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2003 Palmetto Boys' State
(thing) by mllwswpr Mon Jun 09 2003 at 17:15:00
7 days of sex deprived Republican hell
Boys' State is a state based leadership program that involves every state in the American union except for Hawaii. Sponsored by the American Legion, each post raises funds to send X number of students from their local schools to the week long program, the delegates being selected on the basis of scholarship, atheleticism, work ethic, as well as loyalty to God, country, and family. In my school's case, the requirements extended to "support for the war on Iraq." Some of us began our junior political careers on the right footing-as liars.
Palmetto Boys' State is the South Carolina version of the program (Palmetto being the state tree) and began in 1940 and after a four year break from 42'-46' to deal with some minor regional conflict or other, it has continued uninterrupted until this day. Since its inception, the PBS program has been held at the Citadel, South Carolina's military academy in Charleston, but has also been held at various times at Wofford College in Spartanburg.
Currently around 800 boys from around the state are sent to the Citadel each year, and are broken up into fifteen cities and five counties. The five counties are named after real counties in the state, which also bear the names of famous South Carolinians: each city is named after a major state river.
Rutledge County
Waccamw
Pee Dee
Enoree
Wateree
Keowee
Tugaloo
Each city is under control of two junior counselors, and one senior counselor. The junior counselors are selected from attendees of the previous year's program, and senior counselors are veteran JCs. Each county also holds a set of advisors who act as professional jerks and chew out the counselors, who in turn, turn on us.
Political Opportunities
The chance to run for and be elected into various offices is one of the core purposes of the Boys' State program, as well as one of the most enjoyable. Each office available is completely real, and anybody who is elected to an office takes on the true respective duties of that office: no office had any power. It just sounded good. Every available office first had to pass through a party primary the day prior to the election, and then the general elections took place.
Within each city, there were quite a few positions to vie for, and this is probably actually a more difficult level to win at, just because the elections take place so soon after you get there, you have no friends, no support, and no time to prepare. You have to hit the ground running to win here. The available city offices are:
Mayor Pro Tem
City Councilman (6)
Party Chairman
The City council also appoints these officials:
City Recorder
Clerk of the Police Court
These appointed positions officially had no power, authority, or influence whatsoever. I don't even think our city had any of these, or if they did, nobody even remembered if they were selected to it.
County elections took place on the third day, and the holders of some of these jobs actually had some miniscule responsibilities. The possible positions available at the county level were as follows:
County Council (2 from each city)
County Attorney*
County Superintendant of Education
Party Chairman^
The state officials actually have some real power, and some minor fame, and best of all, they get to have live sessions in the actual state capitol building in Columbia, and some get to give lots of speeches and stuff. The potential offices at the state level are:
Lietenant Governor
Senator (5 from each county)
House Representative (10 from each county)
State Treasurer
Comptroller General
Superintendant of Education
Attorney General*
Comissioner of Agriculture
Adjutant General
*requires passage of bar exam to hold office
^Must hold same office at lower governmental level
These offices were appointed at the state level by the Governor with the consent of the senate. These offices include:
Director of the Department of Health
Director of the Department of Public Welfare
Superintendent of State Patrol
Commissioner of Insurance
Highway Commissioner
Our particular governor also took the initiative and created:
Head of Girls' State Affairs
Personal Body Guard
Personal Intern (the governor of Girls' State)
Also, a Chief Justice and three other judges of the supreme court are appointed by the state legislature, and must have completed the criminal justice course.
Classroom Instruction
Every day for about an hour, each county would meet in a lecture room where they would sit and view a powerpoint and listen to an expert speak on a given topic. At the end of the week, an exam is to be given on the subjects discussed, all of which involved the government and the law of South Carolina. To pass the exam, a score of 35 is required, and it is all but impossible to fail-of course we didn't know that going in to the course. For many this was an optional nap time, but I personally could never fall back asleep that soon after waking up.
Monday's lesson was on city/town government, and what the requirements were to become corporated as a municipality. The talk revolved around the three main types of city governments allowed by the South Carolina Constitution-Council, Mayor-Council, and Council Manager, and how cities could earn money. For some reason after listening to this lesson, I had an intense desire to get on a computer and try my hand at a SimCity game.
Tuesday's classroom experience dealt with county government and jurisdiction, as well as how to go about creating and destroying counties in South Carolina. They also explained each of the offices we had the option of running for.
Wednesday's lessons, if you haven't caught on to the pattern, were about State government and law. This talk centered heavily on the various jobs available for the citizens to run for because hey, not many rising seniors know what a Comptroller or Adjutant General does.
The final lecture was on Thursday, and dealt with the numerous South Carolina laws and courts, as well as the state Supreme Court, and what jurisdictions they all had. I slept through this one, so I'm afraid I can't provide much detail here.
On Monday and Tuesday optional classes were available in law, criminal justice, and media. In order to become an attorney at any level, you had to pass the Boys' State bar exam after taking the law course, and to become a judge of any sort required passing the criminal justice course. On Thursday, mock trials were held in which the graduates of these courses could do their things, with jurors being conscripted out of the rest of the population. Media students wrote and edited the "Palmetto Boys' State Citizen," the program newspaper.
Political Rivalry
Arguably the greatest bullshit we were given and accepted to a degree, was the random division of Boys' State into two political parties: the Federalists and the Nationalists. The "Feds" were blue. The "Nats" were red. The distinction ended there. Our party platforms were developed Thursday night in time for the state elections meaning that for four full days, we were enemies over nothing. After Thursday, we were enemies for nothing that mattered.
I have to give them credit for doing it. It simulated the political environment of the real world quite well, and it was after all, pretty fun. The Feds adopted the slogan "Pure Blue Energy" after a KMX energy drink which was drank by the leaders at every rally. The Nats did not have a slogan that I can recall, but we both had some chants we used to rally our respective forces. The Feds would scream out "Blue! Blue! Blue!" when they were feeling really uninspired, but usually used "Get Fed up!" or "Open up a can!" and always accompanied cheers by holding a fist up in the air. The Nats would flick their wrists in the air shouting "Natty Nat!" or "Nats Attack! Nats Attack!" The rivalry got pretty cool sometimes.
The first day that we were introduced to our parties at the first assembly, the Feds came in screaming and waving flags while some cool techno song blared and a huge flashing can of "Pure Blue Energy" came up on this massive screen. The Nats pulled off some stupid dance. Round one-Feds. The next day, the Feds pulled up in a cop car with siren blaring to rally their soldiers. The Nats just met. Things were getting ugly it seemed-until the Nats won the city elections in a landslide. Despite losing in Mayors 8-7, the Nats outdid the Mayor Pro Tems 9-6, and won the city councils by a 52-39 margin, giving them a total score of 68-52. The Fed leaders were pissed. "VOTE STRAIGHT TICKET," they screamed in a fury, accusing us of betraying our party. The next day they showed up in a helicopter. That was cool. But that night at the assembly, the Nats struck with a vengeance, perhaps turning the tide of the entire competition.
The program director Allen Bosworth stood up at the assembly where the final announcement of the country elections was to be announced. "It appears that tonight there is no need to announce the winners of the county elections. If you were a Federalist and you ran for any office, please stand up." At which point a wave of excitement began pulsing through the room, and then he sprung forth the statement that released a cascade of Pure Blue Energy: "The Federalists have swept the county elections." The Feds went berserk, rushing the stage with fists raised in glorious victory, rallying around the two adult party leaders who were jumping up and down with the rest of us as we shouted our lungs raw, screaming mixed chants or nothing at all as pointless ecstacy coursed through us. And then, one of the other higher ups Sinclair Lewis walked up to the microphone, and with his slow, implaceable southern drawl, and head cocked slightly to the right, in all seriousness and with no hint of humor muttered the immortal words of crushing defeat:
"I believe the Federalists have just been punked."
At which point the word Punk'd appeared on the massive screen against a totally red backdrop, and the Nats went wild. The Feds were devestated by the grueling counter. Sinclair never so much as grinned. It was glorious, even the Feds loved it. But the victory however was to be short-lived. The Feds had gone straight ticket under the outcries of their Federalist JCs, and the Nats were trampled underfoot in the county elections. The Senate elections (which were held concurrently with the county elections) went 17-8 in favor of the feds, and the house was ruled 32-18. The sherrifs and coroners were 3-2 for the Feds, attorneys 4-1, and the county councils a slim 13-12. The Nats won Education and Treasurer 3-2. The retaliation began immediately with the still-massed Federalists chanting "Who got punked?" But it was never enough, the punking having been the greatest political coup of the week, and one from which the Feds would never recover.
The platforms were arranged, the primaries decided over great speeches and apathetic debates, and the time had come for the state elections of the 9 "important," that is, constitutional, officers. After a three dollar fee, the Feds got a blue t-shirt with a "Pure Blue Energy" can on the front and "Open up a can" on the back, as well as an actual can of Pure Blue Energy drink. For the same price, the Nats got a red shirt saying "The Nats Punk'd Palmetto Boys' State" and two boom sticks. The fight was on.
At the final dual party rally, the Fed strategy was disciplined excitement. They walked in quietly, fists raised, while the Nats were producing a deafening roar. Sitting silently, the Feds only stood up to make noise before and after their own candidates were presented, and after their platform was read. No more gimmicks, no more rallies, just pure, unadulterated speaking by the candidates. It was long, it was hot, and it by God it reeked, but those were some good speeches. After some more straight ticket rhetoric we went to bed early to rest up to visit Girls' State the next day in Columbia, and when the morning came, the die was cast. The Nats got nasty on the Feds despite a Federalist majority, winning 5 out of 9 positions. Here are the winners:
Governor-Duy Nguyn (Doo-E Win) Nationalist.
Duy who? Duy what? Duy Nguyn? Yes we do!
Lt. Governor-Desmond Body:Nationalist
Secretary of State-Chris Tidmarsh:Federalist
Treasurer-Ty Collier:Nationalist
Superintendent-Hunter Jordan:Federalist
Attorney General-Greg Pietras:Nationalist
Comptroller General-Sam Mitchell:Federalist
Adjutant General-Ian Sutton:Nationalist
Comissioner of Agriculture-Gil Weathers:Nationalist
Game, set, match, Nationalists.
Secular Church Services
As I mentioned above, being of religious background was quite important, although not essential, to the Boys' State program and its citizens. Although it was never stated, the emphasis was more on western, Judeo-Christian values and beliefs, but to be correct they said Islam and Buddhism etc. were very fine and welcomed at Boys' State. On Sunday, we held a vespers service in the Citadel chapel at six o'clock right before supper, and heard a message by retired reverand Sinclair Lewis after singing some religious and patriotic tunes. He talked about how Abraham Lincoln was the man, and what he thinks the nation would have said to Honest Abe if he could talk to him today. ("I am the nation. I am Boys' State" etc.) According to the Senior Counselors, he's been giving this same tired old speech for years. Fortunately most of us stayed awake for it and made fun of him for the rest of the week.
Starting Monday, we had a devotional service every day at noon before lunch. This was better known as nap time. The speeches were kept mostly secular in basis so as not to offend anybody did promote religious values. Here's a breakdown of what happened at every day's service.
Monday-David was a great guy. Joseph was a great guy. We sang some patriotic songs, some praise songs, and I don't remember much else. This messgae was given by the Citadel chaplain.
Tuesday-Premarital sex is bad, and Bible aside, studies show it is both emotionally and physically bad. Included some other things, including the worst golf analogy ever. Given by a Catholic priest.
