text:
Hello fellow Landlords! Let me start off with a question, “Do you have a pocket listing?” Many of you may be familiar with pocket listings and some of you may not. A pocket listing is a property a realtor has not put on the market or MLS, but is offering it to a specific group of his or her preferred buyers – their movers and shakers.
So how does that relate to us as Landlords? It is in perfect correlation to how we should be running our Landlording businesses. In this article I’ll go over some advantages of using the pocket listing technique in your rental portfolio.
First let’s understand the power of a pocket listing. A pocket listing tells a prospective client you are special, you are an A lister, we want you so we won’t market this property until we give you first shot at this opportunity. So if you have a list of prospective tenants waiting to get into one of your homes the extra heads up will give you an advantage over your competitors. Plus makes you look professional instead of a Joe Schmo hoping to rent his only rental property.
I set up a time for the prospective tenant to view the property and arrange this with the current tenant which is moving out the property. During the showing I try to close the deal if possible. Make it a point to have applications and your landlord’s game face on at each showing LOL. You never know when the prospective tenant will become your new tenant.
Third reason to use a pocket listing is to save time. Pocket listings save time. If you can cut a week or two out of your marketing schedule by texting or contacting your prospective tenant why wouldn’t you consider this technique? What would stop you from doing so? Also it could add potential tenants to your list.
Clients will refer others to you when they feel they are more than a number and are special. A pocket listing does that!! I had a home for rent recently that was rented the next day using the pocket listing technique. I rented the home to a previous tenant that I kept in contact with after they had moved out of a previous rental.
The previous tenant texted back that she was interested. She drove by the home and decided her and her husband wanted to move forward. We meet at a Starbucks the following day, we discussed the home and my expectations of them as tenants, and I was given the deposit. Rental rented!
In conclusion the pocket listing technique is another tool to place in your landlord tool bag. It is a great way to begin a marketing campaign for an upcoming vacant rental. Also builds great rapport with your potential clients looking for a home. Hope this article was beneficial to you, because this technique have been a great tool for our business.
As always thanks for reading and successful investing.


text: Timber Ridge folding table TRTB99431BR is a portable, lightweight and easy assemble camping table. You can take this table anywhere with the carry bag (included). Desk equipped with 4 cup holders and a storage board on the middle of the table. Top level can be used for food and games; bottom level provides extra storage and can hold your beverages. Great for outdoor activities such as Camping, Hiking, Picnics, Fishing, Sporting Events, Garden, BBQ and so on. A great HOLIDAY GIFT for friends and families.

industry_corpus2: Manufacturing


text:
Qualification: Pin-Golf PinMaster style. Top 8 advance to playoff.
Playoff: 4-player groups on three och four Machines. Points awarded, 4, 2, 1 och 0. Best two from each group advance to next round.

industry_corpus2: Gaming


text:
New clients: Payment for the first scheduled cycle is due, in full, at the initial meet-n-greet.
Continuing clients: Payment, in full, is to be left at the event location (typically your home) on the first visit of each week, for that same week. For example, if walks are scheduled Monday – Wednesday, payment for all visits is to be left on Monday.
Cancellations: Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours before the associated event. Otherwise, payment, in full, is still due. New Clients only: There is a one time cancellation fee of $20.
Any other special arrangements are subject to discussion and my approval.
New clients: In order to reserve my availability for you, reservation payment of the full amount is due at the initial meet-n-greet.
Continuing clients: Payment, in full, is to be left at the event location (typically your home) at the beginning of the sitting event.
Cancellation: Payments are refundable only if I receive your cancellation notice at least 24 hours before the associated event (full sitting package considered single event). Cancellation during an event requires payment of the balance that would be due for the completion of the event as originally scheduled, not including any unperformed “extras”. New Clients only: There is a one time cancellation fee of $20 if cancelled prior to the 24 hour cutoff.
This policy applies to overnight packages, extended “Staying” hours at an hourly rate, and holidays.
All Clients: In order to reserve my availability for you, reservation payment of your estimate total is due at the time of scheduling request. Event reservation and even commencement both require full reservation payment.
Cancellations: Due to the availability requirements associated with these premium services, payment is not refundable.

industry_corpus2: Travel & Geography


text:
Jack Black's Dry Down Friction-Free Powder is a fine textured, talc-free formula that quickly absorbs moisture to offer protection from friction and irritation for comfort in the most demanding environments. Keep your skin silky, smooth, and dry for enhanced comfort and chafe-free workouts. Pure Cornstarch, Certified Organic Green Tea, and Lavender help to soothe and refresh the skin.
Use prior to workout or sports to enhance comfort and protect sensitive body areas from chafing and irritation. Use any time for superior natural protection from moisture and to provide all-day dryness and freshness.
Precautions: Avoid eye contact. If product enters eyes, rinse with water.


text:
Grill the chorizo slices on each side. Dice. Set aside.
Place a piece of fish in the centre of each square of aluminum foil lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with the diced sausage, sundried tomatoes, olives, and green onions and drizzle with the wine. Season with salt and pepper. Close and seal.
Place on the grill and close the lid. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Grill the lemon wedges for about 3 minutes per side. Serve with couscous and the vegetables of your choice.

