Phasmatodea

The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida or Phasmatoptera) are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects (in Europe and Australasia), stick-bugs or walking sticks (in the United States and Canada), phasmids, ghost insects and leaf insects (generally the family Phylliidae). The group's name is derived from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, referring to the resemblance of many species to sticks or leaves. Their natural camouflage makes them difficult for predators to detect, but many species have a secondary line of defence in the form of startle displays, spines or toxic secretions. The genus Phobaeticus includes the world's longest insects.

Members of the order are found all over the world except for the Antarctic and Patagonia, but they are most abundant in the tropics and subtropics. They are herbivorous with many species living unobtrusively in the tree canopy. They have a hemimetabolous life cycle with three stages: eggs, nymphs and adults. Many phasmids are parthenogenic, and do not require fertilised eggs for female offspring to be produced. In hotter climates, they may breed all year round; in more temperate regions, the females lay eggs in the autumn before dying, and the new generation hatches out in the spring. Some species have wings and can disperse by flying, while others are more restricted.

Egg Banking

Egg is a former British internet bank headquartered in Derby, that is now a trading name of Yorkshire Building Society. Egg was born out of the UK banking arm of Prudential plc, Prudential Banking plc, which was established in 1996, and the Egg brand was launched in 1998.

It was only possible to operate an Egg account over the internet, or via their call centre. Egg specialised in savings and general insurance but no longer offers loans, credit cards or mortgage products. The credit card business was sold to Barclaycard, followed by the remaining savings and mortgage business to Yorkshire Building Society, which subsequently transferred all remaining customer accounts over from Egg.

Following the sale of its assets, Egg Banking plc, which remained under the ownership of Citigroup, was renamed Canada Square Operations Limited and continues to handle matters relating to certain Egg products from before the sale of assets and any assets that were not transferred to the new owners.

Egg (car)

Egg or Egg & Egli was a Swiss car made in business from 1896 to 1919. It was one of the more long-lived early Swiss car makes. It appeared at numerous auto shows and competed in France's annual smash-up derby.

History

Rudolf Egg, an automotive engineer, built a car for his own use in 1893. He later founded the namesake company in 1896 in Zürich with funds from a Swiss banker called Egli. In 1904, the company moved to Wollishofen, operating under the name Motorwagenfabrik Excelsior. Egg's company later produced some of the first Swiss aircraft engines. Financial difficulties after the war forced the closure of the business in 1919. Egg himself later became a Renault dealer.

Models

At the outset, all models were three-wheelers. Called Egg & Egli Tricycle before 1900, later three-wheelers were marketed as Egg & Egli Rapid. The first four-wheeled cars were produced in 1899, with a heavy resemblance to the Oldsmobile Curved Dash. Egg models were regarded as high-quality in Switzerland, and many Swiss companies produced them under license.

Book of Joel

The Book of Joel is part of the Hebrew Bible. Joel is part of a group of twelve prophetic books known as the Twelve Minor Prophets. (The term indicates the short length of the text in relation to the longer prophetic texts known as the Major Prophets).

Content

After a superscription ascribing the prophecy to Joel (son of Pethuel), the book may be broken down into the following sections:

Joe the Plumber

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (/ˈwɜːrzəlbɑːkər/; born December 3, 1973), known as Joe the Plumber, is an American conservative activist and commentator. He gained national attention during the 2008 U.S. presidential election when, during a videotaped campaign stop in Ohio by then Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, Wurzelbacher asked Obama about his small business tax policy. Obama's response included the statement, "when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." Obama's response was seized upon by conservative media, and by Obama's rival, Republican nominee Senator John McCain, as an indication that Obama was interested in the redistribution of wealth and had a socialist view of the economy. Wurzelbacher is a member of the Republican Party.

Since he expressed to then-Senator Obama that he was interested in purchasing a small plumbing business, Wurzelbacher was given the moniker "Joe the Plumber" by the McCain–Palin campaign. The campaign took him to make several appearances in campaign events in Ohio and McCain often referenced "Joe the Plumber" in campaign speeches and in the final presidential debate, as a metaphor for middle-class Americans.

Joe (2013 film)

Joe is a 2013 drama film directed by David Gordon Green and starring Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan and Ronnie Gene Blevins. It is an adaptation of Larry Brown's 1991 novel of the same name and premiered at the 2013 Venice Film Festival, with a subsequent screening at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Synopsis

The movie opens with Gary (Tye Sheridan), a 15-year-old drifter, lecturing his father, Wade (Gary Poulter), on getting a job and not destroying anything good that comes their way. Wade turns to Gary, punches him in the face and walks off, only to be met by two men who likewise beat him, much more brutally.

Joe Ransom (Nicolas Cage) is a foreman for a small tree-removal crew in backwoods Texas. He is well-liked by the residents of the town and his crew, but has a long string of incarcerations due to his violent behaviour and disrespect for the law. He lives in self-imposed emotional isolation, frequenting a local brothel.

Gary asks Joe for a job, soon impressing him with his work ethic. However, when Gary brings his father with him the next day, Wade's attitude and utter lack of work ethic gets them both fired. Gary later goes to Joe's house to talk him into rehiring him. Joe agrees, and Gary begins working for him regularly. Wade routinely beats Gary and takes his salary, forcing Gary to hide his earnings.