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Just Observing
Yesterdays trip down to San Jose to hang with Neal Maddox and crew was the first time I didn't do the workout. Having scored a respectable score on the Sectionals Workout, I was satisfied enough and had no intention of trying it again. Plus, with Lindsey and me leaving late tomorrow night for our adventure, I wanted to hit the 6th and final workout tomorrow (totally need to rest up the shoulders and legs as it will be BRUTAL!).
It was fun to judge and watch all these beasts get after it. I have been around "fire-breather" CrossFit for a while now and I only yesterday realized that watching while also being a competitor is totally different than watching for the sake of watching. As a competitor I tend to analyze what is going on. I watch for things athletes are doing to make the movements more efficient. I watch how they react to transitions, where they take breaks and how they feel and approach the beginning, middle, and end of the workout. I feed off the energy as adrenaline for my own effort but am always a bit introverted, focusing on my personal routine. More on this in a sec.
As a non-competitor, things become WAY more exciting. You can just sit back and soak in the absolute impressiveness of human beings challenging every aspect of their make up. They push themselves physically and mentally, they sometimes burst through barriers, and sometimes get crushed. But no matter what happens, it is more suspenseful, motivating, emotional and powerful then almost any other watchable event I have been to. For those of you out there who have yet to see a bunch of CrossFitters getting after it, go online, find an event, and go check it out. Your life will change (even if it's just a little, it will change).
So here's how it changed for me! It made me sit back and think about my approach to CrossFit and training in general. I personally like CrossFit less for the actual workouts (believe me, I LOVE the workouts), but more for the need to better understand oneslef. Let's take this last Sectionals Workout as an example. The thing was 20 minutes of three tough exercises, and what happens when these show up on the board is either a bunch of groaning about how tough this will be, and/or a whole slew of strategizing. CrossFit workouts have allowed the ability for people to figure out the best way for themSELVES to get through a workout the most efficiently and effectively. As an example, Neal Maddox broke this one down like crazy, and ultimately made the mistake of over-transitioning. He went in with the goal of taking his time and mis-judged how much time to take between exercises. Normally his strategy to to go balls to the wall from the start, but he chose to change it up here and it came back to bite him in the butt a little (just as a side: Neal is sitting around 4th or 6th in the world right now. The guy get's it done about 99% of the time, and when he hits that 100%, it's going to be scary). I picked my strategy: to rest mostly between the cleans and the toes to bar (to allow my grip a break), then try to keep the transition time down between all others. I also focused on NOT breaking the cleans and the wall balls as I knew it would devastate me to have to pick the bar and ball back up once it fell. For me, this style of workout is one that I excel in. I think my marathoning a few years back helps me understand how to pace longer workouts. But with workouts in the 5-10 minute domains, I am still pretty rusty as to what works best for me. It's all about knowing what you as an individual can and can't do, and then basing how you approach the workout accordingly. If you are a strong finisher but struggle to get warm, why would you go 100% at the start? If you function better in on-and-off bursts of energy, why would you plan to do things unbroken? In training it would be smart to work on this stuff as well. It's not just about training physical weaknesses, but when you move up in the CrossFit world, it's about figuring out so much more, and training it all!
This next workout is one I feel I should do well with, but I have to spend some time figuring out how to approach it. It's a 7 minute all-out effort, and I struggle with the mental side of that. Upon a bit of thought, I think my best bet is to Neal Maddox it, or Prefontane it: when I hear go, I GO! All out, rest only when I need to and as quickly as possible. You can do anything for 7 minutes...
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
A Meal To End All Meals!
Last night Lindsey and I drove to the city to meet up with my client and buddy Jon and his girl for dinner. We had an awesome time! I must say, good company and good food really do make for a happier life! But I am sure all of you know that, so I'll fill in a bit about what it is that we ate. We met at House Of Prime Rib, and super old-school meat joint, something out the the show "Mad Men". The decor was rustic and old, the place was packed and loud, there was a divers mixture of old business types and young hipsters (as San Francisco tends to have!) and then there was the food.
Basically, your meal was paced for you. You ordered off a small menu, telling them what type of cut you'd like (thin, medium and thick) and how you wanted your meat cooked. Yup, there was one thing on the menu: prime rib! Then you could modify your sides, but you generally, everyone got the same thing to eat:
Bread and corn bread
Prime rib (and a CRAP-LOAD of it!) with
Creamed spinach, potato, some bread-type thing (honestly not sure what it was, but it was good!)
It was the first time in a very long time that I walked away from a meal feeling like I needed to unbutton my pants a tad! Sometimes there's nothing like feeling that primal excitement of gorging a ton of red meat. And interestingly enough, I was overcome by a very strong desire to lift heavy weights! I had a good feeling about the deadlifts scheduled for Friday.
So, today rolled around and I was able to get some solid work in. I worked up in sets of 3 on the deadlifts through 225, 315 and 405, then moved to singles or 455 and 485. So a quick run-down before I go into my last attempt. I pulled 485 about 2 yeas ago, and my max between then and the DC's Most Primal CrossFit Competition a few months ago where I PR'd at 500. But that PR came with a lifting belt and a TON of people screaming motivation at me. Today's 500 had no belt, and nobody paying any attention to me. Very, very, very happy about that pull! I then attempted 515 and...it didn't budge. Oh well!
I then hit a sneaky-brutal workout thought by Lindsey:
200 meter run
30 power snatch 95#
30 tire jumps (just like a box jump but onto a tire)
200 meter run
20 power snatch
30 tire jumps
200 meter run
10 power snatch
30 tire jumps
200 meter run
ROUGH! I was very surprised at how this one crushed me. I think the fact that my grip was still a bit tender from the Open Sectionals Workout made the snatches harder, and my ankles (Achilles and calves as well) are still messed up from Open Sectionals Workout 2 (the one with tons of box jumps...). But I'm not gonna lie, the feeling of exhaustion was really nice today!
Finally, tonight I whipped up a great meal for Lindsey and myself: broiled bison with brussel sprouts and steamed sweet potatoes. That followed by client/friend Lena's awesome gluten-free pumpkin bread and some almond milk and I am feeling all sorts of good! Now I can look forward to a chill and potentially adventure-filled weekend!
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
Ho. Ly. Crap.
Today's slightly improperly fueled attempt at Open Sectionals Workout #5 went WAY better then I could have imagined. First off, here's a bit about my inability to fuel properly. The mornings are a breeze, I get everything I could possibly imagine. But once that ends, I pretty much just wing it. I have come to the conclusion that for at least a month, I need to to break it down like I'm a 2-year-old and have my meals written out for me, times to eat and all! Shout-out to Michael Donovan baby! You gotta save me my man (Donovan is a legit nutritionist and all around great guy in the DC area)!
Alright, so back to the workout. After talking with Lindsey and the Lalanne crew a bit I realized that an absolutely AWESOME score would be 15 rounds. Then, after watching the first heat of three go at Lalanne Fitness I decided 12 rounds would be the ultimate goal. If could pull that out I would be so happy!
Do as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 power cleans 145#
10 toes to bar
15 wall ball
The goal was to find a comfortable pace and then stick to that as much as possible. This went pretty well, and I was able to get 5 rounds completely unbroken at a pace of over 13 rounds. Then, right around round 7 I hit a major wall. I can;t really describe how this felt, just like I was literally falling apart. I was doing the toes to bar in 3 sets, the cleans and wall balls went all unbroken. And interestingly enough, the wall balls were what got me. That 7th round left me feeling surprisingly nauseous and it was everything in my power to battle through. When I looked over and saw time was running down fast, I went all out to try to complete what I thought was my 10th round. I remember feeling a little bummed about not getting to my goal, but at that point I just turned on everything I had to get that round in. And ready for this? Time ran out just ONE REP SHY of completing that round! Man!
Well, it was about 3 minute later, after I mopped myself off the floor and immediately realized I was about as depleted of anything and everything the body needs to function, that I had actually got one rep shy of 12 rounds! Yoohoo! To think you got a crappy score and have it turn out you just suck at counting is such a huge pick-me-up!
So, I am good with that score, and now I have to figure out my training program to get that last workout of these damn Sectionals in. In a week I'll be turning 29, and Lindsey and I are headed out to do a bunch of crazy adventuring. So that means I have to get that final workout in before we head out to the crazy wilderness!
OK, time for bed; I am so beyond crushed right now it is actually worrying me a bit. I'll be good to go tomorrow!
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
Today I was able to get a pretty good workout in that left me feeling very satisfied. Come to think of it, I really haven't felt like my training has been all that great as of late. I just feel like I haven't been making any real gains in the past month and a half or so; pretty crappy. Well, either way, back to the workout! I put together a pretty interesting one for Lindsey early in the morning, and when I got to my workout time around mid day, I thought it would fit perfectly. So, I did the following:
10, 10, 10 strict toes to bar
10, 10, 10 forward rolls to smooth stand
8, 8, 8 pistol squats
5, 5, 3, 3, 3 front box squats
5, 5, 5 power clean with 1, 1, 1 wall walk to negative HSPU
250 meter row between rounds of:
Deadlifts 225#
Wall ball
The gymnastics work before hand felt great, especially the toes to bar. I felt my adductors taking over towards the later reps and I was able to make necessary adjustments to engage the proper muscles. The front squats were pretty good all around, a 275# set of three was solid and I felt real strong. The metcon was a fun one! My goal was purely to get the whole thing unbroken and I was able to do so. It was brutal, both muscularly and cardiovascularly, but once I got through the 21 deadlifts I knew I'd be able to get it. I finished up with a score of 6:52, not too bad.
Got some conditioning planned out for tomorrow and then the rest of the week will depend on the Sectionals workout. Man will it be great to not have to worry about these damn random workouts (that are all about the same in terms of demand on the body...)!
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
Trial Two, Fail
Today I drove on down to Neal Maddox's place with Lindsey and her mom to get another try at Open Workout #4. I rolled in with certain ease because I was pretty happy with my score of 115 from Wednesday. But, I figured since it wasn't the most demanding workout in the world, I would go ahead and work it into my programming. Plus, it's always a good time to workout next to Neal, the dude is an absolute BEAST!
My goal for today was to hit everything a little faster because I felt like I took too much time leading up to and doing the muscle ups (I did so on purpose because I was really focused on getting those damn muscle ups without a miss!). I felt pretty good when the time began and I found a perfect rhythm on the burpees, finishing these about 20 seconds faster than the first go-round. I shook out the arms and legs and threw the barbell overhead to start my overhead squats. Felt SO much better with these and was able to 19 unbroken. Then of 6 and 5. All of a sudden I was going into my muscle ups with just about 1:40 extra time! But that's about all the excitement I had for the day because I went for my first effort and missed, ugh. This has been exactly how muscle ups go for me over the past couple years, I either have them, and have them real comfortable, or, I can't get them at all.
