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Baltic Drug Couriers
China's influence
Health in Latvia
Imprisoned in the Baltics
Latvia's ageing dilemma
Latvia's Golden Visas
Money from Russia
Press Intimidation in the Baltic States
Russia and Family Values
Small Wages
The Baltic Media After the Crisis
The Other Side of Latvia's 'Success' Story
Unequal Education
Uzbeks in Latvia
#Vēlēšanas2018
China's influence
Latvia's ageing dilemma
Latvia's Golden Visas
After prison, a will to change is not enough
10. December, 2014Inga Spriņģe, Mantas Dubauskas, Re:Baltica
Former prisoner Rimantas Muka. Photo: Inga Lucuniene
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Having received his release papers from the prison's management, on an average day of the Baltic autumn Rimantas Muka (31) moved through the gates of Alytus prison in Lithuania. He bought a kebab and a soda at a nearby kiosk. He just stood there and ate, waiting. Muka thought that the autumn morning was wonderful.
Muka had spent a third of his life behind the bars, stealing, robbing, selling drugs. He thought that this time all would turn out differently.
For months, he has been clear of drugs. Shortly before coming out he smoked his last cigarette and threw away the lighter determined to quit. In preparation for a new life, he traded his cigarettes with the other inmates for two pairs of tracksuit pants, a pair of jeans and sneakers. He bought shaving products, tooth paste and a toothbrush at the prison store, too.
This was the sixth time Muka had been released from prison. But this was the first time he truly felt that he didn't want to go back, and this time someone was waiting for him.
"Hey, there is Rimas sitting," he heard the voice of a former prison mate who was moving in his direction from the parking lot. He was coming together with their mutual acquaintance Nerijus Čekavičius whom Muka met in prison and now calls the man who changed his life.
Čekavičius was a former drug addict who had been imprisoned twice for theft. By now, he had a wife and he had been running his car repair shop for 13 years. His wife is a priest and Čekavičius himself is a preacher who holds seminars in the prison.
After greeting they drove to the nearby town of Alytus where Muka moved into an apartment with his former prison mate. Friends helped him enroll in a benefit programme for the unemployed. Čekavičius and Muka talked about God for hours. In the evenings they visited the homes of other believers for food and talks.
A week later Muka had to make a decision: return to his previous life of drugs or change his circle of friends. There were two options. The first was the Minnesota program which runs for 28 days in another town, Kaunas. It would probably reduce his drug addiction, but wouldn't change his personality. The other alternative was a social rehabilitation center, located in Kedainiai, where former inmates and other addicts stay for a year.
"I didn't want to do drugs and steal anymore, but I didn't want to go to rehab, either," reminisces Muka. He decided to go to Kedainai. "I felt tired and I thought I didn't know how to live anymore. I couldn't really talk to people if they didn't approach me. I only knew how to be rude."
In the evening before leaving, during the sermon, Muka started to cry. "I don't recall myself crying like that in a long time."
The next day he took a bus to Kedainiai where he was met by a member of the church. They went for a medical examination to fill out forms in the local clinic and then moved to the rehab center called "Lighthouse of Hope."
Muka was one of 3,319 prisoners released in Lithuania last year. The country has the highest incarceration rate in the European Union. In the region, Georgia and Russia lock up more people than Lithuania.
After release from prison, former inmates face three choices: find work, get family support or return to prison. Many inmates are alcoholics or drug addicts, which makes it even harder for them to return to society. Official statistics show that less than 20% of inmates in Lithuanian prisons are addicts, but people in the field do not believe it.
Gintautas Sakalauskas, a senior researcher at the Criminological Research Department of Lithuania's Law Institute, estimates that the real number of addicts is probably closer to 50%, while people who work in rehabilitation say that the number might actually be 70%. (in Latvia it is 80%).
Returning to prison is often the easiest way. Many employers do not want to hire ex-convicts, families can be unwelcoming. Government benefits are extremely small (a one-off maximum payment of 30 euros). Once released, they often lack the proper documents and knowledge to apply for work.
Lithuania does not gather data regarding repeat offenses, but last year of 3,049 imprisoned persons almost 500 had committed a new crime within a year of release. In Latvia, research shows that 51% of criminals commit repeat offenses within two years. Two thirds are back within three months, which could signal the lack of support during the first crucial months after release.
It's hard to break out of this cycle, because neither Latvia nor Lithuania have the proper government funding for support programs to help ex-prisoners re-enter society. Lithuania pays part of the 28 day stay in the Minnesota program or social rehabilitation in one of two rehab centers which can house 22 prisoners in total. This is a far cry from enough. The biggest support comes from the various non-profit and religious organizations.
If not for the support from the church, Rimantas Muka would probably be back in prison. At least that was his initial plan. "I had already decided to kill someone in prison. I told my brother I'm not coming out anymore. My mother was fine with it too, as it meant I would be alive but not present in her life," said Muka.
He changed his attitude few months before release in October 2014. He visited a Bible seminar.
Muka didn't go to the Bible group to find God. For months he sat in a corner of the room, his hood over his face, just to be somewhere quiet. One day, unexpectedly, he found himself involved in a discussion. "It was an interesting conversation. I don't remember about what. I was surprised that I had started talking," Muka reminisces.
Surprise hasn't disappeared from his voice even half a year later when we meet in the rehabilitation center. Wearing tracksuit bottoms, with a crew cut and grayish teeth, he still reminds one of a small boy overjoyed about an unexpected present. He's even surprised he agreed to the interview. "They teach us to talk."
The "Lighthouse of Hope" consists of several buildings. We are in the guest house, a small building that had a conference room with a long wooden table on the second floor and a small bedroom for guests. On the ground floor, laundry machine rumbles constantly.
In the center the addicts can stay for a year while they acquire the skills for living on their own.
The main building is a white house which used to be two stories high, but due to an influx of clients was expanded to three. During 13 years of operation the center has accepted around 1,000 people, both women and men. Currently it has 45 places, making it the largest private rehabilitation center for addicts (not necessarily ex-convicts) in Lithuania.
A hundred meters away from the main building is the house where the founders and owners of the "Lighthouse of Hope" rehab center, Albertas and Inga Lucunas live with their children. Albertas is also the co-founder of two other rehab centers in Kaunas and Siauliai, and leads the association of Lithuanian communities for rehabilitation from addictive disorders, which he co-founded and which unites 22 rehab centers across Lithuania.
The members of the association can accept a combined 360 clients. The numbers might dwindle in 2015 because from then on social rehabilitation service providers will need a licence.
Albertas Lucunas says that the license system is needed to separate "philanthropists who work with love" from people who do this for profit. The centers will have to meet several requirements: have a program, professional staff, and adequate facilities.
The rehab centers are funded on a project basis, which they propose to foreign foundations and special programs aimed to help people from risk groups. Those are funded by the Lithuanian government. One client "costs" the "Lighthouse of Hope" 720 euros per month. Money is always short, so the clients are expected to make a donation, which on average is 145-200 euros per month. It is not a precondition for stay: those who can, pay. It is a regular practice in most of the centers. Since Muka has no income he gives his social benefit, of around 100 euros, which he receives because he is officially poor.
The "Lighthouse of Hope" is not the first rehab center where Rimantas Muka has temporarily lived. He had stayed in similar facilities in Kaunas and Utena during his previous short spells of freedom. But he didn't like it there because it was forbidden to smoke. "All they had was the Bible and work". He said that he went to Utena several times because the social worker was nice and "accepted literally anyone out of kindness."
The humane treatment is what Muka values in the "Lighthouse of Hope." He still has to work and study the Bible, but it is voluntary and the center offers psychological help and learning courses after work. There are 20 employees for the 45 patients in the rehab center.
Muka starts his day at seven in the morning with prayer and breakfast. Then a meeting where the work and learning program for the day is discussed, followed by work around the compound, dinner and free time in the evening. Mobile phones and TV are forbidden. The goal is to isolate patients from their past, to give them new values and teach them how to live again.
"I don't know how to go to work, pay the electricity bill or rent an apartment," Muka explains, "I only have 11 months of work experience."
Working outside the confines of the Lighthouse is still a step too early to take. The first thing to do is to learn to know himself, which is why he visits the psychologist several times a week. He was hesitant to talk at first, but afterwards he was very eager. He started to write a diary, one for the psychologist and one for himself. He enjoys it.
He could have had access to counselling in prison, even if specialists are in short supply, with one for every 400 prisoners. However, he did not take it up.
"I wouldn't talk to a psychologist in prison even 30 minutes before release. Prison is the survival of the fittest. You can't trust anyone."
The most important thing for Muka is to learn to control his anger. He can control himself and warn others when he feels an oncoming burst of aggression only when he is sober.
"Me and two friends were playing cards and drinking. The next morning I wake up with my hands covered in blood and my friends both in the hospital."
Muka committed the crimes that landed him in jail while being drunk.
His father was always drunk, too, when he beat him, his brother and his mother.
Prisoner of the bottle
Muka has not met his mother for years. She doesn't want to see him, but they occasionally chat by phone. The breaking point was when he returned from prison the second time, went to his mother's place, got drunk and had a fight with his stepfather.
Muka started smoking and drinking while in primary school. His father drank regularly. Muka remembers a time when his father beat his mother, and he and his brother jumped in to protect her. All three ended up in the hospital. He had a broken arm, his brother a broken leg, but their mother, heavy bruising.
A few years later things changed, and the roles reversed. His father grew to fear him as Muka would attack him in drunken rages. He would ask Muka's mother if he had been drinking. If the answer was yes, his father would sleep on the street. Muka had practiced boxing when he was younger and was quite good at it. The skill came in handy when he needed to let go his aggression towards his father.
Around that time he started also to steal from his mother, relatives and schoolmates to buy better clothing and cigarettes. From time to time he gave stolen money to his mother to pay the rent or to buy food. She did not ask where it came from.
Muka ended up in prison for the first time when he was 18. He was sentenced for robbery, carrying a weapon and coercing an underage person to participate in crime. He was accused of robbing rich villas and was sentenced to 6 years in prison. This was a heavy sentencing for a first time felony, but the extreme violence of the crimes was taken into account. Muka claims that they cut off the tongue of one and broke the leg of another to force them to reveal where the money is hidden.
Rimantas Mukas. Photo: Inga Lucuniene.
His mother and brother visited him in prison. They sent him parcels and money because they believed that Muka would change, but he spent the money on drugs.
When he returned home after the prison, his father was dead and he had a stepfather. Muka started working the new line of work he learned in prison: selling drugs. He boasts that he earned about 1,000 euros. He switched from smoking weed to dealing -and using – heroin. After a couple of months of freedom, Muka beat someone who was in debt to him. "I smashed his teeth, broke his legs, took his phone and walked away". For that he was sentenced to two and half years in prison. He got high off anything he could lay his hands on – heroin, sniffing glue.
At the time there was no rehab program in prison (currently two prisons have rehabs with 22 places between them). For most of the imprisoned addicts, help is provided on an individual basis, with the support of the prison psychologist, explains Nijole Martinkeviciene from Lithuania's Justice Ministry. Taking into account the amount of psychologists working in the prisons, this statement seems doubtful.
Muka was released from prison on parole nine months early. He had to report once a month to the probation office and had to apply for unemployment. Twice he had to go to the museum at the direction of his probation officer. If not, that would count as a violation of the terms of his parole. Three strikes, and you are back behind bars.
He found a job as a cargo loader in an alcohol factory in the capital Vilnius. He slept inside the forklift, drank heavily and eventually started stealing from his employers. Ten months later he was back in prison for the third time because he had beaten up and robbed a drinking buddy.
His fourth incarceration came when he broke a window and stole a computer from a school. The fifth took place in Germany where Muka traveled after a relative invited him to come sell drugs. Muka liked the German prison. He had his own cell and he learned Russian from his fellow inmates. There were different classes available: a chess club and a guitar club. He was offered rehab, but he declined. "Didn't see the point."