industry_corpus2: Hospitality & Catering


text:
This really should have been written up sooner, especially since Shinmaru over at Unmei Kaihen has put up a good post outlining the purpose behind those OPs and EDs and I’ll just expand on it a bit further. I think that for most of us, the idea behind those sequences are fairly obvious, but it never hurts to put it in writing so that any misconceptions (mine or the readers’) can be dispelled.
So yes, Shinmaru covers the business side by noting that these sequences are a way for music companies to bring new artists to light and expose their music to different audiences. If you want to divide the domains between OPs and EDs, then OPs generally give us an idea of what the series is about and since it’s generally the first thing the viewer will see, it’ll most likely use good art/animation to draw the audience in.
That’s not to say that there are times when the studios will try to be misleading. If you want a good example, look no further than Renkin 3-kyu Magical? Pokaan, which creates expectations that the series would involve some great magical, cosmic struggle with some yuri thrown in for good measure. Of course, audiences hoping to get that kind of action are bound to be disappointed by the story, which is mostly about us watching the characters in the OP go through hilarious hi-jinks as they try to adapt to modern-day society. But hey, if the goal was to make the audience curious about the show, it worked!
Anyways, my favorite OPs tend to be relevant to the story, so the ARIA OPs are always going to get a thumbs up from me. But when it comes to a strong mesh between the opening and the actual story, I think Gankutsuou’s “We Were Lovers” stands out the most. That the lyrics are in English gives us a grasp of what’s going on in the way it captures Edmond Dantes’s sentiments and the feelings of vengeance that stir deep within him. So taken in sum, the music is really poignant in the way it captures the pain, the lyrics give the audience a feel for how the story unfolds, and the art/animation gives us a glimpse of Gonzo’s effort in the series. That it was composed specifically for the anime rather than sell CDs probably helps too unless I’m gravely mistaken and this got a lot of people to buy Jean-Jacques Burnel CDs.
But EDs. Yes, it’s true that there’s no real discernible pattern that one can put one’s finger upon, and the closest that I’ve come is to suggest that it’s there to ingrain themselves in the viewer’s mind by providing the lingering effect that will allow people to contemplate on whatever has just taken place in the show or to make us look forward to the next episode. That most of them don’t really deliver this kind of effect means that it’s probably wrong and that there actually is no pattern, so I’ll just save myself the hassle and say that the ones that I enjoy the most do achieve this effect, and I love them all the more for it.
So which shows manage to nail this down pat? Well, Wolf’s Rain’s “Gravity” definitely comes to mind. The lyrics within the song give us an idea of how long the wolf pack has been searching for their paradise, and though the conditions are right, there’s still a struggle that they must overcome if they’re to reach it. These feelings tie in with the show rather well and definitely leaves that lingering effect as we too come to empathize with their need to seek out that sanctuary and their determination to make it.
Or how about Welcome to the NHK’s “Odoru Akachan Ningen.” That sequence sure ties in well with in the series. Kenji Ootsuki’s harsh vocals are pretty good at capturing the insanity possessed by those who are looking to regress by turning into that “kidult” rather than live up to the demands of society and nails Tatsuhiro Sato’s state where he withdraws from society rather than confront it directly. The lyrics and animation do a good job of capturing his delusional tendencies borne from his crazed mindset that it’s a mad mad world and this song nails it. I might not have a great deal of affinity for it, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t leave that strong impression behind. I certainly remember it a lot more vividly than I do the show’s second ED at any rate.
OPs are definitely more clear-cut than EDs and in general, they hit their purpose better. EDs are not as memorable because though we might want them to leave behind that strong association with the series, they generally do not. That’s why the two examples I cited will stay with me: they enrich the viewing experience by matching the content of the music and animation to the show’s primary plotline, ending each episode on a note so as to render the entire entity unforgettable.
I read somewhere a long time ago about OP’s being not only to introduce the audience to the series, but to get them hyped up/ into the mood as well. Thus, many OP’s tend to be more fast paced. On the other hand, ED’s are used often to unwind the watchers, so they usually take a more relaxed route. Perhaps one recent example of this would be Railgun. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions and I’m sure it does not hold true for many.
My favorite OP/EDs are usually where I like the song and the animations. I definitely use the OP to judge what the anime is going to be about; content-wise and what art style it uses. If I like the song enough, I’ll usually be listening to it on repeat for a while. When I am listening to them, the OP/ED animation sequences pop up in my mind.
The interesting thing about Gankutsuou is that its OP/ED are sort of the opposite of how people probably expect those types of songs to be, in terms of tone — the OP is the slower, more meditative tune, while the ED is the more quickly paced song. I always liked that.
Somehow that rings a bell and I think I heard that from one of the AX panels that I attended last year. As for EDs, that seems to be a reasonable take, though for someone like myself who enjoys slow-paced stuff, there’s quite a few that just never manages to stand out.
And yeah, Gankutsuou has quite an awesome OP. Not often that I hear male artists, but that one in particular may very well be my favorite because of how well it opens up the series.
It’d be interesting to do a correlation of how well the OP matches up with the show. The only show that I can think of that might not have the level of impact that the series does are the OPs to the first FMA series which were kind of meh, but the show proved to be really enjoyable.
Slow, meditative, but also good. I think Sora no Woto’s OP is also a good example of a slow piece that uses a folk vibe that is far calmer than your usual pop-ish track that gets you hyped up about the show. Likewise, “Girls, Be Ambitious” is far more sugary in its delivery and lyrics, and that effect makes for a good change. I can actually remember the ED that way.
In reading this I began to wonder exactly what an opening and ending themes purpose is in contexts outside of anime. I mean really in movies what is the purpose of a closing song? Most people just get up and leave anyway. When I was searching around I did find a little tidbit of information that said Opening and Closing themes were originally so important during the days of radio when an audible queue was necessary to signal the beginning or ending of a show. So ultimately I think ED’s that are memorable get by thanks to the quality of the music or the quality of the animation or some combination of the two. There are upbeat EDs and there are downbeat EDs but how they relate to show I think is what will make one memorable and another forgotten.
1. Airmaster ED -Rolling 1000Toons by Maximum the Hormone – The song is insane…the animation is just lots of characters running but it does fit the high octane show and comes off far more memorable than the OP for me.
2. Monster ED1-For the Love of Life by David Sylvian- Is absolutely perfect for the atmosphere of the show. The song itself is kind of so-so. The accompanying animation is appropriately creepy but unrelated. The complete package freaks me out.
3. Outlaw Star ED1-Hiru no Tsuki by Arai Akino- Maybe some nostalgia bias here but the song is hauntingly beautiful to me. The animation appears to be some kind of concept drawings for…something else I never quite figured out. The song is what wins the ED a place in my memory but the drawings stuck too because i wanted to see a series animated based on those concepts.
The purpose of OPs and EDs could depend on the series. Many are made as a “hook” to get you into the feel of the show, either by featuring the characters and an appropriate song, like the Evangelion or One Piece OPs for example, or creating the feel using a specific art style and not necessarily giving you an idea of what it’s about, like the Mushishi or Elfen Lied OPs. Others, like the Hanamaru Kindergarten and Bakamonogatari OPs, seem like fun fan omake to showcase certain characters. But together with all this, the other purpose of promoting artists is present. These factors work together to give us the variety of anime OPs we have.
Since EDs are less likely to be watched by people because they occur at the end of the show, usually not as much effort is put into them. But I think the same factors of the OPs go into the EDs as well.
I think one repeatable pattern in OP/ED design is that while the OP is used to introduce elements of plot and/or setting, the ED is used to show relationships between characters. One example is the OP and ED for ‘Karin’. The OP hits strongly on the vampire theme, while the ED has no supernatural elements at all and focuses on a sweet moment (sorry) between the leads.
Count me in as one of those people who’ll sit through the ending credits scroll in movie theaters. Somehow, I really enjoy listening to the music play since a lot of it is really good orchestral stuff that catches my fancy or somehow, it ties in really well with the movie to make the ending really satisfying.
Agreed with two of the examples, though I can’t say I’m all too fond of “Hiru no Tsuki” probably because of reverse nostalgia. :p Even then, I never figured out how well it tied in with the show and I was never a huge Arai Akino fan to begin with.
I’m actually impressed by Elfen Lied’s OP as well as Sora no Woto for the Klimpt factor. The artwork was really something to look forward to in the former since it spurs one’s curiosity to look further into the show. Sadly, the effect isn’t a huge one since I stopped after one episode.
As for Bakemonogatari, Sorrow-kun made an interesting point about how some of the OPs depict the struggles and feelings that the character in question suffer from, so you can learn a lot about them through those OPs.
That possibility that you suggest for EDs might be a recurring pattern for some shows, but I’m not too convinced. A lot of them show the characters in various states of unwinding/relaxing, but I’m not sure that relationships is a big part of it. Of course, my sample set could be pointing me in the wrong direction altogether, so I’ll have to keep an eye out on the whole relationship aspect to see if there’s any ties that I can notice through that.
I guess business always takes part in anything including the OP/ED as a mean to promote artists. That’s why I usually feel very good about the instrumental OP/EDs. Their intentions and feelings are more genuine, imo. Some example includes Haibane Renmei, ROD or Guin Saga’s OPs.
Quite relevant. I may have to do a post of all the OP/EDs that are purely instrumental at some point now because those have been some of the most memorable pieces out there. I’ll add 12 Kingdoms and Victorian Romance Emma as other good examples since those are definitely list-worthy!
But yes, I would agree with most people here that well-done OP’s grab the watcher’s attention and gives an idea to what the show will be about. Well-done ED’s summarize what has happened and embody the emotions felt after watching an episode.
Mushishi’s OP’s did a wonderful job at reinforcing the mood. Elfen Lied’s summed up the sadness of the series perfectly. Azumanga Daioh’s OP and ED reinforced the entire series’s ridiculously amusing nature. I would list off more if I watched more anime.
I’ve done a list that shows my favorites, so I’m not going to list my favorites. I will say that I love OPs and EDs alike, and right now the two standout OPs would be the OP for InuYasha: The Final Act and the OP for Air Master (which I only just started, it also has an awesome ED, and that was already mentioned above).
Also that one from Bakamonogatari that everyone was obsessed with, but I haven’t gotten that far into the show yet, because I find the show boring, and if it ended at episode 6, I would give it a 2.
Well, they could try having someone narrate the opening credits in some somber voice with an instrumental portion playing in the background. That’d make for a nice change of pace from the pop stuff since I don’t think we get enough instrumental-only OPs and EDs.
Boo, Bakemonogatari’s talking heads is something that’s a love it or hate it I guess. As for Inu Yasha, I haven’t really touched the OPs or EDs for Final Act so I’ve just kinda let that pass me by.
More Natsumi Kiyoura is never unwelcome. That OP was particularly good since it captured the traveling nature of the show and had a good melody to boot!

industry_corpus2: Film & Entertainment


text:
Red velvet santa hat with plush cuff. Customize cuff with a name or team in your own font and rhinetone color choice. Add a design to the body of the hat for more dazzle!
Size Large, measures 24 inches in diameter.
What would you like written?


text:
My name is Donald McDonald, and I am a person in long-term recovery from substance use disorder. What that means is I haven't had to use alcohol or other drugs to face the day in 13 years. I got well. Then I got better than well. I am fully present as a husband and father. My family trusts me, and they are proud of me. Last year, I graduated from a top-ranked social work graduate school, and I'm now the Director of Advocacy & Education for a grassroots nonprofit. I once was considered hopeless, but now I’m part of the solution. My friends and I help educate organizations, communities, and families about substance use disorder. We help the passage of common sense legislation and the development of person-centered policies. The fact is this. Everybody experiencing substance use disorder has the potential to get better than well – just like Donald McDonald.
One in seven of us has a substance use disorder. Among those, only 1 in 10 has access to specialized treatment. Meanwhile, NC loses a loaded school bus full of citizens each month to prescription opioid overdose alone.
We have five decades of research supporting the fact that Substance Use Disorder is a chronic brain disorder, not a moral failing. Yet, we have been responding to it with the acute care model of addiction treatment and incarceration. And the more we learn about the pathology of addiction the fewer resources we have to treat our fellow citizens. This only makes sense in a paradigm where stigma-driven public perception is allowed to evolve into stigma-driven public health policy.
We’ve been fighting stigma for years, and it seems we’ve begun chipping away at that insidious internalized stigma – that shame that keeps us from asking for what we deserve. We have all see so much death. We’ve comforted grieving families. In the midst of this public health crisis we were fighting, we discovered that we were also embroiled in a civil rights struggle. We realized that it was no longer stigma we were fighting. It was discrimination. We watched as the nation circled its wagons around Zika and Ebola while they did not respond in kind to the very real epidemic that we were experiencing. That’s not stigma… that’s discrimination.
There are 23 million people thriving in recovery in the United States. Our pathways of recovery are just as diverse as we are. But, the indisputable fact is this. We got well. Then we got better than well. We are resources. We stand ready to continue advocating for additional resources for our communities – for what we deserve. Many of us have entered into peer professional addiction services. They call us Recovery Coaches. We encourage you to add peer-based recovery supports to your menu of services. Reach out the communities of recovery for their support and input. We are part of the solution.

industry_corpus2: Health & Medicine


text:
Consumer behavior is changing. Consumers are starting to ask questions about what they purchase for fragrances, the same way they have for healthier foods and beverages. They are beginning to look for new perfumers, custom perfumes, and natural perfumes. The world of perfume is changing: in the past there were around 10 perfume houses making perfumes for hundreds of brands. Today there are thousands of perfumers, and thousands brands worldwide.
Are we living in a new era for the perfume industry? Is this a revolution driven by consumers or is this a normal cyclical evolution leading perfumers to come back to what perfume used to be in the past?
Since ancient times, fragrances and perfumes were used for healing purposes and at the same time perfumers were healers. They studied perfumery to learn the beneficial power of plants, created their own little healing gardens, used enfleurage, maceration, and distillation techniques and start making their own perfumes while thinking about people’s wellbeing. Thanks to flower fields, perfumers also made sure that bees did their part in preserving flowers and plants for the future. Perfumes were precious, made with 95% flowers and plants and 5 % alcohol.
Today, what challenge does the perfume industry have to face?
How can major brands adapt to changing consumer behaviors and meet the growing demand for natural? How can they enter this New Luxury Market, respecting the New Luxury Code?
Do we need to change the curriculum of perfumery courses to reflect the changing marketplace and tomorrow’s perfumes? What is the purpose of a perfume? Shouldn’t it be more than just self-satisfaction for a perfumer? Will this be enough to satisfy the inevitable changing consumer demand for natural products?
What major changes already in place will continue to form a very new picture of the perfume industry and its exciting future?

