For power is made perfect in weakness…whenever I am weak, then I am strong. These words from St Paul have confounded spiritual thinking since they were first written.
In the USA, there is a particular heresy which reflects the spiritual longing of many people. It is called the prosperity Gospel. The central belief here is that if you believe in God and walk in God's ways then you will be blessed. Blessing means a life filled with material things and with being protected and guarded from the trials and tribulations of life. It is such a human longing to have a life where there is no struggle, no pain, no problems. While we may not be foolish enough to subscribe to a prosperity gospel, many of us live with the longing for a life spared the struggles and hardships of life. But even Jesus himself endured the pain of rejection by those who knew him.
St Paul's words about finding power and strength when we are weak suggest that that there is another way to view our hardships, another way to view the times when we are weak.
This morning reflecting on the Gospel reading and St Paul's letter to the Corinthians I want to look at three ways we experience power and strength we are weak.
The first way we find power and strength in our weakness is that often in such moments God works in surprising and unexpected ways.
Control is the characteristic of the successful and powerful person today. Control comes through having all the right information, through managing one's life so there are minimal disruptions, and through dictating what others will do for you. Today we often speak about people being control freaks. Control freaks like to know in advance exactly what is going to happen…no surprises.
Jesus faced a peculiar situation. In his own hometown, despite people being astounded by his teaching and amazed at his deeds of power, people simply did not believe. They even took offence at him, 'Why this person is not special, he is the carpenter, Mary's son. We know his brothers and sisters. Who does he think he is?' The bible says, he could do no deed of power there in his hometown, that he was amazed at their unbelief. We glimpse Jesus vulnerable, rejected, hampered in his ministry, possibly dejected. It is a moment of weakness.
But what emerges from this episode. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. What emerges from Jesus' experience of being limited and cramped in his ministry is the mission of the twelve. Jesus finds a new and creative way to expand and extend his ministry through others. His ministry takes a new path forward.
Sometimes we want to control what happens; we want our plans to be clear-cut and unhindered. We get upset when the day or our plans do not go like we expected. But often, that is the moment when instead of us being in charge, instead of us having it all figured out, that we have to think outside the box, that we have to open ourselves to thinking creatively. It becomes a vulnerable moment when the Spirit can move and show us something new and surprising, when God can work in a creative and innovative way, like Jesus sending out the twelve.
A second way that we can experience power and strength in our weakness is by finding the help and assistance of others when we are weak.
Self-sufficiency is a key quality of the successful person today. These lines from the Henley poem, Invictus, are the mantra for our times: 'I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.' It is perceived as weakness to need others, to be dependent. But there will always come a point in time when we cannot manage on our own, when we will need others. There is power and strength to be drawn from this mutuality, this community, even this dependence on others.
God has created us to be in relationship with others. One of the great lessons we can learn is how to make ourselves open and vulnerable to others.
The reality is, with others we can achieve so much more. It may be slower; it may be more complicated. But working with and alongside others achieves more and benefits more. The common good is the Christian perspective. Jesus' mission was transformed as he passed the baton on to the twelve. After his rejection by his hometown, he found strength and power in being with his followers and sharing his life and work with them. St Paul likewise, though a strong character, cherished the mission team he worked with: Timothy, Titus, Sylvanias and many others.
We are not self-sufficient. We are dependent people who need each other. The reality is we find strength and power when we open our lives to others and let others share in our life and our work.
A third way we find strength and power in our weakness is by discovering afresh God's presence and grace.
Sometimes in life when everything is going well, we feel great, in charge, in control. There is, in a sense, no need for God. It is when the need or weakness emerges that we suddenly become aware of our own inadequacy and of our need for God. You heard about the atheist who fell off the cliff and cried out, 'God save me'. Suddenly his coat caught on a branch stopping his fall, and said, 'Never mind God, this branch caught me'. But God is not the God of the gaps, only there when we need him or when we can't make it on our own. None the less, when we face our weaknesses, we often realise our need for God. St Paul, wrestling with this thorn in the flesh, prayed that God would take it away, but it didn't go. As a result he discovered that God's grace was sufficient to help him bear this problem. As a result of his need, St Paul discovered afresh and in a deeper way that God was there for him.
The reality, of course, is that we are never alone or forsaken. God is always with us. But sometimes it takes a moment of weakness or vulnerability for us to see that God is there with us and for us. When we are down and we discover God's presence afresh, we find new strength and power, even grace to carry on.
In conclusion, often our desire is to be in control of our lives in order to ensure that we display no weakness. But life is not ours to control. We will all face moments of weakness and vulnerability, moments when our need is greater than our own ability. We can curse those moments as some kind of failure or we can open ourselves to the way of the cross, to the laws of the Kingdom of God, in which weakness is strength. When we are at our wits end, when we cannot triumph in our own strength, when we cannot succeed as we will—those moments are not failures, but opportunities. In those moments we can discover new and creative possibilities that we had not seen before, we can discover that others are there for us to help us on our way, and we can discover God's gracious presence to sustain and help us.


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Bei der Schlacht von Zhapu eroberten britische Truppen während des Ersten Opiumkriegs die strategisch wichtige Küstenstadt Zhapu in der Hangzhou-Bucht am 18. Mai 1842.

Hintergrund
Nach einer achtzehnmonatigen Serie von militärischen Niederlagen formulierte Kaiser Daoguang eine Doppelstrategie. Nach einem militärischen Sieg, welcher durch den General Yijing erreicht werden sollte, plante er Friedensverhandlungen, die sein Generalbevollmächtigter Qiying führen sollte. Die chinesische Führung, insbesondere Yijing, werteten den Rückzug der Briten aus Ningbo als eigenen militärischen Sieg. Ebenso berichtete er dem Kaiser wahrheitswidrig von erfolgreichen Gefechten um die Insel Zhoushan.

Auf britischer Seite stand ein Führungswechsel an, da Charles Elliot durch den in Asien eingetroffenen Henry Pottinger ersetzt werden sollte. Elliots subalterne Offiziere Hugh Gough und William Parker planten eigenständig eine Angriffsoperation auf Zhapu, um dem chinesischen Kriegsgegner keine Ruhepause zur Reorganisation zu gewähren. Ziel der Operation war die Störung des Binnensee- und Flusshandels durch die Besetzung strategisch wichtiger Küpstenorte.

Die Kleinstadt Zhapu lag am nördlichen Zugang zur Hangzhou-Bucht, dem Seezugang der Provinz Zhenjiang. Vor dem Krieg waren in der Stadt aufgrund ihrer strategischen Lage 7000 Soldaten der Qing stationiert. Die Garnison von Zhapu litt wie das gesamte Qing-Militär an chronischer Unterfinanzierung, was viele Soldaten zu Nebeneinkünften neben ihrer militärischen Tätigkeit zwang. Im Juli 1840 hatte bei Zhapu bereits ein Artilleriebombardement der Briten stattgefunden, bei dem sechs chinesische Soldaten getötet worden waren. Ende 1841 waren alle größeren Hafenstädte südlich von Zhapu bereits Ziel britischer Angriffe geworden.

Einziges Befestigungswerk bei Zhapu war die Stadtmauer selbst. Die Garnison war mit sechzig Kanonen, davon elf aus Bronze, ausgestattet. Dies war ein deutlich geringerer Artilleriebestand als bei den vorher von den Briten angegriffenen Garnisonen. Nach der Räumung Ningbos am 7. Mai 1842 sandten die Briten eine Flotte aus sieben konventionellen Kriegsschiffen und vier dampfgetriebenen Schiffen mit rund 2000 Mann Bodentruppen in Richtung Norden. Die Flotte erreichte die Gewässer vor Zhapu am 17. Mai 1842.

