We continue to have readers joining this year's Christmas Markets Cruise, and there is still plenty of space if you'd like to come and enjoy this delightful experience with a group of your fellow readers and your humble scribe (ie me).
I'm also considering offering one very special cruise at the end of this year. This will be a one week cruise from Budapest to Nuremberg, with option on to Prague by coach, or continuing on to Amsterdam on the ship. The special part is spending New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in glorious Vienna.
You can choose from several different events as ways of celebrating the end of this year and the start of 2008 while in Vienna, including an amazing Grand Ball in the magnificent Hofburg Palace in the center of the city, various concerts and opera performances, as well as street celebrations in downtown Vienna with fireworks and the traditional ringing of the bell on St Stephen's Cathedral at midnight.
There are additional opportunities to enjoy New Year's concerts and other activities on 1 January before setting sail late that night on the continuation of the cruise to Nuremberg and beyond. The Christmas markets will have closed, but the charm of small towns along the Danube in the quieter winter months rather than summer time remains unaltered, and the opportunity to celebrate New Year in Vienna is very special.
And I'm going to make it still more special for you. I'll pay the cost of you attending either a Vienna Symphony Orchestra concert performance of Beethoven's Ninth (Choral) Symphony or a Vienna Hofburg Orchestra concert of popular Strauss and Mozart pieces, or a performance of Die Fledermaus (by either the Vienna Volksoper or Staatsoper), or a Vienna Heurigen (Folk) Show, or will pay half the cost of a €130 ($180) ticket to the Grand Ball. The Grand Ball includes a concert and dancing with ten different orchestras in the various rooms of the palace, and runs through until 3.30am (although you don't need to stay that late!).
In addition, there's a special New Year's dinner on board the ship (the luxury nearly new Amadagio, same as we enjoyed last year), and we'll have a private New Year party one evening on board, including food and unlimited drinks, complete with silly party hats and other things. I'm also giving you a free side tour to Salzburg on one of the cruise days (worth $85).
So if you'd like to celebrate in style this coming season, how about joining us for this cruise. You'd want to leave the US on or before 29 December, to arrive into Budapest on or before 30 December, and the cruise ends in Nuremberg on 6 January 2008. You have three choices on this day - to return home or do anything else you wish, to take a two night extension to Prague (traveling by motor coach) or to continue with the cruise for another week to Amsterdam.
Per person cruise rates start at $1599 plus $84 in port charges, and this includes the cruise, all meals on board, drinks with dinner every night, and touring at every port of call. The Prague extension would be $300, and the Amsterdam extension ranges in price up from $1700. More good news if you choose the Amsterdam extension - I can give you a discount of 10% off its cost.
And, talking about discounts, still more good news. In addition to the free or half price New Year special event, and the onboard party, and the free side trip day tour to Salzburg, there's one more special offer. If you bring other friends or family members with you, I'll give you a 'quantity discount' - the more who travel together, the better the discount. So please make your New Year celebration this year one to remember, and bring plenty of people with you!
If you might be interested, please send me a quick email. If enough people reply, I'll make it a formal Travel Insider cruise.
Talking about sending emails, many thanks to everyone who sent in their responses to last week's Instant Survey. You were asked whether you thought hotels should stick to a 0 - 5 star rating system, or if they should add more stars to reflect increasing levels of luxury, or perhaps if you felt the entire star rating system to be of little value.
As can clearly be seen, two thirds of readers wanted to stick with a five star system, and another 30% don't place any importance on star ratings anyway. 3.3% of readers favored adding a sixth star, and 1% of readers wanted either seven or eight (!) stars on the rating system.
So in claiming a seventh star, the Milan hotel described last week is ignoring the wishes of 99.5% of its potential guests. Which shows hotels that supposedly are most in tune with the wishes of their guests are, in fact, as out of touch and uncaring as the worst of the dinosaur airlines.
5.6% of readers voted in the survey. Thank you.
This Week's Feature Column : What to See and Do in Victoria, BC : Victoria's status as capital of BC and formerly the major city in the province gives it a broader heritage and history than would be expected, and its beautiful location adds further variety to the wide range of things to see and do in this lovely part of Canada.
Ouch. I just tried to add the link to the column up above and FrontPage crashed. You see, there is a bug when you try and run Microsoft's own FrontPage program in Microsoft's own Windows Vista operating system. Every time you try and add a link to a page in your website, FrontPage will now crash. It worked fine in Windows XP, but is broken in Vista. A web editing program that crashes when you try to add links to a page is about as useful as, well, mammary glands on a bull.
The good news? Microsoft is well aware of the bug. The bad news? There is no promised date for a fix to a problem which presumably has been present ever since November last year when Vista first shipped, and possibly earlier during the Beta testing.
It is bad enough when third party hardware and software doesn't work with Vista, but how about when Microsoft's own software is incompatible with its new Vista operating system? What possible excuse can Microsoft have for that?
Or how about when Vista crashes (the stupid 'Side Bar' on the Vista desktop which adds no value and merely adds to screen clutter will sometimes fail to load when the system starts up) and then blames something else for its crash. In this case, Vista helpfully explains that the crash is not its fault, but rather it was a problem with Google Desktop instead.
That all sounded credible, but for one thing, I'm not running Google Desktop. Microsoft should focus more on fixing its bugs and focus less on unfairly blaming quality companies for Microsoft's own egregious faults.
Interestingly, it isn't just me who is becoming increasingly disillusioned with Microsoft's Vista OS. Responding to customer pressure, Dell has brought back XP as an option on some of its computers. And whereas last year Microsoft was the world's number one brandname, this year Microsoft has slipped down to the third position, which is poetic justice - a purveyor of third rate software is now number three in the world. The new number one? Google, up from seventh position last year.
Confirming these negative outcomes is a survey from software security company Agnitum. They surveyed potential purchasers of Vista in September 2006, prior to Vista's release. At that time, 69% of users said they planned to upgrade to Vista. Agnitum repeated the survey in March, and this time, only 31% of respondents said they planned to upgrade to Vista. Clearly the word is getting out - Vista is a flawed operating system that adds almost no value to the user computing experience, while creating problems and issues that none of us want.
Agnitum's results are mirrored in a new Harris poll, showing a drop of potential upgrades to Vista by home users - 20% of users planned to do this in December, and now in April only 12% do. Is Microsoft becoming the dinosaur of the software industry?
Dinosaur watching : Delta Airlines had its restructuring plan approved by the bankruptcy court on Wednesday and plans to exit bankruptcy on 30 April. Delta says its old shares will be canceled and therefore worthless, but its new shares will give it a market value of about $10 billion, making it the second most valuable airline after Southwest (currently worth $11.4 billion).
Exiting bankruptcy Delta indeed may be, but losing money, it equally definitely still is. Their first quarter result showed a net loss of $130 million.
Will someone please explain to me how an airline that lost $130 million in Q1 of 2007, and billions in the year and years immediately prior can somehow declare itself all fixed and exit Chapter 11 triumphantly?
The headline on United's press release reads 'UAL Corporation Reports Improved First Quarter Results'. But the heading on an article in USA Today reads 'United Airlines' earnings worse than expected'. Who to believe?
The facts are simple. In Q1 2007, United lost $152 million. In Q1 2006 (during which time the airline exited bankruptcy) it lost $223 million. So, yes, the loss is an improvement on last year, but it is also the second quarter in a row that United has lost money, and the size of the loss was almost three times what analysts were expecting. So both headlines were correct.
But showing that United's senior executives have their eye closely on the ball, United is in the process of moving its headquarters from a Chicago suburb, Elk Grove (close to O'Hare), to downtown Chicago.
Apparently United feels that distancing itself from the reality of its operations at ORD will help it to manage its business better. And noting United's fixation on cutting costs - at least when it comes to passenger services and employee pay, perhaps rent on office space is much less inside the downtown Loop in Chicago than it is in sprawling suburban Elk Grove.
Skybus Countdown to Something : Skybus announced, this week, that it would commence service on 22 May, with flights between Columbus and a handful of sometimes puzzling destinations such as Bellingham, WA, which it claims would draw passengers from both Vancouver BC and Seattle - a claim it reinforces by referring to Bellingham as 'Seattle/Vancouver' on its website, but which is almost certainly wrong.
Delays crossing the border from Canada into the US make it unpredictable and unattractive for Vancouver residents to travel all the way to Bellingham to fly out of, and the congestion on I5 from the Seattle area up to Bellingham makes a theoretical 90 minute journey sometimes well over two hours.
Besides which, the one flight a day from Bellingham is at 9.07am making for a very early morning start for anyone who doesn't live in Bellingham. Let's hope their other airport choices are more promising than Bellingham seems to be.
Air fares start at $10 each way (plus taxes of course) and the airline has promised to sell at least 10 of the 150 seats on each flight at this price. Perhaps this is why they've crammed so many seats onto their planes; 8 - 16 seats more than is commonly found on a A319, thereby allowing Skybus to give ten seats away for $10 and still have the equivalent of an empty plane to sell at normal fares.
Other fares range in price up to moderately expensive levels, and in addition to the fares, you'll be charged extra for just about everything you might want. Checked bags, snacks and drinks, blankets, early boarding to get better seats, you name it, and the chances are there'll be a fee attached.
And, just to make sure its passengers don't 'cheat', Skybus will not allow passengers to bring their own food on board the plane, which sets a new low for airline venality. At least other airlines allow you to bring on as much food as you wish.
You'll even be charged if you want flight status messages sent to a pager or cell phone or email address, and if you want some entertainment during your flight, there are Sudoku puzzles available - but also for a charge rather than free.
Skybus is now accepting bookings on its website, but if you'd rather phone an agent to get some live help, you're out of luck. They only accept web bookings and don't have any phone number for people to call, no matter what the reason for your call.
Surprisingly, the Skybus flights are only between Columbus and somewhere else. Unlike other airlines with a hub and spoke network, you can't use Columbus as a hub and change flights there to travel on further. Well, you could, but you'd have to buy two separate tickets, and you would have to collect your bags off the first flight then go and recheck them (and yourself) again for the next flight.
