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Editor's Picks Executive Profiles Article Topics
Top Five Private Independents: Each Creates a Unique Blueprint for Success
by Rita E. Garwood March/April 2018
In an exclusive Monitor roundtable, the leaders of the top five private independent equipment finance companies discuss how their teams rose to face the challenges of 2017. They discuss the increasing importance of technology in their businesses and share their views on the stock market correction, tax reform and how to attract top talent.
Monitor's Top 25 Independents fared well in 2017, reaching a new record of $6.5 billion, thanks to a 12% year-over-year increase. But even the best years come with challenges.
"Ascentium Capital's growth has been very rapid over the last six years," says Tom Depping, CEO of No. 1-ranked Ascentium Capital, which, in 2017, surpassed $1 billion in new business volume. "Many other finance companies have had healthy growth as well and due to this, one challenge we face has been finding tenured sales representatives with financial experience to continue expanding our national footprint. As a result, we have invested in and built our own in-house recruiting department. Additionally, we have developed a substantial on-boarding and training
program, Ascentium University, to bring untenured sales personnel into our organization so they are set up to succeed."
"Once again, our biggest challenge in 2017 was time management," says Dave Fate, president and CEO of Stonebriar Commercial Finance, which rose to No. 2 on the power of a 32.6% year-over-year increase in new business volume. "We were extremely busy throughout the year, resulting in over 40% originations growth year-over-year. We also completed two additional ABS offerings, rebranded our Aviation Capital platform to include Commercial Aviation and closed our first transaction in that space, hired an experienced SVP to manage our corporate finance initiatives and investor relations, and acquired our Non-Bank Lender platform, which provides SBA 504 secured loans. We completed a great many things in a year that seemed to fly by."
"Our competition continues to focus on price," says Tony Golobic, chairman and CEO of No.3-ranked GreatAmerica Financial Services. "It doesn't take any effort to lower one's rates. Last year was a continuation in this regard. Unfortunately, when one starts, everyone else follows, despite the already unhealthy bottom line. At GreatAmerica we have always focused on value added and innovation as our competitive advantage. Our mission is to help our customers become more successful. Last year we added to our value add innovative offerings and experienced some nice growth."
"The market has enjoyed an extended period of low interest rates with little to no volatility," says Craig Weinewuth, CEO and president of No. 4-ranked ENGS Commercial Finance. "We anticipated that we would be entering an interest rate rising environment and have been studying the Federal Reserve minutes to understand the timing of the interest rate hikes. The Federal Reserve has done a reasonably good job of guiding their moves and we have been able to pass through increases to our customers that match the prime rate moves. LIBOR and the mid- and longer-term SWAP rates, however, have shown a higher rate of volatility and more rapid movement in rate increases. It has been harder to move in consistent lockstep with these rate moves, which are more indicative of our increased cost of capital. We have mitigated the impact of this volatility by continuing to access the securitization market and issue term deals which create a hedge against these movements."
"We deal with many challenges in our industry but we view our largest challenge as the competitive landscape in our market," says Evan Bokor, president and CEO of Somerset Capital Group, which joined the top five for the first time this year. "We are seeing bank-owned leasing companies, independents, etc. offer pricing and structures to customers that just don't make sense. The
competition for a limited supply of business continues to drive yields down to a point where, when you combine increase costs of servicing our portfolios, compliance costs, etc. it is very difficult to derive any significant level of profitability. We don't see anything that would change this dynamic in the near term. We have dealt with this challenge by diversifying our origination channels, expanding our product offerings and broadening our asset focus. We have enhanced our ability to compete for business by developing additional funding facilities to reduce our cost of funds and have streamlined our operations to reduce our operating costs."
Honing Effective Go-to-Market Strategies
Even the top players need to create — and update — a unique blueprint for continued success.
Fate points to Stonebriar's 32.6% year-over-year growth as proof of the success of its go-to-market strategy. "Our brand has become very well known in the marketplace primarily due to our continued focus on leveraging publications, such as Monitor, and regular posting on various social media feeds to keep the industry up to date on our activities and accomplishments. We also take pride in our continuing activity with the ELFA through various sponsorships, speaking engagements and committee involvement. We continue to tweak our direct origination strategy to drive better results from that team. As a private independent with no depository relationships, our direct originators continue to develop other avenues to find deals and develop new relationships. One such initiative is expanding efforts to include other sources such as private equity firms, family offices, financial consultants, attorneys, turnaround managers and accounting firms in an effort to source more deals and potential customers."
"Continuing to be very involved in the industries we serve has been a benefit to us," Golobic says. "On the flip side, in some of the less 'finance savvy' spaces in which we play, it has often been a struggle to get them to self-perpetuate financing activity without constantly staying in front of them and reminding them of the value/benefit. The inefficiency of these scenarios has us regrouping on how we might more effectively address this challenge."
Weinewuth says ENGS continues to believe strongly in its core principals of sourcing originations through a vendor-centric strategy in transportation, industrial and construction. "By being specialized in specific industry verticals, you become a more important and relevant aspect of the market and produce more consistent originations through our vendor partners. The areas that are advancing in the market that we, as a leading financing source, need to keep up with are technology advances in vendor and customer facing experiences. We set out in 2017 to streamline our processes, move to … online e-signature paperless contracts and quicken the documentation and funding times for an even better customer experience. We are happy to say that we succeeded in launching a paperless contract environment, and streamlined the documentation and funding processes." Weinewuth says ENGS also has engaged developers to create proprietary applications that will streamline processes even more in 2018.
"The most effective element of our strategy during 2017 was the diversification of our origination sources," Bokor says. "We now have four distinct originations channels that provide steady and consistent volume for us. We continue to seek alternative avenues for generating reliable quality volume to avoid being dependent on any one model."
Intense competition has become a hallmark of the industry in recent years, yet the top five independents have continued to achieve success in this environment.
"We stick to what works and what is true to our mission of helping our customers be more successful," Golobic says. "This mantra guides us as we focus on innovations our customers can use to make their businesses more profitable. We have expanded well beyond the confines of just being a finance company and into areas that touch technological efficiencies, business processes consulting and employee retention and recruitment, to name a few."
"Ascentium works very hard and focuses on providing a premier level of service, flexible finance products and competitive payment options," Depping says. "The market has fiercely competitive pricing but many competitors cannot compete with our service and flexibility. We differentiate ourselves by providing an exceptional experience to our equipment providers and to SMBs. We are also proud of our award-winning business finance platform. Additionally, we took advantage of market competition by maximizing our returns through our capital markets team that succeeded in securing competitive funding rates."
Differentiation was the key to success for Stonebriar and Somerset.
"We tried to 'stay ahead of the pack' by going where the pack wasn't," Bokor says. "We continue to seek industries and asset classes where the pack won't follow, or at least where they aren't yet following. We have focused on developing strong asset expertise in the verticals we support and offering a full array of products/structures for those assets as opposed to offering a plain vanilla lease product. We continue to strive to differentiate ourselves from the competition so we are not just part of the pack."
"As a large-ticket, diversified commercial finance company, SCF operates in a different market than most of the other top private independents," Fate says. "Our average deal size in 2017 was approximately $15 million. We look for companies that have large CAPEX needs, a unique story to tell or credit metrics that may affect their current ability to obtain bank financing. While
the last couple of years have seen new entrants in our market, the exit of GE and the transformation of other participants in the market to regulated institutions have left a significant void that has still not been filled. The ELFA has published data stating that equipment finance transactions total approximately $1 trillion annually with approximately 75% of that volume originated by banks and the remaining 25% originated by captives, small-ticket lessors and independents. That market gives SCF ample opportunity to maintain volume levels such as those it reached in 2017 without sacrificing our stringent credit, structure and pricing standards."
While ENGS did not experience "fierce" competition in 2017, Weinewuth says it did experience pressure on yields, thanks to a decreasing number of competitors. "Customers were willing to walk away from a transaction rather than accept a higher interest rate. We tried to avoid the yield-only discussion by delivering a broader set of financing offerings to our customers. This helped us avoid the yield-only discussion and stay ahead of the pack by offering new products and services that made us more relevant to our customers' entire business needs, rather than just one need." Weinewuth points to the creation of ENGS Insurance Agency, which provides insurance products for companies that own equipment, and ENGS Commercial Capital, a working capital lender, which have contributed incremental growth to the company while making ENGS a much more relevant partner to its vendors and customers.
"We believe in product and process innovation," Weinewuth adds, noting that ENGS rolled out e-documents in its Transportation, Industrial and Construction segments. "Customer experience and response have been very positive. These products and services certainly helped us stay ahead in 2017."
Although the year began on a high note, with the ELFF confidence index reaching another record-breaking level, the stock market dropped significantly soon afterward in what economists are labeling a correction. What does this mean for the industry in 2018?
"We are not overly optimistic about the overall economy and are concerned that the lofty expectations that many had at the beginning of the year will not be achieved," Bokor says. "We have no confidence in the way our country is being governed and while the recent tax bill added to the overall confidence that businesses expressed at the beginning of the year, we expect to see higher interest rates, higher inflation and disarray in Washington ultimately leading to a dampening of economic activity later this year. Having said that, our forecast for our own business this year remains fairly positive with expectations for an increase in new originations of 10% versus 2017's total."
"We feel positive and the economy is still in fundamentally decent shape," Depping says. "The tax cuts, along with reduced regulation, should provide a strong economy well into 2019. The stock market has a mind of its own and gave up some of the 2018 gains, which appear to be tied to a fear of rising interest rates."
Weinewuth says stock market volatility is not a concern to ENGS. "We believe the fundamentals in the market are good and that it is not reasonable to expect a straight upward moving stock market. The equity markets have been on a tear following the election. A little correction or some volatility are normal after such a positive upward trend."
"We continue to be cautiously optimistic and have significantly increased our investment in our future while at the same time being prepared for a downturn that will come sooner or later," Golobic says.
"Our outlook for the remainder of the year remains positive," Fate says. "Underlying economic fundamentals remain strong with GDP in excess of 3%, interest rates — while up somewhat over the past quarter — remain relatively low, unemployment is low, and Congress passed a significant reduction in the corporate tax rate and continues to ease regulatory burdens. We believe that all signs point to a strong year in 2018."
Weinewuth is more concerned with the underlying economic metrics that influence the broader market and the performance of ENGS' specific industry verticals. He believes tax reform, regulatory reform and the much-anticipated infrastructure bill will have positive implications on the economy. "U.S. businesses are by all accounts healthy. Business owners are innovating again and feeling more confident about investing in their businesses, which leads to upgrading equipment or expanding capacity by adding additional equipment. We have seen clear evidence of this in the transportation sector where the supply/demand imbalance has tilted favorably to carriers, who are our customers, which is driving new equipment purchases to satisfy the demand. Barring an unforeseen political or macro-economic event, we believe all of our industry verticals will do well in 2018 and for several years beyond."
Finding Talent in a Full-Employment Economy
The February jobs report pointed to the continued strength of the U.S. economy, with the largest single month surge in job creation since July 2016 and an unemployment rate of 4.1%, indicating a return to full employment. How does this affect the quest for hiring and retaining qualified talent?
As mentioned earlier, Ascentium has developed in-house recruiting and onboarding/training departments to overcome this challenge. Since Somerset has not been adding to its staff, it has been unaffected by the current job market but plans to start its search much earlier than usual for planned hires in 2018.
"Looking at our local unemployment figures over the last year, we average a full percentage point below the national average, somewhere around 3.2%," Golobic says. "One would expect challenges in finding good people in this situation, but we have been fortunate to have a reputation as a good place to work and have ready access to talented and eager individuals who want to stay in the Midwest and be part of a value-based culture and a growing community. Internship programs and feeder relationships with area colleges and universities have been in place for years and have provided a dependable recruitment base."
"We continue to successfully grow and expand our business even in a tight labor market," Weinewuth says. "We currently have approximately 185 employees today and a deep list of individuals that would like to join ENGS. We are very fortunate that even in a tight labor market, we have been able to attract top tier talent. We spend a lot of time and resources on creating the right culture, and this has helped recruiting … this has paid off as ENGS was voted one of the Top Workplaces in Chicago, one of only 55 companies chosen for this distinction, and the only independent finance company chosen."
"In 2017 we increased headcount from 31 people to 44 people and have hired additional talent since the beginning of 2018," Fate says. "While part of the growth was generated from the purchase of Non-Bank Lender noted earlier, a large part was also attributable to staff additions that enabled us to handle the growth in our portfolio. Our new hires included not only experienced
talent such as the SVP of Funding and Investor Relations noted previously but also with hires that adhere to the ELFA's emerging talent initiative as we bring on personnel in the beginning and early stages of their careers. Our ability to attract this talent is based in large part on the outstanding performance we have demonstrated as we approach the third anniversary of our inception."
The Impact of Tax Reform
Uncertainty surrounding the changes to the tax code led to stagnation in Q4/17, but the details have since been revealed. How will the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affect business in 2018?
"Without a question, the Tax Act will result in increased capital expenditures and will therefore have a positive effect," Golobic says. "Some of this effect may be just of a timing nature and some of it may be due to a stronger economy resulting from the Tax Act."
"While some might have seen stagnation in the fourth quarter, a large portion of our volume for the year was funded in the fourth quarter," Fate says. "Our customers seemed to be more interested in obtaining financing than with possible changes to the tax code."
Fate expects to see a continuation of this trend in 2018 as underlying economic fundamentals remain strong, which is expected to spur both M&A activity and fulfillment of delayed CAPEX needs.
"We expect the changes to the tax code to positively influence our business, and we have already seen it," Weinewuth says. "The U.S.-domiciled global businesses are repatriating funds and investing those dollars into their U.S. operations. The U.S.-based non-global businesses are taking their tax savings and increasing their capital spending for the year, upgrading their equipment and adding more equipment to service anticipated growth. The enhancements to bonus depreciation, allowing for full expensing of both new and used capital expenditures, should further accelerate capital expenditures in 2018."
"Ascentium Capital is not really impacted as a company because we mainly provide loans to small businesses," Depping says. "We do think the tax cuts will lead to a strong economy during 2018 and should also stimulate equipment and capital purchases across several vertical markets that we serve."
"At this point, we don't have a good feel for how the new tax act will affect business in 2018," Bokor says. "We have seen increased optimism in corporate America, but we have not seen any appreciable upturn in leasing activity or equipment procurement yet, and we do expect the current levels of optimism to wane in the latter portion of the year."
Staying Ahead of Digitization
Dexter Van Dango's recent article reflected on the changing nature of a more digitized industry, cautioning equipment finance companies to change their thinking or risk being left behind. The top five independents have employed different approaches to stay ahead of the curve during this shift.
"Technology has always been a large part of our value proposition and will continue to be a key focus," Depping says. "We constantly enhance our technology, including integrating new sales and marketing tools that benefit our vendor clients, the end-user, as well as our own sales team. Technology is critical in driving efficiencies as well as delivering an exceptional client experience. We are able to deliver this through our online portals for our vendors and end users, our mobile apps and the finance platform that facilitates a streamlined experience."
"We continue to invest in technology to improve our internal systems as well as to provide greater customer experiences," Bokor says. "We do believe that our industry will continue to gravitate towards a more digitized future and we expect to keep pace with that trend."
"As a large-ticket finance and leasing company, we continue to view personal interaction with customers and the assets we lease or finance as the most important aspect of our underwriting
process" Fate says. "We will continue to capitalize on technological advances where appropriate to continue building efficiencies in the business where appropriate. For example, we recently hired an experienced professional as data processing manager who will help us streamline our internal processes and reporting capabilities so that management has up to the minute access to information on transactions from the front to the backend of the process. However, we do not currently foresee the use of fintech or automated credit approvals becoming a significant part of our business processes."
"GreatAmerica is focused on consolidating our technology platforms to provide a better experience to both our customers and our employees," Golobic says. "We are not only evaluating our systems but also streamlining our processes. By simplifying our architecture and removing inefficiencies, we will develop better tools, creating a seamless experience exceeding market demands for instant access. Financing is still the core of our business but our focus is on how we can provide this capability through technology while still providing the GreatAmerica Experience."
"Advancement in technology is not an option, it is a necessity," Weinewuth says. "We are constantly looking at ways to innovate our business — 2017 was a big year for us and as mentioned, 2018 will be an even bigger year of innovation for ENGS as we deliver market differentiating technology offerings. We have commenced two game-changing initiatives that will dramatically increase our relevancy with our customers and vendors by improving the way we process and execute our business and communicate with our customers."
Leader Insights
Ascentium Capital
Craig Weinewuth
Dave Fate
Engs Commercial Finance
Evan Bokor
GreatAmerica Financial Services
Somerset Capital Group
Stonebriar Commercial Finance
Tom Depping
Tony Golobic
Current Market Conditions Call for Flexibility
Ray Ellingsen, Senior Vice President, Syndications & Operation, Corcentric
Patrick Gaskins, senior vice president fleet solutions at Corcentric and Ray Ellingsen, senior vice president of syndication and operations at Corcentric discuss the details from the company's latest conference including discussion topics and what is just over the horizon.
View All Opinions
Liberty Rebrands as Wingspire Equipment Finance
Eric Freeman, Founder & CEO, Wingspire Equipment Finance
When Liberty Commercial Finance launched in early 2017, it was founded with a vision of putting the needs of customers, employees and investors first. The idea was to create the type of organization that customers would repeatedly trust with their finance needs, employees would want to stay and grow with, and investors would want to continue to reinvest as the business grew.