Verlauf

Der britische Angriff begann am 18. Mai 1842. Die Briten führten wie bei den vorausgegangenen Schlachten ein Bombardement von See aus, während zeitgleich Bodentruppen angelandet wurden, um die Verteidiger von der Flanke anzugreifen. Die Mehrheit der chinesischen Truppen floh infolgedessen vom Schlachtfeld. Einheiten der in Zhapu stationierten Acht Banner leisteten jedoch in der Stadt und einem nahegelegenen Tempel mit Nahkampf- und Handfeuerwaffen erbitterten Widerstand. Die chinesischen Verteidiger konnten der Feuerüberlegenheit der Briten jedoch nicht standhalten.

Folgen
Die Schlacht wurde für die Briten mit neun Toten und 55 Verwundeten zu einer der verlustreichsten Schlachten des Ersten Opiumkriegs. Britische Soldaten und Offiziere berichteten von Massenselbstmorden von Bannersoldaten und deren in der Stadt lebenden Angehörigen aus Furcht vor der Entehrung der Gefangennahme. Zeitgenössische chinesische Quellen stellten die vielen Todesopfer unter der Zivilbevölkerung als britisches Massaker dar. Eine Statistik über die chinesischen Kriegstoten liegt sowohl für das Militär wie auch die Zivilbevölkerung nicht vor. Die Niederlage versetzte Yijing, der sich zum Zeitpunkt der Schlacht auf dem Weg nach Zhapu befand, in Panik. Am 28. Mai 1842 räumten die Briten die eroberte Stadt, um zu ihrem nächsten Angriffsziel Wusong bei Shanghai weiterzuziehen.

Einzelnachweise

Zhapu
Zhapu
Konflikt 1841

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Q: .NET Compare KnownColor to Color I would like to know how I can compare a "System.Drawing.KnownColor" with a "System.Drawing.Color".
Just testing with "IsNot" is not allowed. VB.NET tells me that these 2 objects are not comparable.
I see that KnowColor has the function "CompareTo" which does accept Color as an argument, but the return value is not a Boolean but an Integer. So I am not sure if that is really what I am looking for.

A: Use Color.FromKnownColor() to get a corresponding Color instance at runtime, and then you will be able to compare them.

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text:
STOP = {}

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function middleware:insert_middleware(name, func, pos)
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function middleware:remove_middleware(name, func)
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Unchanged refers to a situation in which the price or rate of a security is the same between two periods. This can be over any time frame including a trading day, week or even as much as a year. Unchanged is a term used universally among equity, fixed-income, futures and options markets. The term also applies to indexes, exchange-traded funds and the net asset value of mutual funds.
While it is possible to note an unchanged price between two random times, say 3 p.m on a Thursday and then at 10:15 a.m. the following Tuesday, most investors and traders focus on either unchanged intra-day prices, or unchanged closing prices over multiple trading days.
Unchanged intraday prices are more common for securities that are fairly illiquid and generally less popular, such as closed-end funds, microcap stocks and interests in private companies that do not trade on major exchanges. Certain exchange-traded funds are also thinly traded and could be more likely to have unchanged prices.
Conversely, very few stocks on the S&P 500 end a typical day unchanged, or where the session's opening price and closing price are identical, even during periods of relative market calm.
When choosing two random points on a price chart, it is often possible to hand-select two price points at which prices are identical. In this case, the holding period return between these points will be unchanged. However, this will not take into account the range of peak-to-trough price movements. That is to say, an investor's return, excluding fees and expenses, is unchanged, but the security price likely moved around quite dramatically between those two points.
For example, say West Texas Intermediate crude, known as WTI, traded at precisely $70.32 at two particular market closes in both October 2008 and May 2018. The holding period return between these two points in time is unchanged. This may be useful to know for an investor who held a long-term futures contract during this precise time frame.
The peak-to-trough price of oil moved dramatically between these two points in time, however, as did underlying supply-and-demand conditions. WTI prices soon crashed to less than $40 in January 2009 amid the Great Recession, climbed back above $100 a barrel in May 2011, then roughly moved sideways until July 2014. Then, prices plunged below $30 in February 2016 as shale-oil extraction lifted inventories, before finally getting back to $70 in May 2018 as those inventories ebbed and inflation began to creep higher.
Through all these gyrations, the holding period return, excluding fees and expenses, is still unchanged.


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Q: Форматирование текста в ASP.net Button Подскажите, как сделать так, чтобы можно было форматировать текст asp.net кнопок примерно так, а не вручную проставлять и дополнять строку пробелами.

