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Fair Trade Soft Toys
Beautiful Fair Trade and organic cotton soft toys at Babipur. Ethically made waldorf dolls and stuffed animal toys are soft and snuggly making a perfect first toy for a new baby, and will be loved for years to come. | {
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} |
At first glance, Colombia and Sri Lanka have little in common aside from a brutal history of violence. Nevertheless, the few but important similarities mean that by studying how the other moves towards national reconciliation and the reestablishment of Government legitimacy could prove to be beneficial. A case in point is the revolutionary new Victim’s Law approved by the Colombian Congress this past June that just might prove be an interesting case study for Sri Lanka.
Civil War in the Andes
Colombia is a vast country broken apart by soaring mountain ranges, sprawling grasslands and the depths of the Amazon jungle. For the past four decades a vicious war between peasant land movements, paramilitary armies, government forces and armed gangs have plagued the countryside leaving hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. Fueled by drug money, Colombia’s war morphed overtime into a snake pit of drug lords, organized crime, and the markedly non-political remnants of once powerful movements.
In 2002, newly elected President Alvaro Uribe rejected previous attempts at peace negotiations and launched a relentless military campaign against the strongest of the guerilla groups, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). At the same time, he extended a hand to the largest paramilitary army—the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC)—and made a deal that resulted in the group’s eventual disbandment and disarmament.[i]
Wildly popular until the day he left office, President Uribe successfully drove the FARC further into the jungle and gave Colombians a new lease on life. News of bombs exploding came less frequently and Colombians themselves were much less likely to be kidnapped or killed. Bogota was no longer a city synonymous with death, but rather began popping up on lists of up-and-coming places to live.
The Transition from War to Peace
Nevertheless, this military success came at a cost. President Uribe’s tenure was riddled with scandals engulfing the very highest levels of office. Words such as parapolítica and falsos positivos had to be invented just to be able to explain the allegations of what was occurring. Countless accusations of human right abuses by all sides involved as well as the almost daily murders of witnesses, activists, judges and politicians have so far gone uninvestigated. As a result, Colombia has one of the world’s highest impunity rates at around 96%.[ii]
To name only a few of the more notorious scandals, in 2010: 10% of members of Colombian’s House and Senate—a total of 33 people—were behind bars after being accused of supporting right-wing paramilitary groups; young men from the slums of Bogota were pulled from their homes, shot, and presented by the army as dead FARC members; and the Administrative Department of Security (DAS) was found to have been illegally spying on opposition members of Congress.
Last year’s Presidential polls saw the election of the hard-line former Minister of Defense, Juan Manuel Santos, who at the time promised to continue the policies of his predecessor. Nevertheless, President Santos has made a move so remarkable that it shows not only a substantial legal, but also a psychological break with the past. On May 26 of this year, the Colombian Congress passed the groundbreaking La Ley de Víctimas y de Restitución de Tierras or the Victim and Land Restitution Law (known popularly just as the Victim’s Law) that has the potential to improve the lives of millions across the country.
First, this bill will provide monetary restitution to victims of violence—or those that suffered from the acts of terrorists; illegally armed groups, and, most significantly, of Government armed forces. Second, the passage of this bill marked a significant rhetorical break from past policy by naming the war being waged in Colombia as an “internal armed conflict” as opposed to just a “terrorist threat”.
What does it mean to be a Victim in Colombia?
Colombia has more than 3 million IDPs and while the country boasts of some of the most advanced laws in the world regarding the rights of the displaced, implementation has so far been seriously lacking. Many of the displaced still have not returned to their communities for fear of continued violence and those who did return have only limited access to state services.
In support of the displaced and others who suffered during the armed conflict, the Victim’s Law was first proposed in 2007 as a way forward in national healing and reconciliation. However, the law stalled for years in the Colombian legislature as politicians argued relentlessly over the definition of a victim. President Uribe and his supporters championed the point of view that refused to include victims of Colombian Armed Forces, and rather only victims of terrorist activities, within the bill. This side originally received the majority of Congressional support, despite viable evidence of Armed Forces involvement in human rights violations. As a result of the disagreement, the bill was never passed.
However, in highly unexpected turn in October 2010, President Santos chose to reintroduce the bill in its current form, which will provide unprecedented compensation to victims of violence—including those that suffered at the hands of the armed forces. This time, the Colombian Congress passed the bill and made reparations available to all victims of the armed conflict, regardless of the perpetrator. Importantly, while former child soldiers are eligible to participate under the law, victims of criminal activity as well as demobilized ex-combatants are excluded.
In Montes de Maria at an Independence Day Celebration organized by Accion Social and aimed at improving community cohesion. Montes is a community that suffered much violence in the 1990's and is now in the process of welcoming back returnees
Making Amends: Reparations and Restitution
In order to achieve transitional justice, this law aims to use the means of reparations, or the making of amends for the loss of a family member by paying money, to the more than 4 million people recognized as victims of the armed conflict. The maximum amount that can be allocated to each beneficiary is 20 million Colombian pesos or around UD$11,400, which is equivalent to about 40 months of minimum wage.[iii] Additionally, victims are entitled through the plan to an education allowance applicable to schooling from the elementary to high school levels as well as to healthcare.
Those eligible include victims whose fundamental rights were denied; those who suffered injury, emotional suffering, loss of liberty, forced recruitment, financial loss, or displacement; as well as those killed or disappeared as a result of the armed conflict. In order to preemptively combat fraudulent claims by non-victims, the Government has imposed harsh prison sentences of up to ten years for any false claims submitted.
Tackling one of Colombia’s most difficult challenges, the law also calls for the restitution or returning of titles to the displaced forced off their land. The total area under question is equal to about 6.6 million hectares. Significantly, the law places the burden of proof on the current landholders, who must prove that they acquired the land legally, as opposed to those displaced from the land. This nuanced approach demonstrates an understanding of both the trauma of displacement, during which many had to quickly flee leaving their documents behind, as well as knowledge of the psychological importance for victims of being able to their return home.
The restitution of land is expected to be an particularly difficult process to implement given the unnerving reports of criminal gangs and other types of armed groups purposefully amassing land in the Northern part of the country—an area where many of the displaced come from—through intimidation. Nevertheless, this law is a significant first step towards the total resettlement and the normalization of life.
Another contentious issue regarding the law is the timeframe it covers. While some politicians wanted a shorter period beginning the 1990’s, the law as approved covers incidents that occurred as far back as 1985 and will be applicable for new cases that occur until 2021. The extension of the bill to cover incidents until 2021 is an impressive step that recognizes the fact that the conflict is not yet over and that new victims are created everyday. It is expected that the implementation of the bill will cost the Government of Colombia around US$20 billion dollars.
While human rights analysts have pointed out certain flaws in the law, such as the lack of special clauses addressing particularly vulnerable groups like Afro-Colombians and indigenous populations, there is a general hope that the implementation of the law will help to solidify the gains made in building a sustainable peace. As with past measures aimed at providing support to IDPs, the key will be in its implementation as well as the protection provided to witnesses coming forward to declare themselves as victims.
The Power of Rhetoric
Another change that resulted from the Victim’s Law was the sanctioning of the term “internal armed conflict” by President Santos to describe Colombia’s decades long orgy of violence. Those who disagree with this new classification argue that it will confer political legitimacy on the illegally armed groups terrorizing the country. On the other hand, for the millions of victims this switch signals an important break with the past and a long-awaited recognition of the realities in the country.
Initially, the labeling of the situation in Colombia as a “terrorist threat” placed the country closer to the frontlines of the US’s war on terror. The FARC’s prolific use of terrorist tactics and, more importantly, its deep involvement with the drug trade prompted the US to provide millions of dollars worth of military aid to the beleaguered country. Some skeptics believe that this aid would not have come if the US knew that it was involved in an “internal conflict” as opposed to a fight against a terrorist threat with a global reach.
Nevertheless, the United States Embassy has actually lauded the change in rhetoric. Additionally, to assuage those worried about conferring political legitimacy, the law directly recognizes that even though the State is providing compensation for victims of the Armed Forces, it can by no means be construed as recognition of criminal responsibility of the State or of the political legitimacy of the armed guerilla groups.
What does it mean to be a Victim in Sri Lanka?
As of yet, the Sri Lankan Government has not developed a comprehensive plan to compensate the hundreds of thousands displaced, killed, and disappeared during the civil war. The support provided so far has been only on an ad hoc basis regarding specific incidents. It is not clear whether or not the Government is interested in providing reparations to individuals and families. If the Government does decide, as it should, to provide restitution to these victims, the groundbreaking decision by the Colombian Government to give blanket compensation to all victims sets a high—albeit good—standard.
Given the sensitivities posed by the ethnic and political dimensions of the conflict, a single scheme that provides equal compensation for all—regardless of the perpetrator—could be the best way to show a palpable commitment to reconciliation and equality. Unfortunately, looking at the Government’s harsh response to allegations of human rights violations by the armed forces, the idea that the Government will admit that victims of State violence exist—let alone deserve restitution—seems unlikely if not impossible.
Outside of reparations, contentions over land rights in the North and East are a potential source of future discontent unless addressed quickly and efficiently.[iv] Given the common problems of loss of documentation, competing claims, and continued occupation, the Government will find itself needing to address this problem sooner rather than later. Keeping an eye on how the new law proceeds in Colombia could provide a good learning lab for Sri Lanka, particularly the clause that places the burden of proof on current landholders.
Looking towards the Future
Given the precarious security situation in Colombia, the passing of the Victim’s Law was accompanied by an ambitious security plan to combat drug-traffickers, newly emerging criminal gangs, and the remaining guerilla groups. Additionally, the most vulnerable areas of the country are receiving unprecedented levels of investments in social and economic infrastructure in an effort to build Government legitimacy and consolidate security gains through political engagement.
By promoting high-levels community involvement in the process and giving heavy focus to alternative livelihoods in order to ease the transition from reliance on illegal crops, the Government’s commitment to change is impressive, but will require both large sums of money as well as continued public support. Importantly, despite the undeniable gains in security, a least ten activists working on land issues as well as scores of witnesses and activists throughout the country have been killed this year alone.
While it is clear there is much left to be done, the steps made by President Santos have given hope to many anxiously waiting for Colombia to continue on the road to peace. While Sri Lanka is by no means Colombia, such South-to-South exchange of ideas and experiences between countries recovering from conflict could prove to be quite beneficial as people try to rebuild their lives and reconcile with the past.
[i] There are have been reports that some of the demobilized ex-combatants are reforming into new and equally as brutal BACRIMS or criminal bands throughout the country. (Smith, C.L. “Águilas Negras: Rising from the Ashes of Demobilization in Colombia.” Venezuelan Analysis. 25 Apr. 2011. Web. < http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/6150> accessed 20 July 2011.)
[iv] For more information on this topic please watch out for the forthcoming CPA report on Land Reform in the North.
Dr Dayan Jayatilleka
Valuable as this example may be, this is not an impressive exercise in comparative politics. Colombia hasn’t (yet) won the war, while Sri Lanka did. Furthermore, the closer parallel to the FARC may be the two Southern insurrections in Sri Lanka, both od which the state prevailed over.
Ward
It is not easy to save those oppressed by internal colonialism in an island located in a geopolitically strategic location in a world of numerically strong human rights violating states.
Henry
Why cannot the government of Sri Lanka come up with a scheme to compens ate the victims of the war? This is re-building Sri Lanka in a real sense. | {
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Marilyn
The Getty Images Gallery presents Marilyn, a collection of imagery and memorabilia to commemorate 50 years since the untimely death of Marilyn Monroe. Showcased in London for the first time, the exhibition will feature a number of original dresses and costumes worn by the Hollywood icon, alongside unique and iconic photographs.
Marilyn will include imagery from Monroe's early years as an aspiring actress through to her rise to international stardom. Accompanying the photographs will be original film costumes and dresses from the legendary collection of David Gainsborough Roberts, owner of one of the largest collections of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia in the world. Original video will also be shown ensuring Marilyn offers an unrivalled glimpse into the life of one of the world's most famous stars.
Louise Garczewska, Director, Getty Images Gallery says: "We are extremely excited to present our Marilyn exhibition, offering the public unparalleled and rare access to Marilyn's life through the iconic imagery from Getty Images' extensive archival collection. David Gainsborough Roberts has kindly loaned us Marilyn's dresses which the public can see in London for the first time ever, making this exhibition a perfect tribute to one of Hollywood's greats."
A smaller exhibition will also be on display at Getty Images Gallery in Westfield Stratford City at a slightly later date of 23 March to 3 June 2012. | {
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1. . /ˈɛftə/ noun acronym 1. European Free Trade Association; established in 1960 to eliminate trade tariffs on industrial products; now comprises Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. Free trade was established between EFTA and the EC (now EU) in 1984. In 1994 EFTA (excluding Switzerland) and the EU together created the European Economic Area (EEA) […]
Disclaimer: Efph definition / meaning 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. All content on this website is for informational purposes only. | {
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Saint-Petersburg is known as the "Northern Palmire" because of its rich architectural treasures. The baroque form of this exquisite ring was inspired by the city architecture. The luminous emerald-green phianite will make this piece stand out in your collection. | {
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Salvation Army allegedly violated Family Medical Leave Act
PHILADELPHIA — A former administration assistant is suing Salvation Army in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania over allegations she was fired for taking medical leave that should have been protected under the Family Medical Leave Act.
Lisa Knoll filed a lawsuit against the Salvation Army on Sept. 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging a violation of the Family Medical Leave Act.
While working as an administrative assistant in the Salvation Army’s Women’s Ministries, Knoll submitted an application for leave to seek treatment for her medical conditions, and provide care for her mother and father. Her leave was scheduled to end on May 8.
On March 9, Knoll alleges she received an email stating that her job protection under the medical leave would be exhausted on May 8. She then contacted the company’s Human Resources administrator about returning to work earlier than May 8. She was told and complied with instructions to re-submit the paperwork for her medical leave – even though she had submitted the paperwork on Feb. 17.
On May 7, Knoll alleges she called the Salvation Army to confirm that she was ready to return to work. She alleges that Human Resources told her that the Salvation Army was “not ready” and told her to not return to work until May 11. In the lawsuit, Knoll said a supervisor called her on May 8 to further postpone her return until May 12. On May 8, Knoll alleges she received a letter in the mail informing her that her employment status had been changed from “active” to “non-active.”
Believing the letter was sent in error, Knoll returned to work as planned on May 12, at which time she was fired allegedly in retaliation for taking the leave of absence.
In addition to preventing Salvation Army from violating the Family Medical Leave Act in the future, Knoll is seeking reimbursement for any lost pay and benefits, damages, and costs for the lawsuit. She is being represented by Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based attorney Richard Swartz of Swartz Swidler, LLC.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case no.. 2:15-cv-04812-JHS
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Who’s your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Seriously? Is there an answer other than Donald Trump? However, if I eliminate any genetic bias it would likely be George Steinbrenner or RobertMoses.
What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in New York?
Summer picnics in Sheep Meadow with mykids.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
I do anything and everything that entails realestate.
What was your first job in New York?
Working in landscaping in my teens inWestchester.
Do you give money to panhandlers?
I give to panhandlers on occasion, especially around the holidays, but have always been involved with charity, which was an important part of the way I was brought up. My siblings and I knew early on in life that we were incredibly fortunate and have never taken that for granted, so we recognize the importance of giving back. I sit on the board of Operation Smile and am involved with my brother’s foundation (the Eric Trump Foundation) that has raised money for St. Jude’s Children’sHospital.
What’s your drink?
Sugar Free RedBull.
How often do you prepare your own meals?
Quite often. My wife and I like to cook, so we actually prepare our own meals often, and can hold our own in thekitchen.
What’s your favorite medication?
As a person who spends a lot of time traveling and in different time zones, Ambien is alifesaver.
What’s hanging above your sofa?
Bare Sheetrock because I am in the process of building out a newapartment.
How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
$200.
When’s bedtime?
Embarrassingly early.
Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
As much as any real New Yorker loved running the gauntlet of thieves and pillagers in old Times Square, I’ll probably take the Disneyland version oftoday.
What do you think of Donald Trump?
See question one, he is the best father, friend, and mentor a son couldhave!
What do you hate most about living in New York?
As cliché as it sounds, finding a cab during rush hour, especially in therain.
Who is your mortal enemy?
Time.
When’s the last time you drove a car?
Twenty minutes ago. I may be one of the last New Yorkers who actually drives in the citydaily.
How has the Wall Street crash affected you?
Other than the financial ramifications to my balance sheet, I think the downturn has been a valuable lesson and an important thing to have experienced as abusinessperson.
Times , Post, or Daily News? Post.
Where do you go to be alone?
My cabin in theCatskills.
What makes someone a New Yorker?
To me what defines a New Yorker is the edge that one develops from having actually lived here. Once you have it, it doesn’t go away and everywhere else in the world feels like it is in slowmotion. | {
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“The truest prayer is ofttimes that in which we creep into the bosom of God and rest there in silence. We do not know what to ask, and we dare not say even a word, lest it might be the wrong word, hence we simply wait before God in quietness and confidence. We know that what is best–our Father will do, and we trust Him to do what He will.”
“It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”
“Every assignment is measured and controlled for my eternal good. As I accept the given portion other options are cancelled. Decisions become much easier, directions clearer, and hence my heart becomes inexpressibly quieter.” | {
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Former Ald. Wallace Davis, owner of Wallace's Catfish Corner; Danyele Leonard, a Chicago teacher; and Zoe Young, supervising manager at Wallace's, talk about their reaction to President Barack Obama being elected to a second term and the issues that are important to them.
West Siders celebrate Obama win at Catfish Corner, political hub for decades
Wallace Davis promised himself he wouldn’t have another alcoholic drink unless Barack Obama got elected to a second presidential term.
But when the results came in Tuesday night, the former Chicago alderman, who hasn’t had a beer in a year, said he was so overcome with joy that he decided to stay sober for the event.
“I am so ecstatic,” Wallace said Wednesday at his restaurant Wallace’s Catfish Corner on Chicago’s West Side. Voters “sent a message to the world that we are going to stick with leadership that has love and passion. It was a breath of fresh air.”
It’s no secret that Wallace and the people who frequent his soul food restaurant support the president. Catfish Corner has served as a hub for Democratic politics since it opened more than two decades ago on West Madison Street, across from U.S. Rep. Danny Davis’ (D-Chicago) office.
A portrait of the president with the word “Forward” is painted outside the restaurant’s entrance, and photos of Barack Obama and Chicago politicians cover the restaurant’s walls.
Wallace, who served time in federal prison for a federal bribery conviction in the ‘80s, proudly showed a photo of Obama visiting the restaurant during his run for the U.S. Senate in 2004.
Even Ill. Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago), who was re-elected Tuesday night despite being impeached on federal bribery charges, stopped by to chat with Wallace.
The patrons who dined in Catfish Corner Wednesday expressed excitement at Obama being elected to a second term. They generally believed Obama inherited a string of challenges that were out of his control and think another four years will give him more time to address them.
“I’m with him 100 percent,” said Levi Davis, a retired businessman. “He’s qualified to be there.”
However, diners said there are many issues that have yet to be resolved, namely the area’s high unemployment and crime rates.
“When you’re unemployed you have nothing to do all day but think about how to commit a crime, how to be violent, how to be a bully,” said Zoe Young, a West Side resident and supervising manager at Wallace’s Catfish Corner. “If (Obama) could work on the issue of unemployment, it would give our community the chance to thrive.”
Danyele Leonard, a teacher at Kellman Corporate Community Elementary School, said she hopes Obama will focus on education issues during his second term, particularly helping students in low-income areas succeed.
“Poverty has a role and their environment has a role,” Leonard said of the nation’s challenges with student performance and dropout rates. “Until these issues are looked at, to know the cause and effect, we really can’t have functional, literate America the way we would like.” | {
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Tag: medicinal use of conifers
I swear I never heard of Arborvitae until this year, but when I stop to think about it, I believe we had some growing in our front yard until we took them out to change the landscape. They were annoying. The branches bent under heavy snow or ice. Arborvitae are native to the eastern United States and Canada where they may be called Eastern White Cedar or Northern White Cedar.
Thuja occidentalis Brandon
Arborvitae means tree of life in Latin, but unfortunately, in common parlance, other varieties of trees are referred to as the tree of life. The baobab and coconut both may carry that appellation while a specific mesquite tree in Bahrain also is called that.
Thuja occidentalis may have been the first specimen tree to be transported and transplanted to Europe and has been grown there since the 1500s. It was given the name Tree of Life when Jacques Cartier learned from the Iroquois that a tea made from its leaves would cure his men of scurvy. There are five species in the genus, but only two of them are native to North America. The other three species are native to Asia.
Native Americans not only used the leaves for the nourishing tea, but as bedding, and the lumber was used as canoe frames. Many parts of the tree were used for other medicinal purposes, including as an abortifacient. Log cabins have been built from larger specimens, partly due to the wood’s insulating properties and rot resistance. This last property also contributes to the wood’s use as fence posts. Arborvitae are important for wildlife as both a food source and shelter.
Although today this species is most often used in the landscape, it can be a long-lived tree with one of the oldest known thought to be over 1000 years. The Wintergreen Arborvitae variety seems especially well suited as a privacy screen while other varieties planted in a row are used for windbreaks.
A lone Wintergreen Arbor Vitae
According to some sources, the tree has antibacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral components. Alternative medicine practitioners may suggest its use during radiation. An essential oil is made from its steam distillate, which is most commonly used to burn off warts. According to the site cited above, the essential oil is up to 65% thujone, Thujone, also a component of absinthe, is considered toxic and the use of the oil, especially ingested, is not recommended. Apparently thujone is mentioned in at least one of the Harry Potter books and caused quite a stir with the religious right!
Two of the three arborvitae in City Park are near each other. A94 Wintergreen Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis Hertz Wintergreen ) and B96 Techny Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis Techny) are located along Roosevelt Drive between Oak Street and City Park Drive. Both are in the field on the east side, across from the trolley station and tennis courts. The Wintergreen Arborvitae is closer to City Park Drive, near the tall conifers. The Techny is directly across from the trolley station.
Techny Arborvitae
The third tree, E62 Brandon Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis Brandon) is between the ditch and the miniature Train Station, just past the rock wall that runs along City Park Drive, across from Tico’s. | {
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
The first review of Einstein's Jewish Science: Physics at the Intersection of Politics and religion is up at Publishers Weekly.
Prior to WWII, Nazi sympathizers dismissed Einstein’s theory of relativity as “Jewish science.” Yet Einstein himself, notes Gimbel, recognized an intellectual style that could be identified as Jewish. In this wide-ranging exploration, Gimbel (Exploring the Scientific Method), chair of the department of philosophy at Gettysburg College, seeks to discover whether and to what extent Einstein’s work could legitimately be called “Jewish” and what difference it makes. He speculates about whether only a Jew could have discovered relativity theory, or whether the style of reasoning characteristic of Jewish theology can influence scientific thinking (as Catholicism informed the reasoning of Descartes). Finally, Gimbel asks, did Einstein’s theory contribute to wider conversations about Jewish themes among contemporary scholars such as Walter Benjamin and Martin Buber? Gimbel felicitously concludes that what makes the theory of relativity so attractive is its cosmopolitanism and intellectual open-mindedness. It is thus only metaphorically Jewish: as the ancient rabbis assumed the existence of God’s truth but could approach it only through their contrasting interpretations, so Einstein assumed that science was the pursuit of truth about the world that still allows us the integration of different perspectives on, and individual beliefs about, the world. Agent: Deirdre Mullane, Mullane Literary Associates. | {
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Information
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"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire!" -Yeats
Welcome to North Suburban Home Learners!
North Suburban Home Learners is an active, secular and inclusive group for members from the north suburban regions in Massachusetts.Our primary focus is to provide educational and social opportunities for our children and support for ourselves, as homeschooling parents.
We welcome the participation of all members of our group.
Everyone is encouraged to become involved in group organization, planning field trips, and other activities.
We are open to anyone who is either currently homeschooling or interested in learning about homeschooling. | {
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Removal of dining club licenses shakes up Park City establishments
From left, Jeff Jacobs, Kaleb Doilney, Max Doilney and Joanna Doilney are frustrated at the law requiring them to give up their dining club license. Max Doilney and Jacobs, who own and operate the Corner Store Pub and Grill near Park City Mountain Resort, say that whatever they choose, they will have losses.
It's no secret that Utah has strict liquor laws.
During the 2017 legislative session, some regulations were loosened while new ones restricted establishments even further. One of the biggest changes, included in H.B. 442, made it so dining club licenses, which allowed places to be both a restaurant and a bar, would be eliminated this year. After failed attempts from dining club owners — including many in Park City — to lobby for a change to or delay of that part of the law during this year's legislative session, the elimination of dining club licenses is expected to go into effect on July 1. Businesses operating under a dining club license must decide by the end of next month whether to become a bar or a restaurant, designations that both carry various requirements.
Those in the restaurant industry say the situation has left almost two dozen establishments around Park City struggling to determine their next steps.
If businesses choose the restaurant route, they must follow the 70/30 rule, meaning that the ratio of food to alcohol gross sales must be at least 70 percent to 30 percent. Max Doilney, the owner of the Corner Store Pub and Grill, said that is especially difficult because Utah sets the wholesale cost of liquor by requiring restaurants to purchase liquor from the state. For restaurants with high-priced food, hitting the ratio is not a problem, but at places like the Corner Store, where the average cost of a meal is $15, he said it is an obstacle.
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"The state is essentially dictating our entire food and beverage market by setting their price," Doilney said. "We are in a pickle because we can't hit 70/30 or we'll have to raise our food prices, which alienates families."
The alternative, dropping the cost of alcoholic beverages, would reduce the restaurant's net profit, he said.
If the Corner Store and other businesses around Park City choose to be licensed as a restaurant, they also must require guests who drink an alcoholic beverage to order food with their drink. With dining club licenses, that was not the case.
David Wakeling, the owner of Collie's Sports Bar, said that requiring guests to order food is not good for business.
"It's giving our state even more of a bad reputation," he said.
Plus, if Collie's is a restaurant, it would have to close at 11 p.m. rather than 1 a.m.
But even with those consequences, Wakeling does not want to lose the families that visit his restaurant, which would happen if he were to become a bar. People under 21 are not allowed in bars.
"Park City in particular has so few options for families as it is, and this is taking away more of that," he added.
Elected officials did pass a law this year, H.B. 456, that allows businesses to hold both a restaurant and a bar license. But the restaurant and bar areas must be in separate rooms with distinct entrances and with shared walls being at least 8 feet high. For many, that would require construction that they do not have the money or space for.
Shantel Stoff, sales and marketing director of Red Rock Brewery and co-president of the Park City Area Restaurant Association, said that Red Rock Brewery in Kimball Junction could go that route. There is a room in the back that Red Rock would be able to convert into a bar, but it is not ideal.
"The portion of the restaurant that has to become a restaurant versus the bar is not how we would prefer to continue, but it is what we are faced with given the legislation that passed," she said.
She said that Red Rock has not yet decided what it will choose to do. It was so difficult to get the dining club license that it had, it is hard to give it up, she said. She served as general manager of Red Rock Brewery for 10 years and, during that time, spent 27 months meeting with the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to be permitted a dining club license.
Doilney worries what would happen if the majority of the establishments choose to opt for a bar license, since it seems to be easier to comply with.
"You might as well have an ID station at the Junction saying, 'Don't come into town with your kids because there is no place for them to eat,'" he said.
Doilney predicts that it will balance out, but there does not seem to be a perfect solution for most of the Park City dining clubs.
"It's not an easy task for any of the business owners in Park City," he said.
Doilney said that he built his business around the previous liquor laws, and now he will need to do construction if he wants to keep the guests, and lifestyle, he has. If he is licensed as a bar, his nephew, who is 15-years-old, will no longer be able to work at the establishment or even step foot in the building. His young son will not be able to either.
"They are not just taking away a little bit of our revenue and a little bit of our livelihood, they are taking away our lifestyle," he said.
He said that part of his frustration is that he and several other business owners spent months lobbying to get the elimination of the dining club license delayed or changed during this year's legislative session. He said that senators and representatives toured establishments with dining club licenses in Park City and restaurant owners shared with them a list of their concerns.
"They gave us assurances that our concerns would be addressed," he said. "In my opinion, they look us in the eye and say they are going to do something and they don't do it."
Stoff said that the restaurant association hired someone to help guide it through the legislative session so it could voice its worries about the law, but no progress was made.
She said that many businesses were blindsided by some elements of the law last year. Doilney said it seems they are being punished.
"The law is incredibly shortsighted," he said. "It puts stresses on small businesses that otherwise have been abiding by the law better than other liquor outlets." | {
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Arbitration
Arbitration falls under the category of Alternative Dispute Resolution, acronym ADR. Arbitration offers an alternative path for disputing parties to gain a binding decision in a private, confidential process held outside of the normal legal channels, such as filing a lawsuit in court. Arbitration is most commonly selected by signing a contract with an arbitration provision before a dispute arises. It is a very common dispute resolution process in commercial disputes; it is almost non-existant in criminal matters, as the courts generally retain jurisdiction in criminal matters.
Arbitration is different than the court system. It is not a judicial process, even though there is sometimes pressure to treat it as such. Arbitration sprang from a premise that business and industry disputes may be best resolved outside of a criminal court system. Arbitration is common in business and commercial contracts; these are the cases that it was originally designed to address, and they represent the bulk of the cases today.
Private and Binding:
Arbitration is a private process that results in a binding decision, called an award. Arbitration offers a confidential hearing before a neutral decision-maker, often an industry expert, who delivers a binding award with limited appeal after providing the parties with a full and fair hearing. Confidentiality is perceived as a tremendous benefit, protecting the reputations of those involved in the dispute. This is in stark contrast to courts of law, where decisions are published and referred to for years to come. Arbitration is primarily used in business and commercial disputes, and also in family matters. Arbitration is not generally a venue for criminal cases. Parties may agree on many aspects of arbitration either ahead of time, by including an arbitration clause in a contract, or at the time a dispute arises. Agreements about how arbitration is conducted includes what forum will administer the claim, where the hearing is conducted, what type of hearing, whether the award should be a simple award or fully supported (a reasoned award), and other procedural matters. Many arbitrators are appointed or selected based on their expert knowledge and experience within an industry; others are chosen for their understanding of the legal process, such as former administrative law judges or seasoned, reputable attorneys.
Arbitrator's Role:
An arbitrator is a private judge; a finder of fact in a hearing of equity. Arbitrators must disclose any known conflict of interest and sign an oath that they have no known bias and can be fair in dealing with the parties and the subject matter in dispute prior to accepting appointment to a case. Parties may not contact or communicate with the arbitrator outside the presence of all parties to the dispute.
Rules of Procedure:
The arbitration process is governed by rules of procedure specified in the arbitration provision of a signed contract. When a contract provides that any disputes will be settled by binding arbitration using specific rules of procedure, the arbitrator conducts the case according to the time frames, document and exhibit provisions, and hearing parameters noted in the rules. Often the arbitration provisions is vague, with the only requirement being arbitration. Other times the provision can be quite specific. The parties may jointly agree to utilize Colorado Mediators & Arbitrator's administrative services rather than the forum specified in the contractual arbitration provision. By joint agreement, the arbitrator may conduct the arbitration utilizing the rules specified in the contract, or that the parties unanimously agree to use Colorado Mediators & Arbitrators Arbitration Rules of Procedure.
Size of Claim Determines Procedure:
Colorado Mediators & Arbitrator’s rules provide that smaller claims have a less formal hearing than larger claims in order to provide reduced cost and compressed time frames for the benefit of the parties. Small Claims ($14,999 or less) have a flat fee and are decided on the written evidence submitted. Expedited Claims ($15,000 - $74,999) have an administrative fee and a flat hearing fee if conducted in four (4) hours or under. Large Claims ($75,000 and over) consist of one or more pre-hearing teleconferences followed by a hearing attended by the parties and their attorneys, when represented. The necessary hearing time is determined by the parties.
Arbitration is Less Formal than Litigation
Using the court system to solve problems is often overkill. The length of time necessary to get to hearing is often prohibitive. The legal process is punctuated by formality and is often confusing to non-attorneys. A business or layperson’s understanding of the Rules of Evidence often prohibits submitting evidence in litigation unless it is done in a narrow, specific way. Legal formality fosters the need to hire an attorney, which adds to the cost of resolving the dispute, and the dispute itself is usually costly. It is not uncommon for litigation to take years! Additionally, the element of fairness may not be addressed by a judge because judges are bound by both the written law and an extensive body of case law, created over the years by a myriad of past cases that may or may not seemingly apply to your business case.
Arbitration is Not Mediation
Mediation also falls under the category of ADR, and often these terms are used interchangeably due to confusion. To clarify, mediation is a formal negotiation of the matter and does not have a guaranteed conclusion. Just like when you offer to buy a car, if the seller doesn’t like the deal, they can walk away. If the seller likes the deal, they sign a contract and there is a legal consequence – the car’s ownership changes hands. However, arbitration results in a decision, like it or not. Arbitration offers a full and fair hearing of each party’s presentation of the evidence and testimony of the parties. Big difference, even though both mediation and arbitration fall under the category of Alternative Dispute Resolution, or ADR for short.
Arbitration Testimonials
"Used you in 2007 and was very pleased with the outcome. Business dispute."Gail Bryan (Business Arbitration)
“Judy Larkins has built a very deserving reputation for ADR excellence. She is skilled as a mediator/arbitrator and also as program manager. She has both vision and drive to increase the use of ADR and to arrive at creative solutions that satisfy parties.” Deborah Schick Laufer, Director, Federal ADR Network (FAN)
"I have known Judy Larkins for the past 10 years, and during that time participated in many mediations at Colorado Mediators & Arbitrators and referred many friends and attorneys to Judy. From the business side of the process, Judy is a pleasure to work with. The fees are fair and there are no surprises. She also organizes the mediation process to be cost efficient. From the procedural process, Judy does an excellent job of helping the parties work through their disputes and reach agreements." Von Limbaugh, Attorney
"I am an independent arbitrator/mediator on the panel at Colorado Mediators and Arbitrators. Judy asked me to join the panel and I have enjoyed working with her -- both on specific cases and in relation to her efforts to continually improve CoMA's rules and services. She is easy to work with and is very competent and professional. CoMA is her business and she works hard to make it successful by recruiting good arbitrators and mediators to serve on her panels and by providing excellent service to her clients."John Sass, Attorney/Arbitrator/Mediator | {
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The legend continues! The 1972 Chevy Vega #10 is currently in the final stages of restoration. The infamous Willliam “Grumpy” Jenkins Vega #10 has been surrounded by Championship titles, Mystery, and Controversy. In August at the AHRA Gateway Nationals in St. Louis the Vega #10 broke the record by qualifying at 8.97 sec doing 153.05 mph breaking the AHRA record. Shortly after the competition the Vega #10 was stolen in southern Illinois while William “Grumpy” Jenkins was having breakfast at a local eatery. This was an effort by the competitor to obviously find out what kind of technology was used on the engine to make the Vega part of the 8 seconds club. Later on the authorities received an anonymous tip with the location of the Vega #10, However, the engine and transmission were completely pulled out of it. Grumpy being the prepared man that he is could have replaced the motor and trans but opted to wait a couple weeks before bringing the Vega #10 back out to “smack” the competition. William “grumpy” Jenkins finally sold the Vega #10 in 1975. The new owner raced it under a different name and different paint job, everything that made it a Grumpy toy was change to conceal the fact it was the #10.
Certain individuals in the racing circle knew Mark Pappas was interested in purchasing an original Grumpy Toy. After extensive negotiations Mark “Grumpy Jr” Pappas Finally had an authentic Grumpy Toy of his own. A lot of skeptics doubted this was the original Vega #10 until William “Grumpy” Jenkins confirmed the secrets of authenticity he implemented when it was originally built by himself. There was a mounted stick in the car known as the Grumpy stick, This over 30 year old broom stick was use to hold up the hatch so rear support modification could be done in the trunk. All the other hidden secrets were revealed to confirm its originality such as: webbing in the dyna 60 had holes drilled in it for weight saving but not compromising the strength. Another confirmation sign was the Grumpy signature on the block plate made with a diamond rotary engraver in 1973, which Grumpy says can not be duplicated.
Now begins the rebuilding of a legend. Windy City Rods and Restorations located at*************, is where the renovations will be completed to restore this iconic car back to its original form when Grumpy built it. Windy City Rods and Restorations had there work cut out for them. They had to fix 37 years of stress cracks due to it being acid dipped in 1973, along with the wear and tear of pro-stock racing up until 2008 under a different name. Windy City Rods and Restorations repaired all damaged panels, doors, lower quarter panels and rear tail panel. All the stress cracks around the windows had to be extensively repaired. The Vega was then sanded down vigorously from top to bottom. It was then hand blocked, sealed, and painted to perfection. All floors tins and engine compartment tins where completely cleaned and polished. The roll cage which was painted blue had to be stripped down, primed and painted. The extra bracing that was added to the roll cage was then removed to restore the Vega back to 1973 compliance. The front end suspensions components where media blasted and then painted Grumpy Grey. All wiring was redone to 1973 standards. Windy City Rods and Restorations also installed a new fuse block that was given to them personally from William “Grumpy” Jenkins. The car was then thoroughly wet sanded then buffed to give it that glass looking shine. All period correct stickers were placed on the vehicle. The Vega was then hand pinned stripped and lettered. New seat and bracket were installed in the car. New rear tubs were fabricated, and all glass was installed including the original rear glass.
Windy City Rods & Restorations would like to thank the late William “Grumpy” Jenkins for supplying all the original spare parts for the Chevy Vega #10 as well as Jake and the rest of the Jenkins Competition team. Windy City Rods & Restorations reports that they have been receiving surprise parts every week from Grumpy's shop, to ensure its being restored to its original form. Currently Windy City Rods & Restorations is anticipating the arrival of the period correct 331 motor, they are also waiting on the period correct Lenco transmission.
The 1972 Vega #10 is a legendary car full of mystery, mystic, and controversy. This car was ahead of it time, and with its championship history it will continue to intrigue people for years to come
8.97 at 153.05 MPG (which wer new AHRA records)
Did B.J. come up with the idea of using a tube frame inside a stock car's body?
(Note: that i understand that the factory experimental cars had this kind of setup, but this is not the exact same thing---i don't think so at least because the F/X cars had extensive modifications to the wheelbases/lengths and body mods.)
b) And therefore the idea of narrowing the rear axle and rear suspension so as to be able to run very wide tires which wouldn't be possible with a stock suspension?
BTW, i noticed that BJ's chevy racing engine book is available somewhat cheap at amazon.
i would say my favorite prostocks are 74ish to about 81. This is with the really low in the front end with the tucked in front wheels, but the rear was still stock height so you had that interesting rake.
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"Motorola and Apple have been talking to Cingular about it using the iTunes phone," according to one of the publication's sources, who asked not to be named.
Meanwhile, RBC Capital analyst Mark Sue said in a recent research note that Apple and Cingular were working out final details on revenue sharing pertinent to the arrangement.
Representatives from both Apple and Cingular declined to comment on the report, but a Motorola spokeswoman said the company is on schedule to ship an iTunes phone in the third quarter.
Apple and Motorola have been working to bringing Apple's popular iTunes service to mobile phones but Motorola has delayed unveiling its iTunes device so far amid speculation about a lack of interest from operators.
According to a report in French newspaper Le Figaro, Apple and Motorola may announce the device, dubbed iPhone, as early as next Tuesday. | {
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The only way I know how to add downloaded source code files is by loading them up in text editor somehow, and then copying and pasting into Palm desktop. This is WAY to difficult and too much hassle. Can't learn this way. There are too many files I need to sync, and takes too much time. Syncs are too frequent and run down my battery. Got a solution?
Well there is no limit to how big they can be so you dont have to worry about breaking them up, futhermore you don't have to copy and paste into Palm Desktop, just select the file name and then choose auto-install to the user of your choice.
OR
you could stop complaining and being rude and just either take it like a man or use PDE.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
Well there is no limit to how big they can be
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Actually, there is a limit. According to the PocketC documentation: The uncompressed size of a doc file must be less than 64K.
Hey, I'm just a happy lucky Palm guy. It seems to me like you may be answering a different question Nicholas. I've never used MakeDoc so I don't have experience with it. There's not enough messsage for me to reply. PDE does not solve the problem I have, which I would happily discuss with any folks who are interested.
If you are using the desktop version of PocketC and have POSE running in the background, all the programs you compile get automatically uploaded to POSE. This makes desktop development with PocketC quite easy.
Another approach is to use MakeDoc to convert your source textfiles into palm doc files. You can then drag and drop the resulting .prc file on to the emulator and do a compile. Since palm doc files can be quite large, this saves you the trouble of having to split the file up into smaller (4k) memo chunks.
Alternatively, you can upload the doc file to POSE with a custom perl script. POSE has a scripting interface which allows you automate a number emulator tasks (including file installs). See the POSE documentation for more details. Below is a perl script I use to upload the PToolboxLib to POSE every time I recompile it.
Also, after a hotsync you can retrieve your doc files by looking in your "Program Files/Palm/<user_name>/Backup" directory for them.
All being said, a better solution to this problem would be for Jeremy to update the desktop compiler to be capable of reading and writing palm doc files directly. If you like this idea, I'd suggest putting in a request to Jeremy for it. The more responses he gets the greater the chances it will see the light of day.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by jstadolnik</i>
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
>Another approach is to use MakeDoc to convert your source textfiles into palm doc files. You can then drag and drop the resulting .prc file on to the emulator and do a compile. Since palm doc files can be quite large, this saves you the trouble of having to split the file up into smaller (4k) memo chunks.
So then this lets you, say if you wrote 7K of source, you don't have to break it in two?
Now, if you have a file that #include's several other files or other libraries and a .h file, it is just a fair lot of steps in your way, as I mentioned. I've never used MakeDoc. If I ever tried it, probably it might have seemed to be one of those complicated contraptions from soundforge or whatever that make these Open Source hard to understand projects. I guess because I could already get files to read on the Palm, like with iSilo. If it takes several files and compresses them into one to pull apart on the Palm, that would be apropos.
Just like, I never read PocketC will read anything other than some text files starting with // in Memopad.
> Alternatively, you can upload the doc file to POSE with a custom perl script. POSE has a scripting interface which allows you automate a number emulator tasks (including file installs). See the POSE documentation for more details. Below is a perl script I use to upload the PToolboxLib to POSE every time I recompile it.
I haven't learned Perl yet. Books on it seemed over my head. But Ok, so if I maybe take that code, cut it and save in Notepad, add an extension that Perl will recognize, then it will upload whatever file/path is in quotes - if I run the file?
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
So then this lets you, say if you wrote 7K of source, you don't have to break it in two?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Yes.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
I've never used MakeDoc. If I ever tried it, probably it might have seemed to be one of those complicated contraptions from soundforge or whatever that make these Open Source hard to understand projects. I guess because I could already get files to read on the Palm, like with iSilo.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote"> | {
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Hornady Z-Max was developed in response to the upcoming Zombie apocalypsewell not really. Hornady Z-Max puts a Hollywood spin on a old favorite Hornady V-Max. The Z-Max projectiles are actually identical to the ever popular V-Max projectiles, with one major difference; the iconic red polymer tip has been traded in for a Zombie green tip. Depending on the particular projectile Z-max has both flat base and boat tail offerings which are caliber specific and provide you with incredible in-flight stability for long range shooting.
.17 Caliber
.172" Diameter
20 Grain Z-Max Flat Base
Ballistic Coefficient 0.185
Sectional Density 0.097
500 Count Per Box
Note: These are bullets which are intended to be used in conjunction with reloading. This is NOT loaded ammunition. | {
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Description
Both cozy and chic, these faux animal fur blankets and plush friends are great for everyday outings, and make a wonderful welcome gift for a new baby. Plush: 14" wide x 20" high x 5" deep Stroller Blanket: 30 ... | {
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Yeah, and a big thanks to the people that didn't make an OST for that game. I had to record the whole song via an extension cable running from my PC to my line-in on my stereo. It took an hour to set up, and then another half hour to get right. | {
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Bioruns private limited.
OMORFEE, an Indo – German venture of Bioruns Private Limited, is an organic personal care brand well known for its purity and efficacy. It offers a luxurious collection of personal care products made from organic botanicals. The rich scents and therapeutic formulations of the products help to heal, restore and renew the skin, body and soul.
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Franchising Roots is a venture of FR Business Services PVT. LTD.The information contained herein is of generic nature only and Franchising Roots is not by means of this website or any part thereof rendering professional advice or services. With respect to use with the website, kindly visit www.franchisingroots.com/terms-of-service/ | {
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Excelsior College - Engineering Ranking 2015
in the USAExcelsior College is a very large not-for-profit college with some focus on engineering programs and located in Albany, New York. The school was opened in 1971 and is presently offering associate's and bachelor's degrees in 4 engineering programs.
According to recent analysis, Excelsior College area is safe: the college is reported to have an excellent rating for on-campus secutiy.
Excelsior College engineering program ranks #365 (out of 1871; top 20%) in the United States and #30 in New York. Major competing engineering colleges for this school are Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. See the details about all twelve competing engineering colleges as well as list of offered engineering majors and minors below.
Engineering programs ratings 2014-2015:
Overall rating:
Curriculum rating:
Teaching rating:
Safety rating:
Overall school rankings 2015:
Ranked #30 Engineering School in New YorkRanked #89 Engineering School in The NortheastRanked #365 Engineering School in USA | {
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It made Mr Becker a sport and culture attache to the EU in April 2018.
