Why did Uganda opt for FIDIC/ EPC turnkey contract mode of implementation?

Tue, 03/20/2018 - 06:39 -- sgradmin

a)     There are several contracting modes available including Force account, Design-Bid-Build, Design & Build, and Engineering-Procurement & Construction/Turnkey etc.

b)    The choice of the contracting mode depends on risk allocation, complexity and efficiency are some the major parameters that are used to determine the mode of contracting preferred. Notably, for system like the railway, the various system components (civil, electro-mechanical, mechanical and signal, telecom engineering components) must be engineered, procured, manufactured, installed, synchronized and tested simultaneously.

c)     Internationally FIDIC/ EPC- Turnkey contractual mode is preferred for complex and large magnitude engineering systems, like the railway. This was and is currently being used for railway projects in Ethiopia and Kenya

d)    The EPC/Turnkey is a contracting mode where the employer provides functional requirements and the contractor undertakes to design, procure and construct, manufacture, install and test the system to the given requirements by the Employer. The performance of the EPC/Turnkey contract depends on the fulfillment of the functional requirements as agreed by both parties and ultimately the functionality of the system.

e)     The main advantages include:

i)      The contractor bears the design, procurement and construction risks so no addenda arising from design inadequacies are entertained. These addenda cause interruptions to the business programing of such projects.

ii)    It’s a lump sum contract with predictable and fixed price.

iii)  In most cases, they are completed on time compared to other modes of contracting.

iv)  Most financiers prefer this mode due to predictable price and completion time which adversely can affect the viability of the project

v)    The major challenge is that there are no detailed designs and detailed bills of quantities thus hard to justify to the public that is used to design-bid-build and there is no available list of materials.

f)     The NCIP Summit directed that we use EPC/Turnkey contracts as the implementation mode.

g)    EPC/Turnkey contracting mode is a condition for application for financing to the China Exim Bank.

h)    During negotiations, the Government team relied on preliminary engineering study by Gauff Consultants, cost comparisons with Kenya and Ethiopia, reference rates from similar items from the UNRA roads contracts to come up with the negotiation basis. In the end the negotiated price was 20% lower than the submitted bid and 15% lower than the Gauff estimates.

Standard Gauge Railway Uganda


News & Events

Shareholder loans and the required accompanying documentation are facing increasing scrutiny by the IRS. Any potential deduction that may arise from a worthless shareholder loan must be substantiated by documentation confirming a valid loan exists. When entering into loan agreements with related parties it is important that all notes are expressed in the form of a written formal note, indicate a reasonable interest rate, and authorized in the corporate minute book. Besides having the written documentation, the taxpayer is also responsible to be sure that the terms of the note are being adhered to.

A recent court case, Shaw, T.C. Memo 2013-170, disallowed a bad debt deduction due to the taxpayer not being able to prove that loans were actually bona fide loans or that they became worthless in the year deducted. Although a note was executed and contained a reasonable interest rate, no interest or principle was ever paid. The service will often consider payments made to a related entity as capital contributions. In this case, the court found that Shaw’s behavior was unlike that of a bona fide lender as she made no formal attempt to collect on the loan.

The Shaw case is an example of not establishing a debtor-creditor relationship. Common factors which will be considered when the validity of loans are in question include, but are not limited to, documentation of the existence of the transaction, affixed schedule of repayment, whether interest is required on the loan, whether collateral is obtained or requested, whether demand for repayment is made, and the financial condition of the debtor. As was the case in the Shaw decision, the financial condition of the company and lack of collateral did not satisfy the third party lender requirement and therefore they failed to establish a valid debtor-creditor relationship between related parties. The debt was reclassified as a capital contribution.

It is common for shareholders to loan entities money during cash flow shortfalls and times of increasing growth. Therefore, it is very important that shareholders are protecting themselves by following the standards set forth by the IRS. When entering into related party loans, try to place the same scrutiny upon your loan as an unrelated lender would. Ask yourself if a third party would see you as a bona fide lender conducting an arm’s length transaction and most importantly seek the guidance of your professional advisors.

If you have any questions, please contact your local UHY LLP professional.


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Abstract #4934

Local SAR Reduction Based on Channel-Dependent Tikhonov Parameters

Martijn Anton Cloos1, Michel Luong2, Guillaume Ferrand2, Alexis Amadon1, Dennis Le Bihan1, Nicolas Boulant1

1CEA, DSV, I2BM, NeuroSpin, LRMN, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; 2CEA, DSM, IRFU, SACM, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

The possibility of high local SAR values can be a limiting factor to in-vivo transmit-SENSE applications at high field. In this work we introduce a novel method to reduce the local SAR and demonstrate its application based on simulations. When considering the human head at 7T, the proposed method demonstrates local SAR reductions up to a factor of 6.


The hobbit essay quiz

the hobbit essay quiz

in the Night Summary Despite Roacs counsel, Thorin prepares for war. What message do you think is conveyed by the names given to the swords? Where Bilbos personal luck is related to the uses of the fantasy presented by Bettelheim, the larger luck that surrounds him can best be explained, in Tolkiens term, as a series of eucatastrophes that illustrate the workings of Providence.

The hobbit essay quiz
the hobbit essay quiz

the hobbit essay quiz

Question 1: How does Bilbo try to obtain freedom from Gollum?
The Hobbit quiz that tests what you know.
The Hobbit study guide contains a biography.R.R.

Http files essays frankenstein-hero-or-villain.pdf
Tufts university optional video essay
Judicial creativity essay

During his last years. His decision to go down the tunnel the third time (p. Why does the Elvenking set out from his halls? Org/ A comprehensive list of links to various versions of the Beauty and the Beast story: ml A basic introduction to Norse Mythology: m/ Interactive Heros Journey tool from Read Write Think: about this guide This guide was written in 1981 by Robert Foster. It triples its wearers strength. Comprehension Questions Why does Smaug decide to destroy Lake-town? Did you get turned to stone with the giants? Does Thorin seem to be changing as he college professor research papers gets closer and closer to the mountain? What did Bilbo use the most to help him through his adventure?

Short essay on swami vivekananda in telugu, Continuing education essay college of the albemarle, Public sector essay grade 10,


5 paragraph essay graphic organizer pdf

meaning of the term, like several of those following, comes from the. I appreciate any and all comments or feedback. In France, Michel de Montaigne 's three volume Essais in the mid 1500s contain over 100 examples widely regarded as the predecessor of the modern essay. 9 One university essay guide states that "descriptive writing says what happened or what another author has discussed; it provides an account of the topic". Brecht was a playwright who experimented with film and incorporated film projections into some of his plays. Should students or teachers receive money for scoring well on standardized tests? The basics of essay writing. 19 The genre is not well-defined but might include propaganda works of early Soviet parliamentarians like Dziga Vertov, present-day filmmakers including Chris Marker, 20 Michael Moore ( Roger Me (1989 Bowling for Columbine (2002) and Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004 Errol Morris ( The Thin Blue Line. For other uses, see, essai (disambiguation). Its structure normally builds around introduction with a topic's relevance and a thesis statement, body paragraphs with arguments linking back to the main thesis, and conclusion.

The Office of Personnel Management has established five executive core qualifications that all applicants seeking to enter the Senior Executive Service must demonstrate. 24 The University of Wisconsin Cinematheque website echoes some of Gray's comments; it calls a film essay an "intimate and allusive" genre that "catches filmmakers in a pensive mood, ruminating on the margins between fiction and documentary" in a manner that is "refreshingly inventive, playful. Khomami, Nadia (20 February 2017). Retrieved July 31, 2012. 6 Classification and division Classification is the categorization of objects into a larger whole while division is the breaking of a larger whole into smaller parts. Here are over fifty of the free K-12 graphic organizers which are available to print on this thesis statement for the scarlet ibis site.


