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Мельничук Ярослав Іванович ( 25 липня 1958, село Молотків, Лановецький район, Тернопільська область, Україна) — український письменник, драматург, режисер, продюсер, імпресаріо, журналіст, страховик.

Член Національної спілки журналістів з 1983 року.

Життєпис
Народився 25 липня 1958 року у селі Молотків Лановецького району Тернопільської області. Закінчив Молотківську восьмирічну школу (1973), Лановецьку середню школу № 1 (1975). Працював теслею в місцевому колгоспі імені Пархоменка (с. Молотків), журналістом у лановецькій районній
газеті «Будівник комунізму».

У 1982 році закінчив факультет журналістики Львівського державного університету імені І. Франка. Працював кореспондентом, старшим кореспондентом, завідувачем відділу обласних газет «Корчагінець», «Радянське Поділля», «Подільські вісті» (м. Хмельницький). Створив і редагував першу на теренах Хмельниччини приватну повноколірну 24-сторінкову обласну газету «Ва-банк» (1989—2003), заснував і видавав газету-дайджест «Погляд на Поділля» (2003). Публікувався у республіканській та союзній (за часів СРСР) періодиці. У 1993—2004 роках очолював приватні багатопрофільні підприємства
«Ва-банк», «Княжич». Працював імпресаріо провідних українських та російських естрадних зірок, київських та московських театрів, організатором культурно-масових заходів, днів міста, продюсував творчі доробки подільських митців.

Із 2004 року активно працює у галузі страхування. 2007—2010 роки — заступник директора Хмельницької філії СК «Провідна». За підсумками першого півріччя 2010 року підтвердив статус директора національної компанії «Ассістас» (системний бізнес, лайфове страхування — СК «ТАС» ). Із 2012 року — директор Вінницької регіональної дирекції Страхової Групи «ТАС» .

Член Національної спілки журналістів з 1983 року.

Письменник, драматург. Автор п'єс: «Мазепа» (у співавторстві з Богданом Мельничуком), «Гумберт» (за В.Набоковим), «Інквізитори», «Заповіт із майбутнього», «Богданова правда», «Остання валка», «Станція Голгофа», «Варава», «Крути. В мої сни прийшла війна» (у співавторстві з Володимиром Веляником).

У 2009 році пробує свої сили у режисурі — на сцені Хмельницького монотеатру «Кут» поставив спектакль «Мазепа» за однойменною п'єсою. У 2011 році (спільно з Ігорем Сторожуком) ще одна режисерська робота — спектакль «Заповіт із майбутнього» на сцені Хмельницького обласного українського музично-драматичного театру ім. Михайла Старицького. 2012 року — автор ідеї та п'єси вистави «Лоліта», зіграної на сцені монотеатру «Кут». У 2015 році відбулася ще одна театральна прем'єра — «Ісус Варава» за однойменною п'єсою, режисер-постановник Володимир Веляник.

Вистави «Мазепа», «Лоліта», «Ісус Варава» — у постійному репертуарі хмельницьких театрів. Ці творчі роботи за неповних сім років побачили
більше 100 000 глядачів Києва, обласних і районних центрів Західної України. За створення моновистави «Мазепа» автор і режисер-постановник Ярослав Мельничук відзначений дипломом Хмельницького регіонального рейтингу популярності «Людина року-2009», Хмельницькою міською премією імені Богдана Хмельницького у галузі історії, культури і мистецтва, дипломом Міжнородного фестивалю мономистецтва «Відлуння». Відеоверсії вистав «Мазепа» і «Лоліта» демонструвалися на всеукраїнському телеканалі «Культура». Творчі спілки Хмельниччини висунули у 2012 році виставу «Заповіт із майбутнього» на здобуття державної премії імені Лесі Українки у номінації Театральні вистави для дітей та юнацтва.

У 2013 році Ярослав Мельничук видав у видавництві О.Сторожука (Хмельницький) свою першу книгу — збірку п'єс «Голгофа».

У січні 2018 року відбулася прем'єра художньо-публіцистичної драми «Крути. В мої сни прийшла війна». Режисер-постановник Володимир Веляник. У ролях актори Хмельницького облмуздрамтеатру ім. Старицького Володимир Веляник, Альона Волкова, Роман Падура.

Твори

П'єси

 Мазепа (у співавторстві з Богданом Мельничуком) (2009)
 Інквізитори (2010)
 Заповіт із майбутнього (2011)
 Богданова правда (2011)
 Гумберт (2011)

 Остання валка (2011)
 Станція Голгофа (2012)
 Ісус Варава. Розмова з Богом (2012)
 Крути. В мої сни прийшла війна (2017) (у співавторстві з Володимиром Веляником)

Театральні постановки

 «Мазепа». Монодрама. Режисер-постановник — Ярослав Мельничук. У ролі Мазепи — заслужений артист України Володимир Смотритель. Музичне оформлення — Володимир Макієвець. Художник — Андрій Ісаєв. Автор костюмів і декорацій — Алла Мельничук. (2009)
 «Заповіт із майбутнього». За поезією Тараса Шевченка, Лесі Українки, Богдана Лепкого. Режисери постановники: Ігор Сторожук, Ярослав Мельничук. У ролях: заслужений артист України Ігор Сторожук, Юрій Шамлюк, Катерина Власенко. Художник-постановник та автор відео-ряду — Алла Мельничук. (2012)
 «Лоліта. Сповідь збоченця». За романом  В. Набокова. Постановка, сценографія та музичне оформлення — Мирослав Гринишин. У ролі Гумберта — заслужений артист України Володимир Смотритель. (2012)
 «Ісус Варава. Розмова з Богом». Моновистава. Режисер-постановник та виконавець головної ролі — Володимир Веляник. Антреприза (2015)
 «Крути. В мої сни прийшла війна». Художньо-публіцистична драма. Режисер-постановник — Володимир Веляник. Автор ідеї — Ярослав Мельничук. Режисер телеверсії — Оксана Деліта. Антреприза (2018)

Творчі відзнаки

 Диплом XI Міжнародного фестивалю моновистав «Відлуння». (2010)
 «Людина року — 2009». Хмельницький регіональний рейтинг популярності.
 Хмельницька міська премія імені Богдана Хмельницького у галузі історії, культури і мистецтва. (2011)

Галерея

Джерела

 Україна: засоби масової інформації. – К. : Нац. Прес-клуб, 1993. – С. 8.
 Хто є хто : Хмельниц. міська орг. Нац. спілки журналістів України. – Хмельницький : Вид-во ПП Мельник А.А., 2003. – С. 33.
 Хмельницький в іменах : прозаїки, поети, журналісти. – Хмельницький : Вид-во А. Цюпак, 2006. – С. 93.
 Слободянюк, Т. «Іван Мазепа»: проект мистецький, подільський / Т. Слободянюк // Поділ. вісті : Хмельниц. обл. газ. – 2009. – 27 серп.
 Людина року – звання високе // Проскурів : Хмельниц. міська газ. – 2010. – 25лют.
 Вшанували лауреатів конкурсу «Людина року-2009» // Проскурів : Хмельниц. міська газ. – 2010. – 31 трав.
 Слободянюк, Т. Пам'ятати і славу, й ганьбу… / Т. Слободянюк // Поділ. вісті : Хмельниц. обл. газ. – 2012. – 23 лют.
 Мельничук Я. I. Голгофа. - Хмельницький. : ФО-П Сторожук О.В., 2013. - 215 с.
 Лауреати міської премії імені Богдана Хмельницького у галузі історії, культури і мистецтва (1994-2013 року) / Біобібліографічний довідник до 20-річчя з часу заснування премії / 2014. -  C. 103.
 Хмельницька міська організація Національної спілки журналістів України / Довідник / 2017. С. 30.

Посилання
 «Ісус Варава. Розмова з Богом»: актор Володимир Веляник запрошує хмельничан на моновиставу
 Україна відзначає Міжнародний день театру. План заходів // Рідна країна : світогляд. портал.
 Дігай, Т. Моновистава «Мазепа»  // Сумно? : спільнота блогів про культуру.
 «Ісус Варава. Розмова з Богом»: актор Володимир Веляник запрошує хмельничан на моновиставу
 Вперше у Хмельницькому покажуть театрально-кінематографічний проект
 Голгофа (збірка) Ярослав Іванович Мельничук
   Перелік претендентів на здобуття Премії Кабінету Міністрів України імені Лесі Українки за літературно-мистецькі твори для дітей та юнацтва : від 18. 01. 2013 р. : [у т.ч. вистава «Заповіт із майбутнього» (автор п'єси, режисер вистави Ярослав Мельничук)]
 Митці-хмельничани у Бердичеві. Фото. — РІО Бердичів
 «Ми залишаємось рабами чужого» - Український тиждень. Посилання на участь вистави «Мазепа»
 ПРИВАТНЕ ВИРОБНИЧО-КОМЕРЦІЙНЕ ПІДПРИЄМСТВО "КНЯЖИЧ"
 ТАС, страховая группа, ЧАО, Винницкий филиал
 МАЛЕ ПРИВАТНЕ ПІДПРИЄМСТВО "ВА-БАНК"

Уродженці Лановецького району
Персоналії:Хмельницький
Персоналії:Вінниця
Українські письменники
Українські драматурги
Українські режисери
Українські продюсери
Українські журналісти


If one more person tells you of someone they know who went on vacation and Voila! They got pregnant! you are going to scream. In their face. While waving all of the medical bills you've accumulated. You feel like they just don't get it---and you're right because most don't.
I've walked that pain you are feeling. I've been flooded with tears of fear and disappointment along with unshakeable hope and unrelenting determination. It's hard opening up to someone. I totally get how scary and frustrating it can be. What if they say the same ole' thing that everyone else has been saying? How can she possibly understand? These doubts are perfectly fine to have and I encourage you to be selective when opening up to others about infertility---especially about infertility.
I promise you won't have to explain the following to me: HSG, IUI, IUI with injectables, IVF, IVF with ICSI, clomid, letrozole, lupron, follistim, menopur, trigger shots, PIO, delestrogen, PCOS, Endo, DOR, MFI, TWW, beta testing, how important the thickness of your lining is, FET, PUPO, eggs retrieved/fertilized/frozen, donor sperm, donor eggs, donor embryos. Plus a few more I probably left out.


