GELLERMAN: Here's a sound only a mother could love.
GELLERMAN: A mother barn owl, that is.
GELLERMAN: Actually, it's also a sound Stacey O'Brien loves. Stacey O'Brien loves a barn owl. She's a wildlife biologist who adopted a baby barn owl named Wesley. For nineteen years, woman and bird shared an apartment, and a life, which Stacey O'Brien chronicles in her new book, "Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and his Girl." Hi, Stacey.
GELLERMAN: Let me ask you to start with a reading from your book. Page 204 starts with "throughout our years together." You see it?
O'BRIEN: Yeah. "Throughout our years together, we had a cuddle ritual almost every night before bed. I would scoop him up with one hand cupped under his tummy, then cradle him in my left arm with his head resting in my hand.
One evening, however, as I was lying down and rubbing him under his wings, Wesley pushed with his feet, so that he was lying on my chest with his head up under my chin. Then, he rustled a bit, and slowly began to open both delicate golden wings, stretching them as far as they would go and laying then across my shoulders. He slept that way for a long time, and I stayed awake in awe."
GELLERMAN: But you know, Stacey, I think some people hearing this would say "that's one strange bird" and they might not be talking about Wesley.
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, in the wild, Wesley would have done that with his mate. And they're extremely affectionate in the wild. So he was doing what he would do in the wild naturally. So what I was trying to do was provide him with an experience as close to what would be natural as possible.
O'BRIEN: He was my son. He was my baby. He was my little boy. But not in a condescending way. He was also my equal, because he was another species, another intelligent life form. And I respected his culture, and he respected mine.
GELLERMAN: I want to back up just a little bit. You met Wesley when he was just an owlet. You were working at CalTech as a biologist, and Wes was just a little tiny owl and he had a bum wing.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, he was just a little – about three or four days old, and a hiker found him apparently, down under a nest and brought him into Fish and Game. And when they find an unreleasable animal, they have a hard time placing it – any wild animal. Because all the facilities are pretty full. Zoos are full, rehab centers are full.
So sometimes they would bring owls like that to CalTech because we had the facilities. We had big, beautiful facilities for owls. But this guy needed to be raised like an infant. So they asked me to take over his care for the rest of his life, and I did. He moved in with me. So I put him in a little nesting box, and he went everywhere with me. Oh. It was hopeless. I was completely smitten.
GELLERMAN: Now, when I hear you talk about Wes, I'm wondering, are you projecting your emotions, human emotions onto this animal.
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, that's one thing that behavioral biologists used to worry about more than they do now. Of course, I have my own emotions about Wesley. But, I also knew a heck of a lot about barn owls already. So I knew what he would need. And in the wild, they can become very attached, first to their mother and then to their mate. So that was normal for him. He was very emotional about me. And for him to have a good experience of life, as he would in the wild, he needed an emotional connection, just like a human would.
GELLERMAN: Barn owls aren't pack animals, they're not members of a flock. They're loners and they do mate for life.
O'BRIEN: Yes. So there are some really specific problems that come with that. So we're used to the sort of social interactions where you would correct someone else, like a wolf will snap at another wolf and say, "stop that," you know? And the other wolf will understand that it's a correction.
But for an owl, a solitary animal, every animal in the wild, every animal in the world, except for their mate, is enemy. Owls are absolutely black and white. They don't change their minds. So I had to let him be exactly who he is and find a way to be with him in that context. So, it's very difficult to raise an owl.
GELLERMAN: There are a lot of myths about owls. There's one in France I saw, it says that an owl can help a woman find a husband.
O'BRIEN: Well, it didn't work that way for me.
O'BRIEN: Well for one – in one way he was a good litmus test, because I was surprised that some guys were jealous of him and were threatened by him. And I thought that was so childish, you know. So, immediately they were out the door, you know. Forget it. I don't want this kind of childishness.
O'BRIEN: He seemed to accept that I had friends in my own species. It confused him. But he seemed to sense instantly if the guy didn't like him. Again, anything that seemed aggressive, he thought was a threat on my life too.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, I didn't see him as a mate, of course. I'm a regular human being.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I put a lot of effort into trying to record his various sounds. When he decided to make me his mate, he started up with this rocking the house, extremely loud sound, that just vibrated the walls. Eventually, I was able to get that on tape because he did it every single day from then on. It was his way of calling me to come spend time with him. Would you like to hear it?
O'BRIEN: That is his nesting call. He's trying to call me. And boy, you know, that's a loud sound. It rockets out through the forests and out through the canyons. And if he doesn't have a mate, it will call a female to him. So it serves a dual purpose.
If he has a mate, she'll come to be with him. If he doesn't have a mate, he will find one that way. And he found many, many females that way that came directly to our bedroom window and hovered at the bedroom window looking in to see if he was a lone owl or mated owl.
O'BRIEN: I would go to him because the sound was so loud.
GELLERMAN: You didn't chirp back, did you?
O'BRIEN: No, I talked English, and he spoke owl. You know, he had his – and that's a whole other subject, actually you know. I would go to him and speak in my language, never expecting that he was actually learning what I was saying in different situations and then eventually understanding almost everything I said. And then, the really surprising thing was that he started to develop his own variations of each of his normal owl sounds that would mean specific things. He had, for example, about twenty variations of the natural begging sound.
And they were specific for certain things like one meant he wanted – he was begging for a magazine. He liked to rip up magazines. Another one meant he was begging for water. So, anyways, he developed his own language system, and he made that leap across from understanding what I was doing with symbolic language, I think, to creating his own symbolic language, with his own owl sounds.
O'BRIEN: This is a sound that, when I recorded it, it had never been recorded by a biologist or noted by a biologist, and it was Wesley's mating sound, when he was mating. Not the mating call to bring a mate, but the sound he made when he was actually mating with me.
O'BRIEN: You mean when he was mating with me?
O'BRIEN: Aacch, well there was no hope. I mean, it – and this is – I've talked to other people who have an imprinted bird with the same problem – you cannot, you cannot fight them off. I mean, if they want to mate with – they'll pick a place on like your hat or they'll – or your shoulder.
GELLERMAN: We're not giving the book away if we say that Wes dies after 19 years. What now? Is there another owl in your life?
O'BRIEN: I would like there to be. That's my goal, really. But I would require another permit, because my permit was just for Wesley, for one owl.
GELLERMAN: Stacey, as I was reading your book I'm thinking, is this woman nuts?
GELLERMAN: Well, and then – as I'm reading the book, I come to kind of understand this unique relationship.
O'BRIEN: Really? Oh good, well I'm glad you understood it because I don't want to come off like a strange bird. Because I'm perfectly normal. I mean – well – that's why I put the day in the life of a biologist in there. This is not even that wild, you know, compared to the monkey guy or the spider guy or the guy with the parasites in his skin, you know? I didn't have parasites in my skin. I thought I was doing pretty good.
GELLERMAN: Stacey O'Brien's new book is called "Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl."
To learn more about Stacey and Wesley, click here.


Grateful People Are Happier People The Grateful Life is a guide to discoveringand realizingyour dreams through the power of positivity. What can gratitude do for you? Recent studies have shown that gratitude will make you calmer and healthier, as well as bring higher levels of satisfaction to all your relationships. Each of the ten chapters illustrates the benefits of this new approach to your life, including A Serving of Thanks a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: Science Substantiates the Health Benefits of Gratitude, The Grateful Workplace: Increase Productivity and Happiness While You Work, and The Secret to a Gratitude Makeover: How to Create Gratitude Practices That Stick. App Features- Clean, easy to use interface and navigation- Browse the content or search by keyword- Adjustable text sizing for easy reading- Create flashcards of your favorite content for easy recall and sharing- Share your favorites with family and friends via social media and emailBeing grateful is being mindful, at all times, of the many blessings in your life.


A Manual J Load Calculation is required on all new construction, both in cities and in the county. You'll learn and leave with a one year subscription to Wrightsoft software, the most widely used Manual J software and endorsed by ACCA. A Manual J is absolutely necessary to properly size the system and design ductwork, especially on tight homes.