Mr Becker’s defence has been lodged in the High Court.
His lawyers maintain he cannot be made subject to any legal process unless CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera specifically lifts his immunity at the request of the British government.
His legal team said: “This means he cannot be subject to legal process in the courts of any country for so long as he remains a recognised diplomatic agent.”
The former tennis champion said the proceedings were “unjustified and unjust” and being declared bankrupt “inflicted a whole heap of damage on me”.
He said he was asserting diplomatic immunity to “bring this farce to an end” and stop “the gravy train for the suits”.
He added: “I am immensely proud of my appointment [by] the Central African Republic… sport is incredibly important in Africa and is fast becoming a universal language.”
An Indian and a Kazakh businessman, as well as a former adviser to the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, have all at various times attempted to avoid legal action in Europe by citing diplomatic immunity from the CAR.
Central African Republic:
Rich in diamonds, gold, oil and uranium, but has one of the world’s poorest populations
Unstable since independence from France in 1960; renewed crisis since rebels seized power in 2013
27% of the population, 1.2m people, have fled their homes; 2m need food aid, 45% of the population
Government only controls the capital; 14,000 UN peacekeepers in the country
Life expectancy is 48 (men) and 51 (women)
Mr Becker was declared bankrupt after Arbuthnot Latham claimed he owed them a large sum for more than two years.
At the time, he said: “This order relates to one disputed loan which I was due to repay in full in one month’s time.”
But the registrar said Mr Becker gave the impression of “a man with his head in the sand”.
He has appointed Ben Emmerson QC, who has previously represented Julian Assange and Marina Litvinenko, the widow of Alexander Litvinenko. | {
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Hotel Splendid Venice
All the Magic of Venice
Just a few steps from some of the world’s greatest sights, the Splendid Venice is a charming luxury hotel, as elegant as Venice itself. In the sixteenth century, it was an inn; today, it is a residence of rare refinement overlooking the canals and the Mercerie, the age-old streets, or calli, that link Piazza San Marco and the Rialto bridge.
The Splendid Venice is within walking distance of the city’s most impressive destinations
Hotel Splendid Venice stands in the heart of Venice, in a quiet yet central area near the city’s main landmarks and many hidden gems.This sublime setting, immersed in the peace of the calli and canals, offers guests a rare privilege: the frisson of discovering all the real beauty of Venice, beyond the clichés and away from thronging crowds. | {
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Tacky Glowing Valve Caps Look Cheap, Are Cheap
Valve-cap LEDs may be tacky, but they'll also make you safer at night
Here’s a case where tacky novelty can actually result in something that keeps you safe and also makes you look cool. The Flash Tire Wheel Valve Cap Lights pretty much sum up their function in the name: they are little LED lamps that replace your bike valve dust caps.
The little battery-powered lights screw onto a Schrader valve (the fat kind also found on cars and motorbikes) and glow like tiny Lightsabers. For such a cheap item (just $3 per pair on Amazon), they’re actually pretty smart. Instead of switches, the lights have motion and light sensors so they only turn on when you’re moving and it’s dark. Once you get going, they’ll paint a virtual circle of light in the air.
Be careful, though. Fellow gadget blogger and Wired.com alumnus John Brownlee put something similar onto his bike when he lived in Berlin, Germany. His lights were bigger and flashier, but the effects on the normally calm and bike-friendly population of Berlin were startling. Poor John was heckled and even had beer bottles thrown at him on one night ride.
If you decide to risk it, strap on a helmet and grab a pair in red, green or blue. | {
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Swatch TV
ARTYOU 2011 PRESENTED BY SWATCH TRAILER
Designed to bring together both established and emerging talented artists, Artyou is an annual exhibition event organized by Artsts growing urban art network. This year is Artyou's sixth edition and as part of a collaboration with Swatch plans are underway for 14 artists to both exhibit and show livepaintings in combination with a music/club-program at the city's renowned arts venue Ackermannshof Basel (Switzerland). | {
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Computer Science Degree
Getting your computer science degree is one of the best decisions that you can make to ensure a future of prosperity and job security. With a couple of years of study, you can learn the skills that companies all around the world are looking for in their employees. As technology finds its way into more and more parts of our world, those who know how to tame it and make it work to satisfy our needs will be the ones in demand in a job market that is becoming more competitive with every passing day.
If you’re unsure about how important it is to understand the role of computers in our everyday lives, take a look around. Twenty years ago, the average house had one computer, if it had one at all. These days, many houses have at least one computer for every person in the house. There are more computers in the average household than there are cars – and most of the newer cars made today have built-in dashboard computers that connect the driver to traffic updates, weather forecasts, and satellite radio. Behind each of these computers is a team of men and women who built the system, programmed the software, and designed the user interface. These men and women all have one thing in common: a computer science degree.
Computer science is often defined as the study of computing systems and computational processes. In reality, though, a computer science degree opens you up for a job focusing on any one of a number of specific career paths. Jobs from Information Management to Cyber security, from Database Administration to Computer Programming, are all based in skills and concepts that are mastered as part of the computer science degree program of study. With training in computer science, you become skilled in design methodology, concept testing, system analysis, and project implementation. What does this all mean? With a computer science degree, you will be able to look at a technical problem within a company, diagnose the cause of that problem, analyze the appropriate technical solution, and then build the product that provides the solution. If it sounds like an employee with an education in computer science is a master problem solver, it’s because he or she is.
Although a computer science degree provides a good solid base of the concepts of computing, you are not limited to that broad scope. Many computer scientists specialize in fields that provide job security, excellent financial compensation, and a sense that they are a vital part of keeping their business data safe. Information Security personnel use their computer science skills to protect the confidential data of their employer. Employee information, customer records, financial data, and other forms of information are tempting for hackers to try to obtain. While some attempt to steal this data just to prove, to themselves or others, that they can, others will attempt to sell that data or exploit it at the harm of the company they steal it from. A company’s Information Security team prevents such theft, and in order to do that, a firm grasp of computer science is needed.
Computer engineering is another popular field in which skills in computer science are required. Computer engineers are often tasked with designing and building the hardware that goes into all of our computers, smart-phones, automobile dashboards, and everything else that computers have found their way inside. This can range from designing the architecture of the latest, thinnest laptop to designing the circuit boards that go inside them. Computer engineers also work on the software side as well, designing the operating system that manipulates the hardware to perform the tasks that the user needs, whether it’s a serious spreadsheet calculation or shooting aliens from the sky in the latest video game.
These are only a few of the many types of jobs that are available to you with a computer science degree. You owe it to yourself and to your family to check out the lucrative opportunities that await you after just a few short years of study. The world is not going to suddenly give up on computers. We rely on our gadgets and gizmos more and more every day. Technologically savvy men and women will continue to be in demand in today’s demanding job market. With a computer science degree, you can make sure that you are in demand as well. | {
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Session Expired
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Is a Memory Foam Mattress Right for My Child?
This entry was posted on April 15, 2016 by TCDEV.
Selecting the right mattress for your child is no easy task, especially if it is their first ‘grown up’ bed. These days it seems many adults are opting for memory foam beds for themselves, but what about for our little ones? In recent years there has been a lot of talk about the benefits of memory foam over traditional innerspring mattresses - for both our bodies and sleep schedule. With this shift towards memory foam comes questions about the safety - and appropriateness - of a memory foam bed for children. Given the fact that children sleep longer and deeper than adults, it is absolutely imperative that they are resting their little heads on a quality, supportive mattress. Furthermore, a quality mattress is a huge factor in whether a child is getting a good night’s sleep and waking up rested and ready to conquer the day.
While there are undoubtedly many different options when it comes to picking out a child’s mattress, today we are going to focus on the benefits of memory foam. While there is some debate as to whether memory foam is good for infants and toddlers, the general consensus is that older children and teens can certainly reap the benefits of memory foam, without cause for concern.
What is Memory Foam?
Many people do not realize this, but memory foam was actually developed by NASA in response to a need for a foam material that could mold to a person’s body, then bounce back to its original shape. Since first introduced, memory foam has proved to be a viable option when it comes to a mattress, for people of all different ages and occupation. Made from polyurethane foam, memory foam mattresses react to pressure and heat, working to conform to the body when you lie down. While these body-contouring properties are desirable for adults, these characteristics can actually be quite dangerous to infants and toddlers.
Benefits of a Memory Foam Mattress
If you are looking for a supportive and long-lasting mattress for your older child or teenager, memory foam is a wonderful option. Some of the top benefits of this type of mattress include:
Contours to the body - As mentioned earlier, memory foam mattresses actively mold to the body in response to heat and pressure. This offers a lot of support and helps to evenly distribute the body’s weight.
Allergy-free - Another reason why memory foam may be the right choice for your child is that it is allergy free. Made from polyurethane foam, this type of mattress is full of fibers that actually prevent allergy-causing dust mites from collecting within the bed.
Extremely durable - Finally, memory foam mattresses are one of the most durable on the market. They are actually known to last much longer than average spring mattresses, making them a wonderful option for growing children.
If you are in the market for a new children’s mattress, be sure and check out our memory foam options here. As always, if you have any questions or would like additional information about any of our products, please do not hesitate to ask. | {
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Hartz -- Szuba
November 20, 2006
SOUTH BEND -- Christ the King Catholic Church was the setting for the 3 p.m. July 22 wedding of Rachel L. Szuba and Dave Hartz. They are home in Osceola. Their parents are Mary and Jim Szuba of 52060 Chicory Lane, Granger, and Lois and Chuck Hartz of 14097 Kimberly Lane, Middlebury. The bride graduated from Penn High School, Mishawaka, and Indiana University South Bend with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She works for South Bend Community School Corp. as a first-grade teacher at Warren Primary Center. The groom graduated from Northridge High School, Middlebury, and IUSB with a bachelor's degree in public affairs. He is a national sales manager for Omega Plastics, Elkhart. | {
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Located on a beautiful pristine beach just 5 minutes walking distance to downtown Cabo San Lucas, Villa del Palmar offers the perfect blend of location, intimacy, relaxation and recreational activities. This five star resort is perfect for family vacations with its large swimming pools, dramatic waterfalls, salt water aquarium, and first class spa.
Villa del Palmar has one of the best spa's Los Cabos has to offer. The spa pampers its patrons with exotic treatments in its 10,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility. The full service fitness center, with the latest in cardiovascular exercise, full range of "Paramount" workout equipment, and a wide variety of free weights, provides the perfect
environment for the health-minded traveler.
The natural beauty and charisma of Los Cabos meets luxury accommodations and world-class amenities at this fine beachfront resort. You’ll find plenty of ways to enjoy yourself here, from the sparkling beachfront pools and whale slide to the European-style spa and fitness club. Villa del Palmar is full service and more: there’s a full spa, fitness clubs, two restaurants, art galleries and jewelry shops, a pharmacy, a market—even scooter rentals and horseback riding! There’s so much to see and do that you might not even leave the resort.
From the moment you enter the nine-story atrium lobby with its dramatic waterfalls, saltwater aquarium, and seashell chandeliers, you’ll realize you have made an excellent choice for your stay in Cabo San Lucas. | {
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SciTechDaily
Tarot studying is an ancient form of divination that uses a set of 72 tarot cards to foretell the present, past and way forward for a person. Well being inequality – the distinction in mortality charges between the rich and the poor – is already a stark actuality Continuing developments in medical know-how are permitting those with cash to take better care of their well being through lifestyle and vitamin, take preventative measures primarily based on testing corresponding to genetic screening, and entry advanced medical interventions to remedy sicknesses when they do happen.
Submission tips: Agency accepts regular mail submissions solely; no email submissions. The quick advancing automation of know-how on the whole has given impetus to developments in various fields and improved the quality of human life. Genres: Fiction and narrative nonfiction, especially story-pushed narratives, new voices, and progressive cultural and political factors of view.
Submission tips: Question via e-mail or common mail. Submission pointers: Only accepts e-queries addressed to central e mail deal with. Genres: At present studying literary and industrial fiction and nonfiction for adults, and children’s fiction for 7+. Some psychologists have expressed considerations in regards to the social disconnect that occurs when folks swap actual life relationships for digital ones.
Due to these effects to human life and the fact that no one at the time really understood the outcomes of the experiment the Venture Rainbow was (publicly) ‘terminated’ and Von Neumann moved on to the Atomic Bomb and The Manhattan Mission. Even for many who are not any fan of computer systems or expertise, online banking allows individuals the opportunity to finish all their business in one sitting. | {
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Promoting canals and waterways as economic/environmental assets and cultural heritage
Main menu
Tag Archives: Danube-Oder-Elbe
Czech president Milos Zeman will be at the European Parliament building in Strasbourg on 26 February 2014, to lobby for inclusion of the Danube-Oder-Elbe water corridors in Europe’s ‘core corridor network’ for transport infrastructure investments.
Ostrava-based MEP Vojtech Mynar has invited interested parties to a round table with experts on the Danube-Oder-Elbe Water Corridor in the ‘Swan Bar’ gallery of the European Parliament building at 16:00. The meeting is aimed mainly at MEPs from the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. A parallel exhibition on the 100-year-old project will be on display at the venue throughout the week.
The Czech organisers, who have already established close collaboration with Poland for the Oder branch, observe that the newly adopted priorities of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) do not include the international project for the Danube-Oder-Elbe Waterways (called ‘water corridors’ to highlight the non-navigation functions of water management), despite the significant contribution these waterways could make to meeting the EU’s objectives in reduction of road transport, emissions and job creation.
To take this project into consideration, the European Commission has already advised the Czech Government that it needs to have a relevant feasibility study and statements of the Member States concerned. The aim of this event is to discuss preparation of the project with politicians and experts, and to conclude with a common statement.
NOTE to editors: IWI has already supported the D-O-E water corridor project by writing to the then President Jan Fischer on 14/07/10, as well as to key ministers, before a critical vote in the parliament. If the motion had been carried, the land reserved for these waterways could have been sold off, making it virtually impossible to build the links at any future date.
Invitation to opening of the exhibition organised by Czech MEP Vojtech Mynar in the EP building in Strasbourg
N.B. Entry to the European Parliament building in Strasbourg for this event is restricted to invitees. | {
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From the files - March 18
From our own archive we bring you what happened in the Mearns in history.
25 Years Ago - March 22, 1991
Local MP Alick Buchanan-Smith this week expressed his ‘deep worry and dismay’ over Grampian Region officials decision to recommend 240 houses be built on Green Belt land in Newtonhill.
The decision to recommend approval was announced despite a local survey which revealed nearly 80% of over 450 villagers questioned were against the Headland Properties plan.
***
Stonehaven Rotary Club scooped the Scottish premiere screening rights of Mel Gibson’s new film portrayal of ‘Hamlet’ in aid of the international charity “Sight Savers.”
“Securing permission for the premiere will, we hope, be a marvellous boost for the charity,” said the clubs international service convener, Mr Derek Hunter. “It is also the most ambitious venture of its kind we have ever been involved in.”
The film includes scenes shot at Dunnottar Castle, which many local people will have seen transformed for the filming last summer with re-vamped battlements and colourful flags.
***
Stonehaven Music Club held their final concert of the season where feet were tapping all night with a large audience longing to dance.
Ron Gonnella, one of Scotland’s leaging fiddle players, opened with some Northern fiddle music.
50 Years Ago - March 18, 1966
Four hundred attended the annual congregational social of Dunnottar Parish Church in Stonehaven wgeb Rev. J.C Campbell was honoured on his retiral after 32 years of the church.
Chris Walker Labour candidate for North Angus and Mearns sent a letter to the editor about the lack of coverage of his campaign.
He wrote: “I am disturbed at your failure to report a single word of anything I have so far said in North Angus and Mearns. I feel that what the candidate of the Party at present in Government has to say is important to people in Kincardine. I have been advised at this juncture, I have reasonable grounds for complaint to the Press Council.
Answering Mr Walker’s letter, managing editor W. H Robertson wrote back: “Up to the time of the Mearns Leader going to press last week you had not made a single speech in Kincardineshire. I may point out that you have not sent us any lust of your meetings as the other candidates have done so. Neither you or your representatives have sent us any details about yourself or your career.
“In these circumstances it is ridiculous , in my view, to complain you are not getting your fair share of the publicity we can provide, which I take to be your complaint.”
100 Years Ago - March 16, 1916
The first sitting of the Military Tribunal for the County of Kincardineshire under the new regulations was held in the County Buildings, Stonehaven.
Mr James Mowat presided and Mr John Falconer, County Clerk acted as clerk to the Tribunal, while Major Allan was military representative. Out of the 121 cases which came before the Tribunal, 96 were granted absolute exemption on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, the men on whose behalf application was made being in restricted trades or occupations.
Of these the great majority were farmers or farm workers.
***
Friday was the first day on which the fishing fleet was also able to proceed to sea, and they returned in due course of the afternoon with good takes of fish.
There were expectations that the local buyers would again refuse to attend the sale but forunately these were groundless and they were out in full force, while the “stranger” from Aberdeen also attended.
The prices were somewhat below the high level current some time ago but local buyers were keen to bid, although an occassional glance of disapproval was cast in the direction of the Aberdonian. | {
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Sony Xperia XZ Review: Price, Specs, Pros and Cons
Review of Sony Xperia XZ at a Glance:-
Sony added a new High End device in list with Camera oriented smartphone Sony Xperia XZ, This phone has many features that can attract a customer but it has some downsides that's why we have pointed some of the major Advantages/ Pros and Cons/ Disadvantages of this handset. The keys specification of Xperia XZ are 5.2 inches IPS LCD Display, Snapdragon 820 CPU, Android v6.0.1 Marshmallow, 23 MP primary | 13 MP Secondary Camera, 64 GB Internal Storage | 256 GB External Memory Card support, 3 GB RAM and 2900 mAh battery.The Re-Modified DesignThe look of phone is based on the modification of Sony's own OmniBalance design and it has large bezel area below and above the display, recently we have reviewed the Xiaomi Mi Mix with nearly negligible bezel area that's why Xperia XZ may looking much odd with such a huge bezel area. However it comes up with very elegant and comfortable design with curved glass and rounded edges that enhances the overall uncluttered look and ease in holding with single hand. May be everyone doesn't like it but in this handset Fingerprint scanner is integrated with power button on right edge, this right edge also houses Camera button and volume rockers, top has a hole for inserting 3.5mm audio jack while in the bottom USB Type C slot is fixed.
Pictures on DisplayThere is a phone Sony Xperia Z5 Premium launched in 2015 with 4K resolution and 806 ppi pixel density but now they have choose to go with optimum features regards the screen in Xperia XZ, it has 1080 x 1920 Full HD resolutions with 424ppi of display density. Alike Samsung launch High end smartphone with Super AMOLED display, Sony has developed TRILUMINOS Display for Mobile, which has X-Reality that can enhance the picture quality by adding missing pixels, reduces noise and sharpens the image. There is "glove mode" provides greater sensitivity is useful in the winter. It is well made for all kind of ambient light, so you will have a good visual experience with this handset.
The SnapShotHere this device is packed with 23MP primary camera with Exmor RS for mobile image sensor, award-winning G Lens and Sony’s Bionz image processing, which definitely help to capture better looking photos even after zooming and phone also capable to record the 4K videos. In comparing the image with Galaxy S7 Edge, the photos in low light captured from the Galaxy phone looks better. We are desperately missing the OIS in this handset although SteadyShot is helping us to some extent to stabilize the pictures. 13MP front camera is sweet cake for the selfie enthusiast people. Processor and PerformanceQualcomm Snapdragon 820 is installed with 3 GB RAM inside the phone, at this price point there is no Android handset with only 3 GB RAM, Obviously there is no hiccups in general multitasking and running different kinds of Games but when it comes to free memory and much smoother tasking Xperia XZ is behind its competitors.The Battery and ChargeThis phone has 2900 mAh battery and with Qnovo Adaptive Charging, company claims that it will have double lifespan as compare to counterpart batteries. STAMINA Mode is also help to Squeeze out every drop of battery juice efficiently. Moderate user can easily take its battery for nearly full day.Extra FeaturesYou need not to worry about the accidental fall in water or rains, Device is IP68 certified dust proof and water resistant over 1.5 meter water depth for 30 minutes. Sony is also offering Stereo Front Facing speakers with good audio quality but the speaker loudness is below average.
Pros of Sony Xperia XZ
IP68 certified dust proof and water resistant body up to 1.5 meter of depth.
Memory can be Extended up to 256 GB.
Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection for the display.
Fast battery charging (Quick Charge 3.0)
Google Cast and NFC is supported.
Fast Fingerprint sensor is located in the side power button.
It has front-facing stereo speakers.
Cons of Sony Xperia XZ
No IR blaster.
Mediocre Speaker in loudness.
FM Radio is not pre-installed.
SIM 2 can't be used separately with memory card (Hybrid SIM Slot)
Battery is non-removable
3 GB RAM is less as compared to counterpart smartphones.
Why to buy and Final words about Sony Xperia XZ
This phone is an example of classical handset design with optimum features and good camera combination, there is nothing new about the craftsmanship while overall look of the handset is eye pleasing. Although many user may hate the large bezels which is cutting the area for main display. Sony featuring stereo front facing but the loudness is not as much as expected. However you always have options to choose from like LG G5, hTC 10 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. | {
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McDonald’s: Select locations will be giving children in grades 3-11 (because they will be doing MFA testing) a FREE Egg McMuffin, Apple Slices and Milk from 6-9 am on Monday April 15. – Thanks, CreativeCouponing | {
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Manufacturers 'removing ingredients from labels'
An increasing number of food manufacturers are changing the ingredients they add to certain foods in order to make them appeal to health-minded individuals.
More consumers than ever before are paying close attention to the foods they eat - something that has spurred companies to amend the way they label items.
Food and beverage firms are learning that the inclusion of unfamiliar and potentially unhealthy ingredients on products can invite criticism from shoppers. In fact, some big brands have reformulated top-selling products to remove mysterious components that could come under fire from consumers.
Pepsi was just one of the companies to do so. Last year, the drinks manufacturer said it would stop using brominated vegetable oil in Gatorade and find another way to evenly distribute colour in the beverage.
In addition, Starbucks vowed to stop using a red dye made of crushed insects based on criticism it had received through several means, including an online petition.
Ali Dibadj, a Bernstein analyst who covers the packaged food and beverage industry, said: "It used to be that people would just decide not to buy the product. Now they’re actually agitating for change.
"There’s a bullhorn - which is the internet - so you can get a lot of people involved very quickly."
Suggestions over consumers' doubts have also been recorded across the globe, with new research claiming that nearly 80 per cent of people in Taiwan do not trust ingredient labels on food.
What's more, a similar majority have little faith in the government's management of food safety.
Research carried out by Global Views Monthly found that 78.7 per cent of respondents do not trust officials' capabilities in managing food safety, compared with just 15.1 per cent who have faith in the authorities. | {
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Holland, MI – September 22, 2017 – BluJay Solutions, a leading provider of supply chain software and services powered by the world’s first Global Trade Network (GTN), today announced the key company activities taking place at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ (CSCMP) 2017 Global Conference, EDGE. A gold sponsor, BluJay will be showcasing solutions that reinforce the central themes of the show, which include innovation, agility, big data, and collaboration – all hallmarks of BluJay’s solutions. CSCMP takes place September 24 to 27 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga.
BluJay Solutions is an active participant at CSCMP’s EDGE, speaking with both Uber Freight and Ace Hardware regarding the future of the supply chain industry. Presentations include:
BluJay and Uber Freight – The Future of Shipper and Carrier Collaboration: On Tuesday, September 26 from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m., Jeff Potts, Vice President, BluJay Solutions, and William Driegert, Director, Uber Freight, will present a session that spotlights how independent ecosystems between shippers and carriers can be linked into a common platform to work in harmony. (Level 2, C211-C212, Edge Session 5)
BluJay and ACE Hardware – Using Change Management to Break Down Silos for Continuous Improvement: On Tuesday, September 26 from 3:45 to 5:00 p.m., Jason Nurmi, Vice President of Technical Services, BluJay Solutions, and Scott McLean, Director of Transportation, ACE Hardware, will share how the company eliminated internal silos across its extensive supply chain to drive continuous improvement year over year. (Level 1, C102, Edge Session 6)
Central to these presentations and the success of BluJay’s customers and partners is the Global Trade Network, providing numerous benefits that result from interactivity among carriers, shippers, forwarders, suppliers, 3PLs, and customers. A living ecosystem of supply chain partners all connected through one cloud-based technology platform, the GTN model drives a powerful network effect with the benefits of universal connectivity among participants.
Visit BluJay Solutions at the Relaxation Station at CSCMP’s EDGE, or schedule a meeting with BluJay representatives by contacting BluJayUS@teamlewis.com. | {
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This position is responsible for performing full life cycle Recruiting and specializes in filling roles within the healthcare industry. Utilizes labor market data and knowledge of talent pools to develop sourcing plans and strategies and translate this to a fact based recommendation to the hiring team, executive leadership and other internal stakeholders. Builds networks and relationships through industry contacts, colleagues, trade groups, etc. to identify active and passive candidates for various positions.
Requirements
Leverages industry and company knowledge to aggressively recruit high caliber, well-qualified applicants from a variety of sources, including cold calling, sourcing on applicant tracking system, sourcing on LinkedIn, Social Media, and various Job Boards, and other networking opportunities.
Maintains a wide ongoing network of contacts and prospects
Drives and manages the total recruiting strategy for both leadership and candidates
Conducts in-depth telephone assessment of applicants through comprehensive interviewing and work history review.
Establish and maintain constant communication with various levels of executives and hiring managers of healthcare facilities and operations
Ability to conduct effective needs analysis assessment for new business strategies and initiatives
Acts as an employer brand ambassador and helps to drive candidate interest in career opportunities. Demonstrates the ability to sell CHRISTUS Health by understanding and utilizing candidates' varied interests to tailor marketing messages to be as compelling and persuasive as possible. Helps team to generate and deliver content that promotes and supports CHRISTUS Health's employment brand.
Actively participates in recruiting initiatives and projects.
Develops and executes innovative sourcing strategies and campaigns aimed at generating quality candidates to meet the overall recruiting goals while always maintaining an emphasis on creating a diverse pool of talent.
Proactively conducts market research in an effort to develop knowledge of current external industry/market/competitor trends and concurrently develops internal knowledge of the business.
Takes a thoughtful, customer-focused approach to candidate requests and inquiries. Delivers a positive candidate experience through continuous communication, follow-up, and engagement throughout the selection process.
Creates a culture of innovation by taking the initiative to look for and suggest ways to continuously improve the recruiting process and drive toward higher efficiency and quality.
Education, Experience, & Skills:
Bachelor's degree in a related area preferred.
2+ years of experience in high volume recruiting required.
Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills interacting with managers, directors, and C Level Executives. Strong communicator who will consistently and effectively present information regarding the strategic recruiting plan in one-on-one and small group situations to internal clients.
Ability to manage a full desk and requisition load in a consultative capacity.
Our Mission: WHY WE EXIST. To extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Our Core Values: WHAT WE BELIEVE IN.DIGNITY Respect for the worth of every person, recognition and commitment to the value of diverse individuals and perspectives, and special concern for the poor and underserved. INTEGRITY Honesty, justice, and consistency in all relationships. EXCELLENCE High standards of service and performance. COMPASSION Service in a spirit of empathy, love, and concern. STEWARDSHIP Wise and just use of talents and resources in a collaborative manner.Our Vision: WHAT WE ARE STRIVING TO DO. CHRISTUS HEALTH, a Catholic health ministry, will be a leader, a partner and an advocate in the creation of innovative health and wellness solutions that improve the lives of individuals and communities so that all may experience God's healing presence and love. Our Name and Symbol:WHO WE ARE. CHRISTUS is Latin for "Christ," and proclaims publicly the core of our mission. OUR NAME choice also recognizes the heritage of our two congregational sponsors, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Houston and San Antonio. Jesus Christ is the Incarnate Word, the Word of God made flesh. It is, theref...ore, only fitting that it is in another form of His name that our health ministries are called together. OUR SYMBOL Reflects the healing ministry of Jesus Christ - a combination of a medical cross and a religious cross. The flowing banner on the cross is a common symbol of the risen Christ, while the royal purple signifies Christ. The flowing banner also conveys a sense of motion as we move forward into a new era of service to our communities. | {
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How To Meet Hot Emo Girls
Meeting a hot emo girl certainly isn't simple. They typically prefer to stay clear of major social situations and usually are at their best when doing something they love, by themselves. The idea is to have one of those "somethings" be you. Here are some tips and trips to meeting a hot emo girl.
Visit Club Emo. The name of this site should say it all. There are plenty of emo girls for the picking. Consider this web site to be like match.com except its only man for emo people to connect and chat. It's totally free to sign up for and every emo person on it is guaranteed 100% verified. Also, there is a news feed on the site of upcoming events in your area, that could, in fact, lead you to more emo girls.
Join Emo Bucket. This web site celebrates all things emo! You can follow the latest emo trends in hair style and fashion. The forum on this are a great place to chat with emo girls.
Attend Shows. Always attend as many shows as possible. For example, if you find out that Avenge Sevenfold is coming to a venue nearby, go to the show. Go stag, or with friends, either way, go. The night may end without meeting anyone, but at least this way you can go to an Emo forum and tell other interested Emo girls about it.
Get a job in a mall. Having a job in an obscure location won't help with meeting passersby. A mall can be packed full of people. Statistically speaking, the more people you're surrounded by, the more chances are that they are hot emo girls. Also, any extra cash earned can be used for dates and/or attending shows.
Become familiar with a coffee shop. Be it a major chain or locally owned, coffee shops are an excellent place to relax, read Poe, and meet Emo chicks. Coffee shops have become the much more savvy version of a bar. Buying a girl a cup of Chai tea appears to be much safer than a Long Island. They key is to never give up. Hot emo girls are out there and they are looking for you as much as you are looking for them. Just remember to be yourself and she will come along. | {
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Juicy Links: March 16 – March 20
Advanced recommendation engines are now available and affordable for even small retailers. Despite that, only one in four retailers are currently offering personalized product recommendations. These recommendations help improve cross selling, up selling & customer loyalty. Of those polled at internet retailer, this functionality was second only to video functionality in terms of next steps for online retailers.
The 2009 Search Engine Strategies (SES) Conference is where approximately 5,000 marketers, corporate decision makers, webmasters and search engine marketers (SEMs) come together to network and learn the latest tips, tactics and strategies. It’s underway now and here are the top 10 stories from day one with pictures and video.
First, a new technology has been deployed to understand the associations of a given search phrase. Google offered up the example of “principles of physics.” With the new technology, Google now understands that “angular momentum,” “special relativity,” “big bang” and “quantum mechanic” are terms associated with the original term. Second, long search queries will now return results with more lines of description when necessary.
YouTube is adding more features to its Insights platform that helps video publishers get a more detailed look at how their uploads are performing on the site. Users will now get a “Community” tab that includes information on ratings, the number of users who favorite videos, comment counts and geographical breakdowns.
A recent study (data provided) suggests that, after email from friends and family, people spend the most time reading / participating with opt-in email. This is just another reason to focus on your opt-in email sign-ups on your site. | {
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2017 Bouchard Pere Et Fils Nuits St. George Les Cailles premier Cru
Situated in the south of the village of Nuits-Saint-Georges, the "Climat" of Les Cailles is different from its neighbours, producing an elegant, feminine wine. As early as 1892, Danguy and Aubertin classified it as a "tête de cuvée" in their book "Les Grands Vins de Bourgogne". Bouchard Père & Fils owns 1.08 hectares of this exceptional "terroir" where the ground is oolithic chalk (chalk composed of ooliths i.e. little balls of the size of fish eggs formed by the concretion of chalk on hard stones) | {
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FINALE (Brian Davies): A card is selected (face unseen) from a red-backed deck and retained by a spectator. A number is chosen and counted in a blue-backed deck. The two cards match!
THE POWER OF SUGGESTION (Barrie Richardson): A ring is placed around the neck of a Coca Cola bottle. The ring is removed, vanished and it appears back on the neck of the bottle!
DOMINO TELEPATHY (Anonimous): All the domino pieces are put together in line. You devine the spots at each end of the chain. A classic!
COLOR CROSSER (Max Maven): A series of stunning effects using just a packet of cards! SCAT (Sebastian Cody): Here you have a packet routine, which combines elements of 'Twisting the Aces,' 'The Six Card Repeat,' 'Wild Card' and Alex Elmsley's 'Four Card Trick!'
OPTICAL DELUSIONS (Sebastian Cody): To an appropriate story, three cards with colored circles on the front undergo a variety of changes!
THE P.K. KEY (Nico Thelman): A key is handed around for examination. It is attached to a string which is hung around the neck of a spectator. The key acquires a corkscrew like twist. The key may be examined!
EVEN FURTHER THAN FURTHER THAN THAT (Cushing Strout): A funny version of the classic trick with several climaxes including a lie detector test! | {
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Stepping Into Dreams
The six dancers in Liz Gerring’s she dreams in code move as if tracking along known paths—or maybe it’s the animals being tracked that they resemble in their supple physicality and intent focus. Premiering last fall at the Baryshnikov Center and shown in Jacob’s Pillow’s Doris Duke Studio Theater August 15 through 19, Gerring’s wonderfully poetic work creates an ambiance through stage design, sound score, dimly heard words, and choreography; together, they make you think of dreamscapes. Movement patterns recur in fragments, canonic strands merge into unison and split again. People come and go, pass through, or stay to fit themselves into ongoing phrases of dancing. Often someone’s dancing alone in a corner while others are attracting attention downstage. Images skitter or flow into your consciousness. Familiar sounds in Michael J. Schumacher’s richly imaginative score (a cello, a piano. . .) cede to—or drown in— heavy exhalations or rumbles of a train; delicate tickings or janglings or rattlings overlay pattering drums. (Unlike many of the electronic scores I hear at dance performances, I can see myself sitting down, eyes closed, and listening to this one.)
Canadian media artist Willy Le Maitre’s scenic design also incites dreams. The initial projection on the backdrop, a textured blue-green wash shading to pale red, is also the last one, but the next-to-last images reveal what has been blurred out: a blue wooden building and a smaller red one with a blue-framed window. In one of the projections, a bush has covered the window. Over the course of the piece, many curious visions invade the backdrop: speckled patterns, twinkling points of light, what could be skeletal eye sockets or hole-pocked beach rocks, water dripping down a windowpane, globular shapes descending. . . .A building melts, slides. Strangely unreal snow blankets a city street. There’s a cave, and a sudden huge, blazing star that, along with the music, signals a climax that never quite happens.
And then there is the voice of Elizabeth Dement. Midway through she dreams in code,we start to hear it intermittently—sometimes doubled, sometimes swallowed by the music. A woman is softly recounting her dreams. You know the kind. They begin, “Once I saw. . .” or “I was walking down a road. . .” or “I never remember being cold in my dream. . . .”
Gerring challenges us from the start. Part of the sound score is playing softly as the audience enters. Just after the house lights go out, they come back on again with full intensity, accompanying the very evocative lighting created by Carolyn Wong. They’re immediately extinguished again, leaving us wondering whether the flash was a mistake, the music heard earlier a test.
The first four dancers on stage—Ben Asriel, Tony Neidenbach, Brandin Steffensen, and Jessica Weiss—establish the tone. These are athletes: strong, flexible, apparently tireless. Jillian Lewis has dressed them in trim outfits patched in shades of gray and blue; the women’s legs are bare. The performers often hurl themselves into moves, but the ending of each is precise and shaped, however loosely. So are their paths in space. They cover ground with big strides; little fast steps, like a backward jog, are less frequent. Throughout she dreams in code, the dancers are springy—leap and jump easily, cartwheel. But they’re strongly attracted to the ground. How often they lope, bent over; squat; roll; fall; stay fallen a while; tilt off balance; cartwheel. . . .Their hands are on the floor as often as their feet are.
Two more dancers—Adele Nickel and Claire Westby—enter at the back to instigate counterpoint. There’s no story here, but, of course, given that these are human beings, we attribute motives and emotions and atmospheres to what we see. When the three women, spaced out over the stage, slowly lift one leg behind them and tip forward, they might be leaning over to stare into a pond. They suspend this moment for quite a while. (Some might call this an arabesque penchée; not me. Only the underlying mechanics are the same.) When Steffensen travels on all fours with Weiss hanging under him, her arms clasped around him, you think of the jungle. Partners face each other; one, braced, provides support for some maneuvers, then backs off, so the other can try the whole thing again. As if this were a practice session. At one point, Steffensen, supine, lifts Weiss above him in the woman-flying position we’ve seen in other dances, but this time, the man slowly bends his arms and lowers the woman until she’s lying draped across his body, and they just stay there, breathing together for a few seconds.
I may not have conveyed how much subtle variety Gerring has provided in terms of dynamics and spatial design. Or how skillfully she uses repetition to alter your vision or shift your perception of time from, say, several people, each engaged in a separate fast pursuit, followed by one person doing the same thing over and over. Gerring’s sense of form holds the vigorous, even break-neck actions in control and reveals the dancers as the splendid athletes that they are in a human-scale terrain that’s as challenging as any balance beam.
Comments
Thank you for this description. I could not attend this and so wish I had been there!
Deborah Jowitt
Deborah Jowitt began to dance professionally in 1953, to choreograph in 1961, and to write about dancing in 1967. Read More…
DanceBeat
This blog acknowledges my appetite for devouring dancing and spitting out responses to it. Criticism that I love to read—and have been struggling to write ever since the late 1960s—probes deeply and imaginatively into choreography and dancing, … [Read More...] | {
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Product Description
The Turtles team up with your keys! With this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Donatello Pop! Vinyl Figure Key Chain, Vinyl Figure styling, but shrunken down and made for your keys! measures 1 1/2-Inch tall and comes on a key ring. | {
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Five questions for Tennessee basketball
It seems like just yesterday Kentucky was cutting down the nets in New Orleans after winning the NCAA men’s basketball championship, but the season has suddenly rolled around again.
Practice begins on Friday, so it’s a good time to take a serious look at Tennessee, which missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in six years last season under first-year coach Cuonzo Martin but appears capable of making the Big Dance field again next March, provided the following questions are answered in the affirmative:
• Is point guard Trae Golden ready to take his game to another level?
If the answer to this question is yes, the Vols, too, can ascend to another level. Golden was inconsistent on both ends of the floor last season, but in fairness to him, his role had dramatically changed. His playing time was sporadic as a freshman, so it was his first time making major contributions. And he was doing it for a new coach and learning a new system.
Some have questioned Golden’s toughness, shot selection, defense … but when he’s good, he’s a great straight-ahead passer, can score on the drive or with a reliable 3-point stroke and can take over games. Golden can score 25 points one night and hand out 10 assists the next, but he needs to become more consistent at penetrating and finding open shooters, and he needs to be more of a disruptive defensive presence at the point of the opponent’s attack.
Typically, when a coach who utilizes the five-man motion takes over a new program, his players struggle for a good half season before they finally get the hang of the all the cutting, screening and passing principles. By season’s end, though, the offense begins to produce more scoring opportunities, and the team’s scoring average and shooting percentages increase while their turnovers decrease.
Looking back at Tennessee a year ago, that’s exactly what happened.
In year two of the motion, players are usually even more comfortable, new wrinkles are introduced by the coaching staff and offensive efficiency takes another couple of strides forward.
Tennessee has an added advantage of having conducted 10 practices and played four games in Italy in August. Golden thinks the Vols’ motion will be significantly better than a year ago.
“Everybody has grown up and is more mature,” Golden said. “Our new guys are very smart. We understand [the motion] better now. We understand the cuts. We’re not as stagnant and people are moving. Everybody knows their roles.”
The offshoot of this familiarity, the Tennessee staff hopes, is fewer turnovers and more open looks, which should translate into more made perimeter shots.
• Will Jarnell Stokes crush people in the paint?
The sophomore who was such a revelation as a mid-semester freshman last season will be given freedom to take advantage of his well-rounded offensive game. In other words, he’ll have the green light to take face-up jump shots, even out to 3-point range. But at 6-foot-8 and a newly sculpted 267 pounds, Stokes will also be asked to dominate in the low post.
Everyone who has seen Stokes up close—Martin and his staff; Florida’s Billy Donovan, Gonzaga’s Mark Few and VCU’s Shaka Smart, all of whom served as coaches for the USA U18 team Stokes played on this summer—believe the big man can bury opponents and dunk over them, provide he puts his mind to it.
Would it be too much to think Stokes could average 15 points and eight boards in what will be his first full season? No it wouldn’t.
• Can Jeronne Maymon produce even more than he did last year?
Considering he underwent surgery on both knees after last season, it’s safe to assume that what Maymon accomplished—remember his 32-point, 20-rebound performance against Memphis, or his 19 boards against Auburn?—was done at less than 100 percent.
Was the surgery successful? That’s a big key, and so far, the Tennessee coaches have exercised caution with Maymon, who could be the best rebounder in the Southeastern Conference. If he’s ready to rumble and Stokes’ development continues, Tennessee could lead the SEC in field-goal percentage and rebound margin. And if the Vols do that, they’ll win enough games to make that return to the NCAAs a certainty.
• Can a newcomer step forward, and if so, who will it be?
By all accounts, 6-6 junior college transfer D’Montre Edwards has the best chance of starting. He’s long, loves to rebound and can make shots. But 6-5 freshman Armani Moore may be the most important newcomer, because he’s proven he can play the point.
Last year, when Martin had to rest Golden, the Vols’ offense struggled. Tennessee’s springtime recruiting priority was to find a backup point. Like Edwards, Moore is rangy. He’s good in the open floor and he can get into the lane and score, or find open shooters.
If Moore can provide 10-12 solid minutes a game and Golden has to play only 28-30, the latter will be much more effective. And if he’s more effective, well, see question No. 1 above. | {
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Job offer @ Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel
October 22, 2015
Supporting the Head of Artistic Department
Function description: The person will be supporting the Head of Artistic Department carrying out a wide variety of administrative duties. This position requires a high level of motivation, flexibility, availability and an ability to work without supervision.
The responsibilites consist of :
Scheduling lessons, rehearsals, etc., & also coordinating between the teaching staff & students | {
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2013 Form W-9 Released by the IRS
The IRS has released a new Form W-9 with updates for 2013. The form is used to provide a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to someone who needs to file an information return with the IRS to report one of the following:
income paid to you
real estate transactions
mortgage interest you paid
acquisition or abandonment of secured property
cancellation of debt
contributions made to an IRA
For an individual, this would be a Social Security Number. For a business, this would be an Employer Identification Number.
Form W-9 Revisions
As of August 2013, Form W-9 has been revised. Below is a list of changes to make sure you are away of. You should begin using the new form right away.
The “Purpose of Form” section now contains references to payments made in settlement of payment card and third party network transactions.
Also under “Purpose of Form”, What is FATCA reporting? explains the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act requiring a participating foreign financial institution to report all US account holders that are specified US persons. Certain payees are exempt from FATCA reporting, and the Form W-9 instructions have been expanded to include the list of exemptions from FATCA.
The “Certification” section of Form W-9 has been revised to address the exemption from FATCA reporting.
he customer support team is cooperative, attentive, and can speak on my level. They can be creative in developing solutions to issues whether major or minor. I have and will continue to recommend OSI to any person that will listen. | {
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Ron Thom
Ron Thom Renewal
Trent master planner Ron Thom and his team of designers, architects and engineers shaped Trent’s distinct identity through their bold work. From the harmony of original light fixtures, tables and chairs, to the stunning rubble aggregate of Bata Library and Champlain College, and the sweeping elegance of the Faryon Bridge, they left an extraordinary design and architectural legacy.
“The physical character of a university must reflect its philosophical idea….” Ron Thom, Letter, 1963
Thom was given the challenge of designing a campus that was “a place of aesthetic as well as of intellectual excitement.” The result was a visual and experiential masterpiece of mid-century modernism that continues to inspire alumni and students today.
Through careful investment, these remarkable buildings and furnishings will continue to attract students and stimulate aesthetic and intellectual engagement. | {
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A black bear startled a guest at a Days Inn and Suites in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The bear toppled trash cans in search of food. The 'shaking' woman videotaped the bear and warned other guests. [Read More]
LOS ANGELES — Staples Center was abuzz with a playoff atmosphere as LeBron James made his Lakers ' home debut. L.A. Live and the downtown streets were packed, with a majority of the people seemingly wearing James' No... [Read More]
For the first time in Nocturne's 10-year history, an Indigenous artist, Raven Davis, curated the annual nighttime art festival. The Anishinaabe artist was chosen after the Halifax-based festival partnered with the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective. [Read More]
A 26-year-old mother from Del Paso Heights was found dead a few days after she was reported missing. Police say Candice DeAnda was reported missing under suspicious circumstances from her Branch Street home last Tuesday. Her body and car were found near her home. Officials arrested a person of interest on unrelated charges but have not released the identity yet. Neighbors say they were hoping DeAnda would be found. They say the young mother of two... [Read More]
The former NFL star who was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder of his girlfriend and attempting to destroy their unborn child almost 20 years ago is set to be released from prison Monday. [Read More] | {
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Hybrid View
Flexlm target running fine in nodelocked but not with floating lic
Hello guys,
im stepping forward to study flexlm and handle my first target. Its flexlm 11.5 protected. Extracting features find the necessary subs was okay (took some time but hey im a noob^^)
After patching the app and the daemon:
The app runs fine with a local nodelocked license.
The daemon also accepts everything i feed to it.