1 Kings 18:3-4 The All-knowing, All Seeing God put people in places to safeguard His inheritance – His interest, His beloved.
You are at that particular junction to safeguard an inheritance like Esther in Esther 4:11-17, and Joseph in Genesis 45:5.
Friends, are you acting in that capacity the Lord has bestowed on you?
Repent today and seek God's face for mercy. May we all not be replaced by God. He is more than able to raise up stones in our stead – Matthew 3:9.
The Man/Woman Preferred Of God!
When God has chosen you, heaven and earth can do nothing except to oblige. The Lord will order your steps through the mountains and hills, the plains and the rough places for He is the I AM! He will guide you to your desired place.
The I Am will do wonders in your life that will baffle all including yourself. Note that you did nothing to attract God's anointing, it was His prerogative to choose whom He will, and looking through the Scriptures and history, there's none called by God without a hitch. For Saul, it was low self-esteem. He was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward – 1 Samuel 10:23, yet he was so unsure of himself even after having been anointed secretly, and prophesying publicly, he hid among the equipment!
Nothing can hide you if God has chosen you. The failed marriages of the Samaritan woman did not hide her, it led her to the well that day. I know that there were many married women in that city. Many wives of the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Scribes, but none went down to the well to meet with Jesus. The facts of your life cannot stop you fulfilling what the Lord ordained for you either. Satan will whisper though, he will taunt you no doubt about that! Don't allow your mind to play tricks on you, neither allow any human to limit you. Fight for your destiny. Resist till the end!
How often have you and I looked at ourselves and think, maybe God made a mistake? Every single Prophet and deliverer in the Scriptures thought so about themselves except a handful. God is not looking for perfection in human character or personality, He looks for the availability of the soul. Unfortunately human look at what can be seen with the eyes. Only the discerning can see as Samuel did and foretold accurately!
1 Samuel 10:1- 11 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: "Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance? 2 …………….. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. 8 You shall go down before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do." 9 So it was when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And it happened when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, "What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" 12 Then a man from there answered and said, "But who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb: "Is Saul also among the prophets?" 13 And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.
Be encouraged and ask God to show you a true picture of yourself. Ask God to open your eyes to the secret things that will make a difference in your life, and help you to make a difference in your community like the Samaritan woman. — Culled from Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, May 2nd, 2018.


In the News | Lake Norman Language Academy, Inc.
"A LOVE OF LANGUAGE - Lake Norman Language Academy create bonds"
By the year 2042, the U.S. Census Bureau reports there will be a shift to a majority-minority population in the United States, where more than half of all children born will be minorities. With that in mind, camps are celebrating the different cultures and ethnicities of the world.
Abigayl Panisi, president of Lake Norman Language Academy, made sure residents in Mooresville and surrounding areas had a place that would cater to the second-largest language spoken in the country, Spanish.
Panisi's Spanish summer camp for beginners focuses on everyday language use by using real-life situations like ordering food off of a menu to learn the language.
Learning about food and culture from other countries is what Bon Voyage: Cultures of the World Camp offered in Cornelius is all about. The Cornelius Parks, Arts, Recreation and Culture Department provides a place for kids ages 5 to 10 to create passports, learning about five different countries. From Chinese ink painting to Italian Carnivale masks, participants learn about the variety of global art and craft techniques.
"Campers will have an opportunity to go through five different countries in the five days," said Mindi Ellison, arts center program manager for the Town of Cornelius. "Every summer we try to add a cultural and arts program to bring awareness to the countries in the world and around us." With the Boy Vonage camps filling up to capacity every year, Ellison notes the need for it in the community.
Another way of learning about culture and identity comes from dance, said Ryan Swengros, dance and cheer camp program director for Sally's YMCA in Denver. Campers from kindergarten to fifth-grade learn the art of hip-hop dance, modern dance, ballet, chants and small stunts.
For each dance style, a different dance instructor will be assigned to teach the campers.
Ultimately breaking stereotypes, Panisi said learning languages break more barriers in an easier way.


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2022 started fairly well in terms of inkjet press activities. It was supposed to be a decent year after the pandemic weighed down on businesses in 2020 and 2021. However, sales/placement announcements dropped off in Q2 and Q3. Finally, Q4 2022 sees inkjet press placements picking up finally. It ties in with printing companies having a more positive outlook again, e.g. in Germany.
For years I keep on collecting sales and placement announcements for production inkjet devices and use those to analyse trends and data. Placements and sales numbers for 2022 show a good start into the year with a decisive drop in activity in Q2 and Q3. However, Q4 showed a significant rise in numbers, easily surpassing even Q1 2022. Keep in mind that Q4 has not even ended, so there might be a few more units to add.
The lower activity in the mid of 2022 could be caused by a lack of components and supply chain issues mounting in 2022. This has been confirmed by industry analysts and vendor information. It seems that companies are getting a better handle on it now.
Continuous feed (CF) inkjet remains the main driver in the market and accounted for the largest number of installations again. B1 and B2 cut-sheet presses had a good year, with a bit more even distribution across the year. B3 inkjet presses had a very strong second half of the year, although these devices, not being as expensive as the two other categories, are more likely to fall through the grid.
Despite the headwinds, 2022 installations should be ahead of 2021 installations. 2022 continuous feed and B3 inkjet places should reach about the same level as in 2021. Activity in the B2/B1 space has been noticeably higher however in 2022. The main driver was not corrugated/POS placements, which remained flat, it was commercial, folding carton and specialty print driving the uptake.
The numbers include commercial and packaging installations, except for the label market – where a lot of smaller devices are shipping. They are global but weighed towards North America and Europe with other geographies most likely being underrepresented. Quarterly and annual numbers include a mix of installation and purchase announcements, however, since this is the same for all periods it should give a good overview of the market activity.
With the Hunkeler innovationdays in February/March 2023 and several other events planned for 2023 there are more opportunities to see and learn about the latest model range. Additionally, some devices announced previously should start shipping in 2023. I would expect inkjet press placements picking up further in 2023.
B1B2chart of the weekcontinuous feedcut-sheetdigital printInkjetmarketsprint applicationsprintingproduction
Published on:14. December 2022 Category: Blog
«Small publishers and traditional media benefitting in 2022»inkjet placements

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Grand Mental Health unlocks door to revolutionary therapeutic home
Andy Dosset
| Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise
Grand Mental Health has cut the ribbon to open Thursday a unique therapeutic home offering five to seven days of intensive behavioral health treatment in a fully equipped, furnished and monitored home.
The Brief Stay Therapeutic Home is believed to be the first such facility in Oklahoma, and possibly nationwide.
"We don't just want to treat people in the least restrictive environment, we want to treat the whole family. [We want to] keep them in their own communities so the children are not removed and sent hours away to a place where the parents cannot be involved in treatment," said Josh Cantwell, GMH's chief operating officer.
"Imagine if a 10-year-old has a six-month hospital stay, that's 5% of his life he's lost," he said.
Also Read : Health Ministry assures continuous provision of high quality Thriposha nutritional supplement
Bartlesville City Council member Billie Roane says the new facility is a tremendous asset to Bartlesville.
"The Brief Stay Therapeutic Home helps people when they're coming out of a facility or they're having issues with their family, and the family actually moves in and they're monitored," she said. "You are encouraged to give them a place to have a soft landing, not just go back home and deal with the same issues again that caused it all in the first place."
GMH chose Bartlesville to start the pilot program because the community has one of the highest populations of children the organization serves and one of the largest populations of children admitted to an inpatient facility. GMH hopes to have three of these homes in Bartlesville and one in each community they serve.
Also Read : Kane District 11 candidates discuss taxes, mental health
The home, which will open next month to serve its first family, is expected to serve 52 families a year.
In creating the Brief Stay Therapeutic Home, Cantwell said they looked at the goal they wanted to achieve in Bartlesville, which was to reduce the number of children separated from their families, and worked backwards to meet that goal.
The overarching goal for GMH is simple: Reduce the number of people who commit suicide, Cantwell said. The key to this is better access to behavioral therapy services.
"In the 12 counties where we operate, around 2.6% of people are currently receiving services from us and we know that a conservative estimate is that 18% to 23% of people need some form of help with a problem with mental health or drug use," Cantwell added.
Also Read : World Mental Health Day: Is Mental Health Care Accessible To Everyone Who Needs It?
In addition to the new home, GMH is opening a 24-hour crisis center in Bartlesville and making iPads available to its patients, allowing them to connect with a licensed psychiatrist 24 hours a day/seven days a week.
According to Jeff Harlin, GMH's Chief Clinical Officer, the group's services have grown rapidly since achieving certified behavioral health clinic status in 2017. This gave GMH federal funding that prioritized outcomes over patient service delivery.
Harlin explained that by shifting to an outcomes-based model, the organization will have healthier patients, more referrals, better talent and healthcare professionals, and ultimately more funding as GMH provides a service that benefits the community.
Tags: door, grand, health, home, Mental, revolutionary, therapeutic, unlocks
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Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited (TAMIN) () is a state-government undertaking of Government of Tamil Nadu located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the authority and contractor of granite and stone quarries in Tamil Nadu. TAMIN received the national e-governance award for developing Quarry Management System (QMS) at the 18th national e-governance conference held at Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat 2015.

TAMIN operation
 Granite Processing Factories at Manali (near Chennai) and Madhepalli (near Krishnagiri)
 Graphite Mines & Beneficiation Plant Around Sivagangai
 Mining and processing Vermiculite, a non-metallic versatile mineral at Sevathur Village, Thirupathur Taluk, Vellore District

Records in Sales
Highest ever sales from the inception in the year 1979 of the company has been achieved in Black Granite Rs.91.07 Crores, Limestone Rs.28.62 Crores, Graphite Flakes Rs.28.35 Crores, Indian Standard Sand Rs.6.13 Crores and Exfoliated Vermiculite Rs.1.82 crores during 2013-14.

