I quit my job because I wasn't happy. I know what you're thinking, old people: millennials. But it was true. I enjoyed aspects of my job but I wasn't fulfilled. I was frustrated and I felt trapped. I kicked myself for not running off to New York City to be a writer. I was jealous of people travelling the world. I wanted an adventure and growing up I'd been too scared to find one.
When it came time to apply for college, I picked a safe school. When I got in, I picked a safe major. Well, I picked chemistry, and it wasn't always safe the way I was doing it, but it should've been. When I graduated, I picked a safe job and five very safe years went by.
And then one day at work I got yelled at by a parent. They were frustrated, and disappointed, and they questioned my abilities over their athlete's performance. Loudly. It wasn't the first time I'd been yelled at but standing there I realized something. I kind of didn't care. Not about the kid. I adored the kid. I was sad and disappointed for her. But I didn't care that I was being criticized. That publicly someone was yelling at me. I didn't care.
Five years before, if I had been yelled at like that I'd have cried. I would've been embarrassed, and ashamed, and scared. But now? I didn't care. I knew I had done what I thought was best. I knew I gave that athlete the best of what I had. I had confidence in my abilities and one upset parent wasn't going to make me question myself. I had confidence.
When I got home, this new "confident Liza" sat down and made a list. What did I want to accomplish in my life? I spent each day telling my girls to chase their dreams, but I was a hypocrite. I wasn't just scared to chase my dreams, I was too scared to say them out-loud.
So, I wrote them down.
Some were so specific (live in NYC), some were very vague (yoga. Do yoga? Try yoga? Teach yoga?), and some were even misspelled (Machu Piccu). But they were mine, and I was going to accomplish them. Hell, maybe I'd even hang them on my wall.
So, I quit my job. I decided to travel with my boyfriend-turned-fiancée and spend the next year writing and finding myself. What was one crazy, unstructured year in the grand scheme of things? If things worked out–great! If not, I'd just go back to work refreshed, or even better: I'd find a new job! A new adventure! Our first year of marriage would be exciting, and full of new experiences, and a story we would tell our children.
But it fell apart, and it fell apart fast. We got married and then my husband's team went bankrupt. The economy tanked, and no one wanted to pay for his experience or talent, when they could get two younger, disposable players for the same price. We moved to Los Angeles with the idea that he could train there and I could find temp work while writing until the next season, but I wasn't happy and neither was he.
After six months, he decided to move back to Texas to get a job. I'd stayed to finish my sketch-writing class, but the first night without him I couldn't sleep. I was alone, and scared, and on the wrong coast, so I started packing. The experimental, risky year was over in seven months–a horrible failure. I went back to Texas and we moved in with my dad. I started work as a Realtor and hated it. I hated selling. HATED IT. And then one day before work, I sent a pregnancy article to a friend who was about four months along. After I pressed send, I realized I couldn't remember my own last period, and that possibly my upset stomach and exhaustion wasn't just depression coupled with an ulcer. I took three pregnancy tests that afternoon. All positive, and I cried.
I hated my job. I had lost financial freedom. I was fighting with my husband, and now I was about to have a baby. There would be no more of this "dangerous Liza". "Impulsive Liza" was a dumbass who couldn't make a right choice if it was dangling right in front of her.
I decided to go back to nursing school and convinced my husband to finish his degree. We took a loan from my father, which turned into an annuity, and went back to school.
I worked hard for the next year and thought desperately about what would happen in five. In five years, we'd be back on track. We'd have a house. We'd have savings. We'd be financially secure and we wouldn't fight as much. The baby would be fine. We could afford childcare and I'd be back at work. I'd stop parking at the mall by our house and crying on the way home, and everything would work out. Everything would come together. I wouldn't have to worry so much. I'd be happy. We'd all be happy.
I stopped sleeping. I started sneaking into the bathroom to cry, and think about what dying would feel like. I thought about my daughter and my husband. I thought about how much I would miss my dad and how I'd already disappointed him so much. I thought about that stupid girl and that stupid list, and one night I went into the garage to dig it out.
I dug through the papers I'd saved from college, passed my awards from high school. I'd failed all of them. I wasn't "The Most Likely To Succeed" that they all thought I'd be. I was leaving my baby, I'd stopped being nice to the people I loved, and I was dying. I dug through all the sweet notes from the kids I'd coached and passed their pictures. I dug deep into my past for that stupid list. That horrible list that I thought one day I'd frame. That awful list that had ruined what was going to be a good life. A good, safe, productive life. I dug for the list that had ruined it all.
…I still wanted to learn Spanish.
I still wanted to live in New York City. I still wanted to do "something" about yoga. I still wanted to go on adventures. I still wanted to be that person. That person with a list of goals, with a list of accomplishments framed on their wall. It didn't matter how sad I was. How broken. I wasn't ready to let her go.
I taped my list back together. I taped my life back together. I started writing a children's book and now I have three. (Children's books. Not children. Children are expensive.) And I'm freelancing. People are paying for stuff I've written, and I've even been invited to speak at a few things. I'm a writer. I'm a writer with a beautiful daughter and a happier, more forgiving marriage.
Things aren't perfect and they never will be, but perfect doesn't have to equal happy. Happy isn't a destination. It's not a state, not even New York. For me, happy is a process, happy is a journey, and happy is a goal. In fact, happy is on a list hanging in my office. A list covered in tape and safely behind glass. A list that every time I look at, I hear a girl's voice, through time and through space. A girl with a comfortable life, and a good job, and so much free time.


A photographer who specializes in taking pictures of children and babies has uncovered a whole new level of cuteness.
Meet Maggie, an especially friendly deer who's been stumbling into Megan Rion's photo shoots since early this summer.
So far, she has been in six different photo shoots, the Louisiana-based photographer told Fox News.
The picture above – which recently went viral – was taken when Rion was shooting baby Conner, who turned one-month-old that day.
Although Maggie has become a popular attraction in her photographs, Rion says she can't guarantee when she shows up.
Maggie, a rescue who was bullied as a younger deer for having human scent on her, is identified by a "notch in her ear," said Rion.
Check out the Imagine That Photography Facebook page.


text:
Q: PowerShell Add users to AD group via CSV - script not adding users >     # Start transcript Start-Transcript -Path C:\Temp\Add-ADUsers.log -Append
>
> # Import AD Module Import-Module ActiveDirectory
>
> # Import the data from CSV file and assign it to variable $Users = Import-Csv "C:\Temp\jacktest.csv"
>
> # Specify target group where the users will be added to
> # You can add the distinguishedName of the group. For example: CN=Pilot,OU=Groups,OU=Company,DC=exoip,DC=local $Group = "JackTest"
>
> foreach ($User in $Users) {
>     # Retrieve UPN
>     $UPN = $User.UserPrincipalName
>
>     # Retrieve UPN related SamAccountName
>     $ADUser = Get-ADUser -Filter "UserPrincipalName -eq '$UPN'" | Select-Object SamAccountName
>
>     # User from CSV not in AD
>     if ($ADUser -eq $null) {
>         Write-Host "$UPN does not exist in AD" -ForegroundColor Red
>     }
>     else {
>         # Retrieve AD user group membership
>         $ExistingGroups = Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership $ADUser.SamAccountName | Select-Object Name
>
>         # User already member of group
>         if ($ExistingGroups.Name -eq $Group) {
>             Write-Host "$UPN already exists in $Group" -ForeGroundColor Yellow
>         }
>         else {
>             # Add user to group
>             Add-ADGroupMember -Identity $Group -Members $ADUser.SamAccountName -WhatIf
>             Write-Host "Added $UPN to $Group" -ForeGroundColor Green
>         }
>     } } Stop-Transcript

Code not add users to group successfully
I am trying to add 900+ users to an AD group from CSV with a heading "UserPrincipalName"
The reporting else if statements are working as expected.

