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Episode 42: Identifying Opportunities Instead Of Problems With Isaac Nickelson
In episode 42 of the Professional Builders Secrets podcast, we're joined by Isaac Nickelson, owner of Nickelson Construction based out of Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. Throughout this episode, Isaac goes over the highs and lows of owning a business, how he transitioned from remodelling to custom homes, and the process of moving Nickelson Construction interstate.
Inside episode 42 you'll discover
The challenges of moving Nickelson Construction from Florida to Colorado
How Isaac transformed his business from just remodelling to full-fledged custom home building
How to use Zoom calls to generate leads
The strategies Nickelson Construction utilised to come back after a wildfire natural disaster
And much, much more.
Listen to the full episode to find out how you can change your perspective, and start to see opportunities arise, rather than problems.
Isaac Nickelson - Owner Nickelson Construction
Isaac is a customer focused, experienced building contractor and the founder of Nickelson Construction. Isaac has a demonstrated history of over 20 years working in the construction industry and is always willing to share what he's learned to help others achieve their goals, and focus on the opportunities in their business.
Connect with Isaac
1:32 About Isaac and Nickelson Construction.
1:56 How Isaac got started in the industry.
3:19 When Isaac started working for himself.
5:38 Moving the building company interstate.
7:11 The highs and lows of Nickelson Construction.
9:14 The process Isaac went through when relocating his business.
9:52 The transition from remodelling to custom homes.
11:13 Nickelson Construction's biggest transformation.
12:48 How Isaac started with APB and how has it changed his business.
13:46 Isaac's journey with APB.
14:21 How APB's Private Mentoring impacted the business.
15:04 How Nickelson Constructions generated leads after relocating to a new state.
16:44 The strategy Nickelson Construction deployed after a wild fire disaster.
17:56 Isaac's focus for the growth of Nickelson Construction.
19:28 The struggles that builders in the industry face today.
21:10 How to stay balanced working with family.
21:51 Isaac's advice to a younger version of himself.
23:09 How Isaac sees the construction industry evolving.
24:26 Isaac's forecast of the custom home building market.
24:17 Achieving your desired lifestyle and success.
26:43 How Isaac promotes the balance of family and work.
Links, Resources & More
Nickelson Construction
APB Website
APB on Instagram
APB on Facebook
APB on YouTube
Join the Professional Builders Secrets Facebook group for builders & connect with professional builders world-wide.
Isaac Nickelson:
Maybe things aren't working out exactly as planned. You start to question yourself. There's only so much time in the day; you can't possibly wear all the hats. The biggest thing that keeps me going in this space is I can better the industry as a whole. It's easy to have destination addiction. It is a survival of the fittest.
Bosco Anthony:
Hello and welcome to the Professional Builders Secrets podcast, a podcast by the Association of Professional Builders (APB) for building company owners, general managers, VPs and emerging leaders. Here, we discuss all things running a professional building company, from sales to processes, financials, operations and marketing. I'm joined today by Isaac Nickelson, Founder and Owner of Nickelson Construction in Fort Collins, Colorado. Isaac, thanks for being here today.
Thank you, Bosco. Thanks for having me.
Let's start off with a little bit about your business and what you specialise in. Tell us a little about you.
My name, of course, is Isaac Nickelson. I am the Founder and Owner of Nickelson Construction. We are a design-build firm. We specialise in custom home building and primarily remodelling as well.
Isaac, let's start off with how did you get started in the industry and was this a path that was predetermined, or did you accidentally land on it?
I definitely have a little bit of an interesting story, a whole backstory to getting into the industry. I was actually home-schooled as a child, and even from a young age, I had a passion for building. It was really just something that came when I was a kid, but as I grew up I was around construction; my father actually had a cabinet company in the commercial space. I started with a family friend from a really young age, about 13 or 14 years old. I started out at base level, cleaning up trash on job sites and nailing straps. I was the strap boy; I moved all the way through to running some framing crews and then moved up to different positions in the construction industry.
I really just had a passion for building from a young age. And then as time went on, I worked for a pretty large home building company that actually ended up going out of business at the end of 2008. It was right around that time that I, for some reason, decided to start my own business, probably at the worst time you could get started. That's a little bit of my background; I'm sure there's a lot more to share on that.
What was it like starting out and when did you know that you wanted to start your own business?
I don't know if I was pushed in that direction. As I said, it did come from a passion and loving to build, loving to work with my hands, loving to create something from nothing with the building industry. But I think some of it was being pushed into the space in a sense of working with a company and probably still being young and not knowing that my career had ended there. I was presented with a big question mark of what do you do? Do you go find work with another builder or do you start on your own? I was pushed into the space and because I've always enjoyed being an entrepreneur and creating things, I said, "Hey, let's go for it." I started with some small side jobs and some little things really just to make some extra income, and that actually ended up turning into what is now our business.
Was it always based out of Fort Collins? When did you start operating out of there?
I was born and raised in Florida. The companies I worked for there were based out of Florida. We worked there for quite some time. I started my business right around 2009 and really started ramping up in 2010, 2011. We became state licensed in the State of Florida and really then started to specialise in custom homes there in Florida.
There was a whole change of events and a lot of different backgrounds over the years that really got us asking some deeper questions, such as, "Do we like the climate? Where might we want to settle?" We really started to look at Colorado. I had some family from the area, and we decided to do something that was very challenging and bring our business to a close there in Florida, but then make a transition all the way here to Colorado. We've been here about four and a half years now. Needless to say, that was quite a challenge with definitely lots of highs and lows along the way.
So, you moved from Florida to Fort Collins in Colorado. You established a business in Florida. That's a big risk when you leave one state where you've actually built a prominent business, you've put your time in and then you start off in a new state and start from scratch. You evaluated the risk and said, "This is a risky move, but we still want to do it." What was your thought process around that?
I think we absolutely knew it was going to be a huge risk. I think from the time that we really started to think about it to the time we pulled the trigger to actually make the move was probably about a year and a half. It was maybe even close to two years from the time we really started talking about what does a move look like to the time we were actually saying, "Okay, we've got to close out some contracts, bring some things to a close."
It wasn't an overnight decision by any means, and it was quite a challenge. Really, it was a lifestyle change for us. We were up for the ride to say, "Hey, this is something that is really important. We love the outdoors. This is somewhere we want to be to raise our kids." Sometimes I think in business, it's beyond just being established or being successful. Sometimes you've got to take the whole piece of life into this and the bigger picture of, yes, the business is important, but there are also all these other aspects of living. That's super important.
It sounds like you've constructed your life by design in many ways. I can relate to that. What were the highs and the lows of that time in your life when you relocated your business? Every entrepreneur remembers that classical high and that classical mistake that they make that will forever change how they operate business. If you look back at your career in this space, what were some of those highs and lows?
There were definitely lots of highs and low. I think anyone in construction could attest to that for sure. I would say there are times in life when you decide to do something and then maybe things aren't working out exactly as planned, or maybe as quickly as planned, so you start to question yourself. "Did we make the right decision? Should we have stayed?" I think you juggle with a lot of mental gymnastics, asking yourself, "Was it the right move?" I think some of the lows were definitely those, in that space of double thinking or questioning, "Was this a good choice?"
Some of the other difficult times came about because we were breaking into a new market. Although it's familiar, it's construction, it's a lot of similar stuff, a lot of working on some of the main national codes, but now we were working in a new market and have to relearn a lot of things. Even though some of the national codes are the same, local codes are different and we were breaking into that whole space.
There were definitely a lot of challenges, a lot of lows, I think in the beginning, trying to get established. We were moving to a place where no one knew us, no one knew our business. No one really knew our name. So those were some of the lows.
I think some of the highs were when we started to get some of those first sales and we were working so hard. Even though it was all familiar, we really feel like we were almost set back and began to realise, "Okay, I'm starting at ground zero." Another of the highs, I think, was that we were starting with a blank slate. We're in an area where profit margins are higher. We've learnt a lot of things along the way. I think some of the highs are when we make some of those sales, we definitely want to celebrate the wins and keep moving forward.
You talked about higher profit margins. Did you forecast that opportunity when you were moving from Florida to Colorado? Or did you have a notion that moving not only would help the lifestyle, but more importantly, you'd be able to see some opportunities where some people normally would just look at the problems and the challenges?
We did some assessment of the area and knew where things were. Now, until you're in it and living it, you don't know exactly what those profit margins might be. That's where, by partnering with APB, we've learnt a lot along the way and have even taken some of the background that they teach and have been able to apply that to increasing our profit margins.
What made you transition to custom homes? You talked earlier about transitioning to custom homes from remodelling. Was that a choice or was that the business was calling for it? I'm just curious as to what prompted that restructure.
Some of it was because when I was growing up, that's what I started with. I had a lot of my expertise in custom homes and started from the ground up within that. As markets change and things happen, we had to make a shift and diversify a little bit into some of the remodelling and things like that. Even when I was getting started, we took on a lot of different projects, but I think it's always been a passion of mine to build with something new. It's similar to the move here and that blank slate that I talked about.
It's similar in that situation. On a custom home, you're starting from a dream and you're making this dream a reality. That's something that's pretty exciting. As we moved, we did kick off a lot of remodelling, a lot of smaller stuff to get in and get known and get our name out there. Probably one of the other driving factors for us as a business and now what our system is today is, of course we're a larger contract, a larger sale, so for our business model and some of the things we have planned for the future, it fits our business model as well.
How did you transform the business to where it's at today? You talked a little bit about increasing your profit margins, but what does that business look like today? How big's the team? What led to the growth of the company?
I think the biggest transformation has come from the move. You can see all the lows or all the challenges, but in a lot of ways it can challenge you. It can give you a new perspective on business. I think some of that has transformed as we have made the move. I grew up in a really small town in Florida. All builders just did the same thing. It was the known stigma of, "Oh a 10% margin." That was just the known thing in the industry. It's funny how you can grow up with a certain perspective and you apply that just because it's the norm. Some of the biggest transformation has been that move and that new challenge.
Some of it comes back to just having been a one man show. You could say it was having the attitude of, "I'm going to work in the business. I'm going to wear all the hats." I think the biggest transformation for us has been that we're actually setting up systems and working with a team and still trying to build these systems and things as we continue to grow. That would be the biggest thing, I think, learning to delegate, learning to set these systems up and really trust a team and growing a business, not just trying to wear all the hats yourself.
You alluded to the fact that you came across APB and they also helped play a part in your growth. How did that relationship start and how did you hear about them and how did they impact your business?
I think the first thing that I saw from APB was an advertisement, I believe on Facebook. It might have been Sky. I think she had a little video and something she was running about not doing free quotes. That really stuck out to me. I think that's something in this industry that's another one of those things that we just think, "Oh, it's always been done that way. Why change it?" For us, especially as we quote on a custom home, it's such a process and there's so much that goes into it. These custom homes are not commodities. Every home is different. There's so much work that goes into it. So that really caught my eye when she showed an outline, a path to say, "Hey, you can charge for these essential services." So that's how we became acquainted. I think we did a little interview, and the rest is history from there.
How did the relationship mature after you started working together? Did you start the coaching program, and what did you take from it?
I think we had signed up initially just for some of the initial membership. Then as time went on, we really did see the value in some one-on-one coaching and working with our coach to dive in a little deeper on some of the issues that we were facing as a company. That's where it started. And today we are in the private coaching, the mentoring program.
How did the mentoring program impact your business? You talked a little bit about systems as well, were there any strategies or any sort of tactics that you're applying right now, or that you have applied that you've seen really great success with?
One of the biggest ones was really critiquing and providing us with a better sales system. As I mentioned, providing and building the building blocks and the foundation of how to actually have a three-step sales process. Some of these things APB really drives home; that was really big on our sales end, and then on the systems end of things that's what we're really into now. And trying to systemise better parts of the company. There's definitely a lot of good information.
When you move into a new state, and nobody knows your name, how do you outreach to get clients? Are you advertising? Are you cold calling? How are you drumming up business?
For a lot of it, we're doing some of the APB systems, following some of their marketing programs and doing some different things on social media or AdWords and things like that. That's what we started with. My coach, Erik, had actually given us some good information. One of the APB protocols is a 10 by 10 by 10 strategy. There was an unfortunate situation here in Colorado, where there was a wildfire, and a lot of people lost their homes. It was quite a tragic situation, but it was also an opportunity for us to work with some new clients on these rebuilds. Erik had given us this strategy to say, "Hey, we were working with one client," and they call it the 10 by 10 by 10.
It's reaching out to the one client who you might know. Then through working with that one person, maybe they know some of their neighbours and those neighbours know neighbours. So, it's this outreach of who you're already working with and who they might know. We did set up some Zoom calls and provided some value to say, "Here's who we are, here's what we can do. And here's how we can help with that rebuilding process." So, that was a really good takeaway from the mentoring as well, that we have that support in all this.
When you talk about the outreach, and you were asking for referrals, and you were asking for people who knew each other as well, obviously they're going through a really tough time in their lives right now and you have to be really gentle with that approach. Can you tell me a little bit about the impact of the outreach? Were people surprised? Were they open to chatting with you about rebuilding their homes? What was the impact on the business?
Yeah, they were open. We had started with one contact who we had signed into some of our early steps, which we call our CPA, it's a Conceptual Package Agreement. Then we moved to step two, which is the PBA, a Preliminary Building Agreement. We had signed on one deal in some of these early preliminary phases. By setting up this outreach, we had reached out to several other neighbours there and also signed up quite a few others into this phase and are moving some of these now into the building contract phase.
It also speaks a lot about people and adversity as well. Not only from your end, but also from the client's end as well. I can only imagine the tragic feeling that someone has when they lose something. That emphasis to rebuild and start again is really inspiring because it's finding the opportunity in things and finding the opportunity amongst challenges, as well. As you've grown the business, what are you focusing on today? You talked a little bit about that you've got to focus now for the future. What does that growth look like for you and where are you putting your thoughts and actions?
