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In addition to this, you’ll be able to see a scatter icon in view, which is represented by the trees with faces. Should you manage to spin three or more of these into any location on the reels, you’ll be rewarded with 15 freespins. During this round, any pay outs will be tripled and freespins can be re-triggered as well.
Novomatic have also added their regular gamble feature to the game, which provides all players with the opportunity to try and increase their winnings. It is triggered after every winning round during the main game, and will offer you up the possibility of playing a side game to do so. Should you choose to do this, you will be taken to a new screen. This will present you with a deck of playing cards, and you will need to guess the colour of the next playing card to be turned over. If you manage to do this correctly, you will see your winnings doubled. Alternatively, if you don’t guess correctly, your winnings will be lost.
This game presents a wonderfully magical game, which is filled with visually pleasing animations and graphics. It’s a shame about the previously noted music and interface, but gamers will be pleased to spend their time gazing upon intricately crafted symbols as they spin the reels.
Gracefruit.com - Making Soap, Living Well: Catching Up!
We've been busy at Gracefruit these past few weeks as our customers prepare for their Christmas rush. Rob the guru has found time to set up a lovely Facebook page for us.
Please have a look if you get a moment!
Ron Kroichick July 21, 2016 Updated: July 21, 2016 7:54 p.m.
Curry offered a half-amused glare in return. That one hurt.
Barely a month after his team fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, completing a shocking collapse from a 3-1 series lead, Curry made a very public appearance. He played 18 holes with four amateur partners in advance of this year’s American Century Championship, the celebrity golf tournament starting Friday alongside Lake Tahoe.
Curry invited The Chronicle to tag along and chat occasionally as he walked the emerald-green fairways on a breathtakingly gorgeous day.
Three things became clear: The Finals loss still haunts him; he worried about needing surgery on his troublesome knee and ankle; and he’s confident the Warriors will blend recently signed free agent Kevin Durant into the lineup, after a brief transition.
“I think about it all the time,” Curry said of the Finals. “It’s a frustrating feeling to not get the job done. But at the end of the day, for us to kind of keep that in our memory bank as we go forward will make us better.
Curry looked spry as he smacked long tee shots around Edgewood, a picturesque tree-lined course. No limping, no hesitation, no sign of lingering trouble in the wake of knee and ankle injuries during the playoffs.
Make no mistake: Those injuries limited his mobility in the Finals. That was plain to see. Curry lacked his customary explosiveness, and the Cavaliers — most notably Irving, their dynamic point guard — took full advantage. Irving scored 26 points in Game 7, including a key late three-pointer over Curry.
Caddie Bryant Barr and Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry talk things over during the 2016 American Century Celebrity-Amateur Tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, California, on Thurs. July 22, 2016. His caddie Bryant Barr, (right) was his roommate back in their college days at Davidson.
To his credit, Curry didn’t use the injuries as an excuse. He didn’t Thursday, either, but he acknowledged fearing he might need surgery after the Finals. That’s the main reason he reluctantly skipped joining the U.S. Olympic team as it prepares for next month’s Summer Games in Brazil.
Thursday’s outing represented the first time Curry offered his take on Durant’s rock-the-league decision to join the Warriors. Curry was part of the recruiting delegation to visit Durant in the Hamptons, hoping to persuade the sought-after free agent from Oklahoma City to sign with Golden State.
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry signs autographs during the 2016 American Century Celebrity-Amateur Tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, California, on Thurs. July 22, 2016.
A few days later, on the morning of July 4, Curry woke up on vacation in Hawaii to discover his phone lighting up. Durant had left a voice mail. Draymond Green and other teammates had sent text messages.
But the first text Curry opened was from Warriors owner Joe Lacob. Curry figured Lacob was offering consolation, but then he read the message and realized Durant was now his teammate.
The weirdness will morph into a tantalizing challenge come training camp, as the Warriors try to spread shots among Curry, Durant and Klay Thompson. And maybe a few for Green, too.
“It’ll be a transition,” Curry said. “I don’t want to say guys will have to sacrifice — I want guys to be who they are, because that’s what makes us so powerful. But there’s a transition in how we see the game, how we see the floor, how the flow goes.
