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Catan Scenario
Posted in Hobbies
Afternoon watch, 8 bells (4:10 pm)
Mayfair Games, the US publisher of the great Settlers of Catan series of games is sponsoring a Scenario Contest right now, and I finished writing my first submission: The Thief of Catanwood:
(This scenario is also available as a pdf: Catanwood.pdf)
Thief of Catanwood Forest
A Thief has taken up residence in the Catanwood Forest. While he is well-intentioned and people living on the edge of Catanwood benefit from his actions, those in power fear him and have hired a Sheriff to bring him to justice.
Remove 3 Forest hexes and place them side by side, this is the Catanwood Forest. Deal the rest of the hexes out around Catanwood per normal game rules. The middle tile of Catanwood should be in the center of the Island of Catan.
Deal out number tokens as per normal Settlers rules.
Place the Sheriff on the Desert hex.
Place the Thief in the center of the Catanwood Forest.
New Components
In addition to the standard components from the normal Settlers game, you'll need:
Sheriff token (a coin or other marker, or ideally a blue-painted version of the Robber).
Soldier cards from the Development Card deck count only towards the largest army, and do not give the ability to move the Thief or the Sheriff, nor do they allow a player to steal a resource card from another player.
When a number is rolled that corresponds to one of the hexes in Catanwood, players with Settlements or Cities on that hex receive one extra resource of their choice. Because of their richer resources, a player with a City on that hex must then in turn give one resource of their choice to the player with either the least resources or the fewest Victory Points. The person rolling then moves the Thief to one of the other hexes in Catanwood (the Thief is not moved on a 7).
Whenever a 7 is rolled, the Thief strikes, and any players with more than 7 resource cards must discard half of their cards. Instead of going back to the bank, the cards are distributed to the other players equally. Players may receive resource cards until they have a total of 7 in their hand, the rest go to the bank along with any remainder of cards that can't be split evenly.
Example One:
Fred, George, Jane, and Betty are playing when Jane rolls a 7. Fred has 7 cards in his hand, George has 3, Jane has 10 cards, and Betty has none. Jane must discard 5 cards, and since Fred already has 7 cards, the cards she discards go to George and Betty, who each receive 2 cards randomly while the 5th card is put back in the bank.
Example Two:
George rolls a 7 and has 5 cards in his hand. Fred has 8 cards, Jane has 10 cards, and Betty has 1 card. Fred must discard 4 cards and Jane must discard 5. The 9 discards are randomly distributed to George and Betty, George receives 2 cards and Betty receives 4 cards. The 3 remaining cards go to the bank.
When a 7 is rolled, the Sheriff receives word of the Thief's actions and moves one hex closer to the Thief. The Sheriff always moves even when nobody must discard resources (an attempted robbery is still a crime!). If a 7 is rolled when the Sheriff and the Thief are on the same hex, the Thief is arrested! Remove the Thief and the Sheriff from the board. The Thief is now in Jail, being watched over by the Sheriff.
While the Thief is in Jail no player receives a bonus card from Catanwood Forest for a city or a settlement, nor is a city owner obligated to give up a card to another player.
While the Thief is in Jail, any cards over 7 in a player's hand do not have to be discarded, and the rich prosper without the Thief to champion the cause of the poor!
Any player may break the Thief out of Jail by turning in 3 different resource cards to the bank. The Thief is returned to the middle of Catanwood, and the Sheriff goes back to the desert. A player that breaks the Thief out of Jail receives one Victory Point for his or her efforts. Special bonuses apply the next time a number is rolled from the Catanwood Forest, and not the round the Thief is freed.
The first player with 12 victory points during his or her turn wins the game.
Forenoon watch, 1 bell (8:52 am)
Last night we had our friendly AC guy over (he takes good care of my in-laws) to get a quote on adding air conditioning to our house. We've been talking about it for over a year, and it's high time to get it done. Unfortunately, it's going to cost $2500, but I can look forward to cool summers forever more.


Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, a member of the elite of the future. One of the few who live in Eternity, a location outside of place and time, Harlan's job is to create carefully controlled and enacted reality changes. These changes are small, exactingly calculated shifts in the course of history, made for the benefit of humankind. Though each change has been made for the greater good, there are also always costs. During one of his assignments, Harlan meets and falls in love with Noys Lambent, a woman who lives in real time and space. Then Harlan learns that Noys will cease to exist after the next change, and he risks everything to sneak her into Eternity.