References

External links
TAMIN - Official Website

Companies based in Chennai
Mining companies of India
Government-owned companies of India
Mining in Tamil Nadu
1978 establishments in Tamil Nadu
Indian companies established in 1978

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


One of the top questions I get asked when telling people about my story is how I became so adventurous. For those that don't know, I didn't grow up an adventurous person. I don't remember ever dreaming of traveling the world until my early twenties and even then it wasn't a top priority. But from my late teens and into my early twenties, I did crave change. I wanted to try more things and explore life's possibilities. In essence, I wanted to live limitless.
So I did. I started trying new things. I said YES more often. If something piqued my interest, I said YES! When I noticed a poster at school advertising salsa dance lessons I said YES! When I noticed an ad for Olympic speed skating try-outs, I said YES! If someone mentioned something exciting, I said YES!
And ultimately, saying YES is what has changed my life.
Whether I said YES to my ideas or thoughts or to a friend's proposal, everything changed. Suddenly I was trying new things and meeting new people. Suddenly I was becoming more confident and becoming more willing to say YES. Suddenly, nothing seemed impossible. As long as I said YES, I could try anything. Who knows what might happen or who I might meet. Life became one huge possibility.
Life became so exciting and fresh!
I looked around at others still living a life of NO. A life of stifled creativity. A life of fear. They followed the traditional path that was laid out for them by family, teachers, government or media without ever thinking of other possibilities. They stuck to the same old patterns passed down to them and didn't question anything. It all seemed so boring to me. It's not like our life is a practice round for the next one. This is it. Make it happen. Live life to the fullest.
Back in 2009, I was lying in my bed reading articles on the Four Hour Work Week Blog when a new post by Tim Ferriss really got me excited. He was releasing his updated version of the Four Hour Work Week book. I already owned the original version but loved it so much that I knew I needed the new one. Tim's plan for reaching the New York Times Bestseller list involved asking readers to buy hundreds of copies, which came with unique gifts. As I scanned through the options, one really stood out. If I bought 100 copies of the Four Hour Work Week ($1500 USD) I would get a ticket to have dinner with Tim and attend a private party on a warship in San Francisco. The possibilities began swarming around my head. This was my idol in the business world. Even though I had $1500, I didn't really want to be stuck with 100 copies of the same book. With the option being available to only 20 people, I questioned it for only one hour before reaching a decision.
I said yes. I clicked on the buy now button and a few weeks later had 10 huge Amazon boxes show up at my door. It looked so strange that I had to take a picture. A few months later, I was in San Francisco partying with Tim Ferriss and 20 others who bought all the books as well as Noah Kagen, Kevin Rose and Paula Abdul.
After the party, I had to try selling the books. I began searching Meetup groups trying to find business-minded people who might be interested and ended up stumbling upon a group called Junior Chamber International (JCI). I sent them an email and they invited me to come make a proposal at the their next meeting. When I showed up, I gave them a quick speech about the books and then sold a few copies. Then one of the guys made me an offer. He told me that a student membership was $50 per year (I was a student at the time) and that he would buy four copies if I joined the group. Since everyone was young and inspired, I said YES.
Next thing you know, I'm taking free public speaking courses, attending meetings and eventually taking a free trip to Japan. I didn't realize how big JCI was on the international level but when the world congress was announced in Osaka, Japan, I knew I had to go. Since JCI Calgary is a non-profit organization who does work in the community in exchange for funding, my trip was fully paid for. 10,000 people from all over the world attended this event.
Since saying YES, my life has changed dramatically and for the better. So many things have happened and I've experienced more than most people do in a lifetime. It doesn't stop with the Japan trip either.
Traveled solo to Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia for six months.
Sky-dived from 15,000 feet in New Zealand and Portland, Oregon.
Bungy-Jumped off of the Auckland Bridge with a dip into the sea.
Organized 20+ people to bungy-jump off a bridge in Washington.
Scuba dived many of the worlds best diving locations up close with many sharks, turtles, whales, seals and countless schools of tropical fish.
Spent more than a month in over 20 countries.
Started an online business that helps Canadians travel around the world for almost free.
Started a blog (actually, many blogs) that have introduced me to hundreds of inspiring people around the world, expanded my options in life and given me thousands of dollars of free travel activities.
Met my wife (who is from Mexico) during one semester at university and after two years of painfully making it work through Skype, we are now married and travel the world together.
Had a feature role in an independent comedy movie.
Hiked the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, the jungle trail to the Lost City of Colombia, the peak of mount kinabalu and through many villages in Myanmar.
Finished my last semester of university on an exchange in Malaysia.
Been featured in countless major media including the Toronto Star, Calgary Metro and MoneySense magazine.
Lost 27 pounds of fat, gained 7 pounds of muscle and dropped my body fat % from 22% to 10% in just 12 weeks.
I could go on but I'd rather just give you some advice – SAY YES!
The next time you have an idea for an adventure or a business – SAY YES!
The next time you see an advertisement for something that interests you, whether it be salsa dancing or public speaking lessons – SAY YES!
The next time you feel like it's time to do something new, SAY YES!
The next time you feel like you should ask someone out, SAY YES!
The next time you feel like losing fat and building muscle, SAY YES!
Say YES to Life. As cheesy as that sounds, it's very powerful. Say YES and watch the opportunities unfold before you.
or Say NO and continue living exactly as you have without ever opening yourself up to a new world of possibilities.
Everything is a choice and the choice is yours.
I hope you make the right one.
I'd like to hear from you. Has saying YES changed your life? Is there something you're going to say YES to after reading this post. Share in the comments below!
If you haven't signed up for the VIP list, I highly recommend making that happen. You'll get resources for traveling more and spending less while building an incredible life. You'll also get exclusive content and deals. Sign up BELOW! Say YES!


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text:
Ricardo Mansur  (1948) é um empresário brasileiro, ex-dono das falidas redes varejistas Mappin e Mesbla e gestor do banco Crefisul. Mansur foi preso em janeiro de 2020, aos 71 anos de idade, devido a acusação de gestão fraudulenta.

História
De raízes libanesas, Mansur tornou-se conhecido do grande público em fins da década de 1990, quando assumiu o controle de redes de lojas deficitárias, como a Mesbla e o Mappin. Para isto, levantou uma vultosa linha de crédito bancária. Em 1998, Mansur foi admitido pelo presidente Fernando Henrique Cardoso à Ordem do Mérito Militar no grau de Oficial especial. Todavia, no ano seguinte, Mansur não conseguiu saldar parcelas do empréstimo que havia obtido junto o banco Bradesco e a falência das lojas foi decretada.

Ainda em 1999, Mansur foi acusado de ter divulgado boatos pela internet, através de e-mails falsos onde alertava para uma possível quebra do banco Bradesco. O empresário chegou a ser preso pelo crime, mas obteve um habeas-corpus.

Em agosto de 2009, os donos da Usina Galo Bravo concederam uma procuração pública para o empresário Ricardo Mansur assumir a direção da empresa, que tinha uma dívida estimada em R$ 450 milhões pelos credores. A família Balbo afirma que a intenção era resolver os problemas financeiros e que Mansur conseguiria recursos para a empresa. Com os novos problemas, a procuração foi revogada.

Em junho de 2010, Mansur devolveu a destilaria Pignata, em Sertãozinho (SP), adquirida no início deste ano. No início de abril de 2010, Mansur também desfez a aquisição da Faculdade Batista de Vitória (Fabavi), na capital do Espírito Santo, negociada em outubro de 2009, e reassumida pelo Instituto Batista de Educação de Vitória (IBEV), após o empresário deixar de pagar parcelas da aquisição.

Em julho de 2010, Ricardo Mansur teve a procuração revogada e os donos da companhia, que reassumiram a direção da empresa, calculam uma dívida de R$ 2,5 milhões com funcionários da indústria e cortadores de cana.

Ricardo Mansur então desapareceu e deixou uma ameaça aos donos da Galo Bravo: se eles divulgassem a revogação da procuração à imprensa ele entraria com ação judicial por dano moral. É pai do empresario Ricardo Mansur Filho.

Ligações externas
 ATTUCH, Leonardo. Mansur tenta sua última cartada em Revista IstoÉ. Visitado em 6 de fevereiro de 2008.

Brasileiros de ascendência libanesa
Empregados da Mappin
Empresários do Brasil
Oficiais da Ordem do Mérito Militar


This is a letter written by John Brown to Joshua Giddings, a Brown family friend, American attorney, politician and a prominent opponent of slavery. Giddings represented Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1838-59. Brown provides advice to Giddings on how to deposit a sum of money. He refers to a general plan but does not elaborate. Also, Brown mentions Henry Clay in the letter.


