuXRFcE  2019-06-26T02:14:07.000Z  Web Components and the AOM by Léonie ...
GhRE3rML9t4  2019-06-25T14:14:55.000Z  CSS Houdini & The Future of Styling b...
JybbgAz3meQ  2019-06-24T22:54:47.000Z  How to Calculate the Phase of the Moo...
UM-RhglTyKA  2019-06-24T22:54:47.000Z  GraphQL, the Domain Way - Thais Corre...
g3jwd0kAIDU  2019-06-24T22:54:47.000Z  Improving React Native Performance in...
I4ugdJRCj9Q  2019-06-24T22:54:47.000Z  Building Up the Electron Project: Tea...
el9fhSbby5E  2019-06-24T22:54:46.000Z  JavaScript is AsynchroWAT? - Crystal ...
NdKAUXAvt8E  2019-06-24T22:54:46.000Z  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Guide...

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I am interested in the question, "How do we explore the role of the unconscious in making images?" I am influenced by the work of Duane Michaels, Gijon Mili, and Man Ray and their use of double exposure and layered imagery. While those artists used people in their images, I prefer the structure of architecture and backdrop of nature. I like to include the restraint of time in my images. I use images that are taken on the same day, to capture a snapshot of my experience not just a moment in time. I start by merging groups of images I have taken on the computer. It is difficult to predict or visualize the outcome, so I am have to rely on my intuition and my photographic experience. I crop, twist, adjust, paint, erase, move/remove, until something new and complete appears.
Richard Skoonberg was born in Oakland, California, in 1951. Richard Skoonberg currently works as an instructional designer developing web-based training. In the past, he has been a video producer-director, a commercial photographer, writer, and actor. He has studied photography under Chip Simone, Don Gianatti, and Vilem Kriz. He has a BA in Dramatic Art from University of California, Berkeley, and MS in Instructional Systems from Florida State University.


Division A - Military Construction Appropriations FY2001; Division B - Supplemental Appropriations FY2000; Division C - Cerro Grande Fire assistance.
H.Res.502 Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4425) making appropriations for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, and for other purposes. Procedurally-related: H.Res.502 is a House rule related to H.R.4425 House 05/16/2000 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
S.2521 An original bill making appropriations for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, and for other purposes. Companion bill Senate 05/18/2000 Indefinitely postponed by Senate by Unanimous Consent.


ERRORto the Supreme Court of the State of Louisiana.
Morris Ranger recovered, May 1, 1874, against the city of New Orleans certain judgments. To enforce the collection of them, he instituted, June 21, 1879, this proceeding, in the name of the State on his relation in the Third District Court of the Parish of Orleans, for a peremptory mandamus to compel the mayor and administrators of the city to levy and collect a special tax sufficient in amount to satisfy the judgments.
'1st, That the judgments which are made the basis of this mandamus proceeding were rendered for the amounts-principal, interest, and costs- and at the dates stated in the petition, and had for their basis bonds issued by the city of New Orleans in 1854, to the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad Company, and New Orleans, Opelousas, and Great Western Railroad Company.
'2d, That writs of fieri facias were issued on said judgments, and after demand made upon the city were returned nulla bona, and that the city has no property liable to seizure and sale.
'3d, That said judgments have never been registered in accordance with the provisions of the act of 1870.
The remaining facts and the statute bearing upon the case are set forth in the opinion of the court. [102 U.S. 203, 204] Mr. D. C. Labatt for the plaintiff in error.
This case comes here from the Supreme Court of Louisiana. On the 1st of May, 1874, the relator recovered in one of the courts of that State against the city of New Orleans, two judgments, amounting in the aggregate to $170,000, besides costs. Upon these judgments executions were issued and returned unsatisfied, after demand upon the officers of the city to point out property belonging to it subject to seizure, to be levied upon to satisfy the same. The relator thereupon presented a petition to the Third District Court of the Parish of Orleans, setting forth these facts and averring that it was the duty of the mayor and administrators of the city to provide for the payment [102 U.S. 203, 205] of the judgments by levying and collecting a tax for that purpose; but that they refused to do this; and that he was unable to satisfy the judgments by the ordinary process of execution. He therefore prayed for an order upon the mayor and administrators to show cause why a writ of mandamus should not issue to compel them to levy and collect a tax to satisfy the judgments.
The order to show cause was granted, and upon its return the respondents filed a peremptory exception to the relator's demand, denying that he was entitled to the relief prayed; but the District Court granted the writ. Its judgment was, on appeal to the Supreme Court of the State, reversed and a decree entered dismissing the petition. The case was then brought here.
The city authorities resisted the demand of the relator for the mandamus, on the ground that he had not registered his judgments as required by the provisions of the act No. 5 of 1870. That act divests the courts of the State of authority to allow any summary process or mandamus against the officers of the city of New Orleans to compel the issue and delivery of any order or warrant for the payment of money, or to enforce the payment of money claimed to be due from it to any person or corporation; and requires proceedings for the recovery of money claimed to be owing by the city to be conducted in the ordinary form of action against the corporation, and not against any department, branch, or officer thereof. The act also provides that no writ of execution or fieri facias shall issue against the city, but that a final judgment against it, which has become executory, shall have the effect of fixing the amount of the plaintiff's demand, and that he may cause a certified copy of it, with his petition and the defendant's answer and the clerk's certificate that it has become executory, to be filed in the office of the controller, and that thereupon it shall be the duty of the controller or auditing officer to cause the same to be registered, and to issue a warrant upon the treasurer or disbursing officer of the corporation for the amount due thereon, without any specific appropriation therefor, provided there be sufficient money in the treasury specially designated and set apart for that purpose in the annual budget or detailed statement of [102 U.S. 203, 206] items of liability and expenditure pursuant to the existing or a subsequent law.
The Supreme Court of the State, whilst observing that the act might contain provisions which, if invoked, would be considered unconstitutional, held that, so far as it required the registry of judgments before payment, it was valid; that this requirement was a wise and useful provision, tending to restrain and check the reckless levy of taxes, and affording in a compact form a correct knowledge of the city's liabilities; that it was made in the interest of economy and the orderly conduct of the city's affairs, and neither took away any pre-existing right nor rendered less effective any pre-existing remedies, and that the relator was, therefore, premature in his action; that he should first register his judgments, and then, if payment was not made or adequately provided for in the next levy, he might proceed to enforce it.
The relator, on the other hand, assails the constitutionality of the act in question, contending that it impairs the obligation of his contracts with the city, the validity of which by the judgments thereon is not open to question, in that it compels him to do acts, preliminary to the payment of his judgments, not required when the contracts were made, and deprives him of his remedy by mandamus; and cites numerous decisions of this court, and of the State courts, upon the nature and extent of the constitutional inhibition against the impairment of contracts by State legislation. These decisions are familiar to us.
The obligation of a contract, in the constitutional sense, is the means provided by law by which it can be enforced,-by which the parties can be obliged to perform it. Whatever [102 U.S. 203, 207] legislation lessens the efficacy of these means impairs the obligation. If it tend to postpone or retard the enforcement of the contract, the obligation of the latter is to that extent weakened. The Latin proverb, qui cito dat bis dat,-he who gives quickly gives twice,-has its counterpart in a maxim equally sound,-qui serius solvit, minus solvit,-he who pays too late, pays less. Any authorization of the postponement of payment, or of means by which such postponement may be effected, is in conflict with the constitutional inhibition. If, therefore, we could see that such would be the effect of the provision of the act of the State, No. 5 of 1870, requiring judgments to be registered with the controller before they are paid, we should not hesitate to declare the provision to be invalid. But we are not able to see anything in the requirement which impedes the collection of the relator's judgments, or prevents his resort to other remedies, if their payment be not obtained. The registry is a convenient means of informing the city authorities of the extent of the judgments and that they have become executory, to the end that proper steps may be taken for their payment. It does not impair existing remedies.
We do not know, from anything in the record before us, that there are any other judgments against the city of New Orleans than the two obtained by the relator, or that the city is indebted in any other sum; nor can we say that there are not ample means already in the treasury of the city of their payment, and that, upon their registry, a warrant for the amount will not be at once issued and paid. If the money be already in the treasury appropriated for their payment, or if provision be made for the levy and collection of taxes sufficient to pay them, it cannot be justly said that the relator is delayed in enforcing them by being required to place a certified copy of the judgments with the controller of the city before getting a warrant on its treasury for the amount due him. If such warrant, when obtained, be not paid, or provision be not made for its payment upon the meeting of the city council, the relator can pursue further remedies for the collection of his judgments.