When it comes to pastors, spouses, and issues in their hearts, Ruth Ann Batstone brings a wealth of wisdom and experience to the table. She has counseled and mentored women through World Harvest Mission's year-long Sonship discipleship curriculum since 1990. She is a therapist in private practice and also teaches at seminars, conferences, and women's retreats. With her husband Stu, Ruth Ann has ministered overseas in Europe, Russia, Japan and South America as well as in the United States, Canada and Mexico. They have been married since 1965 and love to travel, snorkel, ride bikes and shamelessly dote on their twelve-and-counting grandchildren.
Steve is a Colorado native. Educated at Westmont College, Denver Seminary, and Covenant Seminary, Steve entered the ministry in South Carolina, where he pastored a church, planted another and started an adoption agency. For eighteen years he also served as senior pastor of Peace Presbyterian Church, Cary, NC. He currently serves as "pastor at large" in Helena, Montana, where he joined the MTS team in 2014. Steve and his wife Via live just north of Helena, Montana. They have eight children and eight grandchildren.
Born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, Cristina and her husband, Darcy, moved to the US in the late 80s and have been involved in church planting longer than they have been married! They have served twelve years among Brazilian immigrants and the last nine among Americans in the most diverse corner of the world: the metropolitan New York area, where Darcy serves as executive pastor and multi-site lead pastor at Queens Presbyterian Church. As a church-planting spouse, Cristina has experienced the power of the barrier-breaking gospel of Christ and the pain of finding herself in the desert, which gives her a true heart for women in ministry. At her local church she administrates an ESL program, co-leads a women's fellowship, and serves on the Mercy Team which addresses various community needs. Cristina has acquired a taste for ethnic foods, coffee, dark chocolate, cultural diversity, traveling and her iPhone, which combined with her journalistic background, make her very resourceful if anyone is hungry or thirsty. As she helps in the development of global networks, Cristina meets women who are hungry and thirsty for something far more valuable: the refreshing grace that can be freely experienced, even in church planting.
There are some things that a person never forgets. They are indelibly etched into his mind. For Mark Casson, it was the words of a Superior Court Judge who told him in March, 1989, "I hereby sentence you to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The key word here, sir, is possibility. You may never parole from prison and in fact, you may die there. Do you understand this sentence I am imposing on you?" These words were spoken only a few weeks after Mark was converted to Christ through jail/prison ministry. For the next 15+ years, he would spend his days growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark availed himself of the few Bible studies and courses which were available to him, and he spent much of his time in the Word, teaching others and ministering from the "inside". Mark went to five parole hearings and was denied parole each time. It was at the sixth hearing that he heard the words, "By unanimous decision, we find you suitable for parole." On February 19, 2004, he walked out of prison a twice freed man. Mark has continued his active Christian life on the outside. For nine years he and his family lived in Fresno CA, where Mark served as a ruling elder at Sierra View Presbyterian Church (PCA). In 2013 they moved to Chattanooga TN, where Mark currently serves as a ruling elder at First Presbyterian Church (PCA). Metanoia is now headquartered in Chattanooga. Since his release, Mark has been involved in the Dare to Hope program, which takes a message of hope into the prisons in his area. He has been blessed to return to prison more than a dozen times through this program. He has been actively involved in teaching Bible Studies, Sunday School, and the occasional exhortation from the pulpit. He has worked with people at the local Rescue Mission, and he continues to minister to children at a local children's shelter with the members of his church. In 2007 Mark was added to the Board of Directors of Metanoia Ministries. Sensing Mark's burden for prisoners, his love for the great commission and his desire to see men and women changed through the power of the gospel, the Board called Mark to be their Executive Director in 2008.
With 9 years of non-profit administration experience and 6 years as a small business owner, Jamie has developed a passion for process and finding the best approach for the long term. Whether it's graphic design, marketing or operations, she loves solving problems creatively and getting the job done. Jamie lives in Chicago with her husband, Peter and son, Cullom. She serves alongside many dedicated individuals at a church plant of Holy Trinity Church on Chicago's north side. In her often-elusive spare time, she loves listening to people's testimonies, drinking high-maintenance lattes, making her son giggle and walking around the city with her family.
Andy and his wife Holly reside in St. Louis MO where the are members of New City Fellowship PCA. He grew up in the PCA, attended Covenant College and came on staff with MNA Disaster Response in 2012 after having served as a volunteer and key leader. He serves as the Regional Specialist for Chicago Metro, Central Indiana, Illiana, Northern Illinois, and Missouri Presbyteries.
Cheryl worked with Mission to the World (MTW) from 1998-2014, serving in Jamaica and the Medical Department in the U.S. office in Atlanta, GA. Cheryl joined MNA Special Needs Ministries (Now Engaging Disability) as Assistant in April 2014. She uses her administrative gifts and international experience to support all the aspects of this ministry. She enjoys behind-the-scenes support that enables those on the frontlines to serve others more. When she isn't working she enjoys baking, cooking, various hobbies and cheering on the Phillies and Penn State football.
I am thrilled and extremely thankful that God in His providence has opened the opportunity for me to become the PRCC's Associate Director for Civilian Chaplaincy. It is a great honor and privilege to serve my fellow civilian chaplains and to assist as needed with serving our military chaplains. What follows is a brief recount of how the Lord has used me through the years – all to His glory! I grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas but went away for college to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. I received a B.A. degree in Journalism from LSU and following college went to work for Young Life in Kansas City, Missouri for a year before becoming the Area Director for Young Life in Odessa, Texas. I left West Texas for Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi and received a Master of Divinity degree from RTS in 1985. After seminary I taught Old Testament and New Testament at the Episcopal High School in Houston, Texas and was an assistant basketball coach. (The director of the Religion Department defended hiring a Presbyterian by saying he couldn't find any Episcopalians qualified to teach the Bible, and the headmaster and Bishop accepted that explanation. And when you see me, you will know that being a basketball coach is also quite funny.) I then served as an assistant pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Little Rock before becoming the solo pastor of a church in North Carolina. I have been a Teaching Elder in the PCA for 27 years. My chaplaincy experience began nearly 22 years ago in September of 1991after our family (my wife Hazel and two children, son Loddrick and daughter Hannah) needed to return to Arkansas following the pastorate in North Carolina. I began as an on-call chaplain at Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) in Little Rock. By the spring of 1992, two other chaplain positions became available to me, one as a fee-basis chaplain for the Central Arkansas Veterans Affairs Hospital System and the other as a hospice chaplain. I continued as a chaplain for all three until I became the Director of the Pastoral Care Department at ACH in May 1995. I have been the Director of Pastoral Care ever since – until now. I have been involved in the national leadership of the Pediatric Chaplains Network (PCN) since 1998 and served as President from 2003-2005. I was the Project Coordinator for the PCN's development of a national training curriculum specific to pediatric chaplaincy. The Pediatric Chaplains Institute (PCI) was founded in 2007 as a week-long intensive training using the new curriculum. I have served as the Dean of the PCI since its beginning. I have been a member of the ACH Bioethics Advisory Committee for 18 years, and I received a Certificate in Clinical Bioethics in 2001 from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Last year I was elected the first non-physican co-chairman of the Bioethics Committee. I served on the faculty at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in the Medical Humanities Department for 10 years assisting with teaching Medical Ethics to second year medical students. In 1998 I began ACH's palliative care program (PalCare) and served as Director of PalCare until 2006 while continuing to be the Director of Pastoral Care. And saving the best for last, I became a grandfather for the first time in October 2012. All praise and glory to our great Savior and King!
Born in Baltimore, Maryland Chuck was educated at the University of Baltimore and Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. For over twenty years he pastored in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma before being called to Washington, D.C. in 2003. There, Chuck and his wife Debby started and continue to develop Ministry to State, a ministry to people in government in our national, state, and international capitals. Chuck has traveled and preached extensively throughout the United States, South Africa, Central Europe, Asia and Haiti. He is the author of Obama Prayer, Work Excellence (which was translated into Chinese), and Rulers: Gospel and Government.
Chuck and Debby live in the District of Columbia. They have four children and five grandchildren.
Maria and her husband, Craig, moved to a distressed urban Baltimore neighborhood in 1980 to plant Faith Christian Fellowship, a multi-ethnic, socio-economically diverse church committed to ministry in Word and deed. The church presently operates a Christian day school, tutoring program, sports leagues, and other ministries. Her memoir, A Thousand Resurrections, describes what happens when a pastor's large family meets the grit of the city, weaving together stories of redemption and loss, elation and discouragement, and the ever-elusive quest to balance ministry, marriage, and motherhood. Maria's poetry, essays, and nonfiction articles have appeared in many publications, and she enjoys speaking at retreats and conferences (especially when dark chocolate is involved). She loves cheering for church planters through her work with Parakaleo and pointing them to Jesus. Most of all, she enjoys spending time with her husband, four adult children, one awesome son-in-law, and her energetic thirteen-year-old.
Chaplain Griffith was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in 1983 serving as a Signal Battalion Chaplain in the Florida Army Guard. In 1987 he transferred to the North Carolina Air National Guard serving as a Chaplain with the Military Airlift Command, C130 Aircraft. Returning to the Army Chaplaincy in 1991, Chaplain Griffith served as Group Chaplain for the 426th Area Support Group and then later as Brigade Chaplain for the 31st Armor Brigade. In 2004 he went on active duty serving as the Director of Family Ministry for the United States Army Reserve. At his retirement ceremony he was awarded the Legion of Merit for his service to Soldiers and Families. Chaplain Griffith retired from the Army 15 November 2011. Mack is a Florida native, growing up in a Christian home, active members of the McIlwain Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pensacola. Chaplain Griffith graduated from Pensacola Christian High School, and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University in 1972. Upon graduation from college Chaplain Griffith worked in the office of the Court Administrator of the Florida Supreme Court. He then served as the Deputy Court Administrator of the 10th Judicial Circuit of Florida. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in 1979. He is a graduate of the Army Chaplain Officer Basic Course, the Air Force Officer Orientation Course, the Air Force Chaplain Basic Course, the Army Chaplain Captain Career Course, Command and General Staff College, Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel Course and the Chaplain Colonel Course. Chaplain Griffith was promoted to the rank of Colonel March 2007. Chaplain Griffith has been a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America for 35 years. He first served as Pastor of Lebanon Presbyterian Church, Learned Mississippi from 1979-1981 and Associate Pastor of McIlwain Presbyterian Church 1981-1987. From 1987-1990 he served as Associate Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Rock Hill, South Carolina. He then was Senior Pastor of Eastern Shore Presbyterian Church, Fairhope Alabama 1990-2000. From 2000-2004 Chaplain Griffith served as Ministry Director of Ridge Haven Conference Center, Brevard North Carolina before being called to active duty as an Army Chaplain. He was endorsed as a Chaplain his entire military career by the Presbyterian Reformed Chaplain Commission (PRCC), and served for two years as a member of the Commission before assuming his current role of Associate Director of the PRCC. Chaplain Griffith has been married to his wife Chris for 45 years, they have two daughters, Catherine and Bethany, and three granddaughters, Mary Blake, Anna and Ruthie. Catherine is a pediatric nurse at Children's Hospital in Birmingham Alabama and is married to Gary Noah a firefighter and paramedic. They are active members of Oak Mountain PCA where Gary serves as a deacon. Bethany formerly served with Campus Outreach in South Carolina and then served as the Director of the Westside Children's Ministry at Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in New York City and then as the Children's Director at Oak Mountain Presbyterian in Birmingham. Bethany is now married to Dustin Belue who is a student at RTS Atlanta and is interning at Perimeter Church (PCA). Bethany is currently serving on staff with the Committee on Discipleship Ministries PCA.
Gary was born in Alice, TX on December 15, 1947. He resided in Texas until 1984, when his work in financial management with regional department stores took him to Des Moines, IA as Controller for Younkers. He met and married his wife Diane in 1987. They received Christ the same year and soon afterward, the Lord took them to Hattiesburg, MS for employment. By an act of providence, they stepped into the wrong church building one Sunday morning, and (now PCA Stated Clerk) L. Roy Taylor was used by God to help them find their church home in the PCA. The Lord called Gary and Diane to full-time administrative ministry at a missions conference at First Presbyterian Church where Gary was ordained an Elder, having served previously as Chairman of the Diaconate. In 1999, they sold their home in Hattiesburg and moved to the Atlanta, GA area, raising support to work for Dr. Archie Parrish and Serve International, Inc. The Hitzfelds helped Dr. Parrish develop the Kingdom Campaign Prayer Training materials (www.Kingdomprayer.org), and Gary assisted with prayer conferences around the country. Gary's assistance to Archie included the church revitalization ministry of MNA. When Archie retired as MNA Coordinator for Church Vitality, Dave Peterson hired Gary in 2004 as Administrative Assistant for MNA Chaplain Ministries,. Gary and Diane have relocated to a small ranch outside of Cuero, TX, near San Antonio. Diane is the Communications Director for Desire Street Ministries, and in their free time, they enjoy their dogs, cats, and Arabian horses. They are members of Christ PCA in Victoria, TX.
Sherr and her husband Steve live in Jackson MS, where Steve serves on the pastoral staff of Redeemer PCA, and she is involved in women's ministries both on a local and national level with the PCA. Sherry attended Bellhaven College and RTS, and has been serving with MNA Disaster Response since 2005, starting as a volunteer before coming onto full-time staff. She oversees all volunteer mobilization, communications and administrative support.
Mrs. Michelle "Shelly" Marshall is married with two children, Emily Ann and Owen Langley Marshall. Shelly was raised by a single mom who expected her children to fend for themselves, achieve good grades, and make something of their lives. They frequented the Polish Catholic Church in her hometown of Syracuse, New York, but the services were conducted completely in Polish. Shelly's early adult life revolved around work and drinking. In her early thirties, Shelly got seriously sick, which led her to re-evaluate her lifestyle and an obvious problem with alcohol and cocaine. She checked herself into a drug and alcohol program where she found temporary relief in Alcoholic's Anonymous (A.A.) and Cocaine Anonymous (C.A.) .Shortly thereafter, one of her friends from the meetings invited her to church. A few Sundays later the Lord graciously changed her heart. Miraculously, Shelly became a new creature in Christ with absolutely no desire to ever drink or drug again. Shelly has a rich background in bookkeeping, office management, database set-up and management, tax preparation, and utilizing a wide variety of computer programs. She had her own bookkeeping business for many years serving lawyers, restaurant owners, and small business owners. Shelly has a real heart for prison ministry. Her prison ministry experience began when she married her husband who spent 10 years in prison. When her husband graduated from seminary, they founded Metanoia Ministries (MM) together and opened a discipleship home for men just getting out of prison. For five years Shelly served as the matriarch and assistant to the director as she helped her husband oversee MM, keep the ministry books, and interacted daily with each of the men who lived in the home. When MM needed more beds to meet the growing number of applicants, Shelly used an inheritance she had received to help Metanoia Ministries move into a new 14 bed facility. She said, "It is God's money, and so it should be used for God's purposes." Shelly participated in some of the new resident interviews, she regularly served as an extra pair of eyes and ears, and she managed all the finances for the ministry. Today, Shelly holds the title of Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of Metanoia Ministries. Her responsibilities include designing all the handsome correspondence course covers, setting up and maintaining a comprehensive database, copying and reproducing all of our course materials, mailing all the course material to instructors, students, and chaplains, interacting with all our instructors and students, and handling a dozen other odds and ends that pop up week to week. Shelly is thankful she has the opportunity to serve brothers and sisters in Christ who are in prison. She knows what it is like to be imprisoned in sin as well as the joy of being set free by the Sovereign Grace of God. She sees the need. Her prayer is to be a small part of the solution to that need.