'No win, no fee' is the popular term for solicitors' conditional fee agreements. The law has changed for no win, no fee funding of personal injury claims. However, Brachers solicitors still offer a genuine no win, no fee service for personal injury claims and normally pay all the claim's expenses for you.
For personal injury claims under a no win, no fee agreement with Brachers solicitors, provided you follow your responsibilities, you will never have to pay a penny out of your own pocket for our legal charges. In the event a contribution for costs is required from you this will be deducted from your compensation at the end of the claim. Any contribution would be capped to guarantee you keep most of your compensation whatever happens. You therefore have nothing to worry about or lose in making a claim with a Brachers solicitor's no win, no fee agreement.
Taking your case on a no win, no fee.
How long will it take us to decide whether we can take your personal injury claim case on a no win, no fee?
Every case is different and to take a case on a no win, no fee we have to be confident that the claim should succeed. Vey often we are able to decide this on the same day; once we have had a chat with you about the circumstances and you've given us any immediately available evidence. In other cases we might need to carry out some further investigations before we can assess your claim's prospects, e.g. speaking to a witness, obtaining medical or employment records. This could take between a few days and several weeks.
What will we charge you for assessing whether we can take your case on a no win, no fee?
Nothing. Very rarely other agencies might charge admin fees for obtaining records we may need to make our assessment. However, since the GDPR Regulations 2018 you are normally entitled to get such records free of charge.
What does no win, no fee mean if I lose my personal injury claim?
No win, no fee means just what it says when it comes to our own charges as solicitors. Provided you follow your responsibilities you pay nothing for our charges if you lose your claim.
It's no win, no fee for our solicitors' charges, but what about other claims expenses?
There are other costs in making a personal injury claim on top of solicitors' services; expenses like medical reports and court fees, sometimes called "disbursements". No win, no fee does not cover these expenses.
However, insurance can cover them. You may have such insurance already (e.g. as part of your household insurance) or we can arrange no win, no fee insurance for you to cover your liability for expenses if you lose.
Some no win, no fee solicitors will make you pay for claims expenses upfront. With Brachers' no win, no fee agreements normally we will pay all the expenses for you as the case goes along provided insurance is in place. Exceptionally, if disbursements reach several thousands we may ask you for a contribution. However, we will only ever ask you to pay anything if you have the means to pay this. Even then this does not happen in most cases, but e.g. in high value cases where we have to issue court proceedings or need to get multiple medical experts.
It's no win, no fee for our solicitors' costs, but what about the cost of insurance?
If we need to take out no win, no fee insurance the premium for that insurance also works on a no win, no fee – the insurance premium is just written off if you lose.
It's no win, no fee for our solicitors' costs, but what about the defendant's costs?
No win, no fee for solicitors' costs does not cover the defendant's costs. However, due to a change in the law in no win, no fee cases normally personal injury claimants no longer have to pay anything for the defendant's costs if they lose.
There are still certain situations where you might be responsible for defendant's costs, for example, mesothelioma claims (where we would arrange insurance to cover this) or where the defendant made an offer to settle which you rejected but failed to beat. The court could then take away part or all of your compensation to pay the defendant's costs. These situations should be covered by insurance. The one situation that is not covered by no win, no fee insurance is if a claim were found to be fundamentally dishonest. Obviously we would discourage any dishonest claims.
What does no win, no fee mean if I win?
The flipside to no win, no fee is that if you win there are certain costs to be paid out of your compensation (except for mesothelioma civil claims), but these are limited and capped by Brachers to ensure you keep most of your compensation.
We charge success fees in no win, no fee cases to compensate us for the risk of not getting paid if claims are lost or where clients fail to beat a defendant's offer. This fee is calculated as a percentage uplift on the basic solicitors' charges for our time. The percentage uplift in no win, no fee cases is assessed taking into account the risks in your case at the time we took it on.
Like most solicitors we also charge 10% in no win, no fee cases to help make up for Brachers solicitors not getting paid until the case finishes. The success fee in no win, no fee cases used to be recoverable from the defendant. Unfortunately due to a change in the law it is no longer (except for mesothelioma civil claims, where therefore we make no deduction from compensation).
However, by law the success fee in no win, no fee cases charged by solicitors (and any barristers) is capped and limited to no more than 25% of your compensation for your injuries and past losses. (often it works out rather less).
If you win a no win, no fee case, we can recover a contribution to our basic solicitors' costs from the defendant. The actual solicitors' costs are usually rather less than the solicitors' costs that can be recovered (typically about 20% less). Some solicitors firms will always charge clients for the full amount of that shortfall.
At Brachers solicitors in larger no win, no fee cases and certain other cases we agree to cap our charges to you, so that any charges for shortfall and success fee combined are limited- usually to a maximum of 25% of your total compensation, provided you follow your responsibilities. (It often turns out rather less).
In smaller no win, no fee cases settled for under £25,000 due to a change in the law the basic solicitors costs we can recover are now usually fixed. This is quite often at a very low amount far below the actual solicitors' costs. Where recoverable solicitors costs are fixed like this if there is a difference between our actual solicitors costs and the fixed recoverable costs, we will usually charge something for the shortfall. However, our no win, no fee agreements still limit what we charge for shortfall. In these cases we agree that whatever we deduct for our charges - whether it's for shortfall or success fee - we limit what we charge for success fees and shortfall combined to no more than 33% of your compensation. (It could be less).
If we arrange no win, no fee insurance for you the premium is only payable at the end of the case, as a deduction from your compensation. The premium typically ranges from about £170 in smaller cases to about £3,500 in large/complex claims.
These no win, no fee insurance premiums used to be recoverable from the defendants but sadly due to a change in the law they are no longer (except in mesothelioma claims).
In both larger and smaller no win, no fee cases even after deduction for success fee/shortfall and insurance you would still keep the large majority of your compensation.
No win, no fee – are the deductions fair?
We think they are unfair and we lobbied hard against the changes. However, they are the result of a deliberate change of government policy with no win, no fee claims; to make claimants contribute to the cost of making claims through their compensation. To help make up for this the courts have increased compensation for injuries by 10%, but in most no win, no fee cases this does not make up for the deductions.
What personal injury claims can we take on a no win, no fee?
Pretty much any type of personal injury claim; from simple fractures to serious head and psychiatric injuries, spinal injuries and industrial/asbestos diseases.
The main conditions are that we think there is a reasonable chance of your claim succeeding and (in fixed fee cases) being worth £10,000 or more (and for road traffic claims that the injury is more than soft tissue or worth over £25,000).
No win, no fee - what do we guarantee?
we will provide you with a first class service.
No win, no fee - what are my responsibilities?
go to any necessary expert appointment or court hearing.


Aragon Woods located in the Eagle Creek area, offers easy access to interstates and is conveniently located to the Colts Complex. Our Westside Indianapolis apartments are tranquil, quiet and eco-friendly. Our single-story, ranch-style Westside Indianapolis apartments feature private entrances and patios for your enjoyment. We offer Studio, 1 & 2 bedroom apartments in Indianapolis near Clermont.
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Forbes.com voted this site the "Best of the Web" and the Wall Street Journal spoke favourably of it as well.
An article on the internet stated that Charlie Sheen signed up on this site to meet his future wife. Don't know if the rumours are true but why not mosey over and have a look for yourself.
The recipient of our Editor's Top Pick Wealthy award goes to MillionaireMatch.com. In our opinion this is the number one choice for a Sugar Daddy or Sugar Mama dating. Their recent press coverage has also helped this site grow in leaps and bounds.
Site Highlights Online Chat– Jump online to meet and get to know other members. Best way to get to know people and for people to get to know you. You never know who you might meet.Forums– Join the forums and take part in the sessions that go on.Millionaire Blogs– Post a blog or respond to other blogs already up. Become a part of the millionaire community. (The blogs are moderated to remove any offensive posts.)Ask April– Need some dating tips and advice then April is your girl but you must be a member to see this.
Positive Millionaire Certification – To verify a members income a CPA has to send the site a letter stating that they have earned over US$150,000 in a year or they have over US$1 million in net assets.It looks like a very warm and cosy site. Most wealthy dating sites are all black and very slick but this is the opposite. Might have something to do with its success!
Negative A free membership doesn't let you communicate with other members, perform advance searches or view any of the dating tips or news sections.
I've always had a fascination with Prince Charming, but didn't ever really believe I would find him. I met Fabian on Millionaire Match and we started an extremely quick relationship. We talked on the phone on a Wednesday, I flew to the Bay Area on Monday, I moved in that weekend.


There's no question that Foz do Iguaçu doesn't have much to offer outside of visiting the Falls, but it's still nice to be situated in the heart of town, where there's bound to be some type of action. Rafain Palace, most likely due to its large size, is quite a distance from both the airport and the Falls. Located on a busy service road adjacent to the highway, the hotel is a stark contrast to it's industrial surroundings, offering no shops or restaurants within walking distance.
I visited Foz do Iguaçu on a weekend during Brazil's high season, and paid approximately $100USD per night. This was of course well over my backpacker's budget, but I couldn't complain, as I received 5-star service and a delicious complimentary breakfast buffet (for which the dining staff was very accommodating of my nut allergy).
The rooms were quite spacious and well designed to provide a single occupant like myself with enough space to air out a backpack and all of its contents. My room was equipped with everything to make my stay comfortable: a safe, TV, dressing table, closet, and remote controlled air conditioning. Rafain's interior room decor was unquestionably outdated, but I wasn't expecting the Ritz-Carlton, so I didn't mind. The rooms were certainly clean and well maintained. Centralized in the main courtyard, was a large outdoor pool and hot tub, with a huge lounging area and bar. The free WiFi was only available on the main floor, which wasn't exactly a huge inconvenience, as the few hours that I actually spent in the hotel were by the pool or the restaurant.
Rafain Palace undoubtedly caters to families with small children. The pool was a huge attraction for kids, while the bar and lounge area was an even bigger attraction for their parents. Due to the price and atmosphere of the hotel, you would be hard pressed to find a backpacker or solo traveller here.
As mentioned, Rafain is not my typical style of accommodation. I prefer the cheapest option, which is often a hole-in-the-wall dorm room. I do, however, allow myself to "splurge" for one or two nights on each trip, and Rafain Palace was the perfect choice. The combination of the service, amenities, cleanliness, and level of luxury certainly satisfied my needs, and was definitely commensurate with the price.
Great article, thanks for the tips! As the biggest country in South America and as the soccer mecca of the world, Brazil is a marvel to visit. However, there are numerous tourist targeted scams to be wary of.
Do be wary of the Cinderella goodnight girls, pickpockets, assaults/robberies/muggings, lost and found money, drug planting, black market tickets, the place is closed scam, music charge, can I help you scam, fake merchandise, rogue drivers and many more!


text:
\section{Introduction} \label{sec:Intro}
In recent years, metamaterial-based gradient index (GRIN) optics \cite{Smith05} have been studied extensively, especially in the microwave regime \cite{Greegor05,Schurig06,Mei10,Meng13,Pfeiffer13,Jiang16}. Fewer works focus on the terahertz (THz) frequency domain, for which also remarkable progress has been made regarding the development of novel components, as e.g. frequency-reconfigurable metamaterial designs \cite{Chen08,Goldflam11,Ma14}, an Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ) metamaterial lens \cite{Pacheco-Pena17}, an all-dielectric lens \cite{Park14}, or a flexible-membrane lens \cite{Neu10}.

The popularity of gradient index optical devices in all possible frequency ranges has not grown by chance only. In the terahertz technology for instance, conventional lenses are typically made of low-loss polymers like PTFE or TPX, which only provide a low, uniform refractive index. Since the refractive index is constant, phase differences and thus wavefront manipulation during the wave propagation in the material can only be obtained by geometric shaping of the interfaces (refraction) and spatial variation of the thickness of the material in the direction normal to the optical axis, which also impacts the geometry of the interfaces. As a result, such conventional optics is very bulky and voluminous.

GRIN devices on the other hand can implement the same functionality by influencing the phase of the propagating wave due to their spatial refractive index distribution, while being flat, thin and far less bulky. In the pursuit of creating materials with specific refractive index profiles, metamaterials have proven to provide the proper means. As a major advantage, metamaterials cannot only be devised to provide a specific spatial refractive index distribution, but also can be impedance-matched to other materials or vacuum. Such impedance-matched metamaterials are basically reflectionless in a defined frequency range and make anti-reflection coatings obsolete.

This work focuses primarily on the design, fabrication and experimental study of an impedance-matched planar metamaterial with tailorable refractive index distribution. The unit cells are composed of two different sets of cut-wire pairs, one of which responds to the electric field and the other to the magnetic field of an electromagnetic wave. By this means, the electric and magnetic properties of the metamaterial can be controlled almost independently, which is key to customize the refractive index and the impedance of the metamaterial at will. We verified the design concept by numerical and experimental means for the example of a metamaterial with uniform refractive index distribution and demonstrated an almost reflectionless terahertz gradient index beam steerer (GRIN-BS) as a more practical device. In all cases, the planar unit cell design allowed a straightforward fabrication of the metamaterials by standard photolithography.