Wednesday-Jews are good, and everyone else is not as good. Arabs are the worst. Jews have always been picked on, yet despite adversity, they remain better than all of you, and Israel is still kicking, and is the best country in the world except for maybe the United States. Arabs got picked on and they blow themselves up while the Jews won a bunch of Nobel Prizes. This was said by a rabbi.
Thursday-I have no idea because I was asleep. Given by an Episcopalian priest.
Friday-No church. Partaking in sinful activities with Girls' State such as meeting, talking, and viewing each other's ankles in Columbia.
Saturday-Graduation. No church, but 25 renditions of God Bless the USA.
City Competition
The second biggest load of crap they came up with to keep us occupied was civic pride, giving out all kinds of awards for spirit, cleanliness, and athletic competitions. The biggest thing were the shouting matches. One city would walk up to another, or walk behind them if we were marching somewhere, and start chanting something about how wonderful their city was, or how much the other ones sucked. Such cheers were usually accompanied by clapping and jumping, and often became like mosh pits, and even almost became riots with the JCs having to break the groups up, as happened one time when our chant "If you want some, come and get some!" ellicited their invitation to cross an invisible line which I immediately stepped over to be shoved away by a 250 pound black dude, after which all hell broke loose in a completely harmless, but exciting scrum which our counselors quickly broke up.
Because I cannot even began to describe all the cheers that were used (I could never recall them all, and it would freeze up E2) I will describe some of the tactics used in the shouting matches, as well as some shouting wars we had. I came from the city of Saluda, and I have to say we were one of the most uncreative, uninspired groups out there, but we did have our moments. Every day at lunch, right before calesthenics, all the cities would gather and take turns mobbing the recreational director and screaming chants at him to vie for the spirit award, and the cities waiting their turns would turn on each other. On one particular occassion, us and the Enoree "Kings of Krunk" began a contest of vocals of us somehow denouncing their royalty, and it broke down into "Enoree suuucks!" *clap* *clap* *clap clap clap* "Enoree suuucks!" To which they answered "So does your mama!" *clap* *clap* *clap clap clap* This exchange continued and escalated.
"So does your daddy!!"
"How do you know?!"
"Your other dad told us!!"
"That's okay, that's alright, your sister's in my bed tonight!!"
And then our senior counselor came up with a comeback for which there could be no response.
"My sister's only ten!!"
That was one of the only few battles Saluda ever won, but it was a glorious one, in which we got nearly everybody to participate, and dealt a blow to our arch rivals.
The tactics of such conflicts heavily paralleled those of armed conflict. Having the high ground was always a plus: cities screaming from the safety of the upper floors of the barracks were rarely defeated. Also, one strategy used to high effectiveness at the onset of the week, but which for some reason was rarely seen after the first day or two, was to quickly surround a city and run circles around them screaming, much as horse riders of the steppes once encircled and then massacred beguilled foot soldiers of Mesopotamia and Europe. Resisting such an attack took a lot of discipline and quick thinking. The key to winning any battle was to quickly formulate new chants and comebacks on the spot, and making them loud. The group that lost would be the one who's chant got stale, fizzled out, and then was unable to rally a new chant. Our city did farely well by just staying out of a lot of the conflicts, or in some cases avoiding them altogether. Our coup de gras though, was when about six of us had gathered in the quad before calesthenics, and someone in our city dumped a trash can full of water onto Savannah and Enoree cities. Needless to say, they were pissed, and so they turned on us with their vicious chants, at which point Pee Dee actually came to our defense from the high ground and silenced them before they overwhelmed our helplessly small number.
Many awards were given out over the course of the week during the daily awards ceremonies held at five o'clock right before supper. These included 2 clean city awards, 2 cleaner cities awards, and 2 cleanest cities awards, which are issued to the cities who clean their rooms best in the morning. Also 2 spirit awards, and 2 more spirited, and 2 most spirited awards were handed out on a day to day basis. Awards were issued for a daily win in the athletic playoffs that were going on all week for basketball, volleyball, and tug of war, as well as the everyday winner of the college bowl trivia competitions. On wednesday, the winner of the Boys' State mile received an award for his state, and the winner of egg toss, dizzy izzy, free style swim, backstroke, breast stroke, and butterfly, as well as whoever could do the most sit ups or push ups in two minutes. All these awards were issued as stickers which were placed on the banners of each city, the best three of which also received awards. The overall best city of the week was given the coveted All Marine City Award, which despite Savannah's utter dominance, was rightly granted to Ashley because of all the shit they took all week. ("Be embarressed, be ashamed, Ashley is a girl's name!!") So without further ado, here are all of the results that I have of the winners.
All Marine City-Ashley
College Bowl Champions-Edisto
Tug of War Champions-Savannah
Volleyball Champions-Savannah
Boys' State Mile-My good friend Matt Strick; Wando
2nd place banner award-Tugaloo
1st place banner award-Cooper
Every day we had some kindof assembly at which we had some kind of political speaker address us and tell us about different stuff. Here's a brief synopsis of each day's speaker and speech.
Sunday-Senator Lindsey Graham gave a speech which was about 50% making fun of senator Strom Thurmond who's office he took, and who was born during the American Revolution. The rest of the time he told us about not being afraid to fail because he made an 800 on the SAT and hey, look at him now. It was actually quite a good speech, but unfortunately I don't recall many of the specifics, so we'll move on to Monday.
Monday-Representative James E. Clyburn was supposed to come, but was unable, so the JCs got together to make fun of Lindsey Graham's speech, as well as all the higher ups of the program. Also, Joseph D. Riley Jr. the mayor of Charleston gave a good talk about the challenges of running a city, as well as talking about how wonderful his city is. This was followed by a question and answer session.
Tuesday-Stephen Benjamin, an attorney and former cabinet member spoke about the law, as well as his former political experiences, and how pleased he was to see the racial unity and overall energy he saw at Boys' State. One of the best speeches all week.
Wednesday-Speeches given by candidates for the state offices. No speaker. Good speeches.
Thursday-Lee Brandy the political analyst for the state newspaper came and told us a lot of dirty jokes about various congress people, and then talked about scandals the media had uncovered, and contended that the media had the duty to cover anything wrong a politician did if it interfered with their job. But, he believed, if one could have mistresses and drinking problems and still function, then the media had no right to mess with that. After he finished, Mrs. South Carolina and Mrs. Teen South Carolina came and spoke to us. I don't think they said anything of consequence, and I'm equally sure that they weren't brought so we could hear what they had to say. Some crap about how Boys' State produces great young men of character, the kind they would want to date. That was bull. I guarentee about half the guys there would've raped her in a second. The guy behind me said "Shut up bitch and just get on your knees." High character indeed.
Friday-This last full day, both Boys' and Girls' State were blessed by getting to listen to Governor Mark Sanford. He must not have cared much about talking to us, because he gave the worst speech ever. Something about staying committed in which he drew on every movie ever including Rudy, Remember the Titans, and any other inspirational movie you can think of, as well as totally irrelevant personal experiences. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and believe he was unconcerned, rather than an idiot. Then that evening, we got to hear former NFL player and coach Sam Wyche at our banquet, and he was by far the best speaker of the week. He gave an excellent speech about commitment, tying in coaching stories, personal experiences, and a lot of humor, as well as showing us a cool magic trick.
Saturday-We graduated, with a small farewell speech by director Allen Bosworth. That was it.
The open toilet stalls, community showers, bad food, and sleep deprivation, were all totally tolerable, I will admit that, despite the initial gripping it elicited from many of us, myself included. The classes sucked, but what classes don't? Besides, unlike real school, we weren't obligated to actually learn it. Marching all around every five seconds got old pretty quick, as did wasting our time yelling at each other with gay chants, and doing "calesthenics" each day that I could do in my sleep, and I've fallen pretty well out of shape. I was however disappointed that this week the weight gym was closed, and so due to my inability to lift the previous week as well, my muscles feel dead, and it will take me a few weeks to get back up to par. The worst though, was seeing nothing but the massive white walls of the fortress barracks that make up the Citadel, and seeing no females but overweight, middle aged lunch ladies for seven days on end. It felt like a prison by the end.
There was of course some good stuff. I met a lot of great guys there, who hopefully I will keep in touch with. Running for offices was always fun, even though I lost all four I ran for. The governor primary was the best, because the speeches were great, and there's no shame in losing to the best in the state. Plus it was the only one that wasn't pure popularity contest. The absolute best though was the trip to Columbia on Friday. On the way up we watched Changing Lanes which despite not being that great had been on my "to see" list for a while, and a lot of funny conversations were held all around with the two billion inside jokes we'd built up over the week. When we got there, we got to meet Girls' State and trade t-shirts with them during lunch. I was chosen by this pretty young lady named Margot who had the most beautiful grey eyes I have ever seen. We talked for nearly thirty minutes over lunch, which I only took one bite of, fighting desperately not to get lost in her eyes, which I thought would be rude. I found out she was a writer and told her to come here, which she agreed to. If only she lived in Anderson... The ride back from Columbia involved Joe Dirt and more inside jokes, and was a fitting end to the week.
There were other cool things too, such as the skits the JCs put on, as well as the talent show on Friday night which involved a lot of good singers, guitar players, and even some comedians. Those were all a lot of fun. Even the inter-city shouting matches were pretty fun to get into as long as it wasn't overdone. And did I mention free time? Three words: pick-up soccer. Everyone else played those other sports or slept or called girls on their cell phones. But this was always a pretty fun time. All in all I have to say despite the fact that I absolutely hated the week, it was worth going to, if only just to meet my old friends from around the state and meet new ones, and learning about politics and power. When I rule the world, let it be said my megalomania began here.
"I don't want to be your Neo. I want to be your Morpheus!" -Anonymous Lt. Governor candidate nicknamed "Chosen One"
"I don't really like dead bodies, but I will deal with them if I have to." -Anonymous Rutledge County coroner candidate
"These boys are really cool, and they sure are good at sports. They call themselves men but they take showers in their shorts!" -Insulting poem by a Senior Counselor during the final skit.
"Hoonta want Gene. Hoonta want more head." -"Hoonta" asking to see Assistant Director Gene Moorehead.
"Former vice-president Dan Quayle once said, 'One word sums up my responsibilities as vice-president of the United States: and that one word is, to be prepared.' Dan Quayle was an idiot." -Anonymous Governor candidate
"I may have made an 800 on the SAT, but I can bench 95 now. You could say I've finally come around." -JC making fun of Lindsey Graham in a daily skit.
"We're all in love with Britney Spears, we've loved all girls for years. Except for those from Ashley cause they're all a bunch of whoops!" -Senior Counselor in their final skit.
"Gene ate my hot dog that bastard!" -Parody of Sinclair Lewis by Scott Fitzgerald.
"This Friday I wish you all the sex, I mean, success, at Girls' State." -JC mocking Lindsey Graham's speech of the night before.
"Senator Strom Thurmond received an irate call from a woman asking what he planned to do about the pending abortion bill. 'Pay for it, and I'll reimburse you later,' was his reply." -Lee Brandy political analyst.
"Okay, I'll admit, I've been pissing blue all week." -Federalist adult party leader, commenting on the strength of the Pure Blue Energy drink.
"There are only two things in life to worry about. You're either healthy, or you're sick. If you're healthy, no problem. If you're sick, you've got only two worries. You'll either get better, or you'll die. If you get better, you've nothing to worry about. If you die, you've got only two worries. You either go to heaven, or you go to hell. If you go to heaven, no worries. If you go to hell, you'll be too busy shaking hands with all your friends, so you'll have nothing to worry about." -Attorney Steven Benjemin
We hope you've enjoyed your stay at the Citadel
Hitler Youth Fedayeen Saddam Lord of the Flies Why I don't want The Perfect Guy
Model United Nations Citadel Missile Command