Curt is now serving as MNA ShortTerm Specialist, serving PCA churches, mission churches and organizations by helping to coordinate domestic short term mission options for teams looking for short term mission trips that are high impact, cross-cultural, flexible, convenient, and affordable. He comes to MNA ShortTerm Missions after serving with MNA Disaster Response as a regional specialist for over ten years. He and his wife Kelly live in Orlando FL.
Keith and his wife Marianne reside in Melbourne FL where they attend Covenant PCA. Keith began serving with MNA Disaster Response as a volunteer in 2004, served as a Key Leader during the response to Hurricane Katrina, setting up food distribution and establishing worksites, and has been instrumental in the development of disaster response training materials for local churches and key leaders. He currently serves the state of Florida as a regional specialist.
My wife Shirley and I have been in the PCA since 1982, and I was ordained as a PCA pastor in 1995. In addition to my position as MNA African American Ministries Coordinator, I also serve as part-time pastor at New City Fellowship, Chattanooga TN, and am a member of the Advisory Board of Covenant Theological Seminary. I earned my undergraduate degree from Howard University and graduate degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Chesapeake Reformed Theological Seminary.
Since 1991, Tami and her husband Steve have co-labored in three church plants and currently serve Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio. As associate director and co-founder of Parakaleo, she shares a life of gospel joy, hugs, and hope in Christ with church planting spouses and women in her community. Tami loves opening her home and mentoring women (chocolate is usually involved in both). She loves giving things away, which kept her from a career in sales, but led to the discovery of a passion for giving away hope in Christ. As crazy as it may sound, she enjoys attending her denomination's General Assembly, going to church planting conferences, and serving at assessment centers. The daughter and sister of professional football coaches, Tami has become one herself, coaching women through life and ministry. She is a Creative Results Management Graduate Coach. Tami is a member of Steeler Nation and additional fanaticisms include organizing closets, drawers, homes, and churches. She is a retired nurse, a retired home school mom, and the sometimes tired but never retired mother of three.
Shari was born and raised in the Caribbean into a church planting culture. The granddaughter, daughter, and wife of a church planter, she is not quite sure whether she has a love for the church or just can't escape it. But she's throwing her lot in with the church because Jesus does! In addition to founding and directing Parakaleo, she writes, speaks, and trains ministry leaders. Shari also researched and developed the Church Leader's Spouse Inventory used in assessment and the Stress and Satisfaction levels of planting spouses. After being involved in church plants in three countries, she and her husband, John, currently call Manhattan home, where John is the Global Director of Training for Redeemer's City to City. Among her many loves is spending time with her three adult children, and sharing stories, and dreaming of that great day on the other side where we will gather to hear the finished narratives of our lives.
Raised in a Christian home, I made a personal commitment to Christ at a youth rally at age 13, after realizing that "God has no grandchildren; only children!" During two years teaching at a mission school in South Korea, the Lord taught me what it was like to be the odd person out in another culture. When I returned stateside, it was with a new empathy for immigrants to the US. I began to volunteer tutoring immigrant children at the school my own children attended, and soon afterward started volunteering with others from my church in resettling refugees from Viet Nam. A few years later, the Lord led me to start a non-profit organization to serve immigrants, which I directed for 16 years. Next He then provided me with the opportunity to manage programs through the state refugee office, at that time known as the Maryland Office for New Americans (now the Maryland Office for Refugees and Asylees) until my retirement in 2011. A few months before retirement, I began praying that the Lord would show me how He could still use the knowledge and skills He had taught me, and I received the clearest answer I had ever received to any prayer: the Lord told me that I was to work with churches to assist them in understanding immigration and reaching out to immigrants. During the 2 years following my retirement I actively pursued opportunities to speak at churches and conferences, but the Lord's plan came into clear focus when I was contacted by Mission to North America and offered the opportunity to become the new Refugee and Immigrant Ministry Director, a position I took on in July 2014. I am excited to have a "front row seat" to see what the Lord will do!
Sherry and her husband Steve live in Jackson MS, where Steve serves on the pastoral staff of Redeemer PCA, and she is involved in women's ministries both on a local and national level with the PCA. Sherry attended Bellhaven College and RTS, and has been serving with MNA Disaster Response since 2005, starting as a volunteer before coming onto full-time staff. She oversees all volunteer mobilization, communications and administrative support.
John, an ordained PCA pastor and member of North Texas Presbytery, and his wife, Betsy, live in Carrollton TX. When John began volunteering with MNA during the Katrina response, his passion for carpentry was rekindled. John oversees the Sheds of Hope ministry and is charged with further development of what has become an important component of our responses.
Mike and his wife Trisha live in Henagar, Alabama. Mike, who is a licensed paramedic, serves as an administrator at a local community college and Trisha is a jewelry artist and volunteers with animal rescue. Mike has been a PCA ruling elder since 2006 and he and Trisha have been involved in disaster response since 2005, when their family served in Biloxi and Bay Saint Louis after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. They organized and managed disaster response efforts for sixteen months after deadly tornadoes ripped through their area in April 2011. Mike and Trisha attend Grace Community, a PCA church plant in Trenton, Georgia. They have three grown sons.
Mark and his wife, Yvonne, reside in Hopewell VA and ar members of the West Hopewell PCA, where Mark is a deacon. He works with the VA State Police and is an EMT. Mark serves as the regional specialist for Chesapeake, Heritage, James River and Potomac Presbyteries and is available to assist member churches in pre-disaster planning and training and development of traveling disaster response teams.
Born in Bayshore, NY was educated at Florida Southern College and Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando campus). He served as an Army officer from 1986-1995 and then as an Army Chaplain from 1996-2015, and then joined Ministry to State in 2015. He has also served as the assistant pastor (part time) for Harvester PCA since 2013. His work focuses primarily on coordinating and developing ministry in each state capitol. Thomas is married to Lorelei and they have one daughter, five sons, five granddaughters and one grandson.
Paul Hahn, a native of Lakeland, FL, is now in his third year as Coordinator of Mission to North America (MNA), the Presbyterian Church in America's (PCA) agency giving leadership and direction to church planting, church renewal and missional partnerships in the United States and Canada. Paul has planted churches in Austin, TX (Redeemer Presbyterian, 1994-2003) and Knoxville, TN (Redeemer Church of Knoxville, 2003-2015), and has coached numerous church planters as a founding partner in Flourish Coaching. Paul was formerly the RUF Campus Minister at Auburn University (1990-1994). Paul is a graduate of Yale University (BA, 1984) and Reformed Theological Seminary (MDiv, 1990); between college and seminary, Paul spent two years on staff with Cru/Athletes in Action and planted the AIA chapter at the University of Florida. Paul has been married to his amazing wife, Fran, for thirty-two years. The Hahns live in Athens, GA and have four grown children, two sons-in-law, and two beautiful granddaughters!
Kristen received a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Medical College of Georgia (now Georgia Regents University). After moving to Philadelphia, she worked as an occupational therapist at Children's Hospital and in early intervention. Kristen's interest in disability ministry began as she served families with young children in the nursery of Tenth Presbyterian. In 2007, she began Tenth's special needs ministry and served there for nine years. In 2012, Kristen joined Engaging Disability's team of volunteer Ministry Facilitators. Drawing on her experience there and at the congregational level, Kristen joined the staff of Engaging Disability in 2016 as Associate Director for Congregational Ministry. Kristen and her husband, Keith, have two children and live in Havertown, a suburb of Philadelphia. They worship at nearby Proclamation Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr. Kristen's family enjoys music, playing games and beach trips together. Their lives are affected by several hidden disabilities.
Bob and his wife Betty are faithful members of Covenant Presbyterian Church, PCA in Auburn, AL. Bob has a working knowledge of MNA SecondCareer RV Outreach, having participated in and organized some of our RV Outreach events since 2014. In addition to organizing and participating in RV Outreach, Bob serves as a Ruling Elder at Covenant Presbyterian and he and his wife Betty are also active in their community.
Lisa and her husband, Jim, live in Flowood MS where Jim works with Potlatch Corporation and Lisa serves with the PCA national women's ministry team as a trainer. They are members at Redeemer PCA in Jackson MS and have three sons--Nate is a freshman at Mississippi State; Matthew is serving in the United States Marine Corps; and Samuel is a high school freshman. Lisa joined the MNA Disaster Response Ministry Team as the administrative assistant in August 2016.
For nearly 29 years, Rev. Tim McCracken served as Pastor of First Reformed Presbyterian Church in Fresno, CA, before coming on staff with Metanoia Ministries as Regional Director San Joaquin Valley March 1, 2017. In 2006 Pastor Tim received a letter from an inmate on the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (SATF) side of Corcoran State Prison, which asked, "Do you ever write to prisoners?" Through fellowship with that man, and through the bible study that formed as a result, Pastor Tim began to realize the vastness of the prison population near Fresno and the uniqueness of both the need and opportunity there. Fresno is located within an hour and a half's drive of about 34,000 incarcerated persons! Over time, opportunities arose for a teaching relationship with about 100 men on 5 yards at 3 different facilities, and in each case the men asked that the studies be started. The uplifting fellowship and eagerness of the brothers began to make Tim wonder if there could be a way to eventually serve as a full-time missionary chaplain to these men, but reflection on the Metanoia model of ministry convinced him that helping to cultivate a mission mind and sense of joint endeavor in our area churches was more important than seeking to personally minister in as many places as possible. In the broader San Joaquin Valley, our like-minded churches have so much to offer the 18 prisons within reach! Dozens can be recruited. Hundreds! Maintaining the existing long-term relationships at the three facilities mentioned as a foundation, Tim eagerly anticipates the multiplication of relationship that will develop through partnering with and serving Valley churches. Tim and his wife Lori are the parents of three grown children, and they both have a great love for music. Lori has served for many years as accompanist for both Fresno's wonderful Inspire-1 youth choirs and the Sierra Chamber Opera, and Tim enjoys a cappella singing and leading the young men's High School Ensemble from Inspire-1.
Jim Carter accepted the call to serve as the next PRCC Executive Director and began his ministry on September 1st, 2017. He returned to the PRCC Commission after serving in a local pastorate for the past six years. He served as the Founding and Senior Pastor of the New Presbyterian Church (NPC) in South Florida. In addition to regular pastoral duties, he led the church through relocation, a capital campaign and a debt free renovation. Jim retired from a very successful military ministry career in the Army Chaplaincy after reaching the rank of Colonel and serving in that rank for sixteen months. Yielding to God's call Jim retired from active duty to plant NPC. It is encouraging to have a gifted Chaplain and spiritual leader of Jim's unique background following our previous godly Executive Directors. Jim Carter understands both the rigors and challenges of military ministry life as well as the civilian ministry and brings a Shepherd's heart to the daily ministry of the PRCC. He is passionate to serve the military and civilian Chaplains and military personnel as well as their family members. Here is a little more information about Chaplain Jim Carter. Chaplain James R. "Jim" Carter was born October 30, 1960 and is a native of Monroeville, Alabama. After attending Belhaven College and Reformed Theological Seminary and receiving his ordination as a Presbyterian Minister (PCA), Jim entered the Army Chaplain Corps in 1988. He previously served in the Army Reserves as a Second Lieutenant Chaplain Candidate from 1986-1988. Chaplain Carter degrees include a Bachelors of Art from Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi; a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy from Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi and a Doctor of Ministry from Erskine Theological Seminary, Due West, South Carolina. Chaplain Carter's military education includes the U.S. Army Chaplain Basic Course and Advanced Courses, Combined Arms Service Staff School (CAS3), the Command and General Staff College, and the Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel Course. Chaplain Carter served over 23 years within the Army Chaplaincy. He held numerous military ministry leadership positions and has served in two combat tours. His assignments include: 24th Infantry Division, 3rd Engineer Battalion (Combat), Fort Stewart, Georgia; 2-7 Infantry Battalion, Fort Stewart, Georgia with a combat tour in Saudi Arabia-Iraq (Operation Desert Shield and Storm); 59th Ordnance Brigade, Sogel, Germany; 409th Base Support Battalion, Grafenwoehr, Germany; 4-5 Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas and 4-1 Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas, and 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Riley, Kansas; Area III Installation Chaplain, Camp Humphrey's, Korea; Brigade Combat Training Religious Support Observer Controller (BCTP), Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; 3rd Regiment and Senior Pastor of the West Point Cadet Chapel, United States Corps of Cadets, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York; Deputy Installation Chaplain and Chief of Religious Support Operations, Fort Bliss, Texas; 4th Infantry Division Chaplain, Fort Hood, Texas and Multi-National Division Baghdad Command Chaplain, (MND-B) Baghdad, Iraq (Operational Iraqi Freedom (OIF 07-09); Senior Pastor of the Protestant Congregation and Deputy Installation Chaplain, United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Chaplain Carter's awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with two Stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Overseas Service Ribbon. Chaplain Carter is married to the former Terri Ganey of Mullins, South Carolina and they have two children, Sarah (24) and David (21). He enjoys sports, tennis, traveling, reading and serving his local community.
John brings over ten years of cross-cultural missions and community outreach and development experience to Mission to North America and Metanoia Prison Ministries. Most recently serving as a missionary on the Global Training & Development Team at Mission to The World, and to Tanzania, East Africa, John focused on helping other missionaries and nationals thrive in their unique ministry contexts by developing and delivering training and coaching strategies that equipped them to address and navigate the challenges they faced in cross-cultural work. Then back in 2015, John was invited by a friend to teach at a local county jail in Georgia. He immediately felt tremendous love for the prisoners and started a weekly life-on-life discipleship group that he eventually took into a local prison as well. Through those relationships, John came to Metanoia, where he now uses his experience to encourage churches to "remember the prisoner" and to help build sustainable and scalable reintegration ministries which equip our returning citizens with the life-skills and knowledge they need for a successful return to society. As Metanoia's Associate Director, John is responsible for overseeing and directing the organization's daily operations, leading the development and implementation of its strategic initiatives, and partnering with Metanoia's Director to ensure all organizational development goals are being managed and achieved. With a huge heart for the "least of these," John also has the privilege of serving the prisoners directly every week. He teaches biblically based leadership classes, leads Metanoia's mentoring programs at his area prisons, and serves on the chaplain team at his main prison. He has built lifelong friendships with some of the prisoners, and he has witnessed God's miraculous grace at work in their lives, and at work in the lives of so many others. In experiencing these blessings, John's prayer has become that others would remember that the prisoner is included in the words of Jesus when He says "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." John is an ordained minister and nationally certified chaplain. He is a graduate of Metro Atlanta Seminary, and he is currently pursuing an MS in Organizational Leadership at Belhaven University. John and his wife, Carla, live in Suwanee, Georgia. They attend Grace Community Presbyterian Church where they are both active in discipleship, and he, in teaching ministries as well.
Marty and his wife Beth grew up attending Presbyterian churches and met as students at Belhaven University in Jackson MS. Marty, a PCA Deacon, and Beth live in Sevierville TN and are long- term members of Evergreen PCA. They are the parents of four grown children — Megan, Andrew and wife Ashley, Rachel and husband Craig, and Sarah.
Don is a television executive and producer experienced in all phases of media production and production management. Over a 30-year career, Don has created and produced shows for CBS Sports, NBC Syndications, Fox News, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Hallmark Channel and Sony Television Pictures. He has also worked extensively internationally, developing and producing programs in Japan, Argentina, Finland, Turkey, Ireland and England. Most recently he was a co-founder and Executive Producer for the Titanic Channel, a subscription based on-line digital channel. Don was educated at Valley Forge Military Junior College and Youngstown State University. He also served four years in the US Air Force including a tour in Vietnam. Don is married to Kim Barnhill Baret; they are members of First Presbyterian Church, Coral Springs, Florida where they both sing in the chancel choir. Don is the co-director of the church's English as a Second Language (ESL) program and teaches ESL Sunday School. In addition, Don and Kim are teacher trainers for MNA's ESL Ministries.


