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"All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can't you remain like this for ever!" This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up.
You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end."
-J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Some links you see here may be affiliate links, which means that by clicking and/or buying via these links, I may receive compensation at no cost to you. My opinions are always my own. See my full disclosure here!
Peter Pan has always been one of my favorite books. I love turn of the century British novels and this one I could read again and again. The other day I recalled the quote about two being the beginning of the end and had to add it to my post. I wouldn't say it's so much 'the end' but I know what little Wendy meant by thinking this!
Two is when you start to see your little one as more of a child than a baby.
At two they grow more independent and begin to become their own person. Of course they are still toddlers, but now you can start to (sort of) reason with them. You can take them to breakfast and discuss what you see and how you like your meal rather than simply focusing on keeping them from crying.
This is how things are with my toddler at least. He is very verbal and inquisitive so we are often able to carry on a conversation with relative ease.
I've always been a 'baby person'. I love babies and toddlers and find that I'm pretty good at caring for babies in particular. The other day, however, I found myself thinking that while yes, babies are great…this age is SO fun. I thought "this must be why people have more children. To get to this age!"
Sure, every two year old has their moments, good and bad.
Some toddlers give their parents a hard time all the time, and some just save it for special occasions. I feel like I got lucky because Leopold is such a sweet boy and rarely throws tantrums. He is snuggly, kind, polite, and just an all around great kid. That's one thing that worries me about having another…there is no way I can get this lucky twice!
Disclaimer: Yes he is an amazing child…but I'm not trying to make people think he is perfect! He is still a toddler and absolutely does have moments of bad behavior and has had a tantrum or two. That said, the good definitely outweighs the bad!
As all parents say…it goes by so fast!
I still feel like I was just leaving the hospital with him yesterday. So much has happened in the last two years and yet it feels like the blink of an eye. Is this why people just keep having babies? That has to be part of the reason.
I love being Leopold's mommy and while I hate to watch him grow so fast…I love it too! Seeing him learn and grow and discover is one of the best things I've ever experienced. He started singing 'B-I-N-G-O' the other day and I couldn't figure out where he would have heard that! I don't think I taught it to him. Turns out it is on one of the CD's I've played maybe twice in the car. Kids are such sponges and SO much smarter than a lot of people give them credit for!
I snapped these photos the Thursday before his Saturday birthday. He is wearing his birthday outfit and carrying his 'number two'. My next post is going to be all about his party but this one is meant to focus on his clothes!
I decided on an animal party a couple months ago because he has been obsessed with animals ever since he got his first tub of 'Terra' animal figures at Easter. He has a favorite app on my phone that has photos of real animals and their sounds play when you swipe through each photo. He knows random animals and the sounds they make and will sit and listen while I read through his animal encyclopedia that I found for 50 cent at goodwill.
I found this shirt at H&M for about 5$ and thought it couldn't get any more perfect!
I added the 'Two Wild' myself with my cricut and heat press. The jeans are also from H&M and were on sale. I think they may be 'girls' jeans but they look cute either way.
Lastly, his shoes are from Freshly Picked! We just recently started working with Freshly Picked and got our first two pair. The zebra ones pictured here, and some Halloween ones with super cute bear prints on the bottoms! Now that we have been using them for a couple weeks I'm kicking myself for not buying them sooner! They are so comfy and soft right out of the box, and HOW CUTE!?! I saw the zebra ones on their site and it was love right away.
Leopold has always shown favor to zebras so these were the perfect choice for his birthday shoes!
You see Freshly Picked shoes on babies a lot but people don't always realize that soft soled shoes can be great for toddlers too! I got a size 5 (bear shoes) and 6 (zebra shoes) and they both fit well but the size 5's seem to fit a little better at the moment. He normally wears a size 6 and has grown out of his size 5 shoes but the moccasins fit perfect! His size 6 zebra moccs are a little long in the toes but he has no trouble walking in them. These will last a while longer than the brown ones. I love them both!


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Thought I'd take a moment to save you some money on buying Oreo thins, think of this as me making the mistake so you don't have to! (plot spoiler; they're crap) Nope, not quite on the diet as planned, … Continue reading
Category Archives: Eating
Paradise Garage, Bethnel Green, London
Just a quick one to show you the meal I had at Paradise Garage in Bethnal Green, London last Friday. Recently opened by Good Food Guide chef of the year 2016 Robin Gill (of The Dairy and The Manor, Clapham) … Continue reading

subset: commoncrawl


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- In The Garden
- >
- Lanterns
- >
- Antique Brass Hudson Lantern-Large
Antique Brass Hudson Lantern-Large
per item
2¾" sq. x 8"H. Features a door on one side. Shown with a votive candle and a votive glass, not included. Please allow up to seven days for delivery!
Candle Ends Cottage features farmhouse and cottage style for your life and home. We offer unique limited-time as well as everyday collections of farmhouse décor, as well as up-cycled handbags and totes by MONA B, and all-natural chalk paint and finishes by AMERICAN PAINT COMPANY. Frequent "The Cottage" to find farmhouse, industrial, french country, European, bohemian, modern farmhouse, french provincial, shabby-chic, cottage-chic and seasonal styles to add personality to your home. Email subscribers receive notice of new collections, sales, as well as weekly promo codes for additional savings. Follow our FACEBOOK PAGE for friends-only exclusive sales and codes as well as give-aways and freebies! View our customer reviews on our product pages and buy with confidence. At Candle Ends Cottage, we strive for excellence in customer service. View our PRIVACY POLICY, SHIPPING TERMS, TERMS OF SERVICE AND RETURN POLICIES. We thank you for your valued support and business! Questions or comments? Contact 614-323-3336 or email firstname.lastname@example.com for help!


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Merry Christmas, once again! I truly love this time of year. Is your tree up and decorated? Do you have lights on your house? Is cousin Eddie on his way? Well, I hope not. :) Guess what. I still don't have my Christmas shopping done. Am I late to the game or what?! I did score some great Amazon deals a bit earlier this month, but that's it. Between illnesses, and other things going on with our schedule, we just haven't been able to get out yet. I hope all the great bargains haven't passed us by! What great deals have you scored this holiday season?!
Welcome to this week's Wallet-Friendly Wednesday! This is an opportunity for you to share your latest bargain shopping finds, thrift store outfit deals, DIY projects, side-of-the-road pick-ups, consignment shop steals . . . ANYTHING you've done that's saved your money. Use your imagination! Share whatever you've done to save money recently! List it here so that other Bargain Shopping Paradise readers can get inspired. It's a great way to share ideas, and I love seeing how creative everyone gets when it comes to saving money! Please only list family-friendly links. Include your blog name and the name of your "brag" in your link.
Here's a sampling of what you all shared last week:
- Ornament inspirations from Nap Time Creations:
Thank you all for sharing your amazing, wallet-friendly ideas! Don't forget to check out the previous WFW to all the wonderful projects that were entered.
Follow me on Twitter where I'm tweeting all sorts of deals, all the time!
If you've never bragged about your bargains before, start now! Simply blog about your most recent bargains and link back here! I'll feature my favs from your links in next week's WFW post. Can't wait to see your ingenious bargains!
This Wallet-Friendly Wednesday post is brought to you by . . .


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Rachel Cheng - BG Freight Line's Director of Sales and Marketing – is at the forefront of the shipping line's scheduling decisions. Here, Rachel shares why the decision to overhaul the feeder service timetable from Greenock to Liverpool has set them up to meet their growth ambitions in the Scottish marketplace.
We are now six months on from when we first launched the new feeder services timetable at Greenock and I am delighted to report that the outcome has been tremendous.
BG Freight changed its scheduling from Peel Ports Clydeport in Greenock to help the port operator connect with many deep and short sea services via Liverpool, enhancing Greenock's ability to move Scottish exports by sea.
This wasn't a decision that we took lightly. We worked with Peel Ports Clydeport to devise a scheduling programme that suited us and answered the business needs of our customers.
This is in line with our ethos, which has remained the same for as long as we have been in existence, which is to work with people to find a fast solution that ensures their cargo reaches its destination on time. For Clydeport to make deep-sea connections in Liverpool, it required a feeder service to run on a Friday – so that's what we did.
This approach to positioning ourselves where our customers need us most is what makes us stand out in the Scottish marketplace. We are becoming much more visible to other deep sea carriers, freight forwarders and cargo owners and that is incredibly exciting.
BG Freight Line extended its Irish Sea Hub network with a new service connecting Rotterdam, Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Greenock. We operate from some 29 ports and terminals across Europe and our offering consists of 23 fully containerised ships covering the UK, Belgium, France, Netherlands and Republic of Ireland, serving all ports at least twice a week.
I am very much looking forward to speaking at Clydeport's upcoming Glasgow Gateway event to share our ambitions with peers in likeminded organisations.
To find out more information about Clydeport visit HERE.
For more information on BG Freight Line click HERE.
Pictured: Rachel Cheng - BG Freight Line's Director of Sales and Marketing
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Everyone's favorite Human Barbie Valeria Lukyanova (because there are so many other Human Barbies to pick from) continues to take advantage of her fifteen minutes of fame. She released a workout video (above, via E!). Below, we have included some salient gifs if you don't feel the need to watch the full video. You're welcome.
Follow Anna on Twitter.