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A: Может быть, так?
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Customer service is our goal. Your convenience is our mission!
Begin your next adventure at Carter Powersports – Las Vegas' preferred powersports destination. With over 38 years in the business, we are committed to providing our community with the best customer service and selection available.
The History of Carter Powersports 2015 marks the 35th year of operation for Carter Powersports. It has been a memorable time for those of us who have been here for most (or much) of that time. If you'd like to know where we come from and how we became one of the most trusted ATV and motorcycle dealers in Las Vegas - I'll do my best to recall it accurately.
The origins of Carter Powersports go back to a small store on West Sahara in 1980. Our store name at that time was Kawasaki West of Las Vegas. We had fewer than 10 employees and it was truly a family business. West Sahara was largely undeveloped then; customers could ride their dirt bikes and ATVs right up to our back door, and they did so often.
In 1983, we were able to purchase a Honda franchise from a store (Honda West, on Valley View Boulevard) that closed due to bankruptcy. We re-opened that Honda store as a second operation and renamed our company Desert Honda Kawasaki. We all worked hard and the Honda store was very successful from opening day. We became so busy in our new location that a decision was made to sell off the Kawasaki store, and that was done.
As our company continued to grow, we purchased property on Tropicana Avenue in 1985 and drew up plans for a new home for our store. It was finished in the spring of 1986, and we moved into our new dealership facility on the day before Memorial Day.
It made for a short holiday weekend, but Memorial Day was saved for its rightful purpose.
As time passed, we added new products to our lineup. In 1989 we began selling a line of personal watercraft. Sea-Doo started slowly, but soon grew into a major division of our company as they gained acceptance and added new models. Then, in 1992, we put Suzuki motorcycles and ATVs in our showroom, becoming a true multi-line dealership.
The resulting name, Desert Honda Suzuki Sea-Doo, adequately described us, but was quite a mouthful when answering the phone - or at any other time, really. So in 2004, to emphasize the local, family-owned values of our dealership (and to rededicate ourselves to providing the best customer service in the West) we adopted the new name of Carter Powersports.
We have learned much during the last 35 years of operation. We believe that we have successfully applied our acquired knowledge to the betterment of our business. That can be proven by the satisfaction and loyalty of our customers, our employees and our suppliers.
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In the current study, we found that mice given a high-fat diet exhibited decreased protein levels of PPAR-α and LPL in the liver but EGb 761 administration induced recovery of these two proteins. We suggest that EGb induces PPAR-α which in turn induced LPL expression and thus decrease in blood triglyceride levels. However, it is unclear why the PPAR-α and LPL levels in the muscles were unaffected. It is known that tissue distribution of LPL differs among tissues and also fat accumulation in the muscle is lower compared to fat accumulation in adipose tissues [3, 38]. These observations may contribute to the lack of EGb 761 effect in the muscle. Insulin inactivates the hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), a key enzyme that is involved in hydrolysis of blood triglyceride, thus resulting in accumulation of triglycerides [39]. We examined whether EGb 761 modulated liver HSL expression in the high-fat diet type 2 DM model. There was no difference among the mice given normal diet, high-fat diet and high-fat diet + EGb 761. In high-fat diet type 2 DM model, we found that high-fat diet increased blood insulin levels but did not induce phosphorylated HSL in the liver which is possibility due to insulin resistance.. results in terms of bonding effectiveness. It is well documented that the.
Ultrasound examination revealed moderate accumulation of free fluid in the peritoneal cavity. In addition, the placenta was located at the upper anterior uterine wall, the fetal heart rate was 171 beats/min, and uterine contractions were absent. Laboratory analysis showed a hemoglobin level of 10.3 g/dl and an elevated white blood cell count of 17550 cells/mm3. Because the pregnancy was intrauterine and not otherwise, our initial clinical impression was appendicitis; however, in the absence of fever, the diagnosis of appendicitis could not be confirmed. To diagnose the cause of continuous severe abdominal pain, we decided to conduct diagnostic laparoscopy to exclude appendicitis, cholecystitis, and peritonitis.. temporal expression pattern of target proteins are not altered by the. Transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) buy me a boat lyrics also known as TCF4, is an important effector of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. Activation of the Wnt pathway leads to an increase of β-catenin stabilization in the cytoplasm and subsequent accumulation in the nucleus, where β-catenin acts as coactivator for the T cell factor/lymphoid enhancer-binding factor (TCF/LEF) transcription factor family to stimulate transcription of numerous target genes involved in cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion [1]. Dysregulation of the Wnt pathway is highly associated with cancer initiation and progression, including prostate cancer [2]. The growth of both normal cells in the prostate gland and prostate cancer cells relies on androgen/androgen receptor (AR) signals. It was recently shown that AR is also a target gene for the TCF7L2/β-catenin complex [3]. Considering the crosstalk between Wnt and AR signaling pathways, together with the growth regulatory role of TCF7L2, we evaluated the influence of the genetic variants in TCF7L2 on disease recurrence in localized prostate cancer patients receiving curative radical prostatectomy (RP).. Studies on the roles of trace elements in health and disease over the past 50 years have led to a good understanding of their mode of action and why they are essential to life (7). Some studies have assessed the association between iron status and CAD risk but the results have been inconsistent (8,9).
Studies on the roles of trace elements in health and disease over the past 50 years have led to a good understanding of their mode of action and why they are essential to life (7). Some studies have assessed the association between iron status and CAD risk but the results have been inconsistent (8,9).. Flow Cytometric Analysis of NK-cell Apoptosis
Flow Cytometric Analysis of NK-cell Apoptosis.
Splicing of exon 10 generates tau isoforms with either three (exon. extract was first filtered with cheesecloth and then Buchner funnel. In addition, the influence of MetS components on baPWV was also assessed in our study. In women, the baPWV in subjects with low HDL-C was comparable to that in controls; however, in obese women with elevated triglyceride and elevated fasting glucose, the baPWV was significantly higher than that in the control group, and they were not significant from each other. In subjects with elevated fasting glucose, baPWV was significantly higher than that in controls. In both women and men, elevated BP had the highest baPWV in all groups. Therefore, in women, the order in which MetS components affect the baPWV is as follow: elevated BP > elevated fasting glucose = elevated triglyceride = obesity > low HDL-C = control. While in men, the order is as follows: elevated BP > elevated fasting glucose > elevated triglyceride = obesity = low HDL-C = control. Among the MetS components, elevated BP is the strongest predictor of baPWV. Obesity is essential for the MetS and may lead to other metabolic disorders.34 Lipid disorders can increase the sympathetic activity via the adipocyte pathways, which results in elevation of BP.35 Although the elevated BP significantly affects the arterial stiffness, when combined with other metabolic disorders, the vascular dysfunction becomes a more significant factor 36 and the baPWV increases with addition of any metabolic disorder, which is consistent with results from a study of Nakanishi et al10. BP lowering has been the most important intervention to prevent CVD and cardiovascular events. However, it is also necessary to manage other metabolic disorders as much as possible.. The most popular version of laparoscopic distal gastrectomy is laparoscopic-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) buy me a boat lyrics wherein the lymph node dissection is completed under the laparoscope. An epigastrium auxiliary incision is then made to facilitate the excision of the specimen and the reconstruction of the digestive tract. Another version is the totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (TLDG), which is characterized by an intracorporeal anastomosis without auxiliary incision and no touching of the tumor; it is considered "incisionless", with the exception of the trocar wounds [11]. However, given the safety concerns associated with laparoscopic reconstruction of the gastrointestinal tract, many surgeons choose to continue performing LADG, while the TLDG operation remains less well developed..
The subjects that did not use any other drugs for treatment of hirsutism. Traditional extraction procedures. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in an urban ED in Australia. Patients completed a self-administered medication history form while waiting to be seen by a physician. Subsequently, a best possible medication history was taken by a pharmacist to determine accuracy of the self-reported medication lists for patients with planned admissions. Discrepancies between the two medication lists were reported descriptively. A Poisson regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of the rate of discrepancies. Associations were reported as incident rate ratios (IRR).. Chemotherapy in patients with hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative tumors. The trial was originally designed to demonstrate the non-inferiority of the experimental treatment (combination A/V) compared with the reference treatment (L/H), and then, in a second hierarchical step, the superiority of A/V vs. L/H. Non-inferiority was defined as a difference less than 3 g/m2 in the change in left ventricular mass index.. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that CI-DVP, a surrogate marker of small peripheral arterial stiffness, was significantly associated with renal function decline in patients with CKD. CI-DVP may have independent prognostic value in renal function decline and composite renal and cardiovascular outcomes in CKD patients.. Seventy-one percent of the respondents believed the design of their. significant loss of Notch target Cut [31]. Furthermore buy me a boat lyrics we have also. Premature rupture of membranes. Aneuploidy is a common event in pregnancy although most affected embryos abort spontaneously early in the first trimester. Those that survive into the second trimester also experience high late intrauterine mortality and increased risk of infant death. Viability and clinical outcome vary according to the genotype and this paper will concentrate on Down's syndrome (DS), the most common form of aneuploidy which is sufficiently viable to survive to term in relatively large numbers.. Our results identified that patients with high adiponectin levels in de novo HF had worse nutritional status and worse outcomes suggesting that they were in a more advanced phase of the disease and efforts should be focus on them to avoid the progression of the disease.. This suggests an effect on HMG-CoA reductase, the rate-controlling enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis. When enzyme activity was measured in the presence of various concentrations of policosanol (0.5–50 μg/mL), reductase was not suppressed. Therefore, there was no evidence for a competitive or noncompetitive inhibition of enzyme activity. However, after treatment of intact cells with policosanol (50 μg/mL) in the presence of LDM, a suppressive effect on enzyme activity was observed, suggesting a modulatory effect of policosanol on reductase activity. The previous inhibition of enzyme up-regulation by policosanol suggests to date a depression of de novo synthesis of HMG-CoA reductase and/or stimulation of its degradation. . Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Institutional Review Board,.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If you come across an applet that is not functioning properly, please mail me. It is not possible always to check all applets for unintended consequences of changes in classes. As this is a project in progress, such changes are made on a routine basis.
It might be the case that the applets do not open properly in browsers under Windows, or in browsers other than Safari under MacOS X: the applet field remains gray or blank.
In module chapters original applets have been replaced with screenshots; therefore applet problems should not hinder readers of the SPA project. Readers not able to use the applets in their browser, and yet willing to do so, may contact me, if preferences of the browser pertaining to Java do not seem to be the problem.
For the text on the SPA model see the project.
Applets 3 belong to module 3 the Predictor.
The applet here is SPA_BeBiApplet.class, a class dedicated to the predictive score distribution only, in its basic form. This applet was finished April 2005. However, the fundamental classes that it makes use of—such as to evaluate the binomial distribution or the likelihood function of mastery—will be more recent or the most recent versions, as described in the text on the particular modules.
Remember that the predictive score distribution is conditional on the likelihood function of mastery, so at least in the simulation the likelihood function will be simulated first, using the givens on number correct on a preliminary test of a certain length —or information value. Nothing in the report on the simulated predictive function and its statistics directly refers to that likelihood, yet it is there, it might have been plotted or printed also but to avoid clutter this kind of information on in-between results of the analysis or simulation will be withheld. In the case of analysis only, it is known that the predictive score distribution is a beta binomial distribution, obviating the need to evaluate the likelihood function of mastery—a beta function—first.
The number of test items is the number of items in the test that stands to be predicted.
The reference is a score level that in some sense is critical. With pass-fail scoring it is the cutoff score.
The other new menu items will be better explained in the next module on utility functions. Compensation has the usual meaning of a lower score compensating for a higher one, and vice versa; scores may be grouped together for this purpose, the 'item group' declares the number of items in every group worth one point in compensation. The values chosen here make the situation one of pass-fail scoring, in which case the expected utility equals the probability of passing the test on the first occasion: the probabilities are reported as epected uilities (expU) below the figure.
The figures between parentheses are the analytically evaluated mean and standard deviation, they should be equal to the mean and standard deviation as derived from the analytical distribution itself.
For historical reasons—originally the predictive score distribution was the fourth module, the utility function the third—the fundamental classes evaluate the expectation, returning also the predictive score distribution used in that evaluation.
The simulation uses the class SPA_Expectations.Simulate, itself using SPA_Basics.Simulate(5 parameters), the fast likelihood simulation (= the more recent Basics.getFastSimulatedLikelihood), and simulating a predictive score for every mastery value sampled from under the likelihood function.
a faster procedure is possible making use of the fact that the likelihood function itself already is the result of a simulation, so again random sampling is a rather silly thing to do.
The applet here is SPA_a_ProjPredApplet.class, a class dedicated to the predictive score distribution only, in its advanced form. The applet uses the same fundamental classes as other applets do, only the household chores and the menu differ from other applets that might be used to eveluate predictive score distributions. I will make those alternative applets available also, if only to have available some alternative just in case this particular applet might not function properly.
October 2008. Something tricky here. The applet does not seem to agree in its results with the straight 3 applet above. How come? It might have something to do with the learning function/learning episodes.
In fact, this is the advanced applet belonging to the Expectations module 6. It contains utility and learning parameters. To use it as the advanced applet for immediate predictions, put the value(s) for the number of episodes at one.
Options The utility function options (see module 4 The Ruling) are fully implemented here.


