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And he had taken a long, torturous road to malnutrition — growing up in a world of alcohol and drugs, with two abusive stepfathers, never knowing his birth father. With no spiritual guidance whatsoever. "All I knew about God came from the Pledge of Allegiance at school," he says.
Steven functioned almost like a father to his three brothers and his sister — because his parents were so often drunk, or high, or fighting... or in jail. His home life was so awful, he worked extra hard in high school just to graduate a year early and get out on his own. He fled to beautiful Tucson. Here, he built a good life. He enjoyed a good job in the mining business, with a good salary.
But one day, Steven's little brother overdosed, on their mother's front porch, and died. It was his younger brother's 24th birthday. Steven went into a tailspin. "He was my best friend," Steven recalls. "I took care of him when he was growing up, so he was a little bit like a son too."
On that day of tragedy, Steven began drinking. He drank absolutely every day, for 2,191 days in a row.
In the middle of it all, Steven's mom overdosed on heroin, and died on her living room floor. "That sealed my fate," Steven says today. "I had kids, a vehicle, a good job and a home, but I just shut down. I walked away from it all, from everyone." Then he lived in drain tunnels. "The pain I had been carrying around all my life hit a point where I didn't want to be alive anymore. I didn't care... Everyone I loved was dying, and I didn't want to go through that anymore."
Homeless, wandering the streets, Steven lurked behind restaurants near closing time, then dug through the trash, hoping to find something edible. He staggered from month to month, gradually wasting away. But it was hunger that finally saved his life.
One morning he awoke famished, and began walking down 29th Street looking for something to eat. He had never heard of Gospel Rescue Mission, but he saw people coming in and out carrying clothes. Maybe a place that offered clothing would offer food as well?
"I was ashamed. I had been in the same clothes, with no shower or anything." He waited until the crowds cleared, then nervously went in. A woman greeted him. "I asked her if I could have some food. She said, 'Yes! I can get you a box full. Do you have an address to take it to?' I told her no, but that I was so hungry I could eat a whole box full right then and there!"
Steven committed his life to Christ. He stopped drinking and - after a 22-year habit - stopped smoking. He was baptized on April 6th. "My life got so much better!" he says. "I have a sense of joy, and the anger and hurt are gone. I always wanted a father, and in the Lord I found one who is always there for me, and that I can count on."
The generous support of our donors and volunteers helped save Steven's life. But more men, women, and children are still hungry today, and "There's something you can do!" Please donate today and help save another person like Steven. Thank you in advance and God bless you!
September 2019

subset: commoncrawl


text: Wal Mart strikes protected under law: Labour judgeOrdered to give back pay, reinstate workersBy The Associated Press01/25/2016|payroll-reporter.com|Last Updated: 01/25/2016 NEW YORK (AP) — A National Labor Relations Board judge has ruled that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unlawfully disciplined workers who staged protests in May and June of 2013 and ordered the retailer to reinstate 16 former employees, as well as give them back pay. Judge Geoffrey Carter ruled that the employee actions were protected under the National Labor Relations Act and that Wal-Mart violated labour laws by "disciplining or discharging several associates because they were absent from work while on strike.'' The judge also ordered Wal-Mart to hold a meeting in 29 stores throughout the country to inform employees of their right to strike, and to promise not to threaten or discipline employees for doing so. RELATED ARTICLESCivilian employees on military bases set to protest pay gapAlberta introduces bill affecting pay rules for doctors, public sector workersJet Airways pilots seek government help to recover unpaid salaries, with interestThe complaint was filed on behalf of the labour-backed group "Our Walmart,'' which called it a huge victory. The decision, posted on the labour board's website late Thursday, arrived one day after the nation's largest private employer announced raises for more than 1.2 million U.S. hourly workers, which is most of them. The Bentonville, Arkansas, retailer said in October that it would invest US$2.7 billion in its workforce over two years. In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg said that it disagreed with the judge's findings and that it will pursue all of its options to defend the company. It called its actions "legal and justified.'' "We are focused on providing our hard working associates more opportunity for success and career growth by raising wages, providing new training, education and expanded benefit options,'' Lundberg wrote. Add Comment * Title * Name * Email Anonymous * Comment


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Ahwahnee, CA
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Coalition Government will introduce secondary supply legislation to prevent unauthorised supply of alcohol to minors.
The coalition government announced this news in a press release late last year in response to concerns with the growing trends of harmful alcohol consumption by young people-particularly those that are being supplied alcohol at private parties or gatherings without parental permission.
Many Victorian parents are concerned that we have not moved in line with other states such as Tasmania, Queensland and New South Wales and introduced legislation to prevent another person from supplying alcohol to a minor in a private premise without permission.
There have been cases where teenagers have been seriously injured or died as a result of reckless and/or unauthorised supply of alcohol. See- Story of Leigh Clark.
During the 10 year campaign, there have been many parliamentary committee reports that have recommended secondary supply legislation be introduced.
There is a groundswell of support from parents, police, schools, experts, organisations, youth agencies and the community.
Keep em Safe has been campaigning with the ADF and Leigh Clark Foundation and congratulates the Victorian Government for supporting Secondary Supply legislation. This is the 'emergency brake' we need to protect the vulnerable and form the foundation for change in our culture.
From November 2011 it will be illegal to supply alcohol to anyone under 18 in your home unless you have the parents permission. Fines of more than $7000 can apply.
Click on the link below to the Vic Govt website to learn about the law and what you need to do to comply.