I was able to squeeze out a brutally ugly 5 reps here, then I just hit my wall. I missed about 7 straight and just like that I saw I have about 30 seconds left. Oy. So, I recalled that I got 115 a few days before, I saw my boy Neal slowing down in the upper area of his second round of burpees, so, I decided to call it quits and give the remainder f my energy to Neal so he could get a few more reps in. All in all, it was a nice little workout and and I just didn't have those muscle ups today!
Now it's time for a little rant, not organized, not thought out at all, just thought I'd express myself. Upon a quick review of the mid-Atlantic region leaderboard on the CrossFit Games website, I am totally in the wrong spot. As of right now I am placed like 28th with a score that should have me either 19th or 20th. They have yet to adjust for my better score on workout #3, and they have me in the wrong spot overall. So here's the thing: I am pretty confident that they have all the correct info somewhere in there, but it's all the "glitches" they are experiencing that is causing the mistakes we all see. But even though I have confidence in them, it is freaking nerve-raking to not be placed in the correct spot. It'd just be nice to see my name where it belongs is all.
Ok, I'm done. I have a nice rest of the weekend planned out with Lindsey's family and I am excited for my programming next week! I'll fill you all in on that soon.
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
Open Workout #4
Last night, fueled and energized, I drove up to the City to Lalanne Fitness to get after Sectionals Workout #4. My legs were sore as hell thanks to the Storyline Workout and the air squats at the track, but I felt very confident that I should get a respectable score. For me, it was all about getting those muscle ups finished up!
10 minutes, as many rounds/reps as possible of:
60 burpees with a jump over your barbell
30 overhead squats at 120#
10 muscle ups
My plan was to find a comfortable pace with the burpees, get through the OH squats with as few drops as possible, then go one at a time with the muscle ups. And that is what I did. I finished up the burpees with some decent energy at just over 4 minutes. I then hit the squats and was able to bang out 12 before dumping the bar. I then got to 19 (my right arm failed me and I just wasn't able to recover). I then got to 25, then finished off. Here's where I focused in like crazy. I got my first one very smoothly, and I could feel myself bubble over in confidence. I proceeded to take my time and get all 10 without any misses. I had a minute to go and I just went all-out sprint for extra reps on the burpees; and, was able to get 15. With a fnal score of 115 I feel pretty good about that.
Will I do it again? Well, I don't really feel the need to get a better score at this point, but on the other hand I don't feel like it is the most demanding workout in the world. I feel as though I took too much time on both the overhead squats and the muscle ups. If I paced myself better I probably would have gained another 45-60 seconds and I'd be able to squeeze another 15-20 burpees in. But, the next month and a half are dedicated to training for Regionals so, I'll play this one by ear based on tomorrows workout!
Today was a rest day and my legs are freaking sore...
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
After a bit of tumbling and stretching out yesterday I decided to hit the wilderness for a little fun today. I packed a couple sandbags (52# each), a couple kettlebells (70# and 62#), a sledge hammer (10#) and a weight vest (20#). I didn't really know what I was going to do, or where I was even going for that matter, i just hit the road. I headed out into the mountain between the Bay and the Pacific and right at the ridge a hung a left, headed South and into the ever-thickening wild. About 15 miles in, I hung a right and disappeared down a super narrow, very winding road. Another 8 miles or so and I spotting a tiny tail head, so I pulled in.
I got out, walked around a little and found the perfect spot! Just to the side of the trail head there was a bit of a clearing that led to a ledge that just dropped off into the woods. I had about a 30 meter, insanely steep hill to another clearing amongst the redwoods, I had a huge fallen tree about face height, I had a massive redwood stump and tons of awesome scenery! So I began brainstorming a workout. [video below!]
All of a sudden I remembered that my good buddy Blair Morrison of AnywhereFit had challenged all his readers to design a storyline workout. Basically a workout that could replicate a real-life scenario. And just like that my imagination began to run wild! Here is my story!
I am a farmer (slash master warrior!) in the 17th century living in my humble home with my two small children (the two sandbags). All of a sudden in the distance I see the evil villain of the area and his army of bandits charging my land prepared to steal all my food and goods and take my children away for slavery. I act quickly (being the battle-master that I am) and transition my children and weapons to my hidden safe-house. I throw on my body armor (the 20# vest) and high-tail it!
Later on in the day I headed to the track with a handful CrossFit San Mateo athletes and did this little challenge:
100 air squats, 400 meter run, 75 air squats, 400 meter run, 50 air squats, 400 meter run, 25 air squats, 400 meter run.
I came in around 13:20 but I also was in the bathroom when the rest of the group started (Brednon said it was about 1.5 minutes or so before I actually got my start). Either way, it was a tough one but I feel as through it got my blood pumping perfectly. Now I plan plan to roll out and stretch a bit before ed and tomorrow it's time to hit Open Sectionals Workout #4 at Lalanne Fitness!
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
Workout #3
Well, I drove on down to San Jose Saturday morning to hit the Open Sectionals 3rd workout. I felt very ready to go and was excited to see what I could do. Not to make excuses, but I realized in retrospect why I did not score as many as I really expected. I finished with 28.5 rounds (that 28 squat clean and jerks and one squat clean) and to be honest, I was rally expecting to get in the 35 range. What happened was that we we ended up taking a TON of time between the two heats and I found myself just pacing back and forth for a good 30 minutes. Then all of a sudden, I was standing in front of my bar and my biddy Neal Maddox (who got 45 freaking rounds by the way, beast!!) was violently getting my attention. When I looked up I had 2 seconds and boom, the buzzer sounded to go. It took me about 4 or 4 reps to actually realize that we were doing the workout! My technique was thrown off like crazy and I ended up dropping the bar twice. Let me tell you, in a workout like this, dropping the bar is about the most demoralizing thing that could happen. I was just NOT there mentally for this one.
Still, in the end I was happy enough that I was keeping my placement high enough to make Regionals in the end; after all, that's all that really matters right now! So, Lindsey and I hit the gym and I got a few rounds of heavy pause squats and a crap lad of body weight reps to work on control of the body. But my mind kept on drifting back to how I wasn't mentally prepared and I really, really wanted to try it again. So, even though I was a little sore, I decided to just go for it!
Today's effort went a little better, 30 rounds, but it was the process that made it just so much more exciting! Apparently the clock decided to count all randomly and confused Brendon and Lindsey (my support/count/judge group). Because of this I ended up getting an additional 40ish seconds of work in and I banged out 33 reps. Going back to video and counting it next to a stop watch was quite a downer, having done 33 and having to take 3 away! Oh well, a better score is a better score. And to be honest, being able to up the score after doing the workout AND heavy back squats makes me feel pretty good (even though I expected more...).
On to other news: I have decided to push my move back east forward a few weeks. This came about because Lindsey and I are headed out to Utah for some adventure on that last week of April (for my Birthday) and I figured if we are headed out then, I may as well hang out here until then! So, to all my East Coasters waiting for me, it'll be just a little longer! And to all my West Coasters, let's live it up for a little longer!
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
Ready To Go
Today marked three days straight without a workout and boy am I ever restless and ready to work! My stomach is sore, but the pain has subsided. I am fully aware that I'm not healed, but I am put together enough to get after this workout, I know that much. All I can hope for is that the workout doesn't break me down any more and I have to take a full week off. Plenty of recovery planned for the rest of Sturday and all of Sunday, I just want to be good enough to get back on a program next week.
With my inability to workout over the last couple days, I took the time to stretch, roll, relax and eat well as to be as prepared as possible. And as of right now, I feel ready to go!
5 minutes As Many Reps As Possible of:
Clean and Jerk 165#
I'll give a write-up to let everyone know how I do.
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
Crap...Kipping Is Stupid
Well after my wonderful outing with tons of toes to bars and rowing, I was met with a mild strain in my abdomen. Now it turns out this is the third time something like this has happened (the first time being really bad) and I am now officially aware that I need to make a certain number of changes in my programming to address the situation. First off, I need to snap out of the frustrating funk of needing to take three full days off in the middle of a very serious training schedule, crap happens and I need to just roll with it!
Ok, now that that;s over with, let's move on to how to fix the problem. I have very weak hips. SO weak n fact, that I rarely even use them while doing most movements. I overcompensate with my adductors (the inside of my legs, or my groin muscles) when flexing my hip (bringing my knee towards my chest) and I also tend to overuse my glutes when training or functioning where my lower body is involved. So, when I need to perform in a manner that acutely utilizes my hips, I tend to break down pretty quickly. And here is where my CrossFitting ends up biting me in the ass. If i were asked to do 10 strict toes to bar (hanging from a bar and bringing my feet up to touch the bar) I would probably not be able to do so. But is I was able to do kipping toes to bar, I could probably get 40 or so unbroken. How is this possible? Well, the strict movement calls for my hip flexors to be the primary movers; and, since they are damn weak, I am left failing the exercise. Kipping allows other muscle groups to engage and take over the movement, along with momentum. So what ends up happening is that i have an improper firing sequence of muscle and am left with imbalances in my gains. This also leads to a greater risk of injury because I have muscles NOT being used, along with muscles being used TOO MUCH. And there you have it, the over-strain on my stomach because of my lack of strength in my hips on this movement have led to a mild injury. I am just thankful it is not worse.
This leads to a huge discussion on the dangs of improper CrossFit training. While I could go into this forever (and LOVE doing so), I will through out one argument and leave the rest for another, longer, more detailed post on all this. I know of SO many CrossFit affiliates who teach the kipping pull up early and often. This is a pull up where you use all kinds of momentum to get your chin over the bar. While I utilize this move, and the crazier version of it, the Butterfly Kip, on a regular basis in my training, I am more and more hesitant to get people doing this. I say this because I know that if you can't do like 10 or more strict pull ups, under complete control, you'll do nothing but exacerbate existing imbalances and create new ones by kipping all the time. You are basically completely neglecting all the ACTUAL pull ups muscles when kipping. Proof of this is that i know a great deal of people who can bang out 10+ kipping pull ups but can't actually do a single strict one! This is insanity to me! Kipping is cool, i know, it looks cool, it feels cool and it makes you blast through "Fran" like nobodies business. But, to be brutally honest, if you are not a competitive CrossFitter, it's a pretty stupid move to do on a regular basis.
Don't get me wrong, kipping is a hugely important skill to understand in terms of over-all athleticism and health; but so is building all your muscles to fire, engage, activate and de-activate properly. So if you're like me (and I would comfortably assume that well over 90% of the world out there has some pretty serious imbalances), take it easy with going "balls to the wall" all the time. Remember to stabilize and CONTROL your body. If you can't use a portion of your body correctly, don't use it incorrectly.
Now all I can do, as a competitive CrossFitter, is work on healing enough to get after Open Sectionals Workout #3. Here's to a recovery-filled Friday!
Never Stop, GET FIT.
Josh Courage
Check Out The Old Josh Courage Training Blog Here
Get Discounts Below!
My Workouts
January 2019


