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Unfolding Events at Unilab, Specialty Labs and Dynacare
Each laboratory company is dealing with changes in its business operations
By Robert Michel
| From the Volume IX No. 11 - August 5, 2002 Issue
Big Premium Increases Drive Higher Profits at Nation's HMOs
"August 5, 2002 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News"
RECENT WEEKS BROUGHT important developments to several public lab companies. Each development changes and alters the competitive marketplace for laboratory testing services.
It was big news at Specialty Laboratories, Inc. when the troubled lab company signed a Plan of Correction (POC) with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), thus lifting sanctions that affected Specialty Laboratories' CLIA-88 license.
Also big news was the continued silence over how the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is going to rule on the proposed acquisition of Unilab Inc. by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. Many Wall Street analysts speculate that the FTC may have reservations about allowing the deal to close as currently structured.
Debt-For-Equity Swap
Notwithstanding its reservations about the Unilab/Quest Diagnostics deal, the FTC took no objection to the acquisition of Dynacare Inc. by Laboratory Corporation of America. That deal closed on July 25, thereby ending Dynacare's short life as a United States-based public laboratory company.
In the case of Specialty Laboratories, agreement with federal lab regulators was announced on July 18. With this agreement, Specialty Labs is now in full regulatory compliance with both state and federal lab regulators. Under the POCs signed with each agency, Specialty Labs will be subject to certain conditions for the next couple of years.
Specialty Reports Earnings
On July 23, Specialty Laboratories also disclosed its second quarter earnings. Net revenue declined to $34.1 million, compared to $45.2 million for the same quarter 2001. This was a decline of 24%. Specialty Labs had an operating loss of $12.8 million for the quarter.
Accessions declined by 6% com- pared to second quarter 2001 and by 11% when compared to first quarter 2002. Company executives attribute these declines to a reduction in Specialty's extensive test menu and clients redirecting specimens to competing laboratory companies.
The other development at Specialty Laboratories was the hiring of a new Vice President, Sales. Mark R. Willig was recruited from Myriad Genetics, where he had been Vice President of Sales since 1997. Willig also has experience with Orca Medical Systems and Abbott Diagnostics.
Even as Specialty Labs got good news from federal regulators, Unilab and Quest Diagnostics continued to await the FTC's decision on their proposed merger. The acquisition, announced April 2, has been in suspense while the FTC conducts an antitrust review.
In the months since the acquisition was announced, the FTC has actively made calls to organizations in California involved in laboratory testing. It is known that the FTC placed calls to: 1) independent commercial laboratory companies in California that compete against Unilab and Quest Diagnostics; 2) independent physicians associations which contract for lab testing services; and 3) hospitals. The FTC is evaluating the impact this proposed merger might have on competition in the nation's largest market for laboratory testing.
One issue of concern is the amount of market share that Quest Diagnostics would control following its acquisition of Unilab. In conversations with Wall Street analysts, Quest Diagnostics and Unilab estimate California's total market for laboratory testing is about $4 billion per year.
Estimate Of Market Share
Assume that 50% of that number is hospital inpatient/outpatient testing. The remainder, about $2 billion, represents tests that originate in physicians' offices. Of that $2 billion, about half, or $1 billion, is done by physician office laboratories (POL). That leaves about $1 billion in testing which physicians' offices refer to commercial laboratories.
Unilab does about $390 million per year of lab testing in California, virtually all of which are tests referred from physicians' offices. In the same market segment, Quest Diagnostics has told Wall Street that it does about $90 million per year in California.
Combine those two businesses, and post-merger Quest Diagnostics would control at least 48% of the market for physicians' office referral testing in the Golden State. On one hand, that is certainly a concentration of market share that would trigger antitrust concerns. On the other hand, the FTC has no track record of opposing the acquisition of one clinical laboratory by another clinical lab company. That is why there is much speculation in the investment community about why the FTC is taking so long to make a determination about this proposed merger.
LabCorp Buys Dynacare
Even as the proposed deal between Unilab and Quest Diagnostics awaits the FTC's decision, LabCorp's purchase of Dyncare is already done. Following the FTC's announcement that it held no objection to the merger, Dynacare obtained shareholder approval and, within days of that action, LabCorp acquired Dynacare.
In acquiring Dynacare, LabCorp gets sizeable laboratory operations in Ontario and Alberta. This adds a new dimension to the management challenges of integrating Dynacare into the LabCorp family. Canada's single-payer health system has significant differences from the United States healthcare model.
As it integrates Dynacare into its existing laboratory infrastructure, LabCorp expects to harvest as much as $45 million in savings during the next 30 months. Since Dynacare's annual revenues are about $300 million, that means LabCorp believes it can squeeze out about 15% of Dynacare's cost structure.
Economies Of Scale
The savings will accrue from two sources. First, considerable savings will come from consolidation and integration of laboratory sites throughout the United States. Second, LabCorp's estimate reflects the lower purchasing costs for reagents and other items that come from LabCorp's buying power with vendors.
Tags: clia, clinical lab, Clinical Laboratory, commercial laboratories, commercial laboratory, impac, lab test, lab testing, lab testing services, laboratories, laboratory companies, laboratory company, laboratory test, laboratory testing, laboratory testing services, Medicare, myriad genetic, myriad genetics, specialty lab, specialty laboratories, specialty labs, test menu
Volume IX No. 11 – August 5, 2002
COMMENTARY & OPINION BY R. LEWIS DARK
Attack on Clinical Path Professional Payments
Lab Testing to Boom During This Decade
Florida Appeals Court Strikes Blow To Clinical Path Payment
Dade Behring Primed To Become Public Firm
Specialty Laboratories' New CEO Reveals How His Company Is Changing
"August 5, 2002 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News"
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Color is Frozen Punch. A rare and discontinued color!
This is a .28 oz/8 g sample sized tube. It is a little MORE than 1/2 of the full size item which is .5 oz/15 g and retails for $19. You can try different colors without breaking the bank!


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Q: Writing software for E-Book Reader Devices Can you please recommend any E-Book Reader which can execute a third-party software, so that anybody can create software for such device?

A: Well there's two I know of:

*

*The OpenInkPot Linux distribution for e-reader devices, which works on a few e-ink readers (and should be ported to more as time goes on).  You shouldn't have much trouble writing third party software for that;

*The iRex DR1000.  Take a look at this forum thread where someone has created a VMware image for doing development targetted at this e-reader.

A: The Nook from Barnes and Noble has its system software installed on a removable 2GB micro SD card.  Since it runs Android, it should be easy to develop your own software for it.

A: There's web based e-paper development platform thats offered by Visionect. The devices are nice looking yet rugged and waterproof 6" e-paper tablets and the development documentation is fully available (see docs.visionect.com).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Well, after two straight day of having Hot Pot, I have decided to have something simple today, fried rice with herbal soup. For the fried rice I'm using some salted fish and beans sprouts. They were delicious!
In a moderate heat, deep-fried the salted fish with a Tbsp of oil. Cook until they are lightly brown and crispy. Set aside.
Using the same oil, lower the heat and cook the garlic until they are golden in color and set aside.
Then, cook the eggs until they are set and mashed them lightly with the spatula and set aside.
Turn the heat on high and add the remaining oil. Mix in the rice and cook briefly for about 5 minutes. Then add in the garlic, eggs and soy sauce. Give it a quick stir.
Then add in the salted fish and bean sprouts. Stir quickly and season with sea salt and ground white pepper. To serve, top it with some chop scallions. Serve immediately.
Don't tell me ... the hotpot you had the second day must be filled with prawns. Is that right? LOL!
Hey, you had also opened up your comments, I see.
Hey Ben, you're absolutely right! LOL!


