1. My ultimate favorite bootie is this Lash Split Shaft Bootie (size 7, TTS). It comes in multiple colors, and I have 2 of them. I currently have the Brandy (a red/burnt orange) which is perfect for fall, and the Black which I say is essential! I also want to get the camel color when it comes back in stock in my size.
They have a chunky heel, which makes them super comfortable, and you don't have to worry about sliding around. I wear them to work for 8+ hours, and I have no issues. Plus, I always get tons of compliments!
3. If you are looking for something more practical, then this Wedge Bootie (size 7, TTS) is perfect! It comes in 5 different colors! I currently have two of them (grey suede and Blush Suede) and they are so comfortable and easy to walk in.
I also have another Leather Wedge Bootie from the same brand that are currently on sale for under $70, and I love them just as much! I have the Sable and Black, and they are also available in a Storm grey color. Hurry because these wedge booties (both sale and non-sale) go fast, so if you see your size I would jump on it!
4. This Maurine Suede Bootie (size 7, TTS) has become another one of my most worn botties for this fall. It has such a great look with the buckle, and the colors are perfect! They're on sale for under $70?,🎉 It comes in 3 colors, and I have the Stone Blue Suede and Golden Caramel Suede.
They also come in the classic Black. These are another bootie that are super comfortable and they go with just about anything!
5. Finally, the Classic Bootie (size 7, TTS). Not only are they waterproof, but they are so comfortable and versatile. They come in multiple colors, and I have a few of them (Taupe Nubuck, Mushroom Suede and Burgundy Nubuck).
Hi Courtney, those booties look great. They look very comfy which is very important to me. Your blog looks great . Very nice share. Keep up the good work. I like your previous fall jacket as well.
You welcome. Good to know!


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Home | News | "Plan Dorado" Secures a Future for Ecuador's Mahi Mahi Fishery
"Plan Dorado" Secures a Future for Ecuador's Mahi Mahi Fishery
Posted By : Joshua Wenderoff/
Under : Industry Engagement, Wild-Caught Seafood
By Wendy Goyert and Pablo Guerrero
Fishing for mahi mahi in Ecuador may look much like the artisanal craft it has been for decades, but practices on the water are very different than just a few years ago.
Ecuador's mahi – or "dorado" as it's known in Ecuador – is hand-caught by longline fishermen. These fishermen work from boats called "fibras" (a reference to their fiberglass hulls). Each of about 300 "nodrizas" or "mother ships" tows as many as 10 fibras into place. These mother ships, powered by inboard motors, are capable of traveling hundreds of miles to find the highly migratory fish. They also serve as floating hotels for fishing crews out to sea for days.
Mahi is Ecuador's largest fishery, landing 22 million pounds in an average year. In addition to its importance to the national economy, Ecuador's mahi fishery is among the world's largest. And with most of its product sold to American buyers, Ecuador mahi can be found at in the fish cases and on the menus of U.S. companies from Kroger, Costco, Harris Teeter, and Hyatt.
But before World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and its partners launched the Ecuador mahi fishery improvement project (FIP), there was good reason to question the health and sustainability of this vast and productive fishery. There was no ongoing science, so neither industry nor government had an understanding of the health of Ecuador's mahi stocks. There was a minimum capture size regulation in place, but with no meaningful monitoring program, it was, as WWF's Pablo Guerrero said, "a regulation on paper only." And even if there had been a reliable monitoring program, there was no management plan to address any sustainability issues monitors might discover.
© Under Secretariat of Fishing Resources, Ecuador
That all began to change when Guerrero walked into Jimmy Martinez' office. Martinez had been a long-serving administrator in the Ecuadoran Agriculture Ministry's Undersecretariat of Fisheries Resources. The two men had gone to university together and known each other for decades by the time Guerrero stopped by to update Martinez on WWF's work to coordinate fishermen, buyers, local NGOs, and other stakeholders as partners in a new mahi FIP.
Initial conversations started months earlier with Ecuador's mahi exporters. These business leaders had seen a growing demand among seafood buyers for sustainably-harvested product. In partnership with WWF, they began to organize the fishing community, and momentum was building for a multi-sector effort aimed at improvements that would eventually allow Ecuador's mahi fishery to meet the sustainability standards of the widely-respected Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
Martinez had worked in industry before joining the marine conservation agency, so he understood that bringing business, conservation advocates, academics, and other key stakeholders together was an opportunity for real progress. He soon began talking with Guerrero and others about the possibility of establishing Ecuador's first mahi management plan.
It wasn't a quick process, or an easy one. Both Martinez and Guerrero were committed to a participatory process that brought all the stakeholders to the table. Any resulting policy would only last if key players supported it. So they began an intensive effort to convene that table and earn that buy-in. The result, announced more than a year and a dozen all-stakeholder workshops and bilateral meetings later, is called the National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Mahi Mahi in Ecuador – or, colloquially, the "Plan Dorado."
In Ecuador's mahi fishery, the Plan Dorado has been transformational.
Where before there was no science at all, today, an annual line-item in the Agriculture Ministry's budget funds ongoing science, and studies have been completed to assess fishing's impact on mahi stocks and endangered sea turtles.
Before the Plan Dorado, there were a half-dozen monitors taking observations as fishermen landed tons of mahi along Ecuador's 1,200-mile coastline. Today, there are more than 200, tracking landed volume, catch location, bycatch, capture size, and other data critical to understanding the fishery and enforcing Ecuadoran law. Monitors also facilitate traceability, by issuing certificates linking each shipment of fish to a specific harvester.
© WWF Ecuador
In the recent past, NGOs used limited resources to help the industry improve fishing practices. Now, regulatory agencies publicize management decisions, government funding supports gear exchanges like an ongoing program to replace "J" hooks with "circle hooks" that reduce turtle bycatch, and government officials train fishing companies on legal obligations and role of observers, as well as best practices to protect endangered turtles.
Before, conservation standards meant little, because they were rarely and ineffectively enforced. Since the Plan Dorado, the Agriculture Ministry has levied fines, suspended fishing permits, seized fish caught in violation of standards, and taken other enforcement actions. There is, of course, more work to do. Guerrero and his colleagues in Ecuador still have their eyes on the original goal: demonstrating sustainability sufficient to earn an unconditional pass of the MSC standard.
But things have changed for the better in Ecuador's mahi fishery. Since 2012, 10 out of the 21 estimated MSC scores that were previously listed as "likely to fail" or "likely to pass with conditions" in the MSC pre-assessment have improved, according to annual reviews by an independent consultant. Those scores concern critical issues like stock status and the protection of endangered or threatened species, as well as major improvements on governance and policy and compliance and enforcement indicators.
Progress in Ecuador has even inspired increased interest in conservation among neighboring countries. The Plan Dorado is seen as a model for replication by other members of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. As a result, mahi issues are now routinely on agenda of this regional fishery management organization's scientific and political meetings.
And Ecuador's progress is also inspiring regional action. In 2016, scientists with the tuna commission developed the first ever regional stock assessment for mahi mahi in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This constitutes an important step toward improving the management of mahi mahi at a regional level.
WWF's Ecuador mahi mahi FIP demonstrates that, by bringing government, industry, NGOs, and other stakeholders together, fishery improvement projects can make a real difference and improve the sustainability of threatened fisheries.
Ecuador mahisustainable seafoodwild-caught seafood

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


1. Client Development is the absolute best source of new business for firms.
In mature, low growth markets competition is dialled up because firms need to win work at the expense of others. The largest firms are redirecting marketing expenditure away from activities like events and sponsorships and spending around one third of their total marketing/BD budget on Client Development activities (an increase over the previous year's findings). In terms of client development programs BTI found the most effective activity for revenue growth is independent in-depth client feedback.
Other initiatives include client specific training, multiple annual client visits, preparing research or original content, and funding 'Top 25' client teams and their activities. And because big firms have a greater need for revenue growth, their client development activities are more formalised, disciplined (measured) and regular. Client Development is a key performance measure valued in the same way as financial performance metrics.
2. Alternative Fee Arrangements aren't 'innovative' and they're not for everyone.
BTI's research indicated that the number of companies using AFAs has fallen from 79.3% to 66.1%. Large companies with big budgets embrace AFAs - they even separate AFA law firms leaders from others. But smaller clients are turning away (back to hourly rates?).
3. A common challenge for firm leadership is redirecting funds to fewer but higher value projects.
Linking activity to revenue growth certainly helps meet this challenge. BTI's research of 159 firms suggests marketing activities that have the most impact on revenue growth are (in descending order).
Take a leaf from the framework developed by BTI in their industry-wide analyses and assess your firm's portfolio of practices according to (1) Growth prospects and (2) Relative fee rates.
Cornerstone practices – low relative fees and no growth potential (or decline).
Concentrate on Key Account Plans: Have a marketing plan for each major client (or major referrer). Start with those clients or referrers who contributed the top 50% of your total fees in 2016. Critique your clients (keep that bit to yourself!) and get feedback from them. And make sure each Key Account Plan identifies the key risks that client faces and the key result areas of decision makers.
Act on Client Feedback. Install a regular program of client listening and large-scale use of independent client feedback (dozens to hundreds of interviews by a third party) and let this drive client development plans.
Adopt a 'One size fits one' approach to client development. Each client will have unique demands for service and style, metrics and measures. So take a 'concierge-level' approach and create custom designed strategies, client and team education, process design and services delivery.
Be selective with BD Skills training and coaching: Provide BD skills training and coaching provided for high potentials only – invest in those professionals willing and able to deliver.
Do one thing that is relevant and memorable in your market. Create one piece of original content and use as a marquee-messaging vehicle for the firm.
Dive into the data: Analyse client types and buyer profiles, fees and matters, feedback and workflows - look for opportunities and recommend improvements to process.
Empower Partners to commit the firm. If you're going to play the AFA game have clear protocols and processes on matter and client specific bases so Partners can commit at the time of negotiation.
BTI's 60 minute presentation is now available on You Tube.
Get in touch if you'd like to find out more.
Register for Practice Reboot to learn how to jolt your practice into life in 2017. Joel Barolsky and I will be facilitating these one day programmes in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in March 2017.
Subscribe to our Practice Builder Blog and get our latest ideas, insights and opinions on what it takes to build and run a successful practice.