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Laura Freschi
Director of Advocacy
Laura is Reboot's chief connector and disseminator of knowledge. She acts as bridge across teams, ensuring that learning from Reboot's project work drives our advocacy and outreach. She leads Reboot's efforts to spread its philosophy and learning through writing, events, and partnerships.
Laura's skills as a critical thinker and communicator were honed during her time at New York University's Development Research Institute, where she co-wrote an economic development history of Greene Street in New York City, and managed and co-wrote the Aid Watch blog with economist William Easterly, as a forum to debate aid policies and practices. Her work on this topic has been published in The New York Times, Forbes, the New York Review of Books, The Lancet, and Alliance Magazine.
In the field of financial inclusion, Laura managed editorial strategy for the Financial Access Initiative at NYU Wagner. She oversaw the creation of a site to launch the US Financial Diaries Project, which provides insight into the design of better financial services.
Laura graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University with a degree in comparative literature, and received her MA in international development and economics from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She speaks fluent Italian, and is proficient in French, Spanish, and Syrian Arabic. Though also a certified yoga teacher and obsessive seeker of remote travel destinations, she admits that all pastimes not directly related to the raising of her rambunctious babies Luca and Cleo have fallen by the wayside.


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If you would like to receive alcohol or drug treatment off campus or feel like your substance abuse needs cannot be met on campus, here are some excellent resources in Winston-Salem community. They offer a range of services from individual to group treatment programs. Also, some of these centers conduct substance abuse assessments for Wake Forest students.
David Abernathy
Twin City Counseling Center
523 Summit Street
Forsyth Behavioral Outpatient
3821 Forrestgate Dr.
Ellen Elliot
Life Skills
1001 S. Marshall Street
Dean Melton
Wake Forest Baptist Health – Intensive Outpatient Program
CenterPoint Human Services
24-7 referral line: 888.581.9988
There are a few ways to get in touch with Alcoholics Anonymous:
By phone:
On the web:
Off-Campus Meetings recommended for college students:
AA Meeting Schedule: Current_AA_Schedule
There are a couple of ways to get in touch with Narcotics Anonymous:
By phone:
On the web:
NA Meeting Schedule: NA Schedule


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Launching a startup and building it into a successful, fast-moving, disruptive enterprise takes grit, wits, hard work and audacious ambition—qualities that also come in handy when emigrating to a foreign land to start a new life.
That's what Semyon Dukach and Eveline Buchatskiy are banking on. Both are former directors of Techstars Boston and experienced in the art of raising capital and guiding young companies. Their new firm, One Way Ventures, is focused on funneling money to technology startups that count at least one immigrant among their founders, whose character has been formed by the that experience.
"We think the world will be better as more funding goes to immigrant-founded startups because it's going to help enable more immigrant-founded startups, which ultimately helps more immigrants," Dukach told FORBES. "And I believe that greater immigration – and greater acceptance of immigration socially – improves the world."
Dukach and Buchatskiy insist that One Way Ventures – named for the notion that immigrants do not buy return tickets – is a stab at promoting what they believe is the basic human right to leave one's country in order to make one's dreams come true in another, not merely a vehicle to generate investment returns (though that too is an aspiration). Such impact investing is not unheard of, Dukach points out, noting other venture firms that target social issues or address global concerns. "There are ways to channel your investment to make an actual impact on the world."
Both Dukach and Buchatskiy have immigrant roots. Dukach came to the United States as a child in 1979. He studied mathematics at MIT, where he became a leader on the school's storied blackjack team. He went on to found the software firm Fast Engines and ad display company Vert before taking up the angel investor mantle, making bets on numerous companies. Dukach was named managing director for Techstars Boston in 2014.
Buchatskiy left her native Brazil in 1992 to study chemical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, before obtaining her master's at the University of Buffalo in New York—all the while juggling work and visa woes. In 2007 she moved to Ukraine, working as a consultant with Eastone – an investment advisory group owned by Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk – and heading up a startup, APowerCap Technologies. Along the way she earned an MBA from INSEAD.
In 2009 Buchatskiy took the helm at Ekonomika, a publishing house owned by Pinchuk that was in need of a turnaround. After two years she spearheaded Eastlabs, a startup accelerator also funded by the Ukrainian oligarch. In 2014, following the Ukrainian revolution and the subsequent aggressive incursion by Russia, the fund was hard-pressed for cash and Buchatskiy accepted an invitation from Dukach – who she'd known previously as a tech investor – to return to the United States as a mentor with Techstars Boston. She later became a director at the organization.
Buchatskiy and Dukach had been casually discussing the idea of a venture firm focused on immigrant-led startups, but the concept crystallized six months ago. Dukach was among the protesters at Logan Airport following the first iteration of President Trump's travel ban in January. Several days later, Techstars mentor and angel investor Joe Caruso suggested to Dukach the basic idea for what would become One Way. "Trump aggravated a lot of liberal people in a lot of ways, but all of that was theoretical to me," says Dukach. "When he attacked immigration it became personal."
And potentially profitable. Buchatskiy says that about a quarter of venture-backed companies in the U.S. have an immigrant as a founder, "yet 51% of unicorns [companies valued at over $1 billion] have immigrant founders," she says. "Which means that even though they're not getting the attention early on, they still get to kill it later on."
In addition to providing capital as a traditional VC, One Way will probably have to assist immigrant founders as they seek to expand in other ways such as helping establish a support network and a beachhead stateside. "If it's a company that is kind of fresh in the U.S., then it is imperative that we add a local U.S. cofounder to do the business development, sales, marketing," Buchatskiy says. "Because if they don't do that, they typically tend to take so long with the learning curve that by the time they learn, they run out of cash. So we will facilitate that process."
As mentors of entrepreneurs, Buchatskiy and Dukach have, in the past, referred immigrant startup teams to lawyers to assist with obtaining visas. But now, with the Trump administration's less-than-welcoming stance on immigration being what it is, and the president's delay of the International Entrepreneur Rule, roadblocks to bringing foreign founders into the country persist.
This doesn't seem to scare Buchatskiy and Dukach. Dukach says his commitment to One Way will be exclusive, meaning he will pass on investment opportunities with young firms that do not have immigrant founders—which pretty much counts him out of most of the potential funding deals that come his way. But that's okay, he says. "It feels right. It doesn't feel scary. It's a bigger mission than me."


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Certified MILFs: 18 New Celeb Moms With Crazy Snapback Bodies (PHOTOS)
Janet Jackson is dancing herself back to her pre-pregnancy bod while rehearsing for her upcoming State of the World tour. The mom is without a doubt a certified MILF, and is in good company.
Beyonce, Joseline Hernandez and more have all had babies within the last year and are already back in tip top shape, proving mommyhood doesn't mean a life in mumus.
Check out these hot mamas who've all given birth recently and are back to their pre-pregnancy bodies already.


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Hello Washington State Social Workers,
Washington State Supreme Court Ruling stops legal financial obligations for people on needs based benefits!!!
Basically the Washington Supreme Court has decided that, in cases where the defendant is indigent and especially on SSI, they really can't be made to pay court-ordered Legal Financial Obligations. So people with limited income should not be required to go into debt for court ordered LFOs. Please encourage your clients to follow up with courts if they have old fines to have them removed from the books. The debt can pose a barrier for many disabled people to housing and employment.
The court stated that if you are already on "means-based" benefits, especially SSI/SSP, or at less than 125% of the poverty-level, than the court should not be setting LFOs.
The detail is in the ruling if you would like to read further:
Also, check out the reasoning on pages 12-13, saying that the court CANNOT base LFOs on SSI income, and the court's decision on poverty and "life choices" on page 15.
This is a win for people with little resources and justice involvement. We had talked in our legislative action committee about have talked about how get them removed for many years. What is odd is that it was already against the law.
If you are interested in more legislative action please join us for our committee meeting on 10/8/16 at 10 am. Just send an email and I'll send information on how to phone in or join us in person.
Ann Allen
Legislative Action Committee Chair


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SEOmoz: It's Like A Digital Florida
The golden rule when it comes to social media marketing, as espoused by hundreds of 'social media gurus' (you can tell when someone's a guru because it says so on their Twitter profile), is to "get to know your community". Inspired by The Tipping Point, they'll tell you that there's great gain to be had by "influencing the influencers". And they're ri...July 20, 2009 21 19