All in all, the now revealed business plan for Skybus is even more surprising than the earlier speculation. As their route system extends, perhaps they'll start offering flights to and from places where real people are likely to wish to travel, but for now they are offering some of the most cramped seats in the sky, with some of the worst penny-pinching tricks and traps, for travel to a destination (Columbus) that few people ever wish to actually travel to; it does seem like something is missing from their business plan.
Oh yes, I know what it is that is missing - their website has lost all the nonsense phrases it had this time last week that were supposed to imply that Skybus would offer a better flying experience than the dinosaurs. Apparently, this will not be the case.
Naughty Ryanair? I've occasionally speculated about the accuracy (or lack thereof) of airline scales, and now that airlines have lowered the free luggage allowances, you're more likely to find yourself slightly over their limit and being asked to pay.
In the UK, discount carrier Ryanair is being accused by the Sunday Times newspaper of using inaccurate scales, and would you be surprised to learn that the weight errors are not in the passengers' favor? In one cited example, a bag that the Sunday Times carefully weighed at 14.8kg was shown as weighing 17kg on the Ryanair scale. Because Ryanair charge for bags weighing over 15kg, this represented over $40 in excess baggage charges caused by the faulty scales.
I'll test and report on a couple of portable pocket scales that you can carry with you. Seems like it might be necessary to have such an impartial judge on your side at the ticket counter.
No sooner said than done. Last week Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said they would be looking at new ways to add revenue, including charging passengers for some services. This week, the airline announced an increase in the price of beer and wine, from $3 to $4.
One wonders how many consultants charged how much in fees to come up with that innovative way to increase Southwest's already generous profitability.
Other possible changes to Southwest's business model might include flying internationally, and possibly adding Wi-Fi connectivity to their planes.
Bad news for JetBlue. They lost $45 million in their Q1, only slightly better than the $47 million loss in Q1 of 2006. However, they do continue to grow, with a 7.3% increase in flown passenger miles compared to the previous year. Interestingly, although there was a 7.3% increase in flown passenger miles, there was a 24% increase in operating revenues, due to appreciably higher average fares.
The increases in average fare levels is confirmed by the latest statistics from the DoT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Average air fares in Q4 of 2006 were at the highest since 2000, up 3.4% from the same time a year earlier.
Here's a very interesting review/report on the lowest fare guarantees that some airlines offer on their websites.
A slowly developing threat to seemingly unstoppable airline Emirates continues to evolve, and was most recently hinted at today by Virgin's Sir Richard Branson. He was promising to be the first airline to fly scheduled service between Britain (ie London) and Australia, although the value of this route was marginalized when he said that initially the flights would be to Perth on Australia's west coast rather than to Sydney on the east coast, although he did say nonstop flights to Sydney would follow.
Many onlookers are puzzled by Sir Richard's bold promise, because Virgin neither currently has, nor has on order, any planes capable of performing this long distance feat, as explained in this article.
Why is this a threat to Emirates (to say nothing of many other international airlines such as even Singapore and Cathay Pacific)? Because Emirates does not have and is not likely to get the type of rights needed to fly from one country to another country without stopping in Dubai either in the middle or at the very least, before or after the flight between the two foreign countries. This limitation isn't very important when all flights on a route such as between the South Pacific and Europe need to make at least one stop for refueling en route, but as the range of modern planes extends, the need for a refueling stop becomes less pressing.
In addition, although we have seen the recent liberalization of the air routes between the US and Europe, this impacts only on airlines based in the US or Europe, not on other airlines based elsewhere such as Emirates.
However, Emirates is definitely making hay while the sun shines. Earlier this week it announced a 20% increase in profit for the six months ended 31 March compared to the same period a year earlier, and a 40% leap in passengers flown. To put the amazing growth story that is Emirates in slight perspective, it currently flies 102 planes, but has another 106 on order, and is hinting it might order another 15 A380 super jumbos (it already has 43 on order). Emirates says it plans to double the number of cities it flies to in the next five years, which will increase the cities it serves up to 170, including some more US cities.
Talking about Sir Richard Branson, did you spot the cameo role he played in the latest James Bond movie, Casino Royale? He had a very brief couple of second non-speaking appearance, playing the part of an airplane passenger being searched while going through security at Miami Airport. This was part of a series of trade-offs, in return for which Virgin Atlantic made one of its 747s available to the movie makers in Prague (which was doubling as Miami Airport).
British Airways are currently featuring this movie on their flights, but they have edited out the couple of seconds during which Sir Richard appears on screen, and in the fleeting glimpses of Virgin planes on the ground also shown in the movie, the Virgin logos have been airbrushed out.
Good news from Boeing. Not only is it continuing to take more orders for its astonishingly successful 787, but it is reporting record earnings as well, with Q1 this year showing a $877 million profit, up from $692 million the same period last year. And its share price is currently at $94.26, just off its all time high of a couple of days ago ($95.25). Readers may recall I recommended investing in Boeing stock back on 6 October 2006, when the shares were trading at $83.62; since that time the stock has appreciated at an annual rate of slightly over 25%.
This week's 'If only it were true' blue sky dreaming award goes to this Forbes article about the future of first class. With your help, I wrote a different perspective on the future of first class in October last year.
This Week's Most Shameful Exploitation of Global Warming Fears part 1 : Discount UK airline Easyjet says it wants the EU to ban 678 planes from its skies because they are (the airline claims) 'too [ecologically] dirty to fly'. The airline says that some of the older planes are as much as 21% more polluting, per seat flown, than their own modern A319 planes.
Easyjet wants all planes built before 1990 to be banned from flying within the EU, with this forced obsolescence date to be moved forward a year each year. By an incredible coincidence, none of Easyjet's own planes would be affected.
The airline did quote one interesting fact, however. Averaged over the entire last year, they averaged emissions of 95.7 grams of CO2 per passenger kilometer. This compares favorably, they imply, with the Toyota Prius hybrid car, which emits 104 grams per kilometer, as indeed it does - but only as long as there is only one person in the Prius. Put two or three or four people in the Prius, and the situation changes. But being as how most cars are driven, most of the time, with only one person in them, it confirms that air travel is more ecologically friendly than driving in an ultra-efficient automobile.
This Week's Most Shameful Exploitation of Global Warming Fears part 2 : Longer time readers will remember I occasionally cite examples where the US is becoming more like the Soviet Union was, while Russia is becoming more like the US used to be. I came across another example of these opposite trends this week while shopping at IKEA. The store now proudly announces that it is doing its bit to help save the planet. It no longer gives you plastic bags to pack your smaller purchases in. Instead, you have to buy each plastic bag for 5¢, or you can buy massively heavy duty reinforced plastic bags for 59¢.
The formerly free plastic bags probably have 100 times less material in them than the heavy duty bags, which means unless you use the heavy duty bags at least 100 times, your net consumption of plastics has increased rather than decreased. That is saving the planet?
The US/USSR thing? Well, it used to be, in Russia, you had to pay extra to get a bag to put your groceries in at the supermarket, and you'd find old ladies outside selling plastic bags to passers by. Now, in Russia, just about all stores give away free bags. But in the US, the former 'paper or plastic' question is not only being replaced by legislative fiat (eg San Francisco outlawing the generally less polluting plastic bags) but the concept of free bags is being replaced by 'buy your own bags'.
Here's yet another potentially harmful consequence of cell phones.
As readers probably know, I'm very concerned about the health consequences of all the extra radio energy we are pumping into our environments, and therefore, into our bodies too. These dangers are usually expressed in the form of concerns about cell phone radiation.
But it isn't just cell phones that pose a danger to us. Anything that emits very high frequency radio energy/radiation is a danger. For example, have you ever stopped to wonder about the implications of the growing number of Wi-Fi networks out there?
Wi-Fi radio energy is at exactly the same frequency as the energy in a microwave oven. And you know what happens to animal tissue when placed in a microwave oven, don't you. Here's an interesting article that touches on the health implications of the spread of Wi-Fi signals everywhere.
This Week's Security Horror Story : A new radiation scanner device at airports promises to see through our clothes and reveal what is underneath. But did you know it is painfully slow? As this article explains, a scan can take up to as much as ten minutes to scan one passenger. It may give the security screeners a better understanding of what we might be concealing, but at what time cost to us and them?
Workers are given incentives to inform the authorities of suspicious behavior in their co-workers. No, this isn't a headline from the former Soviet Union; instead, it is a new program being introduced in the US whereby airport employees will be trained to spot hostile behavior and encouraged to report their suspicions to the authorities.
Spotting hostile behavior among airline employees? It will be hard to know where to start!
I regularly write about the problems people experience by being inappropriately listed on one of the security watch or do-not-fly lists that have proliferated since 9/11. Here's a surprisingly simple solution.
What is the greatest threat in the world (according to British PM Tony Blair)? What is more of a threat than war or disease, he says? You may be surprised by the answer when you click here to read. And you may be even more surprised by his proposed solution - a UN conference to develop a strategy. He's been a politician too long.
Here's an interesting article on the subject of pricing in the retail stores and food outlets in airports. Can someone explain to me why rental rates on stores at an airport need to be apparently so much higher than in regular malls.
If you're like me, you're continually amazed at the uniquely American phenomenon that is Las Vegas - a city built on nothing except desert and sin, and which seems to be unstoppably growing ever larger. Here's a very interesting article about Vegas and its ongoing growth.
Lastly this week, progress is a funny thing, and sometimes it seems that modern day security at an airport or other restricted access facility isn't much better than it used to be 50 and more years ago. Here's a 1.6MB wmv movie clip to remind us that security has never been completely perfect.


