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Kate’s Review: “Little Monsters” Book: “Little Monsters” by Kara Thomas Publishing Info: Delacorte Press, July 2017 Where Did I Get This Book: The library! Book Description: Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister. Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother. And everyone is so nice in Broken Falls—she’s even been welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them. Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn’t exactly feel like an accident. But Kacey will never be able to ask, because Bailey never makes it home from that party. Suddenly, Broken Falls doesn’t seem so welcoming after all—especially once everyone starts looking to the new girl for answers. Kacey is about to learn some very important lessons: Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes when you’re the new girl, you shouldn’t trust anyone. Review: I did not grow up in a small town, but both of my parents did, and they have many stories from their childhoods about small town life and culture. Rumors and gossip were things that spread like wildfire, and get passed down from generation to generation and live longer than anyone imagines they would. I think of the story my Dad tells about a rumor that Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, the murderers from “In Cold Blood”, stopped in the town limits on their way to Mexico after they killed The Clutter Family. No can prove that they did, but to some people it’s absolute fact. I really enjoy stories that explore the power of rumor and urban legends, especially within small communities. Enter Kare Thomas and her novel “Little Monsters”. Thomas is making her way up alongside Stephanie Kuehn for must read YA thriller authors, as hot off the tail of “The Darkest Corners” she put out another stellar YA thriller and mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat and needed to know more. I have her upcoming novel “The Cheerleaders” sitting on my Kindle thanks to NetGalley, and I can tell you that’s going to get priority on my reading list thanks to this awesome read about small town society, and interloper trying to fit in, and rumors and urban legends that take on lives of their own. Thomas brings us to the town of Broken Falls, Wisconsin as our protagonist Kacey settles into her new life with her father and his family. Kacey is damaged and wary, a teenager whose mother had been toxic and abusive and whose behavior prompted social services to step in. Her transition to a new life from a life where she felt completely unwanted makes for an interesting and complex protagonist, and Thomas writes her pretty well and believably. I totally bought into why she would cling to Bailey and Jade, and also understand why she may not see some of their manipulations for what they are. So, too, is she believable when she makes poor decisions in the face of accusations that she has something to do with Bailey’s disappearance. I found myself feeling to Kacey as well as wanting to shake her whenever she was confronted by a suspicious authority or community member, but at the same time a teenager probably wouldn’t be making the best decisions without guidance from a busy father and loving, but stressed, stepmother. The town of Broken Falls itself, from the physical description to those who populate it, also felt well fleshed out and realistic in the reaction to Bailey’s disappearance. My folks have many a story about the mistrust of outsiders, and outsiders being looked at first when something awful happens because of the false idea that no one from the community could POSSIBLY do such a thing. Such ideas can be very damaging, and to see them play out with a teenage girl at the center kept me on the edge of my seat, especially since Kacey herself dabbles in unreliable protagonist tropes herself. The mystery itself is told through two POVs: Kacey’s, and then through diary entries that Bailey left behind but are seemingly only seen by the reader. This allowed for a slow burn of a reveal to unravel at a good pace, and I loved seeing the facts come out one by one. I was definitely tantalized by the various clues that would be laid out, and they all come together so neatly and tautly that I was pretty blown away by it. Thomas did a great job of setting this all up, and the payoff was well worth it. I definitely didn’t solve this a moment before Thomas wanted me to, and as the results fell into place I was genuinely caught off guard and then totally satisfied by it. The mystery also does a good job of slowly revealing truths not only about Bailey, but other people in the story, which make sense going back before they are revealed. And I don’t want to give anything away, so I’m going to leave the mystery at that. The other component of this book that I REALLY enjoyed, even if it didn’t have as much obvious play, was the urban legend of The Red Woman. Broken Falls has a story about a man who murdered his family and burned down his house, but the body of his wife was never found. Now there is a legend about her ghost being seen on the property of the farm they shared, given the fact no one bought it and it has been left to rot. I LOVE a good urban legend, and Thomas does a really good job of creating a new, believable one that is INCREDIBLY creepy (images of and specters of bloody women running after dark, anyone?) and plays a very key, but subtle, role in the other themes of this book. I would read a book all about The Red Woman urban legend, if Thomas were so inclined to write it. So all in all, “Little Monsters” was a fast, fun, satisfying read. Kara Thomas is up there with the other greats of the YA Thriller genre, and I can’t wait to see what she brings us with “The Cheerleaders”, and any other works that she puts into the YA literary world. Rating 8: A tight and tense thriller with a solid mystery and creepy characters, “Little Monsters” is another winner from YA Thriller superstar Kara Thomas!

NRS 395.001Definitions.As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in NRS 395.0065, 395.0075 and 395.008 have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections. NRS 395.0065“Related services” defined.“Related services” means room, board, transportation and such developmental, corrective and other supportive services, as may be required pursuant to minimum standards prescribed by the State Board of Education, to assist a person with a disability to benefit from a special education program. NRS 395.008“Special education program” defined.“Special education program” means a program which provides instruction specially designed in accordance with minimum standards prescribed by the State Board of Education to meet the unique needs of persons with disabilities. NRS 395.010Special education program and related services to be provided to person with disability. 1. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall provide a special education program and related services to all persons with disabilities who are eligible for benefits pursuant to this chapter. 2. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may carry out the duties required by subsection 1 by: (a) Making arrangements with the governing body of any institution for persons with disabilities in any state having any such institution. (b) Placing the person with a disability in a foster home or other residential facility, located in or outside of the school district in which the person with a disability resides, that can provide an appropriate special education program and related services for the person’s particular disability. The Superintendent shall consider the recommendation of the interagency panel in deciding where to place a person with a disability, but the Superintendent has final authority regarding placement pursuant to this subsection. (c) Making arrangements, if money from the Federal Government is available to cover the entire cost, for the unique special education and related services required to return students to this state who have been placed in an institution outside of the State pursuant to this chapter. 3. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may make all necessary contracts, in accordance with any regulations the State Board of Examiners may prescribe, to carry out the provisions of this section. NRS 395.020Eligibility for benefits.A person with a disability is eligible to receive the benefits provided pursuant to this chapter if: 1. The person is a resident of the State of Nevada; 2. The person is under 22 years of age, except that where the enrollment period for the school year is before his or her 22nd birthday, the person remains eligible to complete that school year irrespective of his or her age; 3. The Department of Education has prescribed minimum standards for the provision of a special education program and related services to persons with such a disability; and 4. The person’s school district: (a) Has prepared an appropriate plan for the individualized education of the person with a disability; and (b) Is unable to provide an appropriate special education program and related services for his or her particular disability and grade or level of education. 1. An adult person with a disability who is eligible to receive benefits pursuant to this chapter or a parent, guardian or other person having the care, custody or control of a person with a disability who is eligible may file an application for those benefits with the board of trustees of the school district in which the person with a disability is a resident. 2. If the board of trustees is satisfied that the school district is unable to provide an appropriate special education program and related services for the particular disability and grade or level of education of the person with a disability, the board shall certify that fact and transmit the application to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. NRS 395.040Duties of Superintendent of Public Instruction upon receipt of application. 1. Upon receipt and review of an application for benefits, the Superintendent of Public Instruction may cause a medical, psychological or educational examination of the person with a disability to be conducted at state expense to determine the nature and extent of the disability. 2. If the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines that the school district: (a) Has prepared an appropriate plan for the individualized education of the person with a disability; and (b) Is unable to provide an appropriate special education program and related services for the particular disability and grade or level of education of the person with a disability, Ê the Superintendent shall make the arrangements for the provision of a special education program and related services. 3. The Superintendent of Public Instruction has final authority regarding the provision of a special education program and related services to any person with a disability. NRS 395.050Transportation of person with disability; State to pay for provision of special education program and related services. 1. When arrangements for the provision of a special education program and related services to a person with a disability have been completed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Superintendent shall advise the board of trustees of the school district to make provision, at the expense of the school district, for transporting the person with a disability to a place designated by the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall make necessary arrangements for transporting the person with a disability from the designated place to the institution, foster home or other residential facility and return to the designated place at the expense of the State. 2. The provision of a special education program and related services to a person with a disability pursuant to this chapter must be paid by the State without any charge to the person with a disability or to a parent, guardian or other person having the care, custody or control of the person with a disability. NRS 395.060Money to carry out provisions of chapter.Money to carry out the provisions of this chapter may be provided by direct legislative appropriation from the State General Fund, federal grants or any other source of money made available for that purpose. [470:32:1956]—(NRS A 1981, 1043) NRS 395.070Interagency Panel: Responsibility; membership; duties. 1. The Interagency Panel is hereby created. The Panel is responsible for making recommendations concerning the placement of persons with disabilities who are eligible to receive benefits pursuant to this chapter. The Panel consists of: (a) The Administrator of the Division of Child and Family Services of the Department of Health and Human Services; (b) The Administrator of the Division of Public and Behavioral Health of the Department of Health and Human Services; (c) The Director of the Department of Health and Human Services; and (d) The Superintendent of Public Instruction. 2. A member of the Panel may designate a person to represent him or her at any meeting of the Panel. The person designated may exercise all the duties, rights and privileges of the member he or she represents. 3. The Panel shall: (a) Every time a person with a disability is to be placed pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 395.010 in a foster home or residential facility, meet to determine the needs of the person and the availability of homes or facilities under the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services after a joint evaluation of that person is completed by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services; (b) Determine the appropriate placement of the person, giving priority to homes or facilities under the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services over any home or facility located outside of this State; and NRS 395.080Priority of placement in homes or facilities located in this State.Persons with disabilities who are entitled to benefits pursuant to this chapter must be given priority of placement in homes or facilities which are located in this State and under the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services. NRS 395.090Monitoring of children placed in foster homes and residential facilities outside State.The Division of Child and Family Services of the Department of Health and Human Services shall, when monitoring children under its authority whom it has placed in foster homes and residential facilities outside of the State, also monitor the well-being of the persons with disabilities who have been placed in those foster homes and residential facilities pursuant to this chapter, and report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction concerning the condition of those persons with disabilities.

Lijit Search Visitors Monday, July 31, 2006 Last Sunday, I called my mom. She had told me to call her before I left town to elope with Guy. She had received her second chemo treatment that Friday, so I knew she wasn't planning on going anywhere. So why did I get the answering machine? I left a message, thinking that maybe they were napping. No one called back. First thing on Monday morning, when it is late enough Pacific time to call, I dial. Answering machine again. I turn to Guy and say, "Mom is in the hospital. Something has gone wrong, and she is in the hospital." Another man would have told me not to worry and that there was no way to know that. Guy said, "You are probably right. There isn't anything you can do about it now, but if we need to go to CA instead of on our honeymoon, we'll work it out." God, I love that man. My brother has not heard from them either. I wake him up I think, and he tells me to go ahead and get married and not worry about it. He will find out what is going on and let me know. Don't worry about it. That is completely ridiculous I think. I'm on my way to Montreat, North Carolina to marry the man of my dreams in the most beautiful town in the world, by my favorite minister (second to Mom), by a, I kid you not, babbling brook. It could not have been more perfect, and yet I'm supposed to not worry about it. There is something that my parents are quite confused about, and it is that even though I worry about them, I am still able to function in my everyday life. Even though eloping with no family present was not at all how I wanted to get married, I made do, and pretty damn well, thank you. Yes, I want them safe, healthy, here, and happy. In the event that I can't have all that right now, I'll take what happiness I can get. The happiness I have now is my new family. Aside from being the new bride of the most wonderful man in the world, I'm also a new stepmother. Lovely is now officially my stepdaughter. I tried to work the dogs into the equation as well, but nobody is buying the whole stepdog thing. There is always some amount of happiness. And I truly believe, from the course of my life in the past few years that there will always be that amount of sadness too. You can't choose your circumstances, but you can choose how you react to them I think. I am scared to death for my mother. She is still in the hospital. Daddy is staying at the house by himself. I'm happy about neither, and can control neither at the same time. I could though, go ahead and take care of marrying the man of my dreams. A long term investment if you will. Thursday, July 20, 2006 My mother and I are both making new life long commitments. Mine is to the love of my life. Hers is to chemotherapy. I hope her new commitment is not going to replace the one she made to my father. When she told me that she would be on chemotherapy "indefinitely," I thought to myself, "You mean until you die." I don't know why I have to be so morbid some days. It is hard to find hope in this situation though. She will be on chemotherapy until she dies. Not until her cancer goes away, but until it kills her. I see this as the opportunity for her to drag her feet on moving again. Even though she told me last week that she was going to submit her resignation to the church, she has not, and has no date in mind for doing it. There is this issue of the other pastor needing knee surgery. I'm sorry. Did she say knee surgery? Can I just state for the record that I honestly don't care one bit about the overweight senior pastor's knees? Why is that my family is affected by the fact that he is an idiot and has waited until it is a dire situation for him to have knee surgery? Did they all forget that my mother has cancer and my father can't remember what day it is or tie his own shoes? Buy the fat guy a scooter and get on with it. It is so past time for her to have secured help for my father. When she and I talk now, it is all about her, her treatment, her job, and the decisions that weigh her down. Can I really accuse my own mother of being selfish when she is trying to face terminal cancer? Maybe I shouldn't, but I do. I think she is being extremely selfish by not having resigned yet and especially for continuing to leave him at home unsupervised. Neither of them have much longer in the grand scheme of things. As I get ready to commit myself to the man I love and respect, I can't help but feel slightly bitter towards her. I would drop anything and everything to take care of him. At this moment in time, she has forgotten her commitment to my father. He needs her. He needs her to help him and to be with him. He needs her to quit working and move him closer to his family. He doesn't need her to talk about it, plan it, re-plan it, or even think much about it at this point. He just needs her to do it. Thursday, July 13, 2006 She will be on a 3 week cycle. Week one, she will have two drugs, taxotere and gemzar. Week two, she will just have the gemzar. Week three, she gets to recover some. And then she will start again. Neither of these drugs list ovarian cancer on their website as something they treat. Both state that they can be used for metastatic breast cancer. I don't understand that, but I guess that's alright. There will be no surgery. She was given the false hope of actual tumors that could be removed with surgery. That turns out to not be true. She thinks I've given up on her just because I never believed the surgery option. That is also not true. My daddy is supposed to have a cat scan on Friday as well. I don't know how they will arrange transportation for both of them, but they have not asked me to come. Momma insists that there is something else wrong with my father besides Parkinson's. I disagree. His weight has dropped to 127 pounds. He is 6'1". I can barely understand him on the phone anymore because he does not have adequate control of his facial muscles. She has disregarded the diagnosis of Parkinson's with Lewy Body disorder, so I'm not sure of what else she is looking for. It's quite enough. I don't know which disease is more cruel. If I had to choose, I would say that it's the Parkinson's. Cancer comes and goes until one day, you know it is going to kill you. There are means to fight it and ways to stave it off. It will most likely kill you one day, but there is at least "the good fight." Parkinson's has eaten way tiny pieces of my daddy until there is nothing left but this shell of a man who used to be my foundation. There is no fight. There are drugs that "slow the progression." Unfortunately, if you are diagnosed so late like I believe Daddy was, there is no slowing things down. And once again, I am left sitting here wondering, "Which one is going to go first?" Wednesday, July 12, 2006 Start again tomorrow. This was something that my grandfather always said to me. He used to be the one I would call when I had a bad day. By the time I was done unloading my horrid tales, we would both be laughing because really, they were never that bad. I miss him. I'm starting over. A week from Monday, I will marry the man of my dreams. It has taken time, pain, destruction, and rebuilding to get there, but we have almost made it. In Montreat, Presbyterians fill the town. Not to mention, it is the most beautiful place on earth. It's the perfect place for a wedding. Ironically enough, the minister who will marry us has already done this for me once. I suppose you have to have a strange sense of humor, but it really is funny. I'm finally going to be married in the mountains by a stream and get to wear my Birkenstocks doing it. Life is good sometimes. Start again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. I'm going to keep on trying. There is no reason why we shouldn't make the best of the lives we've been given.

Thornbury Real Estate Homes, condos, lofts and commercial properties for sale in Thornbury. This area is part of Blue Mountains. You can view listings in Blue Mountains as well. Last updated on December 13, 2017. Average listed price on site for Thornbury is $951,808.

Slings Wraps Carriers Summer babywearing can be hard work. You’re both sweating, flustered, and can’t get comfortable. Beat the heat in the shower, pool, or sea with these baby carriers you can wear in water. Water Sling Tips Wet the fabric This one sounds pretty obvious when you think about it. But the biggest complaint about water slings … The dragon baby won’t be put down. Ever. You need a shower so badly that you can smell your own funk. You need a baby carrier you can wear in the shower. Sure, like that’s a thing. Well, it is. Beachfront Baby make a ring sling that is excellent in the water. If you’re looking to … If this is your first experience with carriers then be ready for a really steep learning curve. To use the Moby you have to first tie it to yourself and then wiggle baby in afterwards. Our high needs baby was absolutely NOT happy about the process. Reflux babies who are more patient with being manhandled will …

The new ad boss says years of working on the client side – he also spent six years as chief executive of NZ Lotteries – makes him suited for the top job. “I have a real passion for understanding the customer journey, which complements the creative skills others in the business have got.” Mr McLeay says he has operated around ad-land for so long that eventually he was going to immerse himself in it. “I’ve been very connected with the ad agency world and I have the great advantage of having David Walden to work with through these next few months.” He had worked with Mr Talbot on the lotteries account when Mr Talbot was in his previous role at DDB. Mr Talbot will return to New Zealand after a short stint in the UK, telling media his family was the reason for his return. The creative has been one of the top ranked in the world is widely regarded as instrumental to the rise of DDB in New Zealand. Mr Blood will stay on to help transition to the role. He says in a statement he has been wanting to move on from TBWA since last year to "start afresh and explore new opportunities”.

Search TORONTO, June 19, 2014 /CNW/ - The shooting earlier this morning in the Lawrence Heights area in Toronto during an attempted robbery on an armoured car underscores the need for improved safety regulations in the industry, argues Unifor. The guard was shot several times while his Garda truck was pulled up to a TD Bank branch. The second guard of the two-person crew remained in the vehicle and was unharmed. "Our thoughts are with the guard, his family as well as his crew partner, who undoubtedly is in a state of shock," said Mike Armstrong, Unifor national representative. Unifor has been calling on federal lawmakers to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework for the armoured car industry that enhances safety and prevents crime by establishing minimum standards in employee training, vehicle specifications and safety equipment requirements. The union's campaign also calls for minimum 3-person crew compliments for high-risk pick-ups, including when ATM bags are handled at night. The use of smaller crew compliments (e.g. two-person crews) as well as un-armed crew members creates a far easier target for armed robbery and poses increasing risks to worker and public safety. Representatives of Unifor met with Director General of Policing Policy Mark Potter, from the office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on June 5 over the union's concerns about safety within the industry. The union continues to press federal Minister of Public Safety Steven Blaney to initiate a multi-stakeholder taskforce to undertake a more thorough examination of safety issues in the industry. Since 2000, there have been more than 70 attacks on armoured cars in Canada, with four in the past year including the incident that occurred this morning. Unifor represents 305,000 members across the country, including 2,000 members in the armoured car and secure logistics industry, employed largely by Brinks and Garda. For a copy of Unifor's review of the armoured car industry and complete recommendations to improve its safety, go to www. unifor.org/safecargo.

As has been well reported in the mainstream media, employers with over 250 employees are going to have to publish information about the difference in pay between male and female employees. The hope for these new regulations is that it will narrow the difference in pay between men and women by effectively highlighting the issues. Unfortunately, even in 2017, a substantial gap exists between the pay of men and women. There can be no doubt that the motivation behind the regulations is virtuous and, in theory, this should be simple. However, throughout the consultation a number of issues have arisen. Examples include: • Should employees on Statutory Sick Pay or Statutory Maternity Pay be included in any report? Their inclusion could skew any data. • What is “pay”? Does this include all benefits or simply your basic salary? • Will reporting take into account geographical differences in pay? • Will the reporting requirements apply to each company or will it only apply on a group level? • How, if at all, will employers be punished for a large gender pay gap? As is often the way, what is easy in theory has become unclear and uncertain. Fortunately, the latest draft issues have resolved some of these issues. For example, employers, to their dismay, will have to report on the gender pay gay at the level of each subsidiary entity. Further, employees on reduced pay are not to be included in an employer’s gender pay gap report. Also, the updated regulations have made it clear that if an employer does not comply with their obligations the Equality and Human Rights Commission could take enforcement action against them. However, there is still minimal bite in the regulations. It does not seem that there are any provisions to penalise those employers with large gender pay gaps. It seems that the Government is hoping to utilise the always fair and just court of public opinion (please note the sarcasm). Although, we should note that the gender pay gap report may give affected employees the ammunition they need to pursue an equal pay claim. However, this reliance on the existing equal pay law suggests that the Government believes the barrier to an equal pay claim is a lack of information rather than, for example, tribunal fees. The latest regulations are not perfect, and it is unclear whether they will make a difference. At the time of writing, we are still awaiting the Government Guidance which will “hopefully” shine more light on to the issues in the areas of concern. It is expected that gender pay gap reporting will come into force from 6th April 2017 with the first reports due within a year. Therefore, employers should take steps to prepare for reporting. For those with lots of employees, over several sites or several subsidiaries, this will be a laborious process. If you have questions or require any assistance in preparing for gender pay reporting, please contact employment@herrington-carmichael.com

Yesterday I presented the first half of my review of Scott Creighton’s new book The Great Pyramid Hoax (Bear & Company, 2017), a book that takes a chapter from his previous 2015 book The Secret Chamber of Osiris and expands it to ten times its original size. Stripped of context and purpose, this inflated chapter becomes mostly unreadable as a book, an incomplete indictment of the “quarry marks” in the relieving chambers of the Great Pyramid that Creighton never bothers to give much in terms of purpose. Aside from a few vague assurances that discrediting these marks would leave the Great Pyramid’s builder uncertain, he never uses that assertion to build a case for anything, nor does he suggest, as he did in his previous book, that the Pyramid is anything but an Old Kingdom construction. If one were not already a reader of Scott Creighton’s books, I imagine this now volume would seem dry and pointless. As we move in to the back two-thirds of the book, Creighton attempts to marshal evidence to support the tentative hypothesis that he proposed in the first section of the book. It remains unconvincing. One chapter argues that the three red splotches photographed by Rudolph Gantenbrink’s robot at the top of one of the Queen’s Chamber “air” shafts in 1993 are orthographically dissimilar to the quarry marks in the Kings’ Chamber relieving chamber, thus indicating that the relieving chamber marks were made later. There are too many problems to count here: (a) The marks in the air shaft have only tentatively been identified and are not certain, so orthography can’t be determined. (b) Since we don’t know what the characters were, we can’t conclude that the project “required” the same writing style on every stone for “efficiency.” Etc. etc. Next, Creighton attempts to show that Vyse was lying about having discovered quarry marks showing Khufu’s name. His argument is again circumstantial: Vyse’s journal of March 30, 1837 records his initial impressions: “In Wellington’s chamber, there are marks in the area of the stones like quarry marks of red paint, also the figure of a bird near them, but nothing like hieroglyphics.” Creighton takes this to mean that the cartouches were not present, not that Vyse reconsidered his opinion after more careful viewing and analysis. Following this, he introduces into evidence a confusing bit of hearsay. After Zecharia Sitchin accused Vyse of forgery, a man named Walter M. Allen of Pittsburgh claimed in 1983 that his elderly relatives had told him that his great-grandfather, Humphries Brewer, was one of Vyse’s companions and believed that some of the “faint” quarry marks had been repainted and “some were new.” This testimony is suspect since it is both third-hand (Allen’s account of elderly people’s memories of something someone might once have said decades after the fact about an event from more than a century earlier) and conveniently timed after Sitchin created a controversy. While Allen made his claims verbally in 1983, a written version was not published until Sitchin himself did so in 2007, after Allen was conveniently dead. At that time, Sitchin presented a log book recording Allen’s conversations with his elderly relatives. Allen claimed that these notes were written in 1954, which even if true would not make the claims within them true, if for no other reason than for the same reasons Creighton attributes to Vyse: potential motivation to support some preexisting idea at odds with the facts. Indeed, the suggestion that the marks were too faint to clearly see actually argues against Creighton’s claim that Vyse could not possibly have overlooked the marks on his first survey of the relieving chambers. Brewer’s name does not appear in Vyse’s records, and Creighton explains that this is because Vyse tried to expunge any record of him to hide the forgery. At the same time, he says that he might have found Brewer’s name in photographs of Vyse’s notebooks, but he said that it was impossible to tell because of Vyse’s bad handwriting. He declined to cite the page or provide a copy of the relevant words to let readers judge for themselves, despite having provided the same evidence for other excerpts of the journals. He says only that the name appears in the “relevant” section of the 600+ page journal. One might ask why he declined to share proof, but I fear the answer is probably clear. Creighton devotes enormous space to trying to prove that Allen’s notes are not a forgery—but a forgery of what? They are secondhand recollections of what someone supposedly had read in now-lost papers ages ago. Even so, Creighton argues that the notes must be correct because they contain details a forger would not have readily known: the existence of Prussia (really?), the geographical extent of the Austrian Empire (has he seen a map?), and the fact that a certain Mr. Raven was part of the discussion of the quarry marks. Not to put too fine a point on it, but if the text were a forgery, it could have been forged from entries for May 1837 in Vyse’s book Operations Carried on at the Great Pyramid, where Vyse states that Raven was left alone at the pyramid while he was away, between the time of the discovery of the quarry marks in one chamber (entry for May 9) and when Vyse’s team signed a statement attesting to the accuracy of the copies made from them (entry for May 19). Thus a forger might have thought to finger him as fabricating some of them, even if the chronology doesn’t work out perfectly for the uppermost chamber. This isn’t to say the text is a forgery, only that Creighton’s argument for their authenticity doesn’t follow absolutely from the written evidence. If the text is not a forgery, it still only proves that Brewer suspected Raven of manipulating the quarry marks while Vyse was away. His next piece of evidence is the fact that one of Vyse’s assistants, the man who drew copies of the marks, signed two of twenty-four drawings on the wrong side, thus “proving” that they were made before the quarry marks were painted onto the wall in a different and/or incorrect direction. He claims that an analysis of photographs of the paint suggest that the signs were written left-to-right and while the blocks were upright, in contravention of Egyptological consensus, a consensus he doesn’t seem to be able to cite or discuss with sources outside other fringe books’ summaries. Creighton, who likes to cite the Graham Hancock website forum, discussed these claims on the board in 2014 and received extensive criticism from Martin Stower, which made no impression on him. Weirdly, the book then returns to repeat the same material from earlier about Vyse’s journal—because he is lightly rewriting a chapter from his last book, mostly point for point—and Creighton makes it sound like it was the result of careful sleuthing that he found the document. It shouldn’t have taken much effort. It’s held in a museum and listed online in its holdings. It’s not hiding. In the journal, Creighton finds that Vyse made several attempts at copying the cartouches of Khufu, each time getting some of the details wrong until he finally made a correct copy. Creighton instead reads this as progressive efforts to draft a fake cartouche to forge, with the final details—specifically three horizontal lines in the circle within the cartouche—hastily added at the end to “fix” the spelling of Khufu due to late-breaking discoveries elsewhere at Giza that month. Creighton, recapping his last book without mentioning the fact, says that the following lines from the journal prove that Vyse ordered his henchman to fabricate Khufu’s cartouche, and he claims it as a new discovery despite having published the same text in his 2015 book: The chamber was 39 long, by 19.10 broad: as it was within “Campbell’s Chamber May 27, 1837.” “For Raven & Hill.” These were my marks from cartouche to inscribe over any plain, low trussing. Low-quality reproduction of the text from Vyse's journal, as it appears in Creighton's book. This doesn’t make much sense as written, and for good reason. In 2015, Creighton wasn’t sure of many word readings and scattered question marks throughout his transcript. They’re all gone now even though the text isn’t any clearer. (He concedes the point a few pages later.) I’m not confident in many of his readings because the provided photo isn’t sharp enough to confirm them. The words “For Raven & Hill” more closely seem to read “H Raven & Hill,” which are the words actually painted in the chamber. The words “low trussing” do not seems to appear in the photograph he provided, though I cannot read the squiggle in their place. (Vyse did not use the word “trussing” in his published work.) For that matter, the word Creighton reads as “inscribe” seems to have a loop at the start rather than Vyse’s distinctive dotted “i.” Regardless, though, the meaning seems to be that Vyse was recording a dedication of “H Raven & Hill” painted in the chamber along with the existing cartouche that he had copied into his notes. Creighton reads this instead as orders to forge a cartouche, too. Because he does not transcribe the surrounding lines, Creighton left out too much of the context to support his reading of the line he claims to be a smoking gun. Frankly, even if we accepted all of Creighton’s evidence at face value, it would mostly suggest that Vyse’s team tried to make some markings easier to read by repainting them and Brewer thought they did so bad a job that it essentially made them into new figures. I don’t think this is what happened, but there are many interpretations of the evidence short of intentional forgery that Creighton failed to consider. The final chapter simply repeats all the previous chapters’ arguments, which themselves had already been restated in summaries at the end of each chapter. These, in turn, were recycling material from The Secret Chamber of Osiris. A lot of this book is repetition and recycling. Worse, there are consistency errors as the author brings up points for later discussion that vanish, and repeats earlier points as though presenting them for the first time. Overall, the book is downright uninteresting. It has nothing new to say to readers of his earlier book. It is obsessed with minutiae to the exclusion of context, arguing for a forgery without establishing a compelling motive and by making assumptions about “secret” texts that Vyse must first have found and somehow chose not to report, even though such a discovery would itself have been cause for celebration. (Not to mention confirmation of the inscriptions in the Pyramid.) Creighton’s argument asks us to share his own ignorance about the political, social, cultural, and archaeological contexts in which Vyse operated, and it expects readers to come to the book already accepting the notion that there is no other reason to believe the pyramids to be of dynastic Egyptian origin except for the quarry marks found within them. I find it encouraging that you’ve spotted what the “Raven & Hill” reference really is. I take it that others will do likewise, or at least spot the quotation marks, which are surely obvious even in a poor quality image of Vyse’s near impenetrable handwriting. Funny how they escaped his various listed helpers, “handwriting experts” included. Bizarrely, Creighton drew attention to the relevant inscription in the pyramid: —and this was with respect (?) to his last book. How this can remain a selling point for this one escapes me, but as such it has been presented. I gather that he has made the significant advance of dropping all the caveats. After this, I can safely say Creighton is in the bantamweight division of fringe authorship. Reply Jean Stone 9/23/2016 02:53:06 pm This whole thing puts me in mind of the original Stargate movie with Daniel presenting his arguments for, essentially, ancient aliens, including criticizing Vyse and I remember the novelisation actually expanded that argument. Wonder which fringe source they got it from. I also wonder if any people were inspired into fringe-y beliefs from that film. Not that it was new in its use of those elements, but what is in this field anyways? Of course, if Creighton's argument (or at least working premise) is that the pyramids are supposed to be some sort of repositories of pre-Flood knowledge, shouldn't he start out by trying to demonstrate that it actually happened? Oh, right... Anyways, thanks for the review Jason! Reply Martin Stower 9/23/2016 09:17:43 pm Year of the original was 1994, which suggests that they got it direct from Sitchin, as not so many had repeated the claim by then. Reply David Bradbury 9/23/2016 03:01:21 pm Any readers live near Aylesbury? Catalogue entry from the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies: Concerning Creighton’s suggesting that the name “Brewer” appears in the manuscript journal, when he presented the relevant image (now missing) on GHMB, it was cropped to such an extent that the word was barely shown adequately and all and any context which might help us determine if it is a name was excluded. Vyse would typically write “Mr. Brewer” and the names of those who took part in the operations (as Brewer allegedly did)—Hill, Raven, Perring, Brettell—appear many times and not just once. —and Creighton replied to the post, so he can scarcely claim not to be aware of them. Even if the word were the name “Brewer”, it’s scarcely an uncommon name and there is no reason to suppose that any such Mr. Brewer is Humphries Brewer, absent a context which supports this identification. We could scarcely call this even weak. Reply Only Me 9/23/2016 07:29:53 pm One of the participants on the post you linked to included this gem: >>>Graham Hancock said in a recent blog: "Those of us working on an alternative history of humanity need to hold ourselves to standards of evidence AT LEAST AS HIGH as is demanded of mainstream scholars if we are ever to get history rewritten."<<< I laughed long and hard after reading that. Reply Martin Stower 9/23/2016 08:16:34 pm “These were my marks from cartouche to inscribe over any plain, low trussing.” Such a natural thing to say! About as convincing as the messages people hear when they listen to records played backwards. No false modesty: I contend that my transcription is closer to what a literate human being on planet Earth might actually have written —and I don’t need to be right. All I need be is as warranted in my transcription as he is in his, to deny it the evidential weight he would have us give it. Note that I even agree with him on some of the words. Reply Martin Stower 9/24/2016 03:39:54 pm Considering this again, I gather that since he gave this an outing in his last book, he’s spotted the quotation marks—which makes it all the more odd that he fails even now to understand the implications of their presence. Weird. Reply Martin stower 9/25/2016 10:10:47 am “. . . Creighton argues that the notes must be correct because they contain details a forger would not have readily known . . .” Which is a Bizarro caricature of a serious argument against the “quarry marks” being forgeries—which remains cogent, despite his efforts to revive Alford’s workaround. A forger operating without knowledge would need to get so much right by dumb luck that it’s just not worth considering. Reply Peter Robertson 9/26/2016 05:56:46 am Mr Colavito, you finish your 'review' with the following comment: "...it [Creighton's Great Pyramid Hoax] expects readers to come to the book already accepting the notion that there is no other reason to believe the pyramids to be of dynastic Egyptian origin except for the quarry marks found within them." I am puzzled - why shouldn't Creighton take this approach? After all, the significance and importance of these marks as being the primary means in helping Egyptology determine the provenance of the Great Pyramid appears to be something that YOU (from your comment below) seem to have bought into and agree with: "Who Built the Great Pyramid? The Great Pyramid is largely anonymous, but controversial hieroglyphs hidden above the King's Chamber say who built the pyramid. We look at efforts to discredit the glyphs. by Jason Colavito" http://jcolavito.tripod.com/lostcivilizations/id10.html So, you are effectively saying in your comment above that the Great Pyramid is "anonymous but [for] controversial hieroglyphs hidden above the King's Chamber". It must surely follow then that if these fourth dynasty chamber markings are shown to have been faked as Creighton claims, where then does that leave your assertion given that you evidently rely upon these marks to identify the pyramid's owner (and, by extension, its age)? It renders your argument above utterly mute; in your own words, without these glyphs the Great Pyramid becomes an anonymous structure. Which, if my understanding is correct, is precisely Creighton's point. Mr Colavito, you cannot have it both ways. Reply Martin Stower 9/26/2016 12:41:40 pm Not sure why you’ve included the URL of this page. Were you planning to post this elsewhere? Anyway, the material here: http://jcolavito.tripod.com/lostcivilizations/id10.html I draw your attention to the caveat on this page: http://jcolavito.tripod.com/lostcivilizations/ “This site contains articles written between 2001 and 2010. It is no longer being updated and is being maintained for archival purposes. For the latest about me and my writing, including new content and free eBooks, please visit my author site: www.JasonColavito.com.” My recollection is that the article “Who Built the Great Pyramid?” is among the earliest Jason put on the Web: the copyright notice specifies 2001–2003 and “id10” may be a clue. Are you suggesting that Jason is not entitled to change or modify his views, over a period which might be as long as 15 years? Curiously enough, the only parallel I can readily find is Scott Creighton’s idea that Vyse was committed for life to his first recorded impressions of the “quarry marks”. Reply Peter Robertson 9/26/2016 12:59:30 pm Thank you Mr Stower. But my question was directed towards Jason and I am sure he is more than able to speak for himself. Martin Stower 9/26/2016 01:29:45 pm For Peter Robinson: Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the conventions of the Comments section. If so, the button marked “Reply” may be a clue. I’d suggest also that the caveat I quoted (Jason’s words) covered your point in advance. Reply Martin Stower 9/26/2016 02:00:13 pm Robertson, Robinson . . . Reply Peter Robertson 9/27/2016 06:33:54 am Mr Colavito, You write (above): “His next piece of evidence is the fact that one of Vyse’s assistants, the man who drew copies of the marks, signed two of twenty-four drawings on the wrong side, thus “proving” that they were made before the quarry marks were painted onto the wall in a different and/or incorrect direction.” I have read Creighton’s interpretation of that particular piece of evidence (in his previous book) and, I feel compelled to say, your review here of it in no way reflects what Creighton has written or, indeed, the point he was making. (I presume he makes the same point in his latest offering). As I understand it, the point Creighton was making in his last book with this particular evidence was to argue that Vyse’s assistant, Mr J R Hill, seems to have used his signature to lock in the orientation of the drawings he was making so that, when they were sent back to London, the academics there would know the chamber orientation of the signs Hill had drawn i.e. when rotating a particular sheet so that Mr Hill’s signature could properly be read, then this would rotate the signs on the sheet to the particular orientation they held in the various chambers. It is a credible point Creighton makes that such a scheme would have been needed and employed by Hill since the signs were painted into the chambers with a jumble of orientations. Creighton then points out that Mr Hill’s signature recorded the wrong orientation for the Khufu cartouche (and some other signs). Creighton asks, quite reasonably, why Hill’s signature, when used as his 'compass' would correctly lock in the orientation of all his other drawings but not the Khufu drawing. Creighton speculates that one reason for this might be that Hill originally copied the Khufu name from some other source where it had been drawn horizontally, hence why Hill signed it in that fashion, failing to realise that simply rotating this already signed horizontal drawing to paint it vertically into the chamber would betray his deception. Your simplistic “signed two of twenty-four drawings on the wrong side“ serves only to misguide, obscure and gloss over the actual point Creighton was making and I feel is a great disservice to responsible and reliable critical review. You continue (above): “Creighton finds that Vyse made several attempts at copying the cartouches of Khufu, each time getting some of the details wrong until he finally made a correct copy. Creighton instead reads this as progressive efforts to draft a fake cartouche to forge, with the final details—specifically three horizontal lines in the circle within the cartouche—hastily added at the end to “fix” the spelling of Khufu due to late-breaking discoveries elsewhere at Giza that month.” As you point out, this is also from Creighton’s previous book which I read some time ago. (In passing, why should you object to him repeating this piece of evidence in his latest book if the focus of the new offering is entirely on this possible forgery in the Great Pyramid, presenting more evidence to back up the original contention? I am sure there will be many who will pick up his new book and will not have read the single chapter in the previous work. I fear you are nit-picking here for no other reason than to nit-pick and it is tedious). Once again, your assessment of this piece of evidence Creighton presents is woefully inadequate and presents an entirely false impression. Creighton does not argue that “Vyse made several attempts at copying the cartouches of Khufu, each time getting some of the details wrong until he finally made a correct copy”. This is a complete misrepresentation of the actual point Creighton is making. Vyse is copying into his diary what was supposed to be in the chamber. So why, Creighton rightly asks, did he record the Khufu cartouche into his diary incorrectly on TWO occasions? That is the reasonable and valid question Creighton is asking. Finally, Vyse does make a correct copy of the Khufu name with circle and lines in his diary. So why, Creighton asks, did he not correctly draw it with his first or second attempts? Creighton points out that Vyse, in his first two copies of the Khufu cartouche, managed to see and copy two tiny dots in the name but somehow managed to miss the much larger detail of the triple lines in the circle. How is that reasonably possible? It is a fair question Creighton asks given that Vyse tells us in his very own words that he examined this chamber in minute detail. Personally, I do not think with the evidence in the chapter from his previous book that Creighton categorically proves forgery took place in these chambers of the Great Pyramid. However, I do believe he has raised some reasonable and legitimate questions. If he now has an entire book on the subject with even more evidence to present then I, for one, will mos Reply Peter Robertson 9/27/2016 06:44:10 am If he now has an entire book on the subject with even more evidence to present then I, for one, will most certainly be taking a look at it. And I say that because, in the first place, I tend not to form my reading list on the opinions of others and especially not when those opinions are at a complete variance from my own experience. It rather seems to me, Mr Colavito, that in your zeal to conform with mainstream opinion, you have thrown much of your objectivity aside and I fear this will leave your readership wholly uninformed of the actual argument Creighton is making in these books and of the evidence he uses to support it. And, in the long run, that will not be good for your readers, for your blog or, indeed, for your own career as a reliable, reasonable and credible reviewer. You have much to say in defence of a book which (presumably) you haven’t read. Caution is suggested: you are tending to confirm what Jason has said about the repetition and recycling in this book—its having “nothing new to say to readers of his earlier book”. You have much in common with someone who posts on GHMB. I suggest you look him up! Reply Chris Aitken 10/2/2016 08:39:35 am I'm just going off the cuff here, as I'm no expert. But it always amazes me how people can't seem to except that people simply evolved. In the case of The Great Pyramid it seems obvious that a) It was built by and ascribed to the correct individual. b) This structure is really the apex of pyramid development in ancient Egypt. There's plenty of evidence of previous failed attempts. Also, since this practice reached a pinnacle at this juncture...there's really nothing as great afterwards...there was one smaller black pyramid built afterwards, but the romans stripped it...thereafter burials moved to the valley of the kings. Basically, pyramids became too ridiculous and expensive, and despite the clever traps became beacons for bandits. What annoys me the most about these so-called fringe theories is that they not only dumb down these ancient societies, but also deflect the real search for more ancient civilizations yet undiscovered. Humans evolved...even Homo erectus built fires. Is this when civilization begins? Just a thought... Reply Leave a Reply. Author I'm an author and editor who has published on a range of topics, including archaeology, science, and horror fiction. There's more about me in the About Jason tab.

