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Mountains, Temples and Taj Mahal
The famous "Golden Triangle" cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur feature in this wonderful adventure, along with visits to Amritsar (spiritual heartland of the Sikh community) -- and Dharamsala, a Tibetan enclave in the foothills of the mighty Himalayas. Travelling through a number of very different landscapes, you'll have plenty of opportunity to experience India's cultural and spiritual diversity. And for those who crave the "iconic" -- you'll be thrilled to hear this itinerary includes visits to many of the great architectural wonders of India: the extraordinary forts and palaces of Jaipur, the incomparable Taj Mahal, Amritsar's Golden Temple and Dharamsala's atmospheric monasteries and temples.
12 breakfasts and 11 dinners
airport transfers (day 1 and 13 only)
comfortable hotel accommodation and heritage hotels on a twin share basis
private car and driver
train travel between Delhi and Amritsar
sightseeing with local guides including entrance fees
Wander through Old and New Delhi
Be amazed by the grandeur of Jaipur's forts and palaces
Behold the splendour of the great Taj Mahal
Patriotic revelry at the Wagah Border.
Visit the Sikh community's cherished Golden Temple
Spend time in Dharamasala, the Dalai Lama's home in exile
Avg. 30+
23 Mar 2019 04 Apr 2019 Available AUD $2,690
Upon arrival at Delhi airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel. There are no activities planned for the afternoon as members of our group will be arriving at different times, so you are free to work off your jet-lag exploring some of the bustling capital city on your own. If you like arts and crafts, don't miss the working artisans' village and gallery complex that comprise the National Crafts Museum. If you're short on time, ease into your Indian adventure with a stroll through Lodi Gardens.
After breakfast we drive some 275kms to Jaipur. We have a day and a half here to explore the chaotic capital of Rajasthan - quite possibly India's most colourful city. We have time to take in several of the medieval palaces and monumental forts that define this city, but be warned traveling between these iconic destinations can be an adventure in itself! Expect to see camel carts and elephants, scooters, trucks and bikes all jostling for space on the roads. We'll visit the landmark, honey-combed pink facade of Hawa Mahal (The Palace of the Winds), the City Palace and Amber Fort plus the World Heritage listed Jantar Mantar Observatory. Here you'll find a curious collection of huge stone "instruments" that were designed to observe and measure all manner of astronomical activity from calculating eclipses to plotting the azimuth of various stars.
After breakfast we make our way slowly to Agra. Some 40km shy of the city, we stop to explore the fortified city of Fatehpur Sikri. Built during the second half of the 16th Century by Emperor Akbar, this so-called City of Victory was only the capital of the Mughal Empire for ten years, but it bears exceptional testimony to the great vision of Akbar and the architects of his day.
Of all the incredible monuments you are destined to see here in India, the Taj Mahal reigns supreme. Many pundits would argue that it is, indeed, the most famous building in the world. It is certainly the most extravagant monument ever built for love utilizing the skills of 20,000 artisans; taking 22 years to complete. The Taj Mahal really is as spectacular as many of you may have envisaged - exquisite from every conceivable vantage-point. The attention to detail up close - the filigree, the calligraphy and the inlay is simply mind-blowing. So too, the symmetry of the building when viewed from afar. Agra Fort - a remarkable city-within-a-city on the bank of the Yamuna River provides us with possibly the best view of all, from the top of its octagonal tower. After our sight-seeing activities here, we drive back to Delhi, thus completing India's famed 'Golden Triangle' route.
Early this morning we transfer from our hotel to the Delhi railway station and board our scheduled train to Amritsar, the spiritual and cultural heart of the Sikh community. But before we explore this great city in earnest, we shall detour to the Indian border. Just 30km from Amritsar, is the Nation's only road crossing into Pakistan, and it is quite enlightening to witness the ceremonial closing of the gates and lowering of the flags that takes place at this juncture each day. The guards who participate in this drill are carefully chosen on the basis of height and imposing stature, and must perform the ostentatious pomp to perfection. The theatrical hostility is electrifying!
This morning we visit the Golden Temple, considered one of the most beautiful places of worship in the world. It is situated in the middle of a sacred lake, fed by an underground spring and is architecturally a unique blend of Hindu and Muslim styles. Within the temple is the Adi Grantha, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs, displayed on a jewel-studded platform. Visitors are welcome, but are requested to show respect for Sikh culture by removing their shs, wearing a headscarf and refraining from drinking alcohol or smoking in the complex. We also visit Jalianwala Bagh, the somber site dedicated to the innocent people gunned down by British troops during the Amritsar massacre, on April 13, 1919. At that time, thousands of men, women and children had gathered peacefully in the Jallianwala Bagh garden to celebrate the festival of Vaisakhi. But public gatherings were illegal at that time, and sadly the British soldiers opened fire. Between 379 and 1,000 people were killed, and many more injured. The Martyr's Well, which you can still see at the site today, is a particularly tragic reminder of the 120 souls who leapt into it and thus to their deaths in order to avoid the soldiers' bullets. The massacre was a turning point for British colonial rule in India and, ironically, a step towards the nation's Independence. Later in the afternoon we drive up into the Kangra valley, in the foothills of the mighty Himalayas, to heritage village of Pragpur.
Today you are free to relax and explore Pragpur at your leisure. This tiny hamlet is quite well preserved, with its centuries-old mud-plastered houses, country manors and cobble-stoned narrow winding alleyways. Very Indo-European!
The road to Upper Dharamsala, a hill station 65 kilometres from Pragpur, is slow and windy, but ultimately, promises reward if not with glimpses en route of the mighty Himalayas, then most certainly with cultural encounters on arrival! Just beyond the main part of the town is McLeod Ganj, a place many locals refer to as "Little Lhasa". It is home to Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, several important Buddhist monasteries and many thousands of Tibetan Refugees. On a clear day there are exceptional views of the Dhalaudhar Range and its highest peak, 5,639m Hanuman Ka Tibba. There are many places to explore in and around the town, and walks that will take you a little further a field, if you're feeling energetic. Be sure to spend time in the bazaar, if you're interested in Tibetan handicrafts or thangkas paintings, or see if you can volunteer your services for the day, helping refugees master the art of conversing with confidence in English.
Today we return by road to Amritsar and board our scheduled train back to Delhi.
This morning, after breakfast we take a comprehensive sightseeing tour of Old and New Delhi. Key monuments we hope to visit in New Delhi include: India Gate(a memorial arch honouring soldiers who were killed in WW1), Biria Temple, and Humayun's Tomb an exquisite example of Mughal architecture, set in a magnificent formal Persian garden. In Old Delhi we hope to visit the Red Fort (assuming it's not a Monday!) and from there, take a thrilling rickshaw ride through the narrow lanes of the bustling bazaar. Our destination is Jama Masjid the largest mosque in India.
After breakfast we will transfer you to the airport for your scheduled flight home.


