text:
Team/Crew (17623)
G (Parachuting)
G-2 (Performance Records)
Largest Formation Records - VFS Head Down
164 skydivers
Chicago, IL (USA)
Joseph Abeln (USA), Karlee Ayers (USA), Noah Bahnson (United Arab Emirates), Wade Baird (USA), Thomas Baker (USA), Brian Ball (USA), Cortney Bedeker (USA), Anas Bekkali (United Arab Emirates), Vitor Benassi (Brazil), John Blackburn (USA), William Blackie (Australia), Chazi Blacksher (USA), Garet Bloodworth (USA), Michael Bohn (USA), Patrick Boulongne (France), Ellis Bourbonnais (United Arab Emirates), Henri Bourrellis (France), Steve Braff (Belgium), Amberly Brown (USA), Jessica Brownlow (USA), Emmet Buchanan (USA), Eric Busto (USA), Colby Butchereit (USA), Mike Carpenter (United Kingdom), Shawn Carter (Canada), Amy Chmelecki (USA), Taylor Cividino (Canada), Bradley Cole (USA), Catherine Comyns (Australia), Paul Cooper (United Kingdom), Mason Corby (Australia), Raphael Coudray (France), John Cragg (Germany), Gary Crisp (United Kingdom), Daniel Croft (USA), Gregory Crozier (France), Steve Curtis (USA), Sara Curtis (USA), Amy Dannacher (USA), William "Bill" Dawson (USA), Daniel Roman de la Blanca (United Arab Emirates), Lawrence De Laubadere (USA), Dmitri Didenko (Italy), Jacob Diliberto (United Kingdom), Maria Dmitrienko (Finland), Stephen Downey (USA), Leonardo Elia (Italy), Philipp Exner (Germany), Gerardo Fernandez Navarro (Mexico), Paul Ferriman (Spain), Dariusz Filipowski (Poland), James Flaherty (USA), Arnaud Fletcher (France), Magali Folkner (Belgium), Michael "Friday" Friedman (USA), Matthew Fry (USA), Wade "Extreme Wade" Gerencser (USA), Damien Germano (USA), Bryan Gile (USA), Nathan Goodhard (USA), Jennifer Gordon (USA), Daniel Guest (United Kingdom), Johnny Gunn (USA), Kevin Haddon (USA), Cameron Haley (USA), William Halsey (USA), Dustin "Dusty" Hanks (USA), David Hanley (USA), Katie Hansen (USA), Sharon Har-Noy (Israel), Jim Harris (USA), Sean Hennessy (USA), Scott Hiscoe (Australia), Kim Horst vd (Netherlands), Kirby Hughes (USA), Tim Hunckler (USA), Brad Hunt (USA), Zane Jaafar (USA), Kieren James (Australia), Kenneth Jaworski (United Arab Emirates), Gunnar Jeannette (USA), Jacob Jensen (USA), Aaron Johnson (USA), Thomas Johnston (USA), Karine Joly (France), Donagene Jones (USA), Thomas Juozaitis (Lithuania), Everett "Chip" Keating (USA), Domitille Kiger (France), Naomi Kotzee (South Africa), Louise Kristensen (Denmark), Alberto Lara Chavez (Mexico), Sam Lendle (USA), Chad Leslie (USA), Claudio Lettieri (United Kingdom), Andy Locke (USA), John Long (USA), Austin Ty Losey (USA), Melissa Lowe (USA), Gregory Lu (USA), Mikhail Malyshkin (Russian Federation), Gerald Martin (USA), Leigh McCormack (Australia), Timothy McMaster (United Arab Emirates), Colby McNeil (USA), Benjamin (BJ) Michaeli (USA), Travis Mills (USA), Alistair Milne (United Kingdom), Codie Moffet (Canada), Matthew Munting (United Arab Emirates), Anton Murashov (Russian Federation), Aaron Necessary (USA), Matthew Nelson (USA), Jacob "Ben" Nelson (USA), Mickey Lee Nuttall (USA), Catherine O'Sullivan (USA), Sergio Ortiz O Farrill (Mexico), Kaan-Burcin Ozenmis (Turkey), Lane Paquin (USA), Melissa Pemberton (USA), Richard Pendleton (USA), Damian Pietrasik (Poland), Marc-Olivier Pinault (Canada), Natalie Pitts (USA), Rafal Poplawski (Poland), Luis Prinetto (USA), Jeffrey Provenzano (USA), Matthew Reilly (USA), Ryan Risberg (USA), Robert Devin Roane (USA), Martin Roberson (United Kingdom), Thomas Robert (France), Tyler Roemer (USA), Javier Rojas Astorga (Mexico), Chad Ross (USA), Francisco Ruiz-Velsco (USA), Michael Jason Russell (USA), Alexandra Salera (Germany), Ryan Sass (USA), Markus Schwarz (Germany), Ivan Semenyaka (United Arab Emirates), Jennifer Sensenbaugh (USA), Ahmed Sferi (France), Gregory Shelton (United Arab Emirates), Nathan Smith (USA), Valentina Solis Jorge (Mexico), Jeshua Stahler (USA), Elisabeth Stoodley (United Kingdom), Stephanie Strange (United Arab Emirates), Michael Swanson (USA), Erica Tadokoro (Australia), Michael Theile (USA), Marcel Thimot (USA), Markku Tolvi (Finland), Miguel Torres (USA), Aaron VanDevender (USA), Alexander Vasilevskiy (Russian Federation), Ted Volpendesta (USA), Thomas Wahlroos (Finland), David William Wakely - Nimmo (Spain), Simon Whittle (United Arab Emirates), Reese Willson (USA)
_unknown engine
_unknown aircraft


What is your opinion of the results of the recent New York Daily News poll to select the greatest Yankee at each position that is resulting in Mickey Mantle wiinning out over Joe DiMaggio?
I grew up in New York City in the 50's and Mickey Mantle was my favorite player by far but both myself and Mickey would agree that Joe DiMaggio was the greatest Yankee centerfielder hands down.
I welcome thoughts on this poll result.
I'm not really surprised, the mystique was the best thing going for DiMaggio and at this point and that won't help you much. I think it's somewhat ironic that the reaction to the incorrect position (DiMaggio was better than Mantle) probably underrates DiMaggio. Not everyone can be Mantle.
Mantle wasn't just better than DiMaggio, he was batter than DiMaggio by a LOT.
DiMaggio batted .325 to Mantle's .298, but Mantle played in an era where batting averages were much lower. DiMaggio's career batting average was 18% above average, Mantle's was 16% above average.
Mantle's OBP was significantly higher than DiMaggio's, both adjusted and unadjusted. Mantle was .421 and 28% above average, DiMaggio was .398 and 12% above average.
DiMaggio's slugging percentage was higher than Mantles, but again, when adjusted for era, Mantle has the edge—.557 and 44% above average to .579 and 43% above average.
Mantle stole a lot more bases at a higher success rate.
DiMaggio's career OPS+ was 155 to Mantle's 172. DiMaggio's career high was 184, Mantle had five full seasons better than that, including seasons of 210, 223 and 206, which mitigates DiMaggio losing his prime years to the war.
DiMaggio was great. Mantle was one of the greatest.
I actually agree with everything you said.


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Bankruptcy Looms For Spain's Green Energy Giant
By Lauren Frayer
A solar tower belonging to the Spanish firm Abengoa is shown near Seville, in southern Spain, on Nov. 13. The large renewable energy company, which has been heavily subsidized by the government, is in danger of becoming the country's largest bankruptcy. The company also has a large solar facility in Arizona that has received U.S. government loan guarantees.
Talk about awkward timing.
At the Paris climate summit earlier this week, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pledged to "de-carbonize" his economy. But back home, Spain's biggest renewable energy company is on the verge of becoming the country's biggest-ever bankruptcy.
Abengoa S.A. was founded more than 70 years ago in the sunny southern Spanish city of Seville. Back then, it was a traditional electric company.
Nowadays it runs solar, biofuel and desalination plants, plus power lines and telecom equipment, all over Spain and abroad — from Brazil, to India, to the United States. It employs nearly 29,000 people worldwide.
One of the company's flagship projects is the Solana parabolic trough solar plant near Gila Bend, 70 miles west of Phoenix, Ariz. — the world's biggest solar plant of its kind. Abengoa also runs several big desert solar plants in California, and half a dozen ethanol and biofuel plants in places like Kansas and Missouri. The company's U.S. headquarters are near St. Louis.
Subsidies Scrapped
With more than 300 sunny days a year, Spain had been emerging as a leader in renewable energy in Europe, and exporting its technology abroad.
But two years ago, Rajoy's government cut its subsidies for solar and wind power in Spain. It was early 2013, at the height of Spain's economic crisis. Unemployment was near 27 percent, and the Spanish government was struggling to pay interest on its debts.
The cutbacks devastated Spain's renewables sector. Some smaller firms went out of business. Big survivors like Abengoa were left living off loans. The U.S. government has guaranteed some $2 billion of Abengoa's loans, because of the estimated $3 billion Abengoa has invested in job-creating projects in Arizona and other U.S. states.
Last week, the Basque steel company Gonvarri pulled out of a deal to invest some $370 million in Abengoa — money the renewables giant needed to stay afloat.
Miguel Angel Morenatti / AP
Spain's former king, Juan Carlos (fourth from left), walks with Abengoa Chairman Felipe Benjumea (to the right of the king), in front of a new solar tower in southern Spain in 2009. Abengoa, a large international company focused on renewable energy, now faces potential bankruptcy.
Since then, Abengoa's CEO has resigned. Its stock has plunged more than 50 percent. And the company is applying for creditor protection — the first step toward bankruptcy.
Another Solyndra?
Abengoa has four months to salvage its finances before bankruptcy kicks in. The company's lawyers reportedly spent two consecutive nights at the Madrid offices of KPMG, the auditor, trying to sort out Abengoa's finances and debts — which are in the billions of dollars, and perhaps even the tens of billions.
Spain's economy minister, Luis de Guindos, has said he's closely monitoring Abengoa's woes but suggested it's not likely that the Spanish government would rescue the company. He was quoted as saying he thinks the company can remain in business.
Meanwhile, Abengoa's plight is drawing comparisons to Solyndra, the green technology company from California that President Obama's administration backed with government funds before it went bankrupt in 2011. Solyndra had received $536 million in loan guarantees from the U.S. Energy Department, plus tax breaks. Most of that money was never recovered.
Abengoa got up to $2 billion in U.S. government loan guarantees, but it has not yet defaulted on any debts.
It's still too early to tell what will happen to employees of Abengoa's U.S. subsidiaries, most of which remain profitable, according to the firms. If the parent company goes bankrupt, they could be spun off or sold.
Lauren Frayer
Lauren Frayer covers India for NPR News. In June 2018, she opened a new NPR bureau in India's biggest city, its financial center, and the heart of Bollywood—Mumbai.
See stories by Lauren Frayer
How a rabbi and other hostages made it out safely from a Texas synagogue
Texas synagogue hostage standoff raises security concerns for Jewish communities

