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John & Becky's Movie Review of Lion
January 9, 2017 The Cool Car Guy
Becky and I went to see the new movie Lion last week at the AMC theater in Highlands Ranch, CO. The Fandango website at Lion describes the movie as follows…
"In this adaptation of the memoir A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley, a five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after he gets lost in Calcutta. Years later, he struggles with his memories of his birth family, and decides to begin a search for them…"
The Review: Lion is an amazing true story that takes place in India where a young boy goes to work with his older brother. After his brother doesn't show up, the boy, who is about five years old gets on a train that takes him close to 1,200 miles away to another part of India where they speak a different language.
The film takes you through his experience into the unknown as a child and as he grows older. The movie will really make you think and it's an incredible story of courage, love and determination, The acting and directing is good and even features Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman.
This is one of those Independent films that should win plenty of awards because it's so well done. The story is fantastic and I don't know anyone who hasn't enjoyed seeing it yet. Definitely put it on your list for this year.
We really liked it and thought it was definitely a don't miss it.
John is an auto consultant who owns CoolCarGuy.com that is a licensed car dealership in Lone Tree, CO. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy
John & Becky's Movie Review of Hidden Figures
Becky and I went to see the new movie Hidden Figures on Thursday at the AMC theater in Castle Rock, CO. The Fandango website at Hidden Figures describes the movie as follows…
"A team of female African-American mathematicians provide crucial calculations for NASA's race to the moon, all while dealing with the racist and sexist assumptions of those around them…"
The Review: Hidden Figures is a true story about three African American women who helped America win the race to get into space against the Russians. It was at a time when women were not permitted to be Engineers and that there was plenty of sexism and racism even in a place like NASA where you would think that people would only be judged based on their minds.
This is an amazing story about how these women overcame obstacles in the workforce and overlooked the racism and hypocrisy of other people to contribute to America. The challenges they had to face and overcome while at work, while being some of the "smartest people in the room", was pretty amazing and it's a great movie.
The acting and directing is great. The fact that it's a true story makes it even better. It's really a must see movie and very fitting in a society that lacks innovation the way that prior generations had to "create the math" as it were. It's kind of amazing how much we rely on computers today for so much of our lives where the generations before actually had to calculate the math to get things done and figure things out. So much so that people who were good in math at NASA were called "computers".
We all really liked it and thought it was definitely a don't miss it.


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Searles Lake Gem and Mineral Society
A 501c(3) Corporation
Searles Lake Pink Halite Our Purpose
The Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society was founded in 1939 as a non-profit organization to foster public interest in the lapidary arts and geology, especially the geology of saline minerals. The club has several activities to further these goals, including our annual Gem-O-Rama gem & mineral show. You can learn about all of our activities by going to the Site Map and then clicking on those activities of interest to you.
Hanksite Cluster from Mud
Our 2021 Gem-O-Rama gem & mineral show HAS BEEN COMPLETELY CANCELLED (ALL ACTIVITIES), click here ʘ
Pink Halite Sale, one time only, limited quantity, new (from 2021)
Nov. 6 -7, 2021, at Desert Empire Fairgrounds in Ridgecrest, CA
Show Info Flyer last updated on 15 May 2021 Link to latest show CANCELLATION information on 15 May 2021
Trona, CA 93592-0966
This web page was assembled and is maintained by Jim Fairchild. Revised 10/29/2021
All material on this web site are copyrighted by the Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society. Any and all use without the expressed written permission of the copyright owners is prohibited.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Free Essays › Religion › Profiling Terror Attacks
Profiling Terror Attacks
In the U.S., after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which massively rocked the nation, brought about tremendous changes and enforcements on the fight against terrorism. The then-President George W. Bush together with his administration responded intensively by putting up measures to counter and prevent another attack on the U.S. territory. The Department of Justice moved swiftly to seemingly the largest mass confinement of people of national origin, religion, and even race. Therefore, I agree to this proclamation which states that there has been an extreme reliance on race, religion, or even national origin in the system of identifying people who might pose a terrorist threat in the country (Racial Profiling, 2005).
Issues Involved
Racial profiling is the phenomenon whereby law enforcement officers rely much on person's race, national origin, religion or even ethnicity while carrying out arrests or searches rather than considering the information or behavior when identifying a person as the one who is involved in unlawful activities. This occurrence can bring out the outcomes when an individual is being abused, arrested, harassed, detained or even followed by the law enforcers due to her/his religious affiliation, national origin, ethnicity and/ race (Racial Profiling, 2005).
My Reasons
The move by the U.S. Government to embark on the massive detention of people of Arab and Muslim affiliations emanated from the observation that those individuals who had instigated the 9/11 attack were Muslim Arabs from the Middle East. However, constitutionally and logically this was not supposed to form the basis for the nationwide arrests of people with similar characteristics as those of the terrorists. One of the major reasons behind my agreement to the presence of excessiveness in the application of race, religion, national origin or even ethnicity in the fight against terrorism majorly emanates from the fact that not every Muslim, Arab or another individual who originates from the Middle East is a terrorist. It's very illogical for the government to assume that all Middle East population is full of terrorists. In fact, I have personally worked and schooled with these people and sincerely believe they are presumably the coolest people to interact with.
Support for My Position
After the 9/11 terrorist activity, the Bush administration directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch an extensive detention of people with Arabic origin, predominantly those from the Middle East. It was because the Government argued out that the people who had the ultimate preference of carrying out terrorist attacks were Arabs and Muslims from the Middle East. Clearly over 700 foreigners were detained after being branded as people of interest by the attorney General. The basic principle underlying the detention of these foreigners was their Muslim and Arab origin. Such approach towards terrorism had massive flaws where those engaged in terror activities aren't from a single ethnic background. Richard Reid who was commonly referred to as the shoe bomber didn't fit the U.S. profile as his father was recorded being Jamaican whereas his mother was British. The same happened to the American John Walker Lindh who was convicted by the Government of being an al Qaeda sympathizer (Johnson, 2011).
Moreover, the assumptions that many terrorists are Muslims, how is it possible to pinpoint a terror suspect in the U.S. where over one million Muslims live. Are all the young Muslim men suspects? This brings out lots of stereotypes. For instance, it is assumed that 90% of a specific form of crime is carried out by a certain religious or racial group. Bearing in mind that there are over a million people in that group, how is it logical to argue out that the whole group is suspected of committing crimes when only 1000 of them are the ones responsible for terror activities?
The government together with the relevant law enforcement agencies should come up with other comprehensive methods to identify terror-related individuals. The system used by the government to carry out racial profiling is terribly ineffective. It is because of the fact that presumably out of over a thousand people detained immediately after the 9/11 only one individual has been charged with terrorist activities. Therefore, racial profiling should be curbed as it's a big problem that affects the racial minorities in the entire United States.
Reproduction The Council of Trent


Roof leaks can be caused by numerous and varied defects. A roof leak can result in damage to finishes within a building and also lead to premature deterioration of the building fabric. Persistent roof leaks can lead to areas within a building becoming unusable.
A leaking roof, if left unchecked, can therefore lead to expensive and disruptive consequences for a building owner or manager.
Typically the cause of roof leaks will not be straightforward to identify. Daventry Roofing will need to carry out a detailed Roof Leak Investigation on the leaking roof.
Tracing a roof leak, or roof leaks, involves carrying out methodic Leak Detection Investigations. These will systematically eliminate the possible causes of a roof leak until the source is identified.
Thermal Imaging of a leaking roof to identify areas of trapped moisture or defective insulation that may be due to roof leaks.
Moisture Scanning Leak Detection to locate areas of damp insulation or moisture paths attributable to roof leaks.
Dye Testing of drains or selected details that may be contributing to a roof leak, or confirm the integrity of elements on a leaking roof.
Visual Inspection to locate suspect elements that may be causing a roof leak.
Hose and Flood Testing to confirm the integrity of suspect elements and trace roof leaks.
Daventry Roofing employs the most suitable technique or combination of techniques to solve water ingress problems and confirm the source of a roof leak.
Typically, once the roof leak has been identified, a leaking roof can be repaired.
Daventry Roofing provides detailed interpretative reports that indicate the source(s) of the roof leak, or roof leaks, the potential remedial solutions and budget costs if required.
Daventry Roofing can also arrange and supervise the remedial works required to address the roof leaks.