After listening to other inmates stories of governments funding for an apartment with the option to buy and help to find a job, Muka was looking forward to his release. Shortly before the time came Lithuania's government requested his extradition as he had an unfinished sentence for robbery which he had committed before leaving for Germany. His dream for a life in Germany ended in his native land's prison.
By now, it already felt like a home. He knew everyone, while outside the prison walls no one was waiting for him.
When he left prison for the last time, Muka received a one-time allowance of 14 euros, 17 euros for travel costs and a 20 euro salary for his work in prison. In total around 50 euros.
Before prisoners are released, the administration asks what they intend to do outside. The ones without family are given a booklet listing religious and nonprofit organizations that might help. The state subsidizes 50% of a salary for six months if people hire ex-convicts, but there is little demand from employers.
In the first half of 2014, only 49 people were employed in this program, with 800 on a waiting list. The jobs are mostly low skilled, such as cleaning and construction and require no special education.
Life is slightly easier for prisoners on parole because they have to report to a probation officer regularly until the end of their sentence. Probation exists more to control ex-convicts than to help them. They control if a person on parole pays alimony, remains at home at night and are looking for jobs while actual support in education, and a place to stay depends on the local municipality.
The situation in Latvia is similar since support for prisoners was among the things cut during years of austerity. In Estonia, the control over people on parole who are deemed high risk is much stronger. They have to see their probation officers four times a month, and one visit a month takes place at their homes. Psychiatric help is also offered.
Lithuania's probation service representative Saulius Lauraitis says that there are employers who are willing to hire prisoners who are on parole because they're easier to control. They don't drink and they arrive at work on time. Otherwise, they would violate their parole rules and would have to return to prison. In the beginning of 2014, 42% of prisoners on parole had found work, but this does not mean that all of them informed their employer of their past. Probation officers often advise ex-prisoners to not talk about it unless explicitly asked.
To punish, punish and punish again
There is no reason to think that the conditions in prisons and for ex-convicts will improve in the next few years in Lithuania.
Lithuania has the highest rate of incarceration in the European Union and the numbers for people on parole are going down. Between 1998 – 2010 half of the convicts were released on parole. Last year, the figure had dropped to the one third.
In 2013, a Lithuanian member of parliament, Petras Grazulis, proposed the reintroduction of the death penalty. He was supported even by the Parliament's speaker at the time, Vydas Gedvilas, but the proposal died when it was concluded it was contrary to the Constitution. However, other proposals for tougher penalties were approved.
"A more frequent use of imprisonment and longer duration of sentences are more typical for the countries with a still short life-span of the democratic development, not only in the Eastern Europe but Spain and Portugal as well, " says senior researcher Gintautas Sakalauskas from Lithuanian Law Institute. "Not only society, but also prosecutors and judges still believe that prison is the best solution for these problems."
Several objectives are reached at once when a guilty person is put behind bars, says Aleksandras Dobryninas, a criminology expert from Vilnius University. "An enemy is created and it mobilises society." Society is satisfied that the criminal is not only punished, but isolated. But it just delays the problem, as the prisoner will be released sooner or later and there is a possibility that due to prison conditions he will return even more dangerous than before.
This was the case of Rimantas Muka.
"When I met him I immediately saw what he was missing. A basic human interaction," recalls the leader of the Bible group Nerijus Čekavičius, who motivated Muka to change his life. Čekavičius, who has been preaching in prisons for 10 years, considers the lack of humane treatment in the criminal system as a main cause to increase criminal activity. "The real reason why they return to prison is because they're afraid of being alone. That no one will accept them."
"We have locked them in a prison cell in our minds and don't want to let them out even when they're released in real life," says Albertas Lucunas, founder of the "Lighthouse of Hope" rehab center.
He and Čekavičius believes that one of the best treatments would be if ex-prisoners would visit prisons regularly to tell them of their experiences and provide proof that the change is possible. Lucunas mentions a program in Sweden where ex-convicts are employed as assistants for social workers because they understand the problems other prisoners face and can gain trust more easily.
There is a similar system in the "Lighthouse of Hope." Some of the current employees of the center are former "clients" who help new arrivals. In teams with specialists they visit schools and also teach the employees of the probation service. Lucunas says that if they had funding they would regularly visit prisons to motivate prisoners to enter rehab when released. The government used to fund these visits, but during the economic crisis funding was cut and has not been replaced.
A similar program with volunteers is also in preparation in Latvia. Paid for by the Norwegian government, the program next year will use 40 volunteers to coach juveniles and prisoners under the age of 25 how to meaningfully use their free time. This age group is evaluated as the highest risk for re-offending. The volunteer group will grow in 2016 when Latvia hopes to finance it with EU money. The target group will also expand. The head of the probation services, Mihails Papsujevičs, says ex-cons could be among the volunteers, but "they will have to prove that they have really turned their lives around."
At the time of our conversation Muka had spent a month in the "Lighthouse of Hope" and has reached the second of four stages of rehabilitation. The second stage is the "limited contact stage," during which Muka can contact people from the outside world such as family and people supporting him. The patients are on a revolving order where one patient becomes the "chief of the house," making him for a week responsible to manage the tasks for the day. The goal is to teach them to assume responsibility.
The third stage is the "responsibility" phase. Muka will be allowed to visit friends on weekends and apply for the role of "leader of the house." The leader is chosen in an election similar to the president of the country and has a term of 2 months.
The 4th phase is the "contact" phase. Muka will have to travel to find a place to stay and work. The center will provide psychological support, but he will have to make his own choices. If needed, Muka will be allowed to stay in the "Lighthouse of Hope" for longer than a year, says Lucunas.
He doesn't want to disclose how many of the 1,000 patients of the rehab center have successfully gotten over their addiction and started a new life. "At least 30% and that's a good outcome." They use Facebook to see which clients have gotten married and have children now. Lucunas compares the experience in the center to an upward spiral. Even if the patient returns to drugs, they will still be in a better state than before.
Will Rimantas Muka be able to start a new life? Lucunas provides no comment, but tells a story.
"We had a patient who had come here five times. The last time he escaped by running through the garden. I told everyone to deny him entry if he returns ever again. While I was away, he came back and was admitted for a sixth time. Now he runs a similar rehab center."
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Makes a nice cut after the catch as well to score.Can also win deep with quick releases and footwork. Excellent concentration down the field as well.InterviewZH: You are a legit NFL prospect who has had a great career. How does a player with your abilities end up at Georgia State?PH: Honestly that was my only offer at the time. I went to a lot of different camps and did what I had to do and performed fairly well but Georgia State was the only one that wanted to take a chance on me. After going there on a few visits, I made a decision to want to go there and there was no one else offering at the time anyway. They chose me and I chose them.ZH: Stepping off of the field, I did see that you were a two time Athletic Director's Honor Roll student at Georgia State. Were your academics just as important to you as your athletics?PH: Most definitely. 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Going through the whole week, we helped each other by competing but all in all just being able to be around that class of guys was cool and I think everyone was able to just enjoy that time being able to meet new people and have that experience. ZH: Stepping onto the field during the practices and you really turned some heads down there. Were you satisfied overall with your week of practices?PH: Yeah, for sure. I feel like I took advantage of the opportunity I was given. I was just going out there and doing what I've always done. Honestly, going out there and playing made me feel like I was five years old again every time that ball was snapped. I just wanted to go out there and dominate and do what I had to do. I was just glad to be able to go out there and play football and be with those guys.ZH: The biggest thing I see on film is your top notch route running. I don't think people understand the nuance that goes into perfecting that craft. 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How are you diagnosing a defense in order to find those openings?PH: I'm looking at certain tendencies of DB's and cornerbacks and even linebackers and different tendencies of how they may show a blitz and come out of it and run a certain coverage that may set safeties and corners and everything because at the end of the day, we are trying to create and do our art and display it in different ways but they have to be able to find our pattern of how we want to create and be able to stop us. So I look at a lot of different tendencies as far as first step, second step, eyes, safety rotations, linebacker rotations, movement White T.Y. Hilton Jersey , those are a lot of different things I look at. I definitely give a lot of credit to Nick Arbuckle— who was my QB my freshman year— for teaching me how to watch film and things to look for and how to be successful and not just beating people with athleticism. Knowing what to do when the ball is snapped and before it is snapped. ZH: What was your favorite route or play at Georgia State that you just loved running?PH: I loved the shake route. It was a seven-three post corner and I loved running it. It was almost like automatically getting open, double move— you know they are going to bite on the post— and I'll come right out of it running the corner, sitting wide open. ZH: I certainly saw you beat a couple guys with that route on your film. What area would you say that you need to improve most in the NFL?PH: Continually working on learning how to play out of rhythm. I think in my career I went from a point of getting the ball probably 3-5 times on the first drive to my last season not getting the ball until maybe the 4th quarter being my first catch. So early on last season, I had to learn how to help my team and play in a better way to help the team in general to get to where we need to go and be successful and be a part of the game. That came about through special teams and the blocking game and other facets of my game. Just being able to play not necessarily in rhythm but not necessarily out of it as well and finding a way to put my stamp on the game to help my team win.ZH: I completely agree and that brings up a question I actually didn't plan on asking. Your blocking really improved the last season with Georgia State. What was the key to that jump in play in that area?PH: Honestly, looking at film from the previous year and seeing how ineffective I was and how one dimensional my game was, you know I was getting the ball a lot but at the same time I wasn't doing anything to help my team when the ball wasn't coming my way and I'm a person that doesn't like to have any flaws in my game or have any things that people can point out and talk about. In the offseason I was just working differently with different drills but honestly it's just a want to. I truly wanted to become a better blocker and help my teammates gain better yards and everything like that. So it just stemmed from actually wanting to and it trickled through the receiver group and we made that a key point to go out like hell and help the people in the backfield.ZH: Love receivers with that mindset. Who in the NFL do you model your game after?PH: I watch a lot of different people, I take things from DeAndre Hopkins' aggressiveness, to Antonio Brown's fundamentals, to Julio's (Jones) athleticism, to Odell's (Beckham) snap down but for the most part, a lot of my game I contribute to Andrew Hawkins. He's not playing anymore but when I was young, growing up watching him on the show, Michael Irvin was giving people a chance to have a shot to be on the Cowboys team, him and Jesse Holley going to the last final. Seeing someone at that stature playing receiver just ignited a spark in me that wanted to be able to do that one day because I felt like he was a groundbreaking player to be able to play receiver and be as quick as he was and being able to get as far as he did in that show. I definitely contribute a lot of my game to him and I try to emulate him a lot.ZH: Final question for you. What would it be like to (potentially) play alongside guys like Andrew Luck and T.Y Hilton next season with the Colts?PH: That would be phenomenal. Andrew Luck being someone I have had the opportunity to speak to— we have the same agent— so being able to speak with him and him continually giving me advice and just helping me when I move through this process when I talk to him— like telling me to continue to work and that he'll keep up with me— is just amazing and I can't wait to be able to work in the NFL and possibly be able to work with him being a great QB in the NFL. T.Y Hilton is an amazing player who I would love to compliment. Him being the leading receiver in the Sun Belt— I was chasing that until I left— but these are phenomenal players who put their stamp on the game and it would be a phenomenal opportunity to be able to play in Indianapolis.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Using for loop in angular with $scopes Is it possible to made a for loop using scopes in angular? For example. I have:
$scope.start = 1;
$scope.end = 10;