thiourea non toxic methods of gold is a gold extraction of new technology, china has used this method to handle the re election of gold concentrate and flotation gold concentrate. however, this process still exists the problem of higher costs.
the goldfish method is similar to the soxhlet method except that the extraction chamber is designed so that the solvent just trickles through the sample rather than building up around it.
· the liquid chemical (i.e. the gold complex solution) after it reaches a high enough gold concentration, is transferred into a precipitation chamber in the first methods, or to an electro extraction chamber in the second method.
· extraction process of gold (au) and silver (ag) generally, extraction process of all metal always include the comminution (size reduction)to liberate achieve mineral. the next process of gold extraction from hydrometallurgy route is leaching.
synthesis of metal colloids preparation of 2.5 x 10‐4 m gold colloids (sodium citrate reduction method) 1. make a solution of ~5.0 x 10‐3m haucl 4 in water. (0.1699 g haucl4 in 100 ml deionized h2o) 2.


text:
Кошь () — деревня в Мстиславском районе Могилёвской области Белоруссии. Входит в состав Ракшинского сельсовета.

География
Деревня находится в северо-восточной части Могилёвской области, в пределах Оршанско-Могилёвской равнины, к югу от автодороги , на расстоянии примерно 20 километров (по прямой) к западу от Мстиславля, административного центра района. Абсолютная высота — 201 метр над уровнем моря.

История
В конце XVIII века деревня входила в состав Мстиславского воеводства Великого княжества Литовского. Имелась православная церковь.

Согласно «Списку населенных мест Могилёвской губернии» 1910 года издания населённый пункт являлся центром Кошского сельского общества Долговичской волости Чериковского уезда Могилёвской губернии. Имелось 46 дворов и проживало 264 человека (118 мужчин и 146 женщин).

Население
По данным переписи 2009 года, в деревне проживало 24 человека.

Транспорт
Имеется одноимённый остановочный пункт железнодорожной линии Орша — Унеча Белорусской железной дороги.