The biggest thing I think we're still working on is to better implement systems. I think for so long, because I was so hands-on with so many things, it was hard to let go of certain areas of the business and certain things. I always felt that I had to keep my hand in. I think, as we have grown, what that does do is it really reveals that there's only so much time in the day, you can't possibly wear all the hats, even as much as you want to. It's probably something done by a lot of smaller builders who are very particular, and have a certain way of doing things. That's been the biggest change for me, to definitely focus on systems and to better put those in place. Our team can look to these systems in a sense and say, "Okay, without having to bring it all the way to the top, where do I start? If I run up against something, can I have some good support without having to go up the chain of command, in a sense?"
When you talk about systems, you're also talk about technology as well, I'm assuming?
That's right. Yeah. We've worked with Buildertrend for quite some time and project management software, better marketing and CRM software, things like that, some better things that help set up some automation and some things that don't also have to always be done by someone manually doing some repeatable tasks.
What are some of the struggles that builders face in the industry today? I'm just curious what your perspective is on this.
There's quite a lot facing the industry as a whole. Inflation is a big question and challenge at the moment. No one knows exactly where things are headed with that. There's a lot of subcontractor shortage and a shortage of good trades in the industry. So those are a couple big one. And of course, just with what's going on in the economic world of supplies and trying to get things timely, that's another big one.
One issue that I think's probably in the back of every builder's mind, at some point, as a custom home builder, is something around those lines changing in the sense of the way custom homes are sold. I think a lot of people nowadays want something and they want it now. I think it's providing a good clear sales process to the steps, because there are a lot of steps to building a custom home. I think it's trying to make that as clear as possible. I think that nowadays, it's sometimes easy to find a home on the market and purchase a home, but it's a process to go through a custom home. So, I think that's going to be interesting to see how that unfolds in years to come.
Obviously, those struggles are your struggles too, because you just listed a bunch of things that you're probably going through. Every builder goes through some of these things as well. How do you balance the struggles and the anxiety that come with those struggles and then live a normal life and turn off and turn on and go back to work every day? What keeps you getting up in the morning to do what you do, despite all the struggles out there?
You definitely have to have a bigger perspective of what you're doing in life and the value you do bring, definitely having a balance to it all. There's definitely a lot of good things to focus on. I think the biggest thing that keeps me going in this space is looking at the problems that I can solve and looking at the things that I can better in the industry as a whole. That's really a motivation, is to keep bettering myself and also bring my best for the industry as well.
If you had to travel back in time, what advice would you give a younger version of yourself?
I think definitely to be patient. Be patient with yourself. I think it's easy to have destination addiction and a sense of always wanting to be in a certain place and having a lot of questions. Yes, set your goals up, set your aspirations for the future and what you might want to work towards, but never to forget to be present, to live in the moment. A lot of things that seem like they may be big problems you'll handle chunks at a time and one day at a time. Then you'll look back and think, "Wow, how far have we come by tackling those, by really just taking moment by moment and being patient."
I find it very fascinating that you call it destination addiction. I don't think I've ever heard anyone call it that before, but it makes sense because we are living in this world of instant gratification and digital noise and people live their lives through touch screens. They create all these expectations for themselves. I can totally relate to what you just said there, that people are addicted to success, but sometimes that takes time and work and patience. I totally get it. You've talked a little bit about the struggles. I'm just curious, where do you see the construction industry evolving to? What does the future of it look like today?
In a sense, there is a lot changing. In some way, it is a survival of the fittest, and the opportunities are huge for the ones who put in the work. They're working on their businesses and working through these issues, putting systems in place and building teams and following a lot of these APB protocols.
There's so much changing with a lot of this inflation, as I mentioned. With things like these fixed contracts that are signed, you really have to have the right background in all of this and know the language and have systems to not only protect your homeowner, but to protect yourself and your business. It's going to be an interesting few years as things shift around, to see what the construction industry as a whole does, and what those changes will actually look like. I'd say those are some of the key things that make it essential to really put in the time into your business.
Do you feel that the demand for custom homes is still going to be there? Do you feel like there are going to be people with an appetite to build their homes, especially with where you are right now? Is that demand increasing over time?
I think it will. I think there's going to be a big shift in the market, but I also do think that there's enough people who are always going to want what they want. There are some things that you can only get with a custom process. I think the companies who are going to be here to stay around and be a part of this industry and help improve the industry are the ones who are going to put in the work on their businesses and have clear processes in place and make the education of this whole building process very known and very clear. I think that's the big difference in where things are headed.
You talked a little bit about the reason for moving was this lifestyle that your wife and you wanted to promote, and you moved to Colorado for a different type of lifestyle. Do you feel you've achieved that? What do success and happiness look like to you today?
In a sense, it's forever a work in progress. I think to create some balance is not easy, and it's something that I'm not always good at. But I put in more effort all the time to really look at what's important. There are so many things that demand our attention this day and time. Being a business owner, especially in construction, is very demanding, but there are certain things that are important to me. This might seem funny, but every day I even put on my calendar a certain time when I'm very intentional to spend time with my family and a certain time that I focus on health, my gym routine and things like that. And there are certain times when I think, "Hey, you need a mind break."
Although in business, all these things are very important, when any one thing gets out of balance, it can really throw everything off. So, I think that's the key. To try to be aware is the first step and then say, "Okay, what can I do?" Even if it's small steps to set these things up based on what is important to you.
Now, you're a family man, and looking at the website, it sounds like your wife is also in the business as well. How do you promote that balance where you have that work time and then you switch off and take care of the family and everything else? What does that look like for you? Do you have to have someone hold you accountable or do you prompt yourself to turn off when you're done working?
In a sense, we try to hold each other accountable, but it is easy to let all of that roll into, "Oh, it's dinner time. We're still talking about work," or something like that. I think we've become better at that, but that is a challenge when you work with your wife or a family member, and it's easy to just merge it all together. In a sense, there's a time and a place for that all, but I've found it personally very healthy to set a time where this is work, and then this is time for me. This is based on my values. It's very important that at some point I shut it off and it's going to be there tomorrow and we're going to pick back up and carry on with the important things.
Isaac, I think I could talk to you about work and life and business for quite some time, but I want to thank you for your time today and for your insights. I really appreciate you taking us back to the roots and talking a little bit about change. Some people fear change. Some people look at all the challenges that come with change, but it sounds like you really saw the opportunity in this change in your life and the move. And it sounds like you are achieving what you set out to do, which is finding the opportunity for making the most out of it.
Yeah. Thank you. I really appreciate you having me on and chatting a little bit.
Thank you for listening. Remember to subscribe to Professional Builders Secrets on your favourite podcast platform and leave a review. To learn more about how the systems at APB can help you grow your building company, visit associationofprofessionalbuilders.com. See you next time.
Excellent Content! Looking forward to the new episodes
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This podcast has great dialogue that would benefit anyone navigating the mysteries of a small to medium size startup. There are little nuggets throughout each episode and I would recommend this for not only my builder friends but any entrepreneur. Well done!
Great variety and content!
I have to say, I was a little sceptical when I saw APB jumped on the podcasting bandwagon. I'm a few episodes in and I'm hooked! I think the best part about this podcast in particular is how different each episode is. Tye's story is not only inspiring, he's relatable and the interviews with the coaches are incredibly insightful as to what APB actually do. Great content..Highly recommend.
A refreshing new resource for builders!
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This series where actual builders are discussing their experiences helps us realize that we can succeed as well.
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Highly recommend this Podcast if you own a custom home building company. Very high quality information shared. Thanks APB
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Really interesting and insightful! Well worth the listen 🤙
Awesome - worth the Listen
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I started listening to this Podcast a short while ago on an intermittent basis, its worth the listen, an enjoyable podcast for those in the industry who enjoy these.
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So happy I stumbled on this podcast. The information provided has been invaluable. Thanks👌
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This podcast is insightful and inspiring. I love hearing the builders stories and how they got to where they are today.
Professional Builders Secrets
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Really insightful podcast for Builders. Great mix of industry knowledge, success stories and tips for running a building company. Pleased to have stumbled across this one.
Love this podcast!
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I'm really glad I came across this podcast, it's super insightful and highlights important lessons for builders looking to grow their companies! Would recommend!
Great stories and insight
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Episode one is a fascinating conception story and beyond that things remain captivating! Overall I'd say it's an equally worthwhile listen for builders and for anyone remotely related to the industry or just interested in hearing good chat about a world they may be unfamiliar with.
Invaluable
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Recently found out that APB was running a podcast I was quick to jump on and catch up on all the episodes. I have been with other Building coaching programs in the past, but as a member for two years, they truly set themselves apart. The combined wealth of knowledge that the APB team bring to the industry can save many builders going down consequential paths of hardships and losses. They bring light and hope to many !!! This Podcast has many nuggets in their candid conversations - be a good listener !!
My car rides have become fascinating!
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This is a podcast i listen to in the car - it's like listening to 60 minutes and the host is great at uncovering the secrets around the building industry - loving this so far!
Amazing variety of insights
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I am loving the variety of insights from guests around the world - some really great questions asked as well!
Excellent podcast for builders. Very insightful team
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This is a great podcast for builders. I'm already hooked after the first few episodes. I can't wait to tune in weekly and hear more from the range of building industry experts that appear on professional builders secrets.
Great listen
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Amazing podcast specifically for builders. Love the variety of information and hidden gems that are uncovered in every episode.
Insightful and Practical
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Very well informed, and thought leading advice on growing a successful and resilient building company. Enjoyed the passion in this, can't say I've listened to another podcast with such tangible information. Well overdue for this industry!
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The construction industry has been waiting for the Professional Builders Secrets podcast! This podcast helps uncover tips and strategies for builders wanting to grow their business as well as sharing real stories from builders on their journeys to success. This podcast is packed full of interesting industry insights, amazing builder interviews, humour and knowledge. If you're a builder, this is the podcast for you.
Looking to grow your building company?
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For owners of residential building companies in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States and the UK who are looking to grow their businesses safely and securely using proven processes.
For Professional Builders
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A specialised podcast made just for the owners of custom home building companies. Extraordinary guests, valuable content and amazing stories from other builders are shared.
One of the best podcasts for the building industry for sure!
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Great podcast!
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Great content that clearly explains the history and background of the Association of Professional Builders. Very interesting!
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I am thrilled to announce that our blog has been nominated for Liebster Award. This award is given by bloggers to bloggers so we can showcase one another's work online. I'm honored to be nominated by my sister in Christ, Alisha Blue from www.becomeless.net.
Part of being nominated for this award is that I answer some questions, which will allow you guys to get to know me. (Which I'm excited about!) As well as nominate others bloggers to receive this award. However, before I do that I want to thank God because he has truly opened doors for me in my purpose.
He led me to start this blog and cover faith and encouragement based topics. In my mind, I was unqualified to do what he was asking of me because I didn't feel adequate. Despite my feelings God had a plan and purpose that I couldn't see for my passion of writing. It's amazing how He can take our purpose to levels we can't imagine if we are will to be obedient.
Before I start getting too sappy and the tears begin to flow let's move onto the questions.
This year it's been posting consistently because of time constraints. So I've been working on managing my time better and adding more value to each post now that we're faith-based. My goal is to find a way to provide content regularly that's valuable to you guys.
Take time to connect with your readers outside of your blog either on social media or via emails. It's a great way to connect with your community, learn about them, and build relationships. Some great ways to do this is through Twitter and Facebook groups.
When I'm not working on the blog one of my favorite things to do is cook or bake. I also enjoy traveling, playing video games, reading, shopping, spending time with family, and watching television.
One subject that I love is marketing and branding. Within the Christian community I love seeing how people are called to ministry and through writing, shirts, etc. develop brands. I admire how they use the platform they are given by God to bring him glory and in return, they are able to reach others through products and services.
I started Mind of a Diva when I was looking to start my career as a writer. I thought that having skills in blogging would give me an advantage in journalism. After praying about what to write on God told me to write a lifestyle blog. So I did that for a few years till I started to get burned out and started praying on if I should continue.
That's when God told me that he wanted me to write about faith-based articles. I was reluctant to do that out of fear, but after making the transition it's been fulfilling. I'm excited about where things are going moving forward!
This question really stumped me for some reason (maybe because I have a lot of stuff that I love). So I have narrowed it down to two things, first being my computer because it was my first big purchase. Along with it provides hours of entertainment and the ability to work on the blog.
Many times when I have an idea for a post it's because God is pressing on my heart to share something. So many times that's what motivates me to write on the blog. When I'm journaling I motivated to write by something being on my mind to write about. Many times that helps me sort out what I'm thinking and those pieces show up in a blog post!
Finally, I get the privilege of nominating some of my favorite bloggers. These guys have are amazing and write blog post that I love to read on a regular basis. Go check out their sites now! (Nominees please look at comment section for the guidelines).
For those who are nominated, please follow along with the steps below.
Nominate 5-11 blogs with followers less than 200 that you believe deserve to receive the award. If you feel others deserve the award, then you are welcome to nominate more.
Notify the nominated bloggers so that they can accept the award. Bloggers can be nominated more than once, giving their readers more chances to learn more about them.
Congratulations, guys! Please give their blogs some love and interaction.