Before the Warriors embark on that quest, Curry waded into his new reality at Edgewood. The last time he played in this tournament, in 2013, he was not yet a two-time Most Valuable Player. The Warriors had not yet won the NBA title.
Curry was popular, but he wasn’t quite Steph Curry.
So the person with the biggest job Thursday probably was Ralph Walker, the retired Oakland police officer who serves as Curry’s personal chief of security. Curry patiently signed hundreds and hundreds of autographs, while Walker helped him make his way between holes.
The circus was on full display. Several young women screamed in unison on No. 9, asking Curry to pose for a photo. He cleverly stopped, shouted “Photobomb!” and spread his arms wide with a big smile, appearing in the background of their shot.
Later, fans on the beach alongside No. 17 threw a football, Frisbee and Warriors hat for Curry to sign. He complied on all three counts.
“It’s kind of chaotic, man,” he said.
And, no, it wasn’t nearly as chaotic three years ago in Tahoe. Back then, Curry and a small group of family and friends went out for pizza and a movie to celebrate daughter Riley’s first birthday. Few people bothered them.
Wednesday night’s scene provided a striking contrast. Curry, his dad, Dell, caddie/college roommate Bryant Barr and Walker stopped at Safeway on the way back to their rental house.
I made a pizza with cauliflower crust last night. I didn’t die. But I wouldn’t want it to be my new normal.
For families with housing vouchers in St. Louis, even the threat of budget cuts means dramatic consequences. For people on the waitlist, it’s even worse.
Adeena Crape may be one of the last people in St. Louis to receive a housing voucher—at least for a while.
Crape received a call late this past November from the Housing Authority. Upon learning she could pick up her voucher, she was taken aback. Years had passed since Crape put her name on the waitlist. She had dismissed the idea that a voucher would ever come. “I'm not even sure how I got it!” Crape says.
Crape applied the last time the St. Louis Housing Authority opened its waitlist—a fleeting five-day window in July 2014. Over the course of those five days, 27,708 residents of St. Louis put their names on the list. In other major cities, the demand for vouchers is just as extraordinary. The last time Chicago opened its waitlist for housing aid, 260,000 households applied. With that many people in the pool, the Chicago Housing Authority held a random lottery, advancing only one in every five families to the voucher waitlist. Nationwide, around 3 million families are on voucher waitlists. If the waitlists weren’t closed, the number might be as high as 9 million families.
In the coming months, Congress will make decisions that may dramatically shape Crape’s monthly housing payments, and possibly even her status as a voucher holder. With budget cuts looming, public housing authorities across the country are preparing to shrink their Housing Choice Voucher programs. Philosophically, staff in St. Louis and elsewhere will have to decide on the lesser of two evils: cut the number of vouchers or slash the value that vouchers provide.
Today, the St. Louis Housing Authority is working its way through the waitlist chronologically—and they have yet to review applicants who signed up after day one of that five-day reprieve back in 2014. That Crape spent years on the waitlist is strikingly typical. According to HUD, 35 percent of voucher holders spend more than three years on waitlists—and 15 percent spend more than five years waiting. “You know, it’s so hard out here. I know people on the waitlist 10 years, 8 years, 6 years,” Crape says.
St. Louis’s long line to a voucher is a testament to the pent-up demand for affordable housing.
Nationwide, only one out of every four eligible households receive support. For those without assistance, conditions are worsening; between 2013 and 2015, HUD reports, the number of severely rent-burdened households increased by more than half a million.
Against this backdrop, federal allocations are positioned to shrink services, shifting the costs to the individual. Cuts will disproportionately burden black women. In St. Louis, black people account for 94 percent of voucher holders. More than 80 percent are women-headed homes. For a city where almost a quarter of renters spend 50 percent or more of their income on housing, fewer federal dollars would mean more residents fighting housing insecurity.
Receiving a voucher does not necessarily ensure that recipients will be able to obtain safe, affordable housing. Folks like Crape are already navigating a rental landscape in St. Louis in which housing stock is increasingly limited and landlords regularly discriminate against voucher holders, despite the fact that this practice is illegal within city limits. Further, just last year during budget negotiations, more than a thousand vouchers nationwide were rescinded while families attempted to secure units, sending them back to the waitlist.