Примечания

Населённые пункты Мстиславского района

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Kim Dotcom on extradition, government spying and fighting for the freedom of the internet
by Paul Sawers — in Insider
It has no doubt been a long few years for Kim Dotcom, the founder of file-sharing service Mega who's currently being chased by the music labels and movie studios, and battling extradition with US authorities over copyright infringement claims around his now-defunct Megaupload company.
Despite some victories in the ongoing pursuit, Dotcom still finds himself at the center of a case that claims he cost the entertainment industry around $500 million. With his lawyers recently jumping ship after Dotcom ran out of money, the extradition case has been pushed back to June as he strives to build a new defence team, though he has a bail hearing coming up on Thursday that will determine whether he will have to go to jail pending the outcome of the main hearing later this year.
Speaking via video-link at the unBound Digital conference in London yesterday from his home in New Zealand, Dotcom was quick to remind those present that this may well be his last ever 'public' appearance as a free man. And that really might not be an exaggeration either.
Besides his own struggles, Dotcom didn't pull his punches when discussing everything from the US government and surveillance, to encryption and losing faith in the legal system.
Here's what he had to say.
Smooth criminal
Permeating Dotcom's grievances throughout was a constant reference to his case being treated as a criminal one, rather than as a civil matter. Remember the circus that erupted around Dotcom's 'capture' from his mansion in New Zealand, involving members of the 'Elite Special Tactics Group' landing by helicopter? It was certainly something you'd more likely associate with the ensnaring of an international drug-trafficking cartel, than a cloud-storage company facilitating the sharing of files.
"I'm an easy target because of my flamboyance – I live a big life, I have a great lifestyle, so when you travel around with super yachts and private jets and so on, that's probably not the best way to keep a low profile," explains Dotcom, somewhat matter-of-factly. "Of course, the websites (including Megaupload) were based in Hong Kong, it was not a US-based company, and we had a significant amount of traffic completely out with the control of the US government."
There are two sides to the overarching debate – one being that Dotcom and his team merely provided the cloud-based tools to facilitate the sharing of files, and what the users do with the technology is up to them.
Dotcom compared his case with many other high-profile ones – namely the rise of video and the now famous Sony Betamax ruling. The crux? Movie studios thought these new-fangled devices would kill the movie industry with piracy. However, there are legitimate and illegitimate uses for all technology. In the so-called Betamax case, which saw Universal City Studios challenge Sony in 1983-84, the US Supreme Court ruled that copying from TV onto video cassette constituted fair use, and was thus permitted.
Dotcom has also compared digital services such as Megaupload to the postal service – the latter can also be used for illegal purposes, but should that mean we close the postal service down? It seems it was this way of thinking that caught Dotcom off-guard.
"We all thought this (precedent) would apply to us too, we are a dual-use technology – yes, people can use Megaupload to upload a movie and share it, but we have always taken it down," he says. "We have a 100 percent takedown compliance, we gave Hollywood studios direct access so they could remove things they thought were infringing on their material. So for us, all of this is incredible that this is even possible. It's the same story we have with Iraq and weapons of mass destruction – 'either you're with us or against us'.
"The US government is using their power and abusing their power and lying out of their teeth, the maliciousness of this case and how they've constructed it, and indictments and the lies that are in there and the messages that have taken out of context. It's just so dirty now. There are no ethics any more, I lost my faith in law and the judicial system."
Then there's the other side of the coin, those on the authorities' side who clearly differentiate Megaupload from the likes of Dropbox and other legitimate cloud-based services.
Steven Fabrizio, the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) senior executive vice president and global general counsel, said in a statement earlier this year:
"Megaupload wasn't a cloud storage service at all, it was an unlawful hub for mass distribution. To be clear, if a user uploaded his term paper to store it, he got nothing – and, in fact, unless he was a paying subscriber, Megaupload would delete the paper if it was not downloaded frequently enough. But if that same user uploaded a stolen full-length film that was repeatedly infringed, he was paid for his efforts.
That's not a storage facility; that's a business model designed to encourage theft – and make its owners very rich in the process. There's nothing new or innovative about that. That's just a profiteer using existing technology to try to get rich off of someone else's hard work."
As you'd expect, Dotcom disagrees with this assertion, and even went on to launch his follow-up service called Mega last year, which he says now has 15 million registered users. He also says that the ongoing legal matters have technically left him penniless, though that is in large because he has transferred his new assets to his family.
"As of today, I don't own a single share in Mega – the family trust that controls the shares is now completely in the control of my wife (now separated), and my five children are all beneficiaries," says Dotcom. "Hollywood has tried to attack the new assets (from Mega) that were generated after the raid – as you know, the US government has seized everything that was created up until the raid, all monies, all valuables were seized in all different jurisdictions. So I'm officially broke just now."
As the saying goes, hindsight is a wonderful thing. So is there anything that Dotcom might have done differently, to side-step the precarious predicament he now finds himself in?
"Of course I would've done things differently, you always learn from things that happen in your life," he says. "My biggest regret is that I didn't take the threat of the copyright lobby, and the MPAA, serious enough. I thought that because of court decisions that we have been monitoring with our competitors like RapidShare, and other sites that did exactly what we did and winning, where YouTube was winning against Viacom. Our sense was that we were protected by the DMCA, and by the law that there are cases that have been ruled on are in our favor. Never for a minute did I think that anyone would bring criminal action against us."
It's all too easy to side with someone who's potentially facing up to 88 years in prison – "that's what my indictment says" [- Kim Dotcom] – when they're not inherently an evil person. But just in case the gathering today was in any doubt as to who's in the right and who's in the wrong, Dotcom frequently guided the discussion back to the hot topic of internet freedom.
"We know from Edward Snowden and the NSA leaks that there is a massive surveillance apparatus currently in place that is watching everything we do in the digital world," says Dotcom. "There is a copyright lobby that is trying to work with governments to protect their property in a very aggressive fashion – almost in a very extremist fashion – where it's all about shutting websites down and putting people in jail for things that were being treated like parking tickets ten years ago.
"On the other side we have ISPs, broadband providers, the large telcos that connect us with the internet, trying to establish a two-class system where paying customers get faster, better quality internet whereas everyone else is on the slow lane."
Yes, Dotcom says that internet freedom around the world is under attack, which has gone some way towards "radicalizing" him. So much so, he launched his own political movement called the Internet Party in New Zealand, but it didn't meet the 5 percent threshold required to have any real impact. "We're trying to take the Internet Party global and fight for internet freedom and provide citizenry with a tool to fight back against our rights being undermined," says Dotcom.
Meanwhile, there's one thing we should all be doing in the fight against government snooping, according to Dotcom.
"Now that we know that the governments are spying on us and trying to restrict our freedoms and control us, we can create and use technologies to prevent that – the best of course is encryption," he says. "Communicating encrypted, and surfing the Web encrypted. When you upload files in Mega, they are fully encrypted – you don't even have to install anything, it just happens. That's why people like it. You're seeing more and more of these technologies from all kinds of different companies."
The next six months or so will be pivotal in the future of Kim Dotcom. Will he go to jail in New Zealand? Will he be extradited and face decades behind bars in the US? Will Mega remain and continue to grow as a business? Only time will tell.
But Dotcom did have some hypothetical words of wisdom when asked what advice he'd mete out to his own kids (he has five), knowing what he knows now: "Don't launch a cloud-storage service…become a lawyer," he said, perhaps only half-jokingly.
Read next: Skype for Android now lets you hold video calls while multitasking on your phone