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subset: commoncrawl


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Prior to joining K&L Gates, Ms. Watson was an associate at another Boston law firm. She has experience practicing within the areas of business and consumer financial services and antitrust litigation. While in law school, she interned at the Middlesex Superior Courthouse for the Honorable Judge Kathe Tuttman.
While in law school, Ms. Watson received the following awards:


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- Autofocus
- Batteries
- Capturing the image
- Camera settings
- Care and maintenance
- Custom functions
- Depth-of-field
- Digital camera features
- Digital image file
- Digital image size and preview
- Exposure settings
- Firmware
- Flash
- Flash basics
- Speedlite compatibility
- Speedlite range
- Speedlite zoom
- Flash on camera
- Red-eye
- Dark backgrounds with flash
- Fill in flash
- Flash exposure lock and compensation
- Wireless flash
- Macroflash photography
- Bounce flash
- Flash synchronisation
- Stroboscopic flash
- Studio-style flash lighting with Speedlites
- Integrated Speedlite Transmitter
- Remote Release
- Focus points
- Image download
- Image compression
- Image information
- Image verification
- Internet
- Introduction to digital photography
- Lenses
- Construction
- Focal length
- All about apertures
- Lens speed
- Focusing and depth of field
- Black or white lenses
- Coloured rings
- Lens mount
- EF-S and field of view
- L-series lenses
- Fluorite, aspherical and UD lenses
- Prime and zoom lenses
- Image stabilisation
- Tilt and shift lenses
- Extenders
- Extension tubes
- Macro lenses
- Close-up lenses
- Filters
- DO elements
- Fisheye lenses
- SubWavelength structure Coating
- Media cards
- Panoramic images
- Printers
- Remote photography
- Scanning & copying
- Storage and archiving
- The digital darkroom
- White balance
Firmware: Updating firmware
You will find the latest firmware update downloads and full installation details on the canon website.
Firmware updating is a very simple operation, but there are certain precautions you need to follow to do it successfully. Ensure you either have means to plug the camera into a power socket, or you have a fresh, fully charged battery in the camera. You will also need a CompactFlash card that you are happy to format and lose all data from.
1. Check your current firmware version. Press the Menu button and find the "Firmware ver" tag. Compare the firmware on the camera with the latest listed on the Canon website. If you already have the latest software, you don't need to do anything!
2. Download the firmware update file from the Canon website to your computer. If you are using a Windows PC, you will need to extract or unzip the downloaded file. If you are using an Apple Mac, it should self-extract.
3. Compare the file size of the extracted file size with the file size listed on the Canon website. If there is any variation, re-download the file until the sizes match. Put a CompactFlash card in the camera and format the card so it is devoid of data or images.
4. Remove the CompactFlash card from the camera and put it in a card reader, attached to the computer.
5. Copy the firmware update to the root directory (top level) of the CompactFlash card. After copying, browse the contents of the card. You should see a folder called DCIM with the firmware update file sitting alongside it. Eject the card from the computer and put it back into the camera.
6. Connect the camera to the mains converter for power or use a freshly charged battery. Turn the camera on. (Power loss during updating may disable the camera.) Find the Firmware version section in the Menu. Select it, and you will be able to see the current firmware version.
7. Once the firmware update program has loaded on the camera, select the firmware version you want to update to.
8. Click 'OK' and you will be asked if you want to update the firmware. Select 'Yes'.
9. During the update process you will see a progress bar. Make sure you do not touch any buttons or dials while the bar is visible.
10. Once the update program is complete, there will be a message on the screen telling you so.
11. Turn on the camera, enter the Menu and check the firmware has updated.
These are general instructions to give you an idea of the updating process. The web page from which you download the update will have detailed instructions specific to your camera. Make sure you read and follow these instructions carefully.
If you use an EOS 30D, then you have two ways to update your firmware. You can use the procedure described, or you can connect the camera to the computer with a USB cable and then use EOS Utility to update the firmware. There are full instructions on the Canon EOS 30D firmware update page on how to do this.