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in: Tragic, Humans, Antagonists with Superhuman Strength,
Action Movie Antagonists
Spider-Man villains
Spider-Man Antagonists
Villains with Superhuman Strength
Heroes turned to the Dark side
Seeker of Vengeance
Teleporters
Ferrokinetic Antagonists
Ferrokinetic Villains
God Wannabe
Egomaniacs
Egotist
Thugs
Insecure antagonists
Live Action villains
Live Action antagonists
Power Hungry
Bio-Engineered
Super-villains
Mutated
Megalomaniacs
Action Movie Villains
Marvel Antagonists
Marvel Villains
Completely Mad
Psychotics
Envious Antagonists
Wrathful Antagonists
Almost Pure Evil
Electro (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)
"Soon, everyone in this city will know how it feels to live in my world...A world without power...without mercy...a world without Spider-Man. They will see me for who I truly am...I'm Electro."
~ Electro
Maxwell "Max" Dillon, also known as Electro, is the main antagonist of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
He is portrayed by Jamie Foxx.
1 The Amazing Spider-Man 2
2 Lego Marvel
Max Dillon lived his whole life without anybody merely acknowledging his existence. One time, the Manhattan hero Spider-Man bumps into him on the streets and tells him, "You're my guy. You're my ears and eyes on the street." Being the "nobody" that Dillon was, he was thrilled to have been acknowledged by somebody, let alone the very famous Spider-Man. As Spider-Man leaves, Dillon starts to believe that he is an accomplice to the hero. He goes mad with "love" for Spider-Man, constantly thinking about him and the fact that he could help him in any way. After his mother forgets his birthday, Max is placing a large electrical wire into a vent at Oscorp when he is suddenly electrocuted. He falls, dragging the wire with him, into a tank full of genetically altered electric eels. They sting him multiple times and the tank shatters. The mix of chemicals causes Max's skin to turn blue and give him the power to control electricity. Max feels that he is betrayed by love, his family and his job. He wants to rid the world of power so that everyone can feel what he once felt. Electro also feels betrayed by Spider-Man and fights him with his powerful electrical abilities. However, with the help of Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man defeats Electro by overloading his electricity supply, causing him to violently explode into millions of particles, killing him. With him dead, all of New York City's electricity is returned.
As well as appearing in a 2014 Lego Marvel set as a minifigure, Electro is also in the 2013 video game Lego Marvel Superheroes, and it's sequel as a playable character and a boss.
Max Dillon's standard appearance
Max Dillon becoming Electro
Electro facing Spider-Man
Electro firing beams of electricity from his hands
Promotional image
Add a photo to this gallery
In a 2012 Twitter post, Jamie Foxx teased that he "dressed up as Electro for Halloween" and that the "costume fit well".
Foxx also stated that the costume for the movie would not be green and yellow, like it is in mainstream comics. Instead, it would have been a sleek black, similar to the "Ultimate Marvel" comics.
After being chosen for the role, Foxx stated to Entertainment Tonight that he likes Electro as a character and was excited to play him.
Although Foxx did his Electro voice in serveral interviews, there's been rumours that the voice will be edited slightly to sound 'electrically disorted'.
Electro is the first villain in the Amazing Spider-Man series in which his transformation into the villain is accidental.
Max Dillion starts off nerdy and then dark, just like Riddler in Batman Forever, Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3 and Syndrome in The Incredibles.
Like all three of them mentioned above (excluding Riddler), they all die a gruesome death trying to kill the protagonists.
His appearance is based off of his Ultimate Marvel Incarnation.
He is the only villain in the Amazing Spider-Man Series to die.
Antagonists with Superhuman Strength


The Dell Inspiron series are a line of ultra-thin economical netbooks that are small in size yet you're not missing out on anything. Available in many vibrant colors, they are packed with fun features. With a simple memory upgrade, you can improve your netbook's performance and speed.


The international event celebrating new comics with over 50 titles being given away FREE. No purchase necessary (comics are limited in number).
Joining them is local guest artist Matt Uren from Jam and Cream.


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Home » IANS » Justice Sikri appointed judge of Singapore International Commercial Court
Justice Sikri appointed judge of Singapore International Commercial Court
Published on : Mon 15th July 2019, 10:22 PM
New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) Former Supreme Court judge, Justice A.K. Sikri has been appointed as an international judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court.
Justice Sikri will assume charge as an international judge with effect from August 1 and his term will expire on January 4, 2021.
The SICC, which has 16 international judges in its panel, is a division of the Singapore High Court, dealing with international commercial disputes.
On May 14, Justice Sikri was appointed the Chairman of News Broadcasting Standards Authority.
Justice Sikri retired as a Supreme Court judge on March 6. He also served as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. He was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court in 1999.
ak/prs
Wednesday 20th January 2021, 06:42 AM
Carey Mulligan had fun with violent scenes in 'Promising Young Woman'
Caitlyn Jenner admits being closer to Kylie than her other kids
Amid debate challenges with Nani, TDP's Uma arrested, let off
Terrorist, associate arrested in J&K
Chandrababu will not let NTR get Bharat Ratna: Kodali Nani
Whole world will stand up & salute you: Shastri to Indian team
Iconic Bengaluru flower show postponed due to pandemic
Congress forms 5-party Mahagathbandhan to take on BJP in Assam
Tuesday 19th January 2021, 11:51 PM
15,223 more beneficiaries vaccinated in Karnataka
I look good as captain because everyone contributed: Rahane
Gujarat records 485 Covid cases, 2 deaths


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Q: How can I get my data (Pandas Dataframe) to align properly in my Flet (Python) app output? So I'm building a data entry app for shop floor operators (manufacturing) to use so they can log inventory tags that are entered into our main inventory system.  Users enter the requested data and the program appends the data to a CSV file.  The CSV file is connected to Excel to provide the supervisor with a real-time view of tags entered.  However, I also want to provide a view of entered tags so that the user has a list built within the app.  To do this, I'm using Pandas to re-import the CSV into the app and display the X number of tags entered.  If I print the variable with the pandas dataframe assigned, the data is nicely organized into columns and rows (with header) in my VS Code terminal.
The problem: even though the data displays in my app, the data isn't really organized (aligned) in nice even columns. Is there something I'm not doing or am doing wrong?  If needed, I can provide code...but one should be familiar with Flet.
Thank you!!

A: visualizing a pandas dataframe usually works better with the display built-in function rather than print, but without any code it's hard to see if that would help here. Another option might be to get it created as an image first and then displayed.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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October: The Story of the Russian Revolution
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We The Curious
Fri 05 May 2017,
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Description Biography
Award-winning fiction writer China Miéville has long been inspired by the ideals of the Russian Revolution and now he provides his own distinctive take on its history.
In February 1917, in the midst of bloody war, Russia was still an autocratic monarchy: nine months later, it became the first socialist state in world history. How did this unimaginable transformation take place? How was a ravaged and backward country, swept up in a desperately unpopular war, rocked by not one but two revolutions?
This is the story of the extraordinary months between those upheavals, in February and October; of the forces and individuals who made 1917 so epochal a year; of their intrigues, negotiations, conflicts and catastrophes. From familiar names like Lenin and Trotsky to their opponents Kornilov and Kerensky; from the byzantine squabbles of urban activists to the remotest villages of a sprawling empire; from the revolutionary railroad Sublime to the ciphers and static of coup by telegram; and from grand sweep to forgotten detail, Miéville reveals the Russian Revolution as a breathtaking story.
Image credit: Katie Cooke
China Miéville is the author of many books, including The City & The City, Embassytown and Perdido Street Station. He is a three-time winner of the prestigious Arthur C Clarke Award and has won the British Fantasy Award twice.
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Sensation website | Elements Interactive — We build applications!
What began in the year 2000 as a one-off dance event in the Amsterdam ArenA, has transformed into a worldwide phenomenon that takes place in stadiums and arenas around the globe today. Sensation creates a new show every year to dazzle the senses. Committed to innovation and excellence, Sensation has earned the distinction of being the world's leading dance event.
Elements worked with ID&T, the legendary company behind the Sensation events, to create the brand-new Sensation website. Elements built the front-end of the website. The design was created by ID&T and the API was provided by Angry Bytes.