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text:
Engineering Research Centers
One of the current challenges to the progress of knowledge is the complexity of the problems addressed, often requiring longer periods than the two to five years of funding traditionally offered by FAPESP in the form of Regular Research Grants and Thematic Projects, or the typical projects supported by FAPESP's Research Partnership for Technological Innovation Program (PITE).
Long-term funding and interdisciplinary approaches in many cases permit successful treatment of complex problems. For this reason FAPESP created its Special Program for Research, Innovation & Dissemination Centers (RIDCs), which supports long-term research projects. While a bold approach is called for to surmount these challenges, at the same time identifying the problems often requires partnering with companies or government entities that are directly linked to society.
FAPESP's Engineering Research Center Program uses the successful model of the Special Program for RIDCs and associates it with PITE, in which a partner firm co-funds the research and is strongly motivated to participate in defining the focal themes to be investigated, to play an active role in research projects, and to use the results obtained by the Engineering Research Center concerned.
The most important feature of an Engineering Research Center's action plan is the multiplicity of its missions. The primary mission that grounds its activities is to execute complex research projects at the knowledge frontier, oriented to problems and in pursuit of well-defined results that help form a world-class research center during its existence. In addition, the ERC's internationally competitive core research team must develop effective means to transfer technology, promote education, and disseminate knowledge.
The complexity of executing an ERC's action plan requires long-term funding and autonomy in the use of resources. This in turn requires a strong institutional link to the co-funding partner and suitable means for rigorous oversight of its activities.
In sum, an ERC supported by FAPESP must demonstrate:
a) World-class research at the knowledge frontier, fundamental or application-oriented, in both cases actively exploring opportunities to contribute to problem solving and to produce well-defined results with demonstrable potential to create a social impact and technological innovation;
b) Knowledge transfer to the partner firm and society including the business sector, the non-governmental sector and/or the public sector. Examples of valuable achievements along these lines include:
b.1 Projects executed in partnership with companies or governmental or non-governmental entities responsible for public policy. These projects may benefit from FAPESP's Research Partnership for Technological Innovation Program (PITE) or its Public Policy Research Program (PPP).
b.2 Creation of startups to incorporate the results of research performed by the center into products or services. These small enterprises may benefit from FAPESP's Small Business Innovation Research Program (PIPE).
c) Interaction with the education system, especially primary and high schools, for example, via FAPESP's Public Education Improvement Program.
The premise on which a project such as an Engineering Research Center is based and that orients its activities is the execution of internationally competitive research in accordance with global excellence benchmarks . The above objectives flow from this research activity.
Composition of the Engineering Research Center's team of researchers
A key driver of success for an ERC is the existence of a team whose composition balances Principal Investigators, Senior Researchers, Visiting Researchers, Postdoctoral Researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and technical support personnel, backed by first-class administrative and management services, which must be guaranteed by the host institution or institutions.
Besides world-class excellence, the existence of an ERC must be justified by all and each of the following reasons:
a) The complexity of the problems to be researched, which in many cases (but possibly not all) may require a multidisciplinary approach;
b) The scale and duration of the research activities to be performed;
c) The need for continuous interaction among team members to achieve the center's scientific or technological goals, as well as knowledge transfer and dissemination.
The ERC's size, structure and modus operandi must be determined in accordance with the research, dissemination and knowledge transfer activities to be executed. In particular, the center ERC must be operated by a host institution. Partnerships with other institutions in São Paulo State will be seen as a factor that valorizes the proposal and may be essential to make the proposal more robust.
The ERC's research activities must have a single common scientific or technological focus. A well-defined mission and a vision statement that shows how the mission will be accomplished are also required. The program is not designed to fund institutions, so that research divisions, departments, units and institutions as such will not be supported. The ERC's activities will be funded for a period limited to ten years, with evaluations and their potential consequences during this period. The funds allocated may be used with a substantial degree of autonomy. In exchange, FAPESP and the partner company will permanently monitor and periodically evaluate the ERC's activities.
Each ERC must be run by an Executive Committee (ExCom) comprising the Director (the Principal Investigator named in the proposal submitted to FAPESP), the Vice Director (the Principal Investigator named by the partner firm and affiliated with the host institution as a Visiting Researcher), the Education & Knowledge Dissemination Coordinator, and the Technology Transfer Coordinator. ExCom must be assisted by managers – professionals hired by the host institution to perform and oversee all the managerial and administrative tasks necessary to the ERC's functioning.
Expected benefits of Engineering Research Centers
ERCs help make the research environment in universities and/or research institutions broader and more connected to society, so that undergraduates and graduates are better trained and new themes of advanced research are covered.
For companies, partnering with universities creates continuous interaction that encourages them to tackle new challenges and stay in touch with the knowledge frontier.
For São Paulo State, the agreements between FAPESP and partner firms in the ERC program result in more scientific and technological development, fueling business competitiveness and reinforcing the creation of a climate that stimulates technological innovation in the state.
In the current stage, ERCs are selected in public calls for proposals agreed between FAPESP and the associated companies. Consultations from university executives may exceptionally be received if they represent special opportunities for ERCs that match the above description. Each consultation is analyzed, and the university executive concerned is notified of a decision to receive a complete proposal.
A complexidade da execução do plano de pesquisa de um Centro de Pesquisa em Engenharia requer financiamento de longo prazo e autonomia no uso de recursos.
Bolsa de PD em Física aplicada a Problemas Ambientais no RCGI – Inscrições até 30-01-2022
Bolsa de PD em Ciência e Engenharia de Serviço no RCGI – Inscrições até 31-01-2022
Bolsa de PD em Ciência de Dados e Instrumentação no RCGI – Inscrições até 31-01-2022
Bolsa de PD em Engenharia em Reservatórios e Gerenciamento de Produção no EPIC – Inscrições até 10-02-2022
Editais de constituição
Centro de Inovação Offshore Chamada de Propostas FAPESP/MCTI-MC/CGI.BR para Centros de Pesquisa Aplicada em Inteligência Artificial (CPAs-IA) – 2021 Centro de Pesquisa de Plasticultura Centro de Pesquisa em Engenharia em Novos Alvos Terapêuticos em Oncologia Centro de Pesquisa de Engenharia em Inteligência Artificial Centro de Excelência em Controle BiológicoCentro de Inovação em Novas Energias Centro em Pesquisa em Engenharia Prof. Urbano Ernesto Stumpf Centro de Excelência para Descoberta de Alvos Moleculares Centro de Pesquisa Aplicada em Bem-Estar e Comportamento Humano Centro de Excelência para Pesquisa em Química Sustentável Centro de Pesquisa para Inovação em Gases de Efeito Estufa
Publicação reúne informações gerais sobre os CPEs e seus principais temas de pesquisa (em inglês)
Revista Pesquisa FAPESP Agência FAPESP
Método simples, limpo e escalável permite obter material promissor para a geração de energia renovável
Estudo permite aprimorar programas de machine learning para predição de propriedades de materiais
Avança o desenvolvimento de baterias com maior capacidade de armazenar energia
Novos laboratórios da USP buscam soluções para captura de CO2 no pré-sal e estocagem de energia solar
FAPESP Instrumentos de fomento Chamadas de propostas Oportunidades de bolsas Equipamentos multiusuários Boas práticas científicas Publicações Sobre a FAPESP Converse com a FAPESP
Outros sites FAPESP Agência FAPESP Biblioteca Virtual CEPID Eventos FAPESP na mídia Pesquisa para Inovação Revista Pesquisa FAPESP


