text:
Recently, I was hanging out with a small group of pastors, and one of them really captured my heart. He has been a pastor in Detroit (in the city) for years and years. He told story after story about the people he's come across over the years – crack addicts, violent sex offenders, prostitutes – many of whom became a part of his church. He kept using this phrase – "There's no script for that, is there?" I just kept smiling and laughing at this man's amazing journey. He's writing a book about these stories, and I got an advanced copy. It's so raw and beautiful, good and hopeful. It's called Choose and Choose Again: The Brave Act of Returning to God's Love by J. Kevin Butcher. It comes out this fall, and I'll have him on the podcast then. I'd encourage you to pre-order this book. It reminds me of something Brennan Manning would write. It's that good!
So it made me think of all the ways we attempt to use a script for even the far more normal issues in our lives.
The relational conflict.
The dead end job.
The sermon. Ha.
Trying to write the runaway best seller. Ha, ha.
Where do you attempt to use a script and how is that going for you? In today's podcast, I talk about the freedom that comes when you decide to tear up the script.
Enjoy. (Click here to listen to it on your browser if the player does not appear below)
Sobriety and Spirit
Click here for more information about Sobriety and Spirit, my one day event with Seth Haines that is happening on June 25th, 2016, in St. Paul, MN. Sobriety and Spirit is for anyone who wants to enter into an honest conversation about addiction, sobriety, grace, and spirituality. It is for those of us who are addicted – to chemicals, to approval, to obtaining the perfect body, to performance, to sex, or to anything else. It's also for those who love addicts like us. We hope you'll join us, no matter where you are at on your journey. We hope you'll leave with hope, and with some new friends who are fellow travelers on a similar journey.
Register now.
My work:
I host a weekly podcast. I wrote a book. I have a website. I am the pastor at a great little church. I am sometimes available to travel to hang with your tribe to help you all become more you. And yes, I do Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Oh, and if you'd like to stay up to date with my writing and events and such, you can subscribe to my email list. There. We're all caught up.


text:
When the Flame Goes Out
2016 has been a year of tremendous struggle. Big things and little things alike have not gone as planned. It has been a challenge to understand why and how people can be so searingly hostile to both the planet as well as to each other.
But, all of this is not meant to be understood. Endeavoring to understand or rationalize our current circumstance serves as a distraction that not only misuses time, but also generates anguish.
Our present conditions are a call to action, but along with the donations we make and the volunteer work we do, we must not neglect the inner world that ultimately frames our external experience.
Nurture inner peace. It is the simplest and most effective form of dissent.
Only when we have quieted our minds and pacified our broken hearts, can we find the compassion it requires to move beyond diversion and find common ground.
When it seems the flame within your soul has gone out, take a deep breath, and light another match.
Flossy Takes Flight: Exporting Our Dog from Malaysia
As we near the end of our time in Malaysia it became necessary to ship our wonderful Golden Retriever back to the homeland. The process of figuring out which routes were best and which company to use was arduous. Flossy is a ball of nerves when it comes to traveling. A 45 minute car ride stresses her out, so the prospect of sending her across the globe was a source of much anxiety. We wanted her to have a safe and comfortable journey, but needed to keep costs reasonable as well.
Thankfully, I can now happily say that Flossy is safe and sound in the U.S. keeping my mom company until we can once again be reunited.
Bearing in mind that this is my experience and the information I'm sharing is accurate to the best of my knowledge, here is what I learned along the way.
Pet Transport Companies
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) does not allow pets on the premises. So traveling with Flossy was not an option. Also heat restrictions prohibit the shipment of pets out of KL from May 15-September 15, and made it necessary for us to ship Flossy a few weeks ahead of our summer travel dates. Furthermore, certain paperwork can only be executed by a pet agent, so there is really no getting around hiring someone to assist you with the process.
I wanted to find a reliable, trustworthy, and reasonably priced pet agent. I asked friends, Facebook groups, and our local vet for advice. These were the three pet relocation experts that came up consistently:
- Pet's Pet Taxi
- Armstrong Pet Moving
- Dr. C. Sockalingam , Yarl Livestock Services {email: firstname.lastname@example.com | mobile: +601-237-15566}
I emailed each and found all to be responsive. I asked for a price quote as well as some general questions concerning which route would be best for Flossy. When researching online, I found that routes through Amsterdam and Doha were recommended. Dr. Sockalingam was the only one to answer my questions thoroughly, and his price quote was several thousand ringgit cheaper than the others as well. Dr. Sockalingam explained that flying Flossy through Doha would be a great option as the cost of her ticket would stay low, while the quality of her care would remain high.
Of course I researched this online and called the cargo department of Qatar Airways in Doha directly to make sure that she would in fact be in caring hands for the duration of her trip. The airline associate that I spoke with was friendly and professional. She explained that Qatar Airways' facilities in Doha include a temperature controlled holding area where food and water is provided hourly (up to two hours before their flight), as well as a vet on hand who checks on each animal, and they clean the animal's crate before the flight. All of this was very reassuring to hear.
Flight Preparation
Dr. Sockalingam came to our place a couple of weeks prior to her scheduled departure date to give Flossy a check-up and make sure her paperwork was in order. Flossy instantly took to him. I think she would have left with him if I would have let her! Since Flossy was already microchipped and all of her vaccinations were up to date she was good to go!
Travel Tips
I attached two water dispensers to her crate along with a bowl for holding her food. Since her journey to Washington, D.C. was going to be a long one, I duct taped four individually zip locked portions of food (with treats inside buried in the mix) to the top of her crate.
I also decorated the front of her crate with her name. I wanted her handlers to know her name in hopes that it might comfort her along the way. According to my mom, when Flossy arrived in Dulles everyone around her was calling her by name and she was wagging her tail right and left!
I took two Polaroid pics of her and inserted them in Ziploc bags and taped them to the front of her crate. In the unlikely event that she escaped from her crate (you read some harrowing stories online!) people would know her name/what she looked like.
Finally, I placed a towel in Flossy's crate to remind her of home and hopefully increase her sense of well-being.
Qatar Airways Cargo Tracking allows you to track your air cargo online. I followed Flossy's itinerary and saw she was on schedule for each of her flights.
It was a nerve-racking couple of days as I sat waiting to hear that Flossy had indeed arrived safely. Flossy arrived in Dulles happy and surprisingly clean. As it turns out she wasn't nearly as stressed out as I was! Thanks to Dr. Sockalingam her trip was a complete success.
Mala Making with Moolamala
Looking to do something unique and creative with my daughter Ava, I signed us up for a mala making class with Jiawen Loo. Jiawen is the owner and creative force behind Moolamala. In addition to leading mala workshops, she makes beautiful intention-driven jewelry.
I love natural rocks and gemstones, as well as making things by hand. Luckily Ava does too, so the two of us were excited to learn the craft of mala making.
Malas are essentially a tool used in meditation or prayer. For Buddhists, with each of the approximately 108 beads in the mala you repeat your mantra. Personally, when I meditate I don't use a mala, but I do find them useful as a daily reminder to stay present and engaged in the now. This is what I hoped to encourage in Ava.
Mala making takes time and patience. Fortunately Jiawen is the perfect teacher for this task, as she is as gentle and serene as they come. She demonstrated how to go about tying each tiny knot with humor and grace.
We began by taking a few moments to write down our intention in making the piece. By writing down a personal affirmation and remaining centered on it throughout the process, it becomes a part of the mala much like the beads themselves.
After penning our intentions, we got down to the business of crafting our malas.
Our malas were based around a string of rudraksha beads, with gemstone accents and the guru bead selected by each student. When faced with a beautiful buffet of gemstones, I had the hardest time deciding which ones to choose. Jiawen reminded me that my first mala need not be too precious and that I should just begin with one color and see where it leads. To whittle down my choices, I called to mind one of my favorite landscapes and let that guide my color choice. For me the desert always inspires a sense of peace and purpose, thus I selected muted and earthy toned stones, with a larger pyrite bead for my guru bead.
Ava took to the process with little direction. She's always had a gift for choosing an unexpectedly beautiful color scheme. Whether it be for a picture she's drawing or decorating her room, she definitely doesn't have my decision-making paralysis!
It took the two of us about 5 hours to complete our creations. Ava was elated with how hers turned out. The bright pink, yellow, and turquoise stones really matched her sanguine personality.
I was really pleased with the outcome of mine as well. With Jiawen's guidance my knots were tight and even, and while my mala was not entirely perfect (somehow my center bead ended up not centered), it was definitely perfect for me.
For information on Jiawen's Mala Making Classes please visit:
The urban jungle had been taking a heavy toll of late. Wanting to get away from KL's traffic and haze we headed to a place we fell in love with last year during the Rhythms of Rimba Festival–Sandakan. Three hours away by airplane, Sandakan is a sleepy town where nature abounds and tranquility prevails.
We started our trip at the Sepilok B & B, which is a lovely place to decompress and enjoy nature. The accommodations are very basic, but also spacious and clean. The Pitta Lodge easily accommodated our family of five with two bedrooms, a living room, balcony and small kitchen. I love falling asleep (and waking up) to the sounds of nature, and that's exactly what you can do here. The food is also very tasty and the staff extremely warm and friendly. We truly enjoyed our time there.
Another advantage to staying at the Sepilok B & B is that is close to several attractions. The Rainforest Discovery Centre is within walking distance and is a great place for bird watching. Guided tours are available. At dusk we headed to the observation point and spotted a flying squirrel. These monkey-sized squirrels climb to the treetops and essentially base jump down, which is a spectacular thing to behold.
The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre and Seplilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre are adjacent destinations that are a short (and traffic-free!) car ride away. Here you can spot rescued sun bears lazing about and get an up-close view of rehabilitated orangutans. For the kids, seeing the outdoor nursery (the very one featured on the TV show Meet the Orangutans) where baby orangutans tease and play with each other was a highlight of the trip.
While this is an amazing place, it is heartbreaking to remember that the very reason these animals need rescuing is due to humans destroying their habitat. Seeing these animals up-close really brought home how precious wildlife is, and how we need to take steps everyday to help remedy the destruction.
The next night we left the comfort of the B & B to head deep into the jungle to visit the Danau Girang Field Research Centre. It took about 2 hours by car followed by 40 minutes by boat to reach the centre, which is doing amazing work in the conservation of countless rainforest species.
Accommodations here are a bit rough for city-dwellers like us, with shared showers and dorm-style rooms, no hot water, and extremely limited electricity (the generator is turned off at night, and runs for only a few hours during the day), BUT the experience was like no other. We took a boat ride along the river and spotted crocodiles, wild boars, hornbills, sea eagles, proboscis monkeys, long tailed macaques, silvery lutungs, to name a few.
Then at night we took a hike through the rainforest to see beautiful birds sleeping on branches, a pit viper, a tarantula, frogs, scorpions, and many more wild creatures. The rainforest is a different place at night. Our guides pointed out animals hidden in plain sight and were exceedingly patient with all of our questions.
Vibrant and teeming with life, we navigated the darkness with headlamps firmly in place. Experiencing this wild landscape in a completely new way was an unforgettable experience.
As we left Danau Girang we spotted a wild orangutan in the trees above us.
After our incredible night at Danau Girang, we headed back to Sepilok for the remainder of our time in Sandakan.
The food and atmosphere at Lindung Gallery Restaurant was so good we visited twice during our stay. The five of us are vegans/vegetarians while our accompanying friends are not, but we all found something to love on the menu.
Sandakan is famous for its seafood, so for our friends the trip would not be complete without a visit to a local seafood place. Sim Sim Village offered delicious vegetarian options while also satisfying our friends' cravings. Set in a water village, this open air restaurant is a great place to relax and enjoy the sunset.
Another excellent spot enjoy a great meal and beautiful view is the Balin Rooftop Bar & Bistro. Brought to you by the same folks behind Lindung Gallery Restaurant, this little place offers sumptuous desserts, creative cocktails, and a bird's eye view of Sandakan. It's definitely worth stopping in to treat yourself to something great.
There are very few places in the world where you can see proboscis monkeys. Their dietary needs are so specific that they don't fare well in captivity. The Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary feeds these wild monkeys twice a day on platforms such that onlookers can get a great view of these strange creatures. Proboscis monkeys have features so unique and mannerisms so human like, that they are fascinating to watch. Don't forget to bring sunscreen and a hat/umbrella as the feeding platforms are located within the grounds of a palm oil plantation and it can be quite a hot walk in the afternoon.
We headed to a local market to pick up some fresh fruit to enjoy.
Much like the town itself, the market was a friendly and colorful place to spend some time.
A trip to Sandakan was just what the doctor ordered. After being fully immersed in the sights and sounds of nature, we felt ready to once again face the urban landscape. If you get the chance I highly recommend visiting this engaging and wholly interesting town. Whether your pleasure is food, bird watching, or nature walks, Sandakan will definitely leave you wishing you had a couple more days to spend in this enchanting place.
Sandakan was a refreshing adventure!
Finding Ipoh
An easy getaway out of KL lies 2 hours north in the city of Ipoh. With beautiful limestone hills framing its horizon, the city is rich in both natural beauty and tangible history. Where else can one explore a castle, feed turtles in a secluded garden, peek inside a haunted house, wander around a ghost town, and spot clever street art?
With aged walls and bricks and tiles imported from India, Kellie's Castle is a truly unique place to spend some time. Built by the wealthy Scotsman William Kellie Smith in the early 1900's, the home features many interesting rooms and tunnels. Though never completed (due to Kellie's unexpected demise), Kellie intended for the structure to include an indoor tennis court and rooftop courtyard. What remains today is the ideal place to take in Ipoh's signiture vista of limestone hills while getting a history lesson along the way.
Papan, Perak is another place you must visit if you're heading to Ipoh. Referred to as a ghost town (though people still live here), this quiet neighborhood was once a vibrant tin mining town. Visually captivating, the streets and alleyways present a sort of dilapidated time capsule.
Papan was home to Sybil Kathigasu, Malaya's war heroine, and incredibly you can still spot the clinic where she aided the resistance during the Japanese occupation.
What ghost town would be complete without an actual haunted house? If you are brave enough you may venture off the main road to Istana Billah. Locals report that much paranormal activity takes place on the palace grounds, including the eerie sound of drums and call to prayer.
Up close, Istana Billah looks like just the kind of overgrown, architecturally interesting backdrop you'd find in a spooky film. I peeked through the window and found an unexpectedly charming sight; A table set with a pristine white table cloth indicated that the place isn't completely abandoned…
Another scenic venue can be enjoyed at Sam Poh Tong Temple. This Buddhist temple located 5km south of Ipoh is said to be the largest cave temple in the country. After walking though the limestone cave visitors will find a natural atrium. It's an alluring site and thus easy to see why in 1890 a monk from China made the cave into his home and place for spiritual practice.
One of the things I love about Ipoh is how visually layered the landscapes are. In Old Town Ipoh, you will find accidental gardens around every corner.
And, just like Penang, Ipoh too has inventive street art.
Ipoh is such a historically rich, naturally diverse, and culturally dynamic city, that it makes for the perfect quick sojourn out of Kuala Lumpur.
Click here for a printable map of Old Town Ipoh. Happy exploring!
A Hug in the Right Direction
If someone offers you the chance to hug a Saint, you take it. That's my advice anyway. Thus, we arrived at the Malaysia International Exhibition & Convention Centre at 4:00 pm hoping to receive a token for a hug from Mata Amritanandamayi, better known as Amma, the hugging Saint.
We were in a line thousands of people long. But, we were told once you received a token you had secured your place to receive an embrace from the revered guru. Amma's stamina is remarkable. She has been known to embrace devotees for up to 22 hours without taking a break or rest of any kind. It's easy to see why her hugs are so desirable as according to Amritapuri.org, "When Amma holds someone it can help to awaken the dormant spiritual energy within them, which will eventually take them to the ultimate goal of Self-realization."
When it comes to spiritual practice, I don't pretend to know much. I try to proceed with an open mind and heart and leave the skepticism to others. Would her hug change my life? Certainly there is always room for improvement!
At 4:00 am it was my turn to approach the Guru. Shoes off, I nervously stepped up to her. Her volunteers pushed me forward and placed my arms around her. The process has been filed down to an exact science, which was a relief as my nerves were beginning to get the best of me. In an instant I was in her arms. She lovingly held me and whispered something in my left ear. I couldn't understand what exactly she said, but then she turned and whispered something in English in my other ear. I looked up and met her eyes. She looked incredibly kind. I would have loved to have said something profound or meaningful to her but all I managed to say was, "Thank you" before stepping down the ramp.
Her words touched me. And I will carry them in my heart forever. Am I a changed person? I think so. Sometimes when we think we need a push to move us forward, a hug will do the trick.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Fast action by a Flandrau State Park manager and two adults saved the life of a two-year-old Gaylord boy Sunday.
Two-year-old Saul Torres was discovered floating on his back in about three feet of water, about 15 feet from the edge of the shallow end of the swimming pool, according to information provided by the New Ulm Police Department. The woman who found him immediately dragged him from the pool, and called her mother for help.
The two women began first aid and were assisted by the Flandrau State Park lifeguard Samantha Serbus, who started rescue breathing until the boy was breathing on his own. Torres was transported to the New Ulm Medical Center for evaluation before he was released.
Torres' mother, Yesenia Tobias, was not at the park. Her son was at the park with her two sisters, Erika, 22, and Lisbet, 14.