These super-charged, super-fun co-ed classes meet once per week for a 45 minute or 1 hour class. The kids are separated into five different age groups: Bouncing Babies (ages walking - 2 years), Tiny Tots (ages 2-3), Tumbling Tikes (ages 3-4),Rolling Rascals (ages 4-5)and Kinder Kidz(ages 5-6).

Warm-ups will introduce strength and flexibility to the kids followed by our spectacular obstacle courses. Obstacles are set-up throughout the gym incorporating all of the events including; bars, beam, floor, trampoline, vaulting table, rings, climbing wall and so much more. Obstacle courses will be used in two week increments. The first week will be used to introduce the children to the new skills and the second week will be used to reinforce what they have learned and to work on advancing the skill.

If you can't have fun while learning gymnastics, why do it, right? That's why the emphasis for these classes is placed on learning through fun.

Pre-School Tuition: (Based on a 10-week session/one class per week)
Bouncing Babies $175.00 (45 minute class w/parent)
Tiny Tots $180.00 (45 minute class)
Tumbling Tikes $185.00 (1 hour class)
Rolling Rascals $185.00 (1 hour class)
Kinder Kidz $185.00 (1 hour class)

Gym-Ken Gymnastics Payment Policy


Patent Number: 6,311,051

Title: Mobile communication system with offset compensation circuitry

Abstract: A mobile communication system comprising an analog baseband processor thatis configured for providing improved DC offset compensation. An offsetcompensation circuit of the analog baseband processor generates a first DCoffset compensation signal to preset DC offset voltage of analog basebandsignal when the mobile communication system is power on. A mobile stationmodem of the mobile communication system generates a second DC offsetcompensation signal to compensate for a detected DC offset voltage duringoperation of the mobile communication system subsequent to the DC offsetvoltage being preset. In addition, the offset compensation circuitre-presets the DC offset by generating a third DC offset compensationsignal whenever the mobile communication system enters a predeterminedmode of operation such as a "data send" mode.

Inventors: Jung; Duck-Young (Kyunggi-do, KR)

International Classification:

Expiration Date: 10/32013


5 Lessons Learned: Electricians

What People Must Need To Know About Domestic Electricians

This electrician easily get to perform manual labor which they can get to include working in walls and under the stairs and also floors in a number of homes but they mainly work on homes compared to other electricians. To work as a domestic technician, they would require to have a comprehensive knowledge of commercial electrics, they must also have to spend time working on different projects that is in the electrical market. A domestic electrician needs to also take training courses of electrical installation and the wiring of different circuits, other things that people need to learn how to replace electrical components and how to know unsafe electrical situations.

People must get to search for a domestic electrician that has studied on the right electrical training program where it has one that has a history of preparing them for their current industry standards and new trends in the field of electricity. They must get to attend courses which can prepare them from electrical safety in installing of various cables, heating and cooling systems and also conduits on the homes of clients and apartment. These training courses can also prepare these domestic electricians for an apprenticeship and also obtaining their license and they can also try to offer alternative energy classes like solar energy.

Source: Doing Options The Right Way


Roxie Triple X Volume 3

All prices for 'Roxie Triple X Volume 3' include the approximate cost of delivery to an address within the UK.

It's time for this identical triplet to meet her match. Can a wild child ever really be tamed? Growing up in foster care has made Roxie Cannon tough and self-reliant, but being alone isn't all it's cracked up to be. She's finally found her sisters. Is it time she met her match? Roxie should be on top of the world. She's formed bonds with identical sisters she never knew she had, and she's buying the biker bar she's managed for years.

Similar products

Roxie Triple XPrices from £43.93


The Secret Song

Who saw the petals
drop from the rose?
I, said the spider,
but nobody knows.

Who saw the sunset
flash on a bird?
I, said the fish,
but nobody heard.

Who saw the fog
come over the sea?
I, said the sea pigeon,
only me.

Who saw the first
green light of the sun?
I, said the night owl,
the only one.

Who saw the moss
creep over the stone?
I, said the grey fox,
all alone.

Algy hopes that you all have a calm and peaceful Sunday xo

Algy could see from the rapidly darkening sky that another shower of heavy sleet was approaching, so he tucked himself into a large hollow beneath the battered old gorse bushes, made a cosy bed of dry bracken to rest on, and settled down to wait for the skies to clear again.

Algy hopes that you will all find a cosy place of shelter this weekend too, especially if your own skies are looking black…

It was mid-November and a gale was blowing up, bringing suddenly blackened skies carrying torrential showers of slushy sleet, or sometimes rain mixed with icy hail. But when Algy stopped to look carefully at the heather bushes growing in the shelter of the rocks on the hill, he was thrilled to see some tiny purple bells still flowering there. Winter was approaching rapidly, but it was not quite here yet 🙂

As the weather forecast for the week ahead was grim, Algy decided to make the most of a brief spell of sunshine, and go for a wee ride in the birch tree while it was still relatively calm and comfortably dry. As he looked at the colours of the leaves around him, he felt that for once he had almost achieved a state of satisfactory camouflage, but unfortunately it could only last for as long as the leaves still clung to the tree, which would not be very long at all if the forecast was correct…

Algy left the forest and flew back towards his home by the wild ocean, fighting against the roaring north-east wind all the way. In the distance he could see the dual peaks of the Isle of Rum, dusted white with the first snow of the coming winter. It felt bitterly cold, and he wondered whether it wouldn’t have been wiser to have stayed beneath the cover of the great forest. He dropped down to the ground to rest by one of his favourite birch trees, amid a shower of falling leaves that were whirling round and round in the wind. Fascinated, Algy watched as he quickly acquired a pretty coverlet of russet, red and yellow, which glowed like pure gold in the autumn sunlight…

Algy wishes you all a very happy Sunday, and hopes that if you too live in these northern lands, you will manage to stay cosy and warm 🙂

Algy dropped down to the woodland floor and leaned back on a soft carpet of mosses and fallen beech leaves. It was peaceful in the woods and everything seemed hushed; apart from the quiet rippling of the river, and the occasional whisper of a falling leaf, there was almost no sound. As he contemplated the trees in their autumn glory, Algy was reminded of a famous verse by Lord Byron:

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.

[Algy is quoting a small part of the long narrative poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage by the early 19th century Anglo-Scottish poet Lord Byron.]

Algy had found an excellent perch in a hole in an ancient oak tree, so he tucked himself in comfortably and settled down to watch the life of the river for a wee while. It was a cool, misty October afternoon and not a great deal was happening, but several ducks were swimming lazily up and down stream, first this way and then that, with no very clear intent, while the river flowed calmly on towards the sea. Suddenly, a robin started to sing his autumn song from a branch nearby; Algy looked up at his pretty little cousin, and smiled 🙂


MoDOT wants you to be a member of its "Pothole Patrol"

Throughout March, maintenance crews will be repairing potholes to keep roads as safe and smooth as possible. The public is asked to report potholes so MoDOT maintenance crews can assess the damage and complete the needed repairs.

"We don't want to take any shortcuts and sacrifice the safety of our customers and our crews," said State Maintenance Engineer Becky Allmeroth. "We are focusing on quality repairs. It is not a good use of resources to have our crews going out multiple times repairing the same pothole."

Allmeroth asks motorists to watch out for crews making the repairs, slow down and move over a lane to give them room to work. As many as 300 pothole patching crews may be working to make state roadways safer.

"Please be aware of crews on the roadway and give them room. The work they are performing is saving lives, saving taxpayers' money and costly repairs to their vehicles," Allmeroth said.