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Easy Taxi: A company born out of frustration
Brazil's economy has grown significantly in the past decade - and with that, the number of cars on the road has grown too. In fact, car ownership has more than doubled in that time.
But all those cars mean more congestion. It was the frustration of the traffic that led one young entrepreneur to create a business that has proved a big success.
Tallis Gomes started his first company at the age of 14. He and his friends had a band and they wanted to buy a drum kit, but they had no money.
So he suggested they should start a business. With no money to put down though, it proved a challenge, until the 14-year-old Tallis came up with a plan.
Many people in the town they lived in, Minas Gerais, were starting to get interested in smartphones that had cameras, but they didn't have a shop where they could buy them.
So he printed off the details of the phones from the internet, showed them to friends and family and only once he had made a sale did he then buy the phones off the internet. And so a business was born - with zero start-up costs.
By the age of 23, Mr Gomes had a couple more businesses under his belt, had dropped out of university and had even worked in marketing roles for several big companies including Unilever.
One weekend, he took part in a start-up competition in Rio de Janeiro. He needed to come up with a business idea and thought about starting an app that would give people real-time locations and timings of local buses.
But it was an idea that he was told Google was already working on and something that would never work. Out of inspiration, he called it a day and went home.
That night he tried - and failed - to hail a taxi. Calling a taxi company proved fruitless too so he was left waiting. It was then that he hit upon his business idea - bringing taxis who want more business together with people who are trying to flag one down. Creating an app was the answer and he won the competition.
"I wanted to do something for society," says Mr Gomes. "I had started three companies before Easy Taxi but they were something to make money. I decided to do something to solve a real problem."
With just a few clicks on a smartphone, customers can tell the taxi where they are and how they want to pay. The message is received by the pool of taxi drivers in the area and they can accept the job and drive straight to a customer's door in a matter of minutes.
The driver gets information about the passenger who is registered and the passenger knows what the driver looks like, the model and registration details of the car as well as his mobile number.
"It's not safe to pick somebody up from the streets," Mr Gomes says, referring to Brazil's reputation for violence. "With Easy Taxi everyone you pick up is registered. On the passenger side, you have the same problem - there are a lot of taxis that aren't registered so passengers don't pick up taxis in the street."
It sounds simple but at first it was anything but. He had to convince taxi drivers why they should sign up - and encourage many to buy smartphones in order to be a part of the service - and in 2011, smartphones were only something wealthy Brazilians had.
So his way of winning them over was to build relationships with them, by spending time at the taxi stands and even playing football with them.
But since expanding, his business challenges have changed. He has to spend some of his energy fighting off competitors that have sprung up in the past few years.
It has meant changing the business model here in Brazil too. Easy Taxi initially charged the taxi drivers for each pick-up - but when a competitor started doing it for free, East Taxi dropped the charges in Brazil and looked for other ways to grow its business.
They include the introduction of mobile payments in the taxis and taking on corporate accounts to make it easier and cheaper for businesses to run a taxi account.
In Brazil, Easy Taxi has 50,000 taxi drivers on its books and 3.5 million users. Globally, it now has 155,000 taxi drivers signed up in 30 countries and seven million users.
Its rapid growth has been helped by the backing of investors including German internet incubator Rocket Internet. Mr Gomes has had to adapt to his fast-growing company - and the people who work with him.
"Titles really matter in Asia so basically we have to say, 'If you deliver this and that, you are going to be regional manager,'" he says.
"In Latin America it's completely different. It's all about relationships, you need to make people think that we are friends. The Middle East is more closed and personal - so when you talk to them, you have to respect them."
Of his three previous businesses, one - a social media company - failed. But that failure taught him a great deal.
"You can have a great product, but if it's not the time to launch it, you're going to fail, so it's all about the timing," he says. "If you launch it too early, nobody is going to use it; too late, you'll have a lot of competitors so you are going to fail all over again."
Failing is not on Mr Gomes' mind. Growing his business, as well as launching the next big idea, are his goals for now.


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Adorable Systems
Freeware Programs: Adorable Systems
TapmeIn 1.1 TapmeIn is a color puzzle game. Player has to arrange 3 same colored cubes vertically or horizontally from randomly generated color cubes within specified time limits. The toughness raises as level gets cleared.
Mastitree 1.0 Mastitree is a photo gallery - Your last stop for Hollywood and Bollywood celebrity wallpapers & pics. Cute, sizzling, sweet, Stunning and Glamorous celebrity wallpapers. Most popular and gorgeous celebrity wallpapers.
Top Freeware
New Downloads


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Executive Director's Recruiting Award
Recruit a CO and Earn Administrative Leave
Current full-time employees are eligible to receive eight hours of administrative leave for each applicant referral that results in a newly hired Correctional Officer (CO) accepting an assignment at a designated bonus unit. Administrative leave will expire one calendar year from the date it was issued.
Three Easy Steps
- Convince a relative or friend to apply for a Correctional Officer position.
- Complete and sign Correctional Officer Applicant Referral form.
- Have the applicant complete the Applicant Information section and submit the referral form with his/her application.
To receive this award, the Correctional Officer Applicant Referral form (PERS 415) must be completed and signed by both the applicant and TDCJ employee. This form must be included with the application when the applicant reports for the CO Pre-employment test.
View the list of current bonus units.
Download the Form
Correctional Officer Applicant Referral, PERS 415
Links of Interest
Apply Today | Eligibility Criteria | Part-time Positions | Essential Functions | CO Salary | College Program | Recruiting Events | Take Sample Test | Unit Information (pdf) | Unit Locations | View Job Description
Page updated: 05/17/2019


