Que penser quand un collègue est en tête de liste, mais que c’est un de ses “suivants”, trois ou quatre rangs plus bas, qui est nommé au nouveau grade ? Que penser quand les critères objectifs, sur lesquels le syndicat avait donné son aval, ne sont pas respectés ?

Bien sûr, on peut comprendre : même le collègue intéressé sait et accepte le pouvoir du président. Mais on peut quand même dire que les critères et le tableau sont contre-productifs : ils donnent l’apparence de l’objectivité, ils font naître des espoirs, mais la décision se fait finalement sur des arguments non-écrits. Ne restent que l’incompréhension et l’amertume.

Le 22 octobre, lors de la CAP , nous nous sommes donc abstenus à plusieurs reprises pour l’avancement des A. Et nous avons demandé que les décisions d’avancement soient fondés par des éléments écrits. Par exemple, le jugement sur la manière de servir actuellement sera complété par un avis sur le potentiel d’un agent sur le futur grade auquel il prétend (encadrement, responsabilités…). Enfin, le directeur général fera figurer son avis en plus de celui du directeur. Il y aura peut être des surprises, mais les choses seront claires.

As of November 20, 2009, approximately 56,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed. USCIS has approved sufficient H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap. Any H-1B petitions filed on behalf of an alien with an advanced degree will now count toward the general H-1B cap of 65,000. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

My goodness, it’s been quite a while!  My world has been quite busy these days…ballet class problems, 4-H club meetings (5 weeks of cooking, 1 week of tying a quilt, 3 weeks of sewing), Cub Scout meetings and trainings, school with the kids, etc….

I don’t have anything earth-shattering or profound to blog about but I do have a few things to share.

First up: my boy is now a Bear in Cub Scouts (*sniff*…he’s leaving my den!  Not grand).  Here’s a rather washed-out picture of him getting his Bear book last week at pack meeting:

The kids did a wonderful job during the 4-H sewing meetings.  The first two weeks we made long fabric hair ties and toy bags for the LDS Humanitarian Center, but last week the kids could make whatever they wanted.  Ciara drew a shark picture on paper, cut it out, and used that for her pattern.  She made a stuffed shark toy for her cousin Ethan’s birthday, coming up soon:

I’m so proud of her!! She did a terrific job!

Bran and Nia decided to make themselves toy bags, modeled on the Humanitarian ones:

I never would’ve thought it was possible to teach a 6-year-old to run a sewing machine.  Nia and Bran did so well!  I have to watch them carefully, of course, so they don’t hurt themselves, but all three kids wowed and amazed me.

Friday night I checked the weather for Saturday and it was supposed to be quite cold and snowy.  Since I don’t have a hat yet, I gave my fingers a workout getting this done in time:

The fast, fun and warm Calorimetry from Knitty.com

I got up at 6am Saturday and worked like crazy until 7:45, finishing it just in time for Ciara and I to leave for the Twilight Lexicon New Moon party.  (We thought we’d be standing outside in the cold for an hour, but that’s another story for another day.)

Speaking of knitting, I finally finished Bran’s stocking hat (after three tries…size was either too big or too small…third time was definitely the charm with this one!), made some matching fingerless gloves, and a scarf.  I am not thrilled that the scarf isn’t longer.  I measured it carefully but somehow it shrank while I was making it.  The gloves are okay; not the best, but definitely better than the first pair I made last year (and since I didn’t have a pattern, I’m glad I managed to figure them out).  The hat is grand and I know he’ll love it but I wish it was longer.  He wants a really, really long one.  I still need to make the pom pom for the end.

Bran’s been wanting fingerless gloves for a year

Ciara, modeling Bran’s matching set

The now-infamous “3rd time” hat

The kids and I got up early to shovel the snowy driveway this morning.  I’m looking very much forward to a relaxing week…no ballet, no Cub Scouts, no 4-H.  My brother and his wife are down from Idaho and I’m excited for all the upcoming family time.  I hope you’re all safe and warm and enjoying family!  Happy Thanksgiving!

