The Tropicana has played host to some truly iconic and notable events and celebrities over its many years, from classics including Laurel and Hardy and Diana Dors, to the internationally-renowned street artist Banksy (Dismaland). See below for the Tropicana history with our timeline.
1937 – ‘The Pool’ opens its doors to the public for the first time following a £60,000 project, giving Weston-super-Mare its very own outdoor swimming pool. At 950 sq metre (10,200 sq ft) it was the largest open air swimming pool in Europe and included an art deco diving board.
1947 – Hollywood film stars Laurel and Hardy visit to be guest judges at the town’s Modern Venus beauty competition.
1982 – The attraction closes to the public for renovation after Woodspring District Council successfully applied for permission to demolish the then-listed diving boards.
1983 – Following a £1m redevelopment The Tropicana Pleasure Beach reopens to the public. The diving boards are replaced by a wave machine, Pineapple shaped water chutes and a water heater. On its first day 7,500 visitors turn up, meaning many had to queue until 6pm to get in.
1997 – The Tropicana celebrates its 60th birthday with a spectacular party opened by comedian Eddie Large.
2000 – After yet another wet summer The Tropicana reluctantly closes its doors as a swimming pool for the very last time.
Spring 2015 – Following numerous unsuccessful attempts to develop the venue, North Somerset Council breathes fresh life into the Tropicana with the creation of The Bay Café – a modern and vibrant licensed café and lounge.
Summer 2015 – ‘Dismaland – Bemusement Park’, an art installation curated by the world famous street artist Banksy opens at The Tropicana for just five weeks. The “sinister twist on Disneyland” features original works by Banksy and 58 other artists including Damien Hirst and attracts over 150,000 visitors from all over the world, generating £20m in revenue for the town. ‘Dismaland’ also features outdoor musical performances by global superstars including Damon Albarn, De La Soul and Pussy Riot.
Winter 2015 – Further investment is made into the site by North Somerset Council in partnership with local arts development charity, The Theatre Orchard, and the venue hosts ‘Theatre @ The Bay’ with seasonal shows in December and January.
Summer 2016 – The renaissance of The Tropicana continues as it transforms into a pop-up amusement park ‘Funland’, welcoming thousands of visitors to enjoy its thrills and spills. It also shows its versatility as a venue playing host to a diverse programme of events including theatre shows, street art festival, Hazy Days music festival, Stars of Time and Weston Food Festival.


So, my parents get into town tomorrow, and as I mentioned on the post with the griffin reading a book under a tree, I've been re-cleaning. I mostly finished that yesterday - today what was left was vacuuming, some last bits of tidying up, making sure that the Aerobed would actually inflate (on their last visit, the pump broke - fortunately the Evil Futon of Nap is actually a futon and it totally saved the day, but it is a little bit of a hassle to use it as a bed instead of an evil nap-inducing chaise lounge), and most of all, doing something about the lack of food. I decided to make a big pot of stew for dinner tomorrow - I have to work tomorrow so what I wanted was something that could cook while I cleaned tonight and heat up again tomorrow.
I had a little accident while I was making the stew. Well, two really. It's basically Mom's "recipe" (although it's not written down anywhere, her mom told her how to make it and she told me) and the secret is that you throw in a bottle or can of beer right after you add the last veggies and put the lid on to simmer for a couple of hours. Well, it was just terrible, I don't know how it happened but only half the bottle went into the stew, the other half somehow missed the pot entirely and ended up - horrors! - all over the inside of a glass that happened to be standing near by. I didn't know WHAT to do. So I'm drinking it.
The other accident may have caused the pouring problems. The beer is supposed to be Budweiser and somehow I accidentally got Brooklyn Lager on the way home instead of Budweiser. Oops. I suspect that a controlled experiment comparing the ease of pouring a bottle of Bud into a pot of stew and pouring a bottle of Brooklyn Lager into a pot of stew would prove that Brooklyn Lager is a much more slippery pour and ends up with half of it landing all over the insides of nearby glasses on a much more regular basis.
I hope Mom doesn't notice that I messed up her stew. :(


Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and Redmi Note 3 Pro are the company first all-metal design phablets currently announced only in China. As the device is China exclusive, we don’t find Google Play Store app installed instead we find Mi Store and other Android apps. So, in this post we will guide to Install Google Play Store on your Xiaomi Redmi Note 3.
Xiaomi already announced its plans of launching Redmi Note 3 Pro smartphone in India somewhere in mid-March 2016. Like other Mi phones, the latest phablet will surely a big hit in India, which is world’s second largest smartphone market. Also install TWRP Recovery and root Redmi Note 3
- Updated V2 of the popular Google Installer by Eric Xiang.
- Supports Kitkat, Lollipop & Marshmallow
- Easy installation.
- Google Play Services.
- Google Play Store.
- Google Services Framework.
- Google Calendar Sync.
- Google Contacts Sync.
Note: Before starting with the below process, make sure installation of third party Android apps is enabled on your device. If not enable from Settings.
Disclaimer: Xiaomi Advices is not responsible for any damage occurs to your smartphone during the execution of the following procedure. Proceed at your own interest.
Install Google Play Store on Xiaomi Redmi Note 3/Pro
1. Download the Google Installer_2.0 file to your computer.
2. Now take a USB cable and connect Redmi Note 3 with computer and transfer the Google Installer, latest Google Play Store and Google Play Services to the internal storage of your device.
3. Disconnect the device from PC.
4. Now go to File Explorer > APKs > “Google Installer_2.0.apk”. For easy reference you can check out the below screenshots.
5. Now you need to launch the Google Installer icon. Once it’s get open you will see blue circle. Tap on it to continue the installer process.
Note: Always click on OK and Install, do not click launch at anytime during the installation of the apps.
6. At the end of the installation tap on Red CIRCLE, accept the terms, click Allow Google to read SMS, and finally setup Google by sign-in.
7. Now your Redmi Note 3/Pro start syncing the contact and other Google Apps.
8. For better results, you need to install the latest version of Google Play Store and Google Play Services. To install go to your File Explorer > APKs and install both the APKs which you have copied along with Google Installer_2.0 APK.
9. Once done with the installation, reboot the device to start enjoying the latest version of Google Play Store.
For more Redmi Note 3 guides and tips, do visit our TUTORIAL section.


NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has pulled out another item from its toolkit for the first time, using a brush to sweep Martian rocks clean of the planet's ubiquitous red dust, the space agency announced Monday.
Curiosity's first use of the Dust Removal Tool at the tip of its robotic arm marks another milestone for the rover, which has spent about five months on the Red Planet. The Curiosity rover landed Aug. 5 to begin a two-year mission to determine if the Mars may have once been habitable for primitive life.
The Dust Removal Tool is a brush that allows Curiosity to sweep away the reddish-brown particles that coat most surfaces on Mars, in order to get a better look at rocks that could be worth drilling into for further study. The motorized brush is made with wire bristles, and is attached to the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm.
The tool, built by New York City-based Honeybee Robotics, resembles brushes that flew to Mars on NASA's previous rover missions, the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
"This is similar to the brush on board the Rock Abrasion Tools on Spirit and Opportunity, and will let researchers get a look at the rock (rather than the pervasive dust) before deciding whether to drill for a sample," Honeybee Robotics spokesman John Abrashkin told SPACE.com.
For its inaugural run, Curiosity mission planners chose to use the brush on a Martian rock called "Ekwir_1," which sits in the "Yellowknife Bay" area of Curiosity's landing site in Mars' Gale Crater.
"We wanted to be sure we had an optimal target for the first use," Diana Trujillo, the mission's activity lead for the Dust Removal Tool at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said in a statement. "We need to place the instrument within less than half an inch of the target without putting the hardware at risk. We needed a flat target, one that wasn't rough, one that was covered with dust. The results certainly look good."
Cleaning the dust off rocks not only allows Curiosity to get a better look at them, but clears away surface contaminants that might confuse samples taken from deeper in the rocks after the rover digs down into them with its hammering drill.
The $2.5 billion Curiosity rover is exploring Yellowknife Bay as it makes its way toward a point called Glenelg at the base of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-high mountain that rises up from the center of Gale Crater.
Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL
- Jupiter's Breathtaking Cloud Formations on Display in New Juno Image
- As Opportunity Rover Sleeps, Other NASA Craft Study Mars' Raging Dust Storm
- Mars at Opposition 2018: How to See It and What to Expect
- Who Owns the Moon? A Space Lawyer Answers
This article originally published at Space.com here


Dorothee Soelle has a beautiful phrase, ‘the ego is a concretization of God-forgetfulness.’ Not only that the ego is a concretization of other-forgetfulness, of creation-forgetfulness. We live in an ego-dominated world.
Whether it is what Manfred Kets de Vries calls the destructive egotism of narcissism characterized by ‘self-centredness, grandiosity, lack of empathy, exploitation, exaggerated self-love, and failure to acknowledge boundaries.’ (The Leader On The Couch, p. 25)
Or whether it is the ego-driven quest of the empty consumer self, seeking to fill its emptiness with ever more possessions that are completely unnecessary, and serve only to feed the ego.
About seven years ago when I was stressed and anxious a little book called ‘The Jesus Prayer’ by Simon Barrington Ward lept off the shelf at me. The Jesus Prayer, Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner helps us learn to sustain and switch our capacity…
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“Life is lived forwards and understood backwards” – (Søren Kierkegaard)
… and in retrospect it seems that a heart condition in my early childhood was the blueprint for creativity. While the other children frolicked outside, I created my own fantasy worlds with pencil and paper. At the age of seven, I developed a deep passion for playing the piano, which still accompanies me every day – alone or in bands. By painting large walls during school vacations and playing the piano at events, I realized at a young age that passion and profession were not mutually exclusive. So I saved all my money and bought my first video camera: a Digital8 camcorder. From then on I shot movies in every free minute – with cuddly toys, friends or with my school class.
More than twenty-five years later, not much has changed in essence. My little camcorder has become an Arri Alexa and the stuffed animals have given way to actors and film sets. But at its core, the passion for composition, rhythm and visual storytelling has remained unchanged. The video “Michel & Sven – The Tablecloth Magic Trick”, which was the practical part of my bachelor thesis, won the Web Video Award 2011 and celebrated a huge viral success with 25 million views on YouTube. Since then I’ve been working as a freelancer for big brands like Seat, L’Oréal, Rossmann or Sony together with talented filmmakers all over the world. The documentary “Like Butter On Toast” was screened at many festivals in 2019 and won the “New York Cinematography Award” among others. Whether in the studio or in nature, in large teams or as an all-rounder, I love the challenge of translating stories and moods into a visual language. My current location is in the middle of Germany.