\section{Unit Cell Design, Fabrication and Characterization}\label{sec:UnitCell}

Metamaterials allow the design of artificial electromagnetic media with customized electric and magnetic responses by careful geometric design of the unit cell structures. By this means, metamaterials can be devised to possess a tailored refractive index distribution, while a matching between the impedance of the metamaterial and free space is maintained. For proper design of such materials, it is necessary that the effective electric permittivity $\varepsilon_{\text{eff}}$ and the effective magnetic permeability $\mu_{\text{eff}}$ of the metamaterial can be changed independently, such that the effective refractive index $n$ and the relative impedance $z$ can be controlled individually according to the following equations:
\[
n = \sqrt{\varepsilon \mu}\quad (1) \quad \quad \text{and} \quad \quad \quad z = \sqrt{\frac{\mu}{\varepsilon}} \quad (2),
\]
Matching between the impedance of the metamaterial and free space is obtained, when the relative metamaterial impedance is $z = 1$.

In the following, we present a planar metamaterial, whose unit cell consists of two cut wires with a resonant electric response and a cut-wire pair with a resonant magnetic response. As we show, these two sets of geometric structures offer the ability to design the electric and magnetic responses almost independently, which allows us to devise metamaterials with a tailored refractive index distribution and impedance-matching.

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.99\linewidth]{Fig_1_Unit_Cell}
\caption{Unit cell of an impedance-matched metamaterial with electric boundaries in $\pm y$-direction and magnetic boundaries in $\pm x$-direction. Under these conditions, the neighboring unit cells in $\pm x$-direction correspond to the mirror image of the shown unit cell at the $yz$-plane. The unit cell consists of two cut-wires at the unit cell edges (primarily electric response) and a cut-wire pair in the center of the unit cell (primarily magnetic response). Exemplary geometric parameters are given in the table right to the schematic.}\label{fig:UnitCell}
\end{figure}

Figure~\ref{fig:UnitCell} shows the schematic layout of the metamaterial unit cell from a perspective view and exemplary design values in the table. The unit cell consists of a polymer film as a substrate with metallic cut-wires on the top and bottom side. The overall dimensions are $a_x$ and $a_y$ in $x$- and $y$-direction, respectively. In $z$-direction, the thickness is $a_z + 2 \cdot t_{\text{metal}}$, where $t_{\text{metal}}$ is the thickness of the metal layer and $a_z$ is the thickness of the polymer film. Each unit cell includes four cut-wires that are arranged in two sets: two single cut-wires, each on either side at the diagonally opposing edges, and a cut-wire pair that is in the center of the unit cell.

For the numerical simulations, we applied magnetic boundaries in $\pm x$-direction and electric boundaries in $\pm y$-direction. Under these boundary conditions and the assumption of a $y$-polarized wave, the cut-wires with a width $w_{\text{cw}}/2$ at the edges of the unit cell are mirrored at the $yz$-plane into the neighboring unit cells. As a result, the total width of the cut-wires at the unit cell edges amounts to $w_{\text{cw}}$. In the $\pm y$-direction, the unit cells are periodically continued.

As mentioned above, it is necessary to adjust the electric and magnetic response of the metamaterial independently, in order to fabricate an impedance-matched metamaterial with a deliberate refractive index distribution. In our structure, the electric response is provided by the two cut-wires at the opposite edges of the unit cell. The cut-wires couple capacitively to the electric field of a $y$-polarized electromagnetic wave. The electric resonance of the cut-wires can be tuned by changing the cut-wire width $w_{\text{cw}}$, the cut-wire length $l_{\text{cw}}$ and the cut-wire gap $g_{\text{cw}} = a_y - l_{\text{cw}}$. At the same time, the cut-wire pairs in the center of the unit cell couple inductively to the magnetic field of the $y$-polarized electromagnetic wave. In this coupling process, the magnetic resonance can be tuned independently of the electric resonance by tuning the cut-wire pair width $w_{\text{cwp}}$ and the cut-wire pair length $l_{\text{cwp}}$.

In order to verify independent control over the electric and magnetic properties in our unit cell geometry, we used CST Microwave Studio 2018\textsuperscript{\textregistered} for full-wave simulations of the electromagnetic response of the metamaterial. Figure~\ref{fig:UnitCell} shows an arbitrary example of a simulated unit cell with the corresponding geometric parameters. The metamaterial in Fig.~\ref{fig:UnitCell} was designed to offer a tailored effective refractive index $n_{\text{eff}} = 1.18$ and to provide impedance-matching to vacuum at a frequency $f_{\text{sim}} = 0.452\,$THz. As for later fabrication, the $200\,$nm thick copper wires sit on a ZeonorFilm\textsuperscript{TM} substrate with a thickness of $50\,${\textmu}m.

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.99\linewidth]{Fig_2_S-Parameters}
\caption{Simulated and measured scattering parameters. The solid lines represent the simulated S$_{11}$ reflection coefficient (blue) and the S$_{21}$ transmission coefficient (red), while the dotted lines indicate the corresponding measured S$_{11}$ (blue) and S$_{21}$ (red) amplitude. The inset in the bottom left corner depicts a microscope image of the fabricated metamaterial. The red box in the inset highlights the unit cell.}\label{fig:S-Parameters}
\end{figure}

Figure~\ref{fig:S-Parameters} shows the spectral dependence of the S$_{21}$ (transmission, red solid curve) and  S$_{11}$ (reflection, blue solid curve) amplitudes for the simulated unit cell. The reflection minimum is observed at the working frequency $f_{\text{sim}} = 0.452\,$THz and is as low as $S_{11,\text{sim}} = 0.0251$, while the transmission amplitude amounts to $S_{21,\text{sim}} = 0.968$. For further quantification, we calculated the full width at half maximum (FWHM) bandwidth of the transmission band, but related to power. We determined a FWHM power bandwidth of $\text{FWHM}_{\text{sim}} = 0.146\,$THz, or $32.3\%$ with respect to the working frequency $f_{\text{sim}} = 0.452\,$THz.

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.99\linewidth, clip, trim=0 0 2cm 0]{Fig_3_Retrieval}
\caption{Retrieved effective material parameters. (a) shows the real part of the permittivity $\varepsilon_{\text{eff}}$ and the permeability $\mu_{\text{eff}}$, while (b) illustrates the real part of the refractive index $n_{\text{eff}}$ and the relative wave impedance $z_{\text{eff}}$. The zoomed insets emphasize the frequency range of interest.}\label{fig:EffectiveMaterialParameters}
\end{figure}

For the calculation of the effective electromagnetic metamaterial properties, we applied the S-parameter retrieval proposed in \cite{Chen04}. Figure~\ref{fig:EffectiveMaterialParameters}(a) depicts the spectrum of the retrieved effective permittivity $\varepsilon_{\text{eff}}$ and the effective permeability $\mu_{\text{eff}}$ for the aforementioned example, whereas Figure~\ref{fig:EffectiveMaterialParameters}(b) shows the corresponding spectra of the effective refractive index $n_{\text{eff}}$ and the relative wave impedance $z_{\text{eff}}$. At the working frequency $f_{\text{sim}} = 0.452\,$THz, we observe an intersection point between the spectral curves of the permittivity and the permeability, for which both attain a value of $\varepsilon_{\text{eff}} = \mu_{\text{eff}} = 1.18$. According to Equation~(1), the metamaterial is impedance-matched to vacuum at this working frequency, which is also mirrored by the retrieved relative wave impedance of the metamaterial with a value of $z_{\text{eff}}=1$, as shown in Fig.~\ref{fig:EffectiveMaterialParameters}(b) and the zoomed image section therein. According to Equation~(2), the refractive index assumes a value $n_{\text{eff}} = 1.18$ in the impedance-matched case.

For experimental verification, we designed a metamaterial based on the preceding unit cell concept with an array of $53 \times 30$ unit cells in $x$- and $y$-direction. The aperture of the metamaterial was $7.6\,$mm$\times 8.9\,$mm. As in the simulation, we used a $50\,${\textmu}m thick ZeonorFilm\textsuperscript{TM} as a substrate, for which we determined a refractive index $n_{\text{Zeonor}} = 1.5$ by use of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. We fabricated the cut-wires on the top and bottom surface of the substrate by UV lithography and a lift-off process. The cut-wires consist of a $190\,$nm thick copper layer on a chromium adhesion layer with $10\,$nm thickness.

For experimental investigation of the S-parameters, we measured the amplitude of the transmission and reflection coefficients of the fabricated metamaterial in a terahertz time-domain spectroscope. The measured $S_{11}$ and $S_{21}$ spectra are plotted in Fig.~\ref{fig:S-Parameters} as dotted blue and red curve, alongside with the simulated $S_{11}$ and $S_{21}$ spectra (solid blue and solid red curve). The inset of Fig.~\ref{fig:S-Parameters} shows a microscope image section of the fabricated metamaterial. The unit cell in the inset is highlighted by the red box. The measured S-parameters agree well with the simulated S-parameters. At the working frequency $f_{\text{meas}} = 0.444\,$THz of the metamaterial, we measured a reflection coefficient minimum $S_{11,\text{meas}} = 0.054$ and a transmission coefficient $S_{21,\text{meas}} = 0.904$. In comparison with the simulated S-parameters, we observed a very slight red shift of $\Delta f_{\text{R}} = 0.008\,$THz from $f_{\text{sim}} = 0.452\,$THz to $f_{\text{meas}} = 0.444\,$THz. In addition, the measured reflection coefficient at the working frequency is by $\Delta \text{S}_{\text{11}} \approx 0.029$ higher than the corresponding simulated value, while the measured transmission coefficient is by $\Delta \text{S}_{\text{21}} \approx 0.064$ lower than the numerically calculated data. These deviations most likely stem from a combination of different effects that were not considered in the numerical calculations, as e.g. fabrication tolerances, non-perfect alignment in the measurement setup and diffraction at the finite metamaterial aperture. Nevertheless, the FWHM power bandwidth of the transmitted terahertz wave through the fabricated metamaterial is $\text{FWHM}_{\text{meas}} = 0.138\,$THz, or $31.2\%$ with respect to the working frequency $f_{\text{meas}} = 0.444\,$THz. These values agree very well with the simulated FWHM power bandwidth of $\text{FWHM}_{\text{sim}} = 0.146\,$THz, or $32.3\%$. In comparison, the difference between the experimentally and simulated FWHM power bandwidth is only $\Delta \text{FWHM} = 0.008\,$THz, or $1.1\%$. Based on these results, we conclude that our approach is well suited for the design of impedance-matched metamaterials with tailored refractive index distribution.

