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Saylor my thespian. His imagination is always at work and he is always in custom. One of the joys of being a kids is the ability to be anything and to imagine yourself in another worlds. Often that is taken from kids all too soon. Every time I visit my grandsons, my grandson Saylor is in custom pretending to a Marvel character, a Star Wars character, a vampire, and more recently he is into Harry Potter really big time. He goes no where without his magic wands and is casting spells all over the house. I hope he never looses the ability to use his imagination when he grows up. I sure do what ever I can to keep him in customs. I love you Saylor, no matter who you are pretending to be today. Keep being the happy child you are and may God bless you. |
A daunting task is to organize, where do you put all this STUFF and why the
WORLD
am I keeping it. I recently moved my tools from a tool bucket into something else that was more efficient. Now what to do with this bucket.....Oh I know, I will put all those papers in it and purge about 5 or more items a day. The rule is to put things either away or shred. I've done this before with a pile of papers and it actually works well. Sometimes I will get stuck on something that has no home and/or maybe it's a keep, so it goes in an envelope labeled
MISCELLANEOUS
. Or it should say
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS
. Below is a video Vlog from Artistic Expressions, on tackling a disorganized room. |
On Saturday I did this... So, yesterday I did this... My soul is aching to move onward and upward! My body is crying for rest and healing. I am grateful for my kidneys. I'm grateful I'm not in as much pain as I used to be in. Sometimes I want to cry and feel sorry for myself. My side is in pain again and it scares me. My kidney is not doing well. I'm just plain tired. Sometimes I hate that life feels HARD and heavy. Then I feel the healing touch of a kind friend, or see tears in the eyes of a sympathetic husband, and I feel really grateful. I'm nervous about finding a good doctor. I prayed and called again the doctor most referred to me. My new patient appointment was scheduled for Feb 26. While I was on the phone she looked and found an appointment for Wednesday. See, it's a tender mercy! I was pretty blah yesterday and in a lot of kidney pain. Todd (who started work at 3am that morning) came home and asked if he could cook dinner. So nice. He played fun, love songs and sang loud as he cooked. His cheery attitude was contagious. I really love that guy! My boys were sweet and extra helpful. I wish I could serve them more- even as I'm super thankful for how good they are at serving me. I'm ready for this cup to pass!!! But, if not, I hope He helps me drink it up! |
While I dream of the life, she’s living it... I love viewing her site to see how the other half lives.
But mostly I simply adore Melissa.
She has such a fun sense of humour.
She is part of the elite New York Society and yet she shows both that life and the fun down to earth person she is.
This woman has more joie de vive than most and following her travels (literally – she periodically writes for New York Social Diary online) and her day-to-day adventures are so much fun.
Also, I can’t resist Monty.
Check out her blog and follow along. By the way – this is the inspiration for the fireplace and book case I want in my living room. |
On my walk yesterday evening, I came across this greenbottle fly feeding on a decaying blackberry. It seemed to be completely engrossed in what it was doing, so much so, that it didn't fly off when I turned the branch so I could photograph it from different angles. It did move a little, but it kept its head down and continued feeding. Then, a little further on I came across this ladybird with its head inside a decaying blackberry. Like the greenbottle fly, the ladybird seemed to be ignoring everything else and just concentrating on feeding. After having spent most of the walk carefully creeping up on insects only to have them take fright and fly off just as I got within macro photo range, the behaviour of these two insects seemed very odd. I can only assume that they had been made careless by alcohol fermented in these decaying berries. Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2009-08-31. |
Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and film maker best known for his work on film posters. His famous works included the classic Hitchcock films North by North West, Vertigo and Psycho, where the designer had invented a new type of kinetic typography. The graphic designer had also designed logos for some of Americas corporate giants including American Airlines, AT&T and Continental Airlines. His designs were some of the most recognisable company logos of that time. I used saul bass’ influence to create simple graphic images and using them on film posters. Ref: Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design by Joe Morgenstern |
This is the chair everybody is ready to fight for. It stands right at the edge of the verandah overlooking the green valley. It is a dreamer's place and it has two beautiful arm-rests to place a cup of coffee or a glass of wine on top. It is my father's chair. comes from a colder Northern country to visit me. He knows the secret life of plants. Once here, he plants and replants, transfers flowers and bushes from one place to another, talks to them and convinces them that they should grow where he places their roots in the grounds. He heals and cures the damage inflicted to the plants through my neglect during the year. He made the lavender and roses grow into giants in the shortest of time. My father's flowers are always there and remind me of him when he's gone. I found these little fellows in a junk shop in town. My family and the friends, who have been staying in December with me for a while know him or her. The Flamboyant in my garden " called Auguste ". Him or her, well, because somebody explained to me that this tree can be male and female at the same time. Not a bad choice I think. But I like to think of Auguste as a male. Every year when the South African summer approaches, after windy and stormy days, he delivers the same spectacular unfolding. Auguste, against an azure-blue sky and becomes blindingly and inimitabably beautiful in his bright red flower dress. He enchants us. Auguste is particular about the way he blossoms. Starting on one side, he blossoms in a very orderly manner from one side to the other. No, it is not a simple tree like the others. It's Auguste. He takes all the time that is necessay to become beautiful. |
Seems to me that blogging is like dieting or exercise in that you miss one day and suddenly a week has gone by. How on earth did that happen? Well part of the time I was in Birmingham with no easy internet access. And other days I was working on blocks to swap/keep for the collaborative African quilt. This what I have so far. There is no attempt to balance the positioning of blocks as I will acquire some of Lesley's and lose some of these on Saturday - I can't wait to see what she has for me and to spend a whole day with her making more. Finally I am very excited today because I have managed to get tickets to Placido Domingo's only UK tour date in Manchester in May and I get to fullfil one of my Mum's lifetime dreams by taking her as well. |
For those of you not familiar with Smith Rock in Oregon I'd like to take a few minutes to share a great place and the great time we had yesterday (despite poor weather). Smith Rock State Park is located in Central Oregon (20 minutes from Bend) and is one of the many natural wonders in the area. Many visitors of the state park are rock climbers and they have over 150 routes to the top to choose from. We choose to hike (since none of us rock climb) and what a great hike it was. My brother and his wife are visiting from Alabama an were in awe of the beauty. My husband and daughters lead the way. We took about 3 hours and hiked to the top, saw monkey face (as pictured) and had a little picnic. Then hiked down the back route along the beautiful Crooked River. If you have never been to Central Oregon and have a love for the out of doors, then you should really consider a trip. Today we are trying to decide on kayaking the Deschutes River, biking the Benham Falls and taking a scenic drive along the Cascades Lake Hwy to see any of the 20+ lakes. I'll keep you posted. Where ever you are -- enjoy the holiday weekend and take a minute to think about Memorial Day and what it means to you..... |
Day of the Dead (or Dia de los Muertos) is one of my favorite holidays. Traditionally, it is celebrated in Mexico every year on November 2nd.
During this day, people celebrate by remembering loved one that have passed away. There are many traditional ways of celebrating; some of which include building altars in remembrance of loved ones, dressing up as skeletons, dancing, eating special foods (like Pan de Muerto), a procession or parade, a name call of the deceased, and decorating gravesites with flowers and marigolds. Often, people will also tell stories retelling fond memories of loved ones lost. |
Yesterday Nikos put the colours on the last (almost 200th) page of Mirabilis. So all I have to today is make the final tweaks to sound effects and word balloons and book 1 is all done. Seems incredible that it was more than three years ago that we started work on the first episode for the DFC dummy issue - and that Mirabilis has been a full-time job for me and Leo for almost two years now. If we actually went ahead with the whole story we'd had planned, it would have kept us busy until 2013! Having finished, of course we want to shout it from the rooftops - oh, and I just realized we have the perfect picture for that: Though I don't know exactly when or in what form the book will see the light of day, we're at least going to print up a bunch of copies for ourselves. So that's what the Hartas, Koutsis, McKenna and Morris families can expect in their stockings this year. |
Wednesday, 21 January 2009 I've had some very sad news today. A really special friend of mine, Ronnie Henthorn, passed away this morning and he'll really leave a huge hole in a lot of people's lives. I can't stop thinking about him and his lovely wife, Sylvia, so I worked on finishing the Stamp Club project we did a couple of weeks ago. This was a great project devised by Jo Pritchard, a very talented lady. I decided to go with Black and White, since it was a biggish project, thinking I'd have chance to finish it while there. It still needs some tweaking and the photos are dreadful because it was dark and gloomy by the time I'd finished. Just the way I felt, too. |
The winner of the giveaway last week was Congratulations Wendy, I hope your son enjoys the playMAT as much as Calvin does. Thank you to everyone that entered! The 28th of March marked a year and a half of Calvin. He continues to amaze us every single day with his personality and everything he knows! I put off this post until now because I wanted to wait until we'd been to his 18 Month check-up to get his stats. This blog has become his make-shift baby book, and I want to make sure I don't forget! We visited our Pediatrician this morning and he was very happy with Calvin's growth.
He's not as tall, percentage-wise, as he used to be; he's right around the 50th percentile for height, and still a string-bean (30th percentile for weight).
He's eating and sleeping like a champ so he must be growing right? Look at that kid! Definitely not a little baby anymore. That Radio Flyer scooter was mine when I was just a smidge and it's so fun to see him enjoying it. He's really just started to understand how to sit on it and scoot. Until a couple weeks ago, he'd get on, hold onto the handle bars, then stand-up and kind of waddle-walk. Then he'd get frustrated and need help getting off. When he's had enough scooting, he flips the thing over and spins the wheels.
He LOVES spinning wheels and looks like he's concentrating so hard on figuring it all out.
Maybe we have a future Physicist on our hands. |
About the Book:
Demonstrating that humanity faces an imminent global food crisis, Michael Brownlee issues a clarion call and manifesto for a revolutionary movement to localize the global food supply. The Local Food Revolution lays out a practical guide for those who hope to shape the local or regional food system and provides a blueprint for economic action. Vouchers to attend are $5 and are good for $5 off the author’s featured book or a purchase the day of the event. Vouchers can be purchased now at the store, over the phone, or at the door. Readers Guild Members can reserve seats for any in-store event. |
It is time for the A Muse Studio Challenge was time but I was not prepared for it. Let's just say that I'm all set for the next one! This time the theme is a colorful farewell to summer and there is a photo to inspire you to greatness. You are to use at least three colors in your submission. Gosh knows there certainly are plenty to chose from! For my first card I wanted to let my paper to do the talking for me and this is what I came up with. I also made this card. The scan hides it but all the polishes are sparkly! And don't laugh, I have seen every one of those colors on nails before. I think this challenge would be fun to use lots of rainbow colored glitter on! So what do you say that you slap something colorful together and join in?! The Fine Print: All papers, stamps, and ribbon by A Muse Studio. |
My wife bought me four tables for my man cave for Christmas. Then she got excited and had me open them up in mid-November. And now? Yep, I have my own LEGO table. I'm still messing around with the general set-up but suffice to say that I'll now have a lot more fodder for this blog (and hopefully I'll have some of my own creations to show off eventually as well)! |
Last night was my long night of classes. I started at 4:30 with helping teach. It’s a fun class, but the girls can be kind of crazy. I’m hoping to talk with my teacher tomorrow about what we can do together for that class. Then my Ballet 1/2 class was next. And man, can I tell you…we got worked hard!! It was a lot of repetition, especially involving relevés. The younger girls in the class were struggling with keeping their feet turned out when doing combinations, so we kept repeating everything until they did!! I don’t mind the repetition…it helps make me stronger, which I need!! My pirouettes were good. Doubles on my right….not so much on my left still. I don’t know why my body (and maybe my mind??) are scared of turning on my left. I hope to overcome this problem, but who knows. Then Ballet 2/3 came. Holy. Crap. I got worked even harder in this class. We did a lot of jump combinations and sissones (also known as scissor kicks or jumps). And these kicked my butt. Hard core. My cardio sucks. I felt like I was going to die. We worked on more jumps too. We did some grand jètes, then from second too. We then did these crazy jumps. I have no idea what they are called. But it involved a half fan kick with the front leg while your back leg did an attitude. Like all at the same time. Crazy. I attempted it, but no bueno. I couldn’t jump and do those at the same time. Maybe next time! Classes last night were exhausting. Both of my ankles are sore today from all the jumps and relevés. Cardio 1 Me 0 Tomorrow is the big day!! Me and LB are getting fitted for Gaynor’s!! I can’t wait. We’re lucky to have our teacher going with us. I like having her there. I feel comfortable and safe knowing she’s there. Sounds weird, but I just can’t explain it. Hope everyone is having a good start to their week!! 🙂 |
Use of the nursing process in psychiatry D. M. Cox (a1)
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1 Schrock, R. A. (1980) Planning nursing care for the mentally ill. Nursing Times,17 April. Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this journal to your organisation's collection. ISSN: 0140-0789
EISSN: 2514-9954
URL: /core/journals/bjpsych-bulletin |
to the "Letter to Collegebound Christians" by . All of it is so good that I really think that posting a mere excerpt would be misleading. The "Letter" reminds me of a few of the sayings of Josemaría Escrivá, stated in the typically exhortative manner of a very different personality: As a student, you should dedicate yourself to your books with an apostolic spirit, and be convinced in your heart that one hour added to another already make up — even now! — a spiritual sacrifice offered to God and profitable for all mankind, your country and your soul. |
We had a great time a the Children's Museum. It's filled with a variety of activities, but Gavin was most interested in climbing. He mentioned it as soon as we walked in. Those of us with aversions to high places... don't care for those kinds of things. But Gavin, was thrilled to give it a go. He waited in line for 30 minutes. More patient than I've seen him in a long time. As he was waiting his turn, he'd glance at me, but wouldn't smile. Each time he looked at me, I tried to get him to crack a smile... but nothing. It finally dawned on me that he was too cool to smile at his mom. Gulp. Too cool! When did he grow up and get cool? Ugh. It was more of the same as he was getting outfitted. No smile, Gavin was all business. He was a quick climber, and scampered nearly to the top, making it look so easy. I could tell he was proud of himself. I was too. It was great to see him put his all into it. To accomplish a goal. He needed that little confidence booster. Benett and Ellie kept their feet on the floor (for the most part) today... they didn't climb a two-story wall, but instead contented themselves to play in the lock & dam display. Mission 'Burn Energy' was a success. |
Frances is our hostess for the month of January. Her challenge to the It’s a special day for all Aussies today as it is ! It is on this day in 1788 that the First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove. So our challenge is Aussie related … I will give you a few options … use the colors green & gold on your card; create a beach scene (we love our beaches); use Australian Animals; Tongs (you wear on your feet btw) etc. Well, as probably could be predicted, I went with the beach theme. I had not inked up this set from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps , so this was a perfect excuse to do so. Be sure to see how the rest of the team is helping Frances in celebrating her country's national holiday by visiting the
CCEE Stampers Blog. |
I am so thankful for my experiences as I embarked on my journey as a young adult. There are some memories I wish I could replay everyday for the rest of my life and there are others I wish I could erase completely. All of my memories have so far helped to shape me into who I am today.
To my 18years old self, I have these for you;
Before knowing others, you have to know yourself. Making mistakes is good, that’s how you learn. Be kind with yourself and others. Try to do as many new things as you can. Learn to listen and practice patience because patience is key. It is important that you learn how to forgive. And this is a blessing. Harboring resentment against another will only hurt you and hinder your ability to function in your every day life. Do not let it have a control over your life. Appreciate your parents because they know what they’re talking about. If mum nags so much about grooming yourself, tidy your room, bath regularly,brush your teeth regularly, scrub under your arm properly to avoid foul smell and bumps. Please do, it’s normal for her to nag at you for she means well for you. I’ve too often brushed over their advice and as I look back, I’m grateful I did most of it and don’t regret a thing. Remember, do not take people or things for granted because not all things or people stick around forever. Enjoy and appreciate them while it lasts. There is much more to the universe than yourself so don’t be self absorbed to avoid words like “I wish I knew”.
Study and work hard, it’s so cool to be smart don’t ever give up that for anyone. Did you know that being smart is the new sexy?