My version of HBase is 0.18.0.  Yes, I read data in series.
sure that the mapfile index interval is 32.
And what i should say is that every item data is 100 KiloByte.
> 257 takes longer than the read at position 129?
> we do serial search forward from the closest index position.
> What version of hbase are you using?
> You are doing your reads in series?
> figure whats going on?
Sent from the HBase User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.


text:
The Grueling Truth - Where Legends Speak / NFL Week 2 Chargers vs Chiefs: Odds, Tips and Predictions 9/15/22
NFL Week 2 Chargers vs Chiefs: Odds, Tips and Predictions 9/15/22
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 16: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs makes a catch as he is tackled by Trey Marshall #36 of the Los Angeles Chargers during a 34-28 win over the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on December 16, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Odds for Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs– 9/15/2022
Spread Moneyline Total
Bet Spread with Fanduel +164 ODDS From Fanduel Over 54.5 ODDS from betrivers
See Draftkings Odds -196 ODDS From draftkings See Odds from Caesars
Chargers/Chiefs How To Watch 🏈
📅 Date: Thursday, September, 15
🕚 Game Time: 8:20 ET
📺 How To Watch: Amazon
Check out the top sportsbooks for betting on the Chargers/Chiefs
Chargers vs Chiefs Preview
When they host the AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers, the Kansas City Chiefs hope to get off to an impressive 2-0 start on Thursday Night Football. After having its streak of victories in Week 2 ended at four last year, Kansas City began the 2022 NFL campaign with an impressive offensive performance. They defeated Arizona 44-21 on Sunday. Los Angeles won 24-19 against Las Vegas to open the campaign. These are two of the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, and this is the biggest week two matchup out there.
Kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium will take place at 8:15 p.m.
Check out our US online sports betting sites for betting on the Bills/Rams!
Los Angeles Chargers Betting Tips
The Chiefs have been tough on the Chargers in the past, but that has been changing as of late. The Chargers split the last four matchups and won both in Kansas City while losing both at home. Justin Herbert played a major role in those four games. He threw for 1,130 yards and threw ten touchdown passes. He also ran for three scores.
The 24-year-old signal-caller was particularly effective in the two Arrowhead wins. He racked up 583 yards passing yards, seven TD throws and no interceptions. Although Herbert's debut in 2022 was not as impressive as Patrick Mahomes's, it was still impressive. The Chargers will need a healthy Keenan Allen to have a shot in this one, and the offense will have to be more productive than it was in the fourth quarter against Vegas on Sunday.
Check out the top sportsbook bonuses for betting on Chargers/Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs Betting Tips
Patrick Mahomes has done well in seven career Los Angeles meetings. He threw for 1,827 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions while leading Kansas City to five wins. He has also been outstanding in September, throwing 46 touchdown passes and just three picks in 14 games. Twelve of those being wins. Mahomes has thrown at least three TDs in every one of the 14 games, except two.
In Week 1, Mahomes was strong, throwing five touchdown passes and not allowing an interception.
Check out our guide to the top football betting sites.
Betting the game
This game seems to be a toss up and a 3.5 point spread could climb higher if star WR Keenan Allen can't play on Thursday night. I am going with the Chiefs to cover the spread here as Mahomes has been Mr September during the first four years of his career and that will continue on Thursday Night.
Check out the best football betting odds.
Prediction: Chiefs 31 Chargers 24(Take the Chiefs and give the 3.5 points)
Potential earnings
If you are betting on the Chiefs to cover the 3.5 points, the payoff will be decent, and I think the Chiefs will win and cover this game. For example, the odds as of a few days before the game range to -110 if you are betting on the Chiefs to cover the points. If you bet 100 on the Chiefs to cover, the payout would be 91 dollars, which means you would get back the 100 you bet and the other 91 for winning the bet. To me, the best bet is betting on the Chiefs to cover.
Best Betting Sites for Betting on the Chargers/Chiefs
Today we will give you our top 5 betting sites for betting on Chargers/Chiefs.
5) Draft Kings
DraftKings designed a simple-to-use website. The sportsbook section can be found in the menu at top of the homepage. You can jump to fantasy betting or the sportsbook with a single click.
Each section was well-explored and easy to navigate. Each section can be accessed via either the Android or IOS app stores. DraftKings is an expert in online gambling. There are many ways to access your account. This is evident from DraftKings US ratings.
Check out Draft Kings Sportsbook
Sports Bonus
4) Fan Duel
Although placing bets is easy, sometimes it can be difficult to understand the requirements of your betting or gambling situation. It is important to have the ability to talk to customer service in these cases for helpful advice and assistance. Fanduel's customer support team is available 24 hours a day via chat and online. Access an online FAQ that is divided into sections can be used to help you locate your topic. There wasn't even a phone number that could be reached.
There are topics like withdrawals and deposits, promotions and bonuses.
Check out FanDuel Sportsbook
3) BET Rivers
The iRush Rewards program is BetRiver's loyalty program. The multi-tiered offer includes ten levels of exclusive benefits and many other benefits. You'll have access to the bonus shop, custom deposit limits, and special BetRivers offers in the first six levels. Once you reach the seventh level, you'll be eligible for more rewards, such as invitations and gifts for birthdays. This program is designed to improve your sports betting experience.
The rewards program has a 5-star BetRivers rating. All players can access this program, regardless of their casino or sportsbook. This program is available on both mobile and desktop versions of the site.
Check out BETRIVERS Sportsbook
2) BETMGM
BetMGM's online offers are elegantly designed, well-crafted, and polished, just like you would expect from a huge brand known for creating luxury Las Vegas resorts. Jamie Foxx is the first thing you will see when you land on the homepage. It gets even better!
It is extremely user-friendly and simple to navigate for nearly any user. It's easy to navigate the site between sections or states. You just need to click a button. It is nearly identical in all states.
The sportsbook's well-organized layout makes finding the right lines and sports easy. It takes just seconds to place a bet, and it is easy. No loading or lagging was experienced – top marks for BetMGM's US ratings.
Check out the BETMGM Sportsbook
1) Caesars Sportsbook
Caesars Sportsbook is a market leader in this industry and offers world-class sports betting. Live betting, daily promotions, and many markets are all available. Caesars is a high-valued brand that The Grueling Truth has ranked as America's top sportsbook.
Caesars was the first company to launch an online sportsbook following legalization in the United States. Caesars has officially acquired William Hill PLC (one of the biggest operators in sports betting). Caesars will rebrand the William Hill retail shops and improve its online betting products.
Caesars offers great bonuses to first-time customers if you haven't yet opened an account.
Check out Caesars Sportsbook
« The 9 Most Overrated Coaches in College Football History
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Grading every first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


* Rental period begins on Saturdays at 4pm and ends the following Saturday at 10am.
* Please enquire for different departure days, (long) weekend rates/a short term less than 1 week (small surcharge applies for short term rentals) or a longer-term rental.
* Please note that a small surcharge applies for last-minute (less then 7 days' notice) bookings.
* Rental fees above are all-inclusive, and include cleaning, bed linen & towels, wifi/television and utilities.
* IBAN transfers in Euros (European banks) accepted (please inquire).
* A deposit, equivalent to 25% of the total cost of your stay, is due on booking.
* The balance is due 60 days before your check in date.
* From 1 October – 31 March the cost of electricity is extra as the house is heated with electric heaters.
Click here to download a copy of the Terms and Conditions of Rental.
We will get back to you as soon as possible to confirm your stay!


possible, and removed physical presence as a prerequisite for work in teams.
different countries and cultures, known as multicultural teams.
focus solely on virtual teams.
different between the two types of global virtual teams?
H3 – Multicultural virtual teams benefit more from a formal leadership than homogenous virtual teams.


In April 2014, with the support of MSD pharmaceutical company, the Infection Prevention and Control Team (IPCT) in Beaumont Hospital began working with Maithu Limited to develop a hand hygiene (HH) App. The aim of the App was to change the process of auditing so that it was: paperless, more interactive and appealing for staff in the clinical area, and allow immediate automated reports for timely feedback. In addition, the opportunity for the App to provide quick access to educational material to promote HH among staff was explored.
The tools used to audit HH compliance had not been reviewed since 2008, when it became mandatory to submit regular HH audits to the Health Service Executive (HSE). The new App allows the data, which was previously collected on the HSE national audit data collection form, to be inputted directly using tablet. The time saved in terms of data entry alone is approximated at 84 administration hours per annum and reduces the risk of error in data transcription. Time is also saved by the generation of automated reports which are sent directly to the auditors email by a quick tap on the App! The new initiative has also given the IPCT an opportunity to focus on refreshing previously trained auditors, generating renewed interest in the audit process.
The IPCT envisage that the HH App becomes the primary tool for auditing HH in Beaumont Hospital and may be of benefit to other healthcare facilities. The focus is currently to fine tune the HH App and the IPCT are assisting Maithu Limited to expand the tool to incorporate other aspects of patient care, for example, adherence to device related care bundle. Hand hygiene remains a core patient safety issue for Beaumont Hospital and it is hoped that making HH audit more user friendly will be a great addition to the overall HH programme.


I recall being invited home to Suchart's family - and after a delicious home cooked meal, lying on the floor with Suchart's brothers for the night sleep over. The tropical air was heavy. The next day Suchart had to drop by a nearby army base and I was accepted, even as a tourist or Suchart's mate, to enter the inner sanctum where military outfits dotted amongst young faces and tough bodies. Best of all, I can still smell the wonderful aroma of freshly brewed tom yum soup made by Mrs Suchart - in a clear soup with fresh and simple produce from the land and sea.
As reckoned, after the Easter weekend, temperatures began to drop noticeably over night. The end of daylight savings, albeit in early April, brought about a sure but shifting psychological change in our individual perceptions of the timing of dawn and dusk, moon light and day time, coolness and warmth outdoors. The angle of the natural light seemed to be different, noticeable as sudden light or darkness appeared through blinds, vehicle wind screens and the horizon. New South Wales does not experience the extremes of the midnight sun or the longest day. Seasonal change here is gradual, unannounced and gentle. I feel there is slower growth of flora, as if the plants have wound down its hectic pace of summer and showed a hibernation of their own, sowing the seeds of a re-spurt in bloom in only a few more months.
Be charismatic plus positively unusual - and break new ground.
Nobody notices convention as much as being startlingly different. I recall Dell Computer's' just on time practise to optimise and minimise the holding of inventory. Running alongside this Dell philosophy was the even more important culture of tailor making concisely to each customer's unique and varied requirements. This can be difficult to deliver in the food business, but again, why not? Charisma can exude from the service, product or the people that are the face of the business. Being positively unusual does have a definite shelf life, when being new gradually is accepted as the expected norm - and then an engaging stirrer asks why not and how not, all over again. I have taken Dell for granted, but now I am captivated by the young chap from Canberra who has a magic glove that interacts effectively with so much of the Internet and modern electronics - with just a natural wave of the hand.


