4 Unusual Songwriting Tips That Work!
You can always search and find various songwriting tips online. Through Google alone, you can already discover millions of related resources in just a matter of few seconds.
However, let me tell you that a majority of these tips are superficial. And sometimes, that causes them to be ineffective. After all, songwriting is an art that heavily relies on personal motivation and desires. Although it is true that there are technical aspects that you should follow in songwriting, the art still boils down to how creative you can get.
The tips that I have listed here are something that you wouldn't find elsewhere. They are unique because I am far familiar by the idea that songwriters and other artists operate differently. I am not assuming that I know you guys thoroughly. Instead, I am just stating that what I have here can help you eventually.
I know that this is a wild idea. However, this is something that you should try one of these days. Playing different radios at the same time might help you out in this endeavor.
Although this act sounds ridiculous, it is actually a helpful songwriting technique. Specifically, it is a raw form of aleatory music. The latter is a term used when several parts of the composition or song are being created through chance. In short, you are allowing a storm to put the pieces for you.
Of course, this is not the first time the technique has been used. The iconic Tom Waits is known to use this procedure whenever he is writing songs. When there are numerous radios that are playing, the guy listens so that he can spot some unique pieces and intersections.
Well, before you do this, make sure that there are no people around you. You can also use this technique on a soundproof room or an area where you can't disturb your family and neighbors.
This is one of the most interesting things that you can do as a songwriter. Being able to shut your mouth for a complete day or more can somehow stretch out the creative genius that is within you. Always take into account that talking, despite its commonness, is still a complex task. Your brain has to expend some of its energy and working power so that you can continue blabbering.
When you let yourself fall into silence, your brain will be automatically shifted to its full potential. You can expect that your brain can pull off some serious poetic ingenious when it is on its top shape.
Once you are silent, your brain will be able to relish those feelings and sensations that could inspire you. After all, these things serve as our main driving force to pursue the art of creating great musical pieces.
There's nothing wrong if you will zip your mouth once in a while. Try to be aloof in the meantime, and you'll see some drastic improvement on your outlook and overall thought process.
Some of us are always prone to being complacent and idle. There are various instances where a sudden spark of imagination and inspiration can be turned into a dull and weary state of mind. Many artists, including songwriters, are susceptible to this case. And interestingly, this situation happens when they are doing something important.
You can attribute various causes why this phenomenon takes place. However, I can put one culprit immediately, and that is the lack of time limit.
When there are no time limitations that are set in your activities, your drive and intention to finish it gradually diminishes. That's the kind of complacency that happens when you are letting yourself do what it wants to do on its own pace. Well, this is not really a bad thing. But if you are serious and committed enough in your songwriting endeavor, you have to break this calmness.
Putting yourself under pressure will squeeze the innermost contents of your mind. You can generate a lot of ideas whenever you are pushing your brains to its utter limits. Did you know that the lyrics of the song "Diamonds" by Rihanna was written under 14 minutes only? Can you imagine the kind of time constraint there? But still, the songwriter Sia was able to pull it off.
I know it very well how difficult it is to control and balance time. But you should practice it on a daily basis. It is a form of discipline that you should inculcate to yourself as a songwriter.
A lot of songwriters out there are struggling to write cohesive lyrics. In fact, even the most proficient lyric artisans can find themselves in this situation.
You see, the biggest cause for this is due to our persistence to write cohesive lyrics. We want to start from top to bottom strictly. And this kind of regimen is somehow placing us in a stiff situation. We are pressing our minds too hard to be as fluent as possible.
Fortunately, there's a way out of this. If you are writing a song, I do recommend that you start with simple words or phrases. Always start with the lines that you want to be written or sung. A song doesn't have to verbose for it to be great. For instance, the song "Love Me Do" of Beatles only contains 19 words, of which are all unique to one another.
Being simple is actually hard to master. It requires commitment and change of habits. You have to unlearn some of those complex jargons and start using fluid but simple terms. Trust me. Doing this thing is very challenging. I have known a lot of songwriters who struggled on this part. But in the long run, you'll be able to practice it eventually.
Always treat songwriting as a similar art to writing. For it to be great, it has to be understandable. You don't have to flaunt those flashy words, especially if they don't sound too well in the song. You can just use them on instances where it is necessary. But never do it just because you want to show off.
As a songwriter, these following tips can help you become more proficient and efficient in your field. They are not the techniques that you can typically find on some internet sites. Instead, they are pieces of advice that have been given by practical songwriters like you. Therefore, applying these said techniques might benefit you greatly.
Did you learn from this article? Do you know other songwriting tips that can further hone a songwriter? Share it with us in the comment section below!


Teacher Tom: "I'm Not Talking About Poppin' Tags"
Sometimes I sort of overwhelm some kids. Not me, per se, but rather the idea of me, Teacher Tom. Their parents say they love school, that they sing our songs in the car, and talk about me at home "all the time," but at school they seem to prefer me at a distance. Many years ago, Sammy was like that, a 2-year-old who would flee to another corner of the room any time she found herself too close for comfort. I've written before about my basic approach to these kids, but the bottom line is that there's no rush, it's a long school year, it's a long three or four years at Woodland Park, it's a long life: we'll get there when we get there. The last thing they need is Teacher Tom getting in their face.
I recently completely outraged my teenaged daughter by finally discovering local artist Macklemore's hit song entitled Thrift Shop, you know, the one with the line "I'm gonna pop some tags," about shopping in thrift stores and wearing "your granddad's clothes." It's not that I knew about the song that got under her skin, but rather that I found out about it "at least a year" after it was cool. "If people your age know about a song, you know it's over, Dad. It's not even one of his best songs. I'll bet even your preschoolers are singing it."
And sure enough, she was right. Only a few days later, at a parent meeting, we all learned about one of our two-year-old classmates who could sing the whole thing a cappella. When the kids won't talk to me, I make sure to listen to their parents, trying to find anything I can use to start making a connection, and I was hoping that Thrift Shop was exactly the hook for which I was looking.
This girl tends to hang out with her mom at school (we're a cooperative, so that's always an option), using her as a sort of base from which to make forays into the classroom. I see and hear her talking with her mom and other adults, and she even has a reputation for being chatty when I'm not in the area. For past week or so, as she hides from me behind her mom's legs, burying her face, I've been singing the Thrift Shop chorus, not at her or to her, but just the way I sing all sorts of songs at school. There have been a few moments of recognition where she would suddenly forget herself and lock eyes with me before remembering to go back to avoiding me. That's enough for now: it's a long life.
Yesterday, I assigned her mom the job of managing our Stomp Rockets activity at the bottom of the hill, while her daughter elected to stay at the top of the hill, maybe because it attracted such a throng and she was more uncomfortable with the crowd than being on her own at preschool. She was concentrating on climbing up our A-frame ladders and walking across the "monkey bar bridge." I casually positioned myself near her and started singing, "I'm gonna pop some tags. Got twenty dollars in my pocket . . ." She ignored me, picking her way across the climber, so I moved a little closer. I said, as if to no one in particular, "Tomorrow I think I'm gonna wear your granddad's clothes."
Without looking at me, and without stopping, she said, as if picking up right in the middle of a conversation, "I'm not talking about poppin' tags. I'm talking about going to the aquarium and we saw scuba divers feeding fish . . ." And she was off on a story with no punctuation.
As she spoke, she kept moving, climbing, repeating patterns, all the while keeping up her story that was not about poppin' tags. At first she stuck with climbing the ladder, crossing the bridge, climbing down the other side, repeating it over and over as I followed her from the ground, listening to this one-sided conversation, a stream-of-consciousness rant worthy of James Joyce. When another child joined her on the climber, without a hitch she looped our wooden pony into the cycle, climbing on its back, shaking her body as if galloping, then returning to the climber, still always telling me her story that was about everything, it seemed, except poppin' tags. When another child, while she was busy in another part of her circuit knocked over the pony, she smoothly switched to climbing on then off one of our wooden boxes, incorporating it into her movement pattern that seemed to be one with her story.
Constantly in motion, constantly climbing, constantly talking, she told me her story that was not about poppin' tags. It was as if she had been telling me this story for a long time, perhaps since the day she met me, and now I was finally able to hear it.