If i force the app to load the lic (which is exactly the same as the nodelocked lic, with needed server lines etc. ofc) through the daemon it says me there is an inconsistence key...
It seems im missing something essential?!?!? | {
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} |
The 10 Best Restaurants In Utah
The state of Utah is an often overlooked gem in the American Southwest. Boasting five national parks and countless opportunities for world-class skiing, Utah’s access to adventure is unparalleled. Add to that a burgeoning restaurant scene, and we may have just found one of the most exciting travel destinations in the world. Having narrowed down a list of dozens of excellent establishments, we highlight the top ten restaurants in The Beehive State.
Forage
Forage could play ball with fine-dining restaurants in any bigger city. The upscale eatery took the Salt Lake dining scene by storm just a few short years ago, with its creativity and innovation – unmatched in the area. Forage offers a prix-fixe menu that changes often, utilizing ingredients at the peak of freshness. The chefs are dedicated to connecting people with their food, by buying as much from local farmers and purveyors as possible. The head chef has been known to forage (literally) the bounteous Wasatch Mountains for wild herbs, leaves, and flowers that he uses in his dishes. Reservations are highly recommended.
Takashi
Takashi brings world-class sushi and Japanese cuisine to Salt Lake City. Though Utah is entirely landlocked, the chefs manage to serve only the highest-quality seafood. The menu is extensive, offering a variety of options like traditional maki rolls, nigiri, and sashimi. Takashi also offers several cooked entrees, to accommodate diners who may be squeamish about consuming raw fish. Fan favorites include the shiitake lamb shank in yellow curry, the wok-tossed asparagus with glass noodles, and the lightly fried vegetable tempura. One of the most popular sushi rolls is the Strawberry Fields, consisting of escolar, strawberry, and chili peppers, with toasted almonds and eel sauce.
Riverhorse on Main
Riverhorse on Main has become a well-respected mainstay in the Park City dining scene. In the last two decades, Riverhorse has received numerous prestigious accolades, both locally and nationally. The restaurant blends the friendliness of Park City’s small-town main street, with a decidedly urban, swanky feel. High-quality steaks and fresh fish dishes are a highlight on the menu, with local game like buffalo, venison, and elk also appearing as popular dishes. The restaurant is open daily for dinner and also for a delightful Sunday brunch. Riverhorse graciously offers to accommodate food allergies and dietary needs, making this a destination for any diner to enjoy.
Valter’s Osteria
Restaurant, Italian, $$$
A relative new-comer to Salt Lake’s downtown restaurant scene, Valter’s Osteria is full of Italian charm. The owner, and restaurant’s namesake, is familiar to local diners, having worked in other fine restaurants nearby. He modeled Valter’s as a place to welcome guests to his Tuscan heritage, service, and cuisine, and often personally visits each table. The result is an experience that is warm and memorable. The menu offers both Tuscan classics and updated traditional fare. Pastas and gnocchi are made in-house, and meats and seafood are selected and prepared perfectly.
Copper Onion
Since opening in 2010, Copper Onion’s popularity has exploded. Locals flock to this contemporary American locale, making the atmosphere lively and always upbeat. The menu is intentionally small, seasonally driven and expertly crafted. The Copper Onion’s interior is chic and open, with uncomplicated decor and neutral, soothing tones. An outdoor patio provides an ideal place to people-watch in the summer months. The menu offers small plates of vegetables, fine meats, and cheeses, designed to be shared. Favorites include ricotta dumplings, with thyme, lemon, and sage, and Wagyu beef stroganoff, on a bed of house-made pappardelle pasta.
Painted Pony
Restaurant, American, $$$
Embracing the influences of the southwest, Painted Pony upgrades local flavors and styles with sophistication. The restaurant is located in the St. George, the southernmost city in Utah, in an area that is characterized by red sandstone canyons, and a stunning desert landscape. The decor of Painted Pony perfectly marries contemporary, clean lines with rugged warmth. Dishes like sage-smoked quail and pork chops brined with juniper berries showcase the unique flavors that are available in the region. Painted Pony’s upscale atmosphere, impeccable food, and extensive wine list make this a must-stop destination in Southern Utah.
Hell’s Backbone Grill
Restaurant, American, Contemporary, Vegetarian, $$$
Hell’s Backbone Grill is definitely off the beaten path, but it is nonetheless worth the trip. The restaurant’s location right in the middle of sprawling national parks and rustic wilderness is part of the overall charm. Hell’s Backbone grill serves organic food from local sources, often taking fresh produce straight from its six-acre farm, with two gardens on sight. The restaurant is committed to sustainability on many levels, and proudly supports a number of non-profit organizations. When it comes right down to it, the excellent food is really what puts Hell’s Backbone on the map. For breakfast, try the blue corn pancakes, and for dinner, don’t miss the steelhead trout with tarragon butter.
Looks like it's closedHours or services may be impacted due to Covid-19
Log Haven
Nestled in the verdant, picturesque Millcreek Canyon, Log Haven serves American fare in a setting that exudes romance. The estate was originally built as a vacation home in the 1920s and has changed hands – and been added to -several times since. The result is a restaurant that feels effortlessly homey, with an ideal ambiance for any special occasion. Log Haven’s dining room has sweeping views of the Wasatch National Forest and the outdoor lawn has become a local favorite for summer weddings. Open only for dinner, the menu offers classics like steak, salmon and duck, with surprising dishes like grilled bison steak, and elk carpaccio. For an excellent meal set in the heart of some of Utah’s most beautiful mountains, Log Haven is not to be missed.
Communal
In a town that isn’t otherwise known for creativity or going against the grain, Communal has certainly made its mark. The restaurant is located in Provo, just 45 minutes south of Utah’s capital. Communal touts a fresh-from-the-farm menu, with plenty of creativity and flair. Developing a sense of community is of the utmost importance, and the restaurant works hard to build relationships with local purveyors and with their customers. An immense amount of thought and soul goes into crafting memorable dishes and experiences at Communal. The restaurant is open for lunch, dinner, and Saturday brunch, and is just as welcoming and unpretentious as it can be.
The Tree Room
Restaurant, American, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, $$$
Another long-standing establishment in Utah’s restaurant scene is the Tree Room. Situated amid majestic mountains at the base of Sundance ski resort, the Tree Room is the epitome of rustic beauty. The restaurant is like an upscale log cabin, with cozy fireplaces, live trees growing up through the floorboards, and Native American blankets and art adorning the walls. Priding itself on sustainable, organic, and local fare, the menu serves updated American dishes, with a distinctively western vibe. Trout amandine is served with pickled turnip and haricot verts, and the beet salad features a burnt rosemary panna cotta. The Tree Room truly is a unique and delicious Utah experience. | {
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Pages
Contact
Contact
For questions, collaborations, features or anything you would like to speak about just email me at jmhdesigns86@gmail.com
About Pins, Needles & Fashion
I was born and raised in New York City. My passion for all aspects of design/fashion started at a young age and continues to motivate me today. One of the main goals of P, N & F is to showcase how you can style pieces on a budget and look great doing so. | {
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Lorraine Perkins McInnis, Scott Schlegel and John Sudderth, who also are asking voters to elect them as the newest judge at the Jefferson Parish Courthouse in Gretna, combined to spend just over $158,000 through March 17, according to the reports available at the Louisiana Ethics Administration's website.
Landry spent $187,286 during the same period, giving herself high visibility with campaign signs and through at least three television advertisements that have appeared so far.
Voters in East Jefferson's Election Section 2, which comprises 80 precincts, will decide the race. The election section roughly includes Metairie west of Clearview Parkway to Kenner, and all of River Ridge and Harahan. A runoff, if needed, is May 4. The winner will serve the remainder of Murphy's term, which ends in 2014.
The Supreme Court rule says candidates "shall'' file the statement within 10 days of filing their notices of candidacy. Landry's media consultant, Greg Buisson, said Thursday that the campaign's position is that filing disclosure statements "is not a requirement" under Supreme Court rules. The Landry campaign has complied with ethical requirements, "but we don't believe that this one applies in this race," Buisson said.
McInnis reports no business ownership, but owns her home and has a mortgage, according to her disclosure statement.
Schlegel reported he has no business ownerships, sold his stock options in 2011, earning less than $25,000, and owns a home, according to his statement.
Sudderth earned modest income with his part time private law practice and through stock dividends. He, too, is a homeowner, according to his disclosure statement.
Landry has raised $217,225 through March 29, much of it from law firms, and has bolstered her coffers with three loans she made to herself, totaling $177,198 since Aug. 8, 2012, her reports show.
For the past four years, Landry held a part time job as an assistant district attorney in Jefferson Parish. She was assigned to the 24th Judicial District's Drug Court program. The mother of three children, she is married to Mickey Landry, a plaintiff's lawyer whose New Orleans firm, Landry, Swarr & Canella, specializes in asbestos cases. In 2003, he ran for a state House seat but lost in a runoff to John LaBruzzo.
University of New Orleans political scientist Ed Chervenak said candidates often lend their campaigns cash as "seed money," and then seek donations to pay off the debt.
"Typically if they borrow money they hold fundraisers to retire that debt. That happens all the time," Chervenak said.
Sudderth doesn't appear to be following that strategy. A married father of three children who attend Catholic schools, Sudderth, who has taken leave from his job as an assistant attorney general, loaned his campaign $137,000, his reports show.
However, his campaign raised only $15,200 in cash, the least amount in the race.
Sudderth has spent $88,420 through March 17, his reports show. He, too, has aired television commercials.
Schlegel, a married father of one child who resigned as a felony prosecutor in Jefferson Parish to launch his campaign, has spent $42,400 through March 17. He raised $65,785 during the same period, his records show.
McInnis, a divorced mother of four and the only candidate who has experience as a judge, trailed the pack in spending, at $27,385, her reports show. Her campaign raised $37,215 through March 17. McInnis' campaign has also run a television commercial. | {
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Get in touch with a representative from Lax Playground!
Harvard Announces 2012 Men’s Lacrosse Schedule
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –The Harvard men’s lacrosse team will play seven home games and face four teams which reached last year’s NCAA tournament during the 2012 campaign.
Under Chris Wojcik ’96, who is in his second season as The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men’s Lacrosse, the Crimson will host 2011 NCAA tournament participant Hofstra and will visit Duke, Cornell and Penn, who made the NCAA postseason a year ago.
Harvard, which posted a 10-6 overall record, including a 3-3 mark in the Ivy League, reached the final of the Ivy tournament. This year’s Ancient Eight tournament will be held May 4-6 at the home field of the regular-season champion. The winner of the tournament will receive the Ancient Eight’s automatic berth to the NCAA championship.
“Our players and coaches eagerly await the 2012 season and the opportunity to compete in the Ivy League,” coach Wojcik said. “In addition, we have assembled a competitive out of conference schedule, and our program is looking forward to the challenge.”
The Crimson will open the 2012 season at home, hosting Vermont Feb. 25. Harvard will then visit local rival Holy Cross Feb. 28, before returning home to welcome Hofstra March 3. A week late, Harvard travels to play Georgetown March 10, before visiting Duke March 12.
The Ivy League season begins by hosting Brown under the lights at Harvard Stadium March 17 at 7 p.m. The Crimson will remain in Cambridge to welcome Dartmouth March 24.
Harvard will take a step out of conference play when it faces Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass., for a midweek game March 27. The Crimson will also host Michigan, who is entering its first season at the Division I level, at Harvard Stadium March 31.
Coach Wojcik and the Crimson makes the trip to Cornell April 7, before returning home to welcome Quinnipiac for a Tuesday night game April 10. Harvard will then close out the regular season by visiting Penn April 14, hosting Princeton April 21 and then heading back on the road to play at Yale April 28.
Harvard will serve as host of the NCAA Championships at Gillette Stadium May 26-28, 2012. | {
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The Future of Japanese-Chinese Relations Under Japan’s New Government: An Expert Weighs In
The United States was not the only country that voted for change this past year. On August 30, 2009, after fifty-four years of essentially one-party rule, the Japanese people voted overwhelmingly to usher in a completely new government and a new way of thinking. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which ruled Japan since 1955, was completely rejected. Obtaining only 119 out of 480 seats of the House of Representatives (the lower Diet), the LDP took a second seat to the younger and fresher Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). The DPJ won 308 seats in the House, ensuring that their leader, Yukio Hatoyama, would become Prime Minister.
The DPJ’s victory guarantees that much change will come to Japan. Already in the first few weeks of Prime Minister Hatoyama’s tenure, he has called for the complete transformation of the traditional government-bureaucracy relationship, the need to rework Japan’s economic recovery plan, and has called for a review of U.S. troops in stationed in Japan.
But little has been made of the impact of Japan’s new government on its relation with its large and imposing neighbor to the west: China. Will the Hatoyama government seek to work with China or further alienate China by continuing to glorify Japan’s World War II past? Is Japan’s goal to look inward to Asia at the expense of its relationship with the U.S.? To answer these questions, I spoke with Gerald Curtis, a Columbia University political science professor and expert on Japanese politics, government and society. In analyzing the future of Japanese-Chinese relations, Professor Curtis left me with another word that has been used frequently in recent elections: hope.
Transcript of Interview with Prof. Gerald Curtis
EL: My first question is: how do you envision the China-Japanese relationship changing with the change of government in Japan?
GC: Well, I think it’s going to get better. It’s already gotten better in the last few years, but it will get better. One reason being Hatoyama’s view on the so-called history issue, on Japan’s responsibility for its behavior during the War and the years leading up to the War, is very heartfelt and the Chinese will appreciate his view on the history issue. Unlike some of the LDP leaders who apologized but didn’t really mean it, Hatoyama believes Japan was behaving very badly and will say so. So I think that will be very good. Also, he wants to see a stronger relationship with China. He’s not going to go to the Yakasuni shrine which has been a source of difficulty. He wants to create an alternative site in which foreign leaders can go, as well as Japanese leaders, to pay respects to all those who died in the War regardless of nationality. He wants to encourage greater cooperation on issues like environmental, pollution control and so on, which the Chinese desperately need. And I think he understands well that improving relations with China doesn’t come at the expense of relations with the U.S. The U.S. wants to improve relations with China, so does Japan, but the U.S. and Japan together can do a lot in dealing with China and some of the problems it faces. So I think the relationship is likely to get better.
EL: In regards to his [Hatoyama’s] request to the [U.S.] military bases to close, my understanding is that Japan has been open to having a U.S. military presence in Asia in order to protect it against any problems with China or if China happens to invade Taiwan or become more bellicose toward Taiwan because that would adversely impact shipments to Japan. What will Japan do, or does it no longer fear a military threat from China?
GC: Hatoyama has not suggested that the U.S. military presence in Japan should be abolished. They think that some of, the extent of the presence in Okinawa is unsustainable, that there are simply too many bases in too many congested urban areas in Okinawa with no ostensible reason for there being there in terms of the threats that either Japan or the United States faces. So they want to see some adjustments made but I think the government understands that this military alliance with Japan is critical for Japanese security and that to have a military alliance you have to provide some facilities but maybe not as much as currently exists. So that is what the negotiation will be about. It’s not about eliminating the U.S. military presence.
EL: Has Prime Minister Hatoyama made any direct overtures yet to the Chinese government, as far as you know?
GC: Yes, he met with Hu Jintao yesterday [Sept. 22, 2009] in New York and that was their first face to face and I believe he is going to visit Beijing in October for an extended discussion with the Chinese leadership. But he has already taken the initial step with this bilateral here in New York City.
EL: In regards to the ability, because there have been some issues, the Chinese-Japanese relationship has become more of a politically sensitive relationship in both countries, in China as well as in Japan, especially when the Japanese people saw the response of the Chinese people protesting against Japan. Do you think that [Hatoyama’s] making overtures with the Chinese will have a negative impact on his popularity in Japan?
GC: No, not at all. Nobody wants a fight or a lot of tension with China. I think the way he deals with China will be welcomed in Japan. Hu Jintao in the meeting with Hatoyama yesterday was talking about the need for more cultural exchange and the need to educate both their publics about the importance of the relationship. That came from the Chinese side, that’s really very important. Neither country wants trouble with the other. China doesn’t want trouble with anyone right now, they have to concentrate on their economic development, they don’t need any fights with neighbors and with Japan in particular. So I think the sentiment is to try to move this relationship forward in a positive way. I think they have a good shot at it.
Elizabeth M. Lynch is an attorney focusing on legal development and reform in China and blogs at China Law and Policy. | {
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AN ACT relating to surface mining.
Amend KRS 350.450 to require when conducting mountain top removal or approximate original contour mining that overburden be returned to mined areas to the extent possible; require remaining overburden to be disposed of in permitted area or in an area under the abandoned mine land program if approved as a disposal site, or transported and placed in specially constructed lifts; prohibit overburden from being placed in intermittent, perennial, or ephemeral streams or other water of the Commonwealth; make requirements on overburden placement mandatory for permits that specify a post-mine land use; amend KRS 350.440 to require any spoil material not be disposed of in intermittent, perennial, or ephemeral streams and that spoil not returned to the mine area be disposed of by placing in a site eligible under the abandoned mine land program or in specially constructed lifts; amend KRS 350.410 to prescribe that restoration to approximate original contour include both the configuration of the site and the elevation of the site prior to the coal removal and to prohibit spoil from being placed in streams and require placement in either a disposal site on lands under the abandoned mine land program or in specially constructed fills. | {
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Find Your Family - Losing Online Sources
Article |
16 August, 2012 - 16:15
Article Date:
17 August, 2012 (All day)
The online world has created many opportunities to find additional information and connect with others who are researching our ancestors like never before. The ability to search indexes and view the original images from home at our convenience is changing the world of family history. Digital is here to stay and will continue to enhance our ability to identify our ancestors, but it does bring some challenges.
The goal in identifying and documenting a source is to know what we have searched, what we have found (and what we have not found) and where to find the information again when we want to look at it later. The challenge is that when we go back several years later, many websites that we used to access sources no longer exist, or if they exist, they no longer have that the same structure. When we try to visit the URL (the web address i.e. morgannewspaper.com) instead of the record, we dutifully recorded we receive the dreaded 404 error.
Several organizations have been working on this problem. FamilySearch has been deploying what they call a Persistent Archive Link (PAL) so that when a user comes back in 10 years even if the site has been re-arranged in the mean time the link will still take the user back to the record. This type of approach is one that all of the commercial organizations ought to be using.
Just in case they are not using this type of approach and for all the companies that go out of business and all the personal websites where we find information, it is important to store more than the URL. It is worthwhile to treat the online source just as we would a microfilm or a book or other type of record.
When information is found in a film or microfilm we record the original source, but we normally will take a copy with us. Sometimes it is a physical copy, sometimes it is a digital copy, and sometimes it is an abstract. We take the copy to ensure that we will have access to it later and can easily find it. I suggest the same approach for websites. Take a screen shot of the image and index and store it as you do your other sources. Keep either a digital copy of the source and back up these digital copies to more than one place (online services such as dropbox facilitate this) or keep a physical copy that you print from the screen shot organized with the physical sources you own.
An important part of online research is ensuring that you can repeat the process you used to find the information and can know why you came to the conclusions you did. A little work now in preserving these online sources will save hundreds of hours down the road. We are all still learning to manage the world of online genealogy. Learning to manage sources is just one more element of this change | {
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Category: Best online shopping market
I have completely adored Pamela Munson’s timeless straw accessories because the label launched simply final year. The primary itinerary explores the neighbourhood around the ModeNatie that has been often known as ‘the guts of Belgian fashion’ since Dries Van Noten opened his Modepaleis in the Nationalestraat. Meanwhile, various designers and stores pursuing an avant-garde profile have settled down here. The Kammenstraat, a side-road of the Nationalestraat, is the place to be when you find yourself in search of shops that offer the newest streetwear collections.
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In posh Chelsea’s King’s Street you may discover an eclectic mixture of stylish boutiques, distinctive labels, designer retailers and high-road staples, alongside an unlimited array of cafes and restaurants. It is also an incredible place for inspirational inside design, with Peter Jones , Heal’s …
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My early twenties have been punctuated with vibrant bursts of colour; a kaleidoscopic rainbow and cacophony of prints that I wore for the mere sake of it. At the time, I could barely fathom the considered carrying the same outfit twice, particularly given that almost all objects I wore were an actual assertion in themselves. My wardrobe was always changing, as …
The perfect NZ designers, worldwide fashion labels, markets & boutiques. It isn’t solely the fairer sex who love to buy online. From the same style group that forged Internet-a-porter, is the menswear model, Mr Porter – equally as glossy and as well stocked as its award-profitable counterpart. Despite being just 4-years-old, In The Fashion has quickly grow to be the go-to website for style conscience girls. A model that doesn’t shrink back from the spotlight, it’s well known for its collaborations with celebrities like Charlotte Crosby, Billie Faiers, Binky Felstead and Sarah Ashcroft.
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Second terms are almost inevitably let-downs, but friends and foes alike say Mayor Bloomberg – unbound by political debts or concerns about his next job – has an unprecedented opportunity to reshape the city.
“The last four years there were at least slight constraints. That’s the end. That’s over,” declared City Councilman Simcha Felder, one of the first Democrats to cross party lines for the mayor.
“I’m saying that in a positive way,” he added.
A top City Hall Democratic operative agreed.
“He has an opportunity to make historical structural changes. It could get very interesting,” the Democrat said.
As independent as he is, Bloomberg couldn’t completely cast aside politics when he was running for re-election. But now one administration insider says, “He can focus on things and not worry how they’ll play.”
There’ll be a lot to focus on.
Bloomberg has laid out ambitious agendas in all five boroughs, from restoring Ground Zero to opening the new Bronx Terminal market to shepherding Bruce Ratner’s massive Downtown Brooklyn complex to the construction stage.
The battle shaping up over the configuration of Ground Zero promises to be the most fascinating, since Gov. Pataki – who’s taken the lead on the city’s most-watched development – will be leaving at the end of 2006.
The mayor dropped a bombshell a couple of weeks ago when he suddenly changed course and declared that the market called for more apartments and less office space.
Then there are the 165,000 apartments the mayor has promised to add – the most ambitious housing undertaking in the city’s history.
In an editorial board meeting a couple of weeks ago with The Post, Bloomberg said he didn’t expect an exodus of commissioners and senior aides.
“There’ll always be a handful,” said the mayor. “There’s always somebody who can’t afford public service. There’s always somebody who has a health problem. But fundamentally, most of the people in the administration have said to me they would love to stay, and I think I would like to have them stay.”
One of those in the financial hardship class is also one of the mayor’s most innovative aides, Deputy Mayor Marc Shaw.
Sources said Verna Eggleston, commissioner of the Human Resources Administration, is also expected to depart.
Speculation is also swirling around the mayor’s relationship with Albany, which is sure to change as Pataki’s lame-duck status takes hold.
“The change in the governor’s office and who knows what else, it has to be different,” said the administration insider.
Former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, a Democrat who backed Bloomberg, predicted he’d be a lot more aggressive in his dealings with the state.
But Bill Cunningham, a senior mayoral adviser, said Bloomberg’s style isn’t about to shift dramatically at this point.
“On big things, he’ll always have the same M.O.,” said Cunningham.
Even before the results were announced, the mayor’s stature upstate soared several notches.
State Sen. Majority Leader Joseph Bruno yesterday was touting Bloomberg as a possible candidate for governor next year.
“He comes out of this, he wins big, he’s term-limited,” said Bruno, who’s desperate to stop the expected gubernatorial juggernaut of Democrat Eliot Spitzer in 2006.
“Who knows after a month or six weeks what life looks like?”
Mayoral aides say Bruno is wasting his time.
“How many times does he [Bloomberg] have to say no?” asked one aide.
With a mandate from the electorate, Bloomberg’s biggest worry is that a severe economic downturn – or some other unpredictable event – will force him to dramatically change course.
“Most mayors don’t get through [their term] without some significant challenge,” Cunningham concluded. | {
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Interesting... earlier I thought it requires libc6 2.15 just because devs initially built it in Ubuntu 12.04 (so the dependency was added automatically by the build system, using the current libc6 version). Now, after the dependencies are somewhat cleaned, it seems Steam really uses some new features not present in libc6 < 2.15... or does it? It's hard to guess when the source code isn't available | {
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This library provides a few building blocks for operating on data
in parallel, particularly iterators. At the moment, it is not
designed to be robust or eke out every last drop of performance,
but rather explore some ways in which Rust's type system allows
for some fairly fancy things to be written with a guarantee of
safety, all without a garbage collector.
The core design is to simply allow for operations that could occur
on a single thread to execute on many, it is not intending to
serve as a hard boundary between threads; in particular, if
something (a panic!) would take down the main thread when run
sequentially, it will also take down the main thread (eventually)
when run using the functions in this library.
On the point of performance and robustness, the top level
functions do no thread pooling and so everything essentially
spawns a new thread for each element, which is definitely
suboptimal for many reasons. Fortunately, not all is lost, the
functionality is designed to be as generic as possible, so the
iterator functions work with many many iterators, e.g. instead of
executing a thread on every element of a vector individually, a
user can divide that vector into disjoint sections and spread
those across much fewer threads (e.g. the chunks
method).
Further, the thread pooling that does exist has a lot of
synchronisation overhead, and so is actually rarely a performance
improvement (although it is a robustness improvement over the
top-level functions, since it limits the number of threads that
will be spawned).
letmutdata= [0; 10];
// fill the array, with one thread for each element:simple_parallel::for_(data.iter_mut().enumerate(), |(i, elem)| {
*elem=iasi32;
});
// now adjust that data, with a threadpool:letmutpool=simple_parallel::Pool::new(4);
pool.for_(data.iter_mut(), |elem|*elem*=2);
Transform each element of an ordered map in a fancy way, in
parallel, with map (map ensures the output order matches the
input order, unlike unordered_map),
Sum an arbitrarily long slice, in parallel, by summing subsections and adding
everything to a shared mutex, stored on the stack of the main
thread. (A parallel fold is currently missing, hence the mutex.)
Alternatively, one could use a thread pool, and assign an absolute
number of elements to each subsection and let the pool manage
distributing the work among threads, instead of being forced to
computing the length of the subsections to limit the number of
threads spawned.
A sketch of a very simple recursive parallel merge-sort, using
both to handle the recursion. (A working implementation may
really need some temporary buffers to mangle the data, but the key
point is both naturally running things in parallel.) | {
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AIS also operates a certified European Repair Centre for the 'Ingersoll Rand' hand reader, ensuring a professional and reliable after sales service. Our Support and maintenance department can handle all 'Ingersoll Rand' punch clock problems throughout the North African and Mediterranean region. | {
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Wednesday, March 01, 2017
Vincent's Fire
As soon as I came to know that I would be visiting The Netherlands, I made a to-do list. The first item on the list was "Visit Vincent van Gogh Museum"
To be completely truthful, it was not a physical list but it existed only in my mind. As an aside, does a list that exists in the mind have a physical existence? Are phrases like "in the mind" and "a physical version of it" the result of arbitrary dichotomous thinking?
Visit I did. It was a long-standing ambition, ever since I heard of van Gogh and fell in love with his paintings, fulfilled.
It is a building with a modern design. Spacious and great for exhibiting van Gogh's works. These paintings were gifted to the museum by the wife of Vincent's brother Theo, Johanna. The museum has some of the most famous and more mature works of Vincent and is a pleasure to see them all together. While the raw power of his brush strokes and his unique vision can be discerned even in good colour prints, seeing them for real is an experience beyond compare.
I entered the first floor of the museum and took in the overall look of the hall. As I moved inside I could see a painting come into view from behind a pillar. It is a painting depicting an old house the cooking fire in which is visible through a window.
(Cottage at nightfall) From that distance and in that lighting, it looked as if someone had lit a red LED there to indicate the fire. I was captivated and went straight to the picture and peered at it. It appeared to have been made with a single stroke of a rough brush carrying red paint. In my imagination that has remained THE brush stroke in art. | {
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Several hundred thousand revolutions after they started, the boys from Ridge View Academy are still criminals and their leader’s heart has stopped beating at least twice. But they’ve made it this far and there is no turning back. Over the past five days, they’ve ridden their bikes 256 miles from their medium-security school east of Denver to the lush, green farmlands of South Fork, Colorado.
At midnight last night, they pulled into the town campground and ate cold turkey sandwiches while shivering in their matching gray-and-maroon sweat suits. Before bed, they’d pissed—three to a group, accompanied by guardians—in the grimy, cinder-block bathroom. While some slept soundly in the cool, damp grass that smelled of mud and snowmelt, others tossed fitfully. Because to some of those boys, riding a bike and sleeping in a tent seemed far scarier than driving through the streets with a trunk full of semiautomatic weapons.
Somehow they made it through the night. And now they are creeping up Highway 160, 428 miles from the Grand Canyon. This is their first big day: 101 miles with an elevation gain of 9,072 feet. They ride past creeks shimmering like tinfoil, trailheads beckoning hikers, and oily black cliffs cut through with waterfalls. There are nine boys total, all from Ridge View Academy in Watkins, Colorado, a school for some of the state’s most violent juvenile offenders that’s run by the Division of Youth Corrections (DYC). Some battle addiction, others belong to gangs, one once beat his mother with a pellet gun—but they are also members of the school’s remarkably successful cycling team, and despite their troubles, they still have hopes, dreams, and longings.
At the front, Aaron*, 18, prays Thank you, God, for letting me do this. Several yards behind him, Austin, also 18, belts the lyrics to an Adele song. Not far off his wheel, Duncan, 16, lurches up the hill but manages to shout “Hoo-ah!” each time he crosses a seam in the tarmac. Nearly every boy has happily traded the regimented schedules of Ridge View for the chance to climb more than 48,000 feet over 675 miles.
In the past, this trip has come at the end of cycling season, as a reward to the boys for training and racing without incident. But this year the multiday trip comes before race season. As a result, the kids are out of shape, which means their journey is even more grueling. Yet there is more at stake than simply pedaling to the Grand Canyon. For some students, the ride is a chance at reformation. If they can commit to pedaling up to 100 miles per day for 11 days, says their head coach, Greg Townsend, this can become a catalyst that helps them move past the pain, confusion, and mistakes that led them to Ridge View.
Townsend has led these trips for two decades and has witnessed remarkable transformations. He also knows that marshaling nearly a dozen juvenile offenders several hundred miles by bike has risks, despite precautions set in place by the academy. On past trips, students have tried fleeing, fought each other, and told Townsend they wanted to swerve into traffic. This is why Townsend is paying close attention to tall, lanky, 17-year-old Tyler, who has fallen off the back.
Townsend hoped this would be the day his student finally committed to the ride, but Tyler has only pedaled even slower. Near the top of the pass, the coach takes a hard line with the rider, who responds that this is the week he and his dad used to celebrate their birthdays. Cake, presents, everything, but then his dad killed himself in his apartment. The pain led Tyler to attempt his own suicide, the results of which still line his arms in long zipper scars.
Townsend wants to give Tyler a bear hug. Instead, he says: “I get it. You’re hurting. But you’re back here blaming: your mom, your dad, circumstance, society. But what I want to know is what about you, Tyler? What do you want to get out of this trip?”
Preparing for another leg of their 11-day journey, the Ridge View cyclists befriend a stray cat. (Sam Adams)
*At the request of Ridge View Academy and Colorado’s Division of Youth Corrections, we have identified each student by only his first name.
For Ridge View students (from left) Tyler, Duncan, and James, the nearly 700-mile Journey offered a chance to ride away from the pain in their pasts. (Sam Adams)
THREE HOURS EARLIER, the boys had attained their first major accomplishment: 10,857-foot Wolf Creek Pass, crossing the Continental Divide. Up top, they ate, stretched, and posed for pictures. Afterward, Townsend pointed to several switchbacks knifing abruptly at right angles. Shouting over the wind, he said, “Ten seconds between riders! And watch for wind shear! Are you getting this? Because I’ve had pileups on this downhill, which you can trust me ain’t pretty.”
When each Ridge View rider was nodding his head and bouncing in his bike shoes, Townsend yelled, “Okay! Hit it!”
The boys took off, shouting as they flew down the pass. This, says Duncan, is because the feeling of flying is the exact opposite of how it feels most of the time at Ridge View. Like most students at the all-boys academy, Duncan ended up there after a series of bad decisions. He arrived in a van with the admissions director for Ridge View’s parent company, Rite of Passage (ROP). Fifteen miles east of Denver, they had turned down a long, undulating road bisecting acres of prairie and pulled onto the sprawling brick campus.
But instead of seeing “normal” students texting their buddies on iPhones, Duncan saw dozens of kids with their heads shorn like cadets. They marched in formation and wore the maroon-and-gray sweat suits. Walking into his new home for the undetermined future, he passed through a metal detector into the main lobby.
From then on, he experienced Ridge View’s unique reformation philosophy, which is that academics, coupled with intense daily exercise, can help rehabilitate juvenile offenders. To that end, every Ridge View day includes a 30-minute “adrenaline run” followed by regular, matriculated high school classes. Students then turn around and exercise again from 4 to 6 p.m. The program’s core comes from ROP, which opened in Minden, Nevada, in 1984 and now operates 10 treatment facilities across the US.
According to Ridge View program director Bill Wood, the facility is not a prison, but rather an “academy,” run through a partnership between the Denver Public Schools, the Division of Youth Corrections, and ROP. There are no fences, isolation rooms, or cells, yet it houses many of the state’s troubled juvenile offenders, whose crimes range from burglary to armed robbery, to—occasionally—attempted homicide. But those who end up at Ridge View get an experience some parents of non-crime-committing youth would welcome.
The $52 million facility has many of the amenities of a modern high school, from immaculate classrooms to a lavish vo-tech center. Academically, it has all the offerings of a traditional school, minus a few things, like AP classes. Even so, its robotics team has been regionally ranked; its shop students are currently framing walls for a Habitat for Humanity project.
These opportunities, says former Colorado governor Bill Ritter, give “kids in the system, whose lives have seen a series of difficult turns, a chance at victory.” For many students, joining one of ROP’s many sports teams, which include everything from football to golf, may also help prepare them for a job or even college.
Predictably, most kids choose ball sports. But every year, a few join cycling. Some do because they think it will let them escape their problems, while others remember the fun they had riding Huffys as children. Few are prepared for how hard they’ll work, because Ridge View cycling is grueling.
Riders typically pedal six days a week, nine months per year, cross-hatching the plains in all kinds of weather. The weekly schedule, long miles, and Townsend’s coaching get results—since 2009, the team has won the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado series title three times. And since it joined the Colorado High School Mountain Bike League in 2010, racers have twice stood on the podium.
By the time Duncan arrived at Ridge View in 2011, he was a skinny 16-year-old on meth with a pregnant girlfriend. Social services had removed him from his family at age 10, when, he says, his mom, who was also using meth, had stopped caring for him and his 12 siblings. After the state attempted to place him with a string of adoptive families, he took off, living on the streets of Denver. But it wasn’t until he discovered that his then-girlfriend was being sexually abused by her mom’s drug-addled boyfriend that he knew he had to clean up to avoid the same future.
He came to Ridge View and joined cycling months later. He’s a stout kid now, 5-feet-10 and 190 pounds. From our first meeting, he struck me with his politeness, how formally he regarded me. Riding isn’t his natural sport—that would be wrestling. But now, out on Highway 160 beyond Wolf Creek Pass, he is sweating, pushing, grinding up the incline. He looks determined to ride every mile, seems on his way to reformation. But Townsend tells me that the earlier a kid enters the social-services system, the harder he can be to liberate from it. Apparently there are still cracks in Duncan’s composure, though none are evident at the moment.
At times he curses, but he also says, “I used to hate climbing mountains on my bike, but now I look at it the same as weight lifting. More resistance, more strength. I’m definitely stronger.”
Ridge View Academy, Grand Canyon Tour 2012
After a 101-mile day, an exhausted rider passes out on the cool grass outside Durango, Colorado. (Sam Adams)
A number of Ridge View boys report having their own cycling-induced epiphanies. The Adele crooner, Austin, says that it’s the hardest thing he’s ever done but that it helps him make better choices. Another rider, 18-year-old Colton, says, “I’d go crazy at Ridge View without cycling.”
Once enrolled at the academy, every boy must work his way from Rookie to Intern to Ram to Block R. At every step, they are expected to try to understand the reasons they committed crimes rather than simply atoning for them. Few, if any, have ever experienced the psychological benefits of a sport like cycling. But there’s another factor to the program’s success in reshaping these kids’ lives, one that science alone can’t explain: It’s the white-haired, wiry, 48-year-old Townsend, who began coaching the Minden, Nevada, Rite of Passage team in 1986. When ROP opened Ridge View Academy, Townsend left to start the cycling team there. ROP now has two other bike teams, but none have a coach like Townsend.
Since joining ROP, he has led the Grand Canyon trip 19 times and cross-country trips several other times. Among the first was a 3,000-miler from California to New Jersey. On that trip he had a die-hard gang kid who insisted that Townsend would never change him. But as the miles passed he encountered the kindness of strangers, the open road, and, in essence, his true self, which showed him that his old ways would destroy him. By the time the team reached Pennsylvania, Townsend recalls, the kid finally broke down, saying, “Help me. I don’t want to hurt people. I don’t want to die.”
ON THE SEVENTH morning of the trip, the sun creeps across the San Luis Valley as the boys from Ridge View roll out of their sleeping bags, yawn, fart, talk, and bicker. They are at a campground outside Durango and over the next five days they’ll climb approximately 21,000 feet. After riding to Mesa Verde National Park, they’ll cross briefly into Utah and drop into Hovenweep National Monument. From there—weather, breakdowns, and multi-kid pileups notwithstanding—it’s another 318 miles to the Grand Canyon.
I joined the boys two days ago, in Salida, Colorado, but most of them haven’t yet warmed to me. Even this far into their reform, says Townsend, some choose to lay low and pretend they’re rehabilitating rather than do the hard work ROP espouses. I wouldn’t dare press them to show me how far they’ve come, because I, too, am still in my own process of rehabilitation. It stems from abuse I suffered as a young girl, and the years I’ve spent trying to overcome it.
For now, I linger awkwardly as the boys crowd around a splintered picnic table. Soon a tall, bespectacled Latino-looking kid who is so skinny his bike shorts fan out from his quadriceps sidles up to me. Allen gestures toward the highway, then says, “Hi Miss. You ready for this?”
“For what? The ride? I think so,” I say. “How about you?”
He laughs. “Maybe. But I dunno. Because I’ve only ridden five times in my life.”
Allen wanders off, leaving me with Alexis. He is also Latino, also skinny, but one of the team’s strongest riders. On every leg, he has led the pack, wearing thick tights instead of shorts. He watches me through long black eyelashes. Later I’ll find out that, like Duncan, he is hiding sadness. But he lights up when we talk about food. His favorite: Mexican, and bottomless bowls of sugary cereal.
We shovel in spoonfuls of a generic version of Fruit Loops until another boy—18-year-old James—sits beside me.
He’s tall, dark-haired, and his eyes are the electric green of Alaska’s northern lights. They widen as he says, “Before Ridge View, my mom and me cooked together. We once did a Denny’s pie: opened the package, turned on the stove, cooked it to perfection. But I was living with her when I got in trouble.”
James says that he and his mom would get into arguments. She’d scream until he’d freak out and start whaling on her. One day he snapped, beating her with his pellet gun. When he came to she was calling the police, so he ran to his bedroom. He wanted to kill himself, to leave the hell of living with his mom. But the cops came before he could act and charged him with felony menacing.
In another state, in another situation, James could have ended up in prison. But he made it to Ridge View after stints in two state-run facilities. By then, he was hyperactive, out of control, with the same tendency for explosive violence. But Bill Wood identified him as a kid who could benefit from cycling and from Townsend’s coaching.
(Sam Adams)
At the end of another ride, the boys ate pancakes. (Sam Adams)
I first met several of these boys in 2010 while reporting on Colorado’s start-up high school mountain-bike league. Back then, James was the kid on the team who kept stopping when it got tough. I felt for him: He was big, crashed often, and seemed on the verge of crying. But as we talk now, I start to see how far he’s already come.
He says that cycling has helped him mentally and physically. “Most kids think it’s a weenie sport but it’s endurance. I used to be 5-foot-9 and weigh 265. Now I’m 6-3 and 185. But I also want to say this: Most of the adults in my life taught me that violence is the way you get what you want. I got a whole bunch of other mental problems. Cycling helps because it gives me a purpose. Coach Townsend understands me because he’s been through what I have. I’m not taking meds anymore because I want to figure this out. But if I go to prison I’m not going to make it. I’ll either get killed or kill myself.”
It’s clear that while effective, Townsend’s power is not so influential that it prevents James from relapsing. The three red fingernail welts running down his right cheek are evidence. He got them a month ago, when, after starting a fight with another student, he went after an ROP staff member.
Back on the road, I think about James. I don’t know why, but he reminds me of myself. Maybe it’s the green eyes, or how once he starts talking he can’t seem to stop. That was me at 14, 15, 16. Like him, I had few boundaries. For eight horrible years, my stepfather came into my room and molested me. I finally ran away—but to a bridge spanning Idaho’s Snake River. Standing 400 feet above the water, I almost jumped.
Instead, I turned around, walked 2 miles, and told a friend’s mother. She called the police, who took me to social services. At 14, I became a ward of the state, living first in a group home, then a foster home, and then with relatives. When my stepdad’s yearlong, court-appointed absence from me was up, the court recommended that my family reunite. Their thinking? Now healed, we could start over.
Like James, I wasn’t healed. And like him I lashed out. I started drinking when I was 12. By 13, I was the girl at the party who’d always get dirty. Alcohol escalated into cocaine; reckless petting into careless sex. I didn’t really want to do any of these things. But I didn’t have anyone to help me turn my anger into forgiveness and my self-loathing into self-acceptance. I am barely getting to know the kids, but I can already see Townsend’s positive influence.
FROM DURANGO, THE road climbs to the top of a low pass, then undulates through lush green farmland. We leave town late so it’s nearly dusk by the time we reach Mesa Verde. In the campground, Townsend starts dinner. When the tents are up, I sit down with Aaron. By now, word is out that I wrote a book detailing my troubled youth and my attempts to reconcile it. Since hearing this revelation, more boys want to talk.
Aaron is medium height and muscular, the only black kid in the group, and quiet. But his calm hides a grief that wells in his body. When he was young, he says, police found his mom “naked, on a motel bed, all strung up by pillows.” Social services placed him and his sister with his aunt, who he now calls Mom. But something was missing. Out of loneliness, he got in with the wrong crowd, committed petty crimes, was caught, then cut off his ankle monitor. He came to Ridge View in 2011 and joined the cycling team shortly thereafter. Since then, he says, Townsend has taught him “lots of stuff,” but mostly how to forgive.
Not those who hurt him, but how to forgive himself. “I still don’t know what I’ll do when I’m out of ROP,” he says. But he and Duncan want to bike-tour Japan. Self-forgiveness and a goal are signs of rehab, and Aaron is the only rider who, when I prompt him, speaks about the mistakes that led him to Ridge View. During our talk, he keeps going, even after Townsend yells “Dinner!” I sit with him in the dusk, feeling both motherly and conspiratorial as we talk about his accomplishments and joke about Townsend’s cooking. But after our interview, I start wondering about the effect I am having on the trip dynamic. I’ll find out later, when Townsend pulls me aside.
Away from the boys, he’ll tell me that I may be calling up feelings they aren’t prepared to deal with and warns me that Tyler, specifically, is struggling with his past. “He’s been on papers, which means multiple suicide attempts,” Townsend says. “[Each boy has] a can of emotions, and if you open it, you have to be able to close it. Several of these guys can’t close the can.”
I vow to be more cautious. But I want to keep talking with the riders, because I know the power of revealing one’s history. There is also something uniquely intimate about this trip and I feel obligated to listen.
I pack my tent in the morning, before we load the van and drive to Mesa Verde. Since his Nevada ROP days, Townsend has had a love affair with Native American culture. The site contains some of the oldest Pueblo dwellings in America, including the famous Balcony House. With 290 miles to go, it seems we should keep riding. But Townsend insists: We’re sightseeing.
(Sam Adams)
(Sam Adams)
In the parking lot of the visitors’ center we approach two 40-something dudes, their car rack loaded with bikes. Seeing our bikes and the Ridge View logo they ask, “You guys a bike team?”
“We are,” I say. “From a school for adjudicated youth.”
“Uh-oh,” they say. “Better get the padlocks.”
Their words settle as we collect our bikes in the hot afternoon sun. The wind now feels like a hair dryer but our engines are revved so we pedal hard back onto Highway 160 toward Cortez, Colorado. First establishment to greet visitors: Shooters World (Guns! Ammo! Targets!). Total number of cool bike shops: one, Kokopelli’s, where we go so Townsend can buy a derailleur.
Soon the sun drops and the wind calms. An hour later, we come to a sign pointing us toward Hovenweep Campground. I hear whoops, shouts of joy, laughter. But looking around, I see that Tyler has vanished.
Somewhere between Mesa Verde and here he tumbled back into his depression. When Townsend’s assistant coach, Herb Reynolds, pulled alongside him with the van, Tyler gave up and climbed in. He did this despite the flat road and the sun, which painted the world orange.
At the next intersection the rest of the team stops for portraits. Tyler emerges from the van and then sneers at the camera. Several boys comment on his pose, which they say makes him look like a model.
For the first time since joining the ride, I see Tyler puff up. Fishing for more praise, he asks, “Do I?”
Isaiah whistles.
“Seriously, do you think I could be a model?” Tyler aks.
“Maybe,” says Allen. “But just don’t get stuck up.”