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"You've been told since you were born that you are to live in London and marry a rich lord, but that's not what will make you happy."
New to WINNING A BRIDE? Catch up with Will and Josephine here >>
Chapter 15
Will growled as he tossed a heavy rock out the window of his brother's crumbling castle. It was a loud growl, full of animal pain and fury. He was alone, so he could make whatever damn sounds he wanted. And with every grunt or groan, he mentally cursed his family name. Bloody. Worthless. Crowles. That's what they were. And that's what had damned him with Josephine's father. The man didn't see Will's work, didn't see the good things he'd done here. All Lawton knew was Will's family name. And no matter how hard Will worked, he would never escape that. He'd always be a worthless Crowle. And now that the lock was destroyed, the canal had no chance of being finished in time. So his bonus was gone, which meant he'd never have any property of his own. He grabbed a young tree by its base and tried to haul it physically out of the ground. It was small and scrawny from growing indoors. It had survived from sun and rain coming in through the open window that had lost its covering decades ago. Somehow the thing had found purchase between the cracked tiles and through the hard earth below. And now it was growing inside the castle. It had to go. But it was stubborn, its roots sunk deep. No matter how much Will cursed and hauled and dug around the base, the damn thing didn't budge. He'd stripped out of his shirt, and the thin branches cut at his back while his sweaty hands fought for a handhold around the base. He could get an axe and hack it down, but that would require a tool. At the moment, he was more interested in besting things with his bare hands. So he grunted and hauled and cursed like a man possessed. And during this fury of idiocy, she walked in. He knew her by her scent. The sweet lavender water she used drifted through the air. It took a while for him to notice, but eventually he did. Lavender and woman. His woman, for all that she would marry a damn Scot. But his conscious mind didn't register her presence quickly. Instead, it waited until he was gasping for breath and leaning—spent—against the tree. He hadn't even the strength to lift his head, but his gaze shifted. He had to know if he was so crazy that he was imagining her. She was real, and she was standing by his mother. Worse, both women looked highly amused. His mother spoke first, her voice as sharp as when he'd been a boy caught stealing a treat. "What on Earth are you about, child?" He closed his eyes, blocking out the sight. His mother couldn't possibly have just called him a child. Not in front of her. Not now when he was sweating and grunting like a beast. Then she spoke, stepping slowly inside as she looked around. "Will?" Only his name, but he felt compelled to respond. Bloody hell, he'd always answer whenever she called. "I'm cleaning the room," he said, working hard to keep his tone from being a growl. "A tree doesn't belong inside a castle." Josephine was turning slowly, looking at every corner of the ramshackle room. She no doubt absorbed the fact that three out of its four walls were braced with thick boards with varying degrees of success. And the fourth wall—the exterior one—was more like a collection of large stones, some stacked, some scattered, and some no more than rubble. The original roof was long gone, but he'd fashioned a kind of covering made of branches and planks. It was slapdash work, done months ago just to protect the remaining walls. If the interior wall collapsed, so would half the castle. "It's not much of an inside anymore," Josephine said. "It's more like an…um…archway of sorts to the outdoors." His mother snorted. "No arch. Just a way. And a falling down way it is." Will pushed himself upright, exhaustion pulling at every muscle in his body. "Mother, I am working. Did you need something?" "This isn't work, son. This is folly." He didn't answer. He just opened his eyes and shot his mother a look. It begged her silently to leave him alone. Sometimes a man just needed to be stupid. She understood. She raised her hands in surrender and backed away. "Miss Josephine asked to see you, so I brought her. And now I'll be going back to my baking." She rolled her eyes at Josephine. "Maybe the boy will come back to his senses once he's got food in his belly." "And maybe the man just wants to be left alone to work," he shot back. His mother's only answer was a low chuckle as she waved her good-bye and departed. Which left him alone with her. She wanted to talk. That's what all women wanted, and right now that was the furthest thing from his mind. So he glared at her and stomped over to a bucket of water. He'd brought it to wash what was left of the sturdy stone table that was part of the inside wall. But even in his fury, he didn't want to stand in front of her covered in stink. So he grabbed it and wet the cloth. He cleaned himself quickly with angry swipes, but in the end it was useless. No cloth could get him clean, so he discarded it and grabbed the whole bucket and upended it over his head. The water was cool and clean. A sweet delight, but it recalled to his mind the way they'd cleaned each other in the creek. They'd waded to the deepest part of the water and washed each other with their bare hands. Then their mouths. And then there had been no more cleaning. Just sweet erotic play that ended up with him embedded so deeply into her, he lost himself. That was the problem, he decided. Last night, he'd lost himself in her and he would never, ever recover. He dropped the bucket, then wiped the wet from his eyes. When he could see, he looked at her. She was wetting her lips while her eyes had taken on a hungry cast. In this way, they fit. He'd more than proved that last night. But in all others? He turned his back on her, half to stop himself from looking at her tight nipples, half to hide his thickening cock from her. "I meant to have this cleared by today. But yesterday—" "I don't care. Are you all right? I couldn't stay. My father and Mr. Montgomery—" "I know why you couldn't stay." Damn it, did she think he wanted to hear all the details? He knew she was engaged to marry Montgomery. He knew she couldn't be seen standing on the side of the river with her heart in her eyes. That's what haunted him. The sight of her, wet and terrified. For him. She'd been terrified for him, and then that damned Scot had taken her away. Made him want to kill the man, but he hadn't been able to do that. It wasn't his place. And he couldn't talk about it now, so he nodded to her, his body and his words stiff. "Of course I'm fine. Come back tomorrow when I have this done." "What are you doing?" Her voice was husky, and he tamped down the feelings that were running riot inside him. He wanted her, and if what had happened yesterday was any measure, she wanted him too. But to her father, Will would never be anything but a damned, worthless Crowle. "Will—" she began, but he cut her off. Keeping his back to her, he gestured to the room at large. "This was what I wanted to show you. But tomorrow, after I had time to clear it." "This?" she asked. "But why?" "It used to be the stillroom of the castle. A long time ago. Do you know what a stillroom is?" "Of course. It was where medicines were made. It was usually attached to…" He heard her step to the window. She could have taken two steps to the side to walk through the wall. "To a garden out back. For herbs and the like." Unable to resist, he turned to look at her. The sun was on her face and in her hair. Her skin shown fair and clear. She was a beautiful woman, but most of all, he saw her quiet. She didn't show it often, but he knew how to bring it out in her. It was when she was thinking, her mind leaping ahead to figure out his puzzle. Lord, he wanted to go to her. He wanted to lie down with her in the sunshine and love her until she could do nothing but gaze at him. Instead, he crossed to his satchel, pulling out the heavy tome and unwrapping the oilskin that surrounded it. Without any more pomp than that, he extended the book to her. "Here. This is what I meant to give you. And this room and garden if you want it." It was a lie. He didn't own this room or this garden. And it was a fair question if he owned the book. By rights, it was probably his brother's. But for now, he had say over who used it, and he gave it to her. She took the book, studying his face for a moment before looking down at the heavy leather tome. "The Leechbook of Bald?" She crossed quickly to the stone table and set the book down, opening it slowly and reverently. "How old is this?" "I don't know. The original was written centuries ago. That's a copy with pages added by others. The last entries are by my great-grandmother." She flipped carefully to the back and gently stroked her fingers over the feminine writing. "Why would you give this to me?" He shrugged. He'd meant to think of exactly how to show her this. He'd meant to prepare his explanation. But she'd appeared a day before he was ready, and so he could only answer honestly. "You said you needed a hobby, a task of some sort. We don't have a doctor in the village. Nearest one is an hour's fast ride." "I can't be a doctor." He stepped forward. "Are you so sure? You once told me about following around an old woman in India. That she was the one who made potions and the like for the servants." "Magic potions. And most of it was nonsense." "But you followed her around. You learned what she taught." He watched her swallow, her gaze drawn back to the book. She turned the pages, scanning recipe after recipe. Her fingers traced over potions to cure warts, medicines against a cough, treatments for any number of ailments. She didn't speak, her thoughts absorbed by what she read. Unable to stop himself, he stepped close enough to fill his lungs with her scent. "You told me you were fascinated by that woman," he said. "The stories behind her potions, the belief she had in herbs." "It wasn't medicine. Not from a doctor." "And why can't that be medicine? Up until six years ago, we had a witch-woman that we turned to. The doctor came for the serious illnesses, but it was the witch-woman who treated the little problems. And truthfully? Most people thought she did better than any London-trained doctor." "But…" She abruptly twisted to look at him. "You want me to be a witch-woman?" He shrugged. "A woman who knows treatments. There are more books. This was my great-grandmother's, but the witch-woman had maybe a dozen more. We could probably buy them from her son. If you were interested." She didn't answer, but her body told him the truth. She'd drawn closer to the text, reading page after page. She was interested. More than that—she was fascinated. "This information," she said softly. "It shouldn't be lost. We should definitely buy those books." "Then you could read them. Maybe mix some of the potions and see if they work." She lifted her head. "But that's a massive undertaking." She flipped back to some of the early pages. "Look, some of this isn't even in English. Or at least not the English I understand." "But you can translate it, right?" She bit her lip, her eyes going back to the page. "I could try. I could sort it out, I think. Maybe." "And maybe then you'd have something important to fill your time. Not stitching some silly design for another cushion that no one will use. But real medicine for people who need it." "This is not medicine. I'm not a doctor." He touched her arm. He couldn't stop himself. "You don't need to be a doctor. Just a woman who mixes potions. Someone who figures out what works and what doesn't. That's something you can do. And something we desperately need." She looked out at the garden, seeing the wild tangle of growth there. "You think I can grow these herbs here? But I'm not a farmer. I don't know how—" "I know how. And others too. There's a boy—Harry—he's of an age to be getting into mischief if he's not occupied. We could hire him to make your garden. He just needs supervision." She nodded slowly. "I could do that. And maybe I could mix some of these things. The potion for sores, maybe. Or something to smooth wrinkles." He smiled. He could see the interest sparking sharp and clear in her eyes. She was willing. He stepped back from her then. He stood back and just watched her as she turned page after page, frowning and thinking the whole time. In the end she nodded, her gaze finding his. He expected her to say "thank you" then. Or perhaps start detailing her plans. She had them already, he knew. But instead she said one word. "Why?" He blinked. "Why what?" "Why would you show me this? Why would you ask me to do this? Here and now?" He raised his arms in a shrug. "Because it's been six years since we had a woman to tend to the village. Because you would take to this; I know you would. But you were never allowed. You've been told since you were born that you are to live in London and marry a rich lord, but that's not what will make you happy." "You can't know that." He stepped forward, touching her arms and drawing her to look at him. "I can know that because you're like me, Jo. You need solid work to do and space in which to do it. Just like me." She looked into his eyes, and he saw a yearning there. A desire to do everything he wanted. To stay here, to grow her garden and make her potions. To be with him at night and stand by his side during the day. He saw it all in her eyes. Or he imagined what he wanted to see because a moment later, she shook her head and drew away. "It's isn't real," she whispered. "And it isn't for me." "What?" She stretched her hands to the open air, to the overgrown garden, and then finally to him. "Everything you've said, everything we've done—Will, it isn't real. None of it was real." "Of course it was! Every damn minute of it!" "Then why—after all this time—do you only come courting me after my father announces his intention with my dowry? Look me in the eye, Will, and tell me you don't want me for my land." "It's Crowle land," he snapped. It was an automatic reflex, and it was the absolute worst thing in the world he could say. He meant to continue. There was more to that sentence, but he didn't express it in time. Damn it, some things were hard to say! But by the time he managed to frame the words in his head, she was already walking away.
Original post: kkmalott.booklikes.com/post/1330923/jade-lee-s-winning-a-bride-part-15-free-newsletter-serial
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text:
Fixing EU's flaw is better than aiding sinister Putin
THE rise of extremist right-wing groups across Europe should be a concern to every right-minded person in this community of 500 million people.
For all its many faults, the EU contains an idea at its core that was born out of bitter warfare and division.
Winston Churchill knew this when, in 1946, he delivered his famous speech to the academic youth in Zurich calling for a united Europe "to provide a structure under which it can dwell in peace, in safety and in freedom".
Fascism is no more than the creation of a poisonous, ugly unity based on a common hatred of others. Often, that unity is as flimsy as a bad conjuring act. The difference, however, is that the guillotine is real.
It is no coincidence that the drumbeat of prejudice and intolerance is once again being heard across Europe.
In Ukraine, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece and France homophobia and anti-Semitism are the working currency of fascist groups which have been celebrating since the EU elections.
Fascism is no more than the creation of a poisonous, ugly unity based on a common hatred of others.
More troubling still, many pay homage to Vladimir Putin, the "nationalist's nationalist" whose only concern is strengthening Russia's global power in Europe while using prejudice and dangerous expansionist policies to secure his own position.
Of course much must be done to fix the EU. Proud nations such as ours must be allowed to retain control of our borders and laws, and cut away the fat of a bloated Eurocracy, and David Cameron is the only one willing to take a shot.
Yet there is a big difference between mending a leaking boat and scuppering it in the hope that the sharks are friendly.
The real danger of dismantling the EU is that this may make it easier for Putin to replace it with a union of his own making. One that puts Russia at its centre.
Plea for mental health drive
HOW UTTERLY disheartening to learn that the treatment of those who suffer with schizophrenia in Britain, the nation that proudly pioneered free healthcare for all, has not improved in 25 years.
The report by mental health charity Sane makes sombre reading. The Sunday Express has long called for a fresh approach in the treatment of mental health sufferers, with the creation of more and smaller specialist units that can give patients solid continuity of care.
To his credit, Labour's Ed Miliband has vowed to put mental health on the same footing as physical health if he wins the next election and we applaud this idea.
It is not just a moral argument. Short-term costcutting is shown to be a false economy when you learn that schizophrenia alone costs the nation £11.8billion a year in care costs and lost production.
While schizophrenia cannot always be prevented, early intervention is proven to be effective, while misdiagnosis leads to the wrong treatment that can make the condition worse. It is time we, as a nation, forced the number-crunchers to heed the experts.
We owe it to the sufferers and we owe it to ourselves if we want to continue considering Britain a caring and civilised society.
One she didn't make earlier
ONE CAN only look with awe at the lengths to which Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter ensured that none of the 7,000 children who wrote to the show every week received the same reply if they wrote a second time.
Her zeal, she tells Desert Island Discs, came from receiving a duplicate reply from her heroine, children's author Enid Blyton, at the tender age of six.
There can be nothing in the world of a five-year-old quite so catastrophic as the realisation that a hero or heroine is flawed and that the precious trust placed by that young mind was misplaced.