On one wall of this room is a series of paintings of the Seine that Monet produced in the 1890s. They focus on light effects at different times of the morning, emphasising transient aspects of nature.
Modulated by the effects of mist and light, the reflections in the river blur the line between imagination and reality. These concerns are mirrored in the poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé, whom Monet had introduced to Whistler, realising that his views on art complemented theirs. Mallarmé offered to translate Whistler's 'Ten O'Clock' lecture, and the three became close friends and supporters of each other's work.
On the opposite wall is a group of watercolour studies which Turner painted in Switzerland, possibly during one or two painting sessions. Turner often produced watercolours in a kind of production line, applying a particular colour to several images one after the other, so that the paint on the first was dry when he came back to it with a new colour. Though they constitute a series in a different sense, they provided an important prototype for Monet's work.


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A girl who does not feel physical pain has helped researchers identify a gene mutation that disrupts pain perception. The discovery may spur the development of new painkillers that will block pain signals in the same way.
People with congenital analgesia cannot feel physical pain and often injure themselves as a result – they might badly scald their skin, for example, through being unaware that they are touching something hot.
By comparing the gene sequence of a girl with the disorder against those of her parents, who do not, Ingo Kurth at Jena University Hospital in Germany and his colleagues identified a mutation in a gene called SCN11A.
This gene controls the development of channels on pain-sensing neurons. Sodium ions travel through these channels, creating electrical nerve impulses that are sent to the brain, which registers pain.
Overactivity in the mutated version of SCN11A prevents the build-up of the charge that the neurons need to transmit an electrical impulse, numbing the body to pain. "The outcome is blocked transmission of pain signals," says Kurth.
To confirm their findings, the team inserted a mutated version of SCN11A into mice and tested their ability to perceive pain. They found that 11 per cent of the mice with the modified gene developed injuries similar to those seen in people with congenital analgesia, such as bone fractures and skin wounds. They also tested a control group of mice with the normal SCN11A gene, none of which developed such injuries.
The altered mice also took 2.5 times longer on average than the control group to react to the "tail flick" pain test, which measures how long it takes for mice to flick their tails when exposed to a hot light beam. "What became clear from our experiments is that although there are similarities between mice and men with the mutation, the degree of pain insensitivity is more prominent in humans," says Kurth.
The team has now begun the search for drugs that block the SCN11A channel. "It would require drugs that selectively block this but not other sodium channels, which is far from simple," says Kurth.
"This is a cracking paper, and great science," says Geoffrey Woods of the University of Cambridge, whose team discovered in 2006 that mutations in another, closely related ion channel gene can cause insensitivity to pain. "It's completely unexpected and not what people had been looking for," he says.
"It's fascinating that SCN11A appears to work the other way, and that could really advance our knowledge of the role of sodium channels in pain perception, which is a very hot topic," says Jeffrey Mogil at McGill University in Canada, who was not involved in the new study.