Canning Hunger is a non-profit organization that solicits donations for its curb painting services. Donations collected are used to provide food for agencies and organizations to be distributed at no costs to those in need.
Prior to any curb painting, every resident will receive a door hanger with information about the services as well as additional information on who to contact if you have questions. All donations are voluntary and collected only after work is completed.
Solicitors representing Canning Hunger will be identified by their Canning Hunger T-Shirt, Canning Hunger Identification Card, and each individual will have a copy of the City Permit.
Having a visible curb address enhances civic pride and makes it easier for Firefighters and Law Enforcement personnel to find your home.
If your curb address is painted wrong or if you would like your address skipped, please call Canning Hunger at 562-690-3035.
For any further questions, please feel free to contact the City of Walnut Business License Department at (909) 595-7543.


We recently reviewed WDW Magazine… now here’s your chance to see for yourself what an excellent resource it is! WDW Magazine is full of wonderful photography, informative articles, and even great videos to watch. You’re sure to get your fill of the Walt Disney World Resort each month by viewing WDW Magazine!
WDW Magazine is available for purchase on iTunes, but you can enter for a chance to WIN a full one-year subscription right now! Simply enter using the Rafflecopter form below. This contest begins at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, December 8 (2013) and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, December 14th. Winner will be notified on (or shortly after) December 15th via email. Good luck!!


US v. Spencer: Spencer was an inmate in a local jail in Virginia when he sent a letter to the federal clerk's office that contained a letter "covered in white powder" that stated (among other things) that the "very letter you hold may indeed by the last that you hold." The letter asked "Are you already infected with the pain?", then answered that "Only time will tell." US Marshals instructed the clerk, who was "disconcerted and afraid" to lock herself in the mailroom, alone, until inspectors could arrive. Ultimately, the powder was harmless - dried toothpaste. Interviewed at the jail, Spencer admitted sending the letter and explained that the powder was "to enhance the effect . . . in order to put fear into the reader" that the powder was poison.
Spencer pleaded guilty to mailing a threatening communication. At sentencing, the district court overruled Spencer's objection to a six-level enhancement for "conduct evidencing intent to carry out [the] threat" and sentenced him to the top of the resulting Guideline range, 46 months. Spencer appealed and the Fourth Circuit vacated his sentence, finding that the enhancement should not apply. On remand, the district court concluded that a sentence within the new Guideline range - 21 to 27 months - was "totally inadequate" for the facts of the case, which included the "lady who got that letter thought it was anthrax, and she thought somebody had sentenced her to death." Therefore, the district court announced it was going to "upwardly depart" and impose a sentence of 45 months based on several factors, including that Spencer "ha[s] successfully appealed the prior sentence." Such a sentence was "fair" and was the sentence the district court "would have given" without any advice from the Guidelines. When imposing the 45-month sentence, the district court made clear it was "strictly an upward departure," but on the Sealed Statement of Reasons checked the box for a variance.
On appeal for the second time the Fourth Circuit affirmed Spencer's sentence. First, the court rejected Spencer's argument that the district court erred by departing from the Guideline range without providing prior notice, as required by the Rules of Criminal Procedure. Although the court noted that "the boundary between departures and variances is often murky," especially so in this case, it treated the sentence as a departure ("a measure of formality must mark the sentencing procedure"). However, because Spencer did not object to the lack of notice, review was only for plain error and Spencer could not show any prejudice because "the district court repeatedly telegraphed that it might deviate from the Guidelines" and after the initial successful appeal eliminated the six-level enhancement "Spencer had every reason to believe that the court might adopt an above-Guidelines sentence." Second, Spencer argued that the 45-month sentence was substantively unreasonable. The court disagreed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing the sentence. The court relegated the comment about Spencer's successful appeal to a footnote, stating that the district court's "passing reference" was not enough to give rise to a presumption of vindictiveness.


It’s no secret that the world’s wealthy are spending more and more of their time and money on their luxurious holiday homes.
As a result, the world has become a more expensive place to live.
While most people would say that this trend is a positive development, it’s not the only trend.
As the United States continues to see its economy decline, luxury hotels are being added to the list of places where wealthy people can indulge their desires.
For those who aren’t rich, it may not be as much of a good thing.
The cost of living is increasing dramatically for the average American.
According to the Census Bureau, the median home price in the United State in 2020 was $325,000.
According a 2016 report by Zillow, the average annual cost of owning a home in the U.S. rose by 3.5 percent over the same period.
That is, the cost of buying a home rose from $315,000 in 2010 to $325.7 million in 2020.
But this trend isn’t limited to the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
The trend is spreading to other parts of the world.
According the Financial Times, luxury hotel room rental costs in Mexico rose by 11.6 percent between 2015 and 2020. In the U


View the original recipe via:
Tip: Create your own Mexican spice mix by combining 1/2 tablespoon of chili, cumin and cayenne powder together
FINELY dice the onion and 1/2 red bell pepper. Crush the cloves of garlic. Roughly chop the cloves of garlic. RINSE and slice 8 large stalks of celery.
PEEL the skin off the parsnip using a potato peeler, then dice the parsnip.
ADD a tablespoon of olive oil in the heavy pot. Sauté the onion and garlic until golden brown. Add in the minced beef and brown the meat. Add in 1 can of tomato paste, mix well together.
ADD in the sliced celery and diced parsnip en saute a few minutes more. POUR in the 3/4 cup beef stock and mix in 1,5 tablespoons of Mexican spice. Turn down the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and simmer for approximately one hour.
Check liquid level while simmering, add more water if needed. Season with pepper and salt. Serve the Mexican beef casserole over a large bowl of white rice. Garnish with chopped fresh chives.


Must See Strength Training Videos
In Parts 1 and 2 of our series on How to Keep Your Shoulders Healthy, we discussed the importance of improving mid-back (thoracic spine) mobility and developing scapular stability. In this final installment, we discuss how to strengthen the muscles of the rotator cuff to prevent shoulder injuries—a serious concern for athletes in overhead sports such as tennis, softball, volleyball and baseball.
As previously discussed, the shoulder is a highly complex joint, consisting of three bones linked by a number of muscles and a web of ligaments attached to four interdependent joints. One joint in particular, the acromioclavicular joint—referred to as the rotator cuff—is commonly afflicted by injury. The rotator cuff is encircled by four muscles:
- Supraspinatus — abducts and compresses the shoulder
- Infraspinatus — laterally rotates the shoulder
- Teres Minor — laterally rotates the shoulder
- Subscapularis — adducts and medially rotates the shoulder
Collectively, the muscles of the rotator cuff provide dynamic stability for the shoulder, locking the head of the humerus into the cavity of the shoulder blade.
Rotator cuff injuries are particularly common among throwing athletes and recreational weightlifters, due to overuse or lack of strength. If a rotator cuff muscle is enflamed or injured, it is at risk for impingement and potential tearing. Also, an injury alters the natural function of the shoulder, which can have other damaging effects to the joint.
To prevent rotator cuff injuries, you must regularly perform exercises that directly engage these muscles. It's important to keep them strong to maintain shoulder stability and avoid time on the disabled list.
Rhythmic Stabilization Drill
- Assume push-up position with hands on med balls positioned shoulder-width apart
- Press hands against med balls, keeping upper back and core tight
- Hold position for specified time
Sets/Duration: 2-3×15-45 seconds
Side-Lying External Rotation
- Lie on side on training table, bench or floor with foam roller under head and rolled towel between top elbow and body
- Grasp lightweight dumbbell with top hand and bend elbow at 90-degree angle; dumbbell should be directly in front
- Rotate shoulder to slowly raise dumbbell to ceiling; keep elbow pinned against towel
- Slowly lower dumbbell to start position
- Repeat for specified reps
Sets/Reps: 2×10-15 each side
Constant-Tension Scapular Raise
- Assume athletic position, standing on resistance band
- With arms at sides, tightly grasp resistance band just beneath handles
- Pinch shoulder blades together and pull resistance band up until hands are at shoulder level and slightly-wider-than-shoulder width
- Slowly lower hands to start position
- Repeat for specified reps
Photos: zimbio.com, orthoinfo.aaos.org
Joe Giandonato, MS, CSCS, is the head strength and conditioning coach at Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pa. He has authored numerous articles on a wide variety of topics, including injury prevention, nutrition and improving athletic performance.