This is not a joke. Ansel Adams' made heavy use of darkroom processing. I came across a video of a person interviewing Ansel's son, and his son basically said he would've loved digital and the ease with which it would've made the processing.

BMW Motorrad Rider’s Equipment 2010 Collection Moving away for a bit from the BMW automobiles, today, we have something interesting for the BMW Motorrad fans. The BMW Motorrad collection for the … Moving away for a bit from the BMW automobiles, today, we have something interesting for the BMW Motorrad fans. The BMW Motorrad collection for the new season highlights two particular characteristics reflecting the true style and philosophy of the company: First, a clear sporting orientation culminating for the time being in BMW Motorrad’s successful participation in the World Superbike Championship. Second, ongoing development in the areas of safety, comfort, function, quality, and design. The range of new products extends from the new, sporting DoubleR C o l l e c t i o n (suit, helmet, boots and gloves) for the BMW S 1000 RR and the Pant Cross together with the matching Jersey Cross for hard offroad riding through new materials such as SuperFabric® and BeCool™ all the way to the trendy and functional enhancement of products already lauded for their quality. While the new Suit Rallye 3 comes with a new membrane structure featuring comfort mapping, the Gloves Rallye 3 stand out through their new high abrasion-resistant SuperFabric® material. The Boots Rallye GS Pro now feature a removable inner shoe for extra comfort and a pleasant climate within the boots. The rainwear also comes with new materials, for example on the two-piece Rain Suit RainLock 2 and the single piece ProRain 3. The inner coated 2.5-layer laminate now makes the suits even easier and more convenient to put on and take off. The Function Underwear Package has been enhanced once again to an even higher standard, adjusting body temperature perfectly to varying conditions and requirements. The Trousers City 2 and Trousers City 2 Denim have been upgraded in their style and fashion, naturally without neglecting the quality for which they are known so well. On the Boots AirFlow 3 additional AirTex inserts improve wearer comfort through even better circulation of air. To find out more information on the 2010 Collection, feel free to download the PDF.

Fujifilm announces the opening of its new state-of-the-art plate production line at Tilburg, The Netherlands Fujifilm today announces the opening of the third production line (PS-10) for the manufacture of offset printing plates at its Tilburg plant in The Netherlands. The opening ceremony held today at the site was attended by the Prince of Orange, H.R.H. Prince Willem-Alexander, accompanied by Mr S. Komori, President and CEO of FUJIFILM Corporation, Tokyo. The theme of the opening ceremony was based entirely around sustainability and innovation. In order to emphasise the sustainable nature of the new PS-10 production line, the ceremony involved H.R.H. Prince Willem-Alexander and Mr Komori making literal ‘green footprints’ in green clay to open the factory. Fujifilm has invested in the construction of a new plate production line in Tilburg to meet the growing demand for its ‘lo-chem’ and processless printing plates in Europe, Africa and Middle East markets, together with a desire to reduce the carbon footprint of its plate manufacturing and supply operations. As the new PS-10 line is able to manufacture all Fujifilm plates, including the company’s most advanced printing plate to date, the recently launched Brillia HD PRO-T3, this will cut down the carbon footprint associated with transporting such products from further afield. Alongside other significant sustainable investments, Fujifilm also installed a balanced Co-generative Thermal Oxidiser (CTO) as part of the construction of the PS-10 line. The CTO incinerates waste solvents and is used as an efficient way of generating electricity, steam, cold and hot water. All of the energy generated by the CTO will help power the new PS-10 plate production line, helping to further reduce CO2 emissions by a further 5,500 tonnes per year. During the opening ceremony, Mr Komori stressed the importance of the Tilburg factory to Fujifilm - the first and largest production facility outside of Japan. Minister Verhagen of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation praised Fujifilm for being a company operating in the top economic sector which is helping to solve social issues. The Queen’s Commissioner for Brabant, Mr Van de Donk and the Mayor of Tilburg, Mr Noordanus also attended the opening. The new PS-10 plate production line is 330 metres long, with an average width of 35 metres and a maximum height of 22 metres. It was constructed using 850 tonnes of steel and 5500 m3 of concrete. About FUJIFILM Manufacturing Europe B.V. FUJIFILM Manufacturing Europe B.V. in Tilburg, the Netherlands, is one of the largest FUJIFILM production companies outside of Japan. The company was founded in 1982, and employs around 900 people on a 63 hectare site. FUJIFILM Tilburg produces both offset plates and photographic paper, as well as having its own Research and Development team. FUJIFILM Tilburg has been producing offset plates for the graphics industry since 1991. Printers use these plates to print newspapers, magazines and packaging materials (in the offset process), for example. About FUJIFILM Corporation FUJIFILM Corporation is one of the major operating companies of FUJIFILM Holdings. Since its founding in 1934, the company has built up a wealth of advanced technologies in the field of photo imaging, and in line with its efforts to become a comprehensive healthcare company, Fujifilm is now applying these technologies to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the Medical and Life Science fields. Fujifilm is also expanding growth in the highly functional materials business, including flat panel display materials, and in the graphic systems and optical devices businesses. About Fujifilm Graphic Systems Fujifilm Graphic Systems is a stable, long term partner focussed on delivering high quality, technically advanced print solutions that help printers develop competitive advantage and grow their businesses. The company’s financial stability and unprecedented investment in R&D enable it to develop proprietary technologies for best-in-class printing. These include pre-press and pressroom solutions for offset, wide-format and digital print, as well as workflow software for print production management. Fujifilm is committed to minimising the environmental impact of its products and operations, proactively working to preserve the environment, and strives to educate printers about environmental best practice. For more information, visit www.fujifilm.eu/eu/products/business-products/graphic-systems/

User Tools Site Tools There are a number of options to the AlphaZ ScheduledC code generator, for example, we can choose to allocate a multi-dimensional array as a one dimensional array or not. To configure options to be used by the code generator, an instance of an CodeGenOptions object must be created first using the following commands. options = createCGOptionForScheduledC(); Another command is used to set up the array flatten option # Multi-dimensional arrays are allocated as a one-dimensional array when flatten option is not zero setCGOptionFlattenArrays(CodeGenOptions option,int flatten) There are options specific for tiled code, so if we want to generate tiled code using ScheduledC, we must create an instance of the TiledCodeGenOptions. TiledCodeGenOptions extends CodeGenOptions, and thus it can be used in place of CodeGenOptions as well. The command is the following toptions = createTiledCGOptionForScheduledC(); The tiled code generator provides an optimization that it can select one group of statements and isolate it. The command used to set this optimization up is # When optimize is not zero, the tiled code generator selects one group of statements to isolate. setTiledCGOptionOptimize(TiledCodeGenOptions option,int optimize)

Belletristik/Erzählende Literatur Beschreibung A sprawling fictional account of the adventures of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, the World War I military commander who created the first modern guerilla army. November 1914. In German-occupied East Africa during the Great War, British forces have arrived. In defiance of his orders, Prussian commander Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck enlists soldiers, civilians, and African rebels to fight against the British—the world's first modern guerrilla uprising. Lettow-Vorbeck's actions draw the attention of the brilliant but brutal chief of British intelligence, who vows to defeat him. To complicate matters, Lettow-Vorbeck finds himself embroiled in a romantic relationship with an American woman who loves him—but objects to his conduct in the war. Meanwhile, Zionists fight for influence in the region, rival tribes must be appeased with diplomacy, and an African princess serves as a spy for the rebels. The acclaimed author of A Man Called Intrepid crafts a novel of romance, war, and resistance based on real-life personas and historical events. A former foreign correspondent in the region, William Stevenson paints an astonishingly accurate and detailed picture of the geography, military, and political climate of East Africa in a time of chaos. A thrilling read, TheGhosts of Africa is an epic tale of adventure that will both entertain and inform.

3.) Hearing no sound because I’ve forgot to turn up the volume…:( 2.) Failed login because I’ve mis-typed my password….:( 1.) When SoundCloud is on a scheduled downtime, and I didn’t know…Hands down, the scariest!

Sunday, May 13, 2007 Here's the list of all the pro-playoff and anti-playoff arguments in the Playoff Debate section, hyperlinked to the spot where each one appears in the original post. As I noted in the introduction, the issues and arguments are not linear, but my explanation of them is. So if there's something that seems to build upon an earlier point or is confusing because it glosses over something, I probably explained it when looking at an earlier argument - just scroll up or go back and read from the beginning. (The arguments are presented in written order here.)

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Address Problems As You Put Them Away Replace burnt-out bulbs before you store your lights away for the year. Pack away new candles (store this box in a cool box so they don’t melt) to fit with candles holders for next year to replace the dripping ones from this year. Update items that have gotten too much wear and tear before you have to worry about it next season. Bonus: most holiday items are extremely discounted after the holiday season, so the perfect time to replace any aspect of your holiday décor is as you are packing it away for next year. Recycle Leftover Wrapping Paper and Tissue Instead of throwing out wrapping paper and tissue paper, use it to wrap your delicate ornaments before storing them away once the season has passes. Even if you store your box in a careful place, it’s always a good idea to pay special attention to storing ornaments safely so they don’t break. Tissue paper is excellent for wrapping and wrapping paper can be run through a paper shredder to act as fluffy insulation in boxes. Consider storing them with a box of new hanging hooks to make displaying them on the tree easier for next year. Label…EVERYTHING You may think you’ll remember what items when in which boxes for next year, but just in case, label everything in excess. You may want to find a certain item right away next year, or you may decide to downsize in your decorating, so finding specific items instead of opening every box and then having to repack them right away will save you a lot of time and headache. Wrap Your Lights You may be tempted to shove your holiday lights in a box and let your future self deal with untangling them next year. Instead of starting next holiday season on a Grinchy note as you untangle the mess you left for yourself the previous year, simply take a few extra minutes to carefully disassemble your lights. Use a piece of cardboard to wrap each cord of lights around as it comes off the tree, the house, or anywhere else you have placed them. Keep the strands separate and label each cardboard piece with where they were positioned last year so you don’t have to guess which strands of lights are the correct lengths for which area. Save the Original Packaging Nothing is better for keeping intricate holiday décor stored safely and neatly than the original packaging for which it was designed. Hold onto boxes and Styrofoam packaging as you unwrap your new holiday décor for the year and place the décor safely back in the box as the holiday season closes. Not only will this ensure that your items are stored properly, but the packaging is often design to protect the items in the most compact way possible, which means they will take up less room in your closet than if you were to try and fit them someplace else. Create a List (and Check it Twice) Make a list on the outside of each box and update it each year based on how many feet of garland, strands of lights, and number of candles you currently have. This will save you time from the inevitable second-guessing and over-buying next year, which creates more clutter in your allotted holiday storage space. Evaluate Your Holiday Inventory It’s hard to part with decorations, which have absorbed memories of all the years passed, but when they begin to take up precious holiday storage space, it’s time to create a yearly inventory of what stays for next year and what goes. Keep any items that received attention and compliments this year, but anything that felt like an obligation to put up might be in the running to give away. Don’t feel obligated to keep ornaments you don’t necessarily like (remember, you’ll probably be getting more next year) or decorations that were fun when the kids were young, but now clash with the sophistication of your new home décor. Create an “Open First” Box Thanksgiving often blends into Christmas, and you may be itching to begin the holiday decorating before all the Thanksgiving leftovers are finished without going overboard. Create an “Open First” box containing all the items you will want to display first to ease the transition time. This way, you can satisfy you holiday decorating cravings without dumping out the contents of each box, and take some time to evaluate and organize you holiday planning before turning your home into a full-blown winter wonderland. How do you cut down on the holiday storage headache? Have you made any changes in your storage techniques that made this year easier? Share your tips and tricks with us in the comments section below. What a relief....you made it through the entire post! Now, jump to our homepage or use our convenient Zip Code Search at the top to find local self storage facilities. Some of them have great deals simply for booking online. The reservation process is quick, easy and can be done in your underwear! Research, analyze, compare and reserve storage units online!

Invisalign Q & A Why should you straighten your teeth? Having crooked teeth can affect you in many ways. The process of straightening your teeth might seem daunting, but with advances in dentistry and technology, it has become easier and remains worthwhile. Here are some reasons to straighten your teeth: Boost self-esteem - Getting your teeth straightened means no more having to hide crooked teeth. With a mouthful of straight, pearly whites, you’ll want to show off that smile, and you’ll feel new and revitalized. Healthier teeth - Having crooked teeth causes trouble chewing and increases the likelihood of tooth decay and gum disease. Straight teeth are easier to clean, are less likely to get chipped, and are more likely to lead to long-term overall oral health. What is Invisalign? One popular method for straightening teeth is Invisalign, a treatment that involves the use of removable clear aligners. Unlike traditional metal braces, Invisalign aligners aren't attached to your teeth and don’t dramatically alter your appearance. Invisalign aligners are made of a proprietary material that gently shifts your teeth into place. The clear aligners, which you exchange for a new set every week, fit snugly over your teeth. The aligners work best for teens and adults. Dr. Bello develops a customized monitoring plan to oversee your progress. What can Invisalign aligners fix? Dr. Bello recommends Invisalign for teens and adults who are self-conscious about the appearance of traditional braces. Also, Invisalign aligners are more convenient, as they're typically less painful and inconvenient. She offers Invisalign for conditions such as: Overbite Underbite Overly crowded teeth Overly spaced teeth Teeth shifting What are the benefits of Invisalign? Invisalign offers several benefits that make it a more attractive option than regular braces for many teens and adults. Some of those benefits include: Clear material - Often, people can’t even tell you are wearing braces Removable aligners - You can take them out and eat what you want and brush and floss like normal, something you can’t do with regular braces. More time in between checkups - With Invisalign, you only need checkups every six weeks, as opposed to every four-weeks with traditional braces. Fewer appointments save you time and money.

The good news, said the Halifax-based research firm, is that there is sound evidence to assume the current below-the-average level likely means global drilling activities and resource announcements have hit rock bottom. The bad news, it added, is that it’s hard to predict whether it will rebound sometime next year. As the following charts show, aggregate market cap for the industry improved in September before retreating slightly in October, finishing the period just below $1.6 trillion. The constant progress since the June 2013 low, said the firm, seems to indicate that the ongoing spending cuts are helping restore investor confidence. The number of significant drill results has remained flat for much of 2013, with a limited number of sufficiently capitalized junior companies continuing to advance their top projects. Companies typically pause over the holiday season, with this year’s break perhaps being extended longer than usual to conserve cash. Based on the large numbers of juniors that will begin 2014 with no funding and the ongoing lack of available risk capital, SNL Metals Economics Group anticipates that 2014 drilling activity could be the lowest in years.

About Me Losing a tooth or two may not seem like a big deal, but it can be. I lost several teeth to decay five years ago. At the time, I didn't think much about my tooth loss. I simply carried on with my life. But as the years passed, I began to experience problems with eating. I couldn't chew anything without hurting my gums or biting my tongue. After awhile, I stopped eating my favorite foods and ate things that didn't require much chewing. But after becoming ill from a lack of nutrition, I finally made a choice to replace my missing teeth with dental implants. Now, I feel great and can eat again. I want to share the dangers of tooth loss and other dental problems with you through my blog. I also talk about things you can do to improve your dental health. Thanks for reading and good luck. If your teeth are moderately misaligned, your dentist may recommend Invisalign aligners to straighten them. The aligners, which are made of a rigid, transparent plastic material, fit over the teeth like a specialized mouth guard. To re-position your teeth, multiple sets of the aligners are required. The aligners are used in a specific order, and each set is worn for several weeks. After the allotted time for a set has expired, it is removed and replaced by the the next set in the treatment plan. Read More When you have one or more missing teeth, it can affect your self-confidence and make you want to hide your smile. Luckily, there are many replacement options for missing teeth, including dental implants and dental bridges. While dental bridges are still incredibly popular, however, dental implants have many advantages, making them a better choice for many patients. Check out these three benefits dental implants possess over dental bridges. Dental Implants Use the Jawbone for Support Read More Getting any kind of dental work often requires more than one visit to the dentist's office, but dental implants are a little different. If you're interested in dental implants, chances are you've heard that you will need to make multiple visits to your dentist's office over a few weeks or months' time. If you're wondering why this is necessary, or want to know if the process can be sped up, here's your answer. Read More Most people already understand that drinking an excessive amount of alcohol is bad for their health. However, some may not realize that certain alcoholic beverage can be hazardous to your mouth, teeth, and gums, too. Beer is considered the most popular alcoholic drink in the United States. If you are part of this group of beer drinkers, understanding how this beverage affects your oral health is smart. This guide will educate you on the dental dangers of drinking beer. Read More If you have broken a tooth, you might think that you can wait until regular business hours to see a dentist about the problem. However, it's important not to wait to have a broken tooth repaired. Instead, you should see an emergency dentist as soon as possible. These are a few reasons why it's not a good idea to wait to have your broken tooth repaired. It Can Be Painful Read More

Office Administration The Auburn City Hall building houses the offices of the Mayor, City Clerk, Tax Department, Water Billing/Payment Office, Police Department, and Council Chambers. The people in these departments strive to create a business-like but enjoyable experience for citizens and visitors of the City of Auburn; where we are “Small Enough to Know You, but Large Enough to Serve You.” City Clerk: Becka Cox *protected content* -ext. 201 *protected content* Assistant City Clerk: Sarah Moore *protected content* -ext. 202 Tax Department: *protected content* -ext. 202 *protected content* Important Dates: Water Bills Due -5th of the Month Water Cut Off For Balance Due -16th of the Month City Council Meeting 2nd Monday of the Month at 6

Gavin Newsom, LT Governor of California; Former Mayor of San Francisco Laura Thomas, Drug Policy Alliance Dorsey Nunn, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children Richard Branson Richard Branson is founder and chairman of the UK-based Virgin Group, Ltd., which includes international music megastores and companies in air travel, mobile communications, finance, retail, music, Internet, drinks, railroad, and hotels and leisure, with approximately 200 businesses and brands in more than 30 countries and revenues exceeding $7.2 billion. The award-winning Virgin Atlantic Airways, which he formed in 1984, is now the second largest British long-haul international airline. In addition to his business activities, Sir Richard is a trustee of several charities, including the Virgin Healthcare Foundation, a leading health care charity that has raised over £100 million. George Gascon George Gascón is the District Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco. He has earned a national reputation as a criminal justice visionary and as a leader who uses evidence based practices to make communities safer by lowering crime. He is the first Latino to hold the office in San Francisco and is the nation’s first police chief to become District Attorney. District Attorney Gascón was elected on an agenda to transform the criminal justice system and make San Francisco the safest large city in America. His approach to public safety and reform is based on the need to hold people accountable without breaking the wallets of California taxpayers. Throughout his thirty year career in law enforcement, he has successfully lowered crime in all his positions by taking a surgical approach to crime and offenders, seeking the right amount of intervention to change behavior and improve public safety. To begin addressing the high recidivism rate in California, District Attorney Gascón launched three groundbreaking initiatives – the Alternative Sentencing Program, the Neighborhood Courts and Neighborhood Prosecution Program and a county level Sentencing Commission. He created the nation’s first Alternative Sentencing Program to support prosecutors in assessing risk to determine the most appropriate course of action in each case. The goal is to protect victims and the community by addressing offenders’ risk factors to break the cycle of crime and recidivism. District Attorney Gascón launched the Neighborhood Courts and Neighborhood Prosecution Program as a way to keep low level offenders from entering the criminal justice system. The program takes non serious cases away from overcrowded courtrooms and into the community where trained neighborhood stakeholders can ensure law breakers are accountable to victims and the community without criminalizing first time low level offenders. Additionally, under District Attorney Gascón’s leadership, San Francisco created the first Sentencing Commission in California in an effort to reform sentencing practices by applying evidence based practices to prosecutions. A former high school dropout, District Attorney Gascón understands the importance of keeping kids in school to reduce violence and prevent crime. In partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District, the District Attorney’s Office has launched innovative programs to reduce truancy, increase mentoring opportunities for youth, and reduce bullying. District Attorney Gascón is addressing crime underreporting by breaking down cultural and language barriers that prevent victims and witnesses from engaging with law enforcement. He expanded his office’s multilingual Victims Services Unit beyond the Hall of Justice and into community centers in the Mission, Chinatown, and Bayview Hunters Point. District Attorney Gascón is a known innovator for his use of technology to prevent and predict crime. He improved the Compstat system at the Los Angeles Police Department and introduced the system to the San Francisco Police Department during his tenure as Police Chief. District Attorney Gascón believes in using well developed metrics and technology to drive organizational performance and improve public safety. He is currently working on launching a version called “DA Stat” to the District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Gascón has thirty years of experience in law enforcement promoting through the ranks to become Assistant Chief at the Los Angeles Police Department, Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona and Chief of Police in San Francisco. In addition to his criminal justice work at the local, state, and national level, District Attorney Gascón has worked on public safety initiatives in Latin America and the Middle East. He is a Board member of the Council of State Government’s Justice Center, is a graduate of the FBI’s National Executive Institute, and is a member of the Harvard University/Kennedy School of Government’s Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety. District Attorney Gascón has a Bachelor of Arts in History from California State University, Long Beach, and a Juris Doctor Degree from Western State University, College of Law. Gavin Newsom Gavin Newsom was elected as the 49th Lieutenant Governor of the State of California on November 2, 2010. His top priorities are economic development and job creation, improving access to higher education, and maintaining California's environmental leadership. Prior to being elected Lieutenant Governor, he served two-terms as Mayor of San Francisco. Under his leadership, the economy grew and jobs were created. The City became a center for biotech and clean tech. He initiated a plan to bring universal health care to all of the City's uninsured residents. And Newsom aggressively pursued local solutions to global climate change. In the final days of his second term as Mayor, Newsom led a historic drive to host the 2013 America's Cup, one of the largest and most prestigious sporting events in the world, which is expected to generate roughly 8,000 jobs and $1.2 billion for the local and state economy. Dorsey Nunn Dorsey Nunn, Executive Director of Legal Services of Prisoners with Children, has over thirty-five years experience working on prison related issues. He is the Co-Founder of All of Us or None, a project of LSPC started by formerly incarcerated people in 2003. He has been in the forefront of many social justice organizations from their beginnings, including Critical Resistance and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. Dorsey has received numerous awards including the “Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition” by Nancy Pelosi and the “Senate Certificate of Recognition by Senator Jackie Speier. He is also a recipient of the Fannie Lou Hamer Award from the African-American studies department at UC Berkeley. Dorsey was sentenced to life in the California Department of Corrections when he was 19 years old. He paroled in 1981 and discharged from parole in 1984. Laura Thomas Laura Thomas is the San Francisco deputy state director where she oversees the organization's Model City Initiative for San Francisco. She has 25 years of experience in HIV and public health policy, along with a strong commitment to community advocacy, thoughtful policy analysis and coalition building. She first became involved in AIDS activism with ACT UP in San Francisco. More recently, she was a consultant specializing in HIV policy and planning, with clients ranging from the California State Office of AIDS to the National Association of People with AIDS. Before that she worked for Tenderloin Health and Continuum HIV Day Services, nonprofit health and social service providers serving a predominantly homeless population in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, and for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Thomas has been a syringe access volunteer for more than 15 years, and helped organize a successful 2007 symposium on safe injection facilities. She is proud to have received the AIDS Hero Award from the 2000 AIDS Candlelight Memorial. She serves on the HIV Prevention Planning Council and the HIV Health Services Planning Council in San Francisco and is on the Steering Committee for the national HIV Prevention Justice Alliance. Thomas graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 1995 with a Masters in public health and a Masters in public policy. She also holds a B.A. in English from Wesleyan University.

If you would like to be entered for an exam privately please email Shiraz on: shiraz@abacustuition.co.uk giving as much detail as possible of the exam that you would like to be entered for and we will get back to you promptly.

Attention all Knifemakers!.....Product dealers/retailers and/or knife makers/sharpeners/hobbyists (etc) are not permitted to insert business related text/videos/images (company/company name/product references) and/or links into your signature line, your homepage url (within the homepage profile box), within any posts, within your avatar, nor anywhere else on this site. Market research (such as asking questions regarding or referring to products/services that you make/offer for sale or posting pictures of finished projects) is prohibited. These features are reserved for supporting vendors and hobbyists.....Also, there is no need to announce to the community that you are a knifemaker unless you're trying to sell something so please refrain from sharing. Thanks for your co-operation! Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums by donating using the link above or becoming a Supporting Member. I like to use my r2 mr itou honesuki for all my meat and poultry fabrication. Very sturdy knife, doesn't chip. Steel stays sharp for a long time. I used many other knives for these jobs.For me, nothing is better suited.During the week i'll break down anything from whole quail,squab,chic,Sides of veal, whole pigs and Lamb. Three tools Honesuki, Large cleaver, Meat Saw. Thats it. I'm surprised that nobody on the forum is chopping up chicken bones. Years ago, I read Pam Andersons' recipe on making a chicken stock. She felt the trick was chopping up chicken bones to expose the marrow. I thick it was recipe that made me want a cleaver. Also I've seen a number of recipes, where poultry was chopped or hacked into bite size pieces, after it was cooked. I don't know if I'd ever use a gyuto to chop up a chicken. Since others have brought up the topic, a chicken can be broken down in the western style with any knife from a paring to a cleaver. The Asian style, where a series of precise cuts are made and the meat is pulled off the bones, is where the honesuki, garasuki, and cleaver do make a difference. From what I understand of the garasuki, they can be nothing more then a large honesuki. The garasuki's that have the steep bevel on one side, such as a Masamoto, are probably more in line with a deba, but with a narrow triangle profile. The members who enjoy breaking down a chicken with a deba, the garasuki would be the next step. The little that I've got to play with a garasuki that main difference between it and the honesuki, seems to be production. The Masamoto is a big heavy knife, that is still nimble. If a significant portion of my job was breaking down chicken and deboning them, I would want a garasuki. This is the reason I ask @ 1:37 AND 2:37. It is the mad man Gordon Ramsey breaking down a chock. When you make $45 mil plus a year, who cares what you do with your knife.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEJSHRSJCn8

The RNA world hypothesis shows how RNA can become its own catalyst (a ribozyme). In between there are some missing steps such as how the first RNA molecules could be formed. The PAH world hypothesis was proposed by Simon Nicholas Platts in May 2004 to try to fill in this missing step.[8] A more thoroughly elaborated idea has been published by Ehrenfreundet al..[9] In October 2018, researchers reported low-temperature chemical pathways from simple organic compounds to complex PAHs. Such chemical pathways may help explain the presence of PAHs in the low-temperature atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, and may be significant pathways, in terms of the PAH world hypothesis, in producing presursors to biochemcals related to life as we know it.[15][16] In addition, PAHs are not normally very soluble in sea water, but when subject to ionizing radiation such as solar UV light, the outer hydrogen atoms can be stripped off and replaced with a hydroxyl group, rendering the PAHs far more soluble in water. In the self-ordering PAH stack, the separation between adjacent rings is 0.34 nm. This is the same separation found between adjacent nucleotides of RNA and DNA. Smaller molecules will naturally attach themselves to the PAH rings. However PAH rings, while forming, tend to swivel around on one another, which will tend to dislodge attached compounds that would collide with those attached to those above and below. Therefore, it encourages preferential attachment of flat molecules such as pyrimidine and purinenucleobases, the key constituents (and information carriers) of RNA and DNA. These bases are similarly amphiphilic and so also tend to line up in similar stacks. According to the hypothesis, once the nucleobases are attached (via hydrogen bonds) to the PAH scaffolding, the inter-base distance would select for "linker" molecules of a specific size, such as small formaldehyde (methanal) oligomers, also taken from the prebiotic "soup", which will bind (via covalent bonds) to the nucleobases as well as each other to add a flexible structural backbone.[5][8] A subsequent transient drop in the ambient pH (increase in acidity), for example as a result of a volcanic discharge of acidic gases such as sulfur dioxide or carbon dioxide, would allow the bases to break off from their PAH scaffolding, forming RNA-like molecules (with the formaldehyde backbone instead of the ribose-phosphate backbone used by "modern" RNA, but the same 0.34 nm pitch).[5] The hypothesis further speculates that once long RNA-like single strands are detached from the PAH stacks, and after ambient pH levels became less acidic, they would tend to fold back on themselves, with complementary sequences of nucleobases preferentially seeking out each other and forming hydrogen bonds, creating stable, at least partially double-stranded RNA-like structures, similar to ribozymes. The formaldehyde oligomers would eventually be replaced with more stable ribose-phosphate molecules for the backbone material, resulting in a starting milestone for the RNA world hypothesis, which speculates about further evolutionary developments from that point.[5][8][19]

Buncombe County News New Life for Old Tires Each year, Americans discard about one tire per person. We have about 300 million residents in the U.S., so, as you probably just figured out, we have about 300 million scrap tires each year, too! Tires contain rubber and steel that can be recycled to make new products. Currently, about 87 percent of scrap tires are recovered for reuse, energy recovery, or recycling. The list of products made from recycled tires includes 110 items and is growing! One of the hottest uses for recycled tires is athletic fields. Many professional, college, and even high school playing fields are now made from recycled tires. When you’re watching a professional football game next fall and see that black “spray” when someone falls, you’re seeing a very fine rubber product, not much bigger than sand, that used to be tires! These playing fields are more cushioned than grass and other artificial turfs, resulting in fewer injuries. Even though there are so many uses for old tires, some still end up sitting in illegal tire piles. In these piles, tires collect water, providing an attractive home for disease-carrying mosquitoes and rodents. If tire piles catch fire, the tires burn for a long time, releasing heavy black smoke and leaving an oily film behind on the soil. Make sure that your old tires get a new life! We accept scrap tires at the Buncombe County Landfill. You can drop off tires Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Residents may recycle 10 tires without rims at no charge. After that, tires may be recycled at $2 per tire. All tires on rims (even the first 10) are $2 per tire.