Be self confident but not filled with pride. Sweetheart, do not be afraid to speak to a large crowd, focus on your qualities and not your flaws. A confident woman is irresistible. Always remember to pray without ceasing. Pray with faith for everlasting happiness and joy, pray for good health and wisdom to be successful, pray for a forgiving heart and pray for unending love. Things will get better, don’t break a sweat. If it’s wrong, be brave enough to do what’s right. Encourage yourself to take more chances and accept your flaws, since you’ll learn a lot from them. Also trust your instincts and do what you like for a living with advice from mum and dad. Get super equipped with skills that will help you land a home run in life. Your future self will thank you later. You will grow into your own skin and discover who you really are. And then you will own that identity. You will be just fine. Even though now you’re okay where you are. So breathe, keep doing your best and enjoy being You. Love from your older self 😘 😘 PS; pardon my not so professional pictures. But I hope you love the colorful ones I chose from my gallery. |
The other night I had the pleasure of sitting down for steak florentine, caprese salad, rosemary potatoes and pecan pie with my boss friend and his family. We drank wine, laughed, and talked about cycling for long enough to make anyone not named Lance cringe. Largely due to the people at the table (two people in the leadership space, the head of school, a wellness consultant, a man that has started several companies and another that seemed to know something about everything), we talked technology, leadership, obsession with power, and flexible work masked under the umbrella of general questions like, “so, what do you actually do?” The question that sparked the most debate (directed at me when I was talking about being in the office roughly one day a week for the last 8 years) was “do you feel connected?” I’ve worked from home for almost a decade now. It started when I relocated to Halifax and has continued even now that I’m back in Ontario within commuting distance to the Toronto office (although, if you listen to people selling houses out this way, Buffalo is within commuting distance now too). At first, it was out of necessity; we couldn’t afford to live in Vancouver after we decided to start a family, so we had to move. Since my job involved countless meeting with SAP teams in Germany, gaining those extra four hours also made sense from a business point-of-view. Remote work was not a common occurrence at the time. SAP was very much a work 1.0 organization. As a result, I felt that any concerns or issues I had – be them psychological, productivity, work-life balance or even simple ergonomics – were best left unsaid. Remote working was an experiment and if too many variables were out of whack, it might mean that the experiment wasn’t worth the effort. The first few years were somewhat of a struggle. Although I am an introvert, I’m very social. Within days, I missed the banter and camaraderie of the office. I missed being able to walk over to someone’s desk to quickly clarify ID questions or release dates. I missed going for morning coffees. My wife joked that she’d know how isolated my day was as soon as she drove into the driveway, because she’d see my head pop up into my office window as soon as I heard the car (insert image of lovable pet dog waiting at the door with a ball in its mouth). While that isolation wasn’t a huge surprise, I was completely overwhelmed by how quickly the line between home and work blurred and eventually disappeared completely. My day became longer; I was working 5 hours on European time and often 5 hours on Vancouver time and was quickly becoming a slave to my BlackBerry. I was connected to work for about 18 hours a day, but began to realize I wasn’t connecting to anyone from my team. I began to feel like an island (to the point, one of my friends actually called the basketball I dribbled in my office “Wilson”), like a sinking ship. I wanted to keep my job, but was the impact on my health and wellness worth it? I was unhappy, and unfortunately when you work at home, often that means your frustration stays there. I knew something had to change. So how did I start connecting with people? Like any project manager/instructional designer, I made a list of tasks/goals I needed to accomplish to be successful in this new environment. Some were helpful, others were not. I looked at the spreadsheet last night, and pulled the ones that I felt were most beneficial to me. Be deliberate in your social interactions When I talk to organizations about moving away from the office, the first recommendation I offer is for all employees to formalize their social interactions. We are all busy and going from meeting to meeting, or multi-tasking through a call doesn’t mean we are connecting with our fellow employees. I started turning on my Web cam during calls. Even if I was the only person that did so, it kept me focused. Knowing that other people would see my attention drifting or my energy dropping was enough to keep my focus. I scheduled virtual coffees. I blocked 15 minutes to have non-work calls with people I no longer saw in the office. We talked about our kids, our hobbies and our lives, but we didn’t talk about work. You might read this and think it’s weird to be so formal, but this routine quickly became habit. I didn’t need to schedule conversations with colleagues, because we stayed in contact. More importantly, I wasn’t only talking to them when I needed something. I can honestly say, these virtual relationships were as authentic as any I developed in the office. Ask for help and listen to people When the topic of virtualization comes up, undoubtedly someone suggests that you have to ensure leaders are adequately tooled to manage and lead a team that is scattered across multiple time zones (guilty). We all talk of team norms and how to interact with people. The thing is, it’s not just about leading in a virtual world, it’s about surviving. Until you sit alone in a room for eight hours a day, you never know what to expect. The lack of human contact is unsettling at times, but there are so many other factors you have to consider. Is your chair going to give you proper support? Do you have a door you can close if need be? Are you still eating properly? Do you get enough fresh air and exercise? Can you still hit deadlines? Do you feel like you can ask for help? I relied on my own experiences to lead others making the transition, but in the beginning, I relied on the advice of anyone that had already gone through the process and found their comfort zone. Remember that thing called the phone Emails. IM. Commenting. Likes. Forwards. Re-shares. These are easy ways to send approval and information back and forth that we all rely on each and every day. It becomes almost too easy to get data without any human interaction. I forced myself to pick up the phone and call colleagues when I had a question. There were two reasons to do this. The first was productivity. Ignoring an email or question in an forum is easy. We all do it and will continue you to do it. How many times have people told you they were in email hell or trying to get through their inbox and would reply as soon as they could? I found people were more likely to respond to a call or even voice message, knowing that if I took the time to call it was probably important. The second was clarity and connections. As my inbox got more and more cluttered and I was finding information in document repositories or wiki pages, I noticed that I was making assumptions on everything from tone to fact. I would scan an email quickly and assume that I knew exactly what my colleague intended. I would find a document, and not analyze the history or understand it’s context and evolution. Yes, these are my own personal issues, but they are not unique. The easier it is to find “some” information, the easier it is to assume it’s the right information and that you understand it. Calling someone up gave me the chance to hear them speak, ask questions in a safe environment (no one wants to look stupid online) and really understand the problem and the proposed solution. Work with my leader, not for my leader Your manager needs to drive results and productivity, but they are also their to help you develop. If you accept the fact you have less contact with your boss if you work remotely, you accept the fact you are mitigating development and coaching opportunities. I was lucky. My director and manager both supported the move and had already given me the autonomy to do my job and ask for help when I needed it. That meant we could focus on my development. Scheduling regular meetings, quick check-ins and random morning calls when my boss was on his morning commute all helped bridge the gap of distance and helped me find my strengths. I never had to sacrifice development for productivity, but many do. If you want to continue to be fulfilled at work when you never go to the office, you can’t put your career behind your life. If you do, both will suffer. Set guidelines for you, not just your team It’s easy to write down your normal hours, your preferred methods of communication and even delegate backups to cover your work when you are away, but if you don’t follow the same rules why bother? If you answer emails at 10PM from your mobile, well, people will not only keep sending them they will expect a reply when they do. If you don’t use your vacation to recharge and still call into meetings when you are off, you will burn out and the cracks will start to show. Work / Life balance is not a reality anymore; we are always connected and accessible but if we want to continue to be productive and engaged, we need to find a way to unplug and disconnect. I started taking bike rides, going for runs or gettnig groceries in the middle of the day. If I was going to work until 9, why not get things done during “standard” business hours to minimize the stress of not having enough time to get things done because I was always working. It also helped my wife understand what I could and couldn’t not do so she didn’t feel the burden was all hers. Don’t let location be the excuse for not doing something This one was huge. It was easy to accept that I couldn’t be on a project team because I was so far away. I couldn’t help plan launches, releases or courses because I’d need to be online at late hours or wouldn’t be able to interact with the team. The thing is, technology can help us connect with anyone, anywhere. If you set guidelines and remain flexible, location will not determine success or failure. One I started using that as an excuse to not collaborate, I began to feel more connected and my team started to trust me with more and more work. These are just a few of the lessons I learned over the last 9 years. Hopefully they help you as you start to find your rhythm in your virtual workplace. If you have any tips, I’d love to hear them. |
Living Now People pass away. You will, too. When someone passes away, you’ll have to deal with grief, and guilt, and all the other natural human emotions that happen. You’ll wonder if you mattered to them, if you made them happy, if you brought them joy, if your life improved theirs and if they were grateful to know you. So today, matter to the people you care about. Make them happy, bring them joy, improve their lives and let them know that you are grateful to spend this precious, fleeting time with them. Author of, Happiness in Your Life - Book One: Karma, the book that you can read in a night but it will change the way you see the world, forever. |
North Dakota Education & Disabilities News News and events from around the state on education, disabilities, and parenting, including the latest from our statewide partners. Latest Headlines Is your agency hosting an event you'd like Pathfinder to share on our website with our families? Have a conference, workshop, or fun event that you feel would be beneficial… May Is Better Hearing and Speech Month, and to recognize this we would like to highlight a few sites and resources. Independence Inc. is launching Community Leadership Academy (CLA). The program provides an interactive training experience for people with disabilities interested in enhancing personal leadership skills and creating change in the… |
Wonderfully beneficial acupuncturing, today. Got the usual things fixed, got some very unusual things needled; things with very mystical names, names that portend momentous changes. Perhaps the first momentous change... has already occurred. Months ago, I bought an archery target, so I could continue to practice with the bow and arrow without having to journey to/brave the local range. It has sat in my room for those many, may months, because it has been so @$#$ing cold outside. Suddenly, here in Southern California, it's warm. Delightfully warm. Magically warm, even. So, after wending my way home from the doctor/acupuncturing, I hauled the target out of its box, put it on a table, and for the first time in I really don't want to think about how long, I took out the bow and arrow. And hauled all of those things, plus a drumset stool so I'd have somewhere to perch while drawing the bow, out to the back yard. Man, was that hard. Took a long, long time, too. But I did it. Eventually; and "somehow." Nearly nastily injured myself simply stringing the bow. There are several ways to string a Japanese bow, and they're all very easy and straightforward. When the archer is able-bodied, that is... It wasn't a case of "the bow tried to push me over," it was even nastier; I put the bow in the position that one puts the bow, and one's self, and... the repeated "nearly falling over and injuring myself by falling nastily on the concrete patio" immediately began. Well, I finally got the damned thing strung. Doing the traditional hassetsu, the eight steps of kyudo, are hard enough when you're not doing them for the first time from a chair (for which they really weren't designed). Very strange, trying to adapt/reinvent the form to be used from a chair. And clearly, my "bow-drawing muscles" are not even vaguely close to what they used to be, simply drawing the bow was much harder than I remember it ever being. And there was a lot about this shot that wasn't even close to "correct." But... still... Yes, I shoot from close range and not from any real distance, but... it could have gone much worse than it did. Like "not hit the target at all," for example, which has happened to me more than once while shooting from a standing, non-M.S.-accessorized, position. The world is very different, now that I can go out into it and not regret having done so. That may change once the July/August triple-digit-heat kicks in, but still... Simply being able to go outside, and enjoy being outside, and to do something that matters outside... this is wonderful. The Japanese phrase "issha, zetsumei" is often translated as "one shot, one life," but more literally, it means "one shot, then breathe one's last breath." Or more succinctly, "One shot, then die." Why I somehow feel like I need permission to live like this, I do not know. But today, I feel like I have received it. Kyudo in the back yard. A wonderful way to participate in the renewal of the season of the ; in the special magic of springtime. |
Day 3 started a lot smoother than day 1. I've forgotten what guide I fished with already(i'm terrible with names) and my partner for the day was River.I had a great time. We launched at Lake Fork Marina and ran straight over to the dam and fished schoolies. The bass turned on but never really stayed on top for more than a few seconds and the fish were kind of spread out, not grouped together like usual. We threw Spooks, lipless cranks, flukes, and swimbaits. It started semi slow, I hooked up to a few throwing a Tru-tungsten 4" swimbait. I finally put that down and decided that i'd really rather see topwater bites. I caught 2 or 3 on topwater including one that hit it first to kill it and missed it. I twitched it twice and BAM it came back and knocked the bait completely out of the water. Quite a sight, it wasn't huge but it was a nice 3lber. After the topwater action kind of quit we made a run over to some trees over in Penson bay(where Shannon and I fished during the fly fishing tournament) and flipped jigs into stumps. We didn't catch any but we had a few hits. Another guide's boat broke down so we had to go get the campers from their boat and load them and all of our stuff onto ours and run back a little early so we came in about 30 minutes early. No pictures today, but nothing really big was caught anyway Later on in the day we toured Bayou tackle. They make some really cool stuff. They showed us around the shop and again I bought a lot of stuff including some of their swim jigs and some swimbaits. Go check out their FB page I actually got to go night fishing that night. I got to go with Danny Gove, the camp director, and a few other campers. We shot over to Chaney creek by the dam again after schoolies. They popped up and we caught the heck out of them for about 15 minutes then they went back down. Kept fishing around and caught a few more, they never really came back up but it was still fun to get out again. it was HOT that night, still over 100 at sundown. No pics today so i'm going to throw this random pic of a dock up. Just because. |
Our Vision is Jesus. Our Mission is People. Our Cause is Grace. Sunday Services each week we meet at 3 different Times: what's on at st john's? Coming up in our life: Share in food and trivia from around the world! Learn about Mercy Ships, an international charity which currently operates the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world. Catch up on our current sermon series Current Sermon Series: Getting into shape One of the key values of our culture is individualism — the idea that I’m my own master; that I get to write my own story. What matters is my choices, and no one else can decide for me. How does the gospel speak to this aspect of our culture? In particular, how is it possible to live out Paul’s instruction in Colossians 3 to “admonish one another” — to tell one another how to live! — in the light of the individualism we hold so dear? Secularism is the big story of the culture around us, and it is made up of several chapters. This week we look at what one author famously called ‘the triumph of the therapeutic’, and contrast it with an astonishing gospel capacity, to ‘boast in our sufferings’. Why was the cross so important to Jesus? And what does it say about us, that Jesus dies for us? Explore the cross of Christ this Easter. |
nbn, the company building and operating Australia’s national broadband network, has selected the Coriant CloudWave Optics solution for its existing nationwide optical transport backbone network.
The nbn transcontinental optical transport backbone (known as the Transit Network) spans over 60,000 kilometers of fiber and is built upon the Coriant hiT 7300 Packet Optical Transport Platform. The Transit Network allows nbn to connect the different nbn Multi Technology Mix access nodes to points where the traffic is transferred to service providers, known as Point of Interconnect (POI). The access nodes are the modern equivalent of a local telephone exchange and can be located many thousands of kilometers from their corresponding POI, of which there are 121.
Coriant said the introduction of its CloudWave Optics technology within the existing hiT 7300 network will provide nbn the ability to leverage the industry’s latest advances in high-speed, low latency optical networking, including per-wavelength transmission at speeds of 200G and beyond. “Coriant’s CloudWave solution will help us in scaling the nbn and connecting 8 million happy homes by 2020. Maximizing the performance of our fiber optic infrastructure is critical as we expand the capacity of the nbn network throughout Australia and enable residential and business customers to take full advantage of fast and reliable broadband,” said Peter Ryan, Chief Network Engineering Officer at nbn.
Deployment of the Coriant flexi-rate solution, which is scheduled to begin in 2017, will target high-traffic routes within the nationwide nbn backbone network.
“Keeping pace with end-user traffic demands while lower operating costs is a challenge shared by network operators and cloud providers around the world,” said Petri Markkanen, Managing
Director, Asia Pacific, Coriant. “Our CloudWave Optics solution provides these operators a powerful toolkit to seamlessly scale to higher speeds while delivering proven ROI through lower power, reduced space, and improved reach performance.” |
Caitlin Bonavita Hey there, my name is Caitlin! I’m a junior at Xavier University studying Land, Farming, and Community with a minor in Peace and Justice Studies. I also hold a certificate in Sustainable Urban Agricultural Management. I’m obsessed with goats, local food, and waste management. Outside of school and work I can be found either eating ice cream, gardening, or rummaging through a thrift shop. As Imago’s Communications and Administration Intern I look forward to engaging with our audience to educate, invite, and address community resources and events! Beth Brown I am the Branching Out Educator at Imago and have worked here since June of 2017, previously as a Summer Education Intern. My past experience as an elementary school teacher coupled with plenty of experience in the outdoor industry has led me to pursue a career in environmental education. I could not be happier to be working in the woods in the city that I love. Chris Clements I’ve been at Imago since 1999, when I came to the Ohio River valley to lead Imago’s youth education programs. Since then, Imago has been a huge part of my life, and I am so grateful to be in a community filled with intention, creativity, kindness and fun. People often ask me what my favorite part of my job is. I’d say that it’s that I get to be with amazing people every single day. From our staff, our volunteers, our board, our community members, and the people that we serve, it is all an incredible treat. Oh, and I have a nature preserve right outside my office door, that’s nice too. Laurie Nichols After working with Pleasant Ridge Montessori for the last two years as a district employee, I am excited to join the incredible team at Imago to continue to grow the outdoor education program. I have been working in nature education since I graduated college at the University of Cincinnati with a degree in biology. After working with the Cincinnati Nature Center and with Great Parks of Hamilton County, I am excited to take my love of nature to the school that I love. Jim Schenk |
Over the weekend of 20/21 October 2012 I was in Brussels to see beat Racing Metro at the on the North West edge of the city. While queueing to get into the metro station after the match, I spotted through the gloom and the security fence the silver balls of the landmark Efforts at taking photographs were a complete waste of time. I tried, but the pictures never made it off the camera. Yesterday on a crisp winter afternoon, without a cloud in the sky, I had the opportunity to rectify the photographic omission. I didn't actually go up the 'building' as I had been forewarned that the top sphere was closed for maintenance. I was also a little tight on time. Having just looked at the website, I may have to go back again! It is a good thing that Brussels is not on the other side of the World from where I am... It really was a lovely day, provided one dressed appropriately! |
My friend Lisa at hosts a monthly before and after party...post your "before" pics at the beginning of the month and your "after" pics of the same project at the end of the month. I have lots of things that I want to accomplish this month. Tops on the list is finishing my daughter Mary's room. I also have a much less fun project that needs to be finished and I am using Lisa's party as motivation. One of my house goals for 2012 is to repaint my living, dining, kitchen, and hallways. So far, I've finished the front hall. I need to get cracking on this project. It bugs me to look at half-painted walls! There is no way that I will be able to finish all of the painting this month, but I would like to finish the walls, trim and maybe door in my back hall. Here's part of the area: I need to do some general beautifying in this area too: maybe replace the rug, clean up the bulletin board, do something with the doggie door, etc. I'm also considering painting the door out to the the garage (the one with the doggie door) black to match my other exterior doors, like this one. But then would I have to paint the door on the right (into the laundry room) and the door on the left (into the pantry) black as well? What do you think? What are you up to this month? |
Well lots of chatting in Oz about getting a dog. We figured we need something to ground us for the next while kids head through high school. So here she is....... Named after a favourite surf spot and weekend destination. Great memories of early morning and sunset family surfs. We got Noosa at about 11 weeks and have been busy with puppy training. |
This is what the dog found when sniffing around in the kitchen garden, right under the parsley. Damn it, rabbit! There are at least six kits by my count. Hoping mamma is not one of the three recent casualties (think the hawks got 'em). No wonder we have so many rabbits around here. Guess I won't be replanting this veggie bed anytime soon. Could be worse - so glad it's not a rat nest!!! |
Before our departure from Red Bay, AL we enjoyed an evening at a very popular hard to find locally owned restaurant that only opens on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. We followed our friends in our car because we were unable to find the restaurant a couple of times in the past. How could this be? Highway 25 - Towards Tupelo, MS There are no signs/directions. Our directions were to "Go to the dead end of the road outside Red Bay, turn left, go down Highway 25 about 10 miles until you see a building that looks like a house, next to a church.... and it's off the road on the right." It isn't in a large community and you might call it a settlement. This tower could be another landmark to find
Reeves Fish and Steakhouse! The only way you know you have arrived
Reeves Fish and Steakhouse To find true Mississippi home cooking go to Reeves Fish and Steakhouse where you will be fortunate to meet people from Fulton, Belmont, Red Bay and many other places who travel a distance to enjoy the fried catfish, steaks, chicken and frog legs. ( Did I mention hushpuppies?) Every weekend about 600 to 700 people look forward to eating delicious fresh food in , in Mississippi, just across the Alabama State Line. Menu - Reeves Fish and Steakhouse Reeves Fish and Steakhouse Menu Before Leon Reeves realized his life long dream of opening a restaurant, the family had a reputation of being very hard and dedicated workers, especially in the woodworking field. In 1982, Leon and his wife, Charlene, opened a restaurant starting out small. Leon cooked fish the way he understood, and folks loved it. Did I mention the hushpuppies? When Leon passed away, his son Gary continued the tradition of providing good fresh food at a reasonable price, and it's no wonder people come from all over when it opens. Front Door Entrance
We didn't know most people enter and leave through the back door! Even with the restaurant in an active mode, Gary works full-time at in Red Bay. Gary credits the success of the restaurant to his faithful employees and customers. Charlene still works and several employees have been faithfully working for Reeves for over 15 years. One employee, Tammy Dill, has been working for over 26 years. This is definitely a family experience filled with local pride and spirit. Our culinary experience was well worth the trip on Highway 25 to Reeves Seafood and Steakhouse. We arrived early and there were plenty of tables available; however, when we were ready to leave there were few spots available. How did this place fill up so fast?! No Reservations Necessary - Sit where you will be comfortable A delicious salad bar complete with homemade croutons
Reeves Fish and Steakhouse We've been told Tiffin employees frequently get off work and drive straight to Reeves Fish and Steakhouse as it gets crowded after 5:00 pm. Now that we have been shown the correct way to eat Mississippi catfish (and their delicious hushpuppies), we will return to Reeves Fish and Steakhouse the next time we are in the Red Bay area. Old Friends - New Friends
We always gather around a table and usually food is involved! Our old friends, Steve and Karen Fischer from Virginia Dave and Nancy Washburn
Our new friends from Oklahoma New Tiffin friends - Randy and Pam Warner from Virginia |
Remember the episode of when Jeremy and James got into an argument about the existence of the Mitsubishi Chariot Word has it that in the next series, all three presenters will turn Buddhist and test-drive different schools of Buddhism to see whether the Mahayana or Hinayana branch provides the best combination of road handling and power under the hood. in a challenge to lure children out of a burning building Here an earlier Top Gear presenter explores the history of Tantra practice: , you noddies," tigris pointed out. Reason for high centre of gravity At this point AK and I remembered an appointment at the and left the office in high dudgeon, a reasonably priced family vehicle if it were not for its tendency to heel over when cornering too quickly. |
The bad news is, no more beautiful summer days for any of us in the Midwest area of the USA. But for me it meant packing up the Rust-Tex dye studio on the deck...sigh...here is a picture of how it looked after the last load was removed to the garage for winter storage. I can be as messy as I want to be. I won't have to be careful not to get water on the floor and flakes of rust all over the place. There is a floor drain and I won't be using the laundry room sink There is a hook where I can hang up my Rust-Tex lab coat. You know, the one with the Rust-Tex logo over the pocket Here is a picture of it already hanging there waiting for me put it on when I try to carve out a place for a table from this area of the basement, which is just outside the bathroom. |
USTFCCCA News & Notes Schmidt and Christensen To Present Middle Distance Talks at USTFCCCA Convention Veteran coaches and clinicians Scott Christensen and Al Schmidt will present clinic sessions at the USTFCCCA convention in San Antonio covering the middle distance events. Schmidt’s session will focus on the 800 meters while Christensen will discuss the development of the Under 20 year old miler. The deadline for early registration for the convention is November 30th. Al Schmidt – Mississippi State University
Regarded and respected nationwide as an authority on endurance running and training, Al Schmidt has led the Mississippi State Bulldogs since 1988. nd women’s track teams. Since his hiring on Oct. 22, 1988, Schmidt has parlayed his 37 years of collegiate coaching experience into many individual and team accomplishments for MSU, both on and off of the track. In his previous 20 + seasons, Schmidt has produced 39 all-Americans and 35 SEC champions. Most notable was Tiffany McWilliams, the 2003 & 2004 NCAA Champion at 1500 meters, setting an NCAA championship record of 4:06.75 in the process. McWilliams was also the 2004 indoor champion in the mile. Schmidt has spent the past couple of decades as an educator as well, serving as the Chairman of the USATF Coaching Education Program during which time he developed and taught the Level 1 and Level 2 Endurance curriculum. Schmidt currently serves as the Endurance Representative on the Advisory Board of the USTFCCCA Track & Field Academy. Scott Christensen – Stillwater High School (MN)
Scott Christensen has been the boys head cross country and head track coach at Stillwater High School in Minnesota since 1981. During that period Stillwater has won nine state titles and has been ranked by The Harrier five different years in the National Top 10 High School Rankings. In 1997 Stillwater was named the National High School Champions in cross country. Since 1995, five different Stillwater milers have captured Minnesota State 1600 meter titles. Since 2003, four different Stillwater alumni have run sub four minutes for the mile. That list includes: Luke Watson, Sean Graham, Jake Watson, and Ben Blankenship. Christensen worked 13 years as a lead instructor in the USATF Level II Endurance Schools from 1997-2010. He was USATF Chairman of Endurance Education from 1999-2010. In 2003 he served as the USA Junior Team Leader to the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland and in 2008 served as the USA Senior Team Leader to the IAAF Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland. |
A few good habits will carry you a long way, said the master to his top student. They’ll get you through some tough times and set you up for consistent success. They'll make you a pacesetter." The student asked what a pacesetter is. "Well sometimes you're in a position to lead and sometimes you're not. But you're always in a position to be a pacesetter." Every student trains hard and does good work said the master, his student was perplexed. After a moment, the master spoke again. "You need to be different in a way that doesn't detract from the others efforts, but allows you to make an even greater contribution. Are you helping students that are junior to you, or do you volunteer to do privates for the leadership team? You must seek ways to contribute. Like Mr. Zigler says “when you help others get what they need and want, you will always get what you need, want and deserve. The next habit I want you to internalize is First in and last out which means you put in more effort and work harder than anyone else -- and not just busy work, but a meaningful, higher level of contribution. Get to work, school-- or meetings, presentations, leadership team meeting sessions -- early, and don't be the first to leave. Those times, early and late, are often when some of the most meaningful contributions are made. When we practice Tae Kwon-Do it means being the first one to show up for practice and the last to go home. It means doing more to prepare and develop than your competition. It means putting in more meaningful effort to produce a better end result. Say to yourself before going to bed each night the first thing out of my mouth will be something positive when I wake up. It really doesn’t matter if you are alone or not, just say aloud something positive to yourself or to who ever you see first thing in the morning. |
20 miles - 2:59:30 - Ave. HR 130. +2,480', -1,000'.