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East Bend Generating Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Duke Energy near Rabbit Hash, Kentucky.
2005 Mercury Emissions: 86 lb.
The table below estimates the death and illness attributable to the East Bend Generating Station. Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.
This page was last edited on 22 August 2012, at 15:12.


It's often the case that when a gadget is over-packed with functionality, usability is sacrificed and it ironically ends up being less useful overall. But On The Go promises to replace your flash drives, portable chargers, and sync cables with a single multi-connector contraption.It looks like it's managed to strike the perfect balance between form, functionality, and ease-of-use.
To protect its built-in USB 3.0, microUSB, and Apple Lightning connectors, the On The Go uses a retracting mechanism so they all remain out of harm's way when not in use. But to quickly access them a clever sliding panel moves and spins in multiple directions to deploy the connectors individually to use the On The Go as a portable charger or flash drive, or in pairs allowing the device to be used as a substitute sync cable.
The On The Go also has a built-in 1,000 mAh battery of its own for giving your device a boost of power when you're away from an outlet. And it's available in 32GB to 128GB capacities ranging in price from $130/£89 to $280/£191. However, if you are planning to use the On The Go to boost your iPhone's storage capacity you'll need to rely on the free accompanying OTG app for backing up files or accessing media stored on the drive. Where as most Android devices should be able to access everything directly from the device's native apps.