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The socialists are coming! The socialists are coming! [Opinion]
By Jay Ambrose July 28, 2018
The socialists are coming! The socialists are coming!...
1of4A supporter holds a sign depicting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as she speaks at a campaign event for James Thompson, a Kansas House candidate, in Wichita on Friday, July 20, 2018. Less than four weeks after scoring a stunning upset in a Democratic House primary in New York, Ocasio-Cortez stepped out onto the national campaign stage for the first time to take her message to the heartland. (Hilary Swift/The New York Times)Photo: HILARY SWIFT, STR / NYT
2of4NEW YORK, NY - JULY 12: Congressional nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (L) stands with Zephyr Teachout after endorsing her for New York City Public Advocate on July 12, 2018 in New York City. The two liberal candidates held the news conference in front of the Wall Street bull in a show of standing up to corporate money. Ocasio-Cortez shocked the Democratic political community recently after an upset win against Representative Joe Crowley in the New York Democratic primary. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Photo: Spencer Platt, Staff / Getty Images
3of4Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign event for James Thompson, a Kansas House candidate, in Wichita, July 20, 2018. Less than four weeks after scoring a stunning upset in a Democratic House primary in New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stepped out onto the national campaign stage for the first time to take her message to the heartland. (Hilary Swift/The New York Times)Photo: HILARY SWIFT, STR / NYT
4of4A patron puts a bill in a donation bucket, which features a red rose symbol, during a meeting of members of the Southern Maine Democratic Socialists of America in Portland, Maine, Monday, July 16, 2018. On the ground in dozens of states, there is new evidence that democratic socialism is taking hold as a significant force in Democratic politics. The red rose is a symbol of democratic socialism. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)Photo: Charles Krupa, STF / Associated Press
She's a biggie, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is, because this 28-year-old politician declared herself a socialist, beat a powerful New York City Democrat in a primary, is sure to go to Congress after the November election and is the future. I am talking about the socialist future, the future that could very well ruin America.
It might not happen, of course, but Ocasio-Cortez is just one of a number of Democrats sufficiently confused and ambitious to be turning to a system that stuffs liberty in a bag while it locks the door on economic growth. This arises out of old instincts, but also because of the party's current, ineffectual muddle of what do we want and when do we want it. And don't forget that there is also political opportunity: Although they may not quite understand socialism, 50 percent of millennials are for it.
OPINION: Democratic socialists are winning elections. So what do they want?
The millennial vote will at one point be the biggest vote in America and it's already powerful enough to have given oomph to the 2016 presidential campaign of one of America's oldest hippies, the socialist senator named Bernie Sanders. He's the guy because, for one thing, he not only wants to stick it to those big corporations (that happen to be crucial to our well-being), but promises to save the students from loan debt.
He wants to make colleges free for all, although, sadly, they won't be free for taxpayers and the spending won't be kind to national debt. Here is something to keep in mind. Tuition is mainly as high as it is right now because of liberal enthusiasm for this loan idea enabling colleges and universities to get away with asking for however much money they wanted.
OPINION: Outright Nazis are running as Republicans, so don't worry about the Democratic left
Good intentions mixed with scrambled thought inevitably pave the road to penury, misery and worse, as in 100 million people being killed by in the 20th century by such socialist regimes as the Soviet Union, China and North Korea. Today, a foremost exemplar of starvation techniques is the socialist regime in Venezuela.
In Western countries today, we know, socialism does not mean government owning most industries and indulging in Stalinist dictatorships, but more nearly exercising control through regulatory overkill and "soft despotism." As described by the 19th century author Alexis de Tocqueville, that would be government that hinders, represses, extinguishes, dazes and stupefies, reducing people to a timid herd of sheep. Freedom can go kaput, he said.
Agreeing with him was a 20th century political genius named F.A. Hayek who fretted mainly about socialistic central planning in which a handful of experts substitute for competition and the choices of millions of consumers. Political power grows, individual power is diminished, markets are wrecked, promised benefits never show up, group identity matters more than merit and you are told not just what side of the road to drive on, but what your destination should be.
OPINION: Why do Americans suddenly like socialism? Blame capitalism.
In response to such criticisms, Sanders has said look at what the socialistic Scandinavian countries have done for the working man, and, yes, look and get it that these are actually capitalistic with a freer economy in Denmark than here, no minimum wage in any of them, lower corporate taxes than ours (at least before Trumpian tax reform), privatization of schools and the postal service in Sweden and cutbacks in spending.
Sanders might note, though, that they still have expensive welfare programs and that, according to The Money Illusion, a couple with an income of about $70,000 in Sweden can pay a 60 percent income tax on top of a value-added tax. That's what he wants in America?
Capitalism is spreading worldwide, lifting hundreds of millions out of destitution, and President Donald Trump's tax reform and regulatory reductions have given a mighty push to economic progress. Blacks, for instance, have the lowest unemployment rate in history. Ocasio-Cortez responds that "unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs." What?
Sorry, but that's what you get from socialists. Watch out.
Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Readers may email him at speaktojay@aol.com.


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BISON BARELY SURVIVED THE NINETEETH CENTURY
By Jim Robertson
During the 1800s, a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill terrorized the American West, shooting and skinning his victims who numbered in the thousands. But no special agents from the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, were sent out to stop Bill or the procession of copycat killers joining in the mayhem. The carnage was endorsed and encouraged; the targets, though gregarious, caring and benign, were nonhuman after all.
Over 60 million bison were massacred in a shameful era that nearly brought an end to them, along with elk, grizzlies, wolves and every other species hunters could get a bead on.
Compared to the human world, the bison nation is a shining pillar of civilization. Herds of bison never waged war or decimated their fellow mammals. The embodiment of gregariousness, bison are much like elephants in character and culture. Dignified breeding-aged bison bulls travel in small groups–nearly always in threes, for companionship and to watch each others' backs–only joining the herd during the summer mating season. For the rest of the year, the main herd, led by an experienced matriarch, consists of several generations of mothers with their young, cousins, aunts and males up to three years old.
Photo copyright Jim Robertson
Bison form lasting bonds in and outside the family, between cows cautiously escorting their calves, siblings and also between unrelated individuals who grew up, traveled and learned about life together. Selfless and protective, juveniles help mothers look after the youngsters and will gladly lend a horn to keep prospective predators away from the calves. I have seen this kind of cooperation among bison families many times in the years I've spent observing and photographing them. I've also witnessed them mourn over the bones of their dead and even put themselves in harm's way to defend other species, such as elk, from ambitious wolves.
It's fitting that bison became the symbol of our national parks, since Yellowstone, the first ever established, has a history linked with theirs. Not only was it the last place in the country to harbor the besieged buffalo, but on either side of Yellowstone one can visit the shrines that stand as dark reminders of how bison have been exploited by voracious, over-consumptive humans since time immemorial.
Seventy miles northwest of Yellowstone (and 70 miles beyond the allowable range of bison now or in the foreseeable future), the river passes an area designated a Montana state monument commemorating the Madison Buffalo Jump. In a ritual far more atrocious than Spain's "Running of the Bulls," aboriginal people–glorified as ecological stewards and fabled for their "special relationship" with the animals they killed–ran terrified bison over cliffs, laying waste to far more than they could ever use. The broken bones of these unfortunate animals–many of whom suffered for hours while their assailants butchered one after another of their herd-mates–still lay 30 feet deep at some of these sites.
The buffalo "jump," as it's flippantly referred to, was a common hunting practice for tribes along the Rocky Mountain front. In a May 29, 1805 entry of the journals of Lewis and Clark, Meriwether Lewis described the following scene: "Today we passed…the remains of a vast many mangled carcasses of Buffalow which had been driven over a precipice of 120 feet by the Indians and perished; the water appeared to have washed away a part of the immence pile of slaughter and still there remained the fragments of at least a hundred carcases…they created a most horrid stench. In this manner the Indians of the Missouri distroy vast herds of buffaloe at a stroke."
With the advent of buffalo jumps, the bison's adaptation of fleeing to escape human predators–a response that had served them well in earlier times–was turned against them. Around a million years ago in Eurasia, the bison line branched off the bovine family tree that included the ancestors of the cattle that made Ronald McDonald the wealthy clown he is today. Having adapted to the northern climes, a pioneering species, the Steppe bison, crossed the Bering land bridge from Siberia to Alaska during an interglacial period roughly 600,000 years ago. They gave rise to several other bison species, including the giant long-horned, the ancient and the Asian bison (from which today's species, known as the American bison, is the direct successor). Like the American, the Asian bison had upward-pointing horns and lived by the flight rather than fight strategy when faced with their most feared predators: humans. The other early bison species had forward-pointing horns, with which they defended themselves while holding their ground.
But any species who exercised this defensive strategy found it ineffective when they encountered the first humans to reach the New World via a much later land bridge around 12,000 years ago. Those people brought along stone-bladed spears which they hurled (from a safe distance, of course) at any large mammal they met. At least two early species of bison around at that time were quickly eliminated by human hunters. They, along with many other species who evolved on this continent, such as mammoths, mastodons, horses and camels, found their horns, tusks, hooves or bulk were no match for the weaponry of these new super-predators. This "American blitzkrieg" (as Jared Diamond, author of "The Third Chimpanzee," put it) marked the tragic, catastrophic end of 75% of North America's indigenous large mammals, including giant species of beaver, armadillo, ground sloth, and bear, as well as the American lion, dire wolves and saber-toothed cats–none of whom were prepared for humans' hunting tactics.
Often romanticized as a match made in heaven, the relationship that developed between Indians and bison was more like that of a stalker and the object of his obsession. Just as the trout is an unwilling participant in the fly fisherman's sport, bison were forced to play host to the cravings of parasitic humans. Driving bison off cliffs may have helped support a way of life, but to those plummeting headlong into the abyss, the intentions or beliefs of their assassins were irrelevant.
So unpredictable was human predatory behavior, that American bison would not stand and allow people to get too close. On the other hand, healthy adult bison, surrounded by their fellow herd members, felt safe and didn't stampede when wolves approached and moved among them. Ever the innovators, primitive hunters devised a clever strategy to creep up within shooting range of their bows and arrows: they concealed themselves and their murder weapons under wolf hides.
When Spanish explorers inadvertently reintroduced horses to the continent, Indians learned to use them to overtake herds of bison and selectively shoot their prey on the run. Having the luxury of choice, they went after the cows for their tender meat and supple hides. Soon, the ratio of bulls to cows was skewed 10 to one. Fewer cows meant fewer calves. With the tenuous equilibrium between bison and Indian thrown off track, the American bison, too, were edged toward the precipice of extinction.
The next people on the scene were even more reckless and ever more numerous, bringing with them devastating firepower in the form of 50 caliber rifles that would quickly spell doom for the species. Death followed these pale riders who saw bison only for their market value. First, they killed them simply for their tender tongues, which sold as a gourmet treat. Then, with bison fur carriage robes the latest fashion in New England, buffalo skinner became one of the most popular, if temporary, occupations. Later, as the industrial revolution surged ahead under full steam, toxic tanning solutions were developed to better utilize bison skin as a source of leather for machinery belts.
These new immigrants sought not only the riches they could extract from bison, but ultimately to replace them with the species they had long-since domesticated. Neat lines of taught barbed wire bear witness to this new orderly world, while dust bowls and chemical fertilizers hint at the absurdity of efforts to dominate Mother Nature.
Due east of Yellowstone lies the town of Cody, complete with a museum honoring its namesake, serial bison killer "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Bill earned his nickname in 1868 after winning a twelve-hour bison contest hunt. He scored 69 kills to his opponent's 48. Although he murdered thousands of bison over his lifetime–killing 4,280 in 17 months alone–in the years to follow, his dubious achievements would be outdone by an unending procession of copycat killers.
The flesh of some of Buffalo Bill's victims–those who weren't merely skinned and left to rot–was fed to the cavalry (fueling the war against the Indians) and to Kansas Pacific Railroad workers (fueling the war against the environment). One of the first industrial-scale atrocities wrought by the newly constructed railroad was the haulage of boxcar after boxcar of bailed hides back East. For a short time, a railroad dividing the plains marked the delineation between the northern and southern bison herds and any animal near the tracks became a target. But the southern herd was completely annihilated by 1879. The commercial hunt on the northern herd (despite the participation of tribal members from Montana territory, who had long since abandoned bows and arrows for rifles) presented greater logistical and geographic obstacles, so the bison there managed to linger for another decade.
In the end, gunners from across the country converged, stationing themselves at every available watering hole to lay in wait for the remaining herd of 10,000. Within a matter of a few days, those bison, too, were no more, and the final solution to the bison problem was all but realized. As in Nazi Germany, railroads played a key role in the hide-hunting holocaust. Infinite loads of bleached bones–the last reminder of the species which once symbolized the plains–were hauled away to fertilizer and sugar processing plants.
With all those serial killers after them, it's a wonder that any bison survived to see the 21st Century—especially now that there are new sport and tribal hunting seasons on them and the State of Montana is trucking thousands of others off to slaughter. But that's another ongoing story for a future issue…
(This article includes excerpts from the book, Exposing the Big Game. Text and photos by Jim Robertson.)
Please visit Jim's website: www.animalsinthewild.com
Jim Robertson is the Author of Exposing the Big Game: Living Targets of a Dying Sport. All photographs are copyrighted.