A: I think your code is good enough and the reason for no changes made I believe is the -WhatIf switch , that should display a message and not do the action.
That aside, there are a couple of things you can consider, one is the | Select-object this would modify the object to PSCustomObject and you would loose all the methods and benefits of having an ADObject.
Another thing would be the comparison you use, instead of -eq againsta list you better use -contains , so you get true/false .
Third but not least is the comparison to $null , in that particular case I think you dont really need that, but you could rather just see if something is returned with (-not $ADUser)
With all that in mind, I have modify the code to my comments.
foreach ($User in $Users) {
    # Retrieve UPN
    $UPN = $User.UserPrincipalName

    # Retrieve UPN related SamAccountName
    $ADUser = Get-ADUser -Filter "UserPrincipalName -eq '$UPN'"

    # User from CSV not in AD
    if (-not $ADUser) {
        Write-Host "$UPN does not exist in AD" -ForegroundColor Red
    }
    else {
        # Retrieve AD user group membership
        $ExistingGroups = Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership $ADUser.SamAccountName

        # User already member of group
        if ($ExistingGroups.Name -contains $Group) {
            Write-Host "$UPN already exists in $Group" -ForeGroundColor Yellow
        }
        else {
            # Add user to group
            Add-ADGroupMember -Identity $Group -Members $ADUser.SamAccountName
            Write-Host "Added $UPN to $Group" -ForeGroundColor Green
        }
    }
} Stop-Transcript

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This #GivingTuesday seems to have broken all past records and put up its highest online donation figures in its six year history. It is estimated that as much as $274 million were raised online this #GivingTuesday which far exceeds last year's tally of $177 million. With more than 50 per cent increase in total donations over last year's event, the year-end fundraising has got off to a great start, this charity season.
This year was marked by a lot of natural disasters and terrorism events, for which a lot of donations and support was requested. Despite that, 2017 comes across as nothing less than a boom year in giving. The record breaking #GivingTuesday numbers could only go on to re-emphasise this fact.
There are many factors which have come together for this year's #GivingTuesday success story. The greater use of social media to market the cause and link with people, making it easier for donors by allowing them to use their smartphones and tablets to give and the use campaigns that match gifts are some of the key attributes which have given a boost to the fundraising campaign.
With smartphones becoming the center of people's lives these days, increasing number of activities are being done with the help of apps. Allowing people to give on the go, whenever and however they prefer it, has played a big role in ramping up donations. This year the percentage of donations through the smartphone has gone up by several percentage points. This trend has kept up with expectations of all the online fundraising experts.
Many nonprofit organizations have made use of the idea of matching gifts from big foundations or corporations to encourage small donors. This Tuesday morning itself, Bill and Melinda Foundation gave away $2 million in donations as matching gifts for donations made on Facebook to various nonprofit organizations.
This #GivingTuesday has seen an increased usage of social media by nonprofit organizations to market their cause and connect with potential donors. Different kinds of social media channels with diverse audience demographic distribution were used to increase visibility and connect to as many people as one could.
Creative fundraising ideas were used this #GivingTuesday to garner support. From involving all your supporters and volunteers to getting some celebrity support, charities didn't leave any stone unturned. And all this hard work seems to be showing results in the form of massive donations which have already been received and have shattered all past records. The numbers only seem to be rising with each passing minute.


Morning Program presents a selection of great daytime musical performances and classic productions featuring well loved show tunes. Each season is packed with laughs and toe-tapping melodies that you will be sure to enjoy.
Come before the show and meet your friends for cuppa and a chat, then sit back and relax as you enjoy together a trip back to the golden years of musical classics.
Ticket price includes a delicious morning tea from 10am prior to the performance commencing at 11am.


Withering away in The Jackson Cage?
Well I not exactly this far gone but there some pretty bad side-effects of the always-on internet life. As a lecturer in almost impossible to 'switch-off' from the always on environment. Students are online on facebook and twitter and I actually push them into the 'online' life. But there are significant downsides. Soon it will so encompassing that I will only move once a day to ingest food (still a requirement) despite everything the web can do….not good healthwise. It a good job I still have to physically meet student body (despite e-learning ventures) or I'd probably lose use of my legs.
The enveloping nature of the internet means that everything we, see, do and think is processed through a web lens and recently I have noticed this happening to friends of mine too. Facebook is a dominant force in shaping the local arts groups events and actually channelling local arts debate. Like mobile phones what did we do before facebook…talk…ring…email…make posters…thinking back to my pre-internet art school how on earth did things happen at all? Happen they did though as my Alumni group on facebook for Hornsey College of Art attests..
In writing this blog entry I will have a fairly constant online 'audience' through facebook and virtually everything I currently mulling over is now appearing as links on facebook or twitter or both. This can be useful as a kind of strategic bookmarking but instead of being personal and private it is open and capable of endless revision….in fact holding a fast opinion seems to be becoming ever more difficult. This can have unexpected bonuses but also problems arise. A factual mistake…e.g. did I really imagine a Ceramicist won the Nottingham Open show becomes a hard fact that has to be retracted. Private opinion is spread so quickly that it becomes more than a blog note and a career defining standpoint. Where is the boundary between a provisional and a fixed opinion. Or is that where we now stand in endless revisionism territory?
The price of spectacular connections across continents and time is a fluctuating lack of finality in artworks and strength of opinion. In a web that always on and always in a sate of flux these things become expendable. Springsteen's album becomes simply a stream of out-takes, alternative album shots, a flood of all the mistakes he made as much as an album. Finality and craftsmanship becomes a negotiable stream. Today through twitter/facebook I became aware of a live performance of songwriter Tom Russell. Did it change the perception of the song because in a new context. The fixity of art-forms is lost. All very post-Derrida the academics would scoff..but it happening. How do young people hold an opinion in such mutable environments?
This is the real price of never-ending revisionism. The real artefact becomes lost in a fog of 'versions'. I love to touch a vinyl album and remove the actual 'sculpted' object. I remember sitting and staring at Matisse's Red Studio painting when on loan to the 'old' Tate. I love this private photo I found on web (there are thousands of version sof this image in a range of hues) as it reminds one that no reproduction can supplant actual viewing.
More than simple cramp I feel that the internet has supplanted all the physical artefacts I once held dear and like the proverbial bathwater what have I and by extending the metaphor 'we' lost? I cannot put a finger on it yet but as I see students in our local tea shop flicking through positions and networks on their macbooks I feel a nostalgia for a pre-internet time of certainty and argument away from the shimmering stream. Oliver Reed banging his fist on the wooden table in a mock Parisienne cafe in Tony Hancock's 'The Rebel' was a cliche but it feels more real than current debate. I can talk to everybody at once but really I am addressing no-one but mysefl in a loft space on a cold, dark winter night. Reality exists beyond the screen but somehow I have lost touch with it.
Maybe if the web splinters it may not be a bad thing. Content will start to re-assert itself as 'definitive' once again. Maybe people will read the same version, listen to the same song. This endless variety flowing across the screen will start to slow down and we will all have time to concentrate instead of time to be distracted.
To make art at this juncture is to my mind impossible. We are looking at the remnants of art-forms post-internet. We seek out the novelty, the half-finished..the mistake. With no fixity one cannot create anything but a blur? I am simply adding to the blur at present. I seek the fixed stare..a Ruskinian calm maybe and then I can proceed.
Artists at present are like so many sparrows flitting through the halls..which will survive to next summer and which will smash against their own reflections here?
Next Next post: Saatchi online …really???..you having a laugh?