18/06/2012 · Gary Belsky, former editor in chief of ESPN The Magazine and ESPNInsider.com, is a bestselling author and media consultant who lectures on sales psychology, behavioral economics and decision making to businesses and consumer groups around the world.... 6/01/2006 · all the data has to be recorded somewhere on a computer. 1. Find the computer. 2. you probably have to know a passcode or somethinng to access the date, so get the passcode.
What Are The Ways Employees Cheat on Their Cards? The 2 most common types of cheating are: 1. Fudging Hours 2. Buddy Punching/Time Theft. With paper time cardsall employees have to do is write down they were on time and never left early.... If you run, own or manage a business, you probably use a time clock and want your employees to work the hours they're supposed to. One of the biggest problems many businesses face is time clock cheating and fraud.
Step 3: Go into the date and time preferences through the clock in the lower left, or the control panel (System Preferences for Mac users). Step 4: Go to change date and time. Step 5: Set the date and time to a different time, however much in the future you want your game to be.
Possible Duplicate: Is there a clock in iOS that can be used that cannot be changed by the user. I know in many iOS games that have tasks that take time (i.e. "10 hours until animal done breeding"), one can go into "Settings" and change the time to speed up the completion of the task.
Why Your Employees Should Love Clocking Into Shifts . It's clear why managers love using a time clock system. But employees should want to use one as well to clock in and out of shifts.


Organisers of the Victorian Country Series have advised there is a change to the race format for the Cadet 12 class at the Ballarat round this weekend.
Entries for Cadet 12 will re-open shortly and be limited to 48 entries.
We have been in contact with KA for permission to run a format not specified in our sporting regs.
Please understand that this is an unprecedented situation outside the sporting regs and quick decisions were needed.
We hate disappointing Cadet karters as much as you, and hope this solution has the least inconvenience and fairest chance for all.


4 Star gold luxury accommodation with stunning views per the Midford Valley and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 12 mins from Bath. wonderful wildlife, walks and cycling (on Two Tunnels walk/cycle way to Bath).
4 Star Gold luxury self-catering accommodation with stunning views over the Midford Valley, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is just under 15 minutes' drive from Bath city centre, so it's ideal for holidaymakers who wish to combine a countryside escape with a city break in Bath.
Winner of "Best UK Self-Catering Provider" 2016 in the Luxury Travel Guide Awards and named Best Self-Catering in the Corporate Travel Guide 2017, Tucking Mill View is one of Bath's premier cottage retreats.
This cosy secluded cottage is a single-storey with elegant interior design that has been finished to a very high standard throughout. There is a spacious living room with two comfy sofas surrounding an electric stove, while outside a private, south-facing terrace equipped with a BBQ offers the perfect place to relax and watch the rich wildlife after a day trip to the city. If you're planning an evening in, make the most of the flat-screen TV, DVD player and iPod dock, along with the cottage's modern kitchen facilities. If you're not in the mood for cooking, try one of the two excellent local pubs which both serve quality food all day.
Numerous cycle and walk routes are available on your doorstep and fly fishing can be arranged on request (but please bring a valid river licence). There's plenty of adventure and inspiration to explore the local area, which sits at the tail end of the Cotswolds in Somerset, or if you're more of a city-dweller Bath is only a short taxi ride away.
When you're visiting Bath, make use of our Bath Reward Card, which gives you discounts off The Roman Baths, Fashion Museum, Jane Austen Centre and Thermae Spa. Adventurers might love the savings at Wookey Hole adventure park too. You can also enjoy special prices and deals across the city's fine dining restaurants and cafes, as well as local tours like the infamous Bizarre Bath walk.
Enjoy 10% off direct bookings in 2018.
Guaranteed city centre parking space for £10 per day, making your visits into Bath easy.
Continental breakfast for two with croissants, smoked salmon, eggs, jam and tea on your first morning for £18.
A romantic Welcome Package including cheese and English sparkling wine for two, £49.
Late checkout: Move your checkout time from 10am to 4pm for £55 (subject to availability).
Tucking Mill View is the winner of 2018's M&A Best Self-Catering Destination award. The cottage has also been granted the coveted 4-Star Gold Award from VisitEngland for exceptional quality. Thanks to fabulous reviews from our guests, the View is also Rated Excellent on TripAdvisor and has consistently held a 9+ rating on Booking.com for over 3 years. In 2016, our family company won "Best UK Self-Catering Provider" in Luxury Travel Guide Awards.
Book your stay and see why our guests love Tucking Mill View.
Escape to Tucking Mill View.
Location: Small hamlet on the edge of the old Somerset Coal Canal, directly overlooking the glorious Midford Valley yet close to the City Centre. Ideal for walkers and cyclists as well as relaxers and culture vultures.
Kitchen: Fully equipped kitchen with electric hob, dishwasher, clothes washer, microwave, fridge with freezer compartment and a full range of utensils and crockery.
Entertainment: Digital flatscreen TV and DVD, free Wifi, and iPod docking station.
Outside: Secluded sun terrace with hard wood table, chairs and parasol. Barbecue provided.
General Points: Central heating, Egyptian cotton linen and towels, and an electric wood-burning stove.
Parking: Availability for 2 cars. Free private parking directly outside the holiday cottage.
Children: Over 8s. No cots provided.
Food Stores: Darling Deli, an 8-till-late Co-op and newsagents, 1.4 miles away (5 minutes by car, 20 minutes on foot) at Summer Lane, Combe Down; Sainsbury superstore and Tesco Express 3 miles away on Frome Road (10 minutes by car).
Local Pub/Restaurant: Two excellent independent pubs that serve food at lunch and evening times. Just 15 minutes' walk. Hope and Anchor, Midford and Wheelwrights, Monkton Combe (both half a mile away).
Bath City Centre 12 mins away.
10% off when you book direct. No hidden costs. If Tucking Mill View is unavailable, why not check our other award-winning cottage escapes Brooks' View and Fishermen's Retreat?
Stay for longer and get more!
- 3 nights or longer: Enjoy a free bottle of Casa Valduga sparkling wine on arrival, the perfect way to kick-back and relax. 5% off your stay and all the benefits of the Bath Reward Card.
- 7 nights or longer: Get all the above plus 10% off your stay and enjoy your ideal getaway for less this year.


Fact: poor management of datacenter software licensing is probably costing your organization thousands, if not millions.
80% of software spend now takes place within the datacenter, so the need to manage and optimize license spend here is critical. However, the complexities of vendor licensing programs, different metrics and associated stipulations around installation, usage, editions, virtualization etc. make optimization easier said than done. This means that not only is your datacenter software licensing prone to non-compliance, but you are probably wasting huge amounts of money on unnecessary licenses.
Don't sit back and wait until your annual submission is due and certainly don't wait until a vendor comes knocking with a compulsory audit notice. By then it's often too late. You need to get on the front foot and take control of your datacenter licensing before any of the big vendors come knocking at your door. By maintaining software licensing management and compliance throughout the year, this ensures that you are fully prepared in the event of your next audit and limits any nasty surprises. To do this you will need a software license management tool (but we will come on to that later).
Remember the licensing tools employed by vendors such as Oracle (LMS), SAP (SLAW and USMM) and IBM (ILMT, TAD4D, BigFix) are mainly designed to capture installation and software usage data. They are point-in-time and don't facilitate any refinement, with some often only providing information which benefits the vendor, rather than supporting you in achieving software licensing optimization. They aren't SAM tools and certainly won't help you optimize your licensing. To manage datacenter licensing you need specialist SAM tools designed for each environment and the different challenges they can all pose.
Being compliant simply means that you're not under-licensed, but what about the unnecessary cost associated with being over-licensed or having installed software that isn't used? Organizations waste millions every year paying for software licenses they simply aren't using. You need to ensure that purchased software is being used within your estate whilst taking in to consideration specific upgrade and downgrade rights.
Employing the services of specialist licensing consultancies can be extremely costly and only usually works for point-in-time requirements. They also tend to be heavily reliant on manual processes, which by definition are prone to error and vary in quality, dependent on the level of experience/expertise of the aligned individual. You need a dynamic compliance view that can tell you the moment you are non-compliant. This ensures that you are able to make informed business decisions.
Many SAM vendors claim their tools are a 'silver bullet', but simply can't deliver what they promise. Most available desktop or datacenter licensing optimization tools are based on legacy technology, lack automation, struggle to process large volumes of data and do not provide a centralises view. This often leads to problems with inaccuracy and unreliability. Ensure you test the tools which you are considering as this will give you a better idea of which tool fully suits your needs.
Establishing an ELP (effective licensing position) is just the start of SAM: it simply provides visibility and a foundation from which to begin the journey towards an optimized licensing position (OLP). Of course it's then absolutely essential to ensure that the ELP and OLP are maintained to ensure you continue to realize all the benefits of controlled cost, minimised risk and enhanced management.
Achieving datacenter licensing optimization requires a combination of effective technology – in the form of a tool or tools – and process, in the form of services delivered by internal or external resource. Ideally you want a partner capable of offering both; however this is easier said than done. Toolset vendors tend to fall short when it comes to services and often rely on partners who don't necessarily have an aligned agenda. On the other hand, solution providers may offer the right services, but don't use the right technology; hence they aren't geared towards achieving a quick, accurate and value-for-money outcome. You need to look for a trusted partner offering a combination of highly-automated technology and services which conform to industry best practice and are executed by consultants who are experts in applying tools-based SAM to drive results of the highest quality.
Looking to reduce costs within your IT estate?