text:
Pregnant worker case splits high court
The case may become the most significant in decades on the rights of pregnant workers.
By Greg Stohr | December 03, 2014 at 10:28 AM
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) — U.S. Supreme Court justices sparred over the rights of pregnant workers as they weighed the case of a former United Parcel Service Inc. driver who had to leave her job after her doctor recommended she not lift heavy items.
In an hour-long argument in Washington today, the justices considered whether expectant mothers must be offered light-duty assignments on the same basis as workers who have similar physical limitations for other reasons. The case may become the most significant in decades on the rights of pregnant workers. The session hinted at the ideological and gender divides present in other high court cases affecting women's rights. Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito both suggested they might reject the worker's suit against UPS. On the other side was Justice Elena Kagan, who said the law "was supposed to be about removing stereotypes of pregnant women as marginal workers." Kagan pressed for what she called a "middle ground" interpretation of a 1978 pregnancy anti-discrimination law that might send the case back to a lower court for more study. Under Kagan's approach, an employer would have a chance to show at trial that it had a legitimate reason for offering light-duty work only to other employees who weren't pregnant. Ginsburg, Breyer Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer joined their fellow Democratic appointee Kagan in aiming skeptical questions at UPS's lawyer, Caitlin Halligan. "Mr. Bagenstos has told us that there is not in this record a single instance of anyone who needed a lifting dispensation who didn't get it except for pregnant people," Ginsburg said, referring to Samuel Bagenstos, the attorney for the former UPS driver. "And if that's the case in fact, then you lose, don't you?" Halligan argued that Kagan's suggestion couldn't be squared with the statute's language. She urged the court to leave intact a federal appeals court ruling that threw out the lawsuit by Peggy Young. Young worked at a UPS facility in Landover, Maryland. Her job required her to load packages onto vehicles and deliver them to their destination. Although she says the vast majority of those packages were envelope-size, her job description required her to lift parcels of up to 70 pounds. In 2006, Young became pregnant after in vitro fertilization, and her doctor and midwife said she shouldn't lift objects weighing more than 20 pounds during the first half of the pregnancy or more than 10 pounds for the rest. Unpaid leave She says UPS refused to accommodate her needs either by adjusting her job responsibilities or by temporarily assigning her to a position that didn't require heavy lifting. She went on an unpaid leave of absence and returned to work after her baby was born. She later left UPS. Young, now 42, sued the company for compensation, claiming it had violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Two lower courts ruled against her. UPS says it was simply abiding by its seniority system and union contract, which makes no provision for pregnant employees with physical limitations. The union agreement called for reassignments to be available to workers with job-related injuries and those considered permanently disabled under the Americans With Disabilities Act. The accord also made provisions for people who lost their federal driver's certification, letting them temporarily take jobs that don't involve operating a vehicle. Kennedy resists
"Because Peggy Young's 20-pound lifting restriction resulted from her pregnancy and not from one of those conditions, UPS rejected her request," Bagenstos, her lawyer, argued today.
10 New Year's resolutions for pension plan sponsors
Michael Clark and Tom Cassara | January 21, 2020
A new decade is a great time for DB plan sponsors to resolve to set objectives for their plans, understand their risks, and deploy the right tactics.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Psalm 35 concluded with reference to the prosperity of God's servant-i.e., David (verse 27). Now, the superscription of Psalm 36 refers to David as "the servant of the LORD." The psalm begins by addressing the nature of wickedness, but this is soon contrasted with God's faithfulness and righteousness and His rewarding of His servants such as David with an abundance of true prosperity.
The word "oracle" in verse 1 can simply mean "utterance." The actual order of the verse is "An oracle of transgression of the wicked within my heart." Some see "of the wicked" as actually meaning "to the wicked." However, the psalm's focus on God rewarding the righteous and the request for the righteous to be kept from wickedness goes against that being the aim of the psalm. Some translations give "within my heart" as "within his heart," thinking the wicked person is intended. However, the Hebrew lebi in the Masoretic Text does mean "my heart." Simply put, David is expressing his deep thoughts about the sinful way of the wicked.
David's consideration of the sinful course of the wicked (verses 2-4) is followed by contemplation of God's mercy, faithfulness, righteousness, justice and unfailing love (verses 5-7). "The contrast of these verses with the previous ones is extreme. Just as the revelation of the depravity in vv. 1-4 is awful, the revelation of the Lord's love is even more wonderful.... The contrasts continue with David ranging from the highest mountains to the depths of the sea to describe the perfect character of God. The height of the great mountains can be compared to how great God's righteousness is; the depths of the seas can be compared with how mysterious and inaccessible God's true judgments are" (Nelson Study Bible, note on verses 5-6).
Like nestlings seeking shelter and nourishment from a mother bird, so may people find protection and provision from God (verse 7). If the wicked would only cease from their headlong pursuit of fleeting self-gratification through sin and turn to God, they would find true and abundant satisfaction through the fullness of life in His family (verse 8). For the righteous "drink from the river of [God's] pleasures." What a beautiful word picture this is-of an endless, flowing supply of joyful experience forevermore! This river flows from the "fountain of life"-God's Holy Spirit bringing eternal salvation and all its rewards (see also Isaiah 12:3; 55:1-2; Jeremiah 2:13; John 7:37-39).
It is only in God's "light" that we "see light" (Psalm 36:9). In context, this may mean that we don't even really know what it means to live and be happy until we experience life in the way God intended. Rather than groping in the blindness of human plotting to find our way, the truth of God reveals the path to ultimate and lasting bliss. On the other hand, the idea here could be that it is through God shining on us (favoring and guiding us) that we will live to see a bright outcome for our lives (compare 37:3-6; see also Isaiah 60:19-20).
In closing, David prays that God's loyal love will continue for those who "know" Him and are thereby "upright in heart" (Psalm 36:10). Indeed, truly knowing God implies more than knowing about Him. It means having a relationship with Him, which is based on obedience to His laws (see 1 John 2:3-4; John 15:14). To have a relationship, we have to spend quality time with God through prayer, Bible study and contemplative meditation. Even fellowship with likeminded believers is an important way to fellowship with the Father and Christ (1 John 1:3)-as the Father and Christ dwell in faithful believers through the Holy Spirit.
David further asks for protection from the wicked who refuse to submit to God's way (Psalm 36:11)-perhaps thinking of some who were scheming to overthrow him. And he concludes with a final consideration (or prophetic glimpse) of the doom of the wicked (verse 12), which we see more about in the next psalm.
David's message in the proverbs of Psalm 37 is rather similar to what he said in Psalm 36. The Zondervan NIV Study Bible notes in its introduction to Psalm 37: "This psalm's dominant theme is related to the contrast between the wicked and the righteous reflected in Ps 36. The central issue addressed is: Who will 'inherit the land' (vv. 9, 11, 22, 29), i.e., live on to enjoy the blessings of the Lord in the promised land? Will the wicked, who plot (v. 12), scheme (vv. 7, 32), [intentionally] default on debts (v. 21), use raw power to gain advantage (v. 14) and seem thereby to flourish (vv. 7, 16, 35)? Or will the righteous, who trust in the Lord (vv. 3, 5, 7, 34) and are humble (v. 11), blameless (vv. 18, 37), generous (vv. 21, 26), upright (v. 37) and peaceable (v. 37), and from whose mouth is heard the moral wisdom that reflects meditation on God's law (vv. 30-31)?"
Where the NIV has the "land" as the inheritance (verses 9, 11, 22, 29, 34), the KJV and NKJV have "earth" (except in verses 29 and 34, though the Hebrew is the same). Either is correct, especially when we realize that the Promised Land of God's Kingdom will encompass the entire earth, not just the land of Israel. Note that the inheritance will be dwelt in "forever" (verses 18, 29). Through these verses we see that the eternal inheritors will be "those who wait on the LORD" (hoping and trusting in Him), "the meek" (those who are humble and teachable), "those blessed by Him" (those who are faithful in their dealings, as implied by the previous verse) and "the righteous" (verse 29). These are of course all the same people-who with their inheritance will receive eternal life, deliverance from enemies, salvation and peace.
Jesus Christ quoted from verse 11 in His famous Sermon on the Mount. Giving what are referred to as the Beatitudes, Jesus in Matthew 5:5 said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Some may be surprised to learn that this in not an exclusively New Testament teaching. Once again we see that, far from inventing a new religion as many now think, Jesus was building on the teachings of the Old Testament.
The phrase "the LORD knows the days of the upright" (Psalm 37:18) has "several meanings: (1) God knows our circumstances and provides for us; (2) God knows how long we will live and will sustain us to the end (90:12); (3) God knows that our days on earth [in this age] are only the beginning of our days with Him in eternity" (Nelson Study Bible, note on 37:18).
Psalm 37 also sets forth what lies in store for those who do not serve God and live according to His teachings. An individual has only two choices when it comes to directing his life-the way of blessing and life or the way of cursing and death (see Deuteronomy 30:15-20). The way of righteousness, of obeying God through outflowing love to Him and others (summarized as the way of give), is the one that leads to blessings and life (Psalm 37:3-6). The other choice, the selfish way of disobedience or wickedness (summarized as the way of get), leads to misery and death (verses 10, 34-36). The wicked will be cut off-to perish and be forgotten. David uses the metaphor of grass to describe man's brief life on earth. Grass flourishes for a while, then is cut down and withers. So, too, will evil men perish as surely as mown grass withers (verse 2). In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also spoke about "the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven" (Matthew 6:30).
Another idea David expresses here is that fretting about life is harmful (Psalm 37:1, 7-8). He warns against worry, being overly anxious or succumbing to envy and anger. A righteous person looks to God instead. The literal rendering of verse 5 instructs us to roll our lives over onto God. He will direct a righteous man's steps, picking him up when he falls (verses 23-24) and taking care of his needs (verses 25-26). We see, then, that the righteous at times will fall; they aren't guaranteed trouble-free lives. Yet, "though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand" (verse 24). With wisdom and love, God shapes a person through trials. In that light, verse 25 should not be misunderstood to mean that God's people never suffer physical deficiency-but that God will always provide for them. Though they may at times have to ask others for help, as David himself did on occasion, they are not destitute beggars in a hopeless sense (and certainly not over the long haul of life). Trusting God, they "feed on His faithfulness" (verse 3). Indeed, even if they lack, the righteous are far better off than the wicked (verse 16)-and are even generous givers of whatever they do have (verse 26).
Jesus observed in the Sermon on the Mount that it is futile to worry. A man can't change his circumstances by worrying. God knows our needs and will take care of them if we remain committed to Him (Matthew 6:25-33). Indeed, Jesus said in this context that one's focus should be on God's Kingdom and righteousness (verse 33)-which is, not coincidentally, also the focus of Psalm 37.
Trusting God, as Psalm 37 instructs, requires one to wait on Him and to do good (verses 3-5, 7; compare 1 Peter 5:6-7). As we wait for resolution to problems, as we wait for the return of Jesus Christ, we have work to do: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). If we remain faithful to Him and continue to trust Him, God will remain faithful to us-to provide help for today and to save us in the end (Psalm 37:39-40).