text:
«The Antitrust Writing Awards are a unique opportunity to read some of the best academic and business articles of the year. I thoroughly enjoyed the different perspectives on antitrust that each article provided, as well as the well-crafted arguments put forward by their talented writers.» Alexander Italianer, European Commission (2013)
«It was an insightful exercise to read so many well written articles covering a wide range of topics ranging from US and EU antitrust & merger laws to the Chinese leniency program.» Alexander Italianer, European Commission (2012)
«The Antitrust Writing Awards are the right event, on the right issue, at the right time. I thank George Washington University Law School and the Institute of Competition Law for launching this initiative.» Frédéric Jenny, OECD Competition Committee (2012)
«By recognizing superior writing in academia and practice, the Antitrust Writing Awards enhance the indispensable intellectual infrastructure of our field.» William E. Kovacic, George Washington University (2013)
«The Antitrust Writing Awards are a welcome initiative to stimulate academic and professional writing and promote excellence.» William E. Kovacic, George Washington University (2012)
«I truly enjoyed taking part in the 2013 Antitrust Writing Awards, which serves an important function in helping promote quality articles in the antitrust field. It is also an illustration of the cooperation at play between antitrust publications to ensure the greatest circulation of academic and professional expertise.» Bruno Lasserre, French Competition Authority (2013)
«These Awards recognize excellence in antitrust writing, and we expect over time they will have a real impact on the way agencies and practitioners think about competition matter around the world.» Jon Leibowitz, US Federal Trade Commission (2012)
Academic Steering Committee
«The Writing Awards have been very valuable in highlighting antitrust scholarship and emphasizing the transnational characteristics of today's antitrust scholarship. I applaud the efforts of the Concurrences team!» David Gerber, Kent College of Law (2013)
«The Antitrust Writing Awards represent a very valuable project that will encourage and support excellence in antitrust writing.» David Gerber, Kent College of Law (2012)
«The awards ceremony was a rewarding event in more ways than one. It was a pleasure to see these outstanding authors from all over the world and to hear a synthesis of their work which has contributed so much to the law and it's practice.» Eleanor Fox, New York University (2013)
«It was an inspired event. I shall look forward to many more years of rewarding excellence in antitrust writing.» Eleanor Fox, New York University (2012)
«It is difficult to get through a busy day and make time to read work that is cutting edge. The award process bring to light practitioner and academic papers that are 'must reads'.» D. Daniel Sokol, University of Minnesota Law School (2013)
«The writing process provided exposure to a number of very interesting articles and client alerts. I applaud Concurrences for bringing these works to the attention of a broad group of practitioners." D. Daniel Sokol, University of Minnesota Law School (2012)
«There is a great deal of writing in the area of antitrust, ranging from lengthy scholarly articles to short, timely notes on key cases. The Antitrust Writing Awards uniquely embrace and celebrate that scope for the benefit of all workers in the field.» Janusz A. Ordover, New York University (2012)
«The Antitrust Writing Awards are an exciting celebration of the excellent research undertaken in the area of competition policy.» Andreas Stephan, University of East Anglia (2012)
Business Steering Committee
«The Antitrust Writing Awards provide a vital forum for the validation and recognition of thought-leading scholarship. They accompany and consecrate the rising prominence and impact of competition law on the global economy.» Paul Andres, Nestlé (2013)
«The quality and conciseness of the Business Articles, as well as the experience and knowledge which their authors are sharing, are of great use to corporate lawyers.» Jean-Yves Art, Microsoft (2013)
«The Antitrust Writing Awards bring together the Academic and the Business world from many countries, contribute to a better understanding of other legal cultures and thereby promote the global development of Competition law.» Olaf Christiansen, Bertelsmann (2013)
"The Antitrust Writing Awards are a welcome addition to the antitrust community because they reward excellence among the many practical articles of use to antitrust counselors.» Steve Cernak, General Motors (2012)
«I commend the organisers for recognizing professional writing as a specific category. This initiative will, I hope, increase the quality and depth of such writing to provide the practical complement to academic articles.» Mathew Heim, Qualcomm (2012)
«What I found to be most encouraging about the Antitrust Writing Awards is that they value – and hopefully incent — short-form articles that offer important information and practical advice for antitrust practitioners.» Deborah Majoras, Procter & Gamble (2012)
Sponsors, Winners & Guests
«The Concurrences writing awards highlight outstanding work by practitioners in the area of competition law and policy and shed valuable light on 'cutting edge' topics.» Alden Abbott, RIM (2013)
«The Antitrust Writing Awards represent a perfect mix of academic and business writing and set the scene for a valuable exchange among all players in the antitrust arena.»
Anna Rosa Cosi, SanDisk (2013)
«I was impressed with the diligence with which the jury reviewed and selected the publications. This is a valuable exercise that not only rewards the authors, but also is very helpful for practitioners. We were honoured to receive an award for our firm's alert memoranda and are grateful to Concurrences for this excellent initiative.»
Maurits Dolmans, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (2013)
«As sponsors as well as participants, we are delighted to play an active role in raising the bar of antitrust scholarship and the quality of client publications across the legal community.» Olivier Fréget, Allen & Overy (2013)
«We are pleased with the significant contribution that the Antitrust Writing Awards program makes to the development and promotion of antitrust scholarship and practical business literature.» J. Mark Gidley, White & Case (2013)
«I greatly value seeing the list of articles nominated for a Concurrences award each year because it invariably brings to my attention some excellent pieces I would otherwise have missed.» Douglas H. Ginsburg, New York University (2013)
«It was an honor to have our paper reviewed and considered by such a distinguished panel of luminaries, with such leading thinkers in both Europe and the United States. The concept of encouraging excellence in both academic and more practical writings on competition is an excellent one, and Concurrences has done a remarkable job in creating a process for doing so.» Jonathan M. Jacobson, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (2013)
«The Antitrust Writing Awards represent a unique initiative to reward pure and applied research in antitrust. Academics and practitioners making valuable contributions to the literature see their names recognised and their work publicized. On a personal front, I have enjoyed reading some of the papers that were selected this year, most of which I would have overlooked absent this initiative.» Atilano Jorge Padilla, Compass Lexecon (2013)
«I greatly appreciate our receiving this award, and the dinner was a great opportunity to meet and talk with other practitioners and government enforcement officials.»
Scott P. Perlman, Mayer Brown (2013)
«This is a great event promoting antitrust scholarship around the world.» Hans Zenger, CRA (2013)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Hoover High School, often referred to as North Canton Hoover, is a public high school in North Canton, Ohio, United States.

Name
The school's original name was North Canton High School which students referred to as "No. Ca. Hi." In 1957, a new high school building was named in dedication to local resident William Henry "Boss" Hoover, founder of The Hoover Company.

Academics
Hoover High School had an "A" achievement rating for the 2013–2014 school year on their Ohio Report Card and also an "A" for graduation rate.

Athletics

Hoover athletics teams compete as a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) and as a member of the Federal League.
Hoover's girls softball team has won the state championship eight times, in 1998, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. In addition, the girls cross country team placed second in the state championships in 2008.
The boys lacrosse team won the Ohio High School Lacrosse Association (non-OHSAA) state championship in 2006, going 18-2 overall. The Hoover girls lacrosse team finished second in the state in 2010 and again in 2011.

In 1985, the Vikings reached the state finals in football and state was state runner-up in basketball. The baseball team reached the Ohio Final Four in 1992 and 1999. Since joining the Federal League in 1968, the Hoover football program has claimed 22 Federal League Championships.

The Hoover High track & field team has also had success over the years, producing three individual state champions.

State championships
 Boys basketball – 1939 (When known as North Canton H.S.)
 Girls basketball - 2002
 Softball – 1998, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
 Wrestling – 1965

Music
Hoover High School has a music program which is split into instrumental and vocal music departments.

The instrumental music department consists of many performing ensembles. In fall, the band members participate in the Viking Marching Band which marches in all Hoover football games, OMEA marching competitions, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Grand Parade. The band received an 'Excellent' rating at the OMEA state finals adjudicated competition in 2013, 2014, and 2015. In 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021, they received a 'Superior' rating. When football season ends, the band splits up into a Concert Band (C) and a Symphonic Band (AA). Both bands have consistently received superior ratings at OMEA non-marching competitions. Other ensembles in the instrumental department include Pep Band, two Jazz Bands, String Orchestra, and Full Orchestra as well as numerous small ensembles. The band and orchestra students take trips to places such as Walt Disney World every two years.

The choirs in the vocal department are the Freshman Choir, A-Cappella Choir, Hi-Notes, Lo-Notes, Women's Chorale, and the elite Hi-Lo's ensemble. Along with these choirs, the vocal music department puts on an annual musical. They also put on the annual May Fiesta concert which highlights all ensembles in the district as well as musical numbers by the years' seniors.

Notable alumni
 Austin Appleby, professional football player
 Todd Blackledge, professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) and sports broadcaster
 Sarah Matthews (deputy press secretary) deputy press secretary President Trump
 Eddie McClintock, actor
 Jeffrey Mylett, actor and songwriter
 Dick Snyder, professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA)
 Rabbit Warstler, professional baseball player in Major League Baseball
 Jud Logan, 4-time Olympian and former American Record holder in the hammer throw. Also former head track and field coach at Ashland University.

Notes and references

External links

High schools in Stark County, Ohio
Educational institutions established in 1929
Public high schools in Ohio
1929 establishments in Ohio

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Posted inBusiness & Development
Oak Park gets Festive
New boutique opens Saturday in Hemingway District
by Stacey Sheridan August 24, 2021 August 24, 2021
Shop owner Angela Wator prepares for her grand opening, at Festive Collective, 159 S. Oak Park Ave. (Alex Rogals/Staff)
A new boutique hopes to bring cheer and creativity to Oak Park's Hemingway District. Festive Collective, 159 S. Oak Park Ave., is not the average party supply and stationery store. Utterly devoid of the gauche associated with such retailers, Festive Collective immerses shoppers in a vibrant welcoming atmosphere while offering a curated array of modern but nostalgic products.
"We really try to source artists from all over the world who work in really bright colors and just have an optimistic outlook," said founder Angela Wator, herself a designer.
Festive Collective sells more than plates, streamers and tissue garlands – although its stock of party décor is extensive and stylish, the boutique touts an extensive collection of greeting cards, gifts, art and jewelry, as well as vintage-style office supplies. Wator's clothing line is also available for purchase at Festive Collective.
Opening this Saturday, the boutique is ready to welcome customers. Those who visit the boutique this weekend between the hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. will get a real neighborhood welcome. Festive Collective is collaborating with Brewpoint Coffee to develop a special drink to mark the opening. The neighbors have not finalized the details of the beverage quite yet, but Wator promises it will evoke the spirit of Festive Collective.
"It's going to be some sort of pink latte," she said.
Items are seem set up on tables for sale on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, at the Festive Collective storefront on Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park, Ill. | ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
The fun doesn't stop there. Shoppers will also be treated to individually packaged treats made by Broken Tart Cakes. The baker behind Broken Tart Cakes recently moved to Oak Park, according to Wator, who also lives in Oak Park.
The bakery and boutique have previously worked together for events at Festive Collective's first location in Logan Square, which has been open for five years. Wator will be splitting her time between the two shops.
She chose to open her second location in Oak Park because it reminded her of the Logan Square community. She lived right around the corner from the first Festive Collective. Now she lives about a four-minute walk from the Oak Park location.
"I just love this area," Wator told Wednesday Journal. "When I'm out walking around and talking to people in the neighborhood, they all seem like the same people who lived in Logan Square."
Wator has been a resident of Oak Park for two years now and feels right at home. From the village's young families to its creative community, she believes the people who live in Oak Park share the same appreciation for whimsy and art as that of her Logan Square customer base.
Festive Collective is seen on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, on Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park, Ill. | ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
"I wanted to give something back to my new neighborhood," she said.
She even chose the Oak Park Avenue storefront because it felt familiar. After having trouble finding the perfect spot, Wator was waiting for coffee when she noticed the rental sign hanging outside of 159 S. Oak Park Ave.
"I just signed the lease the next day," Wator said.
The Oak Park location has a lot of the same vintage elements as the Logan Square store, according to Wator, including creaky floors. So much of Festive Collective's charm and character comes from its storefronts, she believes.
"A lot of retail spaces that are available are just kind of like white boxes and new buildings," she said.
Oak Park's Festive Collective is anything but a white box. Chris Uphues, Berwyn artist and brother of Growing Community Media editor Bob Uphues, painted a colorful large mural on one of the space's interior walls. With its rainbows, flowers, hearts and mushrooms, the mural is cheerful without being garish. Festive Collective is selling merchandise created by Uphues.
Even the store's display cases have been built by artists, which can make it difficult at times to determine what is and is not for sale. Syd Veverka, who used to work at the Logan Square shop, is hand tufting a rug for the shop, as well as making a papier-mâché mirror for the fitting room. As with Uphues, some of Veverka's work will be available for sale at Festive Collective.
Despite the economic travesties of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wator wasn't deterred from opening a second location. Rather, she was emboldened from the support of her loyal customers who kept Festive Collective afloat through online sales. At the time of its physical reopening, Wator remembers having lines out the door to maintain capacity limits.
She believes that Festive Collective shined a little light into an otherwise miserable period for the world, reminding people that there's still a reason to smile even if it can't be seen behind a mask.
"As a retail space, we obviously can't fix everything," she concedes.
Wator noted how just taking the time to get dressed and going outside can raise spirits just a little.
"Once you start doing things like that, and taking the time to cheer yourself up, even just a little bit, it can slowly change your entire attitude. And I think that's what has been drawing people to our store throughout this year."