and want to make a for (example i know it doesn't work)
for($scope.start; $scope.start < $scope.end; $scope.start++) {
   print(<input type="radio" name="count" value="$scope.start">);
}

A:

angular.module('app', []).controller('MyController', ['$scope', function($scope) {
    $scope.start = '8:00';
    $scope.stop = '20:00';
    $scope.interval = '30';

    $scope.getTimeArray = function(start, stop, interval){
      var result = [];
      if(interval == '0')
        return result;

      function toMinutes(time){
        var pair = time.split(':');
        return pair[0] * 60 + 1 * pair[1];
      }
      function toString(minutes){
        var hours = Math.floor(minutes / 60);
        var min = (minutes - hours * 60);
        min = min > 9 ? min : '0' + min;
        return hours + ':' + min;
      }

      for(var i = toMinutes(start); i <= toMinutes(stop); i += 1 * interval)
        result.push(toString(i))

      return result;
    }
}])

    start: <input type="text" ng-model='start'>

    stop: <input type="text" ng-model='stop'>

    interval: <input type="text" ng-model='interval'>

    {{item}}
    <input type="radio" name="count" value="{{item}}" ng-repeat-end>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Efficient glazing seals windows from weather elements by sealing the area between a wooden frame and a glass window.
However, glazing can wear out over time. In case your home is old, it may be necessary to hire a glazier in Sydney to reglaze the windows. Here's how to go about it.
In older homes, you won't lack one or more windows that require reglazing. There are two main situations that may force you to reglaze. These situations are deterioration and broken glass.
Glazing refers to putty used in sealing the area between the glass pane and the window frame. However, hardened putty may crack or fall off over time.
This will leave the affected window prone to the damaging effects of rainwater such as rotting on wood. Although reglazing windows isn't very challenging, you'll need to know how to go about it and some free time.
The first step will involve examining the exterior area of the windows to assess their condition. In case there are some minor hairline cracks on the putty, then it can serve its purpose for more time.
However, examine it regularly to check whether it's getting worse. In case some glazing is missing or the blade of a knife fits in any putty crack, then you should reglaze the window.
You'll start with removing the operable section of your window. This is the part that slides upwards or downwards. It's known as the sash. You can remove it by first removing the thin, tall wood pieces known as stops.
They're usually found on the inner part of a window. Stops are installed on either side of the window opening. In some windows, the stops come with screws that hold them in place.
In case they are painted, you can take a sharp razor knife and scrape the paint around them to make it easier to detach them.
Since you'll be dealing with an older window, you need to ensure that you take the necessary precautionary measures regarding lead paint due to the health concerns involved.
Upon removing the sash, you can go ahead and remove the damaged or old glazing. First, chip off any loose glazing using a sturdy scraper or razor knife. The remaining glazing may be stuck well on the glass and wood.
You'll need to take it off carefully to avoid breaking the glass pane or causing any damage to the wooden frame. You should rather get an appropriate heat gun to soften the glazing and make it fall off easily.
Avoid heating it excessively since heat may damage the painted area around the frame. If you make a mistake of damaging the paint, you'll have to scrape and repaint the window.
No matter the removal method you're using, you'll have to be very careful with glazier points. They're small metallic clips that typically hold the glass pane in place.
You'll find them buried within the putty around the central point of each side. In case you need to replace broken glass, you'll need to remove the glazier points using pliers upon uncovering them.
Upon removing the glazing, examine the wooden frame to assess whether it requires some repair. Any work involving patching needs to be done using appropriate wood epoxy. You can shape and sand it to match with the existing wood.
Once you have patched the frame, you might think about priming the uncovered, bare wood. There's an unending debate about whether it's alright to prime or not. Old-timers argue that you shouldn't prime the wood.
They argue that such a pristine state of uncovered wood is an indicator that the oil in glazing putty offered an effective protective shield. Thus, it's not necessary to prime the wood.
In case you'll need to replace broken glass, start with taking measurements of the existing window frame. Subtract an eighth inch from each measurement.
This is to allow for a perfect fit, which is not either too tight or too loose. Leaving an eighth inch spacing on each measurement will allow for the glazier points to stick in place firmly.
You can have a new glass pane cut by a local glass hardware store. To fix it in place, start with laying a thin lining on glazing putty on the frame.
Then place the glass pane onto the putty and frame. Once done, secure the pane in place using new glazier points. Use a sturdy putty knife to press the points in place.
You can now apply new putty. In case you're only working with one or just two small glass panes, you'll only need a ½ pint can of putty. You can find it from your local hardware store. It's very affordable, so have no worries.
You can also get larger cans of putty in case you'll be glazing more windows. Before you start glazing, ensure the putty is at the current room temperature. If not, you can heat the can a little bit by dipping it inside a bowl with hot water.
Then make a small ball of putty (golf size) in your palms. Do it for a few minutes until the ball has consistency. Once the putty ball is pliable, make a roll out of it just like you do when making breadstick. Then apply the roll along one edge. Repeat until you cover all the edges of the pane.
You'll need to continue with the reglazing process after applying putty. In this step, you'll need to press the putty into the frame and glass, and then smoothen it.
Use a strong putty knife to press and push the glazing against the pane and wood. Do this around the entire window while removing any excess glazing.
The goal is ensuring that the interior edge of putty is in line and firm against the wooden mullion at the opposite side.
Next, run your putty knife along the putty. Run the knife at a slanting ago to smoothen the putty and cut away any excess putty. You can get a clean final look by running the knife in just one pass for every side.
Then remove excess putty by scooping it carefully with the putty knife while pushing it away from the edges. This way, you'll get a great finish since there's no repetitive smoothening that may ruin the finish.
You'll have to wait for several days, maybe a week, for the glazing to cure completely. You can also fix the window back to its opening, in case you had removed it while starting this process.
Just leave any oily fingerprints it may get for the time being. You'll clean the window once putty has cured and hardened. When painting the glazing putty, only use an oil-based coating of primer. Ensure the primer is of high-quality.
You can lap the paint on the glass pane at least 1/16 inch. In case you fail to do this, the glazing may fail sooner than it should.