text:
Q: Haskell: Concatenating Lists Simple Issue I have a hard-coded list that I wish to concatenate to a list-of-lists.
import Data.List (nub, sort)
import System.IO

type Title = String
type Director = String
type Year = Int
type Mark = Int
type Rating = (String, Int)

-- Define Film type here
type Film = (Title, Director, Year, [Rating])

-- Define database type here
type Database = [Film]

main = do
    addFilm
    print testDatabase

testDatabase :: [Film]
testDatabase = [("Casino Royale", "Martin Campbell",  2006, [("Garry",  8)])]

addFilm :: [Film] -> Film -> [Film]
addFilm a b = ("The BFG", "Steven Speilberg", 2016, []) : testDatabase

I get the error
Couldn't match expected type 'IO a0'
            with actual type '[Film] -> Film -> [Film]'
Probable cause: 'addFilm' is applied to too few arguments
In a stmt of a 'do' block: addFilm
In the expression:
  do { addFilm;
       print testDatabase }

I feel I am missing something rather simple but for the life of me I can't see it.
My expected output is something like this
[("The BFG","Steven Speilberg",2016,[]),("Casino Royale","Martin Campbell",2006,[("Garry",8)])]

A: You have two problems.

*

*Given the definition of addFilm, the type signature should just be addFilm :: [Film], since you aren't using the defined arguments nor are you actually passing any arguments when you do call it.

*Since you are using the function in the IO monad, you can't call it directly like this. The simplest fix is to simply use its return value as the argument to print:
main = print addFilm

Another solution is to leave the type signature of addFilm as it is and actually use the arguments you pass it, then call it with appropriate arguments.
addFilm :: [Film] -> Film -> [Film]
addFilm a b = b : a
-- addFilm = (:)

main = do
          let newDatabase = addFilm testDatabase ("The BFG", "Steven Speilberg", 2016, [])
          print newDatabase

A: addFilm requires two parameters
addFilm :: [Film] -> Film -> [Film]
addFilm a b = ....

yet you are calling it in main with none
main = do
    addFilm

The compiler is telling you that you need two things here
main = do
    addFilm thing1 thing2

A: You've defined addFilm as a function that takes two arguments (even though you don't do anything with those arguments), but you then don't supply any arguments when you use it. That's what the error message is telling you.
But even if you do supply the arguments (or remove the arguments from the definition and change the type to [Film]), you still won't be able to use addFilm as a statement in main's do block. addFilm a b will produce a value of type [List], but statements in main's do block must have type IO a (for some a).
It looks like you may be under the impression that : is a side-effecting operation that's able to affect the value of testDatabase. It's not and nothing can ever be able to affect the value of testDatabase. Your current definition of addList is equivalent to this:
addList a b = [("The BFG", "Steven Speilberg", 2016, []), ("Casino Royale", "Martin Campbell",  2006, [("Garry",  8)])]

It's simply a list containing two movies. So using it as a statement makes no sense - it has no side-effects (if it did, it would have to have an IO type).


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text:
The multiple-career lifetime bamboozle
"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back."
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
The multiple-career lifetime is a bamboozle. It's neither a substitute for vision nor a substitute for planning. In a not-so-bygone era, a career was something we had for life: one function, one industry, one profession. Fifteen or so years ago we started hearing predictions about the 5 careers we could expect to have before we retired. Because they didn't know, the people making those predictions couldn't specify what those 5 careers might be, only that there would be 5. That number has since risen to 6 or 7, along with the retirement age and eligibility to begin drawing full CPP and OAS benefits.
For the record, the people making those predications treated a career change as a response to losing a job voluntarily or involuntarily.
In what by current standards now looks like a steady state employment universe, most people paid lip service to the notion of career planning. They could afford to then because the risks were lower. Not any more. The fly in the ointment about multiple-career lifetimes is that, unless they're planned very carefully, each career move has the potential to mean starting over from scratch in terms of earnings, seniority, suitability for promotion and lifestyle—assuming there's a position to be had in the first place.
Our children run the risk of living the equivalent of crossing a lily pond by hopping from the head of one alligator to another. To cross that pond they'll need the right number of alligators, flawless agility and impeccable timing. With each hop, they'll be that much older, that much more expensive and, unless they play their cards right, that much more obsolete.
The generation about to embark on postsecondary education is the first one to observe the phenomenon that we thought would be confined to blue collar jobs as it continues to spread to white collar jobs. Serious questions need to be asked about which industries are most likely to be in existence in 10 years time. How dependent will they be on technology or specialized training? Where will the training and education for those industries come from? How much will those positions pay? What will the future of full time employment with benefits be?
Significant changes in the way things are done often result in unanticipated consequences. The idea of increasing the free flow of goods and services between countries by lowering trade barriers began to gain traction in the mid-1980's. In 1994, Canada, the U.S. and Mexico implemented the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). At first blush, Canadians were ecstatic because they were convinced that this would mean lower prices for automobiles and other manufactured goods. It's almost 20 years later and we're still waiting.
We didn't anticipate that, in the global push for trade without borders, manufacturing in Ontario would be obliterated and university undergraduate and postgraduate degrees marginalized.
We had no Plan B. We still don't. We had no visionary leaders. We still don't. Except for the European Union where citizens of a Eurozone member state are free to live and work in any other Eurozone state, borders are porous when it comes to the movement of goods, services, money and jobs—but not to the people who populate those jobs.
To its credit, Alberta had the foresight to create the Heritage Fund as a hedge against the depletion of its oil assets. They still have those assets. What's missing is the demand for them.
PDD believes in our young people. In every conceivable sense of the word, they are Canada's future. PDD can point them at resources that will help them identify and exploit the opportunities our generation missed because we didn't have those resources or the need to use them. If we can do that, they'll be positioned to anticipate the future so that they can prepare for it.
Sagan says we're no longer interested in finding the truth. Maybe that's because things have become too easy and we've become too intellectually lazy. As a species, we've always been at our creative and collective best when the chips were down because we've had to be. The chips are down now.
Personal Due Diligence is in the business of showing parents why it's critical that they change the way they think about buying and using education. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Any answer that benefits the person hearing it will be the right answer.
P.S.: On February 1st, 2013, I began monitoring print and electronic media to see how many times 4 topics were mentioned. These are the results as of 5:31 p.m., Wednesday, April 3, 2013.
Economy: 95
Work related stress: 57
Household debt: 14
Management stress: 11
This entry was posted in Organizations and tagged anticipation, career planning, risk on April 3, 2013 by Neil Morris.
About Neil Morris
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/neilmorris
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text:
Daniel 8:9
9 And out of one of them came forth xa little horn, which waxed exceeding great, ytoward the south, and ztoward the east, and toward athe pleasant land.
ch. 7:8. Comp. ch. 11:21, 23. 1 Macc. 1:16.
Comp. ch. 11:25.
Comp. 1 Macc. 3:31, 37. & 6:1.
Ezek. 20:6, 15. So Ps. 48:2. See ch. 11:16.
Daniel 8:9 — The New International Version (NIV)
9 Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
Daniel 8:9 — English Standard Version (ESV)
9 Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
Daniel 8:9 — New Living Translation (NLT)
9 Then from one of the prominent horns came a small horn whose power grew very great. It extended toward the south and the east and toward the glorious land of Israel.
Daniel 8:9 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
9 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.
Daniel 8:9 — New Century Version (NCV)
9 Then a little horn grew from one of those four horns, and it became very big. It grew to the south, the east, and toward the beautiful land of Judah.
Daniel 8:9 — American Standard Version (ASV)
9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
Daniel 8:9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which became exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beauty of the earth.
Daniel 8:9 — GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
9 Out of one of the horns came a small horn. It gained power over the south, the east, and the beautiful land.
Daniel 8:9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
9 From one of them a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land.
Daniel 8:9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9 Out of one of them came another horn, a little one, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the beautiful land.
Daniel 8:9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
9 And from one of them came forth a horn, a little one, and it grew exceedingly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful land.
Daniel 8:9 — New International Reader's Version (1998) (NIrV)
9 Out of one of the four horns came another horn. It started small but became more and more powerful. It grew to the south and to the east and toward the beautiful land of Israel.
Daniel 8:9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
9 Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land.