ClearChoice Intense Moisture, 1 oz is a pure, highly refined oil extracted from the pits of olives, that is easily absorbed into the skin.
Apply to face and neck as a moisturizer or layer over a ClearChoice moisturizer.
Active Ingredients: 100% Pure Squalane.


text: Q: Firefox 49 cannot display radio and checkbox inputs on Ubuntu 14.04 Today I have updated Firefox to the latest version 49 on my Ubuntu 14.04 (using apt-get upgrade). It is very weird that Firefox does not display the radio and checkbox inputs correctly (see the screenshot below: it should display a square before Check me out). Any ideas on what is the problem? Thanks a lot.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Remember from Part 1 that recent Gallup studies reveal that 71 percent of American workers are either not engaged in their jobs – or have become actively disengaged.
In my decades of work with hundreds of companies I truly cannot recall meeting even one person on any team who didn't want to be successful. What I did meet were hundreds, if not thousands who were disillusioned, pissed off and tuned out, many actively doing damage to the business.
How do people who are fundamentally good, go sour on such a major part of their lives?
The diagram above shows the challenge of complexity of work plotted against the capability of the individual worker. The goal in any organization should be to match the level of challenge with capability and get the people on their team "in flow" where they are happy and successful in their role.
The two other conditions, Abuse and Misuse are what you need to watch out for as a leader or manager. Abuse typically happens in the managerial ranks when an individual is promoted beyond their capability (the Peter Principle). These people are often glad to have gotten the promotion but miserable in the new role, longing for the work from when they were happy. Look at the behaviors of people "in Abuse" – do you recognize the behavior of any of your team members? Abuse will be the topic of a future blog.
Misuse, on the other hand, is most often found in the hourly ranks. Individuals who have far more capability than their role calls for. That capability will find an outlet. If you do not provide that outlet, you will be lucky if the outlet is outside of your business, because otherwise the subsequent 'game playing' can be very damaging to your business.
Misuse can be avoided with a structured approach to business improvement that engages every person, at every level of the organization, in improving the business.
People WANT to be successful – it is incumbent on leadership to provide the environment and culture to enable them to be so!
We help businesses do exactly this.