The Fedex.com site was down for several hours on Nov. 24, The root cause of site outage is identified only as a "technical issue."
It's a busy time for shippers, making it quite possibly the worst time of the year to have an outage, but that's what happened to FedEx for several hours on Nov. 24.
The Fedex.com site was unavailable for several hours to some users in the United States, but it's unclear what exactly happened.
FedEx did not respond to a request for detailed comment on specifics related to the site outage. A FedEx social media customer service spokesperson did respond to eWEEK, noting only that she did not have any information regarding the Fedex.com site being down.
The official @FedEx Twitter account posted a message at 4:56 p.m. ET on Nov. 24, first acknowledging that there was something wrong with its site.
"We are aware of issues some customers are having with Fedex.com," the company tweeted. "We are working to resolve them. Thank you for your patience."
Thirty-six minutes later, the @FedEx account reported that the issue was resolved, though no details were provided. "We've resolved the technical issue on Fedex.com," FedEx tweeted. "We regret any inconvenience."
Though the Twitter status stream implies a short period between the time the issue was first noticed and the resolution, the outage (or "technical issues" as FedEx refers to them) actually occurred over the course of multiple hours.
Popular site availability tracker Isitdownrightnow.com is full of comments from those who were trying to determine if Fedex.com was available on Nov. 24. Some comments indicated that the site was unavailable for most of the day, while others reported outages of approximately three hours.
Even after the @FedEx Twitter account reported the technical issue as being resolved, multiple Twitter users reported that they were still experiencing issues registering new deliveries and tracking packages.
There are any number of reasons why Fedex.com had site availability issues yesterday. As is the case with many modern Websites, Fedex.com is a highly scalable and distributed Website, which should be designed to handle large traffic volumes.
A cursory examination of the back-end infrastructure that powers Fedex.com reveals that the servers run on Linux and the site makes use of the Akamai Content Delivery Network (CDN). Akamai's network is intended to help provide a high degree of availability no matter where a user might be located. Akamai also provides distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack protection for its customers.
Some FedEx users on Twitter complained that the Nov. 24 outage was not an isolated event. One customer commented that it was the third time in less than two weeks that Fedex.com was down.
This is the busiest time of year for FedEx, with the shipping company forecasting that it will transport 317 million shipments between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, for a 12.4 percent year-over-year increase in volume.
eWEEK will continue to monitor the FedEx site availability situation and will update this story as more facts and details emerge.


If the Internet has as many astronomy resources as there are stars in the sky, then think of the Astronomy Web Guide as your map to the best and brightest. Whether you're looking for planetary data, celestial gifts or fellow star seekers, we'll help you navigate the heavenly sphere of astronomy-related sites and tools on the Web.
Astronomy is one of the oldest, most popular branches of science. Unlike practitioners of medicine and alchemy, ancient astronomers needed little more than parchment and their eyes to examine the heavens and keep track of what they saw. For modern practitioners, gaining astronomical knowledge is essential to appreciating the universe and contributing to the study of cosmology. Use the sites below to learn about the history of astronomy.
The Internet is a great place to start astronomy research but for advanced research, visit your local library, museum or astronomy research facility.
Beware of sites posted by novices with outdated or incorrect information. As a general rule, the quality of a site (for example, organization and design) mirrors the quality of its information.
Educational television networks like PBS and the Discovery Channel have made many excellent documentaries and lectures available on DVD. Most can be purchased through the network's site or on Amazon.com. Some may also be available at your local library.
American Institute of Physics has a history of cosmology that offers coverage of ideas and tools for studying the universe. Links at the bottom of each topic page make it easy to navigate chronologically, and there are enough pictures to keep younger readers engaged.
Kent State University's Physics Department presents information on famous astronomers and astrophysicists. It contains biographical links to other Web sites, though some of them are broken.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is responsible for most of America's missions into space. This page archives info about all of the laboratory's past, present and future missions.


Here you will find the standard features and pricing of our instruments as well as available customisation options. The Standard can be just a starting point so please don't feel limited to any of the specifications, we are here to build the instrument you want. Also unlike a majority of luthiers, I'm happy to offer the option of building a 100% custom guitar to your exact designs (rather than just offering a model range) making the guitar of your dreams come true!
Below is a small list of popular extra options with rough guide prices. Add the chosen option price/prices to the £1295 standard price.
If you fancy something not on the above list please don't hesitate to get in contact for a quote, we are open to almost anything!
All instruments require a deposit of 50% at the time of commissioning. Most of this is used straight away to buy hardware, wood and electronics. Because of this the initial payment is non refundable.
On completion, the remaining 50% can either be paid on collection, or paid before the instrument is sent out for shipping by a cheque or bank transfer. We can also accept payments by Paypal, however Paypal payments will carry an additional charge of 5% due to the fee that Paypal charge. This second payment is also non refundable as this payment is for our time which we cannot be refunded for either! If however in the unlikely event that something is not to your liking, we will do our very best to rectify the problem.