The men and women of Origlio Beverage care deeply about how our industry affects the community. You have our word that our promotional and marketing efforts shall not encourage or endorse the irresponsible sale, purchase or consumption of beer. Indeed all of our efforts are directed towards the legal, responsible and safe enjoyment of beer and malt-based beverages. Origlio and its suppliers are extensively involved in campaigns to promote the responsible consumption of alcohol. We are proud of the fact that Origlio employees have trained and certified hundreds of bar and restaurant professionals in TIPS intervention strategies, which advocates the responsible enjoyment of alcohol by adults.
The concentration of alcohol in your body – known as the 'blood alcohol content (BAC) – depends on several factors: your gender (male or female), how much you have drunk; how long you have been drinking; whether or not you have eaten; and your size and weight.
Because your body starts to breakdown alcohol almost as soon as you start to drink, it is difficult to tell exactly how much alcohol is in your bloodstream at any one moment in time, or what effect it may have.
All alcoholic beverages contain pure alcohol, which is what causes intoxication. Each of the following drinks contains about half an ounce of pure alcohol: 12 oz. beer, 5 oz. wine, 1 oz. 100 proof spirits. In addition, a healthy liver eliminates less than one ounce of pure alcohol per hour.
Many people have experienced being "drunk" on one or more occasions – most of them are not alcoholics: people who are physically addicted to alcohol. Even so, intoxication is never completely safe or risk free and should be avoided. Remember: while sensible alcohol consumption can be associated with better health, alcohol abuse can seriously damage your health.
What are 'sensible' alcohol consumption levels? The U.S. Government Dietary Guidelines provide that men who choose to drink should limit consumption to "moderate "drinking, which is defined by the U.S. Government as 2 drinks a day for men and 1 drink a day for women. Men or women who consistently drink more than these recommended levels increase the risks to their health.
Automobile Safety – Don't Drink and Drive!
Every 15 minutes, someone dies from an alcohol-related vehicle collision. This staggering statistic shows how important it is to take responsibility for your actions and never drink and drive. Impairment begins after the very first drink. Depending on your body weight, gender, amount of food you've eaten, and the number of alcoholic beverages you have consumed, alcohol can affect the body quicker. Only two to three beers within a one-hour period can make some people legally intoxicated and not fit to drive. The consequences of drinking and driving can be very severe. Not only may the driver be charged with a large fine, jail time, loss of a driver license, or annual fees – they could also injure themselves, someone else, or cause deaths. Learn more about drunk driving, DWIs, DUIs, prevention techniques, blood alcohol content, and what to do after you are caught drinking and driving.
The statistics related to drunk driving are important to learn to fully understand the consequences of your actions. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), an estimated 11,773 people died in 2008 due to alcohol-impaired traffic accidents. Every 3 in 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related accident at some point during their lives. According to the Centers for Disease Control, a drunk driver has driven an average of more than eighty times before their initial arrest. It can be easy to forget that these statistics represent real people and their real lives, but not drinking and driving can make a huge difference.
Both DWI and DUI refer to the illegal act of driving while impaired under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The term DWI stands for 'driving while intoxicated' while DUI stands for 'driving under the influence'. While these two terms may sound identical, the difference can be found depending on the state in which you live. In some states, laws regarding drunk driving are different for a DWI and DUI, as a DUI is generally a less severe charge. A DUI typically means that the person has a less degree of intoxication, determined by a person's blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of arrest.
There are many ways to prevent intoxicated people from driving in your community. The well recognized campaign, "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk," suggest a wide range of methods to keep friends from driving drunk. It's best to try a calm approach when talking to someone who is drunk and trying to drive. Make light of the situation, joke about it, and try to act like you are doing the person a favor. If it is a spouse, a friend, or family member, try to locate the person's key to force them to find another mode of transportation. Never get into a vehicle with someone who has been drinking and try to drive.
For purposes of law enforcement, blood alcohol content (BAC) refers to a measurement of impairment in a driver. Your BAC is the percentage of blood volume that is in alcohol, therefore, the more you drink, the higher your BAC. As your BAC rises, the effects of the alcohol can become dangerous. The rate of which a person's BAC rises can be determined by the number of alcoholic beverages consumed, how quickly the drinks are consumed, your gender and weight, and what foods are in the stomach. While a breathalyzer is used by most law enforcement officers to measure BAC, an absolute BAC can only be determined by a blood sample.
Law enforcement officers have the responsibility to stop you if they suspect that you are driving under the influence of alcohol. There are three general drunk-driving offences, including being in charge of a vehicle when over the legal alcohol limit, driving while over the legal alcohol limit and being stopped by the police and failing to give a breath test. After you are stopped by the police, they may ask you to take a breath test. If you refuse, you will be arrested and taken to the police station to take a urine or blood test. If your alcohol tests are positive, you will be expected to appear in court at the stated date and time. If you are found guilty in court, the penalties can include up to several thousand dollars in fines, a ban from driving for at least one year, between 3 and 11 points on your license, and a prison sentence up to six months.
Drunk driving organizations were created to help the victims of drunk driving and to educate the public about the effects it can have on the people involved and the community. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is one of the largest national organizations devoted to helping the victims of drunk driving. Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) is another major national office that help fight destructive decisions faced by many teenagers. SADD offers statistical information and educational programs and materials to aid in the prevention of drunk driving. Learn more about the top organizations that fight against drunk driving with the resources below.
Because we care about our community, Origlio Beverage offers an educational opportunity for our valued customers that details information necessary for the proper service of alcohol. For a nominal fee, (cost of course materials only), our TIPS certified trainers will travel to your establishment and conduct a class for your employees.
The TIPS program or "Training for Intervention ProcedureS," promotes the proper use of alcohol and heightens alcohol awareness. This program covers the issues that concern servers including age verification, liability and excessive consumption. Upon completion of the seminar, a certification test is administered and those who pass will be TIPS certified for three years. A properly trained staff may lessen the likelihood that you will be cited for LCB violations or be sued.
Please call 215.698.1158 ext.239 for TIPS seminar information.
As a responsible purveyor of alcohol, we have assembled for you a list of web sites that can help answer your questions about alcohol and its effects on individuals and families. For example, you may want some guidance on serving alcohol at home or discussing alcohol with children and teens. Perhaps you or someone you know has an alcohol or substance abuse problem. Below you will find helpful links that will facilitate your search.


text:
title: "Blog Theme Update"
date: 2012-01-08 00:00
---

So I've updated my blog theme. It's been an incremental change since I began fiddling with the CSS a month ago. The biggest change, however, is turning commenting off.<!--more-->For reference, a stock install of this theme looks like this:

 ![](/img/import/blog/2012/01/blog-theme-update/E6BD8164D3DD441ABD6012EB463037D0.png)

The only real functional change I've made is to remove commenting. Turning off comments became chic in the tech blogger world when [Matt Gemmell switched comments on his blog off late November](http://mattgemmell.com/2011/11/29/comments-off/). I did it because I'm tired of dealing with automatically approving comments and a growing amount of comment spam.

But it got me thinking.

I was discussing with my wife how, though Matt Gemmell only recently disabled comments, my friend and fellow tech blogger [Jason Brennan](http://nearthespeedoflight.com/) has never had comments enabled in the first place. I insinuated to her that Jason was just lazy, since he wrote his own blogging platform, and she replied with "well, yeah, you wouldn't either, would you?"

And she's right. If comments were disabled by default, I probably wouldn't have enabled them. If I was writing my own Rails blogger platform and I had to spend hours writing and maintaining code for comments, I _definitely_ wouldn't have done it.

She pointed out how this is the "default" mode for the web, and she's right again. The web is for serving _documents_, after all. It takes a fair bit of work to get comments working, compared to just serving documents. I feel like many blogs have comments enabled just because, like I did.

I'm hoping, like my new CSS, that this change will bring a new look to this blog.

<!-- more -->

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Stony Brook hospital gets $500G gift
By Patrick Whittle July 19, 2011 6:12 PM
The Stony Brook University Hospital Auxiliary has donated $250,000 to Stony Brook Long Island Children's Hospital — a gift that will be matched by an anonymous donor for a total of $500,000, hospital officials said.
The hospital announced the auxiliary's gift earlier this month. The auxiliary, which has supported the hospital for more than 25 years, made the gift "to benefit some of the youngest among us," said Caroline Gassner Levine, a past president of the auxiliary, in a statement.
The gift will "contribute greatly to the remarkable capabilities and expertise of Stony Brook Long Island Children's Hospital in caring for the many children who need a supportive and comforting environment," Levine's statement said.
The children's hospital was established in 2010 and is Suffolk County's only children's hospital. It is part of Stony Brook University Medical Center.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) is subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). DFO has a longstanding policy on the confidentiality of personal information and is committed to protecting the personal privacy of all those with whom it has dealings. DFO keeps all information respecting individuals dealing with DFO in strict confidence. No individual personal information is sold by DFO. DFO has procedures to control how it obtains, uses and gives out personal information. DFO will correct any errors that are brought to its attention.
Dairy Farmers of Ontario's procedures and systems are designed to protect such information from error, loss and unauthorized access. DFO keeps such information only as long as it is needed. DFO continually monitors its compliance with applicable privacy legislation. DFO respects people's privacy when it carries out its roles and responsibilities. These obligations apply to all Board members, staff, consultants and agents and contractors who provide services to or on behalf of DFO.
As a marketing board constituted under the Milk Act, DFO, through regulation, has information filing requirements. DFO collects, uses, discloses and retains this information in order to regulate the production and marketing of milk in accordance with its regulations, policies, orders, directions and decisions. DFO may collect such information directly from producers or from others involved in the production and marketing of milk.
In carrying out these regulatory functions, DFO, as a not-for-profit body representing the interests of producers of milk, is not in its own right engaged in commercial activity. Information arising from DFO's exercise of these regulatory authorities is not believed to be subject to the PIPEDA. In those limited circumstances where DFO is engaged in commercial activity, it is subject to the PIPEDA and all of that Act's provisions apply with respect to personal information collected, used, disclosed or retained as part of that commercial activity.
Dairy Farmers of Ontario obtains the parties' express or implied consent before obtaining or using personal information about that person or disclosing that information to anyone in the course of commercial activities. Regulatory requirements are excepted from the consent requirement. Participation in certain Board programs will constitute consent to the obtaining, use and disclosure of personal information. Details will be set out in program information packages. Persons not wishing to provide their consent may decline to participate or may notify DFO and their wishes will be respected. In some cases, participation may not be possible where the necessary personal information is not made available.
There are circumstances where use and disclosure of personal information may be justified or permitted under a legal duty or right and DFOmay use and disclose such information without the party's consent. In such cases where DFO is of the opinion that it is appropriate or necessary to use or disclose such information, the use and disclosure will be limited so that only that information which is required is used or disclosed.
As a general rule, all producer information is held in strict confidence and, except in very limited circumstances, is not revealed to anyone unless expressly or implicitly authorized by the producer. DFO guards its producer mailing list from unauthorized use and disclosure. Where disclosure is deemed by DFO to be of benefit to producers, it is tightly controlled with strict safeguards put on its use and disclosure by any third parties.
The Privacy Officer will receive and ensure appropriate follow-up on all inquiries. This includes such things as withdrawal of consent, request for disclosure of information on file, corrections to information and termination of consent previously given. All such requests must be in writing and may result in an administrative charge to cover DFO's costs in dealing with same.
A visitor to the DFO Web site is not required to reveal any individually identifiable information such as name, address or telephone number. Nor is such information collected passively by electronic means.
Information is collected when an individual voluntarily completes an online survey. This information is collected, used or disclosed in a manner consistent with this policy statement.
DFO's Web server does not collect visitor information in the form of the visitor's domain or internet protocol (IP) address but does collect information regarding which pages are accessed. This information is used internally, only in aggregate form, to help serve Web site users better. None of this information is retained after it has been used and is discarded.
Any inaccuracies that are brought to DFO's attention will be corrected.
Any complaints concerning the access to, accuracy, management or use of personal information should be addressed in writing to the Privacy Officer. All such inquiries will be responded to within 30 days of receipt at the DFO head office. Any unresolved matters may be referred by the Privacy Officer to the DFO Board. If a party is still not satisfied, contact should be made with the office of the Privacy Commissioner in Ottawa.