Another trip to Oxford, this time to look around the City Centre. Again went with the camera club, Northolt & District Photographic Society.
London Appreciation Society visit to the Croxley Great Barn, and a walk around Rickmansworth.
Joined my local camera club (Northolt & District Photographic Society) for a little trip to Oxford to see the Waterperry Gardens. After 6 or more weeks of hot weather, some of the grass was brown, but the flowers were still out and looked great.
Greenwich was host for some Tall Ships over the last few days. They were just asking to be photographed, so I obliged.


Companies providing accommodation solutions for the marine and offshore industry. Services include consultation, design, and construction of accommodation areas onboard vessels. Conversion of vessels for accommodation-specific purposes is also possible. Turnkey solutions are also possible, wherein provision of accommodation is wholly outsourced.


Turn your garden into a season long learning experience with the Garden Observation Journal, perfect for preschool and early elementary-aged children. Includes cover and over 20 customized pages for vegetables, fruit, flowers and blank page for additional options. Downloadable upon purchase. NOT available as printed journal.
Turn your garden in a complete learning experience with the Garden Observation Journal. Record the date you plant, first see sprouts, once plant reaches maturity and when the final vegetable, flower or fruit first appears. Let your child depict each stage of the plants life, or even clip and paste samples of each seed and leaf into your journal. Finally, record the harvest from each plant!
Includes over 20 different pages for a variety of vegetables and fruits, including a blank heading page for flowers and a blank page to add as many of your own vegetables as you need. Includes pages for beets, broccoli, butternut squash, carrots, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, melon, peas, chili peppers, red, green and yellow bell peppers, pumpkin, radish, squash, tomatoes, watermelon, and zucchini.
And now, with *FREE* Cricut print and cut seedling markers!
See the Garden Observation Journal in action in our Preschool Garden Journal post!