Like barrels ? Well if you haven't already done so head over to the video Blog to see a little action from Indonesia and Maldives of late .
Image above is by Richard Kotch, surfer Brent Savage , ''Getting ready to set it up''.


text:
Well-Warranted Hockey Rule Changes
Like any sport, hockey has progressed over the years. In the midst of its 100-year anniversary this year, the National Hockey League has led the way, while the rest of the pack--amateur and minor leagues--fell into line to keep the sport consistent from coast to coast. Many rule changes occurred over a crucial 40-year period starting in 1917 that shaped the game that we see now on TV and in person at the rink.
Historically, the NHL was actually a continuation of the National Hockey Association, which had been around since 1909, a league with teams in Ontario and Quebec that saw six players per side, thus eliminating the previous rover position.
From the very beginning, Toronto Blueshirts' owner Eddie Livingston caused so much trouble within the NHA executive ranks--such as threatening to move his team to Boston despite NHA league disapproval--that three of the NHA teams (Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, and Ottawa Senators) decided to totally ignore Livingston and his franchise, and form their own league for the 1917-18 season. They also added a new team in Toronto called the Arenas. As a result, Livingston tried suing the other teams for leaving him in the lurch. But nothing came of it.
Beehive hockey picture of Jean Beliveau (Canadian Public Domain)
Frank Calder was the NHL's first president, a true visionary if there ever was one who remained in office for the next 25 years. Under his guidance, the first major change occurred in the first NHL season: Goaltenders were allowed to drop to the ice to make saves. Before that, they were handed a minor penalty, which--believe it or not--they had to serve themselves by leaving the ice while a forward or defenseman replaced them! The next season, in 1918-19, two blue lines were painted on the ice surface 20 feet from center ice (which had no red or any other-colored line), thus creating three zones with the neutral center piece 40 feet long. This latter area being the only zone where forward passing was allowed.
Throughout the 1920s, the defensive strategy of the time was to keep the opposing team bottled up in its own 20-foot zone, making for a very boring game at times. This was an early form of "the trap." Players could not pass the puck over the defensive line to a teammate--they had to carry it out. In 1926-27, the blue lines were moved up to 60 feet from the goal lines, shortening the neutral zone from 60 feet down to 40 feet. In addition, in 1928-29, a minor penalty was called against a player who passed the puck back in the defensive zone. Apparently, the game was not clicking: too many 1-0 and 2-0 scores. Now, something definitely had to be done.
So, beginning in 1929-30, forward passes in all zones were allowed. This opened up the game, doubled the scoring, and also established the term we now know as "blueliners." Dealing with this new problem, the league invented the modern offside rule for the 1930-31 season, where the puck had to be thrown or taken into the attacking zone ahead of other players entering the zone.
In 1934-35, for the first time, the NHL saw penalty shots. They occurred when a player was tripped or otherwise held from preventing a clear shot on net with no teammate to pass to. Play was stopped, and any player appointed by the coach had to take his shot inside a 10-foot circle that was 38 feet from the net. The goalie could move up only 12 inches, at most, beyond the goal line.
By mid-season 1936-1937, a goaltender no longer had to serve his own penalty and was replaced by a teammate. In 1937-38, icing the puck came into being, which increased the chances of injury as players from both sides often were forced to race for the puck. "No touch" icing back then.
The next season, 1938-39, the league changed the penalty rule to add some excitement. The puck carrier could now race towards the goalie before firing away at him.
In 1940-41, resurfacing the ice between periods became mandatory. Several hand flooders were now used by a crew of workers, unlike the single Zambonis in this day and age. Prior to all this, ice surfaces were only scraped, leading to chips and gouges everywhere as the game went on. Oftentimes, overtime playoff games extended into several periods because the players had a tough time moving and maneuvering.
To speed up the game and reduce the number of off-sides during World War II--when the best players were overseas--the league introduced the Red Line in 1943-44. Ever since then, hockey is a dump-and-chase game. One ex-player in particular, forward Guyle Fielder, hated the system and it probably kept him out of the NHL. Fielder was a scoring sensation in the old Western Hockey League during the 1950s and 1960s, setting records that still stand in pro hockey.
Beehive hockey picture of Terry Sawchuk (Canadian Public Domain)
An incredible stick-handler, Fielder was an unselfish center, who would set up an offense like no one in hockey before or since. "I didn't like the NHL's dump-and-chase system," the spry Fielder told me over the phone from his home in Mesa, Arizona in 2014. He preferred to hang onto the puck, until the time was right to snap off a crisp pass to an open teammate gunning for the net. This irked the NHL coaches and GMs to no end. If you couldn't make the play, you were supposed to dump it in. "If you have the puck, why give it away?" Fielder added. "That's what a center is for. Make the plays and set up others."
Finally, last but not least, one of the most significant rule changes and one of the most talked about began at the start of the 1956-57 season, in which two-minute penalized players were allowed to return to the ice when the first goal was scored by the opposing team. Prior to this, the team with the man-advantage was able to score as many goals as they could within those two minutes, weather they were on a 5-on-4 or even 5-on-3. How did this new rule come about?
By the mid-1950s, the Montreal Canadiens had the most potent power play in hockey history, with such weapons as Rocket Richard, Jean Beliveau, Boom Boom Geoffrion, Bert Olmstead, Dickie Moore, Doug Harvey, and Tom Johnson unleashing a flurry of shots on net. This team could embarrass you in a couple of two-minute spans, enough to completely change around any 60-minute game.
One night, November 5, 1955, Jean Beliveau scored a Hat Trick in 44 seconds on Bruins netminder Terry Sawchuk on just one 5-on-3 power play, setting the stage for the opposing teams--all five of them in the Original Six led by Detroit Red Wings GM Jack Adams--to gang up on Montreal and force the rule change to keep the Canadiens at least at bay for the next season and beyond.
Even under the new penalty rule, Montreal managed to set the NHL team record for goals with 250 in 1957-58, before passing that mark by eight more the following year. Furthermore, the Habs showed themselves as still unstoppable, despite their vicious power play curtailed, by winning a remarkable five straight Stanley Cups from 1956-1960. Although challenged by the New Islanders and Edmonton Oilers since, Montreal's five NHL championships in a row remains a record--the benchmark for power and domination--and will probably stay that way for a long, long time.
What a game hockey is today, thanks to some of these mentioned rules.


As part of the initial consultation on any software project, we perform a business process evaluation to identify inefficiencies, obstacles, and processes that bind up revenue that would otherwise translate into increased profit or growth.
For times when the tools don't exist to advance your business, we offer comprehensive software development services, and a process that produces modular, well documented software products that reduce future costs and upgrade concerns.
Our experience working with others in your industry over decades provides us with a template for business practices that simplify and streamline day-to-day operations, and create a more efficient work environment for your employees. We incorporate these processes into the systems we implement, and provide you with all of the tools necessary to further improve the way you deliver products and services.
Because our clients rely on us to stay up-to-date with changes in their industry, our consultants and support staff frequently participate in your trade associations at an industry level, and take advantage of educational opportunities provided at industry conferences. This immersion strategy sets Insite4 apart from other technology providers, and helps to foster a deep partnership with the companies we serve.