Did a 13 mile loop this morning w/Tima in 1:53 with average HR 126. Came right home and jumped on the mill for 7 miles @ 4% @ 9:30 pace, average HR 136. There was only about 20 minutes between runs. Took mile splits on the mill for HR data. 123,130,137,139,139,141,143.
Felt pretty good on mile 19, was even asking my self if I was getting stronger as this run went on. Then right at the start of mile 20 is when reality hit. Didn't feel too bad, but felt nothing like I had just 2 minutes prior. Over-all I'm very pleased with the weekend. I did ask myself a few times today if the pace/effort I'm choosing is too slow/easy. Should I try 5-10 seconds faster? Or, 5-10 bmp higher? The reason I ask is because I am NOT a well trained marathoner at the moment. I believe I was in 2003/4 and know that I'm not near that level of fitness right now. Furthermore, I'm attempting a 40 miler, a marathon and a half in Feb. I came into this training thinking that the milage was going to be harder than it has been so I've been going pretty easy just making sure I can do it and not suffer any injuries. I think if I want to find the spot where HR goes up and pace goes down I need to run these long runs a little faster. Or, I need to start incresing my 20 mile run much sooner than planned. Maybe the pace effort is right and I am just more capable than I thought of running further. There has to be a fine line where I'm getting the most out of my long runs, but not going too hard. I was hoping to do back to back 20's by the end of November. The weekend long runs have gone so well I'm a good 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule. It this rate I should be doing a 20/20 in 4 weeks, Nov. 7/8. If the trend continues this will give me a good chance to increase the 20 mile run much sooner. |
Suddenly, I am thinking of introduce a friend of mine in stock market, ! He is one of the most respectful friend I ever met. Even he is young, he have achieve great success in stock market. Fot the past 4 years, he has generated compuded annual growth rate of 77.8%. I knew him through the competition. However, our style in stock market are completely different. I am long term investor while he is short term speculator. There is no much common topic that we can talk as we are in two different direction. So, we didn't really chat at the beginning. a gathering 2 years ago . He came Penang and we gathered up. He shared about his knowledge and I was impressed. Besides mastering the Technical Analysis, he has also developed some unique technical indicators that work exceptionally well in Malaysia market. His models had allowed him to tap into opportunities that arise in some of the most sophisticated segments of the market. As he is quite an expert, I felt a little nervous to meet him. But then, I felt surprised. He is extremely friendly. So, that gathering end up to be one of the greatest investment gathering I ever had in my life. Since then, we chatted with each other more frequently. I learned quite a lot of thing from him. This year, he launched his website called to share his thought on stock market. He is also conducting classes to teach people how to trade in stock market. |
I visited a Chinese restaurant but only last night (no names shall be named, other than Geraldine and that’s only because I quite like it) and enjoyed a meal with my family. And you could say that I was stupid, adventurous, childish, curious or any number of other equally descriptive terms. The short and long of it is that basically I ate a fish’s stomach. As it approached approximately 5 a.m. I was wholly punished. There was some bizarre combination of cramps, sweating, hallucination, falling down stairs and forgetting things. All together odd. And it is certain that had a certain rather lovely companion of mine not been around I might have made it down the other set of stairs and damaged something of some importance. In the morning when I was feeling much better he noted, still half asleep, ‘none of it is worth anything compared to your health’ (or there abouts, I have no doubt that I will be corrected). So this got me to thinking. Since I’d previously pretty much measured health per say as functionality if the functions that are being carried out in order to identify, define and be healthy somehow hinder that health, i.e. are risky, then how can we ever be healthy. After much consideration the best I could come up with was that health is the potential to do things which could well hinder that health but necessarily choosing to do them, but it is the comfortable feeling of having the option. But I may we wrong. Conceal everything of value I saw this sign a few weeks back, they have been popping up at various sites around Manchester. It strikes me as a little troubling. Why should we consider the thieves and concealment the necessary part of society and not the education to prevent the thievery? I may put up some signs, ‘stop idiots, educate people.’ And could someone tell me why this woman is under the impression her legs need shaving? |
I travel quite a lot ( ) and believe me, I've seen worse toilets than this in a hotel room: Toño & I experienced something completely different: The toilet had a remote to control the water yet and to adjust the temperature of the water and then of the fan that blow dried whatever got wet. This was not even the best gadget this room had to offer. There was also a If only they had covered the mattress with Egypt cotton sheets... |
so a few more things, so we're all caught up for christmas ). we've been really busy, but mostly playing around. here's a picture from a week or so ago, it's just so easy for me to take more pictures when paul's home, and i wanted to record rayna's 'mary poppins' outfit, that's what she calls this dress (i especially liked her knee socks). he loves the camera, and what can i say, obviously the camera loves him too! we also had a fabulous visit to the zoo last saturday with daddy... unfortunately i left the camera in the car (. it was really one of the best visits we've had in a LONG time, partly because we haven't been going as much with that miserably hot summer and then school starting for afton, and partly because paul got ot come with us, but the animals were entertaining, the kids got to see most everything they wanted, and the zoo wasn't crowded at all (it was predicted to be cold, but it turned out to be a nice warm day). we had an especially great time in the reptile house, and playing at the bug house... of all the weird things for my "cutsey little girlies." we also enjoyed seeing an eagle eating some little furry thing, and an owl feathering a small bird... sounds so much worse when i write it down... suffice it to say, the things i would have taken pictures of would not have involved any of that, but lots of silly smiles, petting little goats, watching the flamingoes, and maybe crawling through the tunnles with the naked mole rats... oh, and afton and paul held a few birds in the children's aviary. we sure have enjoyed having that zoo pass, though i think we're ready to let it expre for a little while, it's a lot harder to get all the way out there with school... maybe we'll try somethign else next year! merry christmas! |
Title: Kitchen Privileges
Author: Mary Higgins Clark
pages: 207
Date published: 2002
Genre: Nonfiction (memoir)
Challenge(s): July Book Blowout, In Their Shoes Reading Challenge, 888 (hardbacks on my shelf) “My first conscious memory is of being three years old and looking down at my new baby brother with a mixture of curiosity and distress.” Synopsis: Even as a young girl, growing up in the Bronx, Mary Higgins Clark knew she wanted to be a writer, The gift of storytelling was a part of her Irish ancestry, so it followed naturally that she would later use her sharp eye, keen intelligence, and inquisitive nature to create stories. Along with all Americans, citizens of the Bronx suffered during the Depression. So when Mary's father died, her mother opened the family home to boarders and placed a discreet sign next to the front door that read, "Furnished Rooms. Kitchen Privileges." The family's struggle to make ends meet; her days as a scholarship student in an exclusive girls academy; the death of her beloved older brother in World War II; her marriage to Warren Clark; writing stories at the kitchen table; finally selling the first one for one hundred dollars, after six years and forty rejections -- all these experiences figure into Kitchen Privileges. Her husband's untimely death left her a widowed mother of five young children. Determined to care for her family and to make a career for herself, she wrote scripts for a radio show. In her spare time she began writing novels. Where Are The Children? became an international bestseller and launched her career. When asked if she might consider giving up writing for a life of leisure, Mary has replied, "Never. To be happy for a year, win the lottery. To be happy for life, do what you love." (from B&N.com). Let’s give people a variety of opinions! If you've reviewed this book (or a book by this author), leave me a link to your review in the comments and I'll link to your review, too! |
Bookbus returns to Dunedin Streets Buses will be out and about on Dunedin streets again from Thursday January 17th 2008. The 2007 timetable will still apply with buses found on their regular runs each day starting: Thursday Jan 17th
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This is the first post in a little while (up-to-my-eyes lately) - anyway, let's get down to business. Today (like many other days) I find myself wiring the four basic functions of persistent storage – Create, Read, Update and Delete (CRUD) – into my ASP.NET forms application. It's integral to what we do as developers...but it's tedious...really tedious...and so rather than bob along in this arid sea of tranquillity I wondered if there was something that could do this for me? The answer is 'yes' there probably is – but that might not be as flexible, simple (or half as much fun) as rolling my own little ASP.NET and SQL Script Generator. What I wanted was a really simple way of typing in the field names, selecting the desired controls and having the create table, the stored procedures and the ASP.NET controls all created for me; then I wanted to be able to save the definition and load it all back in again if I needed to make any changes or if I wanted to come back to it later - and I wanted to do all of this in under a day! Thankfully, developing a CRUD ASP.NET and SQL script generator turned out to be a whole lot easier than I imagined, by catering to ASP.NET with a dash of XML and a sprinkle of XSLT it was baked in next to no time. The interface allows you to input a table name and select a template (this points to an XSLT template to create the output). Clicking on the 'Load Sample' link below the 'Definition' heading will load a sample definition along with its output. Once you enter a definition into the grid, either by typing it in or by uploading one that you created earlier, just select a template and click on the generate files button to see the SQL and ASP.NET created automatically; then simply execute the SQL script against your database and copy the ASP.NET into your page. This works by converting your input into XML and then translating it using XSLT templates in just a few lines of code; the same XML methods allow you to download or upload the XML description and regenerate your scripts just as easily. You can use this online at download the source code and add your own templates. Give it a go, it's saved me oodles of time already. Demo View a live demo at Code Download the Source Code |
Evaluation Guide for Mobile App Security Testing Identifying, evaluating, and deploying mobile app security testing solutions --- Get an Alert when The Register has something new about ...
Check the boxes & select Email or Atom/RSS Feed. What do you need to look for when identifying, evaluating, and implementing mobile app security testing solutions? Choosing the right solution depends on a number of factors. This guide shares key concepts regarding testing coverage, reporting, process, and ROI, as well as key vendor questions to help evaluate technical capabilities essential to mobile app security testing. . We'll also email you a copy of the paper. |
Voters overwhelmingly support allowing undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to stay in the country, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, placing President Donald Trump’s decision to wind down the controversial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program at odds with public opinion.
A majority of voters, 58 percent, think these undocumented immigrants, also known as Dreamers, should be allowed to stay and become citizens if they meet certain requirements — a sentiment that goes well beyond the existing DACA program. Another 18 percent think they should be allowed to stay and become legal residents, but not citizens. Only 15 percent think they should be removed or deported from the country.
Support for allowing these immigrants to remain in the U.S. spans across party lines: 84 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of independents and 69 percent of Republicans think they should stay.
“Given the deeply polarizing nature of immigration issues, the broad support for allowing Dreamers to stay in the United States is notable,” said Morning Consult co-founder and Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp. “Just 24 percent of Republicans, 12 percent of independents and 8 percent of Democrats say that Dreamers should be deported.”
The same holds true for Trump’s electoral base. Two-thirds of self-identified Trump voters think the Dreamers should stay; only 26 percent think they should be deported.
Among voters who say they strongly approve of Trump’s job performance as president, 60 percent think these immigrants should be allowed to stay, compared with only 33 percent who think they should be deported. |
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I don't think our community (or society) understands the concept of sacred. I think it's something that even those of us who talk about it a lot, can lose touch with what it means - to ourselves, to others. Sacred dance is a topic that makes a lot of people squirm in their seats, recalling poorly-done "goddess" performances, or brushes with cult-like activity. Something of "the other", not related to our modern-day society, our daily lives.
When I put togeth er the concept of Tapestry, I subtitled it "Weaving Together Dance Traditions and the Living Sacred." Thinking back, I did a lot of the organizing and descriptive parts of creating the event practically on autopilot. When I just went back to look at the website, wondering what I had said that included "sacred", I was rather surprised to see it leaping off the page in that particular way. I don't even remember writing this part from the about section "
Our goal is give students an opportunity to expand not only their knowledge and practice of dance traditions, but to explore the sacred and spiritual concepts related to these traditions, and what they mean to us as modern, global citizens. The entire program is designed to give students a full-bodied experience with comparative instruction in dance movement, music, song, history, and ritual - as well as providing an enriching communal environment for the length of the program."
But write it, I did. And in retrospect, I believe we more than accomplished our goal, we hit it out of the park. But I digress....back to the sacred.
We worked with a multitude of cultures at Tapestry - all sorts of religious paths, pantheons and belief systems that these dances, practices, rituals emerged from - but what made it truly sacred is not a connection or dedication to some distant divine being, but the connection we made with ourselves and each other.
Sacred dance is not about being holier-than-thou, or being ungrounded - in fact, it's about getting to the roots of yourself - letting go of ego, and tapping into what makes you, you. Forget about being a "great" priestess, artist, dancer, shaman, performer, teacher - that all has to go out the window. In order to accomplish any sort of "great", you have to start from the ground up. Break down your own misconceptions about yourself, about others, and just let go of it all. Our ancestors have been doing these dances and rituals for hundreds, if not thousands of years - every culture has them in some form. The reason they have been done for so long is not just tradition, but because THEY WORK, regardless of who or what you believe in. We get hung up in all of the trappings of modern society, all of our manufactured cures and medication - we think that just a pill will cure anything, without ever examining the underlying causes of our physical, emotional, and mental maladies. But humankind has been surviving through these things for thousands of years through the power of dance, music, ritual.
After this weekend, I am left wondering what impact sacred dance would have on the modern bellydance community, if more dancers actually tried it - oriental and tribal. I wonder how many egos would be left in the dance, how many more individuals vs. clones would emerge, how many would dance even better? How many would abandon the dance all together? How would how dancers treat each other change?