GEMBALLA - GEMBALLA AERO I based on Porsche 958 Cayenne. Individualization package AERO I consisting of aerodynamics, forged wheels GT SPORT Forged 22", sport exhaust system with valve control system and 6-way tailpipes, sport brake system, power and performance upgrades by 50 hp (37 kW) / 100 Nm, 115 hp (85 kW) / 150 Nm and 200 hp (147 kW) / 220 Nm, interior package in leather and/or Alcantara.
Nature's way: Just as nature evolves its creations step by step, GEMBALLA develops its concepts over time. This evolutionary principle has brought their AERO 1 kit for the Porsche Cayenne (958) to a state of perfection, increasing its physical presence and improving its aerodynamics.
For maximum flexibility, GEMBALLA offers a modular system that allows owners to cherry pick the light and strong AERO 1 carbon-fibre components from a menu, adding to them at will. The icing on the cake is the matching 22-inch alloy wheel set. The AERO 1 concept underlines GEMBALLA's commitment to the Porsche Cayenne as the ultimate driving machine in its class.
The Porsche Cayenne (958) is a prestigious and sporting SUV that feels as much at home in a prestigious shopping district as it does in front of five star hotels and exclusive golf clubs.
However, this very popularity has proved motivation enough for owners wishing stand out from the crowd to explore the possibilities GEMBALLA offers for individualising their car. This journey begins with the AERO 1 kit, where a new front spoiler lip, side skirts and rear valance made from high-quality carbon-fibre, improve the Cayenne's aerodynamics, creating a sleeker and more ground hugging appearance.
With the base car digitally dimensioned as a first step during the development process, all the production AERO 1 parts fit perfectly and easily. Importantly, these components attach using the factory mounting points, and the conversion can easily be reversed when the car is sold.
From an aesthetic point of view, the GEMBALLA 22-inch wheels are highly recommended to balance and complete the new look the complete Aero 1 package brings.
Power is nothing without control. To ensure perfect handling on a twisty road, GEMBALLA offers uprated spring and damper units for steel sprung cars, or a software upgrade for vehicles with the optional air suspension system.
As an everyday road car, the Cayenne must retain a good balance between comfort and sportiness, so the calibration of the suspension is critical.
GEMBALLA's engineers aimed for dynamic refinement while retaining maximum ride comfort with their larger wheels.
The GEMBALLA power upgrade for the Cayenne Turbo motor offers 550 hp (404 kW) and 850 Nm from a cost effective conversion that comes with full German TUV approval. The intrinsic deep growl of the V8 motor is enhanced by the EU-approved, stainless steel cat-back sports exhaust for all petrol-engined Cayenne models.
As even the basic Cayenne has a dual nature to its personality, the four-outlet GEMBALLA sports exhaust has a valve system that allows you to exploit its refined nature in town, unleashing its extrovert full-on soundtrack on the open road at the touch of a button.


text:
Behind the internet's freakish obsession with Shrek
Unclick
Fernando Alfonso III and Jay Hathaway—
2014-03-27 10:37 am | Last updated 2017-03-09 08:33 am
Photo by jam project/Flickr (CC-BY)
Shrek is love. Shrek is life.
Warning: This story contains depictions of sexual assault. Read with caution.
The video clip opens with a boy kneeling beside his bed in prayer. It's not to God, but to Shrek, the world's most popular ogre. "Shrek is love," the boy mutters. "Shrek is life."
No, it's not some sick new spinoff of the blockbuster DreamWorks franchise. It's the latest fanmade addition to the the internet's bizarre and ongoing obsession with Shrek.
In the clip, the boy's father overhears his prayer. He calls the boy a homophobic slur. The boy retaliates, and his dad slaps him. He cries himself to sleep. Sometime during the night, he's woken up by Shrek himself. The ogre whispers in the boy's ear, "This is my swamp."
It gets much weirder—and more NSFW—from there. It ends with Shrek saying, "It's all ogre now," before flying out the bedroom window. The phrase "Shrek is love. Shrek is life" appears on the screen over some melancholy piano music.
Shrek was released in 2001. Fans flocked to deviantART to post their original comics and illustrations. But it took about 11 years for the internet's Shrek obsession to go from cute to cult-like.
Dec. 1, 2009, holds a particular significance in Shrek's internet history. That's when DreamWorks launched its official Facebook page for the series—a place for the studio to promote Shrek products and spinoffs. It was also a place where DreamWorks had Shrek occasionally speak to his fans through cute first-person posts.
These posts were a big hit on Facebook. The number of likes each one received was 1,000 to 2,000 more than the average promotional post. What DreamWorks may not have realized was that this sort of creativity—the removal of Shrek from the confines of its films—is exactly what fans had been doing well before they launched its Facebook page.
In May 2012, ShrekChan was launched—the digital altar for all "brogres" to worship at. (The term "brogre," meaning a hyper-obsessed Shrek fan, is a play off "brony," a young adult fan of the TV show My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.) ShrekChan is a 4chan-based imageboard for brogres to satirically (and sometimes seriously) comment on anything remotely related to the Shrek series.
In March 2014, ShrekChan received its 500,000th visitor.
"In my opinion, it's a subversion of brony culture, again taking something relatively childish with good intentions and flipping it to an ironic appreciation," said Amanda Brennan, a former researcher for Know Your Meme and Tumblr staffer.
With the Shrek meme thoroughly established thanks to deviantART and ShrekChan, 4chan took it to a whole new demented level in 2013.
The "Shrek Is Love, Shrek Is Life" metameme was a meme built on top of an existing meme. As illustrated in the video clip mentioned earlier, it tells the story of a Shrek-obsessed boy who is disturbed by the green ogre in his sleep. (Warning: NSFW.)
Allegedly, the meme was first posted on 4chan's paranormal board /x/ in January 2013 and has inspired a whole new crop of deranged illustrations.
All of this new attention has resulted in a rise in popularity on Google trends.
Does this spike in popularity mean anything in terms of staying power for the meme and Shrek in general? Probably not, says Brennan.
She points out that while the phrase "Shrek is love" is "on the upswing, comparing it to a search for just 'Shrek" flattens the [Google trends] graph." Meaning all the online appreciation for Shrek barely factors into his mainstream popularity.
The meme may live forever underground.
Update: March 9, 2017
Since it peaked in late 2014, the cult of the "Shrek is love, Shrek is life" meme has gradually faded from the internet. There are still some active "brogres," but a look at the Google Trends graph for "Shrek is love" would seem back up our prediction that "the meme will live forever underground." Emphasis on the "underground" part.
Photo via Google Trends
To understand the decline of Shrek's role as an internet religion since 2014, the Daily Dot contacted Martin Gyiran, the admin of what might be the last active Shrek Is Love Facebook page.
"Since 2014 October there is no 'big' Shrek is Love stuff," he said. "It's mostly memes (nowadays dank memes) and hard to find Shrek is Love related content."
While Google searches for Shrek Is Love were dropping off a cliff, Shrek memes continued to grow, slowly and gradually. There's enough material that Gyiran still posts Shrek memes regularly, farming them from 4chan and Tumblr. Most of them are totally unrelated to the cult of Shrek, but new trends have taken its place.
"Recent Shrek memes are usually the Shrek versions of trending memes so it will continue in that direction," Gyiran predicted.
"People forgot what 'Shrek is love Shrek is life,' is. They only see these [trending] memes and Smash Mouth – All Star becoming a thing," he added.
It seems that Shrek's most lasting contribution to the meme world was its opening song, Smash Mouth's chart-topper "All Star." The band told the Daily Dot last year that they don't love the memes about their song, but its lasting internet appeal has certainly been good for their income.
The prognosis for Shrek memes is that they'll never really die, just keep going along at the same low hum as they're remixed with the latest meme trends.
Gyiran is optimistic.
"In the past few months there are several new Shrek memes, and it's easier to find them," he said.
Shrek is no longer life, but it's still a viable meme commodity.
Fernando Alfonso III
Fernando Alfonso III served as an early Reddit and 4chan reporter and the Daily Dot's first art director until 2016. He's gone on to report at Lexington's Herald-Leader and at the Houston Chronicle.
Jay Hathaway
Jay Hathaway is a former senior writer who specialized in internet memes and weird online culture. He previously served as the Daily Dot's news editor, was a staff writer at Gawker, and edited the classic websites Urlesque and Download Squad. His work has also appeared on nymag.com, suicidegirls.com, and the Morning News.
4chan Memes Shrek


text:
DANIEL AGÉSILAS
Choreographer and Pedagogue
Dancer, choreographer and pedagogue having received ballet training (awarded the Premier Prix from the Conservatoire Supérieur-CNR of Paris) and in contemporary dance (Joseph Russillo, Karin Waehner, Luis Falco), Daniel Agésilas integrated the Opéra of Paris Ballet in 1965. He interpreted the repertoires, plays and works of Roland Petit, George Balanchine, Serge Lifar and Maurice Béjart, and became soloist in the Joseph Russillo Théâtre Ballet .
Daniel Agésilas simultaneously developed pedagogical work at the heart of the Joseph Russillo Théâtre School of du Ballet, the Opéra of Paris and at the Scala of Milan. Educational coordinator of choreographical studies at the Conservatoire National of Toulouse from 1986-1993, he obtained certification as a dance professor in 1997. He choreographed some 20 ballets. After having also excerted a number of administrative responsibilites and leadership roles, he became the director of chorographical studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur of Music and Dance in Paris in 2002.
Daniel Agésilas was appointed Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in 2004 and Chevalier in the Ordre National du Mérite in 2012.