There are over 1,225 Hotels and Motels in Mississippi. Top Cities in Mississippi with most Hotels are: Jackson, Biloxi, Vicksburg, Natchez & Meridian. You will find a list of all major cities in Mississippi in the list below. You may also view Hotels and Motels in various Counties in Mississippi, or view top Hotel Chains & Franchises in Mississippi.


text:
Q: php decoded utf values not displaying on google chrome i have following code when i run this code on firefox its works fine giving out put as i want when i run this code on Google chrome out put not correct showing any idea?
<?php

$encode=utf8_encode("වවවවවවවවවවව");

$decode=utf8_decode($encode);

print_r($decode);

die;

?>

thanks in advance
roshan

A: This code makes no sense. utf8_encode() is a function to convert ISO-8859-1 data into UTF-8.
Googling shows that your data is a singhalese character, which isn't part of ISO-8859-1. It is extremely likely that it will be destroyed in the first utf8_encode() call.
I guess the answer in this specific situation is, don't use utf8_encode(). If that doesn't work for you, please provide some more context about what you are doing. Maybe you are looking for iconv()?

A: Might as well move this to answer section:
Define UTF-8 as your charset in your <head>
<meta charset="utf-8">


The growth hormone receptor has been an archetype for ligand-induced receptor dimerisation in cytokine receptor signalling.
However, we now know that it exists as a constitutive dimer and is activated by a reorganisation of receptor subunits as a result of asymmetric placement of two receptor binding sites on the hormone monomer.
This review highlights several topics including: current models of receptor activation; recent advances in the understanding of GH signalling demonstrating that ligand-induced signalling activates Src/ERK pathway in parallel to the classical JAK2-STAT5 signalling; and the nuclear localised growth hormone receptor correlates with high proliferation status and carcinogenesis.