It almost seems like the boys have buoyed Tyler back into riding. But when the van revs to life, he climbs in.
We’re dumbfounded. But it’s complicated.
For months now Townsend has been trying to make Tyler believe that he can transcend his unhappy beginnings. He’s done this for all the boys, but for Tyler, transcending can feel impossible.
He was born, like many Ridge View students, to parents who faltered. They found meth and, for a time, he says, spent up to $500 a day on it. They cared for Tyler, so he wasn’t technically a meth baby. But he grew up with the feeling that he would always be second. This led him to drinking, smoking, and huffing paint thinner before puberty. When he was five, his parents divorced and Tyler bounced between them. At some point, with no one paying much attention, Tyler quit school. Then one day his dad started hitting him—with a beer bottle, a cheese grater. At first Tyler hid the cuts and bruises. But when his mom saw them, she made him move in permanently.
He would ultimately come to believe that this was one of the worst decisions ever made for him. Because one night, he was chilling out in the basement, when his sister yelled, “Mom wants you!” From the living room couch his mom said, “Tyler? Do you believe in God? I hope so. Because your dad died.” It’s hard to tell if he blames himself, but things unraveled quickly.
“After that, I got really depressed,” he’ll tell me later. “I did a ton of drugs and started cutting. My mom freaked out, so I got sent to this group home.”
There his cutting escalated from piercing his skin until it bled to something more serious. “One night, we’re all cutting and I’m like, ‘What am I doing wrong? Nothing’s happening,’” Tyler recalls.
“Go longways,” said a kid next to him. Tyler did, and hit his vein.
There it dangled, on the outside of his body. But instead of bleeding, he says, it only oozed white stuff. Trying again, he went deeper. “This time it gushed blood, so I laid down, but a girl found me. People were like, dude, you were crying for attention, which I guess I was.”
By the time Tyler reached Ridge View, he had 10 felonies and initially refused to eat. When the boy hadn’t chewed even a grain of rice for days, Wood summoned Townsend, whose first job was chasing him down as he tried to flee across a prairie. On their second meeting, Tyler was farting around, trying to get out of the morning run. This time Townsend said, “You’re wasting a lot of energy. Why not put some to use on my cycling team? You don’t even have to try out. But if you want to join, you gotta eat.”
Tyler says that something about Townsend struck him right. Or instilled trust. Or seemed safe enough that he wanted to please him. He can’t explain it, but that day, he ate lunch. When Townsend saw him, he said, “That’s good, but you gotta keep eating.” Tyler did, and started riding, and quickly exceeded Townsend’s expectations. On the first ride, he could barely clip into his pedals. But two weeks later, they were out on new pavement, and the team went by and there, says Townsend, “third in line was Tyler! A week after that, he attacked off the front, a 50- to 60-yard sprint.”
TYLER MIGHT GET his mojo back yet. But right now, he is the greatest liability on our trip. We haven’t reached Hovenweep yet and there are still three long days of hard riding left. At our current pace, every kid will have to ride nine hours a day to cover the 230 miles between us and the Grand Canyon.
At the pullout where we stopped to take pictures, Tyler boards the van while everyone else rides into the sunset. Water evaporates from the fields, making the air smell sweet and manurey. I feel a pang of sadness knowing what Tyler is missing. Even Townsend’s 12-year-old son, Gregory, is loving this. He’s done most of the ride and now cruises up front. As we finally roll into the Hovenweep Campground, it’s so dark that coach Reynolds has to light our way with his high beams. It’s cold. And the wind makes the night feel violent. Several times, I am spooked awake by thought that we are so far out here, that we have so far to go, and that the wind could drive the boys crazy. For a brief spell just before sunrise, the wind dies. But by the time we get up it’s screaming again at 40 miles per hour.
We pull ourselves out of bed, knowing that today’s ride, to Mitten View Campground in Monument Valley, Arizona, spans 82 miles. A second assistant coach, Robert Gaston, estimates that our pace, with the gusts, will be 3 miles per hour. I’m no mathematician. But that should put us in Mitten View—tomorrow.
It takes a herculean effort just to stand up, balance, and pedal forward. The stronger riders—Aaron, Colton, Alexis, Austin, James, Duncan, me—manage, although I am thinking, What kind of person makes kids ride into a maelstrom? Tyler and Allen fall so far behind that Gaston finally shouts, “Hold up!” Stuffing our faces into our jerseys to avoid the red dirt swirling off the Navajo reservation, we wait, until finally Tyler creeps into view. Behind him comes Allen—the kid who’s only ridden five times before. I can’t believe it, but he’s smiling. We huddle together, wishing that the wind would die long enough for us to keep pedaling. But when the sag wagon rolls up we load our bikes and drive to the campground.
Yet the sites are closed for construction. Townsend backtracks and finally finds a state park several miles in the direction we came from. Everyone is exhausted and hungry. Now, retracing our steps feels demoralizing. From the back of the van, I hear a fight starting. The boys are speaking low, and I can barely make out their words over the hum of the road, but it sounds like:
Isaiah: “What are you gonna do about it, Duncan?”
Out of nowhere, cracks appear in Duncan’s normally placid persona. His body stills, but for a slight tremor.
Duncan: “You don’t want to know.”
Now Alexis bristles. “Don’t mess with my homeboy, cowboy.”
Duncan: “Shut it, Alexis.”
Isaiah: “Suck it, Duncan.”
Townsend steers us down the winding road to Goosenecks State Park. But the evening’s trouble has just started.
Goosenecks, it turns out, is more parking lot than park. Bits of toilet paper whip from sagebrush then fly into the San Juan River Canyon. Pulling the rig onto a gravel pad, Townsend tells the kids to grab the giant tents and work together to set them up. The boys try but the stakes won’t penetrate the ground and the wind grabs the tents and tries to launch them skyward. Every so often screams of frustrated hostility erupt (Grab it, idiot! Back off, dick!) as the sun falls and the gusts continue: Now the boys are fighting the tents in the cold and dark. They keep trying, until finally, Duncan yells at Alexis, who screams back, then grabs the nearest projectile—a full, 20-ounce water bottle—and hucks it at Duncan.
It lands against the trailer with a crack. From inside, Townsend lunges out. But Alexis is already running and screaming and crying at the same time. Townsend chases, following him toward the canyon. When Townsend shouts again, Alexis stops. But shouts, “Fuck you! Don’t touch me!” and takes off again. Beyond this lot, the canyon wall plunges 1,000 feet to the San Juan River. Townsend screams, “No!” Alexis keeps sprinting. Seconds later, he drops.
Not off the edge. But down, onto the ground. He is at the edge. But he will not let Townsend near him. “I said stay away!” he screams. For Alexis, who has kept his cool over 500 miles, the fight with Duncan shows that he has months or years to go before he can transcend the pain that brought him to Ridge View. Townsend sits on a low rock wall at the edge of the canyon and after several tense minutes, Alexis tunnels through the wind, sits down a few feet from Townsend, and listens. Later Townsend will say that, for the first time in the months that he has known the young man, he discovers that Alexis’s dad beat him.
How remarkable, thinks Townsend—the similarities between him and this kid.
Each day, Coach Townsend encouraged his team to push themselves. (Sam Adams)
WHERE TO BEGIN?
At 48, Townsend is a walking, talking litany of medical instabilities. He has several birth defects, including one that makes his heart rhythm falter, then start again. Several others he barely mentions. But one is evident every time he rides a bicycle. He is the one person out of 500,000 whose ligaments are too rigid for his body (a disease whose name he can’t even remember). His fingers, ankles, and toes break under force before they bend. And his knees stop bending just shy of what’s needed to comfortably pedal a bicycle. When he rides, he stands for miles.
But something has kept him working with society’s at-risk youth every day, sometimes 24 hours a day, 10 or 12 or 14 days consecutively for so many years that his colleagues now call him the Lou Gehrig of youth services.
It began on the morning of March 8, 1964.
That’s the day Townsend dropped into the world, small and sickly, in a Mountain View, California, hospital. To help, his doctors placed him in an incubator, where they discovered, among other things, his knee problem.
Freshly home, Townsend’s father, a WWII POW and the first chiropractor employed by Stanford University, rubbed his legs with hot oil and stretched them to improve their flexibility. When Townsend cried, he says, his father kept stretching. The painful manipulation continued for six years.
By Townsend’s seventh birthday, he says, his father was regularly beating him, his two sisters, and his brother. Both Townsend and his sister Claudia insist that he wasn’t evil, but that he acted this way because of abuses he endured over nine months in a German prison camp. Although their father was violent, he was also caring, they say, and he was mindful of their intellectual development. Still, he would beat them for the “tiniest things,” like being minutes late after walking home from school. They all suffered, but Townsend may have gotten the worst of it. In one incident, his dad snatched the 40-pound boy, lifted him overhead, and slammed him into the ceiling and floor so many times he broke Townsend’s leg. When he grew older, Townsend would run away when his dad raged. The abuse could have ruined Townsend, but he found an outlet for the pain and the two would later reconcile. Nearly two years older, his brother, Doug, took another path, turning to drugs and petty crimes to mask his suffering. When he was 17, a Butte County judge ordered him into a juvenile drug-treatment center. Once there, he refused medications, so doctors strapped him to a gurney, stuck a catheter in him, and pumped him full of psychotropics.
Today, Doug lives in a state hospital in California, where, says Townsend, there are people who don’t eat unless they take medication. “I go there, and my brother doesn’t have towels or soap or toothpaste,” he says. For the past three decades, Townsend has worked to free Doug, which is why he tells his students at ROP that the system “has a giant hook” in them. Through cycling—especially the Grand Canyon rides—he hopes to teach the kids how to remove the hook by becoming self reliant, by owning their mistakes, and taking control of their future. On the road, hundreds of miles from ROP or any other correctional institution, he attempts to show them hope amid the blinding hopelessness of their situations.
Perhaps Townsend has lasted so long at ROP because his personal mission is remarkably similar to ROP’s philosophy toward reformation, which dictates that its students exercise, eat right, and complete their studies. Crucially, Ridge View also believes its sports teams, marching band, and Habitat for Humanity program help normalize students. “If we keep kids in a bubble and we institutionalize them, the first time they get out in the real world and someone says boo, they’re going to recidivate,” says ROP president Ski Broman.
While his brother fell into the abyss, Townsend clawed for the light. He stayed in school, got a job, and found cycling. He raced only briefly as a teenager, but in 1984 he began working at ROP. Two years later, he started coaching and soon began pushing his team an average of 300 miles per week. By 1988, it was competing in the Milwaukee Super Week, the Utah Cycling Fest, and the Mammoth Cycling Classic. But Townsend says podiums were never the point.
The point, says Claudia, has always been to help others. It’s a character trait that she believes Townsend inherited from their father. “Before the war, our dad was a free spirit, open, caring, and loving,” she says. “My brother is like that with these boys.” It’s a singular focus sharpened by his inability to untangle his brother from the correctional system—a system that he believes often does too little to rehabilitate those who need another chance. To illustrate the point, he tells me that sometimes Doug sits in his room flipping through magazines. If he sees a picture of a man on a bike, he’ll fold it, stuff it in an envelope, and mail it to Townsend. “It’s his way of saying I’m still here, I need you, come get me,” says Townsend.
(Sam Adams)
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, the wind is still blowing. In the trailer Townsend says: “It’s been rough circumstances over the last few days, and you all have been amazing. But we’re tired. We rode our bikes hard. We’re pretty beat up. So today, we won’t ride.”
A sigh of relief reverberates through the trailer. We pack up and drive to Kayenta, Arizona. In an empty lot next to a Burger King, we lunch while assistant coach Reynolds congratulates us on our tenacity and patience, then adds, “Be tolerant. Be patient.” Back on the road, I practice tolerance until James enrages me. All week long he’s been goofing around, pulling beside me, acting like he’s going to pass me. Several times we’ve touched wheels, nearly crashing. This time, he pulls up, stalls, catches a gust, and topples hard—on me.
Before I know it, I am up, flailing my arms, shouting: “Goddamn it, James! Watch where you’re going!” Almost instantly, I remember how he attacked his mom and the ROP staff member. As soon as I shout, a thousand watts of fear shoot through my chest. But he jumps up, recoils, and pleads, “Ohmygod! MissRoss! I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry!”
I realize then that I am seeing Townsend’s work, the work of Ridge View, even the power of cycling in action. That James doesn’t jump me thrills me beyond expression. But maybe it’s like he says: The bike calms him and helps him deal with his problems. Perhaps, if he can keep riding, the bike will also keep him out of prison.
That night, we sleep in a concrete “campground” next to a Quality Inn, in Tuba City, Arizona. By now, everyone is feeling the miles. But only Tyler dwells on it. Sitting at the picnic table he says, “I’m done. Give me a phone. I’m calling my grandma.” But Townsend ignores him, because there is just one more day of riding.
We pedal 51 miles to the town of Tusayan, gateway to the Grand Canyon. The boys cruise through a giant gift shop under the watchful eyes of Reynolds and Gaston. Just as in Mesa Verde, people stop, stare, and ask if we’re a church group from Phoenix. Austin, basking in the pride of riding every possible mile, quips, “Nah, we’re just a bike team riding to the Grand Canyon.”
Which we do, finally, after lunch and when we’re suited up in our last clean shorts and jerseys. Before we go, Townsend issues us a challenge: Catch Gaston, who is one hell of a rider. Townsend gives him a five-minute lead then sends us after him. From the parking lot, the road starts smooth and flat, before, eventually, climbing. In the hot sun, the wind slows for the first time in days. You can smell summer in the dirt and the rocks and the bark of the lodgepole pines. We ride just as we started: Gaston, way ahead, followed by Alexis, Colton, and Aaron; then a big gap to Austin, Duncan, and me. We seven are pushing so hard that we lose the rest. At some point, the wind dies down and I can sense something both beautiful and terrifying—the Grand Canyon. At the top of the pass, everyone stops, waiting for the final riders: Tyler, Townsend, Gregory, and Allen.
They come, eventually, and I survey the boys from our perch on the pass that will soon drop to the chasm. Alexis straddles his bike, calm again but eager to keep riding. Aaron’s here, too, finally, with full certainty that he can “accomplish something.” Allen huffs up the pass looking proud but somehow thinner, a result of more cycling than he will likely ever do again in his lifetime.
Austin is singing. James stares into the distance, perhaps imagining the day when he will cook food in his own kitchen. Colton says, “Can you believe it? I’m happy. But I don’t want it to be over.” Duncan gazes out over the vast, sage-covered landscape and says, “I’m here. I made it. I’m not stopping.”
I don’t think he means that he will ride forever. But that he has come this far in his life, and that he will keep pushing forward. He has a plan to get his GED, finish his sentence, join the Marines, find his daughter.
This, I see, is the point of riding to the Grand Canyon: It gives these kids something concrete to strive for. You encounter a hill and you have to pedal hard to reach the summit. But there will be another hill, and another—it’s an ongoing struggle. To keep reaching the top takes self-awareness and owning your own actions in spite of innumerable and unknowable obstacles.
So close to the Grand Canyon, I witness the power of cycling to provide these kids a way to unhitch from the weight of their past. I know how it feels. Riding has been crucial in my own journey. I’m just one person, but I know the value of sweat and suffering, and also elation. In their smiles and cautiously hopeful gazes, I look for signs that they have gained a similar understanding on this trip.
From the top of the pass, every inch to the Grand Canyon is downhill. But it will be imperative, when the boys finally do leave Ridge View, that they remember the pain of their journey. In the coming months, most will leave the academy. When that happens, some will disperse to better situations, some, arguably, to worse.
But Tyler is the one I’ve followed most closely since joining the team back in Salida. So he is the one I seek out after the trip.
I find him at Ridge View the following October, wearing the letter jacket that signifies he’s made Ram status. Under Townsend’s watch, we meet in a stark white room behind a door with a metal detector. There, he tells me that after the Grand Canyon, he kept riding his bike. He started racing, and he only quit once. “But it was only because this kid cut in front of me,” he says.
It looks as if he has gained 30 or so pounds since the trip, and on the weekends, he goes to his mom’s house. Once, she took him to church, where he says an amazing thing happened: “When people heard that I rode all the way to the Grand Canyon, they came up and congratulated me.” He also says that three weeks from the day we talk, he will go before the parole board, which will decide his future.
At the hearing, a representative from DYC will “want to know what I learned here and what I’m going to do to stay out of trouble once I’m out,” he says. When I ask him what he’ll say, he smiles.
“My little brother has gotten into BMX riding. There’s a bike in the window of my local shop and my mom said she’d buy it for me when I get out. I don’t know, I’ve never ridden on BMX trails before. But I’m pretty sure that a mountain bike will work. When I get one, I’m going to teach my little brother about riding. I’m going to be like Coach Townsend. I’m going to coach him and help him stay out of trouble.” | {
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Play Streaming P-51 Dragon Fighter As World War Two rages on, the allies are about to push the Nazis out of North Africa. That's when the Nazis turn up the heat, unleashing their secret Weapon: DRAGONS!!! The allies quickly lose ground to the ancient monster, and are close to complete annihilation when the Allies put together a group of special fighter-pilots, specially trained to fight a beast everyone thought was a myth. Full Movie P-51 Dragon Fighter For Free
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titled P-51 Dragon Fighter (2014). You can bookmark this page with the URL http://livingthislifesimply.blogspot.com/2014/11/p-51-dragon-fighter-2014.html. Thank you! | {
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Turning Dreams of Medicos Into Reality...!!!
A) Is excreted mainly by the kidneyB) Can cross the placental barrier easilyC) Is well absorbed from the intestineD) Accumulates in the cellular lipidsAnswer (Select an option above to get the answer): | {
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ProSeries Wall Map: New Hampshire State
Rand McNally's regional wall map of New Hampshire is ideal for anyone needing a comprehensive representation of the area for planning, routing, or reference. It's a great choice for business and sales strategy, urban development, social work outreach, education, and marketing. New Hampshire residents, businesses, and government offices are sure to find this wonderful reference tool irreplaceable.
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Tinder Experiments II: Guys, unless you are really hot you are probably better off not wasting your time on Tinder — a quantitative socio-economic study
by Worst-Online-Dater
Abstract (TL;DR)
This study was conducted to quantify the Tinder socio-economic prospects for males based on the percentage of females that will “like” them. Female Tinder usage data was collected and statistically analyzed to determine the inequality in the Tinder economy. It was determined that the bottom 80% of men (in terms of attractiveness) are competing for the bottom 22% of women and the top 78% of women are competing for the top 20% of men. The Gini coefficient for the Tinder economy based on “like” percentages was calculated to be 0.58. This means that the Tinder economy has more inequality than 95.1% of all the world’s national economies. In addition, it was determined that a man of average attractiveness would be “liked” by approximately 0.87% (1 in 115) of women on Tinder. Also, a formula was derived to estimate a man’s attractiveness level based on the percentage of “likes” he receives on Tinder:
Introduction
In my
previous post
we learned that in Tinder there is a big difference in the number of “likes” an attractive guy receives versus an unattractive guy (duh). I wanted to understand this trend in more quantitative terms (also, I like pretty graphs). To do this, I decided to treat Tinder as an economy and study it as an economist (socio-economist) would. Since I wasn’t getting any hot Tinder dates I had plenty of time to do the math (so you don’t have to).
The Tinder Economy
First, let’s define the Tinder economy. The wealth of an economy is quantified in terms its currency. In most of the world the currency is money (or goats). In Tinder the currency is “likes”. The more “likes” you get the more wealth you have in the Tinder ecosystem.
Wealth in Tinder is not distributed equally. Attractive guys have more wealth in the Tinder economy (get more “likes”) than unattractive guys do. This isn’t surprising since a large portion of the ecosystem is based on physical appearance. An unequal wealth distribution is to be expected, but there is a more interesting question: What is the degree of this unequal wealth distribution and how does this inequality compare to other economies? To answer that question we are first going to need some data (and a nerd to analyze it).
Tinder doesn't supply any statistics or analytics about member usage so I had to collect this data myself. The most important data I needed was the percent of men that these females tended to “like”. I collected this data by interviewing females who had “liked” a fake Tinder profile I set up. I asked them each several questions about their Tinder usage while they thought they were talking to an attractive male who was interested in them. Lying in this way is ethically questionable at best (and highly entertaining), but, unfortunately I had no other way to get the required data.
Caveats (skip this section if you just want to see the results)
At this point I would be remiss to not mention a few caveats about these data. First, the sample size is small (only 27 females were interviewed). Second, all data is self reported. The females who responded to my questions could have lied about the percentage of guys they “like” in order to impress me (fake super hot Tinder me) or make themselves seem more selective. This self reporting bias will definitely introduce error into the analysis, but there is evidence to suggest the data I collected have some validity. For instance,
a recent New York Times article
stated that in an experiment females on average swiped a 14% “like” rate. This compares vary favorably with the data I collected that shows a 12% average “like” rate.
Additionally, I am only accounting for the percentage of “likes” and not the actual men they “like”. I have to assume that in general females find the same men attractive. I think this is the biggest flaw in this analysis, but currently there is no other way to analyze the data. There are also two reasons to believe that useful trends can be determined from these data even with this flaw. First, in my previous post we saw that attractive men did equally as well across all female age groups, independent of the age of the male, so to some extent all women have similar tastes in terms of physical attractiveness. Second, most women can agree if a guy is really attractive or really unattractive. Women are more likely to disagree on the attractiveness of men in the middle of the economy. As we will see, the “wealth” in the middle and bottom portion of the Tinder economy is lower than the “wealth” of the “wealthiest” (in terms of “likes”). Therefore, even if the error introduced by this flaw is significant it shouldn't greatly affect the overall trend.
Ok, enough talk. (Stop — Data time)
The Data
As I stated previously the average female “likes” 12% of men on Tinder. This doesn't mean though that most males will get “liked” back by 12% of all the women they “like” on Tinder. This would only be the case if “likes” were equally distributed. In reality, the bottom 80% of men are fighting over the bottom 22% of women and the top 78% of women are fighting over the top 20% of men.
We can see this trend in Figure 1. The area in blue represents the situations where women are more likely to “like” the men. The area in pink represents the situations where men are more likely to “like” women. The curve doesn’t go down linearly, but instead drops quickly after the top 20% of men. Comparing the blue area and the pink area we can see that for a random female/male Tinder interaction the male is likely to “like” the female 6.2 times more often than the female “likes” the male.
Figure 1.
We can also see that the wealth distribution for males in the Tinder economy is quite large. Most females only “like” the most attractive guys. So how can we compare the Tinder economy to other economies? Economists use two main metrics to compare the wealth distribution of economies: The Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient.
The Lorenz curve (Wikipedia link) is a graph showing the proportion of overall income or wealth assumed by the bottom
x% of the people. If the wealth was equally distributed the graph would show a 45 degree line. The amount the curve bends below the 45 degree line shows the extent of wealth inequality. Figure 2 shows the Lorenz curve for the Tinder economy compared to the
curve for the U.S. income distribution from a few years ago.
Figure 2.
The Lorenz curve for the Tinder economy is lower than the curve for the US economy. This means that the inequality in Tinder wealth distribution is larger than the inequality of income in the US economy. One way economists quantify this difference is by comparing the
Gini coefficient
for different economies.
The Gini coefficient (Wikipedia link) is a number between 0 and 1, where 0 corresponds with perfect equality where everyone has the same income (damn commies) and 1 corresponds with perfect inequality where one person has all the income and everyone else has zero income (let them eat cake). The United States currently has one of the higher Gini coefficients (most income inequality) of all of the world’s biggest economies at a value of 0.41. The Tinder Gini coefficient is even higher at 0.58. This may not seem like a big difference but it is actually huge. Figure 3 compares the income
Gini coefficient distribution for 162 nations
and adds the Tinder economy to the list. The United States Gini coefficient is higher than 62% of the world’s countries. The Tinder economy has a higher Gini coefficient than 95.1% of the countries in the world.
The only countries that have a higher Gini coefficient than Tinder are Angola, Haiti, Botswana, Namibia, Comoros, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, and Seychelles (which I had never heard of before).
Figure 3.
What it all means
From this data (and some data collected for the previous post) we can make an estimate as to the percentage of females on Tinder that are likely to “like” a male based on his attractiveness. This graph is shown as Figure 4. Note that the y-axis is in log scale and the curve is fairly linear. This means the curve has a high correlation to an exponential fit. Therefore, you can gauge your attractiveness level if you “like” all girls and keep track of the percentage of girls that “like” you back with a simple equation:
attractiveness%=16.8*ln(like%)+52.3
Figure 4.
According to my last post, the most attractive men will be liked by only approximately 20% of all the females on Tinder. This number is low due to a combination of factors including females that don’t regularly use the site, fake profiles, intimidation, and some variation in what the pickiest women find attractive. In the grand scheme of things, a 20% success rate can actually lead to a large number of matches very quickly. So attractive guys can do pretty well using Tinder (congratulations).
Unfortunately, this percentage decreases rapidly as you go down the attractiveness scale. According to this analysis
a man of average attractiveness can only expect to be liked by slightly less than 1% of females (0.87%). This equates to 1 “like” for every 115 females. The good news is that if you are only getting liked by a few girls on Tinder you shouldn’t take it personally. You aren’t necessarily unattractive. You can be of above average attractiveness and still only get liked by a few percent of women on Tinder. The bad news is that if you aren’t in the very upper echelons of Tinder wealth (i.e. attractiveness) you aren’t likely to have much success using Tinder. You would probably be better off just going to a bar or joining some coed recreational sports team.
On the other hand, it doesn’t take much effort to swipe right… (So you are saying I have a 1 in 115 chance?) | {
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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post3015838284678599536..comments2017-09-26T00:35:29.832-07:00Comments on Color Sepia: ...meanwhile...Magdalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06239907437555388396noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-3566724855915436232015-04-26T23:43:53.174-07:002015-04-26T23:43:53.174-07:00Glad that you found me :) Thank you !Glad that you found me :) Thank you !Magdalenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06239907437555388396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-73151959816060130962015-04-26T23:42:52.530-07:002015-04-26T23:42:52.530-07:00 Dear Donna , I´m so glad that you like the neckla... Dear Donna , I´m so glad that you like the necklace , while making it I was thinking about you...it just felt that it´s destiny should be you. Magdalenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06239907437555388396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-76618379218383871912015-04-26T14:09:41.637-07:002015-04-26T14:09:41.637-07:00Hi Magdalena, I have been to your shop at Etsy an...Hi Magdalena, I have been to your shop at Etsy and I love all your new stuff there... I wore your beautiful necklace last night to a gallery art reception and I wear it often and think of you and how nice you are to send it to me. thank you again. donna watsonlayershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10991288165260934778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-30549746217324271502015-04-20T16:47:47.663-07:002015-04-20T16:47:47.663-07:00Hello Magdalena! I just found you somehow (I don&...Hello Magdalena! I just found you somehow (I don't remember how!?) What an absolutely beautiful blog you have. I've now subscribed to you ... looking forward to following you! :-)thewannabewabisabianhttps://thewannabewabisabian.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-64793047411545951052015-04-12T11:28:17.161-07:002015-04-12T11:28:17.161-07:00Dziekuje kochana! Sciskam!Dziekuje kochana! Sciskam!Magdalenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06239907437555388396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-13650489040450952582015-04-12T11:27:40.878-07:002015-04-12T11:27:40.878-07:00Gracias !!! Abrazo fuerte :)Gracias !!! Abrazo fuerte :)Magdalenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06239907437555388396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-78223940804134423712015-04-12T10:50:07.958-07:002015-04-12T10:50:07.958-07:00Cudne zdjęcie jak wszystkie u Ciebie. Jak na nie p...Cudne zdjęcie jak wszystkie u Ciebie. Jak na nie patrzę, odpoczywam.<br />:)pracownia garderobahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16597732560765253483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-18456108114323584962015-04-12T03:55:13.511-07:002015-04-12T03:55:13.511-07:00Excepcional!Excepcional!Remei (Bitàcora)https://www.blogger.com/profile/18093893012505702718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-42984023647240913672015-04-11T23:18:42.354-07:002015-04-11T23:18:42.354-07:00Dziekuje Kochana! milej niedzieli i tobie zycze! s...Dziekuje Kochana! milej niedzieli i tobie zycze! sciskam!Magdalenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06239907437555388396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-35482610421370543912015-04-11T11:16:13.903-07:002015-04-11T11:16:13.903-07:00Piękny :)
Słonecznej niedzieli!Piękny :)<br />Słonecznej niedzieli!Ellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17797866752864059035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-24038509052232957672015-04-11T11:13:55.883-07:002015-04-11T11:13:55.883-07:00Gracias linda , abrazo fuerte!Gracias linda , abrazo fuerte!Magdalenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06239907437555388396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-33000474367625548552015-04-11T11:13:29.213-07:002015-04-11T11:13:29.213-07:00dziekuje! sciskam mocno!!dziekuje! sciskam mocno!!Magdalenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06239907437555388396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-10775633528828626442015-04-11T07:29:36.716-07:002015-04-11T07:29:36.716-07:00Una maravilla. Que tengas un lindo fin de semana!Una maravilla. Que tengas un lindo fin de semana!Yekahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14332488143489767603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387432784515675172.post-76719269032219259022015-04-11T06:38:35.303-07:002015-04-11T06:38:35.303-07:00Piekny naszyjnik! milego weekendu kochana!Piekny naszyjnik! milego weekendu kochana!Amelihttp://villaartis.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com | {
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Home > News > Volunteers remove over six tons of trash during river cleanup
Volunteers remove over six tons of trash during river cleanup
9/27/2010
More than 100 volunteers removed over six tons of trash from one of the state’s major waterways during the 21st annual Great Kanawha River Cleanup earlier this month.
The Sept. 11 event was sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s REAP (Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan) program.
Covering five sites in Kanawha, Putnam and Fayette counties, 135 volunteers picked up 6.75 tons of debris along the river and 117 tires. They worked 540 man hours.
“This year, we had more volunteers who removed more trash and tires,” said REAP’s Travis Cooper, who organized the cleanup. “It’s very encouraging to see how citizens want to do what they can and pitch in to clean up the environment. We had all facets of the community, from Girl Scouts, to college students, to retired folks, helping out.”
REAP supplied bags, gloves and trash grabbers for the cleanup and arranged for the debris to be hauled away. | {
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Favorite Sites: Other
New Eyes
While on a lecture tour in the fall of 2000, I spent some time in Seattle, on a leg of my trip organized by the estimable Walter Bodle, guiding light of Youth in Focus, an award-winning program for teaching photography to at-risk inner-city young people in that fine, damp city. Watching Walt and his dedicated crew at work with a cluster of excited, creative teens reminded me that this kind of grass-roots photo education took off in the 1960s.
There’s now close to half a century’s worth of collective, cumulative experiment in this approach to visual education, which has taken place not just all across this country but in fact all around the world. Yet you’ll find little published trace of any of that effort, and almost no reference to it in the literature of photo education specifically and visual education — a sad fact.
It struck me that the time might at last have come around for some project to distill the experience of those three decades plus — to consolidate the gains, assess the lessons, and seek to draw often isolated programs into a larger framework. With the 2005 Oscar for best Documentary Film going to Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski’s splendid Born into Brothels, which came out of the Kids with Cameras project, surely the moment has arrived to weigh what’s happened so far, and to plan what should happen next.
So I conferred with Nearby Café webmaster John Alley, whose day job has him teaching teaching photography in high school. In early 2006 we launched The New Eyes Project, a website intended to serve as a resource for everyone teaching photography to young people.
If you’re interested in this set of issues — and, of course, especially if, now or in the past (or in the future), you have had or expect to have any involvement in a program teaching photography to young people, at any age level and in any context — we’d like to hear from you. You can register yourself as a present or former K-12 photo-ed teacher or program director, and tell us about your program, at the New Eyes website. There you’ll also find readings, forums, links, and much useful material.
If you’d like to take part in the expansion of this site as a resource, contact me: adcoleman [at] k12photoed [dot] org. Much research remains to be done on the history of this important experiment in photo education. I’ll gladly confer with you about carving out a manageable chunk of that unexplored territory, and we can publish the results at the New Eyes site. | {
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"More doors are now open to women, but they can now see how far they are from equality in high-level jobs."
WASHINGTON — Young American women are increasingly likely to receive pay nearly equal to their male counterparts, with earnings at 93 percent of men, a new study finds. Still, those women remain as pessimistic as their mothers and grandmothers regarding gender equality.
While women under 32 now have higher rates of college completion than men that age, the analysis of census and labor data shows their hourly earnings will slip further behind by the women's mid-30s, if the experience of the past three decades is a guide.
More online
www.pewresearch.org
That widening gap is due in part to the many women who take time off or reduce their hours to start families. Other factors cited in the report are gender stereotyping, discrimination, weaker professional networks and women's hesitancy to aggressively push for raises and promotions, which together may account for 20 to 40 percent of the pay gap.
In all, 75 percent of women ages 18-32 say the U.S. needs to do more to bring about equality in the workplace, a percentage similar to baby boomer women ages 49-67 and higher than other age groups. Some 57 percent of young men answered that way.
Even so, just 15 percent of young women say they have been discriminated against because of their gender.
"Today's generation of young women is entering the labor force near parity with men in terms of earnings and extremely well prepared in terms of their educational attainment," said Kim Parker, associate director with the Pew Social & Demographic Trends Project. "They feel empowered in many ways, yet when they look at the workplace, they see it as a 'man's world' with the deck stacked against them."
"They think that men earn more than women for doing the same job and that it's easier for men to get top executive jobs than it is for women," she said.
Women are increasingly moving into higher career positions both in government and business. They make up nearly half the workforce, and the share of women in managerial and administrative occupations is nearly equal to that of men — 15 percent compared to 17 percent. Another landmark came Tuesday, when General Motors picked Mary Barra, a 33-year company veteran, as the first female head of a major U.S. car company. Still, women currently hold just 4.5 percent of Fortune 1000 CEO positions, the Pew report said.
Andrew Cherlin, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University, attributed young women's negative assessments about gender equality to their rising career expectations. "More doors are now open to women, but they can now see how far they are from equality in high-level jobs," he said.
The near-equal pay for young women is being driven in large part by their educational gains. Some 38 percent of women ages 25-32 now hold bachelor's degrees, compared to 31 percent of young men. As a result, 49 percent of employed workers with at least a bachelor's degree last year were women, up from 36 percent in 1980. That means more women in higher-skilled, higher-paying positions.
The current ratio of hourly earnings for young women to young men, now at 93 percent, is up from 67 percent in 1980 and is the highest in government records dating back to at least 1979. Across all age groups, the median hourly wage for women last year was 84 percent as much as men — $14.90 vs. $17.79, up from 64 percent in 1980.
At the same time, the Pew study indicates that a woman's job advancement often will hit a ceiling, due in part to competing demands of work and family. Women remain twice as likely as men to work part-time and are more likely to take significant time off from employment during their lives to care for children or other family members.
Among young women, 59 percent say that being a working parent makes it harder to advance in a job or career, compared to just 19 percent of young men. Across all age groups, 22 percent of women and 9 percent of men report having quit jobs for family reasons at some point during their working lives.
Fewer young women than young men aspire to become a boss or top manager. Some 34 percent say they're not interested, compared to 24 percent of young men. And the vast majority of adults of all ages who reduced their work hours to care for family members — 94 percent — say they are glad they did it.
"This report shows that we are still very much in a 'stalled revolution' when it comes to gender equality in the workplace — and young women see it," said Pamela Smock, a sociology professor at the University of Michigan. "When we see our male CEOs taking off a day to care for a sick child, then we will be working in a more gender-equal workplace — and a more gender-equal world."
The Pew study was based on interviews with 2,002 adults by cellphone or landline from Oct. 7 to 27. The Pew poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. | {
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Category Archives: Business
As the pace of business continues to accelerate, there seems to be one aspect of the business process model that is struggling to keep up: The Business Case. There was a time where capital expenditures were looked upon as long term investments by the business. The life-cycle and pay-back processes, as well as the accounting amortization of these investments, were expected to last years, and in some instances, even decades. The average business case became attuned to these norms.
But those days are long gone. As the speed with which technology has changed has continued, by necessity the business case used to justify the new or incremental investment has needed to become shorter. If Moore’s law of eighteen-month capability doubling (it was actually Intel executive David House, who predicted that chip performance would double every 18 months. Gordon Moore, for whom the law is named, was the co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel, and whose 1965 paper described a doubling every two years in the number of transistors per integrated circuit was the basis for the coining of the “law”) is to be believed, then the asymptote for the length of an acceptable business case should approach that eighteen month to two year limit as well.
That doesn’t mean that a product’s useful life is only limited to eighteen months. I think quite the contrary. There are aspects of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) that have been in place for more than fifty years, and are still providing beneficial service to the communications carriers and their subscribers alike.
On the other hand, people are known to line up and over-night camp out every eighteen to twenty-four months in order to be the first to get the next generation of the Apple iPhone.
It appears that customers who are being asked for either capital or operational expenditures associated with technology oriented products, are driving their partners and their vendors to ever more rigorous and aggressive value propositions and rates of return. This is the genesis of the short horizon business case.
The simplest definition of value is how much money is made or saved over what period of time. The more you make, or the more you save over a given period, the better the value. In the past it was acceptable for a business case to extend out over a long enough time period as to show an acceptable return. If the initial business case for the sale didn’t make sense for one period of time, it was easy just to lengthen out the time frame until it did.
What appears to be happening is that as the rate of technological based product change has continued at the speed of Moore’s Law, the period that a customer is willing to measure value has shrunk. Business cases still need to show the customer value, they now must do it in far less time. The tried and true form of extending the business case period to make the value and pay back equations work is now gone. Customers will no longer accept it, and are driving for shorter and shorter review periods.
I think there are several factors in addition to technical obsolescence that are helping to drive a short horizon on the business case:
As each new generation of technology arrives it almost exponentially drives down the (residual) value of previous generations. I think it is no secret that one generation old technology is viewed as old and disadvantaged, and that two-generation old technology is probably approaching the zero value state. We have all seen this in our consumer based technology purchases as well. Products get old so quickly that we have developed a disposable attitude toward them. With Personal computers now going for a few hundred dollars, what is the value of a two-generation old computer? What was once repaired and retained is now simply expected to be replaced.
How would consumers (and manufacturers) react if the same logic was applied to say, automobiles and two to three model year old car was considered almost valueless?
We also see (comparatively) decreasing operational returns as each new technology generation is introduced. This means that as each new product gets smaller and more efficient the value of generating operational savings associated with the previous generation of product also tends to get devalued.
The idea of saving something with what you have is not as attractive as the possibility of saving more with something new. I guess this is what they call “Marketing”.
I think one of the final evolution’s of the short horizon business case is the “Cloud”. I am sure everyone has heard of this thing. It’s in all the magazines.
One of the many ways that manufacturers and vendors have adapted to the evolving business case rules is to try and remove both the obsolescence associated with technology and to more closely align the delivered solution with the customer’s need. The idea being that if a customer only needs a four-unit solution but the technology only comes in six or eight unit increments, there is a delivered solution miss-match.
By delivering a function from the cloud as opposed to a product based solution, the vendor has effectively removed technology obsolescence from the customer’s decision process, as well as matched the required amount of solution with the required amount of need.
The net result is a much shorter period needed to achieve the required business case. Customer purchases can be made in smaller increments, which in turn only require smaller pay-backs. Future product purchases and existing product obsolescence are removed from the customer’s decision criteria as the customer is now only purchasing the product’s function, not the product itself. The obsolescence issue, and all the other costs associated with operation of the product are now retained by the vendor (and should be built into their business case).
The continued drive for more value has driven customers and business cases to the short horizon. Capital for technology can no longer be viewed as a long-term investment. It must be judged and justified by how quickly it can pay back on its cost and the relative business value it generates. It is this drive for better business returns that continues to reduce the time scale associated with the business case.
This trend would appear to potentially be a seed cause for future changes to the way business is conducted. On one hand it will continue to make the sale of capital based technology products more difficult. By demanding shorter pay-back and business case periods, customers are in essence expecting lower prices for products, and higher value delivered. That is a demanding and difficult environment for any supplier.
It should also continue to drive product virtualization and the Cloud as ways for suppliers to retain costs and risks, and hence remove them from the customer’s business case. This will continue to be an interesting market, but not all technologies and products may be potential candidates for the cloud.
It could also be argued that a potentially unexpected result of the drive to align business cases with product life cycles could be the reversal of Moore’s Law. It has long been expected that there is some sort of limit to the capacity doubling process. It has been going on for over fifty years. There are recent articles in no less than the MIT Technology Review, Ars Technica, and The Economist (to name just a few) that are now stating that Moore’s Law have in fact run its course.
And this may also be of benefit to business. If customers want to align their capital business case length with the product’s life cycle, and the current eighteen to twenty-four month life cycle of the product makes this increasingly difficult, then one of the solutions may be to lengthen the product life cycle to more than twenty-four months. If there truly is a link between business case length and product life cycle, then this could be a possible solution.
This will be an interesting cause and effect discussion. Is the potential slowing of Moore’s Law going to cause the reversing of the short horizon trend associated with customer’s business cases, or is the demand for short horizon business cases going to accelerate the slowing of Moore’s Law due to business necessities? Either way, customers are requiring businesses to change the way they put together the business case for capital technology sales, and that is having a significant effect on how business can successfully get done.
“My mind is aglow with whirling, transient nodes of thought careening through a cosmic vapor of invention. My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought, cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives…”
(Hedley (not Hedy) Lamarr in Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles”.)
Ditto.
Extra points if you knew who said that as well as who uttered the response.
I seem to have costs on my mind (as well as a lot of other things, apparently) these days. I didn’t know what I wanted to address in this posting: Cost Reduction, Business Cases, Business Predictability all seemed to have been foremost in my mind among the possible group of posting topics. It seemed like the best thing to do was get started and see where it went. It went to “Blazing Saddles”. I don’t know if it is recoverable from there, but I will try.
Since this is nominally a Business Blog, and I did at least tangentially address cost reduction as one of the primary growth industries in business in my last posting, I think that I will head over into business cases. However, do not lament the transition away from cost reduction entirely, as costs do play an important role in the creation of any good business case.
It appears that creating or generating a really good business case is becoming a lost art. Coming up with an idea, specifying the investment parameters, analyzing the markets and demands, and ultimately defining the returns and value to the company are some of the building blocks of a successful business. It is a rigorous process (and it should be) because it deals with the lifeblood of the business – money.
This is not going to be some sort of a “how to” do a business case primer. It’s more about what they are and why they’re needed. Simply put, a business case is the justification package that you put together when you want the company or organization to invest in something. This is a very high level definition. The “something” to be invested in can be almost anything: research and development for new products, production automation equipment to reduce the labor component associated with manufacturing, additional sales people in an effort to expand the addressable market and grow sales, are just a few of the fun ones that come to mind.
Business cases are all about what the company should invest in. Investing is all about money, specifically when you spend it, how much of it you spend, when you get it back and how much more of it you get back. Businesses are in business to make money. Like every good investor, when money is spent or invested, a return is expected on that money or investment. If that does not seem to be the case, then the business case process has probably broken down.
I do not claim to be a business case guru. I have put several of them together and have found a few topics that I look for in every good business case. If you want to find out all that should be included in a business case, just Google “Business Case Template”. I think you will get a little more than eight million results.
In my experience, every good business case should have the following three major components:
What is it that is wanted?
What are you asking for and how much is it going to cost? Every business case is about asking for money. In the examples I cited above you would be asking for a specific amount of money for either research and development (people, lab space, lab equipment, etc.), money for manufacturing equipment for automated production, or money for salaries for incremental sales people. This amount is known as the investment.
What is it that you get for the money?
Why would the organization or business want to give you this money? What are they going to get in return? If it is for research and development, what products are they going to get and how will they positively affect the growth of the company. If it is for an automated production line, how much are production costs going to be decreased. If it is for additional sales people, how much are sales going to increase.
When do they get their money back?
No, the organization is not “giving” you money. Think of it as a loan. Every loan needs to be paid back, with interest. This interest is usually in the form of increased profits for the company, either in the form of margins from increased sales or reduced costs. If you don’t believe me on this repayment with interest thing, just ask the bank or financing company the next time you want to invest in a car or house. I think they will be quite specific regarding the interest you will be paying on the loan and the expected repayment schedule that they will require you to comply with. This money that is given back to the company is known as the return on investment.
Business Case Tip #1.
One of the guiding principles of a good business case is that the return on investment should be greater than the investment itself was.
I don’t think there are many (any?) other business case tips that can be given that have the same importance as this one. A proper business case requests a specific amount of money. It defines what the money will be used for (spent on). It specifies what will be produced (new products, cost reductions, increased sales, etc.). It also forecasts when and how much the returns will be. It is all about the numbers.
It is this last part which is especially important. When are they going to get their money back. It is during this discussion when you may hear a term such as “pay-back”. Pay-back is when they get all of their original investment back. This is the break-even point. After this, everything that is returned to the company is a benefit or profit.
Business Case Tip #2
No matter how soon or how quickly the business case hits the “pay-back” point, it will not be soon enough.
Contrary to what some may believe, money in a company is not free. A company must pay for its money, one way or the other. A company can fund a business case investment via either debt or equity financing. In debt financing it is the interest and overheads that it must pay on the loan (debt) it takes out to get the money. In equity financing it is the relative risk and return it must pay in the form of stock appreciation or dividends to the equity investor in order to attract them. This is called “the cost of capital”. It is in effect the interest or discount rate that the company must use in the business case when it looks at the future returns on its investment.