text:
College Counselors on the Class of '21
Edward Y. '23, Web Chief|June 1, 2021
The arrival of June signals the end of the school year, and with that, we are bidding farewell to our beloved senior class and sending them off to college. To celebrate the graduation of our seniors, we interviewed Director of College Counseling Ari Worthman, Associate Director of College Counseling Mal Goss, and college counselor Mark Kranwinkle about the college admissions landscape for the Class of '21.
Mr. Worthman shared some of the data the college counselors gathered for this year. The number of applications students submitted rose from last year's 989 to 1191, a 20% increase. The average senior in the Class of '21 submitted 12.3 applications (excluding Early Decision and Restrictive Early Action), compared to last year's average of 11.9. Alongside the rise in applications, however, the percentage of admitted applications decreased from 52% to 46%. The college counseling team observed that despite disruptions brought by the pandemic, college admissions statistics seem similar to prior years – in 2019, the percentage of admitted applications was 48%, and the number of total applications was 1190. Although they indicate fewer positive results, the numbers mentioned above are not extraordinary, but rather reasonable deviations from the mean.
Of course, this is not to say that this year's admissions cycle was perfectly normal. Mr. Worthman said that the "emerging narrative in our community is that this year's outcomes were worse than other years," a claim fueled by the fact that more applications were waitlisted and denied than in other years.
However, Mr. Worthman notes that the situation is more nuanced than most people believe. He believes that since seniors were submitting more applications, they received more good news and more bad news than usual, but the latter tended to drown out the former. Ms. Goss commented that she, too, is "wary of using crowdsourced feedback": the most attention-drawing cases are often extremely good or extremely bad news, neither of which are representative of results as a whole.
This year has been a challenging one not just for Lakeside seniors but also for the college counseling team. Due to staff reductions, the college counselors were forced to restructure their office to accommodate the change; the number of counselees per full-time college counselor increased from about 37 to about 52. Lakeside's college essay specialist, Catharine Jacobsen, doubled her hours to support more seniors. In addition, Operations Manager Marcia Chaddock moved into a new role reviewing essays, and the counseling team hired a third part-time essay specialist. These adjustments to the workflow aimed to give each student individual attention.
The college counseling team also shared their thoughts on the trend of increasing applications, which the pandemic and test-optional policies have only served to accelerate. Though students tend to consider applying to more schools to combat admissions uncertainty, the team generally counsels against this. Mr. Kranwinkle noted that students who received better results this year tended to be those who could best assess their own strengths and weaknesses and were thus more decisive "in choosing a school that was the right fit for them, and at which they had the best chances of admission." Similarly, Mr. Worthman cautions students that presenting themselves on paper is a very time-consuming process, and students should take care to not "distribute and dilute their efforts across too many schools."
Another prevalent topic in the college admissions landscape was whether or not increased gap year students from the Class of 2020 made this year's admissions more rigorous and negatively impacted admissions chances of the Class of '21. Ms. Goss believes that most of these concerns are unfounded speculations: data obtained from counseling programs showed that though the percentage increase in the number of gap year students was high, the number of those students was low.
Ultimately, different seniors were affected differently by the pandemic. Mr. Worthman found that at most schools, admission rates for Lakeside students experienced statistically insignificant drops. However, a few schools – such as Tufts, Georgia Tech, Boston University, Northeastern, and Barnard – experienced significant shifts in their selectivity. Some students who likely would have been admitted in prior years did not receive good news this year. As a result, even though "applications were up everywhere," commented Mr. Worthman, "students felt the selectiveness increase at some places more than others."
We are drawing the curtain on the 2020-2021 college admissions cycle, and soon the Class of '22 will be up next. The college counselors' top piece of advice to rising seniors is to not become fixated on "brand name" schools. "We want Lakesiders to know that there are lots of great schools out there," said Mr. Worthman. He reiterates that "for most students, where they go to college is not tied up with their futures." Though brand-name colleges have obvious appeals, he reminds students to recognize that "marketing and branding are not always equal to better quality." No matter which colleges our seniors will be attending, we wish the best of luck to them in their next adventures!
Anya S. '21 contributed reporting to this article.
Edward Y. '23, Web Chief
Seattle Students Rally for Change to Sexual Assault Policy
Return to the Source: Lakeside's Scheduling Algorithm Explained
The Tatler Interview: Dr. Gregg Colburn
Getting to Know Mx. Sandusky
Campus Car Break-Ins Cause Chaos
Lakeside Invests in Climate-Oriented Firm
A Day in the Life of Bernie Noe
Relearning Vulnerability: A Discussion with Darcy Gaechter
Activity Period Brings Club Chaos
The Tatler Interview: A Conversation With Dr. Kai Bynum


Learn how to use paint markers on ceramic dishes to create your own, amazing, creative dish set! Start with a DIY painted bowl and add you your custom dishware collection from there.
Wash the bowl with soap and water to rid of any dust or fingerprints. Let it dry.
Starting at the top, with a pencil, lightly draw a 1" x 1/4" rectangle and go around the whole bowl. You might have to adjust the size of the rectangle to fit the bowl. Repeat pattern going down the bowl. Up to four rectangles down.
Starting at the top fill in one rectangle Blue and the one next to it in light blue. Alternate the colors going around the top. Let it dry before going to next row.
Go to the next row and fill in the Orange under the light blue. Skip every other one with the orange. Repeat orange color for the next row down. Fill orange under a white space. This should look like a checkerboard pattern.
For the last row, repeat the blue and light blue pattern. Make sure that they are the alternate colors on top. So if blue is on top then light blue should be on the bottom.


text:
Q: Banco de dados e controle de transações em operações com valores Em meu projeto preciso desenvolver um sistema de transações onde o usuário vai colocar credito e o serviços que ele contratou irá consumir esses créditos.
Construí a seguinte estrutura mas não sei se é o melhor jeito a ser fazer:
Usuario
id | Nome

Transacoes
id | usuario_id | valor | data

Quando o usuário inserir créditos irei alimentar a tabela transacoes; quando houver um débito automático pelo uso dos serviços irei alimentar a tabela transacoes com valores negativos (por exemplo, -12 de valor mensal); quando eu fosse gerar o caixa (saldo) do usuário irei contabilizar todos os valores pra chegar no saldo atual.
O problema que encontrei é que à medida que essa tabela cresce, a performance pra gerar o saldo irá diminuir.
Enfim, não consigo pensar em uma estrutura pra abranger sem estresse essa regra de negócio :(

A: Digamos que construir o saldo a partir da leitura de todas as transações seja de fato uma constraint para a performance (você ainda não sabe, mas digamos que já saiba), você pode criar uma tabela para manter o saldo (um registro apenas para cada usuário):
Usuário
id | Nome

Transação
id | usuario_id | valor | data

Usuário_Saldo
id | usuario_id | saldo_atual

A cada transação (crédito ou débito na tabela Transação), você atualiza o saldo do usuário na tabela Usuário_Saldo, assim você terá que ler um único registro quando quiser consultar o saldo de um usuário.
Até aí, óbvio. O cuidado que você precisa ter é garantir a integridade dos dados. Se você primeiro criar o registro na tabela Transação, quando for calcular o saldo ele pode já ter sido alterado por uma outra Transação de crédito ou débito.
Então você precisa primeiro atualizar o saldo, para daí lançar a transação de crédito ou débito. É claro que estes dois comandos devem ser uma operação atômica, ou seja, devem estar dentro de uma mesma transação de banco de dados. Assim:
-- abre transação de banco de dados
UPDATE Usuário_Saldo
SET saldo_atual = saldo_atual + @valor_transação
WHERE usuario_id = @usuario_id;

INSERT INTO Transação (usuario_id, valor, data)
VALUES (@usuario_id, @valor_transação, @data)
-- commita transação

Se o sistema enviar "ao mesmo tempo" duas transações de crédito ou débito, a segunda terá que esperar a primeira ser concluída pois o registro em Usuário_Saldo estará bloqueado.
Update: e se eu quiser garantir que não seja feito um débito maior do que o saldo disponível?
A solução descrita acima garante a integridade do saldo sem precisar se preocupar com o nível de isolamento das transações. Mas se eu adicionar um SELECT antes de atualizar o saldo a fim de primeiro verificar se há saldo disponível para um novo débito, eu quebraria a solução pois o select poderia ler uma versão anterior do saldo, ou uma versão ainda não commitada, dependendo do nível de isolamento da transação.
Nesta solução, então, verifica-se o saldo disponível por último, provocando um rollback caso a operação tenha resultado em um saldo negativo. Basta adicionar um select de verificação do saldo antes do final da transação. A solução completa fica assim:
-- abre a transação de banco de dados

-- atualiza o saldo
UPDATE Usuário_Saldo
SET saldo_atual = saldo_atual + @valor_transação
WHERE usuario_id = @usuario_id;

-- registra a operação de débito/crédito
INSERT INTO Transação (usuario_id, valor, data)
VALUES (@usuario_id, @valor_transação, @data);

-- verifica se a operação resultou em um saldo negativo
SELECT saldo_atual
FROM Usuário_Saldo
WHERE usuario_id = @usuario_id

-- se saldo_atual < 0, faz rollback
-- senão, commita a transação

Esta é uma solução simples por não se preocupar com nível de isolamento da transação (o qual depende de configurações no banco de dados ou de diretivas adicionais ao executar os comandos SQL); e é performática por permitir o nível de isolamento mais baixo, pois quanto maior é o nível de isolamento, mais recursos são utilizados pelo servidor de banco de dados e menor é a capacidade de concorrência nas operações de consulta.
Soluções mais complexas podem emergir dependendo de necessidades específicas. Por exemplo: se proceder toda a operação antes de saber que o saldo era insuficiente acarrete em um custo alto demais, eu posso fazer uma verificação prévia do saldo e nem disparar a atualização caso ele seja insuficiente - isso diminui as ocorrências de tentar débitos que não serão concluídos com sucesso. É claro que eu não vou me basear nesta verificação prévia para garantir meu saldo - a verificação final que determina se a transação pode ser commitada permanece.