Laser skin resurfacing is useful in reducing wrinkles on face and skin problems like acne scars. In this method laser beams are directed towards the problem area to remove layers of skin so that new skin can develop.
Who is right candidate for this procedure?
If your skin is very dark, are trying this procedure for stretch marks or you still having active acne then laser skin resurfacing might not be suitable for you and you need to talk with your doctor first.
There are 2 laser types which are used in this procedure, one is carbon dioxide (CO2) and the other is erbium. Let us look at both of them in the next section.
This technique is commonly used for various skin problems ranging from warts, wrinkles, enlarged oil glands on areas such as nose to scars. In CO2 laser skin resurfacing ultrapulse is used which refers to short pulsed light beams which are directed on the skin in scanning pattern for removal of very thin skin layers and cause insignificant heat damage to the skin. Normal recovery time is about 2 weeks.
This other technique removes somewhat deep face wrinkles and wrinkles on areas such as hand, chest and neck. The advantage of this method is that there is very less burn in surrounding tissues and recovery time is faster compared to CO2 technique. For people with dark skin complexion this technique would yield better results that the other method.
Begin with consulting a dermatologist to know if this treatment is right for you. Doctor will go through your medical history and present health to determine which laser treatment will be more suitable for you. Remember, in case you get cold sores around mouth than laser resurfacing can cause breakout, so it is important to tell your doctor about the problem.
Usually, your doctor will advise to stop taking medications such as aspirin or vitamin E at least ten days before your treatment date. Antibiotics are given to stop any bacterial infections and antiviral medicines for people who suffer from cold sores.
What happens during & after treatment?
Normally, for these procedures you do not require overnight stay and can go home after the treatment. In case area to be treated is small, doctors generally use local anesthetic to numb the part. If whole face is being treated then general anesthesia can also be given.
For full face the average treatment time is around 2 hours while if it is only some part of the face then the procedure can be completed in 30-45 minutes. After the procedure completes you will be able to return back and will have to clean the treated area 4-5 times every day and apply ointment prescribed by doctor to prevent scab formation. Healing process will take between 10-21 days and depends upon the skin condition that was treated.
After the skin completely heals it is advised to use makeup especially the oil free ones to reduce redness which can stay up to a month.
It is also important to use a sunscreen after the treatment as the skin is much lighter and it should be SPF 50 or higher. Additionally, keep skin moisturized and start using glycolic acid products 6 weeks after the procedure.
What are the possible complications to be aware of?
You may get slight swelling after laser skin resurfacing and using ice pack over the area that was treated helps to reduce the swelling. An itching sensation is also normal after the treatment and it normally subsides in a few days.


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© 2019 OBC
Oakland Baptist Church
600 E. Sunset Drive
oaklandchurchmonroe@gmail.com
Sunday Worship 10:00AM
Wednesday Worship 6:30PM
After Mass Shootings, Americans Turn to Four Bible Verses Most
Kate Shellnutt (Christianity Today)
President Trump, Louie Giglio, Christine Caine, and David Platt all cite top psalm after Las Vegas attack.
The morning after hundreds of country music fans were shot at a Las Vegas festival, President Donald Trump called on God to comfort grieving families and victims.
"Scripture teaches us the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit," he said, referencing Psalm 34:18. "We seek comfort in those words, for we know that God lives in the hearts of those who grieve."
The psalm he quoted ranks among the top verses that Bible readers turn to after mass shootings.
Bible Gateway analyzed search patterns surrounding Sunday night's concert shooting as well as 18 other major incidents of violence over the past decade, including Virginia Tech in 2007, Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, San Bernardino in 2015, and Orlando's Pulse nightclub in 2016. Among the site's 150 million-plus visitors a year, the four verses that saw distinct spikes in readership around those shootings were:
John 16:33: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Psalm 34:18: "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
Romans 12:19: "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord."
Psalm 11:5 "The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion."
Overall, these go-to verses address God's deliverance from the brokenness of the world—a condition many onlookers feel acutely during times of national tragedy.
Passages from the Psalms in particular regularly appear among the most-searched and most-shared verses in Scripture, and they take on particular significance as Christians look to the biblical text to express laments and frustrations.
Pastor Louie Giglio and Christine Caine shared Psalm 34:18 in response to the Vegas attack, while David Platt ranked it as his top prayer for families and victims. Elsewhere in the Psalms, Beth Moore referenced Psalm 7:9, Kari Jobe, Psalm 9:9; and Anne Graham Lotz, Psalm 23:4.
Several verses associated with the end times also trended on Bible Gateway after the mass shootings.
"After a tragic event, some people turn to apocalyptic verses. For example, after the Dallas police shooting in July 2016, the top topics on openbible.info were 'violence,' 'signs of the end times,' and 'end of the world,'" said Bible search guru Stephen Smith. (He noted that a Christian website called "End Time Headlines" was even featured on Facebook's own crisis response page after the attack.)
At least 59 people were killed, and more than 500 wounded, in the Vegas shooting. Victims include a 29-year-old graduate of Union University, a Southern Baptist school in Tennessee, who died saving his wife.
5 Things I Have To Do, But Don't Like Doing, as a Leader
8 Attributes of Christian Discipleship
Bigger Than Conflict
The Dangers of Echo Chamber Leadership
5 Leadership Essentials: The most important things a leader does.
13 Signs of Leadership Fatigue
5 Attacks on the Souls of Men
As a New Age Enthusiast, I Fancied Myself a Free Spirit and a Good Person
5 Crucial Ways Your Gratitude Impacts Your Attitude as a Leader
Giving the Gift of Christmas