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Faithful to its traditions the New York Times has this long story about McCain's youngest son, Jimmy, just returned from serving in Iraq in the Marines. The piece is lightly smeared with glosses to slime the Times' worldview over a young man's service, but the net effect is a compelling case for McCain, his family and the war in Iraq. Here's the rub:
Out of the Public Eye
Mr. McCain has largely maintained a code of silence about his son, now a lance corporal, making only fleeting references to him in public both to protect him from becoming a prize target and avoid exploiting his service for political gain, according to friends. At the few campaign events where Lance Corporal McCain appeared last year, he was not introduced.
The McCains declined to be interviewed for this article, which the campaign requested not be published. "The McCain campaign objects strongly to this intrusion into the privacy of Senator McCain's son," Steve Schmidt, a campaign spokesman, said...
Do the Sulzbergers have children?
The view from my room
This is London now, but the white specks don't come from pigeons.
Oh well, there's snow business like global warming, I scoff not only because it isn't warming, nor because warming has not plausibly been shown to be man made, nor because the lingo shifts around, nor because it's brought to you by the same types who've turned science into dogma (y2k, hiv/aids, global cooling...), but because they don't act like people who are seeking the truth, sure of the science or experienced in risk. They act like a coalition of professionals conspiring against the laerty, priests imposing dogma on heretics, Dems pleasuring themselves by taking my money to dole out to their clients, and liberal fascists thrilled by coercion and thought-control. The irony is that I'd be glad were London or NYC to become emission free cycle zones for health, aesthetic and economic reasons - save for the agenda behind it.
The wished outcome may come out by informed consent, but that won't fill the religion hole that aligns modern elites to modern superstitions like iron filings in a magnetic field.


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Building the solution
How eco-friendly buildings can be part of a sustainable world.
Worldwide, buildings consume too many resources and produce too much waste. They use 25 percent of the world's water and 40 percent of its resources, while creating one-third of all waste and 40 percent of global carbon emissions. Seen through the prism of these statistics, they're environmentally unsustainable.
But buildings also have huge untapped potential to become a central part of the solution to our urgent sustainability challenges. Eco-friendly designs can combat climate change while improving our health, wellbeing and productivity.
To achieve this, it's important to take a comprehensive approach to planning, design and construction that looks at every facet of sustainability. Focusing on just one approach can have a negative effect on the building's overall performance, which is why standards developed by ISO (International Standardisation Organisation) and CEN (European Committee for Standardization) now make it possible to measure sustainability over a building's entire lifecycle. These standards go beyond environmental performance to include how buildings contribute to health, safety and wellbeing.
Creating a eco-friendly design
The key step to eco-friendly design is to reduce the amount of energy a building needs. Typically, 80 percent of its energy use results from heating, cooling, hot water and lighting, while the remaining 20 percent is generated by construction materials, transport and demolition. So, while low-energy design is essential, it's also important to design more comprehensively and consider how the building and its materials can be recycled and reused at the end of their life. The design and materials also have a bearing on other important aspects of sustainability such as thermal comfort, acoustic performance and fire safety.
Curing sick buildings can improve profits as well as wellbeing. As we spend up to 90 percent of our time indoors it's important that the spaces where we work support our wellbeing.
A good indoor climate is essential to health and wellbeing now that we spend up to 90 percent of our time inside.
Material improvement
When renovating old homes or planning a new development, the right combination of design and insulation can make a big difference to a building's performance.
Like recycling, but better
We're all familiar with the idea of recycling. With 'upcycling', waste is transformed into more valuable products, thereby reducing the need for virgin materials.
Our approach to sustainability
Progress on multiple goals contributing to climate action, circularity and wellbeing
ROCKWOOL Trademark


Andy Warhol can be, let's face it, kind of a bother. Tuesday Night, the Palace of Fine Arts and the San Francisco Film Society beg to differ. Warhol's Screen Tests, which feature celebrities of the day posing, not posing, and just looking awkward, will be shown to an expectedly befuddled audience. But in case staring at Edie Sedgwick, Dennis Hopper, Nico, Lou Reed, and a slew of other fascinating faces wasn't enough, the equally beautiful Dean & Britta will be there in person to lend their post-pop stylings to the affair. Formerly of Luna fame, Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips are taking this short tour to show "silent" films some classic distortion.
Dean Wareham was kind enough to email answers to a few pithy questions from me as he was boarding a plane to our fair city. All interviews should be like Lawrence Fishburne speed chess.
A little over a week ago, Jan. 24, seven male suspects beat a UPS employee (who is black) in a park in the 3500 block of Morningside Drive in the city of Richmond.


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WhatsApp is one of the biggest apps in the world, but who actually owns it?
Joy Okumoko
Quick Answer: Facebook (now Meta) owns WhatsApp. The company bought WhatsApp for nearly $22 billion in 2014, making it the largest venture-backed company in history.
With more than 5 billion downloads and counting, WhatsApp is undoubtedly one of the most downloaded apps of all time.
Of this number, more than 2 billion active users use the app at least once a month.
WhatsApp is also popular among businesses, as WhatsApp Business has been downloaded more than 500 million times.
Although WhatsApp knows every one of its billions of users, at least by phone number, not all of its users know who owns WhatsApp.
So, who owns WhatsApp?
Short answer: Facebook (now known as Meta)
WhatsApp was founded by the duo of Jan Koum and Brian Acton on February 24, 2009. However, it was not the free cross-platform instant messenger and VOIP service it has now morphed into.
It was initially designed as an app to let you know what's up with your contacts by showing their current status, like where they are, what they're doing, etc.
With time, chance, and the arrival of push notifications, it gradually transformed into what it is today.
Seeing its brilliant performance and widespread adoption, Facebook (now Meta) offered to buy WhatsApp for almost $22 billion in 2014, its largest acquisition and the largest venture-backed company in history.
READ MORE: What do the checkmarks mean on WhatsApp?
Two years prior, in 2012, Facebook also bought Instagram for $1 billion from founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger.
Image: WhatsApp
Since 2019, Will Cathcart has piloted the affairs of WhatsApp as CEO and brought about many improvements and updates to the messaging platform.
For instance, users can now undelete chat messages, download and use WhatsApp for Windows, move chat history from Android to iPhone, block other users, create groups of 512 people, build their own Communities, among several others.
And what's Meta?
Short answer: The parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp
Meta Platforms' name points towards the word Metaverse, a combination of meta and universe.
It represents Mark Zuckerberg's dream of using virtual and augmented reality to drive social connections. The Menlo Park conglomerate describes itself as a social technology company.
To date, Meta, which also owns Instagram, has acquired more than 90 companies, including startups and potential competitors, with WhatsApp as its largest acquisition yet.
Have any thoughts on this? Carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
You can now move your WhatsApp chats from iPhone to Android – here's how
How to make all your WhatsApp messages self-delete by default
Here's how to change the Slack notification sound
WhatsApp now lets you undelete chat messages
Related TopicsappsNewstechWhatsapp
Netflix to put an end to password sharing in early 2023
You might finally have to start paying for your own account.


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Attak is the twelfth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on March 19, 2002 by Metropolis Records. The band's first album following a three-year hiatus, it was the first to feature member Lucia Cifarelli and the last to feature member Tim Sköld.

History
The album was originally going to be titled Attaq and written in a Middle Eastern font, but was changed by Konietzko after the September 11 attacks, who explained that the band's history with the Columbine shootings would have made the original title "pretty fucking harsh".

Reception

Attak received mixed reviews.