industry_corpus2: Others


text:
Hundreds of billions worth of construction projects are on the drawing board in B.C. As a result, most construction contractors geared up for even more work this year, despite an already intense pace. This will keep the industry’s GDP and employment contributions growing at the same pace as the provincial economy.
Union-only public contracting for major hydroelectric projects in B.C. dates back to the Social Credit era. But the world and the B.C. construction sector have moved on in the half-century since then. Virtually all construction (except single-family homes) was done union in the 1970s, but today only a small and shrinking fraction is. Unions long since ceased to be the main trainers of construction workers, and labour peace and stability has been in place for decades.
Non-union workers on the 1990s Island Highway Project had to join unions against their wishes, but often didn’t work union long enough to qualify for the pension contributions theoretically made on their behalf.
Who is Training Construction Tradespeople?
As it prepares to spend billions on public infrastructure, we are deeply troubled by the NDP government’s determination to force construction workers to join unions, to reward its political allies with public funds, and to deliver less value and higher costs to taxpayers.
All this will result from what the NDP is re-branding as ‘Community Benefit Agreements’, historically known as Project Labour Agreements.
One of the core services at ICBA is our suite of retirement and employee benefit plans offered through ICBA Benefit Services Ltd. With changes in the wind around the creation of new Pooled Retirement Pension Plans in B.C. it’s important for companies to look at all their options.
ICBA Benefit Services Ltd President Gord Stewart mapped out those options in a column published today in the Journal of Commerce. You can read the article here.
Interesting column in the Vancouver Sun today about the tight ties between the NDP and the labour movement. Though many readers may shake their heads at how these tight ties qualify as news, read on.
What’s at issue is conflict in the labour family. The Licensed Practical Nurses wanted to move from the Hospital Employees Union to the B.C. Nurses Union shows. That means the BCNU is now in the bad books of all the other unions – and the BC NDP. As the Vaughn Palmer points out, NDP Adrian Dix was as noticeable in his absence at the BCNU convention as he was noticed at the HEU confab.
In a few short weeks B.C. will abandon the Harmonized Sales Tax and go back to the old Provincial Sales Tax system.
This shift will have impacts on your customers, your paperwork, and your tax filings.
ICBA staff travelled back in time and out to the bowling alley to take part in the annual Bowl for Big Brothers for the fourth straight year. The team dressed the part for the 80s night theme and did their part to raise funds to help the charity.
The ICBA squad raised more than $700 that will go to help support the Big Brothers mentoring programs that help kids reach their full potential by heightening self esteem and enabling them to make healthy decisions.
You can get more information on Bowl for Big Brothers and the organization on their event website.
One of our members recently got their hands on a tender bid for construction work with the BC Nurses Union.
Besides being a bit of overkill in terms of typography, it’s also a contract condition that will hurt the nurses.
That’s why ICBA President Philip Hochstein sent a letter to the nurses offering free advice on how the could save money on their construction work – and plough the money that flows from taxpayers, to nurses, to the union, back in to services for their membership. Open the contract to all bidders, including the more than 80% belonging to the Open Shop.
ICBA’s Hazard Recognition and Control session on March 11 will give participants the knowledge they need to understand the principle of hazard recognition and control as well as the methods used to ensure hazards are identified and adequately addressed in the workplace.
By the time the session is over, sessions participants will have the tools they need to identify hazards, assess them, and score them by priority. They will also learn methods to take the information gathered and develop Safe Work Procedures to mitigate the hazards.
The Industry Training Authority will be talking about skills in the city when it hosts its Community Dialogue about Trades Training and Careers in Kamloops on March 12.
This free public event is an opportunity for Kamloops area residents to speak with ITA CEO Kevin Evans, and members of ITA’s Board of Directors, about trades training and its connection to the community’s future prosperity.
The Industry Training Authority has a contest running until March 5 looking for workers in the trades to complete the sentence “ITA. My ticket to…” as part of their Faces of the Trades promotion.
They’re looking for workers to tell their own story about how a career in the trades has positively impacted their life. Workers who share their thoughts on the benefits of being a skilled trades worker get a shot a the price – a featured role in a short video and a $25 gift card from Tim Hortons. The hope is that the stories will highlight the benefits of trades training to the next generation of workers.
An entry form, details on how to apply, and contest rules are available here. The deadline to apply is March 5 so don’t delay!
There was a solid analysis of the business cost of Family Day in today’s Vancouver Sun by adjunct professor John H. Redekop from Trinity Western University. Tallying up the holiday pay and bonus pay in both the public and private sectors, and adding in lost businesses for the businesses (many of them construction companies) who had to close for the day – Redekop estimated that the B.C. economy took a $200 million hit.
It’s a great lesson in the real costs of something that too many people think is free.
There are rules around procurement in British Columbia and ICBA’s course Tender Law: Procurement in the Construction Industry aims to provide a refresher and update on the current state of the procurement and tendering laws in BC. Keeping current on what rights and obligations is critical to those who wish to successfully participate in B.C.’s vibrant construction industry.
The tender process will be examined with an emphasis on how to make the best choices and minimize legal risks in the tender process and avoid costly situations for all parties.

industry_corpus2: Real Estate & Construction


text:
 My name is Drew Karpyshyn. On the off chance you’ve stumbled across this page with no idea who I am or what I do I guess I should tell you that I’m a writer. I like to tell stories, whether they’re novels, video games or screenplays. And this is my website.
I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on July 28, 1971. I grew up in St. Albert, a city just a few minutes northwest of Edmonton, and I bought my first house in Sherwood Park just a few minutes east of Edmonton, where I lived with my wife Jennifer and our cat, Roxy for nine years.
But in the spring of 2009 we decided we’d had enough of the cold and snow. So we sold our house, packed our stuff, grabbed the cat and moved down to Austin, Texas, where we currently live.
In 2000, I started working for a little video game company called BioWare. I worked there for almost twelve years as a writer, and I contributed to a number of games: the Baldur’s Gate series, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Mass Effect and Star Wars: The Old Republic. I retired in February of 2012 to focus more on my own projects, and to spend more time golfing.
So welcome to my little corner of the inter-web. Poke around, check things out and I hope you enjoy it.


text:
Apple iPhone/ipod/iPad travel charger [CSMAPPCHR0001] - $24.99 : Buy Cell Phone Accessories For Less!, Your One Stop Cellphone Shop!!
Details: Convenient portability and storage. Buy 1 get 1 free and no shipping charge for the 2nd one. Just type FREE at the comments box while checking out. Use one at home, take it with you to the office, to the airport, or practically anywhere in North America. You'll be able to keep your phone charged and ready practically wherever you go with this wall charger. However, this does not include the data cable and is necessary to provide a data cable to use this wall charger.

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


text:
Californians, of all people, should recognize what it means to drive people off their land. In the 1850s and 1860s, the state funded yearly expeditions that emptied entire areas of their Native American presence. But this is not only a historical phenomenon: In the West Bank, Israeli settlers and the Israeli government have attempted for decades to eradicate the small Palestinian village of Susiya.
The village has existed near Hebron since at least the 19th century. In the 1980s, it was declared an archaeological site to enable settlers to move in and replace the former inhabitants. The Palestinian population then moved to underground caves and shacks 500 meters from the original location. In the 1990s, and again in 2001, there were more attempts to remove the villagers and annex their lands to the nearby settlement. The residents have submitted a master plan that would enable recognition of Susiya, but they have only received demolition orders.
On May 5, Israel’s high court refused to issue an interim order to the army to freeze fresh plans to entirely destroy the village and expel all of its inhabitants. All this while the neighboring illegal Israeli settlement, called Susya, receives water and electricity, is connected to the road system and its residents can vote.
A recently leaked army document reveals that the authorities are well aware of the village’s true legal status, but so far they have refused to legally recognize its inhabitants’ rights to remain in their homes and enjoy the same protections as Jewish Israelis. All this is a microcosm of the structural discrimination and dispossession Palestinians have suffered for decades. As an Israeli Jew, I find this inequality deeply shameful.
In late July, I was among several hundred Israelis and internationals joining local Palestinians in a large protest against this unjust move. Susiya is only 1.5 hours away from Tel Aviv, but it’s rare for people to come to this remote area and see the reality for themselves. We marched peacefully for several hours, despite the extreme heat, and heard very touching requests from residents and their supporters to help protect them in case the army renews its attempts to evict them. The media tend not to cover protests that do not include violence, thereby ignoring the hundreds who showed up and demanded that the village be spared.
Initially, the army planned to demolish Susiya before a high court hearing scheduled for Aug. 3. Due to growing public pressure, this date has now been postponed. But more pressure is necessary to remove the threat entirely.
But this is not enough: We hope Secretary of State John Kerry can send a clear message to the Israeli government that the U.S. opposes present-day ethnic cleansing. Continuous international attention of the sort pushed by Feinstein and Rep. Anna Eshoo can help prevent this injustice, and set an important precedent against driving indigenous residents out of their homes.
Tom Pessah is an Israeli activist and sociologist. He graduated in 2014 from UC Berkeley and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