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College of Physical & Engineering Science
Food, Agricultural & Resource Economics
About FARE
Chair's Welcome
Sessionals
Research Associates & Assistants
Graduate Program Alumni
Retired Faculty Members
Graduate Defence
FARE Institute
Meet FARE Students
People in the FARE Department
rvyn
Richard Vyn
Richard Vyn is an associate professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural & Resource Economics, based at the Ridgetown Campus. He completed a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics at the University of Guelph in 2007. Previously, Richard worked for three years as a Production Economist for Alberta Agriculture, Food & Rural Development. He grew up on a cash-crop farm just outside of Guelph.
View Richard's Website
rvyn@uoguelph.ca
ext. 63552
Room 303, Reek Building, Ridgetown Campus
http://www.ridgetownc.uoguelph.ca/research/profile_rvyn.cfm
Land use policy and farmland values, economic analysis of agricultural production practices, simulation modeling, hedonic analysis.
Vyn, R. J. (2018). Property value impacts of wind turbines and the influence of heterogeneous preferences for wind energy. Land Economics 94 (4): 496-516.
Akimowicz, M., R. J. Vyn, H. Cummings, and K. Landman. (2018). An introduction to mixed methods research in agricultural economics: The example of farm investment in Ontario's Greenbelt, Canada. Journal of Rural Studies 61: 162-174.
Van Eerd, L. L., J. J. D. Turnbull, A. W. McKeown, C. J. Bakker, R. J. Vyn, and S. M. Westerveld. (2018). Comparing soluble to controlled-release nitrogen fertilizers: Storage cabbage yield, profit margins, and N use efficiency. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 98 (4): 815-829.
Heintzelman, M. D., R. J. Vyn, and S. Guth. (2017). Understanding the amenity impacts of wind development on an international border. Ecological Economics 137: 195-206.
Belfry, K. D., C. Trueman, R. J. Vyn, S. A. Loewen, and L. L. Van Eerd. (2017). Winter cover crops on processing tomato yield, quality, pest pressure, nitrogen availability, and profit margins. PLoS ONE 12 (7).
Wu, Z., A. Weersink, A. Maynard, G. Hailu, and R. J. Vyn. (2017). The impact of local ethanol production on grain basis in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 65 (3): 409-430.
Li, N., R. J. Vyn, and K. McEwan. (2016). To invest or sell? The impacts of Ontario's Greenbelt on farm exit and investment decisions. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 38 (3): 389-412.
McCreary, C. M., D. Depuydt, R. J. Vyn, and C. L. Gillard. (2016). Fungicide efficacy of dry bean white mold [Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary, causal organism] and economic analysis at moderate to high disease pressure. Crop Protection 82: 75-81.
Vyn, R. J., and G. Hailu. (2015). Discount usage and price discrimination for pork products in Canada. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 63 (4): 449-474.
Vyn, R. J. (2015). The effect of agricultural zoning on rural residential property values: An application to Ontario's Greenbelt. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 63 (3): 281-307.
Vyn, R. J., and R. M. McCullough. (2015). Reply to Comment on The effects of wind turbines on property values in Ontario: Does public perception match empirical evidence? Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 63 (2): 277-280.
Deaton, B. J. & Vyn, R. J. (2015). The effect of Ontario Greenbelt on the price of vacant farmland. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 63 (2): 185-208.
Mahoney, K. J., R. J. Vyn, and C. L. Gillard. (2015). The effect of pyraclostrobin on soybean plant health, yield, and profitability in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 95 (2): 285-292.
Hailu, G., Vyn, R. J., & *Ma, Y. (2014). The demand for pork products in Canada: Discount promotions and cannibalization. Agribusiness: an International Journal 30 (4): 470-492.
Vyn, R. J. & *McCullough, R. M. (2014). The effects of wind turbines on property values in Ontario: Does public perception match empirical evidence? Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 62 (3): 365-392.
*Congreves, K. A., Vyn, R. J., & Van Eerd, L. L. (2013). Evaluation of post-harvest organic carbon amendments as a strategy to minimize nitrogen losses in cole crop production. Agronomy, 3 (1): 181-199.
Vyn, R. J., T. Virani, and B. Deen. (2012). Examining the economic feasibility of miscanthus in Ontario: An application to the greenhouse industry. Energy Policy 50: 669-676.
Vyn, R. J. (2012). The effectiveness of alternative marketing strategies for Ontario corn and soybean producers. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 60 (4): 427-449
Vyn, R. J. (2012). Examining for evidence of the leapfrog effect in the context of strict agricultural zoning. Land Economics 88 (3): 457-477.
Vyn, R. J., Z. Haq, J. Weerahewa, and K. D. Meilke. (2012). The influence of market returns and government payments on Canadian farmland values. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 37 (2): 1-14.
Reilly, K. A., J. D. Lauzon, R. J. Vyn, and L. L. Van Eerd. (2012). Nitrogen cycling, profit margins and sweet corn yield under fall cover crop systems. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 92 (2): 353-365.
Stewart C. L., R. E. Nurse, L. L. Van Eerd, R. J. Vyn, and P. H. Sikkema. (2011). Weed control, environmental impact and economics of weed management strategies in glyphosate-tolerant soybean. Weed Technology 25 (4): 535-541.
O'Reilly, K. A., D. E. Robinson, R. J. Vyn, and L. L. Van Eerd. (2011). Weed populations, sweet corn yield and economics following fall cover crops. Weed Technology 25 (3): 374-384.
Deaton, B. J., and R. J. Vyn. (2010). The effect of strict agricultural zoning on agricultural land values: The case of Ontario's Greenbelt. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 92 (4): 941-955.
Established in 1907, the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics has excelled in research, teaching and service in the economics of food systems. Our research excellence has been recognized with numerous quality of research discovery and outstanding thesis awards.
Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (FARE), University of Guelph
J.D. MacLachlan Building
50 Stone Road East
Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Telephone: 519-824-4120 extension 53625
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Ever since I could remember I always told my family "When I grow up, I'm going to be a beautician". I was the kid that did the whole family's hair and makeup for events. My talents carried on into high school, where I also did makeup and hair for my girlfriends come Homecoming and Prom seasons. While in high school I enrolled in a Cosmetology program and that is where I realized my love for all aspects of beauty.
In my early twenties I started developing acne which sparked a desire to learn more about my skin and led to my first job as an Esthetician. After a year I started freelancing for Mac Cosmetics in Austin which grew my love for all things glam and ultimately led to my pursuing a eyelash extension certification.
I fell in love with so many aspects of this new path – from building relationships with my clients to positive emotional impact I made, it was all so rewarding. After a year and a half I started my own eyelash extension business and I was confident that when you do something you love, success followed.
My love for all things glamour combined with my passion for health and fitness, led me to competing in the fitness industry. I never imagined that within 6 months of starting I would turn pro ( IFBB Bikini Pro), traveling all over and competing against some of the most beautiful women, inside and out, in the world. I competed professionally for a few years and I'm so grateful for the relationships that were built. I currently contribute to FitnessRx for Women magazine and am a BodyBuilding.com athlete.
I'm pretty certain I came out of the womb wearing lipgloss. As long as I can remember, I've loved it. So it was no surprise that I took on a part time job working for MAC Cosmetics while in College. What was suppose to be a part time flexible job ended up turning my passion into a career.
I left the company 6 years later, as a Regional Trainer for South Texas. A difficult decision to leave what I loved, but having just gotten married and wanting to get back to my hometown of Austin, TX, I chose to pursue a 9-5 with no travel and weekends off. Again, it was no surprise that after a year, I was literately chomping at the bit to get my hands back in some eye shadow.
I launched my local wedding makeup business around that time and for the next few years, I'd spend M-F in the office and the weekends working with brides.After having my first child, I knew something had to give. I left my full time job in TV Advertising to stay at home.
I love my new balance of mommy and makeup and finally feel its time to pursue this dream of mine… an educational blog on makeup that hopefully teaches you some new tricks, or gives you some inspiration the next time you sit at your vanity.What I've learned about myself over the last 12 years, since stepping behind the makeup counter, is that makeup is my passion. It's my creative outlet. Sephora is my happy place, and I can never have enough pink lipgloss. This is me. No matter how old I get, no matter how life changes for me (college, young professional, marriage, and now mama to 2) I will never shake this passion of mine. I like to think of myself as a "low maintenance glamour girl" (although my husband might disagree with the "low maintenance" part).
My hope is that I am able to share my passion and experience with you and inspire you to take bits and pieces to help you with your beauty routine regardless of your age, lifestyle or interests. We don't all have to be self proclaimed beauty addicts, but there is something beautiful in all of us. I believe in enhancing it!Be sure to check out and subscribe to my YouTube Channel, for makeup tutorials, product reviews and all things makeup! Hope you enjoy!


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Utilizing the NewsWhip Chrome Extension
What is NewsWhip?
How can I get the Chrome Extension?
What does the Chrome Extension do?
What are Facebook and Twitter Predicted Interactions?
What are Facebook Total Interactions?
What are Twitter Influencer Shares?
What happens when I click the "View Story on NewsWhip Spike" button?
What are Chrome Extension permissions and why do you need them?
I receive an error when I try to get the stats for a page. Why?
NewsWhip tracks the world's media - capturing new articles within minutes of publication. It then tracks the growth of social interactions with the story and weights the increments by the rate of change (acceleration / deceleration). Using predictive analytics, these measurements are extrapolated to estimate the number of interactions a story will have earned by the time it is double its current age.
This enables precision crisis management and an immediate understanding of the stories that will have the greatest impact on the public.
We measure the social interactions on each article at regular intervals to create a time-series of historic values. This allows us to get a speedometer rating of how quickly the article is accelerating or decelerating.
We apply a predictive analytics technique known as double-exponential smoothing to this time-series to generate a prediction for each article. The idea is to give more importance to recent values in the time-series. Thus, as observations get older (in time), their importance becomes exponentially smaller.
We predict the score each article will have when it is double its current age. This means that the longer we observe a story, the further into the future we can predict with accuracy. The maximum distance we'll predict into the future is 24 hours, as most articles taper off after that time and so we measure less frequently.
We form a new prediction every time we collect a new datapoint for a story. This ensures that we make use of the best available information at the time and that if an article's trajectory unexpectedly changes course, we are aware and can keep our clients informed.
In Spike, our predictions are shown as ranges of possible values together with a line showing a central estimate or most likely value for the future outcomes. There is an 80% probability that the article will not exceed this range.
Past forecast errors are used as the basis for determining the likely range of possible outcomes. The greater the historical errors, the greater the extent of uncertainty surrounding any point estimate.
Metrics- Highest Velocity, Predicted Interactions, Overperforming, Additional Web Metrics & Metrics on Other Networks
Analytics Overview & Searching in Analytics