text:
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Two journalists assassinated in separate incidents in Punjab, Pakistan
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in strongly deploring the murders of two journalists in two separate incidents in Hafizabad, Punjab province, in recent days. With the tally of journalists killed in Pakistan now reaching 13 this year, the IFJ has demanded that the Pakistan government must take serious action on protecting the country's media workers and heed global calls to tackle the country's shocking impunity problem before more lives are lost.
Pakistan grimly leads the world in the killing of journalists in 2014, according to IFJ figures. The IFJ Killed list now places Pakistan as the most deadly country for journalists – ahead of Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.
According to reports, Nadeem Hyder (pictured left), a correspondent for daily Dunya, was shot dead by two unknown assailants in Kaliki Mandi area of Hafizabad on Friday, October 3. The killers fled the scene. Local police are said to have registered the case and begun an investigation.
Two days later, on Sunday, October 5, unknown gunmen shot dead Yaqoob Shehzad (pictured right) while he visited the office of a friend in the city's busiest neighbourhood, Sagar Road. Shehzad, a correspondent of TV channel Express News, was shot in the head three times and was pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital. According to eyewitnesses, the gunmen arrived at the office and opened indiscriminate fire, which injured an office assistant. The assailants fled from the scene immediately.
Shehzad, a father of four, had been working with Express News since the channel was launched in 2008. He was also the chairperson of the Hafizabad Press Club.
The Punjab Police registered the cases and vowed to arrest the assailants as soon as possible. Chief Minister of Punjab Shahabaz Sharif has reportedly also taken notice of the murders and instructed police to ensure early arrest of the murderers.
The PFUJ said: "This seemed to be a new wave of target killing of journalists in Pakistan. The PFUJ is concerned over the current wave of killings and demands the government to provide protection to the working journalists."
"We have been demanding the government to provide security to the media men but no attention is being paid and the issue is getting more and more serious."
Threats and attacks against journalists continue to increase in Pakistan as the country's key opposition parties intensify demonstrations against the government. During recent protests many journalists; media staff and media houses came under attack from both the state and opposition.
"The situation facing media workers is horrific with threats and assassinations on a number of fronts," said IFJ acting director, Jane Worthington. "The time for the Pakistan government under Nawaz Sharif to take its obligations to protect journalists is seriously overdue."
"Impunity for the killers of and perpetrators of violence against journalists only serves to fuel a cycle of killing. It also serves to intimidate broader society and undermine public confidence in the rule of law."
In what has been a shocking week for journalists, the Chief Editor and Publisher of a national daily Frontier Post Rehmat Shah Afridi was also arrested in Lahore on Sunday, October 7. According to reports Civil Lines Police stormed Afridi's office, took him away and put him in lock up. Afridi was taken into custody due to a case registered under section 506 of Pakistan's Penal Code, on a complaint lodged by his estranged son Muhammad Jalil.
The IFJ said: "We join the PFUJ to condemn the appalling murder of our colleagues Nadeem Hyder and Yaqoob Shehzad and we send our deepest condolences to their families and colleagues. We appeal for the government to leave no stone unturned in this case and to ensure that those responsible answer for this horrific crime."
The IFJ also calls on authorities to release Rehmat Shah Afridi from police custody and resolve the allegations against him.
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +61 2 9333 0950
The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries
Find the IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific
Find the IFJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/IFJAsiaPacific
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The International Federation of Journalists is the global voice of journalists.
Founded in 1926, it is the world's largest organisation of journalists, representing 600,000 media professionals in 187 unions and associations in more than 140 countries.
Subscribe to IFJ News
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ECCO Leather once again hosted their annual creative workshop series, aptly titled "Hotshop," with the eighth installment running from June 3 to June 5. The unique concept invites participants from some of the industry's most influential brands to meet and check out the latest developments in leather-making, allowing for a very hands on and creative few days. Hotshop 8 proved to be the biggest and best in the event's history, with 60 participants coming together from all walks of the fashion and design industries. From brands with a strong heritage in leather, to fashion brands including Denham The Jeanmaker and Alexander Wang, as well as tech-performancewear designers from Arc'teryx Veilance, the melting pot of creatives made for some strong inspiration and innovation.
Guests arrived on day one and were asked to come up with a free-thinking concept and identify what it was they wanted to achieve. While the main objective was to experiment and create new leathers, the open nature of the Hotshop made it an all-round creative summit, in which some of the world's leading designers were given the freedom to experiment and innovate ahead of the curve. The truly unique portion of the workshop, however, began on day two and continued on to day three.
Once the groups came up with a concept and identified the look and feel of their product on the first day, the creatives were then shown and participated in the entire leather-making process from start to finish. Beginning at a wet skin and moving through the historic tannery, going from pre-tanned hides to embellished ready-to-use leathers, participants were given the prestigious opportunity to experience the leather-making process in its entirety.
The depth of the entire process – from concept through production, to experimentation and finally a "finished" mock-up product is a truly unique experience that few outside the inner-circle within the leather industry are privy to, making Hotshop a truly exciting and fun event. From it a huge amount of innovation is borne, with every single participant and ECCO Leather coming away from the workshop with fresh ideas and inspiration to take away with them.
Naturally we participated ourselves, and captured the experience in full in a video recap for your viewing pleasure.
Enjoy the video above and head over to ECCO's website to find out more about this one-of-a-kind event.


Founder of RecipeLand.com, love to share those recipes.
Have been sharing recipes and photos here for nearly 15 years!
Love exploring new flavors from all over the world so much I started this web site in 1985 (then known as Recipes Online). Check out our Facebook page and our Google+ page. For work? This site is our work. I also work with other web sites either for corporate dev and am available to work together with recipe and food sites, foodie bloggers as a strategic partner. What inspired me to cook was travel through Europe through the late 1990's and other travel around the globe.
Love exploring new flavors from all over the world so much I started this web site in 1985 (then known as Recipes Online).
Check out our Facebook page and our Google+ page.
This site is our work. I also work with other web sites either for corporate dev and am available to work together with recipe and food sites, foodie bloggers as a strategic partner.
What inspired me to cook was travel through France, Italy and Germany through the late 1990's and other travel around the globe ranging from South America, to China and the middle east.
Cuisines that I am fond of include French, Italian, Asian, East Indian, Mexican and Greek. On the other hand home-style dishes cooked with care and fresh ingredients are always a winner!
And equally happy with delicious recipes of all kinds such as Beef Bourgignon for Two. Besides it's fun to say the word Bourgignon when in reality it is simple classic peasant food that just loaded with flavor like many down-home classics.
Sometimes I can get be found whipping up a quick and easy Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
"Progress in civilization has been accompanied by progress in cookery."


text:
WCB v Roman Catholic Trusts Corp for the Diocese of Sale
On 30 September the Court delivered the first ruling on amendments made to the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic).
The 2019 amendments to the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic) allow a court to set aside a previous settlement or judgment in certain historical sexual abuse claims if it is 'just and reasonable' to do so. Justice Keogh set aside a deed of settlement entered into by the Plaintiff in 1996 in a claim for damages against the former Bishop of Sale arising out of alleged sexual abuse by a priest of the diocese in the late 1970s. Justice Keogh found that the settlement sum of $32,500 represented a significant discount on what the Plaintiff might otherwise have expected to recover had he been able to sue a proper representative defendant and not been faced with defences that the limitation period for his claim had expired and concerning the Bishop's liability for the conduct of the priest.
Amendments to the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic) in 2015 removed limitation periods in respect of historical child abuse claims. The Legal Identity of Defendants (Organisational Child Abuse) Act 2018 (Vic) makes it easier to sue a representative defendant in such claims. The law concerning vicarious liability has also been developed by the High Court since the Plaintiff settled his claim. These and other factors were found to be relevant to the question of whether it was just and reasonable to set aside the settlement.
NOTE: This summary is necessarily incomplete. It is not intended as a substitute for the Court's reasons or to be used in any later consideration of the Court's reasons. The only authoritative pronouncement of the Court's reasons and conclusions is that contained in the published reasons for judgment.
Read the full judgment on Austlii.
READ MORE NEWS FROM THE SUPREME COURT


Our updates thus far have been centered around preparing for launching the test networks for storage and streaming, and polishing our technical papers. The team has been very much focused on the core development of components and modules to support our platform engine.
We have also been working continuously with NEM Core Developers to identify areas for collaboration and integration between our code repositories.
After months of intense focus on developing the core components for the storage layer, we are now prepared to launch the storage test network. The storage layer has different actors and is an entirely different node ecosystem from the blockchain network. This is a ground up solution component that uses a forked version of libp2p and IPFS to enhance communication, improve the distributed hash tables by replacing it with a mesh network instead, and to add in the cryptographic libraries specifically for ProximaX Sirius Storage platform.
The storage layer will introduce a new set of APIs to allow external clients to access the core functions. A separate announcement and documentation will be provided for this.
Similar to the storage test network, the team has worked tirelessly until the end of 2018 to prepare for the upcoming streaming testnet launch. The streaming test network is slated to launch within Q1 2019, but we would be able to spin up an early version of the streaming layer component this month alongside the storage layer.
The first version of the test network will feature anonymous/secure text and data streaming only. This will be the foundation for the rest of the features as it acts as a distributed presence service for all applications/clients that will utilise the streaming layer.
Much like the blockchain test network, we are launching a test network for each layer as a way to stage our changes and prepare for the community engagement process. This will all be announced separately.
Reputation is considered by the node selection mechanism. An agent with a lower reputation index will have a lower chance of getting selected. Reputation with vesting gives us a mechanism to penalise and incentivise the users based on their performance. This assigns users an identity which could affect their chances of being included or excluded from group consensus. This in turn encourages the best possible performance from each user.
Since we are introducing a few new contracts, we have extended ProximaX Sirius (NEM Catapult) and created an abstract contract object that will form the basis of our new contracts. We are looking to use this similar abstraction for our eventual implementation of super contracts.
With the new reputation system in place, we need to build a specific transaction/contract type for the storage layer. To do this, we developed a new contract called ModifyContractTransaction that contains the details of the following: duration, multisig account, file hash, customer, executors (e.g. storage nodes), and verifiers.
We've started a bunch of applications a few months ago and most of them are already complete. We are bundling these applications as part of our offering.
ProximaX Suite (formerly ProxiSuite) is an office suite application backed by ProximaX Sirius' blockchain and storage. It is part of the optional software pack.
ProximaX File It!, ProximaX Notes, and ProximaX Vault (formerly ProxiBox, ProxiNotes, and ProxiKeepass respectively), are ready and we are now selling these tools as part of the collection of utilities that we bundle along with the catapult infrastructure. ProximaX File It! is a decentralized file management system that can be used to securely share files. ProximaX Notes is a note taking desktop application primarily used to securely store encrypted text-based format files, and ProximaX Vault is a password manager that uses keepass database stored securely via encryption on ProximaX Sirius' blockchain and storage.
Explorer and Wallet are also part of an optional bundle so that customers can use or play around with ProximaX Sirius' blockchain as soon as we provision them.