industry_corpus2: Politics & Administration


text:
Nosler Custom's new .204 load performs spectacularly in the field and will likely out-shoot your favorite handloads.
Not long ago I had the opportunity to hunt varmints with a new top-shelf .204 Ruger load from Nosler Custom and Norma. A combination of Nosler's Ballistic Tip bullet, Hodgdon's excellent powder and Norma's ultra-consistent cases, the load groups wonderfully and gives spectacular downrange performance.
Marketed through the Nosler Custom shop, the load coughs out a 40-grain Ballistic Tip at a shade over 3,600 fps. And did I say it grouped wonderfully?
In Wyoming, after a small tornado routed us from our hunting grounds, I found my way to the shooting bench back at headquarters and shot a series of groups. Even though I neglected to clean the rifle first, shots clustered like amorous flies. The average of four three-shot groups--fired without allowing the barrel to cool--came in at .39-inch. No fliers, no mulligans--even though it was spitting rain and the cardboard target backing was shivering slightly in the breeze.
I was on a prairie dog hunt, courtesy of Richard Folsland of Black Hills Shooter's Supply, which imports and distributes Norma ammunition. Cooper Firearms supplied several of its beautiful Model 21 single-shot bolt-action varmint rifles, which were topped with Leupold optics.
Over the course of two days I put close to 500 rounds through the Cooper's barrel, and as a testimony to both the rifle and the quality of the ammo, at no time did I need to clean the rifle due to loss of accuracy. I cleaned it every 50 rounds out of pure conscience; I had no intention to burn out the barrel of such a fine rifle.
I found the load devastating on rodents out to 250 yards. Beyond that it was certainly lethal but no longer induced quite the aerial acrobatics that a closer hit did. It also bucked the wind well--not quite like a 6mm or perhaps some of the high-speed heavier .22 caliber loads, but well enough.
Varminting is traditionally a hand-loader's sport. Much factory ammunition doesn't measure up accuracy-wise. But for shooters who don't have the time to load large quantities of ammo in today's fast-paced world, try Nosler Custom's .204 load. I'll wager it'll outshoot your handloads.


text:
The changes in workplace-provided health care benefits triggered by the Affordable Care Act have been myriad and well-publicized, as have the headaches endured by the employers who have dealt with rising costs and changing plans.
Imagine, for a second, what it’s been like in the industry itself.
For many brokers, providers and consultants in the South Sound, those frustrations have multiplied exponentially.
The biggest of deadlines passed over the New Year’s holiday, as Dec. 31 was the last day for enrolling in group plans, including those provided by employers, to be finalized. For area brokers, that amounted to a mad scramble, as firms worked around the clock to get data entered and processed for their clients to have coverage ready by the time people came back to work in 2014.
“I spent a lot of December here [in the office],” laughed David G. Maddock of brokerage Maddock and Associates in Fife. “There were days I’d be here until 10 [p.m.], and the next day, I’d be here at 5 in the morning. Normally, I like to get up early anyway and work out, but man, I didn’t even think about it then.
As if the volume of work wasn’t enough, the rollout of the new law’s effects has been notoriously plagued with pushed-back deadlines, glitchy websites, unplanned changes and legislative vagaries.
The result, many industry professionals in the region agree, has been the other big headache in the months leading to Jan. 1: uncertainty.
“They keep changing things,” said Maddock. “Literally, one day, I did a big video presentation on the employer mandate, and an hour later, they pushed it back a year. That’s happened multiple times on these different rules.
“We were doing a program on health care reform back in November,” said Holcom. “The professional society I belong to [the Society of Financial Service Professionals] was doing a national broadcast. On Friday, we had our final rehearsal with our slides and everything, and they said if we wanted to make any changes to the slides, they had to be in done by Monday at noon.
It’s something to laugh about now, but there have been real impacts on offices, said Free.
“A concern is that the things that we’re trying to prepare our clients — and particularly our employers — for over the last three of four years, now it’s like, ‘Oh, well, now that’s not really true anymore,’” Holcom added.
And looking to the government for answers has, at times, led to further frustration.
“The frustration for a lot of us has been just not having the answers that we’re trying to get for our clients,” said Holcom. “Certain departments in the state are totally overwhelmed with calls trying to get answers resolved. One of my staff members was on the phone with the [state] insurance office a few months ago, and she was actually on hold for four hours.
“She got a lot of work done,” Holcom quipped, “because nobody bothered her while she was on the phone.
The new year, too, has brought its own set of issues.
“We’re still trying not to let our clients down, doing everything we can to make it all work,” said Maddock. “The frustrating thing that’s come out this new year is that, regardless of what we did, the insurance companies were not able to keep up. There are a lot of people right now without an ID card and needing a prescription.
The workload has led not only to delays, but also clerical errors.
And just because 2013 is in the rearview, it doesn’t mean there aren’t still new plans to be filed and processed. The deadline for individual plans is March 31, and Maddock sees a potential rush coming there, as well.
And while the volume of work has certainly calmed down from the rush at the end of December, there are enough new and extant inquiries that some in the area have had to add personnel to keep up.
Free doesn’t see the situation changing much any time soon.
“It’s going to be like that,” he said. “When you have a reform this far-reaching, you’re going to have that. And that’s OK — well, I don’t know if ‘OK’ is the right word — but that’s normal, per se. The good news, I guess, is that in general, I think insurance professionals in this area have been diligent and well-informed and proactive about getting well-informed, if they weren’t already.
Fortunately, Maddock said, many clients have sympathized with the difficulties that brokers and providers have faced.
In a way, Maddock said, the uncertain atmosphere has helped the perception of not only his brokerage, but of the industry as a whole.
As to whether the added work will be reflected in the bottom line, Maddock is cautiously optimistic.
Just how much the firm has grown, though, isn’t quite clear just yet.
Bruchet is seeing similar — here’s that word again — uncertainty.
Part of the lack of clarity, Bruchet explained, is due to how the firm receives compensation.
“We don’t even know when we’re getting paid on the people we put through the exchange,” he said. “We’re supposed to get paid, but we don’t know how long it’s going to take.
“If somebody enrolls into the exchange and they’re eligible for the subsidy, the federal government is paying for a portion of their premium,” he explained. “The individual only has to pay their portion. Typically, when the premium is received by the carrier, that’s when the carrier pays us. Well, we don’t know when the federal government is paying the carrier.
In general, though, the consensus seemed to be that while the ACA, in its current form, represents a flawed legislation, its enactment is the beginning of what will ultimately a positive change for the system.
“It is important,” echoed Free. “How I look at it is that it’s an investment in our future. We’re having to deal with all these headaches now. People are disenchanted about their premiums going up, and I don’t blame them. Who can? But in the long view, the old way was broken, and this will eventually get us to a point where more people will have access to care.

industry_corpus2: Finance & Economics


text: Claim your peace, path and success! Press in and take charge! Guard your mind! Move in the right direction!


text:
Especially made for my teen daughter, these cherry filled goodies are equally enjoyed by all of you who remember the classic Cherries Jubilee from the 70s, minus the alcohol. Although tempting, do not use canned cherry pie mixture in this recipe. It is far too runny and will not set properly.
Strain cherries, placing juice(1 cup)* into a medium saucepan. Cut cherries in half; set aside. Add half the orange zest and lemon juice, whisking to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch and water until smooth. Add cornstarch slurry all at once to juice, whisking until thickened. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate while continuing with recipe.
Heavily grease a 12-cup mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray(or use a 6-cup regular muffing tin);set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar and eggs until creamy. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda and remainder of grated zest, continuing to beat until well incorporated. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips by hand. With a teaspoon and a cup of cold water next to you, evenly divide the cookie dough among prepared muffin tin, about 3/4 full. Dipping your spoon often in cold water, start pressing against the sides and bottom of each dough mound to form cups, being careful not to create any openings. Place in refrigerator while heating oven to 350-degrees F.
When ready, bake cookie cups for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven onto work surface and press down the center if it has risen. Remove cherry mixture from refrigerator and evenly fill each cookie cup, reserving 2 tablespoons without any cherries; set aside. Place back in oven to continue cooking an additional 12 minutes. Remove from oven to cool. Melt remaining chocolate chips with reserved, thickened juice, stirring well. Either dollop melted chocolate mixture in the center of each or drizzle. Enjoy!
* If you don't get 1 cup juice from jar of cherries, add enough water to equal 1 cup and a little sugar. You may want to add a drop or two of red food coloring as well.


text:
HID turns on and off?
Doing my first oil change soon? Thoughts?
What grease do you use to lubricant axles/pivot points?
Bought 2nd hand gauge cluster, reset to original mileage?
Which chain lube are you using?

industry_corpus2: Automobiles


text:
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):1-10.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):11-17.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):18-24.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):25-31.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):39-48.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):49-56.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):57-65.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):66-78.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):79-84.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):85-90.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):91-95.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):96-100.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):101-106.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):107-111.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):112-115.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):116-119.
J Korean Neurol Assoc. 1991;9(1):120-126.