text:
Environmental aspects of the development of the republic
Environmental aspects of the development of the republic
A. Ecology and land use. Problem.
The most dangerous factors leading to land degradation – one of the vital resources of the republic, are erosion, destruction of soil structure, salinity, flooding and waterlogging, loss of humus, contamination of chemicals.
With increasing population and the systematic alienation of land for nonagricultural purposes the size of arable land per inhabitant of the republic over the past 20 years has decreased from 0.43 to 0.3 ha, including irrigated – from 0.27 to 0.21 ha. By 2030, projected, respectively, 0.18 and 0.1 ha. In the mountain areas deforestation, plowing of soil by livestock grazing and handling on the slopes of the mountains led to rapid destruction of the soil, the formation of debris flows, landslides and avalanches, siltation of water bodies products erosive destruction of soils and subsoils.
In recent decades, there was a decrease in arable land and perennial plants as a result of the transformation of productive land in less valuable land. At the present time is subject to erosion 5302.1 thousand hectares or 51% of agricultural land, including arable land – 968 hectares, pastures – 4544.8 thousand hectares, and hayfields – 87.1 thousand ha. Large areas of farmland in poor condition. As a result of an inventory of land out of circulation for the past five years, retired eight thousand hectares of irrigated land.
From 1985 to 1990 increased the area of saline land with 666.3 to 1170.3 thousand ha, waterlogged from 28.9 to 89.2 thousand hectares, with a stony 2397.4 3808.8 thousand ha up, diflyatsionno dangerous with 616 , 2 to 5475.3 thousand hectares. Lack of accounting for changes in land quality in recent years does not allow for analysis of factors affecting the fertility of the land, but given that in this decade, almost no funds were allocated for reclamation activities, you can make the assumption that water logging, salinity and osolontsovyvanie soil erosion in heavily used areas and slopes are progressing. Learn more about SSL Certificate.
The process of losing the main indicator of fertility – humus as a result of removal of erosion and make the necessary doses of organic fertilizers. Removal of the humus horizon of the arable plants ranged from 20 to 45%. Loss of crops by varying degrees of soil degradation on the grass was 20 to 80% of grain from 15 to 50%. Poor quality of design and construction of irrigation facilities and networks, the excess of the norms of irrigation on irrigated land has caused the erosion of irrigation, which is subject to 74.2 thousand hectares of arable land.
The area of meadow and meadow-steppe zones located in the most favorable climatic conditions, 60-90% covered with weeds, poisonous vegetation, pastures zakustareno -1311.3 thousand hectares (14.4%) and grasslands -18.2 thou . Ha (11.4%), which led to a drop in pasture productivity by 4 times. In the distant and remote pastures began their natural regeneration, but the degradation of short-range continues to grow. Part of the low productivity of pastures reclassified as a reserve, and the remaining 3.6 million hectares of distant do not use that positively affected their condition. At the same time, 2.7 million hectares of village and other heavily used pastures are overloaded, as the peasants do not have the means to transport livestock to remote, especially the distant pastures.
Neglecting the organization of the territory of the principles of erosion in the reform of collective and state farms, where the size of a single agricultural land use decreased by about a hundred times, lays the foundation for the ongoing development of soil erosion. The main factors of influence on the soil conditions are man-made factors. Environmental risk is that the recovery of the soil in the mountain areas is very slow, and the eroded soil is hard retrievable. Thus, in the 21st century Kyrgyzskoy Republic of the estimated cost to address land use: land degradation due to steady on the agenda may be a question of acute food independence.
Ways to solve the environmental problems of land use:
- Maintenance of a land inventory and state registration of rights to land use,
- The fight against salinity
- Anti-erosion measures
-The use of modern agricultural practices that preserve soil fertility,
- Reclamation of disturbed lands (sowing legumes, band application of herbicides, spraying pesticides, etc.)
- Liquidation of wells.
- Executive Association:
- State Agency for Forestry
- Ministry of Environment,
- Agriculture and Water Resources,
- Local, state administration,
- - Agricultural Academy,
- - Ministry of Transport,
- GAO Kyrgyzkomurholding
- JSC Kyrgyzneftegaz.
Two. Radioactive waste and pollution status issue. Problems
A) The radiation situation in the republic is caused by natural factors and the activities of mining and processing raw materials containing natural radionuclides. After the closure of mining and metallurgical enterprises remains a large amount of tailings and waste dumps. These tailings are located mostly near the settlements and pose a threat of displacement and the creation of emergency situations. Some of them are located within the settlements. Some dumps are located along the surface water that may pose a threat to erosion, especially during heavy precipitation and mudflows.
A significant environmental threat to the Republic of Kyrgyzskoy are mining wastes. On the territory of the republic more than 130 such objects, the volume of waste stored exceeds 620 million cubic meters. m and 1950 m footprint. Tailings are the greatest threat of radioactive waste. To a greater or lesser degree of radioactive contamination have been the territory of about 6 hectares. Unfavorable state of the tailings in the Kaji settlements Sai, Min-Kush, Shekaftar, Kara-Balta, Kyzyl-Jar, etc.
The most unsatisfactory state of the group of tailings in the region of Mailuu-Suu, namely alluvial tailings № 3,5,7, located in the floodplain of the river Mailuu-Suu, and the largest bulk tailings type number 16. A significant concern is the state of tailings in the non-ferrous metallurgy Sumsar, Kane, Khaidarkan Kadamjai, Ak-TYuZe Erosion of tailings and other number 1 in Sumsar created a threat to the villagers and villages located downstream Sumsar. The content of cadmium in the river exceeds the MCL of 320 times. The results of the possible environmental disasters can be extreme, with coverage of the territories of Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea basin.
B) Organic creates an unfavorable environment storage of household waste. Currently, the country has 52 landfill waste with a total area of 210 hectares, which leaves more than 1.2 million cubic meters. meters of waste (excluding waste Bishkek), processing of which is practically absent.
B) is of great concern the technical state of major hydraulic structures, especially reservoirs, which are in seismically active areas, can cause natural environmental disasters.
D) The country has more than 50 sites that use in the production of potent toxins, including 18 industrial projects assigned to the category of chemically hazardous, within which people live, as well as the location of economic agents is associated with the risk of defeat in the event of an accident on site. The most difficult chemical environment can arise from accidents in the Kara-Balta, Kirghiz (pgt. Orlovka) mining and metallurgical plants, mining and mineral processing plants and other large objects.
Ways of solving problems:
- Monitoring of background radiation.
- Carrying out rehabilitation work on the storage of hazardous waste, mining waste dumps and tailings.
- Disposal of waste.
- Construction of ash disposal.
- Research and development activities on recycling and solid waste.
The executive of the organization:
- Ministry of Environment,
- Kara-Balta Mining Plant,
- National Academy of Sciences, MOE,
- Department of Architecture and Construction
- Institute of Chemical Technology,
- Ministry of Agriculture and Water CD
- Ministry of Health of the KR,
- GorSES.
Three. Biodiversity and ecology. Problem.
The conservation of biological biodiversity as a basis, the very essence of the biosphere, which provides a biological basis of life, as the repository of genetic material of animal and vegetable world – a permanent goal and task of the state. Kyrgyzskaya Republic is a unique place in Central Asia, the concentration of wild animals and plants. There are more than 500 species of vertebrates, including 83 species of mammals, 368 species of birds, 28 species of reptiles, 3 species of amphibians, 75 species of fish, 3,000 species of insects, there are over 4,500 species of higher plants. Of the 4,500 species of plants 300 species of wild are rare and are threatened with extinction, of which 125 species – endemic, 200 species of valuable medicinal plants. The Red Book of Kyrgyzskoy included 71 species of plants, 32 species of birds, 3 species of reptiles, 2 species of fish, 19 species of insects, 13 species of mammals.
In order to maintain biological diversity Kyrgyzskoy of a network of specially protected territories with total area of 672.9 thousand hectares or 3.3% of the territory of the republic. This is clearly not enough. During the period 1920-1970 in the republic was destroyed 50% of the forest, and is currently forested areas make up 4.2% of the territory.
Among the large species diversity of forest vegetation in relict and endemic species. In the red book Kyrgyzskoy Republic recorded 19 species of trees and shrubs. And such as walnut, and buckthorn, are under special state protection Juniper forests and woodlands are located in the south, mainly in the Alai and Turkestan ranges. All species of juniper, situated on steep slopes in the zone of groundwater, water regulation, and perform a large water-security role, protect the soil from erosion and counteract the formation of debris flows, bringing a huge disaster and destruction. However, the widespread use of juniper wood in my life and way of life of the population, unsystematic felling and uncontrolled grazing, there are no rules for use of forests in the past, forest fires over the centuries and generations of people, led to a sharp reduction in juniper forests and woodlands education, in Kyrgyzskoy Republic and in the whole of Central Asia.
Difficult economic situation in the transition period increased the human impact on forests. Unauthorized felling, uncontrolled grazing leads to degradation of soil and vegetation, detrimental impact on the natural regeneration, leading to a reduction in forest area. Woods partially satisfy the demand in wood and other forest products, growing on the slopes of the mountains, prevent the formation of debris flows, landslides, avalanches and other catastrophic events, regulate water flow in rivers.
Clearly the trend of aging forests. The aging process is faster than reforestation, and is already mature and old growth forests make up 49.9% or 350.3 thousand hectares of the total forest area. Old growth forests are a major focus of destruction by pests and diseases. Failure to timely forest protection measures could lead to widespread dissemination of foci, which may take catastrophic proportions. Under this threat, there are also unique for its natural reserves of relict nut forests.
Ways to solve the environmental problems of biodiversity.
- Creation of new public parks.
- Increase the area of renewable natural forests.
- Bookmark willow plantations.
- The reproduction of fish stocks.
Forecast of natural ecosystems and rare endangered species.
- Development of compensatory measures.
- Selection and genetic inventories of plantations and the creation of a database on biodiversity.
- Create a collection of genetic crops, as well as environmentally friendly bacterial preparations to protect plants from pests.
The executive of the organization:
- Ministry of Environment,
- Goslesagentstvo,
- Fish factory,
- Biology and Soil Institute HAH KP,
- Local self-government.
4. Water resources and the environment. Problems
Renewable supplies of water – a strategic, vital natural resources of the republic, having interstate significance. With its large reserves (about 50 billion cubic meters per year of surface runoff and 13 billion cubic meters. Meters per year of groundwater, about 1745 billion cubic meters of water in lakes and 650 billion cu m. Fresh water in glaciers) , the country uses for its own needs only 12 to 17% of groundwater and surface water. Thus the total loss due to imperfect irrigation systems, use of intensive methods of irrigation and other causes account for about 23%.
Water Kyrgyzskoy Republic is made up of surface water and groundwater, as well as water storage in large lakes and alpine glaciers. Water resources are one of the most important and at the same time, the most vulnerable components of the environment that is fast changing under the influence of human activities. From the management of these resources, the preservation of their good quality depends on the economic and environmental well-being of the population.
Sustained process of deglaciation, the intensity of which increases and produces a change in water content and surface runoff. According to forecasts of area of glaciers in the country by the year 2025 will be reduced on average by 30-40%, which would reduce water availability by 25-35%. The most dangerous factor leading to the depletion and degradation of water resources, and especially drinking water – a strategic resource – is the pollution of various chemical and organic substances. Due to the decline in production volume of wastewater discharge for the period from 1990 to 1995. almost halved in 1995 amounted to 301 thousand cubic meters. meters per year, but rose almost twice the amount of untreated sewage. In open ponds and streams without treatment resets the ever-increasing volume of dangerous contaminated waste water containing nitrates, chlorides, chromium, sulfates, petroleum and petroleum products, heavy metal salts. The content of these components, as compared to 1990. Increased significantly, and by 2005 is projected to increase further by about 40%.
Most susceptible to contamination in their middle and lower basins flows Chu, Syr Darya, the Kara-Darya Jergalan, Tiup and several others. Numerous dams and mine waste tailings, which disposed radioactive substances, heavy metals, tsiansoderzhaschie matter, cause serious concern. They are located usually in the intermountain valleys and ravines, alluvial fans and floodplains. With the recent intensification of man-made catastrophic events, landslide, debris flow, erosion, the threat of pollution of surface water and groundwater increases. Sewage systems with treatment plants have only 56% of the total number of cities, towns and regional centers.
At present, the whole country, from the existing 350 facilities for wastewater sanitary requirements correspond only 105 (30%) did not perform their functions 140 (40%), and the efficiency of sewage treatment is low and does not meet regulatory requirements. So urgent reconstruction, repair, completion of construction works require treatment facilities Karakol, Cholpon-Ata, Balykchy, Jalal-Abad, Osh, Tokmok, Mailuu-Suu, Naryn, and many other treatment facilities mountain towns and villages that are in critical condition. In the remote mountain villages of the population uses drinking water directly from rivers, without knowing the extent of pollution of rivers, as well as the presence or absence of iodine in it.
Therefore, there is an urgent problem: lack of public information about the mineral composition of water supplied to them and man-caused pollution, as well as ignorance of the methods of water disinfection. Environmental hazards of this process lies in the fact that many chemicals (nitrates, pesticides, heavy metals) is quite a long period are not subject to decomposition and neutralization. If this does not stop the dangerous process, it creates a real risk of loss of these deposits of underground water. The economic damage from the use of irrigation regime Toktogul reservoir is estimated at 61.5 million dollars a year, but from the basic ingredients of water pollution the total damage for the year amounts to 135 thousand U.S. dollars.
Much of the water are removed mislaid.