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Pearl Mackie Announced as New Companion in Doctor Who
Peter Capaldi of the British television series Doctor Who speaks at the Apple Store on July 17, 2015 in Berlin, Germany.
Adam Berry/Getty Images
By Katie Reilly
British actor Pearl Mackie has been named the new companion to the Doctor in the 10th season of Doctor Who, the long-running show announced on Saturday.
Mackie—who is currently performing in the National Theatre's production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time in London—will appear as a new character, Bill, alongside Peter Capaldi, who stars as the Doctor.
"It's such an extraordinary British institution, I couldn't be prouder to call the Tardis my home," said Mackie, 28, the BBC reported.
Read more: Doctor…Who?: A Beginner's Guide to Doctor Who
The show released a clip from the new season, set to premiere in 2017, showing Mackie and Capaldi running from "the deadliest alien war machine ever devised."
Write to Katie Reilly at Katie.Reilly@time.com.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Forgeworld: My What a LARGE Axe You Have!
Forge the Narrative Episode 114 is here, download it now! Tournament and hobby chat in the same place?! Say it ain't so.
Welcome to the Underdark: Come take a look as writer R.A. Salvatore and Designers explores Drizzt's descent into madness.
Let's check out the rest of July's Infinity releases.
The latest info from retailers is coming in. Here's what to expect this week grimdark gamers!
BREAKING: Tau Stormsurge Rules Spotted!
Kings of War Rulebooks Back in Stock!
As we've been reviewing the ever more elaborate boardgames we wonder – are "traditional miniatures games" becoming extinct?
Goatboy here again and if you've paid attention to my posts these last few years you know that my second 40K love is Orks – and here's what they need!
40K TAU TEASER: Our Conquest is Inevitable!
Get over here Grimdark fans, the day you have been waiting for for 3 long months is here. Looks who's back!