2011: Played in six games in a reserve roll behind First Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection Tom Castilaw . . . Helped anchor an offensive line that finished first in the Sun Belt Conference and 24th in the nation in total offense . . . A-State also ranked No. 1 in the SBC and No. 31 in the nation in scoring offense. 2010: Played in eight games at center, including one as a starter (vs. Auburn in the season opener) . . . In mostly a reserve roll, helped pave the way for 1,784 rushing yards and was part of offensive line that ranked tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference in sacks allowed per game . . . ASU's 4,841 yards of total offense were the most in school history and A-State ranked 40th in the nation in total offense . . . Part of O-line that helped ASU average 5.7 yards per play to tie for the second highest mark in the Sun Belt Conference . . . A-State also ranked second in the SBC and 42nd in the nation in scoring offense with 30 points per game. 2009: Played in nine games, including six as a starter . . . Took over the starting role at center after Tom Castilaw suffered a season-ending injury in the Iowa game . . . Helped lead the way for 21 rushing touchdowns, the third most in the Sun Belt Conference . . . Paved the way for three different ASU players rushing for over 100 yards in at least one game and was part of ASU's line that helped the offense to its most yards of total offense (484) against an FBS opponent since the 2007 season.

The Prodigal won a Goujon Caille! The Prodigal” won again! This is the “Goujon Caille” (spotted catfish) for the Special Jury Animated Shorts Award at Cinema on the Bayou. in Lafayette, Louisiana. Read all about the film fest at: http://cinemaonthebayou.com/

Pierce The Veil announce tour with Neck Deep, I Prevail Pierce The Veil will headline a North American tour this fall with Neck Deep and i Prevail. VIP pre-sale tickets are available now, while general admission go on sale Friday. A full list of dates and locations can be found below.

Ballet by John Neumeier based on Hans Christian Andersen The Little Mermaid For the bicentenary of the birth of the poet Hans Christian Andersen John Neumeier has created a modern but timeless interpretation of "The Little Mermaid" – a dramatic tale set in two contrasting worlds: The simple, underwater life of the ocean creatures and the flamboyant lifestyle of humans. The central figure of the mermaid travels through both worlds, enduring torment because of her committed love for the prince – but through her own strength in the end – transcends. The ballet underlines parallels to the fairy tale in the biografie of Hans Christian Andersen. Music: Lera Auerbach Choreography, Staging, Set and Costumes: John Neumeier Supported by the Foundation for the Patronage of the Hamburg State Opera 2 hours 30 minutes | 1 intermission Premiere: The Royal Danish Ballet, The Opera House, Copenhagen, April 15, 2005 Premiere in Hamburg: The Hamburg Ballet, July 1, 2007 During a sea voyage, a Poet remembers the wedding of his dear friend Edvard to Henriette. Mourning his separation from Edvard, a tear rolls slowly down the Poet's cheek, falling into a sea of memories and fantasies. PART 1 At the bottom of the sea, the Poet's longing for Edvard takes the form of a little mermaid. This lovely sea creature watches a ship pass on the water's surface, and dreams of the earth world. On board the passing ship, sailors are exercising. Their Captain, a Prince—strongly resembling Edvard—is absurdly playing golf. Accidently hitting a ball overboard, he dives into the sea to retrieve it. Although the Prince is unable to see the Mermaid, her presence embraces him. When the Sea Witch appears, a terrible storm erupts and the Prince is in danger of drowning; the Poet wills the little Mermaid to rescue him. Holding the Prince's unconscious body, the Mermaid, whose frolicsome play has now turned to love, cannot resist from kissing him. Bells sound as a group of convent schoolgirls arrive at the seashore. One of the girls, a Princess—looking very much like Henriette—discovers the Prince. She tentatively wakes him. Believing the Princess to be one who saved him, the Prince seems to fall in love with her. Sad and despondent, the little Mermaid witnesses the developing affection between the Prince and Princess, and mirroring the Poet's soul, her desire for the Prince turns to desperation. Determined to become human, the little Mermaid searches for the Sea Witch. Love gives the little Mermaid courage to beg for a human body. A terrible ritual follows, and taking her beautiful tail as ransom, the Sea Witch violently transforms her. The little Mermaid now has legs. Waking naked on the seashore, she finds her first steps unbearably painful. The Prince, passing by, takes pity on this strange creature and carries her on board his ship. It seems her dream has been realized. As the ship is about to depart, the Prince discovers the Princess among the passengers. As the love between the Prince and Princess intensifies, the little Mermaid suffers the intense pain of human disappointment. PART 2 The little Mermaid is determined to be a woman, but the closed rooms of the earth world stifle her attempts. In spite of her efforts, she is still awkward and clumsy in her human body. Visions of the sea cross through her dream. Deeply in love with the Prince, the little Mermaid's desire to be loved in return is now clearly in vain; today he will marry the Princess. The little Mermaid is to be a bridesmaid. During the celebrations, the Sea Witch appears as part of a strange entertainment. He gives the little Mermaid a lethal knife, promising that if she kills the Prince, her tail will be restored, and she will be able to return home in the deep sea. After all the guests have departed, the little Mermaid encounters the Prince. But it is clear to her that she could never harm him. During their farewell, the little Mermaid wonders whether the Prince feels, just for a moment, the depth of her passion. Did they nearly kiss? Abruptly he departs for his wedding night with the Princess. EPILOGUE The little Mermaid is left alone. Her pain reflects the Poet's own painful situation. Each seems the shadow of the other—each abandoned by the object of their intense love. They are one—creator and creation. It is the Poet's love for his Mermaid that gives her the soul that will make her immortal, just as she, "The Little Mermaid," will immortalize him. Courageous, they search for a new world

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Prepare for Your Day Other School Programs Contact Us (Enable JavaScript to view.) (651) 221-9444 (800) 221-9444 This activity is funded, in part, through the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008. Learn More

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After priming the eyes with UDPP, I used Sin for the inner corners of the eyes as its a nice champagne-gold colour that would suit the bead/threadwork. I also used it on the browbone as a highlight. For the middle to the end of the eyelid I used UD Fishnet, with a little bit of Zero eyeshadow on the outer corner. I then used UD Shag for the crease as I've tried putting colours on her crease before but it didn't quite suit her! So I chose Shag as its a neutral colour for her crease, but with a bit of shimmer and it would suit her brown/bronze beadwork.I used UD Peace eyeshadow with a fine wet brush, to go on the lower lashline and tie in with the blue of the dress. To finish, I used the 24/7 eyeliner to line the top and bottom waterlines, then Ink for Eyes for the top liner, followed by the LashLight mascara. For the rest of the face I used Sleek's Pomegranate blush and UD lipliner in Wicked- a nice pink-purple shade. I used the liner all over the lips, and popped some Vaseline on top. I didn't want to put too bright a shade on the lips, to avoid looking like a clown, plus I think Wicked goes really well with Fishnet on the eyes! What do you think of the look? It's the best I could come up with, knowing what palettes she had, otherwise I would've used my Manly palette for exact matches! My friend was happy with the look I came up for her anyway, hope you like it too, if you have any outfits with similar colouring!

Menu Travel Welcome. (That’s what the mandala represents) They say that travel broadens the mind. For me, it’s not so much the “Oooh!, that’s fantastic” as the “Aaah!, that’s really interesting”. It’s about how they do things differently in another culture. I’ve travelled to quite a few countries, but India is unforgettable. A billion people, with a rich heritage, who look set to be one of this century’s superpowers. But it’s a country of contrasts – temples and telecommunications, Bollywood and ballistic missiles. Take a close-up look at the carvings on the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The cool of evening shows off the elegance of Marine Drive, the corniche in Mumbai, but in the smaller towns and backstreets there’s constant bustle and overcrowding. I already knew about rice paddyfields, but I’d never imagined that passing vehicles could be used for roadside threshing. But what else do you do if you’ve got no money for equipment – but are very bright and innovative? India’s a very spiritual place. Priests spend their entire lives serving one of one of the many, many Hindu gods. But it can also be a violent society – any self-respecting politician sports a crisp white shirt … and a bodyguard with a submachine gun. Not just Hindus. India is home to a multitude of Muslims, too. Outside the calm of the mosque, though, there’s usually the crush of traffic. Not just Hindus and Muslims – many other religions have a home here. In Cochin the spice trade was started by the Portuguese, but there were numerous Jewish merchants, enough to name a district. I mentioned history on the home page – how’s this for a portrait of the immense cultural and political changes that took place through the twentieth century? Empire rule – the Raj – didn’t end until 1947. Between the wars the British put up a lot of buildings in ‘their’ country. This Art Deco apartment block in Mumbai now houses the offices of a bank. And take a look at an Indian role model. Remember the airline pilots on cigarette packs in the UK? The essentials of life. Clothes are often washed in the lake … … and if literacy, or lack of equipment, is a problem, you can find someone to write a letter for you – on a good old fashioned green typewriter.

Event Details YOW! DepthFirst Workshop Microservices: Let's Build Some! with Fred George It is one thing to talk about Microservices. It is another altogether to have to build them. After a brief introduction of Microservice principles, we will watch an animation of a micro­service environment. We will start with new versions of pre­built skeleton microservice environment (RabbitMQ message bus with a couple of starter services in Java, C#, and Ruby). We will then design and implement additional services to broaden the overall functionality. These additional services can be written in any language that will run on the participant's laptop. While pairing is strongly encouraged, it is not required. In the final stage, different pairs will implement different services, yet they will all run together implementing the animation. Throughout the workshop, we will stop as participants come across common issues with Microservices. We will use this time to discuss best practices. We wrap up with the participants making observations on what they learned (and how it may be different from Microservices they are currently implementing, if any). This is followed by presentations on Microservice challenges and the organization impact of rapidly developed Microservices. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN The focus of the workshop will be on: Understanding how to design asynchronous service architectures Creating small, yet functional, services rather than larger services, Reducing coupling to the bare minimum (JSON packets with extra fields ignored), and Debugging asynchronous systems. WHAT TO BRING Participants are required to bring a suitable development machine (portable) for working through the exercises. is a Developer and Co­founder at Outpace Systems, and has been writing code for over 46 years in (by his count) over 70 languages. He has delivered projects and products across his career, and in the last decade alone, has worked in the US, India, China, and the UK. He started ThoughtWorks University in Bangalore, India, based on a commercial programming training program he developed in the 90’s. An early adopter of OO and Agile. Fred continues to impact the industry with his leading­ edge ideas, most recently advocating Micro­service Architectures and flat team structures (under the moniker of Programmer Anarchy). Oh, and he still writes code! Company - Programming for 46 years, now Microservice Fanboy and Programmer Anarchist. What else is coming up? YOW! Lambda Jam It's Sydney's turn to feel the Lambda Jam with this event being held there for the first time. This event is perfect for those that want to ratchet up their Functional Programming skills. Improve your skills in languages like Clojure, Scala, Erlang, Haskell, or F# at YOW! Lambda Jam. Sydney, 8-9 May YOW! Connected YOW! Connected is a two day Conference exploring the world of Mobile development and the Internet of Things (IoT). Get unbiased and technically rich talks on topics that include include native development for iOS and Android, the developing market for the IoT, UX & design, back end development and the review of several business case studies. Melbourne, 5-6 October Group tickets and Sponsorship Transfer, Cancellation and Refunds In the event that you are unable to attend, you may send another person to attend in your place provided you inform YOW! organisers of the change not less than 72 hours prior to the workshop. Please see our full terms and conditions.

Mission Statement and Values at IDS Mission Statement Our focus is on teaching as well as on research, combining teaching, fundamental research and their application in practice. Stimulated by curiosity and enthusiasm, we find innovative solutions to scientific problems. The working atmosphere is characterized by confidence and mutual respect, also towards students and partners from science and industry. Our principles include fairness, loyalty and authenticity. Good customer service skills and reliability are important to us. Values 1 — We are one of the leading research institutes worldwide Dealing with scientific problems of fundamental and application-oriented research further deepens our expertise in the fields of nonlinear structural dynamics and vibrations, elastomer friction and contact mechanics, piezo and ultrasonic technology and test bench design and experimental validation. We are known as an active member of the international scientific community. 2 — We are a reliable partner of research and industry With a high level of professionalism, creativity and customer orientation, we find convincing and customer-tailored solutions even to complex and challenging problems. Based on our extensive knowledge and tailored to the specific problem, we apply theoretical and experimental methods in a systematic and constructive manner. 3 — We offer high-quality academic education. Our bachelor and master courses are especially for students in engineering sciences. The results of recent research are directly introduced into the courses, so that our curriculum always reflects the state of the art. Involved in scientific projects and supported individually, our students have the opportunity to contribute to international research already at an early stage. With this, we put them on a firm footing for an optimum entry into a successful career in industry, technology or science. 4 — We leave room for personal development Our success relies on the constant development and qualification of every one. This is why we offer professional and creative work environment, access to modern work equipment, technologies and laboratory premises, thus facilitating international scientific exchange. A trustful interdisciplinary cooperation across hierarchy levels is the basis for the personal development and the readiness to take technical and functional responsibility.

February 6, 2003 Survival of the Students You’ve seen those Worst Case Scenario Guides they have going around. They tell you how to jump out of a plane or escape from quicksand. But what good is that going to do the typical college student? However, there are situations when we all could have used a little guidance. So here’s the daze take on Worst Case Scenario: Cornell. Your car is old, the hill is large First of all, whatever you do, don’t go up Buffalo. Or Seneca. Unless you have to, and eventually, you probably will. If you’re in an automatic, you probably have several different gears (under Drive it should say either 4, 3, 2, 1 or L1, L2). Put your car in a lower gear to get up the hill. If you’re in a manual, shifting to a lower gear should still help. Your battery is dead A quick lesson on how to jump a car. You need two cars. This cannot be overstated. Get your friend or a stranger or whoever to park their car so that it forms the top of a T, with your car forming the vertical line, leaving enough room for you to walk in between the two. If you’re on the street instead of a parking lot you can also put the second car parallel to yours. Open the hood of your car. Open the hood of the other car. Locate the battery on both. Always starting from the live car, attach the cables plus to plus and minus to minus. After you attach the last cable, turn on the dead car. The battery should jump. Take off the cables, check to make sure there are no foreign objects in there and close the hood. Drive the car around for at least a half an hour or until the battery rating is above 14. The cornell curse strikes There are approximately 19,000 students at Cornell (undergrad and grad). It’s inevitable that the person you’re talking about will be standing right behind you. What do you do? You have several options. You can pretend you knew the person was there the entire time: “John’s really a pretentious ass — aren’t you, John?” You can pretend that you’re talking about someone else who has — get this — the exact same name: “Oh no, I meant the other Toshie Kelly Gomyo.” You can attempt to negate the insult by attaching a qualifier to the end: “Yeah, she’s a dog — if Grace Kelly is.” If you’re This is the "wpengine" admin user that our staff uses to gain access to your admin area to provide support and troubleshooting. It can only be accessed by a button in our secure log that auto generates a password and dumps that password after the staff member has logged in. We have taken extreme measures to ensure that our own user is not going to be misused to harm any of our clients sites. Related A couple of weeks back in the trenches as a wage laborer have taught me a few things. As a second semester senior, I’ve decided that I deserve to have the Spring Break of a sorority girl’s (or drunkard’s) dreams. As such, I have set my sights on Acapulco. After extensive research, I’ve found not a single airline that will bursar it. So, how to get the cash? Well, I’ve taken on a second job. I work at the Pita Pit 10 to 12 hours a week for Acapulco money. Don’t get me wrong; I like my job. My co-workers are nice, I ring in people’s orders and make sandwiches. It’s not a bad way to make some change. There’s nothing wrong with asking “Do you want chips with that” for a semester in the service of a debauched dream. But the thing I’ve learned that I’ll forever carry with me is this: sometimes, the customer is always wrong. The customer is always wrong when she, a 92-pound girl, asks me if she can have a third baba ganoush, a third hummus and a third falafel on her sandwich. And just a little lettuce. And no pita. He’s always wrong when he calls me asking why his 222 chicken pitas haven’t yet been delivered when he ordered over an hour ago. Has he ever made 222 chicken pitas? Does he know how long it takes to make 222 chicken pitas? Should he just smoke another bowl with his 221 buddies and relax? Finally, the customer is especially wrong when he or she puts in an appearance as The Drunk Customer. The Drunk Customer is a unique specimen. Both sexes look the same, for the most part. They are clothed in expensive outfits which must have looked good at the beginning of the night, but are now beginning to — for lack of a better word — wilt. Gelled hair has gone limp, and has chosen to part listlessly in the middle. Mascara has smeared above and underneath the eye. Beer has been spilt, usually on or near the crotch area of the pant. I will begin by describing my encounters with the male. Often staggering in with 48 of his closest friends, he begins his night at the Pita Pit aiming his beady, bloodshot eyes at my chest and smirkingly slurring out the words: “Whaza BLT?” Next, he proceeds to do one of three things: He invites everyone in the Pit to after-hours at his place. He asks the location of the bathroom. Unable to wait for a response, he rushes outside and pees in the snow. He asks the location of the bathroom. Unable to wait for a response, he rushes outside and pukes in the snow. Then, if he is able, he returns and orders a pita. Or two. Or FIVE. Oh yes, The Male Drunk Customer can eat. Let’s turn now to the female. She pays with someone else’s credit card — usually a close relative’s — which happens to have her name on it. I know this because when I say “$28.50, please,” she says, “Oh, that’ll break my father’s bank.” One can only hope that in a mere five weeks I too will be drunk enough to say something even stupider. Possibilities include: “Green things are better than blue things,” “Why don’t birds fly inside?” and “What are you doing later?”Archived article by Maggie Frank The Dartmouth Jinx? Like Bigfoot and Area 51, some say it exists and some say it doesn’t. The icers themselves don’t believe in it. It has nothing to do with Dartmouth, say the players and coaches, it’s just a bad coincidence that the Red hasn’t played high-caliber hockey against the Green. “We lost to them a lot of times, but why did we lose to Colgate?” asked senior co-captain Doug Murray. “We didn’t play a good game.” “We haven’t come out with a fire in our stomach and aggressiveness, and you go back in a lot of the notes I have, our effort, especially early on in the game, has been very disappointing,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. Other members of the team won’t even discuss the jinx. “I’m not answering any questions about Dartmouth,” stated senior co-captain Stephen B

A Playbook to Help the U.S. Regain Its Innovative Edge (NewsUSA) – Can the man who invented an insulin pump, the iBOT wheelchair and the “Luke Arm” prosthesis help end all the handwringing about whether America has lost its competitive edge in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)?Inventor and not-for-profit FIRST founder Dean Kamen is sure trying, as evidenced by the thousands of kids who have conquered hundreds of competitive challenges through his organization. No wonder kids from FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and their robots were chosen to lead the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and invited to the White House Science Fair on multiple occasions and earned investment money for their invention from ABC’s hit TV show, Shark Tank. Why robotics? “Robotics is the 21st-century sport for the mind,” says Kamen. “If we want kids to study STEM, we need to show them that these fields are just as accessible, fun and rewarding as playing sports. And it’s the one sport where everyone can turn pro.” Apparently, the need to push this idea is self-evident in the U.S. Data from the Program for International Student Assessment, which shows how U.S. students stack up against those in 65 top industrial countries: 31st in math. 23rd in science. But take a look at students involved with FIRST. Kids ages 6-18 take on robotics challenges and invention programs while they increase their problem-solving abilities and leadership skills. President Obama celebrated students at the recent White House Science Fair for their innovative ideas. One of the participants, Parker Owen, was honored for his invention, the Cycle-Leg — an inexpensive prosthetic made from a single recycled bicycle. “For all of the problems in the world, FIRST to me is a solution. They are shaping and encouraging the next generation to be contributors rather than consumers,” Owen says. U.S. companies are also relying on the organization to fuel the workforce pipeline with innovative problem-solvers — more than 3,500 corporate sponsors include Boeing, Google, Qualcomm and United Technologies. Here’s the biggest proof point: FIRST offers more than $20 million in scholarships. So it’s no surprise that its alumni accounted for almost 10 percent of the entering freshmen class in 2013 at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “FIRST isn’t just a robotics program, it’s a life-changing experience,” says Emily Stern, who is studying mechanical engineering at MIT.

Port Operator Fined in UK Over Fatal 2007 ‘Flying Phantom’ Capsizing A port operator in UK has pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches and has been sentenced to pay £650,000 (just over $1 million USD) relating to the fatal 2007 capsizing of the tug Flying Phantom on the River Clyde, which resulted in the deaths of three crewmembers. Clydeport Operations Ltd was sentenced to the fines Monday in the High Court in Edinburgh, the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency reports. Last week, the port operator, which is owned by Peel Ports Limited, pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, admitting that between 29 December 2000 and 19 December 2007 there had been a systemic failure in risk assessments and safe systems of work. According to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, in December 2007 the Flying Phantom was one of three tugs assisting the 70,000-tonne cargo ship Red Jasmine as it made its way along the River Clyde in thick fog. As they approached the Erskine Bridge, the Flying Phantom was secured to the bow of the Red Jasmine, which was transporting animal feed, the MCA said. Just before 6 p.m., the Flying Phantom called the ship to say they had grounded and the pilot instructed the tug to let go the line. The line came taut and the tug was pulled over and capsized – a situation known as “girting”, the MCA said. The tug’s master, Stephen Humphreys, 33, chief engineer, Robert Cameron, 65, and rating, Eric Blackley, 57, all lost their lives in the incident. The mate, Brian Aitchison, 37, managed to climb clear before the tug sank and was rescued. The charges included a similar accident with a ship, the Abu Egila, at the same place in September 2000 when the Flying Phantom was also the lead tug. On this occasion, the tug was let go and there were no injuries, the MCA said. An investigation into the 2007 accident by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) found that there were shortcomings in the application of the Port Marine Safety code, stating that neither the company secretary nor the operations/human resources director received training to adequately fulfill their role as the designated person with responsibility to ensure health and safety. Judge Lord Kinclaven handed down the sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh Monday, saying: “The charges are severally and jointly very serious and extended for a long period of time, from 2000 to 2007.” The tug operator Svitzer Marine Limited had previously admitted to proximate cause of the deaths. Captain Jeremy Smart, Head of Enforcement at the MCA, said: “This was a tragic event and the MCA would like to express its sincere condolences to the families involved, who have endured a very difficult number of years. The investigation highlighted some very serious shortcomings in Clydeport Operations Limited’s safety management.” About gCaptain gCaptain is the top-visited maritime and offshore industry news site in the world. Since 2007, gCaptain has proven to be a highly effective platform for information sharing and a source for up-to-date and relevant news for industry professionals worldwide.

Pages About Me Saturday, April 25, 2009 Penny Black Saturday Challenge...Week 46 Morning Folks and once again it's time for another Penny Black Saturday challenge....where does the week go. Lots of fabulous entries for Nat's sketch last week.....it was a great sketch and I just knew you would all love it. The challenge this week on Penny Black Saturday is ANYTHING GOES easy peasy......was my first reaction but it didn't turn out that way so much choice....I hummed and hawed about what I was going to do... lots of ideas running around my head and suddenly it's Friday and the card still isn't made the penny finally dropped...need a card for a friend who is a keen gardener Well folks....I think I will give cardmaking a miss today......need to get some work done in the garden and catch up with some household chores.....but I will catch up with you all tomorrow......another challenge card to share and let me tell you this one was a little bit of a problem too.....enjoy the rest of your weekend and will be popping over to visit and see what you have all conjured up for this week's challenge This is amazing Kath, such a cool idea. The lucky recipient is gonna love it. Love the attention to detail and great that you have used it to put their gift inside too. Such a thoughtful thing to give someone. Hope you are well. Enjoy your gardening. The sun is shining with me at the moment and hope it is in Aberdeen too. Hugs, Lainy xxx Oh Kath this is just the sweetest card!!!I love your little house and the climbing flowers it all looks just perfect!Gorgeous paper and love the inside too she will so love this!Hope blogger is being good now enjoy your Saturday!hugskim x Fabulous creation Kath your are always full of inspiration. I love this and perfect for a keen gardener. the image is perfect. Have a super weekend, relaxing yeah yeah when do you ever relax always on the go you are Mrs. Enjoy whatever you do, mwah. Oh what a delightful little scene. Just love everything about it, especially because I am such a huge garden lover myself. Your friend will definitely have to frame this, waterproof it, and put it up as a little sign in her garden. Hugs from Desire

About Galgotia's College of Engineering & Technology (GCET), Greater Noida Galgotias Educational Institutions (GEI) involving Galgotias Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT) and Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology (GCET) were established by Smt. Shakuntala Educational and Welfare Society. Mr. Suneel Galgotia, who is Chancellor of Galgotias University and Managing Director of Galgotia Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi has the vision to give a world-class education system and facilities to the students here in India, so that they can compete globally and stand out. The Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology is recognized by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India and courses are affiliated to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow (formerly known as Uttar Pradesh Technical University). GCET was established in the year 2000, to maintain a harmony with the theoretical as well as the practical knowledge to maintain a complete all-round development of the candidate and support the growth professionally and personally. The Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology has earned quite a fame among the students in being able to produce many nationally and internationally acclaimed students. The institute is working round the clock to fulfil its vision “to be a leading educational institution recognized for excellence in engineering education & research producing globally competent and socially responsible technocrats.” At GCET the primary focus is on technological knowledge and various streams of Bachelor's in Technology is part of the curriculum. However, knowing the importance and popularity of management course the institute has also incorporated an MBA programme in its curriculum. Here is a list of courses offered at the institute along with the seats available in the course: Course Name Branch Name Seats Available B.Tech Civil Engineering 120 B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering 120 B.Tech Electrical & Electronics Engineering 120 B.Tech Electrical Engineering 60 B.Tech Electronics and Communication Engineering 120 B.Tech Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering 120 B.Tech Information Technology 120 B.Tech Mechanical Engineering 120 MBA MBA 60 Teaching Learning initiatives at GCET: The institute aims to develop a strong understanding between teachers and students by developing teaching methods which will encourage the curiosity among students. The teaching methods include: Preparing an academic calendar at beginning of each Semester and adhering to that. Course allocation to the faculty with expertise. Powerpoint Presentations Use of real-life projects Providing Lecture wise course material Video lectures from National Programme on Technology Enhanced Lectures (NPTEL) Uploading Course material/ Lectures on website Live case studies Internship programmes for industrial exposure Brain-Storming sessions Spoken Tutorial for students The campus is designed to protect each and every student from any bully or ragging, also various committees are set up in the Institute for helping the students throughout their stay as part The Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology, some of these are: Anti-Ragging Committee Student Welfare Committee (ST/SC committee) Woman Cell Internal Complain committee Grievance Redressal Cell Extra-Curricular Activities Committee GCTII Research & Incubator Cell (MSME) Galgotia's College of Engineering & Technology (GCET), Greater Noida More Rate Your College The more you express, greater is the extent to which you can help other aspiring students. Your Experience is extremely valuable. A great college.and a great opportunity to get into it if you didn't get any government college. And college life is really memorable here. You should have minimum 50% in 12 board and must appear for any of the entrance exams. You can also take admission through UPTU counseling. ...Read Full Review All 16 reviews published here are genuine and honest feedback given by students and alumni of this college. Sort Reviews By Showing Results for Most Detailed Reviews BOBY YADAV Student BEST COLLEGE FOR BTECH IN GREATER NOIDA5.0 GCET Is Best college in graeter noida for engineering.This college is on top in greater noida. It also come in top 10 enginnering college of UPTU/AKTU. I have aggregated all the good reasons for coming to Galgotias College in the answer below- Others reasons are because of its diversity of cro wd which come from the top schools and from various cities because of its brilliant location. It has got a decent library and cafeteria space. The classes of CSE/IT are exceptionally well and have AC in them. The college hostel (boys) is not up to the mark so better choose any outside hostel. But having said that nothing can beat the college hosteler life. It is simply the best experience you could ever get. It is a ragging free campus and whosoever break the rules have to face fatal consequences. Rest all the things you will find in the answer below ...Read Full Review Anjali Student Overview5.0 One of the most important thing which clicks to ones mind while selecting a college is Accommodation. It is not only the concern of the students but the parents too are much concerned about this. Talking about Galgotia University hostel, its a Home Away From Home. Galgotia University has a great an d fully facilitated hostel covering all the daily needs of the students like RO, laundry, wi-fi connectivity, hygienic mess, cafeteria etc. The rooms in the hostel are available on sharing basis. The environment at the hostel is very friendly, with round the clock security for the students. Not only this the key areas of the hostel are monitored by CCTV and alarm system. No outsider without proper verification is allowed to enter the hostel premises. ...Read Full Review Aamir Khan Student Overview5.0 To provide students with more job opportunity Galgotia University has a well established and active cell called Entrepreneurship Development Cell (EDC). The major objective of this cell is to encourage and enhance the business skills among the students and it provides them with more job opportunitie s by bringing more job providers. Since this cell was established it is actively engaged in achieving its objectives through several ways like conducting entrepreneurial workshops, exercises, seminars, entrepreneur talks and many more activities relating to entrepreneurship. This is a good move by the university to help students achieve excellence in working and in their career. ...Read Full Review Aakash Deep Student Overview4.0 Galgotia University is always known for its global linkage and academics. It always looks forward to provide students with better placement and internships. GU had organized an event called G-Talk on April 16, 2014. In this event GU had invited its Alumni members to meet the students studying their and they discussed on important issues related to career, jobs etc. It was a 2 hour event with 2-3 speakers who conducted the ceremony. The event was a great initiative taken by Galgotias to encourage the ex students as well as current students in their respective fields. ...Read Full Review SAKSHI GUPTA B.Tech / B.E. Student Overview4.0 This college is affiliated with the AKTU of Lucknow and I have cleared the entrance examination of the University which was UPSEE and in the year 2015 I have PASSOUT and the annual fee was Rs 1.11 lac per year It is having good faculties, college structure is also good The placements are 98% but I refused because I don't want to join ...Read Full Review Arvind Singh B.Tech / B.E. Student SAKSHI GUPTA B.Tech / B.E. Student Overview4.0 This college is affiliated with the AKTU of Lucknow and I have cleared the entrance examination of the University which was UPSEE and in the year 2015 I have PASSOUT and the annual fee was Rs 1.11 lac per year It is having good faculties, college structure is also good The placements are 98% but I refused because I don't want to join ...Read Full Review Prince B.Tech / B.E. Student College Desc5.0 This college is affiliated with the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) and the steam of my engineering was Mechanical Engineering and the annual fee of this course was Rs 1.30 Lacs per year and right now I am in the final year of the course. ...Read Full Review Showing Results for Most Helpful Reviews Anjali Student Overview5.0 One of the most important thing which clicks to ones mind while selecting a college is Accommodation. It is not only the concern of the students but the parents too are much concerned about this. Talking about Galgotia University hostel, its a Home Away From Home. Galgotia University has a great an d fully facilitated hostel covering all the daily needs of the students like RO, laundry, wi-fi connectivity, hygienic mess, cafeteria etc. The rooms in the hostel are available on sharing basis. The environment at the hostel is very friendly, with round the clock security for the students. Not only this the key areas of the hostel are monitored by CCTV and alarm system. No outsider without proper verification is allowed to enter the hostel premises. ...Read Full Review Neeraj Chawla B.Tech/B.E Student Amar Singh Rajput Student Overview5.0 It isnt the best college of UPTU or India like IIT or NIT but its among the best.In Greater Noida region,I bet no college is better than this.Its a strict college.Awesome atmoshphere.Love to stay here even in vacation time of Diwali.Awesome senior,not supportive but inspirational.proud to be a membe r of Galgotia.Thnx for giving me admission. ...Read Full Review Aamir Khan Student Overview5.0 To provide students with more job opportunity Galgotia University has a well established and active cell called Entrepreneurship Development Cell (EDC). The major objective of this cell is to encourage and enhance the business skills among the students and it provides them with more job opportunitie s by bringing more job providers. Since this cell was established it is actively engaged in achieving its objectives through several ways like conducting entrepreneurial workshops, exercises, seminars, entrepreneur talks and many more activities relating to entrepreneurship. This is a good move by the university to help students achieve excellence in working and in their career. ...Read Full Review Aakash Deep Student Overview4.0 Galgotia University is always known for its global linkage and academics. It always looks forward to provide students with better placement and internships. GU had organized an event called G-Talk on April 16, 2014. In this event GU had invited its Alumni members to meet the students studying their and they discussed on important issues related to career, jobs etc. It was a 2 hour event with 2-3 speakers who conducted the ceremony. The event was a great initiative taken by Galgotias to encourage the ex students as well as current students in their respective fields. ...Read Full Review GCET is affiliated toDr. APJ Abdul Kalam University, Lucknow and was established in 1999. College offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses like B.tech (9 branches), MBA and MCA. Galgotia college of engineering and technology's B.tech ( Electrical and electronic communication and Mechanical Engineering) are recently accredited by NBA for 2018-19 to 2019-20. Few important points to keep in mind before taking admission in this college: The payment of the fee for walk-in registration can be made either in cash or via DD in the name of 'Galgotias University' which is to be submitted after filling the form. The candidate will be provided with an inquiry number at the time of registration. List of documents required for B.tech admissions: Certificate/mark sheet of Class 12th. Certificate/Mark sheets of Class10th. Character certificate Transfer certificate Migration certificate from Board/University(Not applicable to the candidates who have passed 12th from UP Board/Diploma passed from BTEUP) Placement Highest and average package for B.Tech / B.E. Industry Average for B.Tech / B.E. Placement in CS and IT is very good. Other branches have also good placement. Companies like Wipro, Vivo, Cognizant, Infosys etc come every year. Average package is more than 4 lakhs. ...Read Full Review Latest News & Articles Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) has extended the last date to apply for UPSEE 2019 examination. The candidates aspiring to appear for UPSEE 2019 must visit the official website of UPSEE at upsee.nic.in before March 25, 2019, to apply for the exam. ...Read more JEE Main April Session Application Correction Window will close today. The candidates who successfully registered for the JEE Main 2019 examination must visit the official website of JEE Main at jeemain.nic.in to check for any possible errors in their Application Form. Apart from the application correction facility, the registration of EWS category will also end today. ...Read more Miss Vashali Jain is my favourite teacher in my college because of the way of their teaching & moti vation ...Read Full Review Successful Alumni Prateek Sharma The exposure, confidence and right guidance at Galgotias helped me to achieve campus placement in a US firm. Abhinav Tripathi According to Abhinav "My involvement in various extracurricular activities taught me to perform under pressure. These experiences not only helped me grow as a professional but also as an individual." Awards No.1 Private engineering College College has been awarded No. 1 private engineering college in Uttar pradesh by NIRF NBA Accredation Mechanical Engineering and electronic and communication branch has been accredited by NBA for session 2018-19 to 2019-2020 More Scholarship Sports Quota Scholarships Candidate can get a direct seat under sports quota under the following criteria: 1. Direct Admission without Sports Trials All candidates who have represented India in any of the following competitions are eligible to secure admission at Galgotia College without taking the Sports Trials: Olympic Games by International Olympic Committee (IOC) World Championship/ World Cup by International Sports Federations (ISF) Asian Games by Olympic Council of Asia Asian Championships by International Sports Federations (ISF) South Asian Games (SAG) by South Asian Sports Council (SASC) Commonwealth Games by Commonwealth Games Federations (CGF) Paralympics Games by International Paralympics Committee (IPC) 2. Admission with Sports Trials All candidates who have not participated in any of the competitions listed above will have to take Sports Trials for Galgotia College admissions 2018. Similar to the Galgotia College admission procedure for other candidates, applicants under Sports quota also need to register on the official website of Galgotia College. At the time of filling the application form for Galgotia College admissions 2018, candidates also need to upload their Sport Certificates on the Galgotia College portal. Out of 100 marks, 40 marks will be considered for Certificates and 60 marks for sports trials. The eligibility criteria for GALGOTIA College admissions 2018 for Sports quota candidates are such that maximum 40 marks will be considered for the Sports Certificate. Besides, candidates need to appear for sports trial for their particular game/ sport. Sports trial includes Game / Sport Specific Fitness, Fundamental Skills, and Overall Playing Ability More About Galgotia's College of Engineering & Technology (GCET), Greater Noida Galgotias Educational Institutions (GEI) involving Galgotias Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT) and Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology (GCET) were established by Smt. Shakuntala Educational and Welfare Society. Mr. Suneel Galgotia, who is Chancellor of Galgotias University and Managing Director of Galgotia Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi has the vision to give a world-class education system and facilities to the students here in India, so that they can compete globally and stand out. The Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology is recognized by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India and courses are affiliated to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow (formerly known as Uttar Pradesh Technical University). GCET was established in the year 2000, to maintain a harmony with the theoretical as well as the practical knowledge to maintain a complete all-round development of the candidate and support the growth professionally and personally. The Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology has earned quite a fame among the students in being able to produce many nationally and internationally acclaimed students. The institute is working round the clock to fulfil its vision “to be a leading educational institution recognized for excellence in engineering education & research producing globally competent and socially responsible technocrats.” At GCET the primary focus is on technological knowledge and various streams of Bachelor's in Technology is part of the curriculum. However, knowing the importance and popularity of management course the institute has also incorporated an MBA programme in its curriculum. Here is a list of courses offered at the institute along with the seats available in the course: Course Name Branch Name Seats Available B.Tech Civil Engineering 120 B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering 120 B.Tech Electrical & Electronics Engineering 120 B.Tech Electrical Engineering 60 B.Tech Electronics and Communication Engineering 120 B.Tech Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering 120 B.Tech Information Technology 120 B.Tech Mechanical Engineering 120 MBA MBA 60 Teaching Learning initiatives at GCET: The institute aims to develop a strong understanding between teachers and students by developing teaching methods which will encourage the curiosity among students. The teaching methods include: Preparing an academic calendar at beginning of each Semester and adhering to that. Course allocation to the faculty with expertise. Powerpoint Presentations Use of real-life projects Providing Lecture wise course material Video lectures from National Programme on Technology Enhanced Lectures (NPTEL) Uploading Course material/ Lectures on website Live case studies Internship programmes for industrial exposure Brain-Storming sessions Spoken Tutorial for students The campus is designed to protect each and every student from any bully or ragging, also various committees are set up in the Institute for helping the students throughout their stay as part The Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology, some of these are: Anti-Ragging Committee Student Welfare Committee (ST/SC committee) Woman Cell Internal Complain committee Grievance Redressal Cell Extra-Curricular Activities Committee GCTII Research & Incubator Cell (MSME) Galgotia's College of Engineering & Technology (GCET), Greater Noida More Also Viewed with Galgotia's College of Engineering & Technology (GCET), Greater Noida