I remember reading a story about a person who takes everything as positive and would like to share this beautiful story with all.
Once there was a King and he has a Sage friend with whom he shares everything. Once when King was eating a meat, the knife cut one of the fingers of the King.
The King asked the Sage about it and Sage said its good since everything happens for a good reason.
After hearing this from the Sage, the king was very angry and he said even cutting my finger is a good thing then let me put you into a Jail and the Sage said its good since everything happens for a good reason.
After many years passed by, the King went on hunting in the deep forest. The King and his few armies were conquered by a large group of people who worship via offering the humans who have no any wounds on the body.
When the group saw the King and his finger wound, the group let the king go. The King after being alive from the dead was so happy and let his armies to bring the Sage to the Palace.
The King said to the Sage: You are right about your words. Because of my finger wound, I was saved but why putting you in a jail is a good thing?
The Sage said softly: because of putting me in jail I was saved too. Otherwise, I will be going with you and I will be dead by now.
The King was impressed by the Sage and praised the Sage of his positive vibes.
There is a Tibetan saying: when your mind is always in positive, even the negative things will become positive.
In the Tibetan Buddhism of Tantrayana. At the high level, there is a visualization of everyone as Buddha and every place as the land of the Buddha. This is beautiful and it is known as the pure perceptions.
Thank you for reading Tibet Travelers article on Postive vibe story. We will do best to share more stories from Tibet in future articles.
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text:
require 'spec_helper'

describe ComponentsController do
  let!(:user) { User.create(:username => "user1", :email => "user1@email.com", :password => "user1password") }
  let!(:category) { Category.create(:name => "category1", :description => "Category 1 description.", :user_id => user.id) }
  let!(:component) { Component.create(:name => "component1", :description => "Component 1 description.", :category_id => category.id) }

  let!(:user2) { User.create(:username => "user2", :email => "user2@email.com", :password => "user2password") }
  let!(:category2) { Category.create(:name => "category2", :description => "Category 2 description.", :user_id => user2.id) }
  let!(:component2) { Component.create(:name => "component2", :description => "Component 2 description.", :category_id => category2.id) }

  describe 'components index action' do
    context 'logged in' do
      before(:each) do
        visit '/login'

        fill_in(:username, :with => "user1")
        fill_in(:password, :with => "user1password")
        click_button 'submit'
      end

      it 'lets a user view their components index' do
        visit '/components'
        expect(page.body).to include(component.name)
        expect(page.body).to include(component.description)
        expect(page.body).to_not include(component2.name)
        expect(page.body).to_not include(component2.description)
      end
    end

    context 'logged out' do
      it 'does not let a user view the components index if not logged in' do
        get '/components'
        expect(last_response.location).to include("/login")
      end
    end
  end

  describe 'new component action' do
    context 'logged in' do
      before(:each) do
        visit '/login'

        fill_in(:username, :with => "user1")
        fill_in(:password, :with => "user1password")

        click_button 'submit'
      end

      it 'lets user view new component form' do
        visit '/components/new'
        expect(page.status_code).to eq(200)
      end

      it 'lets user create a component that is unique to them' do
        visit '/components/new'
        fill_in(:name, :with => "component1")
        fill_in(:description, :with => "Component 1 description.")
        choose("#{category.name}")
        click_button 'submit'

        retrievedCategory = Category.find_by(:name => "category1")
        retrievedCategory2 = Category.find_by(:name => "category2")
        retrievedComponent = Component.find_by(:name => "component1")
        expect(retrievedComponent).to be_instance_of(Component)
        expect(retrievedComponent.category_id).to eq(retrievedCategory.id)
        expect(retrievedComponent.category_id).not_to eq(retrievedCategory2.id)
        expect(page.status_code).to eq(200)
      end

      context 'with a null name' do
        before(:each) do
          visit '/components/new'

          fill_in(:name, :with => "")
          fill_in(:description, :with => "Component 1 description.")
          choose("#{category.name}")
          click_button 'submit'
        end

        it 'does not let a user create a component' do
          expect(Component.find_by(:name => "")).to eq(nil)
          expect(page.current_path).to eq('/components/new')
        end

        it 'displays an error message when a user attempts to create a component' do
          expect(page.body).to include("Name can't be blank. Please try again.")
        end

        it 'populates the description and category_id fields on the component creation form when a user attempts to create a component' do
          expect(page.body).to include("Component 1 description.")
          expect(find("##{category.id}")).to be_checked
        end
      end

      context 'with a null description' do
        before(:each) do
          visit '/components/new'

          fill_in(:name, :with => "component1")
          fill_in(:description, :with => "")
          choose("#{category.name}")
          click_button 'submit'
        end

        it 'does not let a user create a component' do
          expect(Component.find_by(:description => "")).to eq(nil)
          expect(page.current_path).to eq('/components/new')
        end

        it 'displays an error message when a user attempts to create a component' do
          expect(page.body).to include("Description can't be blank. Please try again.")
        end

        it 'populates only the name and category_id fields on the component creation form when a user attempts to create a component' do
          expect(page.body).to include("component1")
          expect(find("##{category.id}")).to be_checked
        end
      end

      context 'without a category' do
        before(:each) do
          visit '/components/new'

          fill_in(:name, :with => "component1")
          fill_in(:description, :with => "Component 1 description.")
          click_button 'submit'
        end

        it 'does not let a user create a component' do
          expect(Component.find_by(:description => "")).to eq(nil)
          expect(page.current_path).to eq('/components/new')
        end

        it 'displays an error message when a user attempts to create a component' do
          expect(page.body).to include("Category_id can't be blank. Please try again.")
        end

        it 'populates only the name and description fields on the component creation form when a user attempts to create a component' do
          expect(page.body).to include("component1")
          expect(page.body).to include("Component 1 description.")
          expect(find("##{category.id}")).not_to be_checked
        end
      end

      it "lists a user\'s categories in the component creation form" do
        visit '/components/new'
        expect(page.status_code).to eq(200)
        expect(page.body).to include("category1")
      end
    end

    context 'logged out' do
      it 'does not let a user view new component form' do
        get '/components/new'
        expect(last_response.location).to include('/login')
      end
    end
  end

  describe 'show components action' do
    context 'logged in' do
      before(:each) do
        visit '/login'

        fill_in(:username, :with => "user1")
        fill_in(:password, :with => "user1password")
        click_button 'submit'
      end

      it 'displays a single component' do
        visit "/components/#{component.id}"
        expect(page.status_code).to eq(200)
        expect(page.body).to include("Delete Component")
        expect(page.body).to include(component.name)
        expect(page.body).to include(component.description)
        expect(page.body).to include(component.category.name)
        expect(page.body).to include("Edit Component")
      end
    end

    context 'logged out' do
      it 'does not let a user view a component' do
        get "/components/#{component.id}"
        expect(last_response.location).to include('/login')
      end
    end
  end

  describe 'edit components action' do
    context 'logged in' do
      before(:each) do
        visit '/login'

        fill_in(:username, :with => "user1")
        fill_in(:password, :with => "user1password")
        click_button 'submit'
      end

      it 'lets a user view component edit form' do
        visit "/components/#{component.id}/edit"
        expect(page.status_code).to eq(200)
        expect(page.body).to include(component.name)
        expect(page.body).to include(component.description)
      end

      it 'submits the edit form via a PATCH request' do
        visit "/components/#{component.id}/edit"
        expect(find("#hidden", :visible => :false).value).to eq("PATCH")
      end

      it 'does not let a user edit a component they did not create' do
        visit "/components/#{component2.id}/edit"

        fill_in(:name, :with => "modified_component2")
        click_button 'submit'

        expect(Component.find_by(:name => "modified_component2")).to be(nil)
      end

      it 'lets a user edit their own component' do
        visit "/components/#{component.id}/edit"

        fill_in(:name, :with => "modified_component1")
        fill_in(:description, :with => "Modified Component 1 description.")
        click_button 'submit'

        expect(Component.find_by(:name => "component1")).to eq(nil)
        component = Component.find_by(:name => "modified_component1")
        expect(component).to be_instance_of(Component)
        expect(component.description).to eq("Modified Component 1 description.")

        expect(page.status_code).to eq(200)
      end

      context 'with blank text for the description' do
        before(:each) do
          visit "/components/#{component.id}/edit"

          fill_in(:description, :with => "")
          click_button 'submit'
        end

        it 'does not let a user edit a component' do
          expect(Component.find_by(:description => "")).to be(nil)
          expect(page.current_path).to eq("/components/#{component.id}/edit")
        end

        it 'displays an error message when a user attempts to edit a component' do
          expect(page.body).to include("Description can't be blank. Please try again.")
        end
      end

      context 'with blank text for the name' do
        before(:each) do
          visit "/components/#{component.id}/edit"

          fill_in(:name, :with => "")
          click_button 'submit'
        end

        it 'does not let a user edit a component' do
          expect(Component.find_by(:name => "")).to be(nil)
          expect(page.current_path).to eq("/components/#{component.id}/edit")
        end

        it 'displays an error message when a user attempts to edit a component' do
          expect(page.body).to include("Name can't be blank. Please try again.")
        end
      end
    end

    context "logged out" do
      it 'does not load let user view component edit form' do
        get '/components/1/edit'
        expect(last_response.location).to include('/login')
      end
    end
  end

  describe 'delete components action' do
    context 'logged in' do
      before(:each) do
        visit '/login'

        fill_in(:username, :with => "user1")
        fill_in(:password, :with => "user1password")
        click_button 'submit'
      end

      it 'lets a user delete their own component' do
        visit "/components/#{component.id}"
        click_button "Delete Component"
        expect(page.status_code).to eq(200)
        expect(Category.find_by(:description => "Component 1 description.")).to eq(nil)
      end

      it 'deletes a component via a DELETE request' do
        visit "/components/#{component.id}"
        expect(find("#hidden", :visible => :false).value).to eq("DELETE")
      end

      it 'does not let a user delete a component they did not create' do
        visit "/components/#{component2.id}"
        click_button "Delete Component"
        expect(page.status_code).to eq(200)
        expect(Component.find_by(:name => "component1")).to be_instance_of(Component)
        expect(page.current_path).to include('/components')
      end
    end