From 5-7pm I'll be selling my work at H.O.M. in Swarthmore - AKA the sweetest shop EVER!
There will be live music by Bethlehem and Sad Patrick and lots of fun goings on for this First Friday event. Come join me!


<>Home Depot offers Pelican 0450 Mobile Tool Chest With Drawer [ 0450-015-110 ] at $542.22, the lowest price out of 2 sellers with Free Standard Shipping. Best Buy reduced price by $1 from previous $643.99 on Christmas holiday season sale in 2016, which still cannot beat Home Depot's offer. Best Buy made the biggest price drop by $204 on Halloween sale in 2016, offered at $635.99, which was higher than today's price. The lowest historical price was offered by Home Depot at $530.44 during the Christmas holiday season sale in 2016. Click here for price change detail.


With a feeling of common purpose, I'm sitting amongst a sea of yellow in the first floor meeting room in Sarasota County Administration building in Florida. The call by the Friends of the Legacy Trail and the local bicycle organizations to attend the February 15, 2017 meeting is an overwhelming success. Not only are there about 100 supporters of the extension of the Legacy Trail in the room, but 300 sent emails and many others made phone calls. The call to action was issued because of the possibility of a 2 year delay in the financing of the Legacy Trail Extension to Sarasota.
Looking down on all the yellow shirts, the commissioners clearly get the message. Commissioner Alan Maio near the end of the meeting declares something to the effect that, "I suppose I shouldn't say this, but please don't send any more emails. There were 300 of them and we had to read them all." Afterwards he mused that he was happy that only three of them were not very polite. The implication is that the commissioners are already on board with the Legacy Trail Extension Project.
The support by the commissioners is not really surprising given that the Legacy Trail Extension will have many benefits for Sarasota County and Sarasota city in particular. In fact, past studies on the benefits of trails have concluded they are among the most popular public park facilities that can be funded by government agencies. The connection with existing Legacy Trail (considered a sunk or already paid for cost) will benefit the economics of a new trail extension. Connecting the existing Legacy Trail to a major population center means it likely will become a major commuting route. The new extension will cut through areas with more commercial activity, so this should help business development. Property values will rise along the new trail as people want to move closer to it for both recreational and commuting purposes. Thus, the public and country commissioners support the project and the potential benefits of the trail are quite high. So what is the problem?
The bump in the road-or more aptly the trail-no doubt was caused by sticker shock. At the February 15, 2017 meeting the commissioners revealed that a contract (a letter of intent which is legally binding) had been signed for $38 million by Trust for Public Land to purchase the land corridor owned by CSX Corporation. Eventually this land will be turned over to Sarasota County. In addition, it is estimated that construction will be about $15 million. Although this would be a small part of the county's 1 billion dollar budget, it is a lumpy investment. Dealing with major initial expenses whose benefits will trickle in over a long period of time is always a problem for infrastructure projects and the reason why they are often financed by loans or bonds.
My experience with such trails is to a large extent based on a trail I ride on every week when I'm home in Washington, DC. Similar to the future Legacy Trail Extension, the Capital Crescent Trail runs from Bethesda to Georgetown through the heart of Washington DC. This trail is now over 25 years old and has become a major commuting route for bicyclists. The number of annual riders now exceeds 1 million. Because it was created over 25 years ago it is not nearly as well designed as the Legacy Trail. At 10 feet wide (compared to Legacy Trail 12 feet) and with pavement cracks caused by tree roots, it is clearly in need of resurfacing. For anyone interested I have written a short history of the trail for this site.
The fact that this major bicycle artery into Washington, DC even exists is a miracle. The trail is in two jurisdictions: Montgomery County and the District of Columbia. An article in Bethesda Magazine gives a short history of the project.
In 1988, Montgomery County purchased the right-of-way from the D.C. line to Silver Spring under the National Trails Systems Act. Two years later, the National Park Service purchased the other portion of the right-of-way, stretching from the Maryland-D.C. border to Georgetown. The 7-mile trail from Bethesda to Georgetown was paved with private and public funds, and was formally dedicated in 1996.
The National Park Service which owns quite a bit of land in the District (i.e., Capital Mall, Rock Creek Park and C&O Canal) stepped forward to purchase the land in Washington, DC. Montgomery County and the National Park Service each had to pay about 10-12 million for land acquisition. This would be much higher in today's dollars.
All this wheeling and dealing was coordinated by the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail. Today after over 25 years the existing trail is finally to be extended into Silver Spring, Maryland. An extension of that trail is planned pending approval of a controversial Purple Line light rail from Silver Spring to Bethesda. For years this unpaved route has been called the Capital Crescent Interim Trail. Under the new project the bike path will be completed and paved all the way to Silver Spring at a cost of $90 million paid mostly by the Montgomery County.
Sitting in a sea of yellow at the county commissioner's meeting on the trail I'm struck by a larger issue. Why does it take mobilization of bicycle friendly groups such as the Friends of the Legacy Trail or the Coalition for the Capital Crescent for bicycle projects to be funded? Shouldn't the department of transportation or public works (either city, county or state) have public funds available for such local projects? The answer to this question is that progress is being made all across the country on financing local bicycle infrastructure, but unfortunately we still have a long way to go.
Full credit should go to the local bicycle organizations such as the Friends of the Legacy Trail for filling the gap in financing local bicycle infrastructure projects and advocating for the right projects in Sarasota County. The recent wave of yellow at the county commissioners may have avoided a possible delay, or even cancellation, of the Legacy Trail Extension project. As it stands now, the county would be crazy to void an existing contract that apparently is 15% under the appraised value of the land. Keeping together this land also is a unique opportunity for promoting recreation and commercial development of areas near the trail. Integrated into new multimode traffic planning models it also would lead to a reduction in the commuting traffic clogging city streets in Sarasota.
With $20 million due for the purchase of the right of way in December, 2017, there is more work to be done. The next step is to figure out how to raise the money for the extension of the Legacy Trail. In addition it is important to consider how to make more bicycle infrastructure as a more serious part of state, county and city budgets. Safer and better bicycle infrastructure in Sarasota County would surely make bicycling as common as walking down a city street or driving a car to the local store. It's a complementary activity that should part and parcel of infrastructure development, rather than an add-on competition for city or county funds.


text:
Who's In the White House Now? The New Presidential Pets
America's presidents have a rich history of pet ownership. While the White House has been home to some strange and unusual animals throughout the years, dogs and cats have been the most common pet residents at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
In keeping with the tradition of presidential pets, President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, began looking for a family dog shortly after taking office. In April 2009, the Obamas welcomed Bo into their family. Senator Ted Kennedy gave the dog to President Obama's daughters Sasha and Malia as a gift. (The black and white neutered male Portuguese water dog is a sibling to the senator's own Portuguese water dog, Cappy.)
The "First Dog" received loads of media attention. On Bo's first day at the White House, President Obama told the press, "He's a good-looking dog. He's got star quality."
Obama's Portuguese Water Dog
Bo the presidential Pet
var FO = { height:"315″,majorversion:"7″,width:"380″,build:"0″,xi:"true",movie:"http://www.youtube.com/v/-YAVP7JseLQ&rel=0″,wmode:"transparent" };UFO.create(FO,"videoContent3b83cf33c3c04d9c8805a80aca7d336d");
Although he has his own doghouse, Bo enjoys the run of the White House – including the Oval Office.
Breed was of great importance in choosing a dog since the Obamas' oldest daughter, Malia, suffers from allergies. The Portuguese water dog is considered a hypoallergenic breed.
The Obamas' goal was to rescue a dog and Bo met their criteria – before coming to live with the Obamas at the White House, Bo had been placed with a different owner who had to return him because he wasn't a "good fit" with her other dog.
Unlike former President George W. Bush's English springer spaniel, Spot, who slept on a chair in the First Couple's bedroom, Bo doesn't sleep with the Obamas. When asked where Bo would sleep, President Obama told the press, "Not with me." The President went on to say that Bo does not sleep in the girls' rooms either – he has his own designated sleeping spot.
A Rich Tradition of Presidential Pets
The White House has been home to many unusual Presidential pets, from elephants and hyenas to lions, tigers and bears (oh my!). The tradition of First Pets began appropriately enough with George Washington, who owned 36 hound dogs, several horses and one parrot, named Polly.
Other presidents have had an interesting assortment of pets. Besides a mockingbird, Thomas Jefferson owned two bears, given as gifts by Lewis and Clark after their famous journey throughout the Northwest. John Quincy Adams owned an alligator and a number of silkworms. Martin Van Buren owned two tiger cubs. On the eve of the Civil War, James Buchanan owned an elephant, an eagle and a Newfoundland dog.
Which president owned the strangest collection of pets? Find out by reading about the Top 10 Strangest Presidential Pets.
Lori Savka
An Interview with an Internal Medicine Veterinarian
Hail Caesar…and the Surgery That Made Him Whole Again

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Het zomerbed is de bedding van een rivier, die doorgaans door de rivier wordt gebruikt in de zomer. Hierbij kan gebruik worden gemaakt van zomerdijken, lage dijken dicht bij de rivier.

Gedurende de winter is er gewoonlijk een grotere toevoer van water, waardoor de rivier buiten het zomerbed kan treden. Het zogenaamde winterbed zorgt er dan voor dat de rivier gereguleerd blijft.

Rivier

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Independence of Circular Contour Radius - Part 2 (link to part 1 of question)

Suppose that $P$ and $Q$ are smooth functions on the annulus $\{a<|z|<b\}$ that satisfy $\frac{\partial P}{\partial y}=\frac{\partial Q}{\partial x}$. Show directly using Green's theorem that $\oint_{|z|=r}P\,dx+Q\,dy$ is independent of the radius $r$, for $a<r<b$.
Consider the diagram below:

So, I'm reexamining an old homework problem, and I'm wondering how showing that if
$\hspace{2in}$ $\oint_{|z| = r_1} P$d$x + Q$d$y = \oint_{|z| = r_2} P$d$x + Q$d$y$,
then independence is shown. How should I think of independence here? So, if I show that $\oint_{r_1} (\star) = \oint_{r_2} (\star)$, then $r_1$ and $r_2$ both produce the same result, and thus the contour integration does not depend on $r$, correct?

multiply connected region
A region
which is not simply connected; a region
in which there exists some simple closed
curve, which cannot be shrunk continuously
to a point without leaving the region. An mconnected
region is one whose complement
has m simply connected components.

simply connected region
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SimplyConnected.html

A: By Green's theorem, for multiply-connected domain $G$, with boundary $\partial{G},$
$$\oint\limits_{\partial{G^+}}{P\,dx+Q\,dy}=\iint\limits_{G}{\left(\dfrac{\partial{Q}}{\partial{x}}-\dfrac{\partial{P}}{\partial{y}}\right)\,dx\,dy}.$$
Applying Green's theorem to  the annulus $A= \{z\colon \;\;\; r_1 < |z| < r_2,\;\; a < r_1 < r_2 < b \} $ with boundary $\partial{A}=C_{r_1}\cup C_{r_2}$, where $ C_{r_i}=\{|z|=r_i \} \;\;(i=1,2) $, we have
$$\oint\limits_{{{C_{r_1}^{+}\cup C_{r_2}^{-}}}}{P\,dx+Q\,dy}=\iint\limits_{A}{\left(\dfrac{\partial{Q}}{\partial{x}}-\dfrac{\partial{P}}{\partial{y}}\right)\,dx\,dy}=0,$$
therefore,
$$\oint\limits_{{{C_{r_1}^{+}}}}{P\,dx+Q\,dy}=-\oint\limits_{{{ C_{r_2}^{-}}}}{P\,dx+Q\,dy} =\oint\limits_{{{ C_{r_2}^{+}}}}{P\,dx+Q\,dy} $$