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” We’ve all heard the expression, and it’s still true—even in the ever-changing world of marketing, even in our age of smartphones, marketing automation and social media. Some of the most effective marketing tools at your disposal were around long before Al Gore invented the Internet. Perhaps the most powerful of those time-tested tools is the custom magazine. Suffering from a lack of motivation? Look outside—it may be the weather. If you feel less motivated than usual on those days, you’re not alone. Scientists haven’t been able to identify exactly why our motivation disappears when the sun does, but they have some ideas. There’s even a mood disorder called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, that affects people who live in places that are consistently dark and dreary. So what do you do on those mornings when you feel like you can’t get anything done? Instead of sending yourself into a caffeine coma, try some of these methods to get your motivation back. “Print is dead.” If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times. These days it’s impossible to go very long without reading or hearing about how smartphones and tablets are replacing printed materials. But while it’s 100% true in many respects, there’s one medium where print still reigns: magazines. There’s a common belief that only older people read magazines. Even if you’ve read about how custom magazines drive online sales and web traffic, you may be hesitant to spend time planning and launching a custom publication for your organization for fear of a slow and steady decline as the Baby Boomers get older. “How often should I blog?” Type those words into Google and you’ll find more than half a billion-with-a-b results trying to answer that question. Everyone is looking for an answer to the same question, but with so many experts offering so much conflicting advice, it can be almost impossible to make sense of it all. Coming up with a blogging plan can be an even bigger challenge for a hospital marketer. There are few hospital blogs to use as examples as you hone your own organization’s blogging strategy, and what works for a Fortune 500 company or for a small business might not be best for your audience. According to Hoffman “tours” last approximately four years (but with a review after two years). That’s how long a company can expect to sign up an employee to one job. After four years both sides should sit down and decide if another tour works for both parties. If not, you’re a “free agent”! If I had to bet on one thing you have not done, this would be it: I’d bet you have not developed personas of your patients. I’d bet on this because I’ve developed a persona of you. My persona of you says you have very little time. And with very little time available this is a step in marketing it’s very tempting to skip. (I’ve skipped this step many times myself and I’m in marketing too.)

Witch: a woman claiming or popularly believed to possess magical powers and practice sorcery. Powerful, haunting and compelling, as is magic, War Witch beautifully captures a story about an African teenager trying to find a way to live and to love her unborn child while the taste of abhorrent crimes is still fresh and the gaping hole of loss is constantly stretching. Komona, kidnapped from her village at the age of twelve by a rebel army and is forced to serve as a child soldier. After remarkably coming out of an attack unscathed she is deemed a war witch, and the leader’s lucky charm. A fellow solider, an albino boy called Magicien (the magician), convinces her to run away with him. The war witch and the magician at the end of the day are just two teenagers in love, and for a brief time simplicity and happiness enter their lives. But, soon the young girl is left with nothing but the spirits of those she killed, the horrific stories she shares with the life growing inside of her and prayers for the ability to love her child. It was not surprising to learn that the young woman who portrays Komona, Rachel Mwanza, is a nonprofessional actress, because her performance does not feel like one, like anything that could be taught or rehearsed. Mwanza’s work is organic, giving us a Komona that is unprocessed, but ripe. She navigates all of Komona’s emotional states with honesty, delving into bottomless grief of a lost girl, the killer instincts of a soldier and the innocence of a teenager experiencing love for the first time. Mwanza’s depiction of Komona’s evolution is truly gripping. Award-winning director Kim Nguyen is create a world that feels at times apocalyptic, at times mystical but always staying true to reality. War Witch, featured in the World Narrative Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, is a riveting demonstration of how a story (inspired by true events) based on conflict can be told without politicizing it, but focusing on a life full of meaning.

A man waves an LGBT equality rainbow flag at a celebration rally in West Hollywood, California, June 26, 2015. The US Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriages has no legal force outside the United States, but gay rights activists in many parts of the world believe the court ruling will help their cause. China Daily / BeijingFar-reaching implications of US marriage ruling“The US Supreme Court 5-4 ruling ... that same-sex marriages are protected under the 14th amendment of the US Constitution was a landmark judgment not only for Americans but also many Chinese...,” writes Chen Weihua. “While substantial progress has been made in China over the past two decades to protect the rights of the [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] community, most Chinese are still not ready to embrace the group.... Chinese officials ... have not spoken publicly about the rights of gays and lesbians, since homosexuality was decriminalized in 1997 and removed from the list of mental illnesses in 2001. Hopefully the US Supreme Court decision will encourage ... officials and ordinary citizens alike ... to take actions to help build a society that shows more tolerance and respect to the LGBT community and upholds their equal rights.” Dawn / Karachi, PakistanHydro-diplomacy needed in Pakistan“Despite the importance of water for Pakistan, we have transformed from a water-abundant state to one of ‘perceived’ scarcity...,” writes Usman Mirza. “Pakistan’s water crisis is not one of absolute water scarcity but has over time been transformed into a ticking time bomb due to vested interests, power structures, political rivalries, ineffective governance and flawed policies.... [T]he mounting pressures on available water for Pakistan could translate into political instability and security risk. Transboundary water is no longer a purely management issue...; it is now a national asset which has to be negotiated diplomatically across international borders.... To use hydro-diplomacy as a tool we need strong institutions and political leadership as a prerequisite to be effective and reap results.” Khaleej Times / Dubai, United Arab EmiratesEU should be conciliatory with Greece“A conciliatory approach is needed to pull back Greece from the default zone,” states an editorial. “This will also give the embattled economy space to recover from the economic mess it finds itself in.... [T]he 28-member Eurozone should [understand] that the Greeks have never played to the gallery by threatening to quit the union.... European leaders not happy with the outcome should avoid retribution.... Instead, they should seek to address their genuine economic concerns.... Yes, Europe and its institutions are under strain, but a humane approach towards Greece will go a long way in aiding an ailing economy and in stopping the continental drift.” The Moscow Times / Moscow Fighting Islamic State more important than anti-West narrative“Since the annexation of Crimea and the onset of sanctions, both Russian foreign and domestic policy have been infused with a sense of exaggerated bravado and pointed anti-Western rhetoric...,” writes Natalia Antonova. “Admitting that Russia now shares with the West a particularly prolific and ruthless enemy – the [Islamic State], its sympathizers, and potential recruits – is an uncomfortable task. A common ground doesn’t fit with the anti-Western narrative as neatly.... Russians can certainly point the finger at destructive U.S. misadventures in the Middle East as having given rise to the IS in the first place, but that can’t and won’t make the IS go away.” Daily Outlook Afghanistan / Kabul, AfghanistanProtect Afghan refugees“Three decades of war in Afghanistan forced more than 6 million Afghans to flee the country...,” writes Ewaz Ali Bahrami. “While the Afghan government is not ready to take in and accommodate refugees, mass repatriation of refugees can create a chaotic situation in the country.... [T]he government should redouble its efforts and urge all host countries not to forcefully repatriate Afghan refugees, especially women and children.... It is the obligation of the Afghan government to protect [the] rights of all Afghan citizens including refugees who are in search of shelter in other countries.”

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 We're still not sure what her real name is. As T.S. Elliot said, "...a cat needs a name that's particular,A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,Else how can he keep up his (her) tail perpendicular,Or spread out his (her) whiskers, or cherish his (her) pride?"So we use Miss Puss until we learn her "ineffable effableEffanineffable, Deep and inscrutable singular Name."For now, it's just Miss Puss. A HAH, I hear you say. So Georgina FINALLY consented to put her pussy up on the web! My reporter friend, Kevin Modesti, whom I met when he was covering Marilyn Chamber's Bon Voyage party atPismo Beach last year, (if you didn't know, Marilyn died April 12th, 2009) Yeah, so anyway - John and I got chatting with Kevin and we have since become lunch buddies. He brought his new pal, Randy Farhi along to the last such meeting. What a bright, charming lady. Her brother, Paul Farhi, is a reporter with The Washington Post and is a frequent guest on the political shows on MSNBC and such. Sorry, I can't resist dropping a name when it's such a significant one. Kevin and I exchange books. I read something I think hemight like, I pass it along to him. He does the same for me. Now we've got Randy in the loop. Poor dear. I just laid the first of Neal Stephenson's marathon Baroque Cycle (a not-so-brief history of commerce and communication) upon her. It's called Quicksilver and it's quite addictive. I'm sure I shall rot in hell for leading her down this path. So, now I have two "new" eyes. Here's me with just the first one done and the second still under wraps. New kitty is not impressed. A shout out to Doctor Robert Feinfield, my surgeon - who just happens to produce music in his spare time for a good cause. My dentist is a sculptor. I expect my GP to hand me a movie script any day now. Gawd, I love living in El Lay. Wednesday, February 2, 2011 Even though the few moments I got to share with John on camera are not included in this tribute - I spent a long time savoring these images. I gather the score is John signing and playing one of his own compositions. John was an accomplished Blues musician and produced a well reviewed CD called In The Kitchen. His CD may be still be purchased for $20 from his estate. Checks or money orders should be sent to: About Me At 74, I'm enjoying my retirement from a twenty year career as a desktop publisher, which followed a career as an actress in both mainstream film and theater and underground (yes many were pornographic)films. Before that, I was a dancer. Even made it to a lead role in a Broadway show, The Pajama Game, in 1955. In 1957, when the show closed in New York, I toured South Africa with it. Heady stuff.

Discover all-new ways to play, including Classic Bejeweled for cascades of fun, journey through 40 challenging Quest puzzles, charge into the electrifying Lightning for non-stop action, and tailor your experience in Zen for a revolutionary new way to relax. Plus, Bejeweled 3 now features Steam Achievements! Bejeweled 3 is an excellent video game. Normal people play it on computers. But special people—people who work at PopCap, the studio behind the Bejeweled series—get to play it on a massive touch-sensitive TV right in the lobby of their headquarters. Lucky them. Giant Bejeweled 3 Touch (my name for it) is irresistible, as my own hands can attest. I took this video of two of PopCap's top men playing the game in their lobby during a visit to the studio last month. It is but another argument that this game needs to come out on the iPad already....and on giant iPads too, for multiplayer. The makers of great, time-stealing games like Peggle and Plants Vs. Zombies are bringing one of their biggest successes to consoles and handhelds later this year, with Bejeweled 3 making the leap to five platforms (or three, depending on your point of view). PopCap Games will bring the latest and greatest Bejeweled to PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and Nintendo DS by the end of the year in North America and Europe. That's great news for people like me who have invested dozens of hours playing Bejeweled 3 and for some unexplained reason feel like doing it all over again with a game pad. PopCap is quiet on specifics, only saying that Bejeweled 3 hits sometime between October and December and that the ports will "look great and play even better on each platform." I've played Bejeweled. You've probably played Bejewled. The guy next to you on the bus or the lady and your mom and your neighbor have probably played Bejeweled. Everyone's been satisfied. But everyone should know: Bejeweled 3 is better. Bejeweled 3 is the unexpected fifth game in the Bejeweled series (lest we forget Bejeweled Twist and Bejeweled Blitz). It's a gem-matching puzzle game and, at a glance, looks like a merely prettier version of a game that has never needed to look good to be great. Bejeweled 3 is more than a spit-shine. It's a sequel with eight main modes, one of which is the classic Bejeweled formula, the rest of which are mostly new and mostly very hard to stop playing. Ideal Player Everyone. Really. Who can't play Bejeweled? And if you think you're, I don't know, too manly for it or something, just try the one-hour trial at development studio PopCap's website. Why You Should Care Bejeweled is one of the most popular video games in the world, so a sequel matters, whether because it might be a cheap cash-in or a shinier version of a golden game concept. How is this game any different than the Bejeweled people have played millions of times on their computers, iPhones, and in their waking dreams? Classic mode in Bejeweled 3 isn't much different than what you've played before. The other seven modes in the game are. (Do check out the nice long video below in which I walk you through all the modes.) The selection of new modes includes the endless Zen variation that lets you sync your breathing to audio and visual cues. There's a poker mode, a mining mode, and even a bunch of single-player quests. This is balance mode, one of the Quest Mode missions. Make blue and red matches; but don't make too many of one first, lest the weight on either side hits the ground. Which are the best new modes? My favorite new mode is Diamond Mine, a mode named after the original title for the first Bejeweled. In this mode you're racing the clock to make gem matches at the bottom of your screen, each of those matches clearing away dirt and excavating fossils. You have to race to clear enough dirt before the timer runs out; if you do, you can dig deeper. You play this mode fast, as you do the Bejeweled Blitz-inspired Lightning mode. My other favorite is Poker Mode, which initially seems convoluted and bad. Every gem match you make defines a card in a five-card hand. Your goal is to make a great hand, preferably a full house or a flush, which gain you more points. The game gets interesting when some possible hands got blocked by skulls. Accidentally making one of the banned hands results in a 50/50 game-over coin flip. This mode is best played slowly as you stare at the screen, strategically picking the best five matches. Which are the worst? I disliked Zen mode, which I found no more relaxing than regular Bejeweled. I'm not the right customer for video games that will supposedly chill me out. I can already control my breathing just fine, thank you, and if I want to zone out while playing a video game, I'll just play regular Bejeweled. I also didn't care much for the new Ice Storm mode which is a race to make matches that will stem the rising tide of chilly, freezing water. The people behind the game describe this mode as the game's "meanest." It sure is hard. I didn't find it fun. Which mode is the best one with a bad name? Butterflies. Seriously, butterflies? Oh, but it is quite good. Color-coded butterflies show up on the bottom of the screen and advance toward the top one row at a time, each time you make a move. You want to eliminate them before they reach the top row where a spider awaits. This is a mode best played slowly. The rising panic of a butterfly moving within three — two!, one! — rows from the spider is a vicious delight. Is there enough here, though? Yes. There are some disappointing omissions. The game doesn't appear to have online leaderboards or any way at all to connect with other players online. Given the zeal the game instills in its players for high scores, it's frustrating that there's no easy way to show them off. The game does have a lot of rewards, including a 131-level ranking system and an excellent batch of tiered achievements that have bronze, silver, gold and platinum levels of accomplishment. There's also a cool mode in the game called Quest that sends the player on one of a few dozen short challenges, many of them operating under special rules even wackier than those in the game's main modes. So what about the iPhone version? No iPhone version — yet. The game is a PC and Mac download only. Bejeweled 3 In Action (In which I walk you through most of Bejeweled 3's main modes.) The Bottom Line Bejeweled 3 is a great sequel, one that takes its predecessor's core concept and reveals a wonderful batch of variations, all of them creative and many of them hard to abandon. In a fall rich with important video games Bejeweled 3 was still able to get its hooks in me. It's the game I wanted to show everyone, from my mom to my co-workers. Everyone who looked at it wanted to try it; everyone who tried it had a great time with it. Bejeweled 3 was developed and published by PopCap for the PC and Mac, released on December 7. Retails for $20. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. I'd rather be playing Bejeweled 3 on this computer than typing any mor For some video gamers, December 7, 2010 is the world-stopping release day for the next World of Warcraft. There's another mammoth computer game coming out that day, a sequel you may not have thought you needed: Bejeweled 3. They're really making a new Bejeweled? Yes, PopCap Games, which put out the first Bejeweled in 2000 and Bejeweled 2 in 2004 is making a big deal about releasing this sequel. Six years is a long time between Bejeweled games, though this is more like Bejeweled 5 if you count 2008's Bejeweled Twist and 2009's Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. Bejeweled 3 comes out on Tuesday, December 7 for about $20. So what are you doing this time, besides matching more gems? There's got to be more than matching gems, right? Actually, Bejeweled 3 is another gem-matching game. As with the original, you can spend seconds, minutes or hours matching at least three gems of the same color to each other in order to eliminate them and have the screen fill back up full of cascading gems. The new game's main attraction is that it has a lot of variations, including a poker mode, a time-based mode and even a mode that includes subliminal messages. Subliminal Messages? Poker? The subliminal messages are in a New Agey can't-fail Zen Mode that can also produce sound cues to which you can sync your breathing. Even odder, it can emit special beta wave and delta wave sound frequencies to relax you, though the developers admit might be the product of "fringe science." audio pulses that supposedly relax you even more. But maybe using Bejeweled gem-matching to play a modified single-player version of poker is even weirder? It's in the trailer here: What is that goblet at the top of this post? They've finally added goblets to Bejeweled? That's from the game's new quest mode, which presents a series of challenges like having to use gem-matches to dig deeper through the bottom of the playing field or having to somehow match gems to balance two weights. The idea is that instead of playing regular old Bejeweled — called "Classic" mode in this sequel — you could be taking on these specific Bejeweled missions in order to unlock... more missions. But what about the thing no one is asking for: Did they finally make Bejeweled with better graphics? They did. So? It's funny to look at some of the features PopCap is touting about Bejeweled 3 on their site. Look: Bejeweled is just about the last game that needs better "high-definition graphics" (why not make them in 3D while they're at it?). It's a fact that a new Bejeweled was going to look better than the last one, but it's also a fact that it probably doesn't matter to anyone who loves playing Bejeweled. The achievements system is a little more relevant, as it adds more of a rewards system for players who will be motivated by the goals of scoring X amount of points in Y mode. The new gems are more meaningful, but details on those will have to wait until the game is out and we can review it. Any multiplayer or iPhone or Facebook for this game? It doesn't look like it, not at launch. Bejeweled 3 is coming out first just for Windows PC and Mac. Given how Bejeweled games eventually go everywhere, expansions to other platforms seem likely. (PopCap estimates that they've sold 50 million copies of Bejeweled games and that the games have been played by 500 million people. Who knows how they counted this, but doesn't it seem like every other person has played this game?) For now it looks like Bejewled 3 will just be a game you pay for and download on your computer. We've asked about a free version, but so far PopCap is only showing the $20 one. PopCap says they'll offer a free trial version for download on December 7 in addition to the $20 full downloadable one. Is it going to be worth it? Foregoing a lavish, star-studded party, PopCap's Bejeweled 3 launch party was held in a North London living room, with only a secretary, a grandmother, a librarian, a banker, and a father in attendance, representing the series' diverse fanbase. Gameface is a photographic celebration of the people who make, play and love video games.

The History of The Electric Oven & Cooker In 1892 a Canadian inventor by the name of Thomas Ahearn filed a patent for an "Electric Oven". In 1893 the electric oven or stove was showcased at the World fair, where an electrified model kitchen was shown. Unlike the gas oven and stove, the electrical oven stove was slow to catch on, partly due to the unfamiliar technology and lack of households with electricity. But by the 1930s the technology had matured and the electric oven slowly began to replace the Gas oven and Stove, especially in domestic household kitchens. All electric cookers with single or double ovens and a hob on top whether gas or electric hob driven are the most popular appliances. Separate ovens and hob tops started to become the norm in the 70s and 80s as they were more modern and stylish. Ceramic hob tops started to appear in the 1970s along with combined oven and microwave oven built in appliances. Electrical heating coils or infra red Halogen lamps are used as heating elements. Because of its physical characteristics, the cooker hob top heats more quickly, less after heat remains, and only the plate heats up while the adjacent surface remains cool. Also, these cooker hob tops have a smooth surface and are thus easier to clean, but are markedly more expensive. This was a great addition to the cooker or stove. Generally electric cookers and ovens have not changed much over the years but a recent technology developed induction cooking first for professional kitchens, but today also entering the domestic appliance market electric gas or cookers with the induction hob. This process has only heated ferromagnetic cookware directly through electromagnetic induction. Recent developments have enabled non ferrous cookware to work as well, but not as efficiently as ferrous. Induction stoves also have a smooth glass-ceramic surface. Professional cooks say it is as controllable as gas.

I find it somehow telling that the most exciting sound-bite they could come up with for Ron and Kelly was Ron speaking dully about the most obvious thing one could talk about when talking about racing; speed. If that is most excitement you can must for the FINAL LEG then all I have to say is, "Bye Bye."

Data-BitStream-0.07 NAME VERSION version 0.03 DESCRIPTION A role written for Data::BitStream that provides get and set methods for Gamma-Golomb codes. The role applies to a stream object. Gamma-Golomb codes are basically Golomb codes using the Elias Gamma code for the quotient instead of a Unary code. This makes them suitable for occasional large outliers that would otherwise use thousands or millions of bits to encode. In particular, the GammaGolomb(3) code is interesting for some distributions. METHODS Provided Object Methods put_gammagolomb($m, $value) put_gammagolomb($m, @values) Insert one or more values as Gamma-Golomb codes with parameter m. Returns 1. get_gammagolomb($m) get_gammagolomb($m, $count) Decode one or more Gamma-Golomb codes from the stream. If count is omitted, one value will be read. If count is negative, values will be read until the end of the stream is reached. In scalar context it returns the last code read; in array context it returns an array of all codes read. Parameters The parameter m must be an integer greater than or equal to 1. The quotient of value / m is encoded using an Elias Gamma code, followed by the remainder in truncated binary form. Note: if m == 1 then the result will be coded purely using gamma coding. Note: if m is a power of 2 (m = 2^k for some non-negative integer k), then the result is equal to the simpler ExpGolomb(k) code, where the operations devolve into a shift and mask.

We stayed in a 4 bedroom villa. It was very large and cleaned nicely every day. Convenient to beach and very nicely set up resort. It's a great place if you want quiet. There are not a lot of activities in the evening. It would be nice to have some local entertainment. My biggest complaint was there was not enough staff working at check in time. Traveller from Canada Check-inCheck-out Tucked away on two secluded beaches on Antigua's famous Southeast Coast, enjoy the jewel-like calm Mamora Bay for …More

The ongoing series titled SET, first shown as a solo exhibition in New York in 2015. In SET a collection of past works dating from 2006 to 2015 were presented. The book with the eponymous title functions as a catalog and an exhibition plan. In the SET series, the contents of the catalog are installed in the exhibition space, where either past commissions or studio works are collectively shown regardless of their production year, medium, or context. They are imbued with a new order based on visual elements from each component.

Duchess in Love Gina was forced into marriage with the Duke of Girton at an age when she'd have been better off in a schoolroom than a ballroom. Directly after the ceremony, her handsome spouse promptly fled to the continent, leaving the marriage unconsummated and Gina quite indignant. Now, she is one of the most well-known ladies in London... living on the edge of scandal - desired by many men, but resisting giving herself to any one. Finally, Camden, the Duke of Girton, has returned home, to discover that his naÏve bride has blossomed into the toast of the town. Fun and entertaining listen! Yes, because it was enjoyable and anyone who likes this genre will find it entertaining. Fool for Love Lady Henrietta Maclellan longs for the romantic swirl of a London season. But as a rusticating country maiden, she has always kept her sensuous nature firmly under wraps -- until she meets Simon Darby. Simon makes her want to whisper promises late at night, exchange kisses on a balcony, receive illicit love notes. So Henrietta lets her imagination soar and writes "The Letter" - which becomes shockingly public. Everyone supposes that he has written it to her, but the truth hardly matters in the face of the scandal to come if they don't marry at once. My favorite Eloisa James! Yes, I've read them all. This is an extremely humorous but still quite romantic book. James has a gift for sly humor and the careful observation of the not-always-so-delightf..Show More »ul way in which children enliven our lives. I read this book a few years ago and liked it so much I wanted to hear it performed. Of course, the reader couldn't outperform the voices in my head but she came very close. Wonderful! There is an order to these books. Cam and Gina's story comes before this - Duchess in Love. Esme's story runs through these books -Duchess Quartet series. Although there is no Duchess at the heart of this story A Wild Pursuit: The Duchess Quartet, Book 3 It is whispered behind the fans of London's dowagers and in the corners of fashionable ballrooms that scandal follows willfully wild Lady Beatrix Lennox wherever she goes. Three years before, the debutante created a sensation by being found in a distinctly compromising position. Now, the town has branded her as unmarriageable, her family has called her a vixen, and Beatrix sees no reason not to go after what - and who - she wishes. And she wants Stephen Fairfax-Lacy, the handsome Earl of Spade. BIG Disappointment 1. A better reader who wouldn't make all the females sound like snobs or prostitutes.2. The story got bogged down right at the beginning with 5 chapt..Show More »ers devoted to conversations between snobbish women at parties talking about how to seduce men or cheat on their husbands.3. A smaller age difference between the protagonists (23 years is way too much to take seriously let alone get invested in the outcome of the romance). Your Wicked Ways Helene, the Countess Godwin, knows there is nothing more unbearably tedious than a virtuous woman. After all, she's been one for ten long years while her scoundrel of a husband lives with strumpets and causes scandal after scandal. So she decides it's time for a change - she styles her hair in the newest, daring mode, puts on a shockingly transparent gown, and goes to a ball like Cinderella, hoping to find a prince charming to sweep her off her feet...and into his bed.