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Dia Mirza, Asif Bhamla and Swanand Kirkire at Bhamla Foundation's 'Hawa Aane De' anthem launch
Just like every year, the Bhamla foundation along with the Ministry of Environment have planned an anthem to create awareness about air pollution ahead of this World Environment Day
In an event recently held in Mumbai, the Ministry of Environment, Bhamla Foundation, in association with Dia Mirza, have together curated a special anthem, to promote the healthy practices for the environment, keeping in line with the UNO's agenda environment health
Air pollution claims thousands of lives on a daily basis and has become a growing concern world over. It is primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuel, thereby leading to emissions, finally causing air pollution as we know it today. Pollution has been around us for decades and its consequences can prove to be deadly. We have been unable to contain the dastardly aftermath of the growing menace. According to the United Nations Organization (UNO), approximately 4.2 million people die prematurely, as a result of exposure to ambient air pollution.
The 'Hawa Aane De' video, which is an initiative led by Asif Bhamla led Bhamla Foundation, was launched by Dia Mirza. It has been penned by Swanand Kirkire and sung by popular names like Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shankar Mahadevan, Vishal Dadlani, Sunidhi Chauhan, and Ayushmann Khurrana.
Talking about the same, Asif Bhamla, the President of the foundation said, "The members of the entertainment fraternity have come together with Bhamla Foundation, with a hope to make a lasting difference, so our sons and daughters can breathe air that won't harm them. This is the time now to make a difference, before the air we breathe, kills us! And hence the initiative."
In the previous year, the foundation created the Beat Plastic Pollution anthem on the lines of the United Nation's 'Beat Plastic Pollution' initiative. The anthem based on the need to curb plastic usage as the name suggests garnering a lot of traction.
Dia MirzaAsif BhamlaSwanand KirkireHawa Aane DeWorld Environment DayAir PollutionMinistry of Environment
Go green with just a click
By Renukka Garkkal | Mumbai Live Team


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Governor Ducey Issues Executive Order Delaying Expiration Of Driver Licenses
PHOENIX — As Arizona continues to take proactive measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Governor Ducey today issued an Executive Order deferring requirements to renew standard driver licenses that have an expiration date between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 by one year from their original expiration date. This action will minimize in-person visits to Arizona Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) Offices and help contain the spread of COVID-19.
View this information in Spanish HERE [1].
"Arizona continues to focus on proactive steps to protect the health of our communities and keep our state moving in the right direction," said Governor Ducey. "Today's commonsense Executive Order extends the deadline for drivers to renew their licenses by one year, helping reduce the number of in-person MVD visits during the upcoming months and protecting our most vulnerable."
Under this Executive Order, all Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board certified law enforcement officers as well as state government agencies, county and municipal governments, and election officials will accept Arizona driver license cards with expiration dates between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 as valid identification for any purposes for which unexpired driver license cards would otherwise be accepted.
Governor Ducey in March issued an Executive Order delaying expiration dates [2] on Arizona driver licenses for six months, ensuring residents over the age of 65 do not need to visit MVD offices to renew their driver licenses during the public health emergency.
Starting Wednesday, any driver may see their updated driver license expiration date at AZMVDNow.gov [3]. Drivers have the option to order a duplicate license with the updated expiration date.
View today's Executive Order HERE [1].
eo_2020-53.pdf [1]
Source URL: https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2020/09/governor-ducey-issues-executive-order-delaying-expiration-driver-licenses
[1] https://azgovernor.gov/sites/default/files/eo_2020-53.pdf
[2] https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2020/03/governor-ducey-announces-latest-covid-19-actions
[3] http://azmvdnow.gov/


Hudson Falls Central School District honors the memory of former Superintendent Dr. John G. Zeis.
According to his obituary, Dr. Zeis passed away March 4, 2018 while ice fishing on the Great Sacandaga Lake.
Dr. Zeis was the Superintendent of Hudson Falls Schools for over 20 years, retiring in 2000.
During the 1990's, he led the district through a transition from neighborhood elementary schools to the current grade-level model.
Dr. Zeis was 78 years old.


Have you had your flu shot yet? Excellus BlueCross BlueShield says only one in three upstate residents are getting vaccinated. There were about 16,000 confirmed cases of the flu among adults last year. Nationwide, nearly 24,000 people died from complications of the flu. This is the time of year when cases peak, but flu season can run until May, Excellus says. Both shots and a nasal spray are available to everyone, including at many pharmacies where you may not need an appointment. And doctors say its not too late to get vaccinated, but you should do it sooner rather than later.
Several members of the Wild Center in Tupper Lake are in Paris today to talk about Climate Change. The 21st Conference of Parties, or COP21, began today, where world leaders are expected to discuss ways to cut down on global warming. Among the presenters are Jen Kretser, the director of programming at the Wild Center, 19-year-old Gina Fiorile, a science intern, and Shannon Bartholomew, a biology teacher at Saranac Lake High School. The three are organizers of the Wild Center's Youth Climate Summit, which teaches area students about climate change. They'll be discussing the ways kids and the next generation are already helping to slow down the effects of a warming planet.
Holiday Helpers needs your help. The group is a partnership between Catholic Charities, the Franklin County social services department, public transportation migrant education, JCEO, Common Connections, and the Youth Advocacy Program, plus us here at WICY. Holiday Helpers collects toys and other winter necessities, like coats and gloves, to hand out to needy kids in the area. Between 1,500 and 1,800 kids get help every Christmas season. And organizers say they need your help to make it another successful year. Donations are being accepted now.
Kids at Malone Middle School are turning into entrepreneurs this week. The 8th graders are holding an "entrepreneur fair" showcasing items and services they've made themselves. The fair is open to the public and you'll be able to buy anything the kids have for sale. All the proceeds go to the 8th grade class. The fair runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the school.
The state is offering some safety tips for shoppers on Cyber Monday and online in general this holiday season. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman suggests beware of misleading bargains—items that are priced higher than normal and then put on sale. He also warns about added costs—check delivery and assembly fees before you click to buy. Also know your return and refund policies, in case you don't like the item you receive. State law requires stores offer a 30 day minimum return window. But Schneiderman says that doesn't mean you won't be charged a "restocking fee." "Final sales" are also problematic because you may end up stuck with an item and no way to get your money back. Remember to check the URL on a website to make sure its secure before you put your payment information in. That means the beginning of the website address should start with an https://. And be suspicious of any contests or giveaways that seem too good to be true.
A big cooldown tonight with a chance of snow in our forecast. The National Weather Service says rain Friday afternoon will give way to possible snow showers overnight. Less than a half-inch of snow is predicted. But we won't be warming back into the 50s again for a while. This arctic blast will keep the North Country hovering around freezing through at least next week. More snow is possible Tuesday and Wednesday.
The First Congregation Church of Malone has announced their next fundraiser. The church is hosting a Christmas tea on Dec. 13th. The tea will feature live music from Angleque Akin-Little, singing some favorite Christmas music, who headlined a church concert back in September. Besides tea, guests will have an assortment of breads and pastries, plus coffee and punch. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids. Anyone uner 5 is free. All the proceeds will go to the building fund.
A good turnout for the second annual free community Thanksgiving dinner yesterday at Holy Family School in Malone. Several hundred people turned out for the dinner, which was served in two seatings. Dozens of turkeys, a whole lot of mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pies were eaten as Christmas music played in the background. Many who came were either going to be alone on Thanksgiving or just wanted to celebrate with their friends and neighbors.


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Si definisce rendimento di trasmissione di una linea:

indicando con  le perdite in linea.

Confronto tra le linee

Si prenda in considerazione 4 possibili configurazioni di linee elettriche:
 unifilare
 bifilare
 monofase (2 fili)
 trifase

percorse da correnti di linea (i valori efficaci in alternata):

indicando con  le resistenze di ogni singolo conduttore delle quattro linee, le potenze dovute alle perdite di linee valgono:

quindi se imponiamo di trasmettere la stessa potenza utile ad un carico posto alla distanza fissa con un conduttore dello stesso materiale per le 4 configurazioni di linea, possiamo dedurre:
le dissipazioni nella linea unifilare in continua sono le più basse e pari a 1/4 della bifilare
le dissipazioni della bifilare in continua sono paragonabili a quelle della linea monofase nel caso in cui
le dissipazioni della linea trifase sono 3/4=0.75 di quelle della monofase e circa 3 volte quelle della linea unifilare

Conclusioni
Per ottenere un rendimento elevato di trasmissione, e quindi un piccolo rapporto , è necessario adottare tensioni nominali tanto più elevate quanto maggiori sono le potenze utili da trasmettere e l'estensione della linea.

Esempio delle considerazioni appena fatte si trovano nelle linee in cavo per sistemi elettrici di potenza usati per i collegamenti sottomarini con tensioni di qualche centinaio di chilovolt ed estensioni anche superiori al centinaio di chilometri.