text:
Alhambra Theater
Photo dated 1980 (Courier & Press Collection)
Parrett St. at Adams Ave.; c. 1970s (Miscellaneous 2746)
Interior of theater; undated (Marchand Collection)
Detail of chair; undated (Marchand Collection)
Detail of ceiling; undated (Marchand Collection)
Photo taken soon after the theater's construction in 1913; located on Adams Ave. in Haynie's Corner, the Alhambra is one of the city's last surviving neighborhood theaters (Deeds 63)
American Theater
626 Main St.; photographed during the 1937 flood (Meyer-Schlamp 733)
Cadick Theater
Drawing of proposed theater to be built on the corner of Third and Sycamore Steets in the 1930s; the building was not completed, and the Greyhound Bus terminal was erected on the site (image from an undated clipping)
The theater under construction at Third and Sycamore streets during the 1920s; the building was never finished, and the Greyhound Bus terminal was built there in the late 1930s (Suhrheinrich 138)
Under construction in the 1920s (Courier & Press Collection)
Carlton Theater
216 Main St.; c. 1940 (Harms Collection)
Photo taken just before the theater was razed in 1959 (Miscellaneous Collection)
Entrance to theater; c. 1953 (Miscellaneous 3621)
717 N. Fulton; c. 1939, after remodeling (Miscellaneous Collection)
717 N. Fulton; early 1939, before remodeling (Miscellaneous Collection)


The deposit "Beden baths" (Bedenski bani) is located in the village of Beden, in the area "Bedenski bani", which is part of the Devin municipality. The mineral water is hot, with considerable flow capacity, lowly mineralized, hydrocarbonate-sulphate-sodium, silicic, slightly fluoric. It has a low acid reaction. The mineral water form the spring "Bedenski bani" has an increased content of carbon dioxide and is referred to as slightly carbonated, carbon acidic nitrogen water.The mineral water is good for external balneotherapy application. Its main treatment profile includes diseases of the locomotor system, such as chronic inflammatory and degenerative joint diseases, gynecological diseases, dermatological disorders – psoriasis, neurodermitis, dermatitis etc.


Only 15 minutes north of the city, at the end of a private road and sitting on a 5 acre lot boasting over 400 feet of clean level waterfront. This 4 + 1 Bed, 4 Bath home offers a home theater room, exercise room, triple car garage, central air, gas fireplace and more. This home was built for entertaining, open concept, multiple patio doors to the deck and waterfront. The home even offers a modest 3 hole golf practice course. The Home is 6 years old built with an efficient ICF foundation. Wired for surround sound and security cameras.


text:
Health Promotion Strategies
Consultants for Community Health
Services Offered By Health Promotion Strategies
Health Promotion Strategies Leadership
Health Promotion Strategies Service Area and Contact Information
Results of Nurses' Anonymous Survey
Health Promotion Strategies: A New York State Certified M/WBE Consulting Firm
Examples of Current and Recent Projects
Can Health Promotion Strategies Help My Organization?
Public Health Dental Health Project:
Oral Health Needs Assessment – for Sullivan County Public Health Services, Liberty, New York: This document assessed the oral health status of the Sullivan County population with a particular focus on pregnant women and children. The assessment examined statistics, included an examination through surveys, focus groups and interviews of attitudes and practices of the residents, documented existing resources, unmet needs, causes of the poor oral health in this population and potential solutions. Recommendations and best practices were a part of the product. An oral presentation of the report was made to the Sullivan County Oral Health Coalition.
Non-Profit Grant Wording Project:
Grant template for PRASAD Children's Dental Health Program, Hurleyville, NY: This organization runs on a shoestring budget. They frequently need to seek financial support for their charitable work. PRASAD needed some help to improve their wording for grant applications. The document included up to date research and information on return on investment for preventive dental care. It remains proprietary to PRASAD and was not published.
Quasi-Governmental Maternal and Child Health Needs Assessment Projects:
Maternal Child Health Needs Assessment of Orange and Sullivan Counties for Maternal Infant Services Network (MISN), Newburgh, NY: because this is also designed to be used for applications for grant funding, this document is not available for public release. It contained an analysis of the maternal and child population in these counties, including detailed health statistics of women and children and a description of factors that influence their health. Factors described included income, education, crime statistics, housing, availability of health services, Medicaid rates, disparities by race and ethnicity, and others.
Maternal Child Needs Assessment of Ulster County for Maternal Infant Services Network, Newburgh, NY: a similar product with a focus on Ulster County, NY.
Non-Profit Quality Improvement Project:
Quality Improvement project for the volunteer services department of a charity (name of charity kept confidential per request). Working with the director of volunteer services and her staff, a workflow analysis was completed and an improvement plan was designed. Results have included a decrease in the delay from volunteer recruitment until engagement, an increase in employee satisfaction including that of the director, and an improvement in the quality and amount of time for information reaching the desired end targets.
Human Rights Commission Facilitation Project:
Group facilitation of five sessions using the Dialogue2Change model (Everyday Democracy) for Sullivan County Human Rights Commission. This involved co-facilitating a group of 10 participants in a program named "From Poverty to Prosperity" in a very poor rural village.
Governmental Request for Proposal Project:
Assistance in drafting a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Health Impact Assessment in Sullivan County, NY, for a proposed gas compressor station.
Non-Profit Newsletter and E-mailing Project:
Subscriber Newsletters and Bulletins
New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYSACHO) "ImmuNYze" campaign


text:
FOCUS ON PHOTOGRAPHY YEAR-LONG CYCLE OPENS IN MARCH WITH THREE PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITIONS
FOCUS ON PHOTOGRAPHY YEAR-LONG CYCLE OPENS IN MARCH WITH THREE PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITIONS AT NM MUSEUM OF ART
Focus on Photography is a year-long series of exhibitions opening March 7, 2014 at the New Mexico Museum of Art. Three simultaneous exhibitions kick off the series: the solo show Beneath our Feet: Photographs by Joan Myers; the group show of landscape photographs titled Grounded; and the Photo Lab, an evolving interactive space exploring photographic processes and ideas.
Beneath our Feet: Photographs by Joan Myers is a survey of work by the Tesuque-based photographer who, for nearly forty years, has used her camera to explore the relationship between people and the land from New Mexico to Antarctica.
This exhibition of more than 35 photographs reaches back to her early work in California and New Mexico during the late 1970s when she created hand-colored platinum prints in defiance of the prevailing norm of silver printing. It includes prime examples from her series Along the Santa Fe Trail, when she followed that historic route from Missouri to Santa Fe in the mid-1980s looking for wagon tracks and chronicling such memorable sights as the historic graffiti carved into rock in INSCRIPTION ROCK, OKLAHOMA, 1982; the ruins of FORT UNION, NEW MEXICO, 1982; a, rural building and barbed wire scene in TECOLOTE, NEW MEXICO, 1982; and ending with a photograph of famed local artist Tommy Macaione at his easel on the old Santa Fe Trail entitled TOMMY MACAIONE, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, 1984. Among other images exploring the human imprint on the landscape is a photograph of submerged mailboxes in California's Salton Sea entitled SALTON SEA MAILBOX, 1987.
"Joan Myers is a decades-long New Mexico resident with an international reputation as an artist. This is a rare occasion for us in Santa Fe to see how her thinking about how we interact with the landscape developed over the years," says Katherine Ware, curator of photography at the museum.
Myers' more recent digital work in color, made from 2001 to 2013, commands center stage in the show, with numerous prints from her large-scale series Wondrous Cold and Fire and Ice. A notable image entitled HVERAROND, ICELAND (ITALIAN NUNS), 2007, depicts Italian nuns at a geothermal field in Iceland. A crowd of penguins in Antarctica is depicted in GOLD HARBOR, SOUTH GEORGIA, 2001. The implications of climate change are inferred in this work and throughout the exhibition. Her most recent series, the pop-influenced Cowboys and Indians, returns to the Southwest to focus on architectural elements and signage such as the wooden cutout of a buffalo in the landscape portrayed in CHIEF YELLOWHORSE TRADING POST, NEW MEXICO, 2013, and the Coca-Cola sign in GUADALUPE, NEW MEXICO, 2013.
Myers' work has been exhibited worldwide and is in the permanent collections of many prestigious institutions, including the Amon Carter Museum, the Bibliotheque nationale de France, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the New Mexico Museum of Art. On April 4 at 5.30 p.m. she will give a gallery talk about her career in photography and lead a tour of the exhibition.
Grounded, the adjacent group show of more than two dozen images, most from the museum's collection, continues the examination of landscape by literally exploring the ground beneath our feet. "In these thought-provoking and rather minimalist photographs, we see artists portraying the land at its most elemental way," says Ware. "Instead of being about a landscape view or vista, the pictures focus on the place where the artist is standing."
Works include Lee Friedlander's shadow self-portrait taken at CANYON DE CHELLY, 1983; Eliot Porter's muddy landscape near Farmington titled BLACK PLACE, NEW MEXICO, 1945; Mary Peck's stark view of SALT BEDS, NEAR LOVING, NEW MEXICO, 1983; and a grid of 16 recent photographs by Santa Fe-based artist Richard Baron. Drawn from his ongoing series Still Lives, New Mexico, these stark landscapes depict anonymous gravesites throughout the state. Baron will give a gallery talk about his work on July 11 at 5:30 p.m.
Grounded opens with a free public reception on March 7 from 5 to 7 p.m.
The third component of this series of exhibitions is Photo Lab, a changing educational space that will continue throughout the year of photography shows. Using work from the museum's collection, some of which are recent acquisitions, the Photo Lab offers an opportunity for viewers to explore photographic processes. The inaugural installation concentrates on color processes such as Polaroid, dye-transfer, and chromogenic prints, as well as platinum and palladium prints. Historic camera equipment, on loan from the Photo Archives at the New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors, acquaint visitors with the changing technology of the medium, ranging from a home-made pinhole camera to a Polaroid camera and various other accessories. Visitors are encouraged to linger in the Lab to enjoy books and articles and to share their ideas about photography on a comment board. A touch-screen monitor will offer instruction on how photographs are developed in a darkroom and other topics.
Focus on Photography is a year-long series running March 7, 2014 until March 15, 2015 in the upstairs galleries of the New Mexico Museum of Art. These three initial exhibitions will be on display March 7 to August 17. They will then be replaced by a second group of three shows running this fall, and then a final third group of three shows next winter. This initiative provides a chance to showcase photography in New Mexico and place it in a broader context. The state art museum collection includes more than 8000 photographs ranging in date from about 1836 to 2013.
HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES MAY BE DOWNLOADED FROM THE MEDIA CENTER HERE.
Museum exhibitions and programs supported by donors to the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and its Director's Leadership Fund, Exhibitions Development Fund, and Fund for Museum Education.
Steve Cantrell, PR Manager
steve.cantrell@state.nm.us
Katherine Ware, Curator of Photography
kate.ware@state.nm.us
Guadalupe, New Mexico (Coca-Cola Sign)
Kilauea, Hawaii (Halemaʻumaʻu Crater)
Salton Sea Small Building
Hverarond, Iceland (Italian Nuns)