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates." What woman has never felt the weight of guilt press on her shoulders as yet another women's group or Bible study or retreat or book or blog post projects "The Proverbs 31 woman" as the picture that needs to be hung on our fridge and taped to our bathroom mirror in order to remember all the things she does and how we should strive to be like her? But we hear that list thrown at us over and over and we measure our worth against all these things the mysterious woman is, and we slowly sink into our chairs knowing we'd be grateful if just one of those things could be said about us without laughing or crying. Sure, we can project any image we want. Social media is a great place to show off what we do and the beautiful home we have made. We can comment and pat ourselves on the back for the healthy food we make for our family or the way we teach our children. But what most of us know, not-too-deep inside, is that we (and every woman like us) feel like a failure in so many areas that if we want to make it through another day, we must take hold of the one good thing we accomplished that day and make sure everyone knows about it. Now before you roll your eyes and think this is another "pretending to be perfect" social media rage, be assured it is not. Although I loathe many things about social media, I also love many things and because of the domino effect in life, I can truly say Facebook has changed my life for good in many ways. With that said, let's get back to the heavy guilt of the perfect woman we we should emulate. She is wrapped in a pretty pink bow everywhere we look—inside our pretty pink Bibles and our pretty pink how-to-be-a-great-wife-and-mom book and our pretty pink "Bible" app telling us we are beautiful and precious. This woman may laugh at the future, but I want to laugh her right off the stage of every woman's heart. It's not that her performance isn't praiseworthy. Clearly it is. But my issue with this woman performing on every stage and in every areas of our guilt and inferiority complex is that she makes it look so easy, so reproducible. We read about all her virtues and we are told to be like her and we resolve once again to dress like her, think like her, act like her. But regardless of how motivated we were yesterday, today we see just us in the mirror and we smack our heads on the shattered glass of imperfection. All the while, this woman we have never, ever met rises in fame and fanfare as we continue to see how big she is and how little we are. But you know what? This woman needs to be booted off the stage. Maybe not forever, perhaps she'll return as an encore, but until we see what life on the stage is really about, and until we see the reason she's able to perform as she does, she needs to be tucked away in our pretty pink stash of pretty pink women's Bible study notes. We think this lady is saying, "Look at me!" But she's not. In reality, she isn't speaking at all. King Lemuel behind the curtain, speaking into the microphone with his deep voice saying, "Look at her heart, but hear my voice." But his words fall on deaf ears and her heart on blind eyes. "...because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand" (Matthew 13:13). The beauty of her perfect act and the words of his perfect narration are missed because while we are trying to record every word our pretty pink phone, the king stops speaking and we are left to a silent show we didn't even see and we try to base our performance off of. We are left feeling so undone that we leave before every getting to see the end of the show—the part where the narrator and the Proverbs 31 dancer both step out on stage for the curtain call—and the audience realizes that the dance we so admired was a fraud. Sure, she dances a beautiful dance, but what we could now see which we refused to see before were the puppet strings of the narrator, of the one who wrote her story. With a look of dismay, we then realize that this woman isn't all we thought and hoped her to be. What we have to understand is that if her master steps away or is pushed away from this woman, she will collapse into a heap on the floor. And then she is no better off than we are. I have mentioned in the past that as part of my daily Bible time, I first read a Proverb, the chapter corresponding to the day of the month. With today being the 31st, the dancing woman on the stage and I meet again. But I don't feel dread anymore. I don't feel guilt anymore. I've kicked her off the stage of my life and instead entered through the ripped the curtain in order to see and hear the secrets of her dance. I now see that she is controlled not by her own goodness, but by a man behind the curtain who controls her every move and makes each step beautiful. "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates." Oh dear women, do you see that we are missing the point? I plead with you, know this: as we admire this woman on the stage from afar and as we resolve every day to do what she does and step where she steps, we walk further and further from the truth of the source of the great grace by which she dances. Charm is deceitful. Do you know what charm means? It means "the power or quality of giving delight or arousing admiration." If this woman arouses your admiration with intense power coming from the thrust of every women's ministry tactic I have ever seen, know this: she isn't to be admired or followed—it's deceitful! Her dance has nothing to do with her and everything to do with the one holding the strings. All those qualities you see in this woman and that you want to see in yourself are deceiving if you are simply growing in admiration of all the good she does, and and ignoring the means by which she does it. The king wants you to understand what you don't see. You think you see true beauty because of all this woman's admiring fans throw themselves at her and encourage you to do the same. Just get on the stage, they tell you, perform like her and you'll get the applause. But what you don't see, what the king wants you to know, is that apart from Him, she can do nothing. So instead of gazing at her, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus who authored and perfected her dance and who authored and will perfect our faith. "A woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." The applause we long for — the trust, delight, and praise of our husbands, children, and community—isn't achieved by getting on stage and trying to dance this lady's dance. You'll be booed off the stage, with your own guilt and shame leading the angry crowd. If you want real praise, the king tells us, don't fear the crowd; fear the king, the LORD. As Christians, we love to throw around phrases we really aren't quite sure the meaning of. Go ahead, try it. Without looking anything up, define glory, justification, propitiation, and thelight of the knowledge of the glory of God. See. Most of us use words without understanding their meaning. It's like the English words on a street sign in our town in India that said, "Toe away zone." Go ahead, think on that. I'll give you a sec. So we must ask, what does it mean to fear the LORD? Books can and should be written on it, but suffice it to say that the fear of the LORD is a healthy and right awestruck I-have-no-words wonder and disbelief that you have access to and are standing in front of something so grand and majestic and powerful. We don't fear the Lord. We are like the ignorant child C.S. Lewis speaks of who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. To fear Him is to shudder before Him — not in angst or terrified anxiety but in assurance and awestruck wonder. Have you ever seen fans at a concert (or on social media) that give an I'd-give-anything-to-just be-close-enough-to-touch her pledge? When a groupie sees their favorite star, it doesn't matter what else is going on around them. Their idol walks past and their eyes follow, vowing to make the glimpse last as long as possible. All of a sudden the things these fans had just been thinking about and the importance of what the person next to them was saying, all fall away as their jaw hits the floor and renders them speechless. You're in awe and at least for the next few moments, you think your life will forever be changed. That is the kind of fear that the Biblical writers have in mind when they speak of "the fear of God." It isn't a cowering oh-He's-so-scary kind of fear. It is an awestruck oh-He's-so-magnificent feeling of humility and wonder. In fearing God, you cannot describe the depths of the gratitude you have for the grace that allows you to be in the presence of someone who makes all the bright and shiny and pretty pink things of the world grow dim because in His presence is fullness of joy and in His hand are pleasures forevermore. If you languish in sight of all the glitz and glam of the Proverbs 31 woman and the thought that despite your best efforts, you will never be like her, I have the solution: I know what it will take to get her back on stage, with you dancing right next to her. But when she comes out, don't watch what she does and try to imitate it. Instead, step behind the ripped-in-two curtain and beg the One holding her strings to use His power and provision and creativity to make you dance the same dance, or better yet, a dance choreographed just for you, featuring your personal gifts in the spotlight of His peculiar glory and the peculiar grace given you through faith. Let's use another word picture to see our problem and confusion more clearly. I always tell my children that if we want to understand something complex, such as a math problem or a sentence diagram, don't sit there all day being frustrated. Instead, use a simpler problem with smaller numbers or a simpler sentence with fewer clauses and do those first. Then, take notice of the principles and process you used successfully and then apply them to that which is more complex. That's why I love visual examples, both to be seen with our eyes and understood in our minds. They take something intimidating and makes it approachable. Imagine you see a woman with the perfect body you have dreamed of. She's about your height and her frame is a medium build like yours, and so you look at her in awe and and wonder, wavering between "I could look like that" and "I could never look like that!" She has the waist size you dream of and the gorgeous hair style you love but don't think you could ever pull off. And then, there are those arms. Thin, tan, and toned. Oh my! If only you could have those arms, nothing else would matter you think. She has what you want. In one decisive moment, you decide you just have to have those arms. In deciding—and resolving—to have those thin, tan, and toned arms, you make a quick decision: run after her. You run her direction as fast as you can, you push everyone else out of the way, and you grab hold of those muscular-yet-feminine arms you envy so much. You push closer and closer, your arm to her arm, begging and pleading and believing that if you try a little harder and position yourself just so, her arms will magically become your arms. Do you know how ridiculous that would be? Can you imagine the humiliation you would feel when you stopped to see everyone in the room staring at you, wondering what got into the possessed woman who is yelling and screaming about some arms she wants that belong to someone else? But isn't that what we do? Just as the woman who wants thin, tanned, and toned arms can't put herself next to the woman with the arms she craves, but instead needs to find the "secret" of diet and strength training, neither can we run after a woman with a 31 on her back, arriving at her side breathlessly, and press our back against hers and believe that the 31 will just rub off on us. It's ludicrous! The woman who wants to be strong needs to head to the source of the strength: the weight room. And the Proverbs 31 wannabe who wants to be strong needs to head to the source of the strength: a healthy and holy fear of God. She needs to fall to her knees in awe, knowing that nothing else matters now that she has seen her idol, the One she worships. If you want a 31 emblazoned on your back, don't run after the shirt itself—run after her source of the shirt. Run, but run rightly. Guilt and shame and sin will weigh you down and tangle you up so your feet trip and you stumble. So you need to throw off those weights and run a race that finishes with not a perishable crown but an imperishable crown. Run to God. And I don't mean run to God in some abstract way in which you start out fast, start feeling the effects of a lack of training, use a quick mid-run snack of a pithy devotional or a cute inspirational saying on Instagram to give you the energy to keep going. What I mean is before you start the race, first run to the source of the food that will sustain you. The actual source. You want God to speak to you? You want God to show you what to do and where to go? You want God to help you be the woman you shamefully admit you can never be? Then run to God. God's Word, penned in 66 books by 40 authors on three continents over two thousand years, is the very breath of the God you claim to seek earnestly. You don't want to run out of breath? Go to the source of every new breath. You don't want to fall down famished and dehydrated? Go to the source of the bread of life and the living water. The Proverbs 31 woman needs her picture ripped off your mirror, and instead you need to do whatever it takes to exchange it with the Words of God, handwritten by Him in the steam on your mirror. You think your world is foggy? Let His words wipe the fog away as you see the message of His love and tenderness and His good and holy perfect will. Stop trying to be like the Proverbs 31 woman and focus on how to be her. You want someone to aim your affections toward? How about the One who made her all she is? You wouldn't fawn over a celebrity sighting if you didn't know who the celebrity was. You would watch everyone else go wild and you would stand there wondering what exactly you are missing. Likewise, if you don't know God, nothing will make your head turn when He’s right there in the midst of the chaos. You’ll hear the praise of others and you'll either stand there looking stupid or you'll pretend you know what everyone is getting so excited about and start screaming uncontrollably about something or someone who doesn't delight you one little bit. In order for the praise to be genuine, you need to know the one on whom it is lavished. To fear the LORD implies knowing Him. If you know who is He, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do, and if you know, believe, and trust Him, then you'll see how awesome He is and how trustworthy His Word proves to be over and over and over. And then, and only then, the fears of the world will be replaced by the rightful fear—awestruck wonder—of God. It is then that the qualities you are told you should have, written in favorite verses of pink, actually start to become a reality. These 20 verses of guilt-inducing drama, placed between verse 9 and 30, are a weight on women when in reality, they should be a weight-lifter. This Proverb was written as a praise song. Each verse, corresponding to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, isn't meant to be a prescription for what you should do, but instead be the praiseworthy results of a woman who trusts so much in a God she knows that she is able to laugh at an unknown future, even if it means snow falling in a world before central heat and electric blankets. If you want so much to be like her, go to her Source. Don't press your arms against a strong woman. Don't read about "how to have perfect arms by summer." Go and lift the heavy-but light-weight of all God says He is, and was, and is to come. You’ll find a strength you didn’t know was possible. The effect of a woman who hopes in God and not in the things of this world will be a woman worthy of praise, whether here good deeds are baking bread in the early morning hours, serving needy children in an orphanage, or cooking dinner for a bunch of sweaty kids and their friends. Those descriptive verses you strive after can't be found—they are made. They are the natural overflow of a woman whose heart and hope are fixed firmly on a God she truly knows and a grace she truly doesn’t deserve. Do you want to be far more precious than jewels? Do you want to have imperishable beauty that is not in vain? Then hope in a God you know. Only then will you become like that 31 lady (the one who sells linen garments and sashes, not the one who sells cute-but-still-oh-so-functional bags). Once you know that the only fear you should fear is the fear of a great and glorious God, you will become like Sarah who "did not fear anything that is frightening.” You don't become in order to know. You know in order to become. And don’t let yourself think this is a potato/potahto semantic issue. This is grace-based theology versus works-based theology. You don't please God because of what you do. You dobecause you are pleased in God. If we mess this up, we mess everything up. So, kick that 31 lady off the stage, push back the curtain, and see the One who controls her every move. It's in Him we live and move and have our being. It was late 2001. Jason and I had been living in India for more than a year. We were approaching our second anniversary and I was desperate for children. Desperate. At this point, we had already lost three children to miscarriage. My heart was broken into many pieces and I grieved for the children I had lost and the motherhood that might never be mine. My older sister, Sally, was expecting her second child. The envy was thick. I wanted to be happy for her, and in many ways I was, but I wanted so much to know if and when it would be my turn. I wasn't concerned for the Lord's timing or for His work in my life. I simply wanted my own way. Because we have a good God, one Who has began a good work in us an is carrying it out to completion, He didn't give me my own way. Instead, He brought me through trial and heartache and to Himself. He surrounded me with His love even when I couldn't feel it. But just because we can't feel God doesn't negate the truth: He is always with us. In those years, God was doing a mighty work in my heart. He was wooing me into the wilderness where He would minister to me. He taught me lessons which would be needed then, but much more, needed later. He taught me how to praise Him, even in the valley. He taught me to praise Him, even in the pain. He taught me to praise Him, even when I didn't want to. The thing is, it isn't about me. It's about God. And he wanted me to learn that our circumstances don't get to dictate our praise. Our praise is dictated by the One to Whom it is due. Our feelings and desires and sickness and emotional pain have no influence on our call to praise God in all things. None. In my pain and longing to be a mother, I was working through these truths. And in many ways, I still am. God is still completing His good work in me, one that won't be completed in full until He calls me home. I have carried this tattered piece of paper with me everywhere our lives have taken us. Living in India in the early '00s, internet and email were sparse. The school had one computer capable of sending and receiving emails. We would write an email, save it to the computer, and once a day the school would batch send all the letters and then download all the incoming mail. These would then be printed and put in our "pigeon holes" (mail boxes). As my sister was approaching the time to find out the gender of her baby and I was grieving the latest miscarriage, she asked me how I was doing. This was my response (please excuse punctuation and grammatical errors...I was still learning to write (as I am now!) October, 2001 Sally — Hmmm...How I am REALLY doing...I guess that's hard to say. I have been filled with a lot of emotion the past week — everything from deep despair to quiet assurance. But, I am learning a lot... For the first time, I think I really know what it means to offer a SACRIFICE OF PRAISE. Usually, when I am hurt or upset, I don't praise God because frankly, I don't really mean it, or feel it, so I don't think that I should do it. After all, I don't like people telling me things when they are not sincere. But, God is different. He wants our praise, whether we "feel" it or not. His love and devotion to use is not conditional upon emotions, so why should ours be? But the praise I have been able to offer up is a SACRIFICE. A sacrifice is to give when it HURTS! Someone donating thousands of dollars isn't sacrificing if they are millionaires. Sacrifice is giving when you are giving all you have — and then some. And praising God during this time, for me, is a sacrifice. I don't have a lot to give. I don't always feel like it, and sometimes I want to REFUSE. I want to yell and scream at God and ask Him why? Ask Him why He lets me get pregnant if He isn't going to allow me to keep it. To ask Him why I have to wait. To ask Him why He lets thousands of young girls get pregnant every day when they only plan to abort the baby. I let self-pit reside in my home. I want to let it be my best friend. In doing so, I let Satan twist truth. Satan is good at that — even with Eve. He didn't outright lie to her at first. Instead, he questioned God (Did God really say...) and then Satan pointed out truths to Eve — that the tree was good to eat and that it would make one wise. That was true—he wasn't lying—but he left our part of the story—that God said NO because God knew what the result would be. And so it is with me—Satan points out truths to me—that I don't have any kids, that I don't have any close friends, that I don't have any talents, etc., etc. But then he leaves me to wallow in self-pity, leaving out the fact that God still loves me and He still cares about me, that He has plans for my life that I don't know about. When I let Satan just point out bad things in my life—true or not—and don't run to God with my sacrifice of praise, my depression kicks in high gear and I cry and wonder how to end my life. But, when I look to God, tears streaming down my face, and tell Him that I love Him and that I need Him, He comes. Maybe not in the way I would like, but He comes to me nonetheless and comforts me in a way that only He can do. And when I (still crying) crawl up into His lap and call Him Abba, He tells me that He loves me and that He sees the end of the story. And while He can't tell me what it is (that would ruin the surprise), He tells me that I will like it. It won't be what I imagined (good stories never are) but it will be His best for me. Of course, Sally, I want answers. I want to know why. I want to know how much longer. I want to say, "That's not fair!" (And I admit, I do all those things.) But the question comes down to...as all things come down to this question, where our faith is put on the line... IS GOD STILL GOD? Is He still sovereign? Is He still in control? Or does my human pain nullify the character of God? HOW ABSURD! (For some reading on this I recommend Elisabeth Elliot's THESE STRANGE ASHES, and NO GRAVEN IMAGE.) Bad things happen to everyone. In times of trial, God builds us up. We all want a life free of pain (or at least we would like to choose our pains!) We want what we want when we want it. But perseverance isn't built that way. And through perseverance character is built. And on character, hope. And on hope, love. I will come through all of this, no matter what the result, a stronger and better person, if I continue to bring my sacrifice of praise. All this isn't to say I don't still cry myself to sleep at night. With Much Love, Janet p.s. Let me know how the ultrasound goes! For almost 16 years, God has been teaching me this lesson of what it means to bring a sacrifice of praise. He is faithful and He is long-suffering. He will wait as I learn to offer a pitiful sacrifice. The praise and glory is due Him and when I offer it sacrificially, He is honored. In our pain, the praise of our lips is the fruit of our hearts. Back in 2014, I started sharing some audio posts. It's been a while, but if you want to listen, feel free. I haven't re-listened to these, so I apologize for any errors or repeats 🙂 There will be no Easter baskets or chocolate bunnies this year. There will be no eggs or new dresses. These things are not wrong. We've done them many years in the past and I am sure we will do them again. But not this year. This year, I just can't. I can't focus on nougat filled candy and frilly clothes. All I seem to be able to focus on is the cross. This isn't because I am good our holy. In fact, it's the exact opposite. I am not good. I am not holy. I do not measure up. I am not enough. And that is the beauty of the scandalous cross. I am a sinner and therefore separated from a holy God. But because He loves me, He bore His own wrath through His own body. He defeated death. He defeated my death. He defeated yours. We are not righteous. But He has credited our faith as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). The enemy is doomed, though he rages. He knows his time is short. His defeat is past, present, and future. He can no longer accuse us before God. Imagine, Satan trying to accuse God that He Himself is sinful! It is no longer I who lives but it is Christ who lives in me. And Christ is righteous. I am not. He is. But because He is, I am. And the life I live in the flesh I live by faith. And He has credited my faith as righteousness. Satan has been cast out of heaven. He has no standing before God whatsoever. He cannot bring accusations against the brothers anymore, "for the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down" (Revelation 12:10b). Satan, though doubtless he has been operating on the earth since the beginning of the creation, is now restricted to the earth and has lost his access to God that had enabled him to accuse us before God so directly. —Scandalous, D.A. Carson And so today, on Easter Sunday, I celebrate. I can no longer be [eternally] caught in Satan's web of deceit and accusation. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching [the gospel] is in vain and your faith is in vain. — 1 Corinthians 15:14 I celebrate the cross. I celebrate the crown of thorns. I celebrate the pierced hands. I celebrate the blood that was shed so that God might pass over and forgo the the loss of life. I've already told you of my love for spring and how it shows me, again and again, that death can't hold us down. Spring will always, always come—though not always in the way or timeframe we wish. As we approach Good Friday and Easter, I want my heart to be even more mindful of the magnitude of the acts we celebrate. It's just not that we believe in what Christ has done—it's that we believe it is sufficient. It's all we need. It is all-satisfying. Jason and I attended The Gospel Coalition 2017 in Indianapolis last week. I don't even have words for all I experienced. It was transformational. One thing that has ministered to me this past week is a song we sang a number of times during the three days we were there. Beautiful, artfully written, and oh-so-appropriate as we approach the most scandalous and glorious days in history. As the flowers and trees unfurl, as the spectacular beauty of God's redemptive plan for His people unfurls, may we allow God's word to unfurl our hearts, making them open to the breath of God which will blow to every tongue, tribe, people, and nation. May our hearts still burn with fire as his Word speaks to us today Faded hope and grim despair on the day of the murdered kingFoolish minds and unbelief could not grasp what the prophets sing:Did not Jesus have to suffer, enter glory through agony?When the King unpacked his Word:Their hearts leapt and their eyes could see.Everything the Scriptures say in the Prophets, the Law, the Psalms,The Messiah had to suffer, had to rise on the first Lord's Day;We proclaim to every land true forgiveness in Jesus' name.We were deaf but now we hear Scripture's voice both in type and word.Unbelief that had us chained has become in our eyes absurd.Did our hearts not burn within us as he spoke with us on the wayAnd our hearts still burn with fire as his Word speaks to us today.Did our hearts not burn within us as he spoke with us on the wayAnd our hearts still burn with fire as his Word speaks to us today. [If you just want to look at the pictures and would prefer an abbreviated version of this story, here it is: I drove longer than I needed to, I saw a pretty sunset, there was a full moon, I was glad. The end. Or, you can read the six-word story version: Beautiful sunset. Full moon. Happy heart. And finally, if you have the time, you might enjoy the more Janet-like version in 1850 words or less. Okay, not less. 1850 words exactly. About a sunset. That version is below ;)] I don't like to drive. I especially don't like to drive at night. The first fact is less not liking the act of driving and more the not liking of the time it takes. The second fact is simply because I'm getting old. Nighttime driving is difficult for me—my eyes and brain don't work quite right and the bright lights affect my response time and I can easily become disoriented. It's a split second, but when you are operating a motor vehicle, a split second can make the difference between life and death. So, I don't drive much at night. But sometimes, it's a necessity. Last month, Alaina (our new 14 year old!) and Caleb, had a "teen night" to attend. Our homeschool community has one of these almost every month, with the hosting homes rotating according to a schedule whichever kids can convince their parents first. I adore our children's friends and I adore their parents. All of them. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to do life with. I do have one issue with them, though—everyone lives far away from each other. The whole "let's just buy a big piece of land and live in a commune" idea hasn't taken off yet. Until it does, doing life together means a lot of driving. On this particular night, the home was almost an hour away. And, as my mother would say, to add insult to injury, I was responsible for Alaina and Caleb's ride home at 11:00pm—far past my bedtime. And the drive was worse than expected. It was still light out, but that did not work in my favor. I now know why I remember hearing someone say, "If all else is equal and you are trying to decide between two houses to buy, purchase the one east of where you work. That way, you won't drive into the sun in the morning or into the sun on your way home." Wiser words rarely spoken. Driving into a setting sun is no joke. Brightness doesn't even begin to describe it. It's more like blindness. But we survived and the kids arrived to a home swelling with friends and fun. My plan for the evening was to find a coffee shop nearby and enjoy some quiet alone time. I didn't want to have to drive an hour home and then repeat the two hour round trip later in the evening. I could have stayed at the house where the party was being held (lots of parents do,) but I was really looking forward to some time alone to read and reflect and plan for an upcoming women's retreat. After dropping off the kids, I drove away, not really sure where I was headed. I wasn't familiar with the city I was in, but I figured a coffee shop couldn't be too far away. I drove back in the direction I came and then found myself wanting to just be home. I was surprised at the intense desire. Here I was, free for the next five hours, with no place to go but the quiet of my own introspective thoughts. And yet, my heart longed for home. I wanted to be with my little people and give them goodnight kisses and snuggle in for a bedtime story. I fought with myself. It was ridiculous to drive all the way home only to have to turn around and drive back. Make that a double dose of ridiculousness when you account for the fact I hate to drive at night. I kept telling myself to stop and have a slow cup of coffee and read with no chance of interruption. And yet, the more I told myself to stop the more I kept on driving. And drive I did—all the way home. As I was scolding myself for the insanity of intentionally adding two hours of driving time to my evening, I glanced in my side mirror and saw beautiful orange light. A look in my rearview mirror showed the same. The sunset was exquisite. I so desperately wanted to find a place to stop so I could enjoy the beautiful display of God's goodness and His sovereignty. The world is a powerful place with powerful leaders, but no one but God can make the sun set. Or the moon rise. The highway I was on didn't offer a good place to stop and the rush hour traffic kept me moving. But every chance I got, I looked in my mirrors, trying to soak in the splendor of the scene behind me. I kept driving, breathing deep as I was overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. You see, I have a thing for sunsets. Indonesia, my home for five years, puts on the most incredible nightly show as the equatorial sun makes its decent over the water and the lush green of the rice paddies. I was so obsessed with seeing the sun set every night that my little ones called it, "Mommy's sunset," as if God showed off just for me. I think they may be right. As I passed the halfway point of my trip back to my littles, the sun's fire behind me, the moon began its ascent. And then I remembered: it was the day of the triple treat: a comet, a lunar eclipse, and the full "snow moon." Add in the delight I have had the last few months as Venus and Mars have been so bright and clear in the early evening sky and oh my goodness...I couldn't drive fast enough. I ached to be out of my car, looking into the sky, camera in hand (knowing full well I would set my camera down in resignation that sometimes the beauty of God's creation can only be viewed in all its wonder by His perfectly designed lens of our eyes.) The scene in my mirrors and out my windows only intensified. I was so excited I could barely sit still. I know most people don't have a visceral reaction to nature and all its wild beauty, but I do. And I just wanted to take it all in. Fire descending, white light ascending. Stress and worry and fear for the future falling, beauty and hope and trust in God's promises rising. Finally. I was on the road to our house, the tune of the sweet (though slightly annoying) song my kids always sing when we turn onto our road playing in my head without permission: "We're almost on Crawford Rd!" the song repeats. I pulled out my phone, desperate to catch the last glimpses of the sunset. I couldn't see what I taking pictures of, but I hoped I could capture even a fraction of the beauty making my heart beat faster. Driving faster than usual on our long gravel driveway, I slammed on the brakes and ran into the house. Jason and the kids stunned, and I heard faint inquisitive words as I rushed past them to grab my camera. "I just wanted to be home," I yelled as I breathlessly ran back up the driveway. And there it was: a fiery descent in one direction and a glorious rising in the other. I clicked away, determined that if I could position myself just right, the magnificence of this moment could be mine forever. After dozens of shutter clicks (oh who am I kidding, after hundreds of shutter clicks), I caught my breath as I walked inside. The moon was covered by thick haze so I decided to wait for it to clear and once again told myself that a better telephoto lens needed to move up on my wish list. Walking in, my husband's face was clearly showing that he couldn't fathom why I would be home. He knows how much I hate to drive and due to his work schedule, he wasn't able to make the return trip. I restated my reason: "I just wanted to be home." I glanced around the room. On the fridge was a piece of paper, written in my ten-year-olds handwriting, the program for the evening clearly stated, including cards, popcorn, and a movie. Noticing half our table was missing (I was running for my camera to quickly to see the situation earlier,) I turned around and looked in the living room. There, with the other half of our table (we use two rectangular tables to make one large square), were my four younger kids, sitting and playing card games, just as the evening schedule said they would. I stared. Levi, my ever-sweet and miniature version of his Daddy, was patiently helping Zach with his cards. Smiles and giggles filled the room and I couldn't decide which site of the evening was more beautiful: the grandeur of the display of God's goodness in the evening sky or the glimpses of God's goodness in the love-filled home where my feet stood. And then I mumbled, stunned at my realization, "I would have missed this." If I squelched the unexpected desire in my heart to be home, favoring my own heart longings for a quiet of a cup of coffee and the delight of words in the books in the seat next to me, I would have missed it. I would have missed God's unabashed display of His love for me. If I chose the easy way (not driving home) and if I chose my own delight (quiet and uninterrupted time alone,) I would have missed the beauty of the sky and the beauty of my children's hearts. This isn't to say driving two extra hours would always be the right decision, but rather, it is always right to quiet my heart enough to hear the promptings of the Lord and follow them, regardless of whether I understand them or not. I didn't know what God had planned for me on this drive home, I just knew He placed within me a longing for home on that particular evening. And if I had ignored His promptings, I would have missed it. A few hours and a few goodnight kisses later, I got back in the car and made the long drive west. This time, though, rather than resigned frustration of doing something I didn't want to do, I enjoyed the quiet of a peaceful drive, relishing in the realization that in obeying a prompt in my spirit, the quiet I so desperately longed for earlier in the day was given back to me in the form of an hour-long drive with no words other than the ones of gratitude spilling out of a fully loved and satisfied heart. Come and stand before your Maker Full of wonder, full of fear Come behold His power and glory Yet with confidence draw near For the one who holds the heavens And commands the stars above Is the God who bends to bless us With an unrelenting love REJOICE... Scrolling through Instagram, I see one of my favorite photographers. Her images aren't created and staged to impress others, but are captured because life as it is is beautiful. I don't know her "in real life," but we have a number of mutual friends and we share similar life experiences. Raising little ones on the mission field is simultaneously filled with much joy and many struggles. Her images display it well. I see her photos, with a style much like my own, and a phrase pops into my head: "That used to be me." It hasn't happened just once; it's been a regular thing, so common I didn't even notice. "That used to be me," I lamented. "That used to be me," I would say with melancholy resignation. "That used to be me," said in a whisper with a sigh deeper than seems appropriate. For weeks now, those five words have occupied much of my thinking. I used to be her. I was the mom with the sweet little ones, figuring out how to juggle homeschooling, constant transition, and cultural expectations and frustrations. I used to be her: the mom with creativity oozing out, making home and happiness intertwine in a beautiful display of God's goodness in the mundane. I was the Pinterest mom before there was Pinterest. I used to take pictures of everyday life and show how beautiful the little moments are. Yes, that used to be me. It's been a while, though, since I've seen that old version of myself. Sure, she comes up for air every now and then — birthdays and holidays and vacations. But the joy-filled little moments I was determined not to take for granted gave way to a heaviness unbearable and I surrendered. As my body has failed me these last two years, and I have become ever so thankful for promises of a new body and a lack of sickness and tears in my eternal home, I have forgotten who I used to be—who I am. That mom, the one who delighted to serve up tea parties and breakfast on the lawn and spur of the moment trips to the park, has faded into photo albums. That woman, the one ready to host visitors for dinner or bring a plate of cookies for someone just because, is but a distant memory. Amidst doctors appointments and tears and learning what fighting for faith looks—and feels—like and coming to grips with the agony of being asked to offer sacrifice of praise, the woman I was—the woman I want to be—dissolved ever-so-slowly and one day I woke up with a new phrase: that used to be me. The doctors appointments are fewer these days (though the meds are more). There are no long hours of me spewing my verbal vomit on someone too kind to tell me to just. stop. talking. The glimmer in my eye is—at times—shining once again. But still I see those images on Instagram (a social media platform I resisted for so long) and think, "That used to be me." It's been too long. I don't even remember how to be her, the woman I once was. I don't know how to be the mom I worked so hard to become. Sure, my kids are still loved and doted on. They still are amazing to be around, their smiles brightening the days of those around them. They don't question my love and they aren't lacking for affirmation. I have stayed in control of my words and and almost never does my anger find it's way out in yelling or belittling. And yet, I am still a shell of who I once was, so desperately wanting to fill what has faded away. It's like I knock on the door to my old self and I know someone is on the other side—I can hear her and make out a faint outline—but the door just won't budge. I'm here. I'm ready. I'm knocking. Silence. Tactics of survival took the form of habits meant to preserve energy and protect a mind raging. Even if it meant hibernation rather than hospitality, even if it meant sleep over socializing, and even if it meant rest instead of running, I was holding on to a fraying rope and habits of self-preservation kicked their way in and made themselves at home. Once formed, habits are hard to break. I read a lot of "brain books." The way the human mind was created and how it functions is utterly fascinating to me. What I have learned is that much of what we do happens not out of a conscious choice, but rather, by habit. We don't think about it; we just do it. Our brain was designed to conserve energy and anything it has done on a regular basis is moved to another part of the brain, one that specializes in automaticity. By moving oft-repeated thoughts or actions, the premium location of working memory is made available for new things. It takes repetition to form a habit, but once formed, it is grafted in so impeccably that you barely remember that it didn't use to be. Habits can be broken and new habits can be formed, but not simply from wishful thinking. It takes work. Lots of work. Our brains are so amazing and so adept at conserving energy that it will always choose what it knows best. Most of the time, this works to our advantage. It's a good thing we don't have to give much thought to reading, driving, or walking. But in other situations, habits we don't want burn deep ruts in our minds, and like a well-worn path down the mountain rain is required to follow, these habits show themselves superior to our good intentions. The path chosen is almost always the easiest, not the one we want the most. Our mind, without direct defiance from our resolve, will always take the path most traveled. Choosing a different trail means blocking the old path and blazing a new one. Some say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. Honestly, though, that's not insanity. That's habit. And my habits now run deep. What was once meant for self-preservation has become self-centeredness. Rest and retreat have evolved from what is best to what is easiest. I have my excuses. My rationalizations. My justifications. But I know better. I have a storehouse of God's word and I know that our God is a God of order. The fight of this world will always be for disorder—of priorities, praise, and promises. Satan doesn't mind us wishing and wanting to obey as long as we don't actually choose to obey. But I am choosing to engage in the battle: to fight against what is in favor of what was and what is to come. I am going to work, harder than I ever have. I am going to have to make difficult decisions and drastic changes in order to find my way back to the trail God was taking me on as He was carrying His good work unto completion. It isn't about the beautiful photos or the Pinterest parties. Finding my way back to me means blocking the path called surviving and taking the machete in my hand and clearing the overgrown trail called thriving. It's called the Abundant Life. Finding my way back to me means taking my eyes off of me, and placing them instead on the One who can lead me to a rock that is higher than I. I don't want to see photos and think, "That used to be me." I want to see my own beautiful life and photos of a home well tended and a life well lived and think, "That is me." It's my favorite time of year (at least when living in North America). The days are slowly lengthening, the temperatures are slowly rising, and the death and decay of winter are slowly giving way to life and light. As much as I dislike winter (ask anyone who knows me and I'm sure they will have a story to tell!), I am thankful for it in one sense: Winter allows me to see in the physical world a reality of the spiritual world. This idea—that the physical world, with its joy and sorrow are meant to communicate something about the spiritual world—is coming more into focus for me. On some levels, it is easy to see and understand. When I experience the sheer joy of seeing my children laugh or play, or when I giggle in delight of draping purple wisteria, I know and believe the joy I am feeling is just a glimpse of an eternal joy I will one day experience. Thus my oft-used hashtag, #glimpsesofhisgoodness. On other levels, though, especially in suffering, I have struggled much more to grasp that all of what we see during life on earth is to put invisible (and eternal) realities on display. The scales, so thick and so strongly adhered, are only starting to fall from my eyes. If I approach seasons and situations with the firm belief that God is telling me something, that He has something about Himself He wants me to see and know, new meaning is brought to the experience. General revelation is just as divinely inspired as special revelation (see here for a beautiful description of both). It is from that angle of thought I have pondered deeply, these last two years, on winter. Yes, I'll say it: I have a theology of winter. I have many words to say, but too few minutes in which to say them, and so I'll simply share what has been percolating in my heart most recently, especially as my camera and I are drawn to the warm afternoons and budding bushes. With every new blade of grass and every new blossom on trees, we're saying goodbye to winter. But, it's not just to the cold we bid farewell. If we allow Truth to work in our hearts, we can also bid farewell to fear of death. And if we can bid farewell to fear of death, shouldn't we also be able to bid farewell to any other fears that keep us from focusing on Christ? And what a love we foundDeath can't hold us downWe shout it outWe're aliveCause you're alive I'm thankful that if I have to experience winter, at least I get to do it in the northern hemisphere, a place that offers us me opportunity to experience spring—death giving way to life—during the Easter season. What a beautiful physical experience to help me better understand an eternal reality, namely that Christ wasn't held back by death (or anything less), and neither are we. Just the other day, as the kids and I were outside enjoying one of our 75° days (sorry, not trying to rub it in!) I was looking at all the bushes in our front yard flaunt their new greenery, and I noticed a bucket behind the deck. In it were weeds and dead branches that had been pulled up last fall. But look! What we once took for dead is now triumphantly displaying its life! Feel the darkness shakingAll the dead are comingBack to lifeBack to lifeHear the song awakenAll creation singingWe're aliveCause You're alive As I march forward (pun not intended but oh-so-appropriate!) in this Lenten season, I want to remind myself at every opportunity that nothing could conquer Christ. And if nothing could conquer Christ, not even a brutal crucifixion, and if in fact I have been crucified in Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, then wouldn't this theology help me to understand that nothing can conquer me? Not death? Not fear? Not suffering? No. Nothing. And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us...The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His Kingdom is forever. No matter how bleak things look, whether in the "dead of winter" or in the "dark night of the soul," the light will shine again and death will give way to life. Even against all attempts to bind life and hope and grace from the world, they will, like a determined daffodil, poke through, laughing at the futility of confinement. I know spring is still not yet for some. This maybe true seasonally or spiritually. Others are basking in the warm sunlight and smiling at the crocuses, planted before the icy cold, finally popping up. But no matter how much spring is your reality right now, think deeply on it. Don't waste your winter. Look around you and ask yourself what you can learn about God and His ways through what He has revealed—both in the delightfully created world and in the divinely written word. There is much to learn as we watch death give way to life. ______ Lyrics from Your Love Awakens Me by Phil Wickham and A Mighty Fortress is Our God by Martin Luther. Post navigation GET POSTS BY EMAIL! About Me Hi! I'm Janet. I'm a mom to six kids and I want to encourage others to "prepare the soil" of their own hearts and their children's hearts by living, loving, caring, and parenting with eternal purpose and perspective. We're a crazy and imperfect family that loves hiking, camping, traveling, and good food. We love the Word of God and have given ourselves to ensure that all people have access to God's Word in a language they can clearly understand. EMAIL ME My Book If spending quality time together as a family—without it costing a fortune—is your desire, look no further. MORE THAN A MOVIE is a collection of 50 ideas for fun and frugal family nights that don’t involve turning on the T.V. CLICK HERE for more information!