\section{Gradient Index Beam Steerer}\label{sec:BeamSteerer}

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.99\linewidth]{Fig_4_Beam_Steerer}
\caption{Spatial refractive index profile and schematic of the unit cell design of the gradient index beam steerer (GRIN-BS). The GRIN-BS is framed by an aperture in $x$-direction, which is indicated by the large copper areas, and has a height of 29 unit cells in $y$-direction. Each refractive index step is implemented by 2 unit cells along the $x$-direction. The refractive index ranges from $n_1 = 1.14$ to $n_5 = 2.66$ and increases in equidistant steps of $\Delta n = 0.38$.}\label{fig:BeamSteerer}
\end{figure}

For further experimental verification of our approach, we examined a more practical example of a functional device and designed, fabricated and theoretically and experimentally investigated an impedance-matched terahertz beam steerer with linear gradient index distribution (GRIN-BS). As shown in Fig.~\ref{fig:BeamSteerer}, the spatially dependent gradient index increases linearly in five discrete steps in $x$-direction. The segment width of each step corresponds to two unit cells in $x$-direction. In $y$-direction, the metamaterial consists of 29 unit cells. By that, the aperture of the metamaterial in the $xy$-plane is divided into 5 unit cell patches with a width of $2 \times 29$ unit cells, which corresponds to an aperture of $1.48\,$mm$\times 8.58\,$mm. Each patch possesses a constant refractive index, however the refractive index increases in equidistant steps from $n_{1} = 1.14$ in the most left patch to $n_5=2.66$ in the most right patch. The spatial refractive index distribution is visualized in the upper part of Fig.~\ref{fig:BeamSteerer}.

For this linear refractive index gradient, geometric optics predicts a deflection angle of $\alpha_{\text{theo}} = 5.9^{\circ}$ for the steered beam. In order to account for diffraction, we also numerically calculated the propagation of a normally incident electromagnetic wave through the beam steerer at the working frequency $f_{\text{BS}}=0.441\,$THz. The model only accounts for diffraction that results from the finite width of the beam steerer aperture in $x$-direction, while it assumes an infinitely wide aperture in $y$-direction. The blue dashed line in Fig.~\ref{fig:BeamSteererEField} represents the trace of the electric field maxima along the propagation direction of the steered beam, from which we can deduce a deflection angle of $\alpha_{\text{sim}} = 6.1^{\circ}$. For reference, the white dashed line indicates the optical axis of the optical system. The numerically identified deflection angle is in good agreement with the theoretical calculation that neglects diffraction. The slight difference between both values can be explained by inter-cell coupling of the unit cells along the $x$-direction, which is accounted for in the numerical simulation, but not in geometric optics. In order to characterize the impedance-matching properties of the GRIN-BS, we compared the transmitted electric field amplitude $6\,$mm behind the beam steerer with the corresponding electric field amplitude after transmission through a reference aperture. We calculated a peak amplitude transmission of $88\%$ and a mean amplitude transmission of $86\%$ at the working frequency $f_{\text{BS}}=0.441\,$THz.

For experimental demonstration of the functionality, we fabricated the designed GRIN-BS by the previously explained methods. The aperture width of the GRIN-BS was $1.48\,$mm\allowbreak $\times 8.58\,$mm. The entrance facet of the GRIN-BS was enclosed by a metallic frame to avoid leaking of incident radiation at the edges of the GRIN-BS. We measured the spatial distribution of the electric field behind the GRIN-BS by a 3-D raster scan in a terahertz time-domain spectroscope. For the amplitude transmission characterization, we measured the $xy$-plane parallel to the beam steerer, and for the deflection angle characterization, we measured the $xz$-plane along the propagation direction.

In order to characterize the amplitude transmission through the beam steerer, we measured an area of $13\,$mm$\times 10\,$mm in the $xy$-plane, $6\,$mm behind the GRIN-BS with a spatial resolution of $250\,${\textmu}m in both directions. We repeated the same procedure for the measurement of the amplitude transmission through an empty reference aperture. By comparison, we determined a peak amplitude transmission of $90\%$ and a mean amplitude transmission of $80\%$ through the beam steerer at the working frequency $f_{\text{BS}}=0.441\,$THz. The peak amplitude transmission agrees very well with the numerically calculated value, while the mean amplitude transmission is lower than predicted. The deviation in the amplitude transmission can be explained by the fabrication tolerances and imperfect polarization alignment of the incident terahertz wave. Nevertheless, the difference in the mean amplitude transmission of $6\%$ is about the same as the amplitude transmission difference of the previously characterized unit cell of $\Delta \text{S}_{\text{21}} \approx 0.064$, which corroborates our explanation.

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=.99\linewidth]{Fig_5_Beam_Steerer_E-Field}
	\caption{Interpolation of the measured spatial distribution of the terahertz electric field amplitude behind the gradient index beam steerer (GRIN-BS) at the working frequency $f_{\text{BS}} = 0.441\,$THz. The 2D map is plotted on a logarithmic scale. The white dashed line indicates the optical axis of the GRIN-BS. The blue dashed line illustrates the numerically simulated deflection angle of the GRIN-BS of $\alpha_{\text{sim}} = 6.1^{\circ}$. The red circles indicate the electric field maxima of the measured deflected terahertz wave together with the related linear fit as red dashed line. The measured deflection angle is $\alpha_{\text{meas1}} = 5.5^{\circ}$.}\label{fig:BeamSteererEField}
\end{figure}

Figure~\ref{fig:BeamSteererEField} shows the spatial distribution of the electric field amplitude behind the beam steerer in the $xz$-plane on a logarithmic scale. The electric field amplitude has been clipped at a $-12\,$dB level. The electric field amplitude was measured in an area of $30\,$mm ($z$-direction)$\times 12\,$mm ($x$-direction) behind the beam steerer. The spatial resolution of the measurement was $1\,$mm in $z$- and $150\,${\textmu}m in $x$-direction. For smoother data visualization, we interpolated the measured electric field in the illustrated $xz$ cut plane in Fig.~\ref{fig:BeamSteererEField}, however used the raw data for our analysis.

The red dots in Fig.~\ref{fig:BeamSteererEField} indicate the electric field maxima of the steered wave along the propagation direction in the $xz$-intersection plane at the working frequency $f_{\text{BS}}=0.441\,$THz. From the linear fit to the field maxima distribution (dashed red line), we determine a beam deflection angle of $\alpha_{\text{meas1}} = 5.5^{\circ}$.

Since we cannot ensure perfect normal incidence of the terahertz waves on the beam steerer, we compensated for possible misalignment by repeating the measurement with the GRIN-BS rotated by $180^{\circ}$ around the optical axis. The rotated GRIN-BS deflects the beam by a negative angle, such that the mean value of the modulus of the deflection angles for the rotated and unrotated GRIN-BS must equal the deflection angle for normal incidence. For the rotated GRIN-BS, we measured a deflection angle of $\alpha_{\text{meas2}} = 6.4^{\circ}$, which yields a mean value of $\bar{\alpha}_{\text{meas}} = 5.95^{\circ}$. In a direct comparison, the measured beam steering angle for normal incidence agrees well with the theoretical value $\alpha_{\text{theo}} = 5.9^{\circ}$ (geometric optics) and the numerically simulated value $\alpha_{\text{sim}} = 6.1^{\circ}$. From these findings, we can conclude that the refractive index distribution in the fabricated GRIN-BS matches well with the design used in the theoretical and numerical studies. A slight deviation between the measured and numerically calculated deflection angle was expected due to fabrication tolerances and the fact that the fabricated beam steerer does not elongate to infinity in $y$-direction. It was also expected that the deflection angle must be small in a one-layer design. Note that the GRIN-BS had only a thickness of $50\,${\textmu}m with a refractive index profile ranging from $1.44$ to $2.66$. By adding more layers in $z$-direction, the deflection angle can be readily increased.

\section{Conclusion}\label{sec:Conclusion}

We reported a unit cell geometry that is well suited for the design and fabrication of flexible metamaterials with tailored effective refractive index and impedance-matching to another medium, in our case vacuum. The unit cell consists of two different cut-wire pairs, one of which provides the electric response and the other the magnetic response to electromagnetic waves. The approach allows almost completely independent control of the electric and magnetic properties of the material. By means of numerical simulations, we devised impedance-matched unit cells with a refractive index between $1.14$ and $2.66$. In a first test, we fabricated a metamaterial with a uniform refractive index of 1.18 and proved an amplitude transmission of more than $90\%$ and a reflectivity as low as $5\%$ at a working frequency of $0.444\,$THz. The full width at half maximum bandwidth of the power transmission was $0.138\,$THz. In a second test, we fabricated a metamaterial-based gradient index beam steerer (GRIN-BS) and investigated its performance by numerical and experimental means. By measurement of the spatial electric field distribution of the deflected terahertz wave, we determined a deflection angle of $ 5.95^{\circ}$ in good agreement with the numerically calculated deflection angle of $6.1^{\circ}$. The measured peak amplitude transmission through the GRIN-BS was $90\%$ and the mean amplitude transmission was $80\%$. We conclude that also other terahertz components, such as lenses and wave plates, can be readily implemented by the proposed design and fabrication approach.

\subsection*{Acknowledgment}
We acknowledge technical support by the Nano Structuring Center (NSC) at TU Kaiserslautern.

\subsection*{Funding}
This research received no external funding.

\subsection*{Conflict of interest}
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

\bibliographystyle{unsrt}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Bombing survivors' father announces gubernatorial bid
Monday, February 12th 2001, 12:00 am
TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A man who has two children who survived the Oklahoma City bombing said Monday he wants to give back to the people of Oklahoma by becoming their next governor.
Jim Denny, 56, of Oklahoma City announced his plans to run as a Republican in 2002.
"I love the people," Denny said at a Tulsa park with his wife, Claudia, at his side, and their children, Brandon, 9, and Rebecca, 8, laughing and playing on nearby playground equipment. "It's going to be a true honor to reach out and serve the people of Oklahoma."
Denny has worked as a motivational speaker and a "24-hour-a-day father" since the 1995 bombing. Brandon and Rebecca were among the few children inside the building's daycare center to survive. Both were badly injured.
Brandon has not gained full use of his hand and continues to receive therapy, even though that didn't seem to slow him down on the playground equipment Monday. Both children attend second grade at a private Catholic school.
Denny, who moved to Oklahoma from California 15 years ago, said the state's response to the bombing, the May 1999 tornadoes and the Oklahoma State University plane crash last month taught him much about Oklahomans.
He said he wants to represent the "goodness" of the state.
Before the bombing, Denny worked as a manager in a shop that builds drilling tools. As governor, he said he'll still be an employee -- of the people.
"They're the bosses," he said. "And I'll listen to them."
Denny believes his communication skills, in particular, qualify him for the job and his name recognition will help at election time.
Denny said he will stress education, health care and economic development but isn't making his platform formal until after he conducts a 12-month tour of the state. He said he plans to visit the largest cities to the smallest towns to find out what people need.
He said he also will work alongside some Oklahomans for a day, whether they're flipping hamburgers or milking cows. He said he'll do it for the whole day, not just when television cameras are around.
"I think putting my true heart into what I believe in, I don't think I can fail," he said.
News On 6 TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A man who has two children who survived the Oklahoma City bombing said Monday he wants to give back to the people of Oklahoma by becoming their next governor.


text:
This article covers the 2010 football season in Chile.