I first took Reiki Master training in May 2012 in Glastonbury, England ~ legendary as the Avalon of King Arthur, ancient sacred site of Goddess worshippers and Druids, crossed by powerful lei lines, bubbling with sacred springs, blooming with holy thorn trees, early centre of mystical Christianity and current magnet for anyone interested in spirituality and healing. It's a pretty magical place.
Having arrived the afternoon before the course started, I was eager to explore the High Street and especially to climb the Tor ~ the high holy hill on the edge of town. I ate lunch in one of the many vegetarian-friendly restaurants, peered in the windows of shops featuring stained-glass angels, healing crystals and esoteric books, and felt immediately, happily at home.
My whole time there felt like a constant series of little miracles, and I was about to experience the first: Fully caught up in the pulsing positive energy of the place, smiling my head off, I thought how much I would love to do some chanting while there. Not just quietly in my mind, which I do most of the time anyway, or even out loud on my own atop the Tor, but in a group of people, with music and intention. Now THAT would be perfect!
The hand-drawn map I had showed two possible paths from the town centre to the top of the Tor, and since one of them started right across the road from where I was staying, I chose that one. I walked up the little lane, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, right at the end, just before road became footpath, but a small ashram ~ an Indian traditional spiritual centre. And a poster on their noticeboard advertising Bhajans, the exact type of call and response devotional songs I was just wishing for! AND, it was scheduled on Friday night, the only evening that I knew for sure I had free. Jai Sri Krishna!
Now even happier and more at home, I climbed over the stile at the end of the road and continued along the path, winding up the hill among trees and fields of sheep. The next bit of magic arrived presently, in the form of an apple orchard in full bloom. A pretty sight, yes, but magic because the very word Avalon means Isle of Apples. It's true, I'm really here!
I was expecting a procession of pagan priestesses to appear around every bend. But if they were there, I couldn't see them. I did meet one young woman with swirly skirts and dreadlocks, but she was clearly deep in communion with the apple blossoms, so we just smiled and I continued on my way.
My way then came to a cow pasture, lovely dark animals peacefully grazing. There was a creature-proof gate, a sign indicating that this was indeed still the footpath to the Tor, and the path itself continuing through the pasture. So on I went, now out in the open and with a gorgeous view of the Tor and the recent Christian tower at the top, a mere 600 years old or so.
Up ahead of me there were two beautiful black cows standing directly on the path. Just as I started wondering how exactly I should deal with that situation, which way I should go around them, and just how far, they both looked up and took an interest in me. Something in the way the closest one was sizing me up made me take a more mindful look at all of them. Ah, not cows. City kid, here I was standing in the middle of a field of young bulls.
And two of them were headed straight towards me, apparently quite intent on finding out just what I was doing on their path, through their field. They seemed inquisitive rather than angry, and I've never been scared of animals of any kind, so I just stood where I was. My arms were hanging non-threateningly at my sides, palms towards them, offering love and Reiki. They were clearly accepting it, as the flow was very strong. They were very big. And very cute. One of them hung behind the other, like a shy little brother. Both had their heads tilted with curiosity.
The big brother had clearly never experienced Reiki before - nor perhaps a stranger dumb enough to stroll through his field. He walked right up to me, and just as dogs and horses often do, started sniffing my hands to find out what this Reiki stuff was, and just where it was coming from. It was quite a thrill sharing energy and having my hands snuffled by this gentle giant. Just a little more magic.
But then I made my mistake. In offering Reiki to animals and inviting them to share our energetic space, we must respect their free will, and always allow them to decide if and where and when to initiate physical contact. Since the energy is equally effective hands-on or from a distance, there's no need to touch them at all, unless they put themselves into our hands. Well, cattle are domesticated animals, and here we were having a lovely time together and he had just touched me, quite a bit and enthusiastically, so I assumed that it was ok to touch him. I gently turned my hand up and around and tried to stroke his nose.
Uh-oh. (No horns at least.) Not accepting any Reiki now.
We each took a few deep breaths. I started backing slowly across the field. We kept constant eye contact. After I'd gone maybe 3 metres/10 feet, he started matching me step for step, little brother close behind, escorting me out. The field seemed about a hundred times bigger than it had on the way in. They did not charge me, and once I was close enough to the gate, they stopped and just watched to make sure I was really leaving.
I was very grateful for this lesson in humility and respect for the boundaries of others. It could have been a much harsher lesson. And I still got to watch the last of the sunset from the top of the Tor, via the long way round.
Your services are very good and rates are affordable too. I appreciate it. Thanks for these services.
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Want to paint an easy snowy scene with a sponge and fan brush? I will guide you step-by-step and help you create this beautiful painting!
Price of the class is $30 which includes a ready-to-hang 10×20 inch stretched canvas, acrylic paints, and use of paint brushes and easel.
Beer/wine/soft drinks and snacks will be available for purchase during the event. No outside drinks, please.
Please make sure to arrive at least 20 minutes prior to start of event.
Class size is limited to 30 seats, so early registration is highly recommended. No cancellations will be accepted. However, you can transfer your tickets or switch to another event. Contact marge@margecreations.com for questions or concerns.


Former state BJP president Arun Chaturvedi said, the Congress 'failed' to make any alternative arrangement despite water crisis in summers whereas in the BJP government, water tankers were monitored and water was lifted from Chambal river to make it available in Bhilwara through train facility.
File photo of BJP flag.
Jaipur: A BJP leader on Saturday said the people of Rajasthan are paying the price as the Congress government is focused on its own 'Vaibhav', using the Hindi word which means 'glory' and also is the name of the chief minster's son.
Former state BJP president Arun Chaturvedi said, "The government is only concerned about its 'Vaibhav' even as people of the state were paying the price."
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son, Vaibhav Gehlot, is contesting the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat, currently held by Union minister and BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Addressing a press conference here, Chaturvedi said the entire state is suffering from a severe water crisis.
"The Congress government announced to provide free water in the state but in reality, people are not getting enough drinking water. The present government has shelved its water conservation scheme Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Yojana," he claimed.
Accusing the state government of giving contract of drinking water supply to people having "close links" with the party, he said that water tankers are being made available on the "whims and fancies" of Congress workers.
Chaturvedi said the Congress "failed" to make any alternative arrangement despite water crisis in summers whereas in the BJP government, water tankers were monitored and water was lifted from Chambal river to make it available in Bhilwara through train facility.
"The government has become completely paralysed and unable to control necessary resources required by the people," he said.
At a press conference in Churu, BJP leader and former cabinet minister Rajendra Rathore said Rajasthan was suffering from "undeclared economic emergency" from the day the Congress formed government in the state.
While the state administration is "completely paralysed", the chief minister is on an agenda to project his son Vaibhav Gehlot, Rathore said.
He said that PWD contractors who completed works of Rs 3,000 crore and submitted their bills before March 31 have "not a single penny" and farmers were forced to sell mustard and gram at much lower price that the MSP fixed by the Centre.
The state government has failed to make arrangement for gunny bags to the farmers, he alleged.
Vaibhav Gehlot is pitted against sitting Jodhpur MP Shekhawat in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. A constituency of 19.34 lakh voters, Jodhpur goes to polls in the fourth phase of the general elections on April 29.


text:
Q: Which table does COUNT(*) refer to if I'm joining tables? Let's say I have this code:
SELECT a.id, a.name, w.channel, COUNT(*) num
FROM accounts a
JOIN web_events w
ON a.id = w.account_id
GROUP BY a.id, a.name, w.channel
ORDER BY num;

Which number of rows will the function COUNT(*) actually return?
I am guessing it should return the number of all the records (rows) in the accounts table, but it seems to not be the case.

A: You have used both GROUP BY and COUNT. The GROUP BY clause groups all records for each account and channel and the COUNT() function in conjunction with GROUP BY counts the number of events for each account.