Heated driveways are a variant of driveways which, like their name suggests, have heating elements installed underneath the surface which can help melt snow and ice during the winter months. This is extremely convenient and makes your driveway much safer to walk on when the temperature is below freezing. Both asphalt and concrete driveways can be fitted to be heated, and other small paved pathways can be fitted with heating elements as well.
Asphalt is an extremely durable substance, able to stand up to a great deal of wear and tear. However, like all materials, over time asphalt can become damaged and cracked. When cracks develop in an asphalt driveway, they can allow water and plants to get inside the asphalt, which can force the cracks open even wider. Thankfully, proper maintenance can reduce the likelihood of this happening and extend the overall lifespan of your driveway.
When you want a beautiful patio space to enjoy throughout the year with as little maintenance as possible, you may need to make some adjustments to your current configuration. Patio areas offer the versatility and beauty that can be appreciated by almost any homeowner. But because it takes work to keep wood looking new, plants healthy, and accents up-to-date, you should consider how you can incorporate a low-maintenance design into your home patio, so you can actually enjoy it year after year.
When you're building a new house -- or redoing the house you currently live in -- it can be easy to get lost in the piles of drape fabric and the numerous pots of paint and forget to take care of the outside of your home. However, the landscape surrounding your house needs just as much thought and attention put into it as the guest bedroom, or the high-tech powder room you've been spending all your time on.
If you have recreational vehicles or you just need more parking spaces for your vehicles, you can add an asphalt area to your existing driveway or behind your home. If you want to extend your driveway but you are worried about the costs, have an asphalt paving contractor come give you a quote. Not only is this going to help you keep your extra vehicle off the grass and out of the dirt, asphalt is one of the cheapest paving options for a residential property.


Mike talks to Mark Godsey, a former federal prosecutor who's currently a professor of law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Professor Godsey is the co-founder and director of the Ohio Innocence Project, which is one of the most active and successful Innocence Projects in the country. He's also the author of Blind Injustice: A Former Prosecutor Exposes the Psychology and Politics of Wrongful Convictions.
Great interview! One question, how does the very low percentage of cases going to jury trial (5% or so I have heard) play into this problem?
Good question. I think it does, given what Professor Godsey told me about the lack of resources for public defender offices.


You've seen them in your Sunday papers, now here they are on the Web!! They're fairly simple; it's just a matter of figuring out which letter represents which.
1) Keep your eyes open for the "THE" pattern. If you can determine it, you can figure out words like "THAT," "THERE," "THEIR," "THEY'RE," and the phrase "THERE ARE."
2) The word "PEOPLE" is a dead giveaway because there are a pair of P's and E's in distinctive positions. Watch for it.
3) Contractions are obvious, as are the letters at the ends of such words.
4) "A" and "I," as words in themselves, are a little tricky. Look for contractions here too; it should be obvious which letter is which when you spot them.
J H D C T F Z K X R H Q T F B U R C P .
2. Z N H E W M F ' M N T F M M H Q K U Z J O .
Z M Y E X M Z X F ' M C U T J M Z J T W .
Z X Y T J B Z K J H W W Z F X X H C H C E W T U ?
Z X R H J U T G P N Z M O M O K D .
M O K X C K T B K U ' X J U K V Z Q Z W Z M P .
M O K A Z U X M C W T J K .


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Ukraine ceases to exist with the tacit consent of the West
Home News World news Europe
Ukrainian presidential election showed an incredible result. It was the first time in the country's history when the candidate won the election race with such a margin. This candidate was the showman Vladimir Zelensky. Though, it is already quite obvious that the Ukrainians gave their votes rather against Petro Poroshenko, against corruption, political failures and his inability to put an end to the war. Ukrainians wanted a president of a different format, and they got him, without even realizing what it would lead to.
First of all, it should be noted that in Ukraine there is a very ambiguous political situation. The fact is that the inauguration of Zelensky is artificially delayed. At the moment, this is being done through the Central Election Commission, the composition of which was carefully thought out by Petro Poroshenko. In the elections, however, this did not help him, however, the situation changed.
"Now strange things are happening: there is a victory, but no authority," Zelensky said in his video message. "The CEC is delaying the official announcement of the results so that the Verkhovna Rada can delay the inauguration date for the inauguration to be held after May 27."
However, in this case a natural question arises: why and who needs it? Zelensky, after all, has already won and it's meaningless to dispute this fact, especially for Poroshenko. Unless, the former president of Ukraine is behind this, and the goals of the organizers are much amplitudinous.
Back in the run-up to the election, it was reported that criminal cases were brought against Petro Poroshenko in the United States, and Donald Trump increasingly said that Ukrainian officials interfered in the 2016 American election on the side of Hillary Clinton. At first glance it may seem that this is only an attempt to divert public attention from RussiaGate, but Mueller's investigation failed by itself. Why was it necessary to once again focus on the three-year-old affairs, and delay the invisible stranglehold on the representatives of the Ukrainian government – only now becomes clear. It is not a personal revenge, not that Poroshenko was to some extent a creature of the Obama administration. The fact is that the continued existence of Ukraine, not without the help of its western partners, was in doubt.
It all began last fall, when Petro Poroshenko unilaterally decided to terminate the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Russia. It should be noted that the step was very rash, because the agreement signed in 1997 regulated the issue of the inviolability of the borders existing between the two countries at the time of signing. That is, Kiev not only personally deprived itself of the lever of legal pressure on the Crimean issue, but also gave rise to trends dangerous for the country. This step itself could be regarded from the point of view of the Ukrainian legislation as an encroachment on territorial integrity. And until now, there was only one question left open: who has advised Petro Poroshenko to do that? Now the picture emerges more clearly.
On the eve, Russian President Vladimir Putin took two sensational political steps at once. He ordered the issuance of Russian citizenship to separatists from Eastern Ukraine, and then he even stated on the intention to simplify the issuance of passports to all Ukrainians who wish. In fairness it should be noted that he was not the founder of the idea with regard to Ukraine. So, Poland has been issuing a Pole card to Ukrainians for many years, when Romania and Hungary generally give them passports. With the latter, there was even a scandal when it turned out that the citizens of Ukrainian Transcarpathia massively applied for citizenship in the consulate of Hungary.
But another thing is interesting: did anyone from the West notice a commensurate reaction to Moscow's actions towards a country that both Washington and Brussels have been called a partner for years? There was no response in Kiev, although, as is known, 5 years ago, the authorities launched an anti-terrorist operation in the east only because of separatist sentiments among the population. What do we see now? Kiev softly aloud asked the West to increase the sanctions pressure on Russia, but the West generally preferred to get by with formal statements.
The situation in Ukraine is as follows. Washington threw a lot of money to support the defense of the Eastern European country, it supported the reforms, but everything was in vain. No results were observed, and Kiev could hardly account for the money spent. Now, the American administration has new plans for Ukraine, which boil down to the principle of "divide and rule". Why invest in the state, if part of it can be given to the same Hungary? Budapest has long been claiming Transcarpathia. Poland, in turn, is eyeing Lviv. And these are the NATO countries, which mean at their own expense they will use new lands in the interests of the alliance. However, ironically, the restraining factor for them all this time was Russia, because if the Western Ukraine was divided between neighboring countries, then the claims regarding the Crimea would have disappeared to Moscow. Now the situation has changed, and Vladimir Putin voiced his ideas on the country's passporting very timely. And in time, because now Ukraine is actually decapitated.
The Trump administration, threatening Petro Poroshenko with prosecutions for corruption crimes, of which there were many, made him make a deal. It consists in maximally delaying the former power in the country, depriving Zelensky of the need to make serious decisions that may not be the best way to affect his rating. We must understand that Vladimir Zelensky is a very valuable shot. No wonder that the West amicably exulted, calling the elections in Ukraine the most democratic. But the democratically elected president is hardly ready to immediately respond to the actions of the Kremlin. The question is, does he really need to answer them? Judging by his passivity, he is not in a hurry to take office and humbly waits for being allowed to go on the «stage». In the meantime, Petro Poroshenko is still in charge of the country, but even he, although he has always called himself "an opponent of Putin," is not taking decisive measures. Apparently, this is also part of his deal — not to resist and take the blow because of the actual split of the country, which was conceived in the United States, having bargained with Russia.
Putin did not just so loudly announced passportarisation, because he could follow the example of Romania and Hungary, who do their work secretly. The fact is that it was Moscow that had to be given the role of initiator of the process in exchange for the Crimea and South-East of Ukraine, where, in all likelihood, that same certification will unfold. Following this, the neighboring countries of NATO will join the process, grabbing the western part from Ukraine. As a result, from the largest country in Europe will remain only its central regions, which Zelensky will have to manage.
Of course, it is fair to note that the collapse of the country is not the best way to affect the positions of the now beloved president. But not if he is presented as a victim of the intrigues of his predecessors. Delaying the inauguration, Zelensky is deprived of a chance to dissolve the old parliament ahead of time and now the legislators have all the resources to cut the powers of the president. Then, no one will be able to accuse Zelensky of inaction, and he will hold his presidential term, which, in his own words, will be the only one, distributing the lands of Ukraine to neighboring states as part of some political process. After 5 years, what will remain of the country, deprived of the disputed regions could well become a full-fledged member of NATO.
Written by Kate Matberg