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Renegotiating DWGs - who should be involved?
DWGs - How big is too big?
Health and Safety Committees - what is their role?
What to expect when you're expecting a WorkSafe Inspector
Must my employer pass on the inspector's paperwork?
The establishment of Designated Work Groups (DWGs) is covered in Part 7 of the Act, REPRESENTATION OF EMPLOYEES. This part also includes the election and powers of health and safety representatives (and deputies), provisional improvement notices, health and safety committees and resolution of OHS issues. See the individual items in the table below for more detail on each of these matters.
Establishing DWGs in the workplace is the first step to ensuring that workers are properly represented in OHS. After the DWGs have been established, then the members of each DWG have the right to elect an OHS rep. There must be a minimum of one elected health and safety rep in each DWG. By agreement with the employer, the new Act also allows for more than one rep per DWG and/or a deputy rep for each rep.
The 2004 OHS Act provides some flexibility in how DWGs can be established, in an attempt to take account of increasingly complex working arrangements where worksites may have a number of employers, contractors and so on. The Act provides for DWGs for single employers (Sections 43 - 46) or DWGs for multiple employers (Sections 47 - 52).
If DWGs were established some time ago at your workplace, then now might be a good time to re-negotiate them - this means asking for a variation to the DWGs. The parties to an agreement for DWGs (that is the employer/s and the workers) may 'at any time, negotiate a variation of the agreement'.
If during either negotiation of new DWGs, or negotiation for a variation to the DWGs, there are any 'unresolved matters', then 'any of the parties to the negotiation ask the Authority to arrange for an inspector to determine the particulars that are unresolved.'
Matters applying to the establishment of DWGs for both single and multiple employers
There are a number of matters which apply to the establishment of DWGs irrespective of whether the DWGs are for single or multiple employers. These are repeated in the Act, but they apply to both situations.
The guide below is a quick overview of the process for establishing DWGs in the workplace:
Any employee may ask his or her employer to establish designated work groups, and the particulars of the groups are to be determined by negotiation and agreement between the employer and the employees. These negotiations should commence within 14 days of the request. An employer may also be the one to initiate negotiations.
Criteria: There are two key criteria which must be used as guidance to decide the number and location of any DWGs - that they:
best and most conveniently enable the interests of employees (in the DWG) to be represented and safeguarded, and
best takes account of the need for an HSR to be accessible to each member of the group.
In other words - the DWGs should not be too large. What's most important is for the HSR to know the members of their DWG and to be available to represent them.
The negotiations/agreement must also include:
the number (at least one) of HSRs for each DWG
the number (if any) of deputy HSRs
the term of office of HSRs and deputies (no more than 3 years)
whether the HSR/s are also authorised to represent independent contractors and their employees (very important in some industries/workplaces)
Matters which must be taken into account in negotiations for the DWGs:
nature of each type of work
number and grouping of employees performing the same or similar type of work or who work under the same or similar work arrangements - eg are there independent contractors, agency staff or people working for contractors?
areas at the workplace where each type of work is performed - eg is the workplace spread over several locations?
the nature of any hazards (and risks)
overtime or shiftwork arrangements
Section 53 makes it an offence to coerce or try to coerce someone:
not to make, or withdraw, a request for a DWG;
during negotiations about DWGs, or variations to DWGs;
about being represented in negotiations about DWGs.
Make sure you seek the assistance of your union when negotiating or re-negotiating DWGs.
Sections 43 - 46 Establishment of DWGs (single employer)
An employee or group of employees (or someone authorised to represent them, like a union official) have the right to ask their employer to establish (or vary) DWGs at one or more of the employer's workplaces. Employers may initiate negotiations without a request having been made. The Act says the employer should do everything reasonable to ensure that negotiations begin within 14 days of the request.
If the negotiations result in agreement, then the employer must establish (or vary) the DWGs as agreed and give written notice to the employees. If agreement is not reached within a reasonable time, then any of the parties to a negotiation may ask the Authority to arrange for an inspector to determine the particulars that are unresolved. The inspector must take into account the matters as outlined (a-g) above.
Sections 47 - 52 Establishment of DWGs (multiple employers)
DWGs can also be established to represent employees of more than one employer. Negotiations must be between EACH of the employers and the employees. Any party involved in the negotiation or agreement of multiple employer DWGs can withdraw by giving reasonable notice, in writing, to the other parties. Such a withdrawal means that the other parties must negotiate a variation to the DWG. In the meantime, however, the withdrawal does not affect the agreement. The multiple employers at a workplace may include the 'main' employer and other employers who are contractors or sub-contractors - eg if a company has contracted out certain functions, such as cleaning, security, maintenance, etc.
These DWGs can be established alongside single employer DWGs.
Representatives: Also to be negotiated and agreed are the following:
the number (at least one) of reps for each DWG
the number of deputy reps (if any) for each DWG
the term of office (not more than 3 years) of reps and deputies
whether rep or reps are authorised to also represent independent contractors (and their employees) who work at the workplace (that is workers who are not employees of the employer)
The 2004 Act can be downloaded (in both pdf and word format) on the Victorian government legislation repository website.
For advice from WorkSafe: Employee representation - for OHS reps, deputies, and workers wanting to know how to ensure they are represented. Also for employers who need to ensure they understand employees' rights to representation, and the powers and functions of reps.


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Travel Services, Luxury Travel
The Growth and Democratization of Flying Private
Samantha Shankman, Skift
- Jul 24, 2018 10:00 am
Any luxury industry experiencing an uptick in new, affluent young customers has a right to be bullish about growth, but it is a combination of logistics, customer service and branding that will eventually set the winners apart from the other players.
— Samantha Shankman
The shifting prioritization from ownership to access is shaking up traditional luxury markets, including second homes, yachts and now private jets.
Private jets have a reputation of an elite mode of transportation intended for those in positions of power, needing top security or with no time to waste waiting for scheduled business class flights. The last decade, however, has seen the democratization of private aviation with the introduction and growth of new networks, platforms and services making private jets, or at least a seat onboard one, accessible to the masses.
These services offer by-the-seat flights for short distances as well as chartered or crowdsourced flights available anywhere.
The first mover and most established network in the North American market is Berkshire Hathaway-owned NetJets which launched in the 1990s and continues to sell part ownership or fractional jet ownership and pay-by-the-hour travel to executives and celebrities.
In Europe, the largest independent private jet broker is LunaJets which operates on an on-demand charter model.
XOJet and Jettly are leaders among the on-demand private aviation booking platforms while Jetsmarter and Blade have apps that offer shared flights services with only a few taps. Sentient Jet created the industry's first private jet card, which allows customers to buy a set number of hours on private jets with flights available with just 10 hours of notice. The options for jet cards has since exploded in recent years.
And all this is just a handful of the players with a foothold in North America and Europe.
This shift from ownership to access is not unique to private aviation. Luxury as a whole has seen a rise in the share-and-rental economy among affluent travelers as Skift has reported on in the past.
"Bragging rights have shifted from I own a jet, a villa, a yacht to I have saved millions by renting these luxuries when I need them, and I have more flexibility and fewer headaches," said XOJet CEO Brad Stewart.
"The on-demand or sharing economy drives system efficiencies and for luxury consumers this means greater accessibility at lower price thresholds, which makes these products and services available to a broader market cohort," added James Henderson, XOJet's president of commercial operations.
Primed for Growth
The private aviation market is particularly primed for growth, appealing to business and leisure travelers at different times of the year.
For example, the majority, or 70 percent, of Jettly's customers fly for business while 30 percent fly for leisure. Although the average age of its fliers is 41 years old, the platform is experiencing a dramatic uptick in millennial customers.
Perhaps most notable, however, is that 60 percent of Jettly's customers flying for personal or leisure have never flown on a private aircraft.
While Jettly CEO Justin Crabbe's claim to "truly change the way people fly worldwide" might see bombastic, it is this growth of first-time private fliers and their relatively young age that makes the private jet market so compelling right now.
In respect to age, Blade has done the most to stand apart for a millennial market, using design and branding to build a lifestyle brand in addition to a transportation service.
The average age of its customer base is 38 years old and 45 percent female but the average age falls to 24 for its lower cost millennial heritage brand Montauk Sky, which takes weekend warriors from Manhattan to Montauk for $345 each way.
"Blade always tells a story, from its app design and booking, to the design of our lounges, the outfits for our customer experience team, and our flight attendants on the Blade one jet. In fact, there are 10-12 posts to social media posts created by our fliers for every flight launched," said Blade spokesperson Simon McLaren.
The demands of this youthful and affluent customer base are high, making customer service surrounding the flight as important as the flight itself.
For example, if a Blade flight is cancelled due to inclement weather, customers are provided transportation in Porsche as part of Blade's all-weather guarantee.
Challenges in Affluent Sharing Schemes
Although luxury travelers' appetite for the sharing economy has increased, challenges remain.
The most significant being scale, interchangeability and reliability that can provide a network effect and operating efficiencies that create value for the client, said XOJet's Henderson.
While it is pleasant to imagine a future of seamless on-demand private flights, or as Crabbe explains, "a future of flying where all flights are flown through a network of private peer-to-peer air operators while the commercial airlines are still stuck to traditional "hub and spoke" routings to reduce costs" — it is a future unlikely to happen.
As Skift Business of Loyalty Editor Grant Martin concluded last month, "Traditional air carriers, routes, and loyalty programs exist the way they do for one big reason — they work." This was in response to news that membership-based airline Surf Air faces $3.1 million lawsuit for unpaid flight services.
Another challenge is access to the most efficient locations within cities. To amend this, Blade's team in particular has its sights set on the introduction of next-generation electric aircraft.
"The quieter aircraft will open the possibilities of having more places to land intra-city, enhancing the convenience of urban air mobility and increasing the addressable market on a city-by-city basis. The number one impediment to opening skyports is the impact the noise footprint of the aircraft that land there have on commercial and residential neighbors," said McLaren.
Interested in more stories like this? Subscribe to Skift's New Luxury Newsletter to stay up-to-date on the business of modern luxury travel.
Tags: blade, jets, netjets, new luxury, private jets, xojet
Photo Credit: A Blade-branded jet. The company operates in the private aviation market. Blade
Patrick Whyte, Skift
Ranchers Capitalize on Lux Travelers Craving Great Outdoors
Laura Powell, Skift
Ranchers Wrangle Luxury Travelers to Wide-Open Spaces
Inside IHG's Plan to Rejuvenate Regent
Regent Wants to Reclaim Its Crown Under IHG