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Watches from day one at Baselworld
Day one at Baselworld and the heat is on. Here is our round-up of our favourite women's and men's watches so far…
23 March 2017 by REBECCA DOULTON
DIOR creates a mini diorama depicting an exquisite botanical scene in 3D detail. Flowers, leaves and a heavenly background – so real you could almost touch them - are rendered in diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies (starts at €220,000).
What seemed a far-stretch for many is now one step nearer as H. Moser & Cie. delves into stainless steel with its Pioneer Centre Seconds. The midnight blue fumé dial tracks the hours, minutes and seconds thanks to the automatic, 3-day power reserve movement, which is water-resistant to 120 metres (€11,350).
Travelling in impeccable style just got easier with Patek Philippe's new rendition of Ref. 7130, a world timer for women in white gold with a seductive new grey-blue dial and the 24- hour time zones of the globe at a glance (£37,040).
Tudor welcomes its first in-house chronograph movement, a winning hybrid between sports chronograph and robust diver capable of withstanding depths of 200 metres and endowed with a beefy power reserve of 70 hours (£3,220).
Chanel's iconic J12 ceramic watch turns back its hands in time and puts Coco Chanel's silhouette on the dial of the watch allowing Mademoiselle to indicate the passing hours and minutes of your day (£5,900).
Watches we can't wait to see at Baselworld
Watches from day two at Baselworld
REBECCA DOULTON
Luxury goods and lifestyle writer Rebecca began writing for the Financial Times in Mexico City in the early 1980s. Formerly the editor of the Tiempo de Relojes website, Rebecca joined The Jewellery Editor with a wealth of experience in watches. ...


I can tell by the arrival of beer-themed piñatas in my supermarket that Cinco de Mayo is upon us. I am a big fan of our local Cinco de Mayo street festivals here in Oakland and elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay area. I am also a fan of U.S. style (Tex-Mex) and regional Mexican food.
Since I made fajitas the other day, I was going to post about that in honor of the outnumbered Mexicans fighting back the French troops in the Battle of Puebla on the fifth of May in 1862, but fajitas, somehow, seemed too American.
I settled on Beef Posole. Posole (sometimes spelled pozole) was known in pre-Columbian times. It is made from dried hominy, which is dried corn treated with lime (the mineral not the juice) or other alkali substance to remove the germ and hard outer hull of kernel. The process also makes the substance's amino acids more available. Hominy grits, popular in the south, are also made from this treated grain.
Most posole recipes I've seen call for pork. Many are fussy and seem kind of daunting. This one, adapted from the back of the label from a bag of Los Chileros de Nueva Mexico's White Corn Posole was easy to make, incredibly tasty and soul warming. Its flavor will depend somewhat on the kind of chiles used. I used guajillo chilies, which give the dish a reddish color and some real bite, which nicely offsets the richness of the meat and the cornmeal tang of the hominy. You could try dried chipotle chiles which would give you a smoky flavor or a milder chile. Of course you can use any other posole in the recipe. It is widely available as a bulk good in Mexican-American markets.
Put posole in a glass or stainless steel pot or container. Add water to cover. Soak overnight. Drain. In a large pot, cover posole with water and then add salt. Bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for two hours. Add meat, chiles, garlic, oregano and cumin. Cover, simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or more until meat and posole are tender.
Serve in bowls with garnishes as desired.
Info for those of us who are weight watchers: This recipe has no added oil. My estimate for 1 serving is about 9 points. Skip the tortillas and just have a salad for an incredibly satisfying and filling meal.
I made this a second time, adding a sliced onion and a few cloves of minced garlic. It was just as good but oddly enough I really couldn't tell that the garlic and onion made any difference to the seasoning.


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EU court bans homosexuality tests for asylum seekers
Valerie Howell
December 2, 2014 02:12:18 pm
[JURIST] The European Court of Justice (ECJ) [official website] ruled [judgment] Tuesday that refugees seeking asylum on the basis of homosexuality can not be subjected to tests or interrogations in order to prove their sexual orientation. The court nullified the previous practice of verification based on homosexual stereotypes and detailed questioning as to sexual practices, declaring this contrary to fundamental rights. Instead, interviews are to be conducted in a manner that takes account of the individual situation and personal circumstances of each applicant. The ruling also specifies that "tests" where applicants are required to present evidence of their homosexuality through media or immediate acts are not to be allowed as even non-compulsory submissions of such materials would lead eventually to requiring such materials, and to do so would be to infringe on human dignity. Furthermore, the court also decreed that failure to identify oneself as homosexual in the initial process of application can no longer be used as a bar from acceptance for lack of credibility, as the sensitive nature of homosexual persecution could understandably inspire reticence in applicants.
The ECJ's caseload is both prolific and diverse. The precursor to this decision occurred last November, when the ECJ ruled [JURIST report] that persecution because of sexual orientation constitutes grounds for asylum in the EU. This past July they ruled for more transparency [JURIST report] in trade between the EU and the US. And in June, they ruled that foreign pregnant [JURIST report] women cannot be denied income support if they cease to work for a reasonable time.


Support for distributing player ghosts files with releases. Now local games will have a starting set of ghosts available for ghost vaults.
New tiles for Azrael, shock serpents, dream sheep, mana vipers, and the Robe of Vines.
An additional set of Gnoll player doll tiles (male and female).
Fix WebTiles menus for older versions of Firefox.
81 bug fixes, adjustments, and cleanups in total.
The biggest game-play change in this release is the incorporation of ghost data taken from 0.22 games played on the CAO and CBRO servers for use in offline games. 0.22 introduced "permastore" bones files so that ghost vaults always have an available ghost definition to draw from. If a level has no recently made ghost in the normal bones file, the permastore file provides more long-term data that can be repeatedly drawn upon. The problem was that offline games previously had no initial ghost data, forcing ghost vaults to fall back on making clone ghosts of the player. Thanks to work by advil, crawl can look for pre-existing permastore bones files we ship in the game data, copying these over to use as a player's starting permastore. advil has curated this ghost data to remove excessive numbers of ghosts from the most popular combos and to filter out any offensive usernames. In the future, we'll be able to make this release ghost data using more servers and will be improving the way the ghost data is handled and stored in general. If you have previously installed 0.22.0, we recommend that you remove any files named `*.store.*` from the bones subdirectory of your saves folder, in order to get the full effect of this change.
As usual, there are scores of smaller bug fixes, vault tweaks, description updates, and the like, so be sure to upgrade! In the bullet list above, I've linked a few new tiles we received for trunk that I've also added to 0.22.1. Also, a certain worm tells me that we may have a couple new splash screens coming our way. One will depict the exploits of a Deep Dwarf Artificer and the other the antics of uniques like Asterion and Louise (PlogChamp)! No ETA on these new splash images, but look for them to arrive in trunk when they're ready.
Finally, we've also made a 0.21.2 bug fix release. Many of the bug fixes here are ones that have already been made in 0.22, but see the 0.21 changelog for a more detailed summary. The source packages as well as binary packages for Windows and OS X can be found in the 0.21 release folder. The Linux 0.21 component of the debian repository has also been updated. To install the Linux packages, just follow the Linux instructions on the download page, replacing 0.22 by 0.21 in the instructions.
2 Responses to "0.22.1 and 0.21.2 bug fix releases".
doesn't seem to be functional.
@Alexander Yes that file was misnamed on the server. It's been fixed and should work properly now, thanks!