Reflex is flexing its muscles stateside after winning deals worth a total of $1.5m (£1.02m).
Reflex Data is a leading provider of enterprise resource planning software to the textiles industry. It serves some of the UK's most prestigious home furnishings and wallpaper brands with its specialist Mertex software which helps manufacturers achieve greater operational efficiency and profitability.
And now the company, which employs around 40 people at its Priory Park headquarters, is making a splash across the pond with its niche product and services. New York-based fabric and wallpaper brands Carnegie, Swavelle Mill Creek, Zoffany and Pollack Associates have signed up to Mertex – with the prospect of further business to come.
Managing director Jerry Alcock said: "In the UK, Mertex is widely recognised as the industry standard and is used by most of the major home furnishings and wallpaper manufacturers. Its success is due to it being developed to meet the specific business needs that are unique to the industry.
Mr Alcock said that the company had made a significant investment, both financially and in resources, to achieve business growth overseas.
"Our initial success was due to a combination of factors such as engagement with UKTI's Passport to Export programme, identifying key prospects, investing in new marketing collatoral, and multiple visits to the USA.
Mr Alcock added that Reflex Data was currently engaging with its US customers and prospects from the UK and he recognised that as the client base grows it will be necessary to establish a base in the US with its own pool of resources to complement the UK team.
"We are investing to ensure we continue to provide the levels of support and customer service that has been pivotal to the company's success in the UK," he said.
"We're looking forward to a fruitful relationship with Carnegie, Swavelle Mill Creek and Pollack Associates and believe that the US market will provide many further opportunities for us to grow the business."
Reflex Data, which was established in 1987, also has over 80 customers in the UK, including Harlequin, Sanderson, Designers Guild and Zoffany.


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By David Ganezer
Observer Staff Writer
Los Angeles Superior Court Continues Most Hearings Until After November 16th, under Terms of New Order
Civil Jury Trials Continued until January 2021; Civil Non-Jury Trials May Not Commence Before Nov. 16 Under Terms of New Order
Mary Leipziger
A Los Angeles Superior Courthouse employee puts a "Closed due to Pandemic" sign outside the Santa Monica Courthouse on March 19, 2020.
In case you were wondering whether or not you have to show up for jury duty during the pandemic, the answer right now is no.
"The Los Angles County Department of Public Health has expressed concerns to the Court about commencing jury trials and bringing jurors into County courthouses given the current COVID-19 numbers and trends," Presiding Judge Brazile said.
The LA Superior Court has extended the deadlines for Civil and Criminal trials. Non Jury civil trials are on hold until after Nov. 16, 2020. If one party wants a Jury trial, they'll be waiting for that until at least January.
All non-jury trials, including General Civil, Criminal, Mental Health, and Probate scheduled from August 10, 2020 to September 8, 2020, are continued until further notice. Civil non-jury trials shall not be set to commence before November 16, 2020, except Small Claims and Traffic trials, which resumed 8/10/2020.
The full press release is below
PRESIDING JUDGE KEVIN C. BRAZILE ISSUES NEW GENERAL ORDER EXTENDING TRIALS AS COVID-19 INCREASES IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Some Criminal Trials May Start in September
Some Unlawful Detainer Non-Jury Trials & Non-Jury Trials in Preference Cases May Begin on or After Oct. 5 in Compliance with Social Distancing Protocols
Today, Presiding Judge Kevin C. Brazile executed a General Order to extend enumerated legal proceedings in Civil, Family, Probate, Juvenile and Criminal Divisions of the Court based on Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye's approval of the Court's request for emergency powers under Government Code section 68115. Today's Order seeks to balance the need to increase the Court's workload while keeping courthouses safe by reducing in-person appearances as COVID-19 rates of infections continue to increase in Los Angeles County.
While the Court has expedited an ambitious roll-out this summer of remote courtroom appearance solutions, Judge Brazile noted that "courthouses are not designed to facilitate social distancing given their fixed configuration." While the Court has made technology available to judicial officers to hold remote hearings, the Court – for legal and ethical reasons – cannot mandate remote appearances in every case.
"The Court cannot mandate remote appearances in criminal proceedings because emergency California Rules of Court Rules 3 and 5 for the most part authorize remote proceedings only where the defendant consents," Presiding Judge Brazile explained. Further, Presiding Judge Brazile noted, "The Court cannot mandate remote appearances in Civil trials due to logistical and evidentiary issues."
Since Dependency courts reopened on June 22, 2020, the vast majority of proceedings have been held remotely. However, social distancing mandates have strictly limited the number of cases each Dependency courtroom may hear daily. As a result, today's Order allows judicial officers to continue Dependency cases consistent with the Dependency Prioritization Plan, which "prioritizes Dependency cases for judicial officers to hear as quickly as circumstances allow in light of COVID-19," Presiding Judge Brazile said.
All non-jury trials, except Small Claims and Traffic trials, unless statutorily required otherwise, including in General Civil, Criminal, Mental Health, and Probate scheduled from August 10, 2020 to September 8, 2020, inclusive, are continued until further notice. Civil non-jury trials shall not be set to commence before November 16, 2020, except Small Claims and Traffic trials, which resumed today.
Family Law evidentiary proceedings, whether Family Code section 217 hearings or trials, other than Restraining Order hearings, that may be completed within two court days may be held. Family Law evidentiary proceedings expected to exceed two court days, shall not commence before November 20, 2020, except as authorized by the Supervising Judge of Family Law.
Under the Order, and to safeguard the well-being of court users and enforce social distancing:
• Prescheduled appointments are required for in-person services from the Clerk's Office, court support services, and/or the Self-Help Centers. Appointments may be made the same day for persons seeking Restraining Orders who have completed paperwork and arrive at the courthouse no later than 3 p.m. For telephone or video assistance, or to schedule an appointment, the telephone number for each courthouse is listed at the courthouse entrance and posted on the Court's website (www.lacourt.org).
• Access to proceedings shall be limited to the judicial officer presiding, Court personnel, parties, counsel, witnesses and those members of the public (including news reporters/media representatives) who can be accommodated in the designated courtroom while enforcing mandatory social distancing of at least six (6) feet. The determination of courtroom capacity shall be made by the Judge or Commissioner presiding in the courtroom.
• Parties and counsel are strongly urged to avoid in-person appearances and make use of technology to appear remotely whenever possible.
• Judicial officers are urged to avoid in-person hearings to the greatest extent possible and to use technology to conduct hearings and other court proceedings remotely for the duration of the state emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, when the interests of justice require, judicial officers retain the discretion to require in-person appearances.
• In accordance with the July 6 General Order, all persons are required to wear face coverings over their nose and mouth while in a courthouse. Persons whose disabilities preclude them from wearing face coverings compliant with the California Department of Public Health Guidance Concerning the Use of Face Coverings issued on June 18, 2020, are urged to seek an accommodation under
A view from the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse
GENERAL ORDER 4-4-4-4
Rule 1.100 of the California Rules of Court in advance of their appearance.
• To enforce social distancing, each courtroom shall schedule only the number of
matters during each session that can be conducted while enforcing mandatory social distancing requirements. Judicial officers will stagger their calendars to limit the number of persons who come to the courthouse at the same time.
The Court's Here For You | Safe For You initiative is designed to provide a safe courthouse environment while offering services that allow court business to be conducted remotely. Information on Here For You | Safe For You can be found here and on the Court's Twitter page (@LASuperiorCourt).


Winning. It's a place everyone wants to be, but few can actually claim. From sports to politics to school: high performing individuals make things happen. It's no different in business. You may already be an Executive of a high-performing company. Or you may be a competitor of one, always striving to hit that mark. So, what makes an organization a winner in terms of performance? From engagement of employees to leadership through all levels, there are certain qualities that define a high performance organization (HPO) from top to bottom. Let's take a further look.
By following these factors, organizations can vastly improve anything from revenue growth and profitability to Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Shareholder Return.
Challenging the traditional belief that leadership happens only at the very top of the organization, leading to a redefined leadership structure that works at every single level of the company.
Reforming organizational systems, processes, and structures that have been weighed down by ingrained beliefs about how people work best.
Establishing a "performance of the whole" mindset.
Creating workable strategies for vision and values that incorporate both operational and cultural issues.
Using a diagnostic change model to improve current and established methods.
Harvard Business Review says the defining elements of a winning culture are built on a values-focused approach, a "working-together" spirit, employee empowerment, and a belief that "anything is possible." This is great in a perfect world, but many business leaders feel there is a disconnect between believing and doing. An HBR survey of 400 senior executives found that fewer than one in four felt that culture was effective in supporting business performance. Most of them expressed concern that their organization's culture was far removed from what it took to win.
In the end, not all companies will display all attributes. But high performance ones will consistently hit three to four on that list every single time. Do YOU?