text:
Q: Eastern characters in VS 2010 code editor Anybody has an idea what the hell these characters in below screenshot are? Almost every key I press results in the characters in the screenshot. I get the issue very frequently (can't code 20 lines in a row without having it) and it seems to be triggered by intellisense use...
Seems I got it after installing the latest asp.net mvc 3 rc. But removing mvc3 doen't solve the problem.

A: This looks as if you are working on a computer with support for multiple languages enabled; and that you have (Japanese ?) enabled; and you are triggering the language bar assistance in inputting foreign characters - which is done by looking at the transliteration of the foreign character into English, and then presents a choice of characters corresponding to that transliteration.  I would suggest you investigate the language bar, and switch it to English. The bar seems to have its own rules for location and visibility, and prominence. This is all assuming that this is a MS system.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Spoken word, poetry, rap and hip-hop have been inexorably linked since the beginning. Though the earliest form of MCing was often more hypeman than poet, over the years, the level of lyrical technique and its importance in hip-hop has waxed and waned. The definition of hip-hop itself has been stretched so wildly over the last decade that almost anything can be called hip-hop. As a result, browsing through lists of rap shows in the area may bring up a curious group, Hobo Johnson and the LoveMakers.
The band look and sound more like an indie group than a hip-hop band, but their front man brings a unique dynamic to the group not seen often in today's musical landscape. Though the music of Hobo Johnson and the LoveMakers may not sound like hip-hop upon first listen, the story of Hobo Johnson, born Frank Lopes, Jr., is as hip-hop as any come up.
In 2015, when he was 19 years old, Lopes was kicked out of his parent's Sacramento house, and lived in his car. His first album, released the same year and titled, Hobo Johnson's 94 Corolla is named after his home at the time. His next project was released on Reprise Records, in 2017, titled The Rise of Hobo Johnson. But most people will not have heard about him until the year after.
Hobo Johnson at the Fillmore on November 13. (Photo by Jack M. Angelo for StayUp.News).
Each year, thousands of bands and artists submit music videos to compete in National Public Radio's Tiny Desk Contest. The winner of the contest is granted the opportunity to perform a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR headquarters in Washington D.C. These entries are almost impossible to avoid when the season comes around, but this year, one entry made a bigger impact than any other. Hobo Johnson and the LoveMakers released the music video and Tiny Desk Contest entry for "Peach Scone" on March 7, and it quickly garnered millions of views, even shooting the group's latest album onto the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
The success of "Peach Scone" and a few of the singles that followed in the same style propelled Hobo Johnson across the internet. The spoken word/hip-hop hybrid resonated with enough people, and the band decided to tour North America. This tour led the California-based group to The Fillmore in Silver Spring, a 2000-capacity venue, for the band's first-ever performance on the east coast on November 13. Though the venue was far from full, the hundreds who came were excited and enthusiastic for the entire evening. The openers of the tour, especially Oliver Tree, deserve more background than will be provided here, but needless to say, the quirky opening set went over well with Hobo's eccentric audience.
When Hobo Johnson finally took the stage, he was already barefoot, with a hood tightened firmly around his face. The rest of his band played him in with their blend of rock and folk instrumentation that varies based on the subject of the lyrics. Often providing backup vocals, the LoveMakers are an essential part of much of the show, but the focal point for the audience is clearly Hobo Johnson's words and performance. His verbose passages are recited word for word by the best of fans in the audience.
Hobo Johnson's words are the audience's focal point. (Photo by Jack M. Angelo for StayUp.News).
Hobo Johnson's performance differs throughout the set, sometimes resembling the frontman of a loud rock band, shouting and chugging his electric guitar, and others sitting by himself with an acoustic guitar, or even accompanying himself on the piano. Lopes' lyrics are essential to his works, and connect intimately with much of his audience. His various talents help him express these verses in the way that best suits them. His performance did, however, feature a variety of blunders and mistakes, many of which Hobo acknowledged and clearly was embarrassed by, which only served to endear the audience further to his persona.
Though he and his band did not end up winning the Tiny Desk Contest, NPR hosted the band's own Tiny Desk Concert in September. Whether or not Hobo Johnson is hip-hop is irrelevant, there is clearly a lot to the words coming from the artist. It would be unfair to write Hobo Johnson off as a viral sensation. After all, there really is something to, "I love the thought of being with you, or maybe it's the thought of not being so alone." You almost wonder why no one said it out loud like that before.


Some government programs provide subsidies for low vision aids and technologies, based on a person's individual circumstances. To find out whether you are eligible for subsidies, contact the following government agencies directly.
Contact your private health insurance provider directly to find out if low vision aids and technology benefits are provided under your level of coverage.
For more information about the Foundation's work in this area, download: Low vision, quality of life and independence: A review of the evidence on aids and technologies.


The 2019 Audi S5 Sportback from Audi Jacksonville in Florida - serving St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra, and Jacksonville Beach - has all the power you crave in a luxury sedan. Hit the accelerator and the 349-hp, 3.0L TFSI® turbocharged V6 engine springs to life with no hesitation. The 8-speed Tiptronic® automatic transmission guarantees smooth shifting while Quattro® all-wheel-drive system provides superior handling in all road conditions. S-appearance style covers the 2019 Audi S5 Sportback - from the platinum gray Singleframe® grille to the S-model quad exhaust outlets. Front and back seat passengers can look skyward through the standard panoramic sunroof as they lounge in leather-trimmed seating with diamond stitching and S embossing and stay comfortable, thanks to three-zone automatic climate control. Meanwhile, you have numerous technology conveniences at your fingertips - such as the Audi smartphone interface with Apple CarPlayTM and Android AutoTM and Bluetooth® wireless phone system - and all of them are accessible via the MMI® 7-inch center infotainment display.
1Driver assistance features are not substitutes for attentive driving. See Owner's Manual for further details and important limitations.


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Praça de Espanha is een metrostation aan de Blauwe lijn van de Metro van Lissabon. Het station is geopend op 29 december 1959.

Het station is in 1980 verbouwd, daarbij zijn de perrons verlengd om de exploitatie van de metro van Lissabon met langere metrotreinen mogelijk te maken. De verlengde perrons werden op 15 oktober 1980 geopend.

Het is gelegen aan de Praça de Espanha.