text:
The sight of Christmas crackers (or bon bons) undeniably sets the mood for merry fun during the festive season, with their happily wrapped shapes and jolly colours.
Usually part of the holiday table setting, they are a ritual to pull open before one digs into the Christmas meal. Whether you use them as the perfect final touch for your last minute table set up, or as cute and inexpensive stocking stuffers, nothing beats creating Christmas goodies that will be more meaningful than a generic store-bought product. Make your crackers stand out by filling them with whatever you know your guests will love, other than your standard paper crowns, cheap toys and bad jokes.
Best of all, you can make them from leftover wrapping paper and ribbon, and a repurposed toilet paper tube!
- Colourful wrapping paper
- Toilet paper tubes
- Cracker snaps
- Little treats & gifts (they should be able to fit in a cracker)
- Ribbon
- Metallic markers
- Coloured cardstock
- Jute string
- Glue
- Scissors
- Get creative with your marker! Draw fun shapes/make polka dots/write pretty lettering on the wrapping paper.
- Cut one toilet paper tube down the centre in a zigzag fashion (this is to help it split open down the centre when pulled). Glue a cracker snap to the inside of the tube for a great pop!
- Line 1 tube on each side of the cracker snap tube (there should be 3 tubes altogether), and cut the wrapping paper to match the total length of the tubes.
- Glue one edge of the wrapping paper to the cracker snap tube. Then, roll the wrapping paper over the tubes and seal it.
- Slide one end of the tube out slightly and twist the wrapping paper. Tie with a ribbon.
- On the other end, fill with your chosen goodies, before also securing with ribbon.
- Decorate until you're happy with the final product.
- Find a friend to pull your Christmas cracker with!
Have fun personalising each cracker! Your guests will appreciate your thoughtfulness, and the handmade goodness befitting of the holiday! They're also perfect for a smashing new year's eve party! There'll be goodies & confetti strewn all over the house when everyone is happily done popping their cracker, but isn't that the fun of it all? Just be careful popping them over the dinner table – you might get loot in your soup!
Where To Get Your Crafting Tools & Gifts
Grab all your craft materials from Artbox (Causeway Point), Du Yi Bookshop (Bedok Point), Evergreen Stationery (Changi City Point), Schon Collection (YewTee Point), & Popular (Causeway Point, Eastpoint Mall & Northpoint).
Get pretty ribbon, washi tape and confetti from Daiso (Eastpoint Mall & Waterway Point), & Typo (Anchorpoint & Waterway Point).
Pick up mini gifts and treats like fancy USB cables, decorative badges and keychains from great stores like Metro (The Centrepoint & Causeway Point), Mini Toons (Causeway Point), Magic Wand (The Centrepoint), Mi-O Gifts (YewTee Point & Waterway Point), Precious Thots (Causeway Point), Smiggle (Northpoint), & even Cotton On (Anchorpoint, Causeway Point, Changi City Point, Northpoint & Waterway Point).