"shop windows", no. 11, originally uploaded by Claus Cyrny.

Mannequin inside the window of a shop selling expensive designer clothes. I shot this one last Saturday evening in downtown Stuttgart.

"shop windows", no. 11, originally uploaded by Claus Cyrny.

Mannequin inside a shop seeling expensive designer’s clothes. I shot this one last Saturday in the evening in downtown Stuttgart.

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Bee-Bots are programmable robots for students in the early years of learning. They can be used for teaching a range of concepts within the play based environment. For further information check out their website, there are heaps of lesson plans and curriculum ideas. 

If anyone is interested in purchasing these particularly if you are a CAP school please contact me (stacey.kelly1@det.nsw.edu.au) - I am able to get special pricing!

From the Telegraph:

1.  Smoot-Hawley

The most famous act of protectionism took place in the 1930s when the US government, facing the early forces of depression, legislated to impose tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods – some significantly. The act triggered a spiral of retaliatory protectionism across the world, and in the view of some economists, fuelled both the Great Depression and the geopolitical tension that led to the Second World War.

2. Common Agricultural Policy

Under the CAP – a European scheme, although similar programmes are in place in the US and throughout the developed world – domestic farmers are given subsidies for producing (or in some cases not producing) food. Without such subsidies many domestic agricultural businesses would collapse, since they cannot compete with the cheap prices charged by overseas exporters for everything from vegetables to livestock to cotton.

3. Shoe wars, bra wars

Recently, in his former role as European Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson accused China of illegally dumping vast numbers of shoes – and later bras – on the European markets. “Dumping” is the name given when a country exports a product at a price even lower than that paid in its domestic market. Under the WTO code, it can act against such moves under so-called “anti-dumping” rules.

4. Chinese tyres

China and the US are currently locked in a trade battle over the trade in car tyres. In September, the US Congress accused China of illegally swamping the US market with cheap tyres and imposed tariffs on those imported from the Asian giant. China in turn accused the US of protectionism, arguing that exports to America had actually dropped last year. But with thousands of American jobs on the line, the case is still the focus of heated debate.

5. India vs China

The WTO is not merely a mechanism for the West to fight its own corner against cheaper emerging market exporters. Emerging and developing nations also use it as a forum to tackle their own independent trade battles. Recently, China and India have been locked in debate over trade, with India accusing China of expanding overly aggressively into its silk and satin markets. India argues that Chinese prices are so cheap that its key domestic industry is simply unable to compete.

I’m still waiting for a relic card of Anson.  The few cut signatures he does have sell well into the thousands when they surface.

Govt Not to Impose Restrictions on Foreign Borrowings

The government ruled out limiting companies from borrowing money from overseas market stating that the rise in foreign money is not a matter of concern at present and there is no such proposal.

However, companies are permitted to raise $500 million annually under the automatic route while infrastructure firms under the approval route can remit up to $100 million for rupee expenditure and for other companies the cap on approval route remittance is set at $50 million.

Meanwhile, capital inflows reached record levels as investors borrow cheap from advanced countries and invest in high-yielding assets in developing countries while this led to speculations that government may put in place a system of auctioning ECBs.

In India, foreign inflows through foreign institutional investors (FIIs), ECBs and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) have been on the rise, while FDI is not picking up as fast.

On the other hand, on a quarterly basis, the funds raised through ECBs and FCCBs increased by 70% in the September quarter to $4.61 billion while FIIs have put in a record over Rs 71,900 crore in the equities market.

Interested Please drop your resume at careers@bellben.com

Company – Our Client is $5Bn Indian IT major.
Location – Melbourne/Sydney, Australia.
Job type: Permanent/Full-time
Experience – 6 – 10yrs

Brief Specification of the Position.