text:
Rules of Ultimate governed by the World Flying Disc Federation
Introduction to the Rules of Ultimate
WFDF Rules of Ultimate 2021-2024 - Official Version effective 2021-01-01
Ultimate is a seven-a-side team sport played with a flying disc. It is played on a rectangular field, about half the width of a football field, with an end zone at each end. The objective of each team is to score a goal by having a player catch a pass in the end zone that they are attacking. A thrower may not run with the disc, but may pass the disc in any direction to any team-mate. Any time a pass is incomplete, a turnover occurs, and the other team shall take possession and attempt to score in the opposite end zone. Games are typically played to 15 goals or around 100 minutes. Ultimate is self-officiated and non-contact. The Spirit of the Game guides how players officiate the game and conduct themselves on the field.
Many of these rules are general in nature and cover most situations, however some rules cover specific situations and override the general case.
Variations to the basic structure and rules may be used to accommodate special competitions, number of players, age of players or available space. Refer to the relevant Appendix for additional rules that apply at specific types of World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) Events.
Download a PDF version of the Rules of Ultimate 2021-2024.
Download a PDF version of the Appendix 2021-2024, used at WFDF Ultimate Events.
Additional rules resources are available on the "Resources" page.
Summary of Changes for 2021-2024
table of contents 2021-2024
1. Spirit of the Game
2. Playing Field
4. Point, Goal and Game
5. Teams
6. Starting a Game
7. The Pull
8. State of Play
9. Stall Count
10. The Check
11. Out-of-Bounds
12. Receivers and Positioning
13. Turnovers
14. Scoring
15. Calling Fouls, Infractions and Violations
16. Continuation after a Call
17. Fouls
18. Infractions and Violations
19. Safety Stoppages
20. Time-Outs
WFDF Rules of Ultimate: Definitions
Key Explanations
Key New Rule
Difference to USAU
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Ohaus Pioneer PA224 offers 220 grams weighing capacity and increments in 0.1 milligram divisions. The new Pioneer PA224 replaces the discontinued Ohaus PA214. This analytical balance features a 3.5 inch diameter pan with an RS232 interface. The RS232 allows connection to an Ohaus printer or a computer. Sends Balance ID plus spaces for recording User ID, Project ID, time and date.
The PA224 Pioneer lab balance is designed for basic routine weighing in a variety of laboratory, industrial and education applications with the right combination of performance and features that delivers uncomplicated performance for all your basic weighing needs.
Ohaus Pioneer PA224 features weighing, parts counting, percent weighing, animal weighing a density determination weighing functions. An optional density kit is available or use the built-in weigh below hook allowing you to suspend an item below the balance to calculate density/specific gravity.
Be sure to see the Scientech ZSA Series featuring 80 to 210 gram with 0.1mg resolutions. When US government customers call us saying they must comply with the Buy American Act clause the only similar balance we offer to the PA224 that is made in America would be the Scientech ZSA210. FAR Part 25.003 requirements state that domestic end products are preferred over foreign end products, and the Ohaus Pioneer is not made in the USA, but instead China.
See our most technologically advance weighing instrument we offer - the Sartorius Secura. Secura offers a simple touch screen technology with easy to read and understand I-cons. The Sartorius Secura224-1S allows you to enable SQmin and additional safety weighing features like the ability to program the minimum weight value so when you attempt to weigh samples below a set threshold the weight reading is displayed on screen in red. Built-in level verification, Password Protection, and memory tracking is also available.
Before purchasing any analytical balance, be sure you review the AND HR-250A designed with a removable, shatterproof breeze break with antistatic coating perfect for challenging weighing applications where contamination is a potential concern. Plus the small 8 x 12 inch footprint design saves you space. Finally, the AND HR-250A offers a 5 year warranty while the Ohaus PA224 is only 2 years.
Is the PA224 too expensive for your budget? Be sure to see the Sartorius ENTRIS224-1S since we have special promotional pricing on the Entris224-1S allowing you to buy it for less than the PA224.
The new Ohaus Pioneer Pro Series features a red overlay keypad display and bright backlit LCD display provides ample lighting, making the display very easy-to-view in laboratories with dim lighting. The predecessor model, Ohaus PA214, had a blue overlay and no backlight display. The spirit bubble is located to the right of the weighing display so you can verify at a quick glance that your balance is level for optimum accuracy. The Ohaus Pioneer Pro Series now features the "Density Determination" weigh function. These great new upgrades we believe will increase the demand even more for this basic entry level analytical balance.
Before you make your final decision be sure to see the Sartorius Entris224-1S. The Entris is made in Germany and production will soon be moved to Sartorius' manufacturing facility in Colorado. Watch the video above on the Sartorius Entris Analytical Balance and how easy calibration is when you purchase the optional calibration mass. The Sartorius Entris 4 decimal place balances offer a large draftshield with 3 sliding doors. See the quick settling time as we place calibration weights on the weighing platform.


During the winter in Pequot Lakes and Brainerd, MN, CJ's Landscaping Company offer professional snow removal services. We can quickly get to you and clear out roads, sidewalks, and private drives to ensure you're not blocked in during winter. Give us a call today for regular snow plowing services, we'll do our best to offer a price estimate right over the phone!


Fifer Custom Homes provides superior custom residential renovations and remodeling services for clients throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We do kitchen remodels, bathroom remodels and other renovations your home may need to transform your existing space. We are committed to working within your budget and on your schedule. Hear what our customers are saying and take a look at some of our remodeling solutions.


A consultation is required prior to booking a microblading session. When Booking your first session a $50 nonrefundable deposit is required.
Two sessions are the minimum amount necessary for a complete microbladed set, however certain skin types/conditions and environmental factors will require additional sessions.


Avis came to us as a stray but she hasn't let that stop her from being a true sweetheart.
Banjo came in with Bingo from a home with too many dogs. They are a bonded pair which must be adopted together.
Bella just wants to be somebody's baby.
Bingo came in with Banjo from a home with too many dogs. They are a bonded pair which must be adopted together.


If you are fortunate enough to live next to one of the East End's stunning ponds, bays, or harbors, you can help improve our water quality by creating a vegetated buffer between your lawn and the water's edge. This holds true for both freshwater ponds and coastal areas.
Although antiquated septic systems are the largest source of nitrogen entering the groundwater, and ultimately our water bodies, excessive use of fertilizer (N-P-K) on lawns and gardens contributes as well, especially phosphorus.
The annual outbreaks of harmful algal blooms, fish kills, and low oxygen levels are all symptoms of excessive nutrient loading. Buffers can help!
What exactly is a buffer? A buffer is a zone, preferably 50 feet wide or more between a lawn and the water body where no fertilizer is applied and the vegetation is allowed to grow. Once the buffer is established, no irrigation or any pesticides should be used. There is extensive scientific literature on how buffers work and their effectiveness in preventing nutrients, sediment, pesticides, herbicides, and pathogens from entering a water body. Because of this, many municipalities require them.
1. Slope. The steeper the slope, the more runoff and the less opportunity for absorption back into the soil.
2. Soil Type. Water percolates faster through sandy soils than silty or clay soils. The more organic matter in the soil, the greater its capacity to absorb water and nutrients.
3. Surrounding Land Use. Paved (nonpermeable) and cleared lands increase the amount of runoff. In addition, the vegetational composition of the buffer — grasses, herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees and combinations thereof — impacts the buffer's functions such as filtering sediment-borne nutrients.
The use of native plants in buffers is recommended because they are best adapted to local conditions and can thrive without fertilizer. Handsome native grasses, herbs, shrubs, and trees are all commercially available to use in planting a buffer, and the good news is the inventory of commercially available native plants keeps increasing. An added benefit of native plants is the habitat value they can provide to wildlife and pollinators. What is more thrilling than seeing a monarch butterfly feeding on one of our native milkweeds? The species of plants you use in your buffer will depend on the site's conditions.
To protect our precious freshwater and coastal water bodies, New York State law prohibits the application of lawn fertilizer within 20 feet of a water body at all times, and between Dec. 1 and April 1 no lawn fertilizer may be applied anywhere in the landscape.
When designing a buffer, let the contours of the land dictate its shape. All steep slopes should be planted as buffers, never lawn. Buffers add a softer interface with the water — after all — it is highly unnatural to have sharp lines in nature. Even the most formal, manicured garden can benefit from a softer, waving buffer at the pond interface.
People are often concerned that a buffer will block their view or access to the water. While a diverse buffer of grasses, shrubs, and trees will offer important functions, just a wide buffer of switch grass (Panicum virgatum), little bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium), or love grass (Eragrostis spectabilis) will make a difference. Native grasses, with their dense root masses, have been shown to be very effective at trapping sediment and filtering sediment-borne nutrients, microbes, and pesticides. A wide mowed path through the buffer can take you to the water's edge and minimize your exposure to ticks.
And for native plant information and seeds, contact the Long Island Native Plant Initiative at info@LINPI.org.