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Author: Anime_Girls_NYC
I'm an anime blogger! I grew up watching anime and reading manga. This became a daily part of my life since I was 10 years old. Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon were my first anime I've watched. Since then I have watched well over 100 or more anime.


text:
Fair Use Notice
From: Christian News Service
High court ruling favors prayer at council meeting
WASHINGTON (AP) — A narrowly divided Supreme Court upheld decidedly Christian prayers at the start of local council meetings on Monday, declaring them in line with long national traditions though the country has grown more religiously diverse.
The content of the prayers is not significant as long as they do not denigrate non-Christians or try to win converts, the court said in a 5-4 decision backed by its conservative majority.
Though the decision split the court along ideological lines, the Obama administration backed the winning side, the town of Greece, N.Y., outside of Rochester.
The outcome relied heavily on a 1983 decision in which the court upheld an opening prayer in the Nebraska Legislature and said prayer is part of the nation's fabric, not a violation of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of religion.
Writing for the court on Monday, Justice Anthony Kennedy said that forcing clergy to scrub the prayers of references to Jesus Christ and other sectarian religious figures would turn officials into censors. Instead, Kennedy said, the prayers should be seen as ceremonial and in keeping with the nation's traditions.
Go here for the rest of the story


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|Before I applied the mascara...
|After I applied two coats of the Rimmel Scandaleyes Flex mascara
- Long, thick lashes
- Intense black colour
- No clumps
- Easy application (with large brush)
- Purse-friendly price
- Lasts all day
- Easy to remove
|Before I applied the mascara...
|After I applied two coats of the Rimmel Scandaleyes Flex mascara
Looks great :) I've never been a fan of Rimmel as I find the tubes dry so quickly, so let us know how it holds up :) Rosie x
Thanks for letting me know Rosie! I'll keep an eye out for that happening! xoDelete
seems like a great mascara! :DReplyDelete
I really like it! Especially since it ended up being the product I got for free in the 3-for-2 offer! xoDelete
Ooh that looks great for the price! Especially on 3 for 2 too :)
Danielle xx
Danielleyc | UK Beauty, fashion & lifestyle blog
I really like it and think it's definitely worth the price! Was a nice surprise getting it on the 3 for 2 offer - god knows how I missed all the signs in-store haha xoDelete
This mascara looks fab on you! I've never actually tried a Rimmel mascara but I'm tempted to give this a go now after reading your review.
Check out my GlossyBox giveaway on my blog cagneyandlace.com
Thank you Hannah! I'm really, really happy with it and it has put me off buying my usual YSL mascara for a while (saved me a lot of money haha) xoDelete
Wow, your lashes look great! XoReplyDelete
Thanks chick! xoDelete


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Avon Apartment 4-Plex
Located at 1500 Avon Place in Huntington, Indiana, 46750, includes 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 2 car garage with door opener, range, refrigerator, dishwasher, disposal, 8' x 12' deck, double entry with 2 sets of insulated doors, excellent location, mini-blinds, 2' x 6' well insulated walls, air conditioned.
Rent: Upper $620, Lower $650, One month's rent deposit required.
For more information, please contact Wilson Realty!


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Welcome to Your Healthy Home Biz. To get healthy home biz tips, strategies and inspiration sent right to your inbox, just sign up right here. (You'll get a great FREE report as well!)
Right now, I'm looking out over the sunlit, snow-covered backyard . . . the rolling contours of the garden beds are broken where I dug out some kale yesterday. But aside from the reminders of that little skirmish, the yard is peaceful. All you have are snow-softened hints of the busy backyard life that comes each growing season – gardening, fruit trees, and the noise and activity of goats, chickens, turkeys and pigs.
Inside the house is peaceful too. A few sounds as wood shifts and sparks in the wood stove. The dishwasher is humming along. In the back room, my daughter just did a short run on the old treadmill the kids repaired with their dad this week. And my son is nestled in his room with a good book.
My family's in good health. Our relationships are strong and vibrant. We've got food for the winter, a warm house and a nicely growing bank account as well – thanks to the continuing success of my freelance writing business and our frugal ways.
But here's the thing I'm intensely conscious of . . . the contentment that reigns here right now isn't happenstance. Last night our friend Marty caught himself when he started to tell my husband that we're a lucky family. He corrected himself and said, it isn't luck. It's decisions and work that has helped us enjoy such a good new year.
Certainly there have been opportunities that have come our way. But we've also been ready to grab them.
Underlying this is a clarity on priorities.
Every day I step up to my desk to work, I can pour all my attention into my work because I'm not worrying about my two teenagers. Or fretting about what's going on in my marriage.
It isn't because things don't come up. We have arguments here. We have confrontations. And I've had plenty of days when the last thing I want to do is focus on a project because of doubts and frustrations tugging at my mind.
But those days are not overly frequent. Because when things do come up, I've learned from my wise husband to jump on them and address them. [To be honest, many days he has made sure I don't hide away from them!]
See, my tendency is to avoid dealing with the messy stuff in relationships – to dive into work where I can easily find signs of success in letters of recommendations and paychecks. It's a terrible lesson I learned well from my parents. But I've slowly come around to putting relationships first in my daily schedule.
I've learned to shift the obligations that I can when something comes up and do what needs to be done to hear the other person out, address the problem and then start shifting the mood and repairing the damage. I've also learned to make nurturing relationships something I work on every day. Unlike the myths I grew up with, I don't wait for a few big events or grand presents to make up for lost moments of closeness or simple acts of love that just takes a little awareness and intention.
And interestingly enough – the more I've made this a priority, the more I'm able to get done when I work. And the more I'm able to accelerate my growth as a businesswoman and writer.
But perhaps most importantly, the more I'm able to enjoy the beauty of this new year. And feel within me the growth of a person who is not growing older per se . . . But growing wiser and more competent, ready for the new year.
Relationship Wisdom For The New Year
If you'd like to apply some of tactics and strategies I've learned to use to keep the relationships in my life strong, I've got a great resource for you. I've summed up many of these discoveries in The Healthy Home Biz guide to Relationships. Here's where you'll find insights – specifically geared towards you, the home business owner, on how to nurture your relationships and consequently make your home business stronger.
It's probably one of the most powerful parts of The Healthy Home Biz course – now that I look back at what has made 2013 such a good year – and brought so much promise to 2014.
If you're struggling to try to figure out how to make it all work, you owe it to yourself and your family to check it out. It's a wonderful well of wisdom that I still go back to to keep myself on track (I told you about my tendencies).
But bottom line, whether or not you decide to check it out is beside the point. Don't ignore the importance of relationships in your life. Don't justify ignoring growing problems because your business demands your attention. You're undermining yourself, your family and – as I've explained – your business.
Don't saddle yourself with the bittersweet taste of success that comes with frayed connections and broken families. I wish you and your family all the best for 2014. Take that wish seriously and build on it!