The longer it takes to reach pay back to the company, the more the amount of discount that is applied to the return. The greater the discount, the more difficult it should be to make the business case work.
Remember that there is a limited amount of investment money that is available to any company. There is only so much that the company can borrow before the financial position of the company is adversely affected by its debt position and only so much stock that can be issued before the market adversely affects the equity price and expectation for the stock.
There are also other businesses and organizations within the company that would like to invest in their opportunities as well. That will create a competition for those investment funds. So how should the company decide where to invest?
There are usually two instances where a company will invest. One of the easiest is to invest only in those business cases that provide the greatest return on the investment. That would be those opportunities that have the best business cases. You have just seen above what should be expected at a high level for a good business case.
The second place that a company usually invests is in those strategic initiatives that may not provide the best return but are required for the long term health of the company. What are these strategic initiatives you may ask? That’s a good question. I have found business cases to try to define themselves as a strategic initiative when they contain a request for funding that does not show a reasonable return on the requested investment.
That’s probably not entirely true. There are investments for things such as core technologies that other products are built from that could be defined as strategic (among the many others of this type) as well as initiatives outside of the financially definable realm such as the reduction of carbon footprints or diversity that may not contribute directly to the financial well being of the company, but should be done none the less for the greater good of the company.
Companies expect and need to make money. Otherwise they normally do not get to remain companies for very long. I think a great deal of any company’s success can probably be attributed to how strong their business case process is, and how well they adhere to it. Having people who understand what a good business case is can go a long way to attaining that success.
I like to read. My son says he would prefer to wait for the movie. Any movie. Seeing as how he is still only fifteen years old, I don’t think that there is much that I can do about that right now. What I can do is control what I read. I was under the misguided idea that occasionally I should read articles, magazines and books written by and for successful people, who like to tell us other presumably less successful people what we should do to become more successful, just like them.
I don’t think I am going to do this anymore.
Every time I read one of these success missives, I can’t help but feel inferior. It has a tendency to either depress me or drive me nuts.
I’ll demonstrate by example:
I got an email notification that my college alma mater (of all things) “liked” an article on one of those professional networking sites. I take being a mighty Lobo alumnus of the University of New Mexico very seriously so I thought it best to go check out what my alma mater deemed important enough to actually like. I clicked on the link in the notification.
Via the magic of the internet I was immediately whisked to the site of some business and technology e-zine with the appropriately titled article (and I am paraphrasing here as I don’t wish to have to provide attribution)
“27 Things that People Who Are More Successful Than You Do Every Day – Including Weekends – Before They Leave Work, That You Probably Don’t Do Which Explains Why They Are Successful And You Aren’t”
You would be surprised how close to the real title that paraphrase is.
As I said, I like to read. I read for information and enjoyment. I also believe it is something of a dying art. I mean why read when you can text or IM or as my son does, watch the movie anyway? But that is not the point. The point here is that I was already at the site. I consider myself to be reasonably successful. I have not ruled the world but I have done moderately okay. I figured I would peruse the first few topics of the list of successful attributes purely out of self interest and compare what the list said successful people do with what I do and see how much similarity there was.
Big mistake.
After furiously reading through the entire list with ever increasing disbelief to see if there was anything at all that I did at the end of the day that even remotely resembled something that a successful person was purported to have done at the end of the day, I came to the crushing conclusion that I am not fit to leave work at the end of the day, let alone work anywhere.
In case some of you have not experienced the joy that accompanies an epiphany that springs from reading an article like this, let me provide an example as a means of explanation. Most of us know how to sign our names. There are probably a few of us who don’t, and due to the penmanship challenges associated with the inability to sign their name these people are hence genetically selected to become doctors. Over time we have all probably evolved our “signature”.
Now take the pen that you normally sign your name with, put in the other hand (the hand that normally holds the paper while the first hand signs your signature) and now be told that all successful people are ambidextrous and in order for you too to be considered successful you should immediately be able to use that other hand to sign your signature as quickly, clearly and effortlessly as the first hand.
Give it a try. See how that works for you.
You now have only the slightest of inklings how it feels to read these articles about the habits, traits, customs, manners, dispositions, styles, fashions, penchants and proclivities of successful business people.
It depresses me that I don’t seem to have any resemblance at all to these so called successful people. It depresses me that I don’t spring out of bed at four o’clock in the morning prepared to shampoo the dog and rotate the tires on my wife’s car, and jog six or eight miles while thinking great world changing thoughts, all before going into the office like successful people are being depicted as doing. I am crestfallen that I don’t seem to be the appropriate whirl wind of activity in the last ten minutes of my business day closing off to-do lists, clearing my desk while simultaneously creating a workable plan to solve world hunger as I prepare to do battle with the other presumably unsuccessful souls on my commute home from the office.
It further concerns me that almost all the people that I know that I would consider to be successful also seem to have nothing in common with the ideal successful person that these articles describe.
In the past I have discussed how happiness cannot be derived from the actions and relative performance of others. I guess the corollary here is that feelings of depression and inferiority in the office should also not be the result of the actions and relative performance of others either.
Unfortunately that approach does not seem to sell articles, magazines and books. Nor does it seem like a very good way to drive people to specific web sites where their eyeballs can be assaulted by both an article describing in detail why they should by inference not consider themselves to be successful as well as those advertisers that are on that site who have specifically tailored their self-help ads to those people who after reading the article are now feeling so insecure about their relative worth and success in business.
What this epiphany does open up to me is the idea of a new opportunity to address a whole new segment of the self help article, magazine and book market. It is the segment of the market that is for the business person that is at least in part moderately successful, and wants to feel good about what they have accomplished. Think about that for a moment. Doesn’t everyone want a little recognition, reinforcement and reaffirmation that they have in fact been doing things well?
Think about the titles for these articles, magazines and books that could be generated, based on this new and previously untapped market approach:
“From Good to Better”
“Twelve Habits of the Moderately Successful”
“Congratulations on Making it to the Office on Time”
“How to Get Back From Lunch in One Hour”
“Speakerphone Etiquette in the Cube Farm”
“The Art of Aiming Low and Meeting Your Objectives”
The list could go on and on.
I understand that in this day and age that it is hyperbole that sells. As another example, in the past it used to be enough to just report the news. Now we seem to have a never ending stream of talking heads that are associated with one end of the political spectrum or the other that are now presenting their “version” of the news. Everything now has “spin” and now screams for our attention. I think the same is now the case for the plethora of business “self help” articles, magazines and books that are vying for our attention.
Each of these new and improved lists of elements associated with success seems to be more outlandish than the previous. As I noted before, based on these items it is hard to understand how I or anyone else is or can ever be considered successful. Hence the source of my concerns over these feelings of inferiority.
I think the bottom line is that when you take everything into consideration it is still things like drive, determination, attention to detail, effort, honesty, knowledge, experience, cooperation, preparation and maybe just a smidgeon of luck that are some of the determining factors in success. These concepts are not particularly exciting and don’t promise any secret short cuts to success. Maybe that explains why there doesn’t seem to be a market for a book titled:
“Be Smart, Work Hard, Perform Well and Move Ahead”
Perhaps another answer to being considered a success is to write a book that tells other people what they should do in order to be considered a success.
I am sure as children we have all heard the parable “If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?” No matter how you answered the question, the rejoinder was “How do you know for sure?”
The business equivalent of this parable is “If you work very hard all month, and you do not generate a monthly report of your activities, did you really do any work?” The answer to this one is a little bit simpler. If you did not document your progress and activities then in reality you didn’t do any work. If you want to argue this point, my rejoinder will be “How will management know for sure?”
I have heard many reasons and excuses for not generating a monthly report. It takes too much time. I didn’t have a great month so I don’t want to document so little progress. I had a great month so I don’t want to seam self aggrandizing. The bottom line is that there is no excuse for not generating a monthly report.
They don’t take a lot of time. If they do, you’re probably doing them wrong. Some monthly reports may be stronger than others. That is the nature of business. The fact is that a brief 1-2 page monthly report is your opportunity to capture the value that you and your team brought to the company. Businesses are focused on generated value. If you are not showing and documenting your value, how can they know what value you are to them? | {
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Party Leader Anna Troberg
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23 Nov 2012 |
inga kommentarer ]
The Party Leader leads the Leading Group in their daily operations and is the party’s face outward. The Party Leader can decide upon political positions in line with the party’s principles between member meetings. Anna Troberg became Party Leader for the Pirate Party on January 1, 2011, after being deputy Party Leader since 2009.Anna was born in the year of ABBA winning in Brighton, 1974. She lives in Stockholm with her girlfriend and her three cats.Before starting off her political career she had several other character defining jobs. While studying she worked cleaning, sorting mail, designing wedding cakes, securing for Y2K and writing freelance. She has also been an English post-graduate, translator, publishing house executive and writer.
Her humorous novel ”Chefer från helvetet” (”Bosses from Hell”) was published by Wahlström & Widstrand in 2007 under the pseudonym Rosetta Sten. The novel has also been published in Norway and Finland. You can ofcourse download it for free (in Swedish). Sharing is caring.
Anna has eight shelves with different editions of Jeanette Winterson books. She can also brag with a glorious past in sports. For one year she was Borlänge champion in table tennis, football and shot-put. (She was 11 at the time, and emphasis lie on ”past” and not ”glorious”.) Dolly Parton is her homegirl and yes, she has a cardboard Xena in real life size watching over her while she’s working. It’s good for the creativity. | {
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How the University handles your information
The University of Manchester handles a wide variety of information which is used for teaching, learning, research, commercial and administrative activities.
The University's Information Governance Office (IGO) provides a framework of people, policies and technical and organisational controls to help protect this information, promoting openness but mindful of the needs and rights of individuals who entrust their personal data to the University and the requirements of other interested parties, funding and regulatory bodies.
Through a network of Information Governance Guardians, we provide training, support and guidance to enable staff to ensure that information is created, used, archived and disposed of appropriately and in accordance with records retention requirements.
The use of some information is constrained either by legislation, such as current data protection law, or in order to protect the interests of the University, while other information may need to be made freely available, such as information in response to freedom of information legislation requests and research papers. The IGO co-ordinates responses to these requests.
Information is a valuable asset to the University and we facilitate a risk-based approach to ensure these assets are protected. If incidents occur which jeopardise the confidentiality, integrity or availability of this information, we ensure that appropriate action is taken to minimise any harm or distress to individuals or impact on the University, and requires that arrangements are put in place to prevent the incident reoccurring.
Vision
Our vision is:
To build and embed an Information Governance framework to establish best practice, ensure the University’s legal and statutory compliance and to achieve a recognised standard of excellence.
To challenge established processes, manage risks, develop policies and provide guidance to ensure leadership and staff process all information in a secure, consistent way. | {
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013
The BabbyFamily House Tour Pt. I: Welcome!
At my house, 99% of visitors come in through the kitchen, so I thought it makes sense to start my house tour in what is clearly the heart of my home. Is your house like that, too? I swear I have a living room, but guests nearly always end up in the kitchen!
It's weird, too, because we don't have like epic levels of seating. Two grownup chairs, the Tripp Trapp, and the hairpin leg bench I made, plus Bo's way too big highchair now. People are so drawn to the kitchen that they don't mind standing! Can you tell I love red? I also love having the art supplies out where we can get at 'em.
Here's my kitchen clock, and here's where I say 'I made that!'
We have bright purple kitchen cabinets. The mister was originally anti purple but I convinced him and now he loves it. Before the purple, we had dark brown wood cabinets. Dark brown in a tiny south-facing kitchen. Seriously.
Free printables, woo!
I originally wanted to put some kind of framed picture over the stove - where there's not enough room to put much anything else. But I didn't have any frames and I did have paint, so this was the result. We <3 coffee!
A certain someone convinced me that repainting with chalkboard paint would be a bad idea, so I compromised with a chalkboard panel. We have fun posting recipes and messages to one another so I consider it worth the hassle of wiping up chalk dust.
It's a fridge. It's an art gallery. It's a strategic planning center. How much stuff is hanging on your refrigerator at any given time?
And that's my kitchen! Stay tuned for House Tour Pt. II, coming tomorrow... probably. I'll be giving you a glimpse into the kids' rooms!
I LOVE your table area. All that color makes me happy. We use a lot of red in our house too, but this makes me really want to pump it up! Don't think I'll go with purple cabinets, though (yours look fantastic) | {
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How To Pass Ccna And Ccnp Exam In One Years
Which should I pursue first CCENT or CCNA? I have to doTo earn this Cisco certification, you must pass the following exam(s): 300-101 ROUTE. Implementing Cisco IP Routing (ROUTE 300-101) is a qualifying exam for the Cisco CCNP and CCDP certifications.... To recertify, pass the ICND2 exam, or pass the current CCNA exam, or pass a CCNA Concentration exam (wireless, security, voice), or pass the current CCDA exam, or pass any 300 – XXX professional level or Cisco Specialist exam (excluding Sales Specialist exams), or pass a current CCIE or CCDE written exam.
Cisco Certification Showdown—CCNA vs. CCNP SimplilearnThree Myths About Cisco Exams: One of the drawbacks to the Internet is that it allows myths and "friend of a friend" stories to spread quickly, and usually the story becomes more exaggerated as it's passed along. Cisco exams are no exception. Here are three often-repeated myths and exaggerations regarding the CCNA and CCNP exams. 1. The survey you fill out before the exam determines the... The best way to pass the CCNA exam can be different depending circumstances. One person's best path to exam success may not yield the same result for another. That being said, we can look at three different generalized paths. You can choose the one you think best fits your circumstance and get started on the correct path for exam success. Please note that none of these options are better than
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How To Pass Ccna And Ccnp Exam In One Years
The Cisco 300-101 exam is one of three tests that one must pass in order to progress in the CCNP Routing and Switching or CCDP certifications. This test …
Video training course for the Cisco CCNP TSHOOT 300-135 exam. This is one of three exams you need to pass in order to qualify as a CCNP RS. TSHOOT is usually taken last because it tests you on your ability to troubleshoot many of the technologies you learned in the ROUTE and SWITCH exams.
We provide all our ASQ Certification 300-101 exam training material in PDF format, which is a very common format found in all computers and gadgets. Regardless of whichever computer you have, you just need to download one of the many PDF readers that are available for free.
Pass the CCNA it is good for three years, pass any professional level exam, (1 of the 4) required for CCXP and as you pass each one, the NA counter resets for another three years. Complete the CCXP certification and pass another professional level exam (1 of CCIP, CCDP) extra, and XP counter and NA counter resets for three years.....
Validity. CCNP™ certifications are valid for three years. To recertify, pass any 300-Series exam that is part of the professional level curriculum or any CCIE/CCDE written exam before the … | {
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Damsels In Distress: Why Do So Many Contemporary Women Read Old-Fashioned Romance Novels? – I know most of you have probably already seen this (and check out the “addendum,” too, if you haven’t already), but for those who missed it, here is the 4,385,328th statement about Romance that completely misses the significance of both the genre and the feminist movement. Some of the responses are great, though, and it’s interesting to note — once again — how many preconceptions and stereotypes about genre Romance are still so popular and so easily unquestioned.
“But I must wonder why so many women – forty years after the women’s liberation movement, Roe vs. Wade and the pill have transformed the lives of women in the most dramatic of ways – continue to indulge in the fanciful tales of females so unlike them who live in fantasy worlds light years removed from their reality?”International Business Times
’50 shades of no’: Critics slam taxpayer-funded romance novel website – More on the campaign against the Popular Romance Project. Note the connection to 50 Shades, which has become kind of a catchall for “this has no value” within certain circles. One of the many reasons I’m so frustrated by the Romance community’s persistent vilification of the series. Anyway, here’s one more balanced quote in the piece:
“‘While funding a study on the development of romance in popular books and movies might not be at the forefront of what we deem necessary as far as funding through taxpayer money goes, it certainly has its place in U.S. culture,’ said author and screenwriter Ariane Sommer. ‘And a rather large place it is. For romance, basic needs aside, is likely the biggest motivator in our lives. As a taxpayer I would rather see my money go to cultural projects and education than, say, invasive body scanning machines at airports or subsidizing the ingredients of junk food.'”Fox News
Investor sues Barnes & Noble over misstatements, SEC probe – Aaannd, the first derivative shareholder suit is filed against Barnes & Noble. The plaintiff, an attorney from New York, has filed in New York County Supreme Court (the New York equivalent of Superior Court in other states), and has named some of the company’s executives as defendants. Corporate executives have fiduciary duties to the company and its shareholders, and they can be sued for allegedly violating those duties. The idea behind these suits is that shareholders can bring suit against a company, if they believe that those directly responsible for managing the company are not doing so or are acting unethically or illegally. Consequently, even though they are ostensibly filing against the company, they are, in essence, doing so on behalf of the company.
“‘The restatement and the accounting allegations under investigation by the SEC are only two symptoms of a pervasive deficiency of internal controls at Barnes & Noble impacting many areas of the company’s operation and reporting,’ Shaev said in the lawsuit.”Los Angeles Times
Shia LaBeouf May Have Plagiarized His Apology for Plagiarism – Actor and documentary filmmaker Shia LaBeouf recently came under attack for plagiarizing the comic strip Justin M. Damiano, by Daniel Clowes, and in a twist that underscores the initial violation, has allegedly, and ironically, plagiarized part of his apology. Which, if you read his tweets, isn’t so much of an apology (see previous point about underscoring the problem):
“More importantly, there’s the absolutely surreal, yet apparently true, revelation that this apology about plagiarism was itself plagiarized, as noticed by Andrew Hake on Twitter and that LaBeouf has already been caught once before specifically plagiarizing an apology. Let’s look again at that first tweet, shall we?”Wired
Spare Rib contributors sought so editions can be digitised and saved – Since several of today’s stories have a feminist twist of them, I figured I’d top things off this this, a rather informative discussion of Spare Rib, a magazine that “charted the grassroots feminist movement through 239 editions,” from 1972 to 1993. The British Library needs permission from a majority of the magazine’s contributors in order to digitize all of the issues. It certainly seems like a good reminder of all the work that has been and still needs to be done to secure social equity around issues implicating gender, sexuality, and race.
“The magazine sought to provide an alternative to the traditional gender roles. Cover headlines such as “Doctor’s Needles not Knitting Needles”, “Cellulite – the slimming fraud” and “Why women starve themselves” ran alongside articles featuring women as diverse as country and western singer Tammy Wynette, of Stand by your Man fame, or US political activist Angela Davis, who was interviewed about black women and revolutionary freedom.” The Guardian
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isn't sure if she's an average Romance reader, or even an average reader, but a reader she is, enjoying everything from literary fiction to philosophy to history to poetry. Historical Romance was her first love within the genre, but she's fickle and easily seduced by the promise of a good read. She approaches every book with the same hope: that she will be filled from the inside out with something awesome that she didnʼt know, didnʼt think about, or didnʼt feel until that moment. And she's always looking for the next mind-blowing read, so feel free to share any suggestions!
24 Comments
In regards to the whole “romance is trash thingy”, ain’t nothing new here. The only thing I’ll say is I have always looked on romance novels as happily anti-feminist. But I consider this a positive. Whenever I read of a self-proclamed “spokesperson” of women yelling about how bad traditional marriage is for women (except of course for polygymy which is now “sex positive” and all about “diversity”) or shrilly yammering on about evil men, I just laugh. There’s a reason romance is so popular and its not because of “fear of heteronormativity” or “exploration of gender roles.” Its because romance presents a VERY pro-marriage POV and men are GOOD. I love romance for these reasons. I suspect I’m not the only one.
I should have followed my instincts and not even clicked through on that first news item. How, and why, do people who have no understanding of the romance genre and its variety of characters and scenarios deem themselves fit to ‘report’ on it?
And how is it that so many years after the start of the women’s lib movement so many women still don’t have a clue what feminism really means?
One of the many reasons I’m so frustrated by the Romance community’s persistent vilification of the series.
I know this is a general statement but it made me question how I portray and respond to this series. I have multiple issues with it but I don’t think I vilify it. I hate that it’s fanfiction that was P2P and that’s got nothing to do with it being romance. I also hate how it portrays what is supposed to be a healthy BDSM relationship – hell a healthy relationship in general. I voice these opinions anytime I get into a discussion about this series, but while I may have no respect for the books and author, and indeed quite a bit of disgust for the books, I still pretty strongly feel ‘to each their own.’
Rambling aside – I guess I wonder what you mean by vilify. Admittedly, this is pretty much my only source for romance ‘news’, so I’m probably missing some stuff that’s happening elsewhere.
Of course, it’s a shame that women, even smart, accomplished women read such trashy, unrealistic stuff like romance whereas men disdain fantasy in favor of more realistic, meaningful, intellectual fiction, as epitomized by Jack Reacher and Jack Ryan, not to mention the movie favorites James Bond and Rambo.
Why do people consistently opine that “so many smart, successful women like romance novels?” Does it occur to no one that maybe because a lot of really awesome people enjoy romance that the genre might have some great qualities? And be worthy of more than just dismissive scorn? *internally rages*
I must be very peculiar because it would never occur to me to spend any significant time analyzing “why” people read whatever it is they choose to read (serious literature, commercial fiction, or comics). Whatever one’s personal preference, the most likely reason he or she reads any genre is to be entertained and, on occasion, provoked in some way.
When I pick up an historical romance, I want to be swept away to another time and place for five hours. I’m not consciously thinking about comparisons to reality, or forward movement in womens’ rights, etc. I’m not trying to make any statement about who I am or how smart I am (or am not…LOL). I’m just having FUN.
I think writers (especially romance writers) are used to critics, who can sometimes be offensive in the way they bash what or how something is written (which makes me want to ask them to redirect their energy into creating something of their own instead of tearing down the efforts of a writer who did their best to entertain others). But while there is surely value in “objective” book reviews (like those on this site), I have to wonder why anyone needs to bash readers for what they choose to read? Seriously, let’s just be happy people are still reading.
And frankly, romance and love are at the root of most of life’s happiness, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that romance stories are popular.
I am consistently bothered by the perceived homogeneous nature of Romance in the popular media. For all its many formulas, this is such an incredibly diverse genre in so many ways, and there are so many different reasons that it might appeal to people. mari and I appear to be basically polar opposites in terms of our sociopolitical views, and the fact that both of us have nevertheless found a lot to love within the same genre, for very different reasons, is a testament to that diversity. So the way in which these articles always seem to assume that we romance readers are all exactly the same, the books are all exactly the same, everyone’s tastes and preferences and motivations for reading are all exactly the same… it reminds me of how in so many other forms of media you have the one token female character whose personality is “female” (and also of this conversation I once had with a thankfully-ex-roommate which concluded with him saying ‘So what I’ve learned from you today is that different women are different‘ as though this were the most novel thing he’d ever heard). I wish that some sort of acknowledgement that romance novels and romance readers are in no way uniform or identical didn’t seem like such a pipe dream.
It just seems that the author of that article does not like the romance genre and, therefore judges it and its readers. It is rather childish to have the “I don’t enjoy this and if you do there is something wrong with you” mentality. People like what they like.
I remain disturbed by the notion that feminism is somehow anti-man and anti-marrige (referencing mostly Mari’s comment above). Feminism pointed out the ways in which our culture shapes the relationships– legal, emotional, and more— that we must all navigate and how women (in particular) are personally affected by this.
I don’t believe it’s anti-marriage to ask that the legal structure of marriage not place one of the partners in a legally inferior position. It’s not anti-marriage to ask that our partners recognize unequal burdens and work to address that in a mutually acceptable and equitable manner.
Certainly there are romance novels in which the relationship that leads to marriage is “traditional” with all that means about the dominance and submission of cis-gendered roles. But there are more romance in which the marriage is negotiated through a relationship that does not assume traditional roles.
I would argue that Romance novels that substantiate a relationship in which both the partners have arrived at a place in the relationship that gives each of them what they need and want — as opposed to what our culture says they should need and want is by definition feminist.
It’s one thing to be in a marriage that imposes an unfair distribution of rights and responsibilities (legal, emotional, etc) and quite another to enter into a marriage where both parties are self-determined as to what their relationship looks like.
Feminism gave us the idea that women have the right to determine their fates in and out of marriage and that marriage need not mean loss of agency. Plenty of Romance novels show us women who do exactly that.
@Angela:
I agree, but I think unless people first hand experience modern romance its hard to put away those prejudices when there’s SO much of it. Kinda sad, but true. Still, doesn’t give him the right to bash on a genre that is so clearly feminist. I sincerely hope romance readers don’t have to with stuff like this fifty years from now, but its doubtful.
I would argue that Romance novels that substantiate a relationship in which both the partners have arrived at a place in the relationship that gives each of them what they need and want — as opposed to what our culture says they should need and want is by definition feminist.
“The only thing I’ll say is I have always looked on romance novels as happily anti-feminist.”
This may be the strangest thing I’ve heard about the modern Romance genre in a while. The most basic premise of modern Romance novels is that people, including women, get to choose with whom they want to have relationships and, possibly. marry. Characters that deny women agency are usually the villains.
Where do you think these idea originated? The modern Romance genre is very feminist.
[…] “But I must wonder why so many women – forty years after the women's liberation movement, Roe vs. Wade and the pill have transformed the lives of women in the most dramatic of ways – continue to indulge in the fanciful … […]
“(…) clearly something is missing in the lives and experiences of tens of millions (maybe even hundreds or millions) of contemporary ladies. ”
What a moronic statement. Judging people by their hobbies. Claiming that a woman must be unhappy or missing something if she enjoys reading about it.
“Still, I would suggest that if someone is enamored with romantic novels, one should perhaps eschew the contemporary books and read the beautiful, deep and moving works of 19th century women authors like Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters – they combined romanticism with cold hard reality and profound insights in humanity.”
Clearly the article’s author has read every single contemporary book from every single author and realized that ALL romance books are old-fashioned. But oh, everyone sounds intelligent and well-read if they mention Jane Austen… even if they only watched the movie adaptations of her books.
@Carolyn Jewel:
Dear Carolyn Jewel, would you please write about the romance genre and its feminism? Not only do you know how to perfectly articulate it, but you’re an amazing writer. Sincerely, Brigid
@Diana
I was being sarcastic. The thing that annoys me the most about the denigration of the romance genre is that men’s popular fiction is just as unrealistic. Take Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. He’s 6’8″ for starters, he’s, like just about every male hero, wildly attractive to women. Women he’s worked with are secretly in love with him, to the point that they’ve never married and drop everything to run and help. He can kill with one karate chop when fighting a highly trained bad guy with a gun. He’s pretty typical.
Even Robert Langdon of the Da Vinci code starts out looking like an ordinary guy, but it turns out he’s the only guy in the world who can break the secret and in the end of the book, he, of course, gets the hot, much younger girl who is — get this, not even James Bond topped this — a direct descendent of Jesus!!!
But, that’s realistic, right? All the people who read Dan Brown and Lee Child book weren’t sad, sorry losers who could be reading, say, Moby Dick, if they knew what was good for them.
@SAO: My comment wasn’t directed at yours at all. Sorry if it came across that way! It was just a general observation/thought I had when I finished reading the original article, not a reaction to you. :)
I completely agree with what you’re saying about perceptions regarding fiction written for/by men and books written for/by women. There aren’t very many (that I’ve seen) condescending pieces written about the intelligence of men who enjoy reading spy or military oriented genre novels. But, of course, anything to do with women’s fiction is highly scrutinized, mocked and pretty openly dismissed. Really depressing!
Tweets
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Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
I sat calmly in my desk chair, spinning idly in front of the microphone as Guinnivere by CSN&Y aired. It was 4:57 am. My shift was over at 6:30. But that didn't mean much, seeing as Matt would show up whenever at his own discretion for his shift after mine. Quite the entrepeneur. As the song ended, I reached for the mic, ready to broadcast, when the door to my left flew open, slamming into my chair, making me toss down the mic from my desk. "What the Hell!" I looked up as Dan flopped down a folder of papers onto the desk. "Apparently-" he said raking his hands through his hair "you gotta broadcast this on the station" "What?" "Yeah, thats government issue stuff" I looked at him jokingly, "Don't you think if it's that damn important, everyone else is gonna be reading the same thing?" "Dammit Mick, I guess everyone who can hear it needs to! Just get that shit on air!" He slammed the door behind him as he left. I swung my feet up onto the desk. "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" This was pretty weird. I mean, it isn't every day that we are obligated to broadcast some important information. I set up another song, so I'd have a minute to leaf through papers. I didn't read the whole first page, just scanned words. And as far as I could tell, this was pretty goddamn weird. I opened the door and poked my head out. "So Dan, what the hell is this all about anyway?" I was not graced with an answer. "Dan?" I looked at, Shelly, she was our receptionist. "Where'd he go?" She didn't look up from the computer "Oh, he went out" "Ah" I began to close the door as the sickening metallic crunch rang from the street out front. "Holy shit..." I jumped out of the chair and looked at Shelly who only stared at the front door. "C'mon!" I yelled at her. I walked to the door, not really knowing what to expect. As I opened it, the first thing I registered was Dan reeling on the walk, and then his car sitting in the road. "Hey man" I asked "Whats going on?!" His faced wavered between me and what was lying in the road. "Oh holy shit" The man lay contorted in the street. His torso turned 180 degrees to face behind him, his arm twisted behind his back, and the glass from the windshield lodged in his face. Agonizing could not describe how the man looked. For the first time in my life, I actually felt faint; and feeling like I was about to vomit, I was still attempting to register the original scene at hand when the dead man began to reach his arms towards the calf of Dan.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
Fine! Lets go, but try any shit, and I'll blow your ass away! As we walked past Matt, I saw the concern on his face, but right now the most important thing was to make sure our refuge was secure. Why did you break into my house in the first place? I asked Wayne.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
"Mercy, thats none of your business at this point I snapped" realizing that she could never understand how I had lived during the past few days breaking and entering was routine. Something about this house was different. I didn't want her to know I had to kill the last group of survivors because they wasted our supplies to quickly. Mercy, insisted so I turned away and said, this house was just as good as any, would you have rather me turned into one of those things?" I asked hoping I would hear my answer.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
No, I guess not, I replied. Okay, show me this place is secure so we can eat, I'm starving. Wayne showed me where he had entered and he had re-secured it. I was about to say something when suddenly I heard a voice on the radio downstairs. (I had left it on the local channel, just in case). OMG, did you hear that? I said.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
"DAN!!" He turned around as the man wrapped both hands around his leg and attempt to sink his teeth in through his Jeans. He was not able to pierce his teeth through the jeans, but as Dan fell down, slamming his chest into the walk, the man in the street succeeded in ripping the denim, and sunk his teeth deep into his calf. Blood squirted into his eyes as he tore away the first chunk of flesh, and turned away to chew methodically on his first score. A gutterall scream erupted from Dan as he attempted to pull himself up, only to tumble down into the sidewalk again. I was only able to stand and stare, undecided on my next action. I looked back at Dan, "Jesus..." I ran to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him up. I wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled him up the stairs. As I dragged him back into the building, Shelly jumped up from her desk. "What the hell is going on out there?" She looked from me to Dan, now pale faced, but still conscious. "Jeez, Shelly, help me get im' on the couch" She walked over, grabbed his legs, and together we carried him to the main room couch, across from her desk. "What happened to him?" I didn't answer immediatly, instead, I ran down a hallway branching off to the left. "MICK! What happened?" "He hit somebody in the road" "AND?!" "And..." I didn't really know what to say "The man attacked him... he... bit him in the leg" she was quiet for a moment. "He bit him?" "Yeah, in the leg" I continued down the hall until I found what I was looking for. I looked into the red box on the wall where the axe sat behind the glass door. I was surprised this was still here, I mean, generally there was just a fire extinguisher, but no, we also had an axe. There certainly was no fire, but this seemed a good as any to whip it out. I pulled it from the box, held it in my hands for a moment, and headed back to the front room.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
I could tell by the way Matt stared at me, he wasn't going to ever trust me, so I decided to get the shotgun from him and show him I could be trusted by giving it back. I told Matt that Mercy had some blood on her when I showed her the stash. When he turned to the approaching Mercy, I rustled for the shotgun. "Boom", another shotgun shell wasted as I chopped Matt in the throat and swung the shotgun into my arm. Mercy was trying to get a good shot on my dark-skinned head, but it was dark and Matt was in the way. Shotgun in hand I said, "I just wanted to show you I could be trusted. I don't want to kill any of you guys as long as we work together. Now tell me what you heard over the radio and I will give you back your weapon, but you must get me some kind of weapon other than the magnum...I don't have two index fingers and I won't be much use without a shotgun or melee weapon.." Matt looked pissed, he was surely going to shoot me once I gave him back the weapon. "Make this quick Matt, tell us where the survivors are over the radio and quit looking at me like I have tits".
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
Enough with all the testosterone! I shouted. We need to think about this carefully. We don't even know if it was a live signal or recorded. Lets get something to eat, and turn the radio up. And Wayne, you pull a stunt like that again, and the only ammo you get, will be in the ass! I walked toward the kitchen, turning the volume nob up, on the radio. If there is some one alive there, we need to try and think of a way to contact them.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
While Mercy listened in, I was in the living room dismantling the furniture and tables. I barred the kitchen window which that zombie had cracked while trying to eat Matt. They were out there. I could smell em, there was a stench and we were going to have to eat soon or I was going to lose my appetite. Matt was a romantic and he had balls, he would come over and cook for Mercy using her cookware and sit down to eat before even touching her. He made some food out of what was left as she watched him getting into the supplies and hugging him from behind. I finished impromptu barricades and the only place left unbarricaded was the second floor.
As the radio came on we were about to all sit down and eat but something wasn't right. We heard moans and it wasn't coming from either Mercy or Matt. It was drowning out the broadcasters voice it was so loud. Was it coming over the radio or what was that noise? Was it from inside the house?
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
I returned from the hall with the axe walking toward shelly and Dan, who was attempting to sit up from the couch. He had Shelly's coat wrapped around his leg where she had attempted to stop the bleeding, but it had done little good as it began to trickle down onto the carpet. "What are you going to do with that!?" she asked. "Im using it for self defense" "Self defense from what?" she was looking extremely agitated. "From whoever, or whatever the hell is out there" We both glanced back at the front door. "Goddamn am I tired, I feel like shit" Dan uttered his first words since the attack. He looked extremely weak, and leaned his head back against the window behind the couch. The sudden sound of shattering glass forced Shelly to a scream, and as the window was destroyed from outside forces, a pair of hands reach in and wrapped themselves around dans head. "HOLY SHIT!" Dan began to scream and writhe, attempting to pry away the hands, but as a second pair of hands reached in, grabbing his shoulder, his fate was sealed as he slid through the jagged window glass. We sat stunned, staring at the empty window, waiting for them to try and claim another victim. "Wh...who...who are they..." Shelly managed to say. I grabbed the axe, and slowly peered out the window, sticking my head out. I looked down, and watched four people slowly tear apart Dan, limb by limb on the ground. One at his head grabbed it at the sides and began to pull upward, tearing out of its foundation along with part of his spine. The four were covered with gore, and I threw myself back into the room cutting the back of my neck on a piece of glass. "Jesus christ, I'm pretty sure I know exactly what they are, but I must be crazy if Im going to believe it" I attempted to confirm my disbelief by looking out the front door, but as I opened it a crack, I saw at least thirty dazed people stumbling around the street. Only now did I hear the distant cries, and the screams of sirens. I shot past Shelly, shoving her aside, and darted into the broadcasting room. I picked up the government issue folder that I was given earlier, and what I read was of no reassuring matter. I sat silently in my chair for a moment, then flipped up the switch on the mic and slowly began my broadcast for help.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
I set my help calls on a loop, broadcasting my name, our position, and the weapons we had here with us. I left the broadcasting room, and walked back once again to see Shelly. It had been 3 hours since Dan had been killed. I left just in time to find Shelly walking out the front door. "JESUS CHRIST! What are you doing?" I yelled to her. We've been staring out at those "things" out there for 3 hours! I have to get out of here! I need to make sure my friends are allright!" "Look, I said" edging towards her, I couldn't afford to let her do anything stupid. "I don't think thats the best idea. I mean, you've seen what those things can do" "I don't give a shit" she snapped back at me. "We can't stay here forever!" I darted to grab her arm, but she tore away edging through the door and shutting it behind her.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
"Quiet down man! We have been almost surrounded. Can you run Mercy?" I turned and asked her. But, she made no reply. I think for the first time, she realized that we were probably all not going to make it to the station alive. I didn't want to turn into a pile of flesh, so I said "follow me" like i was the lead in a movie and dashed out of the front door and started to run even faster. Matt and Mercy were somewhere behind I could hear them, so I continued to run, but as I turned the first corner, there was an entire street full of brain eaters. I have taken on 3 guys at once before but there was no way we could make it through. I darted back to the house but Matt and Mercy had already left. They must have known a better route, had a vehicle or couldn't keep up with me. I decided to head back in the house and wait there for a minute because I knew they had no chance of surviving without me, I hoped. They knew they could trust me, but did they panic and run scared?
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
I ran out the door hoping to get to Shell before it was too late. I bounded down the stairs, axe in hand. and began to look for her. She wasn't hard to find in the small parking lot in front of the building. She was hurriedly finding her keys in her purse. "Thank god..." I muttered. As I took my first step towards her, something from behind grabbed my shoulder. I whirled around to stare at a slack jawed, pale man, who quietly moaned at me, once again grabbing my shoulder. I pulled him off easily once again, and lifted my foot up, kicking him in the chest, and putting him on the ground. I walked over to her finally, and grabbed her. She started suddenly, yelling. She turned around. "Jesus Mick, you scared the shit out of me" "Im sorry. But look, mabye we can get outta here before those things get to us. I'm not sure they-" She stared wide eyed at something behind me. I once again faced my previous assailant. "Get away from us!" I lifted the axe and swung, firmly planting it into the things head. It went down almost instantly, crumpling. I placed my foot on its neck and pulled. The Axe came free with a disgusting "FWAP". "One down" I said morosely.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
Quick Guys! Back in the house. But Wayne was already running. Matt and I ran back in and shut the door. What is that idiot doing, I asked Wayne? I have a perfectly good Hummer in the garage. It's all loaded with guns and supplies. We can go downtown, and maybe find that idiot on the way before he gets eaten. Matt just looked exasperated. Matt grabbed a few things from the living room, and we headed for the garage. Aren't you glad I bought a real Hummer, and not one of those useless new things? Matt laughed and said " You bet your sweat ass I am". I'll drive, throw me the keys, Matt replied. We jumped in and I hit the door remote. Drive, I screamed, Drive! We pulled out and I hoped the door closed quickly behind us. We turned toward town.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
They came for me afterall! I really felt stupid not asking about vehicles, but hey I figured they would have mentioned that. Who knows, they might have mentioned it. I was so hungry. That so called "meal" was hardly in my throat when the chaos began. I always pictured my last meal as being whatever I wanted from a corner store or something. Then I started, "Hey lets look for some survivors on the way and any easy to get supplies." I had the feeling I would see somebody I knew out there, afteral everybody knew me on the street even law enforcement.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
Shelly's screaming only accomplished one thing. Directing the attention of the zombies to ourselves. Now, they all stumbled around in the street, a good 50 ft. away from us, but they began to inch their way forward. "Dammit Shell! We need to get back to the building!" She stood apparently scared, gaping at the corpse behind me. "C'mon..." I grabbed her arm and began to walk back to the station. "No!" She she pulled away to continue to rummage for her keys, but after a few seconds it was apparent that they weren't in her purse. "I must have dropped them somewhere..." she dropped to the ground and began to sweep under her car. "God..." I said the only sensible thing I could "We are in serious fucking danger. If you aren't coming back into the building than I am" I began to back up. She apparently wasn't listening. She might have been in some kind of shock, and the safest thing wouldn't be to leave her out there alone, but if she wasn't coming, I wasn't getting myself killed over it. She didn't even glance back as I headed back in.
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
OCC: I got an idea, to get Stachii in here we can find him along the way to the radio station. We'll be driving and find him like Beer said in a bus or on the street. How does that sound?
(OOC: I like buildings better. )
How the hell did this happen? How the hell should I know?
Today started off as a normal day. A normal breakfast, a normal shower, a normal bus ride to work, and a normal lay off from that job. Everything was as it should and usually was. That job at the radio station as janitor blew anyways. So I had the rest of the day to spare, and it wasn't even lunch yet.
I decided to spend it kicking back on top of the abandoned apartment complex just across the street from my latest failure at work. Found myself a lawn chair, and a soda from the vending machine at the radio station, playing some tunes on an old boom box, and watched the clouds go by. That is, until the music stopped.
At first, I thought it was just a technical difficulty. But Mick's, the radio "DJ", voice sounded distressed and on the verge of insanity. Crying something about cannibal corpses eating Dan. Too convincing and too early in the year to be his Halloween gag. I lifted my sunglasses and peaked over the roof to look at the station, dropping my soda upon seeing it.
Windows were busted in, and a mob of people surrounding the area. Too many to count, but not so much to say I was the only one left in town. Most of them were soaked in blood. Was this a riot? Good thing I got fired when I did. Wait, no. Even a angry mob knew to stop when the majority of their mass were missing...limbs? Flesh? I nearly gagged when I realized those were people's guts in the storm drain
Before I had the chance to do anything, something started banging on the door to the roof I was on. I panicked barricaded the door with whatever I could find. Which was: A lawn chair, a boom box, and myself. "This isn't happening, this isn't happening." I kept telling myself. And I kept there, even as all hell was breaking loose, trying to get to my little piece of heaven known as the roof, and all I could do was wait. Wait for hell to take me, or for some sort of salvation.
Either would do to get out of this.
(OOC: Well, there's my first post. If anything really needs to be changed for the sake of continuity, just say so.)
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
The fuel was low in the chainsaw so gracefully lent to me and i knew that he would probably think i was a zombie unless he heard some skilled weapons being wielded. I kept a good grip while lowering it upon the skulls of the zombies. I always loved that scene from Scarface and this was just like it.
"Its a survivor, im gonna cut this door down open up", nobody responded and i could hear more zombies closing in, so I tore into the door like i was in 'The Shining'. Dude was shaken, he didn't know what to do. "Hey man, can you handle yourself? Get your ass downstairs and get some real weapons and leave the boombox to distract the zombies, put in a cd and press repeat"
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
OC: I guess ill jump in now...
Jason sat in the far corner of the upstairs media room. He opened his eyes and blinked. He figured that it was almost time to leave this shithole. He was just sitting in his dorm room when his roommate stumbled in. He let out a low moan and lurched for Jason. He was most likely high and drunk as usual. Jason shrugged and went back to reading his book. When hiss roommate finally reached him he grabbed Jason by his arm and lowered his head with a snarl. Jason delived a well powered punch to his roommates shoulder causing him to stumble away. "Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? Im trying to read man." His roommate ignored him and began his advancment on Jason again. Jason put his book down and stood up. He was pissed now, his roommate would always come back from some party and distrupt his study time. This was the finall staw. "Dude I am fucking sick of you okay? Take another step and I'm going to lay your ass out. Got it?" But he ignored Jasons warning and took another step. Jason pulled his arm back and let loose a right hook that would knock any one off there feet. His roommate fell backwards and growled. He slowly got to his feet and snarled at Jason. "Okay what the fuck is wrong with you?" Jason delivered a brain rattling jab and shattered his roommates nose. "Back the fuck off!" He looked at his roommate and glanced at his right shoulder. There was a huge bloody bite mark and cuts all over. "Are you okay man?" Jason asked as he took a cautious step back. His roommate lunged for Jason's neck but met the bottom of Jasons boot. His roommate stumbled backwards and smacked against the window. The glass shattered on impact and Jasons roommate fell backwards plummeting to the ground from the fith story. Jason ran to the window and glanced out. He spotted his roommate sprawled on the ground surrounded by shattered glass and blood. "OH FUCK! Hes dead and I killed him!" Just then Jasons roommate stirred. "Oh thank god! Hey man you okay?" Jason called out as his roommate got on all fours. Then he slowly stood and began lumbering towards a curious young lady who had seen the whole ordeal. He wrapped his arms around her and took a bite out of her neck. She let out a horrid scream and began to attempt to beat him off. But he alread had her in a death lock. That was a while ago though. Now he found himself sitting in a really expesive looking home full of really expesive looking things. He found the family munching on the package boy on the porch. He used four shots to clear up the mess. Now he was left with two bullets left in his 9mm which he managed to snag of a dead cop... well sorta dead... Now he was sitting in the media room with an old CQB radio trying to contact someone. Just then as he switch to another channel he heard a very distressed sounding man broadcasting his postion. He switched on the transmitter and began speaking in a calm voice. "Listen man, if you are still there please respond. I repeat please respond."
Re: Watertown, PA (Rping Thread)
oc: ok hear goes
Jhon sat in the hole he had dug the night before. He was listing the reasons not to go into town, when an explosion rattled the night. It had come from the old burnt-out gas station, it had been months sense he had heard noise from town. It whould be an hour before the sun comes up he though. ”Cody be their soon sun up come be hear... Food be....Miss them we do Cody..¨ Jhon pulls him self out of his hole and heads down the creak path to an abandoned construction sight. ¨ Careful now Cody thay like cold dirt.¨ His shadowy figure scuries throw the tipped over tractors and burnt-out ot trucks, to the edge of the empty lot behind the old gas station. Their where fires just on the far side of the burnt-out building, Jhon sat at the edge of the empty lot scaning the area for movement. The sun was just starting to rise when Jhon say it movement. ¨ Stay Cody whate soon go..¨ Several hours pass as Jhon watches the figure that seems to stair at the same spot, Jhon moveies closer to the odd figure and notices its a tall man hunced over. Jhon watches for a while longer, then he approachies ¨ Hay man i..¨ | {
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Evergreen’s Winter Street Food Market
Over the past weekend we trekked over to Evergreen Brick Works for a lovely afternoon stroll. As part of Evergreen Brick Work’s Street Food Market, this Toronto outdoor destination brings together local, street-inspired eateries from across the GTA. The diverse and delicious food offerings are a highlight of Evergreen’s season long free Winter Village – open weekends from 11 AM to 6 PM until February 28, 2017.