A: As the problem states, use Green's Theorem:
$$\oint_{|z|=r}P\,dx+Q\,dy = \int_D dx \, dy \left (\frac{\partial Q}{\partial x} -  \frac{\partial P}{\partial y}\right )$$
where $D$ is the disk enclosed by the circle $|z|=r$.  Now, the relation $\frac{\partial Q}{\partial x} =  \frac{\partial P}{\partial y}$ only holds in the annulus $r \in (a,b)$, so inside the disk, but outside the annulus, the equality no longer holds.  We deal with this by noting that
$$\int_D dx \, dy \left (\frac{\partial Q}{\partial x} -  \frac{\partial P}{\partial y}\right ) = \int_{|z|<a} dx \, dy \left (\frac{\partial Q}{\partial x} -  \frac{\partial P}{\partial y}\right ) + \int_{a<|z|<r} dx \, dy \left (\frac{\partial Q}{\partial x} -  \frac{\partial P}{\partial y}\right )$$
Note that the second integral vanishes, and the first integral does not depend on $r$.  Therefore, the LHS is independent of $r$, and the line integral from which it was based is independent of $r$.
Note also that if $P$ and $Q$ are smooth in the annulus, then they are smooth inside the entire disk by analytic continuation.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
ON THEIR TOES WHETHER IT'S DANCE OR DRAMA, THESE STUDENTS ARE REACHING TO BE STARS.
DEBORAH P. WORK, Education WriterSUN-SENTINEL
Christy Stark is actually looking forward this fall to boarding a bus at 5:30 each morning for the 10-mile trip to Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale.
"I won't mind the ride. I'm just glad I'll be able to dance," the 13-year- old Pembroke Pines resident said on Wednesday.
It was her first audition, but Christy ran through the required series of plies and tendus like a pro to win a place in Dillard's School for the Performing Arts.
"It was scary, but I guess that was the easy part," she said. "The real work will begin in the fall."
Welcome to Dillard High's countywide program for the arts, the only Broward County public high school geared exclusively to serious students of music, dance, theater, visual arts and film.
This fall, Christy will be one of as many as 100 ninth-graders who will enter the program.
Many candidates auditioned this week. Others will try out in August for remaining slots in the program.
The performing arts students entering Dillard as freshmen this fall will be only the second class to attend the school full time. In previous years, students took academic courses for a half day at their neighborhood high school before traveling to Dillard for performing arts classes.
The School Board instituted the full-time requirement in a plan to improve the racial balance at predominantly black Dillard. The idea was tried once in the early 1980s, but enrollment in the program -- which draws a mix of white and black students from throughout Broward -- dropped drastically as a result.
Tom Mullen, coordinator of the performing arts program, said that enrollment this fall should increase because more students are auditioning. He said he expects about 270 students to take part in the program, compared with this year's 225 students.
"Students who want to study here know they have to audition and they know it's going to be tough, so they come prepared," Mullen said. "That alone speaks of their motivation."
During the audition, Shani White's heart pounded when it was her turn to sing. But she still maintained a cool exterior.
"I was scared," the 14-year-old said. "But I live to sing; that's all I want to do. I'll be heartbroken if I am not accepted in this program."
The hard work paid off for Shani, who was accepted.
"The key is potential, not refined talent," Mullen said. "If a student doesn't have the training, they can still be accepted if a positive attitude is there. A student can do a lot with four years at Dillard."
Dillard's high standards have earned it a solid reputation with universities across the country.
About 80 percent of Dillard's performing arts students go on to college and continue to study the arts.
One music student, Danny Roumain, was awarded a full scholarship to attend Vanderbilt University this fall.
"He is the sort of student we are looking for," said Michael Kurek, assistant professor of composition at the Nashville, Tenn., university.
"His application was well prepared, and ranked very well with others from across the country," Kurek said.
Charles Helfert, an associate dean at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said several dance and theater graduates from Dillard had been accepted to the university's Meadows School of the Arts during the past several years.
"It's a good, solid arts program with a strong concentration on the academics," he said. "Art students should not be poorly educated."
Dillard High School


Astra Suites acquired the Gold Award for "Excellence in Small Luxury Hotels" in the category 'Strategy & Innovation' at the Greek Tourism Awards for 2015 that took place in Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall.
Astra Suites acquired the award "Best Service" at the Condé Nast Johansens 2015 Europe & Mediterranean Awards for Excellence, revealed at the 33rd annual Awards Dinner that was held the 3rd of November 2014 in London.
Astra Suites acquired the Gold award in the category Excellence in Customer Service at the Greek Tourism Awards 2014. The event was organized by Hotel & Restaurant of Boussias Communications under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and EOT – the Greek Tourism Organisation – in order to highlight and celebrate excellence and innovation in the sector of Travel, Hospitality & Leisure. As the Hotel Manager of Astra Suites Mr. George Karayiannis, stated: "The recognition of those best practices that we utilize in order to offer an experiential stay at Astra Suites, is the best reward for the entire team working at the hotel and their collective efforts".
The Astra Suites hotel in Imerovigli, Santorini, excelled at the Conde Nast Johansen's Europe & Mediterranean Awards of Excellence 2014, held during the World Travel Market, the world's largest tourism fair in London. Awarded Readers' Choice for best hotel in Europe and the Med, and top finalist in the Best for Romance category, Astra is very proud of these new distinctions. Condé Nast Johansens publishes the leading guides to the best hotels, spas and venues in the UK, Europe and the Americas.
Astra Suites won the title of Most Romantic Hotel in the world during the Condé Nast Johansens annual awards dinner held recently in London where the winners of the 2013 Awards for Excellence were revealed. Condé Nast Johansens publishes the leading guides to the best hotels, spas and venues in the UK, Europe and the Americas.
It's official! We are thrilled to announce that Astra Suites has received the award for excellence by Conde Nast Johansens as the Best Hotel for Romance!
We are thrilled to announce to you that Astra Suites has been awarded as 'Greece's Leading All-Suite Hotel' at the Europe Gala Ceremony of the 23rd World Travel Awards. A huge THANK YOU to our devoted staff, to all our loyal guests and those who honored us with their vote!
Once again, Astra is honored with "Greece's Leading All-Suite Hotel" at the Europe Gala Ceremony of the 2017 World Travel Awards! We are just back from beautiful St. Petersburg, Russia and so thrilled to announce that for the second year in a row, Astra Suites has been awarded "Greece's Leading All-Suite Hotel" for 2017 at the Europe Gala Ceremony of the 24th Annual World Travel Awards! A huge THANK YOU to our devoted staff and to our loyal guests, many of whom honored us with their votes! We share this award and our never ending gratitude with all of you!
Astra Suites is proud to have been awarded gold in the category of 'Best Greek Excellence in Service Hotel' at the Greek Hospitality Awards 2018. Organised by Ethos Media, the Greek Hospitality Awards Ceremony took place on Friday 23rd February at the Divani Apollon Palace, Athens. Mr George Karayiannis, Managing Director of Astra Suites, collected the award on behalf of the hotel. Mr Karayiannis stated: 'Customer service is the backbone of the hotel industry, and here at Astra Suites we are committed to providing authentic and genuine hospitality for each and every guest. We are truly excited to host visitors on our beautiful island of Santorini and are proud to have received this recognition for our level of customer service today'. The Greek Hospitality Awards title will compliment Astra Suites' existing portfolio of prestigious awards, including Greece's Leading All Suite Hotel 2016 and 2017 (World Travel Awards) and Best Hotel for Romance 2017 (Conde Nast Johansens Awards).
Astra Suites is proud to have been named Greece's Leading All Suite Hotel at the World Travel Awards 2018, for the third consecutive year. This year's glittering Europe Gala Ceremony 2018 took place on Saturday 30th June in a red-carpet event at the Zappeion Megaron Hall, with more than 300 guests representing the elite of the European hospitality industry in attendance. Widely known as the 'Oscars of the travel industry', the World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to celebrate excellence. Today, the awards are recognised as the ultimate global benchmark of exceptional quality. World Travel Awards are the most coveted in the travel & tourism sector, with more than 200,000 industry professionals from around the world participating in the voting process. Accepting the award, Mr George Karayiannis, Managing Director of Astra Suites, said; 'Ιt is such a privilege to be awarded this prestigious title for the third consecutive year in a row, and I would like to extend my warmest thanks to our devoted staff, loyal guests and all those who honoured us with their vote'.