Externe links
 Overzicht van de omgeving van het metrostation Praça de Espanha

Metrostation in Lissabon

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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The World Bank in Libya
The World Bank is committed to continue to support Libya with technical assistance and analytical services. The support builds on the Country Engagement Note (CEN). The program was subsequently adjusted to reflect security and political developments.
Libya Home
The delay of national elections originally scheduled for December 2021, with no agreement on the new dates nor on the legal and constitutional basis for these proposed elections, has brought a return to political division in Libya. The confirmation of a new government cabinet by the eastern-based House of Representatives in February 2022 has returned Libya to a state of institutional division with two parallel government administrations in the East and West. Competition between rival governments led to the blockade and shutdowns of oil facilities and armed clashes in the capital. Some demonstrations across the country saw citizens protest the deteriorating political and economic conditions.
Political and security tensions could hinder the economic rebound registered in 2021. Oil production in the second quarter of 2022 averaged 0.88 million barrels per day, 33 percent less than during the first quarter. Soaring international oil prices improved the fiscal surplus during the first eight months of 2022 to 13 percent of 2021 GDP, excluding spending of the National Oil Corporation, compared to 7 percent during the same period in 2021. The trade balance surplus grew by 72 percent in nominal USD terms during the first five months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Foregone oil revenues due to the blockade of oil facilities amounted to around USD 4 billion. At the beginning of the third quarter of 2022, oil production resumed at 1 million barrels per day.
The war in Ukraine has fueled inflationary pressures, further deteriorating household welfare. Prices of essential goods rose during 2021 and accelerated in the first half of 2022. The cost of the Minimum Expenditure Basket and its food portion rose respectively by 37 and 41 percent year-on-year in April 2022, or 13 and 15 percent compared to their pre-war level (February 2022). Inflationary pressures have been higher in the Western part. Food prices remained high in June 2022 despite the authorities' measures to contain price increases. According to REACH's Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment, 27 percent of Libyans were earning less than needed to afford the Minimum Expenditure Basket, with a higher incidence in the southern part of the country.
Political instability in Libya and the ongoing war in Ukraine will likely slow down Libya's economic recovery. If the country could sustain current levels of oil production and exports, it will benefit from soaring global oil prices, translating into higher fiscal revenues and more significant inflows of hard currency. This will positively impact its growth and its fiscal and external balances. Transparent and accountable management of Libya's oil revenues and public spending will be critical to ensure that the country's wealth benefits the population. However, positive economic performances depend on the improvement of political and security conditions. Other shocks to the global economy, or shocks to global commodity prices, would adversely affect Libya's economic activity and household welfare.
The World Bank is committed to continuing to support Libya with technical assistance and analytical services. The Bank is preparing a new Country Engagement Note (CEN) strategy for Libya. This new strategy draws on the Bank's experiences in Libya over the last decade, as well as on experiences from other fragile transitional contexts, globally and regionally. Following stakeholder consultations, the new country strategy will be presented to the Board of the World Bank at the end of 2022. The Bank's program focuses on facilitating discussions on Libya's medium-to-long-term development challenges. The Bank provides analytical and advisory services that contribute to building transparent and effective country systems and improving the country's data and knowledge base.
The World Bank, together with the European Union and the United Nations, supports the Government of Libya through a Recovery and Peace-Building Assessment (RPBA). The RPBA is an assessment, planning, and coordination exercise designed to produce a coherent and comprehensive strategic framework for immediate and medium-term recovery and peacebuilding efforts.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) recognizes the critical role of the private sector in furthering Libya's prospects for resilience and growth. IFC aims to boost private sector-led solutions to meet Libya's infrastructure needs, facilitate greater access to finance, support employment generation, and lay the groundwork for recovery. In Libya, it is helping drive entrepreneurship; strengthen the retail, MSME, and corporate banking footprint; and enhance the private sector's role in development and recovery through Public-Private Partnerships.
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has been engaging with Libya since the country's 2011 revolution and, in 2012, provided a guarantee to the TunInvest-AfricInvest Group for US$8.9 million in investments in Jafara Co., a water and juice bottling company based outside Tripoli. The 10-year guarantee is MIGA's first in Libya and protects the investors against a variety of risks, such as transfer restriction, expropriation, war, and civil disturbance. TunInvest-AfricInvest Group is a private equity house established in Tunisia. MIGA sent a team to Tripoli in April 2019 to explain its role to 45 small- and medium-sized enterprises at a public forum.
Libya's Economic Update — October 2021
Libya: Commitments by Fiscal Year (in millions of dollars)*
The World Bank does not have any recent lending to Libya. Please view the full Lending Portfolio
*Amounts include IBRD and IDA commitments
Find out what the Bank Group's branches are doing in Libya.
MENA Economic Update: Reaching New Heights: Promoting Fair Competition in the ...
GDP growth is projected to be 0.6% in the region in 2019, a fraction of what is needed to create enough jobs for the fast-growing working-age population in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2020
The World Bank's biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity report finds that the rate of extreme poverty in the MENA region rose from 3.8% in 2015 to 7.2% in 2018 — the latest year for which data is available.
The Mobility of Displaced Syrians: An Economic and Social Analysis
This report identifies key factors weighing on Syrian refugees contemplating a return home and analyzes how changing conditions in Syria might affect their decisions.
Expectations and Aspirations: A New Framework for Education in the Middle East ...
The report outlines a new framework with a three-pronged approach. Unleashing education's potential will require a 'push' for learning, a 'pull' for skills and a new 'pact for education.
Voices & Views: Middle East & North Africa Blog
Country Office Contacts
Ebrahim Al-Harazi
ealharazi@worldbank.org

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
<?php
namespace XLSXExporter\Styles;

use XLSXExporter\Utils\OpenXmlColor;
use XLSXExporter\XLSXException;

/**
 * @property string $name Font name
 * @property int $size Font size (pt)
 * @property bool $bold Font is bold
 * @property bool $italic Font is italic
 * @property bool $strike Font is strike
 * @property string $underline Underline value (use constants)
 * @property bool $wordwrap Font is strike
 * @property string $color Font color
 *
 * @package XLSXExporter\Styles
 */
class Font extends AbstractStyle
{
    const UNDERLINE_NONE = 'none';
    const UNDERLINE_DOUBLE = 'double';
    const UNDERLINE_SINGLE = 'single';

    protected function properties()
    {
        return [
            'name',
            'size',
            'bold',
            'italic',
            'strike',
            'underline',
            'wordwrap',
            'color',
        ];
    }

    public function asXML()
    {
        // According to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff531499%28v=office.12%29.aspx
        // Excel requires the child elements to be in the following sequence:
        // b, i, strike, condense, extend, outline, shadow, u, vertAlign, sz, color, name, family, charset, scheme
        return '<font>'
            . '<b val="' . (($this->bold) ? '1' : '0') . '" />'
            . '<i val="' . (($this->italic) ? '1' : '0') . '" />'
            . '<strike val="' . (($this->strike) ? '1' : '0') . '" />'
            . '<u val="' . (($this->underline) ? : static::UNDERLINE_NONE) . '" />'
            . (($this->size) ? '<sz val="' . $this->size . '"/>' : '')
            . (($this->color) ? '<color rgb="' . $this->color . '"/>' : '')
            . (($this->name) ? '<name val="' . $this->name . '"/>' : '')
            . '</font>'
        ;
    }

    protected function castName($value)
    {
        return (string) $value;
    }

    protected function castSize($value)
    {
        return max(6, (int) $value);
    }

    protected function castBold($value)
    {
        return (bool) $value;
    }

    protected function castItalic($value)
    {
        return (bool) $value;
    }

    protected function castStrike($value)
    {
        return (bool) $value;
    }

    protected function castWordwrap($value)
    {
        return (bool) $value;
    }

    protected function castColor($value)
    {
        if (false === $color = OpenXmlColor::cast($value)) {
            throw new XLSXException('Invalid font color');
        }
        return $color;
    }

    protected function castUnderline($value)
    {
        if (! in_array($value, [static::UNDERLINE_NONE, static::UNDERLINE_SINGLE, static::UNDERLINE_DOUBLE])) {
            throw new XLSXException('Invalid font underline');
        }
        return $value;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Beautifully Maintained 3BR. 31/2 Ba single home with finish basement * Garage and off street parking* Crown Molding * Huge addition * Chair rail * washer & Dryer * Recessed lights * Gas fireplace *Bay window *Sun room * Shed *updated windows * HUGE yard * gleaming hardwood floors and so much more all in a well sought after area..
I am interested in 115 Oakway Road, Lutherville Timonium, MD 21093.