Motorists can report the location of potholes on state-maintained roads using the following tools:
  • Use our Report a Road Concern form on the web at
  • Use your smart phone/tablet with a mobile-friendly form at
Potholes form when temperatures warm up during the day, but continue to be cold at night. This is the main cause of potholes in highways and why they are prevalent during spring. The rain and snow from winter leave moisture that seeps into cracks and joints in the pavement. When temperatures drop, the water freezes and expands the pavement. This expansion causes the pavement to bulge and crack. When cars drive over the bulging pavement, it eventually causes chunks of pavement to pop out.

MoDOT spends approximately $15 million a year on pothole patching with the majority of that during the month of March.

The state of Missouri maintains 34,000 miles of road including interstates, U.S. and Missouri routes and lettered routes. Potholes on city streets or subdivisions should be directed to local cities or counties.


What is the maximum image size in enhanced asset or broadcast feed?

As of early 2017, counterblock (which is used by Counterwallet) downloads PNG images of up to 20 kiB (20480 bytes) in size and 48x48 dimensions.

This is not a protocol limitation, but just a way one implementation does it.

Another wallet could impose no limit, or a different (smaller or larger) limit, but not that any user using a different wallet (such as Counterwallet) may not be able to see images larger than mentioned above.


davidlyness.com Thoughts go in, words come out.

Effective CPU denial of service attack using hash collisions

As discussed in a previous post on thwarting attackers who gain control of an unencrypted database, hashing is a useful technique which can be used to obfuscate passwords and other data that needs to be verified without storing the data in plaintext. However, as with any situation in which the source of the data is unknown, hashing algorithms on the server can be exploited. A vulnerability was recently given a lot of publicity where data sent using a normal HTTP request could tie up the server for several minutes to several hours.

A hash table is a common data structure used to store POST data sent to a web server. For example, whenever you comment on a post on a website, your name, email and comment are likely stored in a hash table as they are processed. The server uses a hashing algorithm to map keys to values, using the hash as essentially an array index, the algorithm being specified by the implementation language. Alexander Klink and Julian Wälde, security researchers, were able to show that, if they could generate many strings that hashed to the same value, the hash table would degenerate to the point where 99% of CPU time was being used for the duration of the execution of the script.

The researchers describe the vulnerability in their paper.

The maximal POST request size is typically limited to 8 MB, which when filled with a set of multi-collisions would consume about four hours of CPU time on an i7 core. Luckily, this time can not be exhausted because it is limited by the max_input_time (default configuration: -1, unlimited), Ubuntu and several BSDs: 60 seconds) configuration parameter. If the max_input_time parameter is set to -1 (theoretically: unlimited), it is bound by the max_execution_time configuration parameter (default value: 30). On an i7 core, the 60 seconds take a string of multi-collisions of about 500k. 30 seconds of CPU time can be generated using a string of about 300k. This means that an attacker needs about 70-100kbit/s to keep one i7 core constantly busy. An attacker with a Gigabit connection can keep about 10.000 i7 cores busy.

By implementing a randomized hash function, as described above, the attacker cannot possibly force hash collisions on the scale required to tie up the web server. PHP uses the DJBX33 hash function, which has the property that if two strings collide under this function, then any other strings containing these as substrings collide too (this weakness is known as the “equivalent substring” property). This gives an attacker an effective means to compute hash collisions where otherwise a brute force attack would be the most effective route. The fact that most hash table algorithms are not cryptographically strong means that it can be trivial to reverse-engineer the algorithm to generate collisions.

This vulnerability isn’t new: it was first published back in 2003, but only recently gained substantial attention by technology media, meaning that a fix had to be fast-tracked. And PHP was not the only scripting language affected: ASP.NET, Java, Python and Ruby, among others, are also subject to this vulnerability (although not all because of the “equivalent substring” weakness in their hashing algorithms). Microsoft have also released an emergency out-of-cycle patch addressing this vulnerability in their .NET framework.


Addressing word-order Divergence in Multilingual Neural Machine Translation for extremely Low Resource Languages

  • 2018-11-01 13:53:27
  • Rudra Murthy V, Anoop Kunchukuttan, Pushpak Bhattacharyya
  • 6

Transfer learning approaches for Neural Machine Translation (NMT) train a NMTmodel on the assisting-target language pair (parent model) which is laterfine-tuned for the source-target language pair of interest (child model), withthe target language being the same. In many cases, the assisting language has adifferent word order from the source language. We show that divergent wordorder adversely limits the benefits from transfer learning when little to noparallel corpus between the source and target language is available. To bridgethis divergence, We propose to pre-order the assisting language sentence tomatch the word order of the source language and train the parent model. Ourexperiments on many language pairs show that bridging the word order gap leadsto significant improvement in the translation quality.

Introduction (beta)

Conclusion (beta)


Why are there so many Israelis at the World Cup?

Israel did not qualify for the World Cup. They’ve only managed to do so once, in 1970. Yet, after Israelis bought around 12,000 tickets for these finals in Brazil, they are the most present nation by percentage of population, and the second highest fan contingent of non-qualifiers, despite being just 8 million in total.

More Israelis bought tickets for these finals than Italians. Italy, the 2006 World Cup winners, one of the historic football nations. The noise exhibited in the Manaus win over England emanated as much from second or third generation Brazilians, Americans and Australians as it did actual Italians (and, of course, people who just don’t like England).

Israelis are not sporting their national team shirts – why would they, their team isn’t involved – but they are not just football tourists looking to catch a glimpse of their Premier League and Liga heroes.

“Yes, plenty have come to see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo,” Mariano, from Tel Aviv told me as he ordered seven Caipirinhas from a street stall by the arches of Lapa on Tuesday night.

“We’re not wearing colours, but we are all here to support Argentina. It’s where we are from.”

There are around 70,000 Argentine Jews in Israel, a figure which rises consistently with time.
Argentina is behind only the United States and Canada in terms of Americas immigration to the Holy Land, and comprises the largest Latin community in Israel.

The relationship between the two nations is chequered to say the least. Argentina was open to Jewish immigration until the military junta restricted their entry; that led to many existing Argentine Jews exercising the right of return.

Once Argentina was liberated from fascism, some returned, but the stream continued for economic as well as religious reasons.

There remains a close relationship between the nations – after all, Argentina was one of the first to recognise Israel as a state in 1949 – and as such it is perhaps unsurprising that many are in Brazil.

“Some are supporting Brazil,” Mariano admitted. “Yes there are a lot of Jews in Sao Paulo, but when you’re from a country like Israel, you tend to look to teams who play the best football.

“Also, a lot of people just want to watch the World Cup. We have the money to come, and many of us love South America, so why not?”

Israelis are famous travellers, with many going backpacking after completing military service. Mariano had been to Brazil before, and his friends had all spent time across Latin America.

“People have a certain idea about us, but we are friendly, open people,” he added. “Things are complicated in our region, but at least we are a free country surrounded by extremists.

“But we have our own extremists too, which makes things complicated internally. Me and my friends are not religious.

“Here, we can get along with everyone. You are English and Egyptian, I am Israeli and Argentine, and here we can be friends. Maybe that is why so many of us have come.” (By Eurosport) Eurosport’s Reda Maher is on location in Brazil for the duration of the 2014 World Cup

photo: Mexico and Israel fans mingle during a pre-World Cup friendly


Nothing will annoy them more...

Do you like carrying anger around?  I do it sometimes and it eats me up because I like a more balance atmosphere in my life and that does not include anger. I have had to learn to remove myself from toxic relationships.

Do not carry around things you cannot use. Choose to let go of that anger or resentment about something that has happened...whether you said it or someone else has said it.  True forgiveness is only possible if we allow the spirit of God to work within us.