text:
Filter By City... ------------------------------- ALL CITIES BOISE BUHL CALDWELL CAMBRIDGE CASCADE CENTERVILLE COUNCIL DONNELLY EAGLE EMMETT FAIRFIELD FEATHERVILLE FILER FRUITLAND GARDEN CITY GARDEN VALLEY GRANGEVILLE HAGERMAN HAMMETT HOMEDALE IDAHO CITY KUNA MARSING MCCALL MELBA MERIDIAN MIDDLETON MIDVALE MOUNTAIN HOME NAMPA NEW PLYMOUTH NOTUS ONTARIO PARMA PAYETTE STAR TWIN FALLS WEISER WENDELL WHITE BIRD WILDER JORDAN VALLEY SALMON BRUNEAU EDEN JEROME OROFINO HARRISON HIGH VALLEY HORSESHOE BEND INDIAN VALLEY MACKAY MESA NEW MEADOWS PINE RUPERT STANLEY WARREN Filter By Price Range... ---------------------- Any Price... < $25,000 $25,000 - $50,000 $50,000 - $75,000 $75,000 - $100,000 $100,000 - $125,000 $125,000 - $150,000 $150,000 - $175,000 $175,000 - $200,000 $200,000 - $250,000 $250,000 - $300,000 $300,000 - $350,000 $350,000 - $400,000 $400,000 - $450,000 $450,000 - $500,000 $500,000 - $600,000 $600,000 - $700,000 $700,000 - $800,000 $800,000 - $900,000 $900,000 - $1,000,000 $1,000,000 +	 Change Property Type... Farms/Ranches Business/Commercial Residential Income Residential Vacant Land
768 E Orion
Boise, ID - 83702
More In: Boise North - 0100
Courtesy of Silvercreek Realty Group
1617 N 24th (Lot 1 Block 1)
2372 Via Privada
More In: Boise NE - 0200
117 N Locust St
5833 E Foxgrove Drive
175 W Retford Court
1208 E SHAW MOUNTAIN
4131 N Eyrie


text:
Tour Gulf County
Top News from Florida
Two Teen Boys Are Still Missing!
While they were on a fishing trip, two 14-year-old boys went missing on July 24. Numerous volunteers from the area went searching for them and found two life jackets off the coast of Georgia. This is a lead which they hope will help them to find out what happened to Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos.
Two teens strayed from the agreed-upon boundaries for their fishing trip, and since then the Coast Guard has conducted a massive search off Florida's Atlantic coast.
Nick Korniloff, Perry Cohen's stepfather said Perry Cohen and his friend Austin Stephanos were supposed to steer clear of the deep waters and stay on the Loxahatchee River during their outing on Friday. However, he doubts the boys headed for the Bahamas, as some people might have speculated.
The boys were last seen that Friday afternoon when they have bought $ 110 worth fuel near Jupiter. That very afternoon thunderstorms and heavy rains hit the Jupiter area, but yet it remains to be seen what had happened to the teens who ventured on this fishing trip.
After the boys did not return home the Coast Guard started their search. The boys' boat was found on Sunday, capsized on a beach more than 180 miles from the place where the boys started their journey. The Cost Guard continued their search of the area concentration on the Gulf Stream and the Ocean.
The families' of the boys even pledged a $100,000 reward in the search and even a celebrity joined in on the search – the NFL Hall of Fame football player Joe Namath. It seems like everyone is searching the local beaches with high hopes of finding these boys, but the search remains futile.
As for the boat which has been found capsized, it was indeed overturned, but it did not appear to be damaged. A life jacket was found near the boat, however there is no information about the number of jackets which were on the boat prior to the accident.
Since July 24, and the boys' missing the search was relentless as both the sea and air search gave no clues of the location of the boys. However, the Coast Guard still searches the area and doesn't give up on the idea that they will in fact find the boys even though a lot of time has already past.
"As time goes on, certainly the probability of finding someone alive does decrease, but we're still within the timeframe where it's definitely possible to find somebody alive," said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss. He also added that it is possible that the boys have survived, noting others have survived even a week at sea. "We know it can happen and we're hoping it happens again", added Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss.
BROWNIES PLUMBING SERVICE AREAS
http://www.browniesplumbing.com/service-areas
This entry was posted in Journey, News and tagged Missing, reward, search, trip.
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Oct 15, 2015 A review of the new 2015 Casio PRW3100T. Casio PRW3100T7ER Duration: Casio PRO TREK PRW 3100 unboxing, quick view (ep.
01) Beli jam tangan Casio Pro Trek PRW3000T7DR Daftar Harga jam termurah, review, spesifikasi lengkap Indonesia di Jamtangan. com (Videos are further down) After months of research and waiting, I finally got myself the PRW3000 Titanium. Yeap, got the one with the titanium body and strap.
Its much smaller because of a brand new sensor that features lower power consumption, measurements that are faster and more accurate, as well as fantastic reduction in size (only 5 of the previous sensor, or 20x smaller!
). Feb 15, 2014 You're absolutely right, that model looks great! But it is a bit more expensive, which I don't like What model is that? PRW3000T7ER? Casio's PRW3500T7 is from the family of Pro Trek Still available for sales from Japan on this Casio Protrek PRW3000T7ER Triple Sensor Ver.
3 that featured with Digital compass, Barometer, Altimeter, Thermometer, and has Pure titanium Band material View and Download Magellan RoadMate 3000T reference manual online.
Instructions for Operating. If you have not already done so, you must install the Magellan RoadMate Tools application (page 74) and transfer files onto the card using the Magellan RoadMate Music Manager (page 75). Page 85: Play, Create, Modify, Delete. When power fails, businesses suffer.
For some organizations, a permanent generator is too costly. Instead, a permanent means for quickly connecting a portable or temporary generator can make economic sense. Installing a manual transfer switch and a connecting means can provide an adequate and cost effective solution.
This equipment can provide access for an alternate power source when a Manual transfer switches allow you to manually move your electric power supply tofrom the generator in case of a power outage. For home, school or business use. Portable Document Format (PDF) documents can be read with Adobe Reader software. The PRW3500T comes with a titanium band that is both lighter and provides an extra added touch of elegance.


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PeopleSoft, SAP approved for financial sked
By Diane Frank
Two major players in the enterprise business application arena are now offering their financials packages through the General Services Administration's mandatory Financial Management System Software schedule.
GSA added the products from PeopleSoft Inc. and SAP America Public Sector Inc. to the Federal Technology Service's FMSS schedule this month.
SAP and PeopleSoft already offer their financials packages, along with the rest of their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, on the Federal Supply Service's information technology schedule. However, only the financial systems from the 11 vendors that passed the federal financial requirements certification maintained by the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program were available to federal agencies on the 10-year-old FMSS schedule. Agencies had to get waivers to buy financial software outside FMSS.
"We've extended a product that's been in the market since 1994...to meet requirements from JFMIP," said Jon Klem, vice president and general manager of PeopleSoft Federal. The company has more than 600 state, local and municipal customers using PeopleSoft Financials and made the commitment last year to include the federal requirements in that product.
Not being on the mandatory schedule could be frustrating at times, said Robert Salvucci, president of SAP America Public Sector. "There were some people that were interested in our software, but we couldn't respond," he said. Being on the FMSS schedule is opening up many areas of the federal market for SAP, including some agencies where the company has been working in anticipation of getting on the schedule, Salvucci said.
The major opportunity for both companies now is that agencies using the human resources and personnel parts of the companies' ERP systems will most likely go to the same vendor to provide the financials part of networks that are becoming increasingly integrated. People-Soft alone has nearly 50 federal customers for its other ERP products.
The schedule itself is undergoing a major change following several years of complaints and concerns from agencies and vendors. Both groups have criticized the absence of popular vendors such as PeopleSoft and SAP as well as what they called an overly complex certification process to get on the schedule.
Last year GSA, JFMIP and the Chief Financial Officers Council extended the current schedule to Sept. 30 and separated the contracting side of the schedule from the requirements and test side.
JFMIP has been updating the requirements and developing an open certification process. This month GSA and the CFO Council received approval from the Office of Management and Budget to move the FMSS schedule to the nonmandatory FSS IT schedule.