Some googling revealed several web services that will crawl your website and report spelling errors but all of them charge money and I'd like a little more control anyways.
I considered breifly making such a thing Zope or Plone specific, but my real purpose would be as a validation tool for a site. I'd want to check "alt" attributes and various other data that might be missed by some zope.schema, zope.formlib, or Archetypes based solution. A Zope or Plone specific solution would, however, have the advantage of supporting truly interactive spell checking that would allow you to correct spelling as you went.
Leaving Zope or Plone specific support aside, all the support you'd need for spidering is already provided by wget and other tools, and aspell is all you could ask for from a spell checker. All you'd really need is something to parse the output of wget for all the UI and search engine accessible strings and pipe them through aspell reporting results. The part that seems a little daunting is specifying all the XML elements and attributes to check. Maybe there's a listing already somewhere? Something to do with accessibility standards maybe?
Well, yet another fun project to work on if I ever have any free time or if anyone wants to sponsor it.


text:
static CGFloat const kSliderHeight = 31.0f;
static NSInteger const kChunkTag = 42;
static CGFloat const kChunkWidth = 3.0;
static CGFloat const kChunkHeight = 2.0;

@interface WESlider ()

@property(nonatomic, strong, readwrite) NSArray *chunks;
@property(nonatomic, assign, readwrite) BOOL canStick;

@end

@implementation WESlider

- (instancetype)initWithWidth:(CGFloat)width {
    self = [super initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0.0f, 0.0f, width, kSliderHeight)];

    if (self) {
        _canStick = NO;
        _minimumOffsetToStick = 5.0f;

        [self addTarget:self action:@selector(sliderValueDidChange) forControlEvents:UIControlEventValueChanged];
        [self addTarget:self action:@selector(sliderPressed) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchDown];
        [self addTarget:self action:@selector(sliderReleased) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
        [self addTarget:self action:@selector(sliderReleased) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpOutside];
        [self addTarget:self action:@selector(sliderReleased) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchCancel];
    }

    return self;
}

- (instancetype)initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame {
    NSAssert(NO, @"You have to use the pre defined initializer.");

    return nil;
}

- (void)layoutSubviews {
    [super layoutSubviews];

    if (_chunks && ![self hasChunks]) {
        [self displayChunks];
    }
}

- (void)setFrame:(CGRect)frame {
    [self removeChunks];

    [super setFrame:CGRectMake(frame.origin.x, frame.origin.y, frame.size.width, kSliderHeight)];
}

- (void)removeChunks {
    for (UIView *view in self.subviews) {
        if (view.tag == kChunkTag) {
            [view removeFromSuperview];
        }
    }
}

- (void)setChunks:(NSArray *)chunks {
    _chunks = nil;

    [self removeChunks];

    CGFloat offset = 0.0f;

    for (WEChunk *chunk in chunks) {
        if (chunk.duration > 0) {
            offset += chunk.duration;
        } else {
            offset = chunk.offset;
        }

        chunk.offset = offset;
    }

    _chunks = chunks;
}

- (BOOL)hasChunks {
    BOOL hasChunks = NO;

    for (UIView *view in self.subviews) {
        if (view.tag == kChunkTag) {
            hasChunks = YES;
            break;
        }
    }

    return hasChunks;
}

- (UIView *)getReferenceView {
    UIView *referenceView = nil;

    for (UIView *view in self.subviews) {
        if ([view isKindOfClass:[UIImageView class]] && view.frame.size.height == view.frame.size.width) {
            referenceView = view;
            break;
        }
    }

    return referenceView;
}

- (void)displayChunks {
    UIView *referenceView = [self getReferenceView];
    CGFloat sliderWidth = CGRectGetWidth(self.frame) - CGRectGetWidth(referenceView.frame);

    for (WEChunk *chunk in _chunks) {

        if (chunk.offset >= self.maximumValue) {
            break;
        }

        CGFloat chunkX = floor(chunk.offset * sliderWidth / self.maximumValue) + CGRectGetWidth(referenceView.frame) / 2.0f - kChunkWidth / 2.0f;
        UIView *chunkView = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(chunkX, floor(CGRectGetHeight(self.frame) / 2.0f - kChunkHeight / 2 + 1.0), kChunkWidth, kChunkHeight)];

        chunkView.backgroundColor = chunk.chunkColor;
        chunkView.tag = kChunkTag;

        [self insertSubview:chunkView belowSubview:referenceView];
    }
}

- (WEChunk *)getClosestChunk {
    WEChunk *closestChunk = nil;
    CGFloat currentValueXPos = self.value * CGRectGetWidth(self.frame) / self.maximumValue;

    for (WEChunk *chunk in _chunks) {
        CGFloat chunkValueXPos = chunk.offset * CGRectGetWidth(self.frame) / self.maximumValue;

        if (ABS(chunkValueXPos - currentValueXPos) <= _minimumOffsetToStick) {
            closestChunk = chunk;

            break;
        }
    }

    return closestChunk;
}

- (void)sliderValueDidChange {
    if (!_canStick) {
        return;
    }

    WEChunk *closestChunk = [self getClosestChunk];

    if (closestChunk) {
        [self setValue:closestChunk.offset animated:YES];
    }
}

- (void)sliderPressed {
    _canStick = YES;
}

- (void)sliderReleased {
    _canStick = NO;
}

- (void)setMaximumValue:(float)maximumValue {
    [super setMaximumValue:maximumValue];

    [self setFrame:self.frame];
}

@end


Olchon offers a holistic approach to Personal Protection. Understanding the client's image, reputation, requirement and budget is considered before we offer a personal and/or technical security solution.
Communication with our client will ensure we understand your concerns and maximise your safety and protection, therefore minimising the risk. Conflict management and situation awareness are proven methods that mitigate conflict, ensuring good business practice and safety throughout.
Olchon has an extensive data base of Personal Protection Officers (PPO's). This data base reaches out to other secure networks including UK Special Forces, Tier 1 MoD, Police agencies including Metropolitan, City of London, PSNI (RUC) and Los Angeles (LAPD). We also have access to Swedish and S African specialist PPO's. All work carried out in the UK will be conducted by SIA Licensed personnel.
A short Bio of the PPO or Bio of each member of the Team.
A full length photograph or passport size photograph (taken within 3 months of the request).
Olchon's personal protection officers are employed under a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and work under the guidelines of the Data Protection Act (1998). This ensures Olchon's continued commitment to the client and employee's confidentiality, privacy and reputation.
Executive Protection (Security Concierge Services).
Olchon's Executive Protection Officers (EPO's) deliver a security related concierge service for business travellers and executives, secure in the knowledge that the Executive(s) can concentrate on their core business. The EPO's profile, personal skills and eloquence are projected into the Executive arena ensuring their corporate image is commensurate to the Executive under threat. Concierge services offered by the EPO are embraced in the overall protection including chauffeur, personal assistance and corporate facilitation services, depending on the Threat and Risk.
Flexibility is key. If the assessed Threat and Risk is increased, then a Close Protection Service will be offered and the remaining concierge services will be provided the other Olchon staff, allowing the Close Protection to concentrate on the safety of the client.
Close Protection is provided to the highest of standards using SOP's, values and lessons learnt in our previous careers. Attention to detail, preparation for the unexpected and the ability to adapt and improvise in response to the ever changing situation are key attributes that our Close Protection Officers (CPO's) deliver.
Olchon acknowledges that the personal protection of individuals is a male dominated industry. Niche female EPO's/CPO's compliment the male dominated team and in some cases provide the perfect profile, image and capability when protecting female Executives, families and children.
High profile, robust and reliable individuals, trained and trusted to protect the client in a hostile and high risk environment are offered when the threat or image dictates.