What will your choice be?


How do you hide the mouse cursor in a game?

Hi im trying to make a game that hides the cursor. Does anyone know?

There is a built in function inside of wick that can help you:

Use this at the very first frame to hide your cursor for your entire project.


Create views in code with .Net SDK 2.0

Does anyone know how to create views in code with .Net SDK similar to how it was done with CouchbaseModelViews in 1.3.10

@game99 -

There currently isn’t a replacement for CouchbaseModelViews using the Couchbase .NET SDK 2.0; however, you could use the Management API to create views programmatically.

If there is enough demand for it, we could always create a 2.0 branch on github and start porting it over (if possible).

@jmorris thank you for the response


Why life gets a lot better when you stop giving a f*ck

It’s natural for everyone to yearn acceptance; belonging in a crowd and feeling like you’re part of something bigger. This “natural” instinct, on the other hand, can sometimes change the way we grow, and not always for the better.

In reality, we can stop trying too hard to fit in and just become free individuals. But the art of not caring isn’t easy as it takes work and dedication.

It pays well not to care, though, and can change our lives for the better. Everyday, life is going to convince you that you’re not good enough. Whether it’s someone else’s job or friends or appearance, there’s bound to be something wrong about ourselves. But caring about these superficial things doesn’t improve who you are, it only makes you unhappy about your circumstances.

The key is to ignore our instinctual pursuit for the next best thing. Too often, the “best thing” for us is exactly the thing we have, only we don’t realize it because of envy. This behavior leads us into living a life that is only driven by envy and thoughtless pursuit. Stop chasing the shiny things around you and start focusing on your things, and making them shiny.

Stop caring about what people think and your confidence will soar to heights never before imaginable to you. Believe in yourself and what your version of the world can offer, without thinking about someone else’s progress.

At the end of the day, the only progress that matters is yours.

Stop trying to mimic someone’s happiness. Let happiness grow into your life organically instead of pursuing it. A life well-lived is one where you know the difference between things that matter and things that don’t, so stop caring about the latter.

The key is to focus on your strengths and ignore your perceived weaknesses.

Don’t feed the gaps in your personality with insecurity because that’s what everyone else is doing; rise up to the challenge and become better than them.

While you may never improve your weaknesses, take comfort in the fact that you have usable strengths. Stop trying to become someone else and start embracing who you are. And if you’re bad at one thing and amazing at the other, then just focus on the latter.

Know what you’re bad at and come to terms with it. Confront these and you’ll start progressing in no time. Know what you’re good at and continue developing these traits. Eventually, you can utilize these strengths to augment your weaknesses.

Embrace your uniqueness.

So what if everyone in your family wanted to become an engineer? So what if each and every one of your friends went on to be successful lawyers? There is no shame in who you are and what you want to become, even if no one else seems to pursue the same dreams as you.

Acknowledging your individuality may be harder to you because you care too much about what other people would think or say. Remember this: what other people have to say shouldn’t have an impact on you. While others are trudging on the same path, take comfort in travelling the road less traveled. Do the things you are proud of, and don’t let anyone, not even yourself, tell you otherwise.

If you want to create unique things, know that there will always be criticism and that this shouldn’t stop you from unraveling the wonders in your mind. Own your craft and become better at it until you create something so good your inner critic wouldn’t dare say anything about it.

Become an individual by doing things your way.

Question the norm and be open to innovative solutions. Stay curious to new discoveries in life. Do you really want to be stuck doing the same thing the same way forever?

If you’re so afraid of sticking out like a sore thumb, know that  everyone is busy chasing after something, so why should they notice you? Don’t worry about becoming different. At the end of the day, no one’s really watching, except individuals who could temporarily affect your life, like your boss or any other authoritative figure.

Know who you really are, and own it.

Don’t wait for people to affirm who you are. Do the things you feel like you should be doing. Your peers are not going to validate who you are so your self-worth shouldn’t be measured against people’s comments on your performance.

If you’re unsatisfied with an aspect of your life, change it for the better. Your life is going to be stagnant if you refuse to act. The worst thing you can do to yourself is to grow old and be the exact same person you were five, ten years ago.

Bottom line is, you should stop caring so much and start living. Become a better person by focusing on what you think of yourself. At the end of the day, the only thing you should care about is who you are becoming.

In my new eBook, The Art of Mindfulness, Hack Spirit explain how you can use mindfulness practically to help you clear your mind, let go of your worries and live peacefully in the present moment.

Check it out here

Become an Ideapod Prime member


Bahrain opposition describes King’s proposed reforms as marginal

Bahrain not out of political crisis yet

DUBAI - The king of Bahrain introduced on Sunday constitutional reforms that give more power to the elected parliament, but fall far short of the demands set down by the Shiite-led opposition.
King Hamad referred his draft proposals to the national council, including the all-appointed Shura (consultative) council and the lower elected chamber, for ratification, the BNA state news agency reported.
The reforms fall in line with "our desire to preserve the stability of the homeland," King Hamad said in an address to the nation, ahead of proposing the draft amendments aimed at diffusing tension sparked after a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in mid-March.
Under the proposed reforms, the king will have to "ask the opinion of the heads of the Shura council, parliament and the constitutional court" before dissolving the parliament, instead of just discussing it with the prime minister.
The monarch also proposed that the government "gains the vote of confidence if its programme is accepted" after a parliamentary debate, a move he said was designed to give the people a stronger voice in government policy.
The government has been headed for over four decades by King Hamad's uncle, Prince Khalifa bin Salman -- a main member of the Sunni ruling family.
If the amendments are ratified, the elected chamber will be able to refuse cooperation with the government and call for public debate on any issue, without first seeking approval from the upper house.
But the reforms fall far short of the opposition's demands, which include instituting a full constitutional monarchy where the prime minister would be chosen from the elected lower house.
The opposition has also called for a total overhaul of the judicial system and electoral districts to secure better representation.
"These reforms are marginal," said former opposition MP Matar Matar.
"They do not meet the demands, nor the promises" made in the principles for dialogue announced by Crown Prince Salman last year to end the unrest.
A report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, commissioned by King Hamad, found that 35 people were killed in the crackdown on protests, including five security personnel and five detainees were tortured to death in custody. Hundreds were injured during the unrest.


Dozens could've died in foiled terrorist attack, Prosecutor says

The Netherlands escaped a terrorist attack that could've resulted in "dozens of victims" with the last year, the Public Prosecutor said in court on Thursday - the first proforma hearing in this case. Only three of the six suspects still in detention were present at the hearing, AD reports.

The Prosecutor stressed that there was never a real danger, because the and foiled their plans. "But how different it could have been. If the string had broken with the infiltrators, we might have had dozens of victims."

Shortly before their arrests, four of the suspects attended firearms training at a home in a holiday park in Weert, Limburg. What they did not know is that the two men who gave them training and provided the firearms, which had been made safe, . The home was full of eavesdropping equipment and cameras. When the four left the park in a van, Three others were arrested in the Arnhem region. One of the seven suspects has since been released and did not have to appear in court on Thursday.

An unnamed man from Arnhem, 18, was released from pre-trial custody in late November. At the time of the release, the prosecutor said there was not enough evidence to continue holding the man. He was still considered a suspect in the case and remained under investigation, as of Nov. 26.

The lawyers representing the suspect claim that the police infiltration was entrapment. "The Public Prosecutor helped to create this group. The idea to have the boys train came from the infiltrator. Thus fear of an attack was created. It would not have happened without the Public Prosecutor", the lawyers said, according to the newspaper.