Our service seems to be down currently, please strive once more later. Simply hand the car back at the finish of the contract and take out a brand new one. Having constructed up a robust reputation for the most effective customer service for both personal and company car leasing in the UK, we even supply on-going assist throughout your contract.\n\nYou'll be asked to agree on a contract outlining how long you will be leasing the car for, what number of miles you drive each year and the way much you're anticipated to pay each month for the lease and, if you want, maintenance. You would possibly want to purchase the car outright, trade it in for another lease or stroll away and try one other company.\n\nPersonal contract rent £26.96 incl VAT month-to-month rental £eighty.88 incl VAT preliminary rental Private contract rent Skoda Excellent Diesel Estate 2.… Read more. The car belongs to the finance company so on the finish of your contract you hand the vehicle again to them.\n\nPrivate lease deal on a but to be released mannequin, the VW Arteon Fastback….seems to be quite sleek imo and has had good preliminary reception to date, and that is the top spec R line mannequin. We're a automobile leasing dealer who specialize in sourcing one of the best deals for private lease cars, and business lease cars, for consumers and companies all through the UK, with inventory automobiles available for fast delivery.\n\nYou'll find an amazing deal on a whole bunch of various makes and fashions of auto by way of these UK automobile leasing firms. I'll positively reccomend my friends and family to LVM and I'll most positively be using them again. Initially I want to say an enormous thanks for all your help in the method on leasing my first automobile.


Aria Ahadpour led the way with 2 goals on Senior Night to defeat Northwood 2-0. The tough Bulldog defense left Northwood frustrated while the Churchill attack has the majority of possession. It was just unfortunate that more goals didn't go in.


In the decades leading up to the end of U.S. slavery, many free Blacks sat for daguerreotypes decorated in fine garments to document their self-possession. People pictured in these early photographs used portraiture to seize control over representation of the free Black body and reimagine Black visuality divorced from the cultural logics of slavery. In Picture Freedom, Jasmine Nichole Cobb analyzes the ways in which the circulation of various images prepared free Blacks and free Whites for the emancipation of formerly unfree people of African descent. She traces the emergence of Black freedom as both an idea and as an image during the early nineteenth century.
Through an analysis of popular culture of the period—including amateur portraiture, racial caricatures, joke books, antislavery newspapers, abolitionist materials, runaway advertisements, ladies' magazines, and scrapbooks, as well as scenic wallpaper—Cobb explores the earliest illustrations of free Blacks and reveals the complicated route through visual culture toward a vision of African American citizenship. Picture Freedom reveals how these depictions contributed to public understandings of nationhood, among both domestic eyes and the larger Atlantic world.
Jasmine Nichole Cobb is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University.


Fees based on services provided in the greater Tampa FL area. Travel outside Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties subject to additional cost.
& Product Photography - Food and Drink Photos - Staff Photography and Special Engagements.
Extended Special Events and Longer Sessions - Discounted on hourly rate of $150/Hr.
A birth certificate shows you were born, A death certificate shows you died, Photos shows you LIVED. There is no price on that!


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Don't let poor IoT security turn your devices against you
Tae-Jin (TJ) Kang
Insignary
Devil's Ivy a call to action on IoT security – ComputerWeekly.com
Devil's Ivy vulnerability: How does it put IoT ... – SearchSecurity
How does the Devil's Ivy bug compromise security ... – SearchSecurity
Enhanced Productivity and Collaboration Tools for the Hybrid Workplace –Microsoft
Trends in Connected Technologies for Emergency Services –CradlePoint
Earlier this year, the IoT-focused security firm Senrio discovered a hackable flaw called Devil's Ivy, which has the potential to put thousands of different models of security cameras at risk. The vulnerability is found in a piece of open source code called gSOAP, created and maintained by a small company named Genivia. At least 30 companies use gSOAP in their IoT products.
The criticality of this hack is not yet known, but gSOAP code is used to implement a key protocol called Open Network Video Interface Forum, a networking language for security cameras and other devices used by the ONVIF Consortium. The consortium has nearly 500 members that include Canon, Cisco, D-Link, Hitachi, Huawei, Netgear, Siemens, Sony and Toshiba, among many others.
Security experts at Senrio believe that the hack leaves server-side devices like cameras and sensors open to attack — either disabling them or allowing the collection of images and video. Senrio experts also believe that client computers could be susceptible to hackers through the vulnerability.
While Genivia issued a patch to the code in June, it is unclear how many manufacturers that use the code have issued security-patched updates or notified their customers about the need to update their firmware.
Manufacturers selling enterprise clients and consumer mobile devices have patched security vulnerabilities found on operating systems and applications via a push model. Yet, no standardized system currently exists to administer such robust security for IoT manufacturers or customers. Hence, IoT platforms have become an easy, inexpensive and susceptible target of cyberattacks.
But customer negligence contributes as well. IoT cameras become even more prone to hacker attacks as users often dismiss the importance of changing the devices' password.
Earlier this year, hackers exploited IP cameras used to keep track of pets and as CCTVs for home security. Hundreds of households in South Korea were victimized by these hackers, who took control of more than 1,400 digital cameras, exposing many peoples' private moments. Some of the cameras were attached to live feeds. Others collected intimate moments, which were turned into videos and uploaded to pornography sites. In one testimonial, a victim recounted her attempt to prevent such violation by turning the camera lens toward a blank wall. When she returned to the premise, she was horrified to find her camera lens facing her direction, indicating that hackers were following her movement by manipulating the camera's orientation.
Later investigations of the events discovered that users of the hacked cameras had not updated their passwords from the manufacturer's default. This negligence enabled hackers to easily take control of the cameras.
For now, the customer must be the prime maintainer of IoT device security. Customers and enterprises should follow some basic guidelines when purchasing and operating IoT devices:
Customers should ensure that the IoT devices they purchase can in fact be updated with the latest firmware.
Prior to making a purchase, customers should ensure that the IoT device is produced by a manufacturer with a solid track record of issuing patches.
Once an IoT device is acquired, the first step in securing it is to change the password.
Once the password is changed, customers should investigate whether the company has issued any software updates.
If software updates are available, customers should immediately download and install new firmware to their devices. Patches could have been issued in the months since the device was manufactured, purchased and shipped to distributors or retailers.
Every month, customers should visit the IoT device manufacturer's website to see if any additional software updates are available for download and installation.
IoT devices have the potential to deliver incredible breakthroughs in efficiency and entertainment, as well as enterprise and home security. However, until manufacturers create an effective push firmware update model and can effectively generate randomized passwords for each device, the customer must be hyper-vigilant.


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Dermacentor andersoni (engl. Rocky Mountain wood tick) ist ein Vertreter der Gattung der Buntzecken. Die Zeckenart ist im Westen Nordamerikas beheimatet, ihr Verbreitungsgebiet reicht von Mexiko bis nach British Columbia. Der Parasit kann bei Rindern, insbesondere Kälbern, eine Zeckenparalyse verursachen. Er ist im Westen der USA Hauptvektor für das Rocky-Mountain-Fleckfieber des Menschen und für die Anaplasmose der Wiederkäuer (Erreger Anaplasma marginale).

Merkmale
Männchen sind 2 bis 6 mm lang, Weibchen 3 bis 5 mm, in vollgesogenem Zustand 10 bis zu 11 mm. D. variabilis ist braun und der Rückenschild ist grau gemustert. Die Mundwerkzeuge sind kurz. Die Basis des Capitulums ist breit und kurz. Die Beine zeigen die gleiche Musterung wie der Körper. Das erste Coxenpaar trägt einen markanten äußeren und inneren Dorn.

Entwicklung

D. andersoni ist dreiwirtig. Adulte saugen vor allem an großen Pflanzenfressern, sowohl bei Haus- als auch Wildtieren, während die Larven und Nymphen kleine Nagetiere befallen. Die Begattung findet auf dem Wirt statt, anschließend legt das Weibchen über einen Zeitraum von drei Wochen bis zu 6500 Eier. Aus diesen schlüpfen nach vier Wochen die Larven und suchen sich einen Wirt. Nach fünf Tagen lassen sie sich abfallen und häuten sich zur Nymphe. Die Entwicklung kann im Ein- oder Zweijahresturnus verlaufen. Im Frühjahr schlüpfende Larven erreichen im Spätsommer das Nymphenstadium und überwintern als Adulte. Nymphen, die keinen Wirt finden, überwintern und setzen ihre Entwicklung im Folgejahr fort.