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S. E. O'Grady* and M. L. Steward†
Northern Virginia Equine, PO Box 746, Marshall, Virginia 20116; and †Shawnee Animal Hospital, 1509 North Kickapoo Street, Shawnee, Oklahoma 74804, USA.
Various farriery methods have been described for treating
chronic laminitis, yet no particular method has become
the preferred choice. The wooden shoe may possess
certain advantages such as redistributing load evenly over
the palmar/plantar section of the foot due to its flat solid
construction and the mechanics (bevelled perimeter,
breakover and heel elevation) that can be incorporated
directly into the fabrication of the shoe. It should be
apparent that the advantages of this farriery option will
also be limited unless strict attention is paid to the details
involving radiology, foot preparation and alignment of the
distal phalanx within the hoof capsule.
Chronic laminitis is a frustrating and often disheartening
disease for veterinarians, farriers and horse owners to
manage. Our ability to rehabilitate horses with laminitis,
despite the type of farriery employed, is related to the
severity of damage to the lamellae (Hunt 1998). For this
reason, treatment failures with any given methodology are
commonplace. Chronic laminitis is defined by the
presence of mechanical collapse of the lamellae and
displacement of the distal phalanx within the hoof capsule
(Hood 1999). The various forms of displacement of the
distal phalanx recognised are: dorsal capsular rotation,
distal displacement (sinking) medial or lateral
displacement of the distal phalanx or any combination of
the above (O'Grady et al. 2007a; Parks and O'Grady
2008). The most common type of displacement
encountered is dorsal capsular rotation. If dorsal capsular
rotation is severe, the instability of the distal phalanx
combined with the weight of the horse often leads to
prolapse of the sole or penetration of the distal phalanx
through the sole. The wooden shoe has become another
farriery option that has been found to be a consistently
successful method to address dorsal capsular rotation
(Fig 1) (Steward 2003; O'Grady et al. 2007a). The wooden
shoe allows the distal phalanx to be realigned, has all the
mechanical components of other farriery systems
previously advocated for the treatment of chronic laminitis
yet may possess many additional advantages over
previous methods used. One major advantage may be its
ability to distribute weightbearing evenly over a specified
section of the foot due to its flat solid construction.
Other advantages are:
The lateral radiograph has always been considered the 'gold' standard for evaluating chronic laminitis but it does not allow identification of asymmetrical medial or lateral distal displacement (O'Grady et al. 2007a; Parks and O'Grady 2008). Therefore, the authors consider it crucial that a dorsopalmar (0° dorso palmar) radiographic projection must be included as part of the radiographic study for either acute or chronic laminitis. This allows the examiner to evaluate the distal phalanx in both a dorsalpalmar plane and a medial-lateral plane. High quality radiographs are required to visualise the osseous structures within the hoof capsule as well as the hoof capsule itself. Radiopaque markers can be used to determine the position of the distal phalanx in relation to surface landmarks.
The radiographic features of chronic laminitis are well documented (Redden 2003). The following observations from the lateral radiograph are important in assessing the severity, determining the prognosis and guiding treatment: the thickness of the dorsal hoof wall; the degree of dorsal capsular rotation; the angle of the solar surface of the distal phalanx relative to the ground; the distance between the dorsal limit of the solar margin of the distal phalanx and the ground; and the thickness of the sole.
The dorsopalmar radiograph is examined to determine
the position of the distal phalanx in the frontal plane.
Asymmetrical distal displacement of the distal phalanx on
either the lateral or medial side is present if an imaginary
line drawn across the articular surface of the distal
interphalangeal joint or between the solar foramina of the
distal phalanx is not parallel to the ground, the joint space is widened on the affected side and narrowed or
compressed on the opposite side, and the width of the
hoof wall appears thicker than normal on the affected
side. If the position of the coronary band is visible on the
radiograph, then the distance between the coronary
band and the palmar processes of the distal phalanx will
be greater on the affected than the unaffected side (Fig 2). The aetiology, diagnosis and management of
asymmetrical distal displacement of the distal phalanx will
be considered in a subsequent paper.
Goals of treatment for chronic laminitis
Trimming and shoeing has always been the 'mainstay' of treating chronic laminitis and is directed towards reducing/removing the adverse forces on the compromised lamellae. In considering hoof care in horses with chronic laminitis, there are 3 goals for therapy: to stabilise the distal phalanx within the hoof capsule; to
control pain; and to encourage new hoof growth to
assume the most normal relationship with the distal
phalanx as possible. Realignment of the distal phalanx to
create a better relationship of the solar surface of the
distal phalanx with the ground is used as the basis for
treating chronic laminitis (Redden 1997; Parks 2003;
O'Grady 2006). Applying the wooden shoe following this
procedure compliments the realignment of the distal
phalanx and appears to decrease the forces on the
lamellae due to the bevelled perimeter of the shoe. The
same shoeing principles are applied to the wooden shoes that are applied to other shoeing methods used in treating
chronic laminitis which are to recruit ground surface,
reposition the breakover palmarly and to provide heel
elevation as needed (Parks 2003; O'Grady 2006).
Construction of the shoe
The authors chose wood due to its accessibility, light
weight, the ease with which it can be constructed and
shaped (both before and after application) and its ability
to dissipate energy at impact while remaining rigid (Reid
1994; Steward 2003; O'Grady et al. 2007a). The wooden
shoe can be constructed in 2 ways. A wide web aluminium
shoe with a broad toe that is available in sizes 00 to 5 is
used as a template1. The basic shoe can be made from
2 pieces of plywood. One piece of plywood is 0.64–
0.95 cm thick and the second piece is 1.91 cm thick. Using
the aluminium shoe as a template, the thinner piece of
plywood is cut out with a vertical border while the thicker
piece is cut out with the border bevelled at a 45° angle
using an angle saw2. As a modification to the basic
pattern, the palmar or heel section of the wooden shoe
can be cut at a 15, 30 or 45° angle or left straight if desired.
The 2 pieces of plywood are glued together with the
thinner portion proximal and two 2.54 cm drywall screws or
wood screws are used to secure the 2 pieces together. A
wood rasp or belt sander is used to blend the cut angles
into a uniform slope (Figs 3a,b). Alternatively, the shoe can
also be fabricated from a single piece of 2.86 cm plywood
(purchased as sub-flooring plywood) using the same
technique as described above.
Recently, one author (M.L.S.) has occasionally
substituted ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) for the thicker 1.91 cm
section of plywood and bevelled it in a similar manner. EVA
is an extremely elastic material that can be sintered to
form a porous material similar to rubber, yet with excellent
toughness. The compressibility and wearability of this
material allows 'selective' loading on the ground surface
of the shoe which appears to further decrease the stresses
on the lamellae and increase comfort (Fig 4). Additional
layers of plywood, rubber or EVA can be added to
increase the height of the wooden shoe when desired.
Shoe height is dictated by the conformation of the hoof
and the amount of displacement of the distal phalanx
present; i.e. the greater the rotation of the distal phalanx,
the more shoe height is necessary in order to achieve a
more palmar placement of breakover. If the sole is
prolapsed or the distal phalanx has penetrated the sole, a
recess can be created in the dorsal surface of the shoe by
cutting a half moon shape in the thinner piece of plywood
using a router under the prolapsed tissue or a hand grinder
can be used to create a trough in the shoe below the
area of the sole or bone that has prolapsed (Fig 5).
The same end can be achieved by cutting the thinner
piece of plywood or a leather pad in the shape of a 'W'
and then attaching it to the thicker section of plywood as
described above (Fig 6). If heel elevation is required, the heels can be raised accordingly by applying a wedge pad
to the hoof surface of the wooden shoe. The angle of the
wedge is usually 2–4° depending on the amount of heel
horn removed. The wedge pad is attached to the shoe
with 2.54 cm drywall screws or wood screws. An alternative
method to raise the heels is to cut the ground surface of
the wooden shoe itself at an angle to the hoof surface.
Application of the shoe
A generalised outline will be used to describe the
preparation of the foot and application of the wooden
shoe in horses with dorsal capsular rotation; bear in mind
each case of chronic laminitis must be treated on an
individual basis. The foot must be trimmed appropriately,
and the shoe sized and positioned in relation to the
underlying distal phalanx regardless of the conformation
of the hoof. Therefore, measurements must be made from
a lateral radiograph taken prior to shoeing as a guide. To
use the radiograph for guidance, a vertical line is drawn
from the center of rotation of the distal end of the second
phalanx to the ground. This line should correspond to the
widest part of the foot and can be used as a landmark on
the foot to begin the trim. Next a line is drawn parallel to
the solar border of the distal phalanx, starting 15 mm distal
to the palmar process of the distal phalanx and
continuing dorsally. The hoof wall to be removed in the
heel area can be determined from the mass below this
line. A second line is drawn 15 mm dorsal and parallel to
the dorsal surface of the distal phalanx; this line is used to
align the dorsal hoof wall with the parietal surface of the
distal phalanx (Fig 7a,b) (Parks 2003; Parks and O'Grady
2003; O'Grady 2006).
The trim
The initial step is to trim the heels and quarters of the wall
as well as the angle of the sole to coincide with the first line
drawn on the radiograph. Any exfoliating horn is removed
from the frog and the bars are trimmed on an angle to
widen the sulci. If possible, the ideal end product is to have
the hoof wall at the heels and the frog trimmed so that
they are on the same plane. This alone increases the
ground surface in the heel area and thus the ability to
accept load. If the foot can be trimmed to coincide with
the line drawn parallel to the solar surface of the distal
phalanx, the palmar aspect of the ground surface of the
foot will be on a different plane to the dorsal aspect of the
ground surface, which will often unload the dorsal section
of the foot. The dorsal hoof wall is trimmed to approximate
the line drawn parallel to the parietal surface of the distal
phalanx to create a more acceptable alignment
between the dorsal hoof wall and the parietal surface of
the distal phalanx.
Following the trim, the foot is placed on the ground and
the horse is observed for any additional discomfort.
Additionally, the horse is observed to see whether the heel
of the foot is touching the ground at rest, and whether the
horse lands markedly toe first as it moves in a straight line. If
any of these signs are present, heel elevation will be
necessary to compensate for the increase in tension in the
deep digital flexor tendon caused by lowering the heels of
the hoof capsule. Heel elevation is generally used if a
flexural deformity involving the distal interphalangeal joint
described as phalangeal rotation is noted radiographically
(O'Grady et al. 2007b). (Capsular rotation describes the
divergence of the dorsal hoof wall from the dorsal parietal
surface of the distal phalanx independent of the
relationship of the distal phalanx with the phalangeal axis
whereas phalangeal rotation describes rotation of the
dorsal surface of the distal phalanx palmarly/plantarly from
its normal orientation and relationship with the first and
second phalanges.) The trim should never violate normal
farrier practices, such as invading sensitive tissue.
Fitting the shoe
A line is drawn across the widest part of the trimmed foot.
Next, the foot surface of a wooden shoe is measured from
dorsal to palmar and then a line is drawn across the
middle of the shoe from lateral to medial. The correct size
of the shoe is determined by superimposing the line drawn
across the foot and the line drawn on the shoe on top of
each other; the appropriate size shoe will extend from the
line drawn across the foot to the end of the heel or 0–8 mm
palmar to the heel. Using a 1.98 mm drill, a guide hole is
drilled through the lateral and medial side of the hoof wall
at the widest part of the foot and 3.75 cm drywall screws
or wood screws are placed in each hole and screwed in
until just visible on the ground surface. To recruit the sole,
bars, frog and sulci for weightbearing, deformable
impression material3 is applied to the palmar/plantar
section of the foot of the foot.
The shoe is now set in place on the ground surface of
the foot and attached using the 2 dry wall screws or wood
screws. The foot is placed on the ground and allowed to
bear weight in order for the impression material to
conform between the palmar section of the foot and the
shoe in the optimal form. Two or 3 more holes are drilled
through both sides of the hoof wall and the shoe is
secured in place using additional screws. These holes may
be predrilled from the solar surface of the foot if desired to
ensure accurate screw placement in the wall. If the mass
of the hoof wall is insufficient or if the quality of the hoof
wall is insufficient to hold the screws, screws can be
placed in the wooden shoe against the outer surface of
the hoof wall to act as struts and 5 cm casting tape4 is
used to form an attachment between the hoof wall,
screws and wooden shoe (Fig 8). With the foot on the
ground, a vertical line is drawn from the dorsal aspect of
the coronary band to the ground. The point where the line
meets the ground is where the breakover point of the
shoe should be positioned (Figs 9a,b,c). This point will
usually be just dorsal to the dorsal limit of the solar margin of the distal phalanx. Setting the breakover to this point in
the shoe is easily accomplished using a hoof rasp with the
foot being held in the farrier position. Deep digital
tenotomy has been the recommended treatment when
penetration of the distal phalanx through the sole has
occurred secondary to dorsal capsular rotation. One
author (S.E.O.) has observed that the wooden shoe has
provided an alternative and often better means to treat
this condition without surgery.
Prolapse of the sole or penetration of the distal phalanx
If the sole bulges distal to the level of the hoof wall or if the distal phalanx has penetrated the sole, the foot is trimmed to establish realignment, the wooden shoe is fitted to the trimmed foot and heel elevation is applied to the shoe to decrease the forces on the deep digital flexor tendon (Redden 1997). Before applying the shoe, the wooden shoe is placed against the solar surface of the foot and pressed against the sole or the exposed corium of the distal phalanx. The moisture of the tissue or a suitable dye applied to the corium will create an impression on the foot surface of the wooden shoe which can then be cut out using a router or a trough can be created with a grinder as illustrated in Figure 5. The shoe is now applied with screws and fibreglass tape, being sure that the impression material is concentrated palmar to the apex of the frog and not allowed to migrate dorsally. A window can be created in the fibreglass tape and the affected area can be packed with an appropriate antiseptic from the front of the shoe.
The authors have used the wooden shoe in their combined
practices for the past 5 years and found this technique
provides another very consistent farriery option when
treating a horse with chronic laminitis. Removing the stress
on the lamellae has always been difficult with traditional
shoes used to treat chronic laminitis as the shoe is placed
under the hoof wall concentrating the load on the
compromised lamellae. The solid plane of the wooden
shoe, combined with the impression material allows load
sharing across the ground surface of the foot especially in
the palmar section of the foot and appears to decrease
the load borne by the hoof wall. This concept of load
sharing is very helpful in horses with foot conformation that
has limited hoof mass in the palmar section of the foot.
Furthermore, cutting the perimeter of the wooden shoe at
a 45° angle around the circumference of the foot is
thought to decrease the lateral/medial torque on the
lamellae especially when the horse turns (Steward 2003;
O'Grady et al. 2007a). Therapeutic shoes used for treating
chronic laminitis are often deficient in providing sufficient
breakover and heel elevation due to the physical limits of
the particular shoe whereas increasing the height of the wooden shoe allows the desired mechanics to be
fabricated into the shoe. Shoe height enhances
mechanical advantages as it allows dorsal breakover,
lateral medial breakover and heel elevation to be
incorporated into the shoe in a uniform manner. Creating
a recess in the shoe under the distal phalanx in the toe
area relieves the load on dorsal aspect of the foot while
the weightbearing function is concentrated in the palmar
section of the shoe. When displacement of the distal
phalanx within the hoof capsule is severe, the wooden
shoe seems to be an excellent method to act as a
transient treatment to build sufficient hoof mass (wall and
sole) to where a more conventional shoe can be applied
or the horse can remain barefoot. It should be noted that
the heel elevation provided by the wooden shoe should
not be discontinued abruptly when this farriery method is
changed but rather decrease the heel elevation
gradually over the next few months.
Manufacturers' addresses
Copyright 2006
Northern Virginia Equine | All rights reserved