On the Internet and other social networks, I have read many articles written by foreigners, tourists and cultural researchers about Vietnamese Tet Holiday (called Vietnamese New Year or Lunar New Year).
Well, in Asia, each country has its own New Year festival and it's different from the New Year festival which Europe, America and the world celebrate. Even in Vietnam, out of the 54 ethnic people, many have their own festival, such as the H'mong, who have the New Rice festival in November, which is earlier than "National Tet Holiday" about 2 months.
But in this article, I want to talk about the traditional Vietnamese Tet, which has a history of thousands of years. We call our traditional New Year is "Tet" (read like teid"), also known as the Lunar New Year according to the Chinese culture.
The traditional New Year mentioned in this article is the festival celebrated by East Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and many others in Asia.
It means that in Vietnam, we have two New Year holidays. The first celebration is New Year's Day, taken from the Gregorian calendar (we call this 'Western Tet' - the first day of a year). It's January 1st (like New Year's Day in almost countries in the world).
And then about 1 to 2 months after, we celebrate another New Year's Day that is more special, more important, it's traditional New Year - Lunar New Year Holiday and Festival.
All the people of Vietnam celebrate this traditional Tet. In Vietnam, Tet signifies the beginning of spring, as well as the new year (spring is the season in which trees and flowers sprout and bloom).
If want more information about Vietnamese Tet, you can search the keywords on the Internet. I just want to take the time to talk to you about how to travel in Vietnam during Tet holiday.
Should you travel to Hanoi, Saigon, Hoian, Sapa, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Halong Bay in Vietnam during tet?
If you want to go to Vietnam to explore the traditional New Year in Vietnam, I suggest you visiting Hanoi and this is the best place to travel during Tet.
Across Vietnam, Tet is in every corner with feasts and traditional activities. But why do I suggest you going to Hanoi instead of Saigon?
Is it because Tet in Hanoi truly Vietnamese traditional New Year? The reason is because the weather in Hanoi at the time of Lunar New Year is always cold, while in Saigon temperature rises high (it's pretty hot).
The cold in Hanoi and the North of Vietnam make people want to reunite with their family and have dinner together during this holiday period.
If you come to Hanoi, you need to remember that there are 2 kinds of people in Hanoi: the original Hanoi people (who have lived there for many generations) and the immigrants (the provincial people).
Every Lunar New Year, the Government of Vietnam allow workers and people about 5-7-9 days off work to celebrate the New Year Holiday.
Therefore, the immigrants will come back home to family in other provinces. Approximately, 60% of the population of Hanoi will return home or travel elsewhere, even traveling abroad.
Thus, Hanoi becomes unusually quiet from the start of the first morning of the Lunar New Year (Tet). All of the shops, restaurants, cafes, small and medium hotels, entertainment venues, supermarkets are closed because everyone is at home with family. Right in the center of Hanoi's Old Quarter, there weekdays are like a giant market, busy people and many goods for sale. But then on New Year's Day, it is deserted.
Only some major hotels (read more: Most luxury hotels in Hanoi) or Hotels in Hanoi Old Quarter are open to serve foreign tourists who want to celebrate Tet in Hanoi.
This period will last about 3-5 days. Then, everything is back to normal.
So if you go to Hanoi on the days of Tet Holiday (from 1st to 5th), you will not be able to go exploring. This city is desolate, with very few people. These days, if you want to move and travel around Hanoi (read more: Best places to visit Hanoi), there are only two means of transport: taxi or public bus (the mini buses suspend their service during this period ). It is very difficult to rent a motorcycle on New Year's days. Many attractions will be closed, except the temples and pagodas.
But if you do not visit Hanoi at Tet, you will not know the Tet in Hanoi, the Vietnamese traditional Tet Holiday.
So, can you travel in Vietnam during Tet?
I have advice for you: Come to Hanoi just before Tet (before the New Year's Eve). They are the last 5 days of the year when millions people in Hanoi and thousands of immigrants head to Hanoi to go shopping for Tet to hope getting the best things in a new year.
It's the most crowded time and Tet atmosphere pervades everywhere. You'll meet the Before New Year's Eve flower markets, and Hanoi's Old Quarter is full with people and goods.
You should stay in Hanoi on New Year's Eve, the night that transfers from the old year to the new one to see the Vietnamese people celebrate Tet (New Year).
In the early days of the new year, you should not be in Hanoi, come to the villages in the suburbs of Hanoi, or choose from the following locations to come: Sapa (read more: From Hanoi to Sapa), Halong Bay, Trang An - Ninh Binh (read more: From Hanoi to Ninh Binh), Hoian [read more: How to get from Hanoi to Hoi An], Nha Trang (read more: From Hanoi to Nha Trang)... However, I recommend you book a tour package to travel to these locations during Tet, because they are also as quiet as Hanoi (the capital of Vietnam) in Tet.
Because only a few hotels, cafés and restaurants open for tourists everything becomes more expensive than usual.
You should pay close attention to your travel schedule. Train tickets, bus tickets booking time and hotel rental periods should be streamlined when you want to visit Vietnam during Tet.
If you arrive to Saigon during Tet in Hochiminh City, then about 7-10 days after the Lunar New Year, you should be in Hanoi to attend the traditional Tet festivals in Vietnam (held in big temples and pagodas such as Huong Pagoda, Yen Tu Pagoda).
If you want to know what date is Vietnam's Lunar New Year on the Gregorian calendar, please contact me.
I sincerely thank you for reading this article on my website. Some articles on this web may have typos or my wording is not right with your writing style and language. If you really want to help me to correct the spelling mistakes which should not exist on each article, I look forward to your help by pointing out to me that the erroneous or incorrect grammar writing. I am waiting for your help. It is a wonderful gift that you donated to me. Sincerely!
When is the rainy season in Hanoi Vietnam?
What is the name of Vietnam capital city?


We offer a 30 day refund for unused services. Your refund will be the amount you paid for your first 30 days of service, less a 20% administration fee on, provided that during such 30 day period no emails were sent from the account and the account was not under a seasonal hold. Please note that all email senders terminated by SMTP due to poor sending practices, including excessive, abusive emails or unsolicited mailing lists, will not be eligible for a refund. Please contact customer support at 877-705-9362 (toll free) or at +1-617-500-8675 (should be replaced with +1-613-699-7809) (for callers outside of the USA).


text:
Home News Vida report: 'Dangerous lens' of male bias remains in literary criticism
Vida report: 'Dangerous lens' of male bias remains in literary criticism
Published June 20, 2018 by Heloise Wood
Vida's latest survey of gender bias in literary criticism has revealed less than half of publications achieved gender equality, with the New York Review of Books halving...
Vida's latest survey of gender bias in literary criticism has revealed less than half of publications achieved gender equality, with the New York Review of Books halving its coverage of female voices.
The feminist arts organisation has warned that the dominance of white male literary critics "creates a dangerous lens through which the world is viewed". Its annual survey found showed that female writers accounted for less than 40% of articles and reviews at eight of 15 publications.
Vida, which examines the gender imbalance of both critics and authors whose books are reviewed, examined 15 major literary publications and found that eight failed to reach gender equality last year. These included the London Review of Books at 26.9% female representation, which has improved by a quarter since 2016, the New Yorker at 39.7%, the Times Literary Supplement at 35.9% and the New York Review of Books at 23.3% of its published writers being female - in 2016, 46.9% of contributors had been female.
The TLS, which recently revealed a readership rise of 20%, also published the greatest number of pieces written by nonbinary writers, though this only accounted for 0.1% of the work they published in 2017 - four pieces out of 3,748.
Two publications, Granta and Poetry, published 50% or more female writers, while five featured between 40% and 49.9% women, including Harper's, the New York Times Book Review and the Paris Review.
The survey revealed that the most improved publication in terms of equal coverage across gender is the Paris Review, which published 35% women in 2016 compared to their 2017 figure of 42.7%.
"This marks a continued upward trend for this literary staple, although 2017 was also marked by the resignation of their editor-in-chief, due to allegations of sexual misconduct," the report's authors Amy King and Sarah Clark, Vida board of directors, said. Lorin Stein resigned in December last year following an internal investigation into his behaviour.
King and Clark mentioned other issues which have dominated the landscape since Harvey Weinstein was accused of decades of sexual misconduct last October.
"In this current political climate, amid the #MeToo era, we must ask if abuse and bigotry are anything but the norm in the world of American arts and letters," the report reads.
"What is 'normal' about the Nobel Prize in Literature being cancelled for this first time since World War II because the Swedish Academy has been unable to resolve sexual harassment and abuse allegations?" Last week it emerged that Jean-Claude Arnault, the French photographer at the centre of the sexual assault allegations which have led to the postponement of this year's Nobel Prize in Literature, had been charged with rape.
Vida revealed that the total number of writers who completed the VIDA Count survey is up by almost 15 percentage points since 2016, although online coverage is not included.
Hachette gender pay gap report: 'moving in the right direction'
Puffin signs David O'Doherty 'danger guide'
New York debates Amazon 'danger level'
BookExpo 2018: Riggio keynotes at 'reimagined' fair
Lawsuit reveals takeover bid for B&N by rival 'book retailer'


text:
Desmond File
IE 8: Compliance Fix or House of Cards?
Looks like things are heating up around the next version of Internet Explorer, expected to arrive in beta form in the first half of 2008. Back in December 2007, IE Group GM Dean Hachamovitch wrote in a blog posting that IE 8 had passed the Acid2 compatibility test. Microsoft has also made it known that developers will get details about the new browser at the MIX08 conference, scheduled to take place March 5 to 7 in Las Vegas.
Now, a small brouhaha has kicked up around a recent blog posting by IE Platform Architect Chris Wilson, who informed developers that IE 8 will implement a new, super-standards mode as a way to provide optimal standards compatibility in IE 8. The new mode, implemented using meta tags, joins the existing "Standards mode" and "Quirks mode" found in IE 7 to ensure proper rendering of existing Web pages -- even those turned for the compliance-challenged IE 5 and IE 6 browsers.
To Wilson's reasoning, the new mode will let developers strive for aggressive standards compliance (via super-standards mode) without having to worry about IE 8 immediately breaking existing pages. "We also think this approach allows developers to opt in to standards behavior on their own schedule and as it makes sense to them, instead of forcing developers into a responsive mode when a new version of IE has different behavior on their current pages," Wilson wrote.
But a lot of developers see this as Microsoft adding yet another layer of complexity.
"If you've learned anything in developing IE, it's that new versions don't encourage developers to use standards," wrote one poster, identified as jm. "They'll open their site in IE and see that their IE 5 code looks the same now. If it looks the same, then why change coding techniques? I thought IE 8 was about advancing the Web. I thought advancing the Web didn't include stuffing your head with useless meta tags."
Over on Digg.com, poster potifar had this to say: "Gah, that's a horrible 'solution.' We'll never be able to get a free, open, standards-based Web if Microsoft [is] going to keep forcing us to use their weird hacks to get IE to work properly. I say make IE 8 properly standards-compliant by default, open up the development process and inform the Web developer crowd about what to expect, and solve the IE problem for good."
What do you think? Is Microsoft piling more cards on top of a shaky house of compliance? Or is this truly a way to let Web developers ease their sites away from the legacy of IE 5 and IE 6? E-mail me at [email protected].
Posted by Michael Desmond on 01/24/2008 at 1:15 PM


A 28-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with shooting and killing her wife in their Mount Holly home, officials said.
Police went to the Mill Street home of Laura Bluestein and Felicia Dormans, 29, Sunday after a relative of Bluestein notified them of an assault at the residence, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said.
Inside, officers found Bluestein and Dormans, who had been shot in the face, authorities said. Dormans was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bluestein, who was taken into custody without incident, has been charged with murder, weapons possession, and tampering with evidence, authorities said. She was scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon.
The Prosecutor's Office said investigators are seeking to establish a motive for the fatal shooting.
Dormans' Facebook page said the couple had been married since 2016.