Tuesday, October 25, 2016 They See Me Strollin' As a stay-at-home mama of THREE littles, there is only so much time we can spend indoors before we all go stir-crazy. We are an outside-loving family. And also a neighborhood-walking/running-loving family.So when Britax andAtlanta Area Moms Blog provided me with the opportunity to try out the new, 2017 B-Ready Stroller, I jumped at the chance.I consider myself knowledgeable when it comes to strollers - in fact, before adding the B-Ready to our repertoire, we already had six - yes SIX - different strollers in our garage.So now, we're up to seven.BUT.I can honestly get rid of quite a few of my strollers now that I have the B-Ready! And I'm not sure who is more excited to have more garage space - me or my hub!!So, let me tell you why the B-Ready can handle almost all of your strollin' needs...I was so excited when the box arrived, but decided not to even open it until T got home since he is the master of putting together ALL THE THINGS. Once the kids were in bed, he got down to business and was quick to let me know that it was one of the easiest kid-related items he had ever assembled. He didn't even have to crack open the instructions - it really was that easy. Because it was nighttime, I wasn't able to test it out other than pushing it across our kitchen - so we loaded it into the car in anticipation of the celebratory picnic we'd be having with other Atlanta moms in the morning...So bright and early on a Tuesday we met at a local park, and as I loaded Everette and strolled over to the shelter I immediately fell in love with E's new ride. It was definitely the smoothest stroller I'd ever pushed in my five years of motherhood! We celebrated Britax and all things B-Ready with some yummy treats thanks to Squash Blossom Kitchens while listening to the stroller experts tell us all about the features of the B-Ready. Some of these I had already discovered, and all of them gave me even more reason to l-o-v-e our new stroller! ~There are twelve different seating options/arrangements. TWELVE. What other stroller gives you that many options?!~There are all kinds of extras you can purchase to make your B-Ready even better. I chose the second seat so that I can have 2/3 kids happily contained at one time. ~The top seat can be forward-facing or rear-facing - depending on your mood and if you'd rather look at your kid or not. Ha! The top seat is for kids ages six months to 55 pounds. (To give you some perspective, my five-year-old isn't even close to 55 pounds and can happily ride in it!)~The second/bottom seat is from birth to 35 pounds. It lays down flat, so yes, Brooks can safely and comfortably join us while we're strollin'.~Do the brakes on strollers ever drive you crazy?! Maybe it's just me? Well, the brake on this stroller is the best one I've ever encountered.~It is the most user-friendly stroller ever, you guys. It's just so intuitive and every aspect of it just makes sense. It was clearly designed by a mama!~There is a zipper storage compartment on the bottom, so all of the things you throw under there aren't just hanging out and available for people to grab. The Britax experts made me love our ride even more, and I couldn't wait to take it around our neighborhood... where it did not disappoint! I usually only take the BOB stroller (also made by Britax, by the way!) for our walks/runs, so I was anxious to see how the B-Ready would compare. And I loved it. It was so smooth and so comfortable for the kids... and my older two were arguing over who got to sit in the top seat! Thanks to Britax, we're all much happier when we're out and about... and we also have a lot more space in our garage!*This post was sponsored by Britax, but all commentary/opinions are my own. No comments: Post a Comment Who Am I? I am a Christian, mom, daughter, sister, aunt, and multiple miscarriage survivor. I have three children: a sweet, emotional, curious five-year-old, Cameron Kate... and after multiple losses and a tough battle with secondary infertility, I have my Everette, who is all-boy all the time. And then - surprise! - I have my caboose, Brooks, who is now a joyful, giggly, running-wild-one-year-old. GOD IS GOOD!! I love cupcakes, running, reality television, cold beer, green olives, red wine, the beach, cake batter ice cream, a good book, to-do lists, and cookie dough. I hate being late, not having a plan, dressing up, and cooking. I'm constantly working on enjoying the little things and letting go of perfection and of being in control ~ especially when life is flipped completely upside down and I'm taken down a path I never thought I'd know...

11914 Goldenrod Ave, Bradenton Property Listing: MLS® #O5748113 Why wait to build or add a pool when you can own this new, waterfront POOL home for less than it would cost to build today? This 3 bed, 2.5 bath Harrington plan boasts thoughtful design features & high-quality, energy-efficient construction from Homes By Towne. Vaulted ceiling & 8’ doors await you in this immaculate home with an open floor plan & huge kitchen with stainless steel appliances, large island, granite counter tops, & 42” cabinets with above/below lighting. Gorgeous 18x18 tile in most areas, carpet in bedrooms. Over 1100 sqft of outdoor living space plus gas/water/electrical to add a summer kitchen in lanai. Amazing water views. Huge master suite with separate walk-in closets & vanities. Too many features to list! Samsung washer & dryer convey. GreyHawk Landing is a gated, resort-style community that is centrally located to the top Florida schools, shopping centers, restaurants, & beaches. Just north of Lakewood Ranch, get the amenities you want but without the high fees! HOA is only $50/yr. CDD included in property taxes. Two community centers with pools, playgrounds, tennis & pickleball courts, fishing, baseball, soccer fields, walking/biking trails, & fitness center. GHL is family-friendly & holds numerous social events throughout the year. 3 miles to I-75 means easy access to Tampa & Sarasota plus new Costco. Less than 1 mile to shopping/dining. Schedule your private showing today! Plus, this home qualifies for the No Closing Cost Purchase program which could save you thousands of dollars! Hi There! Is this Your First Time? Did you know if you Register you have access to free search tools including the ability to save listings and property searches? Did you know that you can bypass the search altogether and have listings sent directly to your email address? Check out our how-to page for more info. 11914 Goldenrod Ave, Bradenton Why wait to build or add a pool when you can own this new, waterfront POOL home for less than it would cost to build today? This 3 bed, 2.5 bath Harrington plan boasts thoughtful design features & high-quality, energy-efficient construction from Homes By Towne. Vaulted ceiling & 8’ doors await you in this immaculate home with an open floor plan & huge kitchen with stainless steel appliances, large island, granite counter tops, & 42” cabinets with above/below lighting. Gorgeous 18x18 tile in most areas, carpet in bedrooms. Over 1100 sqft of outdoor living space plus gas/water/electrical to add a summer kitchen in lanai. Amazing water views. Huge master suite with separate walk-in closets & vanities. Too many features to list! Samsung washer & dryer convey. GreyHawk Landing is a gated, resort-style community that is centrally located to the top Florida schools, shopping centers, restaurants, & beaches. Just north of Lakewood Ranch, get the amenities you want but without the high fees! HOA is only $50/yr. CDD included in property taxes. Two community centers with pools, playgrounds, tennis & pickleball courts, fishing, baseball, soccer fields, walking/biking trails, & fitness center. GHL is family-friendly & holds numerous social events throughout the year. 3 miles to I-75 means easy access to Tampa & Sarasota plus new Costco. Less than 1 mile to shopping/dining. Schedule your private showing today! Plus, this home qualifies for the No Closing Cost Purchase program which could save you thousands of dollars! Listing Details All listing information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified through personal inspection by appropriate professionals. Listings displayed on this website may be subject to prior sale or removal from sale; availability of any listing should always be independently verified. Listing information is provided for consumer personal, non-commercial use, solely to identify potential properties for potential purchase; all other use is strictly prohibited and may violate relevant federal and state law.

The only reason I jailbroke my iPhone is for the TV2out app, I just wish Apple would build this feature in its iOS. I used TV2Out in iOS 4 and iOS5. It was great. Now I updated to iOS6, it's no longer working. I am bumped out, not to mention I paid for this app and spent $40.00 for the Apple cable to hook the iPhone up to a 22" monitor. I am pissed. Is there any plan on the developer part to update this app? Or is there any place I can download the code with the permission of the developer so that I can tweak the code? (I am an iOS developer myself)

Vietnam-US relations: What the Vietnamese say BBC News | 2015-09-04 19:11 Four decades since the Vietnam War ended, America is the largest importer of Vietnamese commodities, while the Vietnamese are the eighth largest foreign student community in the US. This weekend's US visit by Vietnam's parliamentary chairman Nguyen ...Tuoitrenews For the full sourced article, click here.

crowing Congenital laryngeal stridor Crowing may be the first sign of congenital epiglottic and superglottic deformity or flabbiness–laryngomalacia and tracheomalacia with collapse and partial inspiratory airway obstruction, a condition more common in ♂; during the paroxysms, the children are hoarse, aphonic, dyspneic, have inspiratory muscle retractions and if prolonged, fail to thrive All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.

Admin Definitely a top comfort food, this is my favorite way to use leftover chicken or roast beef. I am pretty easy going with the ingredients I use for the sauce. Depending on my mood, I may add a little bit of chopped garlic, some lemon pepper, or some paprika, which is always great with chicken. Think of this as the base and then expound on it.

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Pages Wednesday, January 30, 2019 Before I officially began my baseball blog, I thought about some topics to write about. One of my initial ideas was to discuss my favorite (and least favorite) card sets, based largely on design elements. Soon after launching my blog I discovered that other collectors had already done a better job of discussing card set designs than I could have, so I scrapped that plan.More recently, I considered making a Top Ten list of my favorite card sets. That's been done before, too, and too often Topps or Upper Deck used the same design in the same year across multiple sports. And so I settled on creating an unranked, semi-regular series featuring my favorite sports card brands....starting with Topps Pristine: These aren't factory-sealed packs. I saved the wrappers, stuck a couple Uncirculated cards in each, and taped 'em up. At the end of this post I'll open each pack and reveal the contents. (It will be a surprise to me too; I've long forgotten which cards are in there.)Topps produced Pristine basketball cards from 2001-02 to 2005-06. I wasn't interested in the NBA at the time and did not know that the first/last Pristine sets were basketball cards until researching this post. The only place I knew that sold packs of Pristine was a little hole-in-the-wall card shop tucked inside a corner of the Connecticut Post Mall. Their selection of singles was weak, but they had a wide variety of higher-end products. That's where I got hooked on the joy of ripping a pack-within-a-pack-within-a-pack. Each Pristine pack contained 5 or 6 cards and another pack - which contained a relic (and possibly another card?) along with another pack - which contained an uncirculated card. Here's a look at the base design. I've always been drawn to cards with big logos, and Topps does a great job with these. The logos are clearly visible without being intrusive. Refractor parallels (#d/349) really bring out the team colors. I'm not a big fan of the perforated edges on these Gold Refractors (#d/79), nor am I that thrilled with the checklist. There are only 50 veteran players in 2002 Topps Pristine football. The remaining 120 cards are three tiers of 40 different rookies including Julius Peppers, Clinton Portis, and.. Eric Crouch. During the past COMC sale(s) I was shocked that base cards of Jerry Rice and Brett Favre were available for about 60 cents each. I nearly bought the Brett even though I already have one (ended up buying McNair and Smith instead.) Since I have Favre cards from three consecutive years of Topps Pristine, here's a side-by-side comparison. Which design is your favorite? I bought at least one pack of 2003 Pristine football. Pulled a Brian St. Pierre RC and cursed myself for wasting my money. I also had a Kliff Kingsbury kard at some point. I'm not sure if I bought any packs of 2002 Topps Pristine baseball. My interest in baseball was lukewarm at the time - the Yankees were still ruling over MLB with an iron fist - and my card collecting interests were heavily weighted towards hockey and football. But in the years that followed I often added any singles I could find to my Beckett marketplace orders. Sellers would often have star players priced at $3-5 or more, so I would scrounge for "commons" listed at a buck or less. The checklist is much more balanced in baseball; the first 140 cards are veterans/young stars... I'm only missing three of the ten legends in the set (Nolan Ryan, Mike Schmidt, and Reggie Jackson.) A Frank Robinson card arrived in my last COMC order - but it's heavily curled. This was very strange to me. I've had dozens of Pristine cards in my collection. They all bend a tiny bit but not as severe as this Robinson. I stuck it between two decoy cards inside a thick top loader. That'll straight'n 'im out. 2002 Topps Pristine does have some rookies. The last 60 cards in the 210-card set are three tiers of 20 top prospects, including Joe Mauer and David Wright: I had these cards on my want list for years, and I insisted on the refractor parallels of the base "common" tier. (What can I say? I'm a sucker for bold, shiny team logos.) Both cards were stubbornly priced at $100+ until about 2010. I waited for the market to cool on these and picked up the Wright for $32 in 2012. The Mauer cost me $29 a year later. These rookies aren't nearly as valuable to the collecting world as they are to me. Jonny Gomes was a key contributor to Boston's 2013 World Series title. Earl Snyder was a beast in triple-A Pawtucket, but the Connecticut native couldn't stick it in the show. Before I unseal the uncirculated cards I have a few "free-range" refractors to show you. All three of these are serial numbered to 149, including the Trevor Hoffman..which I cracked open in a prior post. These are also serial numbered to 149 - including the same Hoffman from before. Which begs the question: are all the refractors initially uncirculated, and any singles found in the wild were broken out somewhere along the way? Or did Topps produce 149 sets of uncirculated refractors and 149 sets of circulated refractors? TCDB appears to indicate the former is more true than the latter. Now let's see what's been hiding underneath those old wrappers damn, these packs were $30?!? How was I able to afford so many? Oh..right..no wife/kids/mortgage in my early 20s. An uncommon uncirculated rookie refractor (#d/199) of Yale alum Chris Higgins, and a common "" of former Avs defenseman John-Michael Liles. Higgins had some shitty things to say about the Devils so I'm a little surprised I didn't try to sell this. Perhaps I would have, had I known it was under there (under where? hahaha) More hockey rookies in pack two - Matt Stajan and Jordin Tootoo. I thought there might have been a baseball card in one of the packs. Sorry if I oversold the surprise. This post is already long so I'll save 2003-04 Topps Pristine hockey for another day. Maybe I'll make that Top Ten list after all... Monday, January 28, 2019 I'm working on a massive and seemingly never-ending sports card organization project, and when I spend an extended amount of time in my sports card room, I like to have something to watch that doesn't demand my complete and undivided attention. Two weeks ago I watched a movie called Like Father with Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer. Last week I watched Nerve.. and yesterday I watched The Hunger Games quad-rilogy. I've seen the first two Hunger Games films at least five times, and Mockingjay parts 1 & 2 probably four times. Watching them again got me thinking about how the Oscars completely ignore anything that isn't a prestige flick. It's bullshit. I'm not saying that The Hunger Games films should have been nominated for Best Picture (and I'll give the Academy points for at least trying to include big-budget blockbusters since then)but I will say that upon my fifth viewing of this quad-rilogy, I was still emotional over Jennifer Lawrence's incredible performance as Katniss Everdeen. Jennifer has been nominated for four Academy Awards, and she's the youngest actress ever to receive three Best Actress noms. She was nominated for Winter's Bone when she was just 20 years old (and set the red carpet on fire) She won her only statuette for Silver Linings Playbook...and proceeded to fall on her way up the stage. She was nominated for Joy, but lost to Brie Larson..who also played a character named Joy. She also received a Best Supporting Actress nom for American Hustle. I didn't think she was all that great in Hustle. She was okay. Not nearly good enough to beat Lupita Nyong'o. She was not nominated for Red Sparrow. I haven't seen that yet, so I can't say if she should have been. However, I can say with absolute certainty that the best performances of her career thus far were not recognized by the Academy. I could have picked a dozen other clips from these films, but you get the idea. It's clear that the Academy recognizes Jennifer Lawrence as one of most talented performers of the decade. What's not at all clear to me is how the Academy could reward her talent in one film and willfully ignore it in another.Anyway, that's my mini-rant for today. Back to baseball card topics next time. :-)~ Sunday, January 27, 2019 I mentioned in my last post that three packages were waiting for me when I got home from work on Friday. One from Julie, one from Wes..and a third one I was not expecting.The sender's name and return address were unreadable: But the postage sticker narrowed it down considerably: By my estimation there are only 2 or 3 Canadian collectors reading this blog. There was no note inside the mailer; the cards would have to provide clues. O-Pee-Chee Devils! Lucky for me Brian Boyle was not included; it's the only one I have from '18-19. More Devils, including Zach Parise, Brendan Shanahan, and Cup-winning Capital Devante Smith-Pelly. My Devils collection has been nearly dormant, since almost everyone on the blogs sends me Red Sox and I haven't been able to upload my hockey traders to TCDB (working on that this weekend.) These are most appreciated - but a Canadian sending hockey cards isn't helping me solve the mystery (although it rules out Mike Matson.) A-ha! Now this is a clue. Three Khris Middleton cards, an Antoine Walker, a Delanie Walker, and a Chris Chambers card. Whoever sent these has an eye for special mini-collections of players who share one's birthday. Which is what all these players have in common with me: August 12 birthdays. Ian Happ was born the day of the MLB players strike, in 1994. Rafael Araujo was born on my exact birthday. And Plaxico Burress was..a grade-A idiot who once shot himself in a nightclub and probably cost the Giants a Super Bowl. That said, an Ultimate Materials relic #d to 99 is a welcome addition to my collection. (had Plax shot someone else I'd feel differently, obvs.) But who would know this? Who would have cards of all four sports, including a gold parallel from 2013-14 Score hockey and an obscure Raptor and be generous enough to send a care package of players who have a very specific birthday? Saturday, January 26, 2019 I started my new job yesterday. There was someone using my desk and I don't have a computer set up yet, so the whole day was spent observing the other collector as she talked me through what she does/what I will be doing. I just hope I don't forget it all in the next six days, since I wont be going back for good until Friday. In terms of actual work, it was the easiest day ever. The boss even buys his staff lunch on Fridays, so I got free pizza and a salad in exchange for doing nothing. However, the lighting in the office and/or the lack of sleep messed with my senses at times. And the day dragged on hardcore after about 2pm. I felt like a pitcher who's been coming out of the bullpen for six years and now the team is stretching him out to be a starter. Am I done yet? Why am I still here? I'm f*cking tired! Anyway..when I finally got home I had stories to tell my family (they have cereal for everyone! The radio at my supervisor's desk played your favorite song!) I also had exactly as many comments on my First Day post as I had packages in the mail (three.) I'll show off two of them here. Julie sent me a surprise mailer just a couple weeks ago, and since I'm a greedy s.o.b. I requested more cards from her. She kindly obliged with this hand-picked PWE: Moar Sox pls. There were a couple non-Sox in the PWE, including Brooks Robinson... Jose Altuve and Chipper Jones. As indicated by Julie's sticky note, the Playoff Portraits Pedro is a parallel! Say that three times fast. (Playoff Portrait Pedro parallel. Playoff Portrait Pedro parallel. Playoff Portrait Pedro parallel.)Also, my goodies from Wes's Area 40 Megabreak arrived. By the time I got in on the action all of my favorite teams were taken - except one. So I had to think outside the box a little. I chose the Rockies in case Wes pulled some former New Haven Ravens. I chose the Tigers because they were my father in law's favorite team and I have at least three trading partners who are Tigers fans. I chose the Dolphins in case Wes pulled any Dan Marino hits. I chose the Devils because they were still available! And then I chose a random NBA slot but then changed my choice when the NBA teams were getting picked off. Bad idea. Not only was "Random NBA" a good choice, I switched to the Nashville Predators for the chance to pull a P.K. Subban card..and I'm not sure Wes opened any post-lockout hockey cards. Wes showed off some of the hits ahead of time, so I knew I had at least four cards coming my way. These were the surprises: No Marino in the Dolphins pile, but I got a Ricky Williams parallel #d to 56 and a Chris Chambers parallel #d to 275. There's some kind of lava effect that isn't showing up in the scan. As I mentioned in my birthday post Chris and I are both 8/12 babies. More on this in the next day or two... Two Devils here, including a Petr Sykora parallel and a Patrik Sundstom auto. I've seen these on the blogs before but I know nothing about them. Are they packed out in blasters? At least Sundstrom is correctly identified on this Pro Set card; the year before he was mistaken for Peter Stastny. Also this is the only (surprise) auto I received and I'm thrilled that it's a Devils player who had a solid career and not some scrub from the Dolphins' practice squad. Here are the Rockies Wes pulled: Boom, baby! Todd Helton orange parallel #d to 25! (4 of 25 to be exact) Helton is the most notable of all former Ravens, and is also a player I recently wrote about. Wes also included some SI for Kids cards, possibly as filler (unless he had stacks of the magazines in his break?) These were the best of the bunch (i.e. athletes I've heard of): A new Ohtani for my star player box, and lots of new additions to my Women on Cards binder. Two UConn greats, two gymnastic stars, and an all-time tennis legend. Very cool! Here are the cards I knew about already. Wes pulled four Tigers hits - two relics and two autos: Wes, thank you so much for allowing me to participate in the mother of all box breaks. The stories of your unrivaled generosity will be told for as long as people blog about baseball cards. Julie, if you're reading this, please choose any two of these Tigers and I'll pack 'em in a PWE along with a few other cards you collect. Thanks for all the great cards you've sent me this month. I promise I wont request any more...for a while ;)~ Friday, January 25, 2019 I've had anxiety all month. It started with the interview at the staffing agency, which I thought I stumbled through. Then I managed to schedule two interviews in one day, which led to four days of reminding myself that you cannot blow this. You have to get one of them. You have to get out!So I was worried over nothing. Okay, got the job. Great! Now what?Well, now I have to tell the staffing agency that I am no longer in need of their services and tell my boss that I'm leaving. I put off the former and stumbled through the latter. I had dreamt of marching into my boss's office and having the "I quit" conversation for years. I really wanted it to come out a lot better than it did. But, whatever, it's done. And so is a week's worth of conversations with my co-workers about when I'm leaving and where I'm going and what's the job like and "He told us he doesn't have time to hire anyone." Which implies that "I'm already overworked and now I'll have to do your job, too. Thanks a lot, jerk."Only one more week of this to go..and then I get to say all my awkward good-byes. I'm not good at good-byes. I'm not good at greetings, either. I met most of the people I'll be working with when I interviewed last week. They didn't know I'd been offered the job, and when the one guy said "Take care." or whatever, I paused. You'll see me again. I don't know that guy's name. I don't even know who to report to, or what will be expected of me other than writing collection letters. In moments when I am not choking on anxiety, it feels like a dream. Is this actually happening? A picture of a prank formed in my mind, wherein I appear at the new place, ready to start my first day and no one recognizes me. Like they have no idea who I am or why I'm there, and they definitely did not hire me.It's possible I've seen one too many Twilight Zone episodes. For that reason, I e-mailed my contact at the new place before e-mailing the staffing agency. Hi there, just wanted to confirm that you remember me, and that I've actually been hired before I officially stop looking for work. Thanks! If I sound especially neurotic, it's because I've been a tightly-wound ball of nerves all month and I wont be able to relax for another nine hours. Today will be the first day in nearly a decade that I will have to work a full 9-to-5 day. On a Friday, no less. Also, I woke up at 6:30 a.m. (haven't been able to sleep nearly as much as I need to) and finished Anna Kendrick's memoir Scrappy Little Nobody. Some of her narrative may have crept into this post. "The crazy wants out." Sometimes celebrities try to appear as awkward and inept as the rest of us, but I'm not sure how many of them actually are. Anna is the real deal. I don't think I've seen any of her films, other than Trolls and a few out-of-sequence chunks of Pitch Perfect but I'm definitely a fan. In fact I think I'm developing an affinity for petite thirty-something actresses who are super chill, progressive, neurotic, and have voiced a princess in an animated blockbuster (haven't forgotten you, Kristen Bell.) See, this is what I do when I'm nervous. I distract myself to minimize the anxiety. The cards in this post are the only two First Day Issue parallels I was able to find in my collection. Thought I had a Whalers card, but apparently not. You can't even really tell that they're First Day parallels. I got the Nunez in a flat-rate box of cards I bought on eBay. Couldn't tell by the front that it was a parallel; the serial numbering on the back tipped me off. About Me Hi there! Thanks for visiting! Welcome to my collecting blog. This is where I share my sports card buying/selling/trading experiences, thoughts on the hobby or current sports news, and occasional non-hobby topics such as music, women, random bits of fiction, and other things. I've been collecting sports cards since 1986. My collecting focus changes frequently, but I'm always interested in cards of Boston Red Sox, Green Bay Packers, New Jersey Devils, Hall of Famers across all sports, and players with ties to my home state of Connecticut.

Cristiane Santos meets replacement Fiona Muxlow at Invicta FC 5 With Ediane Gomez (10-2) injured and out of the fight, former Strikeforce champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (10-1) instead will fight Australian featherweight Fiona Muxlow (6-2) at next month’s Invicta FC 5 event. Invicta FC officials announced the change following confirmation of Gomez’s withdrawal due to a shoulder injury. Muxlow initially was slated to fight Julie Budd (4-2) on the card. Officials said Budd will get a new opponent. Invicta FC 5 takes place April 5 at Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Mo. Santos vs. Muxlow is scheduled for the event’s main card, which airs via online pay-per-view. Santos, who signed with Invicta FC after failing to reach terms with the UFC, fights for the first time since December 2011, when the Brazilian earned a TKO win over Hiroko Yamanaka. However, the win was overturned when Santos failed a post-fight drug test (stanozolol). Santos recently concluded a yearlong drug suspension, and at Invicta FC 5, the 27-year-old looks for her 11th straight win. Muxlow makes her promotional debut on the card. Most recently, she suffered a submission loss to former Strikeforce champ Marloes Coenen at DREAM.18. The defeat snapped a three-fight win streak for the 35-year-old Muxlow, who’s earned stoppages in four of her six career wins. From Our Partners The Latest UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is probably the greatest female fighter on the planet, which is a tremendous feat. So why are we seemingly so obsessed with arguing about whether she could beat up men?

Menu: Addons and DLC The revolution is underway! Dive into new expert events and co-op maps, contracts, pursuits and more with the latest Defiance DLC. Hunt advanced enemies with legendary weapons and mods from Chimera, a rising force in the underground arms trade, and fifteen new nano-effect EGO perks. Only the best-equipped will survive!

THE DILATORY PETITIONER’S TOOLBOX I was truly disappointed in STJ Armen, The Judge With a Heart, when he sent off poor late-filing Amy L. Goline, with an off-handed cite to McCormick and no mention of anything else; see my blogpost “Ya Gotta Have Heart,” 11/9/17. Charlotte Marie was two days late and a lot more than a dollar short, because she used an unblessed variant of FedEx. Remember that only those sanctified versions of the Black-and-Purple gang slide under the Section 7502 mailed-is-filed tag. FedEx Express Saver saved Charlotte Marie nothing, as it wasn’t among the “blessed communion, fellowship divine.” So Charlotte Marie is tagged “out.” But Ch J Iron Fist manifests the kindliness of spirit worthy of this season, and counsels Charlotte Marie of other shelter than the Inn at 400 Second Street, NW. “However, although petitioner may not prosecute this case in the Tax Court, petitioner may continue to pursue administrative resolution of the tax liability for 2015 directly with the Internal Revenue Service, possibly by way of a request for audit reconsideration or by filing an amended income tax return. Another remedy available to petitioner is to pay the tax, then file a claim for refund with the Internal Revenue Service. If the claim is denied (or not acted upon within six months), petitioner may sue for a refund in the Federal district court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. See McCormick v. Commissioner, 55 T.C. 138, 142 (1970).” Order, at p. 3. An author, teacher, advocate and trusted advisor, Lew Taishoff is a New York City-based attorney with 52 years of experience in corporate and individual tax and real estate matters. He is an Enrolled Agent, examined and admitted to practice before the Internal Revenue Service, and admitted to practice before the ... Continue reading →

CJEB Director Hugh Patrick appeared live on NPR "On Point with Tom Ashbrook" CJEB Director Hugh Patrick made a live appearance on July 24 on NPR “On Point with Tom Ashbrook” to discuss Abenomics. The segment titled “The New Politics and Economy of Japan” can be heard by clicking here.

Sharks aiming for new heights Sharks coach John Plumtree was encouraged by his team's performance against the Cheetahs, but has urged them to raise the bar even higher this weekend. Sharks coach John Plumtree was encouraged by his team's performance against the Cheetahs, but has urged them to raise the bar even higher this weekend. The Sharks claimed top spot on the Currie Cup log with an impressive victory in Bloemfontein on Saturday to secure home advantage in the semifinals and Plumtree said that the win was especially pleasing after some disappointing performances at altitude. "We haven't been all that good at altitude all year but we turned that around at the right time I guess. It was a huge performance by the boys, they showed character when they were forced to defend for long periods of time. "We made over 200 tackles against a Cheetahs side that played some great rugby and we had to be right on the money with our defence. "And when we created some opportunities, we managed to score a few tries which was great. We're not quite there yet with our attack but our defence was right up there generally," he said. After that boost to their confidence the Sharks will take on Griquas in Durban on Friday, but Plumtree warned that it will not be easy for his side to exact revenge for their defeat in Kimberley earlier in the season. While the home side will be aiming to secure top spot, Griquas themselves will have plenty to play for as they seek to qualify for the semifinals. "It's been tight the whole way through this competition, similar to Super Rugby. "We have an opportunity now and we need to try and match our performance in Bloemfontein against Griquas this Friday. They have pretty much beaten every fancied side in the competition and they'll back themselves coming to Durban. "They have their own ambitions as well and it's going to be one of those really tough games. We have to make sure that we play very well, it doesn't matter that it's at home, they'll come with a tough attitude," he said. The Sharks will have to make do without hooker Pieter Dixon who broke his arm early in the victory over the Cheetahs, but with Craig Burden back in the mix along with the rest of their Boks they will be significantly strengthened for the final round showdown.

Our City About Tulsa Tulsa is nestled in the northeastern quadrant of Oklahoma, right in the heart of “Green Country.” The rolling green hills and wooded terrain of the city lies at an elevation of 700 feet above sea level and offers a temperate climate. Tulsans enjoy 227 days of sunshine a year and an average daily temperature of 61 degrees. The rainfall average is approximately 40 inches, and continually changing conditions occur in the city during all four seasons. Our city boasts a widely diversified business base, including aerospace, telecommunications, manufacturing, construction, high technology, healthcare, education, transportation and energy. Tulsa, one of “America’s Most Livable Communities,” is known as the Mecca for arts in Oklahoma. Art deco masterpieces are prevalent in many of our downtown buildings and churches. Spectacular works of art dot the trails of our beautiful River Parks. From the Tulsa Ballet and Tulsa Opera, to Broadway plays and musicals at the Performing Arts Center, to the Philbrook and the largest collection of Western American art at the Gilcrease, Tulsa’s rich cultural legacy greatly enhances our citizen’s quality of life. The Tulsa Port of Catoosa is acclaimed as one of the largest, most inland river-ports in the United States. The Tulsa International Airport offers direct service to most major U.S. cities and is another important contributor to our economic growth. Ten higher education facilities serve the metropolitan Tulsa area. Options range from community college and vocational studies to undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs at both public and private universities.Source: City of Tulsa Vaughan Insurance Group, LLC | Offices: Midcontinent Tower | 401 S. Boston Ave, Suite 300 | Tulsa, OK 74103 | Phone: 918.779.7880 Statements on this website as to policies and coverages and other content provide general information only and we provide no warranty as to their accuracy. Clients should consult with their licensed agent as to how these coverages pertain to their individual situation. Any hypertext links to other sites or vendors are provided as a convenience only. We have no control over those sites or vendors and cannot, therefore, endorse nor guarantee the accuracy of any information provided by those sites or the services provided by those vendors.

‘We Have A Lot to Say’: A Moment with Zach Velmer Just a couple of months after releasing their newest album, The Universe Inside, STS9 recently embarked on their 2016 fall tour. This intergalactic planetary, mind-bending, core-shaking band just keeps getting better every year; every show; every day. The music they create not only inspires, but radiates this metaphysical energy that has the ability to awaken and transform your soul. Tribe is so progressive and dynamic that, no matter how many times you’ve seen them live, you always get something new and profound out of every show; and you always want more. There are literally no limitations to what this transcendent quintet (and Saxton) can accomplish. Before kicking off their fall tour, we got a chance to chat with Zach Velmer —STS9’s spirited and talented drummer — about the new album, touring, and interpersonal experiences. Image: Aaron Bradley Sensible Reason: Regarding STS9’s new album, The Universe Inside, a lot of people are saying it’s a bit of a change in direction from Tribe’s usual sound, what would you say to that? Zach Velmer: We have been getting a, “this is an interesting departure from what you normally do… having vocals,” response. I have to be honest, I kind of disagree because if you go back to every record we’ve put out, there’s vocals… on Artifacts, Peaceblaster, When The Dust Settles. There’s even vocals on Offered Schematics, so within that, this is just a continuation of what we have been doing and what we’ve been a part of… and we feel that. We didn’t feel like, “Okay, we’re gonna go in this different direction, we have this concept,” it was never like that. The idea was just a continuation of what we’ve been creating with Alana, musically… together. It’s a continuation of where we were, where we are, and where we’re going. We definitely wanted the listeners to totally recognize and hear each individual player, and that was a huge thing that we really sought after. It took us a long time because we work with electronics and do all this other stuff. As far as the vocals, it was a process of continuously working with different artists and collaborations and we had always done that since… forever. This [The Universe Inside] was pushing what we know and – to be perfectly honest – we have a lot to say. SR: Yeah, you definitely can’t be stuck in a box as an artist even though some fans might not be as crazy about a perceived change in direction to them. ZV: Definitely. As artists, we have the ability and freedom to NOT put out what we’ve put out the last six years. We’re able to push the envelope as artists, be creative, and do what we want to do. We’re definitely not looking at what we DID do. We absolutely don’t want to do that again… because we already fucking did it! SR: Well, you’re always evolving, that’s the whole point of being an artist. ZV: Yeah, when we’re writing songs and what’s in our head, it’s not like there’s this overlying, “Okay, cool. Here’s what we’re gonna do and we’re gonna fuck everybody up!” No… it’s all inspiration. You’re literally pulling something from nothing; you’re creating music from nothing. So you just start and it just perpetuates, and the energy starts flowing and you have these vibes. It’s a collaboration and a creative expression. It comes from the camaraderie of us being in the studio together and bouncing ideas off each other. It’s just a beautiful thing that we get to do and we’re incredibly blessed that people love what we do. It’s just such a dichotomy of being in the studio and then doing it live. To sum it up, we wanted our fans to be able to – more than hear us –FEEL us. SR: Speaking of feeling you all, the transference of energy at live shows is extremely palpable. Has there ever been a moment where you felt that intense connection with the crowd from the energy that is being exchanged? ZV: Absolutely. More times than not. I have incredible moments of that kind of connection. I use the word “Symbiotic” because it is literally that. I’ve said it when I speak to the crowd, like these moments of just getting real. It’s such a neat thing that we get to do this together. We can’t just get up there and have that incredible movement of energy through all of us without everyone else in there. We play in the studio and create awesome music, but when we play in front of people… I long for that continuously. It’s not an addiction, but it’s just a longing for that transfer of energy and sharing it with other humans. Image: Aaron Bradley SR: A lot of people have a strong emotional reaction at Tribe’s live shows. Has there ever been a moment where you were on stage and had a reaction like that and had a hard time holding it together? ZV: Absolutely. 100%. I’ve had some crazy out-of-body experiences through the energy and the music, yeah. It’s not like few and far in between, but when it links up like that — in one single moment — it’s pretty rad. SR: Going off that, how do you feel when you hear that the music you all create literally changes people’s lives and perceptions? ZV: Straight up, THAT is why we do what we do. It’s why we keep coming back for more; because of that. More times than not, I hear, “When I found you guys, it changed my life trajectory. I was going this way, now I’m going this way… because of you.” And I’m like well… it’s not really because of us, but if you want to say that’s a catalyst, that’s beautiful; but it’s because of THEM. That’s the connection that it all brings together. That’s the magic. SR: Some people want to know, during your tours, what determines where you guys play? Because it’s inevitable, every year, there are people who are sad you aren’t playing near them. ZV: I’d like to take credit for that but we have people who do it for us [laughs]. It’s definitely calculated. There’s so many considerations and variables. BUT, we do consider fan input on locations. Like, people want us to play in a certain area and we try our best to make it happen, absolutely. Whether or not it logistically sometimes works… but we do consider that. But ya know, in a fall tour, there’s only so much time so we obviously cannot go everywhere. SR: Unless you have a teleportation device, which would be rad. ZV: That would be cool. Yeah, we’re working on that… that’s why we can’t tour so much because we’re working on that teleportation device. Image: Joshua Skolnik SR: Well, you’ll be the first band to play on the moon so it’s all good. ZV: I hope so. SR: What would you say is your favorite city (or cities) to play? ZV: That’s like asking what my favorite pair of shoes are… SR: Well, the band did originate in Georgia… ZV: Yeah! I LOVE going to Georgia, but also, going to Georgia is like a family reunion… it’s craaaaazy. It’s like, people that you haven’t seen in years come out of the woodworks; that’s why I love that. But, I gotta be honest, I love going everywhere. Our management asks us for our tour quotes, and I start writing it and it’s not only a quote, it’s a fucking novel. It’s all exciting. I’m truly stoked about it all. SR: What STS9 songs really get you amped and you really love playing live? ZV: Right now, a lot of the new stuff is really fun to play… because it’s new. And where the new stuff is gonna go — and the exploration of the new stuff — is incredibly intriguing and inspiring. I’ve been working the sets for the tour and looking at all the songs and it’s like, “Oh my God! I forgot about that song!” So I write it in the setlist and it’s exciting. Some of the older stuff is as fulfilling as the new stuff because you can breathe some new life into it since you haven’t played it in a while. There are also those moments of playing a song that you’ve been playing for a while, but all of a sudden, because of the night, the venue and the people, that song goes to this new place. It’s the constant ebb and flow of change and it’s magical. If the music takes us, we’ll go there. Image: Aaron Bradley SR: Hulaween is coming up VERY soon and STS9 is almost always on the bill for SCI-dominated festivals. What is Tribe’s relationship with The String Cheese Incident and will we see an on-stage collaboration soon? ZV: We are long-time friends of Cheese. We have collaborated with Cheese during Horning’s Hideout and the old-school days and it’s a beautiful thing that we’ve been friends with all those guys. Michael Kang lives in Santa Cruz and we actually play a lot of golf together, so we’re all buds. As far as this year, I don’t know… we’ll see. I know they do a lot of prep for their shows because they incorporate a lot of performance art and special effects, so I’m not quite sure about this year, but I always look forward to potentially collaborating with them again. SR: Maureen Murphy has an awesome voice and has been a guest vocalist with the band in previous years, but on The Universe Inside she is very prevalent. What is the band’s relationship with her and will she be integrated more regularly during future shows? ZV: That’s TBD. We love working with Maureen and she is a dear friend of ours. That connection has been blossoming, hence why we started working with her more. We are just super open. It’s incredibly inspiring and fun to do that stuff. As for it being a regular thing, we don’t know. We enjoy it and we welcome it, and we hope everybody else enjoys it because it’s different. We’re able to do things that maybe doesn’t make that much sense for an instrumental band to do, but when we have vocalists we’re able to do some really cool, fun things. We fuckin’ did Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” because we had a vocalist and choir. Those types of things open the door for so much fun stuff. SR: Let’s talk about Tribe’s lighting design for a second. Obviously, Saxton is a genius and the evolution of the lightshows has been mind blowing. Does the band have any input on the lighting or is it all pure Saxton magic? ZV: It’s absolutely a collaboration, but yes, Saxton is 100% a badass. He is very, very, utterly and crazy meticulous. He’s like the music… the amount of energy and time we use to dig into the details; he’s the same on the lights. We love him. I’ve known Saxon since I was five years old; I played soccer with him, so it’s just really rad that we’ve been doing this together. From our FOH engineer, Ryan, to Saxton, we’re definitely a team that works together to make it the best we can for everyone else. SR: Who is your personal, biggest musical inspiration in your life? ZV: My biggest musical inspiration in my life has to be my parents. They weren’t musicians, but the love and support they gave me to pursue my passion and my dreams at an early age was truly magical and I can’t thank them enough. Thanks Mom and Dad, I love you guys. Jennifer graduated from Georgia State University in 2013 with a BA in journalism and a minor in performing arts. She currently works in marketing as Web Writer and Editor at the University System of Maryland. Her interests include music, philosophy and socially-relevant issues. A writer for over a decade, she cultivates her creativity by publishing original works of poetry and various articles on culture, society, music, ideology, and current events.