Libero Grassi, a Palermo clothing manufacturer, died on this day in 1991, shot three times in the head as he walked from his home to his car in Via Vittorio Alfieri, a street of apartment buildings not far from the historic centre, at 7.30am.
It was a classic Mafia hit to which there were no witnesses, at least none prepared to come forward. Such killings were not uncommon in the Sicilian capital as rival clans fought for control of different neighbourhoods.
Yet this one was different in that 67-year-old Grassi had no connection with the criminal underworld apart from his brave decision to stand up to their demands for protection money and refuse to pay.
Grassi owned a factory making underwear, which he sold in his own shop. He employed 100 workers and his business had a healthy turnover. In a struggling economy, he was doing very well.
Of course, the Mafia wanted their cut. Grassi began receiving demands, first by telephone, then in person, that he fall in line with other Palermo businesses and pay a pizzo, the term used for the monthly payment the mob collects from businesses in the city in a racket worth today in the region of €160 million a year.
The penalties imposed for not paying range from vandalism or arson directed at business premises to physical harm and even death. It is little wonder than an estimated 80 per cent of businesses comply, each paying around €500 per month.
But Grassi decided he would not pay. Indeed, he was so outraged by the practice routinely accepted as normal that in January 1991 he wrote an open letter in a Palermo daily newspaper denouncing the Mafia and proudly telling the city of his stand. He also gave the names of his would-be extortionists to the police, as a result of which five members of the Mafia were arrested.
Grassi was hailed as a hero by the Mayor of Palermo and attracted widespread media attention, even appearing on national television. Yet within the business community there was little support. In fact, Grassi found himself shunned and isolated for attracting headlines that his fellow traders felt did damage to the image of the Palermo business community.
Meanwhile, the Mafia continued to make demands and Grassi continued to dismiss them, despite his shop being broken into and subjected to a failed arson attack. Eventually, he paid the ultimate price.
After the killing, a protest movement began, initially a spontaneous demonstration involving 10,000 people taking to the streets, eventually leading to the formation in Sicily of the Addiopizzo movement, which encouraged businesses to resist extortion demands and consumers to buy only from shops on a "pizzo-free" list.
Following gestures of support for Grassi's stand that included a five-hour TV special hosted by Maurizio Costanzo and Michele Santoro, two of Italy's best known presenters, the police eventually charged Salvatore Madonia, the son of the head of Palermo's Resuttana crime family, with his murder.
With the help of evidence from a "supergrass", Madonia, his father Francesco and 28 other mobsters were convicted of around 60 murders, including Grassi.
His widow, Pina, and two children, Davide and Alice, put up a placard on the spot where Libero was killed, denouncing not only the Mafia but also the business community that refused to support him and the politicians that sat on their hands rather than move to clamp down on illegal activities.
Today, anti-Mafia campaigners meet on Via Vittorio Alfieri every August 29 in a show of solidarity. The Palermo authorities have honoured Grassi by giving his name to a technical college and a station on the city's new metro.
Happily, visitors to Palermo would normally witness nothing to suggest that the criminal underworld exerts any influence on daily life. The Sicilian capital, on the northern coast of the island, is a vibrant city with a wealth of beautiful architecture bearing testament to a history of northern European and Arabian influences. The church of San Cataldo on Piazza Bellini is a good example of the fusion of Norman and Arabic architectural styles, having a bell tower typical of those common in northern France but with three spherical red domes on the roof.
Although Mount Etna typically has snow on its upper slopes in the winter, away from the mountainous regions Sicily has a particularly mild climate, with daytime temperatures even in December and January usually climbing above 10 degrees Celsius and rarely slipping below five degrees even at night. Palermo is the sunniest city in Italy with typical averages of between 10 and 14 hours of sunshine daily between April and September.


text:
Wake Up Smart
Awards: RSVP Internal Bronze
Nominee: ANZ National Bank
Entrant Credits: Jason Hall, Kathy Riley, Erin Gallacher, Sean Keaney
Nominee Credits: Matt Gardner, Matt Wooster, Mike Hansen, Kaye Francis
Getting staff in behind the launch of a VISA Debit card six years after their competitors was always going to be a challenge. They'd lost faith after a number of false starts and broken promises and they'd witnessed lots of their customers become tired of waiting and taking up other banks' cards. And it had to be launched in the month before Daffodil Day – when staff would be heavily involved in fundraising activity. VISA Debit was also not part of the staff incentive scheme so lateral thinking had to be used for getting the teams fired up.
But they were pivotal to the success of the Debit card and their support was needed.
So the campaign was all about them with the focus on turning the bank's largest sales force (front line staff) into advocates through a month-long programme of communication, surprises and incentives, which were delivered pre, during and post launch campaign, the likes of which they'd never experienced before.
The staff were made into Customers, treating them with the same precision, care and thought that is given to external campaigns.
Did it work? You bet it did!