Voci correlate
 Elettrodotto
 Trasmissione di energia elettrica
 Distribuzione di energia elettrica

Conduzione elettrica
Ingegneria elettrica
Grandezze elettriche

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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UN-GO – 06 »« UN-GO – 04
UN-GO – 05
Filed under First Impressions, UN-GO by Guardian Enzo | 42 Comments
「幻の像」 (Maboroshi no Zō)
"The Phantom Statue"
UN-GO certainly isn't the best new series of the Fall season, but it just might be the most interesting.
Make no mistake, this episode was not as strong as the stellar fourth episode. The pacing felt very rushed, almost comically so, as the episode raced at blinding speed through a storyline packed with new characters and layers of detail. The mystery itself was not as interesting as the one involving the Sasa family and the RAI, and wasn't terribly difficult to figure out. As a result of the frenzied pacing I thought the actions of the main cast were a bit too broad and extreme at times, especially Shinjuro.
In spite of that, it was an awfully interesting 22 minutes. UN-GO is proving itself quite adept in the creation of a complex and interesting world for its characters to inhabit, a place where they struggle with the same moral and ethical dilemmas we do. But these are disguised just enough not to make us feel too uncomfortable watching them. It's as if seeing yourself in a funhouse mirror – the image is grotesque, but alien enough that our minds can convince us we're not really looking at ourselves. And Shimada Hakurou (Tanaka Masahiko) is just such an image. He's a demagogic politician of the "Rising Sun Party" (heh) who glorifies war as a noble enterprise where humanity is ennobled by the sacrifices of brave young men who die for a cause. A fitting – if no doubt coincidental – episode to air on the eve of U.S. Veterans Day.
The actual mystery attached to Shimada is far less interesting than the issues he and his ideology raise, and the feelings – by far the strongest we've seen so far – they illicit in Shinjuro. When two men are found dead inside the sculpture Shimada has commissioned to honor three boys who died driving a truck full of explosives away from a crowd, Shinjuro immediately – and wrongly – blames Shimada. In fact the murderer is the sculptress, Youko, which is pretty easy to deduce from the clues in the episode. There's also the matter of the splinter group the murdered men belonged to, formed by Shimada's former bodyguard Yamamoto (Miyake Kenta). He was incensed that Shimada would use the deaths of the boys to his own financial gain. As well, there's the question of how all this ties in with the government and it's propagandist, Kaishou.
As it did last week, UN-GO gives us a truly fascinating and difficult conversation full of complex moral questions – this time between Shinjuro and Shimada, on the subject of war and sacrifice. Those two conversations featured perhaps the best dialogue of any series this season, and here Shinjuro reveals himself to be somewhere between an idealist and a pacifist. Yet when Shimada – who was in fact innocent of the crime Shinjuro had accused him of – argues for the nobility of the boys who died (why does no one ask why all three had to be in the truck, if their sacrifice was noble and not a PR stunt ordered by Shimada?) , Shinjuro is tongue-tied and unable to refute him. The wild card in the episode that pushes Shinjuro to self-understanding is Kazamori, who has remained in the sim of the young girl and taken to tagging along with Shinjuro and Inga (hopefully for good). Kazamori provides an interesting addition to the dynamic – a logical and detached view of human nature, Kazamori's perspective is also subtly sentimental, suggesting a level of sentience higher than one might have thought.
In clarifying the situation for Shinjuro, Kazamori also clarifies Shinjuro's backstory for us. Shinjuro has contracted with Inga (Kazamori knows how they met, too, but only teases us with that) in order to feed Inga souls without Inga having to murder people. The price, it seems, is that Shinjuro consents to be haunted by Inga – an act of self-sacrifice, Kazamori points out, that's analogous to the young men who died so that others might live (it's also worth noting that Shinjuro quite explicitly states "I'm alive" in the episode). After revealing the identity of the killer, almost as an afterthought Shinjuro has Inga use yet another of his superpowers to reveal the true nature of the crime Shimada actually did commit.
What a fascinating mess of an episode. The devil is in the details for this series – so far the mysteries have been inconsistent and the pacing even more so, but the overall world continues to grow in interest. I'm enjoying seeing the relationship of Shinjuro and Kaishou evolve. Both are geniuses of a sort – Shinjuro can look at a mystery and see the solution, whereas Kaishou's genius is a sort of dark shadow of this. He can look at a mystery and instinctively see how it might best be used for propaganda.
Next week sees our first completely anime-original story, so it should be interesting to see how it compares with the first five.
November 10, 2011 at 4:11 pmSuzushina Yuriko
Loved the episode. It's nice to see that Shinjuro isn't perfect, even if his deductions are right most of the time. The dialogue really gets you thinking.
November 10, 2011 at 4:14 pmPtolemaios00
Pretty obvious that the truck bomb was a setup by Shimada himself. Any sensible terrorist wouldn't set such a long timer. A truck also does not require 3 people to drive it.
November 10, 2011 at 4:24 pmLitho
It's the most interesting simply because nearly everything out this season is utter crap. Only exceptions I can think of are Working, Chihayafuru and maybe (that's a BIG maybe) Last Exile: Fam and the Strike Witches.
But credit where it's due. The presentation is good, the BGM is the best of any this season, and most importantly, it has characters I actually enjoy watching (for the most part). I've not read the original source material (novels or whatever), but I believe this anime version is probably highly watered down. I mainly watch this for the characters, not the "mysteries".
Anyways, another decent review, Genzo.
November 10, 2011 at 5:56 pmtenshinohone
Not a Fate/Zero, Mirai Nikki or Ben-to fan then? For me this is the best season for a long time!
I've never been into the whole "TypeMoon" thing. Not saying Fate/Zero is bad, but it sure ain't as good as Kara no Kyoukai. Mirai Nikki I dropped after a couple of manga volumes. Ben-to I lost interest in after the first episode.
Don't mean to insult anyone's tastes, though. I should have preceded my previous post with a "IMHO", since it's just my opinion. Watch whatever entertains you.
November 10, 2011 at 7:11 pmPride
Lol you said "Not saying Fate/Zero is bad" yet you said in the post before "nearly everything out this season is utter crap. Only exceptions I can think of are Working, Chihayafuru…"
Utter crap does not equal bad? I know what you mean and don't mean to make a big deal out of this. Just wanted to point that out to you.
Alright fine!! Screw the formalities. … What I like is good and what I don't like is utter crap.
Happy now? =P
Hai hai
November 10, 2011 at 5:43 pmBass.EXE
I still really like the choice of flamenco for the bgm. You wouldn't think it'd match, but it works. Boy, does it work
November 10, 2011 at 6:17 pmHrmmmm
All aboard the Rie x Shinjuro Ship!
It really is too bad that Episode 0 – the episode that explains Shinjuro's relation with Inga – won't be available to non-japan viewers for a while at least. I'm more interested in the back-story than the mysteries.
Same here. Shinjurou and Inga's back story is partly the reason I'm watching this. There's also the current "world" and how all the agencies work, how information is conveyed, how truths are hidden, etc thing.
One of the most interesting things are the big questions and different answers raised in the anime. Reminds me of [C]. However I feel they could do a better job with the big moral questions and whatnot. Perhaps make it more clear, maybe less rushed.
November 10, 2011 at 9:34 pmTheAllseeingeye
kazamori is 1 fine loli
November 10, 2011 at 10:37 pmUnFear
Wished they had given this more than a cour to broadcast. It's not just that the pacing really could stand to slow down per story but I'd really like to see a lot more of the series. I wonder if they can pull out a second season if the sales are good.
November 10, 2011 at 11:49 pmGuardian Enzo
I'm quite liking UN-GO, but this is a series that has "crap sales" written all over it. Who's the audience?
November 11, 2011 at 5:20 amGuest
Does noitamina pay upfront (at least partial production costs)? If so it'd explain a lot.
I can't see the audience for this either but I'm glad it got made.
November 10, 2011 at 11:01 pmTez
No screen cap of Shinjurou doing the "Objection" point at Shimada?
November 10, 2011 at 11:36 pmAlec
I thought the first half was weak but unique (in its own way). Then we see the scenes where almost all the main casts were being in emo mode — It was a bit weird to me though, but it was important nonetheless, for it gave more detail to our main cast. Then we saw the second half, which really blew me away.
I agree it isn't the best anime this season — The award goes to Chihayafuru — But, 'imho', it is the 2nd best anime this season
November 10, 2011 at 11:57 pmx
Pretty decent episode. I like that they didn't drag out the emo part too much. It's getting better than the first couple of episodes.
November 11, 2011 at 2:15 amZen
There's a real "uncanny" feel to most of UN-GO's mysteries thus far- and, no, I'm not talking about the robot. What I'm referring to is how all the mysteries thus far (even the good AI mini-arc, to a small degree) feel like incoherent collages of ideas. The reason behind this is that the creators seem to be trying to cram too many ideas (Here I am referring to political intrigue and philosophical points) into short, singular mysteries- and every week they presumably just go with whatever the best story they can come up with happens to be that somehow, albeit usually poorly, incorporates all of the themes that they're trying to portray for the week. And the result is short, incoherent mysteries which throw themes at your face like pies at a clown.
I don't think the problem is that the creators don't have the requisite ability to craft UN-GO into something amazing, rather the quality of their work is impeded by their own vision, and by the show's dismally short length.
Their "vision" is most probably to incorporate as many of the political points and ideals from Sakagushi Ango's works as possible into UN-GO's world, creating a rich, deep and meaningful political commentary. And it seems like they're trying to do it using one of two (inevitably) sloppy techniques, or a combination of the two. (I can't be sure which because I'm not familiar with the man's works):
One: Portray as many of the same themes (political and philosophical) that Ango portrayed in any his sizable collection of works into singular 20 minute anime episodes as possible- where it probably took Ango entire novels, or a series of short stories to portray all these things.
Two: Portray all the things that Ango tried to portray in any singular story in singular, 20 minute anime episodes- things which more often than not, probably took Ango a whole novel, or an entire collection of short stories to depict in full.
Combination: Applying either one of the above for a single episode, or slipping some of one into two, or two into one- there's an innumerable number of combinations depending on magnitude- you get my point…
So how do you compress all these themes into singular, 20 minute episodes; how do you somehow (try) to craft a seamless yet ridiculously short story around numerous themes which probably took other people entire novels, or numerous short stories to cover? The answer is that you do so at the expense of the story. Stories are built around themes, which are portrayed as elements of, or as the final culmination of plot progression. Each time a writer wants to portray a certain theme, he/she will drive the story in that direction incrementally- and reveal the theme at the appropriate time, in order to give the theme proper development so that the audience is more able to understand it, and equally importantly, so that the story feels natural. And inevitably, this process demands a certain minimum narrative length depending on the number of themes being portrayed in any one story- otherwise the story simply becomes confusing and unnatural; i.e. "uncanny."