What information do you base the above statement on?
Regarding other issues, have you seen these?
I personally wouldn't focus so much on racism from white people towards black people, but more on how the term racism is being used by various individuals to divide the people and take over people's minds, so to speak. I would also not forget the actions, or rather lack of, from black politicians who claim to be in favor of blacks, but have done diddly-squat for the black community. Meanwhile, Trump, who is a white man, has been doing more for the black community than Obama.
I agree with c.a. that you have a nice writing style, but I hope you'll consider the above!
Just FYI Candace Owens appears to be an opportunist rather than a genuine conservative.Here's a couple of videos on the topic.
and part 2


The ŠKODA Superb's name suggests big things - and it delivers in every area. Available as a hatchback or estate, the vehicle exudes elegance inside and out. The cabin is luxuriously comfortable, with plenty of space for adult passengers and luggage, while the driver can feel fully supported as controls are all close to hand when you're at the wheel.
Economical performance is assured, as ŠKODA has fitted the Superb with refined and powerful engines. You can expect rewarding output and reliable performance as well as great value when buying from Park's ŠKODA's used stock.
We price all pre-owned cars on our forecourt competitively, so you never pay more than you should, and offer finance packages to make budgeting much easier. You can also part exchange your current car and put the value towards your next purchase. Choosing Park's means receiving uncompromising quality too, as all vehicles we have on sale are checked for faults and damage before they are approved.
We aim to make it easy for you to find the Superb that meets your individual requirements exactly, and you can begin the search online today. Scroll down and click the links below for an overview of each individual example. You can then request a part exchange valuation, book a test drive and make an enquiry in moments.


The drone is an accessory that has become widely democratized and some manufacturers have recently brought the possibility of charging them with solar energy, like DJI and its new DJI Mini 2.
The DJI Mini 2 drone has many innovations such as 4K video definition among others. But the biggest innovation in our opinion is the ability to charge it quickly and directly in 5V thanks to its new USB-C port, included both on the battery of the drone (directly or via the charging hub) and on the remote control.
Charging a DJI Mini 2 with solar energy becomes an easy thing to do for Powertec
Indeed, most of the drones used to use batteries with a voltage of 7 to 8V which required the use of 12V chargers to be able to recharge 12V batteries.
The drone is a device that has many professional applications, such as the monitoring of planted areas but also to allow topographic reconnaissance during expeditions and opening of new routes.
With a DJI mini 2 drone, it will now be quite simple to take off light enough to be able to recharge – via a 5V solar panel (USB) – a powerbank allowing the charging via USB-C of both the remote control and the battery of the DJI Mini 2.
To do this, the ideal, depending on the use and the duration of autonomy of the shipment, may be to provide:
1) a 5V panel: PTFlap6, PTFlap11 or PTPocket Power
2) which will charge a battery – Powerbank with USB-C port: PT10.000mAh or PT15.000mAh
3) a power socket with a USB-C
4) a USB-C cigarette lighter adapter for car charging
4) a USB-C cable
In this configuration, all panels can work with the 2 batteries indicated, only the charging time will differ depending on whether you charge with 1000, 2000 or 1250mAh By dividing the size of the tank by the capacity of the panel, we find the useful time to charge the battery (e.g.: 10.000/2000 = 5h for the couple PTFlap11 and PT10.000 ).
The real adventurers who leave in total autonomy for several weeks will be able to bet on the hybrid panels PTFlap16 and PTFlap21 USB-C which present the triple interest:
1) to integrate a MPPT (Tracker of the maximum point of Power)
2) to function in 5V and in 12V thus to offer a wider panel of capacity of load, in particular in Photo/video traditional
3) to be able to charge a battery PT111 which embarks a USB-C and will allow to charge everything, Drone, like Mac in roaming..
Powertec Design has been designing and manufacturing professional solar panels for 12 years, which allows it to be at the heart of electronic needs and to follow tomorrow’s charging trends.
In Sun We Trust !


Welcome to the office of Lonnie Harrison, DMD
Our goal is to give every patient the care and attention they deserve. Everything at our office is designed to make patients feel welcome and comfortable from start to finish with a combination of friendly, caring staff and state of the art dental care technology.
We are committed to helping our patients obtain and maintain good oral health and offer a full range of dental care including routine cleaning, fillings, crown and bridge work, implants, extractions, partials, dentures and cosmetics.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us. We look forward to meeting you and hope that you will enjoy your experience here as much as we enjoy treating you. (Click here to schedule appointment)


According to an inside source for IGN Middle East, actor Simon Pegg was on the set J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode VII in Abu Dhabi. The source claims that the actor has a secret role in the film. We weren't expecting this news, especially after the actor had this to say in a previous interview when he was asked if he would be in the film:
“I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to be in it, to be honest. I think J.J. should cast new faces with no stunt casting.”
Maybe that was just one of those things he said to throw people off the scent of what really is going on. Pegg has a history with Abrams and has had roles in his films such as Star Trek and Mission: Impossible III. On top of that, the actor is a HUGE Star Wars fan, so it doesn't seem too far fetched to think that Abrams might have given him a small role in the movie.
This is all unconfirmed at the moment, so treat it as a rumor that you should take with a grain of salt. if Pegg does end up in the film… awesome! If not, I'm sure the movie is going to be just as great.


Two industrial catastrophes that occurred almost exactly 66 years apart involved similar explosive ingredients and in the earlier case resulted in the creation of a program intended to protect people in Southeast Texas.
The most recent incident still looks like a dropped ball.
On April 17, the town of West - near Waco - suffered through a massive explosion of a fertilizer called ammonium nitrate.
It killed 15 people - mostly first responders trying to battle a fire that ultimately touched off the explosion - injured more than 160 others and flattened nearby buildings that trapped elderly residents of a nursing home. The explosion left a crater 90 feet in diameter - like the inside of a baseball diamond or a third of a football field.
On April 16, 1947, a cargo ship called the Grandcamp was tied to a dock in Texas City with a load of ammonium nitrate. Crew members tried to fight an on-board fire, but the blaze turned the ship into a massive floating bomb.
A nearby ship called the High Flyer - also at the dock - was towed about 100 feet away, but the Grandcamp fire also sparked its load of ammonium nitrate into another explosion.
In all, at least 576 people were killed and much of Texas City's waterfront was destroyed.
An obvious question arises.
Is there ammonium nitrate in Southeast Texas?
No, say various authorities whose business it is to know what's on hand and in how much quantity so, in case of an incident, first responders will know what they're facing.
However, an ingredient of ammonium nitrate is anhydrous ammonia and there are local plants that make that chemical. There are railroad tank cars laden with the hazardous material and those cars are marked with required placards.
How do first responders - municipal fire departments, industrial fire departments, law enforcement and emergency management professionals - know what is in on site in the major petrochemical plants and refineries of Southeast Texas?
An annual report collects that information from the local sources and sends it along to the state, which then sends it to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
That data collection was recently completed within the previous week or so, said John Durkay, general counsel of the Southeast Texas Plant Managers Forum.
That data collection is coincidental to the disaster in West, he said.
Durkay said it's likely that the owners of the fertilizer plant in West did not report the amount of ammonium nitrate it had on site to Homeland Security. Published reports also show that no regulatory authority had inspected the plant since at least 2006.
That is certainly not the case in Southeast Texas, Durkay said.
"It's extremely unlikely that there's a chemical here that no one knows about," he said.
However, the data that is collected and sent eventually to Homeland Security is classified as private.
That's because it could present an attractive target and also because the data is considered proprietary by the industries that provide it, said Sue Landry, director of homeland security and emergency management planning at the South East Texas Regional Planning Commission.
The commission, an administrative group that represents local governments in Jefferson, Hardin and Orange counties, collects the data from local emergency managers and sends it along to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which then sends it to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The U.S. Coast Guard also has regulatory and law enforcement authority on plants along navigable waterways, which includes most plants in Southeast Texas.
Those layers of regulatory authority - local, state and federal - all have eyes on the plants here, Durkay said.
That includes the Jefferson County emergency management office and the outfit that was created in response to the Texas City explosion of 1947 - the Sabine-Neches Chiefs Association, founded Feb. 9, 1949.
Local fire departments - municipal and industrial - had been meeting even before Texas City to plan for a response to a major incident. Many area fire and emergency personnel had seen this destruction first-hand, the chiefs' association website states.
"They moved quickly to convince city, county and industrial officials of the immediate need for an organized disaster plan to prevent the massive loss of life and property that had occurred at Texas City," the website states
"If we have a disaster, we automatically pool resources - not just people, but equipment, too," he said. "In the West situation, they were overwhelmed. We have a sustained effort that will last."
In case of a disaster, the responsible party will reimburse the members of the Sabine-Neches Chiefs Association who contributed to the response so taxpayers ultimately aren't subsidizing the catastrophe response, he said.
He referred to a tanker truck that overturned on Interstate 10, resulting in a hazardous material spill. The truck owner is required to pay for the response, he said.
Other recent examples of potential mutual assistance responses was a flash fire on April 17 at the ExxonMobil Beaumont refinery and an April 27 fire at the ChevronPhillips plant in Port Arthur. Each plant's responders extinguished the blazes and ChevronPhillips didn't require assistance.
At West, there was only a volunteer fire department available to respond.
In the case of the tanker truck that overturned on May 2, 2012, along Interstate 10 near Winnie, it resulted in a daylong traffic backup while cleanup took place. The first responder on scene was the Hamshire Volunteer Fire Department, he said.
But there was plenty of backup for that department, he said.
"Because of the size and scope of the hazardous materials here, we train endlessly for emergency response," Owens said.