text:
Students Throng to Workshop Series on Election Strategies
A standing-room-only crowd of students recently gathered at the first of two "Punch Bowl" workshops held in Murdock Hall, which focus how to decipher the rhetorical techniques and strategies used during presidential campaigns.
Dr. Gerol Petruzella, an adjunct professor of philosophy and the assistant director of academic technology, moderated a talkback session for students to identify trends and patterns in the presidential candidates' speech, and shared strategies and resources to respond critically and effectively to claims that rely on weak reasoning.
"In the general public, political debate is often merely about partisan positions. However, these workshops allow us to examine carefully how the content of a political belief can be distinguished from the tactics used to advance it," Petruzella said.
Students watched segments of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's national convention acceptance speeches, and then analyzed the transcripts for problematic rhetoric. English professor Dr. Amber Engelson and math professor Dr. Elizabeth Hartung gave examples of persuasive techniques accessed by the candidates.
"While we watched the excerpts from both speeches, several students were visibly amazed at some of the more egregious – or outrageous – claims," Petruzella said. "Students couldn't believe that obviously flawed reasoning could be as rhetorically effective as it clearly is."
Such techniques include use of the "straw man" fallacy, where a candidate's position is presented in a way that makes it sound weak and easy to dismiss. This often includes putting words in the other candidate's mouth.
"Sentimental appeal," Petruzella continued, uses emotionally evocative ideas to persuade, while the "red herring" fallacy uses evidence that seems relevant, but isn't.
"This workshop series is a great opportunity for students to see how reasoning skills are applied in a 'live,' public context, and to participate in that kind of situation themselves," Petruzella said.
Organizers of the event aimed to evoke a lively sense of community, where friends and fellow citizens could gather to talk and listen together, in an atmosphere that supports friendly and thoughtful engagement.
Although some claims may be factual, because they can be misleading, fact-checking alone usually is not sufficient to give a listener or reader a complete picture, Petruzella said.
"We see this as a well-timed opportunity to show students how a liberal arts education can be deeply and immediately relevant," Petruzella said. "This election is throwing into play issues of truth, argumentation, rhetoric, evidence, reasoning and fallacies. These focal issues lie close to the heart of several of our disciplines."
The final workshop – on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. in Murdock Hall room 218 – will focus on rhetoric in the media.


text: Interview with State of Awakening! September 2, 2014Micah No Comment Facebook Genre(s): Progressive/Metalcore Location: Ghent, Belgium PSAB: Why did you choose the name "State of Awakening" for your band?SOA: Our singer had this idea for a band name since he was a teenager. He suggested this name and it immediately stuck in our minds. Also SoA is a Dutch abbreviation for STD. We also were thinking to change SoA to "Seals Throwing Dookie". Now, thinking of it, there is much more to the name than initially came to mind. That is why we stick by it. PSAB: How was the feedback when you released Ruin To Rebuild? Are you still receiving feedback now? SOA: The feedback has been somewhat limited up to this point. However, most of the feedback and reviews are still on their way. Our friends and loyal fan base are very excited and so are several other sources. Each stage performance we gain enthusiasm. The less positive feedback criticized our divergent songwriting. Which is exactly the way in which we try to stand apart. Still, we cherish every piece of advice and feedback we get, be it positive or negative. PSAB: What is the local metal scene like in Ghent, Belgium? SOA: In Ghent, but also more generally in Belgium, we have a lot of little scenes dedicated to a specific subgenre. Sadly, these scenes never have contact with each other. Even small booking agencies almost never work together or go to each others' shows. The bands need to take initiative to cross the borders of their scene. And mostly, this only has limited results. PSAB: What one band has played the most influence on your music? SOA: Every member of State of Awakening has their influence, our bassist is mostly influenced by Tool and our singer by the genius ABBA. But if we have to choose one band, we could say Avenged Sevenfold has had the most impact on us. PSAB: Do you have any shout outs to give to your fans, and the readers out there? SOA: We are no strangers to love, you know the rules and so do we. In other words, we are never going to give you up, never going to let you down. We are never going to run around and desert you.Peace out. Interview, Newsinterview, Metalcore, state of awakeningShare : Tweet ‹ Interview with A Scar For The Wicked! Interview with We See Dead People! ›


text:
Self Camera Shot Pro v1.8.35
This app allows you to take pictures remotely using whistles and hand clapping, without touching your phone.
A simple and faster way to capture selfies from a distance of 1 to 15 meters from the device.
- Remote control using whistles.
- Remote control using hand clapping.
- Instant or delayed capture.
- Silent shooting.
- Countdown Timer.
- Zooming.
- Auto Focus.
- Touch to focus.
- White balance settings(Incandescent, Fluorescent, Auto, Daylight,Cloudy).
- Scene modes.
- Manual exposure.
- Activators (you can use the volume buttons as a shutter or zoom controls).
.. and more