text:
Нова́ Січ — село в Україні, в Апостолівській міській територіальній громаді Криворізького району Дніпропетровської області.

Населення — 143 мешканці.

Географія
На півдні межує з селом Перше Травня, на сході з селом Новосеменівка, та на півночі з селом Запорізьке.

Населення
Згідно з переписом УРСР 1989 року чисельність наявного населення села становила 119 осіб, з яких 58 чоловіків та 61 жінка.

За переписом населення України 2001 року в селі мешкало 138 осіб.

Мова
Розподіл населення за рідною мовою за даними перепису 2001 року:

Примітки

Джерела
 Сайт Верховної Ради України
 Сайт Центральної виборчої комісії
 Карта України
 Погода в Україні

Села Дніпропетровської області
Населені пункти Криворізького району
Населені пункти Апостолівського району


Happy Monday guys!! Welcome back to my little slice of heaven hahaha. What a low key, but crazy weekend here in the north! It's been non-stop with stuff since February & then it started snowing today in MAY!!! I mean, as always I try & keep it real here on TQS & that just kind of sent me over the edge!!! So with the combined craziness business wise, life & snow I decided to spruce up our little front entryway with some bright summery treasures! I'm laughing as I write this, here I am decorating for summer with the heat on & parts of Michigan have snow on the ground...typical me haha! In my defense I needed some new decor in our little entryway & I'll be adding something else soon. It's fun & cheery & that's what I needed! Come see this treasure filled inspired space below!
This little pottery barn knock off cubby was a free thrift find! It was originally an orangey stained wood color. I popped some +Annie Sloan chalk paint on it & added the little vintage drawers! I love the summery look the green gave the piece & you all know I love me some glass knobs!
The mini succulents are from Dollar General. I may have like 10.. haha!
I had these free frames sitting around in our garage stash & finally after a year decided what I would do with them!! I wanted to keep with the fresh aqua/ blue , so I decided to use some free prints.
That tiny crock was the latest find for our entryway spruce up!! I can't wait to show you the back of it soon ;)! Anyways I hope this fresh little entry gave you some pep in your step for some HOPEFULLY summer weather soon for us northerners!!
**Be sure to check back for updates & the new piece coming soon to our little entryway! What do you think of all this color in our usually neutral entry / home??? I'm kind of loving it so far!!


Can Humans Get Chronic Wasting Disease?
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal neurological disease in cervid species. Because the disease passes from animal to animal, many deer hunters and deer meat lovers are asking "Can I get CWD?"
As of 2016, there haven't been reported cases of Chronic Wasting Disease in humans. A study conducted at the Alberta Prion Research Institute recently discovered that the disease can be spread to monkeys who've eaten infected deer meat; but for humans, it's safe to say that deer meat can be consumed. It's up to individuals to decide if they want to take the chance at eating infected deer meat - similar to deer with Lyme Disease.
Deer farmers are on high alert for CWD and must protect deer herds with deer fencing. In Wisconsin, deer farmers need electric fencing, or a secondary barrier around a primary fence.
Chronic Wasting Disease has been discovered in 23 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.
Blog post shared by DeerbustersCanada.ca.


Success Academy was one of 15 charter management organizations from around the country awarded a Charter Schools Program (CSP) grant by the U.S. Department of Education to open new schools and expand existing schools. The grant, totaling $9,842,050, will fund the opening of four new elementary schools, one new middle school, and one new high school. It will also fund the expansion of four existing middle schools to include grades seven and eight and will allow six existing elementary schools to offer pre-kindergarten.
Success Academy Bed-Stuy Middle School took second place in the Under 14 Division at the All-Girls National Chess Championship in Chicago this weekend. The team beat out eight competitor schools including Dalton and Chapin.
Tufts University today announced that Eva Moskowitz, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Success Academy Charter Schools, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Moskowitz will be recognized at Tufts University's commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 19, at the Green on Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus.
Lawrence S. Bacow, President of Harvard University and one of the most widely respected leaders in American higher education, will address Success Academy's graduating class at its commencement exercises on June 6.
Families from South Bronx Classical Charter Schools, Public Prep, Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy, and Success Academy advocated for education equality at the state capitol.
City Provides Only One-Third of the Funding to CBO-Run Pre-K Programs, Compared to What It Spends on its Own Programs — DOE Spending Is $30,130 Per Student, While CBOs Get $9,846 Per Child.
Success Academy eighth-grade students demonstrated they are on track, and preparing for college-level math, with unassailable scores on the most recent Algebra 1 Regents exam. All 426 eighth graders took the exam, and 99% passed, with 93% scoring at the college-ready level, and 56% earning the highest possible Level 5 on the exam.
Gift will support opening of three new public middle schools and sustain growth of others, providing greater access to high-quality educational opportunities for thousands of students from disadvantaged communities.
In response to Mayor de Blasio's lack of action, 75 Success Academy parents rallied on the steps of City Hall this morning to demand that the mayor deliver on his frequent—but unfulfilled—promise to bring equity and excellence to education.