(Donnellson, Iowa) April 22nd The Pepsi Lee County Speedway had three repeat winners drive to victory lane and three new winners in the other three classes. The late model division has had three different drivers take checkers with no repeat winners.
In the Armstrong Tractor IMCA sport compacts Josh Barnes of Keokuk took the win, after a battle from Mike Reu of Donnellson who tried to hold off Barnes but settled for the runner-up spot. The battle for third and fourth would heat up with Darrin Weisinger Jr. holding off Kimberly Abbott who took fourth.
In the Donnellson Tire IMCA stock cars Jeff Mueller took his second straight win. Mueller battled with Dean Kratzer and Corey Strothman who made it a three car battle with Mueller passing on the low line with four laps remaining. Kratzer would lose the battle for second to Strothman who would get him on the last lap. Greg Gill of Muscatine was battling for the lead early but found himself coming from the back after an early race incident that involved him and Jeremy Pundit, Gill took the fourth place finish.
The Coors Light IMCA Hobby stock featured only three cars but Dustin Griffiths of Hedrick and Brandon Symmonds of Keokuk would try several time to close on Griffiths but Griffiths held on and took his second straight win with Symmonds in second and Kyle Hamilton of Keokuk taking third.
The Shottenkirk Parts Express IMCA sport mods would see a new face in victory lane with Tony Dunker of Quincy, IL. taking the win. Austin Howes of Memphis would lead the field to the halfway point before giving the lead over to Brandon Dale of Arbella who would build a nice size lead but a late race caution would setup a four lap shootout with Dunker making the pass for the win. Dale took second with Joey Gower of Quincy taking third and Carter Vandenberg of Oskaloosa taking the fourth spot.
The Budweiser IMCA Modified feature saw Jeff Waterman of Quincy turned the table and score the win in the 71w machine after running second last week. Kelly Buckallew of Memphis would lead the first six laps before losing the lead to Bill Roberts Jr. of Burlington who took the lead on lap seven and would lead until lap twelve before Waterman would pass for the lead and take the checkers. Jared Fuller of Memphis would work his 110 machine up to second after starting sixth. Dennis Lavein who won last week raced to third after starting fifth and Roberts would take fourth.
In the Steffes Auction and Realty Late Models the action would get really exciting with veteran driver Tommy Elston and rookie Derek Liles battling for the lead for the first six laps. Elston took the lead and scored his first win of the 2016 season. The racing action was red flagged for a sheep on the track, YES a SHEEP, you had to be there. The sheep entered the track in turn 4 and after going around turn 3 and down the back stretch against traffic pulled into the pits where it was rescued by track workers. When action resumed Jeff Guengerich of Washington would make the restart payoff after starting eighth he would pass Darbyshire for second with Darbyshire taking third and last week’s winner Sam Halstead taking the fourth spot.
Racing action will roar back to life on April 29th with six classes in action for night number three of points racing. Hot laps at 7pm and racing at 7:30pm. Racing action will change to Thursday Night Thunder on May 5th with the Late Model touring series Lucas Oil Late Models visiting the Pepsi Lee County Speedway.


Google has announced a couple of new features for Google+, including a ‘What’s Hot’ stream that allows you to see the ‘most interesting’ content being shared throughout Google+. In addition, you can see the actual people who have +1’d your posts, rather than just a count.
The ‘What’s Hot’ section can be accessed in the web app by swiping to the right of your Circles stream. Google says that the feature will be coming to the Android and iOS versions of Google+ soon as well. This stream will give you a constant view of the ‘trending’ posts on Google+, ensuring that you always have something interesting to look at even if the people in your Circles are boring that day.
The ability to see exactly who is ‘+1-ing’ your posts is also a nice addition. Instead of a raw count of ‘likes’, you see what kind of content is appealing to the people in your Circles, or out of them. To see the people who have pushed the button, just tap on the +1 count under any post (also on the web app only for now) and you’ll be presented with a list of their profiles.
These appear to be small tweaks but show that Google is looking for ways to make Google+ more responsive and more interesting on a daily basis. Bringing the ‘What’s Hot’ stream to mobile devices seems to be a response to Twitter’s ‘Discover’ tab showing up in its mobile incarnations.
Both of these services are looking for ways to get people more involved in finding new content outside of their own follower/following lists, generating more lockin in the process.


The VIS Group is a nationally and internationally active sales and marketing agency that has connections with laboratories, institutions and companies "Made in Germany", whose primary activities lie in the development of alternative and new materials or techniques.
Our remit lies in establishing and arranging contacts, partnerships, licences, products and services in areas such as: Innovative energy saving systems, inorganic nano-composite materials, energy consultancy, as well as complete plants in the field of "renewable energies".
Since our foundation in April 2010 we have been delivering solutions and advising companies from industry, private households and municipal agencies with regards to energy efficient products.
From planning right through to the utilisation of our partner products, we always strive to offer our customers a top service.
The technical products that we offer are reliability-tested in advance for months, by us personally or by our employees.


Just learning webflow, and trying out a free account at the moment for a new client. I love the options to use Google fonts or upload custom fonts.
Just tried to upload a custom font and got an error msg that this is not allowed for free accounts, the error msg took me to the page comparing the plans. When I looked at the chart, it seems that custom fonts are listed for Starter and Personal, that is “custom fonts” don't seem to be grayed out on the Starter plan. Attaching a screen shot. I will be upgrading if client is willing to go with webflow, as they will need the CMS option, but for now I'm just checking out the features and options. Can you clarify?


Big-B Avoids Make-up in ‘Yudh’
Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan is all set to make his fiction debut on television with ‘Yudh’. Big B will be seeing as real estate baron Yudhisthir Sikarwar in the show. To give the show a realistic feel, the megastar has planned to go for a no-make up look.
The creative director of the show Anurag Kashyap decided that the artists would go for the no make-up look.
Big-B says, “Keeping in mind that it was a directorial decision to make visuals look as real-life as possible, it was essential that the actors looked natural.”
He further added, “That helped in the way our scenes were lit up and there were no special efforts to conceal defects, if any, on our faces. These factors work well in the overall look of the product”.
Sarika, Kay Kay Menon and Nawazuddin Siddiqui are in the pivotal role in the show. The show is due to go on air in July on Sony Entertainment Television.
Click Here to More Amitabh Bachchan


Along with Tennessee Willaims, I admire the plays of Arthur Miller. Having read three of his best-known works (The Crucible, Death of a Salesman, All My Sons), I know that he's a rather good playwright.
Joe Keller had manufactured defective airplane parts during the war, which resulted in the deaths of twenty-one men. His business partner Herbert Deever was blamed for the faulty parts and was sent to jail. Herbert's son George returns home from the war and his reaction to what has happened is stunning.
I'm starting to think that Miller had some father issues because the strained realtionship between father and son is evident in this (as well as Death of a Salesman). The dialogue is powerful and affecting, while the characters are fully developed.
My Rating: ****


JERUSALEM (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney said Saturday the U.S. has an "enduring and unshakable" commitment to Israel's security and its right to defend itself against those bent on destroying the Jewish state.
At the start of a weekend of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Cheney also said the Bush administration wants to see a "new beginning" for the Palestinian people and is committed to pursuing a Mideast peace deal.
Cheney's visit is part of the U.S. strategy to keep the pressure on the two sides, despite recent bloodshed, to agree on a framework for peace before President Bush leaves office in January.
"America's commitment to Israel's security is enduring and unshakable, as is our commitment to Israel's right to defend itself always against terrorism, rocket attacks and other threats from forces dedicated to Israel's destruction," Cheney told reporters before an evening meeting with Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert.
"America's committed to moving the process forward," Cheney said. But, he said, "it is not America's role to dictate the outcome." The U.S. wants to see a resolution to the conflict and will provide support and encouragement to help make that happen.
Cheney reaffirmed Washington's commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state and assured Palestinian leaders that "they, too, can be certain of America's good will" as the U.S. tries to help Israel and the Palestinians reach an accord.
"We want to see a resolution to the conflict, an end to the terrorism that has caused so much grief to Israelis and a new beginning for the Palestinian people," he said.
He made direct mention of parts of the Middle East where the U.S. says efforts are under way to foment violence and undermine stability in the region.
"As we continue to work to peace, we must not and will not ignore the darkening shadows of the situations in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria and in Iran and the forces there that are working to derail the hopes of the world," Cheney said.
Speaking of the strong U.S. ally, Cheney said America "will never pressure Israel to take steps that threaten its security."
Olmert said Israel, too, is worried about Iran and is "anxious to carry on" negotiations with the Palestinians. His government is watching "the behavior of Syria and the Hezbollah" and shares concerns with the U.S. about attacks from Gaza against Israeli civilians.
Cheney, who just wrapped up two days of meetings in Saudi Arabia, planned to attend an Easter service Sunday in Jerusalem, then go to Ramallah in the West Bank for talks with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.
Bush asked Cheney to visit Israel to discuss the peace process and other regional issues in advance of Bush's trip in May to mark the 60th anniversary of the modern state of Israel, according to Cheney spokeswoman Lea Ann McBride.
Bush hosted a Mideast peace conference in November in Annapolis, Md., to kick off the latest effort to resolve the decades-old conflict, and visited the region in January, followed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in March. She plans to return in April.
After Olmert and Abbas agreed at the Annapolis conference to return to peace talks, they resumed along the outlines of a plan that calls for the eventual creation of an independent Palestinian state through several stages. In the first, Israel was supposed to freeze all construction in West Bank settlements. The Palestinians were to dismantle militant groups such as Hamas that attack Israel.
Neither side fulfilled those initial obligations and recent violence has threatened progress.
Israel is conducting peace negotiations with Abbas' West Bank-based government, while waging a bloody battle with Hamas militants in Gaza, who have fired rockets at Israeli communities in southern Israel. Israel has retaliated with attacks that have killed scores of civilians in Gaza.
In Saudi Arabia, Cheney held private talks with King Abdullah on stabilizing the volatile energy market. It was not immediately clear whether Cheney asked the Saudi leader to increase oil production to hold down rising gasoline prices.
The White House contends that oil producers could suffer because of economic slowdowns in the U.S., where pump prices are topping $3 per gallon, and other major oil customers as a result of high energy prices.