text:
FCA Salt Spring Workshop – Day 4
On the fourth day of the 2012 Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) workshop on Salt Spring Island, our group was with Stephen Quiller [see my introductory post about this workshop]. Our location was at a private farm, on the coast, a couple of kilometers south of Ganges [see map]. This was another location that offered some subject matter to suit everyone's tastes – there was the farm, with trees, chickens, road and fences and nearby, ocean-side fields and beaches.
Stephen Quiller is a water-media artist, not making a big distinction between water color , acrylic and gouache media. He is very comfortable with and knowledgeable about all. Quiller is noted for his work with color and has a number of products and books relating to his Quiller color wheel. In fact, having studied his books, was how his name popped out for me, amongst the four workshop instructors. One of the key lessons from Quiller related to his efforts in identifying color complement pairs amongst the many hues of colors available today. By mixing these pairs one is able to obtain some very nice clear greys, or neutral tones. Interestingly as he was unable to find a perfect complement to cadmium yellow light, he had his own created – Quiller Violet.
As in the days that we spent with the other workshop instructors, the format was to have a demo/talk first thing in the morning and then the participants would disperse over the area to work on their own and then we would gather again just after lunch for another demo. On this day we also got together for a group critique at the end of the day.
The demonstration started off with a description of Quiller's color theory and then he got into working on a piece – an abstracted depiction of the landscape in front of him (using acrylics). Quiller\s approach was to start with thin, transparent washes and work his way to applications of opaque paint. Before starting the actual painting Quiller asked that any questions be saved until the end so as not to disrupt his process. I expected him to be in the "zone" and therefore completely silent during his painting process but while he was clearly in the zone, there was one side of him that was still giving a very useful running commentary of what he was doing and thinking.
Having so many possibilities for paintings around this location, it was difficult to choose. I hiked down the shaded path from the farm area to a large grassy spit which featured a greeny bay at low tide on one side and the open water and a rocky beach on the other. On the land was a large grassy field bordered by some trees sporting dramatic autumn colors.
The field/tree scene won out for me so I set up my pochade box in the shade looking out over this scene and got to work. I was experimenting with my process again on this day – still trying to find the best way to use acrylics for this plein air work. I learned on the previous days that my paints were just drying out too quickly on the palette – even when I used the Sta-Wet palette with a wet sponge underneath.
This day I tried pre-mixing my tube colors with heavy gloss gel to slow the drying time and also to give me a thicker paint, which I prefer for the impasto style. I stored these premixed colors in little plastic cups with lids, which were great for ensuring that the left over paint could be saved for my next session. I still used the Sta-Wet palette as my surface for mixing (and saving) other colors.
It was a good day with Stephen Quiller. the information on his color theories was good but largely review. there were a couple of things that he said that while not new or revolutionary, really stuck with me during that day and I'm still thinking about them.
- "See the stroke – put it down" is what he said. These are simple words, a simple concept but oh so important so as not to muck about in one's painting and thereby destroy the freshness and expressiveness of the image.
- "Always finish your paintings". There is a tendency to give up on hopeless cases, canvases that you just know can't be saved. Quiller said that the last 15% of a painting can be very hard – but very beneficial. Keep working on the problems and you will learn something and probably something that will help prevent you from making the same mistake again!
Go back to my Workshop Day 3 (with Carla O'Conner) blog post.
FCA 2012 Workshop Day 3
On the third day (2012/9/14) of the Federation of Canadian Artists 2012 painting workshop on Salt Spring Island (British Columbia, Canada), our group had the pleasure of being instructed by Carla O' Conner.
Carla is a watermedia artist whose "designated" media at the workshop was gouache. As it turned out, most of her group instruction was generic and could be applied to to any media. She started out her morning session talking about Design and how there are 7 elements of design (shape, size, line, texture, direction, color and value) AND 7 principles of design (balance, harmony, gradation, variation, contrast, dominance and unity). Since each element applies to each principle there are 49 things to consider! Carla went on to talk about composition and some of the most common classifications of composition.
Our location for the day was Ruckle Provincial Park on the south east corner of the island. The land for the park was donated by the Ruckle family so part of the park continues as the working family farm (complete with cattle, sheep and turkeys – not to mention the wild deer that wandered through later in the day).
This location offered a great variety of subject matter for painting: the wide open valley, the animals, farm buildings, fences, coastal forests and, just a 5 minute walk away, the coast, with a lovely, quiet little beach.
I was attracted down to the beach – a lovely little cove with shore rocks, a rocky little island, birds, driftwood and a shell and pebble beach.There were even a couple of people kayaking.
I took off my boots, pulled out my sketch book and proceeded to sketch some scenes. It was so nice (and I so needed the seeing/sketching practice) that I never did break out my painting materials that day. As I sketched I was concentrating on elements of the previous two days' lessons – namely to simplify in terms of shapes and values and to use values to define sections of the painting. I found my grey scale markers very handy for these sketches, allowing me to quickly establish my 3 greys (as well as black and white).
In early afternoon we had gathered up by the big barn again and Carla gave a useful little demonstration of how to incorporate figures into the landscape. To be believable the figures do not need to be highly detailed – what is key is to get the general body shape and proportions correct. After this demo I went back down to the beach to sketch. At the end of the day I caught back up with Carla and got some useful feedback on my day's work.
After the workshop was over we went down to another part of this large park to take some reference photos of the forest and coast.
To see more photos of Salt Spring Island (many taken during this workshop) please visit my Flickr photostream.
If you missed my "Day 2" blog post, find it here. {Click here to read about Day 4]
Three Regions, Three Values
On the second day (Sept. 13) of the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) 2012 workshop on Salt Spring Island, our group had the very entertaining and knowledgeable John Salminen as our instructor.
John's forte is painting urban scenes with watercolor. Our painting location for this day was the Garry Oaks Winery. This place wasn't an urban location but John found a suitable building on the premises to use as the subject for his demonstration piece. Not being particularly drawn to buildings myself I found this site with many opportunities for landscape paintings. I'm particularly fond of the parallel lines of the rows of the vineyard.
Shortly after our arrival at 9 AM, the group gathered together and John began his demonstration. Unlike many instructors who do not like to actually demonstrate by creating a full work from start to finish, John did. He did do a few things in preparation before the group arrived and also did a bit of work while we were scattered in the fields. Nonetheless, through the two demo sessions that he did we got a good idea of how he approached his work. John works in watercolor so many of the tips and techniques (e.g. masking off sections of the painting and use a mouth-blown sprayer) of that he shared won't have direct applicability to my current style but I have carefully tucked away his approaches for future use.
One thing that John talked about which is fully applicable to any media, concerned values and planning your composition. He said to consider that your scene has three regions: a foreground, a middle ground and a background. Also consider that there are three value families: Light (say values 1 to 3, on a nine point scale), middle (values 4 to 6) and darks (values 7 to 9 ). John suggested doing thumbnail sketches of the composition using all of the combinations of value families with the three regions. For example you could do the foreground in your darkest values, your mid-ground with your middle values and the background in your lightest values – or you could flip that around making your foreground lightest and background darkest. Or maybe you make your middle ground darkest
There are 6 combinations of the value families that you can assign to the three different sections of your painting and each can impart a different mood on the scene. Also worth remembering is that you don't need to be a slave to reality – just because nature is presenting you with a scene where the background (e.g. distant hills and sky) are very light, your painting does not have to be the same (it could be – but that your choice!).
This lesson stuck with me, it was with me through that day as I tried to apply the idea, but it was also there in the back of my mind throughout the rest of the week. A good principle, a good lesson!
After the morning demonstration, I wandered up and down the road beside the vineyard looking for just the right scene to capture my attention. I ended up finding a nice spot in the shade under a massive old oak tree, looking out over a section of the vineyard with curving rows. I would spend the rest of the day in that spot and although the painting, didn't turn out to my satisfaction. I kept repeating my mantra from Day 1 " I don't have to produce a finished painting, I am just here to learn"!
During the course of the day, John made the rounds to visit the students scattered around the property, offering individual suggestions. He got to me quite late in the day and suggested that I add a figure as a focal point. I don't often include figures in my landscapes (although I often thought I should). Anyway, I did put in a suggestion of a figure and have to agree that it does add a focal point to an otherwise ungrounded painting. What do you think?
So that was day 2 – another day of solid learning, another day of not so successful painting – and all in a very beautiful locale. [click here to read about Day 3]
Simplify! – A Workshop Lesson
Simplify – that is the message I took from Elizabeth Wiltzen, our group's first-day instructor at the 2012 FCA workshop, on Salt Spring Island. (for an intro to this workshop, see my first post in the series). Liz is a very accomplished oil painter of landscapes, from Canmore (Alberta, Canada) who had worked in watercolors for years. Interestingly, she is also a life coach and an avalanche rescue (with dog) volunteer.
I liked the way Liz started off the workshop: encouraging, no demanding, that we drop any pressures (self imposed or imagined) to have to complete paintings during the week. We were there to learn, to experiment, to try and fail, but ultimately to grow. She joked that the "wet paint sale", scheduled for the last day, was not happening. It was of course, but we were to act as if it wasn't and not feel under any pressure to produce. I though this set a very good tone, not only for this day but for the entire workshop. I know I adopted that mindset and while I would get frustrated with a lack of quality output, I kept telling myself that I was there to learn and if I didn't end up with even a single finished painting, that was okay – that thought settled me down on more than one occasion.
On this day, our group was on a beautiful private property, right on the south coast of the island, between Ruckle Park and Fulford Harbour. The views looking towards the water were particularly stunning. The views looking inland weren't bad either, with fields, buildings, trees and rocks.
Liz started off with a good talk about her plein air painting equipment as she set it up for her first demonstration – of the exercise she wanted us to take on that morning. During that day we were given 2 exercises. That first one was to simply a scene to a few (5 to 10) large shapes and assign each shape one of just 5 values – and then paint it like that! This sort of exercise is nothing new but it was nonetheless very valuable. It is so easy to get overwhelmed by a scene, all the details and color. What this exercise demonstrated is the value of getting down good solid "bones", an infrastructure for the painting! When you've got a believable value composition down, you are half way there!
On the right is my small painting resulting from that morning's exercise – again the goal being to simplify shapes and values (and of course it is not as easy as it looks)!
The format of this first day of the workshop was typical of each day. We would get on site by 9 AM unload our gear and gather as a group (of about 25). Our instructor for the day would then give us a talk and demonstration (for maybe half an hour) and then we would scatter around the site to get down to painting. When done for the morning we would typically eat the lunch that we had brought and then gather as a group for the afternoon demonstration.
At our afternoon gathering, Liz demonstrated the exercise that she wanted us to try that afternoon. Still on the theme of simplifying. the challenge was to do a painting using just 50 strokes of the paintbrush. Well this was interesting – she made it look easy but of course it was not. A good starting point was to follow the lesson from the morning by establishing your composition with a limited number of large shapes. When it came to the painting, one trick (especially in the early stages), was to load up a paintbrush and without lifting it from the surface, sweep it all about to fill in the large shapes. Later strokes would be shorter and useful for adding highlights and providing definition to the painting. One of the unexpected challenges of this exercise is keeping track of the 50 strokes – once you get into the painting zone it is so easy to lose track of a simple thing like counting. Before I started painting I took a couple of pine cones and pulled off 50 scales, put the 50 markers in a pile.. Then after each painting stroke, I simply tossed away one of the scales – when they were all gone, my painting was "done" ("remember, it's just an exercise")!
It was a good first day with the exceptionally beautiful landscapes that I was expecting, great weather, a chance to meet a few of the people in my group and of course a couple of lessons in simplification that stuck with me through the week (and beyond).
Plein Air Painting on Salt Spring Island
I recently spent a wonderful week on Salt Spring Island, on Canada's west coast, attending a workshop put on by the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA).
The 5-day workshop ran from Wednesday September 12th through Sunday September 16th. There were about 100 participants divided up into 4 groups. For the first four days, each group spent a day with a different one of the four workshop instructors, at a different site on the island. On the last day, everyone painted in and around Ganges on their own.
Every day we were out painting "en plein air", in landscapes which offered views of coasts, fields, forests, buildings and animals – something for everyone!
The four workshop instructors were: John Salminen, Elizabeth Wiltzen, Carla O'Connor and Stephen Quiller. Each instructor focused on a particular media but were able to provide valuable guidance to everyone, in whatever media the participant chose to use.
Another very unique and welcome feature of this year's workshop was a talk on Friday evening, given by the world-renowned (and Salt Spring Island resident) painter and naturalist, Robert Bateman. Bateman is obviously a man with a million stories (and opinions), a good an passionate speaker (looking way younger than his 82 years). On this evening he spoke about his development and influences. I learned that he had once painted landscapes in the style of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven (and quite frankly, that earlier style appealed to me more than the his realistic wildlife work). I was also impressed by (and would never have guessed) his appreciation for abstract expressionists such as Rothko, Kline and Still. He demonstrated how he was influenced by their compositions and incorporated them into his high-realism wildlife paintings. Overall it was a very enjoyable evening in a very good week.
Our last day of the workshop (Sunday) was different, but nonetheless valuable. We painted in Ganges, had group critiques of the work's week as well as the opportunity for one-on-one critiques with Robert Genn. Late in the afternoon there was a two hour "wet canvas" sale – an opportunity to show and sell paintings. The well organized workshop week wrapped up with a very nice banquet – a excellent meal and an opportunity to chat and reminisce with old and new friends, on Sunday evening.
Next year's FCA week-long workshop is being organized for Whistler B.C. in September 2013. After this years experience I will be giving serious consideration to attending that one too.
In future posts on this blog I will share some of the things that I learned during this week on Salt Spring – there was something learned everyday and from every instructor – stay tuned! [go to Workshop Day 1 post]