Harry Potter Character , a SelectSmart.com Harry Potter selector. Ask about my top result.
0 from 0 votes. 46 visitors' top results Created August 2005.
This is a Harry Potter Character Selector and all right for all ages! Come here ,I hope you like it!
Read comments; post your own comment about this selector. This SelectSmart.com Harry Potter selector, a free online personality quiz, is a creation of Cmdsoccer and for amusement purposes only. The implicit and explicit opinions expressed here are the author's. SelectSmart.com does not necessarily agree.
4. Do you like mudbloods?
6. Do you like jokes?
7. Are you the youngest in your family?
9. Do you have a lot of siblings?
11. Do you study a lot?
12. Do you like Harry Potter the person(not the book)?


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How Can Companies Compete with Amazon? Netflix Has the Answer
Strategy is still about choosing what not to do.
Walter Frick
Amazon's grand ambition was on display last week with the news that it would acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion dollars. It raised the question first faced by booksellers, then the rest of retail, and now seemingly everyone: How can you compete with the retail giant? And is the only strategy in our winner-take-all era to get as big as possible, to aspire to eventually serve everyone, and to meet their every need?
Netflix's Reed Hastings doesn't think so. Hastings explicitly rejected the Bezos approach of strategy-as-world-domination. Michael Porter would approve."The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do," he writes in his 1996 classic 'What Is Strategy?' That choice is more important than ever.
Amazon's grand ambition was on display last week with the news that it will acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion dollars. The move raised the question faced first by booksellers, then the rest of retail, and now seemingly everyone: How can you compete with the retail giant?
Amazon doesn't just want to be the place where you do your online shopping. It wants to be where you watch TV, how you interact with your home, the infrastructure behind your favorite websites — even the place that you do whatever offline shopping is left after its e-commerce behemoth is done gobbling up brick-and-mortar retail.
In this way, Amazon is a company well suited for its era, as Neil Irwin pointed out last week in the New York Times. Today's economy, he notes, is "replete with winner-take-all effects and huge advantages that accrue to the biggest and best-run organizations, to the detriment of upstarts and second-fiddle players." We've said as much before here at HBR.
But is the only strategy in our winner-take-all era to get as big as possible, to aspire to eventually serve everyone, and to meet their every need?
Netflix's Reed Hastings doesn't think so. Of course, Netflix is no mom-and-pop operation. It's worth $65 billion and has 100 million subscribers. But in a recent interview with Recode, Hastings explicitly rejected the Bezos approach of strategy-as-world-domination. When asked why Netflix has no plans to add live sports, he explained:
We're not trying to meet all needs. So, Amazon's business strategy is super broad. Meet all needs. I mean, the stuff that will be in Prime in five or ten years will be amazing, right? And so we can't try to be that — we'll never be as good as them at what they're trying to be. What we can be is the emotional connection brand, like HBO or Netflix. So, think of it as they're trying to be Walmart, we're trying to be Starbucks. So, super focused on one thing that people are very passionate about.
Michael Porter would approve. "The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do," he writes in his 1996 classic "What Is Strategy?" In Porter's view, sustainable competitive advantage depends on trade-offs, including the fact that it's difficult for one company to serve all customers across a wide range of needs. "A company known for delivering one kind of value may lack credibility and confuse customers — or even undermine its reputation — if it delivers another kind of value or attempts to deliver two inconsistent things at the same time," Porter writes.
Hastings is betting that Porter's rules haven't been repealed. Do strategic trade-offs really limit Amazon's ability to compete with Netflix? It's hard to say. Maybe digital technology and the changing economics of scale really have changed the nature of competition, as Irwin suggests. But for most companies, trying to compete on scale with tech's Frightful Five is a losing gambit. And if you were to bet on which firms would manage to thrive alongside the giants, you could do worse than picking ones like Netflix, where the CEO is thinking hard about trade-offs and differentiation.
In an era where a small number of huge companies have unprecedented reach and control, Porter's central question seems more important than ever: What won't you be?
Read more on Strategy
Walter Frick is membership editor at Quartz. Before that he was an editor at Harvard Business Review for six years, most recently as deputy editor of HBR.org. He has been a Knight Visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard's Nieman Foundation for Journalism and an Assembly Fellow at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. He has also written for The Atlantic, MIT Technology Review, The Boston Globe, and the BBC, among other publications.


Thank you everyone who came out to the opening on Thursday evening. It was such a great night for me and so wonderful to see so many faces. Thank you so much Broken Rodeo for your awesome performance and beautiful music! Here is a couple images below from the night.


I was inspired to make this soup because it actually got cold down here in Florida. Well, if you think 30 – 40 degrees is chilly. That is a bit chilly for down here. I made this in the slow cooker. The house smelled so good. Serve this with a side salad and a biscuit and you are set.


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Penguins clinch playoff spot, eliminate Phantoms
By Gary R. Blockus
Lehigh Valley Phantoms Andrew Gordon (10) battles for control against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Jayson Megna (20) during an ice hockey game held at PPL Center in Allentown on Wednesday, April 8, 2015. (APRIL BARTHOLOMEW / THE MORNING CALL)
Matt Murray has become to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms what Freddie Kreuger is to Elm Street.
Murray, the rookie goalie for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, unleashed what can only be called "Nightmare on Hamilton Street" on Wednesday night when he earned his third shutout in his last four games against the Phantoms.
The Baby Pens picked up a goal and assist from Kasperi Kapanen in his North American debut while Tom Kuhnhackl scored a pair of goals, the last one a short-handed empty-netter with 1:50 left, for a 3-0 win in front of 7,456 at the PPL Center.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, fourth place in the Eastern Conference, cemented a spot in the upcoming Calder Cup playoffs while eliminating the Phantoms from playoff contention.
Phantoms head coach Terry Murray called the Pens' goalie the premier goalie in the AHL, and alternate captain Andrew Gordon agreed.
"He's a good player and is doing his job," Gordon said of being shut out for the second straight game by Matt Murray.
"When he's on, you get a little frustrated," Gordon added. "How can we not beat this guy? … We threw a lot of pucks on him. We tried to create some rebounds. We need to get more traffic in front of him. A guy who's stopping that many pucks, he's going to stop everything he sees. We play them one more time. I hope he's back in. I don't want to finish on a streak like this."
The Phantoms have been on a slide recently, going 2-8 in their last 10 games as they dropped to 31-32-6-1 with six games left in their inaugural Lehigh Valley season.
Murray stopped 30 shots as the Pens improved to 41-23-3-4. The Penguins have won three 3-0 games over their last four with the Phantoms, with one game remaining on April 19, the final game of the regular season. They shut out Lehigh Valley 3-0 last Saturday.
"I liked tonight a lot better than what it was in Wilkes-Barre," Terry Murray said. "We competed. We had some better play in the offensive zone, more play, more quality chances. Overall, it was a better focused effort."
What hurt the Phantoms most, other than Murray's goaltending, were season-long woes like turnovers at the blue line and bad penalties.
Kapanen, a first-round pick (22nd overall) by Pittsburgh in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, made an immediate impact in his first game after coming to the United States when his KalPa team in the Finnish Elite League was eliminated from the playoffs.
Flyers fans will remember his father, Sami Kapanen.
Kapanen scored on his very first shot, picking up a Petr Straka giveaway at the blue line and going high to the glove side, beating Rob Zepp 4:43 into the game on the Penguins' second shot of the evening. Zepp had another outstanding night, stopping 29 of 31 shots he faced.
The Phantoms had three high-quality shots in short order just past the midway point of the first period, with Oliver Lauridsen, Scott Laughton and Gordon driving the puck on net, but Murray came up big on all three, including making a save out of nowhere at the left pipe on Gordon's shot.
The Phantoms killed off a two-man power play at the end of the first and 29 seconds into the second period, as well as the extended power play 1:49 into the second period to make it 17 straight penalty kills at home.
Zepp made a brilliant save on an Andrew Ebbett breakaway four minutes into the second period, coming out to challenge the shooter for the save on a blast at the five-hole. Ebbett got the puck by blocking a right-point shot attempt by Gordon.
The Pens' got an extended power play when Jay Rosehill was hit with a double minor for elbowing and unsportsmanlike conduct. Kuhnhackl scored at the tail end, with 9 seconds left on the power play, by redirecting Kapanen's shot from the right circle to the far upper corner on Zepp with 3:35 left in the second period for a 2-0 lead on the Pens' sixth shot of the advantage.
That goal ended the Phantoms' home penalty killing streak at 18.
Thanks to the two-man and the extended power plays, the Penguins outshot the Phantoms 20-6 in the second period.
The Phantoms finally got their first power play of the night with 8:52 left when Tom Kostopoulos ran Zepp in the crease 1:11 into the Penguins' fifth power play of the evening.
They picked up a second power play with 3:41 remaining when Danny Syvret tripped Blair Jones. Zepp left the net for an extra attacker during the advantage, which led to a short-handed Kuhnhackl goal with 1:50 left in the game for a 3-0 lead just 18 seconds after the Phantoms utilized their timeout.
PHANTOM FILES: Former Flyer Mark Recchi, the Pittsburgh Penguins player development coach, was behind the bench for WBS Wednesday night. … Flyers GM Ron Hextall was at the game in the press box. … Lehigh Valley wore special black jerseys that are up for auction after Saturday's game against Norfolk. The sweaters honor the Allentown Police Department and have a sharp white armband with the player's number. … Phantoms game scratches included Austen Fyten (upper body), Shayne Gostisbehere (knee), Kevin Goumas (upper body), Darroll Powe (upper body), Nick Luukko (healthy). … Jason Akeson entered the night five points behind the Nick Cousins (now with the Flyers) for the team lead in scoring. Akeson has led the Phantoms in scoring each of the previous three seasons. Should he surpass Cousins over the final six games of the season, he would become the first Phantom to lead the team in scoring for four straight seasons according to research compiled by Phantoms broadcaster Bob Rotruck.
gary.blockus@mcall.com
Twitter @gblockus