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I was very excited last year to be asked to talk as part of Monash University Education's STEM Talk series about my career journey and how STEM capabilities have powered my experiences and learning. The talk has just been published.
Category: Life & Career
Interview on Fintech Startups and Social Purpose
I was interviewed recently by Macquarie Group on fintech innovation, LanternPay and the need for a fintech startups to have a social purpose. Fintech's are maturing into key collaboration partners for players in the finance ecosystem. It is important that finch's understand that finance is about more than money and play a social role.
The Convoluted Paths of the Greater Good of Working Out Loud
Helping doubters to see the value of working out loud involves not just enabling them to experience others differently but helping them to see the value of the greater good. A challenge we face is that the value that flows from giving of ourselves travels along a convoluted path.
Reciprocal Benefits: Stories of the Paths of Referrals
Almost all my consulting work comes through referrals. Working out loud is a key foundation for that flow of referrals. However, there's no linear process, no response rate to track and no measure that can capture the paths through which these come. I don't work out loud for referrals.
I don't work out loud for referrals. I work out loud to better understand lessons from the work I have each day and to benefit from the insights of others on that work. I also enjoy that others can share these lessons. However, generating business value is a lovely side benefit.
That benefit is not predictable because it is a function of reputation, relationships and work that's ongoing, not a transactional exchange. Here are some examples:
- I post on Linkedin about working out loud week and the post is shared widely. The post reminds a former colleague of mine about me and some work we did together. My friend refers me to a friend of their as a potential solution for an unrelated topic.
- I agree to have coffee with a friend of a friend who is running a small business to discuss a business challenge. After a number of conversations where I offer some advice, things go quiet as we both return to our work. Months later, the small business owner refers me to another friend of theirs. Eventually, a colleague of that person retains me for some work.
- I collaborate with a small group of partners and competitors over four years. We share insights, ideas, and approaches even when we occasionally come up head to head competing against each other for work. After a number of years, there's a flow of great referral opportunities between members of the network. We like working with each other. We understand each other's relative expertise. We know we can't do everything.
I see each of those examples of referrals to my consulting practice as an indirect outcome of reputation, relationships and work done out loud over many years. I have faith that if I continue to work in this way the benefits will keep flowing. Try explaining it to a doubter and they will explain it away as a result of hidden strategy, luck, reputation, or expertise.
The Greater Benefit of Altruism
Even harder for the doubter to grasp is that I would still work out loud, if none of these or other examples had happened. I enjoy helping others. Seeing others succeed in their work because you were able to assist is amazing. Having the ability to help others is a privilege.
I knew the power of help and generosity. However, I had not seen the specific power of working out loud until I started blogging consistently at work. Each day I shared a post on some lesson from my work and career. The posts were short and the audience was small as they were shared only inside the organisation. I realised the value to others one day when walking into the building a stranger enthusiastically rushed up to me and thanked me for a recent post. Speaking like a close friend, they explained that the post had enabled them to solve a problem and they now used that technique consistently. One person's work had been made easier by my blogpost and they were extraordinarily grateful. Even more remarkable, a person I had never met felt they knew me well enough to forget to even introduce themselves.
Work today is hard, competitive, and it can be alienating for people. Creating just one moment of human connection founded in generosity can make a wonderful difference to others. It can also be a great reminder that those who give receive the greatest rewards, even if nothing ever comes back but thanks.
Tall Poppy Podcast with Tathra Street
I recently did a podcast with Tathra Street on making leadership safe for humans. Tathra has an series of interviews on the idea of Human Centred Leadership. In our 30 minute conversation, we discussed my leadership lessons, how work is changing, the demands of digital culture, working out loud and more.
The discussion was great but sadly the audio quality did not hold up to the content of the discussion.
So You Want to be an MVP: Do the Work
Almost twelve months ago, I discovered the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Program when I found out that I had been nominated for the award. That nomination was a first step for Microsoft to widen the program to encompass people who worked to foster adoption of its products. The MVP Program has been longstanding as a way to connect Microsoft with the traditional IT pros who make up its base of customers, developers and partners. After a year of experience of the MVP program, I wish I had known about it a lot earlier. The benefits to me and to the organisations with which I work from the program have been fantastic. Most importantly of all, the MVP program has strengthened my connections to a community of incredibly smart, committed and professional practitioners who have shown me new and better ways to do what I do.
So let's look at what a year of being a Microsoft MVP means. The MVP program is a recognition of contribution to the Microsoft community. Microsoft itself says:
"The Microsoft MVP Award gives us the unique opportunity to celebrate, honor and say thank you to top-notch technology experts who make outstanding contributions to their communities. These technology experts have an unstoppable urge to get their hands on new, exciting technologies and love to share their knowledge."
The award which is for one-year term is a recognition of the quality and amount of work done and the value created by each individual for Microsoft, for its customers and for the individual's own organisation. It lasts for a year because it is a reward for the work and that level of effort must be sustained and grow.
If we want to examine what it means to be a MVP we are going to have to dive into understanding and exploring the impact of that work. To save you the challenge of listening to me talk about myself, I asked a fellow MVP, Amy Dolzine of EY if I could feature her work and efforts this year. Amy works in knowledge management for EY where she is a Global Awareness Advisor and Enterprise Social Engagement, Research and Awareness Lead where she is responsible for designing, managing and continuously improving global initiatives that increase the firm's adoption of collaboration and communication tools such as Yammer and SharePoint. By enabling real time collaboration and sharing of expertise her work at EY enables client service teams to deliver better client outcomes and create increased revenue opportunities for the firm. Amy's work at EY and her past experience with other organisations leading Yammer implementations also makes her a global expert in social collaboration and someone that people around the world look to for expertise and insights on how best to develop the maturity of collaboration in their organisations.
I first met Amy through her active participation as a leader in the Yammer Customer Network, which is now the Microsoft Tech Community. Amy demonstrates her leadership and passion in this environment, by actively sharing insights, asking questions, identifying bugs to be resolved and providing feedback to other community members and the product teams. I've been lucky to be a member of a number of communities this year where I have been able to leverage Amy's practical insights. Having such a professional expert available to help you unravel challenges or support your ongoing work is invaluable. If she is able to provide this support to others, I can only imagine the value that she is delivering to EY client service teams as they go about the important knowledge work of collaboration that is critical to the client service of EY teams.
The ongoing sharing of her expertise extends beyond the tens of thousands of members of these communities as well. Amy is also active in blogging and sharing her insights in social media. Her blogposts on Linkedin throughout the year have always been insightful reflections of the opportunities of collaboration and experience she has learned working in the EY environment and beyond.
An MVP is expected to be out and about sharing their expertise at events in their communities and events that that Microsoft runs. These speaking engagements are always learning opportunities. They refine insights, help make new connections and provide opportunities to listen to and engage other practitioners in the field. Personal and organisation brands grow due to the quality of these presentations and I have watched Amy continue to promote the leadership of EY in the social collaboration space at many events during the year:
- YouToo Social Media Conference Kent State University, April 2016: External social media conference in its 9th year. Amy was the first speaker ever on the topic of internal social. As a result of sharing her work, Amy was able to create recognition for EY as a leader in the space. Importantly Amy helped a number of people at existing or future EY clients realize the value of working collaboratively and how it could help them make their companies more productive and engaged.
- JBoye: Philadelphia, PA May 2016: EY is a member of the JBoye organisation's networks. They have 2 conferences a year, one in Philadelphia, one in Arhus Denmark. Because of her status as MVP and reputation, JBoye asked Amy to speak at an event about enterprise social. Events aren't just about speaking. At this conference Amy developed industry connections by meeting John Stepper, author of Working out Loud and Susan Hanley, the author of many books on Knowledge Management and SharePoint. Amy has gone on to introduce these thought leaders to others in her network. Developing connections in the industry and bringing together people is a key part of the MVP opportunity.
- Microsoft Ignite Atlanta, GA September 2016: I facilitated this panel of 5 leading MVPs. The panel was a "from the front lines" kind of presentation about how to roll out enterprise social and received an enthusiastic reception with many questions and excellent feedback. What the audience valued was Amy's ability, along with the other panellists, to bring practical examples and real world experience to the often daunting and abstract challenges of collaboration. Showcasing the value that a leading organisation like EY can do in this way and highlighting the ability of a professional like Amy to share this expertise reflects well on the firm.
- DogFoodCon Columbus, OH October 2016: At DogFood Con Amy presented two presentations on the business value of enterprise social and the value of building knowledge communities. Again these presentations showcased EY as a leader in social collaboration and shared practical techniques to advance other organisations work in these areas. Feedback on these presentations showed the continued development of Amy's influence and her reputation as a leader in the space.
- Microsoft MVP Summit Seattle, WA November 2016: MVP Summit is the highlight of the MVP year with a week long summit with in-depth presentations about Office 365, Yammer and SharePoint. For MVPs this is a chance to get deep into the product roadmaps for key products, to learn about initiatives to come and to connect with each other. Amy also got the opportunity during this week to interact as a subject matter expert with the Yammer Product team as they ran a product hackathon. Taking her frontline expertise and sharing it directly with the product teams to shape their future roadmap is a key opportunity for an MVP and puts them in a great position to assist their organisation to optimise Microsoft's product implementations.
Being an MVP gives you unique exposure to the work of other MVPs and also the Microsoft product teams. Throughout the year on a weekly and monthly basis there have been updates from the product teams and others in Microsoft on the roadmaps and other opportunities being considered and tackled. MVPs get privileged access to these conversations under NDA in exchange for their contribution to Microsoft's thinking. It is a rich and valuable mutual learning experience with early warning and an ability to influence future product development highly valuable to Amy in her work.
The global community of MVPs learn from each other. Everyone in that network is looking to push the implementation of the technology to greater levels of effectiveness for their organisations. Amy gets rich connections and early insight into that work is an incredible learning opportunity and a platform for future collaboration opportunities as well.
I asked a few fellow MVPs what they had learned from working with Amy during the year. Their answers reflected my own perceptions and the respect with which MVPs are held in the Microsoft customer base:
"Amy is by far the most practical, value-focused strategist that I've seen in social collaboration. She has a gift for inspiring people with the vision and then moving them to roll up their sleeves and get to work realizing the benefits." – Melanie Hohertz, Cargill
"Through Amy's insightful and honest public contributions, I learned that EY is a leader in the emerging science of social collaboration. Not only have I gained a better understanding of Enterprise Social Networking and how it can help organizations through Amy's efforts, I've also gained a great deal of respect towards EY as a company on the leading edge of modern business progress." – Tom Kretzmer, Lubrizol
"Just a few moments of conversation with Amy showed me the heights my own organization could achieve through Enterprise Social Networking; continuing the conversation through this past year showed me that she is a leader to keep an eye on." Becky Benishek, Crisis Prevention Institute
Personal Connection