text:
We're excited to show you why you should make Malloy Cadillac your dealership and service center. Our extensive inventory of pre-owned Cadillac models means we have an affordable used luxury vehicle that suits your needs. Once you've looked through our new inventory, schedule a test drive online today and visit Malloy Cadillac!
Can you imagine driving a top-quality car without spending too much money? It sounds too good to be true, but that's exactly what we're offering to value-seeking drivers throughout Winchester VA, Martinsburg, Front Royal, Purcellville, Stephens City and Charles Town WV. As shown below, we're pleased to maintain a rotating selection of Certified Pre-Owned CADILLAC models and gently-used cars from top brands. You'll soon discover that buying used presents you with a chance to save money while also driving a safe, dependable and family friendly pre-owned vehicle. Now, take a look below to see if there's a used car that strikes a chord with you!
We know that shopping for a used car is often fraught with challenges and misinformation from dealerships just looking to make a sale. But, that's simply the never the case when you shop for a used car with us. We promise to always offer fair-market prices on used cars that have been thoroughly inspected to guarantee their long-lasting quality and dependability. Don't just take our word for it, though. Make sure to stop by Malloy Cadillac in Winchester VA to get behind the wheel for a test drive at your earliest convenience!


text: The most real house is the one you built for you, for your needs. Some tell the house of their dreams. It is extremely important and imperative that the house where you live fulfills all that the soul asks you and that is what we manage to do. Story and dream houses, lush villas, wonderful oasis of relaxation and self-relish. The place you truly call home with your dear ones and which really brings you the peace of your heart, after which you thirst with such fierceness after a hard day of work.


text:
TIP! Take some time to master the basics. You have to walk before you can run.
Have you ever picked up a guitar and wished that you were able to play it? Are you concerned that you may not have any musical talent? With the right tips you can learn about playing a guitar. Continue reading to get some tips on guitar mastery.
Learn the basics. You have to walk before you can run. You may need to learn music you like to listen to, but you should make it a point to build a solid foundation. Learn the proper finger positions. Practice chords and scales. Lock in the fundamentals before advancing.
TIP! Build up calluses on your fingers when practicing guitar. Playing the guitar can be painful.
Try to learn from a teacher. Like a lot of people, you can learn the guitar on your own, but there are times when having someone observe you play can be important. A good teacher will critique your style, and also offer suggestions for making yourself better. This will also give you the opportunity to ask questions.
Maintain your motivation. Creating both short and long-term goals can help you keep playing guitar. Find someone else who is interested in learning, and the two of you can practice together. At week’s end, if you have practiced faithfully each day, give yourself a treat. Keep in mind that things worth doing will never be that easy.
TIP! When you have decided to learn the guitar, spend plenty of time practicing. Keep in mind that anything worth doing does not likely come easy.
While it might seem intuitive, you need to get yourself a guitar in order to learn to play one. If you don’t have a guitar, then you’ll never be able to practice on a regular basis. Also, you have to keep the guitar in tune. Otherwise, you won’t hear the right note coming out of the right string.
Remember that practicing guitar should always be fun. Remember that the reason for learning guitar in the fist place is because you have always wanted to. Try not to make the learning process feel like work. This attitude may cause you to be bored, hate the guitar and completely stop practicing. Continue practicing and playing the pieces enjoyable to you.
TIP! Learn some physical exercises to strengthen your fingers. Particular chords need pretty skilled handwork, and that only happens if your fingers are able to control the strings.
Calluses on your fingers are actually a good thing when it comes to playing the guitar. Calluses can help prevent the pain that is often associated with regular practice. It may take a while to develop them, but if you practice often this will make them appear faster. There are also products on the market made just for this purpose.
Make good use of a metronome. Keeping time is very difficult for new guitar players. Metronomes are able to help you make sure you’re on the beat properly. With the right amount of practice, you’ll soon be doing it without any help from the device.
TIP! Ask someone to play the guitar with you. Find someone who is a little more advanced than you and someone who has just started and may need your help.
When you learn to play, don’t skip practicing. Do not forget that anything worthwhile to learn requires hard work. Practice for at least half an hour five or more days per week.
Invest in a metronome. Metronomes can better timing and rhythm. With the metronome, you won’t blindly struggle to keep pace. It will set a pace for you that you can gradually increase as you get better. Trying to learn a certain song with a metronome will improve your accuracy.
Don’t forget to begin slowly. You probably want to learn a song that is played very fast, but you need to master the actual song before you can hope to master the speed. Start slow to master the notes, then work on playing faster. Starting off at full speed will only lead to many mistakes. Therefore, start off slowly, learn every note and then work on your speed.
TIP! Get inspiration by listening to your favorite instrumental guitarists. These professionals will motivate you to play better.
Figuring out how to switch chords is a necessary skill. Try using 15 minutes a session for practicing chord changes. Having the ability to transition from one chord into another will ensure that your music always sounds pleasant and crisp and not noisy or squeaky.
TIP! Play a song with one of your close friends. One of you can play chords while the other focuses on the melody.
Come up with a buddy with whom to learn guitar. You can ask someone with more technical skills than you to join you in jam sessions. They can let you learn some techniques you may not know yet. Plus, learning and playing with someone that you enjoy spending time with make learning a fun time. It’s especially good to find someone who is the same playing level as you are so that you can both root for one another.
TIP! Try learning guitar with friends. Ask around your family, friends and social circle, and see if anyone else is interested in playing guitar too.
Practice strumming the guitar. This will facilitate your ability to combine chords. It can also help when switching between chords. Strum your guitar too and practice the chords until it comes naturally.
TIP! Learn the proper way to handle your guitar pick. It is important to take the time needed to learn to use a guitar pick.
Make sure you keep your guitar in the best shape. Learning to clean it right and how to maintain it will allow you to be able to use it for quite some time. Figure out how to change strings, tune it, and clean it. Maintaining the instrument well will make sure you’re always proud of it.
TIP! When learning how to play the guitar, figure out which genre of music you’re interested in playing. This style should influence the guitar you choose.
Use headphones when playing with an amp. You can play with an amp as well. This can be unrealistic. Not many people live in locations that welcome excess noise. If you’re having an issue with noise, consider purchasing some headphones to reduce the sound.
Be sure to learn the right way to make use of a guitar pick. Picking up the pick is an important part of learning guitar. Try not to develop any habits that you will have to unlearn later on. You need to learn about holding a pick. Start out with a picking pattern that you like and then add more challenging patterns as you go.
TIP! To learn how to get more comfortable with a guitar, it’s important to practice holding it and moving with it. You can learn to make it feel like a part of you.
If learning guitar is something you are contemplating, give some thought to your preferred style of music. The guitar you decide on should be based on the main kind of music you are into. Acoustic guitars are typically better suited to classical musical and electric guitars sound good with contemporary music.
TIP! If computers are your thing, look into programs able to teach guitar playing skills. You can even connect a computer to your guitar with an input device.

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


text:
In this light-hearted session we will explore a topic very close to all of you in web development - CI and test automation, but on a completely different end of project spectrum - in the domain of 3D games.
You will learn how things get different when the project's head revision is in hundreds of gigabytes, when unpredictable systems' interactions are more of a testing concern than individual functional units and when you don't have a UI to speak of. You'll meet Croteam's friendly testing bot and get to see how we make even the bugs be 3D.
We won't be diving into the code behind it, but will sprinkle the session with some fancy screenshots and short movies to make it look nice and shiny.
Alen Ladavac is leading the technology team as well as working on all aspects of Croteam games since 1993.
Now mainly leading the efforts on Serious Sam 4 development, his previous work includes the world-famous Serious Sam franchise and critically acclaimed The Talos Principle, as well as a series of, console, VR and mobile versions of those games.
His broad range of interests and experience spans all technical areas of the game development, from rendering, sound and physics, to networking, build systems and content pipelines.


text:
The year is 2068, the place is near earth orbit, an environment so hostile to human life that every day is a constant reminder that the only thing keeping you from a painful, horrifying death is the thin metal and technological systems that surround you. For Drusilla Xao and her contemporaries…this is home. Dru and her fellows are not your average teenagers. They were raised and taught by AIs and a cycle of off-watch adults, their parents sometimes weeks or months away. Through it all, Dru kept herself sane in the classic way: Video games, browsing the Lag-Net (so called because it connects stations in orbit to Earth born cities…and because light-speed limitations make it extremely laggy) and pining over her Earth-born girlfriend, Sarah.
And then, in one instant, the orderly life that they had known was shattered. A terrorist attack on an unfinished space elevator causes a cascade of debris impacts, which destroy station after station, killing thousands and sparking a war between the distant Earth and their rebellious Lunar colony. Dru’s parents are killed and her hopes for one day visiting Earth are dashed, as the cloud of debris that choke the Earth’s orbit prevents travel to and from the surface. Now, the only chance for the war to be won is to create an army with what is left in orbit…and while all the adults have vital life sustaining jobs to accomplish, Dru and her contemporaries haven’t qualified for a single one.
Now, their lives are all too familiar to those who live on Earth. Their lives are the lives of the millions of men and women throughout history who have joined the military: Long periods of boredom followed by infinitesimal moments of absolute terror. But for Dru, the horror of war has given her the chance to make a difference.
Wanna learn how to win a free copy? Read on!
Tweet or post a link to this article, and send your tweet or post URL (along with your contact info!) to info@candlemarkandgleam.com.
Request a review copy of the book from info@candlemarkandgleam.com, with a link to where you’ll be reviewing it.
Giveaway winners will be chosen on September 20 and notified shortly thereafter.
Those of you familiar with the children's book Goodnight Moon will love seeing the telltale clues in this trailer for a horror movies version of the book. Everybody else, no so much.