Track listing

Personnel
Sascha Konietzko – drums (1–7, 9, 10), programming (1–11), synthesizers (1–6, 10), vocals (1–8, 10, 11), bass (3–7, 9, 10), guitars (3, 4, 6, 7, 11), percussion (5), cockpit voice recorder (6)
Tim Sköld – guitars (1, 2, 5, 8, 10), bass (2, 8, 10), drums (2, 8, 10), programming (2, 5, 8, 10), synthesizers (2, 5, 8, 10), vocals (2, 5, 8, 10), percussion (5), drumloops (9)
Bill Rieflin – drums (1, 5, 11), bass (1, 11), programming (3, 5), synthesizers (3, 5, 11), percussion (5, 11), guitars (11)
Lucia Cifarelli – vocals (1, 4–7, 11), Sidstation "Ninja" (4)
Jules Hodgson – guitars (3, 9)
Raymond Watts – vocals (3, 6, 9), drumloops (9)
Arianne Schreiber – vocals (3)
Curt Golden – slide guitars (11)
Dorona Alberti – vocals (11)

References

External links
 KMFDM DØTKØM Attak lyrics at the official KMFDM website

KMFDM albums
2002 albums
Metropolis Records albums
Albums produced by Sascha Konietzko

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Hulcher Services' dump trucks are essential components of a wide range of projects.
The dump trucks have a capacity of 8-22 cubic yards. They can be deployed independently or in conjunction with other Hulcher equipment, like the excavator, wheel loader, track loader and telehandler.
The dump truck is used for Mechanical / Railroad Services, Track Maintenance / Maintenance of Way / Engineering Services, Environmental Services, Transfer / Load Adjustment Services, Maintenance Services and Disaster Response.
The dump truck is frequently deployed as part of a backhoe / dump truck combo package (pictured to the right). This combination of one operator and two pieces of equipment provides the right capabilities for the project while maximizing value for the customer.
Anyone who has worked with railroad contractors knows that the most important part of a dump truck is the person at the stick, the operator. Hulcher's operators are railroad specialists. They have received training in railroad applications, are current in safety and security certification requirements for all Class I railroads, and have spent years perfecting their craft in maintenance-of-way environments. With their extensive railroad experience, our operators can work seamlessly with your rail gangs.
For many railroad projects that take place on bridges or in remote areas that require on-track access, a good alternative to the dump truck is the hi-rail rotary dump truck (pictured right, with the regular dump truck). The hi-rail rotary dump truck is fitted with hi-rail gear to allow it to travel over bridges and on the right-of-way. It also includes a dump bed that is fitted on a rotating platter. This allows the bed to swivel on the truck and dump its load to either side without requiring the truck to leave the tracks.
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Hulcher dump truck ready to mobilize.
Hulcher dump truck dumps a load of soil to be treated at an industrial environmental remediation project.
Excavator loads soil into a dump truck at an excavation project.
Dump trucks loaded with debris following a hurricane at a disaster response project.
Dump truck unloads rock to make a road along the right-of-way during a road construction project.
Excavator loads building debris to a dump truck following a building demolition.
Dump truck unloads fill dirt and rock during a track restoration following a hurricane, as part of a disaster response project.
The dump truck is frequently mobilized with the backhoe. This combination of one operator and two pieces of equipment provides the right capabilities for many projects while maximizing value for the customer.


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Catechetical Corner
Grief Ministries
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Home Authors Posts by Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service
Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service
Vatican confirms Medjugorje approval by joining youth festival
Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service - 6 August 2019, 15:15
WARSAW, Poland — Senior Vatican representatives joined the first officially approved church festival at Medjugorje, three months after Catholic pilgrimages to the site in...
Martyred Romanian bishops symbolize church's 'resurrection from darkness'
Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service - 14 May 2019, 14:50
WARSAW, Poland — A Romanian cardinal incarcerated for 18 years after refusing to abandon his church and a bishop thrown in an unmarked grave...
Polish cardinal, St. John Paul's aide, defends pontiff's record on abuse
Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service - 21 March 2019, 12:41
WARSAW, Poland — A close aide to St. John Paul II has vigorously defended the late pope's handling of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy...
European Catholic justice and peace groups urge action to protect rights
OXFORD, England — Catholic justice and peace commissions have called for greater attention to social justice across the European Union, urging political leaders to...
Polish Catholic church releases first report on clerical sex abuse
WARSAW, Poland — A top Polish Catholic leader, named the first bishops' conference delegate for child protection, welcomed a church report on sexual abuse...
Polish church unveils integration policy for migrant Catholics
Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service - 27 April 2018, 18:00
WARSAW, Poland — Poland's Catholic bishops said they no longer have enough clergy to minister to Poles living abroad and urged emigrant Catholics to...
Russian Catholic leaders pledge to work with Putin after election win
Catholic News Service WARSAW, Poland -- Russia's minority Catholic Church has pledged to help build a civil society after the nation's March 18 election and...
Jewish leader: Polish church should speak out as anti-Semitism rises
Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service - 7 March 2018, 18:52
WARSAW, Poland -- Poland's leading Jewish philosopher urged the Catholic Church to condemn a wave of anti-Jewish feeling, sparked by a new law on...
Mali's Catholic church works to free abducted Franciscan nun
Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service - 4 February 2018, 12:48
Catholic News Service OXFORD, England -- Mali's Catholic Church said it hopes to obtain the release of a kidnapped Franciscan nun after her Islamist captors...
Belgian euthanasia law scrutinized for failure to report abuses
Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service - 12 January 2018, 20:45
OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Catholics in Belgium are concerned the country's euthanasia law is being abused to kill patients without legal checks and safeguards. Auxiliary...
St. Francis Life Center client Sara Fleetwood of Wilmington feted on her 100th birthday
Mike Lang, Dialog Reporter - 16 January 2020, 14:47
Catholics focus on education funding, protecting life and more in new session of Maryland...
For The Dialog - 15 January 2020, 17:02
Contact us: news@thedialog.org
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(KPLR) - The month of September is suicide prevention month. The month is designated to increase awareness,erase stigma, and save lives.
Alex Noel, a board member at Chad's Coalition for Mental Health, talked with Christine Buck about their upcoming fundraiser.
Chad's Superheroe Run-Walk will take place on September 15 in Tower Grove Park.
Walk in registration is welcome and opens at 7 a.m. the day of the event. Registration costs $30.
All proceeds go to bullying and suicide prevention.
The run-walk begins at 8 a.m.


The Sketch toolkit for Ionic!
All Ionic components are available in this Sketch Library. There are over 27 of them.
All Ionic components are build as responsive Sketch symbols with multiple overrides.
This library is a framework for Sketch to quickly and easily create your Ionic 3 projects and ideas into visual accurate artboards.
All the 70 artboards that can be found in the Ionic docs are available in Sketch. This gives you the opportunity to design multiple screens in no time.
Because of the fast design proces you can focus on fine-tuning the color scheme, symbols and text styles to your specific needs.
Make use of 70 artboards, 27 native ionic components and realize your ideas in the quickest way possible, share with decision makers and development.
Ionic components with default color schemes, text styles and symbols at your disposal. This library makes us of all the intuitive and fast Sketch methods to propagate changes throughout your designs.
The Ionic components, symbols and attributes are named just like you are used to in your development environment. Easy to recognize and translate back in code.
Why should you buy Sketch+Ionic?
Start building your mockup today, within minutes you can be up-and-running!
We build this library so you can focus on building great layouts with confidence and with as much fidelity as possible. All the symbols in this library are created to mimic the actual Ionic components as faithfully as possible. We also made sure all symbols are resizable so they are useable for mobile, tablet and desktop art boards.
We're a team of perfectionists, if something is wrong we'll fix it right away.
Curious? Want to get an idea of all the possibilities of the UX library, including the how-to, all the sample artboards and the symbols?
A sample of the Sketch+Ionic UX library can be seen on Sketch cloud!


(a) An occurrence or condition that is not ascertained when preparing the original budget or a previous supplemental budget for the current year or current budget period and that requires a change in financial planning.
(b) A pressing necessity that could not reasonably be foreseen when preparing the original budget or a previous supplemental budget for the current year or current budget period and that requires prompt action.
(c) Funds that are made available by another unit of federal, state or local government and the availability of which could not reasonably be foreseen when preparing the original budget or a previous supplemental budget for the current year or current budget period.
(d) A request for services or facilities the cost of which is to be supplied by a private individual, corporation or company or by another governmental unit and the amount of which could not be accurately estimated when preparing the original budget or a previous supplemental budget for the current year or current budget period.
(e) Proceeds from the involuntary destruction, involuntary conversion, or sale of property that necessitates the immediate purchase, construction or acquisition of different facilities in order to carry on governmental operations.
(f) Ad valorem property taxes that are received during the fiscal year or budget period in an amount sufficiently greater than the amount estimated to be collected such that the difference will significantly affect the level of government operations to be funded by the taxes as provided in the original budget or a previous supplemental budget for the current year or current budget period.
(g) A local option tax described in ORS 294.476 (Local option tax or bond measure approved after adoption of budget) that is certified for extension on the assessment and tax roll under ORS 310.060 (Notice certifying taxes) for the fiscal year or budget period in which the local option tax measure is approved by voters.
(h) A reduction in available resources that requires the governing body to reduce appropriations in the original budget or a previous supplemental budget for the current year or current budget period.
(i) The original budget of the municipal corporation adopted under ORS 294.456 (Governing body to adopt budget, make appropriations, declare and categorize property tax amount or rate) did not include estimated requirements to pay debt service pursuant to ORS 294.477 (Inclusion in budget of estimated requirements for bonds approved at May election) or the actual requirements are different from the estimated requirements included in the original budget or a previous supplemental budget.
(2) A supplemental budget may not extend beyond the end of the fiscal year or budget period during which it is submitted.
(3)(a) If the amended estimated expenditures contained in an individual fund that is being changed by a supplemental budget differ by 10 percent or less from the expenditures in the budget as most recently amended prior to the supplemental budget, the governing body of the municipal corporation may adopt the supplemental budget at a regular meeting of the governing body.
(b) Notice of a regular meeting convened pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection, including a statement that a supplemental budget will be considered at the meeting, must be published not less than five days before the meeting.
(c) Additional expenditures contained in a supplemental budget described in this subsection may not be made unless the governing body of the municipal corporation enacts appropriation ordinances or resolutions authorizing the expenditures. The ordinances or resolutions must state the need for and the purpose and amount of the appropriation.