A: It will return number of each group - a.id, a.name, w.channel


The Fort Collins Lincoln Center once again presents a weekend of open art studios around town.
Please join us April 28-30th for a studio tour of 48 local artists. Visit your choice of artists. You can plan a route by downloading a map of all the studio locations below.
Eyerake Artistry will be one stop along the way; and the new studio addition will be open to the public, with lots of paintings and other works on display.
Original paintings and prints will be for sale.
No pressure, but It would sure be nice to see you.


text:
BJP's central forces' security cover idea for their Bengal MLAs receives an in-house jolt
These MLAs said the decision will cause more damage to the party's image as no MLA from any other party has so far been seen with a posse of central force personnel in West Bengal.
Published: 22nd May 2021 08:44 PM | Last Updated: 22nd May 2021 08:44 PM | A+A A-
BJP Bengal chief DIlip Ghosh at 'Bhai Dooj' celebrations in Kolkata in this file photo. ( PTI)
KOLKATA: The BJP high command's decision to provide all their MLAs central forces' security cover -- a strategy they wanted to employ to highlight West Bengal's deteriorating law and order situation -- received a jolt with at least a dozen MLAs refusing the offer.
The BJP's MLA in Siliguri Shankar Ghosh, who defected from the CPI(M) before the election, said he doesn't need any security ring.
"I grew up in such a political atmosphere where such a concept didn't exist. I will prefer to roam in my constituency riding my scooter. My style of functioning helps me to connect with common people. If I move with central force personnel, it will not help me to take my voters into confidence," said Ghosh.
ALSO READ | West Bengal polls: TMC's Firhad Hakim heard verbally abusing CISF, BJP in purported video
Before the elections, 13 MLAs, who had defected from the TMC to the BJP, were given security cover by the Centre. After the Assembly polls, the party decided to extend the same to all their 77 MLAs.
"The decision was unprecedented. It was taken to highlight Bengal's lawlessness. Providing MLAs central force security was a brainchild of our national leaders. Many of us feel if an elected MLA roams around with such a security cover in his or her constituency, it delivers a message that will not yield our party any electoral dividend," said a senior BJP leader from Bengal.
Dabgram-Phulbari MLA Shikha Chattopadhyay echoed Siliguri MLA Ghosh's views and said, "My constituency houses many slums. If I visit the areas with central force personnel, the local people will not speak to me as freely. If I cannot know the plight of the voters in my constituency, how will I be a successful public representative? I have already written to my party informing my decision."
Anandamoy Burman, MLA from Matigara-Naxalbari, said the support of the local people is his security. "BJP has massive popularity in my constituency. I have got love and support of the people in this area which is my biggest security," he said.
BJP MLAs in Bengal BJP in Bengal Shankar Ghosh Shikha Chattopadhyay Anandamoy Burman


"Judy was amazing to work with! When we first met her, my husband and I have never been professionally photographed before so we were a little shy in front of the camera. However, Judy is so easy going and warm. Her personality eased us through and allowed us to get over our fears and have the most beautiful pictures to capture both our engagement and wedding.
Judy stepped up to the plate and not only was she our photographer, she was also our own personal driver.


When a Man is into Sailing, He is in to Living! "
The time we spend preparing our boat for a summer of sailing will pay us back with countless days of sailing enjoyment.
It is important to prepare our boat, our crew, our plan for another wonderful sailing season, whether one is sailing the Great Lakes or the many beautiful inland lakes in our state.
The following check list is offered as a reminder to make ready.
1.What is the condition of the hull both above and below the waterline.
2.Once the hull was cleaned below the waterline, (usually after hauling, in the fall), it is easy to visually inspect the condition of the bottom paint.
3.It is common to provide a new coat of antifouling bottom paint every spring as needed.
4.Above the waterline, the hull can use a good cleaning and a coat of wax prior to launch.
5.The deck and cockpit certainly needs scrubbing.
6.What is the condition of the lifelines?
7.On deck instruments including knotmeter, depth sounder, compass, and or radio telephone that deserve attention. check if everything is working correctly?
Running rigging. Inspect the lines, halyards and sheets for fraying.
Do they need to be replaced.
running lights, electrical wiring and circuitry.
Sails Look for tears, threads coming undone, is it time to take sails into a sailmaker?
inspect sail hardware. Battens, Shackles, condition of reef lines.
wheel steering), for condition and maintenance needs.
Anchor, shackles, chain and line.
Cabin interior or down below.
Interior lights, bulbs, Circuit breaker panel, bilge and sump pump, engine compartment.
Head. Manual pump, sink, drains, water supply, holding tank. Deck pumpout.
Holding tank condition and hose connections w deck pump out.
Incidentals, marine toilet paper, deodorant for head.
Auxiliary power, either inboard engine or outboard.
Change the oil and filter on the engine either in the fall or in the Spring.
Check inboard engine waterpump impeller for condition or replace.
Always have a spare waterpump impeller on board.
Normally easy to replace by removing waterpump cover.
or leaking fuel pump, fuel filter and water pump.
Change fuel filter cartridge, if Raycor, clean plastic bowl, to remove water or sediment.
Check condition of battery, charged, add water If necessary.
Inspect engine mount bolts to make sure they are secure.
For outboard motor, grease lower unit clean or replace spark plugs.
Man overboard light. Safety harnesses.
(Practice man overboard recovery early in the season).
With editors permission, we also recommend Sailing Magazine.


Limeburners Single Malt Whisky is matured in a 200 litre American Bourbon Cask and finished in an Australian Port cask. Exhibiting spice and fruit aromas when neat, a splash of water unleashes malted barley, aromas of vanilla and port with hints of honey, raisins and warm spices.
Voted favourite of the night at our recent Limeburners event.


text:
BOB WEST ON GOLF: French Lick on bucket list of golf trips
Published 12:02 am Wednesday, August 21, 2019
By Bob West
The West Baden Springs (Indiana) hotel. (Bob West/Special to The News)
As my wife readily acknowledges, I will go anywhere to play a highly regarded or intriguing golf course. Anywhere.
Over the years that affinity for the best in golf has led me to Scotland, Ireland, Barbados, Cypress Point, Pine Valley, Augusta National and many of America's most celebrated and storied courses. Recently it brought me back to two all-time favorites in French Lick, Indiana.
Yes, tiny French Lick, home of Larry Bird, fabulous layouts designed by two of golf's greatest architects — Pete Dye and Donald Ross — the most amazing hotel I've ever laid eyes on and a fascinating history sprinkled with former presidents, entertainers like Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope and mobsters John Dillinger and Al Capone.
All that and more in French Lick and neighboring West Baden Springs, with a combined population just shy of 2,400.
The hook that lured me to Southern Indiana in 2013 was a staggeringly beautiful and brutal piece of work by Mr. Dyeabolical himself. Named the Pete Dye Course at French Lick, it offered crazy elevation changes, breathtaking vistas estimated at 30 to 40 miles, dramatically plunging slopes, narrow fairways, undulating greens and something called "volcano" bunkers.
In short, it was the most spectacular course I'd ever seen that wasn't next to a major body of water or tucked into mountains. Corroboration of that feeling came recently from a Golf Channel site called Golf Advisor in its listing of the 50 most beautiful courses in the world with public access.
The Pete Dye Course at French Lick was No. 10. Only four public access courses in the United States — The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Whistling
Straits in Wisconsin, Manele Golf Club in Lanai, Hawaii and Pebble Beach —
were considered more beautiful.
Meanwhile, because heavy rain put a damper on my first visit to French Lick, I had vowed to get back at the first opportunity. That opportunity came in June. This time the weather cooperated and the entire experience was sort of like Disneyland for a golfaholic.
The Dye course was everything I'd remembered and its sister layout — The
Donald Ross Course at French Lick — was even better than I'd recalled. Built in 1917 and host of the 1924 PGA Championship won by Walter Hagen, it was classic old time golf architecture.
Recently restored to its original specs, it offered little in the way of frills but brought distinct challenges on every hole. Greens sloped hard from back to front, the deep face bunkers were daunting and the variety of holes and shots required was fascinating.
Ross, for those who don't know, was a Scottish-born course designer whose signature is on over 400 courses. Among his most noted layouts in America are Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, East Lake in Atlanta, Ben Hogan favorite Seminole in Florida and Oakland Hills in Michigan.
My long time golf buddy Ron Ashworth, who belongs to iconic Medinah in Chicago, could not stop raving about the Ross course. He even drove back a couple of weeks later from his home in St. Louis specifically to tee it up on Ross.
A local footnote to Donald Ross, by the way, is that Sunset Grove Country Club in Orange is one of only two courses he built in Texas. The other was Houston's River Oaks.
You don't go to French Lick just for the golf, however. At least I didn't.
Part of the experience, and I have to keep coming back to that word, was staying at the West Baden Springs Hotel. It is safe to say there is not another hotel quite like it.
Built in 1855 and given an extensive renovation in the 1990s, it looks like a mini Houston Astrodome. Indeed, it was the largest freestanding dome in the world until the Astrodome opened in 1965. It was at one time known as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
The atrium is 200 feet in diameter and features a fireplace which burns 14-foot logs. Four levels of rooms and suites overlook a floor area offering elegant furnishings and dining space.
It is impossible to have dinner and not gawk. Some — not me — have been known to go to the center of the atrium, lie down and clap their hands to hear the echoes that reverberate.
Just as Ross is the sister course to Dye, there is an even bigger sister hotel — the French Lick Springs Hotel that is less than a mile away. It's sits adjacent to a 51,000 square foot casino. You can move from one hotel to the other via a 1930 diesel trolley built in Portugal.
French Lick had become a destination resort in the mid-1800s because of what was believed to be the healing powers of its mineral springs. It was so popular around the turn of the century that trains ran regularly from Chicago and Louisville and as many as 14 illegal gambling houses opened for business.
The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates even held baseball spring training there for a few years in the early 1900s. Matter of fact, the Cubs trained
at French Lick in 1907 and 1908 on their way to becoming World Series champions. It would be over 100 years before they won it all again.
Dye came on the French Lick scene in the early 2000s as part of a $500 million revitalization project undertaken by entrepreneur Bill Cook.
Cook, who in 2008 was considered the wealthiest man in Indiana, selected Dye as the architect of choice to build a dream course on 400 acres of property called Mt. Airie.
It almost didn't happen. After stalking the land, Dye told Cook the terrain was too intense and severe for a golf course. Then he had second thoughts, diagrammed 18 holes on a napkin and told Cook he was in.
By the time the project was finished, he'd moved 2.5 million cubic yards of dirt and spent $28 million.
"It was an unbelievable site," Dye was quoted as saying. "I had never seen anything remotely like it, with such dramatic changes of elevation. There was so much area you could make it anything you wanted. The biggest challenge was to make it walkable."
In the end, Dye delivered what he so often has — a harsh, photogenic and difficult course that is truly memorable. Between him and Donald Ross, the West Baden Springs hotel and all the history, French Lick is truly a bucket list destination.
Coming up: Bob West's Chip Shots
More Golf
BOB WEST — Joe Warring's Two-Man Tour has broad appeal across golf
CHIP SHOTS — Andrew Landry and Chris Stroud compete at American Express; Babe Zaharias action continues
BOB WEST CHIP SHOTS — Nederland golfer authors 2nd ace of 2023 at Babe Zaharias
BOB WEST — Houston Open in flux as Jim Crane pushes for spring date