industry_corpus2: Literature & Emotions


text:
In this course, we will approach these fundamental questions from a Bayesian perspective. From this perspective, we wish to faithfully incorporate all of our beliefs into a model, and represent uncertainty over these beliefs, using probability distributions. Typically, we believe the real world is in a sense infinitely complex: we will always be able to add flexibility to a model to gain better performance. If we are performing character recognition, for instance, we can always account for some additional writing styles for greater predictive success. We should therefore aim to maximize flexibility, so that we are capable of expressing any hypothesis we believe to be possible. For inference, we will not have a priori certainty that any one hypothesis has generated our observations. We therefore typically wish to weight an uncountably infinite space of hypotheses by their posterior probabilities. This Bayesian model averaging procedure has no risk of overfitting, no how matter how flexible our model. How we distribute our a priori support over these different hypotheses determines our inductive biases. In short, a model should distribute its support across as wide a range of hypotheses as possible, and have inductive biases which are aligned to particular applications.
This course aims to provide students with a strong grasp of the fundamental principles underlying Bayesian model construction and inference. We will go into particular depth on Gaussian process and deep learning models.
Model Construction and Inference: Parametric models, support, inductive biases, gradient descent, sum and product rules, graphical models, exact inference, approximate inference (Laplace approximation, variational methods, MCMC), model selection and hypothesis testing, Occam's razor, non-parametric models.
Gaussian Processes: From finite basis expansions to infinite bases, kernels, function space modelling, marginal likelihood, non-Gaussian likelihoods, Bayesian optimisation.
Bayesian Deep Learning: Feed-forward, convolutional, recurrent, and LSTM networks.
Depending on the available time, we may omit some of these topics. Most of the material will be derived on the chalkboard, with some supplemental slides. The course will have both theoretical and practical (e.g. coding) aspects.
- Be able to think about any problem from a Bayesian perspective.
- Be able to create models with a high degree of flexibility and appropriate inductive biases.
- Understand the interplay between model specification and inference, and be able to construct a successful inference algorithm for a given model.
- Have familiarity with Gaussian process and deep learning models.
Homework 0 has been released. It is due Tuesday, August 30th, at the beginning of class!
This homework will be graded. Its main purpose is to indicate the expected prior background of students in the course. For calibration, at least 25% of the graded questions should be easy to answer without searching at all for any outside resources. Overall about 80% should be approachable, after searching or reminding yourself of some definitions or identities, or teaching yourself the relevant background material (e.g., reading about Bayes' rule, maximum likelihood, conjugate priors, the sum and product rules of probability, properties of multivariate Gaussian distributions, derivatives of matrices and vectors, etc.). Do not worry if you find about 10-20% of the material challenging or unfamiliar (e.g., two to four of the question parts). If you did struggle with this assignment, I recommend coming to my office hours to discuss the source of the difficulty. It's possible that you could catch up on the background, or it may be preferable to first take a more introductory course.
Homework 1 has been released. It is due Thursday, September 29.
Wilson PhD Thesis, Chapter 1, pages 2-5, 8-19.
Mackay Textbook, Ch. 29, 30.
C. Geyer, Practical Markov chain Monte Carlo, Statistical Science 7(4): 473-492. 1992.
J. Geweke, Getting it right: joint distribution tests of posterior simulators, JASA 99(467): 799-804, 2004.

industry_corpus2: Math & Statistics


text:
The AMA has provided a submission in response to the Department of Health's Consultation Paper Redesigning the Practice Incentives Program. The submission highlights that, although the AMA is committed to engaging in reform of the PIP, the process is hamstrung by the absence of any additional funding to support change as well as successive PIP funding cuts - including in the most recent Budget. While giving in principle support for the introduction of a Quality Incentive Payment, the AMA is critical of the incentive being introduced at the expense of other worthy funding incentive payments.
1. $21.2 million be returned to the PIP to enable the retention of the Aged Care Access Incentive, the Indigenous Health Incentive and the Procedural GP Payment.
2. Comprehensive modelling is done on the impact to practice funding of the streamlining of incentives, particularly for practices in RRMA’s 3-7.
3. Consideration be given to increasing the rural loading percentages if modelling demonstrates practices in in RRMA’s 3-7 will be financially disadvantaged by the new incentive.
4. Incentive requirements should be easily measured and reportable.
5. Parts 1 and 2 of Option 1 be introduced as it will best encourage and support practice involvement and progression towards quality improvement.
6. PIP funding should be paid directly to practices and never to third parties who may provide services to the practice.
7. Key quality indicators be developed on which data can be easily collected, extracted and shared without disrupting the clinical workflow.
8. The Quality Improvement Incentive empower data driven quality improvement within practices.
9. Clinical audit tools be required to utilise standardised data definitions to deliver standardised data that can be easily compiled and interpreted.
11. Careful consideration be given to impact of packaged care on the SWPE, and modifications, or a comparable alternative measure be identified.


text:
General Haulage for the South West. Able to deliver or pick up anywhere in the UK at very competetive rates.
GSL Haulage is located in the Langtree area of Devon. There are at least 2 other listings in the EX38 postcode area.

industry_corpus2: Transportation


text:
In response to requests for daily updates about drought conditions, this section provides an interactive tool for examining patterns of accumulated precipitation. Use the slider bars or the dropdown lists to select a time window from 1 to 72 months in duration, for any period from 1990 to the present.
Total precipitation anomaly is calculated by dividing the total precipitation over a specified period of months by the 1981-2010 normal precipitation for the months included in that period. If the time window includes the month-in-progress, the anomaly is calculated by dividing the total month-to-date precipitation by the 1981-2010 normal precipitation for that month, pro-rated for the number of elapsed days. For example, the normal precipitation for August 1-20 would be the 30-year value for August, multiplied by 20/31. Given that daily normal precipitation may not be evenly distributed throughout a month, the month-to-date anomalies should be viewed as approximations.
The calculations use as many as possible of the station networks and data sources ingested by the PRISM Climate Group, not just those that have existed for long periods of time. See PRISM datasets for more information; the data available from this page is "Norm81m" (normals) and "AN81m" (monthly). For information on when the grids were most recently updated, see calendar of PRISM data updates. If the time window includes the month-in-progress, "AN81d" (daily) data is used for the most recent month.
To change the window on the slider, use the dropdown lists or drag the scale handles.
Choosing the current month as end date extends the time window to include whatever days have elapsed so far this month (e.g., a duration of "2" months is actually "2 plus the fractional month").

industry_corpus2: Water Resources & Marine


text:
The WDR mediagroup (WDRmg) is the commercial subsidiary of Cologne-based Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). Besides its core business of selling advertising time, programme distribution and merchandising, its portfolio includes accessible media services and a comprehensive range of IT and broadcast services.
Michael Loeb studied law at the universities of Mannheim and Munich. In 1994, he passed the second legal state examination and joined the legal department of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR, West German Broadcasting Company) in Cologne as a fully qualified lawyer for five years. He transferred to WDR mediagroup (WDRmg), the commercial affiliate of WDR, in 1999. Within the management board of WDRmg, he was responsible for program and operational issues as Chief Operating Officer from 2001 until 2008. During that time, he additionally assumed the position of General Manager for WDRmg licensing GmbH as well as the TV production company Colonia Media. In July 2008, he became Chief Executive Officer of WDRmg.
After studying business administration at the University of Passau, Frank Nielebock started his career in 1997 when he joined the management of the media company C.A.M.P. TV in Munich. In 2002, the business graduate was appointed Managing Director of the Monaco Film Group, as which he was responsible for finance, production and personnel. At the same time he served as an authorised representative and Director of Corporate Affairs for its parent company, Odeon Film AG. At the end of 2008, he joined WDR mediagroup in Cologne. As a member of management, he was responsible for finance and investments before becoming Managing Director in March 2017.
Transparency and market conformity play an important role for WDR mediagroup, which is why the company has established a Compliance Department that formulates guidelines for compliance with legal provisions (e.g. with regard to the laws pertaining to antitrust, competition, labour or data protection). Also, thanks to its Compliance Team, WDR mediagroup is on a safe footing when it comes to preventing corruption (invitations, entertainment, incentives, etc.). The responsibilities of the Compliance Department also include evaluating business processes and structures with regard to adequacy, suitability and efficiency.
WDR mediagroup has taken comprehensive measures to combat corruption. These include, inter alia, the appointment of an external ombudsman: lawyer Axel Groeger liaises with all whistleblowers who wish to remain anonymous for reasons of self-protection. Since lawyers are bound by professional discretion, their identity is protected and names need not be disclosed. Whistleblowers may be company employees, business partners or third parties. The ombudsman in particular deals with observations on possible irregularities, conflicts of interest and suspicious circumstances, persons or companies.
1958 saw the foundation of WDR mediagroup GmbH, then still called Westdeutsches Werbefernsehen (WWF) GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln. Its initial core business was the marketing of advertising slots on TV along with the producing and trade of programme formats for the early evening schedule of Das Erste TV channel. The marketing of advertising airtime on the radio followed in 1987. The company has since developed many other fields of business and has grown into a multimedia service. In 2004, it was renamed WDR mediagroup GmbH.
The different logos of WWF and WDR mediagroup over the decades.