Cheryl Lovell, the executive director of the St. Louis Housing Authority, administers vouchers to just under 7,000 households in the city and neighboring county. Just before the new year, HUD notified housing authorities of possible budget cuts based on Congressional proposals. The letter told directors to anticipate anywhere from a one to five percent cut in voucher program funding. “I know our funding is going to go down, but I don't know by how much,” Lovell says.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that, under the last Senate bill, 25,000 households nationwide would drop off the voucher program in a year—this, even though the bill increases HUD’s overall funding. The House bill is significantly harsher, cutting an estimated 105,000 households from the program. Put into further perspective, the budget Trump gave to Congress would cut around 235,000 households nationwide as part of the largest proposed cut to HUD since the Reagan era.
While waiting for last year’s budget to pass, Lovell says industry groups predicted that funding would renew only 95 percent of her budget. The 5 percent gap would have been enough to create a small crisis, had it materialized. Given the uncertainty, Lovell was forced into the precarious position of cutting her own program.
To mitigate the potential damage, the Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners decided to cut costs. They froze the waitlist for the first time since a nearly two-year period in 2014, meaning no names would come off the waitlist when vouchers became available. “Our first reaction, if the money gets cut substantially, is to just stop leasing to new tenants,” says Lovell.
Once the office stopped providing vouchers to applicants from the waitlist, attrition reduced the program. “Thirty-five to 40 households will fall off the program every month, and you hope that this makes up for the money that you've lost.” By not replacing these spots with families from the waitlist, Lovell’s program can be reduced by about 450 vouchers in a given year, if needed to fill a budget gap.
When the federal budget passed in May 2017, the St. Louis voucher program received more funding than expected. Still, the waitlist remained frozen for three months after the budget passed. “The leasing process itself takes a fairly long time to gear back up—so you stop and you start,” Lovell says. An uncertain budget increases inefficiencies.
The line Lovell walks was especially thin in 2013. That year, a gridlocked Congress triggered the across-the-board budget cut known as the sequester. As a result, housing authorities nationwide faced a 6 percent gap in voucher funding.
When housing authorities run out of other options, they sometimes turn to watering down the payment standard, or value, of vouchers. Payment standards are the maximum amount of subsidy a household can receive. When payment standards go down, tenants have a harder time making ends meet. Plus, their pool of available units is further restricted.
For households moving between homes in St. Louis during the summer of 2013, the support they received plummeted. The Housing Authority’s idea was to reduce each voucher holder’s support just enough to avoid knocking anyone off the program. Instead of receiving vouchers worth 110 percent of an area’s fair market rent (the maximum), their vouchers’ values sank to 95 percent. Vouchers no longer stretched as far. For example, in fiscal year 2013, a voucher for a two-bedroom unit within the city covered up to $871 of rent and utilities. Under these new payment standards and the 2013 budget, only up to $788 would be covered.
“This shifts more costs onto low-income households, who either must pay more to remain in their current housing or move to lower cost, lower quality housing,” writes Douglas Rice, senior policy analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. As a result, in St. Louis, fewer families were able to move out of the region’s high-poverty areas, where vouchers are already concentrated within lines of racial segregation. Policy changes fenced them in: The Housing Authority denied all tenant requests to move to homes in higher-cost areas. This, despite the program’s promise in increasing residents’ choices.
In May 2013, the housing authority sent a letter outlining program cutbacks to landlords, appealing to their goodwill. Staff, bracing for cuts, planned to decrease payment standards for all tenants, thereby increasing rent burden, with as little as 30 days warning. The letter asked landlords to voluntarily defer rent increases and reduce rent by 5 percent. Lovell admits, “These two attempts to reduce cost were not very successful.” Only two landlords deferred rent increases. No landlords reduced rent.
When facing cuts, even housing authorities are less likely to meet tenants half way. Leeway within programs—such as a payment plan for shifting income—can make the difference between a family keeping and losing their voucher. “But when you're trying to control the cost and get under this cap, all the nice things you do for people, you're just like, ‘Nope, sorry, can't do that anymore,’” Lovell says. Cuts to administrative funding over recent years have compounded the shrinking support that housing authorities provide to tenant-landlord relations.