First the rumors about Louis/Eleanor getting engaged, and now there are rumors about Liam/Danielle! According to a few pics I found at Tumblr, it looks like Liam Payne proposed to his dancer girlfriend Danielle Peazer. The picture of them holding hands are from his Instagram (the account hasn't been confirmed his so it can be fake). I tried to go on his twitter account to find the 'tweet' but I couldn't find it (he might of deleted the tweet though).
I looked around to see what other people thought about this news, and clearly more people think this engagement was more real then the Louis/Eleanor engagement. But there were a few people who had their doubts..
This entry was posted in one direction, Uncategorized and tagged Did Liam Payne propose to girlfriend Danielle Peazer?. Bookmark the permalink.
I get his tweets sent to my phone and he never tweeted that! I don't think this is real.


We know about the 'serious' sins we should avoid, we even know about the 'respectable' sins we should be tackling, but what about the 'imperceptible' sins? Could it be that we've become so assimilated to the culture around us that we've become deaf to God's Word – taking on habits and desires that are unhelpful for us and damaging to our witness?
In Different, author David Martin calls us to live out a radically different and courageous Christianity within our Western culture. He pictures a Christianity that is vitally alive, attractive, and that stands out so much from the world around it that outsiders are drawn in. Be challenged to break free from the subtle undercurrent of our secular society and embrace the call to stand out and live for Jesus boldly and publicly.
Different is a short book (only 80 pages!) aiming to bring to the forefront the sins that we may not notice in our churches. The 'nothings' that the Western world are prone to in our time in history. Well what are they? They are: materialism, careerism, sentimentalism, and nationalism. David Martin does not call these out for no reason. No, he wants us to realise that they are there, and that they affect our witness to the outside world. The book is written in an engaging and witty way. I was able to read the whole book in one go. Now, it does poke where it hurts, but not in a mean or holier-than-thou way. For myself, the challenge of what you do with free time ('Caravans and the Exodus') struck home massively. The book also feels very personal. It was clear that the pointers had come directly from David's own experience. Instead of feeling beaten up and left alone, the author reaches out his arm, and wants to work together with you to solve the issues. The examples used also hit very close to home. In fact, I laughed out loud at one point imagining a man fitting a large TV into a small car. I have seen this happen many times. This caused my wife to ask what I was doing, and to having a good conversation about the topic! I think that every member of a local church will find this book immensely useful and challenging. Read it through thoughtfully and prayerfully. It may not be that each chapter is as challenging for everyone, but across a church family I believe each chapter will find someone to confront. I recommend buying a few copies, and sharing them liberally around your church. It will be good for your brothers and sisters, and good for their outreach. Big thanks to 10ofthose for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book through their Blog Review Program.
Different is a short book, but boy does it pack a punch! David Martin identifies four sins that are rife in our churches and that can seriously damage our witness of Jesus. The book is only 75 pages long, but the impact that it will have on you will be much bigger. Martin challenges and encourages Christians to think through their attitudes, their lives and how distinct they are for the cause of the gospel. As you read this book you will see your own sinfulness come to light and you will see an accurate diagnosis of the modern Western church. But you will also be constantly pointed to the glorious truths of the gospel that will encourage you and build you up. One of the many things that I loved about this book is how serious Martin takes the local church and its identity. "The church is not simply a social cub that meets the interests of a select few in any particular community. Neither is the church the property of any small group of people with membership cards and voting rights. It is not an alternative source of entertainment, a platform for a political party of person, or a hobby for a few enthusiasts and a take–it–or–leave–it option for your average Christian. The church is the clearest sign to the world that Jesus has indeed been raised from the dead and that all who truly trust in him are destined for glory…. If your relationship with your church and with the people in your church has no claim on you, your resources and your time, then something is wrong somewhere." Take a moment to re–read that quote and let it sink in. As Christians our greatest desire should be to live for, to submit to and to glorify God… we are called to be different. To do this we need to know and love Jesus, we need to talk to and learn from older saints and their walk with the Lord and we need to actively be living examples of what it means to be a follower of Jesus to the watching world. I cannot recommend this book enough!
An easy read, but not a comfortable one!
Although this is a short, easy read, it is certainly not a comfortable one! As the subheading 'our witness and the sins that work against it' suggests, this book is aimed at challenging the privileged, western subsection of the church that is potentially blind to the ways we have let surrounding culture impact our lives, having a detrimental impact not only on our spiritual growth but on our witness to those around us. The author speaks specifically to what he passionately feels are key areas where the church in the west is failing to shine as a witness to Jesus, instead letting itself be shaped by cultural norms and prioritising comfortable lives over holy living. He covers the influence of materialism, careerism, sentimentalism and nationalism, asking if our watching non Christian neighbours, colleagues, family and friends see any difference in our lives other than a belief in God and some spirituality added onto lives that otherwise look just like theirs. The reader is challenged to ask – are we aware of blind spots that stop us following Jesus wholeheartedly and do we have integrity and courage in our witness to a watching, often critical and ultimately needy world? David Martin asks: 'could anyone say that you are different from the accepted norms of the world you currently inhabit simply because you are a Christian?'. This quote has stayed with me, and caused me to ask God to show me areas of my own life where I have chosen comfort and conformity to cultural norms over living under the lordship of Christ. I would recommend it to others – you may not agree 100% with the authors diagnosis, and there may be different areas that you need to be challenged on than those covered in this book, but you will certainly be provoked to consider what authentic Christian life and witness could look like in todays world.


Virgin Mobile is one of the biggest VidZone-driven distributors of music worldwide, including dance music specifically. So they say, if it's not on Virgin, it might as well not be on iTunes. Truth or not, it is a huge network for global EDM delivery, and it helps EDM producers connect with their fans worldwide. We are committed to ensuring that TuneDome Records releases are processed by us quickly and accurately to maximize your market reach. EDM producers of dance tracks in all styles who use TuneDome (TuneDome Records) for distribution and/or work with BPMstr / BPMSTER.COM to release their music internationally will enjoy every resource available via this excellent mobile music platform.


Bethany St. Joseph Corporation provides individualized short term and long term care with rehabilitative services at skilled care facilities within the western Wisconsin counties of La Crosse, Vernon & Trempealeau.
Dr. Janice Gohm Webster, an English professor at Champlain College in Burlington, VT, tells her story about the nursing home placement decision for her mother and about the long term care staff's kindness and the relationships that have developed. The story is posted on the Long-Term Living on-line magazine, a magazine for continuing care professionals. We are pleased to offer Dr. Webster's story which helps to tell our story. Thank you, Dr. Webster, for "They Call It A Nursing Home For A Reason". Click for a printed version of the article.
© 2019 Bethany St. Joseph Corporation, La Crosse, WI. All Rights Reserved.


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Q: Start Amazon CloudWatch Agent at instance startup I have an Amazon Linux AMI Instance.
I installed CloudWatch Agent and start the service using this command.
/opt/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/bin/amazon-cloudwatch-agent-ctl -a fetch-config -m ec2 -c file:/opt/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/bin/config.json -s

I can check the status of the CloudWatch Agent using this command and see that it's running
sudo /opt/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/bin/amazon-cloudwatch-agent-ctl -m ec2 -a status

However, I cannot find the service using
service amazon-cloudwatch-agent status

I want to set so that the CloudWatch Agent process start every time the instance starts. Something along the lines of systemctl enable amazon-cloudwatch-agent, but I don't have systemctl installed in my machine.
Is there any way I can setup so that the CloudWatch Agent starts every time the instance starts?