When you spend a year working alongside someone through communities and events, you develop a strong sense of their values, their approach to others and the way that they approach their work. We all know that these values and approaches are the bedrock of excellence in performance and ability to contribute to others. What comes across to me from my year working closely alongside Amy is her passion for making work and technology solutions better for the people in EY, her deep commitment and energy to making a difference and her generosity in creating, building relationships and helping others. This work is not without its frustrations. What I love about Amy is that she keeps these values front and centre as she tackles the challenges and the successes. Most organisations barely recognise that their people are making contributions to others in this way well beyond the narrow descriptions of their jobs and KPIs. I am pleased to know that EY is different and Amy is recognised for her passion, her contributions and her generosity.
I am incredibly lucky to have got the chance to know Amy better through the MVP program. Because of the work of Microsoft to celebrate her work and her ongoing efforts to share and help others, you get the chance to know her better too. If you'd like to become an MVP, the challenge is to think how you can make this kind of a contribution to others through your work.
From Gigs to Purpose: The Purpose Economy & Portfolio Roles
Mindsets shape our perception. – A large sign that needs to be placed in all workplaces
The changing nature of work is growing greater attention in the business press and in the strategy teams of large and small organisations. New ways of working and new platforms of work are gaining traction and much handwringing is going on about the potential "post-job" future of work.
Many organisations see the changing nature of work as an opportunity to use transactional platforms to lower employment costs and deliver a greater flexibility of resources. They see platforms that offer a highly competitive pool of temporary and flexible labour as solely an efficiency play. Much of the investment and energy behind these platforms have been driven by the idea that they can take advantage of a struggling and transforming post-crisis global economy, digital technology and new work patterns of work to deliver real cost savings to organisations. That focus on the transactional efficiency benefits of Gig Economy reflects the prevailing mindset on the purpose of work and organisations. These organisations often can't see that there is another way.
I was recently asked why I wanted to work in the Gig Economy. My answer was that I don't. I work in the Purpose Economy. A traditional organisation might see an opportunity for efficiency and flexibility through a pool of transactional gig workers. I am looking for flexibility, purpose, relationships, collaboration and learning through a diverse portfolio of rewarding work.
I don't join large scale platforms that atomise participants, commoditise work, create competitive dynamics and are designed for value capture to the platform (for more read Harold Jarche's excellent description) . The transactional efficiency mindset of business is strong and deeply embedded. For many people, this has become the only way of business. It is all that they can see. However, there are other more purposeful, more valuable and more human ways of working. Breaking this mindset and setting out in a different pattern can be richly rewarding.
What impressed me as an adviser to Sidekicker was the team's focus on relationships with both their workforce and their clients. They are looking for skills, talents and a better way of working with benefits to both workers and clients in areas of the market like event management staff where that is a rare mindset. The mindset of doing repeatable high quality business in a relationship for mutual gain is a valuable proposition in a world of atomised marketplaces.
I recently blogged about becoming an adviser to Peer Academy. This platform focuses on helping participants to collaborate, work and learn as peers. The learning and collaboration focus of this platform makes it a far more valuable and purposeful solution for organisations and participants.
I am a participant in Change Agents Worldwide because first and foremost it is a network about relationships, collaboration and learning. Change Agents Worldwide seeks to create value through scaling the efforts of individual Change Agents, but it recognises that it must first deliver value to the individual, cannot compete with them and must allow them to shape their participation and their work. A true network needs remarkably few rules to help individuals pursue their purpose, learn from others and to deepen relationships.
Ultimately, my work is driven by my purpose of making work more human. I write, speak, consult and coach towards this end. The portfolio nature of my work enables me a diversity of projects that contribute to this goal. My future success depends on what work I do, what relationships I build and what I learn. I have an entrepreneurial drive to improve my proposition to better fulfil my purpose. I get to build relationships that shape what I work on, what I learn and with whom I work.
A purposeful portfolio also helps diversify my risk and ensures a more consistent flow of rewards. I've been subject to far greater income risk and far more atomisation as an employee than I have ever experienced as an independent worker. Critically the nature and amount of those rewards remain in my control and are agreed through relationship conversations, not market place bidding, bell-curve performance processes or restructures. Not all the rewards are cash, I shape the value that I share in my work.
Before your organisation considers a new model of work for its efficiency gains, consider whether there is a wider benefit in exploring the potential of deeper relationships, richer purpose and more responsive work. Leveraging these opportunities will require you to consider many new areas of organisational work in 2017, but particularly:
- What do you offer the purposeful worker? Is your organisational purpose clear enough to shape your work?
- Is your employee & worker experience good enough to attract, to retain and to leverage the contributions of those working in the purpose economy? Are you treating temporary labour as an equal member of your teams or as second class citizens?
- How does your organisation onboard, collaborate and learn at scale, especially with those who may not care for your processes or be seeking a career in your organisation?
- Are your team structures and work processes agile enough to incorporate and benefit from the inputs of your new workforce?
- Can your management capabilities, models, policies and systems handle the networked organisation and a purposeful workforce?
PS: An example of the limiting power of mindsets is that we now need to clarify the meaning of 'gig economy'. Language that came out of the creative professions to reflect their flexibility in pursuit of purpose becomes redefined in a corporate mindset to transactional efficiency.
Coaching Creates Time to Reflect
We don't need to be told that work is busy. Pressures are everywhere. Finish one task or one meeting and there is a good chance that the next few challenges are piled up ready to go. We rarely get the time to reflect as we power through our work, unless we allocate time or are forced into reflection by the questions of others.
Without reflection, we all struggle to focus and question our priorities, our relationships and our performance. The value of coaching is that it can create this space in our work week and help make our work far more effective. The power of questions from others is that they force us to reflect, to consider a wider perspective on our work and can break the patterns that form in our busy thinking.
Great leaders coach. They know how to ask simple questions of their teams that foster reflection on goals, priorities, alignment of work and the effectiveness of work. Creating a supportive coaching environment in a team enables people to reflect on how to improve more often and more effectively. Great leaders encourage peer coaching too.
Peer coaching is a powerful technique and one that can happen in the flow of work. Taking the time to ask each other "How did we do? What can we do better or different next time?" is all that it takes to create more reflection in our work. We don't work alone the insights and observations of others can help us become more effective. Working out loud, purposefully sharing our work with our peers, invites our peers into our work and facilitates this reflection.
In the coaching work that I do, I find asking the simple questions clarifying goals, the situation and opportunities to do things differently creates a space for a new and powerful conversation. The time invested can have dramatic returns by clearing blockages, building new collaborative networks and focusing the effort of work. Often the improvement opportunities are obvious when someone has time to reflect on how they can do things differently.
An added benefit of the time to reflect through coaching conversations is an increase in accountability in organisations. Regular coaching conversations with a leader, a coach or peers, create personal accountability to translate improvement opportunities into action. Knowing that someone will ask "what have you done differently?" helps us reflect continuously on how well we are delivering on our plans.
Reflecting with the support of others is the heart of learning and performance improvement. How are you fostering a coaching culture to benefit your performance and the performance of the teams around you?
Simon Terry is a coach and consultant who helps individuals and organisations to make work more effective. Reach out to discuss how more coaching can foster reflection for you and your organisation.
What is Specific. Why is General.
Many people define their career by what they do. Ask them to describe their experience and they will give you an account of years in a role in an industry. The answer will be a dry recitation of their curriculum vitae. Focusing on this list of what narrows their potential future opportunities. If we start looking to fit them to another similar role in the same industry we have narrowed the world of opportunity down significantly. Poor recruiters consider candidates against a role and industry checklist, but we all know that roles and time is a very narrow understanding of how people contribute to their organisation.
Change the question. Ask people why they enjoy their work and you will get a much richer answer. They will tell a story and their eyes light up. Perhaps the answer will be about the challenge, the learning and the problem solving. Perhaps it will be about the ability to help others or to achieve a particular personal or strategic goal. Perhaps they enjoy their work because of others with whom they get to work.
That answer is much more powerful in helping an individual frame what opportunities are ahead. Focusing on the why increases the opportunities to contribute to that purpose beyond one role or one industry. Focusing on the why also makes it more likely that future opportunities deliver a sense of personal reward.
Roles and industries come and go. With accelerating change and disruption, we need to all be open to the adaptation that arises when you focus on why.
The Roles of External Experts
Experts are terrible at knowing what's going to happen. One of the key role of external experts is introducing divergent opinions into a hierarchy.
I've been reading Tim Hartford's Adapt on the role of failure in success. The book begins with a review of the literature on how poor experts are at prediction. We live in a complex connected fast changing world. Experts, whether consultants, thought leaders, academics or futurists struggle to make predictions of what comes next. So if experts aren't great at knowing what's going to happen, why are they so popular?
External Experts are a Source of Variation
Even with the limits of their predictive power, external experts do two things well. They can supply confidence for organisations to tackle divergent ideas and they can help find divergent ideas internally in organisations and carry them around or through the hierarchy. The former occurs when senior executives hire external experts to bolster their risky decision. The latter is the source of the classic consultant joke that 'a consultant borrows your watch to tell you the time'.
In both cases, an external expert helps an organisation to break the patterns of its dominant thinking and explore variation with greater confidence. In an environment of rapid change the ability to experiment with variation is a key to adaptation. The expert may not be right but the learning and adaptation that results can be incredibly valuable.
External Experts Build Capability
That learning is what differentiates great experts from the average ones. Great experts worry less about predicting what's around the next corner. What they help organisations do is build the capabilities that have value in many scenarios in the future.
Teaching organisations how to learn for themselves through experimentation, how to become more effective in change at scale, enabling teams to work more effectively and enabling individuals to thrive is a winning strategy in almost every scenario. Add the transfer of the way to build particular practices and expertise and you have a valuable proposition.
Once you stop looking for experts to know everything, you can explore their potential to help your organisation to change and adapt through variation, experimentation and new capability. These roles are important new challenges for your internal experts too.
If you'd like to chat more about how to build these capabilities and better leverage your internal experts, get in touch with Simon Terry.
Look Beyond Yourself
Having a bad day, week or month? Look beyond yourself. The answer might just be around you. Your networks are the start of a new level of effectiveness.
Our world is so complex and connected know that nobody has all the answers themselves. You can't expect to get from beginning to end of any meaningful challenge all on your own. Step out of seeing your challenges as a personal battle and engage with others. Work out loud and discover what your communities and networks have to offer you in your work:
- Need to make contact with someone who can help? Ask around in your friends and colleagues and use their networks. The right person is only a few hops away.
- Want to learn something new? Ask others how they went about learning their way forward. Find a mentor or coach or guide.
- Need to Solve a problem? Ask your network for help, ideas or experts
- Want to win support for a change? Go discuss your change with those who can help you.
No challenge is too big for your network. They won't come to you. Go take your problems out to the world and see what help you can find. At a minimum, you will find new perspectives.
In the process of finding your solutions in the networks of your life, you will discover the passion, generosity, genius and friendship that awaits.