text:
Moody's: How the new Katselis law "regulates" economy, society and banks
By Giannis Agouridis/ Published on: 05/04/2019
In the latest report of Moody's credit rating agency there is mention of the new framework for the protection of the primary home for poor households, which, according to the Greek Parliament on March 29th, is positive for the Greek state and the Greek banks' creditworthiness. The rating agency says it is more rigorous to include borrowers in the new law to protect their home from seizure.
As Moody's highlights, the Greek government will benefit because the law resolves a major disagreement with Greece's creditors in the Eurozone, who delayed the disbursement of the almost 1 billion euro (0.5% of GDP) tranche they had promised to Greece in exchange for the continued vigorous implementation of reforms. "Although Greece does not have an urgent need for money, the agreement is a positive signal that the Greek authorities continue to feel obliged by their commitments and a clear indication that the "strengthened supervision" that has been put in place for Greece after the end of the third program works satisfactorily", Moody's notes.
Repayment of the IMF
In addition, Moody's continues, saying: "We believe that Eurozone creditors will agree to release of the 1 billion euro tranche on April 5. They may also give the green light for Greece to repay part of the outstanding balance of its relatively expensive loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), worth 9.4 billion euro, respectively, as did Ireland and Portugal. Both of these steps would enhance investor confidence", added the credit rating agency's report.
The scheme is positive for the banks
It is also noted that the new scheme is positive for the creditworthiness of Greek banks as it will strengthen their efforts to reduce the large NPEs reserve, which accounted for 45.4% of total loans in the banking sector in December 2018. "Banks will benefit from the revised bankruptcy law because it has more rigorous eligibility criteria, limiting the extent of bad-payers", Moody's said.
"We expect the new law to discourage most strategic bad payers and strengthen the ability of banks to exert pressure to restructure loans to borrowers with a debt service capability. In addition, in real cases where borrowers have problems with servicing loans, the state subsidy will also help restructure mortgage loans in a sustainable way. These tools will help banks reduce their NPEs, aiming also at the reduction of the average NPE rate for the system to around 21.2% by the end of 2021", Moody's stressed./IBNA
Bulgarian court rules to back regulator on gas grid capacity expansion contract
Romania: Are the Italians leaving? And is Australia and Kuwait coming?
Akinci sends letter to Anastasiades on the natural gas, we will stop if you accept what Ankara says
Stournaras sends pro-reform message to new Greek government
The middle class decided on Tsipras' fate
The Government and the Bank of Greece estimate a diminished surplus
Đukanović received congratulations on the occasion of Montenegro Statehood Day
Kozloduy nuclear power station to be "tested" on 13 and 14 July
The law on divestments in Cyprus changes despite reactions
Nicosia's objection was sustained, the EU moves forward with targeted measures


text:
Tax Credits: Critical dates
Tax credits, unlike other benefits, follow an annual cycle based on the tax year. Tax Credit claims last for a maximum of one tax year.
We have produced a pdf timeline of the basic tax credits annual cycle, and set out below the critical dates in the annual cycle:
Tax year (6 April – following 5 April)
These dates mark the start and finish of the UK tax year and therefore the start of the tax credits year which is aligned to it.
Tax credits claims last a maximum of one tax year, although they can be shorter depending on circumstances.
Appeal / mandatory reconsideration request (30 days from date on award notice or decision letter)
When an initial award of tax credits is made, an award notice should be issued showing the decision. If HMRC have decided not to make an award, a decision letter should be issued.
Throughout the year, and following the end of the tax year, award notices will continue to be issued when changes are made to the claim and when the claim is finalised.
Each of these notices has a 30 day appeal time limit which runs from the date on the award notice/decision letter. For decisions made on or after 6 April 2014 claimants must first request a mandatory reconsideration of the decision before the appeal can continue to Tribunal.
Late Appeal / mandatory reconsideration request (31 days from date on award notice – 13 months from date on award notice)
Once the 30 day appeal time limit has passed, there is still a possibility of requesting a reconsideration but it will be a 'late mandatory reconsideration request'. You can find out more about late appeals in our appeals section.
Once 13 months following the date of the award notice has passed, a late appeal is no longer possible.
Appeal following mandatory reconsideration decision (1 month from date on mandatory reconsideration notice).
If the claimant is not happy with the decision made by HMRC following a request for mandatory reconsideration then they can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal within 1 month. The appeal must be lodged directly with the Tribunal and this is called 'direct lodgement'. See our appeals section for more information.
Annual declaration / 'Renewals' (July 31)
This is the normal deadline for returning renewals forms. In some cases the renewals deadline may be different. This normally happens when the renewals notice is issued at some other time of year. In those cases the deadline will be 30 days from the date on the renewals notice.
Reinstate claims after termination for non-renewal (30 days from the date on the statement of account)
If a claim is terminated due to non-renewal, HMRC will issue a statement of account (TC607) confirming the termination and showing any overpayment. Claimants have 30 days from the date on the statement of account to contact HMRC and complete their renewals. If they do so within this time limit, the new claim can be treated as made from the previous 6th April.
Good cause deadline (January 31)
If a claim is terminated due to non-renewal and the 30 day deadline has passed for reinstating the claim, claimants may still be able to have the claim reinstated from 6 April if they had good cause for missing the deadline provided they show HMRC good cause by 31 January.
Now that UC is available across the UK, most people can no longer make a brand new claim for tax credits. The legislation (Regulation 6 of SI.No.65/2018) covers the situation where a tax credit renewal claim is accepted by HMRC where there was a good cause for missing both the 31 July deadline and the 30-day grace period. This means that if a person can show HMRC that they had good cause for missing the deadlines and they contact HMRC to renew by 31 January following the renewal deadline, HMRC will reinstate the tax credit claim as a renewal from from the previous 6 April. This will be for the full tax year if the person has not claimed UC, or up until the day before the UC award starts if they have already claimed.
We explain more about good cause in the renewals section.
Confirm estimated income (January 31)
If a claimant cannot provide their actual income for the tax year just ended by July 31st (or whatever deadline applies in their case), they can provide an estimate to HMRC.
The claimant must then provide the actual income to HMRC, either by giving the figure or confirming the earlier estimate by 31 January.
Failure to do so will result in HMRC finalising the claim for the year just ended with the estimated income given which may be incorrect.
January 31 is also the deadline for self-assessment returns.
Last reviewed/updated 20 April 2020


Sharon is a gorgeous and talented cake maker based in Sydney, you can find her inspiring cakes here . I thought I would also showcase a pretty party and a farm cake she recently made. You might recognise the adorable farm cake as it was recently photographed in Shop 4 Kids.
This beautiful party below was in honour of her gorgeous daughter's christening.
the cupcakes, place cards, the menus were embossed had a little flower on them, all the butterflies and rose garlands she put up at the restaurant herself. The beautiful favour boxes were also made by Sharon -all 40 of them, so 80 tops and bottoms & it was an original origami box. The colour palette for the cupcakes is just gorgeous don't you think and the freshness of the tables is beautiful. What a gorgeous day Sharon!


How often do you want LegionWar to occur?
I know how much people love LegionWar as I am a huge fan of it myself and was just wondering what the vote is on having it occur more often. Please choose the best of the options above as the results will directly affect the server.
O think two times a week is good, you don`t want it too much either.
Keep in mind though Youkai... People don't want to be defending many times a week, it isn't fun, nor is it easy.
Unless we win it early, or lose it.
I like Brit's idea of having the LW winner reset every week also.
Wrong, it's not convenient FOR YOU, and the exception of the other players in your timezone. If the LW time changes, it'll affect a handful of other players. King should make a poll and list times, then people can vote on a time where MOST, not all, players will be able to attend LW.


You think? Thanks very much dude!!!
Yeah at first i could not think of proper name and then i thought : wait a minute assin sounds like a japanese name and it is funny too so there you go!!! Thanks a lot my friend!


Place colored pieces into the game field to connect the center and the colored sides.
Intructions: - Choose any colored piece from the right, - Press and release the left mouse button, - Move the piece there you want, - Left click again to release piece. :) While you dragging piece, you can rotate it by mouse wheel or a Space key. Good luck!