Other activities at the Evergreen Brick Works include:
RBC Lounge: Catch up with friends and family in the new cozy seating area next to the Sipping Container and the Street Food Market
Saturday Farmers Market: Winter vendors offer a wide variety of local and seasonal food inside on Saturdays from 9 AM to 1PM
Free Public Skating: Take a whirl on their outdoor skating rinks. Skate and Helmet rentals available
Manulife Warming Station: Take a skating break and cozy up to the campfire just steps from the outdoor rink.
Hiking, Biking and Playing: Participate in a self-guided or organized nature walk through the 40 acre Weston Family Quarry Garden, afternoon fat bike group rides through the Don Valley (weather permitting) with Sweet Pete’s Bike Shop, winter-themed scavenger hunts around the Brick Works or family-friendly nature based activities and crafts in the Children’s Garden. .
Street Food Market @ Winter Village is open weekends from 11 AM to 6 PM until February 28, 2017. | {
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Personally, I do wish the president would make an effort to be a bit more presidential and stop with the name-calling. I get why he does it -- he's branding his detractors with what Scott Adams likes to call "kill shots."
It was a brutally effective campaign strategy -- "Low Energy Jeb," "Little Marco," "Lyin' Ted," and "Crooked Hillary" never recovered from Trump's negative branding. But now that he's president, I'd really like to see him wean himself off of this habit. It drives liberals insane and it's really not good for the country to be this divided.
I understand the temptation to give President Trump a pass. Most of the media, Hollywood, the DC swamp, etc. are against him, so he may as well fight back by firing on all cylinders.
But Trump said he wants to be a uniter. He can start by knocking it off.
That said, I think White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders handled this line of questioning very well, today:
Reporter: “Does [Trump] see political value in calling people out racially?”
Sanders: “I think that Sen. Warren was very offensive when she lied about something specifically to advance her career.” pic.twitter.com/qvRA06zEOR
First lady Melania Trump has chosen classic, traditional decor for her family's first Christmas in the White House, USA Today reports.
New this year are wreaths hanging from the exterior of every window. Another new touch are glistening wintry branches lining an East Wing hallway that leads guests to a tree decorated with the Trump family's official Christmas ornament, a gold-toned bauble featuring the presidential coat of arms surrounded by a wreath of holly.
Columbia Sportswear may be the next business to flee downtown Portland after a series of frightening encounters with the city's homeless population, including car break-ins, human waste dumped by the office's front door and threats to its employees.
"In fact, I am so concerned about the safety of our employees at the Sorel headquarters that we are taking the next 90 days to re-evaluate our location decision," Boyle wrote. Since moving the 50 employees downtown, workers immediately reported being harassed and threatened by homeless individuals near the new offices.
Disgusting details at the link on top. Near the end of the David Dinkins administration, New York City was in a similar place: filthy and flea-ridden, with legions of "homeless" squegee men and other beggars everywhere. Finally, even the liberals of Manhattan had had enough and voted in Rudy Giuliani, who brought in Bill Bratton as police chief, and almost overnight the city was livable again. Intentions are not enough: it takes willpower to make the village work. | {
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Wild Talents: White Knights, Black Hearts
"White Knights, Black Hearts" is a WILD TALENTS adventure about street-level superheroes in world-class danger. It's the sweaty summer of 1975, and you play the Talents who keep an eye on the troubled neighborhoods where the big city's official superheroes, the White Knights, can't be bothered to stick their noses. But that all changes when a little girl gets killed and YOUR team is at the top of the list of suspects.
Now you've got the cops and the White Knights on your tail while you try to figure out who really killed that little girl. And the deeper you dig, the uglier it gets.
The streets have never been meaner.
"White Knights, Black Hearts" includes six pregenerated characters ready for play, and guidelines for bringing your own characters to the streets of Red Shore.
White Knights Black Hearts is a crime investigation adventure set in the 70's just like those stories Ed Brubaker writes for his heroes where there is no good-bad and everything is a shade of gray with concepts of mistrust and corruption. Very well wri [...]
This is the first adventure I've seen from Arc Dream and I was interested in seeing how they'd do it. Suffice to say, I was impressed! The adventure is solid and atmospheric. The NPCs are interesting but it is the setting which really captured m [...]
These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.
For PDF download editions, each page has been run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to attempt to decipher the printed text. The result of this OCR process is placed invisibly behind the picture of each scanned page, to allow for text searching. However, any text in a given book set on a graphical background or in handwritten fonts would most likely not be picked up by the OCR software, and is therefore not searchable. Also, a few larger books may be resampled to fit into the system, and may not have this searchable text background.
For printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. Moiré patterns may develop in photos. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive.
Original electronic format
These ebooks were created from the original electronic layout files, and therefore are fully text searchable. Also, their file size tends to be smaller than scanned image books. Most newer books are in the original electronic format. Both download and print editions of such books should be high quality. | {
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Adam de Craponne
Born in 1526 in Salon-de-Provence, between 1557 and 1558, Craponne built the channel bearing his name. The Canal de Craponne enabled irrigation of the desertic Crau with water coming from the Durance. Craponne personally funded the project, with the help of private partners, such as Nostradamus. | {
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Welcome to my Blog.........
Disclaimer: - Everything on Antjie are not written by me, all come from different sources such as google search,several websites and forums.Blog owner hold no responsibility for any illegal usage of the content.If anyone have see the copyrighted content or objectable content on this blog then viewer's can say to blog owner through comments,the content will be removed from this blog immediately.Thanks! | {
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Hakataramea Valley farmers have been given some food for thought with the suggestion they could market their products directly to consumers.
The idea was raised by Prof Keith Woodford during a field day at Waikora Station last week organised by the Hakataramea Sustainability Collective.
The collective, set up in 2016, comprises a group of farmers whose aim is to assist and encourage the protection and enhancement of the valley’s environment and promote profitable and sustainable farming practices for future generations. It has been working closely with the New Zealand Landcare Trust, Environment Canterbury, the Department of Conservation, Fish and Game, local iwi and the Waimate District Council to ensure a collaborative and cohesive approach. . .
When Sam Staley went to the Defence Force’s Tekapo Military Training Area back in 1996 to run the Military Camp and Training Area for a three year stint, one of the tasks at the time was pest control. Today, 22 years later, he’s still there, and so are some of the rabbits, but after two decades of the comprehensive rabbit control operation which Sam initiated, the rabbits are nothing like the problem they used to be on the 19,000 hectare military site.
“The training area is unique,” Sam says. “It’s a very special bit of dirt! It’s probably the most intensively managed, non-grazed piece of high country land in Canterbury. It includes unique and nationally threatened plants and native fauna like alpine weta, rare butterflies and moths and many endangered vertebrates such as the Mackenzie Basin skink.” . .
Robots have taken over many of America’s factories. They can explore the depths of the ocean, and other planets. They can play ping-pong.
But can they pick a strawberry?
“You kind of learn, when you get into this — it’s really hard to match what humans can do,” says Bob Pitzer, an expert on robots and co-founder of a company called Harvest CROO Robotics. (CROO is an acronym. It stands for Computerized Robotic Optimized Obtainer.)
Any 4-year old can pick a strawberry, but machines, for all their artificial intelligence, can’t seem to figure it out. Pitzer says the hardest thing for them is just finding the fruit. The berries hide behind leaves in unpredictable places. . .
Farmers desperately seeking answers feel they have been left in limbo as the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis takes hold and still the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) says it has no clear idea how it got here.
The ministry has confirmed the outbreak could cost $100 million in tracking and tracing the spread of the disease and paying compensation to farmers. It initially budgeted for $35m.
With too many gaps and too few answers farmers are understandably anxious about whether the Government is going to eradicate it, Federated Farmers dairy chairman Chris Lewis said. . .
Waikato farmers have found an upside in the continuing delays plaguing the Healthy Rivers plan and believe critical dates in it might be pushed out beyond the original timeframe.
Despite being notified in October 2016 the plan was derailed late that year when Hauraki iwi objected to part of the catchment being included, subject to that iwi’s claim over its ownership.
That required the plan to be effectively split with the 12% or 120,000ha of the catchment affected by the claim becoming subject to negotiation between iwi and the council on Healthy Rivers conditions, before being re-notified.
But Waikato Federated Farmers president Andrew McGiven said farmers are conscious the plan has some specific dates in it requiring them to submit nitrogen reference points by March next year. . .
The definition for mānuka honey may be revised if fresh science shows the need, Ministry for Primary Industries director-general Martyn Dunne says.
MPI first announced the definition on December 11 last year but beekeepers objected to an aspect of the definition that required a kilogram of monofloral or multifloral honey contain at least five micrograms of 2′-methoxyacetophenone (known as 2 MAP).
More pure and composite meat goats are needed to fill four planned shipments of live goats and goat meat to Asian clients in the next few months, says Shingle Creek Chevon partner Dougal Laidlaw, of Clyde.
As the market for live exports was competitive, he did not wish to say which countries or clients the goats were going to.
However, he wanted to hear from farmers who might be interested in supplying or rearing goats, both for live and meat export as well as for the domestic top end restaurant trade.
Clara is a college student in Toronto, and in a few days, she’s flying home to Paris to visit her family and friends. She also stopping at a fromagerie to buy some cheese to bring back to Canada, specifically Comté, a cousin of Gruyere made under strict rules in the French Alps.
“It’s not gooey, and you know it’s not going to give a scent to your entire suitcase,” Clara says. Comté is also a lot cheaper in France. It’s easy to find at supermarkets for the equivalent of about $6 or $7 a pound. In Canada, it’s both a lot harder to find, and it’s usually at least $20 a pound.
Clara’s yearly ritual becomes a source of anxiety when she flies back to Canada and prepares to face a border officer — and that dreaded question: “Are you bringing in any food?” . .
As the new Government pushes for a zero carbon economy by 2050 a Fonterra submission on what a low emission economy means has highlighted issues it maintains challenge a transition into the Emissions Trading Scheme for dairy.
The new Government has indicated it wants farming to contribute to greenhouse gas emission costs, possibly incurring 5% of those costs initially.
The farmer co-operative has submitted to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into the impact of a low emissions economy on economic well-being and production. . .
Where we ask a farmer five quick questions about farming, and what agriculture means to them. Today we talk to Mid Canterbury Proud Farmer David Clark.
1. How long have you been farming?
I grew up in the North Island and left school at the end of the 6th Form at a time when farming in New Zealand was very tough coming out of the ’80s downturn. I was very fortunate to be employed by the Cashmore Family at Orere, SE of Auckland. It was during this time that my employers showed me by example that there was a future in farming if you worked hard and did things well, this set me on my course.
2. What sort of farming were you involved in?
My parents had been both Town Milk Dairy and Sheep and Beef Farmers and I was determined to make a start for myself so started contract fencing which then led into a wider range of Agricultural Contracting activities. In 1994 my parents sold their farm and I sold my contracting business and we pooled our resources and purchased a dryland sheep property at Valetta, inland Mid Canterbury. It soon became very clear that we needed to develop irrigation on the property in order to move to an intensive arable farm system. . .
FARMING will have to shut down in Canterbury’s Selwyn district to meet national water quality standards for the region’s polluted Lake Ellesmere, Environment Canterbury has told the Government.
In a business case analysis provided to the Ministry for the Environment, ECan outlined significant fundamental change needed to bring the lake, one of New Zealand’s most polluted, into line.
“On the current basis to achieve Government freshwater outcomes as mandated it would mean taking all intensive agriculture, not just dairy, out of the play,” ECan councillor and Selwyn district farmer John Sunckell said. . .
MPI’s progress in the response to the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis was the focus of a well-attended public meeting in Waimate last night.
Around 100 people turned out to hear MPI officials and a number of industry body partners outline the current surveillance and testing regime and timelines, the robustness of disease containment measures and the actions farmers can take to protect their farms.
There remains no change to the number of properties with confirmed positive test results for Mycoplasma bovis – 2 farms, both within the wider Van Leeuwen group of farms. . .
As the southern dairy industry improves after seasons of low payouts and on-farm cost-cutting, some of the region’s veterinarian practices are finding it difficult to fill staff vacancies, a trend that is reflected nationally.
They are also in competition with overseas recruiting agencies, which are eyeing New Zealand to fill their clients’ needs.
The increasing demand for both production and companion animal vet services as practices get busier, is a good indicator of how well the economy is doing, New Zealand Veterinary Association’s Veterinary Business Group chairwoman Debra Gates said. . . | {
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AC Radio: Offseason Listener Mailbag Extravaganza
This week on Assembly Call Radio, we discuss Anthony Leal’s college decision, the recently announced Hoosier Hysteria date, and then open up the listener mailbag.
We answer questions about the packline defense; why the offense might be better than we think … if we can ever get some shooting; which recruits are must-gets in 2020 and 2021; who will score 8 or more points for IU this season; the impact of Race Thompson, our level of concern with only having one true point guard on the roster; Jerome Hunter; the possibility of Davis and Brunk playing together; and more.
It’s a fun, wide-ranging episode and we hope you enjoy.
All of that and more on this week’s edition of Assembly Call Radio.
On the mics: Jerod, Ryan, and Coach
Listen to the edited podcast here (rundown with time stamps below):
And here is the unedited video of the live broadcast of this week’s episode:
Footer
Whether basking in a signature victory or wallowing in a defeat, loyal Hoosier basketball lovers need a place where they can surround themselves with like-minded fans for intelligent postgame wrap-up. That place is The Assembly Call.
-- Jared Weyerbacher (IU, '08) | {
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Dozens of people have been gathering along a section of the Cornish coastline over the past few hours and they are flocking there for a very good reason.
You might notice a crowd on a remote stretch near Land's End and wonder what on earth is going on.
Particularly when you find out some of them have travelled for several hours in order to get there.
The reason for this is that they are all desperate to catch sight of a very rare bird - the catbird.
Around 50 people could be seen all looking through their binoculars this morning at Treeve Moor Farm. One of them there had travelled from as far as Leicester.
The crowds have gathered in Cornwall to try and spot the catbird (Image: Greg Martin)
The bird, which is about 20cm (7.8in) long and grey in colour, is named because of its distinctive "meowing" sound.
The crowds wanting to see a glimpse of the catbird (Image: Greg Martin)
It is only the second time it has been seen here - the first sighting in Britain was in Anglesey in 2001, according to the British Birds Rarities Committee.
The crowds wanting to see a glimpse of the catbird (Image: Greg Martin)
Mark Grantham, chairman of the Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society, said he thought the bird, which was first seen on Monday, had been brought across the Atlantic on low pressure systems following the recent US storms.
It can be a long waiting game to spot the catbird (Image: Greg Martin)
He said: "Birds heading south get carried out to sea on weather systems and then can follow the Gulf Stream before making landfall at the first opportunity."
Read More
Only in Cornwall
It is no secret that plenty of people have been delighted by its arrival.
Cornwalll Birds tweeted on Thursday morning (October 18): "The Grey Catbird is still at Treeve Moor this morning - for it's fourth day! (Will it stay till Saturday?!) 3 Ring-necked Duck back on Drift Res, and the Red-breasted Fycatcher still at the far end of Penlee NR in the east of the county." | {
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Scientist attempt to create new pain drug from... snail venom
Experts are attempting to create a pain relief drug derived from snail venom. Scientists have reported creating five new "experimental substances" based on a tiny protein found in the venom of a cone snail.The substances, which could potentially be stronger than morphine, could one day lead to the development of a drug to treat chronic nerve pain, they said.
This is an important incremental step that could serve as the blueprint for the development of a whole new class of drugs capable of relieving one of the most severe forms of chronic pain that is currently very difficult to treat.
– Lead author Professor David Craik, from the University of Queensland in Australia
Cone snails are marine animals that use venom to paralyse their prey.The venom contains hundreds of small proteins known as conotoxins which appear to have an analgesic effect in humans, he said.
We don't know about side effects yet, as it hasn't been tested in humans. But we think it would be safe."It acts by a completely different mechanism than morphine so we think it has a minimal possibility of producing the side-effects of that medication. That is one of the big advantages of this drug.
Prof Craik and his team, who will present their finding at an American Chemical Society conference, are working to develop a conotoxin-based drug that can be taken orally - unlike the only drug that uses the protein now which must be injected into a patient's spine.Experiments on rats have shown that a prototype drug has been shown to "significantly reduce pain", he said. | {
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The return of centerfielder A.J. Pollock has been a shining moment in a season that hasn’t been so bright for the Diamondbacks.
Three days before the season started, Pollock broke his elbow by sliding into home plate in an exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals. The injury caused him to be out of the majors for five months. The D-backs, who were riding a big wave of expectations coming into the season, seemed to crumble when the 2015 all-star went down.
Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa joined the Doug and Wolf Show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, as he does every Wednesday, to talk about the state of the team.
There was speculation by some whether or not bringing Pollock back in late August during a lost season was such a good idea, but La Russa said he couldn’t keep the outfielder from joining his teammates.
“I’d let (the people questioning) know that we totally agree with that, and in fact if you listen to some of A.J.’s comments he’s been pushing the front office and the training staff to accelerate his return,” La Russa said. “We all had the same concerns, he can only do so much good here at the end (of the season) so make sure that we err on the side of caution.”
Despite Michael Bourn being a solid replacement, as he’s batting .261 with three homers, 30 RBI and 13 stolen bases, he is no Pollock. La Russa stated that Pollock brings many things to the table that were irreplaceable. In the minuscule amount of action he’s seen, the centerfielder is batting .333, with two runs, one RBI and three stolen bases.
“When you have a player like A.J., who’s multidimensional, he just takes the defense at centerfield, and that by itself is a game changer many times,” La Russa said. “Then you take away what he does offensively, he has a very live bat, .300 hitter with a ball that jumps and really has exciting legs.”
Pollock quickly made the ascension to being one of the top outfielders in the game last season, as he took home a Gold-Glove award last year in just his third season at the major league level. La Russa believes that he knew what they had with the 28-year-old, and he did not underestimate the significance of his presence in the lineup.
“Absolutely not, absolutely not… We knew after watching, they were telling me how great he was. Then he got hurt late and it was a shame,” La Russa said. “We knew it, and a good example is next year he’s solidly under contract, and we’re getting a very nice return because of that confidence.” | {
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Tile Wall Murals And Backsplashes Of France And French
tile wall murals and backsplashes of france and french: Everybody’s treasured kitchen Appliances
buying kitchen appliances and utensils are all fun. But also for a few people it’s also confusing. Lots of people end up getting a thing that they do not desire it only because the plan is excellent or only it has big discount. That you really don’t want to have useless appliances which you never utilize it which is likely to create your kitchen seem crowded and unorganized. It is recommended that you purchase kitchen appliances and also utensil based on the thing you want.
Instead of developing a real bar, it may be practical and more economical should you just construct a bar layout kitchen island. The idea will be to construct a kitchen using a higher role in the opposing side. You are able to nonetheless ready the meal readily, as well as another family members can sit front of the kitchen island by using their table.
Apart from that, Sears additionally really provides you a few services and products with high quality. How to know its quality? Well, you can assess it on some buyer reviews for that. There is going to be some terrific tips you can find such as the product scores. Last but not least, those are all some short reviews about tile wall murals and backsplashes of france and french along with the main reason why you must select them.
3 Many Sturdy, dependable and tile wall murals and backsplashes of france and french makes
that you don’t wish to simply take risks together with your kitchen appliances. You need something sturdy and not prone to services each and every single every so often. Because of this, it is best if you only opt for the kitchen wall from trustworthy brands. That will help you make an informed selection, here are just the most reliable kitchen home equipment brand names in the marketplace . Whirl-pool is your best if it has to do with icebox.
For a kitchen with modern day model, select a level plank closet with grey color. It’s possible for you to incorporate it using stainless appliances along with beige backsplash. To find a tasteful search for your kitchen, you’re able to choose a recessed panel cupboard with green look. Combine it quartz countertops, white back-splash or stone tile back splash and also tiled flooring. Select a glossy green cabinets to produce the classy appearance even more durable.
To start with, we can choose letter U model for this kind of kitchen pub. For acquiring U style, it is simple to organize the chairs and tables onto U place. It is really going to create the new atmosphere of your kitchen spot, correct? Letter U concept is very an simple task to make. You certainly can get it done yourself now.
tile wall murals and backsplashes of france and french have become contemporary and futuristic. Though the style can be only a bit out with the planet, slim wrought iron is really quite versatile and can be readily joined to various design and style. To assist you to receive creative using wrought iron iron on your kitchen, here are a few ideas to encourage you.
This Tile Wall Murals And Backsplashes Of France And French the gallery form Wall Tiles For Kitchen Backsplash. Hopefully you can find the best inspiration from our gallery here. | {
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Their original rationale for intervention has long been exposed as another lie.
Remember that President Obama initially involved the US military in Iraq and Syria to "prevent genocide" of the Yazidis and promised the operation would not drift into US "boots on the ground." That was three years ago and the US military became steadily more involved while Congress continued to dodge its Constitutional obligations. The US even built military bases in Syria despite having no permission to do so! Imagine if Syria started building military bases here in the US against our wishes.
After six years of war the Syrian government has nearly defeated ISIS and al-Qaeda and the US-backed "moderates" turned out to be either Islamist extremists or Kurdish soldiers for hire. According to a recent report, the US has shipped two billion dollars worth of weapons to fighters in Syria via eastern Europe. Much of these weapons ended up in the hands of ISIS directly, or indirectly through "moderates" taking their weapons with them while joining ISIS or al-Qaeda. | {
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Subtitling reviews:
Availability:
(unknown)
Film information
Story: Triple bill of children's features. In 'Jumanji' (1995), young Judy and Peter Shepherd (Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce) discover the board game Jumanji in their new house. But when they begin to play they release wild animals along with Alan Parrish (Robin Williams), a grown man who has been trapped inside the game since he was 12 years old. Together they must seek out Alan's friend Sarah (Bonnie Hunt) and re-enter the game to win. In doing so they have to face elephants, lions, and the big game hunter Van Pelt (Jonathan Hyde). 'Monster House' (2006) is an animated spinetingler featuring the voices of Steve Buscemi, Nick Cannon, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kevin James. DJ Harvard (voice of Mitchel Musso) lives directly across the street from a most unusual house. A malevolent entity that longs to feed on the energy of the living, the once peaceful house that looms ominously outside of DJ's bedroom window would like nothing more than the chance to feast on the children of the neighbourhood. As Hallowe'en begins to draw near and the children of the neighbourhood prepare for another long night of trick-or-treating, it appears as if it may be the house that is in for the biggest treat of all. In 'Small Soldiers' (1998), Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith) is working at his father's toy store when he receives a sample of two new ranges of action figures: the Gorgonites, a race of peaceable aliens; and the Commando Elite, a tough bunch of war-ready soldiers. However, when Alan takes them home, the figures come to life and begin to engage each other in a furious running battle, with the Commando Elite transforming ordinary household implements into deadly weapons as they wage war against their alien foe. When Alan realises what is going on, he joins ranks with the Gorgonites and starts to draw up plans to bring an end to the commando threat. | {
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Retirement Community facilities near Piqua, OH
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Senior housing types near Piqua, OH
StoryPoint Troy
Two-time winner of "SeniorAdvisor.com Best of Senior and Assisted Living Award" located in Troy, Ohio, StoryPoint, is bringing senior care for all stages including Independent Living, Enhanced Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care. StoryPoint has 37 years of experience in the senior industry....
Danbury Senior Living Huber Heights
We are brand new to the area, opening in May of 2018, but not new to the business of delivering great care. We are privately owned and our owner is Bill Lemmon who is a senior of 83 years young himself. We pride ourselves in providing 5 star resort style living to seniors who may or may not need...
Scottish Rite Building
SMC Independent Living The Springfield Masonic Community offers a number of different independent living options, including spacious garden villa homes and one-, as well as two-bedroom apartments, featuring a variety of layouts and floor plans. Masonic Square Villa Homes For those looking to have...
Springfield Assisted Living
Springfield Assisted Living is committed to offering high quality senior living services in a home-like environment. Our vibrant community is located in beautiful Springfield, Ohio. Chosen as an 'All America City' in 2004, Springfield is the perfect combination of small town charm, outdoor...
Otterbein St. Marys Senior Lifestyle Community
Otterbein Senior Lifestyle Choices enjoys a rich heritage and has been dedicated to providing quality services since 1912. As a not-for-profit organization, Otterbein has earned a solid reputation as a trusted and valuable resource in the community. Some of the greatest assets are the people who...
10 Wilmington Place
For 30 years, 10 Wilmington Place has been one of Dayton's premier senior living communities and has remained family owned since opening in 1986. Situated on 34 acres of historic beauty in one of Dayton's classic neighborhoods, 10 Wilmington Place offers a wide range of services and amenities at an...
Indian Lake Villa
Indian Lake Villa is a senior, 55 and older, affordable housing community located in the quaint village of Russell's Pointe, OH. The community itself is located in the heart of the village, surrounded by serene trees and scenery. Russell's Pointe is a small village located in Logan County and is...
One Lincoln Park
One Lincoln Park and Lincoln Park Manor offer all levels of care ranging from independent living, assisted and skilled nursing. Our community is comfortably nestled in the heart of Kettering's beautiful Lincoln Park. One Lincoln Park is the perfect blend of elegance, incomparable amenities, beauty...
Traditions of Beavercreek
Traditions of Beavercreek brings a desirable new senior living option to the residents of Beavercreek and greater Dayton. Our rolling and wooded 20 acre campus provides multiple living and care options, including independent living garden homes, assisted living and memory care residences. NOW...
Brookdale Kettering
Your Next Chapter Starts Now From the moment you set foot in your new home, you may feel a combination of emotions. Perhaps you feel a surge of relief. Or, let’s be honest, you might even feel a tad bit giddy. Why? Because this is the start of your next chapter. You’re ready to say goodbye to the...
The Wellington at Dayton
Take flight for the good life at The Wellington at Dayton, where desired amenities and convenient services make everyday living comfortable and exciting for seniors. Thoughtfully designed one- and two-bedroom floor plans and myriad recreational and social opportunities provide our residents with an...
Trinity Community - Beavercreek
Welcome to Trinity Community of Beavercreek! We are a vibrant and welcoming neighborhood of active seniors who have found a place we proudly call home. Whether you seek maintenance-free residential living, some assistance with daily tasks, long-term health care or short-term rehabilitation, Trinity...
Otterbein SeniorLife Cridersville
The Otterbein Cridersville campus opened in 1988, and is conveniently located off I-75 in northwest Ohio. It blends the energy of urban life with the beauty of a rural retreat. When you visit this beautiful, 120-acre CCRC, you’ll see tidy homes sitting on friendly, little streets with generous...
Trinity Community at Miami Township
Trinity Community at Miami Township offers a unique independent living experience in the heart of Montgomery County, Ohio. We're close to shopping, local attractions and popular eateries, making our campus the ideal place to call home. Work out in our exercise room, challenge friends in our game...
Traditions at Xenia
Legacy Assisted Living is a family style home nestled on a 253 acre campus with walking paths, and mature trees. The 22 unit home is known for family style care which accomodates your specific needs. The courtyard looks out on a tree-lined meadow where deer are seen in the mornings. Residents enjoy...
Friends Fellowship Community
Friends Fellowship Community is a Continuing Care Retirement Community located in Richmond, Indiana, on 125 acres of land. Sponsored by the Indiana Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, the Community provides six levels of accommodations including Independent Housing, Independent...
The Wyngate Senior Living Community (Lima)
The Wyngate Senior Living Community is designed to meet the needs of seniors with a variety of lifestyle and residential options including independent living in Our Cottages and assisted living in The Inn. The care that The Wyngate Senior Living Community provides can increase or decrease as our...
The Madison Senior Living Community
Our assisted living programs have become increasingly popular because they combine professional care with homelike surroundings, reasonable cost, attractive private or semiprivate apartments, and well balanced programs of events and activities. We provide both nurses and around-the-clock resident...
Garden Manor Retirement Village
Strongly rooted in Middletown, OH, we have been making a difference in the lives of seniors within our community for more than thirty years. Independent Living at the Terrace offers personalized studio, one bedroom and two bedroom apartments with tailored services and amenities that allow our...
Otterbein Retirement Living Community
Otterbein Lebanon is located on 1200 acres between Dayton and Cincinnati on SR 741. Enjoy historic downtown Lebanon, famous for its Golden Lamb restaurant and antique shops. Theatre, shopping, sporting events, parks and more are all conveniently located within a 30-minute drive. Otterbein offers a...
Barrington of West Chester
The Barrington of West Chester provides independent and assisted living apartments. Located between Four-Bridges Golf Course and the Voice of America Park, it's an ideal setting, close to shops, restaurants, and medical and service providers. Independent and Assisted Living — Barrington of...
StoryPoint Fairfield (IL Now Open)
Coming soon, StoryPoint Fairfield will provide remarkable retirement living options while allowing seniors to remain independent. StoryPoint Fairfield will provide seniors in Hamilton and the surrounding areas with Independent Living, Enhanced Living and Memory Care services. Our community will also...
Doverwood Village
At Doverwood Village Ashley Place, we offer a variety of community features. Residents can enjoy regular off-site adventures and excursions. Cats and dogs are allowed in private quarters. Our property is conveniently located near accessible public transportation. We offer free wi-fi. All meals are...
Chesterwood Village
Chesterwood Village , located at 8073 Tylersville Road in West Chester, Ohio, is situated on 20 acres and the largest of the Hillandale Family of Community facilities. Chesterwood is currently home to: Assisted Living Suites Patio Homes Luxury Apartments Long-Term Nursing Care Memory-Assisted Care...
Wellington Village
Wellington Village Wellington Village is the absolute perfect senior apartment community for active seniors who want to live in the Hilliard, Ohio area. It is a great combination of design, affordability, and convenience. Wellington Village is designed to make senior housing relaxed and comfortable....
Hopkins Commons
Welcome to Hopkins Commons! Hopkins Commons is a brand-new luxury apartment community, located in Maineville, Ohio, that offers maintenance-free and stress-free living for active adults aged 55+ and older. We have studios, one, and two-bedroom apartments with top-of-line interior finishes. Every...
Avondale Senior Village
Welcome to Avondale Senior Village - a vibrant senior living community located in Dublin, OH. Brought to you by National Church Residences, these peaceful apartment homes offer thoughtfully designed garden-style cottages - providing a level of comfort you won't find anywhere else. Spacious living...
Fairfield Pavilion
Fairfield Pavilion features 104 spacious retirement living apartments offering Independent and Assisted Living. With Tri-County Extended Care located adjacent to our facility, our residents have access to a full continuum of retirement living options and services as their needs change. Independent...
Traditions of Deerfield
Traditions of Deerfield brings a highly desirable new senior living option to the residents of Loveland and Greater Cincinnati. Located conveniently on Montgomery Road in Deerfield Township, Traditions will offer Independent and Assisted Living, as well as a secure Memory care for those affected...
The Waterford at Fairfield
Seize the opportunity to thrive at The Waterford at Fairfield, where residents have the freedom to focus on family and friends thanks to our modern amenities and convenient services. Our Independent Living community in Fairfield, Ohio, offers the privacy and freedom to live the way residents choose...
Deerfield Springs Retirement Resort NOW OPEN
Deerfield Springs, the luxurious Resort Lifestyle Community, is NOW OPEN! We offer all of the comforts and conveniences of modern-day living that allow you to enjoy your retirement. Deerfield Spring's top-notch, all-inclusive services and amenities will include EVERYTHING you need to live in comfort...
Stone Oak Retirement Resort
Stone Oak is the perfect choice for people with a passion for living who are looking for comfort, independence, security, convenience, and a friendly community in the place they call home. Month-to-month rent for studio, 1, 2, & 3 bedroom suites provide all-inclusive services including Freedom...
Lynd Place
Lynd Place is a cozy, homelike community located in a beautiful wooded setting in Muncie, Indiana. Muncie is home to Ball State University which is about four miles west of us, and our residents enjoy the many cultural, educational and entertainment options available there. Our registered dietician...
Friendship Village of Dublin
Friendship Village of Dublin is a lively, non-profit assisted living community that was originally founded by compassionate and committed residents of Columbus, Ohio. A suburb of Northwest Columbus, Dublin is home to the Memorial Tournament, a stop on the PGA Tour. The Scioto River, which passes...
Hawthorne Commons
We are a premier apartment community developer who understands and is focused on meeting the needs of the discerning baby-boomer, a renter-by-choice who wants flexibility, care-free living, and the ability to age in place. Treplus offers all the amenities baby-boomers love all while providing...
Mayfair Village Retirement Center
Mayfair Village Retirement and Nursing Community is committed to beign the premier provider of health care in central Ohio. It is our desire to be the facility of choice in Franklin County. Our programs, services, and facilities are designed and operated with superior quality in order to satisfy...
Powell Senior Living
In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within our communities, we are not accepting visitors at this time. However, we’d still love to talk with you! Reach out to schedule a virtual tour or e-meeting with a sales representative to learn more about our community. Welcome to Powell Senior Living,...
Mallard Cove Senior Living
Come home to Mallard Cove, a charming community nestled alongside a beautiful lake. Spacious studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments offer full kitchens, individually controlled air conditioning and heating, and a private balcony or patio overlooking the lake or surrounding woodlands. Our community...
Brookdale Trillium Crossing
Make our house your home, and live a more lovely life. Visit Brookdale Trillium Crossing and you’ll find a stunning, pet-friendly senior living community offering independent living and assisted living services in Columbus, Ohio. Our city has been ranked as one of the best cities in America by...
Danbury of Columbus
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Quick Hits: Dodgers, Padres, Cespedes, Ramirez
The Dodgers signed 26-year-old right-hander Hideo Nomo on this date 17 years ago. Armed with an exceptionally deceptive delivery, Nomo struck out 236 batters and was named NL Rookie of the Year in 1995. Here are tonight's links, starting in L.A…
Michael Heisley, a billionaire who owns the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA, is bidding on the Dodgers, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports. The 75-year-old led one of the 11 bids that made it through the first round of cuts, Shaikin writes.
The Padres have the top farm system in baseball even though they don’t have a top-25 prospect, ESPN.com’s Keith Law writes. The Rays and Blue Jays round out Law’s top three and the White Sox rank 30th.
Free agent left-hander Horacio Ramirez will throw in front of scouts in Arizona tomorrow, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. The 32-year-old appeared in 12 games for the Angels last year, spending most of the season with their Triple-A affiliate.
Marlins officials met with Yoenis Cespedes in Miami today, showing him around the city and providing him with a tour of their new park, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes. Cespedes is currently blocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, though MLB has declared him a free agent. | {
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Uttering dark sayings from of old.
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Tacomaster Desires Steadfast Love
UPDATE: I have cleaned up some sentences and added a couple more since I first posted this. A friend pointed out that the words I chose could be misconstrued.
Yes, it’s been awhile. This is my return post, wherein I respond to a commenter at Dalrock’s, who asked for advice.
Tacomaster said:Another awesome post Dal and I liked your table.I’m posting before reading the comments so excuse me if this has been touched on. My wife and I are both believers, married almost three years. Initially she didn’t understand the importance of frequent married sex. I was in Hell the first year of marriage with the 1-2 sex episodes/month.
I went to the young couples pastor at church who was an Omega, married about 15 years or so (told me him and his wife didn’t have sex much either and it was ultimately her decision) and only saw him that one time for advice. I fought with the idea of divorce because I was tired of living a sinful life of having sex out of marriage and wanted this to work. My wife and I waited til we were married to have sex by the way. She had one previous partner.
She’s familiar with the verse you mentioned in your opening and the sex has increased but to be honest, it really sucks. She has a ton of stipulations and rules which destroys the passion and spontaneity of it. Plus the fact that she jumps out of bed immediately afterwards to “clean up” kills the mood—oh, and there’s the pressure to “hurry up and c*m” thing that I hate. I’ve never been a porn watcher in my life (never interested me) but these last few months have gotten into it. Is this what Christian marriage sex is? I can’t talk about this with my guy friends. The sex feels like a duty she’s fulfilling. Any input is appreciated.
Here’s my input: Tacomasters’s (TM from here on out) wife is not interested in loving him, or being married to him. They don’t have a sex problem, they have a love problem. Sex is beyond an obligation; it’s a good and necessary function of a marriage; a fulfilling and wholesome manifestation of desire for that person. It is the epitome and consummation of marriage. To say that sex is an obligation of marriage is like saying a mother has an obligation to feed her children. That is to say: A mother who can, but does not, is no mother at all. TM’s wife does not desire him. That’s to say: she does not desire to be desired by him. The first thing TM needs to do is accept this; which is an extraordinarily painful thing to do. This is where TM finds himself: Married to a harlot who is demanding better emotional payment for her services, but expecting a wife.
It must be understood that the sexes were designed for our benefit and understanding. Man was made first, and woman was made for man. Women were designed specifically to be desired by men, and by that desiring to bring completion and projection. That completion shows in the physical world as sex, when the man’s desire for a woman brings forth ecstasy and life. It’s easy to see orgasm as completion, and procreation as projection of life, but there is also a projection of ecstasy that makes the difficult times more easy to bear. Sexual delight is a marvelous grace; a physical symptom of the blessing that love can bring to the lover and the beloved, the man and the woman.
Yes, the woman is the beloved. I do not say that women don’t or can’t love, because they certainly can, and most often do so when men can’t or won’t. (Nursing homes, orphanages daycares, and hospitals are brimming with women.) Nevertheless, women thrive when they are the object of love. Little girls don’t dream of being possessed by the best man in the world. They dream of be the most desired woman in the world, and they dread being desirable to no one. Grown women fantasize about being swept off their feet by powerful men and forces beyond their control. Their bodies are formed in such a way that they receive pleasure in the most vulnerable of positions. They’re mind-bogglingly pliant, yielding, and literally impressionable. Yet, their physical pleasure centers are arranged in such as way as to be accessible to all but the most corporally aggrieved of men. Their emotions are likewise, and we see this in the breadth of men–and the diverse actions among those fellows–that they find attractive.
The desire to be loved is one of the reasons church is so appealing to women. Even if you made churches more male-oriented: as long as mankind is the object of God’s love, and church–that is, communion–is the most tangible expression of God’s love on Earth then women will be beside themselves to get in. The Israelites forbade women from entering the inner courts (you can’t get much more male-oriented than that), and my bottom dollar says ancient Jewesses were dying for access because they were sure those within were more loved by God than those without. No doubt pagans have the same problem. You can always pick out a hindu woman by her dress, but hardly a man. I don’t doubt that for every male worshipper of Zeus, he was but one pebble among the womanly sands of Hera. Among the Muslim extremists, it is the women who are the most extreme. It is women who hold each other’s daughters down for female genital mutilation. It is women who force the burka on each other. These deformities of culture aren’t hate, but perverted concern; that the subjects of such atrocities might be lovable.
Within Christian marriage sex is the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, between a man and a woman; between the lover, and the beloved. No one, but the two consecrated by covenant with each other, are allowed to enter into that blessed union. Which brings us back to TM’s problem: his wife doesn’t want to be beloved anymore. They’ve read the passage from 1 Corinthians 7, so she dutifully doles out sexual welfare every so often to fulfill the obligation they believe is set forth in that scripture. The obligation is not to have sex, but to not deny each other of it, and that is the worst case scenario. It is a warning that sexual denial within marriage is a very serious matter threatening the very existence of the marriage, and therefore their relationship with God which is bound up in the Christian marriage.
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
For husbands desire steadfast love and not duty, the knowledge of him rather than sexual welfare.* A husband wants to know his wife, wants her to want to be known by him, and wants no one else to else to know her; to keep her separate and secret for himself, which is holy and beautiful and erotic. That passage from 1 Corinthians 7 isn’t a rebuke of husbands and wives who don’t want to have sex with each other. It’s an exhortation to fulfill their good and holy desires with one another.
7 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
We modern Christians (and no doubt earlier ones as well) are putting the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble because we are not taking into consideration to what St. Paul is responding. The Corinthians had send him a letter mentioning that the church had decided that abstinence was the right thing for all Christians, married or not. St. Paul’s response is to say: “No! By all means: husbands and wives are supposed to have sex!” The Christian marriage covenant is such a powerful spiritual bond that it is to be that the husband controls the wife’s body, and the wife the husband’s. His words are meant to free them from heresies and misunderstandings that have led them into sin and sexual slavery. St. Paul is not merely obliging TM’s wife to have sex with him; he is removing the false narrative that good Christians don’t have great sex. They certainly do, and to deny one another is to deny not only the flesh, but God’s intent, as well. The implication then is that TM’s wife has, in fact, become a non-believer in their marriage. She is a like a priest who has rejected her religion, but still pays tithe out of superstition. It’s a sort of witchcraft meant to protect her from any allegations of wrongdoing.
Wrongness is not the bloody point! She. Is. Rejecting. Him. And she has no excuse because she has been given that marvelous ability to be lovable, and to be loved. It is not TM’s fault. This is a choice she has made. Even if her emotions are not into the idea of sex, she ought to be saying to TM, “Husband, I desire to be pleasing you, and to be pleased by you.”, which is absolutely true. If she did, she would find that–sooner or later (and the sooner the more she means it)–she would get what she really wants, which is to be loved by a man she considers worthy.
In the meantime, TM, do not ask that woman for sex. Stop lying to her and yourself. Stop trying to do what she wants so that she wants to have sex with you. Tell her the truth for a change; that you want to bang her silly, and that she should let you know when she’s ready. Then, stop talking to her except as necessary. When you do, be as polite and formal as you can. Do not hold hands with her. Do not hug her, or kiss her. If she says she loves you, say, “If you loved me, you’d kiss me.”, and be sincere about it. If she comes in for a kiss, then make it a big one, and escalate from there, groping and fondling and all the things a man wants to do his woman until you’re having sex. If she recoils, do not react. Just go back to the routine, and don’t give in.
Make your world what you want it to be, to the best of your ability. Do the chores YOU think need to be done around the house, and only those chores. Regardless of what the previous arrangements were: This is now your house, and you decide what is important. Don’t slack. Do make it a point to take care of the things you think need to be taken care of.
Get your finances in order, if they are not. Make a budget, and stick with it.
Christ informs us of how we should behave when fasting, and I think it should apply even when we are fasting from tasting the fruit of our spouses:
16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
In other words: Make yourself look good; take care of yourself. Groom yourself and dress well. If you don’t know how, start here. I haven’t gone through the new Style Guide, but I imagine it’s even better than their old style series. You will feel better.
If you don’t exercise, start. At least go walk every day. In fact, it would be a good idea to invite her to go walking with you, but do not ask. Say: “I’m going walking. Come with me.” and then go. Either way, it will be important and good for you to be active. Physical activity will help you think clearer, sleep better, and feel better.
Whatever you do, while you are doing all these things: Try to smile. If she tries to pick a fight with you, say: “I’m trying to love you, not fight with you.” Leave for a bit if you have to, but never for the night. Do not–under any circumstances!–sleep on the couch, or in another room. That is your house, your bedroom, and your bed. You are allowing her to use them because you have grace and compassion.
Trust God to bring you through this trial and her and work this out for your glorification, as He promises to those who love Him.
As a side-effect: she will wonder what the hell is going on. That is good. Intrigue is catnip to women. BUT UNDERSTAND THIS: That you are not doing these things to please her. You will do what is good, and she will choose to follow, and to be your helpmeet suitable…or not. This isn’t about winning her over, or manning-up for her. That boat has sailed, and she has committed to before God regardless if you’re a lady-killer or a loser. This is about you loving your enemy as your Father in heaven does, heaping coals on her head, and not giving way before the wicked.
If she tries to “earn points” or appear like the good wife by paying you compliments, or at least like she’s not so bad** then say something like, “Thanks. If you really liked it you’d kiss me.” Let her know what you want, and that you won’t be satisfied with head pats and compliments. So if she says, “Will you stop that!” You say, “No.” with a smirk, or a knowing smile. If she retorts with something passive-aggressive like, “Geez, I’m just trying to be nice!” then you say, “A kiss would be nicer.” Never lose your frame of reference that this about her accepting your good and blessed desire to love her wholly, and that means physically, and that means sex! This isn’t about her being right, or good, or nice, or anything other than her being fully accepting of her husband as wives ought to be.
All the while: be praying for her. It will do you both good. We have been given no occasion to mistreat our spouses, for we are called to love even our enemies…which sometimes our spouses are. Bear in ming that loving them does not mean doing what they want. It means doing what is best for them.
Finally, stop masturbating to porn. It is poison. It is so tempting because those dead soulless pictures of dead soulless women exist to please you, and that is what you most desire from your wife. Do not let them pervert your good and natural desire. It will corrupt you, and has negative effects mentally, physically, and spiritually.
*I encourage you, dear readers, please: By all means look beyond the verse I’ve quoted to the whole context of the book of Hosea. It’s about a man who marries a harlot who scorns him, and how that is a symbol for how God’s people have abandoned the love of their life; who has provided all for them, forsaken others for them, and Who–with long-suffering–desires for them to be reconciled to Him.