Arrived in FL yesterday, got to hotel, changed, grabbed lunch and went to the closest course to the hotel, it was 5 minutes away. Not a great course, kind of beat up, but fine for getting off the plane and playing. Left after 16th hole because sky was looking forbidding. Back out today, had booked last night after checking weather, Clearwater Country Club, which was built in the 1920's so it had the old style design of mostly straight fairways, open, but greens mostly elevated and many sloped down from back to front. Very playable, not a bad course and very affordable. Probably the only time I have played next to railroad tracks and CSX freight train came chugging past.
Interesting wildlife in FL, very cool looking birds and even saw a pair of parrots yesterday. No gators spotted.
Weather a bit iffy the next couple of days, so not sure about playing Fri-Sat, but Sun looks OK so far.
had 2 cloudy/humid days, 2 rainy days, and a really nice, sunny not humid day on our last full day in FL. So we wound up playing 3 times instead of 4 as planned. Last round of the trip was the nicest course, Seminole Lake Country Club. "Member for a Day" special...it's a semi-private club. It was still pretty wet from the 2 days rain, so 90 degree cart path only. Lucky for us, earlier that day it was cart path only. Pretty wide open, easy to stay out of trouble for the most part. Not too many forced carries over water, the layout typical of the old style Florida course, elevated greens. This one was in much better condition than the other 2 we played, greens nice an smooth except maybe one that looked to have some damage. Sand much better in the bunkers, more sand than shells (the lower tier courses have lots of little seashells in the sand, much as we have little pebbles in our lousy bunkers). All 3 rounds during the trip I shot mid-high 90's, which considering that my irons are still not all there, is OK. I'm only about 5-8 strokes off normal (lost shots in greenside bunkers, flubbed chips...). Killing the driver, so at least that's working.
There are some great courses in FL, glad we didn't waste our money on them with the state of our play!
Nice Aimee. Glad you got away, wish you'd have had better weather. Agree on not dropping the $$ when the game's not quite there.
I've been sick, kids been sick, but I mustered out Sat for a captain's choice tournament I had agreed to play in. Hit driver fine and hit some nice approach shots but man my wedges were off. Chalking it up to being sick but I mean I had no control. The swing I'm normally solid with in terms of distance control, I missed every green with a wedge in my hand. Crazy. We came in third thanks to a 20 foot putt I made on the last hole!
More importantly, the course was in pretty good shape, finally drying out enough to let out carts. There has been a tremendous amount of winterkill on some greens and tee boxes. Over seeding has already been completed. Many trees have been lost due to the repeated ice storms this past winter. The clean-up is still on-going on the periphery as are repairs to the irrigation system which endured some heaving. My course is extremely fortunate as some of the neighbouring courses have lost whole green complexes.
Played our links style course today, after the rain yesterday figured it would be the better option. Plus I saw plenty of water hazards in FL and didn't want to deal with that today. Was able to take my good range swing out to the course, used the modified stance and made solid iron contact. Only down side is directional accuracy is a little harder to control, hit perfect distances but often 6 feet off from where I wanted. Front 9 had 19 putts because I put myself into 3 putt range. Started strong, holes 1-2 had par, almost parred 3 also. 47 on front 9 mostly due to too many putts. Told myself at the turn that I should try for a 43 to finish with a 90, which I did! 17 putts on back 9. Came within 18" of a hole in one on par 3 number 12, hit a 6 iron about 115 yds over greenside bunker and on. 5 pars, 4 GIR, 1 birdie for the round.
Wild turkeys spotted in fairway bunker on 18th hole (hens). Rabbit in the grass right outside the back door to the clubhouse, nibbling happily.
realized after I posted the comment about accuracy...I usually give myself a 6 foot "play" for shot location (other than wedges, I can't say I'm THAT accurate) so this extra 6 foot of variability was putting me 12-15 away from my desired target in some cases. Although I honestly wasn't getting that mad about it because the distance was dead on, I'd be pin high, just left or right of the pin!
So today was beautiful weather and finally some decent course conditions as greens are recovering from being punched early spring and the fairways have gotten enough sun for the bermuda to start to grow.
Well, I hit the ball a lot better than I scored today. Shot 38-42 for an 80....but man did I play better than that. took 32 putts with 1 3-putt which for me is a little high. I did hit a number of GIR so that might be why but I didn't make any birdies. I had 10 decent birdie chances, with 4 of them inside 8 ft but didn't make any of them. Ran so many putts just by the cup. Augh! Struck my irons well accept on 2 holes where I had some hiccups and went bogey - dbl. Otherwise drive the ball well, chipped well except once which I bladed. But it was just those little things where you hit 4 good shots but wind up taking 5 to hole out.
Opened with 2 bogeys and then had 6 straight Pars followed by an errant wedge and a bogey on 9. Then start with a stupid bogey due to a down hill putt that just kept going. Then a few more par's and then the hiccup and then shooting 1 over on the last 3 holes.
Anyway, was fun to be out, was fun to see me hit some really good shots, just wish I had a few more made putts to show for it.
it's funny how you can feel like you played fairly well but the score doesn't reflect it (and vice versa). Sometimes after a round I'll try to figure out where I lost shots (looking at number of putts is first, and the easiest indicator) but sometimes upon reflection I'll remember a stubbed wedge or something that I had quickly forgotten during the round. Guess short term memory loss can be a good thing. And those lipped out or just barely missed putts are the devil.
True...golfers need short memories...Yeah, I really felt ball striking was one of my better rounds...man had I just been able to make some putts. Oh well. at least I have some positives.
One thing i tried to do better was I remembered my instructor last year said I was cheating on my putts, looking up too early. So I tried to keep my head down and listen for the putt to hit the cup. Especially on short putts.
Lot of rain coming Thursday so I might try to sneak out for 9 holes tomorrow after work.
played our parkland style course (Mercer Oaks West) today. Dried out nicely from the rain on Friday. The rough is in spring growth mode (ie, thick and juicy). Greens and fairways in great shape. Played with an interesting guy, probably early 30's...ex-Marine (was in Afghanistan right after 9/11), law school grad, clerked with NJ Justice, and now works in the Governor's office. 3rd generation Cuban. Nice guy, he had an abbreviated back swing like a slap shot because of torn rotator cuffs (Marine injury).
I shot 43 on front 9, 46 on back = 89. 2 GIR, 4 pars, 36 putts (two 3 putts). One ball lost in the woods. Did hit my new #5 hybrid a couple of times, it seems to work well out of the rough. Getting my wedge mojo back, didn't skull or shank any. It is amazing how long it is taking to get over the "psychic injury" of my lost iron swing, hopefully these good rounds will keep me on the positive path.
That's the highest score I've shot on that particular course in 3 years! I was actually surprised it was that bad because I finished strongly with three pars to close. At least I had a positive memory from the outing.
Scomac, finishing with 3 pars is a nice ending. Golf always finds a way to hook you and make you want to come back.
Yes it does Aimee. Another day another dollar as the saying goes. My wife and I headed out to play this afternoon. We only got three holes in before we were washed out, but I had three more pars to add to the good memory reinforcement. There wasn't a poorly executed shot made. Quite a contrast to two days earlier.
Nice to hear Sco. Hopefully you'll get out again soon and keep the momentum...and maybe this time no washout.
Got nine in after my shift at the course this afternoon. The momentum lasted for all of one hole. An up and down side with three pars. My putting is coming around and saved my bacon on three holes. My short game has gone missing in action so far this season. I'm really struggling with making clean contact. Way too many bladed chips.
played our links style course Saturday. Moved the tee time up a bit earlier because the forecasts had possibility of rain in the afternoon, and it did in fact start raining about an hour after we finished, so that was good. The skies were kind of threatening all day, with a lot of clouds, some areas of clouds really dark gray, and the occasional peek of sun, but all too brief. Kind of cool without the sun, too. Had a decent round, my putting wasn't "on" and I had (3) three putts for total of 36 putts vs my usual 33 putts, so wound up with a 91 when it could have easily been a sub-90 round. Parred all four of the par 3's (with GIR) and one par 4 (one putt). Lost one stroke trying to hack out of thick rough (nothing like advancing the ball 50 yds with a hybrid on second shot of a long hole). Just a bit "off" on some of the fairway shots with 4W, hit behind a couple of times so didn't advance the ball far enough (essentially costs a half stroke). But all things considered, for not having my "A" game, 91 was OK!
Playing on Monday, weather supposed to be low 80's, sunny, should be nice.
first was a match play event which I did just enough to win, 2 and 1. Drove the ball well but hit irons and approach shots badly. No birdies, just pars and bogeys and a couple "others". Thats the nice thing of match play, I can forget the 7's on the scorecard.
Then played yesterday and again drove the ball well but could NOT hit irons or wedges or hybrids. Nothing. Shot 90 with birding the last hole. And I have 2 more rounds in the next 3 days..not good!
Played in a charity scramble on the weekend with my wife, our son and another female friend. We shot 3 under with 4 birdies and one bogie. This is the best result we've managed in four attempts in this tournament and it was good enough for 4th place. I drove the ball very well and hit my 3W as well as I've ever hit it from the deck. It was largely responsible for our birdies on the par 5's. My MIA short game is finally showing signs of life; now all I have to do is dial in distances now that quality of contact seems to be rectified. As always is the case with these sorts of events, you live and die by the putter. I made some nice putts from inside 10' and lag putting was good, but no one was dropping the bombs needed to post a really low score.
NIce result Sco. Glad to see the short game coming around.
Played 9 holes yesterday and many of my issues from Tuesday were gone. Head scratching a little bit but glad. Hit some good irons. Was 1 over par after 5 before 3 double bogeys in a row derailed the round. Issue was a wayward approach wedge that found a bunker, and our bunkers get thick and soupy with the rain. Then 3 putted. Next was dunking a tee shot in the water on a long Par 3. Last one was again bunker related...had a long greenside bunker shot and took a big swing...and picked it clean...ball sailed and sail and sailed. Drop! Ha, so now 7 over, I had a very interesting #9.
Tee shot needed is a fade and I hit a draw...ugh...I have to practice hitting a fade on demand! Anyway, found the ball under a row of thick cedar trees and had to flip over a 6i and hit is backwards, left handed. Actually hit it about 15 yards into the open, I was impressed. Then had 150 Uphill over a bunker. My approach HIT THE PIN and settled about 5 ft away. Made the putt for par! Now that was worth the price of admission.
Well have our annual company tournament tomorrow..captains choice. Should be fun. Just down the street so it's finish up about 2pm and come back to watch the Martin Kaymer show! Man is he putting on a clinic. Other than him, scores are staying within the normal US OPen range....but he's on fire.
Played our links style course, Michael had invited a work friend...who was playing with 20 year old clubs and was kind of a mess. Michael lent him his driver and the guy hit it way past where he hit his ancient Taylormade 3w, he was astounded at the difference. Wound up playing OK, same ball the whole round. 33 putts, 3-4 pars, one birdie, shot 88. Still can't hit irons, so hows that for making up for a deficiency, thank goodness my wedges work.
Well the Company tournament didn't quite go as planned...we finished last in the championship flight.. We could not make any putts. I don't know how many 5-10 footers we missed. Well I do..about 9. Drove the ball well and I hit some nice irons shots but I have to spend time with my wedges at the range. Not chipping or pitching very well. And missing the green on some half wedge shots. used to be solid with them. not now.
Going to be hot this week. But I have a lite week at work. maybe I can get out for a round. Will at least hit the range.
Played Mountain View today, the longest/most difficult of our county courses today. Course in really nice shape, rough is brutal with the spring rains we had and heavy growth. Although the grass wasn't as thick and lush as at Mercer Oaks West, so for the most part I could hit hybrid out and advance the ball. Mis hit a couple of shots with my iron woes continuing...I keep feeling like I am going to be able to hit the shot, the practice swing feels good, then it comes off as a block 45 degrees right. So my approach shots into the green wind up to the right of the green...needless to say, glad I am good with lob wedge.
Total score 94, 5 pars, 3 GIR, 33 putts. Played same ball all round.
Well played in a Texas Scramble Saturday. Never played that format. Sort of like Captains choice, 4 man teams, and you each hit a tee shot , choose the best one and then all play your ball into the hole from there. We counted a "net" (handicap adjusted) score and the best gross score. We came in 5th at 19-under par. Winners were 25 under. Anyway, I made 4 birdies myself so that was nice. Was hitting irons well, and everyone contributed at some point.
Not sure if I'll get out this week or not, other than the Wed 9 hole league. We'll see. Lots of evening thunderstorms this time of year here.
That sounds peculiarly like the sort of game that was going on in front of my group a week ago at Tyandaga in their senior men's league. I had never played there before on this rolling escarpment course. I don't think there was a level lie on the place and the rough was thick! It was a struggle to say the least only made worse by the waiting -- 5 and a half hours to play the round! I left home at 7:20 am and didn't return until 4:50 pm!! Ridiculous for a course only 45 minutes from my door.
Way too long for a round of golf. OUch. somedays we see that here but usually 4hrs +/- 30 minutes is what it is here. Weekends might be a bit longer during peak hours but usually not too much.
Well hit the ball well today.
Well hit the ball well today...but didn't score great. (I should preface this post with I'm 2 bottle of wine into the evening so no telling what might get written...) but shot 79 which with how well I hit irons and tee shots, felt like the worst I could score. I lipped out 3 or 4 birdie putts and wound up with no birdies at all. probably had 32 - 34 putts. Augh! But hit some great drives and great iron shots.
No wine, just golf. Kind of a slow round, ranger came by on back 9 and said 4 some 2 groups ahead was holding things up and he talked to them..seemed to work because it picked up noticeably after that, but damage done and it was 4:45 instead of 4:15 as usual for the round. We had a slowish guy in our group, so that contributed. Shot 91, had a couple of blow up holes. 2 pars, one birdie ( on #9, my nemesis, hit over water on 2nd shot onto the green and one putt), 33 putts. Had gone to the range before the round to hit some irons to get comfortable, since it still isn't automatic. Still screwed up some on the course, but likely due to tension/anxiety. Playing again today.