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Welcome and good morning, this blog is concentrated on my love of software, in LA I am known as the home theater guy, so thats why I selected this as my site, keeping up with my notorious self.
Webopedia defines enterprise resource planning as Such software integrates every aspect of a businesses procedure including product manufacturing, planning, advertising and sales. With that definition, what ERP software do Fortune 500 companies use?
First, the type of ERP software that a company uses is going to depend on its size with respect both to number of employees as well as its revenue, along with the niche that the business services. It’s also noteworthy that about half of large businesses (i.e. enterprises) use several different types of ERP software.
Within the world of the largest enterprise-type companies the top ERP players are SAP and Oracle EBS. For example, Fortune 500 companies like Honeywell and Apple use the wildly popular software SAP. In fact, about 80% of Fortune 500 use this software in combination with others, if not exclusively.
Other top tier firms such as Garmin, Cisco, Juniper, General Electric use Oracle. This contrasts with smaller firms use totally different ERP software like Netsuite, Sage, ERP:FM, SAP, Deltek and Work.
The blog will contain all my musings and is in noway affiliated to my employers (if you find and read this).


American Gods Season 2 Gets a March Premiere Date
It’s been two months since Starz graced us with the first trailer for the sophomore season of American Gods. Viewers were likely annoyed that the preview didn’t include a release date, but we’ve got one now. The network has announced that the series based on Neil Gaiman’s best-selling novel will return on Sunday, March 10. Just like the first season, the follow-up will consist of eight episodes.
The new season will pick up immediately where the first season finale left off, with Shadow Moon absorbing the realization that he’s been traveling with actual gods. During the series’ presentation at this year’s New York Comic-Con, attendees were treated to new footage highlighting several recognizable locations and characters from Gaiman’s book. One of the most noteworthy additions to the show is the House on the Rock, which is where Mr. Wednesday finally reveals his true nature to Shadow. For the uninitiated, he is actually the Norse god Odin, who drafts Shadow into a war against the newer deities seeking to wipe out the older gods from existence.
The logline for the new season reads, “A council at the House on the Rock explodes into chaos, sending deities both Old and New on quests across America that will converge on Cairo, Illinois: forcing Shadow to carve out a place as a believer in this strange new world of living gods — a dark world where change demands commitment, and faith requires terrible sacrifice.”
In addition to the release date, actor Ricky Whittle (Shadow) has shared a new poster for the upcoming season. You can check out the new artwork below. Are you excited for American Gods to return in the spring? Tell us what you think in the comment section!
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ITS HERE- Season 2 of AMERICAN GODS #AmericanGods #Season2 premieres on @Starz in the US on March 10, 2019 & on Amazon Prime Video everywhere (yes your country too-200 territories worldwide) outside of the US on March 11, 2019! @AmericanGodsSTZ @GodsOnAmazon #AmericanGods #starz #amazonprinevideo #showgoals #castgoals #believe #youaintready


When the Stains are Tough, Let Us Apply Some Pressure
Steve’s Window Cleaning Service can help make the exterior of your house, driveway, sidewalk, deck, fence, and play set look like new again. The busiest time for pressure washing in Tyler is typically after pollen season in order to wash away the film of yellow, but you certainly can wash away the slippery green algae and destructive black mold any time of year.
Low Pressure Washing
Residential pressure washing for a home could be better described as a low pressure chemical rinse. To protect your house, very little pressure is used; in fact, it could be compared to the pressure that comes from your garden hose. It is the soapy cleaning solution that actually cleans your home. This procedure is also used on any wooden items like play sets, patio furniture, fences and decks. Pressure washing can also clean any hard exterior surface as well like driveways, patios, rock and stone, pavers, etc., so just ask if you’re unsure.


Why is it that many large-scale change initiatives fall short of expectations? Some might say it’s because leaders weren’t communicating the effort effectively. Others might say employees were stuck in a “business as usual” attitude. I would argue that the failure of many change efforts can be attributed to three factors:
- The organization didn’t target the right individuals
- The organization didn’t incentivize the change to match the values of its employees
- The organization tried to make the change too substantial rather than incremental
In recent years, the term “hacking” has grown in popularity, especially “growth hacking” within the marketing field. Growth hacking involves using analytics to target specific consumer groups, test which messages are successful in driving viewership, and scale the most effective strategies.
This process can also be applied to implement organizational change, hence I’d like to term this alternative approach “orghacking.”
Orghacking offers a way to implement rapid, testable, repeatable, and scalable interventions that bypass conventional organizational limitations like hierarchy, stovepipes, and communications protocols. Each intervention caters to the values of key demographic groups and leverages the many social networks and relationships that exist among employees.
Changing Our Perspectives
Many large-scale change efforts see the world from a top-down perspective. Leadership has an idea, they develop a policy to capture the idea, and they rely on managers to implement the policy at the ground level. In this approach, information moves up through the hierarchical chain while decisions flow down.
The problem with this strategy is that it often fails to appreciate the complexities inherent within an organization. Employees often interpret and respond to situations differently. They may also interact and organize very differently across departments. As a result, organizations function more as a network of clusters, where employees congregate around certain individuals and processes and share ideas and values with those closest to them.
A top-down approach may easily glaze over these factors, leading to unintended consequences such as employees misinterpreting the policy or outright ignoring it. The disconnect between top-down strategies and the way organizations inherently operate makes it difficult to align the workforce to a new strategy and vision.
Orghacking, on the other hand, bypasses the standard top-down approach and instead moves from the focal point outward.
As the diagram above shows, orghacking involves a combination of process mapping and culture-based analytics to pinpoint what issues exist, where they occur, and who is involved. It then uses precise interventions to target hubs within the organization’s social networks, shape the intervention to tap into the influencers’ values to incentivize behaviors, allow the intervention to spread throughout the social network, measure its impact, and modify the approach.
In this way, orghacking flips conventional logic on its head by making interventions small in scope, targeted to the individual, and adaptable to new insights.
How does orghacking work?
Based on the diagram above, orghacking entails the following steps:
Step 1: Executing process mapping to understand challenges
One of the more succinct ways to identify bottlenecks is through process mapping. Process mapping allows us to see the flow of how products/deliverables are produced in an organization.
We can gauge how effective certain parts of the process are by obtaining feedback from focus groups, looking at financial data to assess returns, and examining process metrics to determine where delays occurred.
Through this approach, we can pinpoint specifically what challenges exist, what type of issue it is (people, process, tools related), and where it exists in the process.
Step 2: Leveraging analytics to discover insights about employees
Organizations are overflowing with data that can be used in orghacking. Everything from personality indicators to satisfaction surveys give us insights into the different types of people who work at an organization, how they think, and what they value.
Depending on the level of granularity in the data, we can even look at correlations among the responses to identify connections among different sets of values/attitudes and demographics. Examples would be if people who rate the organization low on trust also tend to rate the organization low on delegating authority. Or, whether males in purchasing tend to rate the organization low on trust also tend to value clearly defined processes.
The goal is to identify hidden insights about our employees and find connections. In the end, we can develop profiles for different types of people in our organization, each including a demographic indicator and one or more values/attitudes.
Step 3: Engaging in observation to understand how people organize
Emergence and self-organization are fundamental to how organizations operate. Understanding how people organize to get work done is a key component of orghacking.
Observations can be conducted in-person by seeing who talks to whom and/or through data driven methods such as counting the number of individuals that enter a given room or office. Observations should be validated with employees (even anecdotally) to verify their accuracy and determine the context of the discussion, like why people are congregating around a specific person. This helps us understand who are the key influencers in the organization that help move work forward.
Notionally, we assume that people congregate around others with similar values and perspectives, enabling influencers to spread ideas and permeate change.
Step 4: Using all three to create custom-tailored interventions
Orghacking is different from other approaches in that it aims to change the most fundamental units within organizations. Ultimately this comes down to identifying the influencers and those closely connected to them, communicating in their language, and developing incentives based on their profile to drive the desired change in behavior. This can increase the likelihood that a message and intervention will stick.
Another difference is how interventions are implemented. Orghacking implements numerous bite-sized interventions that invoke small changes in someone’s behavior.
Each intervention is conducted using an A/B test approach, where there are intervention and control groups. This allows us to estimate the impact and effectiveness of any one approach. Since the change is small, it can be easier to assimilate, and follow-on interventions can be conducted in rapid succession. Interventions are also given time to work their way through the various social networks and will look different across groups.
For this reason, change occurs much more organically to the unique culture of a particular group or sub-group, allowing it to scale over time.
Finally, due to its small size and scope, the risks associated with any given intervention are fairly miniscule. The failure of any one intervention does not jeopardize the whole effort. In fact, failures give us ample opportunities to fine-tune our strategies.
Step 5: Gauging the impact of our interventions
It’s important to have a clear idea of the desired outcomes from an intervention. Outcomes should be measurable, even with something as simple as a yes/no metric. Outcomes help us determine whether an intervention was successful. The lessons learned from this step allow us to determine what went wrong and make adjustments to improve the approach in the future.
Step 6: Adapting strategies based on lessons learned
While some approaches succeed, others will fail. These opportunities enable us to modify our strategies to optimize the message and incentive.
Best practices within one intervention can be applied to others as well. Eventually, we can fine-tune our approach to a set of key strategies that work for a given group, or even across groups. Then, we can broaden the outreach of the interventions to other hubs and influencers. Over time, larger segments of the organization will start exhibiting the desired outcomes and effectively internalize the change.
Repeat Steps 4-6 until the desired end-state is achieved
Coming Full Circle
The effectiveness of change ultimately depends on how it is packaged. Orghacking uses micro targeting to fine-tune the package to better incentivize behaviors. By doing so, it gives us a highly adaptable and effective way to systematically internalize change within our organizations. In this way, it can be a preferable alternative to traditional top-down change strategies.
Culture Change is a Complex Process
Make sense of it with actionable advice from experts on the front lines.
- The Hollywood Model and Adapting to the Future of Work - December 22, 2016
- Using Data Visualization to Optimize Our Workspaces - April 23, 2015
- Redefining Business As Usual: An Introduction To Orghacking - February 3, 2015