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Private debt's rising stars
Real estate debt
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LP news in brief
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Private debt's rising stars 2020
Most influential people in private debt
Asia-Pacific Report
Future of Private Debt 2020
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Private Debt Investor Awards 2019
Europe report 2019
Distressed debt & special situations
Private debt events
The Global Guide to Private Debt
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DOWNLOAD: Fundraising dips to six-year low
LP Tearsheet
MainePERS hikes alternative credit target allocation
Loan Note: ESG key consideration for private debt in 2021; BlackRock's…
Oaktree targets £3bn of UK residential development lending with new venture
Home News & Analysis Deals DEAL MECHANIC
DEAL MECHANIC
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' £12bn (€17.8bn; $24.3bn) acquisition of health and beauty chain Alliance Boots was the largest buyout ever seen in Europe – but after global credit markets nosedived during the summer months, the underwriting banks were left with a record-sized headache. Toby Lewis traces the deal's progress.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' acquisition of Alliance Boots – the largest private equity deal seen in Europe to date – was never going to be a straightforward transaction. The US buyout firm was trying to buy one of the jewels of the UK high street – a company that employs about 100,000 people worldwide and, as a dispenser of prescription drugs, is only one step removed from a public institution.
However, KKR also had the disadvantage of trying to seal the deal amid an atmosphere of unprecedented political hostility towards private equity in the UK. Politicians publicly castigated the industry, while the GMB trade union, which had first shown its teeth over rival Permira's job cuts at the AA, quickly latched on to the Alliance Boots deal as another example of the industry's avarice and overweening ambition.
The buyout firm's ace in the hole, however, was its tie-up with Stefano Pessina, the deputy chairman of Alliance Boots who presided over the merger between Boots and his own family business, Alliance Unichem, in 2006. With Pessina as king-maker, KKR was able to build up a blocking stake of more than 25 percent, enabling it to see off a spirited rival bid from Terra Firma, HBoS and Wellcome Trust. However, it was forced to raise its offer by 14 percent, from an initial £10.00 to £11.39 per share – a hefty premium of almost 40 percent over the share price on the day before the bid was announced.
The result was a deal with an enterprise value of £12 billion (€17.8 billion; $24.3 billion). Not surprisingly, with a record-sized financing package up for grabs, many leading banks scrambled for a piece of the action, with no fewer than eight ultimately mandated: JP Morgan; Deutsche Bank; Merrill Lynch; Unicredit; Barclays; Bank of America; Citigroup and RBS. Two others, Goldman Sachs and Greenhill, acted on behalf of Alliance Boots.
The equity slice of the transaction initially amounted to £3.43 billion, rising to £3.93 billion by completion (see pie chart below). KKR and Pessina each committed £1.27 billion, equivalent to a 32 percent stake, with Pessina rolling over his contribution from the stake he sold to the acquisition vehicle (and netting a tidy £600 million windfall in the process). The remaining £1.39 billion was funded by a so-called equity bridge from seven of the lending banks – an arrangement where the debt providers agree to underwrite part of the equity in order to win a mandate, with a view to syndicating this on to institutional investors at a later date. This worked out rather nicely for KKR and Pessina. As well as being able to syndicate some of their own equity portion, they retained full control of the acquisition vehicle, and would also receive a transaction fee, reimbursement of their expenses, and an annual "monitoring fee".
KKR finally clinched the deal in June, after shareholders voted in favour and it managed to resolve a long-running dispute over the company's pension fund, agreeing to contribute £418 million in cash plus a £600 million security agreement.
SUB-PRIME CONTAGION
However, this was not the end of the story. In addition to the equity bridge, the banks – led by JP Morgan and Deutsche – had initially agreed to provide an interim debt financing package of about £8.2 billion, plus a revolving credit facility of £820 million, to be refinanced on completion. But by the time they were ready to take this European record debt package to investors in July, market conditions looked very different. Wobbles in the US credit markets, caused by contagion from the US sub-prime sector, were starting to affect Europe too.
As a result, the lenders took a relatively conservative approach. The debt package (see pie chart below), which totalled £9.2 billion in all, featured a senior tranche of £5.05 billion, plus junior debt of £1.75 billion, which included a £1 billion second lien tranche and a £750 million mezzanine piece. The balance consisted of the revolver plus a property-backed bridge loan. The coverage ratio (of earnings to interest payments) was 1.7 times – below the historic norm of two times, but well above the coverage ratios of many aggressively structured recent deals. Following the controversy over covenant-lite loans, the senior tranche also included a covenant governing the company's debt to EBITDA ratio.
But even this was not enough for the offering to get away unscathed. First, Terra Firma withdrew its offer to buy a £250 million equity slug, leaving the banks with another sizeable portion of equity to syndicate. Amid increasing volatility in the credit market, where the deal was widely seen as a bellwether ("the whole market is looking to see how the Boots deal turns out", Intermediate Capital Group's Tom Attwood said at the time) it soon became clear that debt investors would not bite at the original pricing. Eventually, the lenders were forced to re-price the senior debt package to 325 basis points above LIBOR – despite the fact that investors had been buying at 200-225 bp above just a few months earlier. Even this failed to do the trick, and at the end of July the lead underwriters decided to suspend the senior debt syndication altogether.
To avoid the junior debt meeting the same fate, the lending banks were forced to sweeten the terms significantly. The £1 billion second lien tranche was offered at 96 percent of face value, with the spread increased from 400 to 425 bp, while the £750 million mezzanine piece was priced at 95 percent of face value and the spread set at 600 bp – 300 bp for the cash component and 350 bp for the payment-in-kind. Call protection was unchanged, at two years for the second lien and three years for the mezzanine.
"The terms are quite extraordinary," one surprised debt investor said on hearing the news. "They've clearly flexed it and it's priced to sell. The banks must be very serious about trying to shift it, and it will be interesting to see who bites on it at such a discount."
Unfortunately, nobody did. In the first week of August, news emerged that syndication of the second lien had been pulled indefinitely. With credit markets still uncertain, it had proved impossible to sell the debt, even at such a big discount. The mezzanine tranche did get away, but as PEI went to press, the banks were still left with more than £6 billion of debt and £1 billion of equity on their books.
However, not everyone seems to think this is necessarily a terrible outcome. "There is no point in trying to sell a monster deal everyone is shooting at in a down market," says Robin Menzel, head of debt capital markets at European merchant bank Augusta & Co. "Better to pull it, sit on it and express your confidence in the credit. Let it season, and wait for the market to recover."
The seven banks left holding the Alliance Boots baby will be hoping that he is right.
Loan Note: ESG key consideration for private debt in 2021; BlackRock's thoughts on credit outlook
ACCESS THE LATEST PDI
Churchill partnership with Tikehau could signify a trend
Kennedy Lewis raises over $2bn, more than double its target
Family offices increasingly attracted to private debt
Fundraising is down but far from out
Trends to keep an eye on in 2021
SME lenders pin hopes on growth in 2021