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So, this week I had to go to the hospital for a procedure that left me with a very sore throat. So sore, that all I could consume were liquids and soft foods. I thought this was a prime time to try out that packet of jelly powder I had in the cupboard and top it off with some soy whipped cream that I had been meaning to use for ages.
The jelly was by Just Wholefoods, a British company that does a range of vegan friendly foods such jellies, custards, soup mixes, fruit jellies and more.
The jelly I had was the strawberry flavoured one. It is super quick and easy to make up and sets in no time. There are other flavours available - all of which I intend to try!
I topped it of with some whipped soy cream by Soyatoo. It is light and tasty and vegan. You can buy it in a carton and whip it yourself or buy it in a cannister ans spray it on, which is what I did. They also do a version made of rice, which I would like to try but have yet to find.
I bought both the jelly and whipped cream from PAWS.
Now, note in the photo below, my lack of experience and skills in using canister whipped cream! Who cares? It tasted delicious and was just what I needed!


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This past weekend I treated my own paronychia. Haven't figured out how I developed it, as I had no hang nails, don't chew on my fingernails, no recognized trauma to the digit. I initially treated the red, tender area around the nail with antibiotic ointment and a Band-Aid (to keep the ointment in place and to protect the area from any further injury). At first there was no "fluctuant area" and no localized pus pocket. That was until Sunday morning. Check out the photo I took with my new iPhone (my husband's birthday gift to me). Being a seamstress, there are plenty of needle around my house. I sterilized one and gently lifted the top off the localized pus. I would not recommend that just anyone do this. Remember I am a trained professional.
- The finger can be numbed with local anesthesia (digital block).
- Make short skin incision with a number 11 blade over the area of maximum tenderness. Incise only the skin with scalpel. Do not cross the DIP joint crease (can create a contraction)
- Evacuate any pus (and culture) using a blunt instrument, like a small hemostat. This will decrease the chance of injury to the digital nerve or the tendon sheath (can lead to acute tenosynovitis). Do not divide vertical fascial strands (septa) as this makes the fingertip pulp unstable.
- Pack gauze loosely into the wound to prevent skin closure. Apply a loose dressing, splint finger, and elevate hand above the heart.
- Followup in 2-3 days.
Osteomyelitis involving the distal phalanx.
Infections of the Hand: A Guide to the Surgical Treatment of Acute and Chronic Suppurative ... By Allen Buckner Kanavel (Google eBook)
Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopedics Online
Common Acute Hand Infections--AAFP
Felon by Glen Vaughn, MD--eMedicine article


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It's cold. This is CANCELLED. Stay warm.
During the summer of 2018 John Creasy used his Continuing Ed money to visit the Equal Justice Initiatives Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The Legacy Museum and the Memorial help Americans realize the link between today's mass incarceration of African Americans, slavery, Jim Crow and segregation and our history of terror through lynching. The book, written by Bryan Stevenson, will help us understand these connections and ways that we can all work to end racial injustice. Bryan is a lawyer, social justice activist, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Stevenson has challenged bias against the poor and minorities in the criminal justice system, especially children. He helped achieve United States Supreme Court decisions that prohibit sentencing children under 18 to death or to life imprisonment without parole. Stevenson advocates for people of color and poor within the criminal justice system and has gotten around 100 prisoners off death row through his career.
Contact John Creasy to reserve materials email@example.com
Childcare available at the BGC 5:45-7:45pm—contact Jen McCasalin email@example.com for a spot.