Facebook backs Delhi-Based Edu-Tech Platform ‘XPrep’ Facebook has backed XPrep, a tutor enablement platform as part of its global programme. Read further to know the details. Facebook is backing a Delhi-based tutor enablement platform 'XPrep' as part of its global programme FBStart. It is designed to help early-stage mobile start-ups. XPrep mentioned in a statement on Tuesday that under this programme, they have received $40,000 worth of credits and services from Facebook and its partners including Amazon Web Service (AWS), Adobe, Dropbox and MailChimp. Mukul Rustagi, CEO of XPrep said that there are multiple opportunities in supplementing the assistance-based offline education system using online technologies. He added that paying customers are their product's testimony and they aim to build better, with FBStart helping them achieve the goal faster. XPrep also earned access to an exclusive community of developers and mentorship from the Menlo Park-headquartered team of Facebook engineers. XPrep began in September 2015. It serves as a platform to fill the gap within the tutor-parent community. It allows parents to monitor the progress of their child during the course of the tuition while helping tutors serve their batches efficiently and scale their business. Rustagi also added that FBStart will help them reduce considerable technology costs and the money saved can be redirected to the marketing and team building activities which will eventually help them grow better and faster. Currently, XPrep has more than 100 tutors and over 6000 students across Delhi-NCR. The company plans to expand soon in other cities.

The clients, VicUrban and Building Commission & Plumbing Industry Commission (BC/PIC) are both known for their commitment to the environment, so they wanted their new workplaces to walk that walk that they talk. Accordingly, preference was given to building materials that have eco-friendly content, low embodied energy, recycled content, minimized volatile compound content, and minimal amounts of PVC content. In addition, they tried to use less new material, and reused many of the heritage elements from the existing site. For VicUrban, old doors taken out of the shed were cleaned and hung as cool backdrops in the reception area and original slate salvaged from the roof was cleaned and hung as a feature wall. Even old tracks were recycled as fun decor details, and in BC/PIC, an old railway switch from the Shed is now on display at the entrance. Of the other products used, black steel and recycled timber made up a large part and rubber/eco-vinyl flooring in lieu of carpets enhanced the ‘warehouse’ aesthetic. LEAVE A COMMENT NEW USER CURRENT USERS LOGIN 1 Comment karenartJanuary 18, 2011 at 4:36 pm Nice office! I like the use of lots of plants and the wood. I am not a fan of the glass conference rooms I like some privacy and having walls that you can see through is distracting for the people inside. here are some more workplace business solutions have LEED certified furnishings.

From Rose: “If there were just one sweet treat in the world, would that it were rugelach. The comfortingly soft yet crisp and flaky cinnamon-imbued dough—with the sticky tang of caramelized apricot, juicy plump chewiness of raisins, and earthy crunch of walnuts, all rolled into each and every bite—is utterly irresistible.” Handheld Mixer Method In a mixing bowl, on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and butter until blended. Beat in the sugar and vanilla. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture just until incorporated, no more than 30 seconds. Food Processor Method Have the cream cheese and butter chilled. Cut the butter into ½ inch cubes. In a food processor, place the cream cheese. With the motor running, add the butter and process until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add the sugar and vanilla and process for a few seconds to incorporate them. Add the flour mixture and pulse in just until the dough starts to clump together. Chill the Dough Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and press it together to form a ball. Divide the dough in half, about 6.5 ounces/185 grams each. Wrap each piece loosely in plastic wrap and press to form flat discs. Rewrap tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 3 days (or freeze for up to 6 months). Filling VOLUME WEIGHT granulated sugar 3 tablespoons 1.3 ounces 37 grams light brown Muscovado sugar, or dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons, firmly packed 1 ounce 27 grams ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon . 0.5 gram golden raisins (see Note) ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons 1.9 ounces 54 grams walnuts, coarsely chopped ½ cup 1.8 ounces 50 grams Apricot Lekvar Filling (page 360) or apricot preserves ¼ cup (59 ml) 2.7 ounces 76 grams Make the Filling In a medium bowl, with your fingers, mix the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon until evenly combined. Divide the mixture equally between two small bowls. Combine the golden raisins and the chopped walnuts and divide them equally between two additional small bowls. Note If the raisins are not soft, soak them in ½ cup/118 ml boiling water for 30 minutes to 1 hour and then drain them well. Roll the Dough Remove a piece of the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is malleable enough to roll. Using a floured rolling pin, on a floured mat or lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into about a 9-inch circle, ⅛ inch thick, rotating it often and adding flour as necessary to be sure it is not sticking. If the dough becomes too soft or sticky at any time, briefly refrigerate it until it is firm enough to roll. Add the Filling Mark the center of the dough with the tip of a knife. Using the back of a tablespoon or small offset spatula, spread the dough evenly with 2 tablespoons/30 ml of the apricot lekvar, avoiding about 1 inch in the center because the preserves will push forward when the triangles of dough are rolled up. (If using the preserves, stir them with a fork to break up any large pieces, but do not heat the preserves or beat them because they will thin out.) Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over the lekvar. Sprinkle evenly with half of the raisin and walnut mixture. Press the filling gently but firmly over the dough. Slip a large spatula under the dough disc to loosen it from the work surface. Using a pizza wheel or long sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 triangles. (Cut the dough first into quarters, and then cut each quarter into thirds.) Shape the Rugelach Use a thin knife or spatula, if necessary, to loosen the triangles from the work surface. Starting at the wide end, roll up the triangle and bend the ends around to form a slight crescent shape, turning them toward the point. Place the rugelach, point underneath, about 1½ inches apart on a prepared cookie sheet. Topping VOLUME WEIGHT granulated sugar 1 tablespoon 0.5 ounce 13 grams ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon . 1.1 grams milk 1 tablespoon (15 ml) 0.5 ounce 13 grams Make the Topping In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Divide the mixture equally between two small bowls. Apply the Topping Lift each rugelach with your fingers and, with a pastry brush, brush it with the milk. Holding the rugelach over a medium bowl, use a sugar dredger or your fingers to sprinkle the rugelach evenly with the cinnamon sugar, letting the excess fall into the bowl. Set it back on the cookie sheet. Refrigerate the rugelach, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight, or until firm. Repeat with the second disc of dough. Preheat the Oven Twenty minutes or longer before baking, set oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Bake the Rugelach Bake for 10 minutes. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheets halfway around and reverse their positions from top to bottom. Continue baking for 5 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool the Rugelach Set the cookie sheets on uncoated wire racks or on a heatproof surface and let the rugelach cool for a few minutes to firm slightly. During baking, a little of the apricot always melts out onto the foil. It is therefore necessary to remove the rugelach from the foil before the apricot hardens. Use a small pancake turner to transfer the rugelach to the prepared wire racks to cool completely. The apricot filling that leaks onto the foil liner can be peeled off and makes for a delicious baker’s treat!

The Healthy Living Toolkit is brought to you by the Florida Medical Association, the FMA Foundation for Healthy Floridians and the Aetna Foundation. Content provided by Kristen Hicks-Roof Ph.D., RDN, LDN and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

The Battle of Killiecrankie of the English Revolution of 1689 was fought on 27 July 1689. James II’s Scottish Jacobites under Viscount Dundee defeated William III’s forces led by General Hugh MacKay along a steep defile along the River Garry in east-central Scotland. Although a victory for the Jacobites, Dundee was killed and the Jacobites failed to follow up the victory. The remainder were scattered at the Battle of Dunkeld a month later. The few Irish that came were poorly equipped and ragged. This proved to many that their was little foreign support coming from France or Ireland, so many Scots decided discretion was the better part of valor.

RV Destination: Gauley River NRA Each spring in Appalachia, the rivers run high and fast! But the Gauley River in southern West Virginia won’t reach its high season until fall. In September, when excess water is released through Summersville Dam, thousands of whitewater enthusiasts from all over the world flock to the Gauley to experience what is considered by many to be one of the most thrilling whitewater opportunities in the world. The Gauley River National Recreation Area established in 1988, protects 25 miles of the Gauley River and six miles of the Meadow River. Dropping more than 668 feet through rugged, remote terrain, this part of the river features more than 100 rapids with steep gradients, technical runs, an incredible volume of water, and huge waves. Like nearby New River Gorge National River and Bluestone National Scenic River, the Gauley’s deep gorge supports abundant and varied life. You’ll find forests of oak, beech, yellow poplar, hemlock, and dogwood. Rare and threatened species such as the Allegheny woodrat, cerulean warbler, eastern hellbender, and finescale saddled darter make their home on the Gauley River. Rare plants include Virginia spiraea, Appalachian blue violet, and balsam squaw-weed. Whitewater rafters on the upper Gauley RiverHolding paddles up to “hit the rock” is a tradition for whitewater rafters on the upper Gauley River. NPS Photo If you are interested in “doing the Gauley,” a variety of commercial rafting companies can provide you with the experience during Gauley season, which begins the first weekend after Labor Day and continues Fridays through Mondays for six weekends. The Upper Gauley offers tremendous class III to V+ drops in steep, turbulent chutes such as Pillow Rock, Iron Ring, and Sweet’s Falls, and rocky routes that demand constant maneuvering, such as Lost Paddle and Shipwreck. The Lower Gauley is a 12-mile stretch, rated class III to V, that feels like a watery roller coaster. An insider tip…the river has much less visitation on Fridays and Mondays, providing a more wilderness experience. If you are interested in running the Gauley during the summer, commercial trips may be available depending on water levels. Although whitewater provides the main draw for visitors to the Gauley River, rock climbing is a fast-growing sport in the area. There is also good trout and muskellunge fishing at the Gauley Tailwaters below Summersville Dam and near the confluence with the New River; you can fish for walleyes, muskies, and smallmouth bass. Nearby Attractions: Nearby attractions include Summersville Lake, run by the Army Corps of Engineers. The lake has superb water quality and sheer sandstone cliffs making it a unique place to visit. With 28,000 acres of water and 60 miles of shoreline, it is West Virginia’s largest lake. Boating, water-skiing, swimming, fishing, scuba diving, picnicking, camping, hunting, biking, and rock climbing are favorite activities. Neighboring Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park has a museum, picnic shelters, hiking trails with stands of old growth forest, and overlooks of the Gauley River. Every other September, the important Union victory of Carnifex Ferry is reenacted. This defeat forced Confederate troops to withdraw from a drive to regain the Kanawha Valley, helping secure West Virginia in Union hands for the remainder of the war. Camping: The National Park Service offers primitive camping at Gauley Tailwaters campground located just below Summersville Dam. From Route 19 at Mt. Nebo, take Route 129 west across the dam, then turn left at the river access sign. Bear right through the parking lot to the campsites. There are 18 drive-in sites for tents and RVs. Camping is allowed throughout the park on federally-owned lands unless otherwise posted. The National Park Service does not own most of the land within the boundaries of the Gauley River National Recreation Area. Be aware of private property and respect the rights of land owners. Unless developed sites are offered, campsites must be at least 100 feet away from any river access area, developed trailhead area, top edge or bottom of any cliff, park structure or historic ruin. The maximum stay is 14 days at the same camping area. There is no camping fee. Open fires are allowed where campfire receptacles are provided and must be contained in these designated containers. Campfires are prohibited within 100 feet of any river access area, developed trailhead area, top edge or bottom of any cliff, park structure or historic ruin. Use only dead and down wood. Be sure your fire is out and cold before leaving. Do not burn tires or drive nails into trees. The use of chain saws is prohibited. Camping at Summersville Lake is restricted to developed camping areas only – there is not random camping. Battle Run Campground is a class A Corps operated campground which has day use facilities, a boat launching ramp, access to fishing, showers, trailer waste disposal facilities, playground, universally accessible restrooms, parking, swimming and picnic areas. Battle Run Campground is now part of the National Recreation Reservation System. Reservations can be made by dialing 1-877-444-NRRS or on the web at ReserveUSA.com. For more information during recreation season call the campground at (304) 872-3459.

The Wiert Corner – A client got this with Delphi Indy “SSL routines:SSL23_GET_CLIENT_HELLO:http request” and was confused. The message means you get an http request, but are expecting an https request. If you really want to, you can have one component service both http and https requests, though most of the time you really do not want to: you want to phase out http whenever possible. Related: [WayBack] delphi – Can a single TIdHTTPServer component handle http and https request in the same time? – Stack Overflow –jeroen

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 This past weekend I made the trek to Birmingham for Kiki's baby shower. It was an estrogen filled weekend {thank you for your patience, Coco!} as we celebrated the impeding arrival of baby Parker with close friends and family. A baby shower for my nephew would not be complete without some monogrammed goodies. Ashley did an amazing job making the diaper cake...isn't it cute!?! She obliged me and added a monogrammed burp cloth and diaper cover. I found the invitations (pictured atop the cake) through a new friend, Allison, at the English Pea. She has some of the most adorable stationery for children and the spoon is stamped with "parker" thanks to Lisa Leonard. Monday, May 10, 2010 Y'all know that I heart the Design Girl (Danielle) and think she is uber talented and super fab. So, all that being said, when she contacted me last week to sponsor a giveaway on her blog I obliged, of course! Visit her blog to get the deets and to enter the Preppy Travel Mug Giveaway! More, More, More About The Chick For The Brides Let's face it brides, you spend hours shopping for the perfect bridal party gift and here at Monogram Chick we feel you should be rewarded for all of your hard work.Receive a free tote with your NEW monogram when you send a photo of your bridesmaids with their Monogram Chick gifts.Email for more details--it's easy!

Review Sections After delivering quality audio experiences for over 60 years, Sennheiser is arguably the biggest headphone brand in the world. Its range is known for delivering extremely high audio quality with extremely high price tags, and is very popular amongst professional musicians and producers. The PC320 headphones are very different, though, at a fraction of the cost of most of Sennheiser's range. Sadly, it seems as though the company hasn't put as much love into the development of these headphones as it does into its premium products. Designed for PC users, the PC320s connect via the usual 3.5mm stereo mini jacks, and there's no pre-amp or DSP included. Console users will still be able to use them, provided they've got the necessary amplifier. Unlike every other headset in the round up, Sennheiser has gone for an open-back design. These allow sound to escape from the rear of the cup, which stops the sound waves from reflecting and bouncing inside the cup, delivering a more open soundstage. They're not so good for those who want to game in bed next to their sleeping partner, as the open design lets sound escape. This design also allows more outside sound to be heard by the wearer. The build of these headphones can only be designed as functional. There's none of the bling of the Razer headphones, and the all-plastic construction feels a little fragile. Having said that, they're definitely the lightest headphones of the bunch, making them very comfortable for marathon gaming sessions. The open design also provides better ventilation, keeping your ears cool, while the velvet ear material stays nice and dry. Basic volume controls are built in to the right cup, but to mute you'll have to swing the arm up — there isn't a dedicated button. The noise-cancelling mic delivers excellent voice quality, and is one of the best that we've heard. Given the brand's high reputation, we expected big things from these budget headphones. Sadly, the listening experience wasn't anything to write home about. Providing a well-balanced sound, there's nothing here that really stands out. Everything is nice and crisp, but it seems to be lacking any tone or voice of its own — it's all a bit flat and boring. Bass is especially lacking, and fiddling with our soundcard's equaliser simply introduced distortion rather than chest-rumbling bass lines. We also noticed a loss of detail in the middle of particularly hectic battle scenes. Music performance was solid, if not spectacular, and once again, the flat sound left our music collection feeling uninspired and lifeless.

Wrestling Mayhem Show 564: Blue Jeans and Wheat It’s the last Mayhem Mania booking this week and we’ve got a special treat in store. Even more special, we’re joined by International Wrestling Cartel rookie, Jinx, for Wrestling Mayhem Show 564. Of course, we talked what’s happening in the world of wrestling this week, including: It’s Wrestlemania week, and we’re making some speculations. Thanks to Tina Keys for letting us know our Wrestlemania experience may not be so bad after all. Have you seen the Wrestlemania set? Is the wrestling going to live up to the promos for Wrestlemania? Who else thinks John Cena is either proposing to or marrying Nikki Bella at Wrestlemania? We’re watching the overhead video of the Wrestlemania ramp. They’re making their entrances via rollercoasters. Giant hamster balls will be this year’s Wrestlemania cart devices for ring entrances. Finn Balor has been in ring with Triple H for some house shows. We’re talking about Wrestlemania possibilities. Yes. Yes we are combining The Price Is Right with Wrestlemania. Tyler Breeze is better at Nikki Bella promos than Nikki is. Chad is sharing thoughts on Cryme Tyme Lite. Mad Mike is dazzling us with math. Wrestlemania math, that is. Have a favorite Wrestlemania? Go back and watch all of them, it may change like it did for Mad Mike. This week’s Big Question: What is your BOLD prediction for Wrestlemania?

The mission of the Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments is to help children who are blind or visually impaired reach their full potential through family-centered, specialized services and community support. We believe children who are blind or visually impaired will reach their full potential through: • Collaboration with families and family empowerment • Education and support • Specialized services by highly qualified staff to address unique learning needs • Community education and increased community acceptance and inclusion.

No strings attached relationship london kouvola Not using condoms would be very, very stupid. "She's the mother of my children and I can't imagine degrading her in the ways I want. If you drink or use drugs consider how this might impact on your decision-making. Another downside of a no strings attached relationship is that it may hinder you from pursuing something more serious with someone else. "I'm looking for an intelligent, attractive man. What Does No Strings Attached Really Mean? If I have casual sex with someone, I can fulfil all those urges, then go home and make love to my wife.". It confirms the view held by many women that some men would jump at the chance to have anonymous, casual sex knowing their wives or girlfriends would never find out. With such a minimal set of rules, one would think this relationship is free of problems. After you have established some ground rules it is time to get down to business. I wont judge you for what you want. I mean, that's the whole point, isn't it? Erottinen hieronta eroottisettarinat The Consequences Of A No Strings Attached Relationship Casual sex: I m only 23, I want a relationship with How to Enjoy a No Strings Attached Relationship Menprovement After all, the whole point of no strings is to make it clear that the relationship is sex only, and this conflict could make your situation even more awkward. One of you can become jealous. I m only 23, I want a relationship with no strings One young girl asks Dr Petra Boynton, the Telegraph s sex and relationships agony aunt, how she goes about getting into a physical relationship. If I would have ended up in a monogamous relationship without ever having multiple sexual partners, I would be very miserable today. How to Have. What Does No Strings Attached Mean? How to Find a No Strings Attached Fling Mixxxer No-strings sex site is a hit London Evening Standard No Strings Attached - Exhibition at Carmel by The Green 8 Risks To Consider Before Getting Involved In How do no strings attached relationships work? No Strings Attached Relationship. Now that you know whether or not a no strings attached relationship is what you need, it is time to have a look at how to end up in one. In other words, a no strings attached relationship implies that youre sexually intimate, but thats as far as your relationship goes, and youre not committed to each other in any way. What Are the Pros. strings sex. This is especially true for a no strings attached relationship. You may develop feelings that go unrequited. In case you just smiled like a kid in the candy store, you prefer a relationship without any strings attached. It's very difficult for a woman to go out and meet a man for sex unless she goes to a bar or a club and I'm not interested in doing that. Org, an online meeting place for people looking for sex with strangers. It quickly became clear that, despite lots of idiots, there were men out there whom I felt I could meet and would fulfil my sexual needs. But before we are going to do that I want you to think about why you want a no strings attached relationship instead of a monogamous one. Short term dating where you are involved with someone but clear that this is temporary. One even sent me a picture of his naked body from the waist down, as if he thought that would tempt. One night stands/ hook ups that you arrange through dating/hookup sites or apps, forums or through meeting people in pubs/clubs etc. 199, shares, do you dream about a happy marriage with a house in the suburbs? I trust my instincts and I would have walked away if I had thought it was dangerous. Sorry bro, but saying that you want a monogamous relationship and then cheating on her is not what a real man does. .. Tissit kiinnostaa salaista seuraa No Strings Attached Relationship? In order to determine if a no strings attached relationship is the right choice for you, its important to understand the positive aspects. A good NSA relationship is a situation where you feel like its not only OK, but preferable to be a little selfish.

"Sun salutation" 7x10 Female nude Charcoal on Canford card paper 7 x 10 inches charcoal and white chalk on Canford card papersold I used a different paper here and quite liked it, the surface is smooth and very responsive to the charcoal and kneaded eraser, its made by Canford, I like this dark grey tone but you can get in different colors.

Credits Wednesday, June 8, 2011 Last Sunday's Church activity was very exhausting. As the leader of the group, we were tasked to facilitate a Get-Together of young people at Church (the Kadiwa). There were a lot of preparations done. It was actually my first time to take charge of a program and it wasn't really an easy task. With the help of my group mates and other Church mates, the event was a success. It was just a simple gathering but we somehow made it special. We prepared food for our visitors and guests which I think they enjoyed. We really didn't a stage since it was just a little gathering so we didn't have to use thrust bearings for the facilities. We just needed some chairs and a sound system. We were a bit in a hurry during the program because there are other activities that some of us have to attend to but we had fun because we prepared some games which our Church mates participated at. Being the organizer, there were some things that I discussed with my group when the program ended. I am very much thankful to their help. The program was a success because each of us did our part and worked as a team. Thank you guys, BIG time!

Pet Owners are Urged to Keep Dogs Out of the Lake Montgomery Parks officials are asking residents to use caution when recreating on or near Lake Needwood and Lake Frank at Rock Creek Regional Park. That’s because testing has shown there are elevated levels of microcystin, a toxic substance produced by some species of blue-green […] Dozens of residents attended a community meeting with Montgomery County police officers on Wednesday night to discuss crime in Montgomery Village. Many residents attended the meeting at the North Creek Community Center because they wanted more information about the double homicide that occurred on Gallery Court on June 5th. Commander Dinesh Patil of the 6th […] One week ago, thousands of residents in the Town of Poolesville showed up at Whalen’s Commons for an aerial photograph to celebrate the town’s 150th anniversary. Take a look: We’re doing an aerial photo to celebrate our 150th anniversary! Join us at 9 a.m. at Whalen Commons to help us spell out 150. — Town […] Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has signed an Executive Order tonight declaring a state of emergency in Maryland in response to the winter storm which could bring significant amounts of snow to areas across the state. “Our state is taking every precaution and coordinating all available resources to respond to this winter storm,” said Hogan. “We […] A community meeting to discuss the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan takes place tonight from 7-9 p.m. at Sargent Shriver Elementary School in Silver Spring. According to a news release, the Montgomery County Planning Department’s discussion will focus on the purpose and goals of the plan, and major planning topics that will be analyzed in […] On Monday night, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett is scheduled to hold his final Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget forum. The Jan. 30th forum takes place from 7-8:30 p.m. at the BlackRock Center for the Arts at 12901 Town Commons Drive in Germantown. “Public forums are the residents’ opportunity to let me know what is […] Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett is seeking applicants to fill two public vacancies on the Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board. The Board is comprised of 15 residents and businesses from the following areas: Upper Rock Creek, Wheaton, Kensington, Kemp Mill, Aspen Hill, Glenmont, Norbeck, Forest Glen, Olney, Brookeville, and Sandy Spring. The Board serves as a […] UPDATED The FCC has revised the deadline for public comments about small cell infrastructure until March 8, following a request by several national organizations. You can find more information about the timeline, here. ORIGINAL POST Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner has written a letter to County Executive Ike Leggett about telecommunications facilities. The letter […] There’s a new traffic pattern at the intersection of the Capital Crescent Trail and Little Falls Parkway in Bethesda, and reaction to the change has been mixed. The Parkway has been narrowed from two lanes to one in each direction approaching the intersection, and the speed limit has been reduced from 35 mph to 25 […] UPDATED Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett is planning to celebrate the county’s Olympic athletes and their extraordinary accomplishments at a special event at 7 p.m. on Dec. 19 at the Silver Spring Civic Building, and you are invited to attend. County spokesperson Judy Stiles said Olympians Jack Conger, Katie Ledecky, and Ashley Nee have confirmed […] About MyMCMedia Montgomery Community Media (MCM) is the only independent, nonprofit organization providing access to public media (public access television and broadband media) directly to Montgomery County's over one million residents as well as the resident non-profit organizations, associations and businesses. Our purpose is to engage, educate and empower individuals and the community to express diverse viewpoints.

ERC: Bouffier determination praised at Flat Out Trophy presentation 16 December 2013 Bryan Bouffier's efforts to remain a part of the European Rally Championship in 2013 did as much to earn him the Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy Driver of the Year award as his performance on the stages. Bryan Bouffier was singled out as the worthy winner of the Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy Driver of the Year because he never gave up during the 2013 season. That was the judgement of FIA European Rally Championship general manager Jean-Pierre Nicolas, who was part of a three-person judging panel that selected Bouffier for the prestigious award. “There was one driver who couldn't take part in all the events because he hasn't got any money, he finds the money for one event and then when that event is done he has to do it all again to get the money for the next event,” Nicolas said as he prepared to hand over the award, “He even took a different co-driver for one rally because the co-driver had the sponsorship! “Despite this, he never gave up, he always very quick, even though he was in an old car driving for a small team. He led in Austria, in Romania, in Poland, in Sanremo and won in Corsica….” Start the conversation - Add your comment Although the administrators and moderators of this website will attempt to keep all objectionable comments off these pages, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the poster, and neither Crash Media Group nor Crash.Net will be held responsible for the content of any message. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. If you find a message objectionable, please contact us and inform us of the problem or use the [report] function next to the offending post. Any message that does not conform with the policy of this service can be edited or removed with immediate effect.

Painting newbie, or just want to learn new techniques? Dip your toes into painting at our taster sessions with painter Charlie Reed! Discover how to use inks, watercolour, acrylic and oil paints to create a range of expressive, painterly techniques. Book sessions individually or save by booking on to all 4 sessions together. FEE: £35 per session, £125 for four sessions (save £15) All materials provided. ABOUT THE SESSIONS: INK PAINTING // SUN 22ND JULY 2-5PM Learn to create a range of energetic & expressive marks in ink using a variety of tools, creating form, detail and texture in a bold and expressive ink painting. WATERCOLOUR // SUN 29TH JULY 2-5PM Experiment with a range of watercolour effects to create a still life painting made from direct observation. OIL PAINT // SUN 12 AUG 2-5PM An intro to oil painting from still life. Paint directly on to primed plywood & learn to use the tactile qualities of oil to form expressive, sculptural effects. DO I NEED TO BRING ANYTHING? All materials are provided. You only need to bring yourself! // ABOUT CHARLIE REED Charlie Reed is an artist who specialises in painting, printmaking and drawing. He is inspired by the urban landscape and in particular London’s canals and rivers. He studied Fine Art at the Royal Drawing School, University of Brighton and Wimbledon College of Arts. His most recent exhibitions include If the Walls Could Talk at Alice Black Gallery and Constant Amid Change at Turf Projects. Charlie draws and paints in the landscape and later uses these studies to develop larger work back in his studio in Stockwell. Alongside his art practice, he also works as a secondary school art teacher. // ABOUT TURF PROJECTS Founded in 2013, Turf Projects is the first entirely artist-run contemporary art space in Croydon, South London. Established by creatives with a personal connection to the borough, Turf is a registered charity organisation working to support artists, curators and the public through an ambitious programme of free exhibitions, workshops and events. Turf is currently operating out of temporary spaces with a limited lifespan, which we’ll be turfed out of sometime next year due to impending redevelopment here in Croydon. As a result we’re working to build up savings for a (hopefully more permanent) move in the near future. As a registered charity, all proceeds from courses will go directly back into this savings pot, into paying the artists and makers running the courses, and into providing Turf’s free exhibitions and events, with the main programme remaining completely free as always. If you have any ideas for courses you’d like to see, or would even like to offer your skills in leading a creative course yourself, we’d love to hear from you at info@turf-projects.com

Blog Are you setting the right kind of goals? We’re almost thru January already and I’m just wondering how are you doing with your goals? I know everyone has New Year’s resolutions and January is a great time to be setting goals but sometimes we don’t set the right type of goal. What I mean byRead more Are you ready for an awesome fall season? As much as I love the summer and all the great things we get to do – seeing friends, visiting, maybe too much to eat and drink because there’s so much great stuff and socializing over the summer – the great thing about September is getting backRead more Today I’d like to share 3 words that can help you overcome procrastination. I just watched an awesome video with Brian Tracy where he gives us some tips on how to overcome chronic procrastination. I know as an entrepreneur it is sometimes hard to get motivated to get things done – so I like thisRead more Do you ever wonder what successful people do that maybe you’re not doing? Today I want to share with you 3 daily habits that successful people do that most people don’t do. They are really simple and that is one of the things that I think throws people off because the habits themselves are easyRead more Are you struggling to create your brand? I would like to share with you a couple of quick tips that I learned from Darren Hardy about creating your brand which I thought were kind of great. What Darren suggests to do is pick a word that you think describes yourself. Then talk to some family,Read more Do you struggle with procrastination? I know I sometimes procrastinate and I think all of us do. In fact, today I almost didn’t make this video. I was like it’s a sunny day I do not really feel like working – but I have a vision for where I want to go in my businessRead more Would you like some tips on how to stay motivated to work during the summer months? I know as an entrepreneur when you work from home it’s hard to stay motivated especially during the beautiful sunny summer months – so today I want to give you 4 tips for things you can do to makeRead more Do you wish you had more time in your day? While I can’t give you more time in your day I can give you a quick tip on how you can make better use of your time. One of the super cool techniques you can do is call the Pomodoro technique. I learned this fromRead more I love being an example of the great things that come when you listen to that little voice that tells you to embrace your fear and reach for what you want in life. Helping people reach their biggest dreams and goals has become one of my focal points. Contact me today and let me help you with you business and personal development goals.

Plunging temperatures down to minus 5 and snow drifting into the area are heralding the coldest week of the winter so far. Burton and South Derbyshire has been lucky so far with a frosty morning today, Monday, February 5, and light winds. But forecasters have issued weather warnings for motorists and pedestrians of snow and ice. Some areas of the country may have already had enough of the snow this year - and now it looks like Burton and South Derbyshire needs to brace itself. The snow looks set to arrive tomorrow, Tuesday, February 6. although the Midlands will not see huge amounts. Tonight will be very cold and frosty with clear skies and light winds. Some freezing fog patches may form through the small hours before dawn while temperatures are expected to dip to -5C. Read More Tuesday will also be cold as a band of sleet and snow will move south-eastwards across the area during the morning, giving some snow accumulations. Temperatures will reach highs of just 3C tomorrow, say forecasters. Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said the first full week of February will probably be "one of our coldest weeks of this winter so far". Residents are being warned to brace themselves for the coldest week of the winter so far (Image: Getty) He said: "It is going to be a cold week, plenty of dry weather around, but many places will probably see some snow at some point during the week, but for a lot of us not really amounting to much at all. "Probably one of our coldest weeks of this winter so far, but snow-fall wise, doesn't really look too disruptive at this stage." Read More Mr Snell added: "Quite a lot of the UK will see some snow as we head through Tuesday but as it ventures into the Midlands, south-west England and eventually later in the day across south-east England, it's just going to be a few flakes of snow. "So many people will see some snow but don't expect to build a snowman." Tomorrow morning is again expected to be widely below freezing, with the cold snap expected to grip Britain until at least next weekend, with the chance that milder weather may not arrive until the middle of the following week.