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Donate to FH Boston
As Deputy Vice Chairman, Thomas M. Rodrigues serves as a member of Board's top leadership team, responsible for overseeing the work of Veterans Law Judges, counsel, and other legal support personnel to identify, appropriately consider, and resolve appeals.
Prior to becoming Deputy Vice Chairman, Tom served as the Regional Director for the Office of Civil Rights, Department of Education, Boston, MA. In that role, he oversaw compliance enforcement of civil rights laws in all state education agencies, elementary and secondary school systems, colleges and universities across a six-state area. In 2019, Tom retired as a Colonel in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps after 23 years of active duty. While in the military, he served in multiple roles at Wing, Numbered Air Force, and Headquarters levels, including three assignments as installation Staff Judge Advocate (General Counsel). In addition, Tom served as the Air Force's Chief Defense Counsel, responsible for the provision of full-spectrum zealous, ethical, and professional defense services for 330 thousand Air Force members. As the Chief Defense Counsel, he supervised 192 attorneys and paralegals at 69 operating locations world-wide defending 7 thousand adverse actions and 500+ felony courts-martial per year. Tom finished his service in the Air Force as the Executive Officer and Director of Staff for the 3-star Judge Advocate General, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Arlington VA. In this capacity, he served as the primary strategic and confidential counsel to the top-Air Force JAG leadership on all aspects of the 1400-member Air Force legal enterprise.
Fisher House of Boston is a non-for-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS. Donations are tax deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law.
Federal Tax ID number 26-0190895.
2023 © Fisher House Boston. All rights reserved.
All photos of families displayed on this website are of real Fisher House of Boston families, either provided by the family or taken by Allison DeLuca Photography, and used with full permission of the family.


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Progressive Commentary Hour – 05.30.17
The prosperity Gospel of Self and how the Evangelical Christian media empire hijacked the Republican party to bring us the Tea Party and Trump
Terry Heaton is a retired 28 year veteran as television news executive, news consultant and author specializing in the media and propaganda. He is also recognized visionary, iconoclast and expert in web related media and business. In the 1980s, Terry was an executive producer for the Christian Broadcasting Network or CBN and specifically the executive producer for televangelist Pat Robertson's 700 Club, which also led to his campaign work for Robertson's presidential run in 1988. During that time, he was an insider into the Christian evangelical right's political maneuvering to usurp the Republican Party and dominate much of the media. Prior to his retirement in 2015, he was the senior vice president for Audience Research and Development in Dallas. He hosts the popular Pomo Blog, which explores the deeper relationships between contemporary culture, media, religion and postmodernity. Terry has written 7 books. His most recent is "The Gospel of Self: How Jesus Joined the GOP," which outlines his insider activity and political intrigues in the Christian media. His website is ThePomoBlog.com
Download this episode (right click and save)
AbujaChamber of commerceDonald TrumpFixed exchange-rate systemKano StatePolicySmall and medium-sized enterprisesUmarUnited StatesVice President of the United States


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text:
Home › Robotech: The Macross Saga - First Contact - Vol. 1
Robotech: The Macross Saga - First Contact - Vol. 1
The ZENTRAEDI Are Coming!
Strap into your Veritech and get ready for the ride of your life! When a mysterious space battleship crashes onto Macross Island in the South Pacific, the future of mankind is changed forever. Realizing that there are hostile forces in the universe, the people of Earth race to rebuild the SDF-1 as their first line of defense against a possible alien attack. But even as they struggle to master the science of Robotechnology, the vengeful Zentraedi armada is approaching the Earth!
Don't miss out on the action as ROBOTECH, the classic animated sci-fi series that's thrilled millions of viewers over fifteen years finally arrives on DVD!
Contains Episodes 1-6:
Booby Trap
Space Fold
Genre: Anime
Rating: Not Rated (Contains Mild Animated Violence)


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Shan Sa
The Girl Who Played Go
Set in Japanese-occupied Manchuria in the 1930s, The Girl who Played Go is a haunting tragedy, a shocking tale of love and war reflected in the age-old game of go. In the Square of a Thousand Winds, snow falls as a sixteen-year-old Chinese girl beats all-comers at the game of go. One of her opponents is, unknown to her, a young Japanese officer of the occupying power, rigidly militaristic, imbued with the imperial ethic, but far from home and intrigued by this young opponent. Their encounters are like the game itself, restrained, subtle and surprisingly fierce. But as their two stories unfold the Japanese army moves inexorably through their huge land, in the vanguard of a greater war, leaving blood and destruction in its wake.
Shan Sa was born in 1972 in Beijing. She left China for France in 1990, studied in Paris and worked for two years for the painter Balthus. Her novels have been awarded the Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman and the Prix Cazes.
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Laurier researchers receive $1.8 million in funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
WATERLOO – Sixteen Wilfrid Laurier University science researchers received a total of $1.8 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's (NSERC) Discovery Grants Program to support excellence in research. The Laurier researchers represent disciplines ranging from biology and geography and environmental studies to mathematics and psychology.
"Our NSERC grant recipients demonstrate the breadth of scientific research and expertise being undertaken at Laurier," said Robert Gordon, vice-president: research. "These researchers demonstrate not only innovative research themes, but they are also training the next generation of emerging scientists to lead the world in scientific discovery."
Laurier has increased its success rate in the NSERC Discovery Grant competition for the past three years.
Philip Marsh, a professor of Geography and Environmental Studies, received funding for his work investigating Arctic lakes. As climate change begins to affect lake water levels in Northern Canada, past conditions are no longer a reliable indicator of future lake water levels or streamflow. This NSERC funding will allow Marsh and his research team to gather data and build models to explore how water, vegetation, permafrost and other natural features of the Canadian Arctic are changing.
"Understanding how the land is changing is important to the people living in the North," said Marsh. "Presenting our data and analysis directly to local residents will allow them to make informed decisions concerning their lands, homes and resources."
In recognition of the unique nature of northern research, Marsh also received a Discovery Grants Northern Research Supplement, designed to help augment and promote northern research and training.
The Discovery Grants Program is NSERC's largest and longest-standing program and a key element of Canada's support for excellence in science research and training at Canadian universities. Discovery grants are awarded based on recommendations from peer review committees consisting of experts in each of 12 science and engineering fields.
The following Laurier researchers have been awarded Discovery Grant funding for the next five years:
Hind Al-Abadleh, associate professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
"Surface and Bulk Chemistry of Metals in Atmospherically-Relevant Systems that Impact Climate and Health"
Kathie Cameron, professor, Mathematics
Shohini Ghose, associate professor, Physics and Computer Science
"Analysis and Control of Multipartite Quantum Interactions for Computation and Communication"
Robert Gordon, professor, Geography and Environmental Studies
"Improved Greenhouse Gas Mitigation for Manure Storage Systems in Cold Climates"
Tom Hazell, assistant professor, Kinesiology and Physical Education
"Appetite Regulation in Humans: Effect of Sex Hormones and Exercise Intensity"
William Hockley, professor, Psychology
"Incidental and Intentional Encoding of Associative Information in Human Memory"
Jeffrey Jones, professor, Psychology
"Sensorimotor Control of Vocal Production"
Tristan Long, associate professor, Biology
"Ecology and Evolution of Sexual Selection"
Philip Marsh, professor, Geography and Environmental Studies
"Arctic Lakes: Past and Future Changes"
Connell McCluskey, professor, Mathematics
"Dynamics of Functional Differential Equations with Applications in Epidemiology"
Allison McDonald, associate professor, Biology
"The Physiological Role, Structure, and Regulation of Animal Alternative Oxidases"
Adam Metzler, assistant professor, Mathematics
"State Dependent Correlations in Finance"
Noam Miller, assistant professor, Psychology
"Collective Learning and Decision-Making in Animal Groups"
Colin Robertson, assistant professor, Geography and Environmental Studies
"Spatial Pattern Comparison Metrics for Detecting Environmental Change"
Read the NSERC announcement online.
This research was supported by the Research Support Fund.
Robert Gordon, Vice-President
T: 519.884.0710 x3601
E: rogordon@wlu.ca
Kevin Crowley, Director
E: kcrowley@wlu.ca


Anyone who has ever had a semi-truck breathing down their neck on the highway knows how terrifying it can be. Semi operators are frequently under pressure to make deliveries on a tight schedule. Their livelihood depends on getting from point A to point B within a specific timeframe. In some cases, this can cause them to exceed the speed limit, which puts everyone on the road at risk of being seriously hurt in a semi-truck accident.
For New York Senator Chuck Schumer, speed-limiting devices could be one way to cut down on semi-truck accidents. Schumer has stated that 70 percent of commercial carriers already use the technology. The American Trucking Association also says that speed causes 29 percent of fatal truck crashes.
Schumer has introduced proposed legislation that would make the devices mandatory for certain trucks.
If installed, the speed-limiting devices would prevent semi-trucks weighing 26,000 pounds or more from exceeding a speed limit set by the federal government. Currently, federal lawmakers have not yet determined what that speed limit would be. Possible options include setting the speed limit for trucks at 60, 65, or 68 miles per hour.
However, some truck drivers disagree that speed-limiting devices will help cut down on accidents. According to some drivers who have been on the road for up to 40 years, lawmakers should focus more on other motorists, especially those who text and drive.
Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced they are extending the deadline for public comments regarding the speed-limiting devices rule until December 7, 2016.
The federal agency said they pushed the deadline back due to a large influx of comments from individuals and organizations interested in the proposed rule. So far, over 1,500 commenters have weighed in on the speed-limiting device rule.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has also stated that speed-limiting devices could save up to $1.1 billion in fuel costs every year. Anyone can comment on the proposed rule through December 7 by visiting FederalRegister.gov.