There is nothing worse than a sore neck when you have 40 winks on a long trip. It can quite literally spoil your holiday.
Combining innovation and ergonomics to provide the right anatomical support for comfortable in-seat sleeping, quite simply this pillow is bliss!
The flat back design means you are naturally forced into a comfortable sleeping position without having to push your head forward, causing a cricked neck.
There is foam and micro beans to help reinforce the neck and to stop you hurting yourself. So, sit back, relax and snooze!


Recently Spiegel & Tao studied the linear stability of photoacoustic modes of a plane-parallel atmosphere supported by radiative forces at a moderate fraction of the Eddington luminosity. Their numerical boundary value work showed that the compressional modes are most unstable for horizontal wave numbers of order unity. To gain physical understanding, we generate asymptotic solutions to demonstrate the qualitative similarities between this small wave number photoacoustic instability and Rayleigh's thermoacoustic instability. We discuss the difference between this instability and the photon bubble process discovered recently by Arons and coworkers. Based on preliminary nonlinear simulations, we conclude by suggesting another route to the formation of coherent structures in radiation dominated atmospheres.


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För den bulgariske premiärministern, se Vasil Kolarov (politiker)

Vasil Kolarov (bulgariska: Васил Коларов) är en reservoar i Bulgarien.   Den ligger i regionen Pazardzjik, i den sydvästra delen av landet,  km sydost om huvudstaden Sofia. Vasil Kolarov ligger  meter över havet. Den högsta punkten i närheten är  meter över havet,  km söder om Vasil Kolarov.

I omgivningarna runt Vasil Kolarov växer i huvudsak barrskog. Runt Vasil Kolarov är det ganska glesbefolkat, med  invånare per kvadratkilometer.  Årsmedeltemperaturen i trakten är  °C. Den varmaste månaden är juli, då medeltemperaturen är  °C, och den kallaste är januari, med  °C. Genomsnittlig årsnederbörd är  millimeter. Den regnigaste månaden är januari, med i genomsnitt  mm nederbörd, och den torraste är augusti, med  mm nederbörd.

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For years now sales has been viewed as a "Dirty" word. Why? We all need products and services. We all want to know all about the products and services before we pay for them. When someone is selling us they are telling us why their product or service is better then others which gives us all the info about that product or service. So why do we all cringe when we see a salesman walking our way? Today I share two experiences where I was being sold. One shows why sales is a "Dirty" word and the other shows how sales should be handles. Listen in and evaluate your sales tactics and effectiveness. It's time to take a hard look at your sales process!


Selling Your House: Here?s Why You Need A Pro In Your Corner!
650 Homes for Sale or Rent in Spring/Klein/Tomball. Find Spring/klein/tomball Real Estate and Spring/klein/tomball Homes For Sale. Spring/klein/tomball is a real estate market area in Greater Houston Area. Detailed information includes Spring/klein/tomball Real Estate Profile, Spring/klein/tomball Trending Homes, Schools Nearby Spring/klein/tomball, Places Nearby Spring/klein/tomball and Events Nearby Spring/klein/tomball. Click here to find recently sold properties in Spring/klein/tomball, foreclosures in Spring/klein/tomball, recently listed homes in Spring/klein/tomball.
Currently there are 542 homes for sale in Spring/klein/tomball.
The average price of the homes for sale in Spring/klein/tomball is $364,293.
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Spring/Klein/Tomball is a real estate market area in Greater Houston Area. Currently there are 542 homes for sale. The average price of the homes for sale is $364,293. The average square feet of the homes is 3,013 sqft. There are currently 108 homes for lease in the Spring/Klein/Tomball neighborhood. The average rent is $1,738 at an average price of $1 per square foot.


STIHL is on the search for Great Britain's 'Local Community Heroes' to recognise and reward those people that have given back to their neighbourhood in the form of landscaping, gardening, clearing or cultivating.
STIHL will be giving away £2,500 worth of STIHL Cordless System product to a deserving winner who has been nominated by someone in their community. Six finalists will also win a STIHL FSA 90 cordless brushcutter with battery and charger, worth more than £550.
Robin Lennie, managing director at STIHL GB, says the competition looks to reward those unsung heroes who take an active role in regenerating and preserving their neighbourhoods.
He added: "We know there are thousands of people around the country spending endless hours of their own time planting, landscaping, recycling and cleaning – all in the name of their local community.
"As a leading garden power tool and equipment company we feel it is our duty to recognise those people who are helping to keep the environment clean, maintained and protected.
STIHL is encouraging the public to visit the STIHL website, www.stihl.co.uk/localheroes, from March 1st 2016 to nominate.
Entries close 31st May 2016 and submissions will be judged by the 'STIHL judging panel', including Jane Moore – Head Gardener at The Bath Priory and Brownsword Hotels and Chelsea Flower Show medal-winner.
The STIHL Cordless System is an extensive range of 20 battery-powered tools for both professional and every-day gardeners. The diverse range uses the same battery and charger system to power a number of different cordless products; hedge trimmers, grass trimmers, leaf blowers, chainsaws and lawn mowers. With one quick swap of the battery the user can cover a multitude of maintenance or gardening tasks.
Mr Lennie says the £2,500 worth of STIHL Cordless System product will be a real asset to the deserving winner.


After more than a week, I still can't write about La La Land. I've talked about the film on three podcasts, raved about it to anyone who'll listen (and some who won't), and have begun mentally scoring mundane activities to "Someone in the Crowd". Maybe my thoughts on Damien Chazelle's transcendent homage to musicals (and to the town that makes, breaks, and remakes dreams) won't coalesce into words because the film is too big for them. You don't think about La La Land. You experience it. You feel it. You accept the tragic, everlasting love of Gosling and Stone as gospel and sing their songs as hymns. The movie opens with a showstopper and ends with a fresh start. In between is the swinging, candy-coated, mirror universe of Chazelle's equally phenomenal Whiplash, which also confronts spiritual compromise in the arts. Where that movie glimpsed Hell, La La Land delivers cinematic paradise.
Listen to Kicking the Seat Podcast #178 to hear Ian sing La La Land's praises with Keeping it Reel's David Fowlie!


We have 3000 square feet of land in the Anandam Retirement Community.
The one bedroom cottage built on it is 1000 sq feet. The garden running around it is lush and green with trees , shrubs and flowers that cover the once visible white cottage with a sloping roof . It is not a manicured garden by any means, but it is cool, green and shady , The windows of the cottage have reflectant sunfilm that helps reduce the room temperature by at least 2-3 degrees .
We started planting 2 years ago when we moved into the cottage we call our Doll House. I asked Ramésh Harve a neighbour and a world renowned expert on Eco systems and Bio-Gardens, for some advice, because his late wife Sheila used to have the best garden in Anandam. She was in the garden all the time and did all the work alongside the Gardeners, in rain or shine. Ramésh told me to make it an organic garden like Sheila's garden by using only organic fertilizers and to install a drip irrigation.
We looked for a drip irrigation company on the internet and found the nearest one in Theni. An appointment was set up and a suited, booted, coated gentleman with a pair of branded Keds arrived in a SUV from Theni. He took pictures on his Smartphone and quoted Rs. 75, 000 as capital expenditure. He suggested constructing a water tank and rounded it all up with a recurring monthly expense of 1500 rupees, of which 1000 rupees was for his consultancy for when he traveled from Theni to Anandam.
The local chap arrived on a motorbike with his assistant riding pillion. He walked around the garden in his lungi and did not take any pictures on a smartphone he did not have. He quoted a figure far removed from the previous Theni figure which pleased us immensely. He was given an advance to buy the materials and he went singing all the way to the bank. Unfortunately Ramesh was away overseas on some global consultation when all this was happening and returned only the night before the work was starting.
Ramesh though extremely jet lagged , very kindly came to see the materials in his simple white shirt , white trousers , slippers and years of unparalled wisdom and experience. He took one look at the material and went ballistic and let off several expletives at the local chap in Tamil, in a thick kanaadiga accent.
He told us and the local chap who was going to install the drip irrigation system the next morning, in no uncertain terms, that the 170 A garden project was doomed to fail, even before it started, because the material was of inferior quality.
He said that only the Jain fittings would work. Everything else was a fore runner for disaster. He asked the chap why he had not bought "JAIN " fittings. The chap scratched his head and muttered that he had never heard of "JAIL" fittings. We suppressed the bubbling laughter that was threatening to explode, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry.
Ramesh told us to get rid of the man and his fittings immediately. No question about it. Get rid of them . We were gobsmacked. How could we do that ? The man had bought everything from an unauthorized roadside merchant with no receipt. Sam and I watched our money go down an imaginary drain, because there was no way that the material could be returned and we felt desperately sorry for the local chap, who by then was on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
Against our better judgement, we discounted Ramesh 's expert advice and we explained that we did not want the poor fellow to end up in an ICU and maybe it was best that we go with the local chap and his Pottikadai fittings at this stage. Ramesh looked at us as if we were cretins , shook his head in disbelief and walked away shaking his head.
As predicted by Ramesh, it was an utter and unmitigated failure. We have had it replaced 3 times subsequently and the money spent on each Rip-n- Repair-the-Drip is an obscene figure. When we get rich and famous , Sam and I will replace the whole thing with JAIN fittings when Ramesh Is around.
There are many morals to this anecdote.
If you have a resident in a particular field as a neighbour, ask him nicely for advice .
If he is like Ramesh, he will oblige Pro Bono.
When they give you advice, listen to the retired experts . They are supremely experienced and they know best.
Head must always rule over Heart . At least in Organic gardening.