3D Art and the Art of Verbs : Stage Three A whispering gallery

3D Art and the Art of Verbs : Stage Three , A whispering gallery

3D Art , a technique to use at different stages of target language learning

Here we are considering 3D Art as a way to explore present verbs with primary age children  .
I may use the same technique to explore adjectives or a range of tenses with more advanced KS3  learners

I have always loved to link language learning and drama and find the primary classroom a place where we can explore both these aspects and be really creative !
I love to use Art as stimulus for great drama and language explorations and find that I can bring Art from the target language country to life through simple activities .
I call this work "3D Art", taking a piece of Art and imagining and bringing the characters to life through performance and use of simple target language.

Simple rules
Select Art that has conversation and interaction running throughout the storyline of the picture .
Make sure there are enough characters for a group of six children to be able to select characters that they want to investigate
Set the scene by investigating as a class possible phrases in the target language that characters could be saying
Practise voices that the characters might have
Add actions to the characters and ask the children to think of signature actions for the characters.
Divide your class into mixed ability groups of six children maximum and make sure in each group you have a strong linguist and strong performers
As you progress through the stages described below increase the amount of reference sources the children can use , so they can access powerful verbs and adjectives etc.

First you need your picture
Here is one of my favourites : the Boating Party by Renoir

The Boating Party Renoir

Stage Three : A Whispering Gallery

1. Revisit the painting you  used in stage one and stage two and if you have the outcomes to hand i.e. the sugar paper paintings book ( stage one) and the virtual gallery of pictures of characters and their conversations from stage two , share these with the children.
2.Now working at their tables - in mixed ability groups, with children who work better with support working with either yourself or a partner , give the painting out a third time to the groups .
3. Give each child at the table a cut out of the face of the character you would like them to be .
4. They should glue the character to the centre of an A4 piece of paper and write first person singular statements in the target language about the character- based on prompts written by you on the flip chart . Some children may need a writing frame . Prompts will be name , age , where live , birthdays, feelings , likes, dislikes, what they are wearing , what they are doing. Differentiate the task by outcome - each child must come up with at least 5 statements for example
5.Bring three children to be in the "hot seat" and ask for volunteers to be the question panel . Give these children questions that they will ask the character at the front , using second person singular questions e.g what are you called? , what are you wearing ? etc
6. After each child has been in the hot seat ask the class to help you to put their statements into a hot seat report on the flip chart . This means that working with you they will put the statements into the third person singular using he/she depending on whether the character was male or female.
7. Back at their tables can the groups create appropriate questions in the third person singular matching the information on the flip chart in the hot seat reports?
8. Ask for suggestions for third person questions to each third person response in the hot seat report .
9.Write these questions up at the bottom of the flip chart.
10 . for the next activities the children need to be in groups of 4 or 6 . They will become the characters in the painting again , taking poses, thinking of the characters voices and actions  , finding a partner to talk with but this time the partners will develop a third person singular conversation about one of the other characters in their painting.
11. The first step will be to locate their character ( using the face cut out that they have worked with earlier) .Each character introduces themselves in the first person using the notes they made earlier . Everyone else listens and makes notes about the character .
12. Now they work in pairs to create a whispering third person singular question and answer conversation based on the facts they have just noted down about one of the other characters e.g what is he / she called / where does he / she live etc
13. The groups must develop their conversations , then work on their characterisation and then hold whispering gallery third person singular conversations to share information about other characters in the painting.
14. These whispering gallery conversations are performed to the class in the picture frame area at the front of the classroom just as described  at the end of stage two
15. Finally the children are set the task of creating and writing a newspaper style description of the character they have just described in their performance of  a whispering gallery third person question and answer conversation .


EFCC slams foreign bank over prediction on Buhari

EFCC Boss, Ibrahim Magu

Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has lambasted HSBC Bank days after predicting that Nigeria’s current economic struggles look set to continue if President Muhammadu Buhari wins a second term in office.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Cristiano Ronaldo scores first goal for Juventus

The EFCC said, “The HSBC bank is one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world. The HSBC’s international network comprises around 7, 500 offices in over 80 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa.

“In Nigeria the bank laundered more than $100m for the late dictator, General Sani Abacha, in Jersey, Paris, London and Geneva. The bank is also involved with laundering proceeds of corruption for over 50 Nigerians including a serving Nigerian senator.

“Part of Abacha’s assets yet to be recovered are: $12m in HSBC Fund Admin Ltd with account number S-104460 in Jersey; $20m in HSBC Life (Europe) with account number 37060762 in the UK and $1.6m in HSBC Bank Plc with account number 38175076 in the UK.

“We shall not rest until every penny belonging to the Federal Republic of Nigeria is repatriated to Nigeria as to improve the lives of the people.”

In a report by its Global Research unit, entitled, ‘Nigeria, papering over the cracks’ last week, HSBC had said President Buhari’s approval ratings sit near all-time lows, a development which largely reflects the impact of Nigeria’s painful recession in 2016-17 and the sustained economic hardship that has accompanied his presidency, including rapidly rising joblessness, and poverty.

The bank had said a second term for Mr Buhari “raises the risk of limited economic progress and further fiscal deterioration, prolonging the stagnation of his first term, particularly if there is no move towards completing reform of the exchange rate system or fiscal adjustments that diversify government revenues away from oil.”

The financial institution noted that while higher oil prices have brightened Nigeria’s macro outlook, boosting export earnings, improving the supply of foreign exchange, and supporting naira stability, the Buhari administration had yet to address the economy’s structural shortcomings.

It further stated that in addition to failing to address the country’s ongoing reliance on oil revenues and the issue of inadequate non-oil tax collection, the administration was also grappling with the challenge of having a large share of its budget directed to debt service.

The company noted that while the Federal Government’s debt management strategy of issuing external debt to redeem more expensive short-term government securities is helping reduce debt service costs in the near term, it “exposes the fiscal position to exchange rate risk in the event of a future decline in oil prices and naira devaluation.”

The bank stated that high oil prices had not translated into non-oil growth, adding that: “Nigeria’s reliance on fuel imports means rising international oil prices are pushing up the cost of fuel subsidies, estimated by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency $250m in May alone.”


What was waking up my animals?

I thought you might enjoy a good story for Halloween. It’s in my bestseller, Peace in Passing: Comfort for Loving Humans during Animal Transitions.

A while ago, I woke up in the middle of the night because the dogs and cats were crying, barking and acting agitated. That’s usually a sign that someone is visiting. In my mind’s eye, I saw the letters SARGE written with white chalk on a black chalkboard.

It’s my father-in-law

I asked who was in the room and realized it was my father-in-law, Charlie, who had passed on! He was looking for his dog, Sarge who was still alive.

Where’s Sarge?

Charlie used to sit on the back porch of his house in Charlottesville, VA with his dog, Sarge. Something they both enjoyed. But his wife, Betty, decided it was time to sell the house and move in with her daughter’s family in Staunton. So when Charlie went to his house, Sarge was gone. I told Charlie to go to Diana’s house, that Betty and Sarge had moved there. Once I did that, the animals quieted down.

Sharing the story with Betty

When I told Betty this, she wasn’t surprised. She had seen Charlie sitting with Sarge on the back porch after Charlie passed. We both laughed when we realized Charlie wasn’t looking for his wife – he was looking for his dog![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][us_btn text=”View Video” icon=”fa-video-camera” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DjkNnf2ThIE4||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row]


1000 Direct Replacement Reflector Liner

Reflector liner is a vital component to clean and replace as part of routine maintenance in order to maintain acceptable UV output. Direct replacement reflector liners fabricated and curved to precise specifications of original equipment. Milcure 1000 enhanced reflector material is used to provide you with optimum reflectivity and UV efficiency beyond that of the original equipment manufactured part. Optional cold mirror coating available for heat sensitive processes. Contact us for specific lengths and pricing.