-Client is looking for candidates from the Information Technology Services background.
-Should have good Business Development expericne in Financial Services in the past.
-Should have handled end to end bid management process of at least $3-10 million per annum.
-Will be primarily responsible for bring in new Financial Services clients in Australia for the company.
-Local talents or candidates authorized to work in Australia are preferred.

Thanks, Benedict

MAJOR DC dropped this collab fitted with New Era back in late May, but it just caught my attention.  For all of you sneakerheads out there, the whole MAJOR DC and New Era fam searched to find the exact materials and fabrics used on the Nike Dunk Low Pro SB “Diamond” sneakers or commonly known as “Tiffany’s” due to their resemblence of the Tiffany jewellery box.  This hat is by far one of the most detailed I’ve seen in the last little while.  The front and back of the cap feature the MAJOR DC “Trinity” logo and “3 Stars” logo in black, outlined in metallic silver.  The inside of the cap features MAJOR DC’s “Step-N-Repeat” logo imprinted on the satin lining, while the top button is done in silver satin, inspired by the ribbons used when packaging fine gems. 

SOURCE: MAJOR DC

Reprinted from USCIS:

As of November 13, 2009, approximately 55,600 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed. USCIS has approved sufficient H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap. Any H-1B petitions filed on behalf of an alien with an advanced degree will now count toward the general H-1B cap of 65,000. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

The Winter is fast approaching (at least where I am) and scarfs, hats and gloves are already starting to emerge from their bleak, desolate and much forgotten storage places. Winter accessories can drastically improve what is ordinarily a dreary outfit. Now, while there is no article that is more important than the other (in my opinion) lets just focus on one aspect of the attire that keeps you the warmest, the hat.

Haggie Beanie Hat

Alright, it may seem simple, but trust me this is a must have. Sometimes simple is the best thing for you. Having a black hat with some matching black gloves is something so standard that you may overlook this. So, if you are in this category of need, check this out, and check out their site HERE, they have a very nice selection at reasonable prices. moving on…

Coal Mini Beanie

Alright, this is kinda like a mini cable knit beanie. I chose a cream color because I know a lot of people like that look, and I’m kinda on the fence. I mean, I hate hate hate white cars; so awful, so ugly, so boring but every once in a while a cream colored car comes along and shocks me. I suppose it would work if you really do like it, but I’m totally indifferent right now, I can’t hate on it, and I can’t support it. It’s kind of like the way I feel about TV shows, they’ll surprise you every now and again (Modern Family, Community). Anywho, I think the more bang for your buck is the green cap as you can wear it with black, gray or brown jackets.

Black Knitted Beanie

These loose fitting beanies are very popular these days and its definitely not due to their functionality as most wear it loosely atop and back on their heads. This is the laid back, casual, maybe-I-didn’t-shave-the-past-couple-of-days-and-I-don’t-care look. Very appropriate if you’re going for a rugged style. If you do go for a dark colored beanie, then maybe consider black, tall boots, dark skinny jeans, and a leather jacket or dark peacoat. That outfit would look B.A. You can find these hats almost anywhere these days, so don’t spend a fortune getting one.

Nepal Knit Earflap Hat

Now, if you’re into the ski patrol/lumberjack look this the hat for you. Ear flaps are very youthful and exude much more of a laid back sentiment. I honestly picked this one because it has black and brown in it so you can wear it for almost any colored jacket. This website has a TON of different styles for you to peruse, and for reasonable prices too. Check out their hats HERE, its pretty crazy how many they have. Regardless of which design you go with, you’re essentially getting the same affect of an outdoorys guy (think Colorado, Montana, etc.), so maybe consider that with what your jacket, pants and boots are saying about your outfit. Hopefully they coincide. This isn’t exactly a dressy hat, but lets be honest, we’re not always dressy guys. This is a good mix up to wear to work on a Friday or a weekend activity. Keep it casual, but don’t mix and match dressy and casual, stick to one or the other and you’ll be good. A thick sweater, straight fitting jeans, big boots and a casual jacket would complete this look.