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Newest KU walk-on Chris Teahan eager to suit up for Jayhawks
Kansas guard Conner Teahan and the Jayhawk bench go wild following a Jayhawk bucket during a run against Kansas State in the second half on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012 at Allen Fieldhouse.
There's something about football that lives in the blood of those Teahan brothers.
Like his brother Conner before him, Chris Teahan wrestled with the idea of whether to play football or basketball after a standout career in both sports at Rockhurst High.
Last month, the 6-foot-5, 180-pound shooting guard made official his decision, announcing that he would join the Kansas basketball team as a walk-on this summer, putting an end to months of debate and ushering in the beginning of his dream journey.
"Last summer I thought I was gonna play football (in college)," Chris recently told the Journal-World. "I just didn't know where. And then I got into the season and I just didn't love contact enough. Conner got to play quarterback. I was kind of out there at wide receiver getting roughed up a bit, so I think that's gonna be easier with basketball."
Don't confuse Chris' words about basketball being a less physically demanding sport for a belief that basketball will be less intense. He knows what he's getting into. And he has his older brother to thank for that.
Remember, Conner, who was a standout QB at Rockhurst during his prep days, so missed football that he actually tried out for a spot on the Kansas team during the spring of 2010 under then-coach Turner Gill.
The experience was short-lived. Conner was one of five or six quarterbacks vying for snaps that spring and never really came close to making the depth chart. But he gave it a shot. And that example helped inspire Chris to do the same with basketball.
"When I brought it up to him, I was like, 'Hey, I kind of want to do what you did,'" Chris recalled of the conversation with Conner about his desire to play basketball at KU. "And he was like, 'Go for it. It's the best experience you can possibly have, but it's gonna be hard.'"
How hard? Chris believes he has a better understanding than most in his position. Not because he talked about the ins-and-outs of the grind on a daily basis with Conner during his KU playing career from 2008-12. But because he has talked about it with him recently and those conversations about following in his brother's footsteps brought the two even closer together.
"Obviously, I watched him do it for five years so that kind of made me dream about going to play KU basketball more than I already had," said Chris, adding that playing basketball at KU was a goal of his long before Conner ever did it. "With him having gone through it, I kind of know what's coming and having him talk me through it and help me understand what I need to do, that's helped a lot."
Armed with a couple of NAIA offers and some interest from junior colleges around the state, Chris never really considered any of them. He always knew, deep down, that if he was going to play college basketball it was going to be in Lawrence at Allen Fieldhouse and he's now a couple of weeks away from making the dream a reality.
Chris will graduate from Rockhurst Sunday and plans to move into McCarthy Hall on June 4. He did not yet know the details of his living arrangements but it's clear that he's ready to get started.
"We went through workouts together this summer and he was just telling me different things that (Kansas) Coach (Bill) Self looks for," Chris said of his collaboration with Conner. "He pretty much just told me that you need to attack every day with the mentality that you're a killer and that you're not there just to be a walk-on, you're there to play. I understand that it's gonna be hard and I understand that Coach Self's gonna be hard on me, but I'm up for the challenge."
As for what his decision means for his family, Chris said adding to the Teahan legacy in Lawrence was one of the most exciting parts about his upcoming adventure.
"It means a lot," he said. "My parents are super excited, my whole family's super excited. The support they gave me throughout the entire thing was awesome. Having Conner up there to begin with was sweet and it'll be great to be able to add on to that. It's amazing. I couldn't wish for anything better."
Well, maybe one thing. After all, despite the gap in their ages, the two are still brothers and have a tendency to compete against one another whenever possible.
"Playing and contributing to a national championship team would obviously be my ultimate goal in this whole thing," said Chris, noting that Conner did not play in the 2008 title game and fell one win shy of winning it all in 2012. "Topping him in our sibling rivalry would be really cool."
Dirk Medema 4 years, 8 months ago
The rest of Jayhawk nation also thinks it would be great for you to have bragging rights on Connor.
It is also good that the walkons have the family connection restored.
Mallory Briggans 4 years, 8 months ago
Welcome Chris.
As we pursue a record breaking 14th straight Big 12 title i thought about if and when we lose the title what team in the Big 12 i would hate to lose the title to . i have my top 3 and bottom 3 teams on my list
The top 3 teams i would hate to lose the title to are 1 Texas Longhorns....i just hate Texas 2 Iowa State Cyclones 3 Oklahoma State
The Bottom 3 teams i wouldnt be bothered by winning the title to are 1 Kansas State Wildcats 2 Oklahoma Sooners 3 Texas Tech
Now im in know way wanting the streak to end but the reality is teams in the Big 12 are getting better....TCU is on the rise Texas is attracting better talent Oklahoma Oklahoma State are rebuilding but who knows how they will be this year .Iowa State beat us at The Phog so that is worth noting ...Baylor is Baylor we have their number ...We have to figure out how to win at West Virginia ......we will get every teams best shot in the big 12 and every team wants the bragging rights to say they ended the streak.........Dont be the team that loses the crown .
Personally I'd rather lose to anyone but Iowa State and Oklahoma. And this is especially true now that I live in Iowa.
Tony Bandle 4 years, 8 months ago
For all who criticize Bill Self's coaching ability, just review the 2011-2012 season and see how he won a Big 12 title, an Elite Eight, and made it to the Final Four and the Championship game, losing to a powerhouse Kentucky team at the very end with Conner Teahan as his SIX MAN!!
I liked Conner [ the KU version of Zac Efron] but, come on....it was an amazing run of coaching genius to take that short-handed team so far!!
That's great bro, but where has that "genius" been since then? What has he done for us in the postseason lately? Not a hell of a lot.
Benjamin Clay Jones 4 years, 8 months ago
It's generally forgotten that Larry Brown was on hand lending his coaching abilities at practice during that 2011-2012 season. Coincidence?
Kevin Whelan 4 years, 8 months ago
Great story Matt! Enjoyed reading it.
Welcome to Kansas, Chris. If you're as good a three-point marksman as your brother, you might just get promoted from walk-on to a scholarship!
What have you done for us lately, Bryce?
Worked to keep you from making Bill Self into some sort of do-no-wrong godlike figure.


Mal wieder ein richtig gutes Album. Allerdings anders als die Alben davor.
Some of the tracks are too long for their own good, and rather samey, but it's a pretty cool album all the same. Standout tracks are One Life Stand and Thieves In The Night.


I'm going to share now how to add font-awesome icons inside input. Before seeing the post, make sure that you properly integrated the font-awesome in your project.
After integrating font-awesome in your project now make the form as usual in your html file.
The font-awesome placeholder will work properly by this code. You can add custom style of the placeholder here.
Hello! I've been following your website for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Dallas Texas!