Lt. Gov directs Kejriwal to convene meeting with officers

Lt. Gov directs Kejriwal to convene meeting with officers

New Delhi: Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal wrote a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to hold a meeting with officers to sort out the differences between his government and the bureaucrats.

Baijal’s letter was in response to Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia’s letter to him, seeking the former’s help to end the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers’ ‘strike’ in the national capital.

“Lieutenant Governor (has) requested Chief Minister to urgently meet the officers in the Secretariat, so that apprehensions and concerns of both sides can be suitably addressed through dialogue in the best interest of the people of Delhi,” a release from Raj Niwas read.

“Lieutenant Governor has written that earlier also, he had advised to make efforts to restore trust between the elected government and the officers. Lieutenant Governor stated that he was glad that Chief Minister had tweeted an appeal to the officers assuring them of safety and security in their interactions with the elected government,” the release further stated.


Parent-Child music classes for young children and their caregivers.

Chase Music Class Feb-2011047.jpg

About Kids' MusicRound

The mission of Kids' MusicRound is to provide a developmentally appropriate approach to early childhood music education that is fueled by a passion and love for children and music. Based on early childhood development and music education research, KMR provides a fun-filled class environment where families come together to experience the joy of movement and music-making.

The magic of music in early childhood

Early music competence

Every child is born with musical potential, so we nurture that to ensure your child's love of music. Children who make musical neurological connections early on are more likely to pursue musical endeavors later in life.

Physical development

We incorporate large and small movement activities to promote your child's physical development, such as balance, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and much more.

Children with musical experiences are better able to focus and do better in school as they get older. We practice mental skills such as audiation and rhythm to support memory, concentration, and processing skills.

Social skills

Our activities in music class encourage group participation and sharing while allowing children to learn autonomy by choosing their own comfort levels. Friendships bloom in music class!

Our music classes promote bonding between children and their special adult, especially when the adult is fully engaged. You'll make chemical connections and develop joyful memories to savor for years to come.

Studies show that early music exposure promotes language acquisition. In music class your child will get to experiment with sounds and communication to build their confidence in verbalization.

"Thank you for making our first music class so wonderful. We looked forward to coming each week and can't wait until music starts up again! You have a wonderful way with all of the children - it is easy to see why they like coming so much - and you make it so much fun for the adults, too!"
-Sarah and David Z.
"If you want your infant/baby/toddler to be actively engaged and to begin auditory processing skills, this class is for your family. We started our daughter at 8 weeks old and instilled the love of music in her! Many studies have shown students that are involved with music and play an instrument do better academically in school. Why wait, start today - we are so glad we did!"
-Maxine S.


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―Golden Knight[src]

The Golden Knight is a character found outside Kinlady Avinisse's Mansion, Shimmerene during a particular stage of the quest "The Queen's Decree." He wears Auroran armor and wields Dawnbreaker.

The Queen's DecreeEdit

After agreeing to meet Razum-dar at the Monastery of Serene Harmony, where he plans on distracting the sentry to allow the Vestige to slip inside, the Vestige must travel to the monastery. On the stairs near Kinlady Avinisse's Mansion, the Golden Knight will appear, speak to the Vestige briefly, and then disappear.

A Pearl of Great PriceEdit

Buried MemoriesEdit

The Tower SentinelsEdit

The Dreaming Cave (Online)Edit

Lost in TranslationEdit

A Necessary AllianceEdit

Two characters will comment on the Golden Knight's appearance immediately after it occurs:

Lialanah: "Did you see a Golden Knight?"


We beat the AI record in Ms. Pac Man!

pacmanOur recent work using Ms. Pac Man as a benchmark problem for optimal control strategies has been featured on BGR, Tom’s Guide, and in the Cornell Chronicle! You can read more about how our control strategy beat the previous Ms. Pac Man AI record here!

BGR: Scientists built an AI that is really, really good at ‘Ms. Pac-Man’

Cornell Chronicle: Engineers eat away at Ms. Pac-Man score with artificial player

Tom’s Guide (FR): Cette IA est imbattable à Miss Pac-Man

The New Yorker: Could Ms. Pac-Man train the next generation of military drones?


In the United Kingdom, a man is free to marry a fellow man. A woman can also contract a marriage with a fellow woman. It is called gay or homosexual marriage and it is protected by law.

But United Kingdom did not always support gay marriage. In fact, like most of Africa, it considered it a taboo, and during the colonial days, it made laws that prohibited and punished any homosexual acts in all its colonies.

But it has since seen the light and now regrets such anti-gay past. However, most of the former colonies have upheld the anti-gay laws up until this day – a situation that now gives British Prime Minister Theresa May a headache.

On Tuesday, May regretted Britain’s role in anti-gay legislation across its former colonies, seeking to address criticism of the Commonwealth at its gathering in London.

Also Read: 'I Have Gay Fans Too' - Officer Titus

May is looking to reinvigorate the Commonwealth, a 53-country network of mostly former colonies, as Britain seeks new post-Brexit ways to project its influence in the world and establish a role as a leader of free trade.

She is now asking Nigeria and those other countries to consider allowing men and women to marry themselves.

“As the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister I deeply regret both the fact that such laws were introduced and the legacy of discrimination, violence and even death that persists today,” May added.

Also Watch: Mechanics claim the Police set the Ojota fire; Police deny


VISION by Pininfarina

Pininfarina premiered VISION, an innovative kitchen designed for Snaidero, at the 2018 Milan Furniture Fair. The design concept encapsulates the modern urge for fluid domestic spaces, with surfaces that flow and materials that immediately convey a sense of purity and...


origin has definitions from the fields of genetics,mathematics
[ noun ] the place where something begins, where it springs into being

"the Italian beginning of the Renaissance" "Jupiter was the origin of the radiation" "Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River" "communism's Russian root"

Used in print

(The Christian Science Monitor,...)

For_example , there was sheet_music with the word `` jazz '' in the title , to illustrate how a word of uncertain origin took_hold .

(Edward P. Lawton, "Northern Liberals and Southern...)

The name presumably derives from the French royal_house which never learned and never forgot ; since Bourbon whiskey , though of Kentucky origin , is at_least as much favored by liberals in the North as by conservatives in the South .

(Cornell H. Mayer, "Radio Emission of the Moon...)

The low intensity of the radiation from Saturn has limited observations , but again the measured radiation seems to be consistent with a thermal origin .

The radio_emission of a planet was first detected in 1955 , when Burke and Franklin ( 1955 ) identified the origin of interference like radio_noise on their records at about 15 meters wave_length as emission from Jupiter .

Steady radiation which was presumably of thermal origin was observed from Venus at 3.15 and 9.4 cm , and from Mars and Jupiter at 3.15 cm in 1956 ( Mayer , McCullough , and Sloanaker , 1958 a , b , c ) , and from Saturn at 3.75 cm in 1957 ( Drake and Ewen , 1958 ) .

[ noun ] (genetics) properties attributable to your ancestry

descent extraction

"he comes from good origins"

Used in print

This is the only case in modern history of a_people of Britannic origin submitting without continued struggle to what they view_as foreign domination .

Though Americans usually lived in groups segregated by national origin or religious_belief , they liked to work and shop in the noise and vitality of downtown .

Related terms

ancestry full_blood

[ noun ] (mathematics) the point of intersection of coordinate axes; where the values of the coordinates are all zero

Used in print

(R. P. Jerrard, "Inscribed squares in plane curves"...)

In the C-plane we construct a set of rectangular Cartesian coordinates u , v with the origin at Q and such_that both C and **f have finite slope at Q .

Related terms

[ noun ] an event that is a beginning; a first part or stage of subsequent events

Used in print

(Brainard Cheney, "Christianity and the Tragic Vision-Ut...)