And this is exactly UN-GO's problem. The creators are trying to portray far too many themes (Political questions, philosophical issues) in singular, 20 minute episodes, resulting in what for the most part are disappointingly unnatural stories/mysteries attempting to portray what are often confusing combinations of political and philosophical themes. The sheer amount of themes that these guys are trying to cram into every singular episode of this show is a testament to how ambitious they are- no doubt their intention is to create a deep, thoughtful political commentary, however the results are turning out to be anything but deep, with numerous scarcely developed matters of politics and philosophy thrown at us like baseballs from pitching machine.
I think we've all seen the quality this team is capable of through the AI arc- which was only as good as it was because of its two-episode length, which gave the writers just enough breathing room to piece together a story that actually develops its themes adequately- and even then, things still felt pretty rushed. So it isn't that they're incapable of making UN-GO shine, in fact I attribute any level of competency at all to the superior abilities of this team. Rather the problem lies with the show's short length and the staff's unwillingness to compromise on their vision by settling for something simpler, which would probably have turned out to be far more coherent. Even so, I don't blame them for not wanting to settle for mediocrity- I myself am a perfectionist- there's never any satisfaction in inferiority or mere competency. They're simply unfortunate soldiers faced with a war they can't win.
As Enzo stated above, this show practically screams low sales, no wait, utterly abysmal sales. Look no further than its weekly comment count here at RandomC. So it comes as no surprise to me that its financial backers weren't willing to invest in anything more than the typical, dismally short Noitamina format of 11 episodes- and I can't blame them for that; that they even decided to invest any money at all in a surefire sales flop is commendable.
In short, UN-GO is disappointing because there's basically no demand in the anime market for these sorts of political commentaries. Woe unto the Japanese otakus, who wallow contentedly in the quicksand of ignorance in illusory bliss…
Ah well, the consolation, I suppose is that this show has some of the most intelligent dialogue that I've ever seen in any anime- and that alone is enough to keep me watching, if only it were longer, I don't have a doubt that it would've been amazing- oh, what I'd give to have UN-GO switch places with Guilty Crown…XP
November 11, 2011 at 3:31 amLitho
^ I don't take anime as seriously as you do these days, but what I will say is that I enjoyed reading your post, and agree with it for the most part …..Especially your final sentence. I don't even get why Guilty Crap is in the Noitamina slot, since it's not really what Noitamina viewers would go for, imho.
I can see where you're coming from, and agree that this isn't the type of show that will sell, hence the short 11/12 ep format. Sad, but true.
November 11, 2011 at 10:05 amGuardian Enzo
Nice post. It does beg the question – why would the anime choose to go with original material when they can't do justice to the source material as is? That's why I look forward to next week with a good deal of curiosity – there are some very talented people involved in this adaptation, and quite adept at writing 22-minute self-contained stories. It may be that next week's ep is the strongest of the series from a narrative standpoint. But will it have the same astonishing quality of dialogue and depth of ideas?
November 11, 2011 at 4:39 pmZen
@Litho and Enzo: I am honored.
@ Enzo:
"Why would the anime choose to go with original material when they can't do justice to the source material as is?"
I think you just answered your own question; its likely that they're choosing to go with some anime original stuff exactly because they haven't been doing too great with the source material. Opting to do their own thing instead of going with the source material allows them to do several things, which arguably make their job much easier.
Prime, and the most obvious among them is that it allows the writers to go with themes of their own choosing, in numbers of their own choosing, enabling them to weave these themes together within the story in smaller, more manageable webs- contrasted against using an over-sized, prefabricated web of themes taken out of some 500-page novel, or a year-long magazine short story serial by Sakaguchi Ango as a template.
Going with their own material also allows the writers to select themes that they may be more familiar with. And it should be obvious why this would prove to be beneficial. People are only able to competently articulate issues as themes in stories only as far as their understanding of the issues extend (Most of the time, anyways). Given the pedigree of this team, and their good performance in the precious arc, I don't doubt that their understanding of the themes in Ango's works is adequate, but this doesn't change the fact that they would almost certainly be able to deal far more competently with things that they are personally more familiar with, which they would undoubtedly have a better understanding of- maybe a political issue that's particularly close to the heart of the director, or perhaps something concerning the platform that the head writer's brother-in-law is running for Diet on? (Just examples)
There's also the elimination of the (variable) degree of cognitive dissonance is (usually) automatically present whenever you're adapting someone else's works. When you read the works of another, it is all to easy to fall into the trap of interpreting the themes involved as they are presented to you. Your line of logic, the way you perceive the interaction between the story and the themes, the interactions between the themes themselves, the order and manner in which the themes are presented; all these things (And many more) can be, and tend to be significantly influenced by the source material. First impressions have a strong psychological influence; that's simply how the human mind works. Even the best and brightest among us are rarely able avoid this cognitive dissonance in its entirety, and end up being ever so slightly influenced by it.
And the problem is that where this cognitive dissonance is present, it inevitably impedes creativity- we are compelled by it to examine the themes using the same, or similar lines of logic employed by the progenitor. And when you are trying to craft a fundamentally different kind of narrative around these very same themes, you can see why employing the progenitor's original logical and thematic flow would be a problem- very often, it simply isn't going to work very well because it was specifically tailored for another kind of narrative. Therefore in order to competently produce such an adaptation, you'll have to somehow disconnect yourself from whatever impressions you got from the original works, interpreting the themes within your own logical framework which is more suitable for the specific format that you're working with. But this can be very difficult to do because our brains tend to be wired like that, and one effective workaround is to simply go with your own material, through which you will obviously be able to avoid this kind of cognitive dissonance entirely. (And I would contend that this cognitive dissonance is responsible for many terrible box-office adaptations of classic TV serials…XP)
I do agree with you, however that straying from the beaten path can be dangerous, especially when you're lost to begin with- unless, of course, you happen to be a skilled trailblazer yourself. "I sure as hell don't know the roads, but I do know how to navigate with stars pretty darn well- so screw the road- I'll probably find my way far more easily by blazing my own trail." Suicide for inexperienced folks, certainly- but given the pedigree of this team, and seeing how well they performed in the AI arc, I can see why they chose to take this risk, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they're somehow able to pull it off. In a nutshell, what I'm trying to get at is that this could very well be a case of some skilled animators having "their style cramped" by having to adhere to someone else's works- and they're trying to break free of this by going with their own material next week- which will give them a greater degree of creative freedom through the means stated above. Of course, it's a trade-off; more creative freedom for the daunting task of having to create your own narrative and thematic framework from scratch- but given the talent of this team, it just might work- or I hope so anyways…
November 13, 2011 at 2:18 pmjreding
Does anyone now if the source material for the episodes so far (it seems to be the novel "Meiji Kaika Ango Torimonocho") is available in English somewhere?
Sorry for the spelling mistake in my previous comment. It should read "know" instead of "now".
November 11, 2011 at 4:17 amSlushiZ
Shinjurou: *grabs crotch* "I have to pee!" That's some classy infiltration tactic right there LOL
November 11, 2011 at 5:33 amJenanime4eva
Who do you suppose sewed the Kazamori plushie back together again? XD
November 11, 2011 at 5:45 amMira
I read the Japanese raws of the manga and judging from chapter 2, it was probably Inga. The kid has sewing skills. He/She even went to sew on the panda emblem on Shinjuro's jacket.
November 11, 2011 at 9:22 amshinkirou
well i found it quite nice since kazamori come in , now is like fiction (kazamori) team up with fiction (inga). i just hope they will elaborate more on inga and shinjirou past as it should in early episode 1, and some few introduction of character; one middle age guy, brown hair girl Show Spoiler ▼
appear in beginning of episode 1
and some mystery white hair girl in opShow Spoiler ▼
seem to kazamori second form look
correction : science (kazamori) team up with fiction (inga)
November 11, 2011 at 3:44 pmDivine
link | my site | registered
It's nice to see Shinjuurou wrong for a chance and have that lead to some more backstory about his relationship with Inga. The same goes for Kazamori joining the regular cast and wearing a revealing outfit just to mess with Shinjuurou. I agree that the dialogue between Shinjuurou and Hakurou was a pretty interesting debate, especially when Shinjuurou was at a loss on how to refute Hakurou's views.
A seiyuu highlight was Tooru Furuya, the voice of Amuro Ray in the original Gundam and Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon, playing Shimada Jirou.
"Your comment is awaiting moderation???"
I've never seen that before? New site function???
November 11, 2011 at 5:36 pmmac65
you tickled a "special" word in your post – I did that once and got
the notice too – or the moderator really likes you… :)
Oh, must be spamblock…
November 11, 2011 at 5:57 pmSeishun Otoko
Interesting episode, it might have been better if it was split into two episodes though. I'm really liking Kazamori's addition to the main cast.
November 11, 2011 at 8:16 pmomeganx
I like how she ripped off a tanke head and no one seeme shocked at all by it.
"oh its just a supernatrual being…didnt know you had one…"
November 11, 2011 at 8:53 pmSoiyeruda
I figured Shimada was more shocked that his hiding place for the gold was found so easily, tbh.
November 12, 2011 at 11:55 pmaiueo123
This week episode's pacing is all over the place. The first and 2nd episode was bad pacing wise, but it's even worse on this episode. I, as the viewer, didn't even get the chance to recall any story detail while watching the episode and that detract the enjoyment from watching detective story like this a lot.
November 13, 2011 at 1:18 pmhoh
Yes, the pacing was really rushed. And I for one didn't quite understand why the artist killed the two guys in the sculpture.
She's not after the money (or was she? I am really confused). All she wanted was to expose the corruption of the politician. The episode gives the impression that she put the corpses in there and get them discovered during the ceremony, so that she can catch the nature reflection of the politician and hence learn where the gold bricks are.
If this is the case, her goal really is the same with the two she murdered. So why kill them? wasn't there other ways to induce the same nature reflection? eg. buy two corpses, dress them in clothes suggesting robbery for example. Also if she killed the two young man to expose the politician, wasn't she the same as the man she tried to expose then: killing in the name of a higher cause.
November 14, 2011 at 6:22 amsearchingforclouds
This is the episode that made me keep watching this anime. I am super excited to watch the next one!
November 14, 2011 at 8:01 pmZhiroc
Un-go is probably the most interesting anime I've watched in a while that for some reason just fails entertainment-wise for me. The premise seems like I should like it, but I get absolutely no vibe, no connection to the story (if you can call it that) or the characters. I've decided to drop it from my watch list.