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DTK Prix de l'or - Cours des métaux
The German Association of Crystal Growth DGKK and the Swiss Society for Crystallography hosted the 5th German Swiss Conference on Crystal Growth GSCCG-5/DKT 2017 which took place from March 08 to 10, 2017 in Freiburg, Germany.
The whole organizing team says thank you for your contributions to a successful conference!
At the following link you can download pictures of the conference. The login is given in the latest e-mail.
We hope you all enjoyed your time in Freiburg!
The chairmen of 5th GSCCG / DKT 2017
History of gold prices
At the origin of the first monetary systems, gold is a precious metal whose price is closely monitored: it evolves in times of crisis, depending on geopolitical and economic situations. It is a safe haven to which investors turn in anticipation of risks. But it is also a witness to the history of countries with the gold coins struck at the rate of reigns or political developments. How has the price of gold evolved over the centuries, to become that we know today? How has the gold standard or the Bretton Woods agreements shaped the price of gold, and how has it changed since 1970?
How gold became a currency
Wheat, the first gold price standard
Gold was used as early as 950 BC as a currency: the Phoenicians used it in particular to develop trade in the Mediterranean basin. In 600 BC, King Alyattès established the value of the precious metal in wheat. It is the first known reference to a gold price in history. His son King Croesus also imposed a correspondence between gold and silver, by striking silver coins similar to the cresides in gold. It is the beginning of bimetallism: a gold coin is worth ten silver coins. The Persians, then the Greeks keep a price of gold compared to silver. In ancient Greek cities, for example, the 8 to 12 gram stater gold coin is worth 20 to 28 drachmas and the silver stater is worth 2 to 4 drachmas.
How much is a gram of gold worth under the Roman Empire?
Trade is growing, and so is the monetary system. In 121 BC, for example, the Gauls began to mint their own gold coins. The Roman Empire also adopted gold as the basis of its monetary system, and maintained a correspondence between gold and silver. The gold aureus for example is worth 25 silver denarii. It was replaced at the beginning of the 4th century by the solidus. This Roman coin weighs 4.5 grams of fine gold. Its weight in gold is guaranteed: this coin becomes the reference of the Roman tax system. It is divisible: semi-solidus, third of solidus ... It is a real gold standard.
From the gold coin to the gold standard
How much did the gram of gold cost in the Middle Ages?
During the Middle Ages, the silver currency is essential in Europe, for lack of rather important gold deposits. But in the 14th century, gold coins returned: after the gold guilder among the Florentines in Italy, the Franks also struck their first gold franc. It is a 24-carat gold coin, which weighs 3.88 grams. They will then give way to the Ecus d'or, then to the Louis d'or. In the Middle Ages, the first hallmarks on gold and silver also appeared.
What is the price of a gram of gold after the Revolution?
After the French Revolution, it was the advent of the Germinal franc, or gold franc: it was established with a decimal account system, where 1 franc was worth 100 cents. Bimetallic also takes a bigger place, and the relationship is legally established between gold and silver. One gram of gold is worth 15.5 grams of silver.
The Latin Union, a monetary convention around gold and silver coins
In 1865, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy signed a monetary agreement to harmonize their national currencies and facilitate transactions. It is the Latin Union : other countries then join it, such as Sweden, Russia, Finland, Romania, Spain ... This monetary agreement sets benchmarks in terms of the weight of gold and silver currencies . The 20 francs gold becomes the reference coin: it weighs 6.45 grams, with a title of 90% or 5.81 grams of fine gold.
A gold standard regime until 1939
The gold standard was set up in 1879: it was a fixed exchange rate regime, which enabled countries to make their currencies convertible into a certain amount of gold. But the First World War, then the end of the convertibility of banknotes into gold and the suspension of the circulation of gold coins in the 1930s weakened the system.
The price of gold and the Bretton Woods
With the Bretton Woods agreements , the Gold Exchange Standard governed the world monetary system between 1944 and 1971. Only the dollar is then convertible into gold, and all currencies are convertible into dollars. It must be said that the United States then held 70% of the world's gold reserves. The price of gold and the dollar become almost identical.
Gold prices and the Bretton Woods agreements
How has the price of gold evolved since 1970?
With the end of the gold standard in 1971 and the end of the convertibility of the dollar into gold, the price of the precious metal increased exponentially. Between 1971 and 1980, the ounce of gold went from 35 to 850 dollars: the price of gold was influenced by international conflicts and oil shocks.
What is the price of gold after the oil shocks?
The price of gold rose by 60% in 1974, after the first oil shock in 1973: this was the effect of the investor rush for gold. The situation was the same in 1979, after the Iranian revolution and after the second oil shock: the price of gold fell from 216 to 500 dollars an ounce at the end of 1979. The ounce of gold reached even 850 dollars in January 1980, just after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: a political crisis which caused great concern, especially in the context of the Cold War. This influence of the political crisis on the price of gold is notable: the price per ounce decreases when military tensions are less frequent, and increases in the event of a political crisis.
Between the 1980s and the start of the 21st century, gold was somewhat neglected by investors. But the price of gold made another good in September 2001: the attacks on the World Trade Center marked a new period of very strong political tension.
How has the value of an ounce of gold changed over the past 20 years?
The price of gold has only increased over the past 20 years . An ounce of gold was worth 303 euros in January 2000. In January 2020, it was worth 1553 euros! But in fact, this evolution has known some notable episodes.
Gold price evolution for 20 years - source AuCoffre.com
Gold prices during the subprime crisis and the euro zone debt crisis
Between 2000 and 2005 , the price of gold was in a very slight upward trend. In January 2005, the ounce of gold approached 321 euros. But from 2006, this increase is much more marked ... especially with the subprime crisis, which first affected the United States in 2008 and then Europe in 2009. Thus, the ounce of gold reached a record at 972 dollars in February 2008, and it reached 700 euros in January 2009. It is however only one stage, whereas the debt crisis in the euro zone worries the investors. Greece, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus are particularly affected and the price of gold continues to rise. In October 2012, the ounce of gold was 1373 euros. Over 1000 euros compared to January 2000!
Gold prices have been increasing since 2018: what is the price of gold today?
The price of gold experienced a period of stagnation between 2012 and 2018, but from 2018, it started to rise again, in particular after several central banks decided to take advantage of gold prices to strengthen their own reserves. 'gold.
From February 2020, the price of gold started to rise sharply again. In the midst of the coronavirus crisis and as a new, even more serious economic crisis looms, investors are turning to gold to diversify "just in case". Thus, the price of gold in euros reached 1562 euros per ounce in mid-April 2020. In dollars, it reached 1686 dollars per ounce, which is even lower than the highest gold prices in September 2011 ($ 1,899 per ounce of gold).
Who has been fixing the price of gold since 2004?
Il n'y a plus de cours officiel de l'or en France depuis 2004, mais il existe bien un cours de l'or. C'est en fait la London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) qui fait autorité sur les marchés : cette association regroupe de nombreux acteurs : négociants en or, fabricants, raffineurs, mais également des banques comme la Banque de Chine, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Scottia-Mocatta, UBS ou la Société Générale.
Comment est fixée la cotation de l'or en euros ou en dollars aujourd'hui ?
Le « London Fixing », c'est-à-dire le cours de l'or selon la London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), est établi deux fois par jour, à 10h30 et 15h. Il est calculé en fonction de l'offre et de la demande en or dans le monde. Le cours de l'or est donc étroitement lié à la situation économique, politique et sociale dans le monde… et il peut être fortement impacté en cas de crise.
The demand for gold jewelry in India and China can influence the price of gold.
The price of gold also depends on the demand for precious metal in the jewelry and industrial sectors. Gold jewelry, for example, is particularly sought after at certain times of the year in China and India, which can impact the price of the precious metal. But here too, the economic and social situation can have an effect on the demand for gold jewelry. In January 2020, the coronavirus crisis had a significant impact on the Chinese New Year festivities, a time when gold is traditionally in great demand in China, but at the same time the price of gold climbed to 1428 euros. an ounce… because of the significant risks linked to the health crisis and the effects on the world economy.
But it should also be remembered that "London Fixing", established by the LBMA, is mainly established for the price of paper gold (ETFs). Several scandals have led to a clean-up of the London Gold Fix, replaced by the LBMA Gold Price in March 2015.
Where to buy gold ?
The price of gold is one of the components to know to buy physical investment gold ... but it is not the only one. The characteristics of gold coins must also be taken into account. To be sure not to be mistaken, you must choose a reliable intermediary, with good guarantees of security and transparency. To read in this file "Where and how to buy gold" !
Gold price: how much is a gold bar worth?
How much is a gold bar worth?
Gold is sometimes represented in the form of an ingot, even if this physical form is far from offering the same guarantees of security and certification as investment gold coins . Not to mention that they are not breakable and that they are also… very heavy! A gold bar as seen in films for example could correspond to bars "Good Delivery", a standard of the LBMA. These bars weigh on average 12 kilos, for 400 ounces of gold. During the gold price on April 24, 2020 (1600 euros per ounce of gold), a 12 kg gold bar is worth 640,000 €. But in reality, gold bars are more often one kilo gold bars, or 1000 grs of pure gold. There are also smaller bars.