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Church Work Programs
Concordia University, St. Paul
Minnesota South District
Concordia University System
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
Watch the 2019 Hoffmann Lecture
Mark Schuler / For the Public, Scholarship /
Note: the title slide runs for about 20 seconds before the video begins.
Hoffmann Lecture, Tuesday Night
Mark Schuler / For the Public, On Campus, Scholarship /
We hope all of you will join us at 7:00pm in the Buetow for this year's Hoffmann Lecture featuring Dr. Rhoda Schuler and Dr. Kent Burreson. Reception to follow.
Save the Date — Hoffmann Lecture
Mark Schuler / For the Public, On Campus, Our Students, Scholarship /
Two members of the Dept. of Theology and Ministry have recently announced publications:
Prof. Heath Lewis wrote a chapter for Connected for Life: Essential Guide to Youth Ministry. The book will be released with Concordia Publishing House on June 19! You can learn a little more about this project here: https://books.cph.org/connected-for-life?sfns=mo.
Dr. Samuel Deressa has published a portion of his PhD dissertation in Missio Africanus: Journal of African Missiology. The article is titled, " Congregational Ministries and Leadership Formation in the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus." You can read the article here.
2019 Poehler Lecture
Spotlighting Dr. David Lumpp
Abraham's Calling: Toward a Theology of Trust for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations
Dr. Joshua Hollmann will deliver a public lecture titled, "Abraham's Calling: Toward a Theology of Trust for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations" on Wednesday, 28 November, at 2:05 in the Library and Technology Center Room 215 at Concordia University Saint Paul. Dr. Hollmann is Chair of the Theology Department and Associate Professor of Theology at Concordia College New York. His teaching and research interests are Christian-Muslim relations, comparative religion, philosophy and the western religions, philosophy of religion, and Christian thought and history. Dr. Hollmann has lectured and taught at universities and seminaries in India, Sudan, Canada, Turkey, Haiti and the Philippines.
Dr. Hollmann is a candidate for the position of Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Theology and Ministry at Concordia Saint Paul.
1581 Concordia
On Tuesday, prior to the Vern Gundermann Reformation Heritage Lecture, Dr. Suzanne Hequet announced that the Book of Concord in Concordia St. Paul's Special Collections is indeed an original Concordia. There were three families of original editions published in Dresden: 1579, 1580, and 1581. Concordia's is the latter 1581 version. It belonged to the descendants of Joannes Hunnenberger, one of the signers of the Book of Concord. It was brought by the Saxon Lutherans who immigrated to America and came into possession of the university perhaps at its founding 125 years ago.
As the volume records the 8100 signers, Dr. Hequet also announced a project involving student volunteers to document the signatures and make them available online in a searchable database.
Volume 2 has arrived
A second volume reporting on the work at Hippos-Sussita for 2000-2011 has arrived at Concordia. This volume supplements the overview of volume 1 with a series or technical reports on water systems, skeletal remains, pottery, glass, and stucco. Concordia University participated in this excavation from 2002-2016. Students in the travel seminar to Israel in January will visit the site.
Reformation Heritage Lecture — Mark your Calendar!
Honors Programs in Theology and Christian Ministry
Prayer Labyrinths
Dr. Rhoda Schuler receives 2020 Teacher-Scholars Grant
Koschmann named DTM Chairperson
Copyright © 2019 Department of Theology and Ministry, Concordia University, 1282 Concordia Ave., Saint Paul, MN 55104


Welcome to our Reverse Dumbbell Lunge Exercise Instruction Guide!
This Leg Exercise is one of our Lunges Variations and uses dumbbells held at your side and a reverse motion to work the major muscles of the legs. Also make sure to view the Reverse Barbell Lunge.
Lunge backwards two to three feet forward with your first leg and land on your forefoot then your heel. Your abs should be drawn in and your upper body should be straight and perpindicular to the floor.
Slowly lower your body by flexing the knee and hip of your back leg until the front leg is almost in contact with the floor.
Return to the standing position by pressing upwards forcibly with your backward leg and extending your hip and knee.
Now that you've seen the Reverse Dumbbell Lunge, which primarily targets your Quads, check out all of our different Quadriceps Exercises.


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Chartway Federal Credit Union, Virginia Beach, Va., raised over $400,000 through its charitable arm, the We Promise Foundation.
By Peter Westerman | December 08, 2009 at 07:00 PM | The original version of this story was published on Credit Union Times Magazine
Chartway Federal Credit Union, Virginia Beach, Va., raised over $400,000 through its charitable arm, the We Promise Foundation. The funds were raised with help from guests and supporters of the fourth annual Diamonds in the Sky Gala and the 11th annual charity golf classic held by the foundation. The gala included silent and live auctions featuring donated celebrity memorabilia, extravagant travel packages, original artwork and exclusive collectibles. Participants in the golf tournament included celebrities, sponsors, supporters and We Promise kids. The proceeds will support charities in Hampton Roads and across the country for children facing life-threatening illnesses by making their dreams come true.
Members Cooperative Credit Union, Cloquet, Minn., gave a $250 check to member Tom Gilbert as a part of their emergency fund account program. The recently launched program was designed to save the day when unexpected crises arise. The credit union's emergency fund account offers incentives to account holders who build their savings on a monthly basis through automatic transfers. Each transfer of $5 or more qualifies account holders for entry into monthly drawings of $250 and annual drawings of $1,000. Point Loma Credit Union, Temecula, Calif., helped raise money for Michelle's Place Women's Breast Cancer Resource Center, a Murietta-based organization for women battling the disease, with a unique entry for a "Golden Bra" competition. The entry, which was crafted by two credit union employees, was composed of purple coins, with small pink $100 bills cascading down the front and pink ribbons. The entries were displayed at the Wild Women of Wine Country Luncheon. Proceeds from entry fees went to Michelle's Place.
LenderClose Rebrands as Coviance
Natasha Chilingerian | January 12, 2023
The new name and brand reflects the real estate and home equity lending fintech's next phase of growth.
Ardent CU Announces College Athletics Partnership
Natasha Chilingerian | November 17, 2022
The Philadelphia-based CU to sponsor several Villanova University athletics department programs.
Credit Union Launches New Podcast Featuring Senior Senator
United States Senate FCU CEO Timothy Anderson interviews Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon.


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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Holds Talks with French President Emmanuel Macron
October 8, 2019 October 9, 2019 Editor Top Stories
Paris. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron in Paris on October 8.
The Defence Minister had arrived in Paris on October 7 for a two-day official visit to France. During the talks, the two leaders comprehensively discussed key aspects of bilateral defence partnership and resolved to continue strengthening the ties between the two countries.
"I thanked President Macron for his strong support to further intensifying our strategic partnership, especially in the defence sector, with India and for our 'Make in India' initiatives", Singh said after the meeting. He also thanked the French President for the strong support by France to India's strategic interests and principles, including in fighting terrorism.
Earlier, Singh on his arrival in Paris had tweeted that France is India's important strategic partner and its special relationship with India goes far beyond the realm of formal ties. He said that his visit to France is aimed at expanding the existing strategic partnership between both the countries.
The Defence Minister also expressed his deepest condolences, on behalf of the Indian Government and its people, upon the demise of former French President Jacques Chirac, saying Mr Chirac had played a decisive role in forging India-France Strategic Partnership.
Singh later participated in the Rafale fighter aircraft handing over ceremony at Merignac in Bordeaux along with French Minister of Armed Forces Ms Florence Parly. He was also scheduled to perform the 'Shastra Puja' on the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami before flying a sortie in the Rafale fighter aircraft.
Tagged aircraft Defence Minister Indian armed forces (IAF) Make in India (MiI) Rajnath Singh
Imran's Strategic Misadventure
India, France Will Continue to Grow and Contribute to Global Peace, Prosperity and Environmental Sustainability: DefMin