However , it is important to trace the philosophy of the French_Revolution to its sources to understand the common democratic origin of individualism and socialism and the influence of the latter on the former .

[ noun ] the descendants of one individual

"his entire lineage has been warriors"

Related terms

genealogy breed family side rear


Standing Committee of National People Congress China Powers & Functions

Thu, 02/20/2014 - 23:12 -- Umar Farooq

Introduction to Committee of NPC

The National People Congress China meets once in a year and that also for a very short period of time, therefore, during its long absence, some other body is needed. As in Soviet Russia, the Presidium acts and exercises all the powers and functions of the Supreme Soviet of USSR. When the latter is not in session, the Standing Committee does its work in the constitution system of China. The Standing Committee of the National People Congress exercises almost all the powers and functions of the National People Congress. Article-57 of Chinese constitution describes the Standing Committee as "Permanent body".

Composition of NPC

The Standing Committee consists of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary General and some other members. All these members are elected by the National People Congress. According to Article-69, the Standing Committee is responsible to the National People Congress and reports to it. The members of the Standing Committee may be recalled by the National People Congress.

Term of Office

The Standing Committee is elected for a term of 4 years. But even after the expiry of its term of office, it continues to function till the new standing committee is elected by the next National People Congress of China. The chairman and Vice-Chairman do not serve for more than 2 terms.

Powers and Functions of the Standing Committee of China

According to Article-67 of Constitution of China the Standing Committee exercises the following powers and functions:

The Committee interprets the constitution and statutes. It also enacts and amends the statutes. It supervises the work of the State Council, the supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procurator and the Central Military Commission. It also annuls the decisions and orders of the State Council, which are in contravention of the constitutional laws or decrees. It also has the power to annul or revise decisions of the governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central authority.

It decides on the choice of the 'Ministers, Auditor General and Secretary General of the State Council upon nomination by the Premier and members of the Central Military Commission upon recommendation of its Chairman. It also appoints and removes the Vice-Presidents, judges and other members of the judicial committee of the Supreme People's Court, the Deputy Chief Procurators, Procurators and other members of the Procurator Committee of the Supreme Procurate. It further decides the appointment and recall the ambassadors of China accredited to foreign states. It ratifies and abrogates treaties concluded with foreign stars as well as other agreements. It issues the proclamation of state of war when the Congress is not in session, in the event of armed attack on the country or in fulfillment of international treaty obligation concerning common defence against aggression. It proclaims the enforcement of Martial Law throughout the country or in certain parts and also decides on general or partial mobilization. It institutes military, diplomatic or other special titles and ranks. It grants special pardons. It institute state medals and titles of honours and decides on whom to be conferred. Lastly it exercises and performs such other powers and functions as are vested in the Standing Committee by the Congress.

The National People Congress performs its functions through various committees such as the Bills Committee, the Budget Committee, the Credentials Committee, etc. All these committees work under the direction and supervision of the Standing, Committee when the Congress is not in session. However, it must be remembered that the powers enumerated above, though quite impressive are neither complete nor exhaustive. The constitution authorizes the National People Congress to vest in the Standing. Committee any other powers, thus the National People Congress and not the constitution is the final determining authority and to what powers shall be enjoyed by the Standing Committees.

Like the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Standing Committee occupies central position in the constitutional structure of China. Constitutionally speaking, it is the Committee of the National People Congress and is responsible to it. But in actual practice, it acts as the legislature of the Chinese Republic. Being a small body and practically dominated by the Communist Party of China it occupies an enviable position in the structure of the Chinese government.


Bass Pro Shops Distribution Center Slotting Lead in Macon, Georgia

Associate will be responsible for the assignment and maintenance of a stock keeping unit (SKU) to a specific location. SKU assignment involves the research of product information and location analysis. Other duties include but are not limited to, location labeling, bin expansion and condensing, excess location management, dynamic location maintenance, and new sku assignment. Associate may be asked to carry out special projects as needed and perform various duties as assigned.

  1. Trains associates to make them aware and comfortable with procedures and policies.

  2. Keeps associates alerted to system changes and why the changes are being made.

  3. Assigns duties to assure even work load and completion of daily assignments.

  4. Monitors associate’s activities to maintain accuracy and promote development.

  5. Maintains an open line of communication with supervisor and manager to convey ideas or methods to improve the department’s procedures or to alert them to problem areas.

  6. Possesses excellent knowledge of products, policies and procedures.

  7. Maintains a positive attitude.

  8. Conveys the importance of the department and the 100% customer satisfaction goal.

  9. Verifies and/or investigates various forms of paperwork.

  10. Insures good housekeeping and follows the safety procedures that are practices by all.

  11. Performs periodic checks of the area.

  12. Other duties as assigned.


Patterns with 3, 6, or 9 (as factor, divisor, or quotient)

4 teachers like this lesson
Print Lesson

SWBAT to discover and describe addition patterns and choose/create a model to represent their understanding of a pattern's rate of change.

Big Idea

Looking for patterns with 3, 6, and 9 is an interesting and engaging way to build in more practice with and understanding of these essential facts!

8 minutes

I explain to students that they will have choices about which fact groups they wish to explore, and that the common expectation is that they will describe, in complete written and oral sentences, the patterns they unearth.

I review some sentence stems and we read through them, using the 2 facts as examples.

Teacher/Class: “A pattern in the multiplication facts that have 2 as a factor is that…”

Student:  A pattern in the multiplication facts that have 2 as a factor is that all the products are even numbers.

Teacher/Class: “A pattern in the facts that have 2 as a divisor is that…

Student:  “A pattern in facts that have 2 as a divisor is that the quotient can be an even or odd number.”

Teacher/Class:  “A pattern in the _____________ facts that helps me (understand/ remember them) is…”

Student:  “A pattern in 2 facts that helps me remember them is that the products are counting by twos forward and the quotients are counting by twos backwards.”

Active Engagement

40 minutes

Students choose a set of multiplication and/or division facts with which to work.  I have students write out the facts themselves, especially if they are working with the basic multiplication facts or basic division facts.  If a student chooses to extend a pattern beyond the facts required for 3rd grade, I encourage them to work it through on their own but they may check their work with a calculator.  An alternative is to provide printed fact pages, but getting some experience with a calculator is a good thing.

Students look for patterns of any kind and then color code them or, if they wish, copy the facts that follow the pattern onto a separate piece of paper.  They choose what works for them.  After they have identified several patterns, the next step is to reason through the pattern and explain it, try to explain why the pattern exists or explain how the pattern can help them master these basic facts so they are fluent.

Exit Ticket

5 minutes

I have been conferring with students throughout this activity. As their exit ticket I ask them to be prepared to explain one of the patterns they discovered today.  For homework they will need to explain a pattern to an adult or older sibling.  When a student is willing to take a risk and explain one of the patterns, I listen carefully to hear the underlying message and I work to help them clarify language.  Explanations of this sort are rigorous and take practice, and I balance being supportive of students' developing abilities with math explanations with gentle (I hope!) redirections.


Hellenistic civilization

(redirected from Hellenistic world)

Hellenistic civilization.

The conquests of Alexander the Great spread HellenismHellenism,
the culture, ideals, and pattern of life of ancient Greece in classical times. It usually means primarily the culture of Athens and the related cities during the Age of Pericles.
..... Click the link for more information.
 immediately over the Middle East and far into Asia. After his death in 323 B.C., the influence of Greek civilization continued to expand over the Mediterranean world and W Asia. The wars of the DiadochiDiadochi
[Gr.,=successors], the Macedonian generals and administrators who succeeded Alexander the Great. Alexander's empire, the largest that the world had known to that time, was quickly built. At his death in 323 B.C. it disintegrated even more quickly.
..... Click the link for more information.
 marked, it is true, the breakup of Alexander's brief empire, but the establishment of Macedonian dynasties in Egypt, Syria, and Persia (the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae) helped to mold the world of that day into a wider unity of trade and learning.