Ibn Jasper has to be one of the luckiest guys to know kanYe. Well he does cut his hair, but not many people get a pair of Louis Vuitton sneakers named after them. Ibn has taken the sneakers that are named after him and used it an an inspiration for his own custom 5-panel caps with Quintin. The caps use the same styling as the sneakers down to the tassels. So far Ibn Jasper has been seen with the cap in grey and black, to match the colorways of the sneaker. Hopefully these will be dropping soon, because they look pretty nice.

Click for more pics

Reprinted from USCIS:

As of November 6, 2009, approximately 54,700 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed. USCIS has approved sufficient H1-B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap. Any H1-B petitions filed on behalf of an alien with an advanced degree will now count toward the general H1-B cap of 65,000. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

Now available at the Aircomplane.com Online Store: Aircomplane.com T-Shirts, hats, Teddy Bears, polo shirts, children’s clothing, and other great items!

Show your support for Aircomplane.com, and look really slick doing it!

When we launched Aircomplane.com, we had no idea how helpful and successful the site would become. From the beginning, we wanted it to be more than a bitch site, and it is. There is valuable information on how to reach, deal with, and effectively complain to the airlines, and we are proud to be a part of it.

As with any such movement endeavor, the more people that know about Aircomplane.com, the better. To that end, we have arranged for a line of Aircomplane.com clothing and other items that support what we are trying to do. Your Aircomplane.com mug, T-Shirt, Teddy Bear, or throw pillow (we’re not kidding) tells the airlines and others that we intend to be heard. And each item is branded accordingly: Aircomplane.com – The herd being heard.

We invite you to visit our online store and be the first on your block or in your cubicle to own Official Aircomplane.com swag.

Thanks again for your support! Keep reading and writing.

http://store.aircomplane.com (There is no www.)

Aircomplane.com Official Polo Shirt – Tasteful yet bitchy.

Aircomplane.com Boxer Shorts – Hot!

Aircomplane.com Bumper/Luggage Sticker and Aircomplane.com Black Cap – Cool!

Chiar sunt dusa. Serios, am probleme. Am o stare intre neliniste, un fel de tristete, nervi multi, euforie, amorteala si lene. Numai eu puteam sa am asa o combinatie. Rad ca proasta. Cred ca sufar de anxietate. Sau schizofrenie. Sau bipolaritate. Sau toate la un loc. Oricum, ceva asa. Nu sunt in toate facultatile mintale. In curand cred ca o sa am dunga rosie pe buletin. Cum ma, sa ajung asa intr-un timp asa de scurt? Cred ca intodeauna am avut niste problemute la mansarda. Dar acum sunt prea de tot. O fi de la insomnii. Cica daca nu ti se odihneste creierasul suficient, o iei razna. Raaaaznaaaa. E clar, mi-am pierdut si coerenta.

Azi am fost data afara de la cursul de biofizica. Am fost dati afara de la cursul de biofizica.

Mai bine azi in loc de vodka aia din suc, puneam formol. Cred ca ne amuzam si mai tare la anato.

Cel mai rau e ca azi m-am simtit obosita, toata ziua. Iar acum am o energie de parca am dormit 4 zile fata intrerupere. Ma trezesc la 7 dim. E greva la metrou. O sa chiulesc de la un curs. O sa imi distrug ficatul de la mirosul de formol.

Am chef sa vorbesc franceza o zi intreaga. Toooata ziua. Sa uit ca stiu romana.

[Daca nu ma vei saluta cand ma vezi pe strada. Iti voi da cu geanta in cap. Da, da. Tu. Si sa vezi bataia dracu' in strada.]

Nu inchei postul de azi fara sa ii zic la multi ani lui Beatrice (fara varice), care e cu siguranta cea mai tare, cea mai frumoasa, cea mai simpatica  si inteligenta moldoveanca din cate cunosc. Si sper sa ramana asa mereu. Pe langa sanatate. Atat iti doresc: sa ajungi cu bine in anu’ 6. Si sa ma iei si pe mine dupa tine.