ODC and Norstat combined forces to participate in our very first Insight Show exhibition – welcome to the show report from Stand F193! This was the hottest event of the year, both literally (a scorching 27 degrees), and figuratively (at least, on the market research calendar).
Between the refreshments and the freebie treats, it was an extremely active day for us all. Aside from the epic amount of networking achieved, we had a selection of pens and post-it notes on offer to help draw passers-by to our colourful stand. Let it never be said that we don't take care of our clients' and friends' stationary needs!
We had a great first day. We saw some old friends and met some exciting new ones. Between the free coffee, sweets and cakes we were able to cover a lot of ground and loved every minute of it. But there was no rest for our weary feet. The Research Club was hosting a little shin dig so we dropped by (well it would be rude not to!). A chance to not only enjoy a well-earned pint, but another opportunity to catch up with our industry friends and reflect on everyone's day.
We mingled our way around the Research Club as the football played out in the back ground. But that aside, what a wonderful evening! The world of market research really is full of fantastic people – ourselves included!
Back to our best for day 2, we had another fabulous day – with Wimbledon-inspired strawberries on offer to complement the stationary selection and champagne prize draw to get the morning kicked off. This proved very popular, and we received many hopeful visitors looking to win a bottle of Lanson Champagne in exchange for a business card!
The day also saw ODC's Sales Director, Matt Reynolds and R&D Manager, Florian Tress take to the stage to share with the audience the winning surveytainment formula in; "Let Me Surveytain You!". The speech went down a treat with many in attendance.
But all too soon it was 5pm and we had to pack up, unscrew and dismantle the ODC-Norstat stand. With all but three musketeers left, this was no easy feat (a challenge impeded by the lack of air conditioning in the greenhouse Olympia exhibition centre)!
Yes we were absolutely shattered, but we have and always will, play hard and work hard. We also might have gained a few pounds from all the sugar, but it was our fuel for those two mad days! So with the sun setting over Olympia, we parted on our separate ways… until next year. The team's thanks to everyone who visited us, and to you for reading.
Hope to catch you next year for another fabulous Insight Show!


text:
from __future__ import unicode_literals
import frappe
from frappe.utils import cint, flt

def execute():
	for doctype in frappe.get_all("DocType", filters={"issingle": 0}):
		doctype = doctype.name
		meta = frappe.get_meta(doctype)

		for column in frappe.db.sql("desc `tab{doctype}`".format(doctype=doctype), as_dict=True):
			fieldname = column["Field"]
			column_type = column["Type"]

			if not (column_type.startswith("int") or column_type.startswith("decimal")):
				continue

			frappe.db.sql("""update `tab{doctype}` set `{fieldname}`=0 where `{fieldname}` is null"""\
				.format(doctype=doctype, fieldname=fieldname))

			# alter table
			if column["Null"]=='YES':
				if not meta.get_field(fieldname):
					continue

				default = cint(column["Default"]) if column_type.startswith("int") else flt(column["Default"])
				frappe.db.sql_ddl("""alter table `tab{doctype}`
					change `{fieldname}` `{fieldname}` {column_type} not null default '{default}'""".format(
						doctype=doctype, fieldname=fieldname, column_type=column_type, default=default))

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


One of my big goals for 2018 (and life in general) was to spend as much time outside in nature as possible. A smaller subset of that goal was to return to camping. Growing up in girl scouts in coastal NC, I spent a lot of time camping as a child. I didn't truly appreciate it then but am so grateful for those experiences now.
Over the weekend I set out for Brown County State Park, less than an hour away from my house. It's easy to forget that Indiana isn't just flat farmland or suburban housing divisions. It was a somewhat gloomy weekend for camping but that also meant it wasn't too hot and I was able to enjoy some quality peace and quiet in my hammock with a book.
I'm hoping to document my return to camping - especially as a single woman who largely travels solo - because I haven't found many great resources out there for my demographic.


GROWING up, we're constantly told to try and turn your passions into a career.
Well if you feel as if you may have missed a trick along the way and ended up in a role you couldn't care less about, then now's your chance to have a shot at your ultimate dream job… that is, if you fancy eating Creme Eggs for a living.
That's right, online local services marketplace Bark is currently searching for a professional Cadbury Creme Egg hunters to try and track down one of the elusive white chocolate treat worth up to £10,000.
Uniting shoppers all over the country in their Creme Egg mission, people determined to find one of the white chocolate treats can then the hire Pro Hunters using the service.
Better still, the starting salary for a Pro Hunter is expected to be upwards of £45 an hour.
But judging by how rare white chocolate eggs actually are, these diehard chocoholics are certainly going to have their work cut out for them this Easter.
This year, Cadbury has created just 872 white chocolate Creme Eggs which have been scattered across Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Asda and Marks & Spencer supermarkets across the country.
Among the nine eggs worth £10,000, Cadbury has also released 22 prize eggs which will bag you £1,000 each as well as a further 66 worth £100 a pop.
And if you fancy yourself a career change with tons of chocolate-related perks, all you have to do is provide a photo ID, have a full background check and be able to travel to supermarkets around the UK.
Along with their £45 an hour, Pro Hunters will also be reimbursed for every Creme Egg they buy as well as have their travel expenses covered.
What are the Cadbury White Chocolate Creme Egg prizes?
And if you do successfully find a white chocolate egg, Bark also offers pro Hunters and their employers the chance to settle on bonuses if prizes are won.
Co-founder of Bark.com Kai Feller said: "This is the second year Cadbury has launched the white chocolate Crème Egg hunt and thousands of people across the UK are understandably eager to find a white chocolate Crème Egg and a high value prize.
However, some people just don't have the time to be constantly buying eggs from a selection of supermarkets across the country – and that's why we've launched this service.
For more must-have Easter goodies, this bakery has unveiled their Greatest Showman-inspired Easter eggs – but they'll set you back £17.
And here's everything you need to know about hot cross buns in the run up to Easter, including how to make your own.
Next Post:Lupita Nyong'o in spiked Balmain at the NYC 'Us' premiere: super-cute?


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Q: PHP syntax error need help to fix I get the following error:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Fundraising Committee are running an Easter Bonnet competition at the Buzzness Spring Event on Saturday 31st March in Bo'ness Town Centre. The competition is open to all nursery and primary school children. The judging will take place at 1pm in Market Square. The winning entry will receive a prize and the opportunity to bow to our new queen on the fair day! This is a new event for us so we would be very grateful if you could encourage your child to take part and come along on the day. Please share post.