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What Happened in Vegas?
Season 4 • Episode 2
Single mom Donna Kitowski decides to bake cookies late at night and heads to her local Las Vegas supermarket. But she never comes home. And before long, the local TV news is reporting that a woman's near-lifeless body has been found in the desert.
42 min|TV-14|Premiered 10/08/2014


text: Share on ... Twitter Facebook Pinterest Fear They fear that which is unknown; Yet having known it, they would not fear, For they would know. Thus is ignorance the root of all fear. Thus is experience the well-spring of all ecstasy. Next >> Contact Colin Campbell via firstname.lastname@example.com The works presented in De Arte Magica are © 2010–2016, Colin D. Campbell Last modified: 2016/04/26 00:35by John Bell


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Congresswoman Gwen Moore will hold an informational session to hear from her 4th district constituents on the proposed health care reform legislation that the House of Representatives will likely consider in September. This informational session will be held Tuesday, August 11th from 4-6pm at what was known as North Division High School, 1011 West Center Street in Milwaukee. In addition to Congresswoman Moore, a representative from the University of Wisconsin is expected to be on hand to give a presentation on the bill's specifics. Congresswoman Moore announces she will answer questions that constituents have submitted in advance on the topic of health care reform. Those who plan to attend are to submit their questions to email@example.com .
Friday, August 7, 2009
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UPDATED Monday, December 9, 2013 --- 11:59 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- An attorney for a new snuggling business in Wisconsin's capital city says the operation has shut down.
Madison's Snuggle House offered customers cuddles with a professional snuggler for $60 an hour. The business opened Nov. 15. A posting on the Snuggle House's Facebook page late Friday said the business had closed. Attorney Tim Casper, who represents Snuggle House owner Matthew Hurtado, confirmed the closure to The Associated Press on Monday.
He says Hurtado was tired of scrutiny from city officials, who were concerned the business could be a brothel and the potential for sexual assaults, as well as negative publicity.
Casper says the business had several dozen clients. But he says Hurtado didn't open the business to make money. He did it because he believes non-sexual touching can relieve stress.
Copyright 2013: Associated Press
UPDATED Friday, November 15, 2013 --- 6:07 p.m.
It's not your everyday business, in fact so rare that finding an insurance company took a month. After a long search, The Snuggle House is now open for business.
Selling snuggles.They say it's as simple as that. Anyone who needs a companion or just wants to be held, can make an appointment, pay a fee, and cuddle away.
The Main Street business first faced scrutiny from the city, and skepticism from the public. Many found it hard to believe snuggling wouldn't turn into something more.
But the owner says each "snuggle session" is monitored the entire time by an employee and they make sure the touch therapy never crosses into anything sexual.
One employee says some people don't have anyone to turn to, and it's rewarding to help them.
"There's a lot of loneliness in the world and with the holidays there are a lot of people who just have a hard time and they don't have anyone," says Professional Snuggler, Lonnie Johnson.
The Snuggle House had it's first client Friday morning, and expects to have 8-10 clients each day, meaning a lot of laundry. Just like a hotel the sheets have to come off and be cleaned between each session.
The Snuggle House currently has three "snugglers" they're hoping to hire a couple more.
UPDATED Wednesday, November 13, 2013 --- 3:12 p.m.
A Madison business that is offering snuggles for $60 an hour plans to open Friday.
In a post on its Facebook page, The Snuggle House said it is now accepting appointments for Friday.
UPDATED Sunday, October 20, 2013 --- 7:23 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Madison business that is offering snuggles for $60 an hour hopes to open this week.
The Snuggle House in Madison was supposed to launch last Tuesday. But Jennifer Zilavy, an assistant city attorney, tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel(http://bit.ly/GUfakZ) the business still needs a certificate of occupancy and to show that it has hiring, training, security and other written protocols.
She says the city's concern is whether the business could lead to prostitution.
Owner Matthew Hurtado says there are eight security cameras and staff has received training about how to react to possible scenarios.
Zilavy said she hadn't seen any written materials, and couldn't say when it would be ready for business.
Hurtado said Sunday he plans to meet with the city Tuesday and turn over the paperwork. He hopes to open Wednesday.
Copyright 2013: Associated Press
UPDATED Wednesday, October 16, 2013 --- 3:16 p.m.
Employees of the Snuggle House hope to open for business in Madison by next Wednesday, October 23rd.
Today, employees of the controversial business were downtown on the Capitol Square offering "free hugs."
Some in the city are concerned that the business has the potential of prostitution, but Snuggle House employees say their services are strictly non-sexual.
The Snuggle House is holding an open house until 6 o'clock tonight (Wednesday).
UPDATED Tuesday, October 15, 2013-- 6:15 p.m.
It looks like someone bedroom, but it's actually a business. For a fee, you can get inside and snuggle up with someone. A service people working here say is about unconditional love.
"There's this whole part of us that gets neglected some of the time," said The Snuggle House employee, Lonnie Johnson.
In a typical setting above a downtown Madison Bar is The Snuggle House.
Inside are several bedrooms laid out for therapeutic cuddle sessions.
"Stress levels go down, you feel better, anxiety in a lot of people just dissipates," said Johnson.
Clients pay for an hour of service that isn't restricted to hitting the sheets
"If you want to curl up and lay down for good old fashioned snuggling you can do that, if you want to sit and talk, if you want to cry on my shoulder, I'm totally cool with that," said Johnson.
Johnson's one of five employees who says The Snuggle House provides a controlled environment for what he says should be a way of life.
"I would love to see everybody do this in general as a way of living," said Johnson. "A legitimacy of a business sets people at ease."
They've reached out to the VA, nursing homes, and others who may be neglected of affection.
"A safe place people can go to really be consoled and comforted and feel that warmth of human love that doesn't have any undertones," said Johnson.
But not everyone's convinced.
"It kind of creeped me out a little bit," said Beth Rudy. "You kind of wonder what they're up to in there."
The Snuggle House is in the final stages of inspections before opening but already with nearly 100 appointments made.
The city of Madison is concerned the business has the potential of prostitution, but The Snuggle House ensures their services are strictly non-sexual
"Security wise, protocol wise, we are covered. We are not negotiated any way any of those situations," said Johnson.
Staff says their clients and employees go through background checks, and there will be video surveillance in each room.
But a city of Madison attorney says their lack of training or a business plan raises a reg flag.
The Snuggle House plans to officially open by next week.
Posted Tuesday, October 15, 2013 --- 11:32 a.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The owner of the Snuggle House in Madison says he has a plan to address concerns of city officials and hopes to open next week.
Owner Matthew Hurtado says the business passed the building inspection Tuesday morning and a fire inspection is set for Friday.
Assistant city attorney Jennifer Zilavy says the business has not presented a business plan. Zilvay says the city's primary concern is about the potential for prostitution.
But Hurtado says the touch therapy it offers has clear boundaries in place to stay within the law. He says they also plan to have someone monitoring security cameras in the rooms.
He says he and his attorney hope to meet soon with city officials and if that goes well he plans to open next week.
Copyright 2013: Associated Press


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The Palmyra Borough Police Department is located at the Palmyra Municipal Center. The Police Department provides 24-hour service and protection to the residents of the Borough of Palmyra. In addition to the mandatory and yearly in-service training, many of the officers have received specialized training in various subjects within the law enforcement field.
For emergencies, please dial 911
For Non-emergencies, please call 717-838-8189.
Police Administration office, please call 717-838-8188.