It's worth thinking about it I believe. |
Cover of The Coals - A Happy Animal If you haven't taken the time to listen to LA-based country band The Coals, you're missing out. The band recently released an album that is as fun and whimsical as it is often charming, tender, and sweet. If you don't believe me then I'll reference you over to KPCC's interview ofThe Coals lead singer and main songwriter Jason Mandell where they called the band's new album "inventive, catchy, genuine, and moving." I had the recent opportunity to see The Coals perform while they were musical guests at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles . Check out the following videos from that day, featuring "Lord Lord Lord" (the last song on their album) and the traditional spiritual "On the Rock Where Moses Stood." . You can also listen to their latest album on Spotify -Charity Tran, ExperienceLA Editor |
In two days my two year wedding anniversary will be here. It feels like time as flown. I'll be brutally honest here... the first year was harder than I ever thought it could be. I thought our first year would be so easy because we lived together before we got married. Not the case, my friends. There were times when I really wondered if we would make it. We had huge challenges and struggles that a lot of people never have to deal with (think clomid). This second year has had it's challenges but it has truly been easier than the first. I feel like the husband and I have been at such a good place. We've learned a lot about each other and ourselves. We've definitely learned to communicate more effectively and we've learned to be more understanding of the other. We've learned to give each other more grace. Every single day we choose to love each other. I look at him and think that I would choose this man every single day over and over again, no matter what. We're definitely not perfect in all that we do but we've come a long way. I can honestly say that each year with him is better than the last. Each day I wake up next to this man I count myself incredibly blessed. He makes me laugh and listens to my crazy rants, takes incredible care of me and even spoils me with purses and back rubs. I don't know that I can ask much more than that! He's also pretty damn cute! Happy Anniversary, Baby!! I love you more today than I ever thought possible!! |
To start with, I’m going to go over Stuart Hall’s basic semiotic definitions. Bear in mind that these kinds of introductory explanations only ever fulfil a rudimentary role – that is, of opening-up or setting-in-motion more complex ideas about language, discourse, representation and identity. There is no single or simple definition, or even a set of definitions, that we can refer to generally. You will have noticed that the mode of inquiry of this class is to be constantly re-defining things, shifting meanings slightly, complicating ideas and interrogating preconceptions. Its endless work! For the sake of this week’s massive class discussion, let’s start with Hall’s basic explanation and work our way into Barthes. Hall speaks about ‘representation’ as a central practice that produces culture. Culture, as we have now heard several times, is about ‘shared meanings,’ and language is the medium in which these meanings are produced and exchanged. The production and exchange of meanings occurs when language is used to negotiate an understanding of the world. In other words, we make meaning when we engage with our world, we exchange meaning when we engage with others in the world, and these processes of making/exchanging meaning through language is how we contribute to our cultural milieux. Language, says Hall, “operates as a representational system” (1). Signs and symbols (eg text, a photographic image, a facial expression, a song) are used to represent (literally, re-present) ideas. This idea-exchange is happening constantly and has effect on every aspect of our lives. Cultural meanings “organise and regulate social practices, influence our conduct and consequently have real, practical effects” (3). In semiotics, the idea is that things in themselves rarely have a single, unfixed or unchanging meaning. Meaning is something that is ‘given’ to a thing. Remember Hall’s example of a stone: the stone might be a boundary marker, or a piece of sculpture. To see the stone as a sculpture would be to give the stone a particular meaning as an artistic object with an aesthetic/compositional purpose. The stone would represent an idea of a sculptural artwork. Hall suggests that the practice of ‘giving’ meaning to things is key to culture. We give certain meanings to certain things and our relationship to those meanings, our engagement with them, is ‘culture’. The meanings we give to things are not arbitrary – they say something about who we are and how we identify as cultural subjects. When a meat-eater looks at a steak, they might see the steak as a delicious meal or a nutritional unit of protein or a Sunday night ritual with their best mate at the pub. When a vegan looks at a steak, they might see the steak as a symbol of animal cruelty, as a representation of ecologically suspect land practice, or as a cute calf gambolling in a paddock. These different meaningful ways of engaging with a piece of steak represent different identities – an identity of ‘being’ a meat-eater and an identity of ‘being’ a vegan. Vegans share an identity that will look at steak in a certain set of ways. This identity marks a vegan as different from a meat-eater, and this difference becomes a key part of what defines the cultural particularity of ‘being’ vegan. ‘Markers of difference’ are evident in any cultural or subcultural identity. “[T]he question of meaning arises in relation to all the different moments or practices in our ‘cultural circuit’ – in the construction of identity and the marking of difference, in production and consumption, as well as in the regulation of social conduct” (4). So it is through language that cultural engagement occurs and meaning is shared and identity is represented. How? Language is a collaborative practice; it is a dialogue. Something is represented and something is understood. And yet, there are all manner of confusions, interruptions, misunderstandings and deviations that can occur in this collaboration, so we must always acknowledge straight away that ‘meaning’ is only ever partially transferred in language and that language is a representational system fraught with infinite possibilities and potentialities. “Language,” says Hall, “provides one general model of how culture and representation work, especially in what has come to be known as the semiotic approach – semiotics being the study or ‘science of signs’ and their general role as vehicles of meaning in culture” (6). Hall makes a distinction between this semiotic approach and what is known as a ‘discursive’ approach to language analysis. The discursive approach is concerned more with the effects and consequences (the politics) of meaningful representation rather than how the meanings are produced initially (the poetics). Contemporary theory, moving away from more classic, straight-up semiotics and into poststructuralism, is concerned with an analysis that looks both semiotically and discursively at language. In other words, we want you to be critical thinkers with an awareness of both the ‘how’ and ‘what now?’ of language use, at the poetics and the politics of meaningful exchange, at the representation and its effects on cultural practice. Now onto Barthes and the myth. For the sake of space, I am only going to look at the long Barthes reading in this piece of writing. So here goes: We talked in class about the relationship, in semiotics, between the signifier, the signified and the sign. Let’s take the roses as an example again. The signifier is a bunch of flowers, twelve red roses. The signified is my desire for my lover. The sign is the dynamic interaction of signifier and signified – the romantic ritual of gifting a dozen roses. My lover understands this sign as the ‘representation’ of my desire. He engages accordingly. OK: now to the myth. The myth is a language act in which the signifier is already a sign. It is known sign, a repeated trope or image that carries a certain cultural meaning. Let’s take a local example of the lifesaver. The lifesaver has long been an Australian myth. This is not to say that lifesavers do not ‘actually’ exist, of course this is not the case. But ‘the’ lifesaver, that is, the iconic or mythic representation of the lifesaver-as-national-idea is a powerful symbol that can play a persuasive role in sending a message about Australian nationalism. The lifesaver comes to represent a kind of national hero, typifying the good, the noble and the selfless of the ‘Australian character’. It naturalises a historical phenomenon, which is the central aim of the myth, according to Barthes: lifesavers became important in Australian culture when the beach became a tourist and leisure attraction. That is the ‘historical’ beginnings of lifesavers. But the myth suggests that the lifesaver is much more than simply a historical subject of Australian beach culture: the myth suggests that the lifesaver is a ‘natural’ or inherent character of Australianness. The lifesaver has powerful cultural currency because it is a myth attached to notions of safety and ‘goodness’. We can see that the myth of the lifesaver became a powerful tool of the media in its reportage of the Cronulla riots. Rather than specific violence between specific people, the events were commonly referred to in media commentary as an attack on this notion of ‘Australianness’, because of the unthinkable violence towards the lifesaver. In many cases it was not the lifesaver as an individual whose victimhood was discussed, but the very idea of the lifesaver. Note also how this plays into a discourse of fear — those who protect and serve are under threat, therefore nothing is safe. Does this make sense? Now another example. Remember that it is easy in a modern, secular consumer-capitalist society (ie, ‘our’ culture) to assume that ‘myth’ only applies to rituals and rites of the ancient, religious or ‘primitive’. In fact, our culture relies on the myth just as much as any religion or ancient culture ever has. A commodity, for example, relies on myth, which in turn relies on the ‘naturalisation’ of desire, to sell. When you engage with a piece of advertising, often the myth (eg, that shoes will result in amazing sex) is immediately obvious. Yet it is still powerful, because it is a myth that plays with desire and longing, it repeats a certain understood sign of wealth, power and beauty that has currency in our consumer economy. In Barthian terms, the myth naturalises the historical circumstances of consumer capitalism so that commodity fetishism is considered a normal ‘fact’ of life. OK. That’s enough for now. Discuss! |
I went shopping this morning. As ever, it was pretty much a failure. Like each of the three I'd previously tried, the ironmongers didn't stock microwave fuses. But (when asked) thought an electrical shop at the other end of town might. Like the previous specialist electrical shop I'd tried, this didn't either. But (when asked) thought that a place on the north side of town might. Which I will try another day. The one good aspect of shopping in Spain is that they're incredible at wrapping stuff. But this can reach farcical levels, as when they wrap a single screw in brown paper and then sellotape the little parcel. And it's not so appealing when you're in a bit of a hurry and, as this morning, the guy at the counter is attempting to wrap a piece of kitchen furniture in brown paper for the women in front of you. And inevitably taking an age. So, Richard Branson's Caribbean palace was destroyed during an electrical storm. Surprising he couldn't afford to put a lightning conductor on the roof. Or anywhere, for that matter. The Tour de España came to Pontevedra today, where all hotels are now fully booked. This is in sharp contrast with July, it seems, when occupation was down around 50%. As our tourists are "92%" Spanish, this says something about La Crisis. Parts of Spain which depend on foreign visitors have done rather better, I believe. And August is reported to have been good, with 77% occupation along this coast. Good, but still not great, in view of the fixed costs. Variable costs are, of course, kept down by only employing cheap and servile South Americans. Actually, it was fun watching the cyclists race over a bridge across the river while also viewing the same event on the TV. Though not exactly at the same time, of course. And it was me watching the race on the TV, not the cyclists. It had to happen . . . Such has been the explosion in (EU-funded) roads and motorways in Spain over the last ten years, one of the easiest ways to save money, going forward, is to cut the road maintenance program. And, sure enough, this is what's just been announced for Galicia. I wonder how long it'll be before driving long distances here ceases to be an old-fashioned pleasure, because the roads are both high quality and relatively empty. I've often expressed admiration for the obituaries in Spain's national papers. This week we've had one dedicated to a Mississippi Delta Bluesman, David Edwards. Shame they cited his nickname as Honeboy, rather than what it was - Honeyboy. You can hear his music on Spotify, by the way. Lovely guitar. Voice not bad either. The Pontevedra character, Draculín, now seems to be patronising the same lunchtime bar as me. And so it was today I could snap him wearing something I've never even seen in England, despite living four years in London - a bloody bowler hat! And here's a picture of the latest block of - totally empty - flats to be finished in Pontevedra. What's the betting on how long it'll be before they're all taken? 10 years? Twenty? Finally . . . A complaint. Some genius at M&S has decided it'd be a good idea to save money (I guess) by getting rid of labels on mens' jockey shorts ( sleeps - in Spanish) and replacing them by print on the inside of the garment. The core problem with this is that the 'label' fades with washing. The additional problem, if you need glasses, is that a point is reached when you can't see the print at all and so proceed to put your shorts on back-to-front. Which is annoying. I shall have to consider taking my annual business elsewhere. |
Hello Everyone! It's my day for sharing a card on the today and I have made a card with the adorable little . Delia is one of my favourite Sugar Nellie stamps and I love colouring her in. I used various papers from My Mind's Eye on my card and coloured Delia in to match them using my Promarkers. I sewed around the edges of all my layers and added a which I topped with a . I added a stamped sentiment straight on to one of the patterned papers and embellished the card with lots of flowers, a and some punched butterflies topped with gems. Here is a close up of my coloured image. I cut the image out leaving a small borde before sticking her to the card with foam pads and added stickles to her wand and to her headband as a finishing touch. I hope you have a lovely Wednesday! |
Did everyone have a good Mother's Day? They day here in Dunedin was an absolute stunner! I was in short sleeves, even though we are fast approaching winter down here in the South. For Mother's Day with my family we had a lovely ploughman's style lunch, with bread, cheeses and spreads etc. My sister and dad had also made some brioche which we had with cream cheese and jam and I made this delicious . For all of the mothers and grandmothers I had made a white chocolate chunk blondie and then when headed to hungry males to have some Chinese takeaways. So all in all a very nice day. While I had originally intended to post this recipe up for Mother's Day, life got in the way and well, it just didn't happen. Not to worry though as it is a delicious treat to just make for yourself. This recipe was actually inspired by my father who absolutely loves ginger and in a round about way my flat mate. A few weeks ago Dad fixed our washing machine, which saved us a bit of time and money instead of having to get a repairman in. Initially I was going to make him some ginger crunch and my flat mate said "Oh yummy. Do you also put gingernuts in that?". Well no, you don't, but this sparked an idea. If you make chocolate biscuit fudge using plain biscuits, why couldn't you just take out the chocolate and use Ginger biscuits? So the next day I gave it a go and it was delicous (if you like ginger that is). I then made it double ginger by adding the ginger icing from Alsion Holst's Ginger Crunch. Hungry Male approved, gingery and delicious! 1/2 cup raw sugar 1 packet gingernut biscuits 2 tsp ground ginger 2 Tbsp golden syrup 1-2 cups icing sugar In a small saucepan over a low heat, heat the butter and raw sugar until the butter has melted and the sugar has started to dissolve. Remove from the heat and beat in the egg. In a food processor, whiz the gingernuts until they form fine crumbs. Mix the wet mixture with the biscuit crumbs, then press firmly into a greased and baking paper lined slice tin. Leave to set in the fridge for a few hours. To make the icing, melt together the butter, ginger and golden syrup. Add the icing sugar a little at a time until a spreadable icing has formed. Spread over the slice then leave to set before cutting in to squares. |
I had big plans to decorate this box when I went on a retreat last weekend but, as soon as I saw the masks that Di took with her, that all changed! The masks are such a good quality as they are slightly thicker than most other ones I have used which means they don't flick up as you are using them. For the border I used the Stitches Group mask with white acrylic paint and doodled around them. They are so easy to line up. I then used the Random Circles mask with Distress Ink on the body of the box. |
Zero Two: I've found you, my darling. The story is set in the distant future. The world is ruined, and humanity establishes mobile fort cities called "plantations". Pilots produced inside Plantation live in Mistilteinn, also known as the "birdcage." Children living there know nothing of the outside world or the freedom of the sky. Their lives consist of battling to carry out missions. Their enemies are mysterious giant lifeforms known as klaxosaur, and the children pilot machines called Franxx to face off against them. For the children, riding the Franxx proves their existence.A boy named Hiro is called Code:016, and he was once known as a prodigy. However, he has fallen behind, and his existence seems unnecessary. Not piloting a Franxx is the same as ceasing to exist. One day, a mysterious girl with horns on her head known as "Zero Two" appears before him. DARLING in the FRANXX series directed by Atsushi Nishigori, with mech designs by Shigeto Koyama (of fame) and is a co-production between . Best characterized as a ) is in simultaneous production for Shueisha's website; the second tankoubon volume was released in May 2018.The series is licensed by , the latter giving the series a simuldub. --- Darling In The Franxx contains examples of: --- |
In some mad moment I decided this blog was going to be a dating blog, which falls afoul of my opening statement as to how this blog would be about everything, and essentially nothing in particular other than my whims and musings. I read a passage from an essay by Joan Didion, who writes far more eloquently than I could ever hope to. I do no justice in paraphrasing the chord she struck around keepers of notebooks, who at once are fully aware that what they write is not in keeping with fact. Also, the perception of writers as wild and untamed, when in reality, in our depths we are obsessed with control. The filter is ours and we are completely in charge of our gospels. So this blog remains. People don't scare me at first glance, I think this is something I feel proud of. I see others unsettled by meetings and interaction, terrified of the other. I can sit and talk with anyone, and I have grown from a very shy socially awkward person to the one I am now. I am not altogether sure of the journey, but travel and working in retail has certainly helped. Dates are interesting things, and having a propensity towards seclusion sometimes I think it not an awful idea to get out there and just go on a few dates. Nothing fancy, just some coffee. I used to come at dates from a different angle, I was completely on the search for a soulmate. Well, let me tell you I've been to Camelot and Guinevere doesn't exactly lead the charmed life. Let's not be bitter, I learned a lot from my relationships and I have loved deeply. I would not change those experiences for the world, whatever the result. What I mean is, I don't see them as the epitome of a life. I don't think the end goal is to find a husband, but relationships can be life-changing and I am not closed to the idea of spending a good chunk of my life with someone else. I met two people for coffee this week, both so pleasant. No spark, and no bother. Just coffee and conversation and new people. I have talked literature, identity, race, music, Kindles vs. real books and Dr. Who. It's been fun, it has made me feel sociable and a little bit more complete. I have also learned I am in absolutely no rush, and not at all prepared for anything heavy. I spent Sunday morning getting to work on a rail replacement service. Well prepared for the inconvenience, I downloaded three well-worn albums: Madonna's American Life, Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill and Lady Gaga's Born This Way. American Life has aged better than it had any right to, and although in my memory I thought of it as a messy sprawling album, it is actually very tight, and incredibly bared. I surprised myself to find more in Jagged Little Pill to identify with, I thought I had grown beyond the obsessive Alanis Morissette listener and just looked back with fondness, but the aggressive album-opener All I Really Want spoke to me like it never had. Hand In My Pocket remains my life outlook neatly packaged into a catchy four minute harmonica extravaganza. Born This Way still has a lot to give me, and it amuses me how turned off I was by the album on initial listen and how it slowly crept up on me and travelled through everything this past year has given me. On the way home, my phone died on me, so I had no music to listen to. I had no book to read, nothing to distract me from the life around me. I realised how much I miss sometimes when I walk around in the cocoon of my headphones. I picked up conversations, sounds, and even smells I normally traipse straight past. So much to learn, in sound and silence. |
Me to Two tonight: "Here's your iPad back. I borrowed it to play Scrabble while you were at taekwondo." "Yup, I love Scrabble, especially when you let me borrow your iPad." "Don't you think it's time the two of you got married, since you love each other so much?" I'd love to know: when exactly did my eight year old become a supporter of polygamy? |
Last night we had an olympic party at my aunt and uncles house. It was a lot of fun. Everyone was told to bring a food from another country so David had the idea to bring a japanese inspired rice krispy treat (fake sushi) and here it is. It is rice krispy treat with a swedish fish rolled in green sugar crystals. They were really good. Here we all are in the pool getting ready to start the olympic games. Logan and i are getting ready for the relay race. Here is my team at the awards ceremony. We were team Great Britain. We did so awesome. Littlest splash competition was almost ours until South Africa took it from under our nose. But it was such a fun night!! |
Media release: Lucy Megginson, assistant professor of nursing at the University of West Georgia, has been named dean of Health Sciences at Georgia Highlands College. Megginson previously served as assistant professor of nursing at GHC from 2005 to 2010. Last year she was also an adjunct professor at Shorter University in its Study-Abroad program. Megginson holds both a Doctor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Science in nursing from Medical University of South Carolina. She earned a Master of Science in nursing education from the University of West Georgia. She returns to Highlands with classroom and clinical experience at both the graduate and undergraduate level. While at West Georgia she helped develop a new nursing curriculum and a program for the institution's new Doctor of Education degree in nursing. She is a member of the Southern Nursing Research Society, American Nurses Association, National League for Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the Christian Nurses Association, and the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Megginson has published a number of articles in professional journals, including the Journal of Nursing Education, Nurse Educator, Journal of Christian Nursing and Journal of Nursing Management. She has also volunteered actively in the Rome community. She played an integral role in the design and planning of the Free Clinic of Rome, establishing all policies and procedure and recruiting many volunteers for the organization. She has also volunteered there as a practicing nurse. She serves on the ethics committee at Floyd Medical Center. She will be instrumental in guiding and expanding the new nursing baccalaureate degree at GHC. Describing her vision for the program, Magginson said, "We will try to build a sustainable, forward-thinking program that provides a venue for regional registered nurses to pursue professional and academic mobility to the baccalaureate level. GHC's RN to BSN program will serve as a springboard to meet the Institute of Medicine's 2010 recommendation to increase the national proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80 percent by 2020." Megginson said she is excited about the potential for interprofessional collaboration in both clinical and academic endeavors that make Dental Hygiene and Nursing students and faculty leaders in academic innovation in Georgia. Megginson, who lives in Rome with her two sons Sam and Matt, will begin her duties at Georgia Highlands this summer. She takes the reins from Rebecca Maddox, who has served as interim director of nursing for the last two years and was Megginson's professional mentor in 2005. Maddox has been a fulltime member of the Georgia Highlands nursing faculty since 1991, except for several intervening years when she left to work in clinical settings. |
so, a confession first: i am losing my mind. it seems that my poor little brain has reached its capacity or something, because the degree to which i am successfully navigating this "balancing act" is rapidly decreasing lately. this afternoon right about the time i finished posting my earlier blog, i suddenly stopped in my tracks, virtually paralyzed. the overwhelming thought that filled my mind was: you didn't let buddy back into the house this morning. i wracked my brain - could i come up with one little glimmer of a memory of latching him safely into his kennel? or even letting him in the back door? but try as i might, there was no such glimmer. i quickly became convinced that buddy was in the backyard alone all day. for some dogs, that wouldn't be a problem. plenty of dogs spend most of their time outside. but buddy is first NOT an outside dog. he likes to go outside to play, but not to stay. he belongs inside. and second, he's so afraid of noises, of strangers, of weather, that it wouldn't take much for buddy to get so afraid that he could find the superhuman (superdoggy?) strength and leap over the fence and be gone. so i left work in a frenzy, speeding as fast as i could legally/safely manage down a traffic-laden airline highway. and about halfway along, an even more horrible thought struck me: buddy's ID and vaccination tags were sitting on my dresser, where they had pulled loose and never been reattached. so if poor scared buddy got out, no one could even identify him to get him back to us. on the edge of tears, i parked in the garage and raced into the house. from across the kitchen i could see the back door was unlocked, but there was no buddy by the back door. the unlocked door meant surely i'd left it, intending to let him in, but never did. i bolted out the door to the backyard ... empty. i ran around the yard yelling buddy's name like an idiot - as if he'd hear me and come running back, leaping over the fence to return home. i didn't know what to do. i was terrified. how would i find him? what would i do? one step below panic, i kicked my shoes off on the porch and sprinted inside. i guess i should call my husband and then start canvassing the neighborhood. but wait. one last thought - i should check buddy's kennel. just in case. just in case, on a vague hope that he was there. so i raced, sobbing, to the laundry room, and flipped on the light ... ... just in time to hear a whine and the rattle of his feet on the floor of his crate. and there were those big brown eyes, looking at me and saying something i would translate roughly as "what the hell is wrong with you, crazy woman?" i let him out of his cage and hugged him and cried. and he wouldn't let me out of his sight for the rest of the afternoon. so thank goodness, all is well. but i have got to -GOT TO - find some ways to get myself together a little better. i have got to figure out how to get out of the house without forgetting to lock doors, turn off lights, let the dog in. i'm hoping tomorrow's doctor's appointment will be one step toward clearing some space in my brain. because right now ... well, right now, i'm dropping the ball. |
Sorry but I need to indulge in a little rant today - not something I normally do here but some things need to be said. Yesterday I was expecting a delivery of a new mobile phone for my eldest daughter. I waited and waited and then at 4.20 got a text to say they had called but there was no-one in!! Well as you can imagine I was a little surprised at such news as I had been in all day! Anyway then ensued many conversations with many people, who could not help me until 5.30 I eventually got someone who did! Sadly by this time it was too late to get my phone delivered so it should arrive today. What makes me so cross about the whole episode is that at every turn, no-one wanted to take responsibility for the problem - "oh its not my job/department". To me good customer service is about someone listening to my issue and then doing everything they can do to sort it out - not passing me from pillar to post having to explain the problem yet again. In fairness the final man I spoke to did just that but by this time I had steam coming out of my ears!! Too often these days when you phone a call centre, they have not been trained to deal with problems that are not on their "script"! In my book if you take a call from a customer with a problem you should take ownership and sort it out. Anyway rant over now. I am sat here waiting for the phone and also a call from the delivery company to explain what went wrong yesterday - call me cynical but I don't hold out much hope for either! I'll keep you posted. So lets move from the negative to the positive. I had a great time at the crop on Saturday. Thank you for those that offered advice - you were right - everyone was lovely and friendly and very willing to lend out anything I'd forgotten. It was fantastic to meet people that love scrapping like I do and totally "get" it! There were two ladies new to scrapping - a mother and daughter and I think by the end of the day they were totally hooked. Anyway in between the chatting I managed to complete my February pages from my 2011 album, so I was pleased. I think what I enjoyed the most was not being interrupted to have to feed children/find things/empty washing machines - you know the normal stuff that goes on at home! Its going to be a monthly affair and whilst I can't make the November date, I will be able to go in January. I can't wait. |
Birthday boy that needs a haircut in a bad way! Praying for his cake!!