Ecuador is located in western South America. Ecuador is bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and south.
Google Earth is a free program from Google that allows you to explore satellite images showing the cities and landscapes of Ecuador and all of South America in fantastic detail. It works on your desktop computer, tablet, or mobile phone. The images in many areas are detailed enough that you can see houses, vehicles and even people on a city street. Google Earth is free and easy-to-use.
Ecuador is one of nearly 200 countries illustrated on our Blue Ocean Laminated Map of the World. This map shows a combination of political and physical features. It includes country boundaries, major cities, major mountains in shaded relief, ocean depth in blue color gradient, along with many other features. This is a great map for students, schools, offices and anywhere that a nice map of the world is needed for education, display or decor.
If you are interested in Ecuador and the geography of South America our large laminated map of South America might be just what you need. It is a large political map of South America that also shows many of the continent's physical features in color or shaded relief. Major lakes, rivers,cities, roads, country boundaries, coastlines and surrounding islands are all shown on the map.
Ambato, Azogues, Babahoyo, Baeza, Chone, Cuenca, Esmeraldas, Gualaquiza, Guaranda, Guayaquil, Ibana, Jipijapa, Latacunga, Loja, Macara, Macas, Machala, Manta, Milagre, Montalvo, Nueva Loja, Nuevo Rocafuerte, Otavalo, Pasaje, ortoviejo, Posorja, Puerto Bolivar, Puerto Misahualli, Puyo, Quevedo, Quito, iobamba, Salinas, San Lorenzo, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Tena, Tulcan and Zaruma.
Aguarico River, Bahia de Ancon de Sardinas, Bahia de Manta, Bobonaza River, Boca de Conjimies, Cordillera de los Andes, Golfo de Guayaquil, Napo River, Pacific Ocean, Putumayo River, Rio Chira, Rio Coca, Rio Curaray, Rio Daule, Rio Esmeraldas, Rio Mira, Rio Napo, Rio Pastaze, Rio San Miguel, Rio Tigre, Rio Zemora and Santiago River.
Natural resources for Ecuador include petroleum, hydropower, timber and fish.
Ecuador has natural hazards which include frequent earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic activity. Other occurrences in Ecuador are floods, or an occasional drought.
Some of the environmental issues for Ecuador relate to land and water. There is water pollution, in addition to effluence from oil production wastes in the ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands. The country also has deforestation, soil erosion and desertification.


Urban Sketchers Seattle: Cherry Blossom "Snow"
What a gift last Sunday was! - oh my!! Since I live close to the UW, I got on my bike and rode over to the QUAD, in the center of the campus where some 50-60 very large, old Kwanzan Cherry Trees were in full bloom. What a glorious sight!! Every year, during the last week of March, I check out the blooming progress of these trees. What a bonus to have them in full bloom on such a warm day!
I ended up on the northwest side of the quad, on a grassy slope. I was struck by how bottom branches of all the trees had been trimmed to a certain level about 5 feet off the ground.
And why the title of this posting? My grandfather painted a large majestic watercolor of cherry blossom trees on a windy day, and he called it "Cherry Blossom Snow." You can see it at my personal blog.
Stunning. The pinks are fantastic and you did a great job of depicting all the people enjoying the day.


text:
ENVIRONMENTAL RELIEF OR GLOBAL DEATH SENTENCE: COP21 AND THE PARIS AGREEMENT
Published on February 12, 2016 March 1, 2016 by prospectjournalucsd
By Nick Vacchio
Climate change. The phrase gets tossed around as often as a volleyball at your local beach. But whether you would like to accept it or not, that beach may not even exist at some point in your lifetime. Fortunately, representatives from 195 nations across the globe came together in December for a series of climate-related discussions in Paris, France. The two-week conference ended with the signing of the Paris Agreement, which hopes to pave the way towards a cleaner and more sustainable future. This stands alone as the first international climate-based treaty that requires every party to regularly disclose their emissions and execution efforts. It also ends the discrepancy between industrialized and developing nations by coercing them all to take the necessary steps to reduce their own carbon footprint both immediately and in the future. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon summarized this sentiment by proclaiming, "We must protect the planet that sustains us. For that we need all hands on deck,". Yet, there remains much uncertainty and outrage over its potential consequences.
The UN Framework on Climate Change was founded in 1992 and is the global body in charge of making strides to combat a gradually shifting climate. The COP, or Conference of Parties, has taken place annually in cities across the globe every year since 1995. Each year's conference has had its own distinct agenda in attempting to address growing international concern over a warming planet. Some have concentrated primarily on developed nations while others have focused on gathering wider participation from developing ones. Understandably, it is difficult to have almost 200 countries agree to work together on a subject as demanding as this. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 proved just that as key nations like the United States, China, India, and Brazil lacked a willingness to participate in accordance with the rest of the international community. Any agreement where some of the world's largest polluters refuse to partake is one not likely to yield substantial results. But the 2015 Paris Climate Conference is unlike its predecessors for one pivotal reason: it is the first to actually result in a binding international climate agreement.
The global push for climate action has grown stronger since the COP began meeting 21 years ago and is a pivotal reason why the Paris Conference was more successful than its precursors. Activism has increased across the globe as citizens realize that corporate interests are detrimental to local environments and personal health. Pope Francis has also recognized this and taken up the cause in the fight against global warming. During his trip to the United States in late September, he gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on the dangers of unabashed capitalism, lust for commercial affluence, and how it poses a threat to humanity. In his native Spanish, he stated that this, "ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species,". His call for action helped to spur momentum that carried into the Paris Conference.
There was tremendous support heading into the Paris meetings with 11,000 environmental pledges made from 2,250 cities, 2,025 companies, 424 individual investors and 235 social organizations that covered 150 world regions. Further impetus came from CEOs, billionaires, governors, and thousands of common citizens who flocked from countries around the world to make sure leaders did everything in their power to reach an agreement that benefited them all. The heads of state clearly took notice as this year's climate talks featured the largest presence of leaders to date with over 150 prime ministers and presidents in attendance on the conference's opening day. Action had been demanded and progress was ready to be made.
And progress was certainly made, indeed. The pact centers on the global community's goal to limit temperatures from rising above two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels, with a desire to keep temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees. Nations agreed to mandatory obligations that will allow them to choose their own domestic plans, known as NDC's or "nationally determined contributions," in keeping global temperatures below this two degree threshold. Countries are required to regularly report on how well their pursuits are going and are also obliged to release their emissions levels as well. Every five years, countries will be compelled to submit new national strategies, with the expectation that they will be stricter and more progressive than their previous ones. All of this will be funded with $100 billion per year until 2025 when a higher allowance will be put into protocol. There are still many details left uncertain, however.
The Paris Conference lasted a day longer than it was supposed to due to disagreements between the attending parties. Compromises were necessary as nations fought to protect their economic interests. For that reason, there are likely several components of the deal built on a fragile foundation. Most prominent of these potential issues is that future COPs lack a framework for key operational details in the implementation of its strategies. Industrialized nations are expected to play a larger role in reducing the levels of carbon that are released into the atmosphere. China plans to use a cap and trade system that rewards companies for reducing their pollution more quickly than their competitors. India will invest heavily in solar energy while the United States remains stagnate as the "leader of the free world,". Additionally, the pact will not be in effect until it is ratified by enough parties, which could prove to be a challenge like it has in the past. Despite this, French President François Hollande was proud of what the agreement accomplished and stated, "In Paris, there have been many revolutions over the centuries. Today is the most beautiful and the most peaceful revolution that has just been accomplished – a revolution for climate change,". While politicians, governments, and businesses were quick to celebrate the significance of this historic pact, climate activists in Paris were singing a different tune.
On the day the agreement was signed, thousands marched in the streets carrying signs with phrases like "Leave it in the Ground," "State of Emergency," and "No CO2lonialism." George Barda, a resident of London, remarked that even with a temperature increase of one degree Celsius, there would be "hundreds of millions of people affected traumatically by droughts, floods, crop-destroying rains, typhoons, etcetera." A Bolivian protester by the name Pablo Solón, echoed similar sentiments. He is skeptical that governments and corporations will take the necessary steps in order to keep temperatures below the allowed threshold. Conveying his frustration, Solón asserted that, "the two degrees Celsius is something that you just put in an article. The Paris Agreement is a death sentence for most of the people around the world,". These activists do have a point. Domestic governments have yet to prove that they can work together on such a large scale. The Paris Agreement, like so many international pacts before it, might inevitably turn out to be a treaty that is more talk than action. This would be an enormous mistake as there are serious repercussions for the impact humans have left on the environment.
The majority of the global scientific community believes that if temperatures rise two degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial levels, we risk reaching a point where human impact on the environment becomes irreversible. Rising above this temperature would take the climate out of range from any previously recorded data spanning the course of several hundred thousand years. According to a study done by the United Nations Environmental Program Emissions Gap Report, carbon pollution across the globe needs to be dramatically reduced within the next decade in order to stay below the two degree limit. If carbon is not reduced, scientists have been able to predict what will soon happen.
Environmental inaction from the nations of the world will begin the transition towards an unfamiliar planet. Species across the globe will be exterminated and life will not return to its current state during the lifetime of any subsequent generation. If temperatures rise two degrees, mountains in the western hemisphere like the Rockies and Andes will experience glacial loss creating overwhelming water shortages for their relying communities. In Africa, 29 different nations are expected to experience crop failure and subsequent hunger. The Greenland ice sheet will continue to melt causing the seas to rise enough to make Miami and much of Manhattan completely vanish. Europe will experience devastating heat waves every other year like the one during 2003 which killed around 35,000 people. Carbon dioxide will continue to poison the ocean and increase the water's acidity. By 2050, several species of plankton, urchins, and coral will no longer be able to exist thus decimating the entire oceanic food chain.
If the Paris Agreement does not accomplish what it hopes to do, the consequences may be quite traumatic. Humanity will slowly find themselves enveloped in an era unlike any experienced by prior generations. Facing gross environmental and economic challenges, it will be interesting to see how this pact and succeeding COPs turn out. The future is in our hands but with the way things have been going, it will not be for much longer.
Image By John Englart
Categories ENVIRONMENT, EUROPE•Tags COP21, Paris
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text:
Il Giardino botanico "Dimitrie Brândză" dell'Università di Bucarest, prende nome dal suo fondatore, Dimitrie Brândză. Si trova nel quartiere di Cotroceni, nel centro di Bucarest. Copre una superficie di 17,5 ettari (di cui 4.000 m² di serre) e contiene circa 10.000 specie di piante.