Josie Chiao, a second-year Computer Science/East Asian double major at UVA, had a daunting first experience at one of her school's job fairs. She was overwhelmed at all the activity when she walked in 30 minutes after the start time.
As Chiao tried to get her bearings together, she was approached by a recruiter. Even though she practiced her pitch, she only got through 60 percent of what she rehearsed. Fortunately, the conversation went well enough and she was able to make a good connection.
Chiao's story is just one example of what eager new job seekers might experience as graduation season comes into full swing. Soon-to-be graduates are already in full job-search mode and job fairs are a great way to get their foot in the door of promising companies.
In fact, the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) survey published in 2015 stated employers attend around 31 career fairs a year.
1. Get to job fairs early.
As the phrase goes, "the early bird gets the worm." The earlier the graduates arrive to a career fair, the more refreshed they and the people they meet will be. Inform graduates to get to job fairs as early as possible if they want to make the most lasting impression.
Arrive at the #careerfair early, to network while #recruiters are still fresh.
The average career fair can last anywhere from a few hours to a whole working day. A recruiter who has spent three to four hours actively meeting new people, hearing new pitches, and shaking countless hands will likely be exhausted toward the end.
There's nothing more anxiety inducing than watching the recruiter's gaze fall on the growing line of potential candidates behind you as you raise your pitch. Worse yet, nerves can rattle if you're watching the recruiter's enthusiasm wane as you work your way up that line. Encourage your job seekers to make their job fair rounds when confidence and attention are at its peak.
2. Have a strategy in place.
The name of the game for job fairs is speed and efficiency. Graduates need to plan ahead in order to maximize the time they have with recruiters. Counselors should instruct job seekers to have 30, 60, and 90-second pitches ready, specifically tailored to the companies they're interested in working for.
Most job fairs will post a list of companies and a map of the booths those companies can be found in advance. The job fair's itinerary should also have a list of the open positions. Job seekers will want to make sure their skills and experiences fit the exact jobs being offered so no time is wasted.
Have your job seekers set a specific goal. For example, they could target a set number of businesses and contacts they will meet with. Additionally, they can have a set number of business cards they will pick up to reach out to later — for those companies that don't currently have their best fit positions, but are of interest. This will ensure they make the most of the event.
It's an important exercise for job seekers to do all of the preparation they'd do for a formal interview. This includes knowing everything they can about the actual jobs that are available and how they fit those roles and the company.
Once your job seekers have a list of the exact companies they want to meet with, they should research the job details as well as gain some insight into who will be representing the company. It's also important to be familiar with the company's mission, vision, values, and even the culture.
Instruct job seekers to use all of the resources available. They should compare information from various sources like the company website, their social media pages, and even look to see what their employees are saying on LinkedIn and Glassdoor.
The job fair is not just a meet-and-greet, it's an advanced opportunity to spring into a new career. Your graduates should understand the importance of knowing what they know…and what they want to learn from the job fair.
4.Prepare for the possibility of rejection.
Job fairs can be exciting for graduates. But that enthusiasm can be quickly snuffed if they come away feeling discouraged because they didn't land an interview or job offer.
Graduates should be prepared for the reality that looking for a job is marathon. Advise your job seekers of how valuable job fairs are for networking, even if they don't produce a job offer.
Additionally, teach grads the best practices for reaching out after an unsuccessful attempt at the career fair. Guide them through the appropriate ways to connect with recruiters on LinkedIn and how to properly engage with the company through their Facebook page.
Job seekers can also email once every 30-45 days as a method of staying on the company radar. Advise graduates to share interesting, industry-related articles with their contact to keep the conversation professional and less self-serving. It's a great way for graduates to show their value and how they're keeping up with industry trends.
What tips do you share with your graduates to better prepare them for career fairs? Let us know!


text:
Global Energy Subsidies - Interactive Map
I just saw this map to show global fuel subsidies created by the National Geographic (link here) via @FSCDaleFort
This map surprises me, for I knew the country where I live had fuel subsidies, but I did not realise the extent to which they are used on a global scale. The United Arab Emirates had a subsidy of $2,490 per person (2010) according to the National Geographic, second only to Kuwait.
In 2010 we paid around 47 cents per liter, in the UK this was closer to $1.92!
Discussion point:
Where in the world is the most expensive fuel? Which country gives the most tax breaks for energy companies? Explain which countries you think have made the right fuel tax policies.
GEOG SOC
This is the new blog for the Geography Society at the British School Al Khubairat, Abu Dhabi organised by Miss Tomaszewska


Ms. Lauer is the Senior Associate with Winegarden, Haley, Lindholm, Tucker & Himelhoch, PLC and primarily handles business and employment related litigation. Her employment practice includes matters such as claims of discrimination, FMLA violations, MESC issues, and harassment litigation. Her business caseload also involves claims of shareholder oppression, contract disputes between businesses, and the defense of consumer protection claims. Ms. Lauer frequently appears both in federal and state courts.
Ms. Lauer graduated from Central Michigan University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree. She worked the following year as an Aide to Senator Carl Levin and, then attended Syracuse Law School in 1991. At Syracuse, Ms. Lauer was a member of the Judicial Review Board and worked at the New York State Attorney General's Litigation Department for two years.
Over the past 10 years, Ms. Lauer has served as a Member of the Fenton Township Board of Review. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan's litigation section, the Genesee County Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan.


Whirlpool cooktops create flexibility to place large pots anywhere on the surface. 12,500 BTU sealed Power™ burners give you the ability to quickly boil water or sear steaks. The CleanTop® Ceramic Glass PrintProof™ cooktop surface makes cleanup and maintenance easy.


In news from Europe today, we learn that ad agencies from Belgium are all closing their corporate websites for a whole week, to express their discontent against the way clients conduct pitches in their country. The virtual strike is an initiative of ACC (Association of Communication Companies), it starts on their own site and continues on 23 other websites.
As you can see, we have replaced our regular website with this letter. It's going to stay up one week to express our discontent.
Allow us to explain. In the 1990's, the UBA and the ACC developed a charter. All the major players signed up to it, and it defined the rules of the game for agency pitches for over a decade.
There's not much left of that charter now. For example, one of the things it states is that no more than three agencies (plus the incumbent) should ever be invited to pitch on any piece of business. But in recent competitions, we've sometimes seen more than 10 agencies throwing their names into the ring.
Why does that matter? Well, pitches, like boxing, work in rounds. You get through one round, and go on to the next. Last man standing wins. Unlike boxing, however, pitches rely on the participants punching themselves in the head.
A big pitch can cost an agency upwards of 80000 €. Just getting into the second round takes huge amounts of energy. And if you're lucky enough to get that far, you then have to invest even more resources just to have a chance of getting something out of it. And if 10 agencies are taking part, that's a 90% percent chance that you're taking a bruising for nothing.
If that were the end of it, who would care? Nobody's going to lose any sleep if there are a few less advertising agencies in the world but the thing is, it's not us who'll suffer: it's you were worried about.
Pitches use up energy. Energy an agency would normally use to provide its existing, paying customers with the best possible work. So the logical conclusion of the system as it now stands is that at some point you will become a victim of it yourself.
The day will eventually come when your agency has to divert the creative and strategic energy you're paying it for into a pitch for some else's business.
Our idea of a sane world is where you do your best work for the clients you do have. Not the ones you don't. So, we think it's in everyone's interests to get back to where we started: the charter.
Our reputation, our beliefs and our individual visions aren't exactly trade secrets. And our awards… well, if you haven't heard about them yet, you soon will.
Talk to an agency and you'll know right away if they see things the same way you do. But don't delude yourself. Asking an agency to pitch is not the same as briefing one. In a pitch, the only target audience is you. The only question an agency can ask itself is, "What do we need o do to get the client?" But it's never too late to change.
We recently confronted a major advertiser with how they were running their pitch. And they changed their speculative competition into a much more motivating and lower cost procedure.
Great idea. Great result. But we didn't think of it. It was just in the charter. So let's not all lose hope just yet. Thanks for listening.
View the Competition Charter here.
So what happens next? Obviously, these companies hope that the strike will bring things back to the normal state of affairs, where pitching was a fair game, and it was based on mutual respect and following the rules. JWT, Ogilvy, BBDO, Saatchi & Saatchi, and McCann are among the participants.
If you visit any of their sites in Belgium today you will find a fragment of the letter. At the present time the letter was divided in 24 pages, which means that there are 24 agencies involved. Yesterday, when the strike begun, the ACC announced only 20.
The letter is in English, which is rather strange, considering that English is not an official language in Belgium. But all these companies are international players, so the move makes sense.
Big advertising agencies out-muscle and bully smaller agencies. They need to realize that the rules of the game are different now.