And while budget uncertainty diminished the voucher program’s pledge of social mobility, it didn’t undermine it completely. St. Louis avoided the most extreme scenario: not a single voucher was taken from a family following this budget cut. For many housing authorities nationwide it was a closer call, with tenants’ livelihoods often hanging in the balance. “We do everything else before we do that, everything. We do not want to remove a family,” Lovell says. But if it has to happen, the rule is simple: Last in, first out.
Today, housing authorities everywhere, St. Louis city included, have narrower margins and shallower emergency funds than they did following sequestration. This makes the worst-case scenario—housing authorities revoking vouchers—all the more likely if the Trump administration succeeds in imposing radical austerity.
With uncertain cuts looming and an administration that is anxious to dramatically reduce housing support, Crape occupies the position of “last in.” Any future cost-cutting measures in St. Louis will be made in an attempt to keep her, and other households recently awarded vouchers, in their homes.
Caitlin Lee writes, researches, and designs in St. Louis, Missouri.
Clark Randall is a freelance writer based in St. Louis, Missouri. He studies the processes of segregation and suburbanization in the region.
I watched the ABC’s latest foray into public affairs last week, Q & A, or as it’s portrayed in it’s website link, QANDA.
I hadn’t managed to watch the show to date, despite the first show being dedicated to Kevin Rudd solely. These shows tend to be 50-50 as a translation into acceptable viewing, I find. 50% worth a look and 50% worth avoiding like the black plague.
The show I saw was this one, and truthfully, I found it quite entertaining and informative. Being the first viewing, I’m unsure of the usual panel make-up, but if this show is any guide, it seems there’s two or three pollies, a boofhead and a comedian. Looking back at previous lineups it seems the three pollies-plus-boofhead is usually evident, at least.
I’m writing about this program to alert bloggers to the upcoming edition of QANDA this Thursday, 26 June. The line up is one not to be missed because Timmy Blair will be making a rare appearance on the ABC, television no less. He’ll be accompanied by Labor’s Bill Shorten, Liberal Greg Hunt, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor and Angela Conway. Timmy Blair surrounded by two up-and-coming politically astute and aware politicians, the Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art and spokesperson for a somewhat closeted conservative thinktank. Who’s going to play the part of boofhead, I wonder? Given the precis by the ABC on Blair at QANDA’s site, It looks as though someone involved with the program has already decided that Timmy should.
Tim Blair is a columnist and blogger with The Daily Telegraph, Australia’s second best-selling newspaper. He describes his columns, which have previously appeared in The Bulletin, The Australian, The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, Time magazine and the Australian Financial Review, as dealing calmly and rationally with the subject of climate change, on which Blair is a world-recognised non-expert. Blair recently celebrated World Environment Day by driving from Sydney to Mackay, Queensland. Only 108 litres of fuel was consumed, a figure Blair himself describes as ‘pathetic’.
Even makes me cringe. Don’t miss it. Should be a complete hoot!
Viking Ocean Cruises, which two weeks ago pulled an order for ocean-going cruise ships from a French shipyard, now plans to build the ships at the Italian yard Fincantieri. The two companies signed a memorandum of agreement that calls for the construction of two new ocean cruise ships, with an option for a third vessel, for the new sister company to Viking River Cruises. It has not been determined whether the vessels will be built in the company’s Venice or Genoa shipyards.
The 45,000-ton, 998-passenger ships are scheduled for delivery in late 2014 and late 2015. A Viking press release said the parties reached an agreement on the financial and technical aspects of the deal and expect to sign the contract shortly, once the final documents and conditions are finalized. Some reports said Viking’s previous agreement with STX shipyard fell apart because of financing problems at the shipyard.
For Viking Chairman Tor Hagen, who formerly headed up Royal Viking Line before launching Viking River Cruises, the move represents a return to ocean cruising. He promises ships with a number of surprises that will be positioned in the upper premium market and will sail in the Mediterranean and the Baltic.
“We started Viking River Cruises to offer great destination experiences, and we are excited to bring this same destination focus back to ocean cruising,” Hagen said. “The ship designed by Fincantieri has a fresh and innovative design well suited to deliver the award-winning Viking experience."
Viking, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, is introducing six new river vessels this year and six more next year.
Cards: Crown Royale 2013 Silver (#139/199), Crown Royale 2013 Red (#14/99), Panini Black 2013 (#019/399), Photo Memorabilia.