Il primo orto botanico di Bucarest fu aperto nel 1860, presso la Facoltà di Medicina, da Carol Davila. L'orto botanico fu successivamente trasferito all'indirizzo attuale nel 1884 su iniziativa di Dimitrie Brândză, uno dei fondatori della scuola botanica romena, e da Louis Fuchs, architetto paesaggista belga. Il giardino fu inaugurato nel 1891; in seguito furono costruite e popolate le serre. L'orto botanico fu danneggiato una prima volta in seguito all'inondazione avvenuta nel 1892; l'orto botanico venne colpito anche durante la prima guerra mondiale, quando fu invaso dalle truppe tedesche d'occupazione, e nella seconda guerra mondiale, quando fu raggiunto dai bombardamenti anglo-americani il 4 aprile 1944. In quest'occasione, delle 700.000 specie inizialmente conservate nell'erbario, se ne salvarono solo 200.000, che ora sono aumentate di nuovo a 500.000, organizzate in due grandi sezioni.

L'orto botanico è organizzato in varie sezioni, di cui forse la più caratteristica è quella riservata alla flora della Dobrugia, che contiene interessanti endemismi romeni, oltre a quella riservata alla flora carpatica.

Il Museo dell'orto botanico si trova all'interno del giardino, in un edificio di stile brancoveanu. Nel museo, sono esposte circa 5.000 specie di piante, di cui 1.000 esotiche.

La vecchia serra del giardino botanico è stata costruita tra il 1889-1891, sul modello della serra di Liegi.
Nel 1976 la serra fu chiusa al pubblico, continuando a essere utilizzata solo per la moltiplicazione delle piante.
Il padiglione è stato recuperato nel 2011, e riaperto al pubblico, con una sistemazione interna che ricostruisce un angolo di foresta tropicale, comprendente specie delle più diverse famiglie di piante esotiche.

Galleria d'immagini

Note

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Bucarest
Cultura a Bucarest

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At Stockholm Township's reorganizational meeting March 15, new officers were sworn in and Supervisor David Sand was named chairperson for 2011-12, Clerk Jody Selseth reported.
Regular township meetings will continue to be the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m.
In Ellsworth Township, there was a $5,500 increase in the 2012 levy compared to last year's levy, Clerk Gordy Seiffert noted.
Also, Supervisor Dave Tipka was appointed as this year's board chairman.
In April, the board plans to ask for quotes on a few roads that might be blacktopped in the future.


Vaillant 190119 Gebläse TB-turbo VC/W 182, 242, 282: Amazon.de: Baumarkt.
May 12, 2012 ... Vaillant VCW 180 XEU ... Запуск котла Vaillant T-4. ... Vaillant 14 RXI_RXZ рубрика Вскрытие Академия теплотехники - Duration: 5:56.
Whether you're looking for an installation and service manual or some ... us at literature@vaillant.co.uk and we'll send the correct document directly to you.
combination boilers. INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTALLATION AND SERVICING ... TURBOmax boilers carry 'CE' Mark. ... Gas supply (G20) Gross C.V. (s.t.). 37.8.
verkaufe der 3 Stück Gas thermen der Firma Vaillant funktionieren tadellos. 4020 Linz ... Vaillant VC 180 Heiztherme als Ersatzteilspender abzugeben.


text:
WithAll's Women's Leadership Council
Today, I felt like making a statement. I truly am a passionate advocate for pro-recovery and mental health rights, especially in the field of eating disorders, and, now that I am recovered, I feel like speaking up for what I believe in. My eating disorder had kept me in the dark for so long, and it was time to break the silence. So, being proud of myself for all of the progress that I have made in recovery, I wanted to show it off by wearing my new recover(ed) shirt to my health club. This was a very metaphorical moment for me, being that compulsive exercise was the major symptom of my eating disorder that held me back from recovery, and also living my life. I wanted to prove that, because I am recovered, I can exercise without having it become obsessive, but rather having it be a part of my activities that I enjoy. I personally believe that part of being recovered means making peace with your fears and, although it took me a long time to get to this comfortable place with exercise, I have proven throughout my recovery that exercise can be a neutral thing, and even a healthy pleasure, just like I learned with food.
With that said, let's get to what you all are probably dying to know, peoples reactions at the club. Well, I was actually surprised by the variety of reactions that I got. When I walked into the club wearing my shirt that said "recover(ed)" on the front and "Life Without Ed" on the back, I got some interesting looks; there were people that looked confused, people who looked away uncomfortably, people who stared and then gazed downward, people who looked slightly nervous, etc. Overall, my audience seemed uncomfortable, which made me feel out of place, like I did not belong. What is interesting about this is that, typically, people will see how hard I work while I am at the club and compliment me for it, but, when I wear my recovery shirt while working just as hard, they all avoid me like I am some diseased person. This experience really proves how stigmatized and secretive this disorder is; it is a silent killer, and that is why we must raise awareness and educate others about the truth behind this insidious illness because that is the only way that we are going to overcome it.
Now, not all of the reactions were like this, actually, there was one person that complimented me on my shirt, and that was my yoga instructor; she did not say anything directly, but, as I was leaving class, she took me aside, smiled and said "have a beautiful day, may it be full of happiness and peace." I smiled back, and, just looking in her kind eyes, I knew that she understood. This moment made my day, and gave me confidence again, but also a sense of hope that maybe the world is not all bad.
Now, I do not want to play the blame game by criticizing health clubs; I honestly think that wearing this shirt in public anywhere would have produced the same reactions, but going to the health club was personal for me, it was a statement that I wanted to make by saying: I have made peace with the thing that once controlled me through fear, and I am proud. Health clubs are not the source of eating disorders, and placing the blame on society only emphasizes the stigma behind eating disorders being a choice rather then a bio-psychological illness. Honestly, health clubs have the right intentions and that is to help people stay physically healthy, which does improve mental health as well, but it is when we take these things to extremes that the problem begins. Of course, health clubs could do less with the over-promotion of weight loss, the intense focus on labeling foods, and the crazy workouts; but, honestly, we all have the choice on whether or not we choose to invest our money in and go to these places.
Now, I want to be clear that I am not placing the blame on anyone here; having an eating disorder is clearly not a choice, it is a deadly illness that must be taken seriously, but, on the other end of the spectrum, so is obesity. By putting the emphasis on fitness, society thought that they would solve the problem of obesity, but, as we all know, these problems are much too complex to just solve, especially when there are so many who suffer on both ends of the spectrum. This is why my personal mantra is balance; when one problem is supposedly "fixed" another always pops up in its place, which is just the way the world works; all we can really do is try to find the balance within ourselves.
Throughout recovery, and life, I have learned that there is no black and white in anything, but rather ever-changing views that shape who we are over a lifetime. I do not know about you, but I do my best to take a neutral (balanced) stance on everything; I do my best to understand both sides of the spectrum because my overall goal is to learn. But, because I am human, there are things that I tend to fall more toward an extreme on, and that is okay, as long as we do not hide our true beliefs from the world. I expressed my passion today at my health club for me because I felt inspired to do so, not to make a scene (this was actually the last thing that I wanted), and not to silently analyze everyone's reactions (although, as an undergraduate psychology major, that may have slightly been an intention), but rather to make a statement, my statement of who I am and what I stand for.
By expressing and staying true to what it is that we believe in, the world will fall into place.
Stay up-to-date on WithAll events and information.
WithAll 5354 Parkdale Drive Saint Louis Park, MN 55416 © 2021 All rights reserved.