National tournaments

Primera División

Due to the 2010 Chile earthquake, there was a single tournament, rather than the usual consecutive Apertura and  Clausura "seasons"
Champion: Universidad Católica (10th title)
Topscorer: Milovan Mirosevic (19 goals)
Relegated: Everton, San Luis Quillota
Source: RSSSF

Copa Chile

Winner: Municipal Iquique (2nd title)
Source: RSSSF

National team results

2010 World Cup

Friendly matches

References

External links
 Chile: Fixtures and Results at FIFA

Seasons in Chilean football


text:
Q: Can´t add action to Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions I'm new as salesforce developer and maybe this question is very easy but I can't find any way to solve.
I want to create a new action for my mobile users for adding some information easily.

*

*I've created a new global action with a predefined value and now i'm trying to add it to the publisher layout for mobile.

At this point, I'm stuck because i can't drop the action as you can see...
Any idea?

A: Make sure in the top left panel, you have selected the Mobile & Lightning Action item. Otherwise it will not allow you to add. Please refer below -

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Looking for a cooler way to see Spain? It doesn't get more stylish than driving around in a Hurtan.
The Albaycin model is available to hire with Hertz from its Malaga office. If you haven't encountered the Hurtan before, it's a vintage-styled vehicle with modern technology, made in the town of Granada for the past 30 years in very limited quantities – just 60 each year. The 1.2 Albaycin is available as a two-seat Roadster or four-seat Cabriolet, both featuring wood panelling, a wooden steering wheel and leather seats, along with power steering, an anti-lock braking system and a CD player.
To hire one or to enquire about price, call the Hertz reservations centre in Madrid on ++ 34 902 30 42 30 or enquire via the website.


The physical therapists at Performance Rehabilitation provide logical, patient-centered treatment. Flexibility in thought is encouraged to enable the therapist to incorporate other treatment approaches as indicated. This lateral thinking is consistent with Damon's personal and professional beliefs. Most important to the process is concern for the patient's values. This empathy allows for the therapist to proceed with humility. Allowing patients to describe in their own words why they are seeking treatment is not only empowering, but it also allows for the examination process to flow naturally.


text:
Q: backprobagation of linear solve I'm trying to figure out why the derivative of the solve operation is this in the chainrule package. After reading this i started writing this but i can't seems to get past what i've written.
i know that we have
$$
Ax=b\\
x=A\backslash b\\
x = A^{-1}b
$$
futhermore
$$
\begin{align}
\frac{\partial L}{\partial A_{ij}} &=
\sum_k\frac{\partial L}{\partial x_k}\frac{\partial x_k}{\partial A_{ij}}\\
\end{align}
$$
where $L$ is the loss(a function of x). Let $c_k$ be $\frac{\partial L}{\partial x_k}$
$$
\begin{align}
\frac{\partial L}{\partial A_{ij}} &=
\sum_k c_k\frac{\partial (A^{-1}b)_k}{\partial A_{ij}}\\
&= c^\top \frac{\partial A^{-1}b}{\partial A_{ij}}\\
&= c^\top \left(\frac{\partial A^{-1}}{\partial A_{ij}} b + A^{-1}\frac{\partial b}{\partial A_{ij}}\right) \\
&= c^\top \left(-A^{-1}\frac{\partial A}{\partial A_{ij}}A^{-1} b + A^{-1}\frac{\partial b}{\partial A_{ij}}\right) \\
&= c^\top \left(-A^{-1}1_{ij}x + A^{-1}\frac{\partial b}{\partial A_{ij}}\right) \\
&= c^\top \left(A^{-1}(\frac{\partial b}{\partial A_{ij}} - 1_{ij}x)\right) \\
\end{align}
$$
where $1_ij$ is matrix whose $ij$ th cell is one(the others are zero).
The thing i'm missing here is how can we calculate $\frac{\partial b}{\partial A_{ij}}$ in the backprob since we can't know it.
--edit--
for the sake of completeness Chainrule.jl uses
$$
\partial A = -(A') ^{-1} c  x'\\
\partial b = A' \ c
$$
where $'$ is the conjugate transpose


text:
NewsSearchSign In
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Thank you for considering St Mary's School for your child's education. Children are entitled to start school the day of their fifth birthday.
You are welcome to contact us at anytime and make an appointment to see the Principal and to view our school.
Enrolment forms are available from our school office.
As part of the Enrolment process, you will need to bring with you to an interview, copies of your child's:
New Zealand Birth Certificate (Preferred document of identification) or Passport
Passport showing current residency status (if not born in NZ)
Preference of Enrolment Certificate obtained from St Mary's Pro-Cathedral Office (for Preference Enrolments). You will need to take with you a copy of your child's baptism certificate (or a parent's - if the child is not baptised). For further information ph 03 379-1068 or email office@cathedralparish.nz.
Your child's immunisation certificate
Children who are not Catholic are welcomed into our school community, depending on places available (as we are only allowed 5% of our maximum roll for non-preference children).
Pre-visits
It is advised that you allow for pre-visits to our school so that your child may become familiar with the class and routines before starting. These visits are usually arranged with the new entrant teacher. Please phone to make some times for these visits about 2-3 weeks prior to your child's start date.
In determining an enrolment policy for St Mary's School, maintenance of the school's Special Character must be the Board's prime focus.
Submitting application for enrolment at St Mary's School is not a guarantee of acceptance.
Pre-enrolment of Students
In order to pre-enrol all students will be required to obtain a preference certificate from St Mary's Pro-Cathedral Parish Office. You will need to take with you a copy of your child's baptism certificate (or a parent's - if the child is not baptised). For further information ph 03 379-1068 or email office@cathedralparish.nz.
The criteria promulgated by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference, which are to be used by proprietors and their agents, in order to grant Preference of Enrolment are:
The child has been baptised or is being prepared for baptism in the Catholic Church.
The child's parents/guardians have already allowed one or more of its siblings to be baptised in the Catholic faith.
At least one parent/guardian is a Catholic, and although their child has not yet been baptised, the child's participation in the life of the school could lead to the parents having the child baptised.
With the agreement of the child's parent/guardian, a grandparent or other significant adult in the child's life, such as an aunt, uncle or godparent, undertakes to support the child's formation in the faith and practices of the Catholic Church.
One or both of a child's non-Catholic parents/guardians is preparing to become a Catholic.
Total School Roll
The total school roll will not exceed the maximum roll. Once all preference students have been accommodated, non-preference students may be accepted up to 5% of the maximum roll. This is conditional on the school roll not exceeding 85% of its maximum roll.
Priority In Enrolment
If there are more applications than places available, then the following priority for enrolment will apply:
First Priority will be given to preference applicants residing within the St Mary's Pro-Cathedral Parish boundaries, as defined by the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch.
Second Priority will be given to those preference applicants whose siblings already attend St Mary's School.
Third Priority will be given to those preference applicants who are children of St Mary's School Board of Trustees permanent employees.
Fourth Priority will be given to those preference applicants who are children of current members of the St Mary's School Board of Trustees.
Fifth Priority will be given to those preference applicants who are siblings of former students of St Mary's School.
Sixth Priority will be given to those applicants who are preference students from Catholic Parishes that do not have a Catholic school within their parish boundary.
Seventh Priority will be given to those applicants who are preference students who have not been offered a space at the Catholic School within their parish boundary.
Eighth Priority will be given to non-preference students. If there are more applicants than places available, the following sub-priorities will operate:
i) those who are siblings of non-preference students attending St Mary's School
ii) applicants who are children of St Mary's School Board of Trustees permanent employees
iii) applicants who are children of current members of the St Mary's School Board of Trustees
iv) applicants who are non-preference students living within the Parish area
v) applicants who are non-preference students living outside the Parish area Should there be more applicants in one priority group than there are places available, places will be allocated according to the date of pre-enrolment application.
Waiting List Procedure
All unsuccessful applicants may choose to have their names placed on a waiting list. The waiting list will be kept within relevant priority categories, ranked in order. Parents and caregivers of those applicants on the waiting list will be notified when and if places become available for their child. Parents and caregivers will then have seven days to confirm their enrolment. If no confirmation is received the applicant will be removed from the waiting list, and the position may be offered to the next priority student.The waiting list will remain current until the beginning of the next school year.
The Board of Trustees delegates the authority to administer this policy to the Principal.
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Long summer evenings are just made for sitting in the garden. It can be just too hot to spend lots of time outdoors during the day, so it makes sense to add some night-time interest to the areas where you linger as night falls.
Use a combination of colour and fragrance to enhance the experience. When it comes to colour, light tones will be more visible than dark ones, so plants with these tones in flower or foliage or both will work well. Some flowers are markedly more fragrant around dusk, so these will be ideal.
My favourite night-time garden plant is the brugmansia x candida (angel's trumpet).
These small trees grow rapidly to about 3m tall, and have masses of huge pendulous trumpets that are heavily scented, especially in the evening. They are poisonous, so don't eat them or smoke them, but they look and smell just wonderful on a summer evening.
I especially love the white-flowering ones, but the pinks, yellows and apricots are also stunning. Frangipanis, of course, are another summer fragrant delight, and are brilliant in pots or in the ground.
One plant that I would love to be able to recommend is the night scented jasmine (cestrum nocturnum) but unfortunately this has become very invasive here in the sub-tropics and is no longer usually available for sale. I do hope that some enterprising plant breeder will be able to develop a sterile form so that we can enjoy its heady, spicy fragrance once again.
Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives, including gardenias, port wine magnolia (michelia figo), and osmanthus fragrans. Like gardenias, chinese star jasmine (trachelosperemum jasminoides) is both white-flowering and fragrant, so it's perfect for this application.
The night-blooming cactus, especially cereus spp and epiphyllum, produce spectacular and heavily fragrant white flowers in the evening in summer. The blooms last for one night only, so make sure you keep these babies close by so you don't miss the show.
You can grow them in hanging baskets or in pots, or let them climb a tree or cover a sturdy structure. They are best in morning sun or filtered light, rather than full sun.