Mexican romantic pop trio Camila will perform some of their biggest hits on Wednesday, May 11 in Bogota's Coliseo Cubierto El Campin, reported events site Plan B.
The concert is part of a tour that began in May 2010, titled "Dejarte de Amar," after the group's second album of the same name.
Songs performed will include "Mientes," the first hit from the album, among many others.
"This album speaks of the loneliness that confronts 20 thousand people each night, but also of another more spiritual [loneliness], that which also causes the typical optical illusions of this kind," said group member Mario.
Camila was formed in 2005 by band members Mario Domm, Samo, and Pablo Hurtado, and now has millions of followers throughout Latin America.


Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday termed the Yogi Adityanath government's report cards on its performance in the last two years "fake" and said these did not reflect the ground reality in Uttar Pradesh.
"Everyday I am meeting people of Uttar Pradesh. Be it farmers, poor, school teachers or women, everyone is unhappy with the government. All these report cards of their performance in two years and publicity of their schemes are fake. One should visit the areas and see the ground reality," she told the media in Bhadoi.


text:
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text:
Fri Jun 7
Convicts are returning to farming – anti-immigrant policies are the reason
Written by Stian Rice, Food systems geographer, Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Migrant agricultural workers kept out of the US by tough immigration laws are now being replaced by prison labor.Shutterstock
Prison inmates are picking fruits and vegetables at a rate not seen since Jim Crow.
Convict leasing for agriculture – a system that allows states to sell prison labor to private farms – became infamous in the late 1800s for the brutal conditions it imposed on captive, mostly black workers.
Federal and state laws prohibited convict leasing for most of the 20th century, but the once-notorious practice is making a comeback.
Under lucrative arrangements, states are increasingly leasing prisoners to private corporations to harvest food for American consumers.
The U.S. food system relies on cheap labor. Today, median income for farm workers is US$10.66 an hour, with 33% of farm-worker households living below the poverty line.
Historically, agriculture has suppressed wages – and eschewed worker protections – by hiring from vulnerable groups, notably, undocumented migrants. By some estimates, 70% of agriculture's 1.2 million workers are undocumented.
As current anti-immigrant policies diminish the supply of migrant workers (both documented and undocumented), farmers are not able to find the labor they need. So, in states such as Arizona, Idaho and Washington that grow labor-intensive crops like onions, apples and tomatoes, prison systems have responded by leasing convicts to growers desperate for workers.
The racist roots of convict leasing
Since Reconstruction, states have used prisoners to solve labor supply problems in industries such as road and rail construction, mining and agriculture. But convict leasing has also been a powerful weapon of white supremacy, and now, anti-immigrant sentiment.
After Emancipation, southern economies faced a crisis: how to maintain a racial caste system and a supply of surplus labor now that blacks were free.
Southern states passed vagrancy laws, Black Codes, and other legislation to selectively incarcerate freed slaves. For example, under Mississippi's vagrancy law, all black men had to provide written proof of a job or face a $50 fine. Those who could not pay were forced to work for any white man willing to pay the fine — an amount that was deducted from the black man's wage.
During the late 1800s, mass incarceration created an army of cheap labor that could be leased to private businesses for substantial profit. In 1886, state revenues from leasing exceeded the cost of running prisons by nearly 400%. Between 1870 and 1910, 88% of convicts leased in Georgia were black.
In this Library of Congress photo from 1903, juvenile convicts are shown at work in the fields, location unknown.Library of Congress/Detroit Publishing Co.
Populist response
But cheap convict labor also suppressed wages for free whites, and by 1900, poor whites began pushing back.
In 1904, James Vardaman was elected governor of Mississippi on a platform of returning whites to work and blacks to confinement. These populist white supremacist sentiments dovetailed with national economic concerns during the Great Depression, when agricultural failures led to widespread unemployment.
In the 1930s, the Ashurst-Sumners Act and accompanying state laws prohibited convict leasing and the sale of prisoner-made goods on the open market. Inmates still worked in agriculture, but the food they produced had to be consumed by other prisoners or state workers.
By the late 1970s, with growing competition from foreign manufacturing, U.S. companies sought out domestic sources of cheap labor.
Under pressure from corporate lobbies like the American Legislative Exchange Council, Congress relaxed restrictions on convict leasing with the Justice System Improvement Act. As the manufacturing and service sectors began hiring prisoners, agriculture expanded its use of migrant workers.
Profit and exploitation
Today, convict leasing offers significant revenues for prisons.
Most wages paid to inmates are garnished by prisons to cover incarceration costs and pay victim restitution programs. In some cases, prisoners see no monetary compensation whatsoever. In 2015 and 2016, the California Prison Industry Authority made over $2 million from its food and agriculture sector.
Growers can reap significant revenues, too. Inmates are excluded from federal minimum wage protections, allowing prison systems to lease convicts at a rate below the going labor rate. In Arizona, inmates leased through Arizona Correctional Industries (ACI) receive a wage of $3-$4 per hour before deductions. Meanwhile, the state's minimum wage for most non-incarcerated farm workers is $11.00/hr.
Beyond the unfairness of low wages, inadequate state and federal regulations ensure that agricultural work continues to be onerous. Laborers endure long hours, repetitive motion injuries, temperature and humidity extremes and exposure to caustic and carcinogenic chemicals.
For inmates, these circumstances are unlikely to change. U.S. courts have ruled that prisoners are prohibited from organizing for higher wages and working conditions – though strikes have occurred in recent years.
Furthermore, inmates are not legally considered employees, which means they are excluded from protection under parts of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act and the Federal Tort Claims Act.
Excerpt from minutes of the regular meeting of the Texas Penitentiary Board, Nov. 12, 1903.Board of Criminal Justice minutes and meeting files, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Whose labor is being sold?
The total number – and racial makeup – of leased inmates is difficult to calculate. Not all prison systems report on farming operations or leased labor arrangements. According to one advocacy group, at least 30,000 inmates work within the food system. But to the extent that convict leasing reflects overall inmate demographics, prison agriculture is distinctly racial.
Blacks make up 39% of inmates, but only 12% of the general population, making blacks six times more likely than whites to be incarcerated. Over the last 50 years – the same period that saw the return of convict leasing – the black incarceration rate quadrupled.
Proponents of "prison industries" argue that leasing provides rehabilitative benefits like on-the-job training for reentry. But research shows that within the prison system, whites receive better jobs than blacks, with better pay and more beneficial skills.
Whereas migrant workers often benefit home communities by returning a portion of their wages as remittances, the garnishing or nonpayment of convict wages prevents inmates from contributing to their families and home economies.
Since Emancipation, agriculture has moved its focus from one labor source to another in response to shifting currents of populism, nativism and racism. All three benefit from the exploitation of minority populations, and all three justify policies of exploitation in economic terms.
Convict leasing is the first – and now the latest – strategy.
Stian Rice is a member of the American Association of Geographers
The association is a funding partner of The Conversation US.
Stian Rice is a member of the American Association of Geographers.
Authors: Stian Rice, Food systems geographer, Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Read more http://theconversation.com/convicts-are-returning-to-farming-anti-immigrant-policies-are-the-reason-117152