text:
Under-18s beaten by Fulham
Norwich City's under-18s lost 2-0 at home against Fulham in the Under-18s Premier League after two second-half goals from Fabio Carvalho and Timmi Abraham.
The first half was even, with neither side creating any clear cut chances, with the best opportunity of the game falling to Spencer Keller mid-way through the opening half. The midfielder cut in on his left foot before shooting straight at the 'keeper.
Fulham took the lead early in the second half through a Carvalho strike before a goal from substitute Abraham was enough to give them all three points.
Daniel Barden remained in-goal for the Canaries, with Sam Blair as the back-up 'keeper. Ethen Vaughan, Matt Richardson and Ante Berkeley all kept their places in the City side, and were joined by captain, Zac Dronfield who completed the back four.
William Hondermarck was partnered by Denzelle Olopade in-front of the back four, with Spencer Keller and Josh Martin as City's attacking midfielders. Kole Lambert was alongside Tom Dickson-Peters up-front for the Canaries.
Five minutes into the game City were on the front foot and went close after Dickson-Peters shot from the edge of the six-yard box was blocked magnificently on the goal line by De Havilland in what looked like a certain goal for the Canaries.
After City's chance Fulham started to see plenty of the ball, but City were forcing the visitors away from their goal, and managed to deal with the wide threat of the Cottagers well in the first half.
Lambert made a darting run into the box twenty minutes in after receiving the ball on the half-way line, but after finding some space in the Fulham area Lambert could only get the end of his boot on the ball, which saw the ball roll wide of the Fulham goal.
Mid-way through the first half Barden was called into action for the first time. The 'keeper forced Sylvester Jasper into a wide position and away from any danger after the forward was one-on-one with the City 'keeper.
City's best chance of the first half came when Keller cut inside from the right before teeing himself up outside the 18-yard-box, but his left footed was caught with ease by Luca Ashby-Hammond in the Fulham goal.
The visitors started to break forward in numbers after a good spell of pressure from City. Jean-Pierre Teihi saw his shot from the edge of the City area deflected before going out for a corner. The following corner was met by the forward, but his header went out for a goal-kick.
Berkeley provided a crucial interception to stop Showkat Tahir's cross from finding Tiehi in the six-yard box. Moments later another one-on-one situation arose for Fulham, and once again Barden came out on top, intercepting the ball before the Fulham forward could get his shot off.
Just after the re-start Olopade had an opening on the edge of the Fulham box, but the midfielder saw his shot narrowly miss the top of the cross-bar after a good spell of pressure for the Canaries.
Five minutes later Berkeley was forced into making another fantastic interception to stop Tahir in his tracks inside the six-yard box before clearing away from danger.
Fulham took the lead against the run of play 15 minutes into the second half. Fabio Carvalho took the ball on the outside of Vaughan the forward put the ball into the bottom right corner with a driven shot from a tight angle.
Norwich responded well, and nine minutes after the goal, City had a chance to equalise. Half-time substitute Josh Giurgi hit the ball on the half-volley, but his effort was blocked by a Fulham defender before the ball could reach the goal.
As the half went on, Vaughan became an outlet for City on the right hand side, with the full-back finding a constant pocket of space between Fulham's right-back and right-midfielder. Vaughan found space on the right before crossing, but his driven cross was caught by the Fulham keeper.
Thirty minutes into the half the game started to become scrappy, and City's good spell was broken up after a series of bad tackles on City players, which caused stoppages in play which disrupted the Canaries rhythm on the pitch.
Fulham doubled their lead with five minutes to play, after Timmi Abraham's nicked the ball of Barden before forcing the ball over the line to give the visitors all three points.
City starting XI: Barden; Vaughan, Berkeley, Dronfield ©, Richardson, Keller (Giurgi 45), Hondermarck, Olopade, Lambert (Omotoye 65), Dickson-Peters, Martin.
Unused Subs: Blair (GK), Jackson.


This past weekend, we had the joy of spending an afternoon in Orlando with Ford's line of EcoBoost powered cars. The EcoBoost Challenge consists of three tracks – hypermiling (where you compete to achieve the best mileage), side by side comparison, and the ST performance academy. Each track highlighted a different aspect of Ford's vehicles, from fuel efficiency to fit and finish, to all-out performance. Needless to say, the event was not only enjoyable to shoot but also to participate in!
What is EcoBoost you might ask? The idea is pretty simple – take an efficient engine, add two asymmetrical turbos, and get the best of both worlds – increased horsepower and torque with some rather splendid fuel economy. Because of the asymmetrical pairing of a larger and smaller turbo, the lag often found in turbo engines is greatly diminished, and the power curve is really quite impressive. For instance, the 2.0L EcoBoost engine puts out 240HP at 5500 rpm and peak torque (270 lb ft) all the way from 750–4500 rpm. So, what's all this mean, you might ask? As Jeremy Clarkson would put it, "Powweeerrrr"! BTW – he favorably mentions the spry little Fiesta ST in his latest rambling: Jeremy Clarkson on having too much Power.
But enough with the numbers and technicalities – you want to know what it was like. In a word – fantastic! Despite weather hot enough to cook a prime rib (or my Nordic skin) on the pavement, the opportunity to push these cars was quite delightful. Even the hypermiling course was a challenging bit of fun – I reached a staggering 262 MPG on the course with just a tiny bit of cheating… When I went back to do it correctly, I still managed 51 MPG, though others who were able to follow the rules better than I scored in excess of 140MPG. On to the autocross track – where i felt a bit more at home. Though I've had similar track time only once before (See our Jaguar Alive Coverage from earlier this year), I was able to manage a respectable 5th place in a group of about 60 people, with a time of 29.1 seconds. The top time, just 1.3 seconds faster, was achieved by a semi-pro autocross racer, so all in all, fifth sounded pretty good to me. What a fun day!
This entry was posted in Automotive Photography and tagged automotive, BWM, cars, ecoboost, fine art, ford, Jacksonville, Orlando, Photography, travel.