    context 'logged out' do
      it 'does not let a user delete a component' do
        visit "/components/#{component.id}"
        expect(page.current_path).to eq("/login")
      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Tidying Up – Live. Simple. Good.
As a wedding gift we received a gift card to Barnes & Noble. It took us 5 years to go and actually buy books. Almost immediately my husband picked out a historical book (I think on Ninjas or something like that) and there I was about to have a panic attack because I had to find a book… that was worth the money and I wanted to keep (plus I was 7 months pregnant and could barely bend down to look at anything on the low shelves). Finally I found a mystery to try. We bought our books (I'm not thrilled at all because I will probably find it at a yard sale during the summer for a quarter), we go home, the next day I check the same book out at the library and read that one. I didn't return the book in time so now I have a brand new copy of a book I didn't read and am hoping to pass on as a future gift (don't worry… it was good).
The point of that (probably unnecessary) story was – I love used bookstores way more – BUT at a Christmas gift exchange I went after a gift card to a new local bookstore/ coffee shop. I have been reading more non-fiction so I though there was hope – I knew I had to find something good that I would want to keep! Thankfully my husband is a book lover as well so we made the gift into a date. We dropped the boys off with MeMa and enjoyed a fun search of books while sharing a White Chocolate Maple Spice latte… mmmm!
The bookstore was small but surprisingly had a very good selection. I was impressed! That same day my mom had mentioned a book she wanted to read and low and behold there it was sitting on a shelf at the entrance. The book is called, "the life-changing magic of tidying up" by Marie Kondo (the title of the book really is in lowercase form).
I know, I know… Sounds a little dumb for "The Book" I was considering buying but I want to be honest… I need help in this area of my life! My two little boys are both under the age of 3. When it comes to keeping my home neat and tidy this rarely happens unless company is coming over. It's not horrible but it still is a far cry from how I want my home to be and feel on a regular basis. After a quick flip through I knew this was the one – the book I would be taking home gleefully.
I spent my next day reading the entire thing. The book explains "the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing." Kondo walks you through the process of de-cluttering your entire home by category. Starting with clothes, books, papers, etc.
I don't want you to spend your entire day reading one long winded post so I will stop here and keep your informed of my progress with some scary honest pictures. Here is a preview of all the clothes I had to go through… wait until you see the finished picture and how many bags of clothes I got rid of!
The point of this post was to share with you how much I want YOU to read this book too. It's been so worth it in such a short amount of time! If you care to join me in this process please feel free to share your progress with me. We will have simpler homes that are easily manageable and tidy as well as realizing we don't need so many things! Let us Live Simple and Live Good!


text:
Five Best Monday Columns
Michael Mukasey on the Supreme Court recusals, Margaret Heckel on Merkel, Adam Hochschild on Gingrich the historian, Arnold Schwarzenegger on renewable energy, and Michael Lewis on the 99 percent.
By Eric Randall
Michael Mukasey in The Wall Street Journal on Supreme Court recusals Since the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the health care reform law, critics have called for Justices Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan to recuse themselves. "But upon even a cursory examination of the facts it is clear that neither justice should step aside," writes former attorney general Mukasey. Critics point out that Kagan served as solicitor general in the Obama administration when the law was passed. Meanwhile, Thomas's wife works with conservative groups that oppose the law. Mukasey describes the relevant parts of the law on disqualification of judges, and he argues that neither of their supposed biases really violate this law. Mukasey says the calls for recusal reflect the politicized selection process for judges that continues even after their appointment to the courts. He suggests we "stop the chatter about recusal, and let the court we have—for better or worse—decide the case."
Margaret Heckel in Bloomberg View on Angela Merkel During the 2008 financial crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel resisted her colleagues' calls to for a public spending campaign, waiting until 2009 to enact one that proved unusually successful. Now, "[Merkel] probably is the person who will decide whether and how the euro will survive. But her decision will come at the last possible moment. Merkel is famous for being able to withstand pressure," writes Heckel. Heckel describes another point in 2010 when European leaders met in Brussels and Merkel allowed advisers to wait until the last possible moment to help secure her preferred solution to a Greek debt crisis, one that didn't require Germany to shoulder most of the burden. "Merkel's political experience has shown her that when she has the gall to wait until the last minute, she is often able to force the hands of others to get the deal she wants," Heckel says.
Adam Hochschild in The New York Times on Gingrich's PhD thesis Newt Gingrich, who regularly reminds people he is an historian, once described Barack Obama as exhibiting "anticolonial behavior." Hochschild looks to his 1971 Tulane doctoral dissertation "Belgian Education Policy in the Congo 1945-1960" to see whether it tells us anything about him or his views on colonialism. The paper doesn't provide the racism or support for colonialism Gingrich's critics might want to find. Hochschild describes its analysis of the many schooling systems in the Congo, but criticizes it for a lack of "human detail," probably the result of his only interviewing Belgians, not Congolese people. Whereas the thesis of Woodrow Wilson, the last president to earn a PhD, provided fodder for decades of debate, Gingrich's is unlikely to ever receive as much scholarly scrutiny. Hochschild describes Gingrich as "clear-eyed" in criticizing colonialism's shortcomings, but concludes that the thesis doesn't "show an original, creative historian at work."
Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Washington Post on funding renewable energy The government's support for new energy resources is lower now than ever. "it is absurd that our federal government spends tens of billions of dollars annually subsidizing the oil industry, which pulls diminishing resources from underground, while the industry focused above ground on wind, solar and other renewable energies is derided in Washington," writes Schwarzenegger. He argues that support for fossil fuels has been beneficial in the past, but that renewable resources deserve equal treatment, and he makes the case that government investment is necessary for them to get on their feet as it once was for coal. He says that focusing on a failed investment in Solyndra distracts from the larger issue, and he wants political candidates to instead suggest new ways the government can eliminate bad bets. "Imagine what the renewables industry would look like if the federal government leveled the playing field and showed the same dedication we have in California," he says.
Michael Lewis in Bloomberg View on the 99 percent "To: The Upper Ones From: Strategy Committee Re: The Counterrevolution," begins Lewis, formatting his column as a parodied message from wealthy Americans to some other-wordly recipient depicting a brutally honest political strategy. "Just weeks ago, in our first memo, we expressed concern that the big Wall Street banks were vulnerable to a mass financial boycott ... Now, we'll never know: The Lower 99's notion of an attack on Wall Street is to stand around hollering at the New York Stock Exchange," he writes. Still, Lewis's "planning committee" feels threatened because banks can no longer distract as many young, Ivy League graduates with analyst jobs out of college, and feels that the 99 percent will inevitably "turn against us," abandoning the idea that their fortunes are tied to those of the wealthy. In Greece, the 1 percent have succeeded by making themselves "invisible," so the citizens there don't expect anything from them. "Hence our committee's conclusion: We must be able to quit American society altogether, and they must know it."


AGE AGE AGE bottom line I love my k5 but my ktm300 is my main bike, ill be 50 on the 18th my mind is 21 my body 50 my current status is 60 lol ride till you die!!!
They come in the form of Rekluse clutches, custom squishy seats, e starts and in the not too near future hopefully EFI. The list will go on.
Hahaha by the time I ever get around to building a K5 it will have to be like a fluffy cloud I'll be that old. Let's just hope the technology keeps rolling in.
No plans for EFI sandblaster?
SWEET!!! I remember when team noleen used conventional ohlins on there race bikes I think when Larry Brooks was on em. Always wanted a bike like that.
Those are nice! Are you going to run their shock too?
Your first scratch on that bike may affect your will to live!
Are they small or large axle forks?
I haven't measured them but I believe they are 20mm..
It's definitely not the 26mm..
That's funny. I just got the Ti Powercore 2.1 yesterday and am doing the same thing! I removed both brackets and am going to rivet just the rear one back on in the proper location and put rivets back into the original holes. It has a 30mm inlet pipe vs the 32mm on the k5 (28 and 30mm id's respectively). I cut the inlet pipe off 1" from the silencer and have a straight section of 32mm od pipe from my scalvini pipe which slips right over the silencer inlet. The people at FMF were totally useless and wouldn't bother to even give me the dimsions of the few that they carry for modern 2 strokes so it was trial and error to find one close. I tried the YZ250 one first but it was only a 28mm inlet pipe.


How are you making Choices?
How are you navigating through the avalanche of information?
How do you improve your decision making?
1. What are the Values which will guide me?
2. What is the One Thing/Priority which will lead my day, week, month and year?
Next Next post: Are you a Craftsman or Manufacturer?


I've been in a funk lately and am quite aware that if I don't find a way to turn the corner, this funky episode may become a bit more serious.
unorthodox choices and mercury in retrograde.
my beloved girlfriend informed me that mercury is no longer in retrograde.
maybe that's why my skin's been itchy and dry and completely out of whack which i accredited to ingesting an overabundance of carbs, or maybe, that's why there's been a general sense of mis-communication between myself and various parties in recent months.