text:
Upcoming Events:
The Great Train Show (tickets & information here)
Washington State Fairgrounds
110 9th Avenue, Puyallup, WA 98371
November 11-12th, 2017
10 am – 4 pm
Come play trains with the little tracks and get a signed copy of Old Tracks, New Tricks!
Washington Library Association Conference
Hotel Murano, Tacoma, WA
November 2-4th, 2017
I'll be at the Innovation Press booth in the exhibit hall all three days, signing books!
I'm currently scheduling more book readings, author visits, and appearances at train shows and other festivals for 2017-18. In the meantime, check out some of the events I've appeared at in the past below. If you'd like to book an author visit with me, please contact me!


text:
Aloft Boston Seaport District, a Marriott Hotel, Boston
- Free WiFi
- Collect nights
Aloft Boston Seaport District, a Marriott Hotel, Bostonfrom $146 CAD
- aloft king, Room, 1 King Bed
- aloft, Room, 2 Queen Beds
- Breezy, Room, 1 King Bed
- Breezy, Room, 2 Queen Beds
- Urban, Room, 1 King Bed
- Urban, Room, 2 Queen Beds
- Room, 1 King Bed
- Savvy, Room, 2 Queen Beds
- Savvy, Room, 2 Queen Beds
- Room, 1 King Bed
- Room, 2 Queen Beds
More great choices
What's around Aloft Boston Seaport District, a Marriott Hotel, Boston
- In Seaport District
- Boston Convention and Exhibition Center - 7 min walk
- World Trade Center - 11 min walk
- Institute of Contemporary Art - 13 min walk
- Boston Children's Museum - 16 min walk
- Black Falcon Cruise Terminal - 17 min walk
- Boston Tea Party Ship - 17 min walk
- Boston Harbor - 19 min walk
Getting around
- Boston, MA (BOS-Logan Intl.) - 9 min drive
- Norwood, MA (OWD-Norwood Memorial) - 30 min drive
- Bedford, MA (BED-Laurence G. Hanscom Field) - 33 min drive
- Beverly, MA (BVY-Beverly Municipal) - 39 min drive
- Lawrence, MA (LWM-Lawrence Municipal) - 39 min drive
- Boston South Station - 20 min walk
- Boston North Station - 4 min drive
- Boston-Back Bay Station - 4 min drive
- Broadway Station - 18 min walk
- Downtown Crossing Station - 26 min walk
- Boylston Station - 29 min walk
At a glance
Key facts
Hotel size
- This hotel has 330 rooms
- Check-in time starts at 3 PM
- Check-out time is noon
Required at check-in
- Credit card or cash deposit required
- Government-issued photo ID required
- Minimum check-in age is 21
Travelling with others
- Children stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding
- Pets stay free (dogs only)
- Free WiFi and wired Internet access in public areas
- Free WiFi and wired Internet access in rooms
- Valet parking *
- Discounted offsite parking
Payment types at the property
Other information
- Smoke-free property
In the hotel
- Full breakfast (surcharge)
- Restaurant
- Bar/lounge
- Coffee shop/café
- Snack bar/deli
- Indoor pool
- 24-hour fitness facilities
- 24-hour business center
- Meeting rooms
- 24-hour front desk
- Concierge services
- Luggage storage
- Elevator
- Terrace
- Braille or raised signage
- Accessible bathroom
- In-room accessibility
- Roll-in shower
- Wheelchair-accessible path of travel
- Wheelchair-accessible parking
- Assistive listening devices available
- Wheelchair-accessible public restroom
- Assistive listening devices in meeting rooms
- Wheelchair-accessible registration desk
- Wheelchair-accessible pool
- Wheelchair-accessible fitness center
- Wheelchair-accessible on-site restaurant
- Visual alarms in hallways
- Closed-captioned TV
- Lever door handles
- Chinese
- English
- Spanish
In the room
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Air conditioning
- Coffee/tea maker
- Iron/ironing board
- Private bathroom
- Shower/tub combination
- Designer toiletries
- Hair dryer
- 42-inch LCD TV
- Desk
- Free WiFi
- Refrigerator
- Free bottled water
- Daily housekeeping
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
Also popular with travellers from Canada
Special features
DiningW xyz(SM) bar - This bar specializes in American cuisine and serves light fare only.
The Social Register - This restaurant specializes in American cuisine and serves lunch and dinner. Guests can enjoy drinks at the bar. Open daily.
Aloft Boston Seaport District, a Marriott Hotel, Boston's small print
Also known as
- Aloft Boston Seaport Hotel
- Aloft Boston Seaport District, a Marriott Hotel Boston
- Aloft Boston Seaport District, a Marriott Hotel Hotel Boston
- Aloft Seaport Hotel
- Aloft Boston Seaport
- Aloft Seaport
- Aloft Boston Seaport District Hotel
- Aloft Hotel
- Aloft Boston Seaport District, a Marriott Hotel Hotel
PoliciesTax ID - C0015720351
The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation.
Optional extras
Self parking costs USD 28 per day
Valet parking costs USD 35 per day
Safes in guestrooms can be used for an extra charge
Breakfast costs between USD 5 and USD 30 for adults, and USD 5 and USD 30 for children (approximately)
We have included all charges provided to us by this property. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the unit you book.
Didn't find the right property?Continue searching for Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
Recent reviews
Fabulous 8.8 From 906 reviews
Bed too soft and location a bit of a walk from seaport.
Great place to stay, quiet area but close to a bunch of major attractions
You did not advise us that some of their staff was on strike. This resulted in no hot breakfast available.Also the strikers who have been on strike for over a month started making noise at 7 am. This compounded with the fact that the hotel is surrounded by three major distribution centres meant that trucks started backing up, with back up "beeps" at 4.45 am.and is on the flight path, Not a very pleasurable holiday.
We had a wonderful stay at Aloft Seaport Area is quiet, clean, easily accessible by car, and a 15-20 minutes walking from center and most Boston highlights. Plus there is a BlueBikes station very close to the hotel, so it was very easy for us to navigate around the city, while enjoying the spacious and quiet location of the hotel Everything was modern, functional, clean and comfortable in the room and hotel. Would definitely return
Stayed for a family vacation from march 30th to April 3 2018. Amazing place for families, relaxed atmosphere, pool table, pool opened late, microwave and tables available to bring your own food. We loved the room setup; sink separated from shower and toilet. Would go back and recommend.
Is the description of this hotel not correct? Tell us


text:
China is reopening mines amid worries about power supplies, demonstrating how tough it will likely be to wean its giant financial system from coal dependence. The Makati Business Membership (MBC) has joined the call for the extension of the time period of Amando Tetangco Jr. as governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). I really feel that for the number of examples that are supplied through information events the place business ethics are lacking or nonexistent there are numerous more the place they do exist. I believe that globalization will make its impression within the Philippines because the whole society depends on westernization resulting from globalization.
Some professions are considered to be professionals but in a sense we're all professionals in the jobs we do. Professional and business ethics applies to all jobs in that we are professionals in performing the jobs with which we are entrusted. Pricing is used to construct business credibility and construct relationship with loyal clients. Bowles' (2006) concepts about industrial capitalism have also resonated with the news media. Since corporate actors rely on a excessive state of confidence", corporate press brokers have a robust interest to leak solely constructive news.
The Senate is set to make a remaining vote next week on its concurrence to the Executive Branch's ratification of the Articles of Agreement of the Asian Infrastructure Funding Financial institution (AIIB), from which the Philippines can faucet billions of dollars in funding for projects.
Each motion we take as people as regards to our ethics philosophy have an effect on the success of the company or group for which we work. Anyone can start a web-based magazine, but it surely takes some financial funding in a profesional looking website and lots of investment in time to construct a worthwhile online publishing business. For people who need to elevate their confidence and move on to attaining the subsequent major purpose of their business journey, this Business Progress Programme is good for you.
It offers an important and attention-grabbing information first, while answering who, what, where, when (how and why are sometimes reserved for later). From their printing providers, to their artwork supplies, and all the things else in between, this small business of the week is bound to impress. If you happen to comply with all this, there is a nice likelihood of your articles being printed. The significance of the article is mostly related the size of the headline, with more necessary articles having bigger and bolder headlines. Kat Stoeffel (2011), a reporter at The New York Observer, has claimed that mainstream news outlets did not give the protestors any consideration within the first 5 days of the protests.