LOL I so should not be sitting down doing a post but I never got to say Happy Birthday to my baby! Yes Levi turned a year old Saturday! I can not believe it has been a year. It has went by faster than any of the others. I did not have him a party yet because we are doing his actual party this Saturday at DISNEY WORLD!! I had him a little cake at church Saturday night and let him play in it there. Since he is the only baby at church he is rotten. He has been doing so much better. Oh well I would post a video but don't have time. I have a million things to do today. We leave at 1:30 today for Disney. I am so excited and ready to be there. Although we got the call last night they have put my moms grandmother (Granny
Halon's
mom) in the hospital. They say she has pneumonia, congestive heart failure and fluid on her lungs. She will be 94 in May. So things are not looking good for her right now. So I am a little stressed thinking about being all the way in Florida with all this going on. So say a prayer for her if you think about it. OH well I must get back to packing and getting everything together. Have a good week. We won't be back until next Tuesday!!
YAY
!!!! |
Hello, beautiful. If only your cousin would be like you. I have a beautiful sheepskin rug that sits on one side of my bed, near the window. It still looks as good as the day I bought it at Ikea about two years ago — an amorphous explosion of pillowy, fluffy softness. I have another sheepskin rug — four sheepskins, actually, stitched together “Ovine Centipede” style — that sits on the other side of my bed … the high-traffic side. It is in nowhere as good of condition as the smaller one, thanks to the trodding upon, to and fro, several times a day. Not for lack of trying: I now own a wire brush, the kind that slips over your hand and is designed to be used for dog grooming, which which I regularly attack the rug. Tyra Sanchez has arrived home and walked by me sitting blithely on the floor, brushing manically, stopping only to unpeel the mats of wool that accumulated in the brush tines. So with enough care, the rug looks fluffy … but it still looked dirty, too. Step 1: The dry cleaners. I found one that specialized in sheepskin car seats, but was worried about whether they’d restore the pile to its original condition, or if I’d pick up a matted, coiled pad of wool. The answer turned out to be “somewhere in between”: Most of the rug was still in good shape, but the center of each quarter had a mashed, squashed appearance that couldn’t be brushed out to match the rest of the rug. And it still wasn’t as shiny-bright as the other rug, which had now become my touchstone for all things rug-appearance-related. Today, I finally bit the bullet and tried washing it by hand. Have you ever washed a rug by hand? How about four rugs, stitched together? It was a dumb move on my part — while I could wad up the rug and submerge it in a bathtub filled with water and Woolite, manipulating it around to actually wash it, instead of letting it just soak, was a Herculean effort. The first tubful of water ended up grossly brown, so I drained it and started again, then gave it a halfhearted attempt at wringing dry before running rinse water. I threw in some hair conditioner and drops of tea tree oil to revitalize and freshen, then soaked and mashed away the remaining suds. The timing could have been better, I realize: In two hours I leave for the airport for my trip to Montana, and the rug is now hanging outside. (Not in the sun, as per instructions I found online!). I wouldn’t necessarily call the current process drying, because the rug is still mostly soaking wet. So maybe leaching is a better word, as gravity pulls the water out to drip onto the ground. (I’m surprised the clothesline is actually still holding intact, as heavy as the rug is.) In about an hour I’ll go outside and rebrush it to raise the pile, spray some more wool conditioner on it and gauge progress. In the interim, I have to go shower again — my clothes and body smell like soggy sheep’s wool, and no amount of Aveda lotion is producing a suitable olfactory override. My lesson: Take better care of the rug to start with. Maybe I’ll have to start treating it like the Parker Palm Springs did their flokati rugs, which mysteriously appeared from under the bed only after turndown service. That way the rug won’t be subject to daily indignities, but rather serve as a special treat for bare feet when I crawl into/out of bed. And if it doesn’t come out of this wash/dry cycle like a champ, maybe it’s time to retire it and look for a new contender. Update in 2017: While I was on vacation, my roommate’s cat randomly took a dump on the big rug, and in an attempt to fix things, he … put it in the washer. And the dryer. So, yeah, I have a new sheepskin rug now. The old one is still around, though. I put it in the guest bedroom, where the fibers still feel soft, even though it looks like someone gave the rug a bad perm. (See thumbnail at right.) In addition to shrinking the rug’s physical size, the dryer also did a number on the rug’s natural, suede-like backing, which is now a bit crispy to the touch. Nonetheless—a functioning rug it is! Note: not actually Ovine Centipede style, since that would be a long line of end to front, end to front, end to front, end to front. Maybe more like Ovine Millipede, since it’s two end-to-fronts, also stitched side by side. WHAT SAM WORE: 7-17-11
The shirt: University of Alabama T-shirt (again) from Junky Trunk, Mesa.
The shorts: Knee-length cotton jersey shorts from H&M, Scottsdale Quarter.
The shoes: Sneakers by Adidas, from Sports Authority. |
Well - Tom and Karen took off on Saturday, so we joined up with the two of them Friday evening for dinner at Paul's Kitchen. One of our favorite places to eat here in Wauchula - and tonight the food was just as good as ever. Before heading back to the campground Tom and Karen wanted to stop at Pure Magic - the new ice cream shoppe in town. Great place - and below Karen and Tom enjoy their self creations and Karen shows her silly side!! We will definitely miss these two. And the it was Easter Sunday.................We had originally planned on going out for dinner - and then I decided I'd just do a roast for the two of us and then Nick and Tonya invited us over. Nick grilled some great steaks, tossed together a little Shrimp Scampi and Tonya made an awesome Green bean casserole...................... Monday is Nick's birthday - so we celebrated a day early with a great chocolate raspberry cake. Nancy and Jerry joined us after dinner and the six of us laughed and joked and enjoyed the evening until well after 10:00 PM . And Jerry if you are reading this...... SHHHHHHH!!! |
The bus behind the Alzheimer’s wing of the nursing home pictures Jesus the Good Shepherd and His little lambs with the caption “Let the little children come to me.” When my father first went into the home in middle stages of Alzheimer’s disease, he had deteriorated to a simple-minded adult who needed supervision in many daily tasks—but I didn’t see him as a little child. For most of his first year there, he carried on simple, thoughtful conversations. I had seen some wrinkly ladies with matted white hair cuddling baby dolls, but mostly, residents slumped napping in wheelchairs. Yes, children nap, but they don’t look crumpled like that. Now I see in my dad, the further he progresses (regresses?) in the disease’s stages, the more childlike he becomes. Take my visit last Friday, for example. Although I had my bag of tricks containing large color photos and jigsaw puzzles, Dad wanted to play with a wooden puzzle already in the Alzheimer’s hallway. This wasn’t a traditional jigsaw. It was a sound puzzle, a flat wooden block maybe about the size and thickness of a wood cutting board. Cut into the board were eight ovalish indentations. Each piece fitting into these places had an animal picture on it and a small red cylindrical handle. When you lifted a piece out and placed it back, you heard the sound that animal makes. A few months ago, Dad seemed interested in hearing the names of things, so one way to make conversation was to provide words for what he was looking at. Not so Friday. He showed no interest in my naming the horse or the frog, the cat or the dog. Instead, he entertained himself for about an hour by pulling out pieces and putting them back to make the sounds happen. Mom and I conversed, sometimes including him, but he seemed smilingly content to make the fish burble, the frog ribbit, the horse neigh. Just before Mom and I wheeled him to the lunchroom, I told him about the Chicago Marathon. “On Sunday, your grandson is going to run 26 miles!” Perplexed, worried, and wide-eyed, he asked, “Why?” Later Mom and I recounted Dad’s ingenuous alarm and laughed heartily. Not that we aren’t proud of her grandson/my nephew. We are, and Dad has always called this young man “our little champion.” My once über-athletic father would have been excited by this feat. Not that we don’t admire self-discipline, healthy pursuits, goal setting, and determination. We do, especially at the level required to run a marathon. It’s just that we don’t understand either why someone would want to run 26 miles, but we pretend we do. Friday’s childlike Dad didn’t pretend. |
This is the last day Elaine will be working On Sacred Grounds until she and Rod return from their honeymoon on the Oregon Coast. The wedding will occur at SS Cyril & Methodius Byzantine Catholic Church in Spokane Valley on Saturday morning, May 3rd. Keep track of the wedding day activities by checking our Facebook link starting Monday! Use the link at my website or just look up on sacred grounds coffee shop. Since things are always hopping at On Sacred Grounds, we celebrated Pat's 39th birthday yesterday. Pat is sitting on the far right side! |
Ball State University alumnus David Letterman, right, host of CBS's "Late Show," with Oprah Winfrey following an interview at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. PASADENA, Calif.— David Letterman says he sees a psychiatrist once a week, part of his attempt to be the person he once believed he was. The late-night talk show host gave an extraordinary interview to Oprah Winfrey in which he talked about his feuds with her and Jay Leno, and his own effort to make amends for the affairs that became public three years ago when a man tried to extort him. The interview aired Sunday night on Winfrey's OWN network after it was done in November. The CBS host says his wife has forgiven him for his transgressions and his life is more joyful than ever, but he hasn't necessarily forgiven himself. Letterman also called his late-night rival Leno the funniest guy he's ever known. Guidelines: Please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Comments that violate these standards, or our privacy statement or visitor's agreement, are subject to being removed and commenters are subject to being banned. To post comments, you must be a registered user on toledoblade.com. To find out more, please visit the FAQ. |
I’m not certain how much longer I will be able to function within the confines of the “game” on Old Earth. I’m starting to experience Lightbody 10 and I have literally; physically moved into the 5th dimension, which is the lower entry-level of the New Earth vibrational frequency. This means that I have “ascended.” --- Yes that is correct. I have ascended, yet you can currently still “see,” “hear,” and “touch” me in 3D & 4D. How is this possible? --- Well, as usual, there has been a LOT of dialect issues on the internet, in books, etc. Ascension is the process of moving from one dimension to another. Tranfiguration is actually the correct word. When you are transfigured, you literally change your complete form or appearance, and move permanently into a dimension. This is a daunting task indeed. Those of us that have ascended have been given our names and have begun our New Life; in two dimensional frequencies; the old and the new. Nothing has changed on Old Earth. People are still not doing their work to ascend. They are reading about it and waiting to ascend. It just doesn’t work that way. I hate to tell you, but the first-wave has already ascended. Did you really think it would be that simple to just “follow” blindly others and ascend? No. You must do “the work.” It’s the “inner work” to raise your vibrational frequency, through acts of service to others, unconditional love for ALL; including yourself, & a LOT more. This is an excerpt from one of my channeled messages, when Coeus (Immanuel) gave me the “white stone,” with my name on it: Goddess Athena. I came “out-of-the-box” that day for the world to experience. There is only ONE of me; no aspects or copies; I AM a “one and only; virgin soul.” This is who I AM. After I was presented my name from Coeus, I put my spirit-hand on Coeus chest, and said, “Move over old man!” and began to speak. I am the Goddess Athena, Goddess of beauty and fertility; but not fertility in the sexual manner; fertility of the mind. Fertile minds exist without sexuality being a part of the whole. Conundrum…sexuality plays a part in the decay in societies endeavors. Fertile truths exist if one seeks knowingness. Throughout humanities ugly reign of terror, lays passions beyond belief, only hidden between the surfaces in layers of servitude towards others, coinciding magnanimous results. Inklings of beauty can be found around us today, without the need for cruel behaviors, lying in wait like a pouncing lion, over the Serengeti Plains that flood yearly and renew. You are a young race of fools, waiting for the love within to emerge triumphant, which you need to know is a fortuitous love (by accident) within today’s society. Beauty surrounds the few that seek it from within, through acts of loving kindness to others seeking the same. Thinking the same and doing the same, results in lies, discordant behavior, and more. Seek within; your successes are more. Seek without and you die slowly. Fertile abundance seeks those filling loving behaviors to others. Fertile grounds lie deeper within; CHOOSE WISELY! Seeking without belief, results in … (D) It looks like there is a hand holding up a wall that is going to come crashing down. Why am I telling you this? It’s my job. I am here to assist those that were lead astray by so-called Lightworkers. Stop watching others tell you what you need to do to ascend. This is YOUR awakening; NOT theirs. If you have read my FREE book on inter-dimensional travel, you should fully understand this concept. When I met my “twin” on Earth, I was freaked out and thought that I needed to do something, to help him awaken. Father said to me, “Diane, this isn’t about you. It’s about Dave’s awakening.” You can point people in the general direction, but it is their responsibility to awaken. Look WITHIN. Your instruction manual is inside of you; not someone else; YOU WROTE IT. You are unique and your walk is NOTHING like that of another being. You need to follow the “trail of breadcrumbs” that Coeus, Cronus, and I have left you; NOT become the breadcrumb. --- This is what I and a couple other people that have “moved” to New Earth are currently experiencing as “ascension symptoms” that are associated with unifying our field of light and moving up one dimension higher into the 5th dimension. It’s a form of Diplopia. It only happens to me, upon leaving the marina where I live, and driving to the farm where my studio is located. I seem to shift back to the Old Earth dimension at the farm and back up to the New Earth dimension at the marina. Because I inter-dimensionally travel quite often, I’m starting to be able to see two different dimensions overlapping with my physical eyes; as I mentioned this in an earlier article on my website. This seems to be getting stronger as the days progress. What I’m seeing appears to be a vertical, double-vision of sorts. It actually makes sense when you think about it. One dimension is stacked upon the other; “lifting up,” thus the term. I believe that when these two dimension separate or pull apart, or when planetary “separation” occurs, it will be straight up or vertical; thus the term, “lifted up.” The energies are of a vertical nature; not a horizontal one. So the pictures people are seeing of New Earth and old earth side-by-side are incorrect. It’s a linear way of looking at things, as most of the people on the planet read from left to right. In reality, it will be like the picture that I show here; to the right. I have completed the DNA change for Lightbody 9, which has to do with “unifying my energy fields,” joining with my CHRISTed Oversoul; Athena, and my I AM presence. I AM moving into Lightbody 10. Lightbody 10 is the first phase of the “Spiritual Levels,” of ascension, which consist of Lightbodies 10, 11, & 12. This is were massive changes are made, including teleportation WITH your body. I already do this out of my body and have for many years, so when it occurs in my body, it should be a breeze for me. The thing to remember is not to get excited which causes you to get drawn back to your originating location. This phase of lightbody is also where your highest guide has to “lay low” for a while and not assist you. Your CHRISTed Oversoul will be doing most of the work; YOU. This is a very sad moment where you feel a bit abandoned. I’m very blessed to at least awaken in the mornings to a song, or see Coeus’ energies. So at this point, I’m operating in my Unified Field and have moved from a 2-strand DNA to a 3-strand DNA strand. This is where the Merkaba develops. Merkaba is the Hebrew word for “chariot.” It is also referred to as the “wheel” that Ezekiel and Daniel talked about in the Bible. It was ablaze, gleaming, or appeared to be on fire; WILD FIRE as Coeus calls it, and this is what I’ll “ride” on when I am transfigured and I take Coeus’ hand to depart Old Earth; permanently. I just heard my CHRISTed Oversoul say, “Good Ridden.” The picture to the left shows a three-dimensional wheel, it could however literally be a flat wheel within a wheel. Time will tell; or the lack there of. In lightbody 10, this is where many volunteers will depart. They will be transfigured and molecularly teleport with the planet in their lightbody form, or go into “pure energy,” in order to help Gaia to continually raising of her frequency, or they will go home to their home planetary system, which happens at lightbody 11. Their job is finished assisting the planet in her initial ascension. NOTE: Nobody’s role is any more important than the other, it’s all a matter of choice as “spirit;” not the physical. One really annoying thing about working from this new energy field is time is literally stopping and you’re still trying to work in it. Computers, phones, electronics are ceasing to function within the lack of time as you know it. You’ll be doing a LOT of waiting for these devices to catch up to you, or they just have white screens; no data. You’ll also start going “off-grid.” There will not be any data, digital, or radio signals within your field of light, or they will appear to be very poor indeed. Patience is required if you are still trying to navigate “out of the now.” So old earth is still working within time, for now, but you are not, although it appears you are still in it. Just breathe and release. You’ll need to ground to YOU; not the old or new planet. I’ll try to keep you updated on my progress; IF I am able. |
We are in San Diego at the Cabrillo Isle Marina which is pretty deluxe. The weather today is beautiful and clear – but we have been accused of bringing northern temperatures with us, since it is a very chilly (by local standards only) 65 degrees. After we left Serenity on October 1, we had a quick trip to Anchorage. It was too short for me. On our first day in Anchorage, I saw Amelia and Bella who were both running fevers. Bella came and spent the night and by the next morning was clearly ill and very limp. She ran a fever for over a week and the doctor was pretty sure it was pig ick. She shared it with me, and I also ran a fever for a week, but it was very low grade. Earl seems immune. However, with only 2 and half weeks to spend with family, spending one week sick really cut into my time. We did manage to see everyone. Steve’s children are growing like weeds. According to the marks on my kitchen wall, Elora and Jamie grew almost two inches since April, while John managed a more modest 1 inch. It really makes me aware of how time flies. We look forward to seeing them at Christmas in Mexico. Before we left, Bella and Isha took off for Colorado to see Isha’s new niece and nephew. I saw as much of Amelia, nine months and delightful, as I could before we left , but it was not enough. It will probably be February before we see the two little girls again. We then took a very brief trip to LaConner, five days, to catch up with a few friends and check out the finished new roof, before returning to Dana Point on the 22nd. We found Serenity looking very well. We had splurged and had her waxed while we were away and she was gleaming. Our tie up lines, however, looked pretty sad. The surge in the boat basin had taken its toll on them and we had to replace at least one. The next few days were busy with the Nordhavn Rondezvous. Nordhavn treated us all very well and there were some excellent speakers. They also made it easy to spend some money by having vendors right on site. Earl bought LED lights for the back deck. (They were sold to me on the basis that we could keep them on all night without using much of any power and discourage pirates.) It was fun meeting other owners. We found that other 43s had had the same minor issues as Serenity, which was interesting. On Sunday we hosted an open house for people looking at 43’s. It was fun showing off our girl and Earl got lots of compliments on how well ‘tricked out’ she was. We also managed to find a good home for our northern sit-in model kayaks. Since we had bought two new sit on kayaks, we had four which was more than Earl would allow. Anyway, the Sea Scouts were delighted with them, and we had a warm feeling watching the excited kids who came to collect them. To top off a great weekend, my cousin Brad Wheeler who lives in LA came down for lunch with his delicious 3 year old daughter Cassie. To avoid any problems, I immediately put a life jacket on her. We toured the boat, had lunch on shore, and then Brad, Cassie and I went to the beach. I wish I had photos of that. It was my first chance to meet Cassie and first opportunity to see Brad since his wedding in Vancouver BC. It was good to catch up with some other western members of the clan. On Tuesday the 26th we finally left Dana Point for the 6 hour run to San Diego. It was a glorious day – flat calm and sunny. The Baja Haha sail boat fleet , 180 some boats, left San Diego the same day and cannot have had much sailing that day. We saw about 100 mylar balloons on our way. Earl promised me that we did not have to pick them up because they would eventually blow on the shore. I hope he is right. More exciting, we saw three blue whales during the trip. The first was right in front of the boat, and we were so excited that we did not get photos until it had moved off a ways. Coming into San Diego, we saw a submarine on the surface. The speed it was making was extraordinary. The conning tower really made a wake. We are using our time here to get final things done. Earl has installed a flopper stopper type stabilizer on the port side. He has done a pretty professional looking job and we hope that it will prove itself when we are anchored in rolly waters. The new LED lights have also been installed, and today he plans on attaching the new dingy wheels to the dingy so that we can pull it up beached in Mexico. I have taken inventory of our provisions and spend most of the days running around town picking up odd items, like marine toilet paper etc. Clark and Joan Scarboro arrive tomorrow from LaConner and will go as far as La Paz with us. Weather permitting, we will leave on Sunday, November 1. |