text:
TF Helps Five Families Start From Nothing
Tapulanga Foundation funds for typhoon Ondoy went to the relatives of Sandra Garay, our office assistant at Bonfire Production. They were a total of five families.
It's been almost a month since the typhoon. They're rebuilding their houses. But basically still had nothing. Amon was the representative who went with us when we bought their basic needs. Since he is a carpenter, he chose his tools, e.g. saws, a metric tape, hammers and other carpentry tools that he'll share with his brother who's also a carpenter. He looked pretty happy that he can do his job again using his own tools.
I saw Amon holding a list as well so I asked if I could see it. Using a piece of torn paper and pencil he wrote: kawali, gas stove, plato, baso-tasa, kutsara, kaldero, sandok, dura box, tuwalya, damit, kumot, termos, kutson, kasirola, mangkok (bowl). Then he asked if they can have electric fans for the children. Plenty of mosquitoes there, he said. Even if they don't have electricity yet, he's hoping that it'll get fixed soon. He chose plastic plates, cups and bowls.
Aside from his list, we added rice and toiletries.
Instead of buying mattresses which were expensive, Sandra suggested that they buy foam from a factory and make their own mattresses. They can sew the cover themselves. Instead of a plastic cabinet (dura box, according to his list), Tara suggested that they buy plywood and make their own cabinets. After all, he has tools now! He smiled when we said that.
When we got to Provident Village, people were still cleaning and washing not only their homes but also the streets. There was still mud everywhere. There were MMDA bulldozers and pink-clad MMDA guys. The mud covered entire houses. And there was a dog on top of a roof, probably still traumatized. When we got off the van, we noticed a stench, a weird smell that's like a mixture of dirty water and trash. It's been almost a month but the smell is still there. Sandra showed us where she used to live. In the middle stood a little wooden house that Amon has been building since he and his family came back. It's made of various types of wood and other stuff he could find. Inside the room is a wooden plank that serves as his family's bed. On top of it was a mineral water container. That was it. It was bare.
On the day typhoon Ondoy hit Metro Manila, these families thought it was just the usual flood. They're used to knee- or waist-level flood that subsides after a couple of hours. But this time, it's different. In a matter of hours, the water rose much higher than ever before. They didn't want to leave their homes. But it became clear to them that they had no choice. Only the men know how to swim. But on that day, you had no choice but to sink or swim—literally. They couldn't remember how they were able to go up the roof. But living in single-level, small, wooden houses, their roofs were too low for the flood. In panic, they held on to ropes and used styrofoam to stay afloat. Slowly—although they couldn't remember how they did it—they reached the roof of their rich neighbor. There were about fifty of them on that roof. Just a few meters behind them was the dike and in the middle of the night, they heard a loud rumbling. The dike couldn't hold the water. The water overflowed and destroyed the dike. They heard people calling for help. It was dark. They were wet and hungry. They didn't know what would happen to them. That was their situation for two days. They took anything edible from what floated on the water. They even got some chocolates which they said must have come from their rich neighbors. They saw everything float--furniture, appliances and cars. And they saw floating bodies. They stayed on that roof till the flood was low enough. Old women and men were saved by a chopper while the rest of them walked. There was no transportation. There were trash and debris all over. Sandra's relatives walked from Marikina to Project 4. Eleven of them stayed at Sandra's house for two weeks. When they came back to their houses, these were empty except for mud. Sandra's old house, however, was no longer there. It got completely destroyed by the flood. No wall, no gate, nothing. What was left was one toilet bowl and some of their plants. Amon found his bike and small refrigerator among the debris. None of his or his family's other belongings was found.
They're all very grateful to Tapulanga Foundation for the big help. They're starting their lives from nothing and it makes a difference to feel that there are people who reach out to them. - by Fiona Borres - Partner, Bonfire Productions, Inc.
Hero of the year! RP Pushcart Educator
One day only - Rafe for a Cause to benefit Typhoon...
A Negrense Pride: "Yanggaw"


text:
The investment from MediaTek, a Taiwanese chipmaker, will help Paytm in pre-bundling its mobile app in MediaTek chipset phones. Photo: Bloomberg
Paytm parent in talks to raise funds at $5 billion valuation
4 min read . Updated: 29 Aug 2016, 05:35 PM IST Shrutika Verma
Paytm's parent in discussions with MediaTek, Temasek, Goldman, others to raise $350 million
mint-india-wire PaytmfundraisingPaytm valuationMediaTekTemasekVijay Shekhar SharmaOne97 CommunicationsAmazon IndiaAlibaba Groupe-commerceonline retailstart-upsbusiness news
New Delhi: One97 Communications Ltd, which runs Paytm, the online payments service and shopping website, is in advanced talks to raise $300-350 million from investors including MediaTek Inc., Temasek Holdings Pte and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., according to three people close to the development.
Taiwan's Foxconn and Singapore's sovereign fund GIC Pte are also likely to participate in the latest round, besides existing investors Alibaba Group and SAIF Partners, the people said, requesting anonymity.
The deal, which is expected to close in 30-60 days, will value Paytm at about $5 billion, more than double its last reported valuation of $2 billion in May 2015, the people said. The final structure of the deal is being worked upon.
Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial are yet to decide on whether to put money directly into the parent company, One97, or buy stakes in subsidiaries Paytm Payment Bank and Paytm E-commerce. Alibaba is also in discussions with the parent on whether to pump in fresh capital or buy stakes from existing shareholders and founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
With the fresh funds, Paytm, which had cash of about $300 million in hand as of June, will be able to build a strong war chest at a time when rivals are struggling to raise capital or are accepting smaller investments.
On Friday, Mint reported that online marketplace Snapdeal had raised $21 million as part of a round that was announced in February.
If completed, the Paytm transaction will be the largest funding round of any start-up in India this year.
The investment from Taiwanese chip maker MediaTek will help Paytm bundle its mobile app in phones that are fitted with MediaTek chipsets, said one of the three people cited earlier.
A Paytm spokesperson declined to comment. Sharma could not be reached for a comment.
"Paytm is an important strategic partner of Alibaba Group and Ant Financials and we will continue to support and work closely with Paytm. It is our common goal to provide equal access to financial services in India, China and around the world," an Alibaba Group spokesperson said in an email response to Mint's queries.
"We continue to work closely with Paytm as we have seen tremendous result of our strategic partnership since Ant's investment in Paytm in February 2015," an Ant Financial spokeswoman said in an email.
MediaTek, Temasek and Goldman did not respond to Mint's email query. SAIF Partners declined to comment.
MediaTek has around 35% of India's market share for processors used to power mobile phones, ahead of rivals including Qualcomm Inc. and Spreadtrum Communications Inc., according to a report by Bloomberg. In May, MediaTek invested an undisclosed amount in Paytm's smaller rival MobiKwik, run by One MobiKwik Systems Pvt. Ltd.
"A lot of banking innovation will be driven by fintech companies especially in the micro payments or offline payments space, and a seamless experience can happen eventually with an integrated play between hardware companies and payment services providers," said Vineet Toshniwal, former managing director at Equirus Capital, who is currently in the process of setting up a start-up in the financial services sector.
Investor interest in Paytm, the top online payment services provider in India, is because an overwhelming majority of transactions in the country are settled through cash, offering plenty of opportunity for growth.
Paytm founder Sharma is also one of the 11 recipients of a payments bank licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August 2015 and is set to launch Paytm's payments bank business by Diwali.
Last year, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba invested in Paytm, expecting the company to become the biggest payment services provider on the back of a large marketplace and by creating an affordable payments infrastructure even in the offline space, a model Alibaba follows in China.
In 2015, Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financials invested less than $1 billion in Paytm.
Paytm started out as a mobile payments and mobile recharges business but the firm is today ranked among the top three consumer Internet start-ups in the country.
The company, at a group level, notched up close to ₹ 2,000 crore in gross merchandise value (GMV, or cost of goods and services sold) in July, placing it right next to larger Internet rivals Flipkart and Amazon India.
Paytm's GMV has quadrupled since March 2015, when it posted a monthly GMV of about ₹ 490 crore, according filings with the Registrar of Companies.
Flipkart (excluding online fashion store Myntra), reported gross sales of less than ₹ 2,000 crore in July, while Amazon India's gross sales crept up above ₹ 2,000 crore, Mint reported on 22 August.
Paytm has also aggressively built its e-commerce marketplace over the past two years by selling apparel, footwear, smartphones, bus tickets and movie tickets. The marketplace business contributed close to ₹ 250-300 crore of GMV in July, with orders crossing 2 million, while payments contributed close to ₹ 500-600 crore.
The company has set a target of reaching GMV of ₹ 3,000-3,500 crore by December, Sharma disclosed earlier this month. The company had posted a loss of ₹ 1,534 crore for fiscal 2016, according to documents with the Registrar of Companies.
By July 2016, around 135 million people had downloaded Paytm's digital wallet or app, which connects customers with a merchant base of over 115,000 vendors.


A question regarding tourist visas: If I go into Thailand by air and get a 30 day visa and then go out the next day to Cambodia, does the 30 day visa I got expire because I left Thailand? I am asking because I will return to Thailand from Cambodia by train a week later and would like to stay for 3 weeks will this be a problem? If the first visa of 30 days is still valid then no problem?
A 30-day stamp under visa exemption scheme shall expire once you exit the country. Should you re-enter by land, you will only get a 15-day stamp. Unless, if you will travel back by air, then you will be able to get another 30-day stamp in Thailand. However, since November 1, 2013, seven countries namely: USA, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Japan can re-enter Thailand by land or air and will automatically receive 30-day stamp.
My 3 month visa expires soon, must I now leave the country?
Can I immigrate to Thailand permanently?
The financial requirements for the marriage visa are?
Must I get a visa before or after I get married in Thailand?
Hi i'm from Philippine and now staying in North Malaysia, Perlis which are close to Padang Besar Boarder, i'm Married to local and also from Perlis and i got an independent malaysian visa for marrying a local, my question is, is there any possibilitie or way for me to enter Thailand (by land) for more than two times a year?
going to Thailand for 22 days from USA, Kindly advise if i need visa before i arrive. Will be in Hong Kong for 5 days prior to arrival into Thailand.
American passport holder does not need a visa to enter Thailand if you will only stay for 22days.
You will get 30days visa when you enter Thailand free of charge.
Hi…i have been living in Seychelles but have my Canadian passport…can i use the Canadian passport to enter Thailand or would i need to apply for visa?
Canadian passport holder does not need a visa to enter Thailand.
I am from Vanuatu and traveling to Bangkok via Sydney. Just wondering where can I access the application forms for tourist visa since my country (Vanuatu) is not eligible for the Visa on Arrival. Thanks.
Vanuatu passport holder must obtain a visa before entering Thailand. You can go to the nearest Thai embassy or consulate in your country or in Australia or New Zealand.
Vanuatu passport holder can not obtain a visa on arrival in Thailand.
Hi.. i have an indian passport and i am going to phuket via bangkok with a layover of 2 hours at bangkok airport. The PNR nos does not change.. can i complete my visa on arrival formalities once i reach Phuket?
Indian passport holder can enter Thailand under visa on arrival (Upon Arrival). This means that the visa will be processed at any International airports in Bangkok.