**And she will, because she will dread the thought of actually being “that bad”, and therefore unlovable–the one true horror of women.
Have you ever written poetry? There is a lot of passion in your words (and a lot of words in your passion!)
Anyway, this is harsh but I can’t think of any reason it isn’t true and the right advice:
In the meantime, TM, do not ask that woman for sex. Stop lying to her and yourself. Stop trying to do what she wants so that she wants to have sex with you. Tell her the truth for a change; that you want to bang her silly, and that she should let you know when she’s ready. Then, stop talking to her except as necessary. When you do, be as polite and formal as you can. Do not hold hands with her. Do not hug her, or kiss her. If she says she loves you, say, “If you loved me, you’d kiss me.”, and be sincere about it. If she comes in for a kiss, then make it a big one, and escalate from there, groping and fondling and all the things a man wants to do his woman until you’re having sex. If she recoils, do not react. Just go back to the routine, and don’t give in.
There is a huge boundary up and it needs to be broken down. They both need to get naked – physically and spiritually – with each other in order to accept each other and have the deep connection they both desire in their hearts. Was there ever attraction here? I haven’t read all the comments at Dalrock’s so I don’t know all the background, but a woman shouldn’t be jumping up to wash away all traces of a sexual encounter as soon as it is done.
We modern Christians (and no doubt earlier ones as well) are putting the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble because we are not taking into consideration to what St. Paul is responding. The Corinthians had send him a letter mentioning that the church had decided that abstinence was the right thing for all Christians, married or not. St. Paul’s response is to say: “No! By all means: husbands and wives are supposed to have sex!” The Christian marriage covenant is such a powerful spiritual bond that it is to be that the husband controls the wife’s body, and the wife the husband’s. His words are meant to free them from heresies and misunderstandings that have led them into sin and sexual slavery. St. Paul is not obliging TM’s wife to have sex with him; he is removing the false narrative that good Christians don’t have great sex.
I disagree with the bolded part, or at least how I’m reading it, because I very much do read the verse as obliging each spouse in this way. What I would say is it isn’t merely creating an obligation to not deny sex. The entire frame of the passage is that marital sex is the solution to sexual temptation, and he comes right out and says that withholding sex creates temptation for sexual sin. Given how short the passage is, the fact that the instruction not to deny sex is repeated so many times and in different ways, I can’t see a reading as saying he didn’t really mean this. I think the larger subtext you are referring to regarding the holy and profoundly beautiful nature of marital sex is there, but I don’t see this as fine print which negates what appears to be the message in the bold print.
However, given the sentences which follow, I’m not sure you and I are really in disagreement:
…and to deny one another is to deny not only the flesh, but God’s intent, as well. The implication then is that TM’s wife has, in fact, become a non-believer in their marriage. She is a like a priest who has rejected her religion, but still pays tithe out of superstition. It’s a sort of witchcraft meant to protect her from any allegations of wrongdoing.
I will just say that I did exactly this after several calamities brought on by my rebellious wife brought our marriage to the brink. Be warned that if your wife has fully given herself over to rebellion and sin these methods will hasten the realization you must divorce her. It was the hardest, but most Godly and loving thing I have ever done, and it hurt.
Heavens, no! Have some sympathy for Mrs. Caldo. She has her hands full as it is without me going to 11…
@CL
I have. Funny you should mention it. My father just found one in his Bible when he broke it out to read the Christmas story in Luke 2. Yes, I wrote Bible poetry. Don’t tell Mrs. Caldo or I may have to break out the exercise regimen to recover.
@Dalrock
Thanks. I value your criticism.
At your persistence I went back again and re-read the text in multiple translations. You’re right: There is a clear obligation for sex, and in a positive sense, i.e., that the one provides it to the other, not just doesn’t deny it. (I’m sure this is driving Empath absolutely bonkers) ESV says, “give…conjugal rights”. KJV says “render unto..” and “Defraud ye not…” NASB says “must fulfill…duty…” and “Stop depriving…”
I like the NASB version best, I think.
7 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. 3 The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
I’ve inserted “merely”.
Now that that’s settled: I think it’s almost a complete waste of time to tell TM’s wife that she has an obligation. Perhaps it will do TM (and those like him) some good to know, clearly, that their desires are not “dirty”, or “naughty”; that’s it’s not a “base” urge. T, at your blog, is a perfect example of that. One minute she is arguing against the notion of obligation, and the next she reports arguing against a friend who says it isn’t. Tomorrow, when she’s left off the Manosphere for a bit, she’ll take up with the ideas of whatever group she’s put herself in.
The one way it isn’t a waste is so, in the interest of fairness, if TM has to put his wife away she was clearly told the rules. Other than that: sacrifice–meeting the obligation–is not the answer. Love is. I don’t think you disagree. I’m just using this comment as a springboard for the topic. Maybe I should do another post…
Thank you again for the link. I’m honored.
@Ospurt
Thanks for commenting.
I will do you one better that this worked for me not only when my wife was rebellious, but when I was horrendous in response.
There’s a pitfall in thinking that good husbands are being abused by bad wives, or wives who are acting badly out of confusion, or hangups. The nice guy who gets married to have legitimate sex is no more intrinsically good than the wife who wants to have sex with a man she respects. (Which is ultimately the problem: TM’s wife doesn’t respect her husband.) The Christian view is that there are no good people, yet through Christ we can do good things. TM’s wife’s problem isn’t that she’s bad. It’s that she’s not interested in being loved by him; that she’s letting her rebellious nature win.
Otherwise you’re absolutely right: This course will make her decide what she wants. She can follow her husband and let him bang her silly–or get the hell out.
I do think it is worth mentioning that she has an obligation to cultivate a desire for her husband so that she does not put the responsibility on him to magically push all her buttons just right. She needs to know there is a spiritual war being waged for her mind and heart, and right now the bad guys are winning. She can’t fix the problem overnight, but she can start to cultivate good habits of mind which will blossom into greater desire for her husband.
Cane: I wanted to agree with your recommendations but I wasn’t sure I could until I got to these: ““I’m trying to love you, not fight with you” and “Bear in mind that loving them does not mean doing what they want. It means doing what is best for them.” With love as the motivation, rather than game for game’s sake, I concur. Faced with a near duplicate of Tacomaster’s situation, but without yet having read Dalrock, et al., I responded essentially as you’ve recommended here, but most of the time I questioned internally the correctness — the biblical-ness — of my response. Now I simply wish that I had done it as well as you’ve described it here; I verbalized why I was acting as I was, but it was more in the nature of a complaint than “If you loved me, you’d kiss me.”
So, for all the good it does, thanks for the after-the-fact validation.
“This course will make her decide what she wants. She can follow her husband and let him bang her silly–or get the hell out.” After 29+ years of marriage and 4 kids, mine got the hell out. The divorce was final 15 months ago. In the long run, I am likely to be better off. (I’m 52, attractive, and a good earner. But I won’t be dating until my high school sophomore has graduated, for his sake.) I’m less optimistic for my kids, though; it’s been hell for them, especially the two youngest who were still at home and who are now split, our daughter with her and our son with me. Unfortunately, she compounded the effects of her frivorce by rushing into a remarriage — to a twice-divorced veterinarian who lives 400 miles away, necessitating her relocation so that now our kids are geographically separated from each other and from their non-custodial parents rather than just in separate houses. I’m convinced the remarriage will come back to haunt her — he has a confirmed history of emotionally and physically abusing at least his second wife, and I doubt that he is any less interested in sex than I was or will be any more patient with her unavailability when he figures out that that’s the way it’s going to be. To the extent the manosphere is correct about the role of male attractiveness, she has taken a step down — in age, height, intelligence, looks, income, and theology. So one day in the not too distant future, she’ll be divorced again. What a waste.
I do think it is worth mentioning that she has an obligation to cultivate a desire for her husband so that she does not put the responsibility on him to magically push all her buttons just right. She needs to know there is a spiritual war being waged for her mind and heart, and right now the bad guys are winning. She can’t fix the problem overnight, but she can start to cultivate good habits of mind which will blossom into greater desire for her husband.
Yes. Not being truthful with her is cruelty, not kindness. But very few Christians today would tell her the truth out of fear of hurting her feelings. This is especially true for women who had sex with men prior to marrying and then find it harder to bond/respond to their husband as a result. In a recent thread on my site SSM brought this up as an issue, and I pointed to another similar case on Sheila’s blog where the woman had done all sorts of things for other men, but now that she is married she is perfectly fine not having sex, and is outraged that her husband wants her to do for him what she did for all of those other guys. Doesn’t he know she is a Christian now! One of Sheila’s readers eventually pointed out how selfish this overall attitude was, and Sheila agreed with the caveat that she didn’t want to add any guilt and that the woman shouldn’t feel compelled to do any of those acts for her husband that she did for other men if she finds it “distasteful”. Instead of helping this woman confront her very serious sin so she can repent and own the consequences, Sheila wrote:
Lots of people have abuse in their background, or promiscuity, or tons of problems. You really truly aren’t alone.
But to just put up with it–to say, this is way I am, and I’m honest about it, so he can’t ask for anything more–isn’t right. Sex is an important part of marriage, and it sounds like your husband would like more. So, no, don’t just “lay there and fake it”. But instead work WITH your husband to try to figure out how to make it great.
I mean that it is much easier to heal from abuse than it is promiscuity, because with abuse there may be guilt but there is the conscious knowledge that the guilt is not legitimate. With promiscuity, penance and contrition are required to alleviate the guilt.
Man was made first, and woman was made for man. Women were designed specifically to be desired by men, and by that desiring to bring completion and projection. That completion shows in the physical world as sex, when the man’s desire for a woman brings forth ecstasy and life. It’s easy to see orgasm as completion, and procreation as projection of life, but there is also a projection of ecstasy that makes the difficult times more easy to bear. Sexual delight is a marvelous grace; a physical symptom of the blessing that love can bring to the lover and the beloved, the man and the woman.
I know I’m not allowed to say anything here, but this paragraph is just so incredibly lovely, Cane. But why do so many women seem not to understand this? Maybe you will answer that question for me even without posting my comment.
Not sure this approach will work as it tends to build up a lot of anger in the man, why? Because he’s still not getting any decent sex out of the relationship, but if he can contain the anger it may work. But as other people have pointed out this all boils down to a lack of respect on the wife’s part. She simply does not respect him and does not look up to him as the head of the household and does not believe that he’ll be going anywhere as he’s the nice beta Christian that’s now trapped in the marriage.
However, I’m sure that her rebellion is not contained to just the marriage bed and have to believe that her attitude expresses itself in other aspects of the relationship. So I would advise that you start opening your eyes to that and see if you have been placed in a submissive role in the marriage rather than being the head. Do everything that you can to flip that back and put her in the submissive role and see how she reacts. Also in social situations does she put you down or criticize you in front of others or at the end of the day (AKA nagging)? There are all sorts of tells like this that can clue you in on where you sit in her eyes. Lastly, beware if she is making more money or has a higher prestige job than you as if that’s the case you’ll have an even harder time reclaiming your rightful position as head of the household.
The messages that women get from both the world and the church just re-enforce the rebellious spirit in them and most will fight tooth and nail to not give up on the feminist attitudes and beliefs that they have so be prepared to have this all end in tears. Most women are not willing to change (and really most men aren’t either which is why it’s bad to go into a marriage thinking that they’ll change .. they won’t) and take on the submissive role in a relationship, especially if they’ve been on top throughout the courtship and marriage. So if you started out as the submissive one then trying to take the top role after the fact is going to be a battle that will probably destroy the marriage. That said, it’s a battle you have to fight so armor up and get ready for some pain.
Thanks for reading and commenting. I believe I read your story before, over at Dalrock’s. His blog gets so many comments that I often can’t read them all, but I usually scan to find the personal stories. I was sad to read it both times.
I verbalized why I was acting as I was, but it was more in the nature of a complaint than “If you loved me, you’d kiss me.”
It’s important for men in Tacomaster’s situation to accept this. Women already caught up in disrespecting their husbands are almost always going to respond poorly to a complaint. They simply can’t be bothered to care about the complaints of a man they don’t respect–even if he’s done nothing to deserve such disrepute. It’s vicious, but true. If she chooses to submit to the husband he can get an accounting later, if he still cares. My opinion is that it’s a waste of time. All I want to hear is: “Please forgive me”, and, “How do you want me?”
Every way, madame, but let’s start with the classics.
@gunner451
“Not sure this approach will work…”
Depends what you mean by “sure” and “work”. I’m truly confident that, based on what he’s said, if TM can master himself he can set a graceful path of return for her, but she must choose to accept his mercy. He can’t “work” her choice.
And you bring up a good point: He’ll have to control his anger. (Eph. 4:26) That will be very difficult, but important. Anger is a powerful solvent of intentions. There are tons of movies about anger motivating people to carry out long-term revenge plots and such, but in real life–for most people–it burns them out and depresses them. They sink into bitterness and quit.
Conflating promiscuity and abuse offers cover for wives that is not deserved. The two are nothing alike. Abuse creates shame born of a violation. Promiscuity produces shame (rightfully so) born of guilt. Bad move on Sheila’s part.
I’ve read this several times before commenting because I wanted to fully absorb all of the angles. It’s a good post, Cane. Your practical advice on living day to day with the wife was spot on. And that’s not me offering my feminine blessing to your masculine counsel. My husband agreed with it.
However, I’m sure that her rebellion is not contained to just the marriage bed and have to believe that her attitude expresses itself in other aspects of the relationship. So I would advise that you start opening your eyes to that and see if you have been placed in a submissive role in the marriage rather than being the head. Do everything that you can to flip that back and put her in the submissive role and see how she reacts. Also in social situations does she put you down or criticize you in front of others or at the end of the day (AKA nagging)? There are all sorts of tells like this that can clue you in on where you sit in her eyes. Lastly, beware if she is making more money or has a higher prestige job than you as if that’s the case you’ll have an even harder time reclaiming your rightful position as head of the household.
It is a good point that the rebellion won’t be contained to just this one area. This is why attempts to dismiss this as “a problem with their sex life” misses the mark so widely. If she weren’t rebelling against him, she would as Cane so eloquently explains be craving to be desired. One thing I would say though is the difference between rebellion and submission can at times be fairly subtle. The kind of transformation which often needs to happen isn’t what I think most people (especially women) imagine. Shakespeare exaggerated it for dramatic effect in Taming of the Shrew, and even there Kate’s profound submission (declaring the sun is the moon, or whatever he decides it is) doesn’t leave her as the kind of “broken” woman I think most imagine when they think of submission. Women love Taming of the Shrew because deep down they want what Shakespeare is selling.
The messages that women get from both the world and the church just re-enforce the rebellious spirit in them and most will fight tooth and nail to not give up on the feminist attitudes and beliefs that they have so be prepared to have this all end in tears.
This is true, but there is a counterpart to it. Most women are exhausted at having succeeded in rebellion. This is something which would be difficult to overstate. Check out the end of my “untethered” post. I put links in there to two different women on answers who when I spoke to this it simply pierced them, and they were extremely grateful. See the comment left by one of Sheila’s readers, and note that even Sheila was pierced by reading it (at least for a moment). If even Sheila with her masters degree in Women’s Studies and her incredible rebellion against Scripture in this area is pierced by it, all women can be pierced by it.
I’m not saying that you are wrong that it couldn’t well end in tears, because that is a real risk here no matter what Taco does. However, I think we always need to remember how much she desperately wants and needs to submit. She is miserable in her rebellion, and if we have empathy for her here we can better understand how to approach her. Cane’s advice incorporates this thinking of course. I would add that if Taco ends up in a place where they are talking about it and she sincerely seems to want to stop rebelling, knowing how to frame this to her will help a great deal:
Let me give you what you are thirsting for! Let me take away that ache of not having a husband you can lean on when your emotions storm over you! God wants this for you. I want this for you, and deep down, I know you want it too. But I can’t give it to you if you keep rejecting it.
I used thirst above, but another word would be exhaustion. These women feel like they haven’t slept in weeks. Rebellion feels just fine at first, but the longer they go the more excruciating it becomes. Communication for women is often more about feelings than logic, so being able to communicate directly with her feelings will be one tool to have handy.
Also, there are ways to address the “whispers” more directly than I described above, and I think this is something Taco should be ready to do. Very often the woman’s psychology is “I can do better”, which initiates self torture via her own hypergamy. That hypergamous voice is designed not to be ignored, like the 24×7 crying of a baby. She has the moral obligation to fight this temptation, but it is worth noting that it is possible to (mostly) put this monster back in its cage. “I can do better” in many Christian women’s minds then leads to “God wants me to be happy”, so there are dual rationalizations which are intertwined. But there are ways to address these tangled threads at the same time.
Someone mentioned sending a woman to my site and she saw the truth about EPL and Stella and reported being “deflated”. This is what a woman being choked by her own “I can do better/God wants me to be happy” rationalization needs. If she is a fan of either book/movie, showing her the daily mail or SFGate articles should be very effective. Another way to do this is to look at women you knew when they were married and are now divorced. When my wife talks with other women who are considering divorce, she always asks them to consider real life women they know who divorced and then asks them if those women ended up with a better husband. For reasons we understand in the manosphere, reality is the opposite of the fantasy. The wife ends up being pumped and dumped by men of similar value to her husband, or ends up digging so deep that she becomes the source of mocking gossip among her female friends. Everyone knows a story about a divorced aunt/sister/whatever who brings the loser who still lives with his mother to family functions, because going alone would be even more embarrassing. Find that story. The other side of that same story is how much better the ex husband typically makes out. Women loath the idea of divorcing and finding out their husband is dating women 10 years younger than her, while she is getting pumped and dumped or only being courted by losers. Help her see that staying married is her best chance at having the husband she wants (and studies prove this) will help her put her own rebellion down.
Here is an example of how I framed this for a woman on answers the other day. She is very unlikely to select my answer because I have this tuned on the harsher side (she needs industrial strength), but I think this kind of framing is very effective: Have u ever told ur husband how stupid he sounds?
I love it! It’s a fantastic piece of writing and great thoughts. I have a question/thought though and would love some input, because I am entering into this phase within my own marriage. The need for honesty, I believe, is critical, and I don’t want to be deceptive with my wife about what is going on. I’m not trying to trick or manipulate her. I am trying to put my home in order as God sees it. I imagine my conversation to include a statement about how the marriage without passionate, enjoyable, and exciting sex (for both of us – not just “duty sex” from her – I don’t even want that at all!) will never last. This is biblical. My needs aren’t being met in this area. So, ultimately, the marriage will fail if the matter is not addressed. If she asks something like, “You mean you’ll divorce me?” My answer will be “Perhaps, yes. Or you will divorce/leave me. There won’t be love between us anymore so the marriage won’t last. Period.” She can chew on that and then decide what, if any action, she will take. I refuse to subject my children to household and marriage portrayal that doesn’t include love and respect. I will NOT set them up with that idea of marriage – that was what my wife had growing up and that is why she thinks (somehow) that it is OK now.
Each time I reread this post it sinks in deeper how perfect it is. I’ll pause after this to give others a chance to comment, but this is pure gold:
In fact, it would be a good idea to invite her to go walking with you, but do not ask. Say: “I’m going walking. Come with me.” and then go.
If you do this with cheer, with anticipation for the wonderful things you are about to experience, it will be very uncomfortable for her not to follow. Not following will give her a feeling of being left behind. Her leader just departed, and she failed to follow. Now she is alone, her man having left during a time she knows she is pushing him away*. Even if she doesn’t show this and doesn’t follow at first, it is very likely to win her over after a while. But as you say, do it for yourself, not for her. Come back invigorated and with a glowing smile. She won’t be able to help wondering what fun and fascinating things she missed out on. She can only find out by not letting her feminist rebellion cause her to be left behind next time. If she asks you about it, give her just enough to whet her appetite for more, and then become playfully mysterious. When you are doing this (playfully mysterious), your eyes should be smiling even if your face is mock serious.
*You aren’t trying to give her the sense that you might be walking out on her, and if you are thinking this way it could make it worse. I’m just pointing out how her hamster in this case can for once work in your favor, when all you are doing is going out for a pleasant walk.
I would agree with you except my situation was the good husband being abused by a bad wife.
We did not find out until our 7th year of marriage that my wife had Borderline Personality Disorder with Bi-Polar (diagnosed by two different psychologists). What prompted us having her evaluated was a horrible breakdown with legal and family consequences that nobody should ever have to deal with. I met and married her during a long term phase where she was mostly normal and not subject to her underlying problems. I think her inability to bear children when we started trying in our second year of marriage, and the medical condition that we found caused her infertility (kidney disease), unleashed the borderline she had been controlling fairly well through the first several years of our relationship.
Because we could not have out own children we were in the process of fostering children to adopt them when she had the breakdown…which caused her to be arrested and with an end result of the children being taken away. All hope for family was lost forever by her actions alone (yeah I’ve dealt with that loss twice). That was five years ago.
I was destroyed and out of obligation loved her through that and helped her re-build, but I was not the man I used to be because of her actions and the profound loss she brought into our lives, but I still led her out of that darkness….and she repaid my kindness and leadership with sabotage. I could have love my sick wife until the end if the sex, submission and honor was there…but her sin and crazy had consumed her no matter what I did, game included. Her decision was to stay in the crazy, my decision was to divorce her and reject her hurting me. Game hastened that process.
Now game is part of my rebuilding process…..and the search for what I want in relationship going forward.
Once you have her following you out the door, be sure to keep that dynamic. The ideal for both of you is you showing her the way, laughing and pointing out fun and interesting things as you go. If she wants to hold your hand, your hand goes first (with the back of your hand pointing the direction you are walking or have her hold on to your bicep. Also walk on the side with the curb since this is where the threat of danger (traffic) is. If she starts to pull away just a little, loosen your grip enough that it is easy for her to break free, and keep moving in the direction you have chosen. This will give her the choice of following and continuing to hold hands, or being left behind. If she heads off in another direction, simply (and cheerfully) point out that she is going the wrong way and keep going. The right way is over here (and then keep going). If she gets out in front of you, do the same by first advising her of the “right way” and then make a turn. The point is, you are the one who knows the way, the one who knows where the wonders of the walk are. She either backtracks to rejoin your lead, or she goes off by herself, but she doesn’t lead you. As with the initial pull of you walking out the door, she may really resist/test this at first, but over time it will be very difficult for her not to.
Once you have her following you out the door, be sure to keep that dynamic. The ideal for both of you is you showing her the way, laughing and pointing out fun and interesting things as you go. […] The point is, you are the one who knows the way, the one who knows where the wonders of the walk are. She either backtracks to rejoin your lead, or she goes off by herself, but she doesn’t lead you. As with the initial pull of you walking out the door, she may really resist/test this at first, but over time it will be very difficult for her not to.
Exactly right.
And, It’s good for both of you. It’s about accepting your God-given role as head of the wife and setting patterns for her to follow; patterns that will continue for the rest of your life. Keeping those habits of thought will have a ritualizing effect; a sort of catechism of headship.
Total honesty is crucial. Does she want to end up like her parents, or is she willing to put in the effort to do better? Does she want your children to grow up as she did?
These are questions she needs to answer for herself and for you. She’s probably convinced herself it’s OK or ‘not the end of the world’ or something like that, but deep down we all want an intimate bond with someone. This requires getting past one’s fear and just being – like I said earlier – naked with each other in every sense. The basic fear is that we won’t be accepted, so we hide ourselves. When we do that, we don’t give anyone the opportunity to love and accept us truly and we defraud ourselves of what we really want and need.
Just don’t be the one to bring up the “d-word”. If that’s where her mind goes, that’s up to her. Fair warning without coming across as desperate is fair game I think.
Is it true? Reading in the manosphere, a woman could get the idea that men care only for sex and for being respected and not so much for being loved.
Always keep in mind that an awful lot of husbands find their way to the Manosphere because they’re not even getting that mere obligation (h/t: Dalrock) of at least begrudging respect and sex.
“Love” is a big word in English. Men, I believe, are really more interested in having their love received. That’s how they most desire to experience it. “Respect” is one of the words closest to the spirit of “accepted love”.
@ Sunshinemary: The lack of interest in meeting a husband’s needs and desire for sex is directly related to, or rather a symptom, of a lack of love and respect by the wife. At a minimum, if there’s a problem for the wife in doing that, either physically or mentally, then their action should be willingness to pursue either an alternative or a remedy to the problem. To blow off the husband’s need is just disrespectful, unloving and cruel. It would be like if a father stopped positive interactions with their kids (playing ball, school stuff, being involved, etc.), it’s not so much cruel that they are not doing those things, but it’s symptomatic of a man who doesn’t care about the well-being of his kids.
Your comparison of being a good wife with being a good mother really struck a cord with me. I’ve been meditating on it. At first I didn’t “get” it when I related marital duties with motherly duties..such as pouring their cereal and changing diapers and all the boring/and or unfun tasks of motherhood… but then when I related it to the joys of motherhood, like the breastfeeding relationship, and the delight you feel when being needed and appreciated…I then saw the parallel.
The Bible mentions breastfeeding many times.. a child at the breast is often an analogy for Israel. I can relate to the role of mother far more than I can relate to the role of the male lover in a marriage. Your suggestion has opened up a new dimension in my understanding. After I have let it simmer for a good while I will expand on your thoughts at my (old) blog.
If she asks something like, “You mean you’ll divorce me?” My answer will be “Perhaps, yes. Or you will divorce/leave me. There won’t be love between us anymore so the marriage won’t last. Period.” She can chew on that and then decide what, if any action, she will take. I refuse to subject my children to household and marriage portrayal that doesn’t include love and respect. I will NOT set them up with that idea of marriage – that was what my wife had growing up and that is why she thinks (somehow) that it is OK now.
That’s the wrong tack and frame of mind. The frame of mind is this is your life, and your marriage. When you’re ready to talk about divorce you’ll tell her. I would not even answer such questions; responding instead with a deadpan, or quizzical look.
That’s the wrong tack and frame of mind. The frame of mind is this is your life, and your marriage. When you’re ready to talk about divorce you’ll tell her. I would not even answer such questions; responding instead with a deadpan, or quizzical look.
Exactly. Also- verbosity in men is often an attraction killer. It is fine in writing, but when speaking there is something about a man rambling on and on that seems so effeminate. If you really have to express yourself with a lot of words then it is best to write a letter. Words are like cash..you flood the market with them and they lose their value. Keep your words meaningful by using them sparingly. Let your actions do most the talking.
Perhaps I am an outlier, but I like words used well. Talk to me baby! If someone is interesting I like listening to them talk. I don’t think I could live with someone who was aloof all the time or never told me what was on his mind. Too much kvetching isn’t good, but everyone needs to unload from time to time. You women do know that men will go to prostitutes because they will listen to them, right? Same goes for mistresses, even if they are still having sex with their wives; it’s not all about the sex.
That said, questions like “will you divorce me?” don’t really deserve a response, because those are simply trying to catch you out and make you the bad guy.
Too much kvetching isn’t good, but everyone needs to unload from time to time.
I don’t disagree with that. If the respect is already establish then a man doesn’t need to be as self-conscious about proving that he is The Man. If that foundation is shaky then a more conscious effort is probably required.
It is kind of like if a woman is married to a man whose attraction for her is weak. Until that situation is resolved she might need to put extra effort into putting her prettiest face forward.
I actually agree with both of you, CL and Gabby (*surprise surprise). My husband is not a big talker in general. He often likes to listen to me talk, but he measures his own words carefully. I find that alluring. Makes me hang on to his every word. He does have moments of verbosity, and I really appreciate those too.
When he starts talking a lot he assumes, rightfully so, that what he has to say is interesting. Because he is not easily animated, my interested is piqued no matter how distracted or how far into my own head I may have been when he started.
The difference is where the conversation comes from. There are people who prattle on from a place of insecurity, for the purpose of gauging relationship health or to extract a certain response. Women are most prone to this, but men can do it, too. I know this because I’ve heard my husband counsel a young husband to stop doing it.
There are people who prattle on from a place of insecurity, for the purpose of gauging relationship health or to extract a certain response.
That’s true. There are also people who don’t say much because there isn’t much going on in their heads. (Which is still better than those who talk in spite of having nothing going on in their heads). But yeah, this all assumes a reasonably harmonious relationship. There tends to be a lot of talking in absolutes as if “be aloof” applies all the time.
Being ignored (by someone whose attention I care about) is not fun. I imagine that could be pretty effective depending on the circumstance. For the more stubborn woman, here is the recommended course of action:
I agree that some people are quiet because they don’t think. And I also agree that those people are markedly wiser than those who prattle on even thought they haven’t thought deeply about anything. Who was it that said, “Better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and removal all doubt”, or something like that?
The absolutes concerning aloofness? I agree with you on that as well. I would hate to be ignored by my husband, and thankfully that isn’t a problem I have. He isn’t a big talker, but neither am I ignored. Our personalities work well together after 2 decades and conversations are deep and meaningful even if they are not constant and ongoing.
Personalities vary wildly, which is why I agree with you that presenting aloofness as the only acceptable frame for a man to take is not good. It might be intriguing at the beginning of a relationship, but long term, it can be problematic.
But God puts it better. Actually, I’m surprised no-one has cited any of the verses in Proverbs which equate loquacity with folly. Reading through the article and its comments, Scriptures kept popping into my head — we really should use them…
This isn’t just a Christian marriage issue. I’m a Hindu and I can tell you that in my culture sex, even between a married couple, is practically shamed. Both parties are made to feel guilty for wanting it and even more, its considered shameful for a wife to express direct desire for her husband. Traditionally we live in what we call the joint family household where brides go to live with the husbands parents. Marriage is seen as primarily a duty to family and society and if the young couple become too attached to one another it is perceived as a threat to the unity of the larger family. Sex is seen as the primary way in which a husband might bond more to his wife than to his parents. That could result in him actually moving out of his parents home to set up a smaller nuclear family with just his wife and kids.
The above structure and its concomitant fears makes for a very frustrating sex life.
@cane–I appreciated your insight and opinions above but I don’t agree with 100% of what you said in your post above. However, I was intrigued by your comment ” (Tacomaster’s wife)…is not interested in loving him, or being married to him. They don’t have a sex problem, they have a love problem”. I agree with that comment whole heartedly. She expresses love in other ways like actions and words, etc. It would be nice to have the sex I envisioned Christian marriage to have. It was interesting that your marriage comment because I have wondered if she got married to just get married; to just check off a box in her list of life goals. I wonder if I would be aware of my situation if I would have been a virgin coming into the marriage.
I wrote out a very long reply (nearly as long as the post), but I will wait to post it. What I have to say right now, I don’t think you’ll want to hear, but it could be that I simply shouldn’t say them.
In the meantime: I recommend you check out how the females responded to what I had to say, and I hope you found something useful, if not 100% of it.
I hope it’s okay to post all this here, but I wanted to give an update on where I am at with my situation, as I’ve commented a few times and really really related to this original post.
So tonight, this happened:
I told my wife that I did not feel satisfied with our sex life. She responded with, “Well, what else is new!? I can never satisfy you!” I told her that was untrue, and that the first several years of our marriage, even after our first child, I was just fine and never complained. She said the fact that I bring this up makes her insecure and really not want to have sex with me because she’s worried I’ll be critiquing and scoring her, and that she’s been “trying” lately with sex but now feels defeated by her efforts. I explained that I’m not telling her if she’s “trying” or not (maybe she is on some level), only that I have unmet needs, and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to honestly express my needs. She questioned if I just wanted more sex and thought that once per week was just fine. I clarified that it’s really not about our quantity, but quality, and much of the time she’s not even comfortable during sex – I can tell. She agreed with my observation and said she just doesn’t feel the same about it anymore.
I told her we should be challenging ourselves at this point (8 years of marriage) to keep passion and intimacy alive. She said she didn’t know what that looks like in my mind. I told her she does and I’ve already said it – that it’s like our first few years of marriage (nothing weird, just excitement, comfort, oral sex, pleasuring one another, etc.). She said she didn’t feel that way anymore and lots of women are like her, so she maybe she should just back to “faking.” In actuality, my sexual needs or desires have not changed one bit since we’ve been together for the last 10 years. Hers have. That doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to budge or compromise, but I also shouldn’t have to just go with her zero sex drive either.
I told her to not bother “faking” interest in an intimate & sexually active relationship with me, and instead maybe it would be better to just not have sex for a while until such time (if ever) we can feel passionate together again. She also said she feels like I’m just looking for reasons to divorce. I didn’t respond to this.
I’m typing a lot of stuff here, but truly I did not use a ton of words with her – I was careful not to do so. I also exhibited limited emotional reaction, even when she was breaking down in tears about how she is a failure in her job, vulnerable, etc. I showed absolutely no frustration or anger, that’s for sure. At most, I only gave confusing looks when she’d bring up divorce, not knowing what I wanted, that I just want sex 4 – 5 times per week, etc.
By the way, as a Christian man I did a TON of reading, praying and thinking about how to approach this issue in our marriage.
@David J.
I’m sorry to hear about your divorce after all those years of marriage. If you don’t mind sharing, since you said we are in nearly identical circumstances, was your wife always like mine? Did it happen after children? What steps were taken to fix the situation, if at all any? As i mentioned, I spoke to a pastor at church who was pretty unhelpful. This whole situation has a been such an emotional drain on my life. I hate that I spend time and energy upset and stressed analyzing and dwelling on this. I worry that the stress will manifest itself into physical ailment eventually.
@wheelmonkey
I’m sorry to hear about your situation man. At a marriage conference, the wife of the team said “wives imagine if your husband didn’t talk to you for 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years. That’s how he feels when you don’t have sex with him for 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years”. I think wives sometimes just don’t “get it”. And with the lack of passion? Ya, thanks a lot. I’ll be praying for you.
I’d skip the guilt trips and just tell her what you want. IE “When I get home I want you ____ and ____.” Or during the act maneuver her in the specific position that you are desiring. Asking her to perform like a circus seal is going to make her nerrrrrvvvoooouuuusss.
I suggest you ignore Gabriella. Making fun of your wife isn’t very helpful. You know that ‘husband’ is also a verb, right? When a man owns a piece of land, he needs to work on it and uproot weeds and the trees pruned. He needs to till and fertilize his fields, keep the weeds out, guard it from trespassers and harvest the bounty.
Especially for those Christians who want a submissive wife, this is necessary. There used to be societal support and sanction for this, but now we are essentially on our own and so it is going to require more attention when the outside world is trying to pull your garden apart all the time. It’s unfortunate that this is not taught or widely known anymore. Cattlemen learn about animal husbandry; married men should learn about wife husbandry.
Oh, and I would never make fun of or ridicule my wife. She may feel that way at this point, like I’m critiquing her sexual performance in cruel ways, but I am not doing any such thing. Merely stating my need for a more intimate sexual relationship. She needs to deal now with how to move forward (or not).
Wheeler is making the mistake of asking her to take the lead in their sex life. Maybe I am wrong but I think he may have misinterpreted Cane Caldo’s advice. I thought CC was telling you to ignore her if *she rejects your advances*…which means you still make advances.
Wheeler- It sounds like you have decided to quit making advances until her enthusiasm improves. If I were in her position I would have performance anxiety. I think you might be making the mistake of turning the relationship dynamic around.
I actually agree with CL here. Husbanding is a verb. You can’t expect her desire to increase if she is taking the lead in your marriage.
The examples I used above were the kind of “advances” I am talking about. You want to show her that the dynamic in your relationship is that you take pleasure in her, you lead her and she follows. Which means you make an attempt to take pleasure in her and you only give her the cold soldier if she rejects that attempt.
That is where I’m a bit stuck and feel like she needs to address some issues first, like putting our marriage at the forefront of her mind and seeking to figure out why she has no interest in me sexually. As a side note, I consider myself attractive (work out often), in better than average physical condition, dress well, and have very good personal hygiene. I’ve already been down the road of taking the lead in the bedroom, and she simply refuses things or become very awkward and uncomfortable. This is what I want her to address. The things we used to do, like oral sex, are suddenly gross & undesirable. For example, the last time we had sex she begrudgingly let me perform oral sex on her. When I/she finished (and I know she enjoyed it!), I came up to meet her for sex in the missionary position. She turned her head from the entire time and wouldn’t look at me. She has said before that she doesn’t want to “smell herself” on me afterward, but this is also a new thing. Honestly, I felt like I was raping her. It was awful!!!
I agree that she probably does have performance anxiety now, but I don’t know how to address that given all the information I just cited. If she says she wants to work on sex, even with the performance anxiety, I would be supportive. I would never say, “Well, that really sucked. Thanks for nothing.” I would talk to her mostly in positives about what I do enjoy – that’s almost always what I do. I tell her what I like, and I even told her that last night when she wanted to know specifically what I was wanting. That’s when she rejected me and said didn’t think she could do that for me anymore.
On another note, she has said to me that I should be grateful for whatever I am given in our sexually relationship and not complain because something is better than nothing. Fundamentally, I disagree with that on so many levels. We are in a marriage and should be able to speak openly, frankly and maturely about things, whether they be sex, parenting, faith or whatever. When we resign to not discussing things anymore out of fear of upsetting our partner, then we stop growing together and become stuck.
Anyway, I truly would like some advice on though on proceeding at this point. The one thing I’m being very certain not to do is withdraw my kindness. I refuse to be angry or resentful, even though she is giving me the cold shoulder at the moment. I will continue to communicate in kind words and follow through on my duties as husband and father. If she wants to discuss it more, I will, but I don’t think I should keep pushing. She is an avoider though, so that may also turn into the end of our marriage… ???
In the meantime, TM, do not ask that woman for sex. Stop lying to her and yourself. Stop trying to do what she wants so that she wants to have sex with you. Tell her the truth for a change; that you want to bang her silly, and that she should let you know when she’s ready. Then, stop talking to her except as necessary. When you do, be as polite and formal as you can. Do not hold hands with her. Do not hug her, or kiss her. If she says she loves you, say, “If you loved me, you’d kiss me.”, and be sincere about it. If she comes in for a kiss, then make it a big one, and escalate from there, groping and fondling and all the things a man wants to do his woman until you’re having sex. If she recoils, do not react. Just go back to the routine, and don’t give in.”
You let her make some IOI (indicator of interesting)..such as the “love you”, and responding well to a kiss. Then you escalate. At the point that she recoils you stop. If she doesn’t recoil you go on. You are basically rewarding her for good behavior.
This is a crude example, so forgive me…but if you were trying to train a dog to come when you call you wouldn’t say “I’m going to stop calling til you learn how to come”. The dog is not going to decide you are Alpha without you displaying dominance.
I love the idea of inviting her for a walk and leading the way. That is a good example of an exercise that establishes dominance. You can also do things like ask her to bring your a plate at dinner, or bring you a beer..etc. But no affection until she stops recoiling at your sexual advances.
Avoidant personalities tend to take the path of least resistance. That is the good news. The bad news is that you aren’t going to be able to kill her with kindness. You are going to have to make her world much less comfortable for her. If dominance exercises don’t help you might need to separate for a little while so she has to feel uncomfortable by your absence.
Was she on artificial hormonal contraception when you met? Did any of this coincide with her going on or off of it? What about pregnancy and childbirth – any changes noted in those cases during and after? Any other medications, like SSRIs?
These things can have a significant impact on sex drive as well as attraction. Think about it, don’t necessarily answer it here (her medical history is none of our business), and do a bit of research if it is relevant.
I do empathize, though…in case my tone doesn’t express that. It is frustrating to clean a spouses mess. It seems unfair because she caused this problem by not cultivating desire and she isn’t the one cleaning up the mess. Asking you to up the Alpha is making you do all the work.
I have had similar problems in my marriage. I made the mistake of letting my anger over an issue ruin my attraction for my husband. My anger was justified in the beginning, but I nursed my grievances too much and for too long and eventually felt contemptuous. I had created all kinds of mental road blocks to intimacy and I simply couldn’t get over them without help. It was like I dug a hole for myself so deep I simply couldn’t get out of it without someone throwing me a rope.
In the beginning some of the things my husband did resulted in me digging my hole deeper (guilt trips, telling me he wasn’t inlove with me, threatening divorce, etc)… but eventually he started doing stuff that made my respect for him grow. Of course, this was only because I was willing to have my mind transformed. If I obstinately refused to see him in a positive light then nothing he could have done would have changed my desire for him.
Eventually, when you are out of the hole, you won’t have to try so hard. What she needs to show is a real willingness to increase her desire…even if she hasn’t figured out how, if she at least wants it then that means she is open to transformation.
That sounds equally awful, Gabriella. I’m sorry for your experience, though it seems you came through it and that gives me hope & makes me happy (happy as I can be right now).
I’m 100% in and she knows that. We are 1/2 through the day after our “talk,” and it’s COLD in here! She’s barely talking to me. I am continuing to speak with her, continue my duties and be kind toward her. I am committed to being someone that she sees in a positive and attractive light, even though I know she doesn’t at this moment.
I don’t know if she wants the desire back or believes it’s even possible. We are in a weird situation too though, because truly I know of nothing I’ve done to decrease her desire. She just cites that it “happens in all marriages.” I totally disagreed with her on that, and even for those that see things fizzle after a while, they work and challenge themselves to reignite the spark. She wants us to stay close, in love, be friends and all that, but not grow sexually. She thinks that will continue to die as we get older and I really don’t know how to convince her otherwise. It wouldn’t be hard for her to seek counsel, read a book/article or whatever, but she’s not doing that (yet).
@CL: She’s pretty averse to seeking medical assistance, so there is little point in me suggesting that. She said last night that they “can’t do anything.” She’s been a couple times before, and was even given a recommendation to a cream to use but she didn’t use it. It remained unopened in our bathroom for over a month then disappeared. I never confronted her or said anything about it. She thinks I’m obnoxious enough as it is. She also doesn’t believe, I don’t think, that we are ONE. That her body is mine, and mine is hers. That we should be able to openly communicate and talk about concerns and stuff. She is, obviously, very defensive.
@Gabriella: I missed your previous post that mentions it might not be possible for me to kill her with kindness and that a separation may need to take place. I don’t know yet about that. I’m not going to bend over backwards the kindness or anything as I don’t want her to think I regret or apologize for the discussion I began. I’m just not going to be cruel. Instead I’ll be pleasant, continue with my work as a father and treat her with respect. If she can’t get over this, then I’m not sure what will be next. I’m prepared to move on if need be though – I’m just not excited about it . Her reaction in the weeks to come will be quite telling about where her heart is in all of this.
When I advised Tacomaster to check out how the females responded: I meant to note the positive response. I did NOT mean to take their advice. They’re not totally wrong, but I suspect neither TM nor yourself are able to understand what they’re saying.
We are 1/2 through the day after our “talk,” and it’s COLD in here!
There is a reason I did not prescribe having a “talk”. At this point, “talks” can almost only be fights. Unless your goal is to fight: stop. Some of the folks over at TalkAboutMarriage are under the impression that what I have recommended is retaliation, or punishment, or withdrawal. That’s because they’re infected with ideas about power struggle. This is about desire. My advice are not arm-twisting techniques, but about being who God has called you to be, and having the type of marriage that glorifies God and each other.
1. You can be honest in silence.
2. Watch what women do, not what they say. There are multiple instances of women in scripture straight-up lying to God. God overlooks it each time I can recall. (probably a post there)
3. DON’T COMPLAIN TO HER. It does no good for several reasons. Complain to her in this context is pathetic. Complain to God in prayer–wholeheartedly. This is one of the biggest reasons not to “talk”. Speaking is complicated. You haven’t established your own frame yet, so there is nothing for her to respect, even if she were so inclined. In your state, and your under-developed frame of mind, if you start to “talk”, the complaints are going to bubble out of your sad little face–that’s how she’ll see it, anyway. Said another way: When you are fasting, anoint your head and wash your face, but be sad with your Father in secret, who will reward you. Complaining is the emotional equivalent of a dirty, grubby little face and tousled hair. Show that to God, who loves you.
You’ve also expressed the mindset that it’s her turn to get with the program. I don’t disagree, but these things cannot be considered in the absence of what we know to be true about the female nature: they are followers and responders.
” St. Paul is not obliging TM’s wife to have sex with him; he is removing the false narrative that good Christians don’t have great sex.”
“I disagree with the bolded part, or at least how I’m reading it, because I very much do read the verse as obliging each spouse in this way. ”
Women can oblige easier than men by virtue of our anatomy. It’s painful when we are not sufficiently lubricated but the mechanics of it can still take place. Not so with men. What to do when the husband’s manly part just won’t rise to the occasion?
I like what Cane Caldo said about your frame being underdeveloped. That expressed better what I mean when I say that your tone seems to be that of someone who is switching the dynamic…its like you are expecting her to Man Up! That probably isn’t going to happen, and if it did it wouldn’t increase her desire for *you*. She could learn how to masturbate on you..which is what I think most contemporary sex advice towards women is aimed at. I’m almost positive that most the sex-advice I read is trying to tell women how to self-pleasure on their husband, so he is fooled into thinking she actually likes him.
That isn’t really what you want, though at the moment it might seem better than nothing…. Increasing her sex-drive without changing her desire for you is going to make her more liable to cheat. It is one thing to be unattracted to your spouse, it is another to unattracted to your spouse and horny.
That is why I think it is important not to make the Bad Guy her sex drive. First of all- she may seriously believe it is something she can’t fix. Secondly- a high sex-drive wouldn’t necessarily fix your relationship dynamic. You can have a low libido but still enjoy your husbands enjoyment of you.
The main problem is she has allowed the seeds of contempt to grow, and the seeds of love to die. If that had not happened then even a low libido wouldn’t ruin the relationship.