SAN FRANCISCO — September 12, 2018 — Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA), the leading independent provider of identity for the enterprise, and Yubico, the leading provider of authentication security keys, today announced a new initiative to provide a free YubiKey Starter Pack to every Okta customer that uses Okta Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or Okta Adaptive MFA. By offering strong hardware-based protection of the YubiKey as a factor option with Okta's MFA solutions, Okta and Yubico can provide an added layer of security for high-target individuals in an enterprise.
To help prevent and mitigate credential compromises – which account for more than 80% of data breaches – organizations are increasingly adopting MFA and using stronger step-up authentication with Okta Adaptive MFA to better protect their sensitive user data. YubiKeys, strong hardware-based protection in the form of physical devices, provide an option for a second factor in Okta MFA. Because highly privileged roles such as IT administrators and executives have access to a broad scope of user controls and information, Okta and Yubico have partnered to offer customers a way to get started with a free YubiKey Starter Pack with Okta MFA.
"In today's Zero Trust world, MFA is no longer a luxury – it's a must. Every user is a potential target, and high-value targets or key technical individuals such as IT administrators have access to some of the most sensitive corporate information available," said Frederic Kerrest, Chief Operating Officer and co-founder, Okta. "The Okta and Yubico partnership provides companies with broader options to step up security – helping to ensure only the right people have access to the right data, at the right time."
Universal Second Factor (U2F) security tokens, such as the YubiKey, provide the strongest level of defense against phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks, while also delivering a simple and seamless user experience. The Okta co-branded YubiKey Starter Pack includes two YubiKey security keys, which can be used as the primary or back-up authentication method in conjunction with Okta Verify.
Organizations such as Verifone, which helps transform every day transactions into new and engaging opportunities for merchants and consumers at the last inch of payments and commerce, are already using Okta and Yubico as an additional layer of protection for their users.
The YubiKey Starter Pack is available to all Okta MFA and Adaptive MFA customers starting today. For more information, visit: https://www.okta.com/partners/yubico.
For more information about the Yubico and Okta solution, visit: https://www.yubico.com/works-with/okta.
Yubico is a leading contributor to both the FIDO2 and FIDO Universal 2nd Factor open authentication standards, and the company's technology is deployed and loved by 9 of the top 10 internet brands and by millions of users in 160 countries. Founded in 2007, Yubico is privately held, with offices in Sweden, UK, Germany, USA, Australia, and Singapore. For more information: www.yubico.com.


This year on Friday 16th February the Luna New Year will arrive. The event, sometimes referred to as the Chinese New Year, is celebrated across many countries in Asia including China, Indonesia & Korea. Every January/February the festivities begin with firework displays, lion dances and the gifting of red envelopes containing money.
The extensive use of fireworks and the colour red, during the festival, is said to scare away an ancient creature called the Nian. This creature would emerge once every year and would eat people, especially children. Legends speak of a year that the people of a village decided to hide from the beast and a left a single person behind who fended off the creature with firecrackers and red papers.
Each year is represented by an animal and this time around it will be the year of the dog.


text:
package streams.collectors;

/**
 * Created by lcunha on 30/04/17.
 */
class Usuario {
    private String nome;
    private int pontos;
    private boolean moderador;

    public Usuario(String nome, int pontos) {
        this.nome = nome;
        this.pontos = pontos;
    }

    public String getNome() {
        return nome;
    }

    public void setNome(String nome) {
        this.nome = nome;
    }

    public int getPontos() {
        return pontos;
    }

    public void setPontos(int pontos) {
        this.pontos = pontos;
    }

    public boolean isModerador() {
        return moderador;
    }

    public void setModerador(boolean moderador) {
        this.moderador = moderador;
    }

    public void tornaModerador() {
        this.setModerador(true);
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return "Usuario{" +
                "nome='" + nome + '\'' +
                ", pontos=" + pontos +
                ", moderador=" + moderador +
                '}';
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A total healing for humanity.
Lays the ground for the incoming Galactic Energy of Ascension.
Monthly Workshops: Worcester, Worcestershire, West Midlands and other UK locations and abroad by invitation.
It is working hand in hand with the Angelic Kingdom of Light to bring one of the highest forms of healing to individuals, groups and the planet.
Earth's vibrational rate, in other words its 'consciousness', has been increasing steadily in recent years - as anyone who is sensitive to energy knows only too well! Therefore the consciousness of all of Earth's inhabitants is being raised too.
This acceleration is allowing the higher vibrations of the Angelic Kingdom to anchor here on Earth to a far greater extent than ever before. As part of this ascension process, between October 2002 and February 2003, Archangel Metatron channelled the complete system of unique healing that is Angelic Reiki to Kevin Core.
Angelic Reiki is a safe, natural healing system that allows connection through the Angelic Kingdom to our Soul energy in order to bring through powerful healing.
If you are drawn to Angelic Reiki for any reason whatsoever you are answering the call of Angels. There is no coincidence. It is a direct Soul connection.
Angelic Reiki attracts people from all walks of life. It draws complete beginners as well as spiritual adepts, existing Reiki practitioners and masters, and other holistic therapists wishing to broaden their practice. There are no pre-requisites; all that is necessary is a desire to work hand in hand with Angels for the highest good and a heart and mind open to do so.
During the course you will receive initiations and attunements direct from the Angelic Hierarchy enabling you to become a clear, pure channel for Angelic energies. You will learn to work with Angels, Ascended Masters and Galactic healers and to allow their high vibrational energies to work through you to help you - and those you treat - release physical, ancestral, emotional and karmic imbalances throughout all time and space. Learning Angelic Reiki is thus life changing.
Each training course is certificated offering you the option of working professionally with this complete system of unique healing. A CPD certificate is also provided as evidence of continuing personal development.
To participate in Angelic Reiki training is to awaken the Divine within you and to receive the profound wave of love emanating from the Galactic Heart itself.
Embrace the wonder and blessings of what you receive during your experience, and enjoy living and working with your expanded consciousness.
This is a momentous time in the history of Humanity and Planet Earth.
Ever increasing numbers of people are becoming aligned to their Higher Selves and thus helping to bring in a new age of Divine Awakening for humankind.
To play your part through Angelic Reiki please contact us.
Contact us also if you'd like us to run workshops in a location of your choice or if you wish to book healing sessions for yourself or your family.


CSX aims to be a good neighbor by operating responsibly, generating economic opportunities, and giving back to communities along the company's network.
With increasing consumer demand, the need for freight rail as a safe, reliable and sustainable transportation solution is ever more pressing. As the most fuel-efficient mode of freight transportation on land, rail will continue to enable significant emission reductions and help drive economic prosperity.
While CSX operates in many kinds of communities, the company's focus remains constant. CSX has an unwavering commitment to the safety, the service of its customers, the disciplined utilization of assets, and the development of people and the communities where the company operates.


Hello everyone! We're Phases 😊 Let's start with our name! Well, "phases" originated from the idea of helping our clients' companies move ahead and improve into the next "phases" of their business with the digital solutions we would help provide.
We have teams working in Denmark, India and USA, with the Indian team being the biggest in terms of employees. In total, we are now 87 dedicated employees that are focused on delivering high-quality solutions and provide an active response rate and support.
Our founder Daniel started working with Umbraco projects all the way back to 2005. He later met Ansar, our co-founder and CTO, who had worked with Umbraco since 2009, on Our Umbraco and together they started working as an Umbraco-focused digital agency.
We focus on driving digital efficiency and implementing logically feasible solutions to our clients. Our major business activities include business process consulting & optimization, application development, system integrations, CMS, workflow platforms, etc. We've worked with over 1000 clients internationally and continue to be passionate about always finding the best solutions for our clients.
The most significant objective of Phases as an organization is to provide easy-to-use and digitally efficient software solutions to customers. We found Umbraco to be the most user-friendly and logical CMS available.
Umbraco is suitable for any kind of web applications, it's really flexible. We especially like that frontend HTMLs are not included on the CMS which would have been a hassle to work with.
We've been working with Umbraco for many years and have made a strong team of Umbraco developers in our Indian office.
We have worked with projects in all sizes and complexities - webshop integrated with Microsoft Dynamics AX & Microsoft Nav, Intranet document management system integrated with Citrix Podio, Webshops using TeaCommerce & uCommerce, nicely designed corporate & event websites, backend API solution for mobile apps, PIM solution, and many more.
All of this expertise and experience were a greatly rewarding journey and we couldn't resist thinking about taking the relationship to the next level - becoming an Umbraco Gold Partner.
We were planning to get the gold partnership already in 2016, but it got delayed as there was no Umbraco certification training in India. Some of our developers visited Denmark and got certified and then, we proceeded with the gold certification.
Being a Gold Partner gives us easier access to knowledge from Umbraco HQ, higher trust from potential customers and new leads.
We are very happy to have been part of this magnificent journey with Umbraco! The success of Phases has been closely connected to the story of Umbraco's development over the years and we're excited to be even more involved in this narrative.
The very first project Bonsai Media Group built using Umbraco 7 years ago turned out to be a massive business success for the client. It was then that the Seattle-based agency realized that the CMS they chose to work with was a good decision. Time went by and a year ago they made another decision - to take a step further and become our Gold Partner... Meet Bonsai Media Group!