AMBUCS/Amtryke is now accepting applications for a competitive Amtryke Research Project Grant.
Research project grants involving Amtrykes will be selected from submissions meeting the requirements, in amounts up to $3,000 (to include Amtrykes, adaptations and any other equipment or assessment tools).
Selected projects can apply for additional funding due to unusual breadth or value of the proposed research project and also for publishing or presenting the completed project.
Submissions for this cycle are due by 5 pm, May 17, 2017.
AMB UCS and Amtryke are always looking for students and professors interested in using the Amtryke adaptive tricycle and its accessories as a basis for a graduate-level research project.
Research projects approved by AMBUCS' Amtryke Advisory Board are eligible to receive Amtryke tricycles and accessories for free.
For ideas of previous projects, read through the Amtryke Scholarly Research.
If you or one of your students are interested in pursuing research around the Amtryke, please contact AMBUCS at 800-838-1845 or ambucs@ambucs.org.


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You are here: Home / Blog / News / Can Drones Help Stop the Spread of Kenya's Invasive Cactus?
Can Drones Help Stop the Spread of Kenya's Invasive Cactus?
Some call it a green hell: As the invasive cactus species Opuntia engelmannii spreads in Kenya, it covers everything. It spreads across the plain and outcompetes native plants. Formerly diverse habitats are now nothing but cacti. The species even covers bare rocks. It attracts both wildlife and cattle with its sweet fruits, but also can hurt or even kill animals with its numerous thorns.
Loisaba Conservancy is a 57,000-acre community-conservation project, known for its thriving wildlife, sustainable cattle ranching and ecotourism. It also has an invasive cactus problem, with an estimated 20 percent of the conservancy covered in the plant.
It's spreading fast. To address the problem, land managers need to understand exactly where the cactus is growing on the conservancy. As the plant forms thick, impenetrable thickets, that's a nearly impossible task on foot or even by vehicle.
Gustavo Lozada understood the difficulties of monitoring the cactus the moment he saw the plant while on a vacation in Kenya. But he also immediately began thinking of solutions. You see, Lozada has earned a reputation as a "drone master" in his technology work for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado. He has used drones to map vegetation and habitats and developed non-intrusive methods to use them to research wildlife. Perhaps he could use his technological prowess to help with the invasive cactus.
The Cactus Farmer's Son
The moment Lozada saw those cacti, it brought back childhood memories of his Venezuelan home. His father was a civil engineer but at one point started raising prickly pear cacti as a side hobby.
"He wasn't doing this to produce cactus, but rather for cochineal insects that feed on the cactus," says Lozada.
Lozada says these insects resemble "fat dog ticks" and they behave in a similar fashion. The cochineal insect attaches itself to the cactus, where it will remain the rest of its life. It sucks all the nutrient-rich red liquid from the cactus. The insect bloats with the red liquid, and this is what was harvested by Lozada's father.
The red liquid is used as an organic dye for clothing and even food. The recent controversy over Starbucks using bugs as coloration for its beverages? That was cochineal insects.
His father's career as a cactus farmer didn't go very far, and he abandoned the project after a few years. But Lozada immediately recognized the plant and was astounded by just how invasive it became outside its native range.
"It had no competition at Loisaba," he says. "It was just completely out of control. Where it grows, there's nothing else. You could see new cactus emerging beneath native bushes. Soon it overtakes and suffocates all the other plants around it."
No one knows for sure how the cactus came to Africa, but the most likely source was European colonists who planted the cactus as ornamentals or "living fences" 60 to 80 years ago. "You will still see small farmers using the cactus as a fence to keep out wildlife," says Lozada.
It should be noted that there are a variety of introduced prickly pear cactus species in Kenya, and not all of them are invasive. A few are useful and grown commercially.
But the species Opuntia engelmannii has continued to spread, sometimes abetted by people attempting to kill the plant. "If you cut it off at the base, the cactus will come back stronger than ever," Lozada says. "If you leave one little fragment of cactus, the whole population can rebound."
The cactus thorns choke out native grasses, depriving wildlife of food. And the invasive plants have even been documented irritating and even killing wildlife and cattle. "If you touch the fruit, you get covered with thorns and they are really difficult to remove," says Lozada. "I can't imagine what it's like for a cow or even an elephant to get a mouthful of these."
Still, many wild animals are drawn to the sweet fruit. And some animals – like baboons, elephants and tortoises – readily eat it and spread the seeds. Slowing the cactus invasion appeared a tall order without an effective control.
As he looked upon that "green hell," another thought came back to him from his youth: What about those cochineal insects? After all, there are species of these insects that suck the cactus dry, leaving nothing but a dead husk.
"It looks like the cactus is melting," says Lozada.
Gustavo Lozada (foreground) prepares his drone with Tom Silvester, CEO of Loisaba Conservancy. Photo © Gustavo Lozada/TNC
Mapping Cactus
Just as Lozada surmised, the cochineal insects are an extremely effective biocontrol. There is one species that evolved to feed specifically on Opuntia engelmannii, so there was no risk of them spreading to native vegetation. This insect has gone through the National Environmental Management Authority process that identifies risks of biocontrol. The process found no negative effects and determined that the use of biocontrol is more effective than herbicide. The cochineal insect is officially approved for introduction in Kenya.
Since the insect only feeds on Opuntia engelmannii, when the invasive cactus is gone, the cochineal insect will simply die off.
Loisaba Conservancy was preparing to deploy the biocontrol insects. But how would conservationists know if it was effective? After all, the full extent of the spread had not been mapped.
Lozada knew he could help. He knew the drone work he had done with The Nature Conservancy in Colorado could also be applied to this problem in Kenya. Tom Silvester, CEO of Loisaba Conservancy, and Matt Brown, director of The Nature Conservancy in Africa, were both enthusiastic supporters of Lozada's work.
Lozada received a Coda Fellowship, an internal Nature Conservancy program that provides short-term assignments to meet TNC's global needs, while also providing staff with professional development opportunities. Many staff (including me) have benefited from this great program, and it has also led to creative solutions for conservation challenges around the globe. Like invasive cactus.
"I thought we could establish a baseline of what is there," says Lozada. "This would allow managers to assess the effectiveness of the cochineal insects."
Enter the drones. Lozada headed to Loisaba and began mapping the cactus. The drones are programmed to fly a grid, taking hundreds of images they fly. "Each picture contains a lot of data," says Lozada. "I use that to created three-dimensional models that provide detailed information on the presence of cactus."
Drones can assist in mapping patches of invasive cactus. Photo © Gustavo Lozada/TNC
Lozada analyzes three layers of data. First, the drone's imaging detects the reflection of green. The greener the plant, the brighter it shows up on the screen. This imaging can pick up subtle differences in greenery. (Farmers use it to determine where fertilizer was most heavily applied on a cornfield, as more heavily fertilized corn stalks will be slightly greener).
In the dry season, prickly pear cactus is one of the few green plants, which makes mapping it much easier.
The drone also allows very precise mapping of the invasive plants. "I can zoom down to a tiny rock and see a cactus growing on it," Lozada says. "I would do this to verify the accuracy of the mapping."
Cactus show up as green on drone footage. Photo © Gustavo Lozada/TNC
The data can also map the volume of cactus in any given acre. "The first thing affected by cochineal insects is the volume of plants," says Lozada. "So having this data will be very important in tracking the impacts of the biocontrol."
It can be difficult for land managers to understand the full scope of an invasive plant. Terrain and the density of vegetation routinely foil the best-laid plans. The drone can thus change management considerably. Now people can accurately map the full extent of the spread, monitor the effectiveness of control measures, and adjust plans to best control and eradicate the plants.
"We often hear about the misuses of drones," says Lozada. "But drones can be tremendously effective conservation tools. A landscape covered in invasive cactus can seem like an impossible problem to address. You have to understand the problem before you can address it. The drone provides the most accurate information, allowing us to stop this nasty threat to wildlife and livestock in Kenya."
By Matthew L. Miller
March 8, 2019 /2 Comments/by loisaba
https://loisaba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2019/02/Picture1.png 527 939 loisaba https://loisaba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2018/08/logo340x142.png loisaba2019-03-08 11:30:352019-05-20 11:20:27Can Drones Help Stop the Spread of Kenya's Invasive Cactus?
Marvin Mwarangu says:
I love the idea of using a drone to stop the spread of the invasive cactus. This is really a great project which I would love to know more about it and get to learn from it. Drones have mostly been used in taking videos and pictures but the idea of using them in mapping is really a great idea, and it proves how effective the drones can be used as a conservation tool.
Cyrus kemboi says:
That's the best idea
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How Removing an Invasive Cactus Species is Helping to Provide Meals for Our Security TeamDecember 17, 2019 - 4:35 pm
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Loisaba's BirdsNovember 16, 2019 - 8:38 am
Loisaba's Big FiveOctober 13, 2019 - 12:55 pm
Loisaba Aerial CensusOctober 5, 2019 - 12:40 pm
Celebrating World Rhino DaySeptember 22, 2019 - 8:00 am
Lion Conservation: How You Can Help!September 14, 2019 - 9:11 am
Conserving Kenya's Endangered Reticulated GiraffesSeptember 8, 2019 - 8:44 am
African wild dog anti-poaching Bee Bee Keeping BeeMagic black leopard black panther Cape hunting dog co-existance community conservation Conservation Honey David Attenborough Dynasties education elephants Elewana Collection Endangered Species End Extinction fire Honey K9 Unit Land Connected Life Protected LCCF Leopard lion landscapes lions Loisaba Loisaba Conservancy Loisaba Lodo Springs Loisaba Star Beds Loisaba Tented Camp monitoring painted wolf Panther poaching research San Diego Zoo San Diego Zoo Global Save Species technology Tourism tracker dogs wildlife conflicts World Bee Day
UPDATE: Black leopards recorded at Loisaba ConservancyMarch 2, 2019 - 12:21 pm
CONSERVANCY CONTACTS:
P O Box 1348-10400 Nanyuki, Kenya
enquiries@loisaba.com
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UPDATE: Black leopards recorded at Loisaba Conservancy Bee Conservation
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A class trip to Linnanmäki is the high point of the spring!
Purchase spring 2019 class trips for lower prices in our online store. You can make reservations for groups of at least 15 people in the online store. You can access the online store here. We request that groups of fewer than 15 people contact us by email at the address luokkaretket@linnanmaki.fi.
No queueing in ticket lines.
Products can be received by post before the trip, if the reservation is made well in advance. Detailed delivery times can be found in the online store.
For every 15 wristbands/food coupons purchased, we offer the teacher a corresponding product free of charge.
Teachers and other adults in the group receive coupons for a free coffee on the day of the visit.
Group drivers can get a free food and coffee coupon at the Linnanmäki pick-up desk.
We'd be happy to help you plan your trip.