My Bipolar Mind: You’re Not Alone – Now Available In Paperback!
To anyone looking for just the Kindle Version, you can CLICK HERE to be taken my book on Amazon.
For anyone looking for the book in paperback form, you can CLICK HERE to be taken to Amazon.
I really want to give a major thanks to everyone who made this book possible. This goes out to Eliezer Tristan Publishing for making my dream come true. The team I had was amazing throughout the whole process. I really never thought that something like this could ever happen to me.
I really want to say thank you and to also apologize to my family and friends for anything that I said in this book that portrayed them as negative in any way. It was just how I was feeling at the time. The year that this book describes was the lowest point in my life. I was suicidal, depressed, and overly anxious.
I really also want to thank everyone who has shown me nothing but support since my book came out. Just to name a few people: My mom, Jeremy A, Jazmine G, Mike & his family, My dad & his family, Cody G, Kayl B, Megan M, Dawn J, Nicole C, Danelle S, Danielle C, Dyane H, and everyone else. I am sorry if I left names out, there are just way too many people to thank, honestly. I grateful for each and every one of you guys and gals!
Currently, I am looking for people to review my book on their blog. If anyone is interested, please contact me at ContactMyBipolarMind@Gmail.com.
Thank you for reading!


Germany Needs Greater Military Involvement Abroad, Defense Chief AKK Declares
Germany would reach the 2% of GDP defense spending threshold by 2031, instead of 2024, she projects.
Germany should be deploying its military proactively abroad, instead of “staying on the sidelines”, according to the country’s Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is also Merkel’s successor as head of the ruling conservatives CDU.
In a speech delivered at the University of the Bundeswehr (the German military) in Munich on Thursday, Kramp-Karrenbauer has issued another call contrary to Germany’s traditional post-Cold War policy of abstaining from large-scale military participation abroad.
AKK emphasized that Germany’s allies are increasingly asking the country to play a proactive role in global security.
“A country of our size, with our economic and technological power, our geostrategic position and global interests, cannot just stand on the sidelines and watch,” she said.
“Germany must participate in international debates and drive them forward,” the German Defense Minister argued, as cited by DW.
She pointed out that the country benefited tremendously from the rules-based international order, and should therefore contribute towards guaranteeing its success.
Kramp-Karrenbauer also pledged that Germany’s military spending would reach 2% of its GDP by 2031, a level which was supposed to be reached in 2024 under the country’s present commitments to NATO.
In her words, however, for the time being, Europe’s largest economy would try to reach a defense spending of 1.5% of GDP by 2024.
Germany and other Western European countries has been criticized, especially by the United States and President Donald Trump, for their modest defense spending.
When the country finally reaches the 2% target that would likely make it the third largest defense spender in the world, after the United States and China.
“[Germany must] openly deal with the fact that we, like every other country in the world, have our own strategic interests,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily earlier in an interview.
She also announced plans to set up a national security council precisely in recognition of the need to defend Germany’s strategic interests.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, from the CDU’s coalition partner, the leftist SPD party, was quick to cast doubts over AKK’s call for a militarily more assertive Germany.
“Above all, we must define our responsibility on a European basis,” Maas told public broadcaster ZDF.
“That means that we don’t just take care of our own issues alone, but rather that we as part of Europe play a leading role in competition between superpowers.”
Kramp-Karrenbauer and Maas already clashed recently over the former’s call for establishing an international security zone in Syria.
AKK succeeded Chancellor Angela Merkel as leader of the ruling conservative CDU party nearly a year ago.
Her new call for boosting Germany’s military role came shortly before the arrival in the country of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the upcoming 30th anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
(Banner image: AKK on Twitter)


With today’s busy pace, taking time to relax is a necessity. Living in a crowded city can take a toll on your physical and mental health. Trying to juggle family responsibilities, stressful workplace, social life, and other personal pursuits adds to your stress levels.
When looking for a relaxing getaway, a camping trip is an excellent opportunity to get relief from everyday stresses, deepen your relationship with nature, and get in touch with your true self.
Time spent outdoors has many health benefits, but you can use it to tap into even more positive effects.
The breath is a powerful tool for relieving stress and anxiety. Before even starting with mindful breathing, pay attention to the scents and the quality of air at your campground.
Take a comfortable posture and focus on your breath. Notice the movement of your body with each breath. Most people take short and shallow breaths. Even a few minutes of deeper breaths, all the way to your belly, will help you become more mindful and at ease.
The 4-7-8 breathing technique is designed to reduce anxiety, stress, and help people sleep. And it can become even more effective if you practice it in the great outdoors.
As the warmer weather changes to winter, the snow gives you an opportunity to enjoy frosts, snowflakes, and the snow and trees. Winter provides its own joys and a different mindful experience.
To enjoy them safely, make sure to wear proper gear like a warm, wind-proof winter jacket.
You can easily turn your camping trip into a mindful experience if you go for a walk and foster awareness by engaging your senses so you can gain a heightened sensory perception level.
Smell the surroundings; look for plants, trees, insects, and other wildlife. Listen to the sounds of the outdoors.
This will help you disengage from the distracting thoughts and be in the “now.” Focus on becoming more mindful of yourself and your feelings with each step you take.
Pay attention to your breath as well. As you become more in tune with the way you breathe, you will become more aware of your body, thoughts and feelings, and environment.
This practice will help you stay in the present moment, and gain a sense of calm and serenity.
Relaxation techniques are known for their multiple physical and mental benefits. And practicing them in nature comes with even more rewards.
You can practice meditation, autogenic training, guided imagery, and yoga while on your camping trip. The yoga positions bring more than physical strength, balance, and flexibility. They also lead to a more relaxed state of mind.
When surrounded by magnificent natural scenery, your yoga sessions or other relaxation practices will increase the production of “happy hormones” and take your activity to another level.
While on a camping adventure, you can try meditative mindfulness in more tranquil surroundings and reap even more benefits this practice offers.
This practice is also known as earthing and is considered to have a therapeutic effect on humans. It refers to activities that “ground you,” or in other words, allow you direct contact with the Earth beneath.
According to emerging scientific research, direct physical contact with the electrons on the Earth’s surface can have a positive effect on human health. Unfortunately, our modern lifestyle has separated us from such contact.
Reconnection with the Earth’s electrons has been found to improve mood, promote sleep quality, and reduce chronic fatigue. It can also reduce inflammation, blood pressure, chronic muscle, and joint pain.
So use your time in the campsite to walk or sit barefoot, or lay on the ground to increase your contact with Earth.


years, a roof that’s been on your house for past 15 years is probably due for a checkup, especially in Colorado. The following is a list of what to look for to tell whether or not your roof is sick and could possibly need the care of repair or replacement.
Buckling and Curling Shingles
This is a sign that your shingles have reached the end of their life and are no longer getting the job done. Buckled and curled shingles can also be easily damaged if walked on and indicate that more than likely the whole roof needs replacement.
Like curling and buckling shingles, rotting shingles are not easily repaired and suggest your roof needs replacement rather than repair as a result of old age.
Dark Areas of Algae Growth
There are many causes for roof stains, from a defect in the shingles or rust to chimney soot and moss. These discolorations can vary in significance from cosmetic annoyance to structurally harmful. Roof stains need to be promptly diagnosed and repaired.
Water Spots on your Ceilings
Water is the enemy of a house because it can cause structural problems, mold, and even provide an invitation to various insects looking for a place to live. Water on your ceilings means an immediate roof repair is in order to seal the leaking section of your roof.
Shingles that have blown away in a storm provide an opportunity for water to penetrate your roof’s decking from where it can get into your house. Depending upon the severity of this problem, you may need a full roof replacement, or you may be able to address the issue with skilled repair work specifically to the affected areas only.
Asphalt Shingle Granules in the Gutters AKA Degranulation
When your gutters are full of granules, your shingles can no longer do their job of protecting your roof. The granules now in your gutter were important for giving your roof its color, protecting it from the sun, and enhancing its ability to repel water. Significant granule loss is another sign that your roof may need replacement.