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If you are running a Pay-per-click campaign or are considering running one, we've put together a few tips to help you fine tune your campaigns.
You probably already know that Pay-Per-Click (PPC) involves:
<!–[if !supportLists]–>1. <!–[endif]–>Selecting sets of keywords
2. <!–[endif]–>Writing an ad that appears when someone searches for that keyword in one of the major search engines
3. <!–[endif]–>Selecting the amount you are willing to pay for someone to click on your ad and arrive at your website.
The benefits of PPC are that it can generate leads instantly (unlike SEO, which takes longer to have an impact), drive sales and create brand awareness, so we've put together 10 tips to help you improve your PPC campaigns.
What do your visitors expect?
Given your traffic source and keywords, what are they looking for? Think about what would they most expect to find when they land on your website?
What are they thinking about when clicking?
For example, the same keyword search could be used by many different people all with different goals in mind. By brain storming the real world behind the words you've selected, you can look at the landing page to determine if it caters for the various possibilities and increase your onsite conversion rates.
How well do landing pages match up to ads?
Would visitors find the keywords in the right place on your landing pages? Do they know they are in the right place within 5 seconds? Look out for high bounce rates and length of time on site to determine if the ad matches the landing page well. As a general rule of thumb, if you are achieving a 20-30% bounce rate things are looking rosy. 50% and you've got a problem, anything over 70% and you have a fire burning up your pound notes.
What do users already know?
Those that are using your brand name know more about you that someone using a more generic search term. You can use your keyword knowledge to get a sense of where your visitors are in the different stages of the buying cycle. Are they just starting out or do they already know exactly what they want, or somewhere in the middle?
You could also consider grouping your keywords together based on the buying cycle. Richard Stokes, author of Mastering Search Advertising: How the Top 3% of Search Advertisers Dominate Google AdWords states one of his top tactics is to split keywords in 'buy', 'inform' or 'browse' categories to target users with ad copy based on their intent. It helps to reach users in the most contextually relevant way for them. You can also consider your business objectives at that time and if you are in high season, concentrate your budget on those terms in the 'buy' or 'browse' categories. Or if you later find you are not attracting enough new users you can always switch to the 'inform' terms to boost your pipeline.
If your conversion rates are slipping
The best way to combat this is not to simple increase your bid, but ensure your ad copy and landing page are well optimized to increase your conversion rate and your quality score. This will help to decrease your cost-per-click and put your ad in a better position. It's important to manually manage your bids for your most important terms, in order to not reduce your visibility for the keywords that drive the most relevant traffic. Take a look at your search query performance report in Adwords and review your web analytics too. This is also useful for adapting your keywords and content on site to improve your SEO. Use this info to extract or make negative any terms that are not working for you. Don't forget to cross reference the terms that convert best on both organic and paid campaigns. Optimise PPC for those terms where you are not ranking well organically and vice versa.
Only show your ad when it counts
Consider when your target audience is primarily searching for your products. If it's between 7am and 7pm on week days, only show your ads during these times and cut the waste. Using 'Edit campaign settings' to adjust your Ad scheduling, which allows you to turn off your ads on and off at specific times. You can also consider increasing your budget during peak times and lowering it during others.
Your PPC keyword data can be invaluable to your SEO campaign.
Your PPC data, which includes your click-through-rate and conversion rate, can be extremely helpful in selecting the terms which are important to your business. In practice, some keywords may not convert as well as expected. Using PPC first means you can focus on optimizing your site for proven high quality keywords, rather than base your keyword selection on assumptions that may be wrong. This can be important, as it may take over 6 months to get the organic rankings you desire to generate the right level of traffic.
PPC helps you create better page titles
Once you've worked out which PPC headlines generate the highest number of clicks, you can integrate this into your page titles to maximize your CTR for the organic listings. This can be really effective when used on web pages that are already generating high volumes of non paid traffic.
Are you effectively attributing sales to PPC?
Lead quality is the icing on every campaign, but people don't always think to tie clicks back to actual sales. For example, you may have a number of ad groups that look like this:
Ad Group A
<!–[if !supportLists]–> <!–[endif]–>Cost per month: 5k
Leads per month: 40
Cost per lead: £125
Ad Group B
<!–[if !supportLists]–><!–[endif]–>Cost per month: 5k
Leads per month: 300
Cost per lead: £16.66
You can't tell based only on the above information which ad group is performing better. If you are just considering the cost per lead, you may consider deleting Ad group A in favour of B. However if you complete the picture and review actual sales data it may look like this:
Ad Group A
Conversions (purchases) = 20
Revenue from conversions = £50,000
Ad Group B
Conversions (purchases) = 10
Revenue from conversions = £25,000
With the additional information, you can see that Ad group A has a higher CPL, but generates higher revenue. It may be that the second group is actually worse for the intended target audience. There are a number of CRM systems that offer the option to link lead and sales information to Google Adwords.
Another Adwords tool to help you manage your cost per click (CPC)
If you are managing large campaigns, Google Adwords Editor is a great free tool that allows you upload bulk campaigns and keywords, make bulk changes, copy or move items between ad groups easily etc.


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Clogged Sinks
and Sink Repair Calgary
Don't let 'sink-stink' get you down …the drain. Call Quicker Rooter to get your clogged sink flowing again. Quicker Rooter can repair your sink and faucet like new.
Our plumbers are true experts at unclogging kitchen and bathroom sinks and at all kind of sink repairs like fixing leaky faucets. Kitchen sinks get clogged from cooking grease and food debris. Bathroom sinks are clogged from hair, debris, and soap buildup. Clogged drains make the sinks unusable and unhygienic. They also can cause water to overflow which in time can cause expensive water damage repairs to surfaces. We also can fix all kinds of leaky faucets and under sink leaks. Leaky faucets waste water and dripping noises can keep you up at night or just be irritating. Under sink leaks cause moisture damage to inner cupboards and flooring. They can be caused by aging and corrosion but are easily repaired. Other sink repair problems may be structural in nature such as a cracked sink or leaking pipes. If the plunger does not work to unclog a drain it is then it's time to call a professional plumber. It's best to address the problem early. The longer the problem is left, the worse the damage becomes and the more expensive it becomes to fix.
New Sink InstallationsAlong with sink repairs we also do new sink installations and replacements. Quicker Rooter Plumbing can help with any of the following:
- Faucets repairs and replacement
- New sink installations
- Leaking sink or pipes
- Broken and cracked sinks
- Drain cleaning services


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Ralph Waldo Emerson: Representative Selections, with Introduction, Bibliography, and Notes
Ralph Waldo Emerson: Representative Selections, with Introduction, Bibliography, and Notes
The following selections from the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson have been made, first, with a view to their intrinsic literary importance, and second, with a view to comprehensiveness. They illustrate, as far as possible, all the literary forms which he used, the whole period of his literary career, and the whole range of his thought. Too often he is studied only as the writer of formal, well-groomed essays. Often his later writing is shadowed by the brilliance of his earlier, more challenging pronouncements. Often his transcendental theories are emphasized at the expense of his shrewd, Yankee perceptions.
The Introduction follows the same general principles as the selections. More particularly it attempts to interpret Emerson in terms of the present day, and to test the value of his ideas for our own times. This involves a certain amount of personal opinion, and perhaps the editor should state that his sympathies are with the modernist, rather than with the classicist or humanist critics. Like any original and fertile writer, Emerson can be interpreted in many different ways, and the editor has attempted to follow Emerson's own principles, and treat him from a fresh, rather than from a strictly orthodox point of view. This will appear particularly in the sections on "Philosophy" and "Individualism and Socialism."
The Bibliography attempts to criticize the books and the more important articles which have been written about Emerson, and particularly to list those which have been published recently. The Notes supplement the Introduction with a more specific discussion of the text.
The text of Emerson's prose and verse included in the present volume is that of the Centenary Edition, which incorporates the...