Obs 1: Estes comandos estão considerando Id auto-incremento nas tabelas. Obs 2: O "@" está simbolizando os valores passados por parâmetro à query. Obs 3: Este código considera que Usuário_Saldo já tem um registro para cada usuário, mas você pode ter variações disso.

A: Existem várias abordagens, depende muito do cenário que você está pensando, do investimento em hardware/software e a velocidade que você quer alcançar.
O modelo de registro de transações que você descreveu não é ruim. Existem muitos sistemas hoje baseados nele. Ele se chama Event Sourcing. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn589792.aspx
O Event Sourcing é uma técnica que você vai salvando os eventos um a um desde o primeiro, e para saber o resultado atual (o saldo por exemplo), você vai somando registro por registro.
Existe uma vantagem grande nele: em bancos de dados relacionais, você tem um tempo de resposta muito reduzido para inserir novos registros e pode aumentar muito a capacidade de paralelização do sistema acrescentando novo hardware/software. Também existem técnicas para você materializar uma versão do saldo corrente e acelerar o processo de consulta do saldo. Isto é muito importante, porque provavelmente vai existir um limite ao qual a pessoa não poderá ser debitada se ela não possuir um valor mínimo (o que vai precisar fazer uma consulta do saldo e, para isso, construir todo o histórico desde o 0 se não houver uma materialização destas consultas).
Mesmo assim, se você está lidando com valores monetários, pode não ser legal usar o Event Sourcing. É interessante você dar um lock num registro de saldo quando você iniciar uma transação para diminuir o saldo. Se o processamento for paralelo, seu sistema pode ter que lidar muito com a concorrência e, ou perder informações (tentar diminuir o saldo enquanto alguém já está diminuindo) ou problemas de integridade.
É importante ter um registro histórico sim, mas ter uma tabela de saldo é importante para realizar o lock. Portanto baseie suas consultas na tabela de saldo.
Já ao salvar as transações, elas são frequentemente consultadas? Você precisa realmente ter um id nelas? Lembre que o id são também uma constraint, fazendo com que o banco de dados precise verificar a integridade de cada informação inserida. As vezes vale mais a pena ter uma tabela sem chave primária, apenas indexada de uma forma simples, do que ter uma chave que diminua a velocidade das inserções. Mas vale a pena ressaltar que isso vale quando as consultas não são muito frequentes.
Para diminuir essa consulta, o que vale é dar restrições para os usuários. Vale a pena particionar as tabelas em históricos. O SQL server permite particionar as tabelas a partir dos dados de uma coluna. Logicamente falando é uma tabela só. Fisicamente falando são arquivos distintos. Você poderia fazer uma partição a cada 3 meses de histórico e, se o usuário quiser consultar mais, ele precisa agendar em um processamento batch ( o que consumirá mais recursos do banco, mas com certeza irá acelerar suas consultas pelo histórico mais atual). Daí você pode indexar somente as transações recentes, as outras ficam lá sem muita necessidade de consumir recursos do banco.
Na hora de realizar as operações de atualizar o saldo, dê um lock no registro de saldo. Isso vai garantir que a operação seja atômica e, ao inserir na tabela histórico, fica bem mais rápido. Quando realizar esta transação, tenha certeza de dar um lock nos registros corretos, não deixando o banco dar um lock em uma região grande da tabela.
Minha sugestão então é igual a do @Caffé, com a modificação do id da transação:
 Usuario
 id | Nome

 Transacoes
 data | usuario_id | valor (sem pk)

 Usuário_Saldo
 id | usuario_id | saldo_atual

A: Eu li excelentes respostas. Apenas para mostrar uma outra abordagem eu gostaria de sugerir o seguinte:
Eu modelaria desta forma:
Usuário
id | Nome

Transação
id | usuario_id | valor | data | data_processamento

Consolidado
competencia | usuario_id | saldo_atual

O quê muda? Eu acho mais interessante trabalhar numa solução estilo fluxo de caixa: Tenho um saldo atual, entradas e saídas. Ai a cada uma dia qualquer do mês eu executaria uma rotina que iria consolidar o saldo do mês corrente.
Além disso, incluí um campo data_processamento na entidade Transação onde seria possível saber quando de fato tal transação foi consolidada.
Com a abordagem acima eu consigo os seguintes benefícios:

*

*Uma massa de dados menor para trabalhar, pois eu trabalharia apenas com informações de 1 mês.

*É bem mais fácil olhar o passado, pois nada será perdido.

*Se o tamanho do banco de dados for um problema seria simples criar uma rotina para arquivar valores muito antigos (tipo com 5 anos)

*Como o consolidado seria responsabilidade de um job, não seria muito difícil fazer o controle de transações.

Agora como nem tudo são flores, acho que algumas desvantagens seriam

*

*Sua lógica ficaria um pouco mais complexa (Falo isso imaginando um sistema básico, não sei do que se trata exatamente o seu sistema)

*Posso aproveitar o parentese acima para complementar que é provável que esta solução não seja exatamente o que você procura.

Bem, espero que ajude.

A: Em transação você pode colocar valor acumulado que sempre será o valor acumulado anterior + valor atual, sendo que o primeiro valor acumulado é o próprio primeiro valor. Na hora que você acessar o saldo, você acessa o último valor acumulado sem precisar fazer operações.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Read reports about the Centenary events and celebrations we had in Australia and NewZealand region.
Filter Archive:
Kiwi columbans celebrate the centenary
Celebrating 100 years of mission in style
Columbans celebrate 100 years of 'deep & earthy spirituality'
One-hundred years of emulating Saint Columban's tenet as 'pilgrims for Christ'
Pilgrimage to China: Celebrating 100 years of Mission
Mission today and tomorrow 100 years of the Columbans
Columbans celebrate Centenary in Brisbane
Ray Lowe reflects about the recent trip to China with a party of 27 pilgrims (including guides and tour leaders). The trip was organised by the Columbans as part of the centenary celebrations.
The Perth Missionary Society of St Columban celebrated its centenary to a full Como Parish congregation on 3 November
The Columban Fathers' mission of spreading the Gospel message across the world has been honoured at a Mass to celebrate the order's centenary.
In a packed St Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday morning, the Columbans concelebrated a celebratory centenary Mass of Thanksgiving with His Grace, the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart followed by refreshments in Cathedral Hall in nearby Fitzroy.
As part of the celebration of its centenary, the Columban Mission held a lecture program on June 20 at the Cardinal Knox Lecture Theatre in Melbourne.
St Columbans Mission Society in New Zealand celebrated the Centenary Mass on the 27 July 2018
A "deep and earthy spirituality" of inclusiveness and hospitality marks the Missionary Society of St Columban, said Bishop Terry Brady at a Mass to celebrate the centenary of the Columbans.


The teeth are a sensitive part of your body. When you begin to experience serious issues with your teeth that require corrective treatments, it can be a very nervous time.
Here at GOODHEALTH.dental, we provide quality crowns and bridges in Solon (Cleveland), OH. Our physicians use modern methods and equipment to provide a holistic solution designed to be safe, comfortable and affordable.
These procedures can be a great way to easily correct damaged or decaying teeth.
Dental crowns and bridges are used to restore chipped, damaged, or missing teeth. Whether the tooth becomes worn down due to poor nutritional habits, accidents or hereditary conditions, crowns and bridges can be a great solution.
While these devices may have been questionable in terms of their reliability in the past, modern technology allows us to create the right fit for your tooth to increase the amount of time your crown or bridge will last.
While many people may be fine with getting dental checkups or hygienic treatments, getting dental crowns and bridges in Solon (Cleveland), Ohio, can be a tense experience for some.
We use non-toxic materials to ensure the procedure is safe in accordance with industry standards.
We are also dedicated to making sure the procedure is done gently and comfortable in order to give you a pleasant experience and a great result.
Many people put off getting the corrective treatments they need for their teeth. Don't let a painful or noticeable imperfection in your teeth cause you grief. We are committed to giving you a reliable, safe, and comfortable treatment for your unique need. Contact us at (440) 542-1200 to schedule an appointment today!


There is no shame in asking for pain relief during childbirth. It may seem obvious to some but now doctors and midwives are behind a move to bust the myth that avoiding pain relief during labour is better for mother and baby.
A passionate contingent of medical professionals plan to present evidence of this at the Royal Society of Medicine's December meeting in London.
"We decided it was about time the public were told about pain and pain relief in labour by a group without a 'natural' agenda," Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association president Dr Felicity Plaat told The Sunday Times.
"Too often have I been asked to discuss or provide epidural analgesia to women not just suffering from extreme pain of labour, but a feeling that they have failed because they ask for or need epidural analgesia – a feeling sometimes amounting to shame.
The evidence is expected to explain how stress hormones increase when a woman experiences pain in labour.
"Women should be free to choose their own form of managing pain during labour from relaxation techniques to epidurals," National Childbirth Trust (NCT) senior policy advisor Elizabeth Duff told The Huffington Post UK.
"There's no reason to feel ashamed of any of these options. It's time to bust the myth that woman are 'failures' if they choose pharmaceutical help with pain relief.
Royal College of Midwives director of midwifery Louise Silverton says every woman experiences pain in childbirth differently.
She says epidurals can increase the need for instruments such as forceps to be used to help deliver the baby.
"The choice belongs to each woman, and midwives will support them whatever they choose," she told Huffington Post UK. "However, it is less easy to be active and upright with an epidural, as most remove any sensation below the waist.