text:
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
Something strange yet predictable has happened to the Harry Potter series of books as a result of the writer committing herself to a seven part series and as a result of the books' commercial success. The first two books were nice and dandy; with the third, the weight of expectations has added more volume. By the fourth the success was more like a bonanza, and the result was a very thick book featuring a very redundantly long exposition about some quiditch tournament. Then we got to the transitional books, the ones that are there only so that the final seventh book can take place; hence the way too long, relatively badly written and often boring fifth and sixth instalments. And now it's time for the seventh and final chapter; how does it fare?
Without giving anything of the plot away, I would say the answer is a mixed bag. The saga does conclude in a very exciting and even a very surprising way, with the last 200 pages of the book read while holding my breath. However, in order to get to those last 200 pages you have to get through 400 previous pages which are more like the previous two books, mainly transitional in purpose. Still, it was worth it, even if the book doesn't soar to Lord of the Rings heights at its very ending and even if it does end as expected with the bad guys winning etc.
The most interesting aspect of reading through the last Harry Potter is the way absolutely everything merges together. There is not one character, there is no one place, and there is no one event that was/were mentioned in previous books which don't end up converging to have an impact, usually quite a severe one, on the way the Harry Potter concludes his adventures. On one hand this is quite a feat of book writing: I suspect Rowling had to manage all the different threads with a very sophisticated mainframe database in order to achieve this. You read the seventh Potter, and you do realize why you had to endure its tedious instalments. Question is, is this convergence necessarily positive? Here I have to disagree with Rowling. In life, things often happen just because they happen. In life, things that transpire usually don't have a meaning. In life, not everything ends up having critical impact on everything else.
Another good thing that is sacrificed on the altar of making all the ends meet is good story telling. There are simply too many cheap ways to further progress the plot thrown all over the place. Flashbacks or semi flashbacks (like eavesdropping on someone having a flashback) are the most obvious problem; you can understand it in a film, maybe, but in a book they're pretty inexcusable. Yet another thing robbed by commercial success and yet another loss to the dominating yet unnecessary complexity of the plot. Then you get to these transitional scenes, where on one hand you have a major battle at hand and things are looking bad and Harry is just about to die and it's just so close and you're so nervous and you can't put the book away and you're peeing in your pants… and then Rowling tells you something along the lines of "Harry woke up to find it was all just a bad dream". OK, she doesn't say that, but what she does say is not far from that.
The book does manage to portray the things that go inside the head of a teenager quite well, only that what we get is a rather distilled version. I mean, you know everything that takes place in Harry's head, and there's never a thought about sex? Come on! Did they cut his balls off in a previous episode without me noticing?
The clean and over pure morals continue throughout the book, and on top of that we get a system of rules and regulations to do with the world of magic that seems just as artificial and just as contrived. Reading Deathly Hallows, you learn all you ever wanted to know and didn't ask on the rules governing a soul or the rules of wand ownership; it's as if Rowling is in a race to give us the rules so that she can demonstrate them in action later in the book. Again, the way it all works together is amazing, but does it really need to work this way? I guess all is fair in trying to get the book to end the way Rowling wanted it to end.
But as I said, I wouldn't argue with you if you were to say that you're willing t forget all of the book's woes for that wonderfully thrilling ending. It really is good.
Overall: Let's face it. It's very hard to rate Deathly Hallows on its own, and the task gets even harder for me given the personal impact Harry Potter has had on me.
First and foremost, it was the first Harry Potter book that got me back into reading books in the first place after years of university desolation where I had no time to read. Second, Potter was there for me in critical times: while I was recovering from my laser vision correction I was reading a Harry Potter in the dark. And now it was a Harry Potter that I read immediately after the birth of my son. OK, a part of it is to do with the childish simplicity of the books, but who said that was wrong?
Back to the point. Through its first two thirds, Deathly Hallows is nothing special, a 2.5 to a 3 star effort at best. The gripping ending, however, is 4 star material and even more when you consider that this is, after all, a children's book. How do these two estimates add up together? I'll take the simple way and average them out:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me; at the same breath, however, I will add that the series entire is worth more than any stars I can bestow on it. Pity about them mediocre films, though…
2 comments:
- Uri said...
Before reading #7, I went back and read the first six. It's a good series.
I also enjoyed the fifth and sixth books much more the second time. I still like the fifth one the least, though.
In your commendable effort to be vague, you lost me a little. I couldn't understand what you found surprising, or disappointing, or boring.
Generally I don't care for the way some authors try to tie in everything they ever wrote. I didn't like it when Asimov did it, and I didn't like it when Heinlein did it. But here, it didn't bother me as much (although I don't quite believe Rowlings had everything mapped up in advance).
BTW, when we went to see the movie (Phoenix) we met your parents, and they told us you had already seen it.
- 2/9/07 11:26 pm
- Moshe Reuveni said...
The boring bits were mainly the walk in the woods part of the book, which was just a cheap way to advance the plot through flashbacks and such. I agree: I very much doubt Rowling has had her master plan drawn out in advance, and since episode 5 she was trying to weave all the patches together.
My mother told me of your encounter, describing Yoav as a very beautiful boy (Hamsa Hamsa).
- 3/9/07 8:14 am


text:
I'm playing around with customizing Office 2010 installs on my network, normally I just do a full manual install, but as the environment grows and the lazier I get its becoming a pain to do it manually every time. I've read up and downloaded the Office 2010 OCT tool and it looks relatively straight forward - with one exception - the Outlook Profile.
I can 'get around it' by just leaving it all as default (or not enabling offline use) but I'd like to customise it slightly so that its all setup no matter who logs onto the PC. The only issue I have, and my question is:
In the OCT - Outlook section What do you enter into the Path and Filename for the OST file and the Offline Address book seetings under Enable Offline Use section?
I'm sweet with everything else - just that one section, and I think if I bugger that one it will kill the whole Outlook Profile?? It would need to go into each users unique filepath for their profile correct? I have a fair idea of what should be there but I'm struggling with the correct syntax.
I know this is a stupid question....but its late in the day and my brain is fried ;)
As usual - any and all help/assistance is appreciated ;)


text:
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text:
A technique that is sometimes useful for exploring data is to show only observations that are selected. For example, suppose you are trying to understand how the wind_kts and min_pressure variables are distributed, given specific values for the latitude variable. Add the following statement at the bottom of the program window, and select Program Run from the main menu.
plot.ShowObs( false );
The scatter plot now displays only selected observations as shown in Figure 10.5. You can select bars in the histogram and examine how the wind speed and atmospheric pressure of storms vary as storms move from lower latitudes to higher latitudes. You can immediately see that storms at or above tend to be weaker storms without well-developed eyes.