text:
Home Blog (original) "Lutheran Theology and Global Capitalism" [Or "Empire-building and Me"]
"Lutheran Theology and Global Capitalism" [Or "Empire-building and Me"]
Pastor Robin Morgan, occasional co-conspirator in these postings, links in this book review the grisly underside of today's global capitalism with the results of her just-completed doctoral dissertation. In that dissertation she takes case studies of Lutheran ministry here in St. Louis and "crosses" them with Luther's axiom of God's ambidextrous work in the world. Although she doesn't literally say so to make her case, she could have: "He's got the whole world in his hands–BOTH of them." As you may remember from her earlier postings, "care" and "redemption" are her labels for the work of God's left and right hands, respectively. Applying that axiom to local Lutheran church history may seem reasonable enough. But how can she possibly connect that with the yucky global megalith that Perkins exposes in his "confessions?" Read on.Peace & Joy!
John Perkins. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.
(New York: Plume Books, 2006)
303 pp, paperback. Price: US$15.00
This book by John Perkins is a helpful, if painful, explanation of how our country, the USA, has gotten to this place in our history. He answers the question on so many people's minds right after 9/11, "Why do they hate us?" He offers an insider's overview of U.S. foreign policy since World War II.
Perkins opens his book with his definition of economic hit men:
"Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign "aid" organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.I should know; I was an EHM." (p.xi)
Perkins talks about his childhood and the factors that helped push him toward this life. Born in 1945, he grew up in a small New Hampshire town where his parents were teachers at a prestigious all-boys prep school. Perkins attended the prep school and absorbed the superior attitude of students and faculty, but he and his family were not part of the wealthy elite who made up most of the student population. His frustrations from that period of his life and his eligibility for the draft during the Vietnam War era made him an easy target for the National Security Agency when they offered him a job that included draft deferment. He says that "anger at my parents, an obsession with women, and my ambition to live the good life gave them a hook; I was seducible. My determination to excel in school and in sports, my ultimate rebellion against my father, my ability to get along with foreigners, and my willingness to lie to the police were exactly the types of attributes they sought." (p.8)After finishing his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Boston University, Perkins began his NSA training with a tour in the Peace Corps in Ecuador. He was told by NSA insiders that after the fall of Hanoi, the Amazon would become the next hot spot. Learning to live in contexts far outside the comfort zone of most North Americans and learning Spanish were important beginning steps in his training. His development was monitored by Einar Greve, an executive from MAIN, an international consulting firm, and a liaison for the NSA. Greve's assessment of Perkins' capabilities was favorable and he was offered a job as an economic forecaster with MAIN. In the process, he was also upgraded from learning to be a spy, to learning to be an EHM.
Perkins says there were two primary objectives of this work. "First, I was to justify huge international loans that would funnel money back to MAIN and other U.S. companies (such as Bechtel, Halliburton, Stone & Webster, and Brown & Root) through massive engineering and construction projects. Second, I would work to bankrupt the countries that received those loans (after they had paid MAIN and the other U.S. contractors, of course) so that they would be forever beholden to their creditors, and so they would present easy targets when we needed favors, including military bases, UN votes, or access to oil and other natural resources."(pp.17-18)
Perkins' book is full of examples of what he experienced as an EHM in Iran, Ecuador, Panama, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. He tells how the EHM were the first offensive line in the economic global domination that continues unabated in the U.S. government, international corporations and a few wealthy families. If the EHM couldn't get the job of enslaving less developed nations done, the jackals, professional assassins, were brought in to eliminate leaders in those nations who stood in the way of the "corporatocracy." If the jackals failed, then an overt military solution had to be implemented. However, all-out military empire building is considered too risky since World War II and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. More covert economic means have become the weapons of choice among today's empire builders.
In this short review, I will look at only one of Perkins' examples that, I believe, is most relevant to the Thursday Theology audience and can lead to some theological discussion of this most troubling topic. After his initial time in Ecuador and some time back in Boston for more in-depth training, Perkins was sent to Indonesia in 1971. Indonesia was considered the key to keeping Southeast Asia from falling into communist hands. To ensure America's dominance in Indonesia's future, MAIN had been commissioned to construct an electrification project for the whole of Java. Perkins was to make optimistic economic growth forecasts upon which the forecasts about electrical demands of the island a nd hence the construction of power plants, transmission and distribution lines would be based.
The man who was making the electrical forecasts was Howard Parker, an engineer retired from New England Electric System. Parker was unwilling to inflate the numbers, even though he well knew what his superiors wanted to hear. In private, he tried to reason with Perkins to act responsibly, but Perkins was young and still looking to make a name for himself. Perkins knew that Parker had already sabotaged his earlier career with New England because he wouldn't play the game or abandon his integrity. As they argued, Perkins said, "You'll look pretty stupid if I come up with what everyone expects-a boom to rival the California gold rush-and you forecast electricity growth at a rate comparable to Boston in the 1960s." Parker's next words struck a raw nerve in Perkins, "Unconscionable! That's what it is. You–all of you-you've sold your souls to the devil. You're in it for the money." (p.37)
Parker's words were only one of the wedges that worked their way into Perkins' conscience during his time in Indonesia. Another wedge came in the form of the poverty that Perkins saw from his window at the Hotel InterContinental Indonesia, the country's fanciest hotel. "I would look out my window, across the opulence of the hotel's gardens and swimming pools, and see the hovels that fanned out for miles beyond. I would know that babies were dying out there for lack of food and potable water, and that infants and adults alike were suffering from horrible diseases and living in terrible conditions." (p.31)
Perkins made the acquaintance of a young man named Rasmon, an economics student at a local university, and began to spend time with him outside the domain of the MAIN community. "Rasy" began to teach him Bahasa Indonesia, the easy-to-learn language that had been introduced by President Sukarno after independence from the Dutch to begin to bring together the 17,500 islands of Indonesia with their 350 languages and dialects. Rasy also took Perkins into parts of Jakarta that rarely, if ever, saw Americans or Europeans.
Perkins relates one particular night with Rasy and his friends that stands out as a turning point in his thinking about his job. They went to see a dalang – famous Indonesian puppet master. After a classical selection from ancient Indonesian texts, the dalang produced a puppet of Richard Nixon dressed like Uncle Sam. Next to him was another puppet carrying a bucket that was decorated with dollar signs. Behind the two puppets appeared a map of the Middle East and Far Eastern countries. Each country hung on a hook and Nixon would pick up the Islamic countries one by one, utter some kind of expletive (Muslim dogs, Mohammed's monsters, Islamic devils) and throw them into the bucket. When Nixon picked up Indonesia, he said, "Give this one to the World Bank. See what it can do to make us some money off Indonesia." (p.50) A third puppet was introduced at that point who represented a popular Indonesian politician. He stood between Nixon and the bucket man shouting, "Stop! Indonesia is sovereign." (p. 50) The crowd broke out in wild applause and the show was over.
Later over coffee, Perkins, Rasy and his friends discussed the show. Perkins was understandably shaken by the performance, but one young woman in the group challenged him. "'Doesn't your government look at Indonesia and other countries as though we are just a bunch of…' She searched for the word. 'Grapes,' one of her friends coached. 'Exactly. A bunch of grapes. You can pick and choose. Keep England. Eat China. And throw away Indonesia.' 'After you've taken all our oil,' another woman added." (p.51)
Perkins asked them why they thought the dalang had singled out Muslim countries rather than the supposed "domino" countries of Southeast Asia. Again, the first young woman responded that the West, especially the U.S., wants to control the world. The Soviet Union has stood in the way, but its communist ideology is not strong enough to sustain it. Muslims have the faith to stand against such dominating forces, even more than Christians, she said. "We will take our time," one of the men chimed in, "and then like a snake we will strike." Perkins was horrified and asked, "What can we do to change this?"
The young woman looked him straight in the eyes. "'Stop being so greedy,' she said, 'and so selfish. Realize that there is more to the world than your big houses and fancy stores. People are starving and you worry about oil for your cars. Babies are dying of thirst and you search the fashion magazines for the latest styles. Nations like ours are drowning in poverty, but your people don't even hear our cries for help….You must open your hearts to the poor and downtrodden, instead of driving them further into poverty and servitude. There's not much time left. If you don't change, you're doomed." (p.53)
On the last night Perkins was in Indonesia, shortly before dawn he awakened from a dream. He had seen the Christ standing in front of him. Not the fair-skinned, blond Jesus he had talked to as a child, but Christ with curly black hair and a dark complexion. This Jesus bent down and heaved something onto his shoulder. "I expected a cross. Instead, I saw the axle of a car with the attached wheel rim protruding above his head, forming a metallic halo. Grease dripped like blood down his forehead. He straightened, peered into my eyes, and said, 'If I were to come now, you would see me differently.' I asked him why. 'Because,' he answered, 'the world has changed.'" (p.58)
All of this happened in 1971.
It wasn't until 2003, after 9/11, after the birth of his daughter, after years of soul-searching that Perkins finally decided to go public with his story in this book. He'd started it many times before, but had always backed away for any number of reasons: pressure from his old colleagues, bribes to keep quiet, unwillingness to deal with the fall-out. He had quit MAIN in 1980, but continued to live in the same circles, gradually moving away from the centers of power, but still keeping their secrets. Throughout the book Perkins swings back and forth between the calls of his conscience and the allure of his James Bond-esque lifestyle.
Though he never again relates an overtly theological moment such as the one above, Perkins does open a door for theological discussion when he distinguishes between the American republic and the global empire we have become:
"The republic offered hope to the world. Its foundation was moral and philosophical rather than materialistic. It was based on concepts of equality and justice for all. But it also could be pragmatic, not merely a utopian dream but also a living, breathing, magnanimous entity. It could open its arms to shelter the downtrodden. It was an inspiration and at the same time a force to reckon with; if needed, it could swing into action, as it had during World War II, to defend the principles for which it stood. The very institutions-the big corporations, banks, and government bureaucracies-that threaten the republic could be used instead to institute fundamental changes in the world. Such institutions possess the communications networks and transportation systems necessary to end disease, starvation, and even wars-if only they could be convinced to take that course."The global empire, on the other hand, is the republic's nemesis. It is self-centered, self-serving, greedy, and materialistic, a system based on mercantilism. Like empires before, its arms open only to accumulate resources, to grab everything in sight and stuff its insatiable maw. It will use whatever means it deems necessary to help its rulers gain more power and riches." (p.150-151)
Whether or not you agree with his definitions here or his rosy portrayal of the American republic, Perkins' premise that the institutions themselves can be used for good or evil, is one very familiar to students of Luther. Throughout the Large Catechism Luther offers long laundry lists of institutions and circumstances through which God cares for the creation and of how human beings are to be about their God-given callings in the world. In the explanation of the first commandment Luther says that "we are to trust in God alone, to look to him alone, and to expect him to give us only good things; for it is he who gives us body, life, food, drink, nourishment, health, protection, peace, and all necessary temporal and eternal blessings.In addition, God protects us from misfortune and rescues and delivers us when any evil befalls us….Although much that is good comes to us from human beings, nevertheless, anything received according to his command and ordinance in fact comes from God." (Martin Luther, The Large Catechism, The Book of Concord, eds. Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000, 389)
In the explanation of the First Article of the Apostle's Creed he says that
"I hold and believe that I am God's creature, that is, that he has given me and constantly sustains my body, soul, and life, my members great and small, all my senses, my reason and understanding, and the like; my food and drink, clothing, nourishment, spouse and children, servants, house and farm, etc….Moreover, he gives all physical and temporal blessings – good government, peace, security. Thus, we learn from this article that none of us has life – or anything else that has been mentioned here or can be mentioned – from ourselves, nor can we by ourselves preserve any of them, however small and unimportant. All this is comprehended in the word 'Creator'." (Ibid., 433)
God as Creator has given human beings life and sustains us through the processes of the creation. Many, if not most, of the good things we receive and are nurtured by come through other human beings, but all of it has been ordained by the Creator. Both of these lists from Luther are describing human life from the womb. There is nothing in these descriptions that is overtly Christian. Though, of course, Luther was speaking to Christians in the Large Catechism, he was distinguishing the Creator's care for His creatures from the work of redemption that was accomplished by Jesus Christ and is carried on by the church.This distinction and its ramifications for ministry are theological threads that offer us a way to begin cooperating with God's work in the world instead of having God as an enemy. We are being judged for our greed, our willingness to look the other way and to defer making any changes in our lives that will begin to ease the burden we are putting on the rest of the world. But most of all we are being judged for our idolatry. We have turned from our Creator, the only One who can provide sustenance and nurture for His creatures. We believe that we have our own resources, that we can control, not only our own lives, but the life of the rest of the world.
It's Good Friday morning as I write this, so I suppose I'm immersed in the Passion story at the moment, but it is only the Passion of our Lord that can make any difference here. We have abandoned our callings as citizens and Christians, we have abandoned our Lord in our quest for power. Whether or not we have known about the things Perkins talks about, most of us reading these words have benefited and continue to benefit from the empire building that is happening in our name. We have been overcome by the evil inside of us and the evil which has overtaken the institutions in our country. Let us kneel at the cross, whether it be wood or bronze or shaped like a car axle, and confess our sin.
It is only His love for us, His willingness to sacrifice Himself on our behalf when we are still enmeshed in our evil that is our hope. So many of us feel stuck and don't know what to do even though we know something is terribly wrong. At the root, we can't do anything. We have been overcome by evil and only God's Messiah, Jesus Christ through His life, death and resurrection, can change the pathetic state we're in to new life. Fooling ourselves into thinking that if we just work harder or maneuver more effectively through the corridors of power we can essentially change what's going on will only feed our mistaken belief that we are in control. At bottom, there is nothing we can do, but reach out to Him and trust that He will lead us where we need to go.
After this, go back and read Perkins' chapter, "What You Can Do." Then you'll have the freedom through Christ to make a difference, a real difference.
Lastly, to our sisters and brothers around the globe who read these Thursday Theologies I plead, Don't give up on us. There are Christians in the U.S. who want to get loose from this empire building, but we are overwhelmed. Unfortunately, most of the time we still bring our arrogance and sense of entitlement to the table, but we still need your help. We know we're in trouble. First, we need our Lord and secondly, we need you to stand with us as we challenge the horror that is our foreign policy. We have been blinded by our greed and we need your open-eyed honesty, speaking the truth in love.
Pastor Robin J. Morgan