1 event found on Pttara's timeline.
Pttara is a 42.55 m / 139′8″ luxury motor yacht. She was built by Pttara in 2018. With a beam of 8.3 m and a draft of 2.5 m, she has a steel hull. She is powered by CAT engines giving her a maximum speed of 16 knots and a cruising speed of 13 knots. Pttara's maximum range is estimated at 3500 nautical miles. The motor yacht can accommodate 12 guests in 5 cabins. The yacht was designed by Serhat Yinanc.


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Driver who crashed SUV into house charged
Douglas Walker
dwalker@muncie.gannett.com
Police say a man's blood-alcohol level was four times the legal limit he crashed Feb. 15.
Ralph Mills' SUV crashed through a wall into the bedroom of a rural Randolph County home.
The home's occupants were asleep in the room at the time of the 3 a.m. accident, and hit by debris.
A woman in the house suffered a brain hemorrhage at a result of the crash.
WINCHESTER – A driver's blood-alcohol content was more than four times the legal limit when his SUV slammed into a rural Winchester home's bedroom, seriously injuring one of two people sleeping inside.
Ralph David Mills, 30, 607 Pierce St., Ridgeville, in recent days was formally charged in connection with that Feb. 14 accident, in the 4600 block of North Randolph County Road 100-W.
Randolph County Prosecutor David Daly charged Mills with causing serious bodily injury when driving while intoxicated, a Level 6 felony carrying up to 30 months in prison. He is also charged with misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated and driving with a controlled substance in the system.
According to a Randolph County Sheriff's Department report, Mills' BAC was measured at 0.35 percent the night of the crash, which caused extensive damage to the home of Stephen and Debra Holliday. In Indiana, motorists with a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher are considered intoxicated.
Blood tests also indicated Mills had recently ingested marijuana, the document said.
Deputies at the scene reported the Hollidays appeared to have suffered cuts and bruises when they were hit by debris, as they slept, when Mills' 2002 Jeep Liberty crashed through an exterior wall into their bedroom about 3 a.m. Physicians later determined the crash also left Debra Holliday with a brain hemorrhage.
Investigators learned Mills had been sent home the night of the crash from the Winchester factory where he worked, reportedly after consuming a pint of vodka on his lunch break.
When police arrived, they found Mills in the bedroom, still behind the wheel of his SUV. The Ridgeville man reportedly said he was cut and bleeding, then asked a deputy for a lighter so he could smoke.
Mills said he had lost control of his vehicle. "I observed no skid marks on the roadway," Deputy Jamey Mullens wrote in the report.
An initial hearing in Mills' case is set for April 13 in Randolph Superior Court.
Mills has been convicted of driving while intoxicated and public intoxication (twice each), theft (at least four times), residential entry and resisting law enforcement.
Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.


The DLS/FLS module can leak information if the user does not have permissions for all indices in a query or get action.
This affects all versions of Search Guard up to and including v14 with Elasticsearch 5.0.2 or higher, and includes the REST and the transport layer. Please upgrade to Search Guard v15 immediately. Search Guard 15 is a drop-in replacement for v14, no changes in any configuration is required.


The cover image today comes from Paizo Publishing's upcoming first installment of the Mummy's Mask, "The Half-Dead City," written by Jim Groves. In part 2 of Encounter Table's desert-themed week, we take a look at the living mirage; a prestige class that blends illusion magic and martial arts to create a fighting style based on the hazy heat mirages of the desert. The living mirage should fit right in among the PCs or NPCs of your Mummy's Mask campaign as ally or adversary.
Deep within the vaults of Orv, there exists a desert realm of toxic night known as the Black Desert. Within this inhospitable wasteland, an ancient order of monks descended from surface explorers devoted their lives to the study of blending their martial arts with illusion and shadow. The disciples of these monks eventually traveled beyond the vaults of Orv, making their way back to the surface world where they, in secret, trained others in the way of the living mirage.
A living mirage blends monastic mysticism with illusion magic to create semi-real shadowy duplicates of themselves to aid them in battle. In battle a living mirage is a haze of shadowy duplicates that flicker and flourish from one opponent to another, befuddling foes while embodying the phantasmal mirages of the Black Desert.
Role Living mirage is a highly defensive class and characters that take levels in it excel at fighting one or more opponents in combat, hiding behind their illusory doubles and using a mixture of melee combat and arcane spellcasting.
Alignment Many living mirages are monks that dabble in arcane spellcasting and therefore come from a strict lawful background. However some practitioners of this art are ninja, not bound by such principles. As such, alignment among living mirages is as fluid as their illusory defenses and can vary widely in attitude.
Prerequisites Spellcraft 5, Perception 5, ki pool, ability to cast mirror image or use mirror image as a spell-like ability.
To qualify to become a living mirage, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.
Spells Ability to cast mirror image or use mirror image as a spell-like ability.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency A living mirage gains no additional proficiency in weapons or armor.
Spells per Day At 1st level and every other level thereafter, the living mirage gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain other benefits a character of that class would have gained, except for additional spells per day, spells known (if he is a spontaneous spellcaster), and an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a living mirage, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.
Ki Magic (Su) When a living mirage casts a spell he may spent a number of points from his ki pool equal to the level of the spell to cast it without using up a prepared spell slot or spell per day. Additionally, whenever a living mirage uses an ability that requires expending points from their ki pool, a living mirage may instead use a prepared spell or one of their spells per day equal to the number of ki points spent, instead of expending points from their ki pool. A living mirage's levels in this prestige class stack with other class levels that contribute to their ki pool.
Shadow Mirage At 2nd level the mirror image spell is considered to have the shadow descriptor for the living mirage and is 50% real. Mirror image now grants additional effects due to this change.
As long as the living mirage has at least one mirror image active, he gains a +4 bonus to AC from soft cover.
The mirror images gain 50% of the living mirage's modifiers to AC in addition to the living mirage's full size modifier to AC (if any).
Each mirror image requires two successful hits to destroy.
Mirror Flanking (Su) As a swift action at 4th level, a living mirage may sacrifice one of his mirror images to target a creature within reach with a distracting illusion. The target must make a Will save (DC is equal to the living mirage's mirror image spell) which, if successful, negates the mirror flanking ability, but the mirror image is still sacrificed.
If the target fails its save, the sacrificed image appears in the target creature's square and harries them with flourishes and feints, granting the living mirage flanking against this target. The image may be targeted by attacks at its normal AC and destroyed. Since this image no longer exists in the living mirage's square, it is immediately destroyed by an area of effect that deals damage to the target creature's square. Mirror flanking lasts a number of rounds equal to the living mirage's level.
Mirage Melee (Su) At 6th level the living mirage may, as a swift action, sacrifice multiple mirror images in a flurry of attacks. He gains one additional attack at his highest attack bonus per mirror image sacrificed, up to a maximum of bonus attacks equal to the living mirage's Intelligence modifier. Any creature targeted by these attacks may make a Will save (DC equals the DC of mirror image) that, if successful, reduces all damage dealt by the attack by 50%.
Image Leap (Su) At 8th level the living mirage may, as a move action, sacrifice one of his mirror images by projecting it out up to a distance of 100 feet to any point within line of sight. The living mirage then uses this mirror image as a conduit by which he travels through the plane of shadow instantaneously, arriving at the image's destination.
Phantom Strike (Su) Once per round at 10th level, the living mirage may spend one point of ki as a free action to resolve a melee attack as a melee touch attack.
I wonder how this would work adapted as a magus archetype?
I think it might be challenging, but it would also take away from some if the theme of the prestige class. As the commenter below noted, a Magus/Monk could qualify for it and be quite effective.
I am seeing this as excellent for a multiclass magus/monk. Use that item from the new magic shops book that combines your ki pool and magus arcana, and you have yourself a potent defensive warrior.
I haven't seen that item yet, I assume it was in Magical Marketplaces? That sounds like a perfect fit for this PrC though!
What is the duration for the Mirror Flanking ability? How long does the image stay in their square? And does it actually give Flank? You don't specifically say it.
Excellent question! My intention was for the effect to last for the duration of mirror image and for the image to move with the enemy. I'll update this with some clarifying verbiage.