text:
Senior .NET Developer WPS Health Insurance – Madison, WI Michael Schrotenboer used to work long hours as a Sr. Analyst, Application Development. Although there were certain aspects of the job that he enjoyed, he worried that his growth was limited and that it no longer coincided with his personal career goals. He yearned for a job where there would be an opportunity for him to realize a future leadership position. During this time, he was contacted by Insight Talent Solutions
America's Heroes at Work: Strategies and Benefits of Hiring Veterans, by Amy Roesch
Insight Talent Solutions had the opportunity to connect with Chris Cashell, Senior Vice President of Business Unit Services at WPS, as well as Timothy Thornton, a former Army National Guard Veteran, to learn their perspective on why they believe it is smart business to hire veterans. WPS employs over 100 veterans and has proudly supported more than 10 local veteran non-profits. They have a Vet Group that is made up of over 120 employees and is committed to supporting causes


text:
Belle Mont Mansion is an excellent example of Jeffersonian style architecture of the early American Republic. It was constructed in 1828 and is known for its high quality brickwork and contrasting wood trim. Today, it is owned by the Alabama Historical Commission and is one of only five state-owned historic homes. It is furnished with period antiques from the Tennessee Valley and a number of portraits and other items original to the Isaac Winston family, who once owned the plantation.
Belle Mont Mansion
Read more
Latitude: 34.661907 Longitude: -87.665097 Elevation: 534 ft
the best travel advice comes from the people who live here
Angie Pierce
Latest Contributions
Interests and Areas of Expertise
I love traveling around America and seeing the beauty and history of our country.
Recommended Place
Mentone Inn B & B. The hospitality of this small mountain town is great. The innkeeper is so nice and the inn is within walking distance of the Wildflower Cafe for dinner. Historic Inn only a short drive from two beautiful waterfalls and numerous overlooks. Oh! Not to mention the superb breakfast you will be served.
Recommended Activity
Following a back road or highway instead of the interstate.This will allow you to see so much of an area that you would not normally see otherwise.
Hours OpenBelle Mont is open Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Groups of 10 or more should schedule their appointment by calling 256-381-5052.
Time Period Represented1800s
Seasons OpenOpen year-round. Closed on all major holidays.
Visitor FeesAdults $6 / Students, seniors, military $5 / Children 6-18 $3
How to Get There
Belle Mont Mansion is located at 1569 Cook Lane (County Road 53), approximately ¼ mile west of Highway 43 South in Tuscumbia.
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Contact Information
Ninon Parker
1569 Cook Lane
Tuscumbia, AL 35674 US
Angie Pierce - Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association
256-350-3519 (Fax)
PO Box 2537
Decatur, AL 35602 US


text:
Another year passes and so we've reached Passover once again. Pesach 2017 in Tel Aviv will be the usual rush of covering up the chametz items in the supermarkets or local grocery stores. Some cafes & restaurants will ensure that bread, pastries & cookies are kosher for the holiday without a leavening agent in sight! Of course at home, Pesach is a like the super Spring clean you'd rather not imagine.
For the Jewish people, Passover is a very significant festival. Whether we are living in Tel Aviv, Israel or any country in the world, we as one Jewish community, come together on this 'holyday". It's a holiday for remembrance and thanks. We gratefully acknowledge our liberation from a long slavery in Egypt. But, as we celebrate our freedom as one nation, we are each gently reminded of who we are and why we are.
Our homes are cleaned more profusely than normal. We ensure that not a breadcrumb is visible! It is our intention to eliminate all traces of forbidden leavened food. Why is this necessary? This is done in order to experience the hardship of eating unleavened bread, as forefathers did. These days this is no great sacrifice as we have matzot in all the gourmet forms or, bread from matza meal. However, it does signify our commitment to commemorate and recognize the importance of Passover.
At the Passover Seder table, we join with our loved ones, family and friends. We read together and chant through the Haggadah (the "telling") The text carries us through the traumatic biblical journey that was so very long ago but, still remains fresh in our hearts and minds.
The traditional Passover rituals & blessings are performed. Specific foods are eaten, each representing our lives as they were. Parsley dipped in salted water, the vegetable symbolizing our lowly origins and the salt water symbolizing the many tears shed during our imprisonment as slaves. " Maror", bitter herbs symbolizing our enslavement. "Haroset" a sweet nutty (delicious) paste symbolizing the mortar the slaves used to build with. Matzah, unleavened bread, which is probably the greatest universal symbol of the Exodus
My Pesach 2017 in Tel Aviv will be a time for reflection. Celebrating those brave Jews from history who suffered but fought with hope and faith. My Pesach 2017 in Tel Aviv will also commemorate those that suffered and fought in recent times. At each Passover, we shall never forget those who still suffer and fight in these current times, so that we have a safe land which is home to the entire Jewish Nation.
My Sweet friends when you are celebrating Pesach this year, do give thanks to our ancestors and to all those that helped the Children of Israel survive throughout the ages.
Passover in Israel begins on the evening of 10th, April & ends on the evening of 17th April 2017
♥May you have a Sweet, memorable Pesach 2017!


text:
I had a booth at an event last night where I was giving oracle card readings as I often do, and there are some things from that experience I want to share with you about how to reveal your Soul truth because the issues we all face are the same.
Maybe not exactly the same, but there are a handful of issues that show up over and over for women, and last night was no exception.
Because you're reading this today, I imagine you're someone who would love to reveal your Soul truth in your own life, shed some light on your Soul's issues, and receive some guidance of your own.
The Set Up for How to Reveal Your Soul Truth
At my booth I wanted to offer a way for the women who are craving something better in their lives to receive some support and guidance from my oracle cards, and to give them tangible things they can do to break through the blocks they have and feel more empowered within themselves.
First, we needed to see what the issues are that are most important to them. And what I mean by that, is what issues their Souls are most concerned about. These issues aren't necessarily the things that race around in our heads (that's the ego talking), and the cards are perfect to reveal your Soul truth, which means the REAL issues.
So, I wrote out 4 questions:
{1} Where do you need support in your life?
{2} What does your Soul want to create?
{3} What's blocking your intuition?
{4} What dormant gifts do you have to develop?
The complaint I hear from women the most is 'I don't trust my intuition' so I put the women's intuition to work right away by asking them to pick 3 of those 4 questions to pull cards on.
Once they picked the 3 questions they wanted guidance on, I placed 3 different decks of oracle cards in front of them with each deck representing one of the questions.
I had them shuffle the first deck and pick a card for their first question… shuffle the second deck and pick a card for their second question… and shuffle the third deck and pick a card for their third question.
This whole process, by the way, is working your intuition and I was surprised (not!) that every person questioned their intuition in the process.
When I said to them "pick a card from that deck", every one of them said "any card?"
As you can probably imagine, they were asking for permission before they trusted what they heard me say or trusted that they could just pick any card in the deck.
Their automatic response was to second guess themselves.
How often do you second guess yourself and your intuition in every day situations?
How can you stand in your own power and be your authentic self and shine your light into the world that so desperately needs you to fully show up when your automatic reaction is to second guess yourself on a regular basis? Food for thought…
Anyway back to the story…
The Real Work Begins
So the healing work, the support, and the guidance — the empowerment — in each of these readings began with shuffling and picking cards long before the actual reading began.
Can you imagine having that kind of support in your life at your fingertips?
Because you're reading this right now, you do have a level of support that you may not have realized, and because you have this support, you can be empowered to recognize and trust your intuition in your daily life too… as soon as you learn how to tap into it.
So now we've pulled cards — one from each deck — and we flip them over to reveal their messages. When you first look at the cards they can be overwhelming because they are so full of symbolism and energy, and it can be hard to know where to start.
And that's why I'm there.
Because I have learned how to read cards and recognize the symbolism, and because I have learned to recognize when my intuition is communicating with me, and because my intuition is strong and definitive, I am able to home in pretty quickly on which message the cards want to convey.
So as we're looking at the cards, first we have to bring up the issues and uncover what the Soul wants to discuss.
The amazing thing is that I don't have to figure this out!
Because I had her pick the questions she wanted to pull cards for and because I had her shuffle and pick her own cards, her intuition does the job to reveal her Soul truth for us.
And as you can imagine, her Soul celebrates when someone finally listens to what it wants!!
Here's the cool thing: every woman I read cards for, confirmed everything I told them were issues. Without question.
And they even elaborated on those issues confirming to me how important those issues are for them to solve.
The Soul Truth Issues Revealed
Remember above I said there are usually a handful of issues that come up over and over again for women? Last night was no exception to this. Here are the top 3 Soul truth issues as revealed by the oracle cards:
{1} Perfection stops women from fully showing up in the ways we are here to serve the world.
We are afraid to be judged, afraid we'll embarrass ourselves, ashamed of how we look, ashamed of an imperfect website or not-so-professional photos, so we hold ourselves back from showing anything that's less than "perfect" to us, and because we rarely get to a point of perfection (because, let's be honest, it doesn't really exist), we don't let ourselves be seen.
I'm guilty of it and I imagine you might be guilty of it to some degree as well.
Raise your hand if this is you!
{2} Abundance is something we all want and it seems to be elusive to many of us, and that's because our lives are created from our perspectives.
When you only see what you don't have… when you only see what "she" has and you don't… when you constantly wonder why you can't get your shit together… when you stop yourself from being seen because you're not ready… then you only attract back more of the same.
The Law of Attraction says that like attracts like which means you need to focus on the abundance you do have in order to get more of it.
What are you focused on in your life?
{3} What priority are you on your own list? One woman laughed nervously and said to me 'can it be a negative number??'
Is that you too? We are women which means we are naturally care-takers and nurturers, and we make sure every one else has what they need when they need it, and we give and give and give.
The problems that come with this way of being are many: when you over-give of yourself without prioritizing your own self care, you run out of batteries, you become overwhelmed, you can feel hopeless that you'll never achieve your dreams, and you can become resentful of those you care for.
Those are the more obvious problems, and there's a bigger, more dangerous problem with this pattern of energy underneath.
When you over-give of yourself without prioritizing your self care, no one else is going to prioritize your needs either. As you put yourself last, you are telling everyone else around you to put you last as well.
Do you feel like no one listens to you? That no one cares about what you want in life?
That you'll never achieve your dreams because you don't have the support?
That people walk all over you? That you're unappreciated? That you're taken advantage of?
That no one values what you have to offer?
That you have to pretend to be someone you're not in order to fit in?
All of these are because you don't prioritize yourself.
This is also the Law of Attraction in play, by the way.
You aren't prioritizing or caring for yourself which means the vibration you're sending out to those around you will only attract more of that behavior from others. (bummer!)
There's more, but this is already a pretty long story so I'll stop there for now.
Making Lemonade from Lemons
The really cool thing about doing oracle card readings for these women last night (and every time I do them) is that revealing the important Soul truth issues that they're dealing with opened the door for them to healing, change, and empowerment.
Because we used oracle cards to reveal their issues, they saw the proof of those issues in the cards. They didn't have to take my word for it.
And once those issues were revealed and confirmed, we could then move into the healing aspect of 'how do I fix that?' and provide them with the guidance and support they wanted in the first place.
That's the beauty of oracle cards.
It's so cool how it works and I am honored to be a chosen ambassador for passing on the wisdom of oracle cards to all of you who need to receive their sacred medicine or are being called to helping others heal using the cards' magic.
Imagine yourself having a divine sacred tool at your fingertips to help you access your Soul truth (not just the noise in your head), and a trusted friend to offer the exact guidance you need right now.
What would it be like to do work in the world where you could shine your light and feel so good about helping others that you couldn't wait to wake up and do it again tomorrow?
Sooner or later your Soul will get your attention about what it wants, and if you're feeling the stirring of it now slowly pulling you toward the world of healing arts where you have the power to heal yourself and others, I can help.
I'm offering a free masterclass on How to Tap Into the Wisdom of Oracle Cards, and I would love for you to be my special guest.
In this masterclass, you'll learn why reading for yourself is so hard and the 3 elements you MUST include to give great readings that actually answer your questions.
If you find yourself wondering what it would be like if you could actually help yourself and take back your power to shine your light and be who you are here to be, then invest the time in yourself to explore your Soul's calling and join me for this free masterclass.
You can register here. It's free. Can't wait to see you!
Register here: How to Tap Into the Wisdom of Oracle Cards
About Jen...
Jennifer Blumenthal is the Human Spirit Guide + Soul Healer of Seduction of Soul Studio where she teaches women to trust their intuition and helps them {re}connect with their true selves so they can live happy, spirited, fulfilled lives.
Jen's philosophy: "Trusting your intuition will lead you to the healing you need to shed the layers of who you aren't in order to find who you really are. The more you become who you truly ARE, the more Soul freedom and fulfillment you'll experience in your life."
Want to learn to step into who you truly are and find your Soul happiness? Schedule a free SoulTalk Session with Jen here.