text:
I was reading Darren Brown's race report from Boston. Not the marathon but the first mile invitational. I'm amazed at the amount of detail he remembered on that race, I find a 5k painful and here he is running a mile (which would kill me physically from a pace/effort stand point) and has so much composure during and after the race. I guess that's part of what makes an elite athlete elite.
… he won the race by the way 🙂


text:
A Refractory Coating From Outer Space
But what if refractories could be treated to make them impervious to thermal shock and chemical attack? How many repairs and rebuilds could be avoided, and how much money could be saved on downtime, if refractories could be made to last twice as long as they do now without erosion or damage?
A new coating developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) promises to do just that. The coating uses the principle of emissivity (the absorption and release of energy) to resist thermal shock due to thermal cycling, thereby significantly extending refractory life. It is also impervious to chemical and acid attack, enabling it to be used in harsh environments. And it provides a much-needed side benefit—the ability to significantly enhance the efficiency of thermal systems and thereby provide a great deal of energy savings in ceramic manufacturing and other heat-related processes.
Bringing the Technology Down to EarthOn March 22, 1994, researchers at Ames Research Center, a division of NASA located in Moffatt Field, Calif., patented a "protective coating for ceramic materials," or PCCM, that was invented and refined over a period of 10 years to be used as a key element in the thermal control structure of the next generation of space shuttle orbiters (X-33, X-34, etc.).* Designed to protect the orbiters from the extreme temperature of atmospheric re-entry, PCCM could be reused and repeatedly cycled between severe extremes of subzero temperatures (-250?F) and over 2900?F without any damage to the coating or the underlying substrate. In fact, each time the coating was cycled between those extremes, it rearranged its molecular structure to cause stronger bonding to the substrate and an even greater level of thermal protection.
Like many other technologies developed by NASA for use in outer space, PCCM was destined for a range of practical uses within earth's atmosphere. Through NASA's technology transfer program, the coating was licensed to Wessex, Inc., of Blacksburg, Va., in 1996 for applications on building materials and structures. According to Dr. John Olver, president of Wessex, the company first focused on applications for steel and wood products, particularly for firewalls in buildings. But as researchers at Wessex further developed and tested the coating,** they began to realize that a number of other materials could also benefit from its thermal protection properties. In February 2001, Wessex expanded its license from NASA to cover all areas except aerospace.
"The obvious application was for ceramics," Olver says. "We began working with it on certain ceramic refractories, from rigid to non-rigid, and discovered that it worked very well."
Other potential applications include electronic components, automotive components—"really any application where heat, wear and thermal degradation are factors," Olver says.
How the Coating WorksThe key to the coating's thermal performance is that it provides increased hemispherical emissivity—the ability to absorb energy and subsequently release that energy back out from the surface. Emissivity is rated on a scale of 0.0 to 1.0, with 0.0 being the lowest rate of emissivity (least absorption and release), and 1.0 being the highest (complete absorption and release). PCCM provides a known emissivity range from 0.65 to 0.90. In contrast, aluminum has an emissivity ranging from 0.22 to 0.31 at best, and stainless steel has an emissivity of about 0.11.
The coating also decreases the catalytic efficiency of the surface, resulting in a decreased surface temperature and protecting the underlying substrate from heat-related damage. Additionally, because less energy is transferred to the substrate, the coating increases the efficiency of the system by preventing heat transfer and dissipation. And because the coating was originally developed for extreme speeds (up to 14,000 miles per hour) in space applications, it is extremely resistant to wear and abrasion.
The coating is predominantly composed of silicon dioxide, which is widely used in ceramic materials, but the addition of emissivity agents changes the nature of the coating so that it cannot accurately be described as a ceramic coating. Ceramics are known for their tremendous temperature resistance capabilities, but they generally absorb heat energy without releasing energy back out from themselves. This combination of high-temperature materials with emissivity agents yields a superior thermal barrier system capable of withstanding temperatures up to 3000?F, depending on the emissivity agent used in the formulation. Five different emissivity agents are available under Wessex's license, and the company has modified its formulations to produce a range of 10 different coatings, each formulated for a specific temperature range and type of substrate (rigid, flexible, porous, etc.).
Due to its high silicon dioxide content, the coating has a very low thermal expansion rate. From room temperature to 1090K (~1502?F), the rate is 1.04 x 10-6 cm/ft2. However, the coating can be formulated for use on materials that have much higher thermal expansion rates so that it does not lose adhesion when the underlying material contracts or expands.
The coating can be used on any type of material, whether rigid, flexible or fabric, and can be applied in a number of ways, including brushing, spraying and through the use of doctor blades (blades commonly used to apply an even layer of inks or coatings to a surface). Although the surface of the substrate must be at ambient temperature during the coating process, the coating typically dries within one to two hours, depending on humidity and temperature conditions. According to Olver, a single 0.08-mm-thick coat is all that is required to yield the coating's thermal and chemical protection benefits.
Practical ApplicationsThrough partnerships with companies such as Danser Inc., Parkersburg, W.Va., and Unifrax Corp., headquartered in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Wessex has been instrumental in the development of new high-temperature, extremely durable ductwork linings, furnace linings and other refractories using the new coating. The coating has also been used to repair refractories in kilns, furnaces and other heat-related applications.
In one application, for instance, a company was experiencing hot spots in one section of its steel ductwork. "The company shut the furnace down, took that section of pipe out and brushed the protective coating on the existing ceramic lining. Then they reinstalled that section of ductwork and started the furnace. Now the ductwork is cool to the touch," Olver says.
In another application, the material was used to coat a foundry ladle. It improved the heat retention of the ladle and prevented slagging from occurring of the metal to the ceramic interior of the ladle, thus increasing the life of the ladle refractory.
In addition to protecting refractories against hot spots and thermal cycling, the coating has also been used successfully in applications where acids are present in the off-gases. "Acids are deadly on refractories," Olver says. "The protective coating actually seals the surface of the refractory and makes it impervious to acids."
According to Olver, one of the greatest potential benefits to the industry is the ability to reduce the amount of raw materials necessary for insulating thermal systems, thus increasing interior volumes while decreasing the size of the system, as well as raw material cost. Additionally, maintenance needs are reduced as the insulation's lifespan is increased, further reducing the overall cost of the system. And energy costs can be significantly reduced due to the emissivity characteristics of the coating. Wessex is currently quantifying the projected energy savings based on a full-scale test of the coating recently installed in a brick kiln.
While the coating isn't cheap—it averages from $.50 to $2.50 per sq ft of applied area, depending on the substrate and the type of coating that is used—Olver says that most companies can expect to see a payback within two to three years. The higher the temperatures and the harsher the environment, the faster the payback. "The coating works well at 1600?F, but when you get up around 2000∞F and above, that's when its benefits really start to emerge," Olver says.
"What we've heard from companies that already have it out in the field is that just from the acid standpoint alone—not even considering the heat savings and the other benefits—they're going to increase the life of their ductwork anywhere from eight to 10 years with this coating. We've done some preliminary calculations on applications such as rebricking electric arc furnaces, and our feeling is that by putting this on the interior of the brick in critical areas—it doesn't need to be applied everywhere—we can increase the life of those furnaces by at least two or three years. And you can compare that to the cost of taking down the furnace and rebricking it, as well as lost production, and figure out how much you can save," Olver says.
Olver believes that in most cases, the coating will at least double the life of any refractories on which it is used—but because the coating is so new to this field, no definitive studies have been done to determine at what point the coating will need to be replaced. "We do know from all the work done at NASA that the bond between the coating and the underlying substrate actually improves over time, and that the coating is durable enough to withstand re-entry into earth's atmosphere at 14,000 miles per hour. What we haven't been able to determine is what, if anything, would eventually cause the coating to fail in actual field use," Olver says.
Wessex is currently investigating a range of applications for this high-tech coating. According to Olver, the sky—or, in this case, the ionosphere—is the limit.
"Right now, we are primarily working with refractory manufacturers who are willing to work with us, but we're also working directly with some ceramic manufacturers and other end users to extend the life of their existing refractories," Olver says. "We've also been working with a lot of people from around the world on composites, from aircraft to electronic components, and we've recently been working with the military to modify some of our coating formulations for use as protective coating for aluminum and steel in military applications. Additionally, we are working with racing teams to use the material on various components—such as wheels, brakes, and certain engine components—to protect the driver from heat. Most of these applications have been full-scale field-tested with a great deal of success.
"It is a great material with unlimited potential," Olver adds.
For More InformationFor more information about this new coating, contact Dr. John Olver at Wessex Inc., 201 Church St., Suite D, Blacksburg, VA 24060; (540) 961-0999; fax (540) 961-5808; or visit http://www.wessexinc.com.
For more information about NASA's technology commercialization program, contact Phil Herlth, technology commercialization manager, NASA Ames Research Center - Commercial Technology Office, MS 202A-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000; (650) 604-0625; e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com; or visit http://technology.arc.nasa.gov.
*U.S. patent no. 5,296,288
**The coating is sold commercially as Emisshield Industrial® and Emisshield Spacetec®.