Louise Of Savoy, French Louise De Savoie, (born Sept. 11, 1476, Pont d'Ain, France—died Sept. 22, 1531, Grez, near Fontainebleau), mother of King Francis I of France, who as regent twice during his reign played a major role in the government of France.
The daughter of Philip II the Landless, duke of Savoy, and Marguerite de Bourbon, Louise married Charles de Valois-Orléans, comte d'Angoulême; they had two children, Margaret, future queen of Navarre and patron of Humanists and Reformers, and Francis, who became heir presumptive to the French crown on the accession of Louis XII in 1498.
In 1515 Francis ascended the throne and Louise, devoted to her son, took an active part in government. Created duchesse d'Angoulême, she was appointed regent when Francis undertook his first expedition to Italy (1515–16). When her niece Suzanne de Bourbon died in 1521 and left her estate to her husband Charles, the constable duke de Bourbon, Louise claimed the estate for herself, doing much to push Charles to treason (1523).
Regent again in 1525–26, during the king's second Italian expedition, Louise was able to detach Henry VIII of England from his alliance with the Holy Roman emperor Charles V. She was also active in negotiations to free her son from captivity in Spain, and, with Margaret of Austria, she negotiated the Treaty of Cambrai, or "Ladies' Peace," in 1529 between Francis and Charles V.


text:
Behren-Lübchin (pol. Lubochnia) – gmina w Niemczech, w kraju związkowym Meklemburgia-Pomorze Przednie, w powiecie Rostock, wchodzi w skład Związku Gmin Gnoien.

5 września 2011 do gminy przyłączono gminę Wasdow, która stała się jej częścią (Ortsteil).

Zobacz też
 Behren

Przypisy

Powiat Rostock
Gminy w Meklemburgii-Pomorzu Przednim


text:
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By Michael Jasinski Last updated Feb 19, 2018
By Yevdokia Sheremetyeva (little_hirosima)
Translated from Russian by J.Hawk
I've discovered that fraud and parasitism off Donbass volunteerism are flourishing.
There are many "foundations" and people who are making a profit off the misery of others. What am I talking about?
I, as well as Galya Sozanchuk and other volunteers who assemble their own aid supplies are constantly traveling to the Donbass. They don't simply spend their time, efforts, nerves. Now I'll try to provide an approximate description what it means to go to the Donbass with aid.
At some point you realize that some dirtbag has put up a site, complete with account information, on which they use YOUR reports from aid trips. And people send them money. They have hundreds of likes and reposts. And all of that goes into their pockets, bypassing the Donbass.
It's difficult to describe a humanitarian aid trip. I don't mention much, in fact I leave most of it out. Do you know what it's like to cross a border with 3.5 tons of food, medicine, and other goods?
Sometimes we may be stuck for a day and a half–we are sitting on the border. In a bitter, silent expectation that they won't let you through. But you've collected money from all over Russia, even the world. People are waiting to see your reports, people have trusted you. And how many people are waiting for this aid.
You run around with documents, thank you letters, you shake baby food and diapers customs people in the face. You are chasing down shift leaders, begging them. You tell them about bomb shelters, basements, and they reply: "we're not authorized." You cry, you are covered in tears, when some of them tell you are going to sell all that–in other words, that you are stealing humanitarian aid. And you haven't slept for two nights. Not for a minute. You hands are shaking. Because you've already spent a whole week in preparation for the trip–reserving a vehicle, food, coordination, assembling the aid, loading. Every day something new arrives–medicine, other things. You assemble it. You talk to everyone, explaining the route. The logistics are insane. On the last day you realize that you have to get a refrigerator to deliver 20 thousand rubles of medicine so that a newborn's lungs would open.
Many volunteers hand-carry tons of cargoes across the border. They unload multi-ton trucks and put it in pick-ups and take across the border. Back and forth, back and forth. You pressure them with charisma, tears, whatever else might work. Nerves, hysterics, pleas, negotiations, hand-wringing, threats, raised voices.
Lines, endless lines at the border. You have to explain to everyone that you are carrying humanitarian aid. The trip takes two-three days. You sleep along the way. It's a truck, the seats don't fold back. You look like a zombie in that position. Coffee and energy drinks. And after the trip your head is ready to roll off your shoulders. I've survived to major accidents. I'll keep the details to myself.
And the trucks break down along the way, usually at night and far away from human habitation. But you can't turn off the engine, otherwise the refrigerator will turn itself off and the medicine will go bad, so the kid won't get help.
But those are mere details.
Now it's quiet, but also made trips when grad rockets were coming down in the fields. And you can't tell what they are shooting at during night time. It's a war zone, after all.
We drove at night, during curfew, without permits, with Moscow plates. The roads have holes from artillery shells so deep that when you drive into one at night when you can't see it, sparks fly as the truck's bottom scrapes the asphalt. And you also hear the distant shells.
But even that's not the hardest and scariest part.
The hardest is the distribution. Home to home. They always write you ahead of time–please help this family! They are starving! You make contact, you travel with a 20kg package of food and household goods. Then the door is opened by some unpleasant woman and in an authoritative tone tells you–leave it here. You tell her–"we need a photograph of you, us, and the aid, for confirmation purposes, let us come in the house," and she says "no, leave it here." And she won't let you in the door. You feel like someone just threw excrement at you. You turn around and want to leave, and you hear obscenities and promises that she'll lodge a complaint.
They don't seem to think much of me. A girl who's getting paid to bring food. Too young and too funny-looking. I'm not into the ego thing, but when after a couple of days without sleep, when you are told: "I'll complain about you to the authorities/the fundation/the government, and you'll hae problems," you want to spit someone in the face. But you just answer: "I collected all of it, so you can complain to me." But some don't believe you.
There aren't many of them, but they exist. And they really get to you. They eat you alive.
You go home to home like a psycho, sometimes you don't find anyone home, you take photos, videos, write down stories. Keep track.
We find people in other places. You find out who needs what, you write it down, compile a schedule.
When you are done, you drop dead asleep. Because the last drop has been squeezed out of you. You are dead. But the next morning you must go to the hospital to visit Sergey Kutsenko, fix his problem at he hospital, deliver needles and test strips to the diabetes center. Place everything into bags for delivery. Drop in on Vika and spend two hours explaining to her mother that if she's not hospitalized, she'll die.
And then you lie down to sleep and you hear artillery shells. Zhenya says from the adjacent room:
–It's far away, no need to go to the basement.
So you sleep without worries. Because it's far away.
Far away–in other words about 10 kilometers.
You've been squeezed out like a lemon, because in addition to the physical strain you are coping with dozens of stories. Many people are very grateful. But some put you on edge.
Coming back home to Moscow. Home is empty. You start to write. You write reports, attach photographs. You write and write. You relive the stories of the people whom you've met, only now they hit home because back there you had other things on your mind. Hurry, hurry. And then you get idiot commentators who try to teach you how to live. Say that you are a fool.
You drive like a maniac from Moscow to Lugansk because the next day there's a party at the kindergarten. Can't be late.
–Mommy, are you coming? Please…
And you also have your own mom at home who never wants to let you go anywhere, and every time demands:
–Promise it's the last time.
But she knows I'll go again. Yet every time she asks with hope. She's so unnerved that she doesn't sleep.
A week's break from this terrible pace.
Then there are the parallel pairs, or students' exams.
I had to give lectures right after returning. We were late, so some exams had to be cancelled. There were cases of me giving lectures after 4 hours of sleep in the truck.
And then more reports, accounting, emotions. Replying to letters. Convincing people that you are not lying to them, it's not a fake foundation.
Believe me, it's only a small portion of what I can tell.
I'm not complaining. It's my choice, my decision. Just as it is the decision of my fellow volunteers.
But then you see how some scum steal your reports and photographs. They post them, and take money off them. I've seen my and my colleagues' photos on the internet many times.
I can't even express what I feel. Emptiness.
So from now on all Donbass reports are accompanied by watermarks, something I didn't understand the need for before. I know, it's no guarantee.
One thing makes me happier–your letters of support and desire to help.
Your non-indifference. It helps me keep in mind that not all people are scum.
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mystudentpod.com are pleased to offer this four bedroom semi-detached student house situated in Brassey Road, Winton and close to local shops and transport links. The property comprises of four double bedrooms, bathroom, lounge and modern kitchen with appliances. The property also benefits from being recently carpeted throughout. Fees apply, please contact us for more details.