text:
<?php

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	 * optional 'date' option (-d)
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	 * @return libhg_Command_Tag_Base  self
	 */
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		return $this;
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		return $this;
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		if ($this->rev !== null) $options->setSingle('-r', $this->rev);
		if ($this->message !== null) $options->setSingle('-m', $this->message);
		if ($this->date !== null) $options->setSingle('-d', $this->date);
		if ($this->user !== null) $options->setSingle('-u', $this->user);
		if ($this->force) $options->setFlag('-f');
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Sitting in an aircraft in VR in X-plane is just a dream. Being someone that has had 2 Strokes years ago, getting a pilots license is out of the question, and my only chance to follow my love of flying is either as a passenger or using x-plane 11. I can be happy that it turned out as it did, that I am able to live as I do, can continue my job without too many handicaps other than the medication that I take causing a bit of shaking in my hands. But that makes using the VR controllers and the laser beam for reaching things past my physical yoke or throttles challenging, as hitting what I want to hit in the distance (aiming, and then staying on it when turning for example a knob), is almost impossible ( like when I have to hit a screw with my screwdriver singlehanded at work). So I resort to the 3d mouse which is wonderfull, and much better than the VR controllers. Only here I have the Problem that unlike the VR controllers that put a green box arround the switch or knob showing that one can do something with it, with the mouse you have to find the up arrow, or the down arrow to then throw the switch or knob in the corresponding direction. It's to "twichy" and not "rough" enough. So with the shakes, it is almost as frustating as the laserbeam. Is there a way that combines both the "roughness" of the laserbeam selections (without the long distance aiming) with the 3d mouse? Eg: Put the mouse on the switch you want, it turns green, and then you can manipulate it with the scroll wheel? That would make it -> Bam!...Finished!... way easier. Or am I missing something in using the controls in VR? Any input would be gratefully accepted, or if there is no other way, then maybe this would be a future idea suggestion, for the "handicaped" users of X-plane 11 - introduce a kind of "roughness" with the 3D mouse. Maybe get rid of the direction arrows completely, put a green box there like with the VR controllers and only use the scroll wheel to make a change. What mouse dosen't have a scroll wheel nowadays? Or maybe click, change, then click again for it to take affect. Thanks, Capt.Pete.
Will it be possible for LR to fix the VR default GPS clickspots before full VR integration?
Nvidia Single Pass Stereo for VR?


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On Saturday, the social media streams were full of updates on the shooting in Arizona mixed lots of conjecture about just who was responsible (interestingly, it apparently wasn't the guy with the gun, but politicians and commentators of various persuasions). And in my FB and Twitter stream, anyway, I found lots of entreaties to pastors to say something about this tragedy, and plenty of pastors scrambling to rewrite their sermons to address this pressing issue. Evidently, the poor, simple people who fill the pews are wandering around the moral landscape, entirely unsure about what to make of these events. Evidently, they are in desperate need of a professional religious person to make sense of it all. Apparently, God is waiting and watching to see what preachers will say about all of this.
I certainly understand the need to address pressing social issues– especially those which have turned so violent and deadly. I'm not advocating churches or preachers ignore what it happening in the world around us. Indeed, churches and other religious institutions need to be engaging with our world, and embarking on resolutions to curtail our evil and violence, rather than keeping our heads buried in the sand. At the same time, I'm uneasy with the assumptions present in these entreaties toward holy speech. To me, they are more than a little disconcerting.
1. Do you really want to be a parishoner? Or even worse, a 'lay person'? You are intelligent, engaged people who are constantly, thoughtfully interacting with your world. Applying your faith and religious outlook to it. Using your God-given abilities at critical thinking to consider the ethical landscape. Are you sure you want to shut up and merely absorb what some cloistered person tells you? Don't you have something to contribute to the conversation?
2. What do you expect someone to say? What can be said? "Don't kill people who you disagree with?" "Don't speak unkindly toward others?" "Don't forget that there are souls inside the idealogues you disagree with?" These seem to be obvious truths, made all the more lifeless by our constant harping about them. Especially when we conveniently forget that they apply to us as well as the people who we've set ourselves against.
3. Why are our churches so bifurcated? A few people stand up high over the rest of us, straining to perform to the proper standard. When the whole event is over, the few who were up front fret about their performance until the next week, while the pew-sitters quietly tabulate their level of satisfaction over the performance of the chosen few. If there was a shortage of intelligence, activism, and insight, I suppose such a false dichotomy would be acceptable. But the silent majority possess a wealth of capability and creativity, which they happily surrender each week for an hour or two before going to lunch. I just don't get it.
1. Please don't overestimate yourself. Yes, you're intelligent. Moreover, you have special training, and probably an advanced degree or two. But are you really the needle in your church's moral compass? I heard pastors in my own city of Washington DC bearing huge burdens for 'what to say' to the people in their churches– especially those who work on Capitol Hill. People who presumably deal with angry letters, crazy constituents, and death threats on a regular basis. Do they really need you to make sense of it? Or might you perhaps allow them to speak about this situation which they clearly understand, and deal with on a daily basis?
2. Be careful what you wish for. This is heady stuff. Being the mouthpiece for God is intoxicating, and having people look to you for insight and answers is flattering. But what if you can't quite pull it off (since you're only human)? What if your carefully chosen words come up short? What if you don't speak to one (or more) of your parishoner's satisfaction? If you're going to be the mouthpiece for God, you'd better be equally flawless. Otherwise, you'd be wise to hand over the mic while you still have the chance.
3. The tragic events in Arizona are horrifying, but they are not isolated. Moral atrocities occur all over our country, and even more in our world. So where do these entreaties to "say something!" end? What are the proper limits to our ethical concern? If we only comment on U.S. or political or domestic issues, we'll appear to be more than a little self-interested and xenophobic.
Wise words from a wise teacher. Sharing the burden reduces it by half, each time. The burden is big enough as it is, without a person trying to carry it all by themselves.
Thanks for being willing to put your job security on the line, in the name of integrity and humility, to empower people in their own faith-walk.
It's refreshing. Kind of like TV that assume their audience is intelligent.
OK, so maybe your job is not really on the line. Maybe it's just not your fathers Oldsmobile.
You're such a contrarian–but really we wouldn't want you any other way .
I understand where people are coming from, in the sense that our lives on Sunday morning shouldn't be separate from what's going on in the wider world, but I'm not sure it's always a good thing for that connection to be immediate and topical in the way some seem to be suggesting.
Great post Mike! This is my first visit to The Official Mike Stavlund Website! Looks really nice!
This post touches on a few things that I really agree with- many pastors and churches, especially the "Evangelical" and fundamentalist ones really train their flock NOT to use their critical thinking skills- in fact they teach them to first filter new information through a fundamentalist lens and then apply special "biblical critical thinking skills" which are really not critical thinking skills. But, in appealing to the reader's innate critical reasoning skills, YOU Mike, might be able to make a difference and engage a simple sheep to look at these things in a new way. And maybe engage one of the simple pastors, too!
Great post- really liked it!


text:
Melodies of Christmas | The Daily Gazette
Melodies of Christmas
By The Daily Gazette
The Melodies of Christmas performance is celebrating its 28th year with performances by the Empire State Youth Orchestra and Chorale at Proctors in Schenectady from Thursday, Dec. 13, through Sunday, Dec. 16. Funds raised from these performances support the Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Disorders at the Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center. CBS 6 will broadcast Melodies of Christmas at 7:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve and noon on Christmas Day, and the Capital Region's CW will broadcast Melodies of Christmas at 3 a.m. on Christmas Eve and 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Christmas Day.
From left, CBS6 news anchors Michelle Smith, Greg Floyd and Liz Bishop listen as Neil Golub, president and CEO of Golub Corp., speaks during the Melodies of Christmas Thursday at Proctors in Schenectady.
From left, Lizzie Pelton, 9, Karen Pelton and Jack Pelton, 8, all of Salem, watch as Pete "The Magic Balloon Artist" Beeble of Troy makes a poinsettia before the show.
The Empire State Youth Orchestra and Empire State Youth Chorale perform under the leadership of Helen Cha-Pyo, left.
Sierra Propper, 4, of Rotterdam is greeted by Britta Kilbourn, 15, of Scotia, dressed as Belle from the movie Beauty and the Beast during intermission. Kilbourn and other members of the Girl Scouts from the Scotia-Glenville area dressed as gingerbread men, Disney characters and traditional Christmas characters as they greeted guests at the show.
Bonnie Williams performs as plays Mrs. Claus with the Orlando School of Dance, the Empire State Youth Orchestra and the Empire State Youth Chorale.
Bonnie Williams performs with the Orlando School of Dance, the Empire State Youth Orchestra and the Empire State Youth Chorale.