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Youth & Family
Our Youth and Family Coordinator DeDe Hiedt (firstname.lastname@example.com) is passionate about providing opportunities for families and youth at Saint John's to connect and grow their faith. Throughout the year, Saint John's hosts numerous events geared to strengthening youths' faith and family bond. The Family Game Day, Easter Egg Hunt, Lutherhill Day Camp, Mission trips are just a few of the kids of events we use to bring families and kids closer to God and to each other.
View the below links for the different programs we offer.
Dinner For a Dollar - For all to gather and enjoy some fellowship while eating.
Faith Formation - For youth 3 and senior members to learn more about the bible
LAMP (Lutheran Adult Ministry Program) - For our Senior members
Lutherhill - The Lutheran Camp we support


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Picking up the Pieces as won in its category of Suspense/Thriller in the Reward of Novel Excellence Awards. Winners will be announced and awarded at the gala event, 2012 RONE awards ceremony and celebration, August 9th at the Golden Nugget Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada - in conjunction with the RomanceNovelConvention (http://romancenovelconvention.com/ )
Five Star Review
Picking up the Pieces, Wendy Dewar Hughes Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Jill Moss is surprised when she receives her Uncle Neil Bryant's Bible and discovers that it has certain, odd passages marked. Then she learns that her uncle has discovered an artifact in Mexico that consists of sixteen separate pieces that have been sent to people he knows and trusts. He needs her to travel all over the world to collect all sixteen pieces. Jill prays about it and listens when God tells her to help her uncle out. Thus begins a high speed adventure as Jill meets Marco Jimenez, a handsome Spaniard who helps her out as she is chased and stalked while traveling to collect the pieces of the artifact. The pieces are written in three different and distinct languages: Olmec, Mayan and Hebrew. How is this possible when these three cultures did not exist together and what is the significance of it all?
The adventures Wendy Hughes puts her heroine through are both thrilling and exhilarating, as are her captivating descriptions of the terrain and beauty of the countries that are visited. It is amazing how beautifully she marries such diverse points of view, taking passages from the bible and scientific knowledge and creating a story that makes a believer out of the reader. The fast paced adventures and love interest keeps the reader eager and unable to put this story down!
Rose Mary Espinoza, InDTale Magazine
Please help me win.
My novel, Picking up the Pieces, is in a contest and I need your votes to move to the next level up. The voting is a little complicated but it won't take more than a couple of minutes.
1. Go to this link: http://www.indtale.com/2012-rone-awards
2. Click on where is says "register" and fill in your details.
3. You will receive a confirmation email. Click on the link in the email.
4. If it is not readily apparent where to vote, click on Fun Stuff, then Week 5, Suspense and Thrillers. My book is the last one on the list.
5. Click on the button on the left of the title and hit the "Vote" button
You're done! Thank-you for your support.
To see more about the book, go HERE.
Valentine's and Romance Writers
In February, the Greater Vancouver Chapter of the Romance Writers of America held a Valentine's Lunch in Steveston, B.C. It was a lovely time, the sun shone, awards were handed out for writing and publishing achievements and many door-prizes were given away.
I received two awards. One was for "Pitching and submitting to an agent in Emerald City (Writers' Conference) and entering two writing contests in 2012". The second was "in recognition of independently publishing two books, Picking up the Pieces and Turning on the Light - Finding Your Sweet Place in the Spirit."
I met new people who do not regularly attend the meetings and got to know others better over a delicious lunch. The whole affair was grace and elegance. Many, many thanks to the organizers.
Awesome Book Review
Chanticlear Reviews:
Picking up the Pieces opens with a short prologue so well done that we are anchored in its stellar writing and professional style. Immediately, readers pass through a portal, created with written words, transported into the living world of the story. Feeling a part of Jill Moss, we long to discover "how, who, what, where, when and why" as we begin chapter one, bracing for an emotional ride filled with suspense.
Jill Moss loves and respects her eccentric Uncle Neil, an expert and fearless archaeologist. He has discovered ancient artifacts in Mexico. Recognizing the danger if the artifacts fall into the wrong hands, he hides away. He deflects attention and involves his beloved niece, Jill—protecting her by telling her nothing, but trusting her to do as he asks. She suspects he is once again in danger and believes she has no choice. Uprooting her life, she embarks on Uncle Neil's quest, one clue at a time.
Readers walk in the foreign streets, sit in the cafés, sleep in the dwellings, sweat in the heat, smell the food, and drop exhausted with Jill, when she is overcome. Our hearts thump as we run with her to keep up. We can't wait to get to the next page, but the words are so compelling, we cannot skip. Pulling for her, we try to solve the mystery and decide what she should do to stay safe.
We are comforted when Jill's trust in God along with her spiritual connection, guides her, allowing narrow escapes in a few of the many precarious situations. Biblical quotes augment the story, giving clues, as the reader slowly grasps the reason behind the intense desire of others who hunt the artifacts—at any cost. The plot keeps the story flowing, but jars us with surprises. Do we believe this story could happen? Absolutely.
The main characters are well drawn and feel like family or people we know or have met. We don't want to say goodbye when finished with the last page. In many scenes, we wonder whether the players are friend or foe. Even the sweet romantic element keeps us guessing until near the end.
This reviewer looks forward to being captivated again by this author and will watch for a sequel to Picking up the Pieces, or to the next entertaining page-turner by Wendy Dewar Hughes.
Delivery Guaranteed
Artistic and clever.
To be a Writer
I have spent most of my adult life trying not to be a writer. It is not that I don't like to write. I do. In fact, I love writing. Nor is it a matter of finding writing difficult. I don't. In fact, I can think of numerous pursuits that are far more difficult (or grueling, or insufferable) than writing.
No, the main reason that I have never, until recently, pursued writing is because of bad PR. Pick up any publication on writing and you will find lots of moaning about how hard it is to do, how difficult it is to get your work published, or how you will never make any money. That last one can certainly be a major deterrent to choosing a writing life - if you believe it.
The problem is that if you only think one way, then these naysayers might be right. If you believe them, like I did, then you will give up before you even start. Consequently, you might never string a sentence together for years. After all, what's the use? Publishers are just waiting to reject your work (and ultimately, you); pompous editors hang about like fifth-grade English teachers, red pens in hand, waiting to get their inky hands on someone's work just so they can slash it to ribbons.
At least, that's the way it seems.
However, if you choose not to believe those negative reports, your life might turn out to be entirely different. You can write with enthusiasm, knowing that your book, if it is good, will find its audience. You may have to take a different path than the traditional one, or you may find that what you write is exactly what a publisher is looking for at the exact moment you type "The End". You can write for the love of writing, improve your craft and skills, produce highly readable novels on subjects that you know and love, and let the chips fall where they may.
What do you think?
Come and see my new website
I am thrilled to announce the launch of my new website into the world of writing and publishing.
As a professional artist and writer for over thirty years, I've combined my artistic and graphic design skills to help other writers, independent publishers and traditional publishers present their books to the reading world with beautiful, high-quality covers. Please have a look around the new site and see the sample covers I have created. Some are on books already in print; others were created to showcase the possibilities.
If you need a cover for your next project, please contact me and we will work together to create the perfect cover to help your book attract the attention of your reading audience.
P.S. We can help with interior book design layout and e-book formatting, too.
Award Winner
Picking Up the Pieces by Wendy Dewar Hughes awarded an INDIE 1st Place Blue Ribbon – Inspirational Romantic/Suspense Category By chanti On January 13, 2013.
In News Chanticleer Book Reviews & Media is pleased to announce that Wendy Dewar Hughes has won 1st place in the INDIE Awards, Inspirational Romantic/Suspense Category (a division of Chanticleer Book Reviews Blue Ribbon Writing Contests).
Picking Up the Pieces by Wendy Dewar Hughes
[Editor's Note: This gripping novel is well-crafted, well-plotted and suspenseful. It is not your typical "inspirational" novel. Hughes successfully blurs genres with her well-honed storytelling abilities. ] Chanticleer Book Review Blue Ribbon Awards Writing Contests recognize outstanding books and manuscripts. We are honored to announce the INDIE Awards First Place Blue Ribbon winning novels and their authors. Each winning INDIE novel was judged for the following qualities:
No Wonder We're Confused
Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
We find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?
One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
Your house can burn up as it burns down, you fill in a form by filling it out and an alarm goes off by going on.
When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick?"
Why do we say something is out of whack? What's a whack?
Why do we drive on a PARKWAY, and park in a DRIVEWAY?
A Fan on a Hot Day
Meet my friend, Raye, who read my novel, Picking up the Pieces, and loved it so much that he wanted to meet me.
So in July, when I was in Saskatchewan visiting family, Raye arranged to come by to say "hello" and have our photo taken together.
Thank-you, Raye, for your kind words and support. The sequel, called, The Glass Dolphin, is currently in the creation stage.
Winter Mode is Writing Mode
Here in the Pacific Northwest we've been hunkering down under layers of clouds most of the time for over a month. Though it does get dreary, I admit, the unceasing rain and chill tend to keep you indoors which makes for the perfect setting for concentrating on writing.
Sitting by my window with just enough light to feel like there is Vitamin D to be had out there somewhere, I can watch the winter birds at the feeder. I can also watch the snow line go up and down the mountain side that I can see past my computer monitor depending in the temperature and level of precipitation. When the clouds are high enough to see actual mountaintops, the scene is spectacular.
Yesterday, between bouts of slashing rain, sleet and wind, the sun broke through for only a few minutes and gave us the most vibrantly coloured rainbow I think I have ever seen. With the backdrop of dark clouds and a twin appearing to the east, this sight was a gift of beauty.
Today, I'm writing again. My new novel is coming along slowly since I've been pre-occupied with editing, interior design and creating covers for my clients' books. (See www.summerbaypress.com for more information on these and other services.) However, I understand that the winter weather is scheduled to last for at least a few more months (if we're fortunate, it will only be for that long!) so that makes for lots of writing "atmosphere".
P.S. This photo was taken on a frosty December day at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver.
The Making of an Adventure
In my novel, Picking up the Pieces, heroine Jill Moss travels to numerous exotic locations in search of pieces of a peculiar Mayan artifact.
Many of these locations are based on places that I have either lived or visited. The house in this photo is one of them. An estate in the South of France, Bidaine was owned by an American couple when my husband and I and our two children went there to live in the late 80s. Originally an 18th century "hunting lodge" for the French aristocracy, this estate features water gardens, orchards, a swimming pool with a fountain in the centre, rose gardens, guest houses and a long "allee" of plane trees. The owners were collectors of 18th century antiques and costumes and the interior of the house had been converted back to the decor of the times.
In my novel, I patterned the home of Jill's mother's friend, Geneva, after this estate and describe some of its charms in the scenes that take place there. For more locations that appear in the book, take a look at my Pinterest board.
Wendy's Blog
Where I share creative ideas, uplifting thoughts, and spread sweetness to help us all make life pretty.
January 2020