text:
It was suggested to me, not without good reasoning behind it, that I should monetize the "Tabs" you see right below the header art. It was a reasonable suggestion and oh so tempting, but it's not to be.
You see, the issue for me it is becomes an endorsement for something or someone that I might not be that huge a fan of. Selling my integrity (what there is of it - I do have ads here at The Tavern, they help keep the lights on, especially as I transition into retirement) for 10 bucks a month (or whatever the pricing) seems - whorish, to say the least.
That being said, there will be new tabs added of the special friends I've made over my years of blogging in the OSR. This will happen over the next few days. Yes, I endorse them. No, none of them asked for me to add a link or a tab to their site. Yes, they are cool folks and they produce awesome content.
Some tabs may be more or less temporary (if I ad any Kickstarters, they will by nature be temporary). Check them out. You never know what you may find.
(I may in the future install "drop down tabs". This currently requires more programming knowledge than I have neither time nor desire to learn, but it would be neat)
d100 Ancient Caves of the third age - So people ae into cave folk - got lots of hits and comments with more good links and mention of Kork70k tv and comic. Th...
1 hour ago


text:
Now that i've got my Autumn/Winter colour palettes down, it's got me thinking about the staple pieces and looks for the new season!
My first priority when the weather gets cooler is always warmth. I get cold easily and nothing makes me more miserable, so staying toasty and warm is my main priority; but I like to look good whilst doing it! I could get all bundled up in ski-gear and not dive a damn, but I'd rather not…so I'm looking at ways to layer and cover up whilst still looking good and stylish!
I have my colours…now I need the Pieces!
I'm loving cable knit this season, and it's everywhere and in every fabric and style. You can get thick, chunky cable knit pullovers, or fine, fitted cashmere. There are cardigans and v-necks, crew-necks and roll-necks, but whatever your weave of choice, cable knit is a must!
Open Cable Knit Cardigan in Grey – Massimo Dutti. Carrie Jumper in Cherry – Crew Clothing. Cocoi Cable Knit Top in Dark Grey – L.K.Bennett. Classic Cable V-Neck in Cerulean – Crew Clothing.
The Jumper-Dress
I'm sure you've all caught on to my love affair with Hush by now, and they have a gorgeous selection of jumper-dresses, in all shapes, fabrics, styles and colours, so you're spoilt for choice. But it's not only Hush, they're being featured in many a line this season, and it's not hard to see why. We all want to be warm and cozy, but why stop a sweaters and jeans? You can be feminine, chic and still stay warm with a cute little cashmere tunic and some thick tights and boots. Super chic and still toasty warm!
Felted Wool Dress in Burgundy – Hush. Cable Knit Maxi Sweater in Natural Cream – Massimo Dutti. Long Sweater Dress in Dark Charcoal Marl – The White Company. Bobbina Pointelle Knit Dress in Cobalt – Reiss.
I used to be against corduroy, but I've grown to love it recently. It's thicker and therefore warmer than jeans – why do you think farmers wear it? – and this season it's available in a huge variety of styles and fits as well as a great range of vibrant tones that have turned it into a statement piece and a staple for this season!
Skinny Cords in Ecru – Hush. 1969 Real Straight Cords in Ruby Wine – Gap. Skinny Corduroy Jeans in Charcoal – Jaeger. Cord Skinny Trousers In Ink Blue – Toast.
The Ankle Boot
I adore ankle boots and they're all over the place this Autumn. In leathers, suedes, velvets…and with buckles and cut-outs and high heels and flat heels. It's almost worth getting them in every colour and style imaginable as they can be the focal piece of any outfit. Just make sure you wear ankle-crops to really show off your boots – chelsea, cut out, jodhpur or side buckle. Whatever your look, there's a boot to go with it!
High Heel Ankle Boot With Straps in Black – Massimo Dutti. Leather Ankle Boots in Blue – & Stories. Carnaby Boot in Praline – Boden. Leather Ankle Boots in Red Dark – & Stories.
Masculine Tailoring
Especially with the monochrome colour palette, a sharp cut shirt with fitted blazer and straight leg trouser is a look with which to make a statement. Be bold and ultra-chic with hard lines and crisp, contrasting colours. It's all about the shirts and the jackets; tuxedo, blazer, crop or a full-on overcoat can be the item that brings an outfit together and sets you apart. There's a reason that men's suit's have never gone out of style, a classic look shouldn't be messed with, but why should the boys have all the fun?
Straight Wool Trousers in camel – Massimo Dutti. Tulip Snake Silk Print Shirt in Indigo – Reiss. Bethany Jacket in Mulberry – Hobbs. One Button Blazer in Black – & Stories. Classic Drape Shirt in Cream – Jigsaw.
Accessorize, Accessorize!
It's all very well layering up, but they accessories are what finishes the job. Scarves, wrist warmers, snoods, hats…well they're all seasonal musts, but this season, make them the statement piece…the central focus of your whole outfit. Wear a vivid-red scarf and wrist-warmers with your monochrome shirt and jacket…throw on some animal print to liven up your neutral look or even just focus on the details and ensure that your belt matches your shoes and bag and that each different element fits in seamlessly with the rest of your outfit. Whatever you choose to do with them, just remember that the accessories are the key to staying warm and looking good this Autumn.
Textured Knit Mittens in Ecru – Hush. Erin Hobo Bag in Oxblood Red – Toast. Narrow Leopard Print Belt – Massimo Dutti. Tuck Stitch Snood in Taupe Marl – The White Company. Leopard Contrast Scarf in Blue – Anthropologie.
Cover these simple staples in a variety of this seasons colours and you'll be sure you have a wardrobe where you can create a thousand outfits with the minimal effort. Classic looks are classic looks for a reason, but you can always make them your own!


text:
[T]HE family of a cyclist who tragically died following a collision last week have paid tribute to him, describing him as a 'devoted husband, wonderful father, grandfather, brother and friend'.
Fred Heppell, from Lanchester, was cycling on the southbound side of the A177 at High Shincliffe when he was involved in a collision with a blue Tesla Model S 90D on the morning of Friday, November 10.
He was airlifted to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, where he sadly died later that afternoon.
Mr Heppell, a former bank manager, was an enthusiastic cyclist who recently celebrated his 80th birthday. However, his family said he had no intention of slowing down.
"He had a long and happy retirement, combining his love of cycling with his sense of adventure and travel," they said.
"Fred averaged 10,000 miles per year on his bike and with his wife by his side had cycled across America, Australia, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and a host of European countries in his retirement years.
"He was a regular on the North East roads, popping out for an average 60 mile bike ride at least three times each week.
"Fred loved the sunshine and the great outdoors. When home from his travels he enjoyed being a perfectionist gardener, tending his allotment, growing his own fruit and vegetables while enjoying the 'good life'.
"Fred was also a very sociable character, enjoying a real ale or red wine night out and annual walking holidays with the lads.
"He has left a huge void in the lives of so many but we all cherish the time we had with him and the many happy memories he has left with us."
He leaves behind his widow, two sons and two grandchildren.
The collision happened at around 9.20am.
Durham Constabulary would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the collision.
Call 101 quoting incident number 90 of November 10.


text:
Ergonomic pipets - (Dec/10/2010 )
Does anyone have recommendations on ergonomic pipets? I am looking to replace outdated pipets with something ergonomic for the lab's increasing repetitive pipetting tasks. So far, I am considering VistaLab's Ovation pipets and Rainin's ergonomic models. Any others worth looking into? Also, is it worth spending the extra money for electronic vs. manual? Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.
I quite like Capp pipettes. Electronic is fine, but battery life can be a problem. It might be a good idea to get a retailer representative to give you some to try.
Personally I do not like electronic pipetts, always had technincal problems after a short time. Personally I perefer Gilson-style pipetts, they are very robust and reliable.
For repeptitive tasks we have some multi-stepper pipetts in the lab, they are very useful and good to handle (here also the electronic ones that have a real point because you can use every volume; but still I prefer the manual ones).
But you really should ask companies if they can give you a try, so you will find the best pipetts for your lab.
I used this http://www.lhp-laboratory.com/lhppipettes.pdf
It was the only pipette that I used that did not cause me pains.
Did you happen to notice that the last post in this thread was over 8 months ago?
bob1 on Fri Aug 19 00:34:09 2011 said:
Did you happen to notice that the last post in this thread was over 8 months ago?
If you check his posts, its obvious that he is working for LHP....
He made 4 posts, all about LHP and 3 of the 4 posts are posts saying LHP pipettes are the best...
yeah, I saw that later.


text:
Welcome to Apache Axis
Apache Axis is an implementation of the SOAP ("Simple Object Access Protocol") submission to W3C.
From the draft W3C specification:
SOAP is a lightweight protocol for exchanging structured information in a decentralized, distributed environment. It is an XML based protocol that consists of three parts: an envelope that defines a framework for describing what is in a message and how to process it, a set of encoding rules for expressing instances of application-defined datatypes, and a convention for representing remote procedure calls and responses.
This project is a follow-on to the Apache SOAP project.
Please see the Reference Library for a list of technical resources that should prove useful.


text:
Dear Thomas,
The other day we went to a barbecue and I was very grateful when you went indoors to grill my veggie burgers without me even mentioning it. I thought it was really sweet that you thought to do that for me because you knew I would rather not eat at all then make a fuss and cook them separately because of the meat juice on the bbq.
I didn't tell you that I was grateful at the time but its things like that that make me want to say I love you I love you I love you..
I am also thankful that last night you went out and bought us a pizza because we were tired and neither of us wanted to cook..I am sorry I get so grumpy when I am tired xoxo