NEW YORK, July 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is investigating potential claims against CannTrust Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CTST) on behalf of CannTrust investors. Our investigation concerns whether CannTrust has violated the federal securities laws and/or engaged in other unlawful business practices.
Click here to participate in the action.
On July 8, 2019, CannTrust announced its greenhouse facility in Pelham, Ontario, was audited by Health Canada and found "non-compliant." Health Canada has placed a hold on 5,200 kilograms of dried cannabis that was harvested from five unlicensed rooms at the facility until it deems CannTrust compliant with regulations. Additionally, CannTrust said that it had instituted a voluntary hold on 7,500 kilograms of dried cannabis that was produced in the unlicensed rooms. News of this information drove the price of CannTrust shares down $0.99, or about 20%, closing at $3.83.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired CannTrust shares, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Melissa Fortunato by email at email@example.com, or telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you.
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a New York-based law firm concentrating in commercial and securities litigation. For additional information concerning our investigation into CannTrust please go to https://bespc.com/ctst. For additional information about Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. please go to www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.


Nepal - Manaslu Circuit Trek | Part IX: Kathmandu Sightseeing
On the penultimate day of our stay in Nepal we went to a place where a festival is celebrated only once in 12 years. The Fulchoki festival in Godavari. For this reason many people make a pilgrimage to the 1000m higher Fulchoki Hill to honor the gods who protect the Kathmandu Valley. After the descent to the temple at the foot of the hill where the faithful are basting themself with holy water, the celebrations followed. The Nepali TV channel "Nepalmandal Television" took the opportunity to interview the only foreigners who took part in that festival.
The second to last night we spent in a Sherpa-restaurant in Laltpur, where we drank the typical Nepalese Tongba, which is served in wooden vats.
These were the last hours in Kathmandu.
We enjoyed the time with our Nepalese friends and thank them for their hospitality.
Music by Anugama & Paul Kalkbrenner


Adult Drivers Education
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Originally Posted by paulgug
thanks for the feedback. does anyone know if the chb wide is more of a beginner board than the 11up? i heard that but i am not sure if thats true, if it is than i will be leaning more towards the 11up. also does anyone have any opinions of the 11-up versus the ride decade?
Yes, I believe the CHB is more of a beginner board than the 11up. I looked at both at the local shop and bought the 11up because it has a little more stiffness and has a faster/better base. The guy at the shop said the CHB is a littel "noodley" but still a solid board.
I don't think you can go wrong with either. I do remember reading in a few places...possibly this forum that some people complained about the Decades ability to hold an edge. I have no idea why that would be, but just remember reading it.


Careers at TaskUs
The mission of TaskUs is to use cutting-edge digital technology to transform the ways in which start-up businesses operate, and enable them to scale up rapidly. The company aims “to spark innovation, improve customer experience and drive revenue through results” for future-oriented business clients.
Two high school friends - Bryce Maddock and Jaspar Weir - formed TaskUs in the Philippines in 2008 as a virtual assistant company. They soon found that start-up businesses had a particular need for their services and decided to focus on the scaling-up requirements of that market segment.
This led them to develop a new vision for using cloud-based digital technologies to increase efficiency and spark transformational growth for start-ups on the verge of scaling up. Once the company had formulated and started promoting its new vision, innovative businesses began to seek out TaskUs of their own accord.
The company uses advanced processes and technologies and a cadre of highly qualified personnel to deliver its services, freeing up clients to concentrate on growing their businesses. It has won numerous awards and is considered a leading provider of outsourced business operations services. TaskUs subscribes to the philosophy of Giving Back, and puts this philosophy into practice by providing scholarships for the children of its Filipino employees.
Benefits at TaskUs
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I figure if I don't plan my menu now, goodness knows when I will get the chance. Monday seems to be a trying day to begin with, and now I have a 8:15am Dr appt! I don't know what I was thinking taking that appt time??? Well, back to the task at hand...it is actually quite an easy week for me ;)
Monday: Dinner @ Moms! PTL after a busy day!
Tuesday: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper @ Church
Wednesday: Potato Soup & Sandwiches (I never made this last week, we stayed for dinner @ Mom's!)
Thursday: Baked Chicken Legs, Mac & Cheese & Fresh Green Beans
Friday: Pizza night! We will prob have T & the kids over, so this is a crowd pleaser!
Boy, I feel better about the week already!


Furniture, Home and Garden in Kuwait
Choosing unique and innovative furniture
for your new home can be a tough decision. There are so many options for fun and interesting furniture in Kuwait that sometimes, the task can seem impossible. Whether you’re furnishing a new home or replacing old, beat up furniture, comparing prices and styles will surely speed up the process. Easy Comparison
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are more popular than ever with hundreds of styles to choose from. You can view multiple styles at once while comparing colors, size, and prices with ease in the comfort of your own home. Traveling from store to store and trying compare one item with another is a thing of the past. Best Prices
Whether you are on a budget or the sky’s the limit, we offer selections in every price range. Some items start as low as only KWD 25 to give you the best selection at the most affordable prices in Kuwait. Any type of furniture you can think of for your home including chairs, beds, and dressers are all available in affordable and stylish designs.


Blue Earth Alvin Duane "Al" Frank, age 82, died peacefully in his home on Thursday, August 21, 2014, from a long battle with lung cancer and COPD.
Memorial Services will be at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Blue Earth, on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014, at 2 pm, with burial to follow in Riverside Cemetery, Blue Earth. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday at Patton Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 400 East 14th St., Blue Earth.
He was born March 6, 1932 in Prescott, Wis., the son of Everett and Vera (Belter) Frank. He graduated from Blue Earth High School in 1950 and attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. He served in the Army during the Korean Conflict. After his discharge he joined the family business, Frank Brothers Elevator with his father and brother.
He was a lifetime member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Blue Earth and a friend to St. John's Lutheran Church in Bullhead City, Ariz. for 21 years. He was also a lifetime member and past commander of American Legion Post 89, Sergeant of Arms for the American Legion Firing Squad, past chairman of the Minn-Iowa Golf Course and a past board member of Snow Rovers Snowmobile Club.
On May 4, 1957 he married Hollis (Holly) Rosengren. They were married for over 57 years.
Survivors include his wife Holly; daughters, Cathryn Frank, of Bloomington, Carolyn Diaz, of St. Charles, Mo., Paulette Frank, of Ledyard, Iowa; son Stephen (Kim) Frank of Blue Earth; brother David (Kathy) Frank, of Blue Earth; sister Ruth Falkenberg of San Rafael, Calif.; seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brother Leon; sisters Betty Buffie, Norma Lange, Patricia Kapplinger and grandson Robert Paul Standing.
Memorials are preferred to UHD Hospice.


Female monkeys use wile to rally troops
Female vervet monkeys manipulate males into fighting battles by lavishing attention on brave soldiers while giving noncombatants the cold shoulder, researchers said on yesterday.
After a skirmish with a rival gang, usually over food, females would groom males that had fought hardest, while snapping at those that abstained. When the next battle came along, both those singled out for attention and those aggressively shunned would participate more vigorously in combat, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Female grooming and aggression “both appear to function as social incentives that effectively promote male participation in intergroup fights”, a research team from Switzerland and South Africa reported. They had observed four vervet monkey groups at a game reserve in South Africa for two years.
Vervet monkeys live in mixed-gender groups and both sexes take part in frequent battles with rival troupes. Only a handful fight each time. Males are larger than females and have longer canine teeth, making their presence valuable in the front lines.
Success in battle ensures control over territory and food sources-a key concern for females, who take care of the young. But why would males risk involvement in a potentially high-stakes battle just for a bit of female attention? It’s all about sex, the researchers believe. “Receiving punishment” from females for not taking part in battles “could damage the... male’s social relationship(s)” either with the female in question or “other female group members”, the researchers wrote.
On the other hand, being rewarded could “potentially signal to other female group members that the... male is a valuable social partner”, likely boosting “male mating success”.
In group animals, such as humans, a delicate balance must be maintained between participating in hunting or defense, which can be risky, and free-riding, which is less hazardous but can lead to social rejection. The riskiest group activity of all is warfare, and few animals other than humans and monkeys engage in it. — AFP


Monday, February 28, 2011
And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh . And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Wrestling with God, this is something that I don't think we really have considered doing with God, but after hearing a sermon on this verse, the thought crossed my mind. I realized that I have never had one of those moments with God, so I decided I would take hold of God and not let go till I am changed.
I think we all have situations that arise and we don't think about it at the time, but later we reaize we did just that, we wrestled with God. He is the only one that can change us, but we do have to be willing to accept it. Think about your struggles, how are you different now? If there doesn't seem to be any differences in you and you seem to have more struggles, maybe it's time to cry out to God and recieve what He has been wanting to do in you! Embrace Him, and walk away different!