It didn't take long for Raptors 905 to find their way.
Coming off of a three-game losing streak at home that had head coach Jerry Stackhouse challenging his team to be better than just good enough to skate by, the 905 have responded with one of their best three-game stretches of the season. On Tuesday, that produced an emphatic 122-109 victory over the Greensboro Swarm, completing a season sweep of the expansion franchise.
The 905 looked hungry from the jump, led by some sweet shooting from E.J. Singler and some great secondary playmaking from Axel Toupane, operating with the starters from the wing. The team's depth hasn't been as solid as advertised of late, or at least not consistently, and so it was a good harbinger that as Stackhouse started to go to his bench, momentum only continued to build. Fred VanVleet and Jarrod Uthoff knocked down big triples around a Will Sheehey steal, and then C.J. Leslie got his game off on the right foot with a big putback dunk to put the team ahead 12 early.
Greensboro had little answer into the second quarter, with the 905 holding them to 32.5-percent shooting in the half, with just three triples. As the starters filtered back in, the 905 went on another big run, with assignees Fred VanVleet and Bruno Caboclo leading a 17-5 run to close the half.
Holding a 23-point lead for an entire half is difficult, given score effects and motivational swings and just plain variance, and the Swarm eventually found themselves chipping away. Christian Wood, in particular, got his game going, scoring 10 of his game-high 30 points in the third quarter alone. Xavier Munford chipped in with 10, too, as while the 905 guarded well in general, Greensboro hit a ludicrous 8-of-11 on threes. Turnovers crept in as the 905 got a bit frenetic against the push from the Swarm, and not even Brady Heslip's hot shooting – he'd finish 5-of-6 on threes for a team-high 25 points – could settle things down.
The hot third bled into the fourth, with the Swarm getting the lead down to as low as four when Caboclo fouled Wood for an and-one on an offensive rebound. To the surprise of some, given his occasional lack of response to adversity in earlier years, Caboclo took that as an impetus to assert himself on the game. He knocked down a mid-range look from VanVleet on the ensuing possession, then knocked down a triple from VanVleet a short while later. VanVleet hit a three of his own in between, then set up Heslip for a triple and Toupane for a transition layup, and just like that the lead was back to 16.
VanVleet's takeover as a distributor during that three-minute stretch really can't be overstated. He was smart, surgical, and short of one tough miss at the rim, mistake-free. He'd finish with a modest 12 points but chip in five rebounds, 11 assists, and four steals, all while committing just two turnovers on a night when his teammates struggled to hang on to the ball. Caboclo, too, had a strong showing with 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and a complete and impactful defensive effort. It's a nice sign for the 905 – and the Raptors – that those two were a big part of the team's biggest runs (and had the highest plus-minus marks of the game as a result).
The 905 mostly cruised down the stretch from there, even briefly pushing the lead back to 21 on yet another Heslip triple before Munford and Wood worked to get it down to the more reasonable final. It's difficult to expect a 48-minute drudging of an opponent, and the 905 definitely bent at times and let off the gas. Their ability to answer Greensboro's counterpunch is important, and it's clear Stackhouse has the team's confidence where it's not shaken from a bad run here and there. The defense also remains quite strong, at least inside the arc – the Swram hit 17-of-34 from long-range, a woefully unsustainable mark that would be frustrating had the 905 not gone 16-of-31 themselves. Once they stepped over the line, Greensboro was 18-of-52, unable to get much inside despite some foul trouble for Edy Tavares and Yanick Moreira both. The 3-point defense is something to work on, as are the turnovers, but the 905 continue to do enough things well to win, and win often.
VanVleet was recalled after the game and will re-join the parent club for practice Thursday and their home game on Friday. Caboclo, meanwhile, is traveling with the 905 for their Thursday road game and will likely be recalled to sit on the bench Friday, too – the 905 return home for more than a week after Thursday thanks to hosting the D-League Showcase next week.
Delon Wright was down with the 905 for some 3-on-3 practice on Monday. He had mentioned Jan. 17 as a target date for a return to the court, and while some teams don't send assignment players to the Showcase because it's meant for the D-Leaguers to get noticed, a pair of games just up the Gardiner would represent a nice opportunity to shake off some rust and work on his conditioning.
Jarrod Uthoff had a beautiful pump-fake and drive late in the game, and he's starting to adjust well to teams being aggressive in chasing one of the best lower-usage marksmen in the league (he's 16-of-32 on the year) off the line. He's been solid defensively, too, and could probably make a case for more than the 20.7 minutes he's averaging (although nobody is really averaging heavy minutes, given the team's depth).
The D-League Showcase runs Jan. 18-22. The 905 play twice (18, 20), and the Hershey Centre will host 22 games over those five days.
After the Showcase, the 905 have precious few home games on the schedule. If you want to check any out live, you can go to this link and use the promo code REPUBLIC905 all season long, as the 905 are hooking RR readers up with discounted tickets (including for the two Air Canada Centre games).


I gave my Mom one of Hallmark's recordable greeting cards for Mother's Day – a week early today on May 4th. She loved it.
To fight e-cards, Hallmark launched a whole big line of these recordable greeting cards which have a 10-second message on a computer chip embedded in the card, followed by a 15-second cut of music.
Joel, John Mellencamp and more.
The cards, sell for $5.99, are easy to use with a voice prompt to instruct you when to press and hold a button inside the card and record a message, which is then followed by the music.
I gave my Mom Phil Collins' You'll Be in My Heart and I can tell you first hand these cards Rock and could do well for you in B2B too – I've already sent some. They're worth it, because they make such a strong impact.
Hallmark's Sound Cards line, which now includes several hundred designs and songs, has been a winner for Hallmark in the two years since they were launched and have helped drive an 8% increase in 2007 companywide revenue to $4.4 billion.
American Greetings sells similar cards too. Check them out – what a great innovation!
You could say Greeting Cards is a mature industry, but look what a little innovation does.
Coffee drinking was considered mature till Starbucks came along too.
Are you in a "mature" industry? GOYA and create something remarkable!
Don't forget Father's Day is June 15 – check out Hallmark's cards here, and be sure to listen to Cris Rock's!


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https://www.thehour.com/news/article/Former-Norwalk-GBA-players-in-NCAA-women-s-8120876.php
Former Norwalk GBA players in NCAA women's tournament
Published 8:00 pm EDT, Thursday, March 17, 2011
A part of Norwalk will be well represented when the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament gets underway on Sunday.
Twin sisters Dominique (left) and Monique Hudson, who grew up in Norwalk and developed their early basketball skills while playing in the Norwalk Girls Basketball Association, will be the starting backcourt for Gardner-Webb University when the 23-10 Runnin' Rebels face Miami in a first-round game Sunday at noon.
"I think it's great. I hope the game is on TV somewhere so everyone in their family here can see it," said Mike McElveen, who, along with Keith Williams, coached the Hudson twins on the Tar Heels in the GBA when they were in sixth grade. "We won the championship and right after that they moved with their mom to North Carolina."
Gwen Hudson and her twin daughters moved to Rocky Mount, N.C., and a few years later Dominique and Monique, both 5-5 guards, played at Southwest Edgecomb High School. Monique was a two-time first-team all-state selection and conference MVP, a three-time all-conference pick, and a four-time team MVP. As a senior she averaged 19.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.9 steals
Meanwhile, Dominique averaged 13.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 4.0 steals her senior year. As a sophomore, she was named the Most Outstanding Player in the state game earned MVP honors in the regional tournament.
What's more, they both had their jersey retired after their senior season. And basketball wasn't the only sport they excelled in. Dominique was named MVP of the track team as a sophomore while Monique was MVP as a junior.
But basketball was their main sport and they each continued to excel in college. Dominique has been a three-year starter for Gardner-Webb, earning All-Big South Conference honors the last two years. She is also the school's career leader in assists with 552 and counting, and this season broke her own single-season record with 189 assists heading into the NCAA tourney. She led the conference with 5.8 assists a game.
Monique led the league in steals with 81 (2.7 a game) and was second to her sister in assists. She not only started as a freshman but made the BSC All-Freshmen Team and was named Freshman of the Year.
This season, the former Norwalkers rank one-two on the team in scoring, Monique averaging a team-high 13.6 points and Dominique 12.9. In fact, Dominique became Gardner-Webb's all-time leading scorer in the first round of the Big South tournament when she scored 23 points and dished out 10 assists as the third-seeded Runnin' Rebels beat No. 6 Asheville 69-58. Monique added 13 points and five rebounds.
GWU beat Winthrop 59-44 in the semifinals as Dominique scored 13 and Monique 12. Then in the championship game last Sunday, Monique scored a game-high 23 points while Dominique had 16 points and six assists and was named the tournament MVP as the Running Rebels edged No. 1 Liberty 67-66 to win their first Big South Conference title and secure their first NCAA tournament appearance with the automatic bid. Liberty, the three-time defending champs, had beaten Gardner-Webb in the finals the last two years.
Going into Sunday's game, Dominique has 1,337 career points and Monique 1,082.
Not bad for a couple of former Norwalk GBA players.
"They were really good back then, but I didn't think they would be doing what they're doing now," McElveen, who served as an assistant coach under Williams, said. "I remember seeing them at the Carver After-School program. I saw them grow up."
And while Dominique and Monique Hudson are both part of the North Carolina basketball scene now, their roots are deeply planted in Norwalk.
"They still have family here. Their grandmother lives here," McElveen said. "And they come back and visit every summer."
On Sunday, they'll take a little bit of Norwalk with them into the NCAA women's basketball tournament.


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Log Cabin Republicans Response to Commutation of Chelsea Manning Sentence
by Charles Moran | Jan 17, 2017 | LGBT, National Defense
Washington, D.C. — As one of his final actions in office, President Barack Obama has commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, a transgender former soldier who was convicted in 2013 of leaking classified information regarding United States national security.
Log Cabin Republicans has always condemned Manning's actions, and consistently stood against efforts by the left to elevate Manning as a paragon of the LGBT community.
"Chelsea Manning is no hero, and the commutation of her sentence is appalling," Log Cabin Republicans President Gregory T. Angelo stated. "Manning was not imprisoned for being transgender — in fact, the government agreed to accommodate and facilitate her transition during her well-deserved sentence; she was imprisoned for traitorous clandestine activity that put military lives at risk. Her actions — and President Obama's clemency — are nothing to celebrate."
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