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Release Date: 1973 |
EVedder27 (5)Love, reign over me...DesolationRow (4.5)...Distant Echoes (5)...doctorjimmy (5)The group's finest hour and the one art-rock album to buy if you plan on buying only one....
somon (4.5)This is one of my favorite concept album, but not really for the plot - but for the way th...
Album Rating: 5.0ok. this is my really short review of Quad. I was writing a sound off for it and the idiot thing told me it was too long and consider writing a review. although it seemed short to me. so i added the third paragraph, hope you enjoyed whatever the hell this is? a mini review, i guess.....meh....This Message Edited On 09.03.06
Album Rating: 4.5There's nothing wrong with short reviews. You did a good job.
Sorry to be nitpicking but there were two mistakes that I can't help but correct...
You will here the ocean on this record
Whom seems to have at least a few personalities of his own.
Album Rating: 5.0aw thanks man. i appreciate you pointing those things out, too....
Album Rating: 3.5Nice review. I like the idea of short reviews! I noticed one other mistake-
'But as Townshend is known for he also...'
That doesn't actually make any sense, it should be
'as townshend is known for doing, he also....'
but then again, I understood what you meant so it probably doesn't matter too much. Just better grammar makes a more enjoyable read.
Possibly a little bit more detail about the music, a slightly longer review overall, would have been good, but as a short review this was excellent.
This is fo\' sho\' the best Who Album. That\'s a pretty good summary of it too, but album of such caliber should have a bit more =/ Still good nevertheless.This Message Edited On 09.03.06
Digging: Nile - Vile Nilotic Rites
good job. i need to get this sometime.
Album Rating: 5.0thanks everyone. and for pointing out the errors, too. i agree this album deserves more. it's my favorite of all time. but we have two reviews of it already and as i said i was just trying to write a sound off. too long but already written it wouldn\'t let me submit. so i added a paragraph to this and made it a review. i felt anythng more may of read like it was tacked on. perhaps i will work on it, though. i'm a bottomless Pit of Who info so i can add things little by little. make it great. i agree fellow fanboys, the Who deserve it But it's also a tight little review so i might just leave it lol....thanks once again....This Message Edited On 09.03.06
Fine review. This is one of the top 2 Who albums.
Album Rating: 5.0OMFG best review EVER! Keep up the good work, J6G. Much better then the other Quad reviews here. Leaps and bounds better. You should be on staff! I'll put in a good word
Album Rating: 4.5 :P
Album Rating: 5.0hehehe
This Message Edited On 09.04.06
Album Rating: 5.0
I like the Who, but don\'t own this album. Instead I buy albums by The Forecast. I'm a dumbass...
I saw this at the store today used for $13.99. If JXD gave it a 5, it must be pretty dang good.
This is one of 2 albums I've heard where every track absolutely blows me away.
Album Rating: 5.0is it in my head
or in my HEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRT
Album Rating: 5.0zoot suit!
Album Rating: 4.0Up there with the best.
Digging: Sarke - Gastwerso
Album Rating: 5.0rate it dude!!!
Album Rating: 5.0the kidz at school!
Album Rating: 5.0dude is there a better band?
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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Tuesday April 24, 2012 1:13 am
Vivienne Westwood's Diamond Jubilee Collection
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Fashion Designers, News,
Vivienne Westwood has created a new capsule collection to mark Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. The fashion designer's latest offering, the Red Carpet Capsule Collection, has been inspired by gowns the monarch - who is celebrating her 60th year on the throne this year - has previously worn.
Vivienne - who met the queen in 1992 when she was honored with an OBE - has also paid homage to the iconic British flag, the Union Jack, in her latest creations. But instead of using the traditional blue, white and red color scheme of the iconic symbol, the designer has opted for a gold, silver and bronze style for her collection, which features corseted gowns created with silk satins, organza crepe and taffeta, as well as draped cocktail dresses.
Vivienne's latest pieces, which also include jeweled earrings, will be available from the end of May 2012.
"My clothes allow you to project your personality, and are quite theatrical in the sense that they are real clothes, well-designed, and they give you a chance to express yourself. They are also inviting people to respond to them and want to come and talk to you. You have a much more interesting life if you wear impressive clothes," she explained.
Gallery: Vivienne Westwood's Diamond Jubilee Collection
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- diamond jubilee, fashion designers, inspiration, queen, queen of england, royal family, royalty, vivienne westwood
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Rent kajaks for 2 persons 24 hours
- +46 45780300
- Järnaviksvägen 80 - 37263 - Bräkne Hoby
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A proven model from Vituddens Kanotvarv in an edition made of polyethylene. The kayak is available in two sizes, both of which are steady and directionally stable.
BeskrivningThe kayak package includes 2 single kayaks, 2 paddles, 2 life jackets, 2 chapels, 2 stabilizers, 2 jerry cans 5 l, 2 sacks 4 l, 1 tent for 2-3 people, 2 sleeping mats, 1 camping stove (methylated spirits not included) and map.
The lush archipelago in Blekinge is Sweden's southernmost. It has a large number of islands and bays and is excellent for kayaking. From Karlshamn in the west to Torhamn in the east is about 60 kilometers as the crow flies and Järnavik is strategically located in the middle. Kayak rental is located at STF's hostel "Gula-Huset" in picturesque Järnavik, about 6 kilometers south of Bräkne-Hoby. Next door is Järnavik campground with cabins, swimming, mini golf, kiosk and restaurant. On the island Tjärö just outside Järnavik port offered hostel, campsite, restaurant and café. The island is a nature reserve with hiking trails and several outdoor grills.
A large number of rest areas overnight accommodation available, both on the mainland and on certain islands. Loans for detailed map is always included when renting a kayak.
For those who want to paddle one way we provide transport of kayaks and equipment at an additional cost, please call +46 (0) 457 80300.
The archipelago has a rich animal and bird life and some islands are bird sanctuaries 1 / 4-15 / 7th. When you start approaching Torhamn you will reach areas where there are seals which must also note that there is a seal sanctuary.


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Kaira Cooper
Baltimore, Maryland
I am an instrument of Creativity, a Multimedia Artist who finds joy in inspiring people. Sharing the stage with dreamgirl legend Loretta Devine, casting for Investigation Discovery and Mode Meda formerly 'Glam', and working with ABC, and TLC I have developed a wide range of media production and stage performance skills.
It is my honor to mentor young people who wish to be successful in the performing arts and/or who wish to have someone to listen and support them. Fulfilling this need, I am the Founder and CEO of T.I.C.K for youth, by youth, an organization that provides a platform of theatrical opportunities for young artist.
My pleasure is providing my creative services to you and/or your young people: Inspirational Song, Theatrical Workshop, Public Speaking Workshop and Media Production in Baltimore, Maryland and beyond.


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The house was built in a previous time, the date escapes me, and is hidden from the main street. Elmer does no advertising and no social media. But media is the out of place word, because Elmer's, as I came to understand, is inherently a social gathering place. A watering hole. He relies on word of mouth, and as you walk in and he asks you questions and you realize your entire life depends on whether there is place for you or not. Luckily the answer was yes, and my friend, Kitty, and I made a collective sigh. The Sunnybank Inn is not only a good place, but the ONLY place you could be at that moment.
Elmer in His Kitchen, Photo by Kitty
But how did we get there? If I can back up a bit - truthfully, I was a tag along that weekend. A faithful pup of an unknown breed. Ever curious for the road. But unprepared. I was neither not one of the same family, that of wanderers, nor exactly one of their kind, a mountain trail hiker full of knowledge and hutzpah.
But I was there with my amazing chum, long time compadre, friend, stellar writer and wise soul, Kitty Lynn, who was hard at work gathering research and experiencing the life of an AT hiker for her WIP, a devoted novel and journey entitled, Aesop's Trail. If I remember correctly, (Kitty, can you correct me as you read this?) we had made a sort of pact. As writer's we love and we live in our conjuring and imagination and Kitty, who is routinely brave in this category, wanted again to move out of her comfort zone; she was not satisfied to remain sequestered in her writer's world and wanted to confront head on what experiences were really like just after hikers came down from Grafton Notch, one of the most difficult spots on the NC AT. I was game, if not cowering a bit behind her, and my role was that perhaps I might aid in collecting bits of information and might see things that she wouldn't see because of what she knew. Some things might be more obvious to me, because they were unfamiliar.
Kitty Lynn, Author
So, how did that work? I am so thankful to have been along, but not sure I did my job!
To me everything was new and strange, what I knew about the AT I learned from Kitty, terms like Nobo and Sobo (north and south-bound hiker) and that a flip-flop hike was not one where you slip on light and decorative but ill-chosen mountain footwear, but where you set out on a given portion of the trail and then once at your destination you flop back down the trail (I was hoping "flop" portended some relaxing time) and head back to where you begin. What I didn't know, was staggering. And what is that saying? Ignorance is bliss? I was so full of bliss and totally yup, ignorant. Kitty had a major kind of trust going on and in her trust, I give gratitude for being along for the ride!
Trail Ride, Photo by Kitty
But bliss and beginning knowledge lay the base for our four day adventure. We hiked up and camped out on top of Max Patch. We sobbed on horseback as we watched helplessly as dozens of ewe's bleated all over creation and the mountain side because it was lamb, their lambs, slaughtering day. We soothed our muscles in very hot and hard-boiled egg aroma'd Hot Springs and this was awesome, we gave away our cabin to Chile and Pepper because we had "gotten in" at Elmer's. We ate, not as much as some, but still had our fill on an all you can eat spaghetti supper in Hot Springs at the Fire Station, I think.
Over the days we met Swamp Dog, George from Georgia, Bear, Elmer Number 2, Hunny Bunny, River, Vega, Bumblebee, Squatch, Halo, Snake Hips, Spud, Toto, and then more common named folks like Mike and Mary and Kirsten and of course, who every pup looks up to -- German Shepherd.
Elmer and Elmer, Photo by Kitty
And I suppose I can't (or shouldn't) speak for Kitty -- but the culmination of our trip, and what we experienced at Elmer's was quite transportive. We shared and I hope, I acknowledged - ha, did I even tell Kitty this? - that travelers from and in all parts of the world, were following all kinds of paths, in this case, the AT or the Appalachian Trail, but it could be the Pacific Coast Trail or the Camino in Spain, or the Appian Way, or the road Marathoners in Greece took, or as they walked to Jerusalem - and each must rely in varying and unknown degrees on themselves to make it, get through. You are the only one who can get yourself through. Though you may occasionally have someone walk beside you, chances are they will pass you or you, them, for your pace will differ. Even if they want to, and you want saving more than they want to save you, no one can carry you. But the next step to all of that, yes, its coming, is what makes your journey resonate beyond the steps over rocks and creeks. It's what gets you through impossible heat or chilling rain.
It's at the end of the day around the table. Gathering together at the end of the day in a community is really what its all about -- as you walk the trail you experience your own journey, but sharing it and your garnered knowledge is part of bringing it out and back into the world.
So back to Elmer's kitchen. The stove was old and antique, a garland with a real griddle. Dan, one of Elmer's assistants, closed the door, but to keep it closed wedged in a a sliver of wood chip on the right hand side. How I laughed at the irony using wood to keep the oven closed. Elmer sat peeling vegetables, in the center of the wood island. On the menu for supper was vegetable mushroom lasagna with potatoes as pasta, a beautiful fresh and crunchy salad, with ak-mak crackers, and "carrot cake generously enthused with icing and vanilla ice cream."
A giant bell called us and all hikers and guests downstairs.
In the dining room we wandered to the long table. A beautiful pottery bowl, each different, held soup at each place. A creamy zucchini and perhaps cauliflower potage of porage, all the bowls lined up and waiting like a still life painting to be entered, at each place. What happened to me at that point I am not sure I can even explain. It literally brought tears to my eyes.
But what was it that was so moving? Was it more in my comfort zone? Oh my aching legs!!
The conversation at the long table in the smallish, cozy dining room lit with soft candles really began when
Elmer asked the question; "if you could take anything out of this world, what would it be?"
Elmer began without hesitancy - does he always answer the same I wondered? He wished for the technology of loud motorcycles to be taken out of the world. "What a disruption to the tranquility of the town they were!"
Other things mentioned were war, explosives, lack of empathy, and fast food.
So, what would it be, fellow travelers, if you were sitting at Elmer's table? What would you not miss if gone from the world as we know it?
I wouldn't miss the wind,
but would sorely miss my green ground mat!
(Photo by Kitty)
but would sorely miss my green ground mat!
(Photo by Kitty)