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Do you buy a bit larger to allow for foot swelling?
I buy men's cycling shoes
Do you buy a bit larger to allow for foot swelling?
Bacchetta Ti Aero
Bacchetta Cafe Mountain Bent
I have to buy men's because I am a women's 11. I buy cycling shoes slightly larger, but not as large as running shoes. There's a fine line for me between shoes big enough to accommodate swelling and shoes so big they allow my foot to slide down in the shoe when i stand to pedal, causing my toes to hit the end and damage the toenail. I finally grew a toenail back from this happening in a 400k last year.
When it's easy, ride hard; when it's hard, ride easy.
2011 Volagi Liscio
2010 Pegoretti Love #3 "Manovelo"
2011 Mercian Vincitore Special
2003 Eddy Merckx Team SC - stolen
2001 Colnago Ovalmaster Stars and Stripes
Next time I will if I can find the cycling shoes of my choice that are a little bigger but not TOO big. My Mavics fit perfectly but this means my toes can get a bit numb on longer/hotter rides when my feet tend to swell.
Sort of. Mine are size 42, which is sometimes considered a 9, sometimes a 9.5 for American sizing. I've been able to fit into a 41 before, as well, and have shoes that are as small as an 8.5 for street wear. It's really more the shoe's fit than anything. I buy all my shoes (cycling, street) at the end of the day when my feet are more swollen, so I can determine if they are comfortable then. Theoretically, they should be comfortable all other times as well.
1984 Raleigh Technium 440 - retired(coffee runs)
2012 Cannondale Synapse 5 WSD - 365 miles (updated 7.12.2012) - in a holding pattern due to injury.
My blog: http://bikesbooksblues.wordpress.com/
Fundraising link for my friend Aimee, after her ped/car accident
I answered no because I buy shoes to fit the season, the socks, the use, etc. So my question is "bigger than what?"
Have you tried playing with your electrolyte intake to see if it affects the swelling?
Frends know gud humors when dey is hear it. ~ Da Crockydiles of ZZE.
It's ending. For me, I do seem to be in shoes half a size bigger than normal and this is the case with running shoes too, I guess a lot of it is to do with your feet swelling up while your training.


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Abuja residents shut National Assembly entrances over alleged military killing
They also blocked the villa gate and gate to office of Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF).
They carried placards with inscriptions as: It Is Seven Days Now That FCT Native Was Killed; Nigerian Army Stop Killing FCT Natives; and Protect Residents And Their Property, Not The Opposite.
Leader of the group, Dalhatu Musa, said they would not give up until their demands were met.
The group had embarked on renewed protest last Thursday over alleged killing and maiming of some indigenes by some military personnel over Nigerian Army's alleged forceful acquisition of their land in Giri, Kpakuru, Ido Saraki, Zuba and Tungan Maje.
Musa said the struggle to stop military brutality over their land started in 2016 and had continued without positive any outcome, adding that as law-abiding citizens they had petitioned Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello and set up a committee to look into the matter.
He said: "We were told that the military was not allocated the land they were laying claim to. So, we had expected that they would revert to status quo and stop harassing us.
"Unfortunately, one of our kinsmen was killed last week and several others injured when the military tried to forcefully eject them from the land they were farming on.
"When this matter started, we petitioned the FCT minister and we were told they were not allocated the land.
"The ministry reported he matter to the presidency and a Presidential committee was set up headed by Abba Kyari to look into the matter and they asked the army to stop whatever they were doing there.
"Still they went there with their bulldozer to dig trenches to stop the indigenes from accessing their villages and farms," he said.
He added that they would not be deceived by promises that the National Assembly was attending to the matter, saying the Senate last week referred the matter to its Committee on Defence "as a ploy to frustrate the matter."
Musa insisted that they would not relent until the Senate President, Bukola Saraki or Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, addressed them.
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careers faq
Where do I find job listings to work at The Judge Group?
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The Judge Group is a "promote from within" company. Judge strives to hire individuals who are career and goal oriented with an eye toward their future.
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Judge has multiple divisions that are always hiring. Our internal recruiting team can discuss the different divisions within Judge and decide what will be the best fit. Use the contact us form or feel free to contact us at 1-800-650-0035.