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Latest Work
Ocean's 8 European Premiere
Over ten years after the last film the Ocean franchise returns to the big screen. This time led by Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean. This massive ensemble cast including Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna and Helena Bonham Carter all club together to attempt an impossible heist in New York City's Met Gala.
The Tiger Films team we're on hand at the European Premiere acting as Warner Bros. House crew capturing interviews with the talent, and b-roll of the fans and cast at the premiere. The footage was then uploaded and distributed for syndication the same evening.


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I have a strange problem with my wireless internet... It seems to "drop" every 5 / 10 mins or so.
Opening CMD prompt and doing ipconfig /release followed by ipconfig /renew fixes the problem.
The plot thickens however:
It only seems to "drop" for browsers / loading pages.
For example- it won't load pages... however, it will continue to download files, or, if I'm connected to Facebook, Facebook Chat will still send / receive messages!
I've tried updating the WiFi card drivers etc...


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The winds of change are blowing through the Louisiana educational system with the strength of a Category 5 hurricane. Governor Bobby Jindal longs to make a name for himself on the national stage, a name that was somewhat tarnished by an embarrassing rebuttal to one of Barack Obama's first speeches made as President. So desperately does Jindal want this national attention that he is willing to take down the entire Louisiana Public School System to do it. Lucky for him, an ignorant public and a slew of greedy charter school businesses are more than happy to help him with his plan.
There has never been a worse time to be a public educator in the State of Louisiana. Who would have thought that those of us who chose to mold the future of this country would be held in such low regard by the very parents of the children with whom we work? The public sentiment right now disgusts me. How dare people judge teachers for finally standing up for ourselves and, more importantly, the students of this state? I wonder if these people would change their tunes quickly if we held their children in the same regard with which they hold us. Of course, that will never happen. We don't hold the students accountable for the sins of their parents. It's not what we do. We spend our time worrying about other people's children.
In the interest of fairness, I must admit that something needs to change. While our schools continue to improve, Louisiana consistently ranks near the bottom in the nation when it comes to education. I will also admit that, as with any profession, there are some poor teachers. There are some men and women who either do not possess the ability to properly teach or lack the desire to make a difference. These people should not be educators. There are schools that are failing to provide Louisiana students with the education they deserve. These schools need to be fixed. There has to be an answer to this problem. I can assure you, sixteen years of teaching has taught me that the proposed bills are not the answer desperately sought by many.
After years of the appearance of relative apathy, the teachers of Louisiana decided that it was time for our voices to be heard. It was time to take a stand against the bills that we felt were both unfair to us, and the detrimental to our students. As with any job, teachers are allotted sick days for use throughout the year. These are to be used at our discretion. While any teacher will tell you it is easier to go to work sick than prepare for a substitute, sometimes there are that days have to be missed. I decided that Wednesday, March 14, 2012, was just one of those days for me. Let me state that my parish did not shut down schools. I got a substitute teacher for my class. As a parent, I can completely relate to any frustration felt by the residents of the parishes whose schools did close for the day. I'm sure it was a great inconvenience to have to make plans for their children with such short notice. Having said that, it was NOT the teachers who closed down the schools. It was the boards that govern the schools that made that decision. The media skewered teachers for missing a day of class so close to the high stakes LEAP (Louisiana Educational Assessment Program) testing.
The media blasted teachers for causing the shutdown of various schools around the states. Call me crazy, but I was under the impression that it was the job of the reporters to report the news, not share their personal opinions with the public. If Governor Jindal was so concerned about the students of this state and teachers' ability to utilize their constitutional right to free speech, he should have scheduled the meeting on a Saturday. I can assure my teacher friends that I would still have been there. And with regards to the LEAP, any teacher who is worth their salt in education has been arming his or her students with the skills they need to succeed on the test since the first day of school. Personally, I don't think it's a coincidence that Governor Jindal planned this committee meeting during this week.
The teachers who showed on the State Capitol steps were looking for seats in the Statehouse chamber. We were looking for our chance for our voices to be heard. Yet, surprisingly enough, the seats for the chamber were already full. We all found that interesting, as the front door to the Capitol, the only door in which people are allowed to enter, was not open yet. Needless to say, this was not well received by the crowd. Finally, we were told that there would be seats for us in the overflow rooms in the bottom of the Capitol building. I signed my card in opposition to both House Bill 974 and House Bill 976. I checked the box that signified I was interested in speaking in front of the committee. Then we sat through hours and hours and hours of testimony. I was constantly editing my speech as I heard the utter nonsense that was being shared from the various speakers. My adrenaline was at an all time high and I was anxiously awaiting my time to share. Unfortunately, many people, including myself, were not able to get our chance. However, I was impressed to hear my fellow educators share their opposition to the bills.
Outside the statehouse, my fellow teachers listened to a slew of speakers. Many of them were informed, professional, and well-spoken. It was no surprise that the only interview I saw play on all three local television stations was the one whack job who decided to use profanity in her speech and was unable to correctly pronounce the word, "tenure." We left the Capitol feeling dejected, unappreciated, worried for our students, and proud to have been part of standing up for what we believe. Finally, I think I can sum up my feeling about this whole situation with a reference to a lobbyist who spoke on behalf of the bills. She said she was frustrated with the state of our education system. She was frustrated that we were, supposedly, sending out a work force that was sub par. All I could think was, "You want to know what frustrated is?" The very definition of frustrated is being an educator in a state that values revenue over the well being of their students!
Today's guest contributor wishes to remain anonymous, but would describe herself as a fourth grade teacher in a high-performing Louisiana elementary school.