"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar… the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Luke 3:1–3).
As we have noted, the apostle Paul establishes a link between circumcision and baptism in Colossians 2:8–15. Our studies on circumcision therefore provide an opportunity to leave the book of Genesis temporarily and examine the wider biblical teaching on baptism with the help of the series Covenant Baptism by Dr. R.C. Sproul.
Even though Paul also tells us there is only "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph. 4:5), we must admit there is precious little Christian unity on the sacrament. Orthodox believers of all stripes debate the meaning, mode, efficacy, administration, and many other aspects of baptism. This disagreement, while regrettable, at least shows that Christians understand that baptism is an important matter.
John the Baptist administered the first baptism described in the New Testament to the nation of Israel just prior to the ministry of Jesus. In today's passage, we see how his baptism fulfills Old Testament prophecy. Luke 3:4–6 quotes from Isaiah 40:3–5 where the prophet predicts an end to Judah's exile and a road by which the captives would return to their land. Though many Jews returned to Jerusalem under the Persian emperor Cyrus, the lack of the nation's repentance, as seen in later prophets like Malachi, soon made it clear the return from exile in Cyrus' day was not complete, for turning from sin was the prerequisite for such blessings (Deut. 30:1–10).
No, God would cleanse His people, end their exile, and usher in the new heavens and earth promised by Isaiah (65:17–25) through the ministry of David's greatest son. John the Baptist's ministry was Isaiah's straight, flat highway in the desert preparing the people to be ready for the kingdom of God to come in power and end their spiritual exile. His baptism was preparatory, revealing Israel must turn from the same uncleanness marking her Gentile persecutors.
John is seen as the new Elijah, for he is a prophet of the coming Messiah (Mal. 4:5–6; Matt. 11:1–14). His baptism is not the same as the one Jesus commands (Matt. 28:18–20), but it does share points of contact. The most important of these is our need to repent of our sin so that we can enter Christ's kingdom (Mark 1:14–15).
Jesus was baptized by John, not because He needed to repent, but in order to obey the new command God laid upon His people through the Baptist (Matt. 3:13–17). Unlike Jesus, we are not without sin, and so our baptism is one of repentance. Repentance is to be a daily activity (1 John 1:8–9); thus, it behooves us again today to turn from sin and seek the Lord's face. Spend time praying for an unrepentant friend or family member that he may turn to Jesus.


I hear over and over again from my clients that one of the main reasons they hire a Personal Stylist/Shopper is because, despite the initial investment in the styling package, it saves them time & money in the long run. The way I structure my services is always with a goal in mind to help my clients become savvier shoppers and dressers, teaching them what to look for when shopping on their own, and maximizing the effectiveness of their shopping by providing them guidance and support along the way.
LAYING SOLID GROUNDWORK. Through my first two services – Style Development and Color Analysis, you will learn what makes your style unique and authentic, and how to dress best for your figure type, lifestyle and workplace – using colors that will always make you look your best, choosing fabrics that are flattering and patterns, textures and silhouettes of clothing that will have longevity in your wardrobe. I take the time to learn as much as I can about you – what you love and dislike about clothes, what kinds of outfits make you happy, and through various styling techniques and visual exercises, we come up with an actionable style formula for you that creates a solid base for our wardrobe building work together. Having a style profile & knowing what works best for you helps you save money as you can now avoid costly shopping mistakes.
LEARNING HOW TO MAKE SMART SHOPPING DECISIONS. Shopping smart is part setting a budget and a clear list of items you want to acquire, and part deciding where to splurge and where to save. I teach you how to calculate cost-per-wear and how to think in terms of outfits instead of individual pieces – this way everything you buy is on-point with your style, your budget, and most importantly, has a place in your wardrobe with at least 2 or 3 other pieces so that it doesn't end up hanging there not getting worn. I'm always out and about doing research and collecting inspiration so that I can bring it to you in the form of best recommendations. Whatever your budget, I'll recommend the best stores for the job – not compromising quality in the process. I'm equally comfortable shopping at Bergdorf Goodman as I am at Century 21 – so whatever your lifestyle requires, I help you maximize your budget to purchase a great selection of pieces you love that will last you for years.
SHOPPING YOUR CLOSET. One of the things we'll do together as part of the Closet Edit/Review is look at all your clothes through the prism of the criteria we'll go over during the Style Development Session, and apply various style concepts like cuffing, tucking, layering, etc. to create fresh looks with what you already own. Chances are – there are outfits in your closet that you haven't put together yet, and this exercise gives you a great new way of looking at your existing pieces – and offering them a fresh life. Of course the more outfits we create – the less new clothing we'll need to buy, and this also helps us pinpoint exactly what's missing – which makes our Personal Shopping time together that much more effective.
USING THE POWER OF THE "PRE-SHOP". Many of my clients are busy professionals, parents, business owners, CEO's, and I truly value their time. This is why I usually spend about 1/3 of our scheduled time for each Personal Shopping Session "pre-shopping" – which means I arrive at the stores we choose to visit early, curate a selection based on our shopping list, set the items up in the dressing rooms so that they're ready to be tried on as soon as you get there. This way there is no aimless wandering around the stores, and I continue to bring items into the dressing room as needed. We purchase only the most amazing pieces that you love.
ACCESS TO SPECIAL DISCOUNTS. I'm always on the lookout for what's best for my clients, and over the course of the past 8 years of being in business, I have been lucky enough to build strong relationships with various retailers across New York City that offer amazing discounts to my clients (anywhere between 20-30% off!) As my list of retail partners grows, shopping with me becomes virtually "free" as one of my clients had put it – as the discount you receive more than makes up for my styling fee!
Interested in hiring me to help you shop smarter & build a visual image & wardrobe you love that truly projects who you are to the world? Send me a note so we can chat about how I can assist you!
You had me on special discounts and smart choices! What you're doing is really amazing and necessary in today's world. Keep up the good work!
I can vouch for everything you said! You have taken the mystery out of "what should I wear!" I don't know which service I like the best; the closet edit was fantastic, and we took pictures too! The pre-shop; well I get overwhelmed by all of the choices out there so that is fantastic. And well your "eye" for clothing and what is right for me is just fantastic! I could go on!
We have shopped twice together and I look forward to it again!
Shopping your closet is key! Sometimes I feel like we don't even know what we have in there!


November 29, 2012 in Alignment, Best Practices, Blended Training, Change, Coaching, Cost of Doing Nothing, Leader Development, Training.
July 20, 2011 in Behavior Change, Blended Training, Business Books, Employee Productivity, Empowerment, Feedback, Goal Setting, Instructional Design, Performance Management, Vicki Halsey, Webinars.
January 24, 2011 in Best Practices, Blended Training, Instructional Design, Training, Vicki Halsey, Virtual Training.
August 25, 2009 in Blended Training, Ken Blanchard Companies, Technology, Virtual Training, Webinars.
February 24, 2009 in Blended Training, Human Resource Issues, Training, Virtual Training, Webinars.