Einzelnachweise

Zecken
Ixodida

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The top picks from Trip Advisor's Travelers' Choice Awards are jaw-dropping.
Are you as tired of winter as we are? If you're looking for a warm weather escape, you're in luck. Trip Advisor Just released its 2019 Travelers' Choice Awards for best beaches in the world, and the timing couldn't be more perfect. Engagement season is over, and now that you've got that rock on your finger, you've probably already swept yourself into wedding planning mode. Your location and date for the big day are probably already set, so now it's time to think about all the pre- and post-wedding activities that need a time and place too, which this list can help with.
"With cold weather causing many of us to wish for sunnier days, now is the perfect time to make your dreams come true and plan your next beach getaway at one of these amazing, award-winning beaches!" Desirée Fish, vice president of global communications for TripAdvisor, said in a release. "This list of travelers' favorite beaches around the world has something near or far for surfers and sunbathers alike."
Whether you're nailing down a bachelorette location or you've skipped ahead to the honeymoon, these beaches should definitely be top of mind. They all landed a spot on the list because they were the top reviewed and rated beaches on Trip Advisor, based on data gathered over a 12-month period. That means real people, just like you, thought these places were amazing so odds are you will too.
At the top of the list is Baia do Sancho in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil. One reviewer wrote: "This was truly a view I will never forget in my life. Such a beautiful and extraordinary place. You cannot describe in words the beauty of it. Magical!"
If you're planning for epic honeymoon or bachelorette photos, this definitely sounds like the place to do it. Honestly, every place on this list does. From beaches in Africa to Australia to Greece, there are no shortage of enchanting places to travel for your beach vacation. Not everywhere on this list is halfway around the world, though. You can experience this same wonder at the domestic beaches that made the list. Trip Advisor's sixth best beach in the world is actually Clearwater Beach in Florida. The domestic retreat is also at the top of Trip Advisor's Travelers' Choice Awards for best beaches in the United States.
"Clearwater Beach continues to be one of the best beaches in the world, and it's special to have the millions who make up the TripAdvisor community reaffirm that it truly is the number-one beach in America for the second straight year,"Leroy Bridges, vice president of digital & communications for Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, said.
The number-two beach in America, Ka'anapali Beach in Lahaina, Hawaii, also shows up on the wold's best list as number 14.
So from "local" beaches to those that might take you an entire day to get to (by plane that is), here are the top 25 best beaches in the world.


Aurora Exchange Oy is a Finnish privately held company, registered in the Finnish trade registry with ID 2484214-9. Our office is at Bulevardi 14 A, 2nd floor, in Central Helsinki.
The Finnish administration has granted us a license to extend consumer credit to Finnish customers (AVI license number LU9/2016).
Aurora Exchange works with MangoPay to process payments and store customer funds. Your funds are stored in virtual wallets managed by Mangopay. The actual money is stored in leading European banks such as ING and Barclays Bank. Your funds are held separately from Mangopay's and Aurora Exchange's assets.
Mangopay is an European e-money issuer and payment processor regulated by CSSF, the banking regulator in Luxembourg. Aurora Exchange acts are e-money distributor for Mangopay.
Mangopay is a subsidiary of Leetchi SA which is a subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, which is a French cooperative bank with approximately 100 billion euro in the balance sheet. Leetchi SA was founded by Céline Lazorthes who is one of the FinTech trailblazers.
Working with Mangopay provides multiple benefits. Acting as Leetchi's e-money distributor, lending and borrowing can be expanded to any country where Mangopay SA is licensed to operate, which means more liquidity in the market for you. Also, Mangopay being a subsidiary of a bank, provides a high level of security, compliance and segregation of assets.
Aurora Exchange Oy is audited by RSM Finland Oy, with Esa Rusanen CPA as the lead auditor. At the time of writing, RSM Group is the sixth largest international accounting chain in the world.
As a regulated e-money issuer, Mangopay complies with the European regulations related to money laundering and terrorist financing and CSSF's regulations. We collect information required for these purposes, such as copies of ID cards. For any questions related to compliance, or if you suspect a violation of compliance (e.g. inappropriate transactions), we urge you to contact compliance@aurorax.co immediately.
All materials and concepts on this service are copyrighted by Aurora Exchange Oy.
Aurora Exchange, AuroraX and Aurorax.co names, logos and "Smart people meet smart money" slogan are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Aurora Exchange Oy.
Every effort has been made to ensure the images used on the website are licensed and used in compliance with attribution requirements of the respective owners and creators. In case you believe your images are used incorrectly, please contact us at ipr@aurorax.co and we will remove any such material.


Rose is most commonly used for emotional balance and skin health, however throughout history rose oil uses have ranged from digestive to hormonal and almost anything in between, including immune, heart health, and more.... I highly recommend making the rose infused oil because it has skin benefits of its own, but you could substitute it for olive oil or jojoba oil. Keep reading below the recipe for more ways to use rosehip seed oil.
When applied directly to the skin, skin care products containing rose essential oil are purported to hydrate dry skin, clear acne, reduce signs of aging, minimize the appearance of scars, and help with conditions such as eczema and rosacea.... When applied directly to the skin, skin care products containing rose essential oil are purported to hydrate dry skin, clear acne, reduce signs of aging, minimize the appearance of scars, and help with conditions such as eczema and rosacea.
Rosehip oil is a fruit oil extracted from the hip of the rose. The hip is the fruit that is left after a rose has bloomed and the petals have fallen. Rosehip oil can be used by any person, of any age, with any skin type. The superfine oil is easily absorbed by skin and doesn�t leave behind any oil residue.... Rose hip oil for skin care has become a popular idea recently because it contains some beneficial skin nutrients, like vitamin A, as well as fatty acids like omega-6 to help repair membranes of skin cells.
And homemade rosehip oil, with it�s skin restoring, vitamin A packed goodness, is about as easy as it gets. Whilst this method isn�t pure seed oil, this does achieve a huge amount of the goodness and is commonly used extraction method in The Industry.
Rose essential oil is noted to be yin in character, making it effective for delicate souls in need of healing. Rose acts through the heart chakra, uniting physical and spiritual love, easing depression and melancholy and providing balance for those with psychological problems.
Add 2 tbsp. of witch hazel and 3 drops of lavender essential oil to the reserved liquid. Transfer the rose hip and lavender skin tonic to a plastic bottle with a fine-spray mister. Store the skin tonic in a cool, dry place between uses.
The oil helps skin retain moisture and can be used on all types. It�s especially popular in sensitive skin formulations because its astringent effects on the capillaries reduce redness.


We offer a free of charge Consultation appointment for all clients who are curious and thinking of investing in any form of Hair Extensions. This 30 – 45 minutes appointment is vital and necessary for any client considering Hair Extension, and will help answer all questions and gather as much information as possible before making the final decision.
Quoting for any Hair Extensions service can only be done in the studio with the stylist. The factors that influence what you want to achieve with Hair Extensions is discussed and this is where Nicole will suggest a few options and prices.
Ordering of any Hair Extensions does not commence until the Consultation Agreement Form is completed and after the non-refundable deposit is paid. If the hair is not already in stock, any hair ordered may take up to 2 – 3 business days, if not 6 weeks to arrive depending on the hair extensions hair and system you choose.
Prices will vary between different hair systems and different hair qualities. Your budget and how much you want to spend it vital. There is no point having hair extensions if you cannot keep up with regular maintenance appointments and using the right products and tools to keep your hair extensions well looked after.
We now offer a Payment Plan option for all clients whose Hair Extensions Service exceeds over $650.00. This service is ideal for those clients who are dreaming of that long lush hair without breaking the bank. The payment plan is based on a 12 week period with weekly payments.
Please note that there is a 20% surcharge on professional fees associated with this payment plan. The payment plan does not include any maintenance services such as; cuts, colors, treatments, blowdrys, push ups and new hair ordering that may occur during the 12 week period. Please ask you Stylist more information about this option. We also accept ZIP PAY in the studio. With this you must have a zip pay account, fee and conditions do apply.
With our Clip-In Extensions being designed to suit your needs, we also offer a Rental Service for those one-time, one-use clients. This service is perfect for any Bride who is wanting that perfect style for their special day, without having to break the budget with the expense of purchasing a new set. The Rental Service can be used for any occasion and with any client who is wanting that extra length or volume to create that perfect style with the extra hair.