While the city-states of Greece itself tended to stagnate, elsewhere cities and states grew and flourished. Of these the chief was AlexandriaAlexandria,
Arabic Al Iskandariyah, city (1996 pop. 3,328,196), N Egypt, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is at the western extremity of the Nile River delta, situated on a narrow isthmus between the sea and Lake Mareotis (Maryut).
..... Click the link for more information.
. So great a force did Alexandria exert in commerce, letters, and art that this period is occasionally called the Alexandrian Age, and the end of Hellenistic civilization is generally set at the final triumph of Roman power in Alexandria in the 1st cent. B.C. PergamumPergamum
..... Click the link for more information.
 was also prominent, and there were other cities of influence (e.g., Dura).

The bounds of the known world were extended by navigators, who learned, for example, about the North Sea. The upsurge of commerce brought a great increase of wealth to merchants and in general to the upper classes; this wealth was also reflected in a tendency toward the ornate and superimpressive in architecture, although town plans and buildings of the period have proportions and grace rarely excelled. It should be noted, however, that the increase of wealth did not reach the poor, who in general were more impoverished than they had previously been.

Education, however, was much more widespread than ever before, and Greek was the fashionable language of the educated world. The result was a great increase of volume in literature (see Greek literature, ancientGreek literature, ancient,
the writings of the ancient Greeks. The Greek Isles are recognized as the birthplace of Western intellectual life. Early Writings

The earliest extant European literary works are the Iliad and the Odyssey,
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) and a tendency for writing to divide into popular literature for the wide audience and specialized writing for narrow, highly intellectual circles. The libraries of Alexandria and Pergamum were centers of literary criticism and the compiling of anthologies and catalogs. The literature of the Hellenistic period has been stigmatized since the Renaissance as imitative and ponderous, but actually there was a great richness in some of the writing. Not only were there outstanding poets such as Callimachus and Theocritus but there were also new forms that emerged, such as the complicated but frequently charming romances and the works of Lucian. Similarly some of the finest—and some of the most familiar—ancient sculptures to survive to our day are Alexandrian (e.g., the Venus of Milo and the Dying Gaul).

Philosophical disputation was popular among the educated, and the contributions of the Stoics and the Epicureans to the world were great. The greatest contribution of the age was the preservation and enrichment of the Greek heritage for the use of Rome and succeeding civilizations. As Rome gradually overshadowed the Mediterranean world, the Romans learned much from the peoples they conquered, and Hellenistic civilization was absorbed rather than extinguished.

See studies by M. I. Rostovtzeff (3 vol., 1941), M. Hadas (1959), J. C. Stobart (3d ed. 1960), G. T. Griffith and W. W. Tarn (rev. ed. 1961), P. Grimal, ed. (1969), and F. E. Peters (1971).

References in periodicals archive ?
It is composed and based on the works of Dante and Milton, and extends to all the corners of the Earth: from the ancient Hellenistic world to the mythology of Peru and the Incas, from Japan to the native Americans and the Scandinavian myths.
At the time of their exploration by archaeologists in the 19th and 20th centuries, some pyramids were found to contain the remains of bows, quivers of arrows, archers' thumb rings, horse harnesses, wooden boxes, furniture, pottery, colored glass, metal vessels, and many other artifacts attesting to extensive Meroitic trade with Egypt and the Hellenistic world.
RAaAaAeA mer, Alexander the Great was responsible for Egy getting inducted into the Hellenistic world, with thousands of Greek-speaking settlers flocking to the area under the Ptolemaic empire.
Alexander the Great, she pointed out, had made Egypt part of the Hellenistic world, and thousands of Greek-speaking settlers flocked to the land on the Nile, attracted by the new Ptolemaic empire, which promised prosperity and peace.
She added that the upper class of this community at the time who spoke Greek were trained in sports and engaged in philosophical discussions in this gymnasium that was also found in the entire Hellenistic world such Athens in Greece, Pergamon and Miletus in Asia Minor, and Pompeii in Italy.
The word and concept of adoption (uiothesia in Greek) do not come from Judaism (OT), but from the Hellenistic world, in order to describe the new relation of humanity with God.
References to Greek cults can also be found, especially that of Tyche, so important in the Hellenistic world.
The final chapter addresses 1) the predictable problems of Jews and Christians living distinctively in the Hellenistic World, 2) finding common ground, 3) managing sexual passion, 4) prostitution, 5) merging Greek and Jewish Wisdom on the passions, 6) Eunuchs, 7) Paul's issues about the "flesh", 8) celebrating sex, and 9) the problem of perversion.
Why has this funerary monument, whose size makes it unique in the Hellenistic world, not been mentioned in any historical document?
Established upon the principles of the Etruscan and Greek civilisations and inspired by the Hellenistic world, the Roman Era was the time of great developments in art, architecture, engineering and exact sciences (7).
Instead, having made a good case in her 2004 book that the literary artistry in this Gospel reflects a thorough knowledge of the conventions of Greek tragedy, she demonstrates again and again how the religion, literature, traditions, and rhetoric of the Hellenistic world offer points of contact with this Gospel that clarify it and open its mysteries to new light.
Hanges's argument begins by clarifying the meaning of "founder" in the history of religions and by comparing the figure of Paul to other founder figures from the Hellenistic world (pp.


Original Title: Thoroughbreds

Year of Release: 2018

Genres: Drama; Thriller

Director: Cory Finley

Writer: Cory Finley

Main Cast: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin, Paul Sparks

I came into this expecting a fun and colorful dark comedy, but what I got was actually far deeper and better than anything I could have imagined. A peculiar story of friendship and identity, Thoroughbreds features two outstanding performances by Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy, and effective supporting ones by Paul Sparks and the late Anton Yelchin.

Originally released on a limited theatrical run, the film is finally available on VOD, making the experience feel more intimate and eerie. This is Cory Finley’s directorial debut, but he has had a career writing and directing theater plays, and it shows. The story is set in very confined spaces, and almost every scene features dialogue between characters, however this is an inherently cinematic movie, mainly thanks to the excellent cinematography by Lyle Vincent: the smooth steady-cam long takes create an eerie atmosphere that constantly keeps you on edge, almost turning Taylor-Joy’s mansion into a modern-day Overlook Hotel.

Olivia Cooke is chillingly cold as Amanda, a sociopath who proves absolutely no emotions or feelings for anything or anyone. The chemistry between her and the seemingly-normal Lily (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) is peculiar to say the least, with the two becoming more open with one another as they start revealing how they truly feel about their lives. Taylor-Joy especially shines in this film, becoming more ruthless and angry against her step-father as the film goes on, creating a series of events that slowly keeps building tension, until the final 10 minutes. This is a slow-moving film driven almost exclusively by dialogue, and it can be quite a chore for some to watch, but if you manage to stay with it, the ending gives great meaning and closure to the film, elevating many moments that at first seemed pointless.

Overall, Thoroughbreds is a truly great feature-debut by Cory Finley. With excellent performances, masterful building of tension and atmosphere, smart dialogue that is also low-key funny, this is one of the most underseen films of the year, and one that you should check out as soon as you can.

Story: 8

Directing: 8.5

Cinematography: 9

Acting: 9

Sound: 8.5

Visual Effects: 8

Violence & Gore: 6

Sex & Nudity: 3

Drugs & Profanity: 5

Intensity & Horror: 6

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