Back to earth with a bump after the delights of being a tourist in Japan. Back to the daily routine. Funny I should say that, as that's what I was teaching my kids this week. Things got a little confusing for everyone when I realised that my daily routine differs somewhat from the average Koreans. In a number of ways. It can be general things - they shower at night, whereas the standard Westerner will shower in the morning - or something more specific. They all hated it when I mentioned that I leave school at 4.30pm, and would ask them what time they leave. Doing this lesson has really hammered home what a raw deal these kids get. The earliest anyone really finishes studying is 11pm. Some are in academies and private tuition classes until later still. And this is before they have to tackle the mounds of homework they get set from every lesson. Every one except mine, anyway. There's no way I could do that to them, my lesson isn't really important in the grand scheme of their education. It helps me stop moaning about being tired if I 'only' get six hours of sleep, whereas they often struggle through the day on four or five. I threw it open to the class to make a daily routine from a Korean perspective, by asking them things they do everyday and drawing a giant spider diagram on the board. Some of them went for the obvious answers, but others were happy to volunteer more unorthodox answers. 'Teacher! I go poo-poo!' was actually quite a popular choice, and I guess technically true. Some answers, on the other hand, are either scandalous lies or just a bit concerning - 'I watch girls' being in the routine of one boy. I decided to go with this. 'Where?' I enquire. 'Oh teacher, everywhere'. 'How?' He couldn't make head or tail of that, so I helped him along. 'TV?' 'Aah yes'. 'Computer?' 'Yes'. 'Where else?' 'In school'. I had to stop at that point, mainly to save him from getting into serious trouble. Like having a sexual harassment charge nailed on him. Maybe I should teach the the word 'voyeur'. I tried my utmost to keep it quiet this week because I had another half-marathon on the Saturday. I wasn't alone doing this one - over the course of a drunken conversation a month or so before, I had persuaded Jon to run with me. As I've mentioned before, it is getting hot out here, so the race was at 8am. It was at Yeouido, which is much closer than the previous one, but because of the time it was once again in my best interests to stay somewhere closer. Naturally, the closer the better, so I headed to Yeouido straight from school. Yeouido is a very nice place, and a very classy place. This made finding a cheap, skanky motel very difficult. As in I didn't find one. It is home of the Trump Tower and the 63 Building, two reasonably famous landmarks in Seoul. Certainly two of the taller ones. Plan B, I hopped in a taxi and went to one of the nearby subway stations, Yeongdung-po. This was more like the kind of area I wanted. Well, not wanted, but needed. It was rough, a bit dirty, and had back alleys galore. At the third time of trying, I found one for the acceptable price of 40,000W (the first was 51,000, and the second, maybe trying to one-up their rival, was a mere 50,000), and was soon asleep in my circular lovebed after my pre-race meal of my body weight in rice and a few donuts. All over the carbs. Saturday morning rolls around. My first thought was that I had no energy. Obviously the carbs still hadn't been digested yet. But my legs didn't want to move. I got the feeling that this would not be fun, especially as it was a little bit warm already when I left my pad at 6.45am. I bumped into Jon and his friend, who I'm going to call Katie, in the subway station, and soon we were warming up. Everyone in our organised group was running as their nationality, which is why I had a Wales badge on. Poor effort compared to Jon's homemade England shirt, to be honest. We heard the marathon gun go off, so wandered over to get in line for the half. We walk past the 5k line, past the 10k line...and into open space. Strange, that. I spot an Aussie in the 10k line and ask him where the half-marathon runners are. 'Kidding, mate? They've just gone!' I look up in horror to see the back end of what had been the half-marathon line passing under the start line. Good way to increase the heart rate, that. So soon we were off and running, and I was on my own after the first kilometre. To be expected really, as Jon had never run a race like this before, and was hoping for the 2 hour mark. My legs still didn't want to work, so I took my mind off them by admiring the wonderful view. Another run alongside the glistening River Han. Looks so much better now than it did in winter, when much of it was frozen over. What helped the cause was that the sun was often hiding behind some light cloud, thus meaning we weren't exerting ourselves in the fierce heat of the rising sun. Same as last time, we ran up one way and back down the same road but on the opposite side. I had been weaving through traffic - no other way as we were just about the last to start - and had counted that there were seventeen Westerners ahead of me. I thought that I would count the number of Westerners between me and Jon as I came back. One...two...wait a minut Jon! Less than 200 metres behind me! How slow am I going!! I started grunting 'pain is weakness' to myself, as I seem to do when I am in a lot of pain from running, and accelerated. At about 13km I was alongside a Korean man with a watch, so asked him our time. 1:06. I've had enough boring running sessions to know that I was on course for a PB at this point, and only a little outside the ambitious 1:45 target I had been gunning for before the first race a month previously. There was no big second wind this time, no inspiring track (Lifehouse did come on, but didn't have the same effect this time), and I was really struggling to keep moving when I got to 19km. When I got to 20km I noticed two people with balloons pretty close in front of me. The people with balloons are t he pacemakers, and these guys had their pacemaking time written in big numbers on their balloons. 1:45. CHARRRRRGE! I sprinted past them, and kept bombing on. And on. And there was the finish. I'd done it! Incredibly, Jon finished minutes later. Top effort. My time was texted through to me later as 1:43:29. Delighted was an understatement. It was makkoli time. The group we were with do these events a lot, and stick around afterwards to celebrate. By sitting on ice blocks naked, amongst other things. And then drinking beer off the blocks. We stuck to the normal games, flip-cup and the like, and then soon left. Two random things with this race. One: the man in the pi cture was a mentalist. He carried round loads of flags, which were undoubtedly heavier than I was at this point. Two: there were people still finishing when we left hours later. Incredible stuff. We went to meet people in Seoul Grand Park. Does what it says on the tin, that place. Glorious sunshine at this point, which we enjoyed. Also sa w a rabbit. Only this rabbit was on a . Ridiculous. Very cute, but one of the most bizarre things my eyes have ever laid eyes upon. From there we went to get food in Itaewon. This is the foreigner district of Seoul - a lot of US soldiers spend their nights here. People found it strange that I had survived six months without wanting to go, but I guess I like Korean food that much and don't really get on well with American soldiers (New Year's). We headed to a Turkish restaurant. The one thing people say about Itaewon is the quality of the food. Mine was great - other people didn't fare as well. Jon, for example, who removed his food in the bar we went to next. a standard British pub-cum-bar, a bit like O'Neills. In spite of this, I was seriously flagging under the lack of sleep, so ordered an Irish coffee. Wow. The strongest, most brilliant Irish coffee I've ever had. Three or four sips and I was back to normal - half the mug and I was bouncing in my seat. Amazing stuff. Soon after, I was going to meet some friends nearby, so got my stuff together. Jon couldn't see his bag. I spotted one by the bar, next to a tall Western man. I ask him if I can see if this is my friend's bag. Sure, of course you can, he responds, though in a slightly odd tone. So I lean down, and then he grabs the bag. Then tells me it's his bag. And then swears at me. I would have undoubtedly got into an argument, but just at this juncture Jon found his bag, and my friends told me to drop it. Don't think I've been missing anything by not frequenting Itaewon. So where was I g oing? Homo Hill. Yep. I had gone to see my friend Steph, and her friend Eric wanted to find a partner for the night. Not many gay districts in Seoul, so he didn't get the opportunity often. Some of the dancing I saw in the bar we went to, Soho, was insane. We didn't stay around for long, actually, instead ending up in other bars and laughing the night away. I'm sure I'll be back to Itaewon, but it wasn't the best first impression of the place. I'd go back just for the Irish coffee, though. And besides, I'd just completed a half-marathon, nothing was going to sour my mood! |
The perfect outfit Did you ever feel like you were wearing the right outfit, not just for you, but right for the universe? That's exactly what happened to me today. One of my husband's friends was celebrating his 60th birthday with a lunch at one of the fancy restaurants at the Time Warner Center. Lunch in fancy restaurants is not part of my usual routine. Today was to be the first really warm and perfect spring day. We have just come off a week of truly beastly weather where it was cold , rainy, and windy. You just didn't want to be outside. Today felt like the e.e.cummings poem, In Justspring. Maybe it is growing up in New England, but for me spring calls for nautical clothing, the same way that the fall cries for tweeds. I had purchased this Nanette Lepore skirt in the fall at my favorite thrift store. I certainly didn't need it, but it was so much fun, and so well made. It was an impulse purchase, but at $8 it was an impulse I could indulge. The air still has a bit of nippyness despite the sun. So, I wore a nubbly cotton/linen mixed jacket. It was a hand me down from my chic friend Joki, who provides both me and my daughter with endless numbers of adorable black jackets and other fashion goodies. My sister had given me the scarf. I needed to keep my neck warm in the changeable weather. I also wore a pair of short blackcotton gloves with smocking at the wrists. On my feet, were my black elkskin cowboy boots. They are boots truly meant for walking. After a long winter, I wanted to see signs of spring. I think that my fellow pedestrians on Broadway felt the same way. As I walked from my home in the 90's on Broadway to Columbus Circle two miles south, I kept getting stopped and complimented on what I was wearing and how good I looked. I'm going to be turning 49 in a few weeks. I am schlepping around too much weight. But I was dressed like the beginning of spring. |
06 | 16 : Andrew Philip Last on the 06 | 16 front, here’s a poem from me, first published in 5PX2: Snow bound and determined to break
out of the silence enforced by chronic fatigue
Jarrett is at his piano again (the first time
in let’s not contemplate how long for a man
as given to his art as this) stripping
the tune right back to all that ever mattered,
taking it to heart the way you’d want
her to take what you know most sparing:
your softest, most unguarded speech and touch—
no smoke, no mirrors, no sleight of hand,
no firecracker runs or full-voltage solo virtuosics:
just the tune; the tune and Christmas coming.
A moment to warm the fingers. Press RECORD. And here are the details for tomorrow’s reading: Hope to see you there! It should be a great evening of poetry from those guys. |
I was playing on the design wall and came up with this possible arrangement. I sewed these last night and today. I made 168. I just made as many as I had the light pink batik background. It was an end of bolt purchase from Equilter.com. I had only 27". It has little seeds scattered. And you know how batiks just have the most luscious spread of colors. The little square is a spotted brown batik. The triangle was another end of the bolt buy at my LQS. I love the Easy Angle ruler. I think it rocks a bit so I leave the cuts around the strip to lay the ruler on. Works for me! |
"As a rake combs the soil, God, smooth the surface of my interactions with others. Help me to be friendly, to inspire confidence, to find the things we have in common. Show me how to seek the good in others, to refrain from criticism, to offer praise and gratitude. Teach me to be fair in my dealings, calm in disagreement, ready to compromise, and quick to apologize. Give me good humor to level the rough spots, and prepare my ground for fruitful relationships. Amen." Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, even as Christ God forgave you. Taken from "In the Garden" page 11 Pictures taken at Callaway Gardens in GA ~ spring 2008. |
Marvel's summary judgment against the family of legendary, late artist Jack Kirby ; summary judgment motion from the Kirby family dismissed. concludes in San Diego Sunday evening with major stories including resurgence in pride concerning comics publishing's place at the show, a surge in digital comics initiatives and the establishment of the first major comics-related off-site event. to some uncertainty as to when and particularly where WonderCon 2012 will take place, as traditional site the Moscone Center will be closed for renovations. Winners Of The Week Your 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Winners Loser Of The Week , the classy Bob Weber Jr. and Jay Stephens newspaper strip aimed at kids. It ceased production this week never quite having caught on. Quote Of The Week "People from New York have been calling, to see if I'm still alive. When I answer the phone, you can hear the disappointment in their voice." -- today's cover is from the great comic book series Four-Color --- |
Transfer news: Nottingham Forest to sign Walsall winger Jamie Paterson Nottingham Forest are poised to sign Walsall's Jamie Paterson, Sky Sports understands. Forest agreed a fee with Walsall for Paterson last week and they look to have fended off interest from the likes of Middlesbrough, Huddersfield and Peterborough to land the 21-year-old. All three clubs are believed to have expressed an interest in the player, but Forest are confident of bringing the 21-year-old to the City Ground. Forest chief Billy Davies is keen to improve his side's creativity in wide areas and sees Paterson as a key addition to his squad for next season. Paterson is believed to have agreed a three-year deal at Forest and is on the verge of becoming the club's third signing of the summer following the arrivals of Eric Lichaj and Gonzalo Jara. |
Luiz from Brazil does the Today's Flowers Meme , check it out. Come and join with your flower photos. Sunday at 2 GMT is the post time. Today I'm going to show some photos from the summer time. These are some Peonies at Fish Creek. I enjoyed the reflection. This is a Water Lily bed that I captured from the shore. |
Alec and Elder Burgess in front a PROTEIN!! It's been a great week. I've been much better in journaling! Sadly I left my journal in the flat so I don't remember as much juicy details. Our investigator is ready for baptism, and tomorrow is the day! She tried on her baptismal clothes and is good to go. We asked her if there's anything we could do for her in our last lesson, and she was so sweet in her response. she expressed a lot of gratitude to us for all we've done to teach her, and answer her questions from the Book of Mormon. So sweet! I'm shrinking! Lol I've been quite disciplined recently with my diet. I'm determined to get fit before judgment day arrives. I'm so grateful for the many trials I've experienced on my mission. For they turn me to God, and lead me to rely on him to overcome. We introduced our new convert to PMG, and invited her to study Lesson 1 so she can teach us on Friday. She said that she will be a great teacher, that it's in her genes. What a girl. Hope you all had a great week! |
EMI World Staff Conference 2016 The EMI World Staff Families (well, most of us) Last week, we were up in the mountains for the EMI World Staff Conference – where all EMI staff from every office around the world gather to connect and learn and get recharged for the work of EMI. The conference is something we only do every 5 years due to the costs for staff to attend, but each time it proves to be well worth the effort and expense - and this time was no different! While a few of our local staff from the field offices were unable to get visas into the US, some of them were! It definitely added to the excitement to have Africans, Middle Easterners and Indians in our midst - in all, the total number of attendees including families was over 260! (By comparison, there were only 135 attendees at last the conference in 2011 – meaning EMI has more than doubled in size in the past 5 years!) Next time, we likely won't hold the conference in the US given the difficulties encountered with visas for our local staff. Alisha and I very much enjoyed sharing meals and hanging out with so many of our worldwide staff. We were reminded of the very cool people we are blessed to work with. The boys also had fun in the teens and kids programs – it felt like we hardly saw them since they were out and about doing all the fun activities provided for kids at the Y camp (ok, maybe we joined them for a few of those fun activities). But our kids really connected with the other EMI kids, and by mid-week all the kids ate meals together and hung out during the free times. On our way to the conference, the boys wanted to check out the
skate park in Winter Park, CO. Speaking at the conference were Psycho-therapist Tim Sanford (of Focus on the Family), former missionary and Perspectives lecturer Brian Hogan (YWAM), and Alan Ch'ng from the Navigators. For the most part, we didn’t talk much about design – I co-led the one session on ‘Excellence in Design’ where we emphasized the need for appropriateness in all that we do. But mostly, we focused on growing EMI in it’s Discipleship program, encouraging staff with member care sessions that included everything from managing stress in ministry to influencing rather than controlling our kids. Our 'guest' MC's - Vladimir and Paprika. CEO John D. giving the opening talk. John gave a lively message in church on Sunday. It was a beautiful setting and facility, and it felt like we almost
completely overran the place. Overall, from running in the mountains (the camp was at 8800 feet!), to tubing down a hill (see our Facebook pages for a video of that!), to playing putt-putt golf, to praying and learning how to hold ‘simple church’ in our homes, it was just a very renewing time…and indeed, that was the theme of the conference – ‘Renew’! And since I was responsible for heading up the team that has been planning the conference for nearly 3 years now, I am definitely glad things went well and that it's behind us (sad as it was to say the goodbyes)! Time to start thinking about next time... EMIer's hanging out in one of the lounges CEO John & his wife Gala - dear friends of ours! Gerhard and Trudie - the couple starting up our South Africa
office in Cape Town. Future home of the Crawfords? (Just checking
if our parents are still reading the blog! :) ) Chad Gamble - he was the Director of the Uganda office back
when we first moved there. Chad & fam left EMI for 6 years,
but they have rejoined us and after spending 9 mos. in our India
office, will be heading up the team starting our office in
Phnom Penh, Cambodia this coming January. Graysen celebrated birthday #12 while we were up at the conference. Since I was in charge of leading the team the put the conference on, I have to say that it is a big relief now that it’s over and things went so well. But then again, saying goodbye to people whom we may not see for 5 years (if ever!), the low point of the week was definitely having to say goodbye. First day of school yesterday - Graysen headed off
to Middle School for 6th grade... ...and Brodie began his High School career as a freshman at
Rampart HS here in Colorado Springs. He's also trying out for
the soccer team! And a family picture this morning, taken by our friend Dave
Lambert from England who stayed with us for 4 nights after
the conference. We missed you Jaz! |
new blog by a CF mom! And Mindy lives in the wonderful frozen tundra, just like me! As nice as it is to have friends across the country who are walking in my shoes, it’s just a little bit more comforting to know that she lives so near! Head on over to Strides for Sax to check out their blog! |
I am becoming obsessed with my yard. For the last ten years it has been ignored, except for mowing and trimming. The plants are all overgrown, there is no bark left to speak of, and all the beds are full of grass and weeds.