A cotton t-shirt with iconic 3-Stripes style.
Go from working out to winding down in this comfortable t-shirt. Contrast 3-Stripes run down the shoulders and sleeves to create an authentic sporty look. This tee is made of cotton single jersey for an extra-soft feel.


text:
BusinessBizInfo
Ixora Ho Tram by Fusion and its exceptional advantage coming from prime location
By SGT
Ixora Ho Tram by Fusion, a paradise within a few steps.
Standing out among many investment opportunities in Ho Tram region, the top-of-mind destination for second home market, Ixora Ho Tram by Fusion – the latest component project of the 164-hectare Ho Tram Strip – has made a very favourable impression on its presentation to savvy investors. Among its strategic key advantages, the exceptional location is truly distinct and has driven the development to the new height.
The very first unique advantage that Ixora Ho Tram by Fusion has on offer to the market is its outstanding location with the front toward the beautiful and tranquil Ho Tram beach and the back covered by the more than 10,000-hectare immense green patch of the Phuoc Buu – Binh Chau nature reserve. Therefore, here at Ixora Ho Tram by Fusion, travelers will immerse themselves not only into the fresh seaside breeze but also a pleasant and greenery atmosphere offered by the untouched forest.
Beyond that, what makes Ixora Ho Tram by Fusion truly outstanding is its being a part of the renowned world-class integrated resort Ho Tram Strip. It is the Ho Tram Strip that anchors this destination, differentiating the area from the rest of the country. It is marked as one of the flagship developments of the region. The first phase of the Ho Tram Strip development includes InterContinental Grand Ho Tram, a 5-star hotel and resort and upcoming Holiday Inn Resort Ho Tram Beach. It also features The Bluffs, a Greg Norman designed links-style championship golf course.
While the existing The Grand Ho Tram is set to be rebranded as the Intercontinental Grand Ho Tram, the Holiday Inn Resort Ho Tram Beach is in the final stages of its fit-out and is set to open to guests in upcoming months. The InterContinental Grand Ho Tram is a luxury integrated resort with an array of restaurants, bars, lounges, and clubs. The resort includes outdoor pools for both adults and kids, gym, spa, and retail stores and is home to Vietnam's first international standard casino.
The upcoming resort in the complex is the Holiday Inn Resort, featuring facilities geared for family fun. Guests can enjoy their time at swimming in its pools and enjoy captivating views over Vietnam's stunning East Sea and pristine natural forests from its breathtaking 360-degree rooftop bar. The hotel connects directly to such entertainment areas as our cinema, food court and water park. The two resorts combine to offer more than 1,000 keys in style and comfort.
Ixora Ho Tram by Fusion and its unrivaled location on Ho Tram coastline.
Also situated on the Ho Tram Strip is the renowned golf course, The Bluffs, the first course in Vietnam to ever be ranked in the Top 100 global golf courses by Golf Digest – the gold standard of international course ratings and in 2015 was named the World's Best New Golf Course.
Also, the excitement has continued with its upcoming exclusive waterpark. Once all of the component projects are completed, Ho Tram Strip is truly the one to beat on the larger scale. Including condotels, villas, hotels, golf courses, entertainment amenities on an area of 164 hectares, this integrated resort has been creating a distinct paradise on the beach where travelers can find it all here. To all of Ixora Ho Tram by Fusion customers, it is just like your paradise within a few steps.
The new tourism mecca in the making, Ho Tram – Xuyen Moc, Ba Ria Vung Tau is the one to beat while comparable to other regions. This destination amazingly captivates travelers by its pristine and serene beauty of the long coastlines with a warm, pleasant climate all year round, covered by the immense green patches of the untouched forest Phuoc Buu – Binh Chau.
Ixora Ho Tram by Fusion, a part of the world class integrated resort Ho Tram Strip.
It also catches the attention of savvy investors with the potential for a fierce development in the future with a series of infrastructure projects that have been and are about to be deployed very soon, from the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway, connecting the region to Ho Chi Minh City – a bustling city, the economic center of the country with 16 million people and the average income per capita reaching 7,500 USD in 2020, to the other upcoming infrastructures such as Ben Luc – Long Thanh Expressway, Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway, the 42m-expansion Vung Tau – Xuyen Moc coastal road and especially, the renowned Long Thanh International Airport, just a 50-minute drive from Ho Tram.
Given the increasing direct contribution of tourism to GDP, this industry is gradually aiming to become a key economic sector of the country. Along with these factual features, the current Covid-19 pandemic situation in which a new trend of travelling has been set where public transportation is not favourable any longer and replaced by the self-driving, ensuring more safety, cost-saving and less time-consuming, Ho Tram in general and Ixora Ho Tram by Fusion in particular obviously has been getting even hotter than ever, continuously attracting investment cash flows pouring in with many developments in different shapes and sizes.
Ixora Ho Tram
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Closing of the Binh Duong Television International Cycling Tournament 2023 – Cup Number 1 and seven stages with lots of emotion
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COP26: Unions warn UK Presidency that neglect of workers will lead to failure
Trade union delegates at COP26 have today (Wednesday) written an urgent letter to COP26 President Alok Sharma warning him that he is putting progress at risk by neglecting the need for international commitments to a 'just transition'.
The Paris Agreement (2015) committed nations to taking account of "the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities".
Reflecting the concerns expressed in the letter to the COP President, the following joint statement by the TUC, Scottish TUC and Wales TUC, with support from affiliated unions, calls on the UK Presidency to build on the commitment made in Paris:
"The UK COP President Alok Sharma MP has repeatedly committed to just transition as an essential component in rapidly moving the world away from fossil fuels. But so far, the UK Presidency has invested little political capital including just transition in the climate agreement negotiations – leaving workers around the globe out in the cold.
"We applaud the UK COP Presidency's role in preparing the Declaration on "Supporting the Conditions for a Just transition Internationally", which was launched last week. But this is a parallel initiative, and not part of the binding UNFCCC agreements. Similar efforts need to be made to incorporate just transition and labour rights into the official COP26 negotiations.
"The Presidency must:
Ensure negotiations cover the needs of workers, families, and communities.
Increase engagement with a wide range of stakeholders on just transition, climate action, labour and human rights.
Address concerns that observers - and in some cases government parties - have been excluded from official negotiation meetings where they should have access.
Retain and progress the commitment to just transition made in the Paris Agreement, including commitments to engagement with workers and to protect and create good quality jobs."
TUC Deputy General Secretary Paul Nowak said:
"The Glasgow Agreement will be far more credible with just transition at its heart. World leaders need a plan to take home that working people can get behind. A plan that protects jobs, livelihoods and rights every step of the way to net zero. That's the key to unlocking the public support across the world needed for rapid progress. Alok Sharma must show leadership, because the best agreement for workers is the best chance for stopping runaway climate change too."
Scottish TUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said
"At a time when devolved administrations are taking a somewhat more positive approach to just transition and workers' rights in the context of climate change, we demand greater engagement and greater leadership on these key issues for British workers by the UK Government. This should be an opportunity to lead the world on these issues."
Wales TUC General Secretary Shavanah Taj, who is a trade union delegate at COP26 said:
"As the host for COP26, the UK Government has a central role to play in setting an agenda for the workers and communities that will be directly impacted by the move to net zero – not just in the UK but also across the globe. It is therefore disappointing that the UK Presidency is facilitating behaviour designed to block progress on these key issues. This approach risks undermining the Welsh Government's new net zero strategy and will create more uncertainty for tens of thousands of workers in Wales."
Climate emergency: winning a Just Transition
We need timely, worker-friendly climate action to protect our planet and future-proof our jobs.