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Welcome to CleanSmart, LLC - over 25 Years Experience
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Once again there are ten productions in the line up for next season; five of them productions that have been seen before. I don't see anything terribly compelling here but there are a few reasonably interesting shows. All performances are 12.55pm unless otherwise indicated. Here's the scoop.
Tag Archives: metropolitan opera
Straightforward Otello from the Met
In 2015 the Metropolitan Opera premiered a new production of Verdi's Otello directed by Bartlett Sher. It was broadcast in the Met in HD series and subsequently released on Blu-ray and DVD. It's a bit hard to judge the production on video because of the video direction. I don't think there are any big ideas but it's decorative enough with arrangements and rearrangements of plexiglass wall/rooms and some effective video projections for things like the storm scene. Only Act 4 breaks the mould with a sparse stage with just a bed and a few chairs. I strongly suspect though from the occasional wide angle shot that there was a lot more going on visually than one sees on the video. Costumes are 19th centuryish and quite decorative.
Magic Flute for kids
The Met's abridged version of Mozart's The Magic Flute, in English, got an HD broadcast in 2006 and a subsequent DVD release. It's Julie Taymor's production and it's visually spectacular with giant sets, loads of very effective puppets and very good dancers (I wish every opera company used dance as effectively as the Met. Too expensive I guess). It's more something one might expect to see at Bregenz than at the Four Seasons Centre. Costuming is sometimes a bit weird. The Three Ladies have removable heads and the chorus of priests look like origami angels but it's never less than interesting visually. There's nothing about the cuts (it comes in at about an hour and threequarters) that changes the plot in any way that makes it obviously kid friendly beyond being shorter and there's no attempt to make it anything other than a pretty fairy tale. If one wants a Flute with deep meaning this isn't it.
No sex please, we're the Met
For some reason the Metropolitan opera decided, in 2014, to give an HD broadcast to Otto Schenk's 1993 version of Dvorák's Rusalka with revival direction by Laurie Feldman. This production must have seriously old fashioned even then and actually looks and feels like it was created fifty years before the opera was written. It's not just the dark, dreary, over detailed Arthur Rackham like sets and costumes or even the the stock acting and the lame choreography. The biggest problem is that it completely ignores that Rusalka is essentially about sex and its pathologies. Does Schenk think that Rusalka wants to hold hands with the Prince at the cinema or take the Foreign Princess to the ball instead of Rusalka? You would think so from this Disneyfied version. Has the man even heard of Freud (let's be clear Dvorák had)? The result then is stultifyingly dull and actually just rather silly. I've seen panto with more psychological depth.
On stage at the Met 2017/18
The Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2017/18 season. It's quite heavy on warhorses. La Bohème, Tosca and Turandot each get fifteen performances and there's plenty more standard fare in there. Once again, there's nothing pre Mozart and the only nods to modernity are a revival of Elektra (six shows) and a new production of Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel (eight shows).
Ossian meets Anne of Green Gables
Rossini's La Donna del Lago is based on the Walter Scott poem, itself a deliberately romantic view of Scottish history, simplified until not much is left but the rivalry for the heroine's hand by her three suitors and a completely unexplained war between the king of Scotland and the Clan Alpine. Dramatically it's thin indeed but it's Rossini so there is crazy virtuosic music and it's very hard to cast. One needs two mezzos; one a mistress of Rossinian coloratura, the other more dramatic, and two tenors; both of which can do the crazy high stuff. The supporting roles aren't easy either. Realistically only a major house could cast this adequately.
And on stage at the Met 2016/17
I took a quick look at the Metropolitan Opera's recently announced 2016/17 and while for the most part it's business as usual there's maybe one surprise. There are 26 productions; 6 new, 20 revivals for a total of 225 performances. The first thing that struck me was how little Puccini there is. Only two Puccini works (La Bohème and Manon Lescaut) are being performed for a total of 23 shows (10.2%). There's nothing pre Mozart and only one opera written post WW1; L'Amour de Loin which gets 8 performances (ETA: Apparently Cyrano dates from 1936 though you wouldn't guess that to hear it. Still only 4 performances so it doesn't affect the stats much). There are only two other works which could, at a stretch, be called "modern" stylistically; Salome and Jenůfa, but they were written in 1905 and 1903 respectively, and get only 6 performances each. Then there' Rusalka (1901) and Rosenkavalier (1911) which are 20th century but not by any stretch "modern". So, even on generous definitions of "modernity", over 85% of the Met's output is, essentially, 19th century.


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The Baseball Counting Book
Thank you! We will contact you when the item is available.
Your order will ship on or around the release date
Step up to the plate with this counting book about America's favorite pastime. THE BASEBALL COUNTING BOOK is spring training for little sluggers. The count is zero to zero when the ump calls, "Play ball!" Nine innings later we've counted balls, strikes, players, fans, and more, all the way to twenty. No one strikes out with these fun rhymes. Little leaguers will find themselves counting their way through practice and pointing out all the new things they've learned about this great game when they watch the pro's on TV or at the parks. Early readers will hit a home run with this charming counting book.
RELATED SUBJECTS: Counting and Numbers , Baseball
The Baseball Counting Book
Paperback Book


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Back in the early 1970s, he was a big star, with appearances on Johnny Carson and Ed Sullivan. I met him backstage at America's first comedy club, The Improvisation in New York. He was trying out some new material, and I was with a young comic I had written some gags for. David said he was trying to spread out a bit beyond his Nixon impersonation, and would I be interested in writing some material for him. I was and did, though he didn't use it much. Everyone--all the TV producers and nightclub owners--they all wanted him to keep doing Nixon. Talk about being typecast! And David wrote all his own material for those bits, lots of it, and it was very funny stuff indeed.
He was a gentle man, but very high strung. I visited with him at several clubs when he was about to go on, and he was sweating profusely and very twitchy until his name was announced and he walked on. It was easy for him to transform his own neurotic energy into that of Nixon, which probably helped him perform one of the most amazing acts of mimicry ever seen. He was so good, in fact, that he never was able to escape the typecasting. When his death was announced this weekend in Las Vegas, I imagine I was not alone in picturing him doing Nixon from his 1970s act.
He enjoyed his fame, his stardom--but I wonder if he ever regretted that it was so tied to the man he so brilliantly impersonated. I think we probably missed out by not getting to know David Frye himself.


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Sunday, January 29, 2017
That Banana Cake from Fika and Hygge
I recently acquired a copy of Fika and Hygge - Comforting Cakes and Bakes from Scandinavia by Bronte Aurell. After flicking through its pages in a bookshop, I couldn't resist the gorgeous baking recipes with a twist and added this book to my vast collection.
The first recipe that I decided to make was That Banana Cake, primarily because my freezer is full of frozen bananas, one or two of which always fall out at me every time I open the freezer. The owners of Scandikitchen in London serve this cake in their café, where it is a favourite.
The dense banana cake is topped with a whipped cream cheese frosting - and it tastes as good as it sounds. The cake is moist and the frosting adds more flavour and moistness plus some crunch with the nuts on top. I used walnuts instead of pecans - I am sure they worked just as well.
You can find the recipe for this cake in the book, or online here. I recommend buying the book - it has some wonderful recipes that are a little different to what you'll find elsewhere.
4 comments:
- The-FoodTrotter said...
I love this book! I saw it several times in a nice bookshop. I see the recipe are worthy :à
- January 29, 2017 at 8:31 AM
- Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...
Ooh this sounds just like a cookbook that I would like! :D
- January 29, 2017 at 8:28 PM
- Kari said...
This sounds like a good book and this looks like a good cake! I'll enjoy seeing what else you make from it.
- February 1, 2017 at 2:05 AM
- 2paw said...
Hygge is everywhere, you are so on trend. This is my kind of cake and I have a lot of bananas too!! Thanks for the link, it looks rich and yummy.
- February 9, 2017 at 9:19 PM
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Mukwa Travel and Tours, Lusaka, Zambia
Travel agent and tour operator, been in travel industry for 36 years. past chairperson of travel agents association of Zambia www.mukwatravel.com by Hamida MalikRead more
International Coalition of Tourism Partners
Green Growth + Quality = Business
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Hotel and Tourism Training Institute is a higher education school specializing in Tourism education in Zambia, whose mission is: "To provide quality training in applied arts, sciences and commerce to local and international students in order to fulfill requirements of the labour market". The vision is: "To be a leading tourism and hospitality training Institute in Southern Africa by 2030." The goal is to: "To provide superior market responsive training, upgrade and expand infrastructure and facilities in order to contributeRead more
Bantu Pathfinders is a Tour Operator and Destination Management Company. The company offers Tourism services and sales All Inclusive African Safari Packages. by Patson Chifumbe http://www.bantupathfinderstravel.comRead more
The Post is an independent daily newspaper in Zambia covering a wide range of news In tourism we have a weekly tourism segment called Holidays which covers variouse tourism destinations and tourism spots. I am, Edwin Mbulo, the papers bureau chief for Southern Zambia and is based in Livingstone Zambia's tourist capital and also part of the tourism news features desk. I will be interested to contribute on various developments on tourism as they unfold in Livingstone/ Zambia and alsoRead more
PLAN YOUR TRIP INTO SOUTHERN AFRICA Southern Africa offers a diversity of travel destinations – with everything from the definitive safari to exquisite hospitality, adrenalin-pumping adventure and unique cuisine. The 15 countries on show at RETOSA offer the best of Africa. From diving in the depths of Lake Malawi to conquering Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, you can be sure that a holiday in Southern Africa is one you won't forget. Discover the secrets of ancient cultures in Lesotho and Swaziland, watchRead more
Welcome to Zambia! The land of the legendary African walking safari, Victoria Falls,the wild Zambezi River,abundant wildlife,and raw wilderness,all in one friendly country. Blessed with awe-inspiring natural wonders, an abundance of wildlife, huge water bodies and vast open spaces, Zambia offers unforgettable holidays exploring the real Africa. Acknowledged as one of the safest countries in the world to visit, Zambia's welcoming people live in peace and harmony. And here, in the warm heart of Africa, you will find some of theRead more