URL: http://e.thenews.com.pk/mag_details.asp?id=4465

I spent Thursday and Friday working with Sue, Pam, Kerry and Thea from Early Childhood and an amazing bunch of pre school teachers from DET and the community sector looking at the integration of relevant ICTs into their settings. Hanan Harrison from ASN led us on Thursday and part of Friday and spoke of the importance for early childhood teachers to use ICT as part of play based learning and in particular taking things from 2D into 3D and vice versa. Find below some useful links:

• Connections Website - a number of you mentioned that you had or were about to receive Connected Classrooms. On this site you will find a list of events that DART offer.
• CAP Digital Story Telling Website – a site with a bunch of links etc for Digital Story Telling.
• Digital Story Telling Website – a site with over 50 tools to do Digital Story Telling.
• Disney Surfswell Island – a site which teaches young children and their parents about Internet safety.
• Animoto – an online tool which allows you to quite simply put photos together and short movies to form a Digital Story Telling.

Raymond Scott Freeman e Toby Menfins não são garotos iguais aos outros. Afinal se fossem, não estaríamos aqui.

Por ser irmão de Ray, Moray, que muda sua identificação para Gaya, tem os mesmo poderes que ele. Eles controlam os elementos básicos da natureza: Fogo, água, ar, terra, planta e eletricidade além de ter a super-velocidade. Porém, ambos também tem uma força malígna ou elemento negro chamado Dark que pode transformar toda a sua personalidade para o negativo, ou seja, as qualidades boas viram ruins e as ruins viram boas. Toby tem o Infra-Red. Raios com a mesma intencida do calor do sol são disparados de seus olhos. Mas isso não é só. Ele também pode criar e controlar materias derivados ou provinientes do cristal por causa disso pode controlar um pouco do fogo e água, mas também pode controlar muito bem o vento sendo essa sua melhor abilidade. Toby tem ainda a super-velocidade, porém inferior à de Ray. Mas estão pra descobrir que estes poderes vão além do que eles conhecem até agora.

Ray ganhou poderes mais jovem quando seu irmão mais velho se rebelou e matou seus pais em uma época em que estranhas coisas estava acontecendo, causando um tremendo caos. Os pais de Toby, melhor amigo de Ray, também foram assasinados, até onde se sabe, também pelo irmão de Ray. Nessa época também sumiu o corpo de Kimberly Willson McDonald, a garota que não sai da cabeça de Ray. Mesmo Toby achando que ela está morta, Ray continua a busca para encontrá-la. Desde de então Toby se denomina por Saimon.

Agora nos encontramos em uma situação complicada. Ray tem apenas sua tia viva. Ela tem contado com ele, mas não sabe onde ele está. Ele não demonstra, mas tudo que Toby busca agora é se vingar e curtir a viva ao lado do melhor amigo. Eles vivem em uma fábrica abandonada sozinhos, mas não sabem que estão prestes a encontrar mais companhia: amigos com poderes assim como eles. Amigos que mudaram sua viva mais do que já está mudada.

Após tanto tempo, Ray e Toby tentam começar uma vida normal. Começam por se matricular em uma escola e aguardam a aprovação. A noite, Toby sai para se distrair. Usando sua velocidade vai pulando de prédio em prédio. De repente ele se depara com uma linda moça sendo perceguida por alguns marmanjos.

O que ele fez?! Desculbram no primeiro capítulo dessa aventura. E já vou avisando, hein. Essa mordomia de ler tudo certinho e bonitinho foi só hoje. Eu não costumo ser assim não. É que hoje me pediram pra ser comportado porque é o capítulo 0 e eu tinha que passar um boa impressão. Mas olha só, eu já tomo remédio pra essa minha ansiedade. Bom, enfim, até o primeiro capítulo. Apropósito, o primeiro volume se chama “O início”.

FUIII!!!