So, we didn’t really talk, which is why I put it “talk” in quotations. I simply told her that I was dissatisfied with our sex life, then let her go from there. I really don’t think I came across as a complainer or whiny or anything like that.
I think I posted earlier that I’ve done the “action” thing when in bed. Meaning, I’ve tried to suggest things, move her into positions, romance her those ways. That is part of the problem. She recoils from such efforts and will say, “This is weird…I don’t want to do that,” and things like that. Plainly put, she won’t follow my lead.
I didn’t attack her sex drive. She brought that up, not me.
This less than 24 hours, but I don’t expect her to initiate any sort of physical contact in the near future. As it is right now she’s not even speaking to me unless she absolutely has to.
So, we didn’t really talk, which is why I put it “talk” in quotations. I simply told her that I was dissatisfied with our sex life, then let her go from there. I really don’t think I came across as a complainer or whiny or anything like that.
“You’re doing it wrong.” is a complaint. So is, “You did this wrong.”
“Let’s do this.” is leading, as is, “I’m not doing that anymore.”
Does that make sense?
I think I posted earlier that I’ve done the “action” thing when in bed. Meaning, I’ve tried to suggest things, move her into positions, romance her those ways. That is part of the problem. She recoils from such efforts and will say, “This is weird…I don’t want to do that,” and things like that. Plainly put, she won’t follow my lead.
You’re trying to ride a horse that won’t accept the saddle. Something has gone terribly wrong, and your wife shouldn’t be bucking the saddle…but she is. My suggestion is too start much smaller–like going on walks. Accept your position as the leader who anticipates the needs of those in his charge. Needs, not desires. Needs includes fulfilling wants, but it’s not all of it. Spend time thinking about this. Spend more time thinking about what God wants of you. This will help cast the right frame of mind.
I think some women just are not psychologically equipped to deal with a lot of stress outside the home. Is her income necessary? Anyway she can quit and find another job? Or be a SAHM? Don’t have to answer here, just some things to think about.
So, now I’m feeling nervous, hesitant and a little freaked out that things are going to continue on downward spiral because I tried to bring forth a problem in our marriage that I am having and it was met with extreme defensiveness and anger. In fact, that is more troubling now to me than the actual problem itself; that I can’t bring up a problem to my wife without her becoming angry, defensive and throwing out the “D” word to me. This is not the sign of a healthy marriage, is it?
I’m not trying to make her or her sex drive the “bad guy,” but mostly I want her to acknowledge that we have a problem to work on. She won’t do that. I believe she continues to see this as my problem because I don’t accept her as is, when it’s actually not that I don’t accept her, but I don’t accept that our sex life is dead. Ironically, the fact that I love her as much as I do is why I’m pursuing this issue and want to work with her on it. I just can’t be the only one doing the work. Does that make sense???
Maybe, as some have indicated, I could have done this better (just by leading more and talking less) or that I have now given her “performance anxiety,” and not only will the sex stop but it may never begin again because I have created even more of a self-conscious mindset in my wife. Unfortunately, me leading in the past has not worked out for me, and me saying nothing does nothing to address my needs but actually sends the message that everything is fine when it is not. I’m fine not having sex for a while at this point because I don’t want it anyway if it’s not intimate, passionate and engaging. I’m probably more nervous at this point about where all this is leading in terms of other problems for us, and the fact that my wife is barely speaking to me 2 days later.
Your mindset is all wrong. Damning is an action taken by someone with the authority to condemn. She does not have that authority. The husband has authority over the wife. In the Kingdom of God this servant has authority over that servant, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! She can kick and bite and refuse and scream divorce as much as she wants, and yet she is a helpmeet under authority as we all are servants under authority. The Master will return, and there will be a reckoning. Be of good cheer!
When Jesus is on the cross, He does not take issue with the crowd (society), the Romans who are crucifying him (the courts), or even the Jews who lied and betrayed him (the wife who played harlot because the Messiah wasn’t “man enough” for them. He cries to God: “Why have you forsaken me?” He does for many reasons (not the least of which is to fulfill prophecy) but because He knows all things are in God’s hands, and the Father wants us to come to Him…just as you want your wife to come to you.
Are you doing this? You have the luxury of not being nailed to a physical cross, yet there is little in your replies of your conversations with God about this. No, He is not going to reply audibly any more than He did to His own Son on the cross.
You are not to “try to have sex with your wife”. You are to desire to reflect and manifest the love of Christ for the world (though the world knew Him not) that God has consecrated solely for husbands and wives no less than He has consecrated priests and prophets to their callings. In this, you and your wife are not so dissimilar. You want her to fulfill you first, just as she wants you to fulfill her first. With that in mind: If you bid her to come to bed with you, and her response is pitiful at first: do not be surprised because she is reflecting your own sin; your pitiful attempts to fulfill the merely physical and ignoring the glory of the spiritual.
“Do not muzzle the ox while he is treading out the grain”. This command appears three times in scripture, and it’s about not stopping the laborer from enjoying the fruits of his labor. Let the animal enjoy itself as it WALKS over the harvest to produce SEED. You are to be about doing the work.
Furthermore: You have not done any of the things I recommended–which I did in the spirit of a man walking in understanding with his wife (1 Peter 3), and with the intent of washing your wife with the Word (Ephesians 5)–but you have done what I said NOT to do. Now you are feeling hopeless, having done nothing with what was given to you in love. Here, you are the bad servant.
Do not speak of divorce. Do not speak of her wrongs because she is trapped in sin, but forebear them. Do not speak unless you have something to offer her.
Do walk. Do bid her walk with you. There are recurring themes within scripture; particularly as regards relationships: bread, wine, blood, trees, sheep, harvesting, threshing floors, seed and not the least among them is WALKING.
In a situation I was in, there was sexual abuse predating the marriage by many years, which led to the “get it over with” and “immediate trip to the bathroom to wash up” attitude. I wonder if some questioning would lead to something similar for Tacomaster.
I’ve reread this post three times since SSM linked to it the other day. Thank you for all the time and energy you spent writing it. You really have a lot of wisdom man. I have so much to digest and have really been spending time in prayer and in the Word seeking to discover what God wants my next step to be.
This is much better than “just get it” and “just figure it out for yourself”. It acknowledges that most men simply cannot do that, or have forgotten how to do that; and have to spend some time unlearning the unproductive practices learned over time.
I am just coming to this blog. This post was linked to a comment by J in a post on to “To love, honor, etc.”
I have not read widely in this blog yet, but my impression is that you, Cane, are trying to work out an understanding of “game” that is not really the Game that the secular bloggers are working from. Have you developed this in a systematic format? If so, where could I access it?
It would seem that this post (and the thread) are pretty central to your project. It seems you have a fair number of differences with “Dalrock,” (I have read a little bit over there).
I have also gone over to Zippy Catholic, whose views have a lot in common with my own, since I am Catholic. Still, I am supposing that both of you are trying to describe something Manosphere-ish, even if you have grave misgivings about the scientism/materialism of that approach. (I cannot even begin to unravel the mysteries of the Manosphere. There is so much of it. And all blogs have a “preaching to the choir” kind of character. Manosphere, especially. A lot of cheering and very little cross-examination for the purposes of securing the truth.)
I apologize for my sort of analytical bent here–it is an occupational disease from my working life. My real interests are far more personal than analytic, but I am more than wary of bad advice, bad worldviews, and the internet in general.
By and large, I like your theology–probably a great deal more than Dalrock’s. You have a sense of natural law and the proper use of language that is very important.
In any case, I would like to start a conversation with you about your perspective.
I should say that I like this post, though I don’t guess anyone could really be happy about the advice, which reflects a very bad situation for Tacomaster. Still, from what I have read in the thread, the way ahead for him has to be of a radical character.
Well , enough for now. I hope you have occasion to respond. It is Good Friday as I write this. A blessed Holy week to you.
Should I dare tread the dangerous ground that would be deigning speak for Cane?
Yea, why not. He’ll fix it if its wrong.
rbthomas, I am pretty sure Cane is not trying to work towards an understanding of Game in the sense that you seem to be asking when you inquire about a systematic format. If I want to be simplistic I’d wager he would refer you to 66 books in particular if you were seeking a systematic dissertation on anything, game included.
Cane doesn’t want to develop yet another iteration of game…..gosh I hope not anyway. That’s part of the core problem with game, it is an incentive to wade in with esoteric nonsense that sets the writer permanently above the reader in that the writer gets it, the reader can never get it.
It may mean one need ask Cane for clarification from time to time, but certainly he is not needlessly cryptic like game definers are with their “you don’t get it because you don’t get it” mantra.
I allow that it may be just a corruption of the word game that prevents a true Christian rework, but nevertheless, I do not believe it is reworkable as such. Christian game and secular game share one thing. They are both game. Innate is some necessary “gilded cage” allowance. That makes it never a good thing regardless how many ways the various tools are heralded as efficacious.
Empath is largely correct in his description of my view, but I will try to tack some ideas that may illuminate my position.
I have not read widely in this blog yet, but my impression is that you, Cane, are trying to work out an understanding of “game” that is not really the Game that the secular bloggers are working from. Have you developed this in a systematic format?
Game as it is written about, is mostly nothing. What is not nothing, is aimed at pulling psychological tricks on yourself to get women to follow your unchaste lead, i.e. to be slutty with you. If you can sort out that chain of thought and it’s implications, then you have sorted out Game.
The desire to find a systematic approach to human relations is the primary malfunction of those who look to Game. Humans are predictable, and their behavioral problems are endemic. We also know that they are in some way systemic because they are related to the Fall. If you can figure out what all changed with the Fall (physically, spiritually, emotionally, environmentally, etc.) then you might be able to begin to approach a system of behavior. Obviously, we can’t do that. Ironically, our fallen natures preclude it.
However, we can certainly learn an individuals behavior enough to interact with them in a meaningful and profitable way.
Most men that come looking for the kind of help they think they need to be “better” with women are simply nerds, and they simple need to stop being nerds. Being a nerd is nothing more than not doing the things the masses think are cool, and doing the things that the masses think are not cool.
The nerd can stop being a nerd anytime he like; even though there is no pattern to what is and is not cool (which frustrates the natural nerd), but he still knows what cool is. It’s the thing everyone else is doing that makes no sense. If he wants to be cool–and therefore have some Game–then he needs to do those things that make no sense but yet everyone is doing anyway, and he needs to stop doing those things that only the uncool kids are doing.
Mind you: I’m not suggesting anyone do anything. I’m just laying out that the basic problem of those who want to get “better” with women is to an introspective and nerdy arrogance. Why is fantasy football cool and DnD uncool? Because it is. There’s nothing to cool but popularity.
Empath noted that if there were a system to life it would be the Bible (66 books), and he’s on the right track. Except let’s note that the Bible is not an instruction manual, though it has a lot of them. It’s not just a history book, even though it’s full of history. It’s not just a theology book, even though it is obviously theological in nature. It’s not just…
There’s a lesson there, and it’s that humans don’t need a system to understand the things that are really important. And if you give them a system, they’ll use it to destroy themselves and others.
Yes, that seems true. The scenario seems to be that *after* TM gets his wife away from rebellion, she needs to increase her desire. (She is “open,” luckily). So, how? I guess I am just interested in the sources a woman would access to make that happen for herself.
You’ve got a bunch of stuff here, so I’m just going to reply in order.
What do you think about today’s modality of marriage counseling?
Well, the loud counselors–the ones we hear–are not only loud, but usually lousy. There really is a massive bias out there that girls are nigh angelic, and boys are near beasts. This presents a two-fold problem:
1) Who is going to blame the angel when beasts are so nearby?
2) How do you correct an angel? It’s easy with beasts; “Bad dog!” and a whipping do the trick. The angels must be gently lead to their own angelic conclusions with soothing tones and encouragements. If they don’t reach them, that must be because God has something really special in-store for this angel!
That is what I’ve seen, read, and heard.
Oh, J is the woman who writes the blog, “Hot, Holy, and Humorous.” […] I think J and Sheila Gregoire are friends.
I have to say I am a bit surprised; if pleasantly.
“What she needs to show is a real willingness to increase her desire…even if she hasn’t figured out how, if she at least wants it then that means she is open to transformation.”
How is this done, exactly. I would be interested in how she did it. (If she is still around to ask.)
Gabby has retired from this field, but each individual can only change their own mind. A husband (in the case under discussion) can help by giving opportunity. This is extraordinarily hard on a man’s ego. Someone in the position of being sexually denied is going to be compelled to despair and bitterness; not only because he’s just a mortal, but because he’s being wronged!
As far as how she does that–how she finds the desire to simply desire sex–that’s just a decision. There’s no system to it, and she won’t actually find “this one weird trick” that will make her want to be turned on for her husband. If she makes the decision, pretty much any advice can help after that; like a placebo. It’s more about her letting go of whatever she is holding against her husband and herself.
Generally though: Blood-flow is always good, therefore some exercise is good. It’s also a chance to talk and touch.
People around these parts hate to hear that old chestnut that “women are like slow-cookers”, but it touches on a truth. It would be more accurate to say wives are like a husband’s pot roast. Women, in general, are not necessarily slow to heat up, but wives who have gone cold, thick, and tough aren’t going to get cooked fast.
I have a huge problem. I am not attracted to my husband at all. I married him because he was really nice and funny. The problem is that he’s unmanly. Example: me: “I feel so much safer when you’re here at night. Little sounds don’t bother me.” Him: “Well, I could use myself as a human shield”. He is also afraid to climb a ladder and paint our high entry way. I’m afraid too, but I’m able to push through and do it. I’m confident in my ability to successfully not fall. It frustrates and repulsed me that I’m braver than him. I have no hope for my marriage. I need a man, but he is barely one. How do people treat their spouses with selfless love and respect reguardless of their lack accompanying emotions? I am loyal, and want to be the best wife possible. I have tried everything, and it is acceptance time. Are there groups for spouses commuted to honoring their vows no matter what? Should I save up money and see a Christian therapist (I have a hard time believing they wouldn’t suggest divorce). If I read lots of stories about men who have affairs and squander money I feel better about him. I just have to make sure I’m constantly comparing him to the lowest denominator men. It is exhausting. There has to be a better way.
The bottom line: Women have always had the ability to outmaneuver men. If you follow these directions, you’ll be manipulating your husband into becoming a better man — you’ll be using your feminine wiles for a good purpose, in other words. Try it out!
You should also ask an old married lady about this, if you have such a source (your grandmother, perhaps?) Old folks who have a track record of good relationships often dispense wise advice. It’s a safe bet that such a woman knows how to get her husband to do something, without nagging or fighting, in a way that makes her husband feel more manly, and increases her attraction to him at the same time.
Don’t forget that you’re actually very lucky to have a husband. That in itself suggests you’re smarter than most of the local chicks I see, who seem totally clueless, and are in and out of countless, repetitive, four-month “relationships” with the “love of [her] life” — only to find, time and time again, that their “perfect man” was an asshole… over, and over, and over, hehe.
He’s not Brad Pitt or George Clooney, but it sounds like he is also not a drunken crackhead with a violent streak. Start working on him, and you’ll both end up in a great place.
This is my first posting on a blog. I can’t resist the temptation to chat with you.
To me it sounds like you are talking yourself into either cheating on your husband or leaving him or both. You need to grow up and live your live in a meaningful manner by not screwing over your family. Your vomiting your feelings on the blogs is more than disrespectful; it is appalling.
Migratedinsanity: This is a Christian blog. It seems pretty catholic, at that. This is the last blog that would condone cheating or divorce. I meant what I said. And if your reference to “blogs” implies that I’ve commented elsewhere you are mistaken.
Also, what else do you suggest I do? Condfide in a friend? The pastor? It’s not exactly something you can tell anyone you know. Maybe guys shouldn’t mention their wives have gained weight either. Such is life.
I actually have commented on a couple of other marriage blogs. I had forgotten. There is no information on this subject anywhere. At least not on how to be a good wife in spite of te feelings. If you do an Internet search of “I’m not attracted to my husband” you find tons of threads of women who feel this way. They say things like “His touch makes my skin crawl”. Everyone becomes angry that the poster feels like that or other women agree and say they have the same issue. There are no constructive solutions offered. Just because a problem makes people feel uncomfortable doesnt mean it should be ignored.
My name is migratedsanity; not migratedinsanity. Perhaps as I continue to have further communication with my exwife I will devolve my name to migratedinsanity. The experiences of life are directly linked to this migratory llama. (a little lingual diversity for the folks)
I believe this is a Catholic blog as well; but it is a Christian Catholic blog. I can explain that if there are any takers.
I did not deduce that you blogged elsewhere. I said this is MY first blog entry. You and I are separate, distinctive beings.
I am glad to hear that you do not plan to totally hurt your husband, family and self by leaving your reservation. I’m quite reserved myself in some ways.
No, don’t confide in a pastor. You are wise to know that. I suggest that you confide in your husband. The outcome might be surprisingly fruitful, after a bit of difficulty; but then again it might be fruitless.
I never mentioned to anybody when my wife of the time was gaining body fat. It was readily apparent.
Nice to meet you and chat with you. I’ve got plenty of time to chat further if the blog owner is willing to accommodate.
I have a slew of posts on my blog about how to be a good wife in spite of feelings. Since you chose this bog particularly because it’s a Christian blog, I assume you are Christian so my posts could help you. If you are not committed to living Christian truth despite how you feel, my blog isn’t for you. But it is full of practical advice for loving your husband well, which more often than not has absolutely NOTHING to do with how we feel.
I won’t put them all here as links because the blog owner seems pretty busy at present and who knows when I’ll gt fished out of moderation. But you can start here:
Those might be helpful to you, as I have found that rehearsing your own fabulousness while juxtaposing it against what you perceive as your husband’s faults are not the path toward a more fulfilling marriage.
My credentials are very few. Just a Christian wife and mother of 20 years who probably doesn’t know half as much as I think I know, but I have learned a little along the way.
“To me it sounds like you are talking yourself into either cheating on your husband or leaving him or both. You need to grow up and live your live in a meaningful manner by not screwing over your family. Your vomiting your feelings on the blogs is more than disrespectful; it is appalling.”
At least Becca realizes what she’s doing and seems to want help. Some of us would be glad if our wives would make that much of an effort.
You won’t go wrong by following the advice from Boxer and Elspeth. In my opinion, if you weren’t attracted to your husband you probably won’t ever be. That said, now that you’re married there’s not much that can be done about your lack of attraction. The most that can be done at this point is your obedience to your vows.
If I may ask: Why did you marry your husband if he was “nice” and “funny”? Did you believe that this was sufficient for a marriage? If so, what led you to believe that?
You say your husband is “unmanly” and you list a couple of examples like remarks to you about “human shields” and he’s not brave enough to get on a ladder. Did you know of his “unmanliness” before you married? If so, why did you marry him? If not, why did you not discover it?
I have always chosen weak men. I have a hypothesis as to why. My dad beat the crap out of my mother and me when I was a small child. Even after he was court ordered not to contact us, we feared for our lives. To top it off, my mother frequently bad mouthed men and read me news reports about rape, exc. my grandfather and step dad were fantastic, but I thought they were the exception. I once had a boyfriend throw me in front of an actor at a haunted house and run! I dated him for a year after that. Nice and safe were my top priorities in choosing a mate. I was ignorant. I just didn’t realize that most men aren’t that bad and how much I would one day desperately need a man. And no, I’m not trying to justify cheating or divorce. Who comes to a catholic forum for support for that?
You’re carefree in your commentary here, but you don’t mention where you’ve talked with your husband about your concerns. You’re a wife, so you’re commanded to be submissive and that should come through even when you are bringing his challenges up for discussion.
Being submissive is not about being passive, or ignoring him, but about placing yourself under him. For an example: You shouldn’t have painted the entry way. Let that spot go unpainted until he can’t stand it. The trick for you as a woman in that situation is that it’s going to bug the crap out of you to let that entry way go unpainted. What you have to do is tell that part of yourself to shut up.
He doesn’t have a problem of treating you like a doormat by not painting the ceiling. He has a problem with fear, or possibly money for safety equipment. Either way, he’s not up to a task a man ought to be able to manage one way or another. Your job as a wife is to recognize that, build him up, tamp down your inner criticism, and let him handle it. He has to confront his fears, and that’s a bigger problem than the color of your ceiling. You painting it shows that your priorities are out of whack. Happens to all of us.
What you can say is something like, “What is your plan for the ceiling? We’ve talked about it, and I thought you had decided on doing X. Is there anything you need me to do to make that happen?” You’re bringing the problem to his attention–taking the burden off your shoulders–yet allowing him to be the man in the situation.
Men struggle with passivity and indecision, but women struggle with control. They feel like if they don’t take control then no one will. The paradox for a wife is that the more control she gives her husband, the more she gains. Not the control he takes, but that she gives willingly and freely. A husband who is confident his wife will stand behind him is more likely to go forth in confidence, and therefore you will go forth in his confidence. This runs counter to our feelings, but not only does the Bible teach us this: Experience also bears it out.
If I read lots of stories about men who have affairs and squander money I feel better about him. I just have to make sure I’m constantly comparing him to the lowest denominator men. It is exhausting. There has to be a better way.
There is, and it’s to focus on what he’s good at; which you mention he is a good father (which I assume includes provider. If you can paint your ceilings you’re in your own house and he can’t be doing that bad.) and a pleasant fellow in general; funny, and kind. Your confession that the way you deal with your frustration with his short-comings says more about you than him.
You have at least of a bit of a drama queen in you; as a lot of women do. Gossip, heartache, and tragedy are things you find not only appealing, but you find solace in them. This is very common with women as you were made to be more emotionally exuberant creatures…but you’re fallen like the rest of us and in a lot of women that comes out as a search for misery in others. Feeding that misery pet is doing you no good, and only makes it hungrier. As you’re discovering, it doesn’t actually satisfy you, and in fact the negative feelings you have towards your husband do not abate, but are getting stronger. That’s you. When you seek out misery you’re bringing that misery into yourself, into your marriage, and directing it towards your husband. It doesn’t matter that you’re looking at a cheater, and then saying “At least my husband isn’t a cheater.” It’s feeding the sin nature in you, and that will only destroy your confidence in your husband, your marriage, and ultimately your faith in God.
Be happy both that (in the big manifest ways; no adultery, etc.) you are honoring your vows and that your husband is honoring his vows. It’s not pride to reflect that you are blessed and that you have been used by God to bless your husband. You two have more blessings to give each other if you just remain strong, and keep your eyes on the prize. Taking all of this together, the picture I’ve tried to paint is one where you are both struggling to shed yourselves of your weaknesses; side-by-side. He with fear, and you with control. (Take some reassurance that most marriages are like this from time-to-time; sometimes for years, and even if the parties do not say so.) Forgive him his fear and rein in your desire to take over. Encourage him that whatever he decides to do about such small things as paint, or imaginary break-ins will be ok with you because you love him, and above all because you have faith that God knows what He is doing with the two of you.
Gossip, heartache, and tragedy are things you find not only appealing, but you find solace in them.
Is that a reference to the fact that I discussed this on the web? I need anonymity. I can’t just go around bad mouthing my husband to anyone who knows who he is.
Yes, I’ve told him these things. He doesn’t take them seriously. He thinks it’s all me. I just don’t have time to be the wife and the husband. He doesn’t see that. He thinks that its perfectly acceptable to have things around the house broken for years, or a tree growing 2″away from our fireplace vent (1full year).
I can fake respect. Faking admiration is harder. Faking sexual attraction is almost impossible. It’s so hard. I know he can tell. Honestly, a list of things to do in bed to hide lack of attraction would be nice. Not on here, but maybe someone can create a list of tips somewhere. There seems to be a need for it.
We have been together for 12 years. He does several things a week that repel me. He allows the children to hit him and yell at him. They’d never hit me, and when they hit him I eventually discipline them. As they get older and further trained this behavior stops. He says that it isn’t age appropriate to correct a toddler who hits and yells at a parent. We had this conversation yesterday (again).
I really think its coping time. Men used to not expect porn star sex from their wives. That’s where I’m struggling. Not only do I have to do it, I have to act like I love it.
Gossip, heartache, and tragedy are things you find not only appealing, but you find solace in them.
Is that a reference to the fact that I discussed this on the web? I need anonymity. I can’t just go around bad mouthing my husband to anyone who knows who he is.
No, it’s a reference to this statement:
If I read lots of stories about men who have affairs and squander money I feel better about him. I just have to make sure I’m constantly comparing him to the lowest denominator men. It is exhausting. There has to be a better way.
Yes, I’ve told him these things. He doesn’t take them seriously. He thinks it’s all me.
Try telling him in the way I said above. If you experience feelings of foolishness, that’s your pride talking to you. It’s not foolish.
I just don’t have time to be the wife and the husband. He doesn’t see that. He thinks that its perfectly acceptable to have things around the house broken for years, or a tree growing 2″away from our fireplace vent (1full year).
This is your sin nature talking, and it’s a lie concealed as the truth. There is no expectation that you be the husband except that you have taken it onto yourself. Therefore cut it out; for both your sakes! If you really believe the ceiling, tree, and broken things around the house are his business, then leave them to him. How serious are these problems? Are they serious enough where you actually got down on your knees and begged him to take care of them?
Leaving those things to him drives you crazy, right? And you don’t feel like you should have to “humiliate” yourself by begging, right? That’s because the problem you have is that you are arrogant and a control freak. Try not to get angry, and listen to what I’m saying: The effect of sin on women to turn them into arrogant control freaks is absolutely normal. That’s where Satan attacks women most frequently so that he can sow discord into marriage; into what God has joined together. The one real physical symbol of submission is the one most put aside.
What you need to be working on is praying for God to humble you; understanding why you’re prideful; and how to be forgiving of a fellow Christian’s weaknesses as you would any other.
I can fake respect. Faking admiration is harder. Faking sexual attraction is almost impossible. It’s so hard. I know he can tell. Honestly, a list of things to do in bed to hide lack of attraction would be nice. Not on here, but maybe someone can create a list of tips somewhere. There seems to be a need for it.
[…]
We have been together for 12 years. He does several things a week that repel me. […] I really think its coping time. Men used to not expect porn star sex from their wives. That’s where I’m struggling. Not only do I have to do it, I have to act like I love it.
Here I have more straight-up sympathy for you.
Bottom-line: if you make yourself available to have sex when he wants to have sex, then I think you’re doing well; all thing’s considered. Keep it up! (rimshot!)
Be honest about it: Make sex about his pleasure if he is the initiator and you’re not feeling into it. Sex is like church: You don’t always feel like going there, but it’s good for you no matter what, and anyways it’s not just about you. If he complains that you’re not “into it” enough, then tell him, “I’m here for you. Have your way with me.”, and if he still says that you’re not enthusiastic enough, then LATER (not during sex!) you can have a discussion about what would turn you on…like doing those manly things.
Do NOT say, “I have a hard time being attracted to you because you fear painting the ceiling and you won’t trim the branches near the fireplace.” DO say, “You know what? It’s hot when I see you up there all taking care of our business.” If you are so bold (which would be awesome): Just be sure that your mouth is writing checks that your butt is able to cash; as my dad says.
@Minimus
How does one encourage the submissiveness and helpmeet character of a wife?
Read the original post above to Tacomaster. There’s another one on here called “Welcome Aboard John”, and one called “Do Not Monkey Around with Despair”. I think those all touch on this.
The “stories” I read about tragedy are on the peaceful wife blog and the respect date blog. I subscribe to several blogs being a good Christian wife. I don’t read them for the “gossip”, I read them for the advice. One of the side effects is I feel more appreciative of my husband after reading about some of the other husbands women have to deal with.
I do have sex with him whenever he wants. He is most demanding of multiple orgasms on my part which is the hardest thing he could possibly ask of me.
We have had years of this struggle. He actually loves it when I do the work myself. It’s funny, we have a 7-year-old son treats me the way is like my husband to treat me. Carries in groceries, held me back from the street once when he thought I was going to be hit by a car. I’ve been pretty good about my end of the marriage for a couple of years now. The problem is, I know he wants real respect, admiration, and attraction and I’m at a loss. People aren’t stupid. They can tell when you’re going through the motions. He can tell I’m not legitimately interested and excited about the accomplishments he is proud of. He mentions it sometimes. But I smile really big, use an excited voice, sometimes I ask questions. I don’t know. What I’ve gathered from this thread is to just keep doing what I’m doing. Forever. Whether it blesses me or not. That was my plan, but I was hoping there was something else. I have read Fascinating Womanhood, Created To Be his Helpmeet, The Surrendered Wife, For Women Only, the part for wives in Love and Respect. I’ve really pulled out all the stops. I’ll check out the blogs linked above.
Exactly. You’ve had a breakthrough. However I truly believe that it will bless you at some point.
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:9
One of the things you absolutely must do is cultivate a deeper spiritual life. I can’t say that I’ve ever experienced exactly what you are describing, but I do know what it is to feel despondent about a particular area of your marriage. There is no substitute for drawing near to God.
The light of Christ in you can shine so brightly that your husband can be affected by it. I know this is true.
In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. 1 Peter 3: 1-2
I am currently reading Celebration of Discipline. It is a good resource for getting on the path to growing spiritually when you’re kind of weary and don’t know where to begin.
Take all of the practical advice Cane is offering you here. It’s good advice, and his admonishments (though harsh) are usually quite insightful. But to really be able to get where you need to go and be the wife you need to be from here, it’s gonna take a heck of a lot more than willpower and good intentions. Your will ain’t that strong.
Yes! The will power is where I fail. If youve never read “The Peaceful Wife” blog I think you would love it. He has a list of things husbands find disrespectful that is very helpful. I have been so blessed by her ministry. I’m really excited about looking into your ministry. You sound fantastic! :)
That is excellent, and it is what I gathered from your previous comments. I meant to encourage you to persevere!
He is most demanding of multiple orgasms on my part which is the hardest thing he could possibly ask of me.
This is not so excellent, and is a result of the pornification of our culture. I’m not talking about the biological workings, but the way our desires get twisted by our knowledge of other people’s business. Talk to an older woman that you respect because she lives out the Biblical ideals.
The problem is, I know he wants real respect, admiration, and attraction and I’m at a loss. People aren’t stupid. They can tell when you’re going through the motions. He can tell I’m not legitimately interested and excited about the accomplishments he is proud of. He mentions it sometimes.
These things happen; even in the Caldo household. It seems like the solution is to fix what is wrong. In this case for you to find a way to be excited, etc. But I think your side of the solution is actually to forgive him for his unnecessary demands, and to seek his forgiveness for not being as excited as you want to be.
To some people, this sounds very prudish, and super-phony spiritual, but I find it freeing and very real and physical. Sometimes when Mrs. Caldo and I fight (she’s an instigator, and I’m belligerent) that’s literally where the argument ends up. I’ll say something like:
Well, we’re in a real pickle here. You’re a shrew and I’m a jerk.
Her: Pfft! Whatever.
Me: There’s not a lot of hope for change in our situation, you know…
Her: Disdained silence.
Me: In the meantime, since we’re stuck with each other…wanna shag?”
Her: You’re unbelievable.
Me: Why are you still dressed?
I don’t see why you can’t reverse that. Intimacy and sex isn’t just about orgasms (as you know), but about enjoying each other. If you are having difficulty enjoying the purely physical aspect of sex, then make it enjoyable and fun in other ways; good humor goes a long way towards showing the other that we enjoy and appreciate them.
What I would caution you against is focusing on Emotional Content over enjoyment. Many of the female marriage and sex blogs I’ve read put way too much emphasis on how to make yourself “feel closeness”; or the opposite: How to make yourself perform even without “feeling close”. I eschew that. Sexual pleasure is about en-joy-ment. You bring the joy into the act. This is confusing because we think sex itself should be the source of joy, but it’s really our spirits.
Many of the female marriage and sex blogs I’ve read put way too much emphasis on how to make yourself “feel closeness”; or the opposite: How to make yourself perform even without “feeling close”. I eschew that. Sexual pleasure is about en-joy-ment. You bring the joy into the act. This is confusing because we think sex itself should be the source of joy, but it’s really our spirits.
I don’t disagree with this, Mr. Caldo. My question to you is this: How does one bring joy to the act when they are not joyful about engaging the act in the first place? Where does this joy come from?
I’m well on the record with my disdain for trying to gin up feelings to make one *able* to do what she needs to do in marriage. But I also think that the joy you refer to needs to be cultivated. it doesn’t appear out of thin air, particularly when a woman lacks any admiration, respect, and sexual desire for her husband at all.
Great point. I’ve tried to focus on what a great provider and loving dad he is. It’s not really hot, but it helps. Fantasizing about other people works, but it is a sin! It’s so tempting when he wants multiples. It works fast, but then, of course, I feel guilty. God is good, and I feel ashamed to willingly sin (except with traffic laws).
This post is truly outstanding. Thank you. I’ve put into practice about half of it in my failing marriage, and will work on the other portions starting tomorrow. It’s not that I didn’t know what to do, but you laid it out clearly. I want to honor Christ and serve him in my marriage. Thanks so much – Prov Erbs
Cane, I am very interested in your take on my situation. Please email me when you are free. I can give you access to my blog, I’ve taken it offline, if you are interested. For the last 24 hours I’ve been doing exactly what you’ve told TM to do: not ask for sex, not be angry, just act like a roommate, etc. She hasn’t been frigid, but more neutral. I’m over 40 but I feel like such a kid when reading your blog and Dalrock’s. I have so much to learn. Thanks, I look forward to your thoughts via email. – Prov
Ive been praying for her and not asking for sex. Today I grabbed her ass and she said stop touching my butt! I smirked and left. Now she hasnt done anything to touch me or move towards me. If I dont touch her itll go a long time without her touching me though now she lets me touch her non sexually while she stays like a statue. Better than before but not like we used to be. Im sleeping in my own bed shes in the guest room her choice. Do I stop touching her until she touched me? She knows I want her sexually but shes treating it like a weapon. Any next steps for me?
The fact that it is better than before is good, but these are new days. It is never going to be like it used to be. You’re going to have to go through an escalation process to get to a new and better relationship, and you’re going to need wisdom, confidence, perseverance, forgiveness, peace and joy to do it.
Today I grabbed her ass and she said stop touching my butt! I smirked and left.
Perfect! Keep it up. Let’s use this as an example of applying wisdom, confidence, perseverance, forgiveness, peace, and joy.
Confidence: You’re married. Take courage in that. You have the right to touch her body. Her body is your body. Your body is her body. You’re not doing anything wrong. At this point, you’re not even expecting anything of her, really. You are one flesh with her, and you are not hurting her. Her pride may be hurt, but that is sin nature; which is a cancer. It’s not actually her.
Perseverance: Recognize that while it is true you are married, some part of her (your body) is disordered, and when you try to move your “arm” (her) one way, it spasms another. It has to be retrained. You’re going to have to keep up the regime even when your feelings are hurt; just as it hurts to do physical therapy, or strength improvement training. Keep your eye on the prize, and don’t pay too undue attention to your “muscles” (her) telling you to stop, or complaints against serving her healthy food.
Forgiveness: She really is disordered. Her protests against wholesome acts (such as “Stop touching my butt!”) should not be internalized by you. There are only two choices when she does something which she should not do: You can either forgive her, or you can keep a record of her wrongs. The former allows you to do what is right and continue in your training. The latter will give you a detailed spreadsheet that will form into bitterness and despair. You’ll need to forgive to escalate into (as I suggest in the post above)
I kept Wisdom, peace, and joy for last because they must pervade throughout all these. Is it her pride that is hurt, or are you actually harming her in some way? Is is your pride that is hurt? Is it time to escalate? Are you really serving her healthy food? Are you secretly keeping a record of despair; even from yourself? What other things can you do together (such as take walks, which could become a time to hold hands)? What is the joyful response to her complaints? Praying specifically for her and her needs will help you sort this out, as will reading the Bible. (“You shall love your neighbor as yourself”, and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”).
Related: Be sure that nothing you are doing is counter-productive to your goals. Don’t, for example, go out of the country for six weeks. (That struck me as really foolish. It would have been better to be fired.) Don’t move out. Don’t live separately. Don’t leave the master bedroom. Don’t take up with other women; whether real or virtual (not that you have). Don’t respond to her foolishness with bitterness. None of those things would excuse her rejection of you, but they are still counter-productive.
The most difficult has been forgiveness. I realize now that I want to keep no record of wrongs but my own sins get in the way. I’ve also put my own ambitions on top of my family. Although I’ve used it as justification to provide for my family since I work hard and make a good income to provide for my family, I’ve made that my idol. My self esteem was so low b/c my focus was on sex, that I put all this time into work b/c I was respected there both by men and other women. My frame as off and as you say I’ve done many many foolish things including 6 weeks away from home for a promotion. We don’t talk much, but we’re going to church as a family and she agreed to go to mid week family worship and I’ve been going to a mens prayer breakfast weekly in addition to Sunday worship. I’ve had too many idols, including my desire for sex, for too long. It’s sobering to think that most likely things will never go back to how they were before, but I have a new opportunity now. Thank you Cane. I never thought a blog online with a stranger or strangers would encourage me to make such a deep change.
I felt hurt like you said so I wasn’t escalating properly, but rather doing it out of keeping a record of wrongs and letting the bitterness fill my heart. Also, I put what should have been energy into my calling as a father and husband into my work. The fact that I felt like I was a success at work vs. at home with my wife, that drove me further into work. Although we are in a new state across the country, I have been offered a pretty significant promotion. I turned it down but they told me to think about it for a 6 months since the project won’t start for a few years. Although it’s a dream position of sorts, it would require us going back to the area where she went crazy with the CrossFit gyms. She’s working out now, but asking me permission if she can go and thanking me if I let her go a few nights a week. I’m 99.9% sure I will say no (again) to the promotion. I don’t mind downgrading our lifestyle, just I have to reorder my priorities.
Will be back again to reread all this, I’ve gone through your entire blog once and will slowly go through each article again. I hope one day the Lord will give me the strength to guide others as you have guided me. All my leadership and success at work seem pretty worthless now, I’d trade all of it to work at Costco or somewhere else if I could have avoided the last year of my life. Thank you. PE
Some more practical advice needed. I notice that if I touch her first she reacts or just lets me. But if I dont touch her, she wont touch me at all wont even mention sex. I feel like she doesnt ever want me to bring up sex. Yesterday was the 3rd day in a row I slapped her ass. She got pretty mad and said dont do that. Today I decided not to say anything or touch her, just do stuff I needed to do around the house. She said nothing and didnt even look at me. Should I continue just ignoring her amd not touching her? Or try to escalate more daily even if she gets angry? It seems I could make a case for both based on your advice to Tacomaster. Thank you!
Whenever I walk by my wife, or she walks by me, I put my hands on her in some way; a light swat on the butt; slide my hand across the small of her back; a kiss on the cheek; run my fingers through her long hair; put a hand on her hip as I reach around her for a glass while she’s doing dishes…just making contact. Perseverance, peace, joy.
It is not her behavior that earns or dissuades this, but because it is my right as her husband and I want to. I’m a man, I’m affectionate, and I can. Her attitude does not get to determine what I want, and I like to put my hands on my wife. Wisdom, courage.
If she gets mad don’t respond with anger, or by saying “I’m sorry, but…” Be clear. “You are my wife and I am your husband. I like to touch you and I am supposed to touch you.” Forgiveness, peace.
You don’t need more practical advice. You need to apply what I said above to your own situation: Wisdom, confidence, perseverance, forgiveness, joy, and peace. When you don’t know what to do or how to respond, then ask yourself how those would apply to the current dilemma. The practical advice I gave is only to demonstrate those traits; which is what is really important.
Thoroughly depressing. (its a figurative term, I’m not literally depressed by it). The drama unfolds in countless homes across America, more, countless Christian homes across the so called Bible belt of America.
Be it denial of sex, denial of respect, control and manipulation, lies and obfuscation, full on jettisoning of husbands tacitly endorsed by nearly all who are aware, so forth, and legions of folks with advice.
Advice ranges from the simplistic “if you love something let it go” cliche, to game preceded by some descriptor….married…..dread….whatever, to what is described here, persevere, and virtuous long suffering which is indeed a call to Biblical obedience. In one way or another, ranging from the good way to the barely making it good way, it seems the majority of men are at least not throwing in the towel.
Men cast about for anything. Counselors tell them to supplicate more, or learn how to communicate like a woman better, or, you gotta learn-her-heart, whatever that even means because that’s like telling someone to watch a casino card game and “learn” the hand that wins the pot, then you will win every pot thereafter with that knowledge. Nope. Changes every time like a random number generator.
That’s not complaint, its a statement of a fact ,the statement of which is sometimes characterized as a complaint. “Its hot outside” could be an observation, or it could be railing against God’s goodness that he sends sunshine. Usually its the former.
What are you blathering Empath?
The utter dearth of reinforcement of relational biblical dynamics among the peers of the other party. THIS would more accurately by called a complaint.
Man’s creation and purpose. Is it expressly that he be caught in an endless struggle with a spouse, or is that (that struggle) just an aspect of his weeds in the garden, his cross to bear, or is the question misguided…bearing in mind is a rhetorical or theoretical question. Does the answer even matter? In the purist sense, no, it does not. But, its a little stretch but not too much in my opinion to say then that someone somehow denied food ought not say so, ought not say anything because scripture says so. Note: This is not a comparison of food and sex. Its not limited to sex, its about the entire morass that is American Christian marriage. Is there an injustice? May we advocate on behalf of others who suffer it? Or, because we are men and to do that would be akin to complaining because we have some skin in the game, can we not thus advocate. | {
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Perhaps the only thing that changes more rapidly than technology in today's amped-up digital environment is the terminology used to describe that technology and its impact on consumers--and marketers. One recent example is the advent of the term "omnichannel" marketing, which many struggle to differentiate from another relatively recent term--"multichannel" marketing. Still, those who are most enmeshed in the field say there is a key distinction between the two, and it's one that will have an impact on marketers as they continue to seek ways of having a meaningful impact on the consumers they hope to engage. And, importantly, it's less about technology than it may seem.
Adconion Media Group Acquires Joost Assets
Adconion Media Group acquired assets from privately privately-held online video service Joost. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In June, Joost announced a change in its business strategy to focus on providing white-label video platforms, and Adconion plans to pursue this strategy. The addition of Joost assets will boost the video library at Adconion, which, prior to the deal, sold 80 million video streams per day to targeted audiences across 2,000 global websites. | {
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What's Your Adventure?
Directions
Pier 43 ½, Fisherman’s Wharf
Pier 43 ½ is located at the intersections of Taylor Street and Embarcadero in the heart of historic Fisherman’s Wharf, right behind the famous Fisherman’s Wharf Crab Wheel and next to such well-known restaurants as Alioto’s, the Franciscan, and Boudin.
Weather Forecast
Pier 43 ½ is the departure point for all of Red and White Fleet’s® public cruises, including the Golden GateBay Cruise®, Bridge 2 Bridge Cruise®, California Sunset Cruise® and also the California Twilight Cruise®. Seasonal tours, such as the Fourth of July Fireworks Cruise and Fleet Week Airshow Cruises depart from Pier 43 ½ as well.
BY CAR
The Red and White Fleet® is located on Pier 43½ on the intersection of Taylor Street and Embarcadero in the heart of Historic Fisherman’s Wharf. For driving directions, we recommend that you use Google Maps.
Traffic in San Francisco can be stop and go, particularly during rush hour, baseball games, and the busy summer months. So please be sure to allow for extra time to make it to Fisherman’s Wharf, as we are unable to hold our cruise departures.
PARKING VALIDATION
Red and White Fleet® can offer one hour of parking validation for cars entering the Triangle Parking lot (located across the street from Pier 43 1/2 cornered by Jefferson, Taylor Street and Little Embarcadero). Validation can be offered to cars that enter the lot between 10am and before the final public cruise of the day departs. Sorry, we can’t validate if you entered the lot before 10am. No parking validation offered during Fleet Week weekend and July 4th due to traffic and street closures along Fisherman’s Wharf. To receive your parking validation, you will need to have your parking ticket stamped by our ticketing team prior to boarding our cruise vessel.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
The Bay & Taylor Street Cable Car Terminus is located within 4 blocks of Pier 43½ and the MUNI F-Line streetcar is only one block away. For specific route information, please contact the San Francisco Municipal Railway.
For all transit questions, including traffic information, public transportation schedules, directions, and routes, call the Bay Area Travel Guide at 511 or visit www.511.org.
Take BART to the Embarcadero Station. Go upstairs and cross the street to the Ferry Building. In front of the Ferry Building, take the MUNI F Line Street Car to Fisherman’s Wharf Pier 43 ½.This stop is right by the famous Fisherman’s Wharf Crab Wheel sign, and only one block from Pier 43 ½.
Pier 43 ½ Fisherman’s Wharf is easily accessible from all points in San Francisco via public transportation. The closest MUNI stop to Pier 43 ½ is serviced by the historic F-Line street cars. This stop is right by the famous Fisherman’s Wharf Crab Wheel sign, and only one block from Pier 43 ½.
Alternatively, the Bay & Taylor Street Cable Car Terminus is located within four blocks of Pier 43 ½. This is a great route for those staying at Union Square and wanting to visit Fisherman’s Wharf.
Passengers destined for San Francisco connect to a Thruway Motorcoach at Emeryville. Amtrak Thruway service connects all trains to various stops in San Francisco. Amtrak Thruway Service stops at Pier 39, for those bound for Fisherman’s Wharf and the Pier 39 area. Red and White Fleet’s® Pier 43 ½ is located 5 walking minutes west of Pier 39.” | {
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