industry_corpus2: Media & Journalism


text:
"Orthotist", "orthopaedic brace" and "ankle-foot orthotic (AFO)" redirect here, where they are dealt with in their respective sections.
It combines disciplines of study within the health and physical sciences; mathematics and materials engineering, gait analysis, anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, biomechanics and psychology contribute to the work of orthotists (professionals in the field of orthotics). Patients benefiting from an orthosis have sustained a physical impairment such as a stroke, spinal cord injury or a congenital abnormality like spina bifida or cerebral palsy. Corrective shoe inserts are popularly known as orthotics. Certified pedorthic practitioners (known as pedorthists) are specialists in foot orthotics (pedorthics). Specialists of foot orthotics are not limited to C-Ped practitioners only.
An orthosis is intended to mechanically compensate for a pathological condition. In the 1970s, an effort was put forth to classify orthoses by their function and acronyms describing the joints that are encumbered by the orthoses were proposed by a group of American professionals involved in the field of orthotics- from this effort sprung the current nomenclature : AFO- ankle foot orthosis, TLSO-thoracolumbosacral orthosis, WHO- wrist hand orthosis, etc. The nomenclature caught on, but the more tedious effort to describe the function of the orthosis; assist dorsiflexion at ankle, limit wrist flexion to 10 degrees, resist thoracolumbar rotation did not get as much mileage due perhaps to its semantic difficulty in prescription formulation.
Orthoses were traditionally made by following a tracing of the extremity with measurements to assist in creating a well fitted device. Later the advent of plastics as a material of choice for construction necessitated the idea of creating a plaster of Paris mold of the body part in question. This method extensively is still used throughout the industry. Later changes were introduced and CAD/CAM played its part in manufacturing.
Braces are made from various types of materials—plastic, elastic, metal, or a combination of similar materials. Some designs may be purchased at a local retailer; others are more specific and require a prescription from a physician, who will fit the brace according to the patient's requirements. Over-the-counter braces are basic and available in multiple sizes. They are generally slid on or strapped on with Velcro, and are held tightly in place. The purpose of these braces is injury protection.
Upper-limb (or upper extremity) orthoses are mechanical or electromechanical devices applied externally to the arm or segments thereof in order restore or improve function, or structural characteristics of the arm segments encumbered by the device. In general, musculoskeletal problems that may be alleviated by the use of upper limb orthoses include those resulting from trauma  or disease (arthritis for example). They may also be beneficial in aiding individuals who have suffered a neurological impairment such as stroke, spinal cord injury, or peripheral neuropathy.
Foot Orthoses—comprise a specially fitted insert or footbed to a shoe. Also commonly referred to as "Orthotics" these orthoses provide support for the foot by distributing pressure or realigning foot joints while standing, walking or running. As such they are often used by athletes to relieve symptoms of a variety of soft tissue inflammatory conditions like plantar fasciitis. They may also be used in conjunction with properly fitted orthopedic footwear in the prevention of foot ulcers in the at risk diabetic foot.
An ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) is an orthosis or brace (usually plastic) that surrounds the ankle and at least part of the foot. AFOs are externally applied and intended to control position and motion of the ankle, compensate for weakness, or correct deformities. This type of orthosis is believed to cause chronic joint weakness if over or improperly worn.  They control the ankle directly, and can be designed to control the knee joint indirectly as well. AFOs are commonly used in the treatment of disorders affecting muscle function such as stroke, spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, polio, multiple sclerosis and peripheral neuropathy. AFOs can be used to support wasted limbs, or to position a limb with contracted muscles into a more normal position. They are also used to immobilize the ankle and lower leg in the presence of arthritis or fracture, and to correct foot drop; an AFO is also known as a foot-drop brace.
Ankle-foot orthoses are the most commonly-used orthoses, making up about 26% of all orthoses provided in the United States. According to a review of Medicare payment data from 2001 to 2006, the base cost of an AFO was about $500 to $700. An AFO is generally constructed of lightweight polypropylene-based plastic in the shape of an "L", with the upright portion behind the calf and the lower portion running under the foot. They are attached to the calf with a strap, and are made to fit inside accommodative shoes. The unbroken "L" shape of some designs provides rigidity, while other designs (with a jointed ankle) provide different types of control.
may provide dorsiflexion assistance, but give poor stabilization of the subtalar joint. block ankle motion, especially dorsiflexion; do not provide good stabilization for the subtalar joint. block ankle movements and stabilize the subtalar joint; may also help control adduction and abduction of the forefoot. provide subtalar stabilization while allowing free ankle dorsiflexion and free or restricted plantar flexion, depending upon the design; may provide dorsiflexion assistance to correct foot drop.
A knee orthosis (KO) or knee brace is a brace that extends above and below the knee joint and is generally worn to support or align the knee. In the case of diseases causing neurological or muscular impairment of muscles surrounding the knee, a KO can prevent flexion or extension instability of the knee. In the case of conditions affecting the ligaments or cartilage of the knee, a KO can provide stabilization to the knee by replacing the function of these injured or damaged parts. For instance, knee braces can be used to relieve pressure from the part of the knee joint affected by diseases such as arthritis or osteoarthritis by realigning the knee joint into valgus or varus. In this way a KO may help reduce osteoarthritis pain. However, a knee brace is not meant to treat an injury or disease on its own, but is used as a component of treatment along with drugs, physical therapy and possibly surgery. When used properly, a knee brace may help an individual to stay active by enhancing the position and movement of the knee or reducing pain.
Scoliosis, a condition describing an abnormal curvature of the spine, may in certain cases be treated with spinal orthoses, such as the Milwaukee brace, the Boston brace, and Charleston bending brace. As this condition develops most commonly in adolescent females who are undergoing their pubertal growth spurt, compliance with wearing is these orthoses is hampered by the concern these individuals have about changes in appearance and restriction caused by wearing these orthoses.
There are a number of spinal orthotic designs common to assist individuals with pathologies of the neck and back. A thoracolumbar spinal orthosis (TLSO) is a plastic body jacket to immobilize the thoracolumbar spine, although that term describes any type of orthosis that encumbers the trunk, ranging from soft corsets to metal braces to strap and pad designs that affect pathologies ranging from back pain to scoliosis to fracture.
TLSOs may also be used in the treatment of stable spinal fractures. A Jewett brace, for instance may be used to facilitate healing of an anterior wedge fracture involving the T10 to L3 vertebrae. A clamshell TLSO may be used to stabilize fractures of the spine of either anterior or posterior elements of the spine in the region of T8 to L3. The halo brace is a cervical thoracic orthosis used to immobilize the cervical spine, usually following fracture. The halo brace allows the least cervical motion of all cervical braces currently in use, it was first developed by Dr. Vernon L. Nickel at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in 1955.
UK orthotists design and fit orthoses for all parts of the body, and are registered with the Health Professions Council . The training is a Bsc.(Hons) in Prosthetics and Orthotics at either the University of Salford or University of Strathclyde. New graduates are therefore eligible to work as an orthotist and/or prosthetist.
A licensed orthotist is an orthotist who is recognized by the particular state in which s/he is licensed to have met basic standards of proficiency, as determined by examination and experience to adequately and safely contribute to the health of the residents of that state. An "ABC" or American Board of Certification certified orthotist has met certain standards; these include a degree in orthotics, completion of a one-year residency at an approved clinical site, and passing a rigorous three-part exam.
A Certified Orthotist (CO) is an orthotist who has passed the certification standards of the American Board of Certification in Orthotics & Prosthetics.
↑ 2.0 2.1 "Upper Limb Orthotics". eMedicine from WebMD. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/314774-overview. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
↑ "Lower Limb Orthotics". eMedicine from WebMD. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/314838-overview. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
↑ Kolata, Gina (2011-01-17). "Close Look at Orthotics Raises a Welter of Doubts". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/health/nutrition/18best.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
↑ 5.0 5.1 Michael, JW. Lower limb orthoses, in AAOS Atlas of Orthoses and Assistive Devices, J Hsu, J Michael and J Fisk, eds. 2008, Mosby Elsevier; Philadelphia, PA, p. 343-355.
↑ Whiteside, S., et al. Practice analysis of certified practitioners in the disciplines of orthotics and prosthetics. 2007, American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics, Inc., Alexandria, VA.
↑ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, PSPS Files 2001-2006.
↑ Mayo Clinic. "knee braces overview" 2010-01-26.
This page was last modified on 20 August 2014, at 17:23.


text:
With attention turned to Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales promotions, some retailers might overlook the ecommerce benefits Thanksgiving Day has to offer.
Considering the fact that, according to comScore, Thanksgiving online purchases in 2013 climbed 21 percent over the previous year, merchants may want to reconsider their position.
In “10 Tips for Using Social Media in Holiday Ecommerce Marketing,” I shared ideas for utilizing social media during the holidays more generally. Today, I want to hone in on eight low-cost ways to leverage social specifically for Thanksgiving.
Spend some time Thanksgiving Day chatting with your customers on Facebook and Twitter about what Thanksgiving means to them. Ask customers what they are thankful for, and share your gratitude with them and for them.
If you have employees, showcase them in various ways during the week of Thanksgiving.
Highlight volunteer efforts in which they are involved, shoot a video where each employee shares a favorite Thanksgiving Day memory, or create a Facebook photo album of your employees’ Thanksgiving Day family gatherings.
There is a chance your employees will share those highlights with their family and friends on Facebook, which will expose even more people to your brand.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade presents an excellent opportunity to interact with others in a live social conversation on Twitter. It is also an opportunity to promote your products via creative tweets accompanied by brand-relevant hashtags.
College football, another Thanksgiving Day tradition, is a time when in-state rivals vie for bragging rights for another year. If you plan to watch the big game, use it as an excuse to tactfully promote your brand through the company Twitter channel and Facebook page.
Previously, I mentioned the comScore report citing growth in sales on Thanksgiving. With more and more brands starting Black Friday sales sooner, those numbers are likely to climb. Consider jumping on the bandwagon and kickoff your Black Friday promotional efforts early, as well.
5. Give something away for free.
There is a reason it’s called thanks “giving.” On that day, offer to give away something for free such as free shipping or a gift with every purchase.
If you use Pinterest for product promotion, add a Thanksgiving-themed board consisting of recipe ideas, the aforementioned travel tips, table decorations, ideas for what to do with leftovers, and more. Insert relevant products into the mix, and share pins across other social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.
Thanksgiving-related sweepstakes and contests are good way to build your prospect database in advance of the holiday season, which could translate into increased sales in the weeks following.
One idea that is a natural fit for Thanksgiving — and which could garner lots of attention and social sharing — is a Thanksgiving dinner giveaway.
Retailers such as Boston Market, Target, Safeway, and Whole Foods offer digital gift cards that you can purchase and email to the winner. If you plan to use the entrants’ email addresses in ongoing promotions, include a statement to that effect in the sweepstakes or contest terms and conditions.