Great for dry and sensitive skin, pigmentation, dull and freckled skin or as a wrinkle care. No added parabens, mineral oil, alcohol, benzophenone, synthetic preservatives, steroids, artificial flavors, or artificial colors.
Glycerin 4% as an active ingredient and its long list of inactive ingredients (incl. Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water, Snail Secretion Filtrate, Butylene Glycol, Arbutin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Bee Venom etc.) makes this mask great for all skin types specially for acne prone skin and imbalanced skin between oiliness and moisturizing (both dry and dehydrated skin) also skin that needs skin soothing due to UV rays and stress.
Apply sheet mask over cleansed, toned face and relax for 10 to 20 minutes. Then remove the mask sheet and gently pat in the remaining essence for better absorption.


Murray Johnson, proprietor has an established reputation with over 15 years' experience in the industry.
With our extensive range of quality products, BASC offers competitive and affordable solutions and can assist with design and colour suggestions for all internal and external window furnishings.
Free measure and quotation provided in-house or on-site. Come and meet Murray and his professional team at the new and improved showroom.


text:
State of the European defense: EU ambitions overstep the capabilities of European armies
European agency sees the perspective in common projects, such as the development of tanks, patrol vessels, safety of pilotless planes, even in space. According to the most recent revision, European armies are extremely heterogeneous, diversely modernized and the willingness to change the status quo is also different.
Lawyer: Opposite of rule of law is powerlessness. Its erosion is always gradual
Slovakia's judicial reform will be closely monitored in Europe, but it will not be suspicious per se, says a constitutional lawyer LUCIA BERDISOVÁ.
It's difficult to distinguish Slovakia from the rest of V4 without a detailed position study
Slovakia shall never be the most vocal critic of Hungary or Poland, but it will support mechanisms to secure the integrity of rule of law in the EU. Nobody should be given exceptions, Foreign Ministy representative says.
Third countries, including USA and UK, may take part in European defense projects from 2026
Involvement of third parties in PESCO projects was a priority for the Slovak government. Although the requirements for non-European parties to join are difficult as they currently are, EU has framed further restrictions, which may disqualify China, Turkey and Israel.
Slovakia aims to deploy its soldiers to the Mediterranean
Five soldiers could join the European maritime operation IRINI, focused on illegal firearms trafficking, in a month. Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary have already sent their delegations. Slovak army gained experience from this region in 2017 and 2018.


Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) celebrated its Forty-third Commencement exercises on May 20, 2017. 1613 graduates received associate degrees and certificates from 102 programs. Addressing the graduates and guests were BHCC President Pam Eddinger, Student Government Association President and student speaker Boubacar Diallo; faculty speaker Professor Aurora Bautista; Trustees' Distinguished Service Award recipient Professor Elizabeth Seabury; and this year's Commencement Speaker and President's Distinguished Service Award recipient, Speaker Robert A. DeLeo.


text:
Q: win2008r2: Delete corrupted directory without reboot I have a recurring annoying issue on one of my Windows 2008 R2 Web edition servers. The drive in question happens to be a SSD, though I doubt that is relevant.
I have a script that I run when I want to redeploy website code. The first line of the script looks like this:
rmdir C:\websites\www.mywebsite-test.com /s /q
Sometimes when that line is run, it works fine, other times the directory somehow gets corrupted. When this happens, I, as administrator, get Access Denied no matter what I do to the directory- can't open it, delete it, move it (explorer or command line), take ownership, etc. I believe the reason is the directory actually doesn't exist anymore, but something about it is hanging around making it still show up in Explorer and the Command Line. If I reboot the server, when I log back in the corrupted directory is gone. Everything is fine after that: I rerun my script, the first line responds with the directory cannot be found warning, and then it continues and deploys as normal.
This has happened the last two times I ran this script. The same script previously ran without any problems. I have another script that deploys the production code which has the same first line except without the "-test". I've never had the problem with the prod script, though it gets run less often. Both destination directories are IIS 7.5 application directories.
I'd like to know is there anything I can do to the corrupted directory when it happens so that I don't have to reboot? What is Windows doing on reboot that is finally making the directory go away? I'd like to simulate that without the reboot. Rebooting isn't a huge deal, but taking the entire server down for 60 seconds because one of my test directories is messed up is pretty annoying.
Of course a related question is why is this happening in the first place?

A: The directory isn't "corrupted". You have an open handle to an item at or below that directory and until the handle is closed the delete can't complete.
You can use the SysInternals handle.exe utility to list open handles on the machine and locate the process with the open handle. If you can get that process to close the handle (or just terminate the process) you'll see the delete complete.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Skip to main content Skip to main site menu
Center for Cell Reprogramming
Search this site × Close the search box
Toggle sub-navigation
Close this sub-navigation
Programs in the Center
Publications: Previous Years
CCR Facebook
CRC Lab
Open sub-navigation Close sub-navigation
Breast Biology Program
Home ▸ Breast Biology Program
Michael D. Johnson, PhD
Associate Professor of Oncology
Dr. Johnson is responsible for Breast Biology Program within the CCR. Dr. Johnson was educated in the UK and received a PhD in Biochemistry from Newcastle University and is currently Associate Professor of Oncology at Georgetown University. For the past 25 years, he has worked in various areas of breast cancer research including studies of the mechanisms involved in resistance to endocrine therapy, the role of proteases in mammary gland biology, carcinogenesis and tumor progression, and the pharmacogenetics of cancer therapy. He is using CRC technology in these studies and is particularly interested in developing new model systems to examine the regulation of mammary epithelial differentiation leveraging the power of the technology.
PreClinical Science Building, Room GR10C
3900 Reservoir Road, N.W.


text:
Study: Declining Sense of Smell Linked To Early Death In Older Adults
EAST LANSING, Mich. (CBS Local) — Older people with a poor sense of smell could have nearly double the risk of dying in the coming decade compared with those with sharp noses, according to a new study by the National Institute on Aging.
"Poor sense of smell becomes more common as people age, and there's a link to a higher risk for death," said senior researcher Dr. Honglei Chen, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Michigan State University.
The study focused on nearly 2,300 men and women, aged 71 to 82 years old over a 13 year period. Participants were asked to identify 12 common odors and were then ranked based on how well they performed.
Regardless of the gender, it was determined that older adults with poor sense of smell were at a 46% higher risk for death within 10 years, and 30% at a higher risk for death within 13 years.
"We don't have a reason for more than 70% of the increased risk. We need to find out what happened to these individuals," Chen said.
Chen says poor sense of smell may be an early and sensitive sign for deteriorating health before it's even recognized.https://t.co/7uSCSf1cuX
— WWMT-TV (@wwmtnews) April 30, 2019
Chen said poor sense of smell may be an early and sensitive sign for deteriorating health before it's even recognized.
"It tells us that in older adults, impaired sense of smell has broader implications of health beyond what we have already known," Chen said. "Incorporating a sense of smell screening in routine doctor visits might be a good idea at some point."
Chen said the study is the first of it's kind to look at potential reasons why poor sense of smell is linked to higher risks of death. He said his team plans to do more research.
Meantime, Chen suggested adults talk their doctor if they think they're having trouble smelling.


text:
First Arab Woman as Part of the Astronaut Team
After the appointment of Noura Al Matrooshi in the United Arab Emirates, she will proceed to travel to the United States to be instructed at NASA.
The UAE was proud to announce on Saturday 10th of April, that Al Matrooshi would turn into the first Arab female astronaut, to be part of the selected team of four members to attend the NASA to be tutored at the NASA and to eventually make part of future missions to space. In his Twitter account, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and first minister of the Arab country presented Noura Al Matrooshi by first stating that she is the first Arab female astronaut, selected among 4000 candidates to train with NASA for future exploration missions.
Al Matrooshi will make part of a selected team of 4 astronauts from the UAE, which includes Hazza Al Mansouri, the first astronaut who traveled to space during September 2020 for a mission lasting 8 days at the Spatial International Station, as noted by the Emirate News Agency, WAM. It is worth mentioning that Al Matrooshi is a certified mechanical engineer from the United Arab Emirates University UAEU. She also has several years of experience in the field and she has complementary studies in engineering and mathematics.
Also read: THE WOMAN WHO MAKES UP THE MISSION TO RETURN TO THE MOON IN 2024
During the selection process, Noura Al Matrooshi had to overcome a long process in which 4305 candidates took part, from which 33% were women. The challenging process included tests for intelligence, personality, and technical capacity, medical exams, and meticulous tests to evaluate physical condition, teamwork, and communication skills. The designated 4 astronauts will be instructed at the Johnson Space Center of NASA since there is a strategic agreement between the USA and the UAE, that enables them to be formed in spatial flights for training to make part of low orbit missions.
It is also important to highlight that the United Arab Emirates has made a strong bid on the field of aerospace science and technology in the last years. In 2014 the country created its own spatial agency and last February it became the fifth country that successfully entered orbit around Mars and the first one for the Arab world. The Emirate Mars Mission was known as the Hope Probe, and its objective was to illustrate the first complete depiction of the atmosphere in Mars. The Emirati engineers which worked for the Hope Probe were on average 27 years old and 34% were women. However, as reported by CNN, 80 % of the science team was integrated by females. One of the objectives of the mission was to work on the construction of a knowledge-based economy for the UAE, leading to more investment in science, technology, and mathematics for the young population of the UAE.
A Special Event To Highlight 50 Latina Women in Cybersecurity
The edition of the Top Women in Cybersecurity Latin America 2021 is the great stage where 50 women dedicated to cybersecurity will be highlighted.
The women in online learning space
E-Learning has democratized education and provided tools for women for their personal growth
The World of Graphic Design Seen by Women
There are many women in the art world who have done amazing work as graphic designers. Will you join us to meet them?
The Figures in Latam and the Caribbean on Gender Equality Show Progress?
Workplace gender equality is important not just to achieve justice but because it has been associated with the overall economic performance of countries.
3 Ways To Reprogram Yourself To Think Positively
Positive thinking is the key to increasing your self-esteem, boosting your charisma, and having more confidence. Here are some tips to reprogram your mind to think more positively.
The Sensation of Helpfulness Allows the Increase of Violence
The feeling of loneliness, lack of credibility, and even the absence of punishment for the harasser, for whom the violence is generated, is a cause that prevents victims from reporting.
Turn Your Passion Into a Successful Career
Noeline Kirabo has dedicated her life to stimulate job creation by identifying and empowering entrepreneurial youth to turn their passions into profitable, scalable, and sustainable enterprises.