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The Latin Jazz Quintet (UAL 4071) (1961)
The presence here of Coltrane sideman/multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy was enough to secure £1 purchase today of this piece of early Sixties exotica. In fact, Dolphy blowing in a manner suggestive of the free jazz, raises this a cut above your average loungecore pandering (the silly "Cha Cha King" excepted). Highlight: a polyrhythmic romp on Dizzy's evergreen "Night In Tunisia".
on October 1, 2014 at 1:46 pm Comments (2)
Robert Wyatt – Nothing Can Stop Us (18-8614-1) (1988)
GUEST ACCIDENTALLY SAYS 'DEFENESTRATE' AT WYATT DINNER PARTY Awkward Silence, Sidelong Glances Follow Unfortunate Remark
(London, England) – "I'd only had a couple glasses of red wine," claims an embarrassed Aisa Richie. "But it was enough for a 'Freudian Slip' nightmare."
Richie then recounted how he said the word "defenestrate" at a party thrown by Robert and Alfie Wyatt. "After dinner, we were still all sitting round the table and I was doing an amusing party trick gag which involves manipulating a tea towel so it ends up looking like a trussed-up turkey"
"Anyway, at the piece's denouement, instead of saying 'Allow me to demonstrate', I said, 'Allow me to defenestrate'."
"There followed about three absolutely agonising seconds of silence while people surreptitiously looked over at Bob to see if he'd heard; he was classy enough to look impassive, so no-one was really sure."
"Well, I was wishing the floor would open up and swallow me, but quickly finished the trick, which received polite, muted laughter, at which point everyone swiftly moved on to other topics of conversation."
Richie's wife, Rachel, had been in the toilet when the unfortunate incident took place, but knew something was wrong by the pained expression on her husband's face. "Without explaining, he quietly told me, 'We need to leave as soon as possible'," she said. "I figured it was serious, so I didn't question it."
"About 25 minutes later, even though it was only about 9:30, Aisa said something like, 'Well, we've got a really early start tomorrow' and made the move," recalled Rachel. "[Aisa] then revealed the whole story on the walk home–I was so ashamed!"
In fact, neither Wyatt nor his wife had heard the offensive word and laughed when they were told what happened. "If I had a nickel for every time someone said 'defenestrate' in my presence due to parapraxis," the 'Canterbury Scene' drummer joked, "Well, let's just say I'd make money from that than my solo albums!"
Alfie Wyatt reported that she was going to call the Richies to set their minds at rest, saying, "I wondered why they left so early, I thought it was because [fellow guest] Paul [Weller] audibly farted when Aisa was performing his shaggy dog story."
Editor's note: I got this used copy of the US edition of Nothing Can Stop Us a while ago; in fact, since it includes "Shipbuilding", while the UK version doesn't, it's the more desirable issue. What a thoroughly great (properly) indie record of cover versions, though: Monk, Costello, Eubie Black, Ivor Cutler, Trad. Folk, the song choices reflect the eccentricity of the artist whose "technical inadequacies" (according to Wyatt's liner notes) are "entirely deliberate and reproduced as evidence of my almost painful sincerity." His recast of Chic's "At Last I Am Free" is one of the most beautiful, poignant things ever recorded.
on June 26, 2014 at 8:02 am Comments (2)
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 – Fool On the Hill (AMLS 922) (1968)
ANOTHER THRIFTY VINYL WORLD CUP SPECIAL Mendes is obviously a guy who knows how to play ball. Already a bona fide star in his home country, he allowed Herb Alpert to "discover" him and take credit (and profit) for this discovery. Further evidence of Mendes' ingratiating nature comes in his crowd pleasing program selection and easy-on-the-ear arrangements. He was rewarded here with a Top Three Lp.
And yet, despite evidence to the contrary, he's no musical lightweight; the chops and finesse he and his band bring to proceedings overrides accusations of that sort, not to mention the fact that two-thirds of this set (by the likes of Edú Lobo and Baden Powell) is sung/part-sung in Portuguese . And they still manage to capture the syncopated wistfulness of the best Brazilian pop. NB: The hill 'pon which the Fool sits, at least in terms of the gatefold cover, is nothing less than a tit.
on June 11, 2014 at 1:45 pm Leave a Comment
Laurindo Almeida & The Bossa Nova All Stars – Viva Bossa Nova! (T 1759) (1962)
A THRIFTY VINYL WORLD CUP SPECIAL Imagine a decent enough guy calling himself a doctor because he hangs out with a doctor friend. Maybe even the doctor friend has described to him a few operations. Would you want that first guy operating on your gall bladder? Of course not.
Now, imagine a group of decent enough musicians calling themselves "Bossa Nova All Stars" just because they've got a Brazilian guitarist in their band and this guitarist has taught them how to play "One Note Samba". In fact, that and "Desafinado" represent the only specific nods to leader Almeida's home country on Viva Bossa Nova!, the rest made up of Easy-Listening musical apostasy like "Moon River" and "Lazy River". The electronic organ makes things particularly tepid.
The enterprise reminds me of the episode of The Office in which David Brent is convinced that his old songs can easily be made au courant by "drop[ing] some drum 'n' bass shit on 'em".
I would say, "I should have guessed" today as I bought Viva!, but I did guess, I just hoped I was wrong.
on June 11, 2014 at 12:42 pm Leave a Comment
The Special AKA – Nelson Mandela (CHS TT12 26/TT 26) (1984)
MANDELA SHOCK DEATHBED CONFESSION: 'I NEVER LIKED "NELSON MANDELA"' Freedom Fighter Found Special AKA Song Forced, Trite
(Johannesburg, South Africa) – Calling them close for what his family assumed would final pronouncements of love, former South African president Nelson Mandela instead whispered a shock deathbed confession: "I don't like The Special AKA's 'Nelson Mandela' and I never have."
"Obviously, I approved of the sentiment," he sighed, managing the merest trace of a smile. "But I always found the lyrics trite and the 'party' air a bit forced."
"It's a problem with a lot of Jerry Dammers' music, but especially The Special AKA, that tendency towards polemicism," continued the anti-aparteid revolutionary. "Please don't let them over-play it on the radio when I'm gone."
With his dying breath he allowed that, "'Ghost Town' was awesome," before closing his eyes for the last time. Editor's Note: A couple more from a batch of records given to me a few years ago by a friend. I've played it a few times today to remember the great man.
on December 6, 2013 at 2:28 pm Comments (1)
The Very Best of Éthiopiques (mantcd245) (2007)
HIPSTER DECLARES "CDs ARE THE NEW VINYL"
(Columbus, Ohio) – Citing the lack of decent second-hand product and a higher retail profile, area coffee shop employee Claude Barnet has declared the "era of the vinyl revival" over.
"With of all these Johnny-Come-Lately overfishing," Barnet explained, "there's nothing worth having at any of my Thrift Stores or Flea Markets."
"I mean, I can only look at so many Kenny friggin' Rogers records," he added bitterly.
Barnet also blamed the internet for allowing people to research their Lp collections and sell them at inflated prices. "I had hoped that there would be a 'race to the bottom'," the bearded barista recalled. "You know, with a huge stock, prices would be forced down as everyone competed for sales." But it hasn't panned out that way and Barnet claims record sellers are charging "like ten bucks for a crappy, used No One's Gonna Change Our World budget line re-issue. It's a joke."
When you add to that new and re-issued vinyl's increasing market share, the hipster is being squeezed out. "And, of course, now big High Street retailers like HMV have gotten in on the act and started selling vinyl again," complained Barnet. "I mean, Christ, you can buy Kylie Lps and ABBA re-issues these days!"
The good news is that now everyone's getting rid of their compact discs. "I've bought loads lately," he enthused. "Including a sweet two-disc Éthiopiques comp and a deluxe Trouble Man soundtrack CD that I'd never have gotten on stupid old vinyl."
Barnet also praised CDs' digital clarity ("none of that awful, distracting crackle"), convenience, ability to hold a considerable number of songs, bonus tracks as well as their informative booklets and scholarship.
"Yep, CDs are definitely the way of the future," Barnet said thoughtfully, adding, "At least until the cassette thing takes off."
Afro Rock Festival (2870 311) (1973)
By 1973 we'd had folk-rock, space-rock, country-rock and art-rock. And that was just the Byrds. So why couldn't Afro Rock be the Next Big Thing? Well, if your idea of Afro Rock is a couple transplanted South Africans playing "Louie, Louie" in as un-funky a way possible with Prog Rockers Jade Warrior, then there are very good reasons why not. Fortunately, Simba only gets two tracks.
Osibisa is the main attraction here and they sound pretty good; but bear in mind, Afro Rock Festival was produced in the UK and designed to appeal to slightly outré domestics, not Africans. So, Assagai's psychedelic wig-out "Jabula" aside, one isn't going to confuse Contour's well-meaning, but tepid safari with a Soundway comp of rare Ghanaian 45s.
And Afro Rock never did become the Next Big Thing.
PS: Note how the sashaying neck beads precisely cover up the nips on both background dancers. Lol.
The only other record I've got on Contour (the UK budget label subsidiary of Polydor) is a collaboration between the Swingle Singers and the Modern Jazz Quartet–the nexus of which almost caused a disruption in the Thrifty Vinyl space-time continuum, such was epochal nature of the meeting. Unsurprisingly, the cover is poor compared to the original.
Afro Rock Festival came from the Etchinghill bootfair a couple Saddy's ago at the cost of 50p.
on May 3, 2013 at 8:20 am Leave a Comment
R.I.P. Ravi Shankar
From the 1967 Thrifty Vinyl archives
SHANKAR ENCOURAGES DRUG USE AT MONTEREY POP FESTIVAL Thoroughly Baked Sitarist Tells Throng to 'Get Stoned To The Bone' During Set
Knocking back a bottle of Jack Daniels, a clearly high Ravi Shankar told his audience at the Monterey Pop Music Festival: "Whatever you got to smoke, and I mean whatever, fuckin' spark up now! I want you to get stoned to the bone while I play." In response, clouds of acrid marijuana smoke could be clearly seen billowing over swathes of the 55,000 strong crowd.
Previously during Moby Grape's act, the 47-year old Indian classical musician was observed stumbling among the audience sharing bottles of wine, pulling on bongs and even huffing oven cleaner with one delighted hippie. Later, struggling to bear the weight of his instrument, he interrupted a meanering performance of "Dhun (Dadra and Fast Teental)" to lead those in attendance in a 5-minute chant of "Shit! God Damn! Git of yo' ass an' jam!" and honk a fattie with Tabla player Alla Rakha. "Dude, don't Bogart," he could be heard to say when Rakha took more than one toke.
"Seriously kids, you don't need drugs to enjoy this," he slurred mischievously towards the end of his set, "Just enhance it!"
"Hell yeah!" he added. "That's what I'm takin' about!"
on December 12, 2012 at 8:39 am Comments (1)
Os Bambas – O Melhor em Samba Vol. 7 (OKeh 112278) (1972)
ANONYMOUS SAMBA Lp BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM OF ALL TIME IN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE
(Alternate Universe) — It's official. With an estimated 50 million copies sold, the Brazil pressing of Os Bambas' O Melhor em Samba is the most popular record Lp of all time in one particular given alternate universe, one of an infinite number of possible four dimensional spheres of existence.
The 1972 album's popularity is easily explained when you know that lively, middle-of-the-road samba music is that particular parallel universe's most popular music genre and style. Not to say it's without objective charm, really, but other alternate universes, our's for example, might find Os Bambas' O Melhor em Samba generic with little of the verve and delight of the previous decade's alternate universe Bossa Nova; which, as it happens, is exactly the same as our universe's.
But no, not there, not in that solitary spacetime. There, the collection, otherwise known as The Best in Samba Volume 7 by the Unsteady, went gangbusters, remaining in its charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988, giving it a longer chart run longer than any other album in that universe's unique cosmology of manifold events making up everything both perceived and perceivable.
Much lore surrounds O Melhor em Samba in that lone space-time continuum's history. For example, there exists an amusing, but apocryphal, rumour about O Melhor em Samba soundtracking that universe's movie version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (which stars Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman). The story was started in the late 1980s when marijuana addicted alternate universe university students noticed that, if synchronised just so with the movie, George throws a fruit bowl at Martha just when the song "Alô , Alô Taí Carmen Miranda" begins.
on September 2, 2012 at 2:53 pm Comments (2)
Deodato 2 (CTI 6029) (1973)
Eumir Deodato gets his fair share of kudos ("All-time classic funk jazz masterpiece…no home should be without this album!" according to the fine people at Sounds of the Universe) and opprobrium (Rolling Stone called his work "striding, chichi elevator music"). Guess what? They're both right. Bearing no trace of his Brazilian roots, the Creed Taylor-produced Deodato 2's lengthy broiling rhythms are regularly broken up by horn blasts of light melody, all intricately played with the speed and indulgence of a prog rocker. "Super Strut" hits this mark most satisfyingly, while Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" is not the blaspheme it appears on paper. Guitarist John Tropea is given especially free reign.
As if the inclusion of "Nights In White Satin" wasn't enough of a signifier of jazz's pop audience courtship, the note offering a "same-size reproduction of the cover [of that hunky Deodato], without type, is available for $1.50" from Creed Taylor is. It's like a freakin' Bobby Goldsboro album!
I got this (and the ARS record) at two different Ohio Thrift Store shops at opposite ends of Columbus when I spent a long laugh-filled afternoon last week driving around with good friends Jovan and Phillip. We must have hit about 5 stores. While these two Lps represent the sum total of the haul that day, it was, of course, time very well spent.
on August 22, 2012 at 9:45 pm Comments (4)