An intriguing member of the Houston Texans, Ryan Griffin has shown flashes of promise in his limited playing time since he joined the Texans in 2013. The Texans love drafting tight ends and Griffin found himself buried behind Owen Daniels and Garrett Graham. With Daniels going down after the 5th game, Griffin saw more active playing time behind Graham. When Griffin was out there, he provided a respectable option for the Texans’ ragged quarterback rotation. Viewed as a poor-man’s Daniels, Griffin logged 19 receptions (on 28 targets) for 244 yards, scoring his first professional TD against the Arizona Cardinals.
As the Texans cleaned house after the 2013 season and new coach Bill O’Brien bringing in his multiple offensive system, Daniels was allowed to sign via free agency with the Ravens. Graham was elevated to starter and Griffin was relegated to third string again behind new arrival CJ Fiedorciwz. Still Griffin started 2 games and made 10 receptions. He scored his second professional TD in the Texans 45-21 blow out of the Tennessee Titans.
While the selection of Griffin and Brandon Brooks met with a collective disappointed sigh from the autograph community- I relished it, because it ensured that the event would still be a draw for the true fans. I quickly bought out what Ryan Griffin cards I could and prepared for the event the following month. It was really difficult to locate cards of him that were not already autographed, or were of Ryan Griffin (QB Tulane). In the end I paid more for unautographed cards, but that’s just what a true type of collector I am.
The players were really accommodating at the event. They signed a multiple for me and threw in the photographed memorabilia to boot. While Academy didn’t hand out numbers for the event beforehand, it wasn’t necessary. There were just not that many people there. Overall everything went well, and I was able to talk to some fellow fans as well while I waited.
Both of these cards really hit the mark pretty well. I like the Crown Royale a lot- even if it is a bit over the top. The set in general integrates the crown icon and design very well into the player image. Overall, it’s a very nice presentation and as a bonus, the scans came out even better than the actual cards. The Panini Black is okay. Again I am just not a huge fan of blasting a card brand across the card, but still it is a solid image. Ryan has a pretty solid autograph. There are some nice loops in the name and its angular slant gives it an exciting feel.
Hidden Valley Rentals was created in 2006. Founders Ron Zorn Jr and Dale Clifton decided to purchase a property on the Hidden Valley Resort and hire a management company. Soon they purchased other properties but became unsatisfied with their management provider and decided to manage their properties on their own.
As time passed and experience was gained, they began offering their services to other homeowners...and Hidden Valley Rentals was born. Hidden Valley Rentals is now the leader in property management on the Hidden Valley Resort.
Not only do we provide exemplary customer service to both homeowners and guests, we take pride in our property standards and care. Only when the bridge between home owners, management, and guests is built can a successful relationship blossom.
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• Fresh Dog ™ Dry Shampoo: If you’ve ever used a dry shampoo on your own hair, you know it works by absorbing the oil and dirt from your scalp, leaving your hair looking like it’s just been washed. Fresh Dog's dry shampoo does basically the same thing for your dog. It is a loose powder that you sprinkle directly onto your dog's coat for an instantly clean and freshen appearance.
When applying the product, I found it best to sprinkle a small amount at a time, as using too much at once can cause a cloud of powder. I started at the base of the neck, sprinkling a bit of powder and massaging it in. I continued adding a bit more powder as needed, working my way down the back. A little powder goes a long way and my Schnauzer really enjoyed the massage. Note: I did not apply any product to the face, just to the body and legs.
When I finished applying the product to the areas I wanted to cover, I took a soft bristle brush and brushed my dog out. This helped to distribute the powder even further and removed the excess along with small bits of dirt.
I actually applied the powder to my dog while in the backyard. Since it was my first time trying out this type of product, I wasn’t sure if the process would be messy or not. It wasn’t. I did notice that my dog’s coat appeared whiter, so dogs with a black coat might need a bit more brushing.
The dry shampoo powder is easy-to-use and smells, well… fresh! The powder is infused with essential oils and has a marvelous lavender rosemary scent. I even deodorized my Schnauzer’s dog bed by sprinkling some onto it, too. It just smells so good. The dry shampoo powder is a good product to use as a quick way to remove odors and freshen up your dog's coat.

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