text:
/ Editorials
Home / Opinion / Editorials
US displays harmful belief in its exceptionalism again: China Daily editorial
File photo of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. [Photo/Agencies]
By once again waving the stick of unilateralism on the Iran issue, the United States risks disrupting international relations and international trade. The US decision has already raised concerns about global oil supplies and sent crude oil prices to their highest levels since October.
By announcing on Monday that the US will not reissue the sanctions waivers allowing major importers to continue buying Iran's oil when they expire in early May, the White House demonstrated that the world's sole superpower has no qualms about how low it stoops to get its way.
The move lacks any legal or moral basis, as the US has no right to set itself up as self-appointed judge and jury. Major importers of Iranian oil, China included, have the legitimate right to have normal business ties and conduct trade with Iran, including importing oil from it, should they so choose.
The Chinese government is committed to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises and willing to play an active and constructive role in promoting the stability of the international energy market.
The US intention is crystal clear: By targeting Iran's pillar industry, it aims to throttle the Islamic Republic's economy and force its government into submission.
The US withdrawal from the multilateral Iran nuclear deal last year has not only fueled skirmishes between Washington and its European allies but also prompted the latter to start a new finance mechanism in a bid to bypass US trade sanctions and keep the nuclear deal working.
Considering that the US is rallying more countries in the Middle East around its anti-Iran campaign, this will no doubt exacerbate confrontation and increase the possibility of further conflict in what is already a highly combustible region.
Washington should be warned that the price of undermining multilateral consensus on the Iranian issue could be very high as the international repercussions from its current standoff with Teheran will continue to tarnish the image of the US, which has already been badly damaged by its reneging on the international treaties it entered into.
It is questionable whether the sanctions will even help the US achieve its strategic goals. The Iran nuclear deal was secured by dialogue and diplomatic mediation. The rounds of international sanctions that had been imposed before then failed to stop Teheran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions.
The long-arm jurisdiction of the US does itself a disservice because in setting itself apart from the international community, it is in danger of being left behind by the contemporary trend for open, transparent, reasonable and legitimate cooperation among countries based on respect for differences.
Why is the 1992 Consensus the anchor of cross-Straits relations?
Olympic mascots and souvenirs bring joy to workers and fans
Volunteers rally to help girl from the grasslands
Ten photos from across China: Jan 14 – 20
Uncaged in Shanxi: Year of the Tiger
Will there be a major shakeup in EU-China relations?
Xi's speech at Davos lifts global hope
China leads global cooperation efforts
World should not foot the bill for US failure


text:
Michigan State-Michigan game postponed due to COVID issues
Michigan head coach Juwan Howard signals players against Minnesota during the second half at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021.
Saturday's men's basketball game between No. 10 Michigan State and Michigan was postponed because of COVID-19 issues with the Wolverines.
Based on the results of medical testing Friday evening, Michigan (7-6, 1-2 Big Ten) fell below the Big Ten roster minimum of seven scholarship players, the university said in a news release.
Both schools said they will work with the Big Ten to reschedule the game.
The Spartans (13-2, 4-0), who arrived in Ann Arbor Friday night for the rivalry game, now will be idle until they host Minnesota on Wednesday. The Wolverines are scheduled to host No. 3 Purdue on Tuesday.


A Paver for Every Project!
Your Perfect Fire Pit Awaits!
Find Your Perfect Fire Pit Now!
Inspiration is just around the corner.
Your home reflects your unique taste and style. Now you can extend that style to your landscape. Valley Mason provides a large assortment of pavers in a wide variety of colors, textures and shapes to complement the architectural style of your home. For more information on a specific paver brand we offer, click on the company name above, or stop by our hardscape showroom and let us show you how the right paver choice can transform ordinary spaces in to extraordinary places.
Huge Savings at Valley Mason!
The first five customers to buy a Breeo Fire Pit will get it at cost!


text:
Q: How to randomly pick items with given probabilities for each How can I randomly pick an item from a set of items if I want each item to have a different probability of being picked?
Example:
Suppose I have a set of strings: Apple, Banana, Orange
I want "Apple" to be picked 56.45% of the time, "Banana" 31.22% of the time, and "Orange" 12.33% of the time.
How can I do this? I don't want to round the percentage.

A: Random number generators tend to return a value $x \in [0,1)$. (including 0, but excluding 1). In the case of pseudo random number generators, this is usually the decimal representation of a fraction with a very large denominator. What we need to do is therefore translate the given probabilities to a unit interval.
Here we have probabilities 0.5645, 0.3122, and 0.1233 that add up to unity.
So what we can do is use the following algorithm:
if $x \in [0,0.5645)$ we have an apple
if $x \in [0.5645,0.8767)$ we have a banana
if $x \in [0.8767,1)$ we have an orange
Note that 0.8767=0.5645+0.3122 and 1 = 0.5645+0.3122+0.1233 and the length of each interval corresponds to the related probability. What you do here is creating a cumulative table of the probabilities. This can of course easily be generalised to more "fruits".
This same approach can be used to draw random numbers from a continous non-homogenous distribution, but the cumulative table becomes an integration of the distribution, which is only a little bit more complicated.
Functions in programming languages, like what Henry mentioned, essentially do just this.


There are many shopping sites that offers huge discounts and coupons too. but before you buy one you need to go by the pros and cons. Read this article to know more on these and enjoy a secure buying!
I find online shopping very helpful, there are 10 reasons why I will ask you to opt for online shopping. Read the article to know the 10 WHY's.
We are the best research paper writing system which provides students with writings which are not only original but written as per the order requirements.
Custom research paper writing service is one of the first things students require to consider in their struggle to receive high grades in their academics.
Writing a research paper is a difficult assignment. In right of way, student should invest much effort and time in order to write unique custom research papers.
Are you stuck in writing your academic papers? Our writing system is the best place where you should buy custom research papers.


Clouds of Vagueness is a website devoted to improving the processes used in organisational risk management. It is run by me, Andy Garlick. I've been involved in risk for 30 years now, one way or another, and for most of that time I've worked as a consultant to companies on their risk issues. This period has coincided with dramatic growth in risk management so I've got some pretty strong views about how it's done.
I've taken my inspiration from Ken Arrow's famous quotation, "our knowledge of the way things work, in society or in nature, comes trailing clouds of vagueness." This for me is a marvellously evocative statement of the challenge facing organisations dealing with an uncertain future. This challenge is greatly understated in most risk management text books and standards, and this had led to what I think is a simplistic and ineffectual risk management industry. See the rest of the site for details and examples.
The challenge is important. Arrow goes on to say, "vast ills have followed a belief in certainty," and there is now plenty of literature expressing our inability to foresee what might happen and do something about it.
That means, of course, I don't have all the answers. My appreciation of the issues and solutions is distinctly foggy. In fact I'm thinking of adopting an alter ego called Cloudy for my Wanderings blog posts. Cloudy is confused, amused and desperate for a bit of sense. The clouds of vagueness swirl around him. I hope readers of the website, if any, will contribute to improving the situation.
wanderings (I wandered lonely as a … geddit?), a blog to let me?Cloudy record my random thoughts as they happen.
For the time being I have to ask for the reader's indulgence on the state of the what's been posted. I started compiling this site in November 2012 from material to hand, in many cases rough notes. There's a lot I want to cover so I expect it to take a couple of months to get the necessary editing done to present a reasonable accurate and coherent picture. After that, I'm fully responsible for the stuff I've written.
As for me, I now work as an independent risk consultant. My company is The Risk Agenda and you can find out more about that from its website. I've written a book on estimating risk and got halfway though another one on the risks of climate change before the day job got in the way and the publishers went elsewhere. So although this is primarily a site about the risk management process – how we do it – rather than the content – what the risks are and what we do about them – there will be stuff about climate change and other risks to provide examples and focus.


text:
News Roundup Prior to 2008
by Jayne Wilgus · November 12, 2007
The Fourth Annual Cooperative Leadership Symposium was held on Monday, November 12, 2007 at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The keynote speaker for the event was former Iowa governor Thomas Vilsack. The symposium was held in conjunction, with the MAC and WFC annual meetings. Reception and dinner followed the symposium.
Cornelius Blanding, a Morris Foundation scholarship recipient and marketing director at the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, was recently selected as a Fellow of the Emerging Leaders Program (2007/08 Class) of the Centers for Leadership and Public Values at Duke University and the University of Cape Town (South Africa). Congratulations Cornelius!
The Third Annual Cooperative Leadership Symposium was held on November 13, 2006 in conjunction with the MAC and WFC annual meetings. The keynote speaker for the event was Tom Lyon, recent inductee into the Cooperative Hall of Fame. For more information, please contact Jayne (Kincade) Wilgus at (888) 246-5601.
Curt Eischens, CHS Board of Directors and Minnesota Association of Cooperatives President, was appointed to the Ralph K. Morris Foundation Board at its August 29 Board of Directors meeting.
The Foundation recently held election of officers and Chris Morris, son of Ralph Morris, was elected as Chair, William Nelson was elected as Vice Chair, Dave Swanson, Treasurer and Jayne (Kincade) Wilgus was elected as Secretary.e
Elroy Webster
Foundation Chair Elroy Webster, a nationally recognized cooperative and agricultural leader, died July 18 in Mankato, Minnesota, at the age of 72 following a lengthy illness. Elroy was a founding Board member and Chair of the Ralph K. Morris Foundation and a passionate advocate of rural and cooperative leadership development. Elroy retired as a director and former chairman of CHS Inc. in 2003, after five decades of involvement in cooperatives on the local, regional, national and global levels. "Agriculture, cooperatives and rural America have lost a visionary, an unparalleled leader and a tireless advocate," said CHS Chairman Michael Toelle. "Elroy Webster clearly stands out as one of the most influential figures in these sectors over the last half century." Above all this, Elroy was a man of integrity and character, with a good heart and a sense of humor. We are grateful for our time with him and feel enriched for having known him.
One of the main objectives of the Foundation is to provide scholarships to individuals seeking cooperative leadership educational training and who wish to contribute to the future of agriculture, rural America and the cooperative way of doing business. From March 7, 2002 through July 15, 2006, the Foundation has awarded 90 scholarships to men and women across the country.
Founding Board member Tom Lyon will be inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame in Washington, DC on May 3, 2006. The Foundation Board members wish to congratulate Tom on this very prestigious honor and thank him for his many significant contributions to the cooperative enterprise and to the Ralph K. Morris Foundation.
On August 4, 2005, the Ralph K. Morris Foundation received an award for "Outstanding Contribution by an Organization to Cooperative Education" from the Association of Cooperative Educators, in Washington, D.C.c
Scholarship Winners from University of Kansas
The Ralph K. Morris Foundation recently granted scholarships to several graduate students from the University of Kansas to attend the Michael Porter and the Economics of Industry Clusters. This was a program that evaluated how co-ops have contributed to clusters in the United States.
Brent Bostrom, Corporate Counsel at GROWMARK, Inc., was recently appointed to the Ralph K. Morris Foundation Board of Directors.
Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale
The Foundation held its second annual Cooperative Leadership Symposium on November 15, 2005. The Symposium was held in connection with the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives and Minnesota Association of Cooperatives annual meetings. Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale was the keynote speaker and presented to over 350 people on the topic "The Coop Ideal." The symposium is open to all people interested in cooperative leadership.
Foundation Chair Elroy Webster was recently honored at the 2005 Agriculture Future of America (AFA) Leaders Conference. Mr. Webster received the Leader in Agriculture Award for his passion for agriculture and his long line of accomplishments throughout his 40-year career in cooperatives. He provided leadership for development of CHS, Inc. and was the founder of the CHS Foundation, an organization that contributes more than $1.4 million annually in cooperative education, rural youth and adult leadership initiatives and farm-safety programs.
Next story Curt Eischens Receives FFA Hall of Fame Award