Pattinson Ladies: BD2 cast & crew talk about Rob at the LA press conference!
BD2 cast & crew talk about Rob at the LA press conference!
Hypable: Q: What bonds have the three of you formed that 10, 20 years from now only you will understand?
Hitfix: 12:58 p.m. Stewart's asked about the bonds between her and Rob and Taylor. "It's nice to not be alone in that, I guess," she says. "There are a lot of people who are exceeding famous, but we share the movies." "I wouldn't have done it in the first place unless it was something I was always going to carry and I think they feel the same way," she says. "There a lot of exceedingly famous people and they all get it," she closes.
Hypable Q: Do you remember meeting Kristen and Rob, and what were your first impressions of them like?
Taylor: I remember meeting Kristen for sure - it's so weird I don't even remember meeting Rob. It's so strange (laughter). I didn't have scenes with Rob in the first one. But Kristen, I showed up mid way through filming and only was needed for two or three scenes. I was barging into this new environment so I was newest and youngest. It was awkward when we first met each other. We were filming a scene on the beach, there was wind, I was wearing a nasty wig. It was very uncomfortable. But ever since then it's been great.
Q: Can you talk about the bond you're going to share with Rob and Kristen no matter what happens in the future. How do you see the bond going forward?
Taylor: That's the bigegst thing I've seen from this. We're so close right now, they're some of my best friends. That won't go away at all. It will be more difficult because we don't have the excuse of months and months on set. Our friendships will go on forever, and I find it so amazing that the cast got along so well. We're so thankful for that. We have a blast every time we film these movies, every time we promote them, it's a miracle.
Hitfix 11:46 p.m. "I remember meeting Kristen for sure. It's so weird, I don't even remember meeting Rob," Lautner says of first impressions. He showed up midway through filming on the first movie and a family had already built up. "I was nervous. I was also the youngest. It was probably a little awkward when we first did meet each other," Lautner says, recalling his "nasty wig."
11:50 a.m. "That's the biggest thing I'll take from this is those relationships. We're so close right now. They're some of my best friends and that won't go away at all," Lautner says of his ties with Stewart and Pattinson. "Our friendships will go on forever. I find it so amazing that this cast meshed so well," he adds, calling both filming and promotion "a blast."
@jtyboone: "We're so close. They're some of my best friends and that won't go away... Our friendships will go on forever." - Taylor on Kristen and Rob.
Hypable: Q: Edward spends much of the series resisting turning Bella, but it seems like an awesome thing - living forever, super powers, even Jacob says it's a good thing by the end. WHAT are the downsides?
Stephenie: Edward resists happiness a lot in the first three books. He's afraid he doesn't deserve it. He's not happy with it himself (being turned). Is he now a villain himself? In retrospect, they're perfectly happy. If he knew it would have gone so well he may've done it sooner.
Q: What was the last day of shooting like? Is it like a graduation?
Stephenie: The last day of shooting was great. We were in St. Thomas.
Wyck: We finished the entire series of movies in St. Thomas, on a beach, when dawn broke. We were shooting that midnight swim.
Stephenie: It came at a really great time, there were just a few of us. We got to hang out - it was a beautiful way to end a movie - all movies should end in St. Thomas.
Stephenie: Kristen was a great parent. She would go to Bill and tell him how she should be parenting Mackenzie (renesmee). Rob was the easy going dad, him and Mackenzie were always having a laugh about something. It was all very natural, all very sweet. Everyone wanted to hang out and bond with her. I think she made it easy to love her.
Q: When I spoke to Wyck at the Breaking Dawn premiere you said you may be working with Rob on something. An update on that?
Wyck: Let's stay on Twilight.. I think we're all looking to work with these people.
@jtyboone: "The mother bear was who she was... Rob was the easy going dad. It's really, really sweet." Meyer on Rob and Kristen as parents in #BD2.
Htfix: 11:04 a.m. Is there any downside to being a vampire in this universe? Meyer says that Edward doesn't think he deserves happiness and he's seen examples of new vampire not being happy with it and he wonders if he's now a villain by definition. "For him, he's a very cautious person and becoming a vampire is forever," she says of Edward. Meyer says that's the drawback for her now, because permanence is scare. "Vampirism for me was a way to live in fantasy," she says of the metaphor. "Superpowers with a cost," she says.
11:06 a.m. The last day of shooting was in St. Thomas. They hung out on the island after shooting completed. "There were just a few of us and we all got to hang out," Meyer says, adding, "All movies should end in St. Thomas."
11:08 a.m. For people who had never been parents, they were impressive," Meyer says of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. "She was such a protective, all-consuming mother," Meyer says of K-Stew's approach, while she praises Robert for being funny and playful with Mackenzie. "She was very easy to love," Meyer adds.
11:10 a.m. Godfrey doesn't want to talk about future projects, but he's always looking for other opportunities with the cast.
Hypable: Q: What does a TwiHard get out of the entire book and movie series?
M: In some ways I've had a peculiar position with the films. I've come in and out of them, I'm not like Rob and Kristen. I've kind of came in and out, so I can still have a sense of what's inside and what's outside. Also, the younger fans don't recognize me because I look different than my character. Until some parent goes... "see that guy over there? He's in Twilight." Then their kids attack. When you come to the last chapter of the series, Bill has done a respectable job of serving the fans. especially for the people who feel like they've been with Bella, gone through with her journey. Bill has been very sensitive to that. I think Bella's journey is one of.. a lot of people can relate to it even though it's in the world of vampires. Bella's journey is one that people can vicariously go through it.
M: We shot the battle.. I thought we were going to be outside and cold. When I was in the costume department, I made sure my costume was made of layers and cloaks and really heavy things. And then I turn up to film.. and it's all CG and green screen, so I was boiling for weeks and weeks. We were on this snowy set. Team Aro was at one end, and Team Cullens were at the other. We were miles away from each other, so we couldn't even talk to each other on set. And we had to stand around for ages.. some had nothing to do but stnad. Then on the last day of filming the battle scene, there was this huge dance that happened. The Cullen Team had choreographed this big dance, I think it was "Sweet Dreams Were Made Of This" It may be on the DVD.
Hitfix: "It was no frills and I loved that," Condon says of the movie. He adds, though, that "set containment" has become a big line in the budget. "It was always the spirit of this film that it is a fantastical story, but it is an intimate one too," he says.


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The survey of a nationally representative sample of 963 Facebook users found that 88 percent, a large majority, have their traits and interests categorized, according to the results of a study released this week by the Pew Research Center.
But 74 percent of Facebook users, said they did not know this list of categories existed until being directed to the page during the survey, Pew said. "Moreover, once shown how the platform classifies their behaviors and personas, roughly half of Facebook users, or 51 percent, say they are not comfortable that the company created such a list," the study said.
IS FACEBOOK'S 10-YEAR CHALLENGE MEME A CREEPY FACIAL RECOGNITION GAMBIT?
The study underscores the growing distrust of Facebook against a backdrop of how the company leverages users – often unbeknownst to them – to make money, according to one analyst.
"The tricky thing about trust is once it's gone, it's very, very hard to regain it. That's the Facebook situation right now," Karsten Weide, an analyst at Framingham, MA.-based IDC, told Fox News. "They [Facebook] have to be transparent and give users better opportunity to turn things on and off in terms of how they're being tracked," he added.
The other side of the argument is, "if you get stuff for free, you're going to get advertising," he said.
Facebook says it's trying to be more proactive in educating users. "We want people to understand how our ad settings and controls work," a Facebook spokesperson told Fox News.
"While we and the rest of the online ad industry need to do more to educate people on how interest-based advertising works and how we protect people's information, we welcome conversations about transparency and control," the spokesperson added.
Facebook analyzes "scores of different dimensions of its users' lives" then invites advertisers to target them, Pew said.
A partial list of how Facebook classifies users can be found on "Your ad preferences" page. The page lists, among other things, interests based on Facebook's algorithm, which, in turn, is based on data provided by users and content they have "posted, liked, commented on and shared," Pew Research said.
And there are other advertising tools unknown to users such as Facebook pixel, which records the activity of users on advertisers' websites and passes this data back to Facebook.
"Millions of companies and organizations around the world have activated the Facebook pixel on their websites," Pew said.
On another front, political labels are commonly assigned to Facebook users, Pew said. About half of those in the Pew survey were given such a label.
While 73 percent said the listing very accurately or somewhat accurately describes their views, 27 percent said those that the label is not very or not at all accurate, according to Pew.


About 400 University of Virginia political science students get the chance to hear from John Grisham.
Professor Larry J. Sabato's Introduction to American Politics class will hear from the local author on Monday, March 23rd at 3:00 pm in Wilson Hall.
Sabato and the Center for Politics are hosting and sponsoring the lecture. Grisham's remarks to the class are not open to the public.


DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates threw its support on Thursday behind a plan by major oil producers to freeze output levels in an attempt to halt a slide in crude prices that has pushed them to their lowest point in more than a decade.
Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela announced their willingness to cap output at last month's levels at a surprise meeting in Qatar this week — but only if other major oil producers join them. OPEC member Kuwait has since said it supports the proposal, and Iran has offered at least tentative backing.
The support from the Emirates, a close Saudi ally, does not come as a major surprise but is still significant. The seven-state federation is OPEC's third-largest oil producer.
Energy Minister Suhail Mohammed al-Mazrouei said in a statement to state news agency WAM that the Emirates supports any proposal to freeze output through consensus with OPEC and Russia, which is not part of the oil-producing bloc.
"We believe that freezing production levels by members of OPEC and Russia will have a positive impact on balancing future demand based on the current oversupply," he said.
A day earlier, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said after talks with counterparts from Iraq, Venezuela and Qatar that his country "supports any measure to boost oil prices" but stopped short of committing Iran to capping its own output. Iran has previously said it aims to boost production above its roughly 2.9 million barrels a day now that sanctions related to its nuclear program have been lifted.
In related news, UAE energy minister refuses to discuss tentative oil cap.