Do you know that Google handles video content differently from routine blogs? If you have a video and an article written for a niche, the chances of a video popping up on the landing page are higher. This means you will have to find videos matching your content, and post it on your blog time and again so that your blog can rank. Video Jeet can do just that for you – but without you!
I am not even bothering to get into more intricacies as to who needs Video Jeet. No matter what your occupation, you need it. Growth and expansion in this era is only possible if you have adequate digital footprints.
The first best thing about this tool is that you don't have to shell out a penny! This tool works with popular free blogging sites such as Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress, and Livejournal. All you need to do is set up your blog with these free platforms and Video Jeet will run them at no additional cost.
The second best part is Video Jeet's breakthrough technology that makes it a one push button solution. All you need to do is give it your niche keywords and it will get to work. Everything is done on auto! With fresh video content being posted again & again, you are sure to rank on Google.
Finally, the best of it all is that this tool actually pings Google after it's done with the posting! How cool is that? Had it not been for Video Jeet I would have not even known such an option to ping search engines exists!
Schedules all your posts as per the intervals you set.
You have manual control too! You can modify descriptions, titles, and keywords as you'd like.
Now, this is a question you can answer! I have tried this tool and have seen exponential growth in traffic to my blogs. Try as I may I could only find two small things that urked me… It takes a while to search, and is a bit confusing at the beginning. But once you use it for a few hours, that concern vanishes! Right from having the right permissions to seamless performance, this tool is a keeper. In fact, Cyril has always been so confident of his products that he actually gives you a money back guarantee. Still wondering?


text:
Coenosia angustifrons är en tvåvingeart som beskrevs av Stein 1913. Coenosia angustifrons ingår i släktet Coenosia och familjen husflugor. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Husflugor
angustifrons

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Daniela Ortiz Cusco (1985) lives and works in Barcelona. Through her work, she generates spaces of tension in which the concepts of nationality, racialization, social class and gender are explored in order to critically understand structures of inclusion and exclusion in society.
Her recent projects and research revolve around the issue of migration control, its links to colonialism, and its management by European-white states and societies. At the same time, she has produced projects about the Peruvian upper class and its exploitative relationship with domestic workers. Daniela gives talks and participates in discussions on Europe's migration control system and its ties to coloniality in different contexts.


text:
De 33e wereldkampioenschappen schaatsen sprint werden in 2002 op 19 en 20 januari gehouden op de ijsbaan Vikingskipet in Hamar.

Klassement mannen

Klassement vrouwen

Langebaanschaatsen in 2002
Schaatsen in Noorwegen
 2002
Sport in Hamar
Schaatsen sprint 2002


For many students, college can be the best 4 or 5 years of their lives. However, there are also many students who get to college and start to experience burnout or confusion over what they want to do after school. Sometimes this can lead to falling grades, or students questioning whether or not going to college was even the right decision for them.
In certain cases, some people have taken a semester off in order to recharge their batteries and regain focus on their studies. While this can be a positive thing to do, it can also be a hard decision to explain to parents, family, friends, and fellow students.
The following are tips/strategies for people to maximize their time off before heading back to college to get their degree.
If you decide that you want to take time off from school to clear your head, you should create a plan in order to sell the idea to your parents. The plan will not only put their mind at ease, but it will also be something that you can look back on throughout the semester to keep you on track.
You should consider your plan almost like a business plan. Make sure that you account for the reasons that you are taking the time off as well as what you plan on doing throughout each phase of your time away from school. It will be an added bonus if you can explain what types of lessons you will be learning during each phase.
Do not underestimate how important having a plan can be. Parents will initially view your semester off with worry because they will fear that you will lose motivation to go back to school. They usually also have a significant financial investment tied into your academic success. Not to mention that the lack of a plan will also lead to an absence of personal focus and motivation on your end.
The best thing that you can do during your time off is get a job. Whether it be paid or unpaid, get up every morning and work. The job does not have to be full-time and if you are creative it does not even have to be working for another person. There are plenty of students who have tried their hands at small start-up businesses with varying degrees of success. The main goal no matter what you do is to gain experience and transferable skills that you can add to your resume.
The job skills will not only help you develop career-wise, but also help you out in interviews when you can bet that you will be asked why you took a semester off and what you did during that time period. Your short-term job may even help you focus on a major or career path that you had not considered prior to your break.
One of the hardest things to do during time away from college is keep your mind academically sharp. While your classmates are continuing to go to class, take exams, and write term papers, you will be away from the grind doing something completely different.
In order to continue developing the intellectual part of your brain, you should continue reading anything that is close to you. Whether it be a newspaper, novel, or something off the New York Times bestseller list, read it. When you are done reading it, try to find someone to discuss it with so you can continue practicing your critical thinking skills.
Try your best to stay up to date with current events. Watch the news occasionally, or visit sites like CNN to stay fresh on what is going on in the world. Another positive thing to do is make a reading list of books within your major. By the time you get back to college, you will be equipped with questions and knowledge that your classmates may not even have yet.
Avoiding your intellectual side will only lead to you wanting to avoid going back to school later, and that will just lead to an overall tough transition back to college.
One of the beautiful things about being in college is being exposed to different people from so many different places. Once you take your time off, it is likely that you are going to head back to the same area that you grew up in, and the same ideas to which you were always exposed in the past.
If possible, try to find some time to travel to other areas during your break. It may end up as a big trip to Europe or the Caribbean, or it could just be a trip out of state to visit some family members. In either case, the trip will not only keep you excited, but it will also broaden your horizons. Take a moment to take in new places of interest and talk to as many people as possible in the new areas.
Ultimately, it may never be as easy to travel once you are back in college and/or the working world, so take advantage of it.
While you are away from school, go out of your way to talk to as many people as possible. Talk to your parents. Talk to your friends. Talk to your family. Talk to your classmates back at school. Most importantly, find a way to talk to as many random people as possible that you come across on a daily basis. These new people will allow you to break out of your normal college social bubble, and be exposed to new ways of thinking.
As tempting as it may be, do not sit at home all day and play video games or watch television. The best way to learn more about yourself is usually by interacting with other people in the outside world.
For some of you, the semester away from school may have been less of a choice and more of a requirement. If you experienced burnout prior to taking time off, bad grades may have led to your break. If this is the case, keep your head up and know that you are your own best support system.
Continue to keep your confidence up, even when people ask why you are not back at school. Be honest with yourself about what mistakes you may have made to get in the situation and start working on correcting them. Take it a step beyond and start working on solutions for when you get back to college so you do not end up in a similar situation later.
The most important thing to do is stay motivated no matter what the situation is. College can often be like a 12 round boxing match. Just because you got knocked down in the early rounds does not mean you cannot still win the fight. Use the time off to your advantage. Make a plan, stay busy, keep your mind sharp, and continue talking to people around you. At the end of it all, you will be happier for it.


Siavong businesses and the tourism industry have come together to start a website called Siavonga Zambia, a community website intended to inform visitors and prospective investors about the town of Siavonga, tourist facilities and activities available, industry/commerce and business opportunities, local authorities and procedures, the chiefdoms and places of interest to visitors. The website is primarily sponsored by the business community, third party advertising and donations. I sure hope to see similar websites for other parts of Zambia.
How much does it cost to remit?
Is this the cost of KK's endorsement?
Are opposition parties doomed in Africa?
The quest for agriculture supremacy..
ZANACO : a successful privatisation story ?


I have worked with Mission 2 Organize on two separate occasions. The first time they came into my office and spent hours transforming it from a disorganized mess into something I was proud to call my office! The next time was helping to organize up a PR event at the office where they worked to organize all of the small details to pull off a spectacular event. Thank you Schae and Bahar for all of your incredible work!
"Those ladies are truly know how to organize!
In only a few days my all house was back in order, but best of it that they gave me tips and tricks how to keep it that way. Highly recommended!
Thank you so much for you help. You came right on time and worked steadily and effeciently. You were very professional and the team approach is amazing and the fact that you were able to work independently without much input from me put me at great ease. I cannot wait to schedule another session. AWESOME JOB as I cannot even believe how good my office looks in just five hours. ~Betsy S.
"In the past year, I've hired Mission 2 Organize three times! I'm addicted. It is such a wonderful feeling to have your life put in order. Could you do it without them? Maybe, but you AREN'T doing it. That was the problem. Anyone *could* probably do it, but you aren't. Without them, you'll keep procrastinating. It won't be easy. It will take ten times longer. It is too daunting. You don't know where to start. You'll get distracted. And even if it does finally get done, it still won't be as good in the end. If you are thinking about hiring help — hire Mission 2 Organize. Having the help of TWO people at once feels so much more efficient. I can't commend their lack of judgement enough: true professionals that will make you feel so comfortable and leave you feeling like you are on cloud nine to finally have your act together.
My first session was about a year ago: I wanted to clean out my basement storage unit. It had boxes stacked to the ceiling and then some. Some of those boxes hadn't been opened in 10 years from 2 houses ago. Not only was it disorganized, but I truly had no idea what was down there. By the time they left, everything was sorted and labelled. They took LOTS of donations with them and I was able to throw away TONS of garbage that I didn't even know I had. Before they arrived, I found this area completely overwhelming, but they jumped right in to help. I knew this would be a really unpleasant task, all day in a damp dim dungeon — at one point, we even found a huge pile of mice droppings due to them feasting on an old bag of grass seed I was storing down there. Disgusting! — but these two professionals took it all in stride. They didn't freak out like I did. One year later, my sister called and asked if she could borrow something that I had not used in about 5 years. I knew EXACTLY where to find it and it was the biggest relief. I owe it all to Schae and Bahar.
The second visit, about 11 months later, I was dealing with a new job, plus grad school, plus a recent marriage separation, and I was just overwhelmed. Somehow, I had allowed my guest room to basically become an episode of hoarders. It was beyond out of control. There were stacks and stacks of clothes covering every square inch of the bed and floor. Mission 2 Organize agreed to help on incredibly short notice. Bahar and Schae were totally hands-on and made me feel so much more comfortable about something that I was personally so ashamed of. (According to them, they've always seen worse.) Having them there to help was this enormous life saver. They keep close track of time and make sure the steady progress keeps up all day. Not only did they sort through the parts that I asked for, but they essentially reorganized SIX additional clothing and linen closets while they were in there! It provided this enormous relief to know that I could finally invite friends and family over to my home again.
About a month after that, I had them back for help with my office. In addition to the office, while they were there, they also tackled my front hall closet and laundry closet. They are so kind to my large dog who always wants to be right under foot and in the middle of the action. Once these two professionals have been through all of your personal belongings, they truly feel like friends … impressively organized friends. While the cost does seem high at first, it is obviously worth it or I wouldn't keep coming back for more. I'm addicted. I've used them three times and I continue to watch their monthly coupons and deals because there is almost always more to do. For example, even though there is nothing "wrong" with my kitchen, I just know I will LOVE it so much more after Mission 2 Organize works their true magic.