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Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Summary & Analysis
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Summary…
There are many characters in The Jungle. These characters vary widely in their professions, social status, and economic status. The main character in the novel is a Lithuanian named Jurgis Rudkus. His wife is Ona Lukoszaite, also a Lithuanian. Their son is named Atanas. Mike Scully is a powerful political leader in Packingtown.
Phil Connor is a foreman in Packingtown, "politically connected", and a man who causes much trouble for Jurgis. Jack Duane is an experienced and educated criminal who is also "politically connected". A man called Ostrinski is a half-blind tailor who teaches Jurgis about Socialism. There are also the members of Ona's family, each of whom plays minor roles in the story.
The story opens with the feast at Jurgis and Ona's wedding in America but soon flashes back to the time before they left Lithuania. Jurgis met Ona at a horse fair and fell in love with her. Unfortunately, they were too poor to have a wedding, since Ona's father just died. In the hopes of finding freedom and fortune, they left for America, bringing many members of Ona's family with them.
After arriving in America, they are taken to Packingtown to find work. Packingtown is a section of Chicago where the meatpacking industry is centralized. They take a tour of the plant and see the unbelievable efficiency and speed at which hogs and cattle are butchered, cooked, packed, and shipped. In Packingtown, no part of the animal is wasted. The tour guide specifically says, "They use everything about the hog except the squeal."
Jurgis' brawny build quickly gets him a job on the cattle-killing beds. The other members of the family soon find jobs, except for the children. They are put into school. At first, Jurgis is happy with his job and America, but he soon learns that America is plagued by corruption, dishonesty, and bribery. He is forced to work at high speeds for long hours with low pay, and so is the rest of the family. He is cheated out of his money several times. The children must leave school and go to work to help the family survive. This means they will never receive the education they need to rise above this. Ona is not permitted to take a holiday, even for her own wedding.
After the birth of her first son, Antanas, Ona soon becomes pregnant again. She becomes very upset, but will not tell Jurgis why. After she fails to come home one night, Jurgis confronts her. She breaks into tears and tells Jurgis that a foreman named Connor has forced a sexual relationship on her. Jurgis curses her and runs off the find, Connor.
After beating Connor up, Jurgis is sent to jail for thirty days. The judge refuses to listen to Jurgis' story seriously. When Jurgis is released, he finds that his family has moved to an even poorer neighborhood, and Ona is in labor at that very moment. Neither the baby, nor Ona, who went into labor two months early, survive. Jurgis pulls himself together for the sake of Antanas and gets a job. When Antanas drowns in the mud-filled street, Jurgis gives up on Packingtown and his family. He hops aboard a passing train, and leaves Chicago.
Jurgis enjoys a "hobo" life, wandering across the country. When winter comes, he is forced to return to Chicago. He gets into a fight in a bar and is sent to jail. In jail, he meets Jack Duane, an experienced criminal. After being freed from jail, Jurgis and Duane team up in a luxurious, but risky life of crime. Jurgis learns about the connections between criminals, police, politics, and big business. He becomes a member of this complex network and moves into politics. He runs into Connor again and beats him up again. Connor's political connections cause Jurgis to lose all his acquired profits. Jurgis is back to wandering the streets.
To keep warm, Jurgis walks into a Socialist meeting. After the meeting, he is introduced to a man named Ostrinski, who teaches Jurgis about Socialism. Jurgis agrees completely with the political party's ideals and becomes an active member. As the story ends, the results of an election are being received. The novel concludes on a positive note, showing that the Socialist party made significant progress all across the country.
The Jungle is a novel that casts an evil light on America, business, and politics. It promotes the concept of Socialism, emphasizes corruption in our society, and makes wage-earners look like slaves.
Jurgis and his family moved from Lithuania to America, expecting a better life. Instead of telling a story about their success through hard work and dedication, Upton Sinclair tells a story about how they were cheated before they even got off the boat. During the passage to America, an agent appeared to be helping them but was really cheating them. After arriving, they were constantly cheated out of their money. The house they bought was a total fraud, full of hidden expenses. Many members of the family were able to get jobs only through bribery. Ona was exploited by Connor, who threatened to have her, Jurgis, and the rest of the family if she refused the relationship.
When Jurgis left Packingtown, he lived by thievery, selfishness, and bribery. When Jurgis switched to this amoral lifestyle, he finally became successful. The foreman of Packingtown also lived by corruption. They fired union members, cheated people out of their pay, and required "gifts" before hiring people. When a foreman's boss learned of this, he required "gifts" from the foreman to keep quiet. The police were also corrupt. They let robbers go, and demanded a percentage of what the robbers had taken. The politicians placed friends on the city payroll, accepted bribes from criminals, and bribed the police to avoid arrest.
In the book, anyone who earned a living through honesty and hard work was trapped in poverty. Anyone who lied and cheated to make a living was wealthy. This was the way the Capitalistic society was presented in the book. It showed that a hard worker was not rewarded, and was disposed of when he/she became a burden. The book portrayed an honest, hardworking lower class, and a dishonest, lazy upper class. No middle class was described.
Toward the end of the book, Upton Sinclair shows the reader how to solve Capitalism's problems: replace it with Socialism. The Socialist party is promoted as an international political party that will solve all of the world's problems. Every member of the party was told about the "Socialist revolution", when the entire planet would become Socialist. Not once does the book mention the possibility of failure. It even claimed Socialists would control the country by 1912.
The Socialists despised the concept of competition. They considered the commercial world to be the essence of corruption. The goal of the Socialist party in The Jungle was to end the corrupt and powerful Beef Trust.
The Jungle is more than an advertisement for Socialism. It describes the horrors of the meatpacking industry in great detail. People were forced to work from sunrise to after sunset. In the meat reserving plants, the floors were never dry. The workers would catch horrible foot diseases, causing them to loose
toes and eventually entire legs. The butchers would be forced to move at a blinding pace, often cutting themselves and others. They would still have to work though, or lose their job. Often, the wounds would become infected, and the butcher would die of blood poisoning.
The book discusses all the things that were being shipped out to the civilized world as "meat". Sausages were not really made out of sausage meat. They were mostly composed of "potato flour"; an odorless and tasteless potato extract with almost no food value. There were the cattle that had been fed "whiskey malt"; the refuse of breweries, These animals would become "steerly", or covered with boils.
"It was a nasty job-killing these, for when you plunged your knife into them they would burst and splash foul-smelling stuff in your face." According to law, diseased meat could not be sold out of the state. However, there were no laws restricting its sale inside the state. As a result, the tuberculosis-infected hog meat never left Packingtown. It was sold to the meat workers at inflated prices.
Another thing that shocked me while reading the novel was the cruelty to animals. The animals were packed in freight cars, and shipped across the country. Many of them died on the trip.
Once reaching Packingtown, each hog had a chain fastened around its leg, was hoisted into the air, and carried into a room where its throat was split. When the cattle reached Packingtown, they were stunned by electric shock and dropped onto a conveyor belt, where a man with a sledgehammer pierced their skulls. These animals existed in very poor conditions, especially the "steerly" cattle that developed boils.