Sarah Atwell (aka Sheila Connolly) pens the Glassblowing Mystery Series.
Maggie Bruce is the editor of an anthology which features fifteen mystery authors who have woven a type of craft/hobby into the mystery they submitted for the book. Murder Most Crafty is the name of this very novel book. Also, Bruce authors the Gourd Craft Mystery Series.
Nancy Haddock writes the Silver Six Crafty Mystery Series.
Cheryl Hollon writes the Webb's Glass Shop Mystery Series.
Mary Ellen Hughes writes the Craft Corner Mystery Series.
Hailey Lind writes the Art Lover's Mystery Series.
Cricket McRae (aka Bailey Cates): Home Crafting Mystery Series.
Barbara Jaye Wilson writes the Brenda Midnight Mystery Series that is set in the millinery world.
Lois Winston writes the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series which has a craft magazine editor as its sleuth.
Thanks, Juliann for pointing that out. I must have gotten distracted and only listed her craft anthology.
What a great site, don't forget to include John J Lamb, he writes the Teddy Bear collectors series.
I have included John J. Lamb on the dollhouse miniature, doll making, and teddy bears post. But, he would be a great addition to the miscellaneous theme, also.
I have read several books where the main character is a glass blower with her own shop. I cannot remember the author but her books were great. If anyone recognizes these books, they would fit this category perfect and other readers could find a good read series.
Rusty, I believe you are thinking of Sarah Atwell (aka Sheila Connolly)>>> and thank you for reminding me to add Atwell's Glassblowing Mystery Series to this Miscellaneous Crafting theme.
Please suggest some cozy mysteries without profanity. I love Joanne Fluke as well as Emily Brightwell, but have read all of them.
Hi Wanda, I have an entry called Mysteries with No Profanity that you might want to check out.
Thanks, Linda, I'll go add Cricket McRae to the Crafting theme list of mystery authors. I don't know how I missed her.
There should be a dried flower/wreath mystery series! Maybe someday!!
I read a cozy mystery a few summers ago but can't remember the author – it was a first book and I'd love to check for more.
I know that the main character had a relationship that went bad and moved to England – London – to escape bad press. Her grandmother was a milliner and had a shop there that she left to her and her cousin (who has been running it).
If you can offer any help I would sure appreciate it! Thank you!
The series that you are talking about is written by Jenn McKinley. The second book just came out last month.


The Oxford English Dictionary added over 1,100 new entries in its January 2018 update. Wordsmiths the world over now have the official go-ahead to use ransomware, EULA, and mansplain, which should make life easier for misogynistic IT security experts.
Tech terms like e-address (who says that?) and esc (not to be confused with ESC, even though they're the same thing) made the list, but for once it wasn't all about OMGs and LOLs.
The clear star of the January update is the word "ransomware," which after being on a lot of computers in 2017 deserves a spot in the "definitive record of the English language." As Naked Security writer Paul Ducklin pointed out, however, OED's sister publications already had ransomware – now even stodgy people who only speak the Queen's English do too.
dickish – Hopefully not a new TV show on ABC.
Aunt Flo — No relation.
hangry – What you become when your autonomous pizza delivery vehicle gets lost.
And 96 words beginning with "self" such as self-obsession and self-exciting.
Also making the list this year is the much anticipated crowning gem of English langauge: mansplain. Rather than give you the OED definition (like a nerd) we'll take our time and explain it to you. Big words can be tricky.
Mansplaining is when a man explains something obvious, usually to a woman, in order to show the world he isn't afraid of looking like a jackass.
Pay attention: it's a combination of "man" (which is another way of saying a male human) and explaining (which is when you describe something to someone who isn't as smart as you) and when you put them together you get "mansplaining" (which is a word that was recently added to the Oxford English Dictionary).


With their baby daughter Kelly (Rose Byrne) and Mac (Seth Rogen) are getting use to being grown ups although still acting as if they were cool and young. But then they discover a frat housed presided over by Teddy (Zac Efron) is setting up next door and suddenly their nice little world is shaken by their noisy party loving neighbours. And things become a war when Mac has enough one night and calls the cops to complain about the noise.
I grew up on teen comedies from "Porky's" to "American Pie" and all it's sequels but it seems the new generation of teen comedies has left me behind. Or at least that is how I feel having sat through a painfully long and unfunny 97 minutes where I can count the intentional jokes on one hand which made me laugh. I am on about "Bad Neighbours" one of the unfunniest movies of the 21st century, in fact the funniest thing in this movie was the obvious stunt doubles used for a fight scene between Mac and Teddy.
So what is wrong with "Bad Neighbours"? Well to be honest pretty much everything as we have moronic characters acting moronically. We have swearing just for the sake of swearing and gags involving young children which will make you cringe and probably gag. I tell you what "Bad Neighbours" feels like it has been written by the sort of frat boys who appear in this movie who think milking a woman is a hilarious gag or a baby chewing on a condom is funny. I could go on because this is the level of moronic humour which makes up "Bad Neighbours" and it makes "American Pie" seem like something you would show in Sunday School.
Here is the only positive I can come up with when it comes to "Bad Neighbours" and I do like to try and find something. The one character who you should dislike is Teddy as he is the ringleader, he is the one who sets out to cause problems for Kelly and Mac. Yet rather perversely Zac Efron manages to make him the most likeable character in the whole movie. And ironically Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne end up delivering the movie's most annoying characters.
What this all boils down to is that "Bad Neighbours" really didn't work for me and either I have got to the point where cringe comedy no longer is funny or this movie is just simply bad, I say it is just bad.


text:
Climate protesters interrupt speech by UK finance minister
Reuters | Posted: June 20, 2019, 8:32 a.m. | Updated: June 21, 2019, 9:01 a.m. | 1 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Climate change protesters briefly interrupted a high-profile speech by British Finance Minister Philip Hammond to leaders of the country's financial services industry on Thursday.
Several women, wearing red evening dresses and sashes with the words 'climate emergency', prevented Hammond from speaking for a few minutes by using loudspeakers to shout slogans during a banquet in London's landmark Mansion House building.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said it organized the protest in the heart of the capital's banking district, accusing the finance industry of funding climate change and the finance ministry of trying to water down government action.
"But we are in a #ClimateEmergency - business as usual is no longer an option. That's why we interrupted the speech tonight," Greenpeace said on Twitter.
Hammond responded to the protest as he resumed his speech - which focused on Brexit and banking regulation - shortly afterwards.
"The irony of course is that this is the government that has just led the world by committing to a zero-carbon economy," he said to applause from the audience.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Peter Cooney)
Adjudicator awards ownership of dog after Cape Breton couple splits
SaltWire Today: Your online Halifax newscast


The LaMonte School Board is hosting the annual scholarship fundraising dinner this evening (Jan 12).
One of the big parts of childhood is symbolized in a balloon. I don't wanna get too deep here, but there's got to be a parallel with how light and fragile a balloon is and the tender delicacy of a kid's innocence.
I've had the pleasure of working with many civic clubs in Sedalia, whether it be Pettis County Rotary, Sedalia Rotary, Sunrise Optimists, Noonday Optimists, Lions Club, Sedalia ELKS, Sedalia Kiwanis, the Masonic Lodge, Shriners, VFW, 40 & 8, American Legion and many others.


text:
Q: An unexpected error occurred on a receive. WebRequest already overriden I never thought I have to ask a question here, but I am at my wit's end.
We try contact a server and receive XML Data via SOAP from there. Regulary it's running fine, but sometimes and without any hint why, we've got the the following error:

Translated from german:
  The underlying connection was closed: An unexpected error occurred on a
  receive.

So I looked for possible reasons. And I overrode the WebRequest Method.
public class MyHttpClientProtocol : SoapHttpClientProtocol
{

    protected override WebRequest GetWebRequest(Uri uri)
    {
        HttpWebRequest webRequest = (HttpWebRequest) base.GetWebRequest(uri);
        //Setting KeepAlive to false
        webRequest.KeepAlive = false;
        return webRequest;
    }
}

First of all? - Is this correct or did I chose the wrong base class?
I am not sure at all, but I use SoapHttpClientProtocoll in my service, but in the Request Header (used Fiddler) the "Connection" stills "keep-alive".
The error is rare but it occours and if it does, it does it for a longer time.
So I tried to debug the problem. And if I do and I've got the error he repeats to try the delegate:
ServicePointManager.ServerCertificateValidationCallback += delegate { return true; };

I can't jump in. VS 2010 does not support it.
I am working with X509Certificate2.
Please give me an idea.. I can't see the solution.