Founded in 1941, under the name of Syarikat Union Motor Supply, UMSH has grown into a key player in the distribution of industrial spare parts and implementation of systems that help keep our customers at maximum operation efficiency.
UMSH is listed on the KLSE Main Board. With subsidiaries engaging in the distribution of mechanical power transmission, material handling systems and industrial spare parts, UMSH services a wide spectrum of industries which include (but not limited to) palm oil, sugar, quarry, cement, rubber, timber and the manufacturing sectors.
An extensive network of suppliers and maintenance service providers enables us to work closely with customers to keep their processes at peak performance. Our comprehensive inventory of industrial spare parts ensures that our customers get the components that they need at any time.
In addition, we also have a team of industrial engineering experts and technicians to implement systems that meet your requirements. Our systems are designed for versatility, reliability and cost effectiveness.
Contact us if you require a quality-driven enterprise who practice a customer-centric approach to materials handling and power transmission operations.


Ford's bold vision for a third-generation SVT F-150 Lightning sport truck emerged today from a powerful new-product cloudburst at the 2003 North American International Auto Show.
The SVT Lightning concept was a surprise during Ford's unveiling of the all-new 2004 F-150. Launching a Whole New Era of Built Ford Tough, the new F-150 is an all-new full-size pickup architecture designed for more power, refinement and unprecedented driving dynamics capability. It is the star of Ford Motor Company's biggest-ever wave of new-product introductions at the dawn of its Centennial year.
The SVT F-150 Lightning concept features a six-speed manual transmission, independent rear suspension and a 500-horsepower supercharged V-8. It is a powerful combination aimed at extending SVT Lightning's supremacy into the future.
Since it was introduced in 1993, the Ford SVT F-150 Lightning has been the undisputed sport truck king, making a name for itself as the 'World's Fastest Production Pickup.' Ten years later, competitors are finally bringing Lightning imitators to market. John Coletti, director, SVT Programs, welcomes the challenge.
Coletti's team fit the SVT Lightning concept with an all-aluminum, 5.4-liter DOHC supercharged and intercooled V-8 engine conservatively rated at 500 horsepower and 500 foot pounds of torque (SAE net). And while they were at it, they invented and patented a speed secret for those times when even that much power just isn't enough.
Ford's patented SuperCooler technology cleverly provides a special burst of power for the SVT Lightning concept. Traditional intercoolers dissipate heat from the supercharged air by circulating coolant through a front-mounted, air-cooled radiator. With the SuperCooler system, the vehicle's air conditioning system is used to chill a small storage tank of coolant to about 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
On demand, the SuperCooler system switches the intercooler flow from its normal circulation and dumps the chilled coolant into the engine's intercooler. In turn, the intercooler dissipates up to 20 percent more heat from the charge air - resulting in a denser air charge.
A green light on the instrument panel indicates the system's readiness. SuperCooler is activated automatically when the driver depresses the accelerator to a wide-open-throttle position.
This technology plays directly into the hands of the enthusiast, Coletti says. The SuperCooler provides the edge for the driver, and it is done simply by taking advantage of the hardware that already exists in the vehicle.
As a result of this cool technology, the SVT Lighting concept can give its driver as much as 50 transient horsepower for short bursts of 30-45 seconds and regenerate within 2 minutes under normal driving conditions. While its effect is similar to that of an aftermarket nitrous oxide system, the SuperCooler is completely self-contained, environmentally friendly and regenerative.
The SVT Lightning concept engine features a Lysholm, screw-type supercharger, paired with both an intercooler and the new SuperCooler system. The 32-valve, double-overhead-cam powerplant boasts Manley connecting rods, two fuel injectors per cylinder and high-performance heads similar to those on the limited-edition 2000 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R.
Exhaust gases escape through free-flowing headers and dual side pipes, producing a classic American V-8 rumble. Power is delivered to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. The same Tremec T-56 transmission is used in the 2003 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra. In keeping with the performance nature of the SVT Lightning, the short-throw, console-mounted shifter is more like that of a sports car than a traditional pickup's long-shaft, floor mounted shift lever.
The SVT F-150 Lightning concept features an independent rear suspension and SVT's famous attention to every detail of the suspension, steering and braking systems for driving dynamic capabilities that match the sport truck's awesome power.
The concept truck's handling potential is immediately apparent, evidenced by massive 22-inch cast aluminum wheels that convey power even standing still. The wheels are wrapped in hand-cut Goodyear P295/40R22 tires in front and P325/45R22 tires at the rear.
Visible through the six-spoke wheels are equally impressive Brembo brakes - six-piston calipers in front, four-piston at the rear - mated to platter-size, 380-millimeter, cross-drilled ventilated discs.
SVT engineers chose to fit an independent rear suspension (IRS) system to the Lightning concept in lieu of F-150's standard Hotchkiss type solid rear axle with leaf springs and outboard shock absorbers. The IRS unit was adapted from the Ford Expedition.
The front suspension is derived from the new F-150, with the upper control arms modified to accommodate the oversized wheel and tires. The new rack-and-pinion steering system of the F-150 contributes to the SVT Lightning concept truck's steering precision.
The new SVT Lightning concept isn't just built for speed off the line. It was designed to be quick out of the box, thanks to a new F-150 modular design architecture that's geared to flexibility. That made it possible to show off the new SVT Lightning concept as a possible derivative of the new F-150 immediately at the truck's public unveiling.
The SVT Lightning concept is based on the new Regular Cab F-150 Flareside model, finished in Liquid Silver Metallic and dripping with performance character. In keeping with SVT Lightning tradition, the concept only has two doors. The rear access doors on the new Regular Cab F-150 are replaced on the concept with longer front doors and fixed B-pillars. Other SVT design cues include electro-luminescent gauges, side exhausts, clear taillights and round foglights.
The Ford SVT Lightning concept marks the coming of a future third generation of the 'World's Fastest Production Pickup.' It arrives as the Ford Special Vehicle Team celebrates its 10th anniversary and Ford Motor Company is kicking off its Centennial year. Since its introduction as a 1993 model, the Ford SVT F-150 Lightning has dominated the sport truck market. By the end of 2003, about 36,000 SVT Lightning pickups will be on the road.
The SVT Lightning has been constantly improved since its introduction, as output has jumped from the original's 240 to today's 380 horsepower. Acceleration has improved accordingly, with official 0-60 mph times dropping from an impressive 7.6 seconds to a scorching 5.8 seconds.
The Ford SVT Lightning concept making its world debut at the 2003 North American International Auto Show hints that the next-generation SVT Lightning will raise the bar even farther, and continue to dominate in the sport truck arena.
© 2001-2015 FordLightning.net. All Rights Reserved.
Content, graphics and code may not be copied without prior written consent.
This website is not affiliated with the Ford Motor Company.


Billed as "America's Internet Address", .US domain names are now being marketed as a way to establish a uniquely American identity. Previously, these domain names were only available in a third-level domain name format (e.g., ). Now, for the first time, .US registrations are being made available at the second level, like the familiar .com, .net and .org names (e.g., ).
The sunrise registration period for .US domain names is scheduled to begin March 4. During this period, owners of trademark registrations and applications filed before July 27, 2001 on the Principal Register of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will be given priority in registering .US domain names. Live registration is scheduled to follow on April 24, 2002.
.US domain names are restricted to U.S. citizens, residents and businesses and foreign entities that have a bona fide presence in the U.S. There are no restrictions on use of .US domain names.
.US domain names will be administered by NeuStar, but you may apply to register a .US domain name through several select registrars. So far, at least 29 registrars have been chosen to process .US registrations.
The sunrise registration period will run from March 4 through April 9. To qualify for a sunrise registration, the applied for domain name must be identical to the word elements of the applicant's trademark or service mark as it appears in the corresponding application or registration. Special characters (e.g., *, &, @ or punctuation marks) must be left out or replaced by hyphens. For example, MP3.com can become MP3com or MP3-com. Barnes & Noble can be registered as Barnesnoble or Barnes-noble. In the case of conflicting sunrise applications, domain names will be awarded through a random selection process. Sunrise domain names will be registered for terms of at least 5 years.