text:
Canons: Sixth prebend
CANONS OF THE 6TH PREBEND, NORWICH
John Salisbury (fn. 1) 1538-1539. Suffragan bp. of Thetford.
Apptd. by king in foundation charter 2 May 1538 (L. & P. XIII i no. 1115 (4)). Dean 1539.
Elizeus Ferreys (fn. 2) D.D. ?-1548.
Occ. 2 Nov. 1547 (C.P.R. 1547-8 p. 58). D. by 20 Aug. 1548 (Reg./11/17 f. 137).
Henry King ?-1554.
Depriv. of a preb. (fn. 3) 29 March 1554, and succeeded by Thomas Pecocke (P.R.O., E 331 Norwich/1; C.P.R. 1553-4 p. 384).
Thomas Pecocke M.A. 1554-1557.
Pres. by queen to a preb. 10 Apr. 1554, in succession to Henry King (C.P.R. 1553-4 p. 384). Instit. 23 Apr. (Reg./12/18 pt. ii f. 46; P.R.O., E 331 Norwich/1). Res. by 10 Jan. 1557 (C.P.R. 1555-7 p. 503), apparently on exch. with Thomas Ellys for 7th preb. of Ely (cf. Ely, G/1/8 f. 32v).
Thomas Ellys (fn. 4) 1557-1561.
Pres. by queen 10 Jan. 1557, apparently on exch. (C.P.R. 1555-7 p. 503). Instit. by proxy 12 March in succession to Thomas Pecocke (Reg./12/18 pt. ii f. 165v). D. by 27 June 1561 and succeeded by Nicholas Wendon (C.P.R. 1560-3 p. 123).
Nicholas Wendon M.A. 1561-1570.
Pres. by queen 27 June 1561 in succession to Thomas Ellys (C.P.R. 1560-3 p. 123; cf. Corresp. Matt. Parker p. 142). Instit. 4 July (Reg./13/19 f. 52). Reported 18 July 1567 to be at Louvain and not in orders (Strype, Parker III 159). (fn. 5) Said to be in chapter 5 Apr. 1570 (DCN 24/1 f. 23v).
Robert Johnson B.D. 1570-1575.
Instal. as a preb. (fn. 6) 7 July 1570 (DCN 24/1 f. 25). Res. by 25 Apr. 1575 (fn. 7) and succeeded by Griffin Toy (C.P.R. 1572-5 no. 3203).
Griffin Toy M.A. 1575-1577.
Pres. by queen 25 Apr. 1575 in succession to Robert Johnson (C.P.R. 1575-8 no. 3203). Occ. in chapter by proxy 1 Feb. 1576 (DCN 24/1 f. 41v). Instit. 17 Sept. (Reg./14/20 pt. ii f. 7). Res. the 6th preb. by 25 Oct. 1577 (C.P.R. 1575-8 no. 1442).
William Whitaker M.A. 1577-1595.
Pres. by queen 25 Oct. 1577 (C.P.R. 1575-8 no. 1442). Instal. by proxy 23 Feb. 1578 (DCN 24/1 f. 53v). D. 4 Dec. 1595 (W. Whitaker, Opera Theologica (Geneva, 1610) 1702; DCN 1/24 f. 117v).
Thomas Puckering D.D. 1595-1616.
Instal. 12 Dec. 1595 (DCN 1/24 f. 117v) and 24 Sept. 1596 (ibid. f. 118v). Res. by 15 June 1616 (P.R.O., C 66/2125).
John Spendlove M.A. 1616-1666.
Pres. by king 15 June 1616 (P.R.O., C 66/2125). Instal. 24 June (DCN 24/2 f. 12). Occ. in chapter 5 June 1666 (DCN 24/3 f. 70). D. 8 July (m.i., Norwich cath.) (Blomefield, Hist. Norfolk III 670).
John Rhodes B.D. 1666-1667.
Pres. by king 14 July 1666 (DCN 24/3, unnumbered folio at back). Instal. 5 Sept. (DCN 24/3 f. 70v). D. 26 Sept. 1667 (m.i., Norwich cath.) (Blomefield, Hist. Norfolk III 670; Diary of Samuel Newton p. 22; DCN 24/3 f. 76).
Hezekiah Burton B.D. 1667-1681.
Pres. by king 3 Oct. 1667 (DCN 24/3, unnumbered folio at back). Instal. 24 Oct. (ibid. f. 76). D. by 6 Sept. 1681 (ibid. f. 168; cf. Surrey R.O., PR Barnes, for burial 14 Sept.).
Richard Kidder M.A. 1681-1691.
Instal. 16 Sept. 1681 (DCN 24/3 f. 168). Bp. of Bath and Wells 1691.
Charles Trimnel D.D. 1691-1708.
Instal. 4 Dec. 1691 (DCN 24/4 ff. 2v-3). Bp. of Norwich 1708.
Benjamin Beck M.A. 1708-1729.
Instal. 27 March 1708 (DCN 24/4 f. 143). D. 2 March 1729 (m.i., North Repps, Norf.) (E. Farrer, Church Heraldry of Norfolk (Norwich, 1887-93) II 437; DCN 24/4 f. 276).
Samuel Salter D.D. 1729-1756.
Pres. by king by 5 March 1729 (Hist. Reg. Chron. 1729, xiv 17). Instal. 13 March (DCN 24/4 ff. 276-277v). D. 27 Aug. / 16 Sept. 1756 (P.R.O., PROB 11/825, PCC 261 Glazier; Reg./22/30A f. 189).
Horace Hammond D.D. 1756-1786.
Pres. by king; instal. 28 Oct. 1756 (Gent. Mag. 1756, xxvi 596; DCN 24/5 f. 73r-v). D. 11 Oct. 1786 (Gent. Mag. 1786, lvi (2) 910).
John Pretyman M.A. 1786-1817.
Pres. by king and mandate for instal. 3 Nov. 1786 (DCN 32/6). Instal. 16 Nov. (DCN 24/5 ff. 235v-236v) or 19 Nov. (DCN 32/6 endorsement). D. June 1817 (Gent. Mag. 1817, lxxxvii (1) 643).
Charles Nourse Wodehouse M.A. 1817-1860.
Pres. by king 4 July 1817 (DCN 32/11). Instal. 9 July (DCN 24/6 ff. 130v- 131v). Res. by 24 March 1860 (Reg./27/34 f. 189v).
1. Formerly prior of Horsham St. Faith, Norf. (Valor Ecclesiasticus (1810-34) III 365), with Titchfield abbey, Hants, in commendam (Faculty Office Reg. 1534-49 p. 114).
2. Formerly abbot of Wymondham, Norf. (Faculty Office Reg. 1534-49, p. 152; L. & P. XIII i no. 178).
3. The identification of this with the 6th preb. depends on the succession to Nicholas Wendon and the seeming impossibility of fitting these four prebendaries into any other prebend. Le Neve-Hardy gives them in the 4th prebend, but the succession in that prebend is explicit from Edmund Drake at the foundation to Thomas Smyth in 1567.
4. Formerly prior of Augustinian priory of Little Leighs, Essex (L. & P. X no. 1015 (33)).
5. See entry under Archdeacons of Suffolk and note.
6. No number or predecessor is given, but Johnson's successor, Griffin Toy, is explicitly said to res. the 6th preb. in 1577.
7. He was referred to by Abp. Parker 15 Nov. 1573 as 'cocking abroad, with his four several prebends (as they say) in new-erected churches, both against statute and his oath' (Corresp. Matt. Parker p. 450).


text:
Short & Sweet: 'The Bodyguard' is a great 'ladies night out'
By Broadway in Chicago; Video by College of DuPage Multimedia Services
Updated 2/8/2017 3:13 PM
Daily Herald Guest Critic Jean Kartje, vice president of academic affairs for College of DuPage, joined Diana Martinez of Broadway in Chicago to see the production of "The Bodyguard, The Musical," now playing at Oriental Theatre in Chicago through Sunday, Feb. 12. Kartje said she enjoyed the special effects, which brought the live show into the multimedia world, which made it relatable to a new audience.
Here is Martinez' take:
By Diana Martinez
For this edition of Short & Sweet, I attended "The Bodyguard," which is now playing at the Oriental Theatre. My guest audience critic was Jean Kartje, who is the vice president of academic affairs at the College of DuPage. We both loved the movie, and were ready to enjoy a fun "Ladies Night Out."
This romantic musical thriller is based on the award-winning movie with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner! The live show features the beautiful R&B singer Deborah Cox as the Superstar, Rachel Marron, and TV star Judson Mills portrays the sexy bodyguard. The plot centers around Rachel who is being threatened by a psychotic stalker. Her manager is concerned as the stakes rise, and he brings in an ex-military security expert, Frank Farmer, to protect Rachel and her young son. Their relationship starts out rocky but takes a quick turn and the two fall in love. The show is romantic, suspenseful and features all of Whitney's greatest hits that sweep you back to the 1990s through its legendary music. It's a love story that lasts through the ages.
Some of the best moments of the show, aside from the singing, were the suspenseful thriller jolts that literally made me jump in my seat. Based on the gasps in the audience, I was not alone! Juxtaposed are the romantic moments that Judson Mills delivers as a sexy, handsome "strong silent type." Deborah Cox belts out about 12 of your favorite Whitney hits just about as good as anyone could. It's a demanding singing role and she does not disappoint vocally. The best acting of the night was brought by Jasmin Richardson, the jealous overshadowed sister who is also a wonderful singer.
The production style gives a big nod to cinematic elements with video clips, and scenery that irises in on tableaus and, sweeps with the music. The lighting is extensive and moves us seamlessly from natural scenes to concert lighting and thrilling moments that delivers energy to the concert scenes.
Jean and I were up on our feet at the end of the show when the entire cast comes out for an energized concert finale with the entire audience singing along to "I Wanna Dance with Somebody"
"The Bodyguard" is at the Oriental Theatre through Feb. 12. The show runs about two hours and 20 minutes with an intermission and it's a great Ladies Night Out or romantic date night show.
On behalf of the Daily Herald, and Broadway in Chicago, I'm Diana Martinez and I look forward to seeing you at the theater! Thanks for reading!
Short and Sweet Theater Reviews