text:
Fourth of July in the Mountains and the Beauty of Rest.
We recently got back from a long 4th of July weekend in the North Carolina mountains, and it was just what we needed. We haven't been with my entire family at once (Mom, Dad, Two sisters, brother-in-law, and dog-nephew, Flint) since Thanksgiving, and we got to meet them at my Aunt and Uncle's place in North Carolina for a few days of fun and relaxation with some of my extended family.
I use this blog both as a place to share inspiration and also to keep track of my own memories, so i figured I would share a recap of our few days in the mountains.
We live in a world that makes it really hard to just take a break and rest. The mountains are a place that I feel like I can do that. I absolutely love the grandeur of peaks and cliffs and valleys. I love lakes in the mountains. I love oceans that jut up to massive rocks. I would choose a mountain cabin over a Caribbean beach any day.
Every morning while we were gone, I woke up before sunrise and watched the sun come up. I brought my journal and read scripture; I find so much joy in the solitude and the stillness as the sun comes up...especially when I get to watch it rise over the mountains.
While we were celebrating the freedom of America, there were quite a few news stories that made headlines which had me questioning freedom for all and the reliability of justice in our country, But vistas like this one remind me that God is still in control. The purple mountains are still majestic. The spacious skies are so beautiful. The ULTIMATE freedom still rings for those of us who have found our freedom in Christ.
My great Aunt and Uncle are members of a beautiful mountain resort in Cashiers, North Carolina, and that community knows how to do the Fourth of July weekend up right. We started out with Bingo night on Sunday night. On the Fourth, we woke up and ran a 5K. It was my first ever 5K. I've been running for the past month or so, and a 5K on a mountainous course was a big accomplishment for me!
On the evening of the Fourth, we went to the annual Mountain Top Family Carnival, and it was such a blast! The perfect place to eat American food, watch fireworks, and dance to a live band.
Also, my sister is an amazing photographer! I love these photos she took that night. Be sure to check her out at www.sydneygoodwinphotography.com.
Raegan's Dress: Old Navy (last season). My top: LOFT. Necklace: Francesca's.
Time with family paired with gorgeous views was just what we needed to get some rest. Sometimes we have to step out of the normal to force ourselves to slow down and enjoy what's around us.
I hope your Independence Day was full of rest, beauty and family.


text:
Logan Paul called out by Sage Northcutt … Interested?
Tito Ortiz vs Chuck Liddell Nov 18th … Will you be watching this trilogy bout between two MMA legends?
You can watch previous episodes of the Split Decision MMA Podcast on MyMMANews here.

industry_corpus2: Sports


text:
Friday saw a wedding at the Hall - and we are happy to report that a good time was had be all, despite Mother Nature's best attempts to put a dampener on proceedings!
Needless to say that our fears were unfounded. Carol from Beau Belles was fantastic - a lovely person who had only her Bride's best interests heart.
The day ran smoothly and without a hitch. Carol and yours truly sat at the back of the Ceremony and both shed a tear as the vows were said. The Civil Ceremony was followed by an Anglican Service of Dedication in the Chapel taken by Canon Keith Punshon.
Now for a spot of "product placement"! We are very proud to have links with some of the area's finest services and suppliers when it comes to weddings.
The flowers (pictured left) were supplied by Lance at Caine Florists in Harrogate and the official photographs were taken by Nicola Martindale in Ripon. Both did our happy couple proud.


text: This THP is about 5 miles NW of Ukiah, CA and Highway 101 at an elevation of 1,200 to 2,489 feet. Mendocino Redwood Company is planning a tractor and cable logging operation in Douglas fir forests. The THP area flows into the Russian River which is listed as impaired for sediment and contains coho, chinook and steelhead trout. Mendocino Redwood Company is planning to use tractors in areas designated for cable logging. 3 populations of north coast semaphore grass were found in unit 2, and white flowered rein orchid was found along an existing seasonal road. More information is available on the THP Tracking Center website.

industry_corpus2: Agriculture & Fisheries


text:
Some of you may be familiar with this community. Jendela Jakarta Community, is one of the branches of Jendela Community which established for the first time in Yogyakarta. Along with Jakarta and Yogyakarta branches, this community also exists in some cities, such as Bandung, Lampung, Malang, Bengkalis, Jember, Bangka and North Sumatera.
Managed well by inspiring volunteers, Jendela Jakarta Community has survived and contributed in children education, for at least 7 years.
Not only focusing on children education, this community also focusing themselves to develop interest and talent of any volunteers. Using simple library they have, there is free fun classes to grown marginal children interest to read more books in some places, Manggarai, Sunter and Serpong.
Several programs they do for recent years are, Regular Program, weekend learning, Reading Program, accompany children to read at least a book per month, Tahsin Program, learning and understanding Islam, Practicum Program, simple science experiments per two months, One Day Trip Program, visiting historical places around JABODETABEK, Donator Program, in form of education fees and the last one is Cooking Day Program, making healthy tasty food in fun ways.
Join them as volunteer, opening another branch or get deeper interesting information about Jendela Jakarta Community, please kindly check their contact detail down below.


text: DataSoft is the Local Temenos T24 Implementation Partner in Bangladesh. Temenos T24 is one of the most popular and widely used banking applications in the world. In 2016 Temenos topped both IBS Intelligence league table and the Forrester pyramid, for sales of mission critical software for the banking and finance industry. Temenos for the last 13 years. We have built expert team of technical and business consultants for the implementation of T24 Core Banking Solution. We have already implanted core banking solution into 6 banks of Bangladesh.


text:
The flavor of this lusciously Creamy Avocado Lime Sauce is matched only by its versatility…so much so that it might just become your new favorite condiment!
Move over guacamole! Ok, I’m joking. Good guac is hard to knock. This versatile, super creamy avocado lime sauce, however, has the power to transform even the simplest of meals. Plus it’s dairy-free and vegan and will maintain its beautiful green color for days.
Years ago, I shared a recipe for “Everything Sauce,” aptly named for its knack to perk up just about anything. Without a doubt, Super Creamy Avocado Lime Sauce is Everything Sauce, take two.
I first made this versatile sauce months ago for a friend who was struggling through Whole30. She had requested sauces that would provide the flavor and satiety that she was craving after a week on the plan.
When I was originally fiddling with the recipe, I had visions of adding a touch of honey to balance the lime. That ingredient isn’t part of the Whole30 plan, so I omitted it–and then when we ultimately dipped our spoons in the blender for a taste, we had no desire to mask the pleasant zing of the lime. Of course, if you prefer a touch of sweetness, you could absolutely add a drizzle of honey to the blender.
So how might this easy blender sauce be enjoyed?
For starters, think of all the ways you enjoy guacamole–as a dip, on tacos, burgers, fish, chicken, salads, burritos (regular and bowl versions), and so on.
Beyond those specifics, anything with a south-of-the-border theme or anything simply prepared that could benefit from the moisture and flavor of a salsa or sauce. Think grilled chicken, broiled salmon, or a baked potato for starters.
You could use it in place of mayo, perhaps on a turkey sandwich or stirred into egg, tuna, or chicken salad.
My younger son could scoop up a whole batch with the help of a bowl of tortilla chips, but veggie dippers work well, too.
My favorite way to enjoy is to start with a base of cooked rice or quinoa, and then add any combination of chicken (or shrimp, steak, or pork–and leftovers are fair game), black beans, tomatoes, maybe a little corn and some chopped romaine, a crumble of tortilla chips, sometimes some shredded cheese–and top it all with the avocado lime sauce. Such an easy meal. And YUM!
Or make a simplified version of the above using a baked potato (regular or sweet) as a base, and then add black beans for protein, a scoop of chunky salsa, and avocado lime sauce. Such an easy and healthy meal!
Move over guacamole, if only briefly. This versatile sauce has the power to transform even the simplest of meals. Plus it's dairy-free and vegan and will maintain it's beautiful green color for days!
Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides once or twice as needed.
Add a little more water if you’d like a thinner sauce, adjusting seasonings according to taste, if needed, to offset the additional liquid.
If your blender has a wide bottom, green flecks of cilantro will likely be visible (which is fine and doesn’t alter taste) and the blender may not blend to a super creamy texture. This happens when there isn’t enough mass to evenly whirl in the blending mechanism. In this case, you’ll need to scrape down the sides a few more times—or can be remedied by making 1.5 or 2X the stated recipe.
Depending on how you use this sauce, you may enjoy a subtle hint of sweetness. If so, add a teaspoon or so of honey, adjusting to taste.
Super Creamy Avocado Lime Sauce nicely dresses all sorts of veggie, grain, and burrito bowls. The simple blender sauce complements the likes of black beans, sweet potatoes, rice, quinoa, corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, chicken, pork, seafood, and steak. It’s likely to complement anything Tex-Mex—just think of all the ways you might use guacamole, and give this flavorful sauce a go instead!
This would be great over the international dish I make with quinoa. Have been wanting to make it and this gives me a new idea!
I’ve been slathering this over everything since I made it three days ago. It’s amazing…and still green!
So happy you’ve been enjoying this, Richard!
I’ve made this twice and have thoroughly enjoyed!
Wonderful! Thanks for letting me know, Erin.

industry_corpus2: Hospitality & Catering