I've spent hours and hours this spring, working on the flower beds around our house, hoping I could get them all cleaned up this summer. So far I'm almost 3/4 of the way done; much further along than I thought I would be at this point in time. I keep getting distracted though, by purchasing new plants! I told my daughter today that I'd rather be spending money on plants than on counseling, and at this point I think my gardening is more therapeutic!
One of my beds is being turned from a rose bed into a perennial bed, with a few roses mixed in. I have the weeds all pulled, the roses pruned and the soil all tilled up. The fresh-dug dirt keeps begging for new plants, and who am I to resist? It's probably not a good thing, though, to spend one's gas money on ! There are so many of these growing along the highway that I wanted to just stop one evening and dig up a few! but I didn't. The DOT would probably frown on that idea.
There are also some amazing deep purple iris' growing in someone's yard not far from here. I wouldn't mind some of those, either! |
But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice."...14
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me" John 10:2-5,14 Recognizing Jesus's voice is the birthright of every Christian, but it doesn't come automatically. Just as a baby learns to recognize the voice of his mother, we have to actively work to learn the voice of our Heavenly Father. One of the best ways to learn to hear God's voice is through the Bible. A good friend of mine, uses a journaling process she calls 123 to teach people how to hear God's voice and it's probably the best process I've seen to date. Write in the journal the date, time and scripture passage you're reading that day. Read the passage, paying attention for what God wants to say to you. It is God's word. It is living and active and He will use it to speak to you. When you find what He wants to say, paraphrase it in your journal as if He is speaking it directly to you (because He is!!) Write a prayer of response back to Him. You can tell him what you are going to change because of what He has spoken into your life, or describe to Him how it changes the way you see the world, or you can just write a prayer of gratitude. If you can, keep the journal close to you all day and meditate on it throughout the day. Keeping your conversations with God in a journal is powerful and helps you see what kinds of themes God is using with you over time. It's amazing to look back and see how God has changed you and what He has brought you through. If you want to meet my dear friend, Linda Meyers leads a Bible Study for women called LIFT (Ladies in Fellowship Together) every Wednesday night at 6:30 at First Baptist Church, Winter Garden. |
Week One: Ghost In The Shell The movie we kick started off with was “Ghost In The Shell”, a movie I had never seen before. It was our first live-tweeting session a brand new experience for majority of the class especially for me. I had only used twitter in the past to see what celebrities are getting up to. Turning the live tweeting into something humorous throughout the whole session generated the most responses. After a good response to one funny tweet I posted more comedy tweets. The use of GIFS was very effective as most of my peers used it as well. I think it was successful because memes is such a strong part of the social media culture and here we are migrating memes into something we use for class. I found posting and researching facts about the movie actually made me more interested in the movie so I understand why those tweets did better than others. This weeks choice of movie excited me as I’m a huge fan of Jonathan Nolan’s reboot. My love for Nolan and him & his brothers movies came out in a few of my tweets. Referencing other Nolan movies including Inception with the use of a GIF this was actually my most responded to tweet of the week. This week I was more prepared for live tweeting in that i had a sense of what I was doing and what to look out for in the movie. I started to use photoshop throughout the session for some of my “funny” tweets but after this class I found it to be too pointless and time consuming so after this week I limited myself to one photoshop a week. Week Three: Johnny Mnemonic Interesting choice of movie this week. It was hard to sit through this movie, I didn’t enjoy it barely at all it was more of a comedy how bad it was and how bad Keanu Reeves acting was crazy to think he landed the main role in Matrix after this movie. I feel like I wanted to start making more serious tweets because it is a class and we are assessed on this but with this particular movie I think myself and my peers couldn’t help but make a few jokes. I engaged more in my peers tweets this class more than any other commenting on others and retweeting some. The movie made me more involved. My most successful tweet came from this class and it was another GIF for a joke. Following last weeks disaster we upgraded from economy to first class going from a horrible Keanu Reeves technology movie to an awesome one. By this point in the semester live tweeting has become a formula knowing what tweets will do better than others. Including myself I feel like at the start there was lots of funny tweets as I mentioned previously but by now everyone was getting more into their research – it was almost competitive researching you wanted to share facts that no one else had shared yet otherwise you look like you’ve completely copied someone. Also by this point everyone was a lot more engaged with everyone else’s the focus became more on what you were reading on twitter than what was on the screen which is interesting considering it’s watching a movie in class. For me anyway I became more interested in what everyone was posting and saying to each other rather than just watching the movie. Week Five: Black Mirror S2E1 “Be Right Back” This week we watched an episode of Black Mirror which considering the subject and the choice of films we’ve watched made perfect sense. Looking back now I didn’t meet the required tweets and the only reason I could think was because I got lost in the screen rather than focusing on the work. The tweets I did post were standard my go to I always start with what we’re about to watch. Week Six: Robot & Frank I loved this choice of movie. It was unique, simple but brilliant. Week Seven: Black Mirror S3E6 “Hated In The Nation” No words needed. Another fantastic Black Mirror episode. Overall looking over all my tweets there’s a consistency in my personal agenda throughout them. I’m a passionate movie nerd which is shown as I make multiple references to the structure of a movie and comment on how well the movie we’re watching is made. There’s also a lot of IMDB which is every movie nerd’s bible. I make multiple references to gun laws which is a result of the time we sat through those specific screenings was when the School shooting took place in America I became fascinated with the politics behind it and more specifically Trump and how poorly he handled everything. Twitter as I see it is generally used to express opinion Kanye West tweets cause controversy as does Donald Trump’s I feel as if I became this when I used it sharing my thoughts throughout class. It’s an interesting concept live tweeting you’re more engaged with what you’re watching you pay more attention to the movie and put a lot more research into it during it as you are watching it as oppose to after researching It. Live Tweeting in my opinion is a formula that isn’t hard to figure out it’s easy to get a reaction by creating a laugh, also easy to create a reaction dropping interesting facts about the making that people didn’t know makes for a better viewing knowing the back story. Further into session I found myself getting so caught up in what everyone was posting and becoming fascinated with the facts I was learning that I became distracted from the purpose which was to tweet and be involved which is shown as the number of my tweets decreases each week. Live tweeting is something I could see myself doing at home as I watch a movie as I love having a voice on something. |
This past weekend while my wife and I were driving around downtown, I saw the familiar smokestack of the Pearl Brewery which is quite visible as you come around 281 toward downtown. I had driven by many times but never bothered to actually drive down Grayson Street - which also tells you that I have never been to Nightmare on Grayson. Anyway, I had read about the fact that the area was being redeveloped and was going to house several new projects, and I'm happy to report that things are coming right along. As we drove by, it appeared that perhaps the new food school was having an event. Lots of people dressed up in chef clothes were standing out front having pictures made. We also noticed the Farm to Table Cafe that my wife read about in the paper. I think we may have been under dressed, what with not having any overalls or boots on, so we opted for a different lunch option. Anyway, I think this little development is yet another reason for people who live here to have a reason to enjoy our downtown. I think we need to have an ad campaign that says something like,
San Antonio - it ain't just for tourists
or something obvious like that. If you get the feeling that I enjoy San Antonio and the surrounding areas, you are right. Oh, two notes about the area. I think that the area in question could appear to some to be pretty seedy, but don't let that stop you from going by there (during the day anyway). I noticed there was quite memorial to TacoLand and the murder of the owner nearby. The other interesting place right up the street was called the Voo Doo Lounge. Nice. We didn't stop, but I bet you could get a cold beer on a hot day there.
And probably more. |
GASP: Gapped Ancestral Sequence Prediction for proteins Accepted: 06 September 2004 Published: 06 September 2004 Abstract Background The prediction of ancestral protein sequences from multiple sequence alignments is useful for many bioinformatics analyses. Predicting ancestral sequences is not a simple procedure and relies on accurate alignments and phylogenies. Several algorithms exist based on Maximum Parsimony or Maximum Likelihood methods but many current implementations are unable to process residues with gaps, which may represent insertion/deletion (indel) events or sequence fragments. Results Here we present a new algorithm, GASP (Gapped Ancestral Sequence Prediction), for predicting ancestral sequences from phylogenetic trees and the corresponding multiple sequence alignments. Alignments may be of any size and contain gaps. GASP first assigns the positions of gaps in the phylogeny before using a likelihood-based approach centred on amino acid substitution matrices to assign ancestral amino acids. Important outgroup information is used by first working down from the tips of the tree to the root, using descendant data only to assign probabilities, and then working back up from the root to the tips using descendant and outgroup data to make predictions. GASP was tested on a number of simulated datasets based on real phylogenies. Prediction accuracy for ungapped data was similar to three alternative algorithms tested, with GASP performing better in some cases and worse in others. Adding simple insertions and deletions to the simulated data did not have a detrimental effect on GASP accuracy. Conclusions GASP (Gapped Ancestral Sequence Prediction) will predict ancestral sequences from multiple protein alignments of any size. Although not as accurate in all cases as some of the more sophisticated maximum likelihood approaches, it can process a wide range of input phylogenies and will predict ancestral sequences for gapped and ungapped residues alike. Keywords Branch LengthAncestral SequenceAncestral NodeDescendant NodePAML Package Background Predicting ancestral protein sequences from a multiple sequence alignment is a useful tool in bioinformatics [1]. Many evolutionary sequence analyses require such predictions in order to map substitutions to a particular lineage (e.g. [2, 3]). In other situations, the predicted ancestral sequence alone may provide a more representative functional sequence than a simple consensus sequence constructed from an alignment. Nevertheless, predicting ancestral sequences is not a simple procedure. It relies on a quality alignment plus an accurate – and correctly rooted – phylogenetic tree. Strict consensus methods are quick but can suffer from over-representation of larger clades of related sequences, which contribute more sequences to the consensus than more sparsely populated clades. Maximum Parsimony (MP) methods [4] overcome this problem by minimising mutational steps, rather than maximising agreement with the terminal sequences. MP, however, cannot distinguish between several equally parsimonious predictions. More sophisticated likelihood-based methods exist that can give probabilities for different ancestral sequences (e.g. [5–8]) and implementation such as CODEML [5] and FASTML [7] provide a good balance between speed and accuracy. However, many of these programs cannot predict ancestral sequences for columns of the alignment that have one or more gapped residues [9]. GASP (Gapped Ancestral Sequence Prediction) is an ancestral sequence prediction algorithm that is designed to handle gapped alignments of any size using a combination of MP and likelihood methods. Although probably not as accurate as some of the more sophisticated maximum likelihood approaches, it permits the estimation of ancestral states at residues that are gapped in any sequences of the alignment with comparable accuracy to that of ungapped residues. Implementation The GASP algorithm Input GASP uses input from three sources: a multiple sequence alignment (MSA); an accompanying phylogenetic tree in Newick format [10]; and a Point Altered Mutation (PAM) substitution probability matrix, such as that of Jones et al. 1992 [11]. Sequences are read in from the alignment and node relationships established from the tree. The tree may be already rooted or rooted using GASP and must have branch lengths. Bootstrap values are not used by GASP but will be read if present. Sequences in the tree file can be represented by numbers (matching the order of the fasta alignment) or the first word of the sequence name. Details of the input formats can be found at: . Output GASP outputs an alignment in fasta format with both input terminal sequences and predicted ancestral node sequences. Ancestral sequences can either be grouped together at the end of the file or interspersed throughout the terminal sequences to reflect the tree topology (Figure ). Three tree files are also output from GASP: (1) Newick format of the original input tree, rooted (Figure ); (2) A raw text version of the tree, with internal nodes numbered as for the output sequence file; (3) Newick format tree with node numbers instead of bootstrap values, which can be opened with K Tamura's TreeExplorer program [ ). Branch lengths in this last file are replaced with the most likely PAM distance for a given branch, where PAM likelihoods for each branch are calculated as the product of each individual residue: where p X is the likelihood for a PAM distance of X (see 'Ancestral sequences' below), i is the ancestral amino acid at position r,j is the descendant amino acid at position r, p ijX is the substitution probability of i to j in a PAMX matrix, and N is the number of residues in the alignment. Substitutions involving gaps are ignored in this calculation. This allows a visual comparison between the branch lengths of the input phylogeny and the predicted branch lengths given the ancestral sequence predictions. Gaps If the MSA has gaps, GASP will first assign gap status to every residue at every node. Insertions and deletions are assumed to be equally likely, although a gap is assigned in the case of a tied probability (below). For each residue r, GASP starts at the tips and works deeper into the tree, assigning a probability of a gap at each node n, which is equal to the mean probability of a gap at the descendant nodes: where p is the gap probability for residue r at node n. p1 and p2 are the gap probabilities for r at the two descendant nodes. Terminal branches are given a probability of 1 if a gap is present or 0 if not. Once the root is reached, the gap status is fixed for the root. If the probability of a gap is greater than or equal to 0.5, residue r is fixed as a gap, otherwise r is fixed as a 'non-gap'. GASP then works back up the tree from the root, this time using the new ancestral gap probability and both descendant gap probabilities to recalculate the gap probability: where p0 is the gap probability for r at the ancestral node. As with the root, r is fixed as a gap if p ≥ 0.5. This continues until all nodes are assigned as 'gap' or 'non-gap'. Ancestral sequences Once gaps are assigned, ancestral sequences are predicted in a similar fashion. Each residue r is assigned a probability for each amino acid at each node n. At the tips, r has a probability of 1 for the amino acid that is present in the MSA. GASP then works down the tree assigning probabilities based on the descendant nodes, branch lengths and a substitution matrix. By default, the PAM matrix of Jones et al. 1992 [11] is used. This is a PAM1 matrix, which represents the probability that a given amino acid will be substituted by each other amino acid when the mean substitution rate is 1/100 residues. To make a PAMX matrix, which represents a length of evolutionary time where a sequence will have undergone X substitutions per 100 residues, the PAM1 matrix is multiplied by itself X-1 times: where i is the ancestral amino acid,j is the descendant amino acid, k is the 20 possible transitory amino acids, p ijX is the substitution probability of i to j in a PAMX matrix, pik(X-1)is the substitution probability of i to k in a PAM(X-1) matrix and pkj 1is the substitution probability of j to k in a PAM1 matrix. Unless the ancestral node has a gap (as calculated above) at position r, the ancestral probabilities for each amino acid are calculated for the two descendant branches individually, using a PAMX matrix, where X is 100 times the branch length as substitutions per site, i.e. a branch of 0.1 substitutions per site would use a PAM10 matrix: where p i is the probability of amino acid i at residue r of node n, pijX 1and pijX 2are the probabilities of substitution from amino acid i to each amino acid j in the appropriate PAM matrix for the two descendant branches, pdj 1and pdj 2are the probabilities of amino acid j being at position r at the two descendant nodes. Once the root is reached, the most probable amino acid is fixed as the ancestral sequence. As with gaps, GASP then works back up the tree, using the fixed ancestral node amino acid and the descendant node probabilities to give new probabilities for each amino acid. The most probable amino acid is then fixed and the process continues until all residues and all nodes have a fixed sequence. GASP is primarily designed for reasonably small trees (6–30 sequences), although there is no limit on input tree size. For larger trees, probabilities for each amino acid get very small near the root, which can lead to a heavy bias towards the fixed ancestral amino acid when GASP works back up the tree. To counter this GASP arbitrarily reduces any probabilities below a certain exclusion threshold (0.05 by default) to zero, thus reducing the slow accumulation of very unlikely amino acids. Variations To optimise the PAM matrices used for probability calculations, GASP uses the variable branch lengths read from the input phylogeny. There is also an option to fix the PAM distance used for all branches, which would allow the use of trees without branch lengths. Assignment of ancestral amino acids with the GASP algorithm is achieved by combining data from the descendants of a given node n and its direct ancestor n0. This ancestor itself is heavily influenced by the descendants of n but also by the 'outgroup' to n, namely those sequences that are descendant to n0 but not to n. The outgroup information contained by the ancestral node n0 can be vital in determining the correct sequence for n when the descendants of n are variable. For this reason, the GASP algorithm will, by default, fix ancestral sequences as it moves back 'up' the tree from the root, increasing the relative weighting of the outgroup to the two descendants. Because there is a chance of the wrong amino acid sweeping back up the tree (especially if rare amino acid probabilities are allowed to accumulate by reducing the exclusion threshold), there is an option to use amino acid probabilities from the ancestral node in the last stage of GASP rather than giving the fixed amino acid an ancestral probability of 1. This option should be used with caution. Simulated datasets Basic trees To test the GASP algorithm, a number of artificial phylogenies were simulated. Because there is a practically limitless number of possible tree sizes (in both numbers of sequences and branch lengths) and phylogenies, it was decided to test the algorithm on a set of simulated phylogenies based on real phylogenies that formed a subset of those for which the algorithm was originally written. This set comprised 94 neighbour-joining trees of protein families. Each tree contained at least two subfamilies of at least 3 members each, giving in total between 6 and 127 sequences. (The program used to generate these simulated phylogenies is also available from the author for testing the algorithm on a different set of trees.) Simulations started by creating a random protein sequence 100 amino acids long. Each residue was assigned an amino acid randomly as determined by the amino acid frequencies in all the human sequences of SwissProt-TrEMBL (Release 42) [13]. Sequences then evolved according to the template phylogeny. For each branch, residues were randomly substituted as described below until the total number of observed changes (ignoring multiple hits) equalled or exceeded the branch length of the phylogeny, which was not corrected for multiple hits. At this point, a new node was created with the new sequence and the tree split into two descendants. This proceeded until the whole phylogeny had been reconstructed. Each template tree seeded ten randomly simulated datasets. Algorithms were then given as input the simulated alignment and the parent phylogeny with 'real' branch lengths as calculated during simulation. (Note that PAML does not use these branch lengths.) Substitution methods Three substitution methods were used. In the first 'PAM Equal Rates' model, the PAM1 matrix of Jones et al. 1992 [11] was used, giving variable rates of evolution for different amino acids and different substitution likelihoods. For comparison, a purely random substitution matrix was used where every amino acid had an equal probability of evolving into every other amino acid (the 'Random Equal Rates' method). Under these methods, different residues have similar rates of evolution. A further model was used based on the PAM1 method where residues had different probabilities of evolving, before amino acid-dependent PAM effects are considered. Under this 'PAM Variable Rates' model, 40% sites evolved at the 'normal' rate, 20% half-rate, 20% double rate, and 20% almost fixed (1/50 rate). Note that the observed branch lengths remain the same as the normal 'PAM Equal Rates' method but highly variable sites will be more likely to have multiple substitutions under the 'PAM Variable Rates' method. Gapped data Because one of the main advantages of GASP is its ability to deal with gaps, a second test dataset was generated from the 'PAM Equal Rates' set of trees, this time with gaps added. The addition of gaps was kept simple so that the exact same trees could be used for the gap analysis, allowing direct comparison of the results with gaps and without. (See Testing the GASP Algorithm, below.) To do this, gaps were limited to single insertion/deletion ('indel') events per column of the MSA, allowing them to overlay onto the existing simulated 'PAM Equal Rates' data. In addition, no indels occurring next to root were allowed as it is impossible to judge without an outgroup whether such an event would be an insertion or deletion. To make the gaps, each residue r of the simulated sequences was considered in turn and had a probability of 50% of containing an indel. Gaps were all of length 1 (although two gaps may fall side by side, by chance). Although unrealistic for testing multiple alignment or phylogeny reconstruction programs, such a simplification is not a problem for ancestral sequence prediction as each residue is treated independently. The short gaps meant that, for the same total number of gapped residues, there is a higher diversity in the phylogenetic positioning of the indels. Indels were placed randomly with respect to evolutionary time. Each node in the simulated data has an 'age', which is the number of rounds of potential substitution it took to complete the simulation after that node was formed. Each indel occurs at a random age T between the tip (age 0) and the oldest direct descendant node from the root. A random branch (not leading to root) is then selected for which the ancestral node is older than T and the descendant node is no older. This is the branch on which the indel occurred. The indel is randomly assigned as an insertion or deletion event with equal probability. If it is an insertion then the ancestral node plus all nodes outside the descendant clade have residue r replaced with a gap. If it is a deletion then the descendant node and all its descendants have residue r replaced with a gap. Conclusions We have presented an algorithm for predicting ancestral sequences in gapped datasets. At the root of the tree, GASP marginally outperforms three existing algorithms implemented in the PAML package. For other nodes of the tree, however, the ML algorithms of CODEML [5–7] generally perform better than GASP, while PAMP [9] gives a similar performance. The main advantage of GASP is its ability to use gapped datasets. Simple indel patterns are accurately predicted by GASP and do not greatly decrease ancestral sequence prediction accuracy. The GASP algorithm can be reliably run on either Windows or UNIX platforms with no discernable instability. For real life datasets, as for all evolutionary studies, predictions are dependent on the quality of input alignments. Gapped residues are, by their nature, often located in regions of evolutionary instability and therefore the interpretations of predictions at such sites require extra care. In many scenarios, however, gaps are introduced into alignments by the missing termini of fragment sequences. In these situations, the complete sequences that form the rest of the alignment may be very well aligned and so it is highly desirable to have an algorithm that can process the gaps introduced by the truncated sequences. Availability and requirements Project name: GASP (Gapped Ancestral Sequence Prediction) Operating system(s): Platform Independent. (Tested on PC (Windows 98/XP) and UNIX (Red Hat Linux 7.3)) Any restrictions to use by non-academics: Author's permission required. List of abbreviations GASP:
Gapped Ancestral Sequence Prediction. Indel:
Insertion or deletion event. ML:
Maximum Likelihood. MP:
Maximum Parsimony. MSA:
Multiple Sequence Alignment. PAM:
Point Accepted Mutation. Declarations Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank K Johnston and S Park for helpful comments during the drafting of the manuscript. Authors’ Affiliations Bioinformatics Core, Clinical Pharmacology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland Copyright © Edwards and Shields; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2004 This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Markets are on a march higher with the 20,000 mark just ahead for the DJIA. It appears that the momentum crowd is pushing so that they can get ready to put on their double party hats for the new year. But, is are markets approaching nosebleed levels and ready for corrective action? We take a good, hard look at the fundamentals underlying the rally and all of the important (and unimportant) business news. --- See this week’s stock picks HERE Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter --- |
In seminary my friends and I played a game to stretch our food. We very creatively called it "What's in the cabinet; what's in the fridge?" As you can guess it involved making meals out of whatever we all had around. The skills from this help me as I stretch meals to feed my family at times from randomness and at times feed random people who stop by. (I think it's also an inherited maternal trait to make more food than is necessary for the number of people eating.) Since my particular denomination doesn't have strict rules for observing Lent, I prayed this year about what I could give up that would honor God. I thought about giving up yucky green beans, but eventually decided I should stop shopping for the crazy recipes I'd been trying and basically try to live on what was in the cabinet and fridge for a couple of months. I gave myself leave to buy milk, eggs, bananas, and also get a box of fresh veggies every two weeks. Most colorful meatloaf dinner ever I also allowed myself to shop when the in-laws came in, but did try to use up my box veggies. This lead to purple mashed potatoes with our meatloaf. Oddly enough everyone but the purple loving Caitlyn liked them. Elijah loved as much as made it into his mouth. So I'm pretty good at using up our leftovers and making them into random new meals, soups, and pizzas. However after buying an Easter ham for our family of four I am now swimming in ham. I put 3/4 of the leftovers in the freezer, but I'm going to need to have a meal or two of ham every week for the next several weeks to get rid of it all! So my plea to you is to please post any great and easy leftover ham recipes you have. Thanks in advance for the ideas! |
Many are casual hearers of God's word. Sometimes they will take a passage of the Bible and make it to say more than intended. Another passage may seem to be saying the opposite. I would like to compare two Bible passages that seem to come to different conclusions. Mar 9:38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
Mar 9:39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
Mar 9:40 For he that is not against us is on our part. Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. In the first story we are told not to judge someone if they are doing good works in the name of Jesus. They will not soon, or immediately turn against Jesus. I see the first example as to not prevent someone that is not of our group, if they do good in Jesus name. Some denominations preach against other denominations instead of leaving them alone, letting them do good in the name of Jesus. However in the Matthew scriptures, not all who once served Jesus saying Lord, Lord we have done good works and miracles in your name, will be accepted by him. Perhaps their foundation was not secure on the rock that is Christ and they fell away because they did it all in their own will? We do not judge before the time, but some who think they are special will be rejected, perhaps even a well known TV evangelist with a great audience? God knows who are truly his; He knows them. My advice is to keep the focus on Jesus and not our differences. The world teaches tolerance and self esteem. Many large churches preach the same thing, but do it in a positive way focusing on Jesus. Another church will preach on sin and hell, warning people of the coming judgment. Jesus is given as the answer to the problem of sin. I believe that we need a balance , but I am not to condemn another minister for not preaching like I would. If good comes from it and they point to Jesus , leave them alone. If they are in truth, Jesus will receive them. If they were making up things by their own will, then at the judgment Jesus may say, I never knew you, depart from me. We are not to "bash" other servants of God, but we are to examine ourselves to be sure that we are in the will of God. Too many think they are serving God by destroying the name of another person. We can correct false teaching in our own group, but if someone is doing good in Jesus name who has different ways, leave them alone. Protestants differ from Catholics in many beliefs, but both may be doing good standing up for Biblical morality in a decaying society in the name of Jesus. The focus should be on Jesus and good works through his name and power, not on our differences to a nation needing Jesus. Let each man choose, but may he choose Jesus. Another example is that God loves Israel and so should we. In time they too will receive their Messiah. Psa 26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. Psa 26:3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth. 2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 2Co 13:6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. 2Co 13:7 Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be (appear to you) as reprobates. 2Co 13:8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. I try to show the Bible references to what I say. Truth is important to me. Jesus gave us His truth for us to share by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the way to everlasting life. Do good in Jesus' name, amen. |
I am a public school teacher and proud of what I do. Reading intervention is my specialty. I take education very seriously and feel that my time as a teacher has exposed me to the ins and outs of public school, private school, and homeschooling. In light of this, let's just say I have pretty strong feelings about education and appropriate placement for students. No matter where you stand on the issue of school placement, I heard a comment from a parent the other that would/should shock and disappoint anyone. A mother at my son's preschool mother actually told me that she was considering not sending child to public school in our district because the district has a healthy-eating policy that prohibits students from bringing cupcakes on their birthdays. Now, I am not a fan of the no cupcake-birthday ban, but I certainly can understand its foundation and furthermore cannot begin to comprehend how this would impact a parent's decision about their child's schooling--especially given the fact that this student has a speech issue that is currently going untreated and likely would continue going untreated in the private schools the parents are considering. What a shame. I feel so bad for this child, because I see so many children with the same stumbling block given my line of work. I've heard a lot of excuses for not sending children to public school and this one was the worst. |
So… me and Alice just went to see Kittie. We both loved Kittie when we were teenagers. I was 17, Alice was 15, and it was in the peak of the so-called “Nu-Metal” era. Bands like Limp Bizkit and KoRn were huge, and moshers clashed with charvs across the playground. And Kittie enjoyed they moment in the sun, although amongst the people we know, only me and Alice liked them. This, as follows, is how we came to see them play live tonight. We both follow the Twitter feed @thefuckingword, which uses vulgar examples to teach its followers new vocabulary every few days. A couple of months ago, the word of the day was “brackish”. What this word means is irrelevant. ‘Brackish’ is the title of probably the most famous Kittie song, and was certainly the song that the crowd wanted to hear at the gig tonight. Reminded of Kittie by this one word, Alice decided to look them up on the Internet, wondering (primarily) when they split up. They never split up. Going through several line-up changes (unfortunately losing their original bassist Talena Atfield) but always retaining the original duo of sisters Mercedes and Morgan (the drummer and lead singer who had started the band) we discovered that Kittie are still going strong, have recently released a new album, and were touring and coming to Newcastle in the not-to-distant future. Cue tonight, and this gig, and me and Alice reliving our teenage years. The gig was absolutely INCREDIBLE! Truth be told, neither of us expected it to be anywhere near as awesome as it was. We really only went tonight to see what had happened to a band we used to love. Instead, we discovered that we still love that band. And, perhaps more significantly, we completely regressed eight years for an hour and a half. While Kittie played tonight, we were literally both transported back to our teens. Alice was 15, I was 17. We had school work to worry about, sure, but that was it. No adult stresses. No jobs. No responsibilities. We were completely lost – in the music, in joy, and in the past. It was truly an amazing gig, not just because of indulgent nostalgia but because of the sheer energy that the four girls brought to the stage, giving everything to the performance. Despite not playing ‘Brackish’, the gig was just bloody awesome. And, in fact, I can understand them not playing their most famous song; the song that they are essentially known for. They must get seriously sick of playing it, and for people asking for it. They did not disappoint in the slightest. They put on one hell of a show, and made old fans completely fall in love with them again. Me and Alice only really went to see them because we thought it would be a laugh to see a band that they were both so in to once upon a time. Instead, they ended up blowing us away, and giving us a genuinely awesome night. Thank you, Kittie. From us now, and from our teenage selves. You kicked our arses. |
These pages started with a little bit of molding paste and a stencil on the left page. I painted an undercoat first on both pages. Then I did a coat of Midnight blue paint mixed with some glazing liquid over the entire page and let it set for about a minute. Then I wiped the paint off. I like the effect. Then I added some turquoise blue here and there on the swirls and ultimately some gold. I sewed a button onto a piece of paper that I cut into a scalloped edged circle. The detail of the button, which you can't see is that it looks like the background of the page. There is also a striped button on the page. The butterfly is decoupaged onto a piece of card stock. I only have it glued down the center of the butterfly so it appears ready to take off....and I added two words...i imagine. This page I also had painted the background. And then I drew a wire birdhouse that I have...I like things made out of wire. At any rate, it didn't have the whimsical quality that I was hoping for and it was really difficult to draw. I think if I had used a pen with a smaller point it might have worked. However, as you can see, the bird cage is nowhere to be seen. I painted over the whole thing. In it's place, you see a napkin that I decoupaged to the page. I covered it with gloss decoupage to make sure the napkin was protected. There is a small brass bird sitting on top of the Eiffel Tower. And right in the middle of the compass is the word....fly. I also added a nice piece of ribbon on the right side of the page. Below is a close-up of the button/butterfly. That's my weekend art! |
So this is the first project from uni that I have enjoyed and properly gotten into, the project is simply 'studio portrait'. And after watching The Big Sleep I wanted to do a film noir shoot, so here are a couple of shots. I'm currently still printing in the darkroom and editing down to my final image. These are scans from the negatives, developed by myself at home. |
I have been watching feed from the Tolbachik volcano on the Kamchtka Peninsula ever since it started to erupt. It has got to be my favorite type of eruption, an effusive fissure eruption. Every summer, I have found myself on the side of some volcanic feature and inspired by Tolbachik volcano, I have decided to write about a few more of my favorites. Craters of the Moon National Monument I have driven across the flat and dry volcanic Snake River Plain in southern Idaho several times and always regretted never visiting Craters of the Moon National Monument. It is a little out of the way from the major interstate highways of the USA but then again, so are most of the interesting volcanic features I have visited before. Last summer I got my chance and it was well worth it. Craters of the Moon National Monument consists of 400 square miles of basalt lava fields originating from a "Great Rift". Eruptions along this rift come from a series of fissures that generate spatter cones and effusive lava flows. There are also a series of monogenic cinder cones some of which, like Inferno Cone (see picture below) can be climbed by the public. The most recent erruption was approximately 2100 years ago. Yellowstone I have visited Yellowstone at least five times and keep being drawn back. Yellowstone is a fascinating to me not only because of its seemingly endless local volcanic and hydrothermal features but because of the fact that the hotspot which created them, is also responsible for many of the large geologic formations throughout the pacific northwest. These include the flood basalts of Snake River Plain and even the Columbia River Basalt Group, one of the largest trap formations in the world. Columbia River Flood Basalts When you have seen all of this, calling Yellowstone merely a "super volcano" doesn't seem to justify the magnitude of eruptive material that has been created by this hotspot. It is mind boggling! Yellowstone itself is a series of overlapping and sometimes nested caldera type eruptions on a massive scale. The youngest caldera is filled with the remains of many more recent effusive and sometimes explosive events. Eruptions at the current location has ranged from phreatic to those producing lavas all all varieties, basalt to rhyolite. Yellowstone resides on the continental divide, currently one of the thickest parts of the earths crust on the North American Plate. The massive magma chamber, which was once fed by the hotspot, is still full of plastic hot magma possibly left there from previous eruptions of the distant past. Insulated within the rock of the crust, magma can stay hot for milenia. This magma chamber is at a very shallow depth such that water coming in contact with it has created the world's largest collection of hydrothermal features which include geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mud pots. Below is a small sample of some of the geology that can be seen within the park. Ubiquitous "Old Faithful" geyser Upper Geyser Basin Path Fountain Paint Pots boiling mud pond Roaring Mountain Fumarole Field Overlapping columnar lava flows at Watch Tower Falls There are two resurgent domes within the Yellowstone caldera which have been growing lately. This has been a source of concern amongst sensationalist media types but they are a common feature in most active calderas around the world. Resurgent domes are known to inflate and deflate routinely and are not a good indicator of an imminent volcanic eruption. The National Park Service and the USGS (United States Geologic Survey) monitor the volcano constantly with various types of sensors. There has not been any sign of a significant increase in sulfur dioxide emissions or increased seismic tremors(earthquake) in focused swarms, key indicators of a possible eruption. Experts say that the likelihood of a big Yellowstone eruption is 1/730,000 every year. I hope this debunks some of the fear generated by media...sorry doomsday preppers! Aside from the geology, I also love visiting Yellowstone for it's rustic charm, abundant wildlife, and beautiful mountain vistas. Yellowstone is just too large to see everything in one trip. Newberry Caldera/Volcano and Medicine Lake Volcano Although these two volcanoes reside in two different states, they are both situated just east of the Cascade Range and volcanic arc, they are both essentially shield volcanoes with extensive associated monogenic cindercone fields, they are both atypical shield volcanoes in that they have produced both basalt flows at lower elevations and rhyolite flows at higher elevations, and they both have lakes within their calderas. It is likely that both have multiple small magma chambers rather than just one. Both of these volcanoes seem to be on an area of crustal extension with eruptive vents running along fault lines moving from the oldest in the southeast to the youngest in the northwest. The last eruption at Newberry was approximately 1400 years ago and the last eruption at Medicine Lake was approximately 900 years ago. I had the pleasure of camping inside Newberry Caldera next to East Lake. Newberry is in central Oregon. The caldera itself is filled with obsidian shards from various rhyolite flows and this can make walking in unsuitable footwear treacherous. There are several hot springs along the sides of both lakes in Newberry Caldera. Central Pumice Cone across East Lake Medicine Lake Volcano is in northern California and has Lava Beds National Monument on its northern slope. Medicine Lake Volcano on the left and Mt Shasta distant right This volcano is well off the beaten path but its numerous lava tubes makes it a destination for adventurous spelunkers. I discovered this monument more by coincidence than on purpose as it was on my planned route to Reno one spring. In Lava Beds National Monument the final battles of the Modoc War (or Lava Beds War) were fought between the local native American Modoc tribe and the US army in 1873. The lava beds were known as Captain Jack's (the Modoc leader) Stronghold and the lava tubes and ridges provided an effective defense during the two battles which were fought in them. The combination of history and geology has made Lava Beds National Monument a fondly remembered destination for me. Devil's Homestead Lava Flow Lava tube entrance with Schonchin Butte cinder cone behind Stay tuned for more volcano goodness as I have visited many others and I intend to see many more. |
Last Sunday we were treated to a scrumptious and lavish spread of home-cooked deliciousness by my Uncle Simon and Aunt Aileen. my uncle Simon and aunt Aileen cooking They prepared chili crabs, popiah (Singapore-style DIY spring roll), cockles, fried sweet bread rolls, cereal shrimp, and a dessert of lime ice jelly. YUMMMMMM!!! 1/2lb raw, deveined, peeled shrimp 3 red hot chili pepper 2 stalks curry leaves (or thai basil leaves) 4 tbsp butter, divided 1 cup oats, toasted 1/2 cup corn flour 1 tsp chicken bouillon granules Rinse shrimps and pat dry. Heat oil to about 350F (till it forms tiny bubbles when you test it with a chopstick). Coat shrimp with corn flour and deep fry briskly (so not overcooked). Remove and set aside. Heat pan and melt half of the butter. Stir in oats and fry over low heat until oats turn golden brown and fragrant. Remove and set aside. Use remaining butter to cook the red pepper and curry (or basil) leaves. Mix in salt, sugar, and chicken bouillon granules, cook until fragrant. Add shrimp and combine well. Toss in the oats to coat well. |
Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases. ISBN: 9780321956934 | 0321956931
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 2/7/2014 Features examples from each chapter, learning objectives, review of key concepts from the text, and additional problems for student practice. Also, the workbook provides comprehensive answers and explanations to selected end-of-chapter problems from the text. Provides over 200 worked examples and more than 550 practice problems and quiz questions to help students develop and practice their problem-solving skills. |
This morning at 5.45am the sky was a blaze of brilliant red colour. My mother used to tell me as a child that red sky at night meant shepherds delight; and red sky in the morning was shepherds warning. It's strange the things that stay with us from our childhood. I knew today was going to be a tough day, the red sky only confirmed it for me. So what if the red sky is meant to relate more to the weather than life in general, it can be anything I want it to be. I've lived through four company restructures now, working in Human Resource and Change roles, it's kind of unavoidable. I've known the people who were going, cared about many of them and even cried with several of them. At my previous workplace even my position was made redundant and yet I had choice. My boss had already left and I was fortunate to transfer to the parent company with him. I also finalised others redundancy contracts before I left and basically 'turned' off the lights as I left in a manner of speaking. Mine wasn't true redundancy in the real meaning of the word. Not gut clenching, knock down shock that your job and your daily routine has been turned on its ear. Now just more than two years later we find ourselves amidst the drama again. I hate business restructures, there's not one nice thing about them. That's all I need to say on the subject, just so you understand why today was a red sky morning. That and the fact that today is my last day of being 40. Tomorrow I turn 41 years old. I've always dreaded my birthdays, I'm not sure why either. It's a day just to be rushed through and be done with. Hubby is frustrated because I can not come up with one single thing that I want for my birthday - not one. That's not me being coy or playing games either. I simply don't want or need anything, other than perhaps a trip to Thailand, but that's probably a little bit over the birthday spend budget and not feasible in the foreseeable future. I have decided I will get a tattoo on my foot, after months of dithering and talking about it, but everything I've read and heard tells me this is painful and not conducive with wearing high heels for work. So I will wait for my holidays to do that when I can slop around with bare feet for a few days.. Hayfever is killing me at the moment, I haven't had it quite so bad for years, but this year is exceptionally horrendous. I feel like scratching my eyes out of my head at the moment. Ahhh the magnificent joys of old age, you become easily redundant and you sniff and snort a lot. I'm sure it can only get better, as long as I don't lose my sense of humour I'll be fine. Have a good week all. |
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