text:
Se llama ballener a una embarcación utilizada en la Edad Media que tenía figura de ballena y cuyos costados eran muy bajos.

Navegaba a vela o a remo según su tamaño, y generalmente se armaba en tiempo de guerra.

Referencias

Embarcaciones de vela
Embarcaciones de remo


Using a crane to move headstones and small monuments is "generally" not defined as construction, but the crane operator is still responsible for stringent worker-safety rules regarding crane operations, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has advised in response to a question from an Arkansas granite and marble cemetery monument delivery company.
Sam J. Flocks, District 9 trustee of the Monument Builders of North America and a monument company owner, in a letter dated October 6, 2014, asked OSHA for guidance on its "cranes and derricks in construction" standard.
OSHA acting director of the directorate of construction Jeffrey A. Erskine first clarified that the business owner was requesting guidance on headstones and small monuments weighing between 100 pounds and 1,700 pounds, not larger mausoleums or columbaria, but still sometimes requiring assembly of several pieces, sealed with a water-resistant compound. He noted a crane is used to move the monuments or their pieces from a delivery truck's bed either to the foundation or to a heavy-duty cart that is then pushed or pulled to a gravesite.
He also said that a crane with a capacity over 2,000 pounds, de-rated to less than 2,000 pounds, is still subject to the entire crane standard, not a lower standard, based on the crane's maximum rated lifting capacity.
Please contact Jackson Lewis with any questions about the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard.


text:
Q: Optimising a MySQL query So I have the below SQL
 SELECT i.id, r.full_name, i.file_name, i.lat, i.lon,   c.name as
 category_name,
    NOW() - i.timestamp AS age,
    (SELECT count(*) FROM votes WHERE image_id = i.id) as total_votes
 FROM images i INNER JOIN registrations r
    ON i.user_id = r.id
 INNER JOIN categories c ON i.category_id = c.id
 WHERE i.moderated=1
 ORDER BY total_votes DESC
 LIMIT 25

This averages at 10-15 seconds to run on my local environment.
Removing the ORDER BY part drops it down to 0.02ish.
Is there any way to speed up the ordering in the main statement?
UPDATE 1:
Explain for query below.

UPDATE 2 :
Rewrote the query and added some indexes in
Query
SELECT  votes.image_id, count(votes.id) as total_votes,
        images.file_name, images.lat, images.lon, NOW() - images.timestamp AS age,
        registrations.full_name,
        categories.name
FROM votes
LEFT JOIN images
    ON votes.image_id = images.id
LEFT JOIN registrations
    ON images.user_id= registrations.id
LEFT JOIN categories
    ON images.category_id = categories.id
GROUP BY votes.image_id
ORDER BY total_votes DESC
LIMIT 25

Current Explain for the query:

A: Create in table images one column "votes". If have vote up for image - increment, if have vote down - decrement. You can have table votes parallely and check if have success inert then increment.
With this you will remove this your subselect.
After this create INDEX in images with ORDER BY votes DESC and 'moderated = 1`.
BTW, are you sure that your indexs are okey?
Also think about INNER JOIN with categories.

A: Your subquery is suboptimal :)
 SELECT i.id, r.full_name, i.file_name, i.lat, i.lon,   c.name as
 category_name,
    NOW() - i.timestamp AS age,
    COUNT(*) as total_votes
 FROM images i INNER JOIN registrations r
    ON i.user_id = r.id
 LEFT JOIN votes ON i.id = votes.image_id

 INNER JOIN categories c ON i.category_id = c.id
 WHERE i.moderated=1
 GROUP BY i.id
 ORDER BY total_votes DESC
 LIMIT 25

If this doesn't help, you'll have to provide table structures and and explain plan of the query.

A: Using TEMP TABLES for votes and registrations tables will help you to speed up the query.


text:
Crematorium Arvada CO 80403
The funeral procession was led by a calvary troop, followed by delegations from schools, clubs, fraternal societies, and groups of actors from the theaters. The ceremony proved to be a rare combination of politics, sports, entertainment and religion, a testimony of Ali's impact on so many aspects of life. Kuss was killed while practicing for the Great Tennessee Airshow in Smyrna on June 2. He is survived by his wife and two young children. The industry has to react to have more moderate prices. A good deed will be done no matter how it gets done." Lewis, who was driving the go-kart, was pronounced dead on the scene of the accident. Jackson, who was a passenger in the kart, was flown to Huntsville Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after midnight Sunday. Reflecting back a year ago today, April 19, 2015, it was a difficult time. From the first contact at your facility, through the whole process (choosing the proper ceremony, meet/greet, church service and graveside to mention a few) I felt the care and compassion of all the Staff at Burgess Funeral Home. Arvada 80403.
Losing a loved one is something no one ever wishes to happen. Unfortunately, it is one of life's few certainties. Apart from grieving and accommodating family and friends looking to pay their last respects, there are many preparations to think about for the funeral. Someone who rejects their parents' authority will usually have trouble accepting that ultimately, it is Gd who runs the world.
I thought of all the yesterdays the good ones and the bad, Honor your loved one with a floral arrangement delivered direct to their memorial. Dr. Welby Ings Professor Graphic Design AUT University Auckland Sorrow is the evil spirit which haunts us. "The people wept loudly. So they named that place Bochim (that is, weeping)." Judges 2:4-5. The Crematorium is also a suitable funeral venue, regardless of whether the funeral is faith-based or not and offers a choice of chapel depending on your preference for the service. Memorial Funeral Home Arvada CO 80403
Through providing a service that is catering to your personal needs' the funeral industry is able to convince customers to agree to many additional disbursements. We cannot begin to know your pain, but we want you to remember that we love you." Ours is just a simple prayer, God bless and keep you in His care. BBB accreditation does not mean that the business' products or services have been evaluated or endorsed by BBB, or that BBB has made a determination as to the business' product quality or competency in performing services. The type of service that you choose to have will affect the total cost of cremation services.
The average burial runs about $7,300 and can range from $6,250-$8,000 (without considering the cost of a gravesite, burial vault or head stone), while a typical cremation ranges from $1,000-$3,000, with the average falling somewhere around $1,650, according to the latest figures from the Funeral and Memorial Information Council (FAMIC). Following his death at Walter Reed Army Hospital in 1969, Eisenhower lay in repose in the Bethlehem Chapel at Washington National Cathedral for 28 hours, 52 rather than at his presidential library in Abilene, Kansas. Our staff of dedicated professionals is available to assist you in making funeral service arrangements. From casket choices to funeral flowers, the funeral directors at Smith Family Funeral Homes provide individualized funeral services designed to meet the needs of each family. This Michigan Funeral Homes web page is provided courtesy of the advertising sponsorship of the Funeral Homes listed, along with thousands of other Funeral Homes. Arvada Colorado My needs were unique as I am an out of state buyer and because of the extra effort (prompt return phone calls, meeting me at the airport with the auto, coordinating shipping & financing) I will buy from this group again. My tears have been my food day and night while people say to me constantly, Where is your God? It's a poetic expression. And when you have the opportunity to be there with a dead body and really look it in the face and stare your own mortality in the face, it's a real clear message that you too are going to die. When medieval German trickster /fool-using- Obfuscating Stupidity Till Eulenspiegel died, the guys who carried his coffin goofed up, and the coffin fell into the grave, standing upright instead of lying down.
Many people feel overwhelmed by all the practical, legal and financial decisions that need to be made when a loved one passes away. In Japan, however, erection of a memorial building for many executed war criminals, who were also cremated, was allowed for their remains. The idea is outlined in a report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, which has spent 18 months investigating ways of boosting the supply of organs. This message was preached at a funeral service following a suicide. It proved to be a powerful word of encouragement in the midst of tragic circumstances and is provided here as a sermon example and resource. In a Japanese funeral and in Taiwan, the bones are not pulverised, unless requested beforehand. When not pulverised, the bones are collected by the family and stored as one might do with ashes. They can also notify the Social Security Administration of the death on behalf of the family. They may help with insurance claims and veterans' funeral benefits.
So if you see the purple lights or the purple flags, you know it is a funeral procession. Pull off to the side of the road, stop and don't get into the middle of that line. Today, to celebrate the release of Windows Phone 7 to manufacturing, Microsoft employees had a parade at their headquarters in Redmond, WA. Most often this should come from the family. In trying to find a hook for one man that I had never met, every person I spoke to said, He was a good man. George D'Esopo of D'Esopo Funeral Home in Wethersfield, a family-owned business since 1905, says that so far, the economy has not significantly affected the types of funerals families here are seeking. What do you do if your loved one dies away from Arizona? Prices are effective Jan 1, 2016 and are subject to change without notice. Additional charges may apply depending upon your specific requests and location.
A dead adult Hindu is mourned with a cremation, while a dead child is typically buried. 91 92 The rite of passage is performed in harmony with the Hindu religious view that the microcosm of all living beings is a reflection of a macrocosm of the universe. very good, elegant customers very good restaurant very expensive but OK No, a casket is not required for cremation. All that is required is a rigid container which is cremated with the body. This container is required because it provides safety for the crematory operator, and most importantly, dignity for the deceased. necessary to create a meaningful ceremony that celebrates the unique life being honored. Our staff is committed to Word of advise: - When investigating and comparing prices for funeral services first and foremost make sure you are dealing with a funeral director you feel comfortable with.
Prizes awarded. All ages welcome. Bring your own big wheel or three wheel bike. but I couldn't imagine not being here right now read more Personal choice, family tradition or religious affiliation will determine whether burial or cremation is more appropriate. Memorial Funeral Home Arvada CO 80403 The defective bypass valve was replaced immediately and the entire furnace system renovated, says the facility's manager. Our team of trained writers, modelers, and business analysts can get your plan prepared to perfection in just a couple weeks.
For details about Orangeville cremation costs and options visit our cremation costs page. Memorials may be made in his honor to The Buck Rambo Memorial Fund, 3009 Columbia Avenue, Franklin, TN 37064. Please call us if you have questions concerning any aspect of our funeral services. We welcome your calls. This option is offered in the 12-Step Cremation Plan at no additional charge. Due to our growing reputation for providing the highest quality of service, and with the increase in requests for preplanned funeral services, the staff at Fosters has expanded to meet the demand.
Mortician Memorial Funeral Home