In these dated vintage photographs you can see clear spacecraft zipping around the sky, reminds us of the days before you could whip out Photoshop and make weed symbols flying out of Miley Cyrus' crotch and eyeballs, or cleverly matching the perfect meme and Drake face. Back then you needed serious skills to doctor a photo. For years people debated some photos because they were so good it couldn't be proven one way or the other. The fascination with aliens, intelligent life elsewhere, and the thought that we are not alone in the universe has captured human interest and imaginations for thousands of year, and even today we are discovering things on our planet that ancient civilizations created with tools we can't even replicate today with technology. Maybe we'll get to see a massive mothership drop down from the sky in our lifetimes, but until then we can always dream.


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By afaqs! news bureau Published: 22 Dec 2020, 5:00 AM IST
Google's 'Year in Search' video looks back on questions asked in 2020
'Why' was the most searched for term this year, as per the leading search engine.
2020 has been an unforgettable year. Many encountered a global pandemic (Coronavirus) for the first time in their lives. The way that we live and work changed drastically, as most countries went under lockdown in a bid to stop the Coronavirus from spreading.
Google released the annual edition of its 'Year in Search' video (for 2020). It looked back on all the search terms and questions that people asked the search engine this year. It also created an interactive scrollable site with multiple choices for users to view trends that are calming, surprising, friendly, funny, etc.
The video reflects the different moods of people in the different phases of lockdown, quarantine and isolation. The data pulled up on the website is indicative of these feelings too.
In India, 'how to learn a new language' was searched at an all-time high. In 2020, worldwide and particularly in India, searches for support small business doubled, as compared to the previous year (2019). India stepped up to help those less fortunate this year, searching 'food bank' more in 2020, than at any other time in history.
World over, 'how to learn coding' was the top trending thing people searched to learn. 'Python' was the top searched programming language. 'How to be a teacher' was also searched more than ever before, in 2020.
The world also searched 'how to help' more than ever before. Among the top trending things were: 'how to help', 'how to help Australia fires', 'how to help Black Lives Matter (BLM)', 'how to help during Coronavirus', and 'how to help Beirut'.
For the first time, BLM was searched for, worldwide. Many brands also stepped up and showed their solidarity with the protestors who called for justice for US citizen George Floyd's murder at the hands of a policeman.
'How to be an ally' was searched more than 'how to be an influencer'. Searches for 'how to be an influencer' are consistently high every year. But this year was a little different – searches for 'how to be an ally' exceeded 'how to be an influencer' searches in June 2020.
Search chart depicting trends for the search term 'how to be an ally'
GoogleYear in search


Placing an agenda at the beginning of your PowerPoint presentation is an effective way to inform meeting attendees of the focus and topics you will be discussing. While the summary slide feature is no longer available in PowerPoint, you can use a workaround to set up an agenda, which displays your choice of slide titles from the presentation. The key to streamlining the process is to select the right view.
The agenda slide should be at the beginning of the PowerPoint presentation. You can display this slide while setting up for the meeting so that attendees can view it as they enter and settle in to the meeting room. Start PowerPoint and open the presentation to which you want to add an agenda. Select the "View" tab. Click "Slide Sorter" in the Presentation Views group. Click the "New Slide" button in the Slides group of the Home tab and choose "Title and Content." Drag the new, blank slide to the beginning of the presentation. Add a title to the slide, such as the name of the training program or meeting, along with the word "agenda."
Before you begin adding a summary slide titles to your agenda slide, you should format the text box so that the information automatically fits properly onto the slide. Click on the border of the text box to select it. Right-click the border and choose "Format Shape." Click "Text Box" in the left pane of the Format Shape dialog. Select "Shrink Text on Overflow" in the AutoFit section and "Wrap Text in Shape" in the Internal Margin section if these options are not already selected.
An easy way to add agenda topics to the agenda is to copy slide titles and paste them onto the agenda as bullet points. Select the "View" tab. Click "Normal" in the Presentation Views group. Click the "Outline" tab on the navigation pane. Press and hold the "Ctrl" key. Select the titles of the slides you want to add to the agenda. Release the "Ctrl" key, right-click anywhere on the selected titles and choose "Copy." Open the agenda slide, right-click the content section of the slide and choose "Paste." Choose "Use Destination Theme" to paste the titles onto the slide as bullet points.
Make the agenda slide even more functional by adding hyperlinks to the slide titles so that you can click on a topic and go directly to that slide. Select the first agenda topic and press "Ctrl-K" to open the Insert Hyperlink dialog. Choose "Place in This Document" in the Link To section. Click the corresponding slide title and click "OK." Repeat for the remaining agenda topics. Add a duplicate of the agenda slide to the end of the presentation for follow up questions and discussions. Click on the agenda slide. Click the "New Slide" button in the Slides group of the Home tab and choose "Duplicate Selected Slides." Drag the duplicate slide to the end of the slide show.