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European Champions Cup draw
Leicester Tigers have been drawn alongside French champions Racing 92, Glasgow Warriors and Munster Rugby in the pool stages of the European Rugby Champions Cup for 2016/17.
The draw for the 2016/17 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup was held in Switzerland this afternoon, with Tigers preparing for a 20th season in the continent's elite club competition.
Tigers have met each of their 2016/17 rivals in previous seasons, though not since 2000/01 in the case of Glasgow. That was the fifth meeting with the Scots – then known as Glasgow Caledonian – but they have not met since.
Warriors were Celtic League champions in 2014/15 but were knocked out of the Champions Cup in the pool stages last season after finishing behind Racing 92 and Northampton Saints.
Racing, of course, were Tigers' opponents in the semi-final stages in 2015/16, when they triumphed 19-16 at the City Ground, Nottingham, while Tigers and Munster have met in three European seasons, including the pool stages in 2015/16 when Leicester won fixtures home and away.
Order of fixtures, and the confirmed dates and kick-off times for the opening four rounds will be announced by tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby and their broadcast partners later this summer. The opening weekend is on October 14/15/16, after six rounds of Aviva Premiership league action.
The finals of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup will be hosted in Edinburgh, where Tigers reached the final in 2009.
All home fixtures in the pool stages of the Champions Cup are included in Tigers season tickets. Places are still available for 2016/17, click here for more details.
Match ticket details will be confirmed soon.
Pool draw 2015/16
Pool 1: Racing 92, Glasgow Warriors, Leicester Tigers, Munster Rugby
Pool 2: Connacht Rugby, Wasps, Toulouse, Zebre
Pool 3: Saracens, Toulon, Scarlets, Sale Sharks
Pool 4: Leinster Rugby, Montpellier, Northampton Saints, Castres
Pool 5: Exeter Chiefs, Clermont Auvergne, Ulster Rugby, Bordeaux Begles
Pool 1: La Rochelle, Gloucester Rugby, Benetton Treviso, Bayonne
Pool 2: Ospreys, Grenoble, Newcastle Falcons, Lyon
Pool 3: Brive, Worcester Warriors, Newport Gwent Dragons, Enisei STM
Pool 4: Cardiff Blues, Bath Rugby, Pau, Bristol Rugby
Pool 5: Harlequins, Edinburgh, Stade Francais, Timisoara Saracens
European Champions Cup weekends
Round 1: October 14/15/16
Round 3: December 9/10/11
Round 4: December 16/17/18
Round 5: January 20/21/22
Quarter-finals: March 30/31-April 1
Semi-finals: April 21/22/23
Final: May 13


The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded $425,000 over two years for the development of SHARIAsource—an online Islamic law resource founded and directed by Harvard Law School Professor Intisar Rabb, who is also a Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard.
SHARIAsource is built on a model of broad collaboration, calling on the resources of the Harvard Law School Library, other educational institutions, and expert scholars of Islamic law around the world to build a clearinghouse that collects the research and highlights the expertise and scholarship of each. The initiative is housed at Harvard Law School's Islamic Legal Studies Program and operates in partnership with Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, bringing together the substantive and technical expertise of both communities with an "expert crowd-sourced model" with contributions from experts in Islamic law as well as scholars of comparative constitutional law, legal history, and other related fields.
The SHARIAsource team of legal experts, scholars, and developers is led by Editor-in-Chief Intisar Rabb. She shared the major news of the MacArthur award at a project convening conference last month, at which some thirty scholarly, policy, and media experts met to chart the future of SHARIAsource. This grant is in addition to $400,000 from the Henry R. Luce Foundation, announced late last spring.
The MacArthur Foundation Grant will allow SHARIAsource to further facilitate advanced scholarship and policy analysis relating to Islamic law, and to grow its online repository of primary source material. SHARIAsource is in an intensive growth and development phase with a public launch expected in 2016.
For more information, see the summer profile of SHARIAsource in the Harvard Magazine:http://harvardmagazine.com/2015/05/debating-sharia-law-digitally (July–August 2015).


Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Clothing/Jewelry Description: Brown or blue sweatpants, a black or dark blue sweatshirt, and black and gray Globe skater shoes with distinctive soles.
Medical Conditions: Austin suffers from severe emotional problems and had been taking daily psychiatric medications, including anti-depressants, for three years prior to his disappearance. He is not believed to have his medicine with him.
Austin was last seen by his father at their home in Montgomery Creek, California at 7:00 a.m. on January 4, 2004. The medication he was taking gave him problems with sleeping and he woke his father up at this time. His father told him to go back to bed, but Austin left the house instead. His footprints through the snow show that he walked a mile from his house to the Acorn Cafe and an employee saw him go into the establishment twice. Austin was last seen between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m. that day outside the cafe, which is located on Highway 299 in Montgomery Creek. He has never been heard from again. His father reported him missing at noon that same day.
Austin attended a special needs school in Redding, California at the time of his disappearance. His mother died of cancer in 1997, and he lived alone with his father, who is not considered a suspect in his disappearance. Austin is an only child. He is described as intelligent but shy, withdrawn and easily confused; he may not respond if approached by anyone. He also has difficulty making decisions. Austin's father says the his son's new anti-depressant medication caused him to be more outgoing, talkative and normal in behavior, but that the drug also made him dangerously gullible and trusting. Austin and his father were going to go on vacation over his school winter break, but inclement weather caused them to cancel their plans and Austin was reportedly very disappointed. He is not thought to have run away from home, however. It is also considered unlikely that he hitchhiked anywhere.
Investigators believe Austin may have tried to go to the Redding Skate Park, which he liked to frequent, but he did not have his skateboard, hacky-sack, or any money with him when he vanished. Austin's sneakers have unusual soles and this made it easy to identify his tracks, which went for over two miles through snow over a foot deep and lead up to the banks of the Pitt River before disappearing. Investigators are unsure how Austin got to the river; the area is so remote and rugged, it is virtually inaccessible even by law enforcement officials. He had never been to the river before. His father believes he got lost and became disoriented. No sign of Austin or his remains have been found in the water, but because of the circumstances, authorities believe it is likely that he drowned there.
Austin enjoys skateboarding and is a former hacky-sack champion who had played at the state and world levels. His case opened 2018 by Psychic Brian Ladd. In May 2004, a bench was placed at the Redding Skate Park and dedicated in his memory.


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Dirt Diva FL Women's Hooded Sweatshirt > Dirt Diva FL > MotoCrossRocks.
Comments Off on ▶ Supercross LIVE! 2014 – Check Out All the Excitement of Monster Energy Supercross as it Heads to East Rutherford!
▶ James Stewart/Malcolm Stewart – Raw – YouTube.
Check this video, James does this wheelie thing toward the end which is just plain ridiculous! The dude is just insane on a bike! I really hope he wins the next few races!
Catching Up With Ashley Fiolek – Transworld Motocross.
iF You don't know who ASHLEY FIOLEK is , you should! Shes the sickest female Motocross Champion rider in the world! She retired this year just after winning another WMX Title riding For Honda!
To make it even more special , Ashley Fiolek is Deaf! Her story and her learning how to ride by feeling the vibrations of the bike , so she knew when to switch gears is inspiring to say the least. She was the FIRST EVER female factory rider for Honda Red Bull racing!
In this pictorial TWMX caught Ashley Riding her new Husky 2 stroke for fun! For more info you can check her website or her wikipedia page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Fiolek#Career. And of course Twitter and Facebook.
This whole series was really cool from episode 1 until this episode #5 being no exception! Check out out , really really cooL!