Forest ecology is a branch of ecology that focuses on patterns and processes in forests. Forests are, studied at any number of organizational levels, from the individual organism to the ecosystem. Trees are an important component of our research, but the wide variety of life forms and abiotic components present in forests, such as other plant species and soil nutrients, are part of our research as well. Forest ecology is a highly diverse and important branch of ecological study.
Fire ecology is a branch of ecology that focuses on the origins of wildland fire and its relationship to the environment that surrounds it, both biotic and abiotic. A wildland fire is defined as any fire that is burning in a natural environment. Fire is a natural process, and is an integral part of the ecosystem in which it occurs. The main factors that we focus on in fire ecology are fire dependence and adaptation of plants and animals, fire history, fire regime and fire effects on ecosystems.


What Causes Hair Loss in Women and What are My Options?
Balding in ladies can be connected to hormonal changes that outcome from menopause, pregnancy and other life changes. It ordinarily happens in cycles, and most ladies see a diminishing of the hair straightforwardly over their heads and not really along the hair line. While there are a few different ways to conceal the issue with certain haircuts and items, the misfortune is still generally huge; male pattern baldness in ladies can cause enthusiastic pain.
All things considered, there are a few choices for hair rebuilding for ladies; ladies can profit most from follicular unit joining, a technique that enables the hair to regrow normally and the procedure includes almost no hazard. Ladies are not urged to utilize standard prescriptions, for example, Propecia and enhancements, in light of the fact that there have been not very many examinations done on ladies utilizing these items and encountering positive outcomes.
How does Follicular Hair Transplantation for Women Work?
Follicular hair transplantation keeps on being one of the best hair transplant techniques in men since it makes the most common looking outcomes. The system can be similarly as compelling for ladies and works by dismembering a zone of the scalp that is appearing of sound development and afterward transplanting it into the thinning up top territory. The transplants copy characteristic development and cause insignificant harm to the skin. The specialist can transplant hundreds, even a huge number of these follicular transplants so the hair starts to develop relentlessly inside a couple of months. Follicular Transplantation is one of the real advances in transplant techniques, enabling specialists to deliberately control the skin on the scalp and create extremely normal looking outcomes.
Who might be Considered the Best Candidates for Transplantation?
A few people may not be great possibility for the hair transplantation technique, and just a specialist can decide whether the misfortune is sufficiently huge to be treated with a hair transplants.
A few specialists additionally prescribe certain prescriptions to balance out hormones and enhance the odds of hair development. Ladies who might experience the ill effects of thyroid issues, hormonal irregular characteristics and collagen issue might be great possibility for enhancements and restorative treatments that acquire the body equalization and help advance solid hair development.


Beech Hill, located to the north east of Halifax town centre is a run-down residential and commercial area, dominated by three dilapidated vacant 1960's tower blocks and a former council depot. The area is desperately in need of regeneration through the provision of new homes to meet local needs.
Lichfields obtained planning permission on behalf of Together Housing Association to redevelop the first phase of Beech Hill. This will deliver in the order of 100 new homes with the aim to integrate these into the existing built environment, contributing positively into the existing community.
The demolition of the tower blocks and depot followed by development of new homes will regenerate Beech Hill into a dynamic and inviting area that forms part of a revitalised wider community at Beech Hill.
A close working partnership between Calderdale Council, the local community, Together Housing Association and its advisors has now provided the trigger for the successful delivery of a dynamic and inviting Beech Hill regeneration scheme.


text:
Neem Leaf Powder
Botanical Name: Azadirachta indica
4 oz. 1 lb.
Our neem powder is milled from Azadirachta indica leaves. Neem has been widely used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda for its health-promoting effects. A member of the mahogany family, neem is abundant in tropical and semitropical regions such as its native India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. Neem leaf powder can be extracted, encapsulated, and incorporated into body care recipes.
Long known in Ayurdevic medicine in India, modern research has been confirming the traditional uses of the neem tree. Its many properties and uses have given neem the reputation as Friend and Protector in Indian villages. The neem tree is native to India and has been used in so many ways that it's difficult to count them all. An evergreen tree that is remarkably tolerant of both heat and drought, the neem can grow up to twenty feet in three years. The tree begins bearing fruit at three to five years, and each tree can produce up to 110 pounds of fruit in a year. Its fast growth, quick maturity and high production combined make the neem tree one of the most valuable plants in India.
Neem is also referred to as bead tree, margosa, and nimba. It is a member of the Meliaceae family.
Not for internal use by men attempting to conceive. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.
Epimedium Leaf Powder
Gymnema Leaf Powder
Neem Leaf
Oregano Leaf Powder
Neem Oil Blend


The APM Portfolio Managment SIG annual conference 2016 will take place on Thursday 12th May in London.
Nicky has been Head of Portfolio Management at the Office for National Statistics for the last 3 years. The role is based at the South Wales head office and so Nicky has gone full circle since graduating from Cardiff University many moons ago.
Nicky's career began in the banking sector, focussing on commercial lending, but she also dabbled in some project work for Lloyds Bank, which sparked her interest. After a short spell of lecturing whilst she had a young family, Nicky moved to the police service in 1998, where she spent 15 very interesting years working on projects and programmes, finishing with a 4 year spell heading up portfolio management on the government's Counter Terrorism Portfolio.
Tanya heads up the Portfolio and Benefits Realisation function in TfL's Surface Transport. Over the last 10 years, she has been championing strategic approach to benefits management; developing benefits management as an enabler to effective portfolio management at a strategic level. She has been leading on development of portfolio management in Surface Transport, and actively contributing to development of the TfL's approach to portfolio management.
Tim is an experienced portfolio office manager and has led organisational centres of excellence delivering capability improvement in high performing public sector organisations. Tim has played a regional and national professional leadership role in project and programme management including the development of the Public Sector Programme Management Approach and in facilitating the PPM Community of Practice on the Knowledge Hub.
Terri has been a project delivery professional for more than 12 years and has led a number of diverse major government projects, has worked in the private sector as a consultant advising on project delivery and is a Team Leader for assurance reviews of Major High Risk Projects.
Her current role is to lead a team to collect, collate and analyse data from the Major Projects across Government for the purpose of monitoring progress and providing insights to improve project delivery and aid informed decision making by our Ministers and Senior Stakeholders.
Dan's background, training and accreditation is in Transformation Delivery. He currently leads a team of c. 250 Portfolio Management Office (PMO) practitioners that shape, enable, inform and safeguard the successful delivery of Transformation Portfolio, spanning c. £600m investment on an annual basis.
Stuart Westgate joined High Speed Two Limited as Programme Development Director (Internal Sponsor) in March 2015. He leads development of the new north-south rail line and provides an important link between HS2 and other transport bodies.
Stuart joined HS2 from KPMG where he spent four years as Director of Major Projects Advisory. He has vast experience in providing programme and leadership services to major infrastructure clients in transport and finance. Prior to joining KPMG in 2011, he spent two years as Director of Crossrail Surface, responsible for the mainline elements of the cross-London rail scheme.


Located in central Playa del Carmen, Hotel Los Itzaes is a 15-minute walk from the beach and the Cozumel ferry terminal. Facilities include an outdoor pool, a sun terrace and an indoor garden.
The air-conditioned rooms at Los Itzaes Hotel provide free Wi-Fi and cable TV. They feature a private balcony and a desk.
The shops, restaurants and lively bars of 5th Avenue are just 1 block from Los Itzaes Hotel Playa del Carmen. Xcaret Eco Theme Park is within a 15-minute drive, while Cancún is around a 40-minute drive away.
Do you own a car rental company near Los Itzaes?