If you live outside of Alabama, chances are you'd never heard of fried green tomatoes until the movie of the same name was released in 1991 based on a novel by Fannie Flagg. While this golden fried appetizer now seems quintessentially Southern, its origins can actually be traced back to Jewish cookbooks from the Midwest and Northeast during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While the fictional Whistle Stop Cafe was indeed based on a real place, it turns out it was Hollywood that truly cemented the dish on the Southern culinary landscape.
The fried green tomatoes are a guest favorite at LuLu's in Gulf Shores, where the crispy fried discs come with a side of LuLu's Wow Sauce for dipping.
The fried green tomatoes at The Bright Star in Bessemer are available on the dinner menu and come with gulf shrimp, remoulade sauce and salsa.
Vintage Year's take on fried green tomatoes features Cochon andouille sausage, arugula, crab and sweet corn relish, and remoulade.
The Irondale Cafe opened in 1928 as a hot dog stand and went on to inspire the fictional Whistle Stop Cafe in the Fannie Flagg novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and subsequent 1991 movie. Today, the cafe serves about 600 to 800 slices of fried green tomatoes each day.
The fried green tomatoes served at Rolo's Cafe in Huntsville are hand cut daily from the freshest available tomatoes, hand-seasoned with Rolo's house spice blend and fried to order to a golden brown. They're available throughout the summer.
The fried green tomatoes on the appetizer menu at the Cypress Inn in Tuscaloosa start with Alabama-grown tomatoes, fried and topped with crumbled feta cheese and served with Cypress Inn Memphis dressing.
Serving Birmingham since 1957, Niki's West serves a daily menu, as well as a huge list of always-available options that include fried green tomatoes. Enjoy them alongside country fried steak, baked chicken or barbecue pork.
Everything at G's Country Kitchen is homemade daily and cooked to order, including the fried green tomatoes, available as a side for Southern favorites like fried chicken catfish or pork chop.
While the menu at Johnny's Restaurant in Homewood changes throughout the year to reflect what's fresh and local, fried green tomatoes are often on offer as a veggie option alongside comfort food favorites like fried catfish, chicken pot pie and hamburger steak.
Fried green tomatoes are among the many sides available at Felix's Fish Camp in Spanish Fort. They also make an appearance as a base for fresh gulf crab cakes with Felix's famous Comeback Sauce.
Connie Pearson is a native Alabamian, a former music teacher in North Alabama and a Baptist missionary in Ecuador. Currently, she is a grandmother of 13 and a food/travel writer living in Hartselle, Ala. Connie is a regular contributor to numerous print and online publications in addition to her own blog www.theregoesconnie.com. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Annette Thompson is a freelance journalist working out of Birmingham, Alabama. She focuses on destinations around the US and the world after completing a couple of decades as an award-winning journalist for Southern Living magazine and books, including Alabama Barbecue. Her latest project is an online magazine and bi-weekly newsletter called Second Chance Travels. It's aimed at women who have postponed following their own travel dreams while helping their families achieve theirs.


High Alch: 9300 Coins; Low Alch: 6300 Coins.
30 Magic to wield; 54 Crafting to make (Exp: 100).
Player Made (See Notes); Monster Drop.
Equipped to provide an unlimited amount of Water runes; Used with Shade skull to create Skeletal battlestaff of water; Used for combat.
This item is made by using a charged Water orb on a Battlestaff. You may set this staff to auto cast related spells, if you have the other runes necessary in your inventory.
When you have completed Scorpion Catcher, you can take this staff to Thormac and pay him 40,000 coins to make a Mystic water staff. Note it will only cost you 27,000 coins after completion of the Hard Seers' Village Task set.
If you just wish for a cosmetic upgrade, you can use the Shade skull (at 85 Crafting) to create a Skeletal battlestaff of water.
It's a slightly magical stick.


coating also several millimeters around the die (lip) face. We pay special attention to all edge zones anyway. All other connecting surfaces must be as sharp as possible (less turbulence less degradation). The particular good substrate bond of Lunac 1 allows sharp edges (although the brittle nature of Lunac 1 must always be considered). The cleaning interval of Lunac 1 coated parts is mostly extended by 3 to 7 fold. The removal of any (degraded) deposit is almost without exception significantly easier with a Lunac 1 coating and can be performed by using only medium hard tools (such as brass) or an oven / polishing agent (but never hard abrasives).
PUR processing line with high sensitivity to PUR (thermal) degradation (product discolouration and molecular deterioration). Only adaptor and screen filter elements (part in front) that were completely Lunac 1 coated (not even a slightest spot was allowed to be remained uncoated) proved to be able to solve these problems completely.
The least interrupted surfaces with lowest roughness, lowest surface energy and maximum inertness generally offer the best melt-flow characteristics. Lunac 1 can even be polished to less than 0.005 µm / 0.2 µinch in a remarkably short time because of the special material (flow polish) characteristics.
Nozzle inner bores as small as 5 mm / .2" can also be plated.
This adaptor shows a plastic degradation track (graphically added) to display the effect of (nearly) invisible surface irregularities at a location it is usually not expected. The initiation point of a die line must frequently be tracked down far 'up stream'. Carbon- but also chromium steel is not inert and mostly not homogeneous or can suffer from plastic degradation products penetration (picture 4). Research has shown all these conditions can be an important reason for die-line, edge-drooling, burned-particle production and discolouration. A Lunac 1 coating is mostly very effective in reducing or preventing these problems due to the uninterrupted inert surface.


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Home / Social Media / Twitter Verification: How to Get Verified on Twitter
Twitter Verification: How to Get Verified on Twitter
July 9, 2021 ~
A little birdy told us you want to know what to do for Twitter verification.
The way you apply changed a few weeks ago, and then almost immediately, Twitter had to put it on hold…
…and then they continued onward with the new process.
So in this post, we're clearing it all up and walking you through the new Twitter verification process.
The blue verified badge on Twitter lets people know that an account of public interest is authentic.
If you can show Twitter that people are pretending to be you or your company, they may give you the badge to prevent this from happening.
Make sure your username is what you want it to be permanently before you start applying.
Why Get Verified On Twitter?
So as of May 2021, Twitter has started rolling out verification applications to everyone.
And if you clicked on this post, we're guessing you already know what the verification badge is, but just in case, let's define it really quickly.
To receive the blue badge, your account must be authentic, notable, and active.
To encourage and maintain trust between users on the platform, you will need to confirm your identity with Twitter in order to be verified."
You will usually see these badges on verified celebrity accounts, for example, so that we know it's the REAL Kevin Hart tweeting…
…and not just somebody pretending to be Kevin Hart.
But businesses can have verified badges too!
Note that one of the main benefits of social media verified accounts is that it helps customers know which account is really you or your business.
But now the question is… what should you do to get Twitter verification?
The New Process On Twitter Verification
The new process includes filling out an application directly from your profile.
You can do it from your phone using the mobile app or from a desktop.
Step 1: Click the More … button, click Settings and Privacy, click Your Account, and then Account Information.
Step 2: Then under 'Verified' click Request Verification.
Step 3: Then hit Start Request and follow the prompts. You'll choose from the list of options they have to describe what type of account you have.
Step 4: Then you'll have to choose between two ways to show that your account qualifies: public presence and news coverage.
For public presence, you'll have to provide a link to show evidence of substantial presence in public indices like Google Trends, public stock exchanges, etc.
For news coverage, you'll have to provide 3 links from reputable news organizations that have covered…
…or referenced you or your Twitter account within the last 6 months.
We submitted our feature on CNBC's The Profit for example.
Step 5: After that, you select how you want them to verify it's you, be it via:
a government-issued ID,
an email address that shares the same domain as your website URL (which you will also fill out), or
the link to an official website that references you and your Twitter account.
Step 6: Once you submit everything, they show you a confirmation screen like this to let you know they've received your request.
After that, it is in Twitter's hands to make a decision on whether or not to verify you.
They've said that it can take a few weeks to get back to you…
…but that they "may pause accepting any new applications until they have gotten through their backlog."
This is exactly what happened in May after they opened up Twitter applications.
They received such a high volume of applications that they had to halt applications just days after they opened them up.
But as of now, they're openly receiving applications again.
Now that you know the steps for Twitter verification, you also probably want to know…
What To Do If Twitter Disapproved Your Application?
So, what happens if they get back to you and tell you no?!
If they don't verify you, you can apply once every 30 days.
And another thing you should know is they've stated that they "do not comment on individual verification decisions."
This means they can turn down your application and they do not have to explain why.
Now after all of that, you may be feeling a little helpless like, "what if they keep rejecting my application month after month? What more can I do?"
Well, one tip that we are trying currently at the time that we're writing this is to fill out an impersonation form.
If you can show Twitter that people are pretending to be you or your company…
…that's more reason for them to give you the verification badge to try and prevent this from happening.
You can go to this link to report somebody impersonating you or falsely representing your business.
Now we would only fill this out if people are actually impersonating you.
Don't lie and fill it out just because you want to get verified and jump into these social media trends…
…because we're not sure what the repercussions of that could be. It could do you more harm than good.
And on the final submission page, it literally asks you to "declare under penalty of perjury that all of the information provided is accurate."
But for us, unfortunately, LYFE Marketing gets impersonated all the time.
We can't tell you how many times people have sent us DMs of a name or email address of someone…
…that has been contacting them pretending to be us to scam them.
And whenever that happens, we have to message them back and let them know that person is not affiliated with us in any way.
So for us, it made sense to fill out the impersonation form, which we did today.
Now, at the time we're writing this post, we have not yet heard back from Twitter on their decision.
And now before you run off to go fill out your application form, first we want you to take a look at this list of ineligible accounts.
Types Of Accounts That Cannot Get Twitter Verification
These types of Twitter accounts cannot receive a blue badge, period.
Parody and fan accounts
Pets and fictional characters, unless directly affiliated with a verified business
Accounts engaged in severe violations of Twitter's policies
Accounts of individuals or groups associated with coordinated harmful activity or hateful content
Requirements To Meet To Be Considered
Additionally, there are requirements you have to meet in order to even be considered.
Your account must be active with a record of adherence to the Twitter Rules. This means:
Complete: You must have a profile name and a profile image.
Active Use: You must have logged into the account in the last six months.
Security: The account must have a confirmed email address or phone number.
Twitter Rules: The account must not have had a 12-hour or 7-day lockout for violating the Twitter Rules in the past year (excluding successful appeals).
Let's fast forward and say you do get the blue verification badge from Twitter!
That's awesome, but make sure you don't do anything to lose it.
Reasons Why Twitter Might Remove Your Verified Badge
Twitter has the right to remove your verified badge if you:
Change your username (@handle)
If your account becomes inactive or incomplete
"If the owner of the account is no longer for which position they were initially verified and do not otherwise meet Twitter's criteria for verification since leaving such position"
If you begin severely violating Twitter's policies
So make sure your username is what you want it to be permanently before you start applying.
If you're interested in learning more about how to use Twitter for your business, be sure to read the following posts next:
How to get more Twitter followers
And if ever you need help with your Twitter marketing, work with our team of LYFE savers!
Check out our Twitter marketing services today or contact us to get started.
Other Twitter Marketing Resources
Twitter For Business
Twitter Card Validator
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Archives Photograph Collection - "R. Ulrich plan of campus with proposed locations of future buildings, walkways, etc."
R. Ulrich plan of campus with proposed locations of future buildings, walkways, etc.
The campus plan contains the following features (north is at the top): 1) Along the top is a cigar-shaped "Arboretum with Experimental Garden" and a pond labelled "Aquatic Plants". At the far west end is a walkway branching off from the garden. Just to the south of this walkway is a small lake with a "Boat House" at the north end and a "Landing" at the south end. Just to the south of this lake (just to the south of the intersection of Sixth and Indiana) is another small lake with a landing at the north end. At the far east end of the garden is the "Gentleman's Tennis Ground" followed by an "Athletic Field" (Jordan Field) with a review stand and flag pole at the north end. 2) Just to the south of the "Athletic Field" is a small lake with a "Landing" at the north end and a "Pavillion" situated on a peninsula at the south end. This lake is connected with the other two lakes mentioned above by the Jordan River which feeds all three lakes. There are at least five bridges that allow one to walk from areas south of the Jordan River and the three lakes to areas north of the Jordan River. 3) To the west of the "Pavilion", in order, are buildings that were already in place: the "Power House" with an unlabelled building to the north, "Gymnasium" (the first Assembly Hall), "Owen Hall" and to the north of that the "Old Gymnasium", then the "Library" (Maxwell Hall) with the Klopsch sundial near its southwest corner, and finally a building marked with "IV" which became the site for The Student Building. 4) The entrance to campus at Kirkwood and Indiana avenues is labelled "Main Entrance". 5) Beginning at the far west side of campus where it meets Fourth Street one can see that an "Observatory" has been placed where Kirkwood Observatory would later be constructed. To the east of this is a proposed building marked "III". To the east of that building and slightly to the south is another proposed building marked "II". Neither of these two sites were used to construct buildings. 6) Just to to the south of building "III", in the first clump of woods is an oval-shaped area that was to be a "Rockery". Just to the southeast of this was an "Underground Passage to Rocky Cave". 7) To the south of Owen Hall and the "Gymnasium" can be seen, in order, "Wylie Hall", "Kirkwood Hall", and a building labelled "I" which became the site of Lindley Hall. 8) Behind building "I" (Lindley Hall) can be seen the "Ladies Gymnasium" (Mitchell Hall). Directly next to this building is a (proposed?) 9) Due east of Kirkwood Hall is an oval-shaped area with a "Statue" at the center. 10) The campus is dotted with the numbers 4-8, and 10 indicating the placement of bridges, flower beds, rose gardens, seats, statues, and carriage stands. According to an August 16, 1902 from Ulrich to IU President William Lowe Bryan, Ulrich hoped to meet with City of Bloomington officials in the hopes of awakening "...their interest in the improvements, which if completed, at least to a certain extent, could be used as a Public Park & be a great adornment to the University & City." (Collection C270.126 "Ulrich, Rudolph") This image appears on page 210 of the 1902 Arbutus yearbook.