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THE BROAD REPORT
Make no mistake, "What is happening in large urban districts today has been carefully orchestrated by vulture philanthropists." -- Susan Ohanian
Broad Superintendents Academy
The "Broad Effect"
"Featured graduates"
Eli behind-the-scenes
Broad Foundation affiliations
Of special interest
A Parent Guide
The Eli and Edyth Broad Foundation funds The Broad Center (previously called the Broad Center for the Management of School Systems). The Broad Center conducts TWO training programs primarily for individuals who wish to work in school district settings.
1. The Broad Residency (fna The Broad Residency in Urban Education), a two-year program where participants are placed into full-time high-level managerial positions in school districts, CMOs, and federal/state departments of education. The Broad Center often covers all or part of their salary.
2. The Broad Superintendents Academy (BSA) is a training program held in six-sessions over ten months after which participants may expect to be placed in an urban school district. Applicants are solicited from the fields of education, the military, the private sector, and government. The sessions include contact with companies which specialize in nationwide school executive searches (eg. Ray & Associates and Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates). "Tuition" and travel expenses are paid by the Broad Center, and the Center may also cover some or all of the salary when the participant is placed in a district.*
As Joanne Barkan explains in "Got Dough? Public School Reform in the Age of VenturePhilanthropy" (Dissent, Winter 2011):
In reform-speak, both the Broad Academy and Residency are not mere programs: they are "pipelines." Frederick Hess, director of Education Policy Studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, described the difference in With the Best of Intentions: How Philanthropy Is Reshaping K–12 Education (2005):
Donors have a continual choice between supporting "programs" or supporting "pipelines." Programs, which are far more common, are ventures that directly involve a limited population of children and educators. Pipelines, on the other hand, primarily seek to attract new talent to education, keep those individuals engaged, or create new opportunities for talented practitioners to advance and influence the profession.…By seeking to alter the composition of the educational workforce, pipelines offer foundations a way to pursue a high-leverage strategy without seeking to directly alter public policy.
Once Broad alumni are working inside the education system, they naturally favor hiring other Broadies, which ups the leverage…
* NOTE: Each year from its inception until 2011, the Broad Center issued press releases which announced the number of participants in that year's cohort, along with their names. Starting in 2012, that practice was discontinued. The Broad Superintendents Academy no longer releases information about its graduating classes to the public, although it did continue to invite individuals to apply to its program in 2012 and 2013.
Known participants in alphabetical order:
Alfaro, Robert (2004)
Anderson, Bart G. (2006)
Atkinson, Cheryl L. H. (2006)
Avossa, Robert (2011)
Baker, Jill A. (2005)
Barbic, Chris (2011)
Barry, John (2004)
Bass, Angela (2005)
Blakeney Clark, Anne (2010)
Blaine, Jennifer (2010)
Boasburg, Tom (2009)**
Bobb, Robert C. (2005)
Boone, Melinda (2004)
Brady, Thomas (2004)
Brandon, Yvonne W. (2006)
Brizard, Jean-Claude (J.C.) (2007)
Brown, Mark (2011)
Burt, Helen (2004)
Burt, Walter (2002)
Byas, Dennis D. (2005)
Bynum, Randolph (Randy) (2007)
Carney, Ingrid (2007)
Carter, Arnold (2002)
Cerf, Christopher (2004)
Coleman-Potter, Bonita (2008)
Contreras, Sharon (2010)
Covington, John (2008)
Darden, Thomas (2009)
Dawning, Paula (2002)
Deasy, John E. (2006)
Dilworth, John (2005)
Downing, Kathryn (2002)
Evans, Mark (2003)
Fryer, Lawrence W., Jr. (2006)
Gilbert, Silvanus Taco (2010)
Gill, Paul (2007)
Gist, Deborah (2008)
Glascoe, Michael (2002)
Goodloe-Johnson, Maria (2003)
Gorman, Peter (2004)
Green, Patricia (2002)
Hammond, James Quezon (2010)
Hankins, Paul (2004)
Hanna, Tomás (2008)
Harner, William E. (2005)
Harries, Garth (2009)
Harris, Carl (2002)
Hayes, Aaron B. (2005)
Heatley, Edmond (2008)
Hegedus, Andrew S. (2005)
Heiligenstein, Anne (2010)
Heyer, Erik (2003)
Hite, William R., Jr. (2005)
Hopkins, Delores (2002)
Hughey, Gary (2005)
Hurt, Dorene (2009)
Ingram, Alan (2007)
Jenkins, Barbara (2006)
Jenney, Timothy (2002)
Johns, Christine (2004)
Johnson, Melody (2002)
King, Cheryl (2003)
Knighton, Christine (Nickey) (2007)
Lane, Linda (2003)
Lee, Candy (2004)
Leonard, Steven (2002)
Lepper, Steven (2009)
Levenson, Nathan (2004)
Littman, Kathi (2005)
Loe, Cynthia (2004)
Lowery, Lillian (2004)
Lusi, Susan (2003)
Lyles, Marcia V. (2006)
MacCormack, Penny (2011)
Malone, Matthew (2003)
Manley, Paul (2008)
Manos-Sittnick, Angela M. (formerly Manos) (2006)
Martinez, Pedro (2009)
Materassi, Leaura (2003)
Matthews, Vincent C. (2006)
Mazyck, Veleter (2007)
McCown, Gaynor (2004)
McGann, Barbara (2003)
McGinley, Nancy (2002)
McIntyre, James P., Jr. (2006)
Meléndez de Santa Ana, Thelma (2006)
Micheaux, Donna J. (2005)
Miles, Mike (2011)
Mir, Gasper (2003)
Moore, Reginald (2005)
Morris, Howard (2003)
Morrison, Heath (2009)
Muñoz, Pablo (2006)
Oats, Mike (2011)
Oliver, Bernard (2002)
Olson, Kimberly (2005)
Paquin, Natalye (2004)
Peebles, Thandiwe (2002)
Peppler, Judy (2011)
Pierce, Glenn (2003)
Pitre, Maria (2008)
Polakow-Suransky, Shael (2008)
Polk, Steven R. (2006)
Pombar, Frank D. (2008)
Porter, John Q. (2006)
Purcell, Carlinda (2004)
Randall, Pamela (formerly Hughes) (2004)
Rayer, Ben (2002)
Raymond, Jonathan P. (2006)
Redden, Joseph (2003)
Richardson, Rick (2011)
Robinson, Wendy (2002)
Roosevelt, Mark (2003)
Rose, Joel (2006)
Rosen, Amy (2004)
Rounds, Michael (2010)
Rudden, Eileen (2009)
Runcie, Robert (2009)
Ryder, Beverly P. (2006)
Saavedra, Abelardo (2002)
San Pedro, Ofelia (2005)
Sandoval, Monica (2003)
Scanlan, John (2007)
Scott, Irvin (2010)
Shazor, Marilyn (2010)
Sheffield, LaVonne (2002)
Silva, Valeria (2008)
Sims, Deborah A. (2005)
Spampinato, Lynn (2004)
Statham, Kimberly (2003)
Stecz, Terrence (Terry) (2007)
Stockwell, Robert (2002)
Tata, Anthony (2009)
Terry, Laverne (2004)
Torres, Jose M. (2005)
Van Valkenburg, Frederick D. (2005)
Vigil, Joseph (2002)
Ward, Randolph (2003)
Wardynski, Casey (2010)
Watkins, Patricia (2002)
Wechsler, Norman (2003)
Welch, John (2002)
Whalen, Kathleen (2002)
White, John (2010)
Wilkins, Stephen (2007)
Williams, Bennie (2007)
Wise, Joseph (2003)
**Tom Boasburg's page states he is a "2009 graduate of The Broad Superintendents Academy Intensive," some sort of crash course. This is why he was not listed on the press release which announced the 2009 participants, nor on the press release which announced the 2009 graduates. The regular program is ten weekends over the course of a year.
Since 2002, the Broad Superintendents Academy has produced at least ten graduating classes. The Class of 2002 had 25 participants. The Class of 2007 had 14 participants. The Class of 2011 had eight participants. The cohort size for 2012 and 2013 is not known. See note above.
About the Launch of the BSA
BSA's Attrition and Graduation Rate
Impact Location of BSA Graduates
- Sign the National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing!
- Sign the petition to remove Arne Duncan as U.S. Secretary of Education
THANK YOU for visiting The Broad Report. Yes, I know this website is overdue for its updating (more about the Broad Residency, Brizard's departure from Rochester and transfer to Chicago, Gorman's initiation of extreme amounts of testing, a deeper look into the superintendent search firms being hired by school districts, etc.), but you'll still find a lot of worthwhile information here.
Be sure to check my other blogs:
– THE PERIMETER PRIMATE
– CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS
Follow the Perimeter Primate on Twitter.
Some associated sites:
-DFER Watch (Democrats for Education Reform)
-Gates Education Report (as in Bill)
Send tips to perimeterprimate@yahoo.com.
Dx the Broad virus
Read "How to tell if your School District is infected by the Broad Virus." by Sue Peters.
The Perimeter Primate
Sharon Higgins writes about schools, neighborhoods, parents, society, class, education, children, crime, race, reality, and change.
Partygoers
Whispering sweet nothings
In This Left-Hand Bar
- The Master Plan
- On Kaufman and Broad / KB Homes
- Relative Net Worth
- What is Propaganda?
- More Reading
- Pronunciation Guide
The Master Plan to eliminate urban public school districts
As clearly outlined by Andy Smarick in Wave of the Future (2008):
First, commit to drastically increasing the charter market share in a few select communities until it is the dominant system and the district is reduced to a secondary provider. The target should be 75 percent.
Second, choose the target communities wisely. Each should begin with a solid charter base (at least 5 percent market share), a policy environment that will enable growth (fair funding, nondistrict authorizers, and no legislated caps), and a favorable political environment (friendly elected officials and editorial boards, a positive experience with charters to date, and unorganized opposition). [Smarick's suggests the "potentially fertile districts" of Albany, Buffalo, Denver, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Oakland, and Washington, D.C.]
Third, secure proven operators to open new schools. To the greatest extent possible, growth should be driven by replicating successful local charters and recruiting high-performing operators from other areas.
Fourth, engage key allies like Teach For America, New Leaders for New Schools, and national and local foundation to ensure the effort has the human and financial capital needed.
Last, commit to rigorously assessing charter performance in each community and working with authorizers to close the charters that fail to significantly improve student achievement.
If you view Smarick's 2008 article, you will see a chart listing the dominant providers at that time. (Figure 2: Replicating Charter Success"). Just two years later, we now know that the #2 and #4 ranked charter managers, White Hat Management and Imagine Schools, Inc., have been embroiled in lawsuits and scandal. The #1 ranked EMO, Edison Schools, ended up failing. It folded and has re-emerged with a new name and plan (Edison Learning).
So much for a fine and upstanding history of charter school "success."
PS: Read Jim Horn's June 2010 projection for the future of charters.
On Kaufman and Broad/KB Homes
- Homeowner nightmare: A KB Home Sucks
- Broad defends pal [Bruce Karatz] facing 20 felony charges
- Bruce Karatz found guilty on stock option backdating charges
- Michael Fiorillo's observation:
"It's revealing that Broad earned the first of his many fortunes building gated communities and subdivisions in white flight suburbs of Southern California. Originally named Kaufman and Broad, the company is now known as KB Homes, the stock of which is a major part of his foundation's endowment.
"So, a fortune created by federally subsidized housing inequalities is then channeled into a tax exempt foundation that funds the dismantling of the public schools and creation of a separate and unequal education system. It's almost like a perpetual motion machine, as designed by Mephistopheles."
Relative net worth
Here's one way to get a perspective on the scale of Eli Broad's wealth, influence, and power:
- On Forbes 2007 list for "The 400 Richest Americans, Eli Broad's net worth was $7 billion.
- In 2007, the net worth of the median American family was $120,300 (Federal Reserve in February 2009, table on page A11).
Thus in 2007, $58,188 to Eli Broad was the equivalent of ONE DOLLAR to the median American family.
UPDATE: Broad's net worth in March 2011 was $5.8 billion.
What is Propaganda?
[Definition #3 in The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition]
"The systematic propagation of information or ideas by an interested party esp. in a tendentious way in order to encourage or instill a particular attitude or response. Also, the ideas, doctrines, etc., disseminated thus; the vehicle of such propagation."
To be most effective, propaganda must be widely and continuously disseminated. If you have millions and millions of dollars to spend on propaganda for your "cause," you'll be able to persuade people to believe just about anything.
However, not everyone is susceptible.
Michael Martin explains why the oligarchs are pushing charters.
Mike Klonsky has had Broad's shenanigans on his radar for the past few years.
Ken Libby offers more information about Broad, too.
The 2008 Annual Report of the Broad Foundation features two-page spreads of the following pets: NY Chancellor Joel Klein, Mark Roosevelt (BSA 3003), Recy Benjamin Dunn (Broad Residency 2005-2007), TFA's Wendy Kopp, Roy Romer (Director of "ED in '08"), and Green Dot's Steve Barr.
Bully in Search of a Pulpit explains that Broad, a "busybody philanthropist" has had an interest in acquiring the LA Times for years.
Why I launched this project.
"Broad" rhymes with code, crowed, flowed, glowed, load, mode, node, slowed, toad, and towed.
*Antioch Unified School District
*Brockton MA
*Capistrano Unified School District
*Central Falls School District
*Detroit Public Schools
*Montgomery County Public Schools
*New Jersey
*Newark
*NYC
*Oakland Unified School District
*Oklahoma City Public Schools
*Rochester School District
*Rockford Public Schools (IL)
*Swampscott MA
*Washoe County NV
Arlingon MA
Arnold "Woody" Carter
Aspire PSs
Ben Austin
Bruce Karatz trial
BSA Class of 2002
BSA Graduation Rate
California State Board of Education
Chris Cerf
Deborah Sims
Don Shalvey
EdVoice
Green Dot PSs
Janelle Scott
Jean-Claude Brizard
Jim Huge
Joanne Weiss
John Deasy
John Q. Porter
Kimberly Olson
LaVonne Sheffield
Maria Goodloe-Johnson
Matthew Malone
Melissa Bonney Ratcliff
Minneapolis Public Schools
Nathan Levenson
NLNS
No confidence vote
NSVF
Parent Revolution
Parent Trigger
Randolph Ward
Revolution Foods
Richard Riordan
Robert Bobb
Rod Paige
Seattle Public Schools
Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana
National Award 2010
Presented by Mike
6/1/ 2010 to 5/31/2011 = 33,087 = 90/day
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This Heavy Duty 3 layer non-woven polypropylene fabric is UV stable, breathable and gives superior water resistance and protection from the elements.
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text:
Kikka (Duits: Katharinenhof) is een plaats in de Estlandse gemeente Räpina, provincie Põlvamaa. De plaats heeft de status van dorp (Estisch: küla) en telt 21 inwoners (2021).