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WASHINGTON — J. Christopher Stevens arrived in Benghazi, Libya, in April 2011 aboard a Greek cargo ship carrying a dozen American diplomats and guards and enough vehicles and equipment to set up a diplomatic beachhead in the middle of an armed rebellion.
Even then, the polarized views about the NATO-led intervention were on display, as were the dangers of diplomacy in a turbulent nation. The rebels fighting Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi had hoisted American, British and French flags in the plaza in Benghazi that they renamed Freedom Square, Mr. Stevens often recalled, but a car bomb later exploded in the parking lot of the hotel where he had settled.
That forced him to move into the villa in Benghazi where, more than a year later, he died Tuesday. Mr. Stevens, 52, and three other State Department employees were killed during a prolonged assault on the consulate, which he was visiting to inaugurate a cultural center as part of his efforts to deepen ties in a new Libya.
He became the first United States ambassador killed in an attack while on duty since Adolph Dubs was kidnapped and killed in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1979. The circumstances of the attack — including the motives and any security lapses — are still not known.
"It's especially tragic that Chris Stevens died in Benghazi," President Obama said in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, "because it is a city that he helped to save."
Mr. Stevens, who was fluent in Arabic, knew better than most diplomats in the American Foreign Service the opportunities and travails facing Libya after the fall of Colonel Qaddafi, and was undaunted.Continue reading the main story
"The image of the striped-pants ambassador who goes to cocktail parties and steeples his hands — that was not Chris Stevens," said Jeffrey D. Feltman, a former assistant secretary of state and now under secretary general at the United Nations, who worked closely with him.
After having served as the deputy ambassador during Colonel Qaddafi's rule, Mr. Stevens became the Obama administration's main interlocutor to the rebels based in Benghazi who ultimately overthrew Colonel Qaddafi with the help of NATO airstrikes. Mr. Obama rewarded Mr. Stevens with the nomination to become the first ambassador in a post-Qaddafi Libya, and he arrived in May with indefatigable enthusiasm for the country's prospects as a free, Western-friendly democracy.
"The whole atmosphere has changed for the better," he wrote in an e-mail to friends and family in July. "People smile more and are much more open with foreigners. Americans, French and British are enjoying unusual popularity. Let's hope it lasts."
For those who knew him, Mr. Stevens was an easygoing, accessible, candid and at times irreverent diplomat, with a deep understanding of Arab culture and politics that began when he was a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching English in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
"The thing that struck me was that he had a level of candor that was unusual for a diplomat," said Sidney Kwiram, who conducted research for Human Rights Watch in Libya during the revolution and afterward and often met with him. She last spoke with him two weeks ago after her own visit to Benghazi, spending two hours on the telephone discussing Libya's new political forces. "There was no formality to his rank," she said. "He didn't take himself too seriously, but he took his job very seriously."
He also earned bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, recalled twice visiting him in Libya, most recently in July, when Mr. Stevens "insisted on personally making me a cappuccino, a task that he carried out with as much pride and proficiency as his diplomatic mission."
Mr. Stevens, a native of California and graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, joined the Foreign Service in 1991. He spent much of his career in the Middle East, serving in Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel, where he focused on the Palestinian territories, and in State Department offices overseeing policy in the region. In Syria in 2001 and 2002, he courted Iraqi exiles before the American overthrow of Saddam Hussein's government the next year. When the embassy in Damascus, Syria, held his farewell party, he insisted on it being in a disco and invited all the Iraqis, who were fractious even then. "This was probably the only time the Iraqis sat at one table — before or since," said a State Department diplomat who served with him.
His return to Libya took place in circumstances that would challenge any diplomat. Mr. Feltman said he was surprised by the network of contacts Mr. Stevens established in Benghazi in weeks, shaping the administration's understanding of the rebellion's leaders. As he prepared to take up his post as ambassador this year, Mr. Stevens appeared in an introductory video recalling the United States' Civil War as an example of overcoming strife. "We know that Libya is still recovering from an intense period of conflict," he said. "And there are many courageous Libyans who bear the scars of that battle."
He developed a reputation as a keen observer of Libya's politics, and, as Ms. Kwiram noted, a patient listener who eagerly sought out activists, diplomats and journalists. He also kept up his routine of daily runs through goat farms, olive groves and vineyards nearby.
In his e-mail to family and friends, he joked about the embassy's Fourth of July party.
"Somehow our clever staff located a Libyan band that specializes in 1980s soft rock," he wrote, "so I felt very much at home."
By Wednesday afternoon, the wall on Mr. Stevens's Facebook page had turned into a memorial as friends from high school, college, the Peace Corps and the State Department posted photos and eulogies. "In our 1983 Peace Corps training in Morocco, there was a tall, blond kid who was known, among other things, as the one with the unfailing old-school courtesy toward all," wrote Valerie Staats, who is now the Peace Corps director in Sierra Leone. Mr. Stevens, she recalled, "always said he wanted to be an ambassador, and we didn't doubt him."
Mervat Mhani, an activist for the Free Generation Movement in Libya, said she could "no longer hold my head up high as a Libyan."Continue reading the main story


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Afternoon my lovely darlin's. I've had the pleasure (maybe not so much for my feet!) in breaking in my new boots that I got for Christmas. I love boots whether it be walking boots to heeled boots, I just love them. They most be comfy to wear though and not too tight. That can be an issue with certain brands or materials. A major problem I have with all types of shoe is that I have to try them on before I buy them. Im either a size 6 or 7!!!! (Am I the only one with that problem??)
These are gorgeous!!! They will never replace my beloved biker boots though (but theyre nearing the end of their life!!) I adore the red on the toes, the cute buckle on the outside and the heel isn't to high on them. The zip is on the inside of them. They are from Blue Inc which is a new shop in our area. I'll be going there more often! My only problem with them is the wierd sound that they make when I'm walking, probally cause I haven't broke them in yet. Love how comfy they are too, and that I can wear my boot cut jeans and skinnies with them.
Do you guys have a pair of shoes you adore?? Xx