text:
Big brands book for 2016 Exclusively shows
15th October 2015	News Comments Off on Big brands book for 2016 Exclusively shows 935 Views
Brooke House Exhibitions, the organiser of Exclusively Electrical and Exclusively Housewares, has confirmed the names of major brands that have committed to exhibiting at next year's co-located London trade shows.
For Exclusively Electrical, KitchenAid, Jura, Meyer, Magimix, Bugatti and Blendtec (EPE International) Groupe SEB, Witt, Salter and Beldray (Ultimate Products), Dualit, Vitamix, Tower and Smart Worldwide have returned to exhibit at the second outing of the show, which is aimed at specialist and general retailers selling small domestic and kitchen appliances.
A new name for 2016 is Sage Appliances. Show director Simon Boyd said: "Sage has a comprehensive SKA offer, covering top quality appliances for juicing, blending, food prep and tea and coffee making. Their range, endorsed by Heston Blumenthal, is a great addition to the show which will help to attract more SDA/SKA retail specialists."
Meanwhile, industry support for Exclusively Electrical's long-running sister show, Exclusively Housewares is high. Brands including Addis, Charles Bentley, Bodum, Brabantia, Denby, Eddingtons, Joseph Joseph, Le Creuset, Rayware, Pyrex, Robert Welch Designs and T&G Woodware, among many others, have already signed up for 2016.
New exhibitors include World Kitchen, which will attend for the first time, along with a return for Brita, Fairmont & Main and Villeroy & Boch.
Simon said: "All our stands, in both shows, have confirmed bookings or potential names against them, and we're very pleased that both shows have attracted major brands for 2016. The 'Exclusively' outlook is very positive."
The shows will run on Tuesday, June 14 and Wednesday, June 15 2016 at the Business Design Centre at Islington in north London.
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Faith Protection
Man and Church
Uncle Sam's сlerics: State Department's role in the creation of OCU
Konstantin Shemliuk
Facts show that Filaret and Epiphany are just figures in a multi-move game in the United States. Photo: UOJ
How representatives of the US Department of State created the OCU and forced the Orthodox Churches to recognize it.
On November 22, 2019, the U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt, immediately after returning from Washington, met with the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos. The diplomat assured the Primate that "the issue of the Church of Ukraine is hotly debated in the American capital" and on behalf of the Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, Samuel Brownback, thanked for recognising the OCU.
It would seem that the formation of a new religious structure should not worry the American government. However, in reality, the idea of creating a religious organization in Ukraine, entirely dependent on the Phanar, was warmly supported at all stages by the US Department of State. Moreover, numerous facts indicate that the State Department not only welcomes this idea but also promotes it in every way at the pan-Orthodox level.
State Department and OCU: support
At the end of September 2018, i.e. a few months before the OCU's formation, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the head of the Kiev Patriarchate Filaret Denisenko and the then Metropolitan Simeon (Shostatsky) of Vinnitsa and Bar of the UOC appeared in the USA at the same time.
At that time, many were convinced that it was the latter who should take the post of head of a new religious structure because he had excellent relations with Poroshenko and was almost the only (later Metropolitan Alexander (Drabinko) joined him) canonical bishop among the future "hierarchs" of the OCU, whose ordination was not questioned in the Orthodox world.
However, Filaret was well aware that if Met. Simeon became the head of the new organization, then he himself would have nothing to do there. That is why he also went to the USA in September in order to enlist the support of American officials in the struggle for his own future.
The game that Denisenko started overseas was, in his opinion, justified. After all, being an experienced participant in various political battles, Filaret understood that everything was decided in Washington.
Back in April 2018, information began to appear that the State Department was exerting serious pressure on Patriarch Bartholomew in order to grant Ukrainian schismatics autocephaly.
In early August 2018, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Valery Chaly said that the State Department supported the creation of the so-called "single local Church in Ukraine".
Filaret was well aware that if Met. Simeon became the head of the new organization, then he himself would have nothing to do there. That is why he also went to the USA in September in order to enlist the support of American officials.
Then, in August, the US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Jovanovic discussed the issue of the "single local Church" with Filaret.
Two weeks later, Sam Brownback, during a meeting with Petro Poroshenko, said that the United States wholeheartedly advocated "autocephaly" in Ukraine.
And a week later, on September 18, former US Vice President Joseph Biden announced his support.
Finally, on September 25, 2018, the U.S. Department of State bluntly and clearly stated that the U.S. supported autocephaly in Ukraine and considered Patriarch Bartholomew to be the voice of tolerance in the world.
In politics, concrete actions always lie behind words, especially when it comes to the State Department. As a result, Patriarch Bartholomew decided not to test the patience of his overseas friends and patrons and in January 2019 granted the Tomos of autocephaly to the OCU.
This thesis was also confirmed by one of the figurants in the association of Ukrainian schismatics "Metropolitan" Makariy Maletich: "The Phanar gave the Tomos because it was confident of the support of the USA."
And the hierarch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Archbishop Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis), thanked the American government and emphasized: "We are glad that the US State Department supports the Ecumenical Patriarch."
On May 28, after the bestowal of the Tomos, Geoffrey Pyatt emphasized during a meeting with the head of the Phanar that everything was going in the right direction: "We want to express strong support of the USA for the efforts of Patriarch Bartholomew on religious freedom, Ukrainian autocephaly, and the new US archbishop" (one of the main initiators of the formation of the OCU, the above-mentioned Metropolitan Elpidophoros, became the new archbishop of the United States).
Phanar, Athos and State Department: pressure
However, the Phanar perfectly understood that the recognition of the OCU by other Local Orthodox Churches would encounter serious opposition because the decision to grant the Tomos was non-canonical and the ordinations of Ukrainian schismatics caused great doubts.
It was necessary to find a solution that would "help" the Orthodox hierarchs to drop all questions and recognize the right of Constantinople to grant autocephaly to anyone it would like to. It was those who have authority in the Orthodox world and cannot seriously object to the Phanar's arguments had to recognize the correctness of Patriarch Bartholomew's actions. That is why the Patriarchate of Constantinople, with the support of the State Department, decided to involve the monks of some monasteries of the Holy Mount Athos in the recognition of the OCU.
On April 14, 2018, Sam Brownback met with Patriarch Bartholomew, and on April 17, Geoffrey Pyatt visited the Vatopedi Monastery of Athos. In Vatopedi, he met not only with the hegumen Elder Ephraim but also with the most active modern defender of the Phanar's actions, Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos). After this meeting, Pн wrote on his Twitter: "I had the honor to meet with Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos in Vatopedi. We had an important discussion about Orthodoxy around the world and US support for the Ecumenical Patriarchate."
The USA's direct involvement was confirmed by one of the figurants in the association of Ukrainian schismatics "Metropolitan" Makariy Maletich: "The Phanar gave the Tomos because it was confident of the support of the USA."
Apparently, the visit of the American Ambassador could not convince the Elder Ephraim of the need to recognize the OCU, because on October 12, 2018, he was invited to Washington. In the White House and the Department of State, Archimandrite Ephraim was interviewed by Eugene Fishel, Division Chief of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent and Sam Brownback, one of the key participants in the OCU's formation.
As a result, Archimandrite Ephraim arrived in Ukraine for the "enthronization" of Epiphany Dumenko but suddenly fell ill and did not attend the event. Unlike him, the hegumen of another Athonite monastery, Xenophontos, Archimandrite Alexy attended the "enthronization". On the Holy Mountain, there are several monasteries that, to one degree or another, depend on Patriarch Bartholomew and who agreed with his decisions on the OCU.
Athens, Phanar and State Department: recognition
The next step in promoting the OCU was to be the recognition of this structure by the Local Orthodox Churches. This was more difficult to do than with some Athonites because the primates of the Churches are not just monks but people with millions of believers behind them. Therefore, the Phanariots, together with the State Department, in parallel with the pressure on Athos, decided to also act through the Greek-speaking Orthodox, primarily through the Greek Orthodox Church.
Preparatory work was carried out for a long time, but in the spring of 2019, the State Department decided to become more active. In March, at the Conference on Disinformation and News Manipulation in Athens, Geoffrey Pyatt said that Russia was trying to undermine the authority of Patriarch Bartholomew: "We saw evidence of this kind of information manipulation in Greece. We saw Russian efforts in the Church, the efforts to undermine the role of the Ecumenical Patriarch." Through this statement, the Greek media received a message on how to "correctly" present a story with the OCU's formation.
On May 7, Sam Brownback discussed the "Ukrainian issue" with Archbishop Ieronymos. On the same day, the US delegation was to meet with the abbots of the Athos monasteries, as well as the civil governor of Athos Kostis Dimzas.
On May 30, Geoffrey Pyatt met with the Archbishop of Athos.
However, despite all the efforts of the Americans, in the spring and summer, it was not possible to obtain recognition of the OCU from Archbishop Ieronymos. Moreover, he postponed the solution of the "Ukrainian issue" first for the October Council of Bishops and later for an indefinite period after a number of Greek hierarchs spoke out against this decision.
However, on October 7, the Archbishop convened an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Bishops to decide on his recommendations on the "Ukrainian issue".
What really influenced the decision of Archbishop Ieronymos?
The Ukrainian question was brought to the Synod on the second day after the visit of the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Greece.
On October 6, Pompeo attended the Divine Liturgy in the centre of Athens, after which he also went to the St Eleutherius Church. All this happened after breakfast with the Greek Prime Minister.
At the end of September, a senior official from the US State Department announced that during an October trip to Europe, Pompeo will try to make efforts to combat Russia's influence in the Balkans and Greece. It is in this vein that the State Department is considering the creation of the OCU.
State Department's project and Filaret's children
Is it any wonder that the American government was the first to congratulate Ukraine on the formation of the OCU? Already on December 16, the second day after the "Unification Council", representatives of the US Embassy in Ukraine wrote on their Twitter: "We support all Ukrainians' ability to worship as they choose. Tolerance and restraint are key to a peaceful transition period so that people with different religious affiliations can live and prosper together."
On December 17, Robert Palladino, Deputy Head of the State Department's press service, stated: "The creation of this Church was a historic event for Ukraine. The United States continues to strongly support Ukraine and believes that freedom of religion should not be obstructed from outside."
It was more difficult to achieve recognition of the OCU from the Orthodox Churches. Therefore, Phanariots, together with the State Department, in parallel with the pressure on Athos, decided to also act through the Greek-speaking Orthodox, primarily through the Greek Orthodox Church.
On January 10, four days after the Tomos bestowal, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo wrote: "The January 6th announcement of autocephaly for an independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine marks a historic achievement as Ukraine seeks to chart its own future. On this momentous occasion, the United States reiterates its unwavering support for a sovereign, independent Ukraine."
It is not surprising that Epiphany Dumenko made his first official visit after the "enthronization" to the USA, where during the meeting with Pompeo he thanked the State Department for supporting the OCU.
The whole history of the OCU's creation proves that but for the State Department, this religious organization would never have existed. It is entirely the US Department of State's project. And Dumenko and his ilk are the children of Filaret, who taught them active cooperation with the powers that be. True, Filaret himself already realized that such cooperation does not lead to anything good. The question is when the others will understand it.
Tags: Autocephaly, US Department of State, Patriarchate of Constantinople, OCU, OCU, Schism, USA, Tomos
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– Do you know when the fasting ends? So that we could eat meat at ease.
– Can't you eat it?
– I do eat.... But somehow ill at ease.
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I guess this message is a bit late... but Expat Connection & Anuva Vinos are holding a Wine Tasting Series for people in Buenos Aires starting tonight (Jan 14) at the Janio in Palermo (Malabia 1805). Reservation is required.
Don Juan blend, Cavagnaro Reserve Malbec, Jean Rivier Reserve Malbec and Calathus Pinot Noir are the wine's we'll be trying this time. This tasting is a special treat for those who want to sample the best of Argentina's wines, delectable and delightful.