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Karthik Sekar, Senior Data Scientist, Climax Foods
Informed Investment Decisions to Propel the Growth of AgTech
Gregory Oberholtzer, CIO and Senior Managing Partner, WP Global Partners
Poultry Manufacturing Change is coming!
Mike Lindsey, Sr Director of Manufacturing Systems, Perdue Farms
What's Next for Plant-Based Protein?
Carter Williams, CEO and Managing Director, iSelect Fund
AgriTech Startups that are Transforming the industry
Volodymyr Kryvko, Managing Partner, Chernovetskyi Investment Group
Fuller, Smith & Turner Investing in Better Work Space to Scale Customer Growth
Paul Dickinson, Director of Food, Fuller Smith & Turner
The Under - and Overestimation of Data
Dennis Wan Bregt, Director of Data and Content Management, Kramp
Getting to Grips with Gummies: The Secrets to Producing the Perfect CBD Gummy Supplement
Caroline Brochard-Garnier, Director, Rousselot
Affordable, Healthy, Scalable: Why 'System C' Is The Future Of Food And Health
Carter Williams, CEO and Managing Partner, iSelect Fund
Do well and do Good with System Thinking
David Scalzo, Founder and President, Kirenaga Partners
Three Avenues Of Flux In The Future Of Agtech
Alan Costello, Venture Investment Leader, NDRC
M&As in the Semiconductor Industry are Here to Stay
David Stein, Vice President of Global Supplier Management, Digi-Key Electronics
Agricultures Connected Future Technology's Role in Yielding New Grow
G. Bailey Stockdale, CEO, Leaf Agriculture
Accelerating the Green Innovation Ecosystem
Dr. Mark Maybury, Chief Technology Officer, Stanley Black & Decker [Nyse: Swk]
How Cloud Computing Impacts Precision Agriculture Technology
We can Replace Animal Agriculture, Here's How
Cannabis Tech
Thank you for Subscribing to Agri Business Review Weekly Brief
Improving Precision Agriculture through Cloud Based AI and ML
Enrique Leon
Agriculture is a vital industry that plays a critical role in feeding the world's population. However, predicting crop yields and accurately estimating production costs can be a major challenge for farmers and agribusinesses. Inaccurate predictions can lead to wasted resources and reduced profits, while slow results can make it difficult for companies to make timely decisions about their operations.
Current precision agricultural practices are struggling with predicting crop yields and accurately estimating production costs.
Current methods for gathering data involve sending field workers to travel hundreds of miles and walk row by row, field by field, to gather representative sample crop data. This process is highly inefficient, time-consuming, and subject to human error. Additionally, the data gathered is limited to the fields that the workers are able to visit, which means important information about other areas of the farms will be missed.
The end result is that Precision Agriculture crop yield predictions and production costs are not sufficiently accurate and take too long to generate results. This has led to wasted resources and reduced profits for the company, and it has made it difficult for them to make timely and informed decisions about their operations.
Mapping fields and collecting data on a variety of factors, such as soil type, moisture levels, and crop health, leads to more informed decisions with respect to irrigation, fertilization, and pest control.
• Improving the accuracy of crop yield predictions and production costs
• Simplifying and speeding up the data gathering process
• Expanding field coverage without significantly increasing cost
• Gather, store, and process large amounts of field data
To address these challenges, a series of small but highly directed steps were carried out:
Automating data collection and analysis: By using sensors, drones, and other IoT devices to gather data on crop health, soil conditions, and other factors that impact yield, much of the data gathering process was automated. To reduce time to deploy and afford the ability to back out and start over, some of the data IoTs were purchased from third-party providers. Overall, this would reduce the reliance on human data gathering, which can be time-consuming and prone to error, and allow the company to gather data more frequently, from a wider area, and do so in less time.
Implementing a geospatial data management system and using a cloud-based data lake: By mapping fields and collecting data on a variety of factors, such as soil type, moisture levels, and crop health, leads to more informed decisions with respect to irrigation, fertilization, and pest control. These data points generate vast amounts of data, and by using a cloud-based data lake, disparate voluminous data can easily be stored and prepared for down-stream analysis.
Leveraging the power of cloud-based machine learning (ML): By using cloud-based tools and services, agricultural data scientists are able to analyze data from multiple sources, including sensors, drones, and other technologies, and generate more accurate and timely predictions and cost estimates.
Improving crop yield predictions and production costs is a major challenge in the agriculture industry. By automating data collection and analysis, leveraging the power of cloud ML, and implementing a geospatial data management system with a data lake, precision agriculture can significantly improve the accuracy and timeliness of predictions and cost estimates, leading to increased efficiency, profitability, and sustainability.
Copyright © 2023 Agri Business Review . All rights reserved.
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text:
Collective Roots: Sustainable Gardens
Posted by sean on September 3rd, 2009
Today, KeenforGreen.com is proud to present the first in a new ongoing series of profiles of organizations or companies involved in the sustainable movement. We are promoting these organizations to help them gain exposure and attract volunteers and funding. But really, we just wanted to talk about some of the good people are doing.
These organizations or companies are run by people, normal people that decided to make a difference. We hope their example inspires you to get involved or even start your own group in the same vein. If you are a member of such an organization or company or want to give credit to such an organization, please e-mail me at [email protected] with the details.
The format of these articles is simple. I ask six questions and reproduce their responses. I let the organizations tell their stories since they do it so much better than I could. So without further ado, let me present...
Collective Roots
Collective Roots is a non-profit community garden organization working in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, California. The group is dedicated to working with school children to create sustainable organic gardens. The group has been featured on numerous outlets including San Jose Mercury, Palo Alto Daily News & Oprah Winfrey's website. The source of this interview is Wolfram Andrews, the executive director of Collective Roots.
1. Why, how and when did your organization come about?
Collective Roots was founded by Holly Taylor, Amanda Feld, and Adam Mitchell in 2000 at Belle Haven School in Menlo Park. There the young program focused on three initiatives: involving students and community members in the planting of multiple garden spaces, establishing a weekly after-school Garden Club that attracted students across multiple grade levels, and initiating a pilot program with ten teachers to begin integrating garden-centered learning into their curricula.
By June 2002, our Garden Club averaged more than 25 students per week and two neglected courtyards were transformed into flourishing gardens through the hard work of our students, teachers, parents, and the community-at-large. The gardens became a source of pride in the neighborhood and provided an avenue for parents to become actively engaged in their children's school.
A leadership change at Belle Haven, coupled with cuts in district funding, prompted CRGP to seek a new community partner that would provide both the physical space and the support to grow and replicate the successful elements of our program, enabling us to serve more students. In January 2003, Collective Roots relocated to EPACS, a year-round public K-8 charter school committed to providing innovative learning opportunities and improving academic achievement. We realized that EPACS provided a fertile environment for Collective Roots' growth - in terms of both its existing garden spaces as well as strong faculty support.
At EPACS, Collective Roots has developed a program with strong support from students, faculty, and community members. Our hands-on lessons in the garden teach students in grades K-8 about sustainable agriculture and nature, nutrition, science, math, and language arts. Collective Roots became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in June 2003.
The school garden at EPACS has grown to become a flagship garden approaching nearly an acre in size. The garden offers many exciting features including an outdoor kitchen, a giant green dome, a fruit orchard, solar power, a pond, vermiculture, composting, and more.
Collective Roots expanded in 2007 to include providing garden based learning at Willow Oaks Elementary School in Belle Haven, a Ravenswood City School District school located in a neighborhood of Menlo Park. In 2008 and early 2009, Collective Roots expanded after school programming to include the East Palo Alto-based 49ers Academy middle school and two local non-profits: Girls to Women and College Track. These after school programs include garden-based education and nutrition/cooking classes.
In 2007, Collective Roots replaced its website with a content management system that provides rich content for education and action, collaboration with community partners, and many interactive features including "ROOTPEDIA," forums, online curriculum, and much more.
Collective Roots also expanded its work in 2007 to include food systems change and environmental work in the community of East Palo Alto. Collective Roots is supporting a community wide effort to organize a community based farmers' market in East Palo Alto, and is also supporting the East Palo Alto Tree Initiative.
With the support of an active Board of Directors and many community partners, Collective Roots is working to strengthen our reach into schools and communities to further our mission and provide excellent environmental science and nutrition education opportunities to East Palo Alto students. This year we are exploring opportunities to expand to other schools in San Mateo and Santa Clara County.
2. What is the goal of your organization?
The mission of Collective Roots is to educate and engage youth and communities in food system change through sustainable programs that impact health, education, and the environment.
Collective Roots achieves its mission through the innovative integration and implementation of three program areas: garden-based education, food systems change, and environmental action.
We rely on extensive collaboration and partnership to enable all aspects of our work, and we receive the support of hundreds of volunteers in order to achieve our goals and objectives.
3. What projects have you recently done?
The East Palo Alto Community Farmers' Market. There is so much it is hard to detail it all here. You can pick and choose from our newsletters that go out every month: http://www.collectiveroots.org/news/newsletters. They are loaded with details about our work.
4. What future projects are planned and are you looking for volunteers?
All of our current volunteer projects are listed at http://www.collectiveroots.org/help_us_grow/volunteer.
We hold a community garden work day every month at East Palo Alto Charter School, generally on the fourth Saturday of the every month from 8 am to Noon. The announcement are always on our website or you can contact Eron Sandler.
5. How does your organization's activity help the environment?
We reduce the carbon footprint in our community by recycling large quantities of green waste (over 100 tons of green waste have been pumped into our garden at East Palo Alto Charter School already!) All of our gardens are organic and we provide a local source of fresh fruits and vegetables so that our residents do not have to travel 5 miles outside the city to the nearest supermarket. We engage hundreds of young people and community members in environmental education and activities, and actively promote local environmental initiatives, such as the East Palo Alto Tree Initiative.
6. What is the major problem(s) your group has faced in making your goal a reality?
There are no established funding streams for our work. We must seek funding and support from wide range of sources: private donors, foundations, corporations, educational institutions, health institutions, in-kind donations, etc. We are constantly on the funding treadmill searching for the support we need.
by Anonymous - 09/07/2009 - 11:45
Thank you for this in-depth piece. We deeply value hyper-local media and the significant space you have given this article that features our work. So much incredible support has come from Menlo Park and surrounding communities in Silicon Valley for the work of Collective Roots.
-Sincerely, Wolfram Alderson, Executive Director, Collective Roots
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