De plaats lag tot in oktober 2017 in de gemeente Veriora. In die maand werd Veriora bij de gemeente Räpina gevoegd.

Geschiedenis
Kikka werd voor het eerst genoemd in 1871. De plaats lag op het landgoed van Veriora. In de buurt van Kikka lag een veehouderij met de naam Katharinenhof.

In 1977 werd het buurdorp Ilumetsa bij Kikka gevoegd.

Station
Kikka heeft een station aan de spoorlijn Tartu - Petsjory, dat nog steeds station Ilumetsa (Estisch: Ilumetsa raudteepeatus) heet, naar het verdwenen dorp. Het vroegere stationsgebouw is in gebruik als woonhuis.

Bij het station liggen vijf kraters, ontstaan door meteorietinslagen. De kraters zijn waarschijnlijk ontstaan rond 4500 v.C.

Plaats in Estland

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Now is the Time for VA to Change its Culture
Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Pentagon official Robert Wilkie as the new Secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs ("Department" or "VA"). Wilkie takes over a federal agency plagued with a culture of toxicity, politicization, and misconduct. Although recent news reports and investigations of VA leadership have been a public relations nightmare for the agency, the prescription for success for the Secretary is rather simple: implement a culture change from the top-down to develop a VA that both performs its duty to veterans and operates in an ethical and productive manner.
A recent Washington Post report found that acting VA secretary Peter O'Rourke removed or reassigned VA staff members perceived to be disloyal to President Trump and his agenda for veterans. The report said that none of the staffers were given reasons for their reassignments. O'Rourke also incorrectly claimed authority over the VA Inspector General in a letter to the Inspector General. Although it would be easy to blame O'Rourke for the Department's toxic climate, he only took office in May 2018; the systemic issues within the VA long precede the acting secretary.
Following the Washington Post report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") identified several issues within the Department regarding employee misconduct, retaliation against whistleblowers, and impunity for senior officials. Perhaps the most troubling finding was that senior officials, who perpetuate the agency's climate, are held to a lower standard than their subordinates. The following figure shows the outcomes of seventeen misconduct cases against senior officials where disciplinary or adverse action was proposed over a 53-month period. Although twelve of the officials faced proposed actions calling for their removal based on the specific charges, only three officials were actually removed from their position. In total, 71% of senior officials who were guilty of misconduct served lesser or no disciplinary action compared to the original proposed action.
Other issues the GAO identified include:
Poor record-keeping – the current information system for recording adverse disciplinary actions does not track employee misconduct across the Department, despite the system having the capability to include and incorporate such models.
Poor communication within the Department – VA employee files investigated by GAO did not always contain documentation indicating that employees were informed of the reason disciplinary action was brought against them. The lack of oversight in the VA's human resource policies increases the risk that employees will not be adequately informed of their rights during adjudication.
Lack of Transparency – VA facilities and program offices did not always provide the supporting documentation that they used to reach their conclusions about case referrals. This calls into question whether enough evidence was gathered to make sound conclusions about disciplinary or adverse actions.
A clear disregard for procedure – the report found that facility and program offices did not consistently follow policies and procedures for investigating allegations against senior officials. Similarly, senior officials may not have always been held accountable for misconduct, whether disciplinary action was not taken or recommended, or previous disciplinary failures were not considered in repeated offenses.
Whistleblowers provide a public service by exposing illegal or unethical activity within an organization. But whistleblowers in the VA allege that managers in their chain of command took actions against them after they reported misconduct. These alleged actions included reassignment to other locations, reduced access to computer equipment necessary to complete assignments, and social isolation from peers. Whistleblowers also were not provided adequate information by VA on how to document or file a claim of misconduct or retaliation.
The GAO report included sixteen recommendations to the VA, of which the VA concurred with nine and partially concurred with five. According to their comments to GAO, the VA plans to, among other things, have the Secretary direct the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection ("OAWP") review and issue guidance on how OAWP will discipline senior officials, and develop a functional process to ensure the implementation of whistleblower protections.
Wilkie is now the face of the VA. It is up to him to make sure that the agency implements the recommendations to protect whistleblowers and hold managers that retaliate against them accountable. Cause of Action Institute will continue to conduct oversight to make sure the VA follows through with adopting GAO's recommendations. We have documented what happens when agencies provide lip-service instead of fixing problems. Our veterans deserve a functional and ethically-operated VA, and that can only start by repairing the climate of the agency from the top.
Chris Klein is a Research Fellow at Cause of Action Institute
The VA's Acting Secretary Claimed He Has Authority Over the Agency's Independent Watchdog. He's Wrong.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) acting secretary Peter O'Rourke incorrectly claimed authority over the VA Inspector General (IG) in a letter sent to the IG on June 11 and published by Stars and Stripes on June 20. In the letter, O'Rourke wrote to VA IG Michael Missal:
"You also appear to misunderstand the independent nature of your role and operate as a completely unfettered, autonomous agency. You are reminded that OIG is loosely tethered to VA, and in your specific case as the VA Inspector General, I am your immediate supervisor. You are directed to act accordingly."
The letter from O'Rourke was in response to IG Missal's concerns outlined in a June 5 letter to the VA that claimed the agency was withholding information from the IG, including information about whistleblower complaints. By trying to strongarm the IG, not only is O'Rourke blatantly mistaken in his interpretation of federal law, but his threatening language in the letter is deeply troubling. While the relevant law, the Inspector General Act of 1978, does put IGs under "general supervision" of agency heads, it makes clear that they have their own independent authority:
"Establishment IGs [IG Act, § 3(a)]: The Act specifies that each IG 'shall report to and be under the general supervision of the head of the establishment involved or, to the extent such authority is delegated, the officer next in rank below such head, but shall not report to, or be subject to supervision by, any other officer of such establishment.' Except under narrow circumstances discussed below, even the head of the establishment may not prevent or prohibit the IG from initiating, carrying out, or completing any audit or investigation, or from issuing any subpoena during the course of any audit or investigation." (Emphasis added)
The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) explains that "[w]hile by law, IG's are under the general supervision of the agency head or deputy, neither the agency head nor the deputy can prevent or prohibit an IG from conducting an audit or investigation. The VA's own Functional Organization Manual states that the VA IG is "an independent oversight entity" that "[h]as authority to inquire into all VA programs and activities."
Simply put, an IG is an independent entity that operates separately from the oversight of any official within the agency it oversees. The independent authority of the IG ensures that investigators can conduct their work without fear of reprisal.
Cause of Action Institute has often written about the issues of having watchdogs without permanent leadership, but an uncooperative agency is a similar, if not greater, problem for accountability and oversight. The VA's acting secretary should stop claiming authority he does not have and should not try to hinder accountability at a federal agency that desperately needs it.
Ethan Yang is a Research Fellow at Cause of Action Institute.
An overlooked bipartisan success story in 2017: VA reform
by John McGlothin | Feb 5, 2018
From the Grammy Awards to the Pro Bowl, it is an American tradition to start the new year by celebrating last year's successes. These celebrations may seem indulgent, but they serve a purpose: to remind us about achievements that might otherwise be forgotten. Just like sports or entertainment, the end of the year dominated headlines when it came to what Congress accomplished (or didn't) in 2017.
The push to pass tax cuts was hectic and eventful, with even Republicans saying a major legislative victory was needed after several attempts to repeal Obamacare failed. Yet there was another legislative victory in 2017, one at least as impressive as tax cuts in almost every way: reform at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill may have passed in another era — last June — but it should not be forgotten.
Read the full column at Washington Examiner
Media, News Learn More


text:
Kurt Scherer (* 30. März 1938 in Pirmasens) ist ein deutscher evangelisch-methodistischer Theologe, Radioredakteur, Seelsorger und Autor christlicher Literatur.

Leben und Wirken
Scherer wollte zunächst Innenarchitekt werden, begann aber nach seiner Hinwendung zum christlichen Glauben ein Studium Evangelischer Theologie am theologischen Seminar der Evangelisch-methodistischen Kirche (EmK) in Frankfurt. Als Pastor der EmK arbeitete er von 1963 bis 1969 in Dreieich-Sprendlingen bei Frankfurt. Danach nahm er eine Berufung zum Evangeliums-Rundfunk in Wetzlar an und leitete zudem bis 1972 auch die örtliche EmK-Gemeinde. Zunächst war er als Chefredakteur tätig, übernahm 1977 die Leitung der Seelsorgeabteilung in Deutschland und 1989 auch in Österreich, der Schweiz und Südtirol. Er führte die Sendereihe "Sprechstunde" ein, in der er auf Hörerfragen einging und nach der Sendung Anrufe entgegennahm. Von 1986 bis 1995 gehörte er als stellvertretender Direktor der Missionsleitung an und ist dem ERF seither als Autor von seelsorgerlich geprägten Beiträgen verbunden. Durch seine Rundfunkarbeit wurde er im gesamten deutschen Sprachraum bekannt und hat inzwischen fast 3.000 Sendungen verfasst. Neben Veröffentlichung seiner Vorträge auf Tonträger, brachte Scherer zahlreiche Büchern zu christlicher Lebenshilfe und Seelsorge heraus. Des Weiteren veröffentlichte er diverse Konzeptalben und leitete Seminare über Konfliktbewältigung und biblische Lebensgestaltung. Er war außerdem Mitinitiator und Vorsitzender einer Lebensgemeinschaft für sozialtherapeutische Seelsorge, des Glaubenshofs Cyriaxweimar bei Marburg und war Gastlehrer an theologischen Seminaren und Bibelschulen.