One of the best locations on the lake – book early as The Point is extremely popular. Spacious, private 4-bedroom cabin perfect for a large group that can be set up with 2 king-size beds and 4 twins, or 8 twin beds. Private dock and private beach set this cabin over the top! Watch the sun rise from the kitchen table, and enjoy beautiful lake views from the cabin or lakeside fire pit. Satellite television. Updated bathroom 2017.


A total of $5 million has been allocated for the establishment of the Brunei stock exchange, which will be launched "within the next few years", the second finance minister said on Thursday.
YB Dato Seri Paduka Dr Hj Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah said the government has been working with Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) to lay the groundwork, such as setting financial regulations, systems and infrastructure.
"The establishment of the stock exchange will help investors participate in equity investments and alternative stocks such as exchange traded funds, foreign equity stocks, bonds, investment funds, securitised products and real estate investment trusts," he said during a meeting of the Legislative Council (LegCo).
Addressing the parliament during the budget readout for the finance ministry, YB Dato Dr Hj Mohd Amin said the launch of capital market activities would create employment for locals and promote more investment into Brunei outside of the energy sector.
The launch of a securities exchange has been discussed for years, but efforts are gathering pace with new capital market rules introduced in February last year.
The exchange would boost the domestic financial sector, provide an alternative funding source for small businesses and improve the country's corporate governance, AMBD said in a statement to Reuters last June.
The country's financial regulator told the news agency they are targeting a launch within two-years. Initial focus would be on listing equities, adding bonds and sukuk (Islamic bonds) at a later stage.
Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Brunei, said the launch of a securities exchange would be a "step in the right direction" for Brunei's diversification efforts.
About a dozen companies could be potential candidates, including the country's telcos, downstream oil and gas service firms and financial institutions such as Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), which held $9.5 billion in assets at the end of 2016.
BIBD, the sultanate's biggest lender, planned an initial public offering on the Malaysian stock exchange in 2017, but according to news reports, has postponed the IPO to the first half 2018. It would be the first Bruneian company to be publicly listed.