You need a camera before you can shoot videos. Do you need a $500 camera to get started? No way. If you have a smart phone, you have a camera. Most smart phone cameras have been greatly improved and shoot quality video. Make sure you are not too far away from the camera though, as it will affect the audio if you aren't wearing an external microphone.
As you move up the chain you can use other inexpensive cameras like the Kodak z10 ($39.99) or the Canon Powershot series ($299.00). If you want to move up to a greater level camera then you can check out the Canon Ti3 ($510) or Nikkon P900 series ($600). Keep in mind, that as you get started using video, that the Canon Powershot or your smart phone is just fine. These are either free, or under $300.
Not a great idea to hold the camera and do the "selfie" video. Someone watching your video and seeing the camera move all over the place will get the viewer to quickly click off your video. Get a tripod and some accessories to make your videos look and sound good. Again, these are not expensive items to obtain.
You can buy this cheap tripod on Amazon for $25. In fact, I have the same one. You might spend more money each week at Starbucks. In regards to accessories, you might want some lighting or an external microphone. If you are in a poorly lit room or sit far from the camera, these are a must. Pick up this cheap LED Light($25) and External microphone ($16) and you are almost home!
The most inexpensive way Realtors can get started with video is to set up a YouTube channel and leverage your social media accounts to syndicate video content. YouTube and social media are FREE mediums to touch thousands of people. It then provides the conduit to drive these people back to you and learn about your value messages. Cheaper and a lot more effective than direct mail. The conversion rate is much higher as well.
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In the early hours of January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese launched over one hundred attacks across South Vietnam in what would become known as the Tet Offensive. In his most ambitious work yet, Mark Bowden, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down, returns to writing the story of a battle. Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam recounts the centerpiece of the Tet Offensive, the defining military turn in one of the most politically fraught conflicts of the 20th century.
With unprecedented access to war archives in the U.S. and Vietnam, and interviews with participants from both sides, Bowden narrates each stage of this crucial battle through multiple points of view. It was the bloodiest battle of the entire war. Played out over 24 days of intense urban combat, it ultimately cost 10,000 combatant and civilian lives. After it was over, the question was no longer about how America could win the war, but about how it would leave it.


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Q: Adding information, xml column or new table? We want to extend our database to create Multilanguage support but we are unsure how to do this.
Our database looks like this:
ID – Name – Description – (a lot of irrelevant columns)
Option 1 is to add an xml column to the table, in this column we can store the information we need like this:
<translation>
    <language value='en'>
        <Name value=''>
        <Description value=''>
    </language>
    <language value='fr'>
        <Name value=''>
        <Description value=''>
    </language>
</translation>

Does the trick and the advantage is that when I delete the row, I also delete the translations.
Option 2 is to add an extra table, it's easy to create a table to store the information in, but it requires inner joins when getting the information and more effort to delete rows when the original row is deleted.
What is the preferred option in this case? Or are there other good solutions for this?

A: I'd recommend the "relational" approach, i.e. separate translation table(s). Consider doing it like this:

This model has some nice properties:

*

*For each multi-lingual table, create a separate translation table. This way, you can use the fields appropriate for that particular table, and the translation cannot be "misconnected" to the wrong table.

*The existence of the LANGUAGE table and the associated FOREIGN KEYs, ensures that a translation cannot exist for non-existent language, unlike the XML.

*ON DELETE CASCADE referential action will ensure no "orphaned" translation can be left behind when a language is removed, unlike the XML.

*While XML may be faster in simpler cases, I suspect JOIN is more scalable when the number of languages grows.1 In any case, measure the difference and decide for yourself if it's significant enough.

*Separate fields such as NAME and DESCRIPTION may be easier to index. With XML, you'd probably need a DBMS with special support for XML, or possibly some sort of full-text index.

*Fields such as NAME and DESCRIPTION will likely be just regular VARCHARs. OTOH, putting them together may produce XML too large for a regular VARCHAR, forcing you to use a CLOB/BLOB, which may have its own performance complications.

*If your DBMS supports clustering (see below), the whole translation table can be stored in a single B-Tree. XML has a lot of redundant data (opening and closing tags), likely making it larger and less cache-friendly than the B-Tree (even when we count-in all the associated overheads).

You'll notice that the model above uses identifying relationships and the resulting PK: {LANGUAGE_ID, TABLEx_ID} can be used for clustering (so the translations that belong to the same language are stored physically close together in the database). As long you have few predominant (or "hot") languages, this should be OK - the caching is done at the database page level, so avoiding mixing "hot" and "cold" data in the same page avoids caching "cold" data (and making the cache "smaller").
OTOH, if you routinely need to query for many languages, consider flipping the clustering key order to: {TABLEx_ID, LANGUAGE_ID}, so all the translations of the same row are stored physically close together in the database. Once you retrieve one translation, other translations of the same row are probably already cached. Or, if you want to extract multiple translations in the single query, you could do it with less I/O.

1 We can JOIN just to the translation in the desired language. With XML, you must load (and parse) the whole XML, before deciding to use only a small portion of it that pertains to the desired language. Whenever you add a new languages (and the associated translations to the XML), it slows down the processing of existing rows even if you rarely use the new language.


Golly, can we edit out the part where I'm a clown before I realize the video is rolling?
OK, well I always want to ask the veteran IL guys if they remember coming to our park in the past–just to see if there was some issue or thing that they noticed or remembered from those games in seasons gone by.
And I figured that Venditte had been asked all the switch-pitch, funny glove, questions before so I tried to come at it a little differently–and add some humor. Probably didn't work but I had fun doing it and he was a good sport.


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Philippines Storm Death Toll Exceeds 650
Posted December 18th, 2011 | Breaking News, Weather | Comments | 4,224 views
By AP / BULLIT MARQUEZ AND JIM GOMEZ Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011
(ILIGAN, Philippines) — As a storm that killed more than 650 in the southern Philippines raged outside the store where she works, Amor Limbago worriedly called home to check on her parents, but their cellphones just kept ringing and later went dead.
Limbago, 21, rushed home as soon as the flash floods receded and confirmed her worst fear: Her parents and seven other relatives were gone, swept away from their hut by the river. They had eagerly planned a small Christmas dinner in that hut just days earlier. "I returned and saw that our house was completely gone," a weeping Limbago told The Associated Press from Cagayan de Oro city. "There was nothing but mud all over and knee-deep floodwaters."
Tropical Storm Washi blew away Sunday after devastating a wide swath of the mountainous region on Mindanao island, which is unaccustomed to major storms. It killed at least 652 people and left more than 900 others missing, the Philippine Red Cross said.
Most of the victims were asleep Friday night when flash floods cascaded down mountain slopes with logs and uprooted trees, swelling rivers. The late-season tropical storm turned the worst-hit coastal cities of Cagayan de Oro and nearby Iligan into muddy wastelands filled with overturned cars and broken trees. Most of the dead were children and women, Red Cross Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang said.
The government's Office of Civil Defense placed the number of dead at 516 with 274 missing and 431 others rescued. Its head, Benito Ramos, said he expected the toll to rise and added that the government count was slower because authorities try to identify each casualty by verifying it with relatives.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and top military officials flew to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan to help oversee search-and-rescue efforts and deal with about 45,000 displaced villagers. Among the items urgently needed are coffins and body bags, said Benito Ramos, who heads the government's disaster-response agency. "It's overwhelming. We didn't expect these many dead," said Ramos, adding that authorities were continuing to find bodies floating at sea.
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