You probably know that avocados are an excellent source of healthful fats, but this whole food may also have other unique health benefits. To learn more, the Hass Avocado Board (HAB) is supporting clinical research to investigate various health effects of avocado consumption, particularly its benefits for cardiovascular disease, weight management, diabetes, and its ability to enhance your body’s absorption of nutrients. The first of these HAB-supported studies was published in November 2012. The small UCLA-led pilot study found that eating one-half of a fresh medium Hass avocado with a hamburger (made with 90 percent lean beef) significantly inhibited the production of the inflammatory compound Interleukin-6 (IL-6) compared to eating a burger without fresh avocado. Our board certified doctors treat patients of all ages by integrating modern, conventional medicine and proven therapeutic methods of healing to create a holistic and personalized plan for each individual. We treat the whole person, not just the symptoms. Our commitment is to prevent and cure disease, while improving our patient’s overall quality of life.

I am still dumbfounded why they fired a coach that at worst took them to 9-3 seasons, still recruited good players, to hire a guy that was 0-2 at ole miss vs Mike Shula(who was on probation). Not only that Miles would fight tooth and nail to get the best La recruits. O is the biggest Baffoon to ever coach the sidelines. They clamored for this. Well LSU is going back to the days before Saban got there. They were Homecoming fodder until Saban made them a power. These coaches are getting fired for not being able to beat Saban. What these schools should do is, if they have a coach that only loses to Saban, hang in there until he retires. Then own. Unless we get Dabo from Clemson Tomorrow will be the first time that Michigan and Michigan State face off under the lights of prime time. Still not sure how I feel about it (nervous excitement, I guess?), but it should be a decent one. Both universities have kinda fought against this game taking place at night for some time, but since tv dictates the terms now that really no longer became an option.A few days ago, a writer for the Detroit Free Press wrote that the Spartans are Michigan's real rivals now (and not Ohio State), and they should accept it. Of course Spartan fans and a few others latched onto the laughable idea, proving once again the "little brother" tag bestowed upon them by Mike Hart 10 years ago still applies today. While there's no doubt that Coach Mark Dantonio has certainly brought the Spartans to incredible heights the last 10 years and built his program around hating Michigan (this is their Super Bowl) and their perceived (okay, some of it's actual too) "disrespect" from their rivals in Ann Arbor, no...you are still not Michigan's biggest rival. Yes, he's used that to jump to a 7-3 record against Michigan (also had some help from Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke), and yeah, it's annoying. Still not our biggest rival.All that being said, I'm getting the same nervous feeling I typically get in my gut the night before one of these rivalry games. It's a feeling I've gotten almost every year that I've known this rivalry (with the exception of 2002 and 2006). Being in Michigan, this can get personal too. Winning gives you bragging rights for a year, which is crucial when you live in the state and almost everyone you know has ties to either of the schools. Up until the last 10 years, Michigan for the most part kept those bragging rights (and that Paul Bunyan trophy) in Ann Arbor. Prior to 2007, you really could term this game as a "no-win" game for Michigan. Win, and you're doing what you're supposed to do. Lose, however, and it was a guarantee that little brother would never shut the fuck up about it. That's where my nervousness about this game typically came from. Then Dantonio came along, and things got upended for a little bit. Now Jim Harbaugh is here, and is one fluke play away from being 2-0 against MSU (you all know the loss, I don't need to bring it up). Harbaugh has also made an impressive turnaround of the Michigan football program since his arrival, and that (combined with MSU's colllapse to 3-9 last season) has put the Wolverines once again into that "no-win" status against the Spartans. Michigan is favored, by 10.5 points...but yet again, I just have this feeling this game will more than likely come down to the wire. I hate Dantonio, but if there's one thing he's good at it's getting his team up for this game. I expect nothing less than MSU's best shot here. Should be a fun one at night. A&M kicked our shit in (maybe a tad bit of help from the refs) I still think that 1st TD by the aggies was out of bounds. How the F*** did they lose to UCLA? Now they will shit the bed vs the barm and allow them to run over the ags LOL But these rumors have been around forever about the scandalous village on the plains. Not shocked at all. Just this year we have softball coaches screwing players, Basketball players being paid to sign with agents and now this.

PDF Downloads The Express Coaching™ Team is happy to offer you the following PDF files for download. To save any of these documents to your local computer, ‘right click’ on the icon and choose ‘save as’ or ‘save target as’ and save it to your desktop. Direction PDF The Express Coaching™ brochure. Learn more about our philosophy, our training and what you can expect as our student of coaching. Our Code of Ethics and Standards PDF The Express Coaching™ Code of Ethics and Standards of Coaching as adopted by the Certified Coaches Alliance and its associates. Should I Become A Coach? PDF Are you wondering if you should become a coach? Need a little help? Here are few questions you can ask yourself to discover if coaching is right for you.

We've been so busy worrying about cold wars, hot wars, atom wars, and the like, that we've overlooked the greatest menace of all. Mutants walk among us! Hidden! Unknown! Waiting for their moment to strike! They are mankind's most deadly enemy. For only they have the actual power to conquer the human race. Even as we speak, they are out there—scheming, plotting, planning—thinking we don't suspect. But, there is still time to smash them. If we strike now! The X-Men are still recovering from injuries sustained in their battle against the Juggernaut. The Professor examines them and gives all the recovering X-Men a clean bill of health and a much needed vacation. However, this would only prove to be a minor reprieve for the X-Men, because at that very moment, scientist Bolivar Trask is holding a press conference to denounce the mutant race as a menace to humanity that must be crushed. The press eats it up and Trask's paranoid rants end up landing on the front page of newspapers all over America. Back at the X-Mansion, the X-Men change out of their uniforms and conceal their mutant natures; they prepare to depart on their holiday. Jean leaves with Warren, leaving Scott to wonder how he can compete with his rich and handsome teammate for Jean's affections. When Hank and Bobby offer an invite for Scott to join them, Summers declines and departs on his lonesome, passing the newspaper to Professor Xavier before leaving. Opening the paper, Xavier is horrified to find Trask's epitaph against mutants complete with a wild story about how mutants will take over and enslave humanity. Feeling that this will bring about anti-mutant hysteria, the Professor calls the National Television Network to arrange a televised debate between himself and Trask over the supposed mutant threat. That night on television, Professor Xavier and Bolivar Trask argue their points to a national television audience, sparking debate all over New York and around the United States. Bolivar offers to the audience a means of defense against the supposed mutant menace by demonstrating his new invention on Xavier (unaware that Xavier is really a mutant himself); his new robot enforcers the Sentinels. Revealing that he has an army of these robots at his command, Trask begins to order the section leader, Sentinel #1. However, things take an unexpected twist when the robot suddenly turns on Trask, stunning him with a ray beam and declaring the Sentinels as superior to humanity. Subduing Xavier and Trask, the Sentinels wait for further orders allowing Professor X to send out a mental summons to his X-Men asking for help. The first to receive the call are Bobby and Hank who are at Coffee A-Go-Go listening to poetry. They then spring into action as Iceman and Beast. Warren Worthington also gets the call while sitting down for supper with his parents, and excuses himself from the table to change into the Angel and fly off to answer the Professor's summons. Back at the TV studio, the Professor tries to keep the crowd calm with his mental powers but finds the strain incredible. The Sentinels decide to take Dr. Trask to their headquarters leaving Sentinel 3-R to guard humans. Iceman and Beast arrive on the scene and begin trying to take the Sentinel out of commission. They manage to knock the robot off it's feet but then Iceman is hit by a ray blast. Scott, having heard the Professor's summons, takes a cab to the TV studio. He accidentally drops his ruby quartz glasses while in the cab, causing him to fire an optic blast through the roof. Regaining his glasses, he's chased by an angry mob who has bought into Trask's anti-mutant hysteria. Rushing into the studio and losing the mob, Scott changes into his Cyclops uniform and comes to Beast's aid. Beast is knocked out in their fight against the last standing Sentinel. However, before Cyclops can deal with it, the Sentinel suddenly deactivates on its own and falls over. Mentally commanding his charges so as not to give away his secret of being a mutant and leader of the X-Men, Xavier orders Cyclops to revive the others and help the people out of the studio so that they might examine the Sentinel and find out what deactivated it. The other Sentinels, meanwhile, have escaped with Trask as their prisoner. Flying away from the studio, they come into contact with the Angel. The Sentinels break off to attack him with their energy blasts. The Angel is able to evade their attack but is then drawn toward a speeding train, getting stuck on its roof. Coincidentally, Jean Grey happened to be riding this very train to answer the Professor’s call for help and was able to help the Angel to flee from his attackers. She changes into Marvel Girl to give Angel a helping hand back on his feet. They join the other X-Men just as the Professor is able to mentally probe the mind of the Sentinel who mumbled the word "Master Mold" before deactivating. With his probe, he learns of the Sentinels secret base and leads the X-Men to go out and rescue Trask from his wayward inventions. Meanwhile, at the Sentinels base, Trask demands to know why his inventions have betrayed him. They explain to him that in order to protect humanity from mutants, they must first conquer the human race. Taking Trask into the control room, they are alerted of the X-Men's approach through their sophisticated computer systems. Outside, the X-Men park the Professor's Rolls Royce in the location the Sentinel told them that its comrades were hiding; however, all they find is an empty meadow. Suddenly the ground rises up revealing a high tech base that fires laser beams at them, catching the X-Men all by surprise. This story is continued next issue... Notes With this issue, the X-Men comic begins publishing monthly for the first time. This schedule will continue until X-Men #66, when the book goes into reprints. The book will be bi-monthly at that point until X-Men #112. The artists renditions of mutants enslaving humans becomes a bit of an inspiration for Quentin Quire to form the Omega Gang. According to Quire, he was born on the very date the newspaper story was published. This issue is reprinted in many other comics and books, see references for more info.[1] credits: A Fabulous Fantasy, Fathered by Your Fearless Marvel Madmen: Stan Lee, D.S. (Doctor of Story) Jack Kirby, D.L. (Dean of Layout) Jay Gavin, M.A. (Master of Art) V. Colletta, B.I. (Bachelor of Inking) Artie Simek, T.O.L. (Tired of Lettering) Trivia Bobby claims that he and Hank are from New York City. Later issues reveal that the two men are actually from Nassau County and Dunfee, Illinois.

The Marvel pre-Endgame Watch Party Lori Anne Brown 6 months ago With 21 Marvel movies leading up to this month’s Avengers: Endgame, binge watching all of them can be difficult. Here is my list of the MCU must watch (or re-watch) prior to seeing Endgame April 26th. These are the ones that give the most vital details of Thanos, the Infinity Stones, and pivotal characters like Gamora you need to know before seeing Endgame. Though Iron Man launched the MCU in 2008, it doesn’t contain any details about Thanos or the Infinity Stones. If you have the time, it is always a good start to any Marvel marathon, but the first must see to me is: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Not only does it give us the creation of the world’s first superhero, but introduces the Tesseract which contains the first Infinity Stone we learn about, the Space Stone. We also are introduced to the Red Skull who reappears later on, though briefly. Marvel’s The Avengers (2012). The first mega team-up in the MCU brings back the Tesseract/Space Stone and gives us the Mind Stone in Loki’s staff. This is also the first time we glimpse Thanos as he sends Loki (who may or may not have been influenced by the Mind Stone) to lead an army on an attack of New York, a pivotal event in the rest of the movies (and one we may see again if leaked photos of Endgame are real). So many things are set up in this movie it is a definite to watch before Endgame. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). We finally learn more about Thanos in this one and meet his children including Gamora and Nebula both of whom are pivotal in the remaining films. We also get one of the other Infinity Stones, the Power Stone, and for the first time, get a history of the stones thanks to The Collector. It also shows us that Quill has the ability to hold an Infinity Stone though it is unclear if he still can after the events of Guardians Vol 2 (I didn’t include it here as, though Vol 2 gives us the history of Quill, it doesn’t do more with the key IW concepts). Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Introducing us to Scarlet Witch and creating Vision who holds the Mind Stone in his head makes this a pivotal part of the Endgame watch party. It also shows us Tony Stark’s fear of Thanos and starts building Steve Rogers’ distrust of him. Captain America: Civil War (2016). This one is optional as it doesn’t give us any new info on Thanos or the Infinity Stones but is included because it introduces Ant-Man, Spider-Man, and Black Panther without having to watch their individual movies. It also shows the break up of the team which is a key part of Infinity War. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). Okay, technically I am putting this one out of order and it is a bit optional, but as the Quantum Realm which is set up here is vital to Endgame, it is probably one you will want to watch. You could watch the post credit scene after Infinity War though just to keep the story in order. Thor: Ragnarok (2017). This one brings together Hulk and Thor and introduces Doctor Strange which is why it is in the watch party. We also see the Tesseract (that thing gets around!) and Thanos at the end (well, his ship). As this leads directly into Infinity War, it’s the one to watch just before it. Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Of course you need to watch this one before Endgame as this is part 1 to it’s part 2. We see all 6 Infinity Stones and get Thanos’ back story. There you have it – 8 movies in total which is definitely binge able in the days leading up to Avengers: Endgame.

If you really want to learn how to throw a party and make an entrance, take a page out of Madonna’s book: Invite celebs like Rachel Roy, Martha Stewart, Kelly Osbourne, Salman Rushdie, David Blaine, Questlove and Christian Siriano. Put them all in the same place as your rabid fanbase — and then make people wait for more than 60 minutes in mysterious mayhem. Such was the case June 18 at the EPIX world premiere of concert film “Madonna: The MDNA Tour” in Gotham. After waiting in the rain, fans and press filed into the Paris Theater to get a seat close to the front of the auditorium, where the legendary queen would later be seated for “an intimate conversation.” Many of Madge’s fans were confined to a balcony, where catcalls and camera flashes went aflutter when the likes of Stewart and Co. walked in. The screening was slated to begin at 8 p.m., but there was, for quite a while, no sight nor word of Madonna. As the clock ticked on, the theater neared max capacity, and many attendees were becoming delirious: some killing time with conversations about elbow fat, plastic surgery and steak, and others wondering if their time was really less important than her majesty’s: “No, she’s Madonna. She can do whatever she wants.” Some fans started singing Madonna songs to conjure up some good please-arrive-any-minute-now juju. And even some debated happiness over health: Should I go to the bathroom? What if she comes in when I’m gone? Related Nobody seemed to know where she was, or what was taking so long — but the room exploded when one fan came running down the aisle shrieking: “I saw her! I saw her!” The clock had struck nine, Madonna’s “Celebration” turned on and the venue erupted. There was a standing ovation, followed by more blinding flashes — and the fans in the balcony leaned over (almost to the point of no return) to catch glimpses of their goddess. She waltzed in with an overdose of swagger, clad in what can only be described as a flawless mash-up of Fred Astaire and Michael Jackson (i.e., suit, top hat, chainmail glove). She called it an homage to Marlene Dietrich. The screening commenced when the screaming ceased, and “MDNA” played out like a two-hour live concert. Afterward, Madonna took her throne and announced that her tour, which spanned from May 2012 to December 2012, was now officially over. “Go hard,” she said. “Or go home.” After thanking the crowd for showing up, Madonna took questions — some good, some not so good. One fan asked what kind of workout the queen did to stay in shape for the 88-show tour. “I hate those questions,” Madonna said. “I did the show every fucking night. How’s that for a workout? I mean, did you watch?” The fan said, “Thank you.” Others asked about her costumes and her mood. “Are you ready to start thinking for yourself?” she rallied, before her time was up. “Are you ready to stop caring about what other people have to say about what you do? Can I get a fuck yeah?” The audience boomed back with a massive fuck yeah, and Madonna revealed her next project: a secretive collaboration of sorts with New York photog-artist Steven Klein, in the form of a one-minute trailer. But the fanfare and the fanaticism wasn’t over. Just as the rain was ending, revelers made their way to Harlow to party and start the “love revolution.” Sign Up for Breaking News Alerts If you really want to learn how to throw a party and make an entrance, take a page out of Madonna’s book: Invite celebs like Rachel Roy, Martha Stewart, Kelly Osbourne, Salman Rushdie, David Blaine, Questlove and Christian Siriano. Put them all in the same place as your rabid fanbase — and then make people […] If you really want to learn how to throw a party and make an entrance, take a page out of Madonna’s book: Invite celebs like Rachel Roy, Martha Stewart, Kelly Osbourne, Salman Rushdie, David Blaine, Questlove and Christian Siriano. Put them all in the same place as your rabid fanbase — and then make people […] If you really want to learn how to throw a party and make an entrance, take a page out of Madonna’s book: Invite celebs like Rachel Roy, Martha Stewart, Kelly Osbourne, Salman Rushdie, David Blaine, Questlove and Christian Siriano. Put them all in the same place as your rabid fanbase — and then make people […] If you really want to learn how to throw a party and make an entrance, take a page out of Madonna’s book: Invite celebs like Rachel Roy, Martha Stewart, Kelly Osbourne, Salman Rushdie, David Blaine, Questlove and Christian Siriano. Put them all in the same place as your rabid fanbase — and then make people […] If you really want to learn how to throw a party and make an entrance, take a page out of Madonna’s book: Invite celebs like Rachel Roy, Martha Stewart, Kelly Osbourne, Salman Rushdie, David Blaine, Questlove and Christian Siriano. Put them all in the same place as your rabid fanbase — and then make people […] If you really want to learn how to throw a party and make an entrance, take a page out of Madonna’s book: Invite celebs like Rachel Roy, Martha Stewart, Kelly Osbourne, Salman Rushdie, David Blaine, Questlove and Christian Siriano. Put them all in the same place as your rabid fanbase — and then make people […] If you really want to learn how to throw a party and make an entrance, take a page out of Madonna’s book: Invite celebs like Rachel Roy, Martha Stewart, Kelly Osbourne, Salman Rushdie, David Blaine, Questlove and Christian Siriano. Put them all in the same place as your rabid fanbase — and then make people […]

Indian Missiles India's missile and nuclear weapons programs have evolved as elements of its strategic response to 50 years of wars and skirmishes it has fought with Pakistan and with China. Deep tensions and mistrust in the sub-continent continue unabated to the present. India's defeat by China in the 1962 border war, probably more than any other event, galvanized its leadership to build indigenous missile and "threshold" nuclear weapons capabilities as a credible deterrent against attack by China, and to attain military superiority over Pakistan. The Indian missile program effectively began in 1967 as a space program and by 1972 had developed and test-fired the Rohini-560 two-stage, solid propulsion sounding rocket, which could reach an altitude of 334 km with a 100 kg payload. (1) A series of Rohini rockets, with varied ranges and payloads, were subsequently produced and are in service. (2) India first launched its small 17-ton SLV-3 space booster (300 km/40 kg) in 1979 and in 1980 successfully injected the 35 kg Rohini I satellite into near-earth orbit. (3) The SLV-3 may have been based on the U.S. Scout sounding rocket. (4) By 1987, an augmented booster, the 35-ton ASLV (4,000 km/150 kg in low earth orbit), which is basically three SLV-3's strapped together, had begun flight testing. While either of these boosters might threaten Pakistan and, the latter, China, as components of a ballistic missile, neither has intercontinental range. The much larger (275 ton) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (8,000 km/1,000 kg) is being developed to place in sun-synchronous polar orbit a one tonne satellite. The PSLV could readily deliver a nuclear warhead over intercontinental distances, if re-engineered as a weapon system. (5) Operational flights of this booster, originally planned for 1988, had been deferred until the mid-1990's, awaiting resolution of early ASLV launch failures. However, no reports of further PSLV progress have been noted as of August 1996. India is also reported to be developing a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle employing both solid and cryogenically fueled stages (the latter for upper stages). In January 1996, Russia was to start delivering seven cryogenic engines for the first seven flights of the GSLV; however, no confirmation of such deliveries has been reported. The U.S. pressured Russia to withdraw from the original agreement that would have provided India with one cryogenic engine and also transferred the rocket technology to build its own, such transfer a clear violation of the MCTR. With an expected range of 14,000 km and a payload of 2,500 kg, the GSLV would have an even greater potential than the PSLV as an ICBM. (6) However, a satellite launch system cannot be converted to an ICBM weapon system simply by substituting a nuclear warhead for the orbital payload. A change of mission from orbiting the earth to intersecting the earth requires extensive re-engineering of both ground and flight systems and, perhaps, a shift to military command and control. Starting in 1983, India's Defence Research Development Organisation has dedicated considerable resources to the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). To date the IGMDP has sponsored the development of five missiles and their variants: Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Trishul, and Nag. DRDO has given particular priority to development of sophisticated guidance technologies. The Akash is a long-range surface-to-air ramjet missile. It can carry a 55-kg multiple warhead capable of targeting five aircraft simultaneously up to 25 km and is said to be comparable to the U.S. Patriot as an air defense missile. User trials of the Akash were reported to be scheduled for 1996. The Trishul is a truck-mounted surface-to-air missile capable of delivering a 5.5-kg high explosive fragmented warhead a distance of 9 km. The fifth missile under IGMDP development is the Nag, an antiarmor weapon employing sensor fusion technologies for flight guidance over a range of about 4 km. It was first tested in November 1990. (8), (9) U.S. pressure on India to reign in its missile developments and deployments is motivated not only by concerns about the dangers of an Indo-Sino-Pakistani arms race, but also by India's emergence as another potential proliferator of WMD. The missile progeny of the SLV boosters and some of other weapon developments noted can be configured to exceed MTCR restrictions. So far, India has not seemed particularly aggressive about marketing its weapon systems, probably because its domestic political turmoil has not allowed a consensus to develop on a national policy on weapon exports in the context of its national security and economic priorities. (10)

Handover of projects following supervision of works and commissioning of facility. Beneficiary Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) Target Groups TPP Nikola Tesla, citizents of Obrenovac ara Summary of the project Fulfilling the obligations arising from the Energy Community Treaty as regards the full implementation of the Acquis on environment. There has been little progress on water quality. Serbia signed the Protocol on prevention of water pollution of the Sava River. However, the new Law on Water introducing new instruments for financing the water sector, including appropriate tariffs, has not yet been adopted . There is no system to monitor nitrates concentrations and contamination in groundwater. The wastewater treatment infrastructure throughout the country needs upgrading. To contribute to improvement of environment in town of Obrenovac, as well as in Belgrade city (situated on the Sava River). Programme/Project objectives To assist Public Enterprise ”Electric power industry of Serbia” to improve water and soil quality by construction of Waste Water Treatment Facility at TPP Nikola Tesla B. More details on project 1. Construction and Commissioning of the New Waste Water Treatment Plant at TPP Nikola Tesla B EUR 7,500,007 KRALOVOPOLSKA RIA 2. Supervision of construction and comissioning of the new WWTP at TPP Nikola Tesla B

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 Wow. I can't believe what I just read. I'm stunned. It's like I just transported over to reasonable world. The new governments in charge of the Plateau (where I live) and Ahuntsic are installing new snow-clearing plans that prioritize sidewalk clearing for pedestrians over road clearing for cars. They are going to stop snow-clearing during the weekends! It's incredible. Here's what Richard Bergeron said in response to the question "if there is a big storm on Saturday, what will the thousands of motorists who use Saint-Denis, Papineau or Park avenue do on Monday morning?" "The previous administration was always saying these last years that snow-clearing was priority number one. It's a veritable hysteria," said Richard Bergeron. "This snow-clearing hysteria is a result of our dependance on the automobile. The spirit of our initiative is that we are going to make a break from this evolution [I think, I'm having trouble translating that sentence]. Is it so urgent that we have to pay workers double time in order that traffic flows well Monday morning?" How awesome is that. A lot of the rhetoric behind is justified by trying to cut down costs. Helen Fotopolous the last borough mayor (and good riddance, she was a pro-development scumbag), incurred a $4 million debt mainly in snow-removal overtime. Budget constraints certainly help the new administration with these arguments, as there is going to be pressure against them for sure. But the reality is that there are very few people who need to be driving in and out of the Plateau during the week. I know for a fact several people on my block who drive to and from work but live within Metro (and thus bike) range. I have absolutely no sympathy for them and I hope several snowed-over Monday mornings will convince them to think seriously about using more sustainable modes of transportation. The clearing of the sidewalks is the priority for Richard Bergeron. "We must think of the elderly. People aren't breaking their legs in the roads, it's on the sidewalks. We are therefore going to ask for a sidewalk brigade for the next budget from the City of Montreal, because for the majority of Montrealers, it's the state of the sidewalks during the winter that concerns them, not the snow in the roads that may not be cleared for two days." I can tell you right now that there is not going to be any need for a sidewalk brigade in front of our condo, but if the borough mayor needs some volunteers to help keep the rest of the sidewalk cleared and save some budget, I'm going to be in the front of that line. Bravo Projet Montréal! This is exactly why I voted for you. I hope you can make it work. They have just about finished the new U.S. wing of the Montreal airport. It looks nice and new and seems quite efficient. They even put a new restaurant in. I complained before about the absolute shit food in the airport and how they really need a restaurant that vaunts the cuisine and agriculture of the region. So guess what is the new, fancy, "high-class" restaurant they have put in the new section? It's a ribs and bbq restaurant called Houston. Houston? Really? So fucking lame and typically, self-loathingly Canadian. This is the face you are presenting to American tourists coming to Montreal? A mediocre barbecue restaurant. We don't do bbq here in Canada. It's an American tradition (and a damned good one) and we travel to places in America to get a chance to try some good BBQ. Americans who come here should be presented with quality choices of food that represent the culinary culture and terrain they are visiting. Au Pied de Cochon is probably a bit too high-end and rich for an airport, but a poutine stand would certainly be a hit and an excellent way to introduce tourists to food that is getting written about in the New Yorker. It's so typically Canadian that it takes Americans to come and write about things that we don't pay attention to because we are too busy sucking up to American culture. It's pathetic. Tuesday, November 17, 2009 So I did a bit of research on the internet and calling a couple of very helpful veterinarian's offices on what services are available for wounded animals in Montreal and specifically near the Plateau. There are two 24-hour hospitals in Montreal. The closest one is the Centre Vétérinaire DMV in LaChine, near the airport. They are roughly 13 kilometers from the Plateau, about a 20-25 minute drive assuming no traffic. Those are really your only options if something happens outside of normal veterinary hours. There is also an animal ambulance service called K911 Transport. These guys come out of Verdun and charge upwards from $89 for coming out. Prices can go up depending on the type of service given. Note that many cabs may not allow you to put an injured animal in their car, so this service could be well worth the price if you are not a vehicle owner. Their phone number is (514) 677-4357. You may have to leave a message, but they guarantee they'll call back within 5 minutes. I'd like to thank the woman who answered the phone at the Chaton Santé Clinique Vétérinaire (an excellent cat-only vets that we use), who was very helpful in providing me with the info I needed. I'd also like to thank Wayne at K911 Transport, who answered my emails promptly and fully. He gave some very helpful general advice for how to behave when coming upon a situation with an injured animal and its owners: We all try to do what we can when an animal is injured, the fact that you were there and felt for the dog and its owners believe it or not is enough when you're a bystander. The owners have to grieve the process of losing their pet to mourning the loss and it's best not to approach as some people get really offensive having strangers hover over, even if it's just to say you're sorry for their loss .. they just need space. It's never easy and our job is not easy as well... And In an emergency situation its always best not to panic as your pet feels your energy thus adding to his injuries..even though it can be life threatening... easier said than done I know I been there myself. Monday, November 16, 2009 I watched a dog die yesterday. Very rough experience and it is still haunting me. We were coming back from a beer with friends, when I noticed a group of people gathered on the northeastern corner of our block. I went over there and saw a medium-sized dog lying sideways on the ground, panting and clearly in great distress though with no obvious wounds. One young girl was leaning over it, stroking its head while another was on the phone. Several other people were crowding around. It was very hard to piece together exactly what happened. The two girls were driving their car and they saw the dog get hit. It went under the car and rolled twice, dragged a ways and then got out and ran to the corner, where it collapsed. The girls followed it. There was some talk about a man in a hat who ran away. What was weird was that there was no owner. Several people were running around looking for this man in the hat. I suggested that they check the collar. Nobody knew who to call or really what to do. Is there an ambulance for dogs? There was a number on the collar and the girl petting the dog phoned it. She was young, maybe not even 20, a Montreal anglo, probably second-generation. She had already expressed anger about the absence of the owner and was in a very emotional state. I love animals and can sympathize with the emotion pain to an animal can cause humans, but there are some people who start to lose rationality in such a situation and allow themselves to be overcome by emotion. This girl looked to be heading in that direction and my fears were confirmed when she started yelling at the person who answered the phone: "Your dog is here! Your dog is dying! Where were you! Who is taking care of your dog!" this sort of thing. I tried to gently persuade her to not make things worse and she half-swung at me with the phone, but it broke the spell and she hung up. The owner showed up quite quickly, a young hipster anglo woman in barefeet and some kind of nightgown. She was already visibly distraught and burst into tears immediately upon seeing her dog. "Bougs! Bougs!" she cried and fell to her knees. At this time there was a lot of miscellaneous efforts going on, people trying to call the ambulance, the friend of the angry girl brought their car around to potentially take the dog to the hospital. I had taken my cat to a cat hospital last year and I still had their card, so I sprinted home and got it. I gave it to the girl on the phone. She called the number and said "They're closed!" and hung up. I called and heard the message, which when continued gave an emergency number. We called that and someone did answer. The phone was passed to the owner, who was on her knees, sobbing, barely coherent. She got on the phone "I don't know if he's breathing!" The dog's breathing was becoming less and less visible. "I am here and my dog is dying and nobody's doing anything!" she screamed out. I think everybody was a little taken aback. There were still a lot of questions floating around, like why was the dog out and why was the owner at home in her bare feet? She had said something about "her roommate Neil" and the dog running out the stairs, but it wasn't very clear. Everybody really was trying to help, but people didn't really know what to do and there wasn't much to do anyways. I'm not telling it all in the exact order and there were a lot of little interactions that went on, making the situation very dynamic. At some point, I realized that the dog had died. That'll be the fourth animal I've seen die (not counting cows when I worked on a ranch) and you can just tell. I was the one who told her that he was gone and I put the blanket over his head. A larger crowd had gathered and she was clearly distraught by their presence, so I asked everyone to leave, which they did. I went back up there a half-an-hour later and she was still there with a circle of friends, sitting around the body. There was a guy, probably her boyfriend, draped across the dog, hugging it. Brutal to see. I'm guessing the dog died about 20 minutes after it was hit. I just finished getting my basic first aid certificate (for humans) but I really know very little about these sorts of things. My suspicion is that the dog had serious internal injuries and probably was done for from the beginning. I wonder if there is something about having fur and skin that makes them less susceptible to external injuries, thus him looking so intact and unwounded after being rolled under a fast-moving vehicle several times? But I do wonder if an ambulance had come if his life would have been saved. It's weird to me how bad the services are for animal emergencies in our area. The few times I've had a really sick animal always seem to happen on the weekend when every veterinarian is closed. Should there not be a 24-hour animal hospital in or around the Plateau? The only one I know of is way the hell out by the airport. I am going to give myself the mission of finding out the closest animal hospitals that are open during off-hours in case a similar situation arrives. Perhaps getting the dog into a car (which the two girls who were comforting him had offered) and rushing it to the hospital may have saved his life. There is, also, the factor of cost and reviving the dog may have easily run into thousands of dollars. The episode left me quite upset and put a bit of a damper on the rest of the evening, which was supposed to have been homemade leek and potato soup and then a trip to see Red Heroine at Ex-Centris. I had no appetite, but the movie was entertaining and interesting, though it was hard not to reflect on what had just happened. I had a few vague thoughts while processing this whole thing. First, love and responsibility are two different things. I think sometimes we assume that the former comes automatically with the latter. Love comes easily and is its own perpetual motion machine. Responsibility requires constand work and input. I think people should be more exposed to death at a young age. Exposure to it can cause such powerful reactions, especially if the first time you see it, it's someone you dearly love. I think for this poor young woman it was unfathomable what was happening. She kept screaming "Nobody's doing anything!" in a very accusatory way. You got the sense that she was very used to things happening in a way that she expected and that there have always been people around her who were "doing something". I would bet a fair amount of money she wasn't brought up on a farm. Animals always seem to die with such grace. That poor dog, I can only imagine how much pain it was going through, but when it went, it's breath just sort of faded out. When you see that, it makes you feel that life is just so ephemeral, like a silent whisper that just slipped out of the dog's mouth and was gone forever. The dog looked dignified in death. I just went over the anti-H1N1 policies in our office with the staff and a lot of people brought up the incredible amount of hype this flu is receiving. Someone pointed out how many more people die because of cars and someone else said, "if they put this much effort into dealing with the problems cars caused, I'd welcome it." Amen to that. Why briques du neige? When I first moved to Montréal, I was obsessed with the quantity of accumulated snow in the winter. I came up with a scheme to design a snow-brick making tool and hire out my services to people where I would turn all the snow in their yard to bricks and then stack it neatly. This enterprise, named briques du neige, would also be an excellent way to learn about and integrate myself into my new community. Unfortunately, before I was able to launch my plan, the Japanese invented Yuki-Taro and made me redundant. So my project morphed itself into this blog, kept the title (including the minor grammatical error which perfectly captures my functional but erroneous french) and the mission to better understand this crazy city and the Quebec culture that is such a crucial and complex part of the Canadian story. RSS Tweeting at: olmanfeelyus Followers About Me 1/3 American, 1/3 Canadian, 1/3 Montrealer, when I'm not working for the planet and living my lucky life, I hang out on the internet and write about culture and language in Montreal, books and movies. I also rant on a wide range of subjects and try to do that here so my wife doesn't have to be the only one to suffer.

I'm just so sick of people using Shingo Takatsu as "evidence" that Japanese relief pitchers will fail in America. Let's go over the facts. Shingo Takatsu was 38 years old and contemplating retirement. He threw between 50-80 mph. He had never faced American hitting before. And yet, he put together a downright amazing season. He stacked up a ton of saves and became one of only a few dozen relief pitchers in the history of baseball to throw a "hidden perfect game": 28 straight batters retired. He downright humiliated some of the best players in the game when he was at his height. He became a fan sensation too; until the 2005 playoffs, the most electric I have ever seen US Cellular Field was when that gong went off, and 30,000+ came to their feet to celebrate Shingotime. Shingo doesn't prove that Japanese pitchers can't be successful. What Shingo proves is that ANY Japanese pitcher can be successful in America. If he did all that, imagine what somebody with more raw talent can do.

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