Nach einem Hirninfarkt 1994 mit Ausfall des linken Gleichgewichtsnerves, trat Scherer 1995 vorzeitig in den Ruhestand und gab sein Amt als stellvertretender Direktor des ERF auf. Bis Ende November 2018 moderierte er bei ERF-Plus die Hörfunkreihe Senior. Er wohnt in Braunfels bei Wetzlar.

Werke (Auswahl)
 Zu seiner Zeit, Hänssler, Neuhausen 1976
 Mit Stress leben, Hänssler, Neuhausen 1976
 Mein Gott, mein Gott, warum ...?, Hänssler, Neuhausen 1978
 Vergebung – das zentrale Problem, Hänssler, Neuhausen 1982
 Krisen – Reifezeiten des Lebens, Hänssler, Neuhausen 1992
 Hedwig von Redern: ihr Leben und Leiden, ihr Loben und ihre Lieder, Johannis-Verlag, Lahr 1995
 Auf zu neuen Ufern, Hänssler Verlag, Neuhausen 2000
 ... dass Leiden wertvoll werde. Impulse für das dritte Lebensalter, Johannis-Verlag, Lahr 2002
 Du musst nicht bleiben, wie du bist. Seelsorge an der eigenen Seele, Johannis-Verlag, Lahr 2009; MediaKern-Verlag, Wesel 2012, ISBN 978-3-8429-1601-2.
 Bist du noch bei Trost? Mut auf schweren Wegen, MediaKern-Verlag, Wesel 2016, ISBN 978-3-8429-1614-2.
 Leid. Wo bleibt der Sinn?, MediaKern-Verlag, Wesel 2020, ISBN 978-3-8429-1633-3.

Tonträger
 Paul Gerhardt – der Psalmist der Christenheit. ERF-Verlag, Wetzlar 1988
 "Fürchte dich nicht ...!": Vier Kurzandachten aus der Sendereihe "Für kranke Hörer". ERF-Verlag, Wetzlar 1988
 Trost: Ermutigende Texte von Kurt Scherer und wohltuende Melodien. Schulte & Gerth, Asslar 1996
 Segen: Ermutigende Texte von Kurt Scherer und wohltuende Melodien. Schulte & Gerth, Asslar 1997
 Lieder, die zu Herzen gehen: Ermutigende Gedanken und bekannte Lieder zusammengestellt von Kurt Scherer. Gerth Medien, Asslar 2008
 Stark ist meines Jesu Hand: Bekannte Lieder, ermutigende Gedanken und Gebete von Kurt Scherer. Gerth Medien, Asslar 2009

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Methodistischer Geistlicher (20. Jahrhundert)
Deutscher
Sachbuchautor (Pädagogik und Psychologie)
Person (Pirmasens)
Geboren 1938
Mann


text:
Home Nigeria AD Governorship Candidate Pledges to Recover Lagos' Commonwealth
AD Governorship Candidate Pledges to Recover Lagos' Commonwealth
Olaseni Durojaiye
The candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Lagos State, Owolabi Salis, has stated that a key objective driving his aspiration to govern the state was to "take back the commonwealth of the state and give it back to the people."
He also disclosed the theme of his campaign was "Protecting the commonwealth of Lagos and stopping the imposition of candidates."
He said if elected governor of Lagos state, he would improve the lot of the people at the bottom of the social ladder, enhance the security of life and property in the state by bringing back professionalism to all the security apparatus, promote independence of the judiciary as well as provide critical infrastructure across the state.
While lamenting that the fortunes of the state was being controlled by an individual, he also said several political offices in the state are filled with stooges who do the bidding of their political godfather as against the wishes of the people and promised to reverse the trend if he is elected the next governor of the state.
Salis spoke in Lagos during a press conference to announce his emergence as the party's gubernatorial candidate in the state and articulate his campaign promises ahead of the election next year.
"As the candidate of the Alliance for Democracy, the theme of our campaign is protecting the commonwealth of Lagos and stopping the imposition of candidates in election. Imposition of candidates is why political offices in Lagos is filled with stooges. Of course you know that those stooges only do the bidding of their political godfathers when they get into office as against working for the people at the grassroots.
"I stand for the less privileged people of Lagos State. I will take back the commonwealth of Lagos, which is presently being controlled by one individual and give it back to Lagosians. If I am elected governor of Lagos State next year, I will work to improve the lives of the less- privilege people of the state. I will work for the advancements of their living condition by, among others, building critical infrastructure.
Speaking further, he deplored vote buying and rigging during elections, describing the practices as undemocratic adding vote buying remains factor working against political parties without huge campaign funds.
Alliance for Democracy
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A SPNEGO HTTP authenticator as defined in https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4559, which gets its credentials from a provided CredentialSource... usually JAAS.
An authenticated HTTP request, with its GSS context.
A typeclass to get/set fields of http requests of type Req.
A typeclass to get/set fields of http responses of type Rsp.


IBC has a concern for global gospel ministry. We are engaged in every continent upon the earth both prayerfully and financially. We are always looking for ways to expand our involvement in this great endeavor.


A glimpse at the price movement of the stock reveals a stellar year-to-date return of 29.3%, way better than the Zacks categorized Medical Product sub-industrys return of 0.68% and the S&P 500s roughly 8.4%. However, till Apr 2016, the companys price performance had been unimpressive. Nevertheless, after the last reported quarter, the companys shares gained roughly 1.5% till yesterdays close. View photos Meanwhile, following the news release, St. Jude Medical gained a nominal 0.3%, to close at $79.88. Of the other positives, we are upbeat about the stocks long-term expected earnings growth rate, currently pegged at 8.53%. On top of it, the stock promises an earnings yield of almost 5%, comparing favorably with the industry average of 0.96%. Meanwhile, a projected sales growth of 9.07% instills confidence on the stock. Coming back to the development, EnSite Precision provides a highly exclusive dual technology that provides detailed anatomical models.
Things have certainly changed; so much so that it is now employers who must fight to offer the greatest benefit packages in order to attain and retain the best and brightest employees. Whether you are looking for employment today, or researching employment opportunities for tomorrow, Job.Dom is here to connect you with hot jobs from some of today's best employers. Details» The Office of Website Management, Office of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. Start managing your career by registering and posting your resume now. http://nicenaomiross.redcarolinaparaguay.org/2016/10/05/basic-advice-on-significant-aspects-of-selection-process One of the most popular benefits for employees is an opportunity to learn. For top jobs and top candidates – join Careers24.Dom now. © Careers24. What stops you from getting your dream job? Employers are using these keywords to search for candidates: With at lest one of these words 4 : a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling See career defined for English-language learners Examples of career in a sentence She hopes to pursue a career in medicine.
(AP) – Tacko Fall scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help Central Florida beat Miami (Ohio) 80-73 in overtime on Sunday. Fall, who entered with the nation's best field-goal percentage at 81.6 percent, was 11 of 12 from the field and 9 of 12 at the stripe. Matt Williams opened overtime with a long 3-pointer and his two free throws after a flagrant foul gave UCF a 71-66 lead with 3:47 left. Miami didn't make its first field goal of the extra session until the 59-second mark when http://pokentedidly61b56.journalnewsnet.com/choosing-a-graphic-designer-that-is-familiar-with-working-for-a-range-of-colleges-is-a-wise-decision-for-any-institution Rod Mills Jr. hit an open 3-pointer and the RedHawks only trailed 73-71. Williams made two free throws with 22.5 seconds left for a five-point lead but Michael Weathers scored quickly on the other end to get to 76-73. Chad Brown sealed it at the line with two makes. Williams, a senior, had his second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for UCF (8-3), which snapped a two-game losing streak. Weathers scored 15 points for Miami (5-6) and Mills added 13 points, including a pull-up jumper to tie it at 66 with 35.8 second left in regulation. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Providers should compare the dates of service for accuracy and consistency. Some of these opinions may contain information about treatment or uses of drug products that have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. docs wants to assure that all existing providers successfully move to the new system before shutting down the manual process. What can I do if I receive Remittance Advice Details RAD code 9101: Manufacturer catalog pages or invoice required? When I access the Website to medical interview q&a check the status of my transmission, I get the message "Information about the volser is not available." Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider because of something you have read on WebMD. The last digit is a pricing indicator.


Our iconic BMW sedan just got even better. The all-new, seventh generation, 2019 BMW 3 Series, brings the classic sleek design of our sedan model with more innovation, power, performance, and design. This new model brings "The Ultimate Driving Machine" to a whole other level. This BMW is the world's highest-selling premium car for a reason.
Our 2019 BMW 3 Series packs a punch. This sedan features numerous detail upgrades that not only make this model lighter and smoother with reduced friction, the new digital engine management system allows this BMW to go an impressive 0 to 60 in 5.6 seconds.
This model features an 8-speed Sport Steptronic transmission, allowing improved acceleration ability and provides an Auto Start Stop function. These features reduce both fuel consumption and emissions.
In addition to the reduced emissions and reduced fuel consumption featured on this model, BMW has updated this sedan with the latest plug-in hybrid drive technology. The 2019 BMW 3 Series has more power and torque, more innovations, and is more sustainable.
The new BMW 3 Series now has enhanced driving dynamics which create more agile handling, higher precision steering, and superior braking performance. The updated weight optimization of this model allows for a low center of gravity, providing a perfect 50:50 balance in weight between the front and rear weight distribution.
All new, shock absorber technology has been applied to the 2019 BMW 3 Series, creating a sportiness and comfort unrivaled by any other manufacturer, allowing for a much smoother ride.
BMW has always brought the classic luxury and sporting flair to our vehicles. The new 2019 BMW 3 Series is no exception. This vehicle provides a modern interpretation of the sporting aesthetic while showcasing a longer and sleeker design.
The longer design allows for a more spacious cabin and a lighter look. The driver is gifted with increased comfortability, added space, and adjustability with the new Vernasca leather seating, with a shape and design allowing for more focus on the road ahead. The interior also comes in a choice of five colors and includes special decorative quilting and seam patterns.
The new design also features improved trunk space. Whether you need space for your luggage on a business trip, or taking the kids to soccer practice, you have the room to fit everything you need.
The BMW Live Cockpit comes with the standard hi-fi audio features with ten speakers and a 205-watt amplifier. You can also select the optional Harman Kardon surround sound system, which upgrades the system to 16 speakers and a digital 7-channel amplifier generating over 460 watts.
Our Driver Assistance Systems take your driving experience to new heights with added cameras and sensors to alert the driver of hazards and to minimize the risk of an accident utilizing corrective braking and steering.