Haast is a small township situated on the western end of the Haast Pass with around 300 people living in the town and surrounding area. It was originally formed as a Ministry of Works road construction camp but the opening of the Haast Pass in 1962 made the region more accessible and people moved there to set up homes and businesses.
The Haast Pass road follows an ancient trail used by Maori travelling to the West Coast in search of pounamu/greenstone/jade/nephrite. The name for the trail is Tiora-patea, meaning "The way is clear". The Haast Pass is the lowest across the Main Divide (563 metres above sea level).
Haast offers a unique insight to the "real New Zealand" a rare gem, unspoilt by humans and thriving with native bird life.
A large Department of Conservation Visitor Information Centre located in the town informs the thousands of visitors who pass through of the wide range of activities available in the area. These range from jet boating, helicopter flights, hunting, fishing, glaciers, fantastic bushwalks and other eco tourism activities.
It's the perfect destination to explore some of New Zealand's most unique scenery and wildlife situated amidst spectacular & rugged scenery of the South West New Zealand World Heritage area, between ancient rainforests of Te Wahipounamu, glaciers, and the Tasman sea.


Assembly instructions crib model number 579-84-215 579-86-215 579-94-215 579-96-215 your little one will sleep secure in this young america baby™ crib.
Center divider cam stud "generation next™ " drop side crib instruction sheet read all instructions before assembling crib. keep instructions for future use.
Assembly instructions for simmons crib with double drop-sides - adjustable spring and stabilizing bars these are the parts included in your crib carton.


SAN FRANCISCO, January 11, 2018 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the availability of a new training course, LFS205 – Administering Linux on Azure.
A large number of the virtual machines running in Azure are utilizing the Linux operating system. Both Linux and Azure professionals should make sure they know how to manage Linux workloads in an Azure environment as this trend is likely to continue. LFS205 provides an introduction to managing Linux on Azure. Whether someone is a Linux professional who wants to learn more about working on Azure, or an Azure professional that needs to understand how to work with Linux in Azure, this course will provide the requisite knowledge.
The course starts with an introduction to Linux and Azure, after which students will learn more about advanced Linux features and how they are managed in an Azure environment. Next, the course goes into information about managing containers, either in Linux or with the open source container technology that is integrated in Azure. After that, LFS205 covers how to deploy virtual machines in Azure, discussing different deployment scenarios. Once the VMs are available in Azure, students will need to know how to manage them in an efficient way, which is covered next. The last part of this course teaches how to troubleshoot Linux in Azure, and to monitor Linux in Azure using different open source tools.
LFS205 is taught by Sander van Vugt, a Linux professional living in the Netherlands and working for customers around the globe. Sander is an author of many Linux-related video courses and books, and instructor, as well as course developer for The Linux Foundation. He is also a managing partner of ITGilde, a large co-operative in which about a hundred independent Linux professionals in the Netherlands have joined forces.
The course is available to begin immediately. The $299 course fee provides unlimited access to the course for one year to all content and labs. Interested individuals may enroll here.
The post The Linux Foundation Announces New Linux on Azure Training Course appeared first on The Linux Foundation.


Ternua's LESUM boys' fleece will protect the youngest members of the family against the cold. With Polartec Power Stretchfabric, it is ideal for everyday life and for sharing trips to the mountains with the little ones.
Half zip t-shirt with Polartec Power Stretch Pro fabric with contrasting flatlock seams.


For those of you familiar with RiffTrax, I have added their blog to Livejournal as riftraxblogtrax. Yeah, I know I misspelled the name, but I can't fix that. As far as I can tell it updates fairly regularly and is often very amusing.
For those of you not familiar RiffTrax, it is the spiritual successor to Mystery Science Theater 3000. It features Mike Nelson who played Mike on MST3K, Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot) and Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) riffing on terrible B-movies as well as riffing on the best of the worst of Hollywood's newest blunders (think Battlefield Earth). The blo is just as hilarious as their riffing. Don't hesitate, join today!


Continuing my spree of Happy Accident recipes, I bring you a cupcake that came out perfectly delicious but yet so unexpectedly bizarre that I hemmed and hawed about whether or not to even tell you about it. Like my habit of drinking wine while watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate episodes on Saturday nights, it was all just so Wild! And! Crazy! But in the end, because we're friends and regardless of how wacky the whole thing seems, they're really flippin' good. And truly, I really can't think of a more efficient cupcake making experience. I'm talking about a Self-Frosting Sweet Potato Cupcake, people. True story.
It all started out as an idea to riff on one of my favorite recipes, the Sweet Potato Pound Cake recipe from a darling cookbook that just feels like a big hug, Southern Cakes. Packed with earthy roasted sweet potato and gentle spice, it's completely addictive.
I thought I'd mix it up a little and bake the batter into cupcakes, and then do it up black bottom cupcake-style with a toasted pecan and cream cheese filling. But instead of the filling sinking into the centers of the cupcakes as they rose and baked, it sort of just swirled about and settled on the surface, making for a sweet, tangy, almost cheesecake-like layer on top of the tender, moist, spicy cake. Not too many more crave-worthy combinations than that, now, hmmm?
The awesome flavor and texture match here is what makes these cupcakes so great that they overcame their crazy factor. I should know, I mowed about half a dozen trying to decide. And miraculously, they're not bad to look at, either, with their pretty, swirly patterns. Self-frosting, self-decorating, basically automatic cupcakes. It's like the internet meeting baked goods or something. Or another metaphor that I'm just too crazed with vacation preparations to think of at the moment. But since I shared this magical cupcake recipe with you, can one of you invent a way to make laundry clean, fold and pack itself? Or at least figure out a way to beam us to the Midwest and avoid a 4 1/2 hour flight with a 22-month-old? Please and thank you.
I like to roast the sweet potato for this recipe--you just can't beat the flavor. Roast them in the skins at 350 for about an hour. During the last 10 minutes or so, throw in the pecans to toast them, then leave the oven on at 350 to bake the cupcakes, too.
Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the milk and vanilla.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and light brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sweet potatoes, and mix until the batter is combined--it will look curdled and funky, but press on, it will smooth out when the other ingredients are added. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add half of the flour mixture, beating just to incorporate. Add half of the milk mixture, beat to blend. Add the remaining flour, followed by the remaining milk, and beat on low until the batter is smooth. Fill the cupcake liners equally with batter, no more than halfway full.
To make the topping, beat together the cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Fold in the pecans. Dollop the topping equally among the cupcakes, a very generous tablespoon on each.
Bake one muffin tin at a time until a toothpick comes out mostly clean, with just a few moist crumbs here and there, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for a day, then refrigerate after that.