John is a Consultant and heads up the Construction and Civil Engineering team and has worked with large developers, main contractors, sub contractors, architects and interior designers.
John specialises in construction and civil engineering law including: advising and negotiating contracts, health and safety law, employment issues, drafting warranties and bonds, writing terms and conditions, advising on Party Walls Act, dispute resolution and debt recovery.
Having qualified as a Solicitor and a Quantity Surveyor (QS), John has a unique understanding of the day to day operations 'on-site' and is therefore able to provide advice which is mindful of the needs of the project but ultimately protects the business as a whole.
John's unique breadth of skills and experience are widely recognised by his clients and he is often asked to join project teams in an advisory capacity.
As a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, John has experience in dispute resolution whether through litigation, arbitration, mediation or negotiation.


More than 676,000 net square feet of exhibit space are reserved for 2019 show.
Informa Exhibitions, U.S. reports that its recently completed space draw for World of Concrete 2019 secured just over 970 exhibitors booking more than 676,000 net square feet of exhibit space.
With nine months remaining until WOC 2019, organizers are anticipating significant growth over World of Concrete 2018–which was the largest event in nine years, with 58,000 registered professionals featuring 1,564 leading-industry suppliers exhibiting across more than 746,000 net square feet of space.
World of Concrete 2019, taking place January 22-25; Seminars 21-25, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, will feature a week of exciting new products, the latest equipment, cutting-edge technologies, exciting spectator events and competitions, and more than 150 educational sessions including luncheons, interactive workshops, hands-on training, and industry and hands-on training.
Visit www.worldofconcrete.com for complete show details.


Reserve now - we sell out!
Come on up to beautiful Shaver Lake where its cooler and the air is clear.
Few things in life can rival the thrill of gliding along behind a powerful ski boat on a wake board, inner tube or water skis. Or you can try surfing the wake of a boat!
That's why, in addition to pontoon boats, a ski boat and jet ski watercraft for your pleasure, we offer wake boards, a surfboard,inner tubes and water ski accessories.
Tubes and wake boards are $25 per day. The surfboard is available for $50 a day. You can rent a 3-5 person tube for $40. All those with reservations must come to Shaver Lake Power Center at 41359 Tollhouse Road, Shaver Lake. We have a strict 24 hour cancellation - or no refund. Please download this Rental Contract Form, print it out, complete it and bring it with you to save you time in the rental process.


Above is Walt Sweet's latest design, the Umbra, which can be purchased with a whistle head as well. It is designed as a mini Irish flute (piccolo) with a particularly strong 1st and 2nd octaves.
I grew up in a drumcorps family in Connecticut, where everyone was expected to play the fife or the drum. That activity is a culture behind the scenes from Massachusetts to New Jersey and beyond, connecting thousands of participants across generations. Of course there are legitimate fifers and drummers elsewhere. I'm talking about the narrow, straightbore, ±Bb fife that plays loud outdoor music in the 2nd and 3rd octaves. The repertoire and performance practices are associated with rope-tension drums and rudimental drumming, whose roots are traceable to the 1830s and before. We typically wear "Colonial" uniforms and march in firemen's parades to raise money for the corps to buy drums, uniforms and refreshments (!). The contemporary repertoire has a small handful of tunes that can be documented to manuscripts of the Revolutionary Period, a fair number of modern compositions in the traditional style, and much of the repertoire dates from the latter 1800s. Only some of the music heard today was ever official military music, the rest being folk tunes, 'pop music' and songs of a bygone era. Being its own scene, only some of the music and musicians overlap other genres.
When I was 13 years old, I wanted one of those new-fangled 10-hole fifes, but the folks couldn't justify the expense. In response, I got hold of a Cooperman maple fife and used a pistol drill to drill the extra holes for accidentals. I also used steel wool on a gun-cleaning rod to smooth the bore. That was the beginning of my life as an instrument-maker in 1971. Of course, I like to think I've graduated to more sophisticated methods and designs now.
When Dad was a teenager, he had wanted to become a square-dance caller, and thought that the fife (or some manifestation) would be good in the band. We're talking about a diatonic piccolo in D with a large bore, and this was his first type of instrument offered in 1973. The bore at 1/2" favors the low octaves for playing in the same way as an Irish flute or pennywhistle, not for drumcorps or modern bands. For that reason, I prefer to call it a "High Flute." With some refinements, the UMBRA in polymer and 15/32" (12mm) bore is essentially the same. The standard Boehm piccolo has an 11mm bore, good for playing into the 3rd octave where it can transcend 76 trombones and 110 cornets.
By 1974, we were playing for contradances, using the traditional fiddle repertoire. Many dance series were active in the 1970s in New England, connected directly or indirectly with Dudley Laufman. On the scene with me at the time were Chuck Malloch, Dave Cantieni and Ron Grosslein, all good players. Deanna Stiles is prominent and still active, but on the standard Boehm piccolo. Other flute players have been known to double on the piccolo or HiD fife. I'm more likely to see these instruments in contradance bands or at the New England Folk Festival than at the local Irish session.
violin. This way, I'll play everything the fiddles play, especially in the extended range below and low D and above high B (into fiddle's 3rd position, etc.).
The Sweets were just down the road from me growing up, in Holyoke, Ma. A visited their shop a good few times over the years. Ralph helped me out a few times doing emergency repairs.
Big thank you to the Sweets.


Here's another idea for a Christmas gift for eco-friendly gardeners. You can let the recipient decide whether it is a gag gift or not. I know it almost made me gag when I first read about it.
I was poking around on Facebook the other day and saw a conversation about eating Hornworms.
Now, I'm all for finding alternative means of garden pest disposal, since I don't believe in using chemicals on my property. I usually do hand pick our hornworms and, on some occasions, have probably gotten enough for a nice hardy snack. Still, I doubt that I'll ever be tempted to take a nibble out of my hornworms, any more than I'm tempted to eat crickets, grasshoppers, bees or any of the other bugs mentioned in The Eat A Bug Cookbook: 33 ways to cook grasshoppers, ants, water bugs, spiders, centipedes, and their kin, by David George Gordon (aka The Bug Chef).
Gordon says that eating protein rich bugs is good for you ("Crickets are loaded with calcium, and termites are rich in iron), and good for the earth ("Raising cows, pigs, and sheep is a tremendous waste of the planet's resources, but bug ranching is pretty benign").
Gordon collected info from bug-eating cultures around the world and includes information on how to cook each bug and which wine to drink with them. He even provides tips on how to catch your own insects – a great eco-friendly means of pest control!!
I think I'll buy a copy of the book just so I can have it laying on my coffee table. It will certainly be…ahem…food for thought.
If you do decide to try any of the deep-fry recipes, just remember to can the grease when you are done. Putting grease down the drain can eventually mean clogs for you, potential backups into your basement and sewage overflows in the local sewer systems.
So please do your part by disposing of fats, oils and grease the proper way.
then throw the can into the trash.
And keep the can covered so it doesn't spill while you're waiting to add more grease.
For more about the Can the Grease campaign, visit these websites: Arlington, VA and MWCOG.
What does a tomato hornworm taste like? Well, what would you taste like if you'd been stuffing yourself solely with tomato leaves for the better part of a month? Hornworms are ridiculously chlorophyll-rich. They taste great with just about any summer vegetable, but my favorite recipe draws inspiration from the cuisine of the Whistle Stop Cafe, that fictitious Alabama diner made famous by novelist Fanny Flagg.
"You'll think you died and gone to heaven," boasts Flagg of her recipe. To which I add, "If you do go to heaven, ask the Powers That Be to keep the tomato hornworms out of my vegetable patch."
In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil. Then lightly fry the hornworms, about 4 minutes, taking care not to rupture the cuticles of each insect under high heat. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Season tomato rounds with salt and pepper, then coat with cornmeal on both sides.
Top each round with 2 fried tomato hornworms.
Garnish the paired hornworms with a single basil leaf.
I am NOT a history buff. Trying to wade through the details of what happened ages ago, regardless of the impact those events had on present day life, isn't something that would normally hold my attention. The same is true of most biographies. So before I picked up Andrea Wulf's book, Founding Gardeners: the Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, I have to admit that I knew very little about George Washington, other than the fact that he was the first president of the United States. But now I feel as if I know the man intimately. Why? Because now I know how he felt about his gardens.
"Only American natives should be used, he instructed, and all could be transplanted from the forests of Mount Vernon. As the young nation faced its first military confrontation in the name of liberty, Washington decided that Mount Vernon was to be an American garden where English trees were not allowed." So Washington's "native" garden was as much a political statement as it was for any other reason.
I had never really thought of state or country loyalty when listing all the benefits of native plants. (I prefer them primarily for their ease of maintenance and wildlife value.) But if you are a history buff, an avid gardener, or both, I encourage you to read Founding Gardeners, or give it as a gift to the good little gardeners on your list. And once you receive it, I encourage you to go outside, find a quiet spot, and allow yourself to be immersed in the history of our Founding Gardeners.
Now its your turn to answer the question. Why do you have native plants in your landscape?


In many respects a veterinarian is similar to a pediatrician. Animals cannot talk, and much of the clinical history is obtained from the owner or client; as a pediatrician would obtain from a child's parents. Excellent people skills, and communication skills are required.


text:
Q: Removing multiple array values with Array.filter() I have an array of strings:
let arr = ["1", ":", "3", "0", " ", "P", "M"];

I want to remove the ":" and the whitespace using one filter helper. Is this possible? It works if I chain the methods together.
arr = arr.filter(n => n !== ":").filter(n => n !== " ");

Is there a way that I could run this inside of only one filter method without chaining it? I realize I could also get this done with map() and run a conditional for string comparisons, but I was curious if it could be done with filter().