Calling the Oscar race now is like predicting the outcome of a football game in the first quarter. Nevertheless, I’m convinced that I’ve just seen the big winner at the next Academy Awards, to be held March 4. It’s the simple, sweet romance Call Me by Your Name.
The irresistible element of the film, which hits theaters November 24, is that it’s a gay love story. The two leads, Armie Hammer as an American grad student spending the summer of 1983 with a professor’s family in Northern Italy, and Timothée Chalamet as the 17-year-old Euro-American son of the house, have a hesitant, gentle but increasingly passionate affair that is bound to make the movie industry swoon. At a screening last week for the film’s debut at the New York Film Festival, I walked out at the end only to discover that virtually everyone else in the theater was absolutely bolted to their seats, transfixed, probably weeping.
I expect red-state types to dismiss the film because it’s gay and for blue-state types to overpraise the film because it’s gay. The latter group will find its matter-of-fact, non-judgmental, non-tortured mood to be especially appealing. It’s far more serene and joyful than Brokeback Mountain or Moonlight, the gay movie that won last year’s Oscar. This time, there is not much effort to pretend that worlds will shatter if a gay romance becomes known to those around them. Although the two men are secretive about their trysts, it gradually emerges that the parents of the teen (Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar) are cool with the whole thing anyway. “At last,” the film’s fans will say, “gay people get a glossy love story of their own.”
I’d flip that around and say, “If these were straight people, would there be anything remarkable about this movie?” Directed by Luca Guadagnino in soft, summery tones, the film is evidently deeply felt and more than competently executed. But story-wise, it’s a bit thin: The guys spend an hour or so exchanging flirty glances, then half an hour or so in various bedroom scenarios. There’s nothing really keeping them apart except that neither knows whether or not the other is gay. For a 132-minute film, this isn’t a lot of plot.
Still, Chalamet, who was previously best known for playing Matthew McConaughey’s son in Interstellar, exudes star power and is already the cynosure of the season in the movie business. Without ever seeming to do much acting, he captures the attention throughout the movie and stands a good chance of winning an Oscar for his work. Were he to win Best Actor he would be by far the youngest man ever to do so, but he could be shunted off into the supporting category because of his age, as Timothy Hutton was for Ordinary People. Chalamet has two other attention-getting turns about to hit theaters, in Lady Bird and Hostiles, and his combination of maturity and boy-band cuteness is going to make him a big name.
As for Hammer, who first attracted attention as the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network and went on to do disastrous work as the co-lead in the flops The Lone Ranger, J. Edgar, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Mirror, Mirror, he has learned to relax a bit, and though he isn’t hugely talented, he’s appealing enough.
When it comes time to vote for the Oscars, Call Me by Your Name is bound to strike a deep chord in the many gay members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It also carries the kind of sociopolitical freight the Oscars seek, though it isn’t overtly a message movie: Only in the closing minutes, and only in a subtle, oblique way, does Call Me by Your Name allude to the human misery that goes along with gay people feeling the need to hide their natures from themselves and others. Gay marriage is of course unmentioned, but audiences will not miss the point that everyone is better off if people are free to be gay without fear of obloquy.
Some other contenders, such as the upcoming Winston Churchill WWII drama Darkest Hour, may be more thematically important, but Hollywood is far more interested in sexuality and personal liberation than it is in war.
Some other Oscar contenders such as Dunkirk and the upcoming Winston Churchill WWII drama Darkest Hour (both of which are essentially about the same subject and seem likely to cancel each other out) may be more thematically important, but Hollywood is far more interested in sexuality and personal liberation than it is in war. Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Pentagon Papers movie The Post, starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep as Ben Bradlee and Kay Graham, could also be a contender, but these days Spielberg’s serious films (such as 2015’s Bridge of Spies) are increasingly hamstrung by their earnestness. Paul Thomas Anderson also is finishing up a new, as yet untitled, film, about 1950s London and starring Daniel Day-Lewis in what the actor claims will be his final movie. But Anderson’s films have a vexing habit of sprawling, then petering out.
Call Me by Your Name seems likely to enchant Oscar voters more than any of these, despite a title that is shaping up as the stupidest catchphrase in a tearjerker since “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” It’s an instance of pillow talk between the gay lovers, who seem to find it erotically engaging to address themselves by their own names. Is calling out one’s own name between the sheets really a romantic act? To me it sounds like the opposite: pure self-gratification.


Aussie telcos are sweetening their broadband deals as they jostle for position before the National Broadband Network rolls down your street.
Regardless of your opinion of the new-look Multi-Technology Mix the primary goal of the NBN was never to use specific technologies or offer specific speeds. It was to break Telstra's stranglehold on Australia's telecommunications infrastructure which let it hold the country to ransom for so long.
It's important to understand that the NBN is only a broadband wholesaler. It doesn't compete for retail customers, instead it offers equal network access to Telstra's Bigpond and all the other retail Internet Service Providers. Without the ability to abuse control of the network infrastructure and wholesale access, Telstra's Bigpond retail arm now needs to compete on value for money and customer service – two phrases which typically don't spring to mind when you think of Telstra.
So how does Telstra compete when it's about to become easier than ever for other ISPs to lure away customers? The smart move is for Bigpond to lock in its customers before the NBN arrives on their doorstep.
Bigpond has doubled the data allowances on its Medium and Large bundles to 400MB and 1000GB respectively, as well as bumping up the Extra Large plan to 1500GB. It's spruiking the new $99 1000GB plan as its "best value home bundle ever", throwing in a home phone line, the Telstra TV streaming video box with a Presto subscription and Telstra Air access when you're out and about.
For Bigpond that is a pretty good deal, but the sting in the tail is the 24-month contract – something you might regret if the NBN is due to reach your home in the next year or two. That $99 per month jumps to $119 if you want a month-by-month deal. Also keep in mind that the unmetered streaming on the Telstra TV box only applies if you're a Bigpond customer, a limitation designed to make potential defectors think twice.
To be fair Telstra's Bigpond isn't the only ISP which bundles devices and services in order to make it harder to leave. It's also not the only ISP to strategically improve its broadband deals in recent times. Internode doubled download limits for many existing customers last year, on the condition that they don't change plans, although you could argue this is a defensive move to stop customers defecting to deals like this new offer from Telstra.
Whether or not Bigpond's latest offer seems like a good deal for your home, the moral of the story is don't sign up for any long-term broadband deal until you've checked the latest three-year rollout plan to see when the NBN is coming to your suburb.


December 29. This morning I walked to "Lady" Rathbone's with my fifth number. It is quite impossible to approach Green Bank, when the weather is at all fair, without enjoying the song of some birds; for, Lucy, that sweet place is sacred, and all the feathered tribe in perfect safety. A Redwing particularly delighted me to-day; I found something of the note of our famous Mock-bird in his melody.
January 1, 1828, Manchester. How many times since daylight reached my eyes, I have wished thee, my Lucy, our sons, and our friends, a year of comfort, of peace and enjoyment, I cannot tell, for the day is to me always one on which to pray for those we love. Now, my Lucy, when I wished thee a happy New Year this morning I emptied my snuff box, locked up the box in my trunk, and will take no more. The habit within a few weeks has grown upon me, so farewell to it; it is a useless and not very clean habit, besides being an expensive one. Snuff! farewell to thee. Thou knowest, Lucy, well that when I will I will. I came here straight to friend Sergeant's; I need not say I was welcomed; and Bentley soon came in to spend the evening with us.
London, January 5, 1828. At six last evening I was in the coach with three companions; I slept well after we stopped for supper at nine o'clock, but not long enough. I cannot sleep in the morning, and was awake four long hours before day. The moon, that had shone brightly, sunk in the west as day dawned, the frost appeared thickly strewn over the earth, and not a cloud was in sight. I saw a few flocks of Partridges on their roost, which thou knowest well is on the ground, with their heads all turned to east, from which a gentle waft of air was felt; the cattle were lying here and there; a few large flocks of Starlings were all that interested me. The dawn was clear, but before we left Northampton it rained, snowed, and blew as if the elements had gone mad; strange country, to be


19. March 2014
The website ‘Popcorn Time’ is well-known amongst film buffs. However, warnings have been issued against using the supposed streaming website. In reality, the website is a file sharing platform which means users could receive costly copyright infringement notices.
The website, ‘Popcorn Time’, has received positive reviews in the media for its easy-to-use format. However, users should be aware that the supposed streaming website is in fact a platform that allows the exchange of pirated content.
File sharing vs streaming
While it is currently disputed in Germany as to whether streaming users violate copyright law, file sharing is without doubt illegal.
In the case of Popcorn Time, users download copyright-protected works via Bittorrent. In addition, users’ computers are utilised to distribute files and therefore make pirated works illegally available to the public. In such a case, users violate German copyright through file sharing.
Although the website provides insufficient information to users about this fact, ignorance is no defence, and users of Popcorn Time remain vulnerable to receiving copyright infringement notices containing demands for high compensation and legal costs.
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What a better way to celebrate Latino culture than sitting around a big house on Warren Street and watching Googie Gomez sing!
Thanks to the fabulous B. for pointing out this fabulous clip!
Can you guess the performer?
And a big THANK YOU to our lovely and charming hosts!
(I guess you could also celebrate Cinco di Mayo with a good cock-fighting contest. This card-carrying PETA member only endorses one type, though...)
Also, on Monday nights, run up to Jason's for your fav tunes by DJ's Abel and Lisa and the glamorous bartender, Erika.
Erika looks better in a skirt than I do....BUT ONLY BY A LITTLE BIT!!!
Can I tell you, right now, as I write this blog, and look out my window, the ice cream truck passed by.
It's called, "Mr. Ding-a-Ling".
True. I kid you not.
I'm going to have so much fun with that this summer.....Some stuff, I don't even have to make up.


Improving and Evaluating a Software Tool for Providing Animated Text Enhancements to Close Captions
thesisposted on 23.05.2021, 18:32 by Jorge Mori
While television and film technologies have changed according to user preferences, Closed Captions (CC) have suffered from a lack of innovation since their inception in the 1970’s. For the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities CC provides only limited access to non-speech audio information. This thesis explores the usability of a new captioning application, EnACT that provides animated text for non-speech audio information such as the emotions portrayed and their corresponding intensities. Reactions from software users were collected and evaluated. Participants found the software easy to use and a suitable alternative to conventional CC options for non-speech audio however, they disliked the amount of time it took for them to adjust timing for the animations of the captions. Overall, participants rated EnACT easy to use and the task of assigning emotions and their corresponding intensities to the video script as relatively simple, however, additional emotional labels were requested by participants overall.