The readings this morning are quite helpful for those of us who are beginning to think – after a night of snow and sleet with high winds – that winter will never end. It all starts in the first line from Isaiah the prophet whose message from God is, "Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind." Isaiah's description of this "new earth' continues and is enhanced by Psalm 30 which sings praise to God for having rescued the faithful ones and by the story in John's gospel of the cure by Jesus of the royal official's son. But, wait. Back up a moment. Aren't we still living on this same old earth? And, even though Pluto has been downgraded in status, aren't all – or most – of the planets and stars still intact in "the heavens" – or is Isaiah talking about THE heaven, the place we'll be living after this?
I may sound a bit facetious here, but the meaning of this prophecy and the way we see its fulfillment in Christ are, most assuredly, about something more than what is taking place on the physical plane. Often, however, it is on this level that we continually choose to live, failing to notice deeper meaning. Jesus sounded a little grumpy even as he was attending to the long-distance healing of the royal official's son. When he was asked to heal the boy his first response was, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe." Was he able to heal the son? Of course. Was he willing? Yes. I think, though, that it must've been hard for him to be working among a whole population of literalists. He was on earth to facilitate the coming into being of a new consciousness, the only way that the earth and heavens can truly become new – by loving God and neighbor and thus coming to the unity that God had in mind when the "first" earth and heavens were created.
I'm fortunate to have many opportunities to participate in conversations with people whose focus is the possibility of such newness. We wonder sometimes about the convergence lately of scientific and spiritual thought. We are encouraged by the amount of sharing in interdenominational gatherings of Christians and those of other faith traditions. Sometimes we muse on why so many new discoveries in science and religion (archeologically and otherwise) have been made in our lifetime. Are we perhaps ready to go to that deeper place? In the face of terrible trauma on earth and in human life are we ready to move to forgiveness of the past, willing to embrace "our neighbors" without distinction, able to see that our salvation is in love and love alone?
There seems no time like the present to embrace this hope for newness.
The gospel from John (9:1-41) can be seen as a good example of a long, drawn-out, convoluted attempt to prove a point which is obviously flawed. It is the story of the man born blind whom Jesus cured. That sounds like a simple fact to us but everyone was concerned about the whole situation because there were factors in the situation that were not what was expected. First, everyone – including the disciples – wanted to know (in keeping with the prevailing wisdom of the time) who had sinned to cause the blindness – the man or his parents. Jesus said, "Neither" and proceeded to give a speech about himself using this opportunity to manifest the works of God. Then he cured the man. After that everyone got into the act trying to figure out how the man had been cured. The man repeated several times: to the neighbors, the Pharisees, then a segment of the Pharisee contingent, then those Jews asking his parents, then the Pharisees again…the simple facts of Jesus making clay, putting it on his eyes, telling him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, which gave him his sight. No one was listening. They didn't expect that possibility of Jesus. Only the blind man himself progressed in his understanding, saying in answer to the queries: 1."It was the man called Jesus." 2. "He is a prophet." 3. "I do believe, Lord." In the end, those whose minds were closed finally gave up, missing the entire point. They were, one might say, too blind to see.
My absence yesterday was due to a surprise intestinal bug, which is, hopefully, on its way out enough for me to put a few thoughts together.
The theme in each of today's readings, as I see it, is about the familiar Lenten call to "return to the Lord" and counsels humility and honesty as the attitude necessary to accomplish reconciliation. The words of the psalm refrain encourage us that God's stance regarding our return is: "It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice." Why would we hesitate to approach this God? As a matter of fact, the prophet Hosea reminds us that it is God who comes to us, longing for us, more than we can imagine. "Let us know, Hosea says, let us strive to know the Lord; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth." Having the confidence that God is always on our side can allow us to approach God, having made an honest assessment of our lives and with a humility that is willing and unafraid to speak the truth to the God of love and understanding. That is the message of the gospel this morning – the familiar story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. We have probably all encountered people like the Pharisee who spends time thanking God that he is "not like the rest of humanity." That arrogance is always off-putting. We hear only one simple sentence from the tax collector: "O God, be merciful to me a sinner." That's all that is necessary.
A footnote: Many of us grew up interiorizing the notion that we needed to be perfect in order to garner God's approval, God's love. One of the best analogies I have found about this is the definition of sin as "missing the mark." It speaks of the necessity of practice before one is able to hit the bull's eye; no one expects that this will be the outcome of a first attempt – or of many attempts. It's the same with us in our living. No matter our intention to "get it right the first time" we most often fail along the way. We need to remember that God is cheering us on from the sidelines and waiting for us to be content with our missteps as long as we keep trying. And God's mercy, that fierce love that God holds for us, washes over us like rain as soon as we are willing to stand before this God in humility and truth.
We "hear" God's voice in different ways: in our relationships/conversations with others, in nature, in church, in the silence…Today the refrain from Psalm 95 has a haunting imperative that calls us to attention and to a love that receives all and has compassion toward all.
If today you hear God's voice, the psalmist sings, harden not your hearts.
All of the readings this morning are focused on law. As we hear in Deuteronomy (CH 4), Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai as a way to live in the land that God was giving to his people. In giving the laws Moses instructed the people to "observe them carefully, for thus you will give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations…" He also warned the people, "Take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children's children." It seems then that the laws were not laid on people as a burden but as a guide to right and wise living and were made more intelligible if people looked at them in the light of their own experience. When I think of the Ten Commandments (which is admittedly only part of the Mosaic Law), I usually consider them as rather negative but if I look at them in terms of the culture of the time and fold in these words of Moses this morning, I see that perhaps, after the imperatives of the first three positive statements of how the Hebrews were to relate to God, the proscriptive 4th through 10th commandments were simpler to grasp for a people used to slavery and self-preservation as a way to survive. A new way to think about the Commandments, to be sure.
In the gospel today we find another reference to that Law. Jesus grew up reflecting on and living by it and it's instructive that he said, "I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it." By the time he arrived on earth, there had been some progress in the way the covenant with God was understood by the Hebrews. The statement from Matthew just quoted is part of the great Sermon on the Mount where Jesus lays out eight statements on how to become holy ("Blessed are…"). It seems then that the way to live a wise and intelligent life could be learned by reflection on the meaning of both sets of laws seen through the cultural filter of Jesus' time as well as that of our day.
In our current large and litigious culture we might ask ourselves how we might articulate the law of God for Church and society. What would eliminate the rampant greed and violence and focus us again on the good and compassionate works that lead to holiness?
On this feast of the Annunciation, the day when Mary of Nazareth consented to be the mother of the Christ, the Scripture readings are focused on assent to what God asks of us. Clearly the sacrifices of old are not enough. God is asking for our very selves. Psalm 40 repeats the refrain, Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. The psalmist knows that God doesn't wish "sacrifices or oblations, holocausts or sin offerings," and so offers himself saying, Behold I come! To do your will, O my God, is my delight! Perhaps Mary was reminded of those words in the startling, incredible event of her encounter with God's messenger who told her she had been chosen to be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah. The notion of the Messiah that Israel had been waiting for would have given her absolutely no sense that she was in the running for that honor! Why would God choose a lowly teenager from a small town to birth the one who was to restore the throne of David? It could only have been her recognition that this was no self-created illusion but rather a true call from God that made her say yes.
Long ago, I read an alternate translation of Mary's response that most of us know as "Be it done unto me according to your word." (LK 1:38) That translation spoke more to me of the strength of Mary's trust in God and her relationship, even at her young age, with the God that was her guiding principle for life. I treasure the translation and, when I am challenged with a path I would rather not walk or a task I would rather not perform, I think of it and try to live up to Mary's example. I offer it as my reflection for today.
Today's story from the Second Book of Kings in the Hebrew Scriptures (Ch 5: 1-15) teaches a great lesson that even Jesus used when he was talking about prophets not being accepted (LK 4). It concerns Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, a leper, who is advised to seek healing for his leprosy in Israel. When Elisha tells Naaman to go and wash seven times in the Jordan in order to be cleansed, Naaman becomes incensed because the directive is something so simple. He was expecting something extraordinary, like a cure on the spot when the prophet invoked his God. Luckily he had wise servants who said to him, "If the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it?" They suggested he do what Elisha had directed and so he did and was healed.
Some of us keep waiting for a great experience of God's presence to us – a miracle, a theophany, a way for us to know without a doubt that God is with us, on our side, as it were, so we can live the rest of our lives in peace and unshakeable faith. In living this way, we can easily miss the daily moments of grace that reveal God. My Christmas cactus has just put out the most glorious blossom that reminds me of the beauty of God's creation no matter what the calendar says when it continues to be bone-chillingly cold and windy outside. We had a Taizé service for the Sophia Center last night with only 7 people which was profound for its music and for its silence, bringing God as close to us as any wildly celebrative Church service could ever do.
It's all a question of expectations. If we expect God every day and keep our "expectant self" on tiptoe in the waiting we will lose our need for the extraordinary and be satisfied with the simple things God asks of us and gives to us in each moment of presence, each and every day of our lives.
The story of Jesus with the woman at the well is a study in nuance and the necessity of looking deeper to find true meaning. Twice during today's passage (JN 4) Jesus speaks of things that are totally misinterpreted. When Jesus surprises the woman by asking her for a drink (Samaritans were the enemies of the Jews; moreover, talking to a woman whom he didn't know was totally unacceptable), she demurs. He tells her if she knew who was asking she would've been the one to ask him and he would have given her "living water." Her retort of, "You don't even have a bucket…" was a reasonable response on a literal level, but Jesus was, as we know, offering much more. Had the conversation stopped there, she certainly would have missed the transformation that took place in the encounter.
When the disciples came back from their excursion to buy food and urged him to eat, he said, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." Their reaction was, "Could someone have brought him something to eat?" I feel sorry for the disciples in this case since their understanding of what he said was totally logical. Had they been there to witness his experience with the woman, I wonder if they would have recognized that he was speaking from a different place – a deeper level. Perhaps not as no one had ever spoken to them – or the woman – as he had. This event was early in John's gospel and it appears that no one was used to the cryptic manner of speaking that was his. They needed to learn to listen from a deeper place, as it appears the woman realized in that one conversation.
Today's gospel is one of the most familiar of the Christian Scriptures. Named the parable of the Prodigal Son it has, over the past few decades, been the subject of much study and deeper interpretation. For instance, one of the more memorable moments for me on the subject was that in conversation about the older son a friend said, "All along the father was thinking that he stayed out of love, but in the end it seemed that his real, deep-down motivation was duty or obligation – which saddened and shocked the father when it became obvious." That has given me a lot to think about from time to time. More recently I have heard the parable called "The Prodigal Father" and, after considerable confusion, I decided to look up the definition of "prodigal" to try to settle my mind and the interpretation. What I found was two basic definitions.
I find it interesting that the two are closely related and that it is possible that the father's prodigality with his sons was the basis for the younger son's action with only a tip of the scales toward selfishness and a lack of a sense of responsibility – or youthful immaturity – that turned the whole thing bad. I think of that as I read Psalm 103 this morning. The refrain sings, "The Lord is kind and merciful" – something that must've spurred the son to return to such a father. Continuing the analogy, the verse holds out hope and describes what actually happened when the son came home. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He pardons all your iniquities and heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. The son was ready to throw himself on his father's good nature, aware that he would at least be treated with a measure of mercy. Clearly, the father's joy at his return was unexpected. It would be a wonderful thing if we could remember that moment as well as the words of the psalm when we are asking God for forgiveness.
There is one more thing, however, that the psalm teaches and that I was alluding to when I mentioned youthful immaturity and a sense of responsibility. There is an imperative that precedes the listing of the ways in which we are forgiven – something we must remember. We must be willing to recognize God's goodness to us and not forget God's faithfulness. God is always there to forgive our imprudent or reckless behavior but a "thank you" is always in order for the generous, lavish "welcome home" that we are given.
The theme of family keeps coming back – here earlier in the week, yesterday in two significant conversations and today in all the Scripture passages. From the Hebrew Scriptures we hear the story of Joseph whom his father loved "best of all his sons" (and he had a dozen!) "because he was the child of his old age." Because of their jealousy his brothers plotted to kill him. But for a caravan of Ishmaelites passing by, we would not have one of the great stories of the Hebrew people in Egypt. Since it was more financially profitable and somewhat morally acceptable to those who had a conscience, Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave – and the rest of the story makes good reading toward the end of the book of Genesis. Psalm 105 sings of this betrayal and in Matthew's gospel Jesus tells an analogous parable to the chief priests and elders (MT 21: 33-46) about wicked tenants who killed everyone the landowner sent to collect the rent – even his son whom he believed they would respect. Jesus was obviously making a point about his own presence on earth and their lack of recognition of God's plan. I was led in a different direction, however, given my ponderings and conversations this week about family.
We often joke in my family about the pride with which my father spoke of my brother. I usually describe this as his "my baby, my boy" stance. Although there was clearly no favoritism shown to any of us and we were just as delighted with my brother as were my parents, the story of Joseph reminded me of other families where difference has become discrimination. Distain for the one sibling that is an artist in a family of engineers or jealousy of the one who is a rich doctor when the rest are middle class laborers is a dangerous thing. Of course, it's all more complicated than that. We've learned a lot about birth order and what all that can cause in the development of personality as well as the role money can play in families…and so much more. This morning, though, I'm aware of the need of all of us to reflect on our responsibility to respect those who have been given to us as blessings and/or challenges to our growth. I speak here of parents who need to nurture their children without binding them too closely – even with bonds of love – as well as siblings who must respect one another for the persons they are. Each of us is a singular, unrepeatable gift of God and we need to treat those closest to us in parentage as we would treat the cherished friends of our hearts. If that is not possible, at least we must be constantly aware of their human dignity and pray for their peace.