A: Chain the conditionals with an AND operator, like this:
arr.filter(n => n !== ":" && n !== " ");

A: You approach only needs to join the conditions using AND logical operator
arr.filter(n => n !== ":" && n !== " ");
                          ^^

This approach uses the function test as a handler for the function filter
This is the regex: [:\s]

let arr = ["1", ":", "3", "0", " ", "P", "M"],
    result = arr.filter(s => !/[:\s]/.test(s));

console.log(result);
.as-console-wrapper { max-height: 100% !important; top: 0; }

As academy approach you can join replace and split
Regexp: /[:\s]/g
Assuming the other elements don't have spaces nor colons

let arr = ["1", ":", "3", "0", " ", "P", "M"],
    result = arr.join('').replace(/[:\s]/g, '').split('');

console.log(result);
.as-console-wrapper { max-height: 100% !important; top: 0; }

A: Use a regular expression
arr.filter(n => !n.match(/[:\s]/) );

it will match any of the values inside [ and ]

A: I will rather do it by making blacklist array

let arr = ["1", ":", "3", "0", " ", "P", "M"],
    notAllowed = [' ', ':'];

console.log(arr.filter(a => !notAllowed.includes(a)));

A: arr = arr.filter(n => n !== ":" && n !== " ");

Pretty simple really! :)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Sit back, relax and enjoy the good life. This townhouse has been completely remodeled-no work left to be done. Kitchen has new cabinets, countertops, backsplash, appliances and lighting. Convenient laundry area off the kitchen. Bathrooms have been updated, interior completely repainted, new flooring, plantation shutters added, new lighting, fans and fixtures. 2-car attached garage allows you to pull inside and walk right into your new home. Relaxing rear screened porch. Gated Oak Harbour community offers low maintenance living on Lake Orienta. Amenities included clubhouse,2 pools, tennis courts, shuffle board and boat dock. Convenient location allows easy access to shops, restaurants, hospitals and more.
I was searching for a Property and found this listing (MLS® #O5769149). Please send me more information regarding 677 Post Oak Cir #107, Altamonte Springs, FL, 32701. Thank you!
I'd like to request a showing of 677 Post Oak Cir #107, Altamonte Springs, FL, 32701 (MLS® #O5769149). Thank you!
677 Post Oak Cir #107 is located in the Oak Harbour Sec 4 neighborhood in Altamonte Springs, FL. This residential property for sale is currently being offered at $219,900. Built in 1998 this 3 bedroom, 3.00 bathroom Central Florida residential property has been listed on RealtyInOrlando.com for 3 days. 677 Post Oak Cir #107 is priced at $135 Per Square Foot, and is situated on 0.02 acres of land. Please contact your local Realtor® for more information on 677 Post Oak Cir #107, Altamonte Springs, Florida 32701. Property Listing Reference: MLS number: O5769149.


Working together with our community partners, including local health departments and other hospitals, we are focused on disease prevention, promoting access to quality healthcare services and improving the overall quality of life for our communities. Below are the community service plans that outline those efforts.
We are participating in a national initiative - Partnership for Patients (PFP) - aimed at improving the quality of care and making healthcare safer by reducing hospital-acquired conditions and re-admissions. NYS Partnership for Patients was recognized as one of the nation's highest performing programs, and was highlighted by a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report in 2014.


An amazing multi-city flight deal just became available for travel from Winnipeg to Hong Kong (HKG) to Tokyo, Japan (NRT) and then back to Winnipeg, all for just $674 roundtrip including taxes.
Yes, that's right. All 3 flights, for about half the typical price of a normal roundtrip flight to either one of these destinations.
You can spend time in each place, such as one week in Hong Kong, and then one week in Tokyo.
The flights use a combination of United Airlines and ANA.
The example searches are for 1 passenger. When you get to FlightHub, you can click on 'More Options' to restart the search, and search for 2 passengers.
The example searches are for 1 week in each place (1 week in Hong Kong, 1 week in Tokyo).
You can try your own search for longer stays, but you should probably focus on Wed flights for the best results.
When you get to FlightHub you can click on 'More Options' to try different dates.
There seem to be a handful of 2016 dates available. The March one is the latest in 2016 that I've seen it available for. The March one is also interesting because that's a pretty good month to visit both Hong Kong and Tokyo.
2. Complete your booking on FlightHub.
Winnipeg to just Tokyo, $710 roundtrip including taxes.
There are also some regular roundtrip flights available from Winnipeg to Tokyo, Japan for $710 roundtrip including taxes, which is a pretty amazing price on it's own.
When you get to FlightHub, click on 'More Options' to modify the dates.
Try dates in September, October, November 2015 or January, February, March, April 2016.
Focus on Tuesday to Tuesday flights for the best chance of success.
The trip can be one week, two weeks, three weeks, etc.
Winnipeg to just Hong Kong, $588 roundtrip including taxes.
winnipeg, ywg, flight deals, tokyo, japan, nrt, asia, east asia, united airlines, hong kong, hkg and ana all nippon airways.
15 Responses to "Winnipeg to Hong Kong to Tokyo, Japan and then back to Winnipeg - all for just $674 after taxes"
When I click on the links the prices I see are much higher then what you are showing both for the multi city and single city trips.
Amazing deal - but the deal is only good for 2 people. The single traveler gets screwed again! BAH!
Lester: Can you clarify what you mean? All of the example links are for 1 passenger. If anything, the single traveler would have an advantage in this case, if there were only one ticket remaining at the cheap price.
It seems like 95 percent of people are having no trouble viewing the lower prices, but there seems to be 5 percent that are only seeing higher prices.
I'm trying to figure out what the reason is, it might have to do with the person viewing the regular website version versus the mobile version of FlightHub.
For the record, I'm using the regular website version when checking the links.
Thanks for looking into this Chris! I'm on the regular site and I can only see the deal when I select 2 or more people. When I select one person the price is around $1400.
Thanks Lester, that's definitely unusual, I'll take a look at that.
Susan: Yes, FlightHub is the only place I've seen these. The consensus on FlightHub, from what I've seen across Canada, is that they're fine for getting your ticket issued from the airline, but are bad at customer service.
So, as long as you don't anticipate needing to make any changes to your ticket down the road, all should be fine. But if you do see yourself needing to make changes, their phone support is pretty bad.
Also remember that they try to charge you $20 for 'same day cancellation insurance' by default, which is pretty lame, since most third party booking sites and airlines offer 24 hour cancellation for free.
If you don't take the 'same day cancellation' insurance, they will try to charge you a lot if you need to cancel within 24 hours. (The same as most every place would if you tried to cancel *after* 24 hours).
So the bottom line is, if you're certain it's the flight you want, and don't foresee yourself needing to make adjustments later, they're ok to use.
Lester: What dates are you trying when you can only see it when you select 2 or more people?
Thanks for the info on Flighthub, Chris.
Can you explain (or theorize) why these deals are available only through Flighthub? I didn't realize that an online travel agent could have exclusive access to special prices.
It's very rare these days, but I do see cases where a price can only be found with one specific online travel agency. It's hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing these are usually consolidator fares.
And also, strangely, this week I booked a flight on Air Berlin that was $160 on Cheapoair.ca and over $400 on the Air Berlin site.
Same here, I cannot find the pricess advertised either.
These ones lasted until about 6 PM EST on May 22nd before the prices changed back. It was a pretty popular one that went pretty quickly, as it was available from Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton, in addition to Winnipeg.
I'll definitely let everyone know if any more appear! Sometimes they do come back.


"From the beginning, we felt it important to include past alumni as an integral part of our AOI family. So it is with that feeling that we grieve the loss of one of our own, Madolyn Fallis, known to many by her nickname 'Mad Sue.'"
The AOI family joins the Schwandt family as they mourn the loss and celebrate the life of husband, father, and grandfather, Don.
Native of Oklahoma and student of Mildred Andrews, Clarece Candamio was an accomplished and devoted organist, touring internationally and touching the lives of all who heard her play.
"He was a talented organist and pedagogue, and a source of an almost infinite wealth of knowledge and experience."


Pregnancy is an important issue, not only because it doesn't necessarily happen naturally, but because it can have a big impact on the life of the baby and the mother, and this has always been considered serious business.
Needless to say, if someone doesn't work carefully around pregnancy it can get complicated, meaning many different outcomes that could damage the baby or even the mother, so, people usually follow simple recommendations.
These simple recommendations sometimes come from our physicians, friends or common sense, but, they may be too obvious, like avoiding alcohol or smoking.
And let me tell you, there are much more tips hiding out there that could help you have a healthy pregnancy. In this post we share some of these not so obvious tips that you can follow during your pregnancy.
Consulting your physician or basically planning the pregnancy can change the outcome of everything completely, so it is the first and most important tip.
Stressing yourself out is definitely not a good thing for you or your baby. During this period, you'll want to relax and even learn from it, you could read a pregnancy-related book, join a group or simply relax in your house.
During the pregnancy period, you'll have greater daily requirements so having a little bit of everything every day will be helpful. Most physicians also advise that you keep track of everything you consume.
Your body is a temple, and during pregnancy this is no exception, a nice way to prepare it is to exercise regularly. Join a Pilates class, or hire a professional trainer to ensure you remain fit for your pregnancy.
As you have seen, preparation is the most important part of a healthy pregnancy. Please keep in mind that not everybody functions equally, so you may experience some things before or after others and this is totally fine so relax and enjoy this experience.