Michael -- I was thinking you should upload your advanced forms DVD on YouTube and tag it with a Baker's studio promo. Thoughts?
Can I upload them to this website? Also, Ellen and I were talking about making some new videos. Would you be interested in helping to video them?
Couldn't make it to Tai Chi in time. I will not be able to make it this week (time issue) or next week (business travel).
See you in class Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Long time No Practice" when are you coming back to class.....we miss you!!!!
Just got back from Spain last night at 11 pm. I will be in class Monday!
There is a great tv documentary about Tae Kwon Do on channel 41 (csnca) if any of you get comcast cable. It's on again this sunday from 12-1. check it out. Great job on the lounge Lori!
Hi Jeff! Thanks for helping out with promotion.....you are worth your weight in gold!
Now that we can connect with facebook....how is it done? I'll try clicking the icon.
Can we upload videos to this website? I have a few of the TKD form videos.
Hi Michael! That would be great! Go to the albums tab. You can see the album we posted along with the youtube video that Mr. Hercules is in. You should also be able to post pics and videos.
Feels good to be training again after the holidays!
Sorry I was not able to take a look at your one-step sparring late night!
The new website looks great you guys!
Your new website is looking very good. Make sure to start using the lounge and dont forget to sync with Facebook.


10 years ago, Harwood Art Center opened its main gallery to my MFA thesis, Home Economics, when few other galleries around town were willing. I wanted to create a hand-made domestic interior and prepare and serve meals in the gallery throughout the month of September. Centering food in the gallery made many gallerists nervous, as it continues to do. I am grateful to Darby Photos, who directed Harwood's exhibitions at the time, for her forward thinking and open-mindedness. She accepted my exhibition proposal and introduced me to Harwood's head cook Robin, who ran a café at Harwood and prepared lunches for Escuela del Sol students. Robin allowed me to use her industrial kitchen in exchange for help preparing student lunches while she was on vacation.
As I explained in my 2008 gallery talk, I ripped the title for my exhibition from a collection of Wendell Berry's essays on community, education, agriculture, government, and economy by the same name. Having found Berry at a young age, his writing has informed my viewpoint, fears, and hopes as an American. But his belief in the value of work and human creativity, in the fullest sense, are what apply most to this body of work.
In the year preceding Home Economics, I secured grant funds to subscribe to local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares and to purchase and plant an urban garden box of my own. I began the slow and careful production of table linens made entirely from reclaimed fabric, a hand knit felted rug, a recycled hand knit curtain, knit dish cloths and ornate objects while testing recipes with local produce. I created more than 100 small plates, a series of sculptural serving platters, several dish sets and small sculptures. I even made a kitchen sink: two sinks actually, a wash bin and a rinse bin.
My dad flew out in advance of the opening and he and I spent the better part of a week baking crackers, pickling hard boiled eggs in beet juice, and preparing dips and salsas. At the opening reception, we served an array of bright and flavorful foods including figs from my friend Nan's tree, with fresh goat cheese and black pepper. Harwood staff counted nearly 300 people in attendance, eating, drinking and washing their dishes in the gallery. My sinks had to be emptied and refilled. Soaked dish towels were replaced with dry towels. Platters were refilled from reserves in the kitchen. But by the end of the night, my pots wore the patina of use: drops of oil, a dusting of herbs, a few crumbs.
Throughout the opening reception, guests were invited to sign up to attend one of the meals I scheduled throughout the month. Inspired by Marina Abromovic I decided to dine with my guests, though the introvert in me would have preferred performing from behind the scenes. Each meal left me exhausted yet enlivened. My cup was poured out, but my inner tap root was thriving, digging deeper into my personal reserves.
Home Economics was not only a test of my outer limits, though it certainly was that. It was the fullest expression I knew to make of convictions I held deeply then as I do now. I believe that making is a profoundly human act and essential to our well-being, mine especially. The slow production of careful objects in my studio is as important to as the social action that follows. And I believe that industrial production is toxic for everyone and everything involved: for the people and landscapes who bear the burden of industry as well as those who consume it.
1) Sales Resistance: avoid buying what you don't need to begin with.
2) Responsible consumption: when you have to buy something, do your homework. Know where and how it was made and at who's expense. Buy, as much as possible, a good that was produced fairly - honoring the landscape and labor behind it. Buy a good that will last a long time.
3) Give back to the planet. Recycle everything you can. Ride your bike or walk when you are able, carpool with friends, plant a garden, share with neighbors.
Mass produced goods poison landscapes and demand underpaid and taxing labor from people the consumer usually has no contact with or knowledge of. Industrial production degrades the planet and fuels economic disparity across the world, including in the States where Walmart employees can't afford groceries and healthcare. Thanks to ease of communication, we all know this now. But sometimes we fail to consider that our consumer dollars are the votes that prop up these systems.
10 years after the fact, I need to clarify that Home Economics was (is) not an "America First" proposition. I don't subscribe to that brand of American Nationalism; I am a humanist foremost. I believe all people are equal and deserve to thrive. I believe all artists deserve intellectual ownership of their traditions and ideas. I believe that all deserve a fair wage for their creativity and labor. I have wonderful objects I've purchased directly from artists across the world at what I hope were fair prices. But the way this county conducts International trade is so unjust that it makes me want to withdraw from that system completely. This is impossible of course. But we can begin the process; We have more power than we think we do.
Turning my attention to what I can make, and what others within my city can make, puts my votes in favor of fair wages, just labor practices, environmental care, quality and community building. Most of my collectors are people that know me in some capacity. And I am increasingly getting to know the farmers who grow my food and the cooks who prepare it. In the 10 years since Home Economics, I've learned much about my convictions, my community, and Art as Social Practice. In the upcoming months I'll highlight projects I've done since Home Economics and what I've learned from them too. I hope you'll join in the conversation! Stay tuned to my blog at jenndepaolo.com to learn about other projects and leave comments.


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