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Last week finally my beauty box of the German perfumery Douglas arrived: the DOUBOX. I totally love the subscription box concept, it's like having birthday or Christmas every time.
I'm so sorry for everybody commenting already, but unfortunately Go Daddy was down and I had to rewrite this blog post :( So sorry for that!
I really liked my last box (>>click here<<), so I was very curious about the current one:
The first product is my favourite product: The Annayake lipstick ( Hikari collection – shade 20 – original size, 24,99€). I LOVE lipsticks and love to use them as often as possible :D Especially red coloured ones. Since I heard a lot of positive things about the Annayake lipsticks I'm so happy about this product in the box, although trying it out immediately you can see that the colour isn't really strong, but only slightly visible. Nevertheless I like the smooth and soft feeling on the lips.
My second product of the Doubox is a maxi sample of the Helen Fischer Eau de Parfum – That's Me (maxi sample, 10ml – 50ml, 39,99€). I don't know if you know Helene, but she is a pop singer very famous here in Germany and you hear a lot of her songs EVERYWHERE. I'm not a huge fan of perfume in beauty boxes, since I don't like many scents for me. I prefer very sweet and very sweet-fruity scents. This one is more citrus fruity, a bit to "fresh" for me personally. Nevertheless it's "okay".
Second original size product is the lip balm from ANNEMARIE BÖRLIND (original size, 7,99€ ). Yeah, what should I say? Another lip product in the box. I really LOVE lip products, but since the lipstick isn't really covering I would use it more as balm instead of lipstick. Because of this I think it's a bit disappointing to get another similar product.
What I liked is the nail polish from Alessandro. It's just a sample size in 5ml in the shade Exotic Strawberry (10ml, 9,99€). I can't mention it often enough: No one can ever have enough nail polishes! The shade is so summer-like and lovely, so fresh and fruity. I love it!
The last product are the Eye Ampoules Eye Lift from Arcaya (original size 5 Ampoules à 2ml , 9,99€). This sounds very promising. The Eye Lift Ampoules shall give the eye area an immediate, noticeable lifting effect, imparting new vitality, smoothness and elasticity. It feels soft and smooth and very pleasant on the eyes while trying it out. I'm so curious about this product and very happy with this!
All in all the box was a little bit disappointing in regard to the last box, but I liked it, although I didn't need to get the perfume and the lip balm.
Have you tried out any subscription boxes? I always wanted to get the IPSY, but it isn't available in Germany. Since Memebox stopped shipping here, too, I got Glossy and now the Doubox.
Get The Products
Lip Balm
Eye Lift Ampoules
Don't miss to enter my giveaway(>>click here<<) to win a beautiful dress: You just have to leave a post comment with the link to the dress you want to win & enter the Rafflecopter below :3 Please help me to share the giveaway :)


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A Rhode Island high school teacher and baseball coach is facing an embezzlement charge for allegedly embezzling more than $8,000 from the school as part of a fundraising scam.
Andrew Hallam, 32, of Warwick, will be arraigned in court Monday.
State police say Hallam, Lincoln High School's baseball coach, took part in a fundraising effort with Adrenaline Fundraising.
Rhode Island
The latest news from around the state
As part of the fundraiser, team members would sell discount cards for $20 each, with proceeds being split 50/50. Hallam would collect the money from players and send it to the school. He would then return the unsold cards to Adrenaline Fundraising, who would send an invoice to the school for payment in the amount of 50 percent of the total amount raised.
According to police, a review of invoice slips and bank records from 2014-2016 showed discrepancies in the student bank account that totaled $8,440. Police believe Hallam embezzled that amount.
It's not clear if he has an attorney.


text: Christian Report post Posted November 3, 2007 I've been looking for a Charles Burnett-related thread to post this, but can't find an existing thread that seems appropriate. This film deserves its own thread.Rather than describe the plot, I'll link to Doug C.'s excellent post on the film. I saw the movie last night.I recommend it strongly to everyone on this board, and want to encourage consideration of this cut of the film for consideration on year-end Top 10 lists. I haven't orgazined a top 10 list yet -- not even in my head -- but am confident that this film will be sitting right near the top of it, maybe at Number 1. It is, in a word, fantastic, and certainly worthy of consideration as a "spiritual film," although I don't know that the film is primarily about faith. (Burnett attended the screening and suggested that spirituality/church is just one aspect of the film, although much more present here than in Killer of Sheep, FWIW).This film was originally released in 1983, in a much longer cut, but only now is it in the director's intended form (surprisingly trimmed -- significantly -- rather than expanded). I wasn't going to bother making the case for this film as a 2007 release because I didn't think it was getting a theatrical run, but A.O. Scott says otherwise in a Sept. 14 article. However, your best chance to see the film is on DVD, as Scott notes:His early films in particular also testify to the vitality of a neorealist impulse that has never quite taken root in American cinema. Quote "What matters are movies, not awards; experiences, not celebrations; the subjective power of individual critical points of view, not the declamatory compromises of consensus." - Richard Brody, "Godard's Surprise Win Is a Victory for Independent Cinema," The New Yorker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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addicted to ebay
Further to my recent
post about Ebay becoming the 11th largest retailer in the USA, I should share
my latest contribution to their coffers...
latest ebay conquest... or should I say my latest capitulation?
Anyone else out there appreciate the signifigance of this item? My sister can't believe
I spent $100 bucks on it but meh... that album means a lot to me...


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Materne North America is recalling specific packages of GoGo squeeZ applesauce pouches.
The product may be adulterated with food product residue.
No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this issue.
The recalled products have a Best Before Date of 12/4/15-3/4/17 and a 5 digit production code beginning "US" followed by 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07 or 08, which may be found on the back of the pouch or on the bottom of the box, and "Product of USA" displayed under the Nutrition Facts Panel on the box.
Products labeled as "organic" are not affected by the recall.
What to do
Consumers who purchased the recalled product may contact GoGo squeeZ at 1-844-275-5841 or online at www.gogosqueez.com to request a replacement voucher.
Keep an eye on your inbox, the lastest consumer news is on it's way!


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Intriguing India – What to See and What to Know Before You Go
With around one sixth of the world's population, more than 22 official languages, and streets where cows are just as common as rickshaws and cars – India is a world in itself. If you're planning to visit India, your first tip is to try and make your stay as long as possible – there's simply too much to see in a brief visit!
What to see:
The Taj Mahal and Agra:
The first thing anyone's going to ask you upon your return is if you visited the Taj Mahal – so make sure it's on your list! A great way to see all the classic highlights is to embark on what's called the Golden Triangle Tour – which covers Delhi, Agra and Jaipiur. In Agra you can visit not just the Taj Mahal, but Fatehpur Sikri and the Agra Fort too. You'll also get so see plenty of street life on the way and visit some fantastic and slightly manic bazaars along the way. Try and see the Taj Mahal at sunrise for the best view and to avoid the crowds!
Wildlife experiences in Rajasthan:
The second question you're going to be asked is whether you saw a tiger – and your best shot is at the Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan national parks. Expect to see plenty of exotic birdlife completely unlike anything at home – and enjoy the opportunity to spot wild elephants and elusive one-horned rhinos! You can even embark on a camel trek through the desert from Bikaner in Rajasthan to experience the environment in a totally unique way.
Hit the beaches in Goa – sun, sand and spices!
For the best weather, plan you trip between November and February. A notable beach is Arambol – which is not just rich in natural beauty but also offer parasailing, paragliding and other water sports as well as an enormous beach market and some great restaurants and nightlife to enjoy, including bars, casino games and cocktails – it's also well known for having some really affordable beach cottages to serve as accommodation. The city itself is brimming over with churches and cultural attractions, so it's definitely worth making a stop here!
Spiritual stop-off at Varanasi:
If you're in India in the last week of November, then you have to include the annual Indian Classical Music and Dance festival in your itinerary, which takes place on the banks of the river Ganges in the city of Varanasi. The event attracts countless artists and the river comes alive with light. Ramnagar Fort and the city's many other architectural attractions are well worth a visit any time of the year, so if you want to see the more spiritual side of India, this is the place to be!
What to know before you go:
Have your health insurance and vaccinations up to date and stay away from the tap water – this kind of climate is not kind to the average Westerner's immune system! Only drink bottled water and make sure the seal on the bottle is intact to be 100% sure.
With so many different languages spoken here, almost all the locals know some basic English, so don't worry too much about being able to communicate.
Joining a tour group for at least the first week is a great idea for a first time traveller, ideally in a smaller group so you don't get rushed. Don't try and see everything – the most common complaint of first time travellers to India is suffering burnout! You simply can't visit every attraction, so slow down and enjoy Intriguing India at your own pace!


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CESM Models
Current Release
The current CESM supported release is CESM 2.1.1
The Community Earth System Model (CESM) is a fully-coupled, global climate model that provides state-of-the-art computer simulations of the Earth's past, present, and future climate states.
CESM2 is the most current release and contains support for CMIP6 experiment configurations.
CESM Distance Learning Course
Free lectures & practical sessions on simulating the climate system and running the Community Earth System Model on your desktop
Based on the CESM Tutorial held annually at NCAR in Boulder, Colorado. This course consists of 12 lectures and 4 practical sessions on simulating the climate system and practical sessions on running CESM, modifying components, and analyzing data.https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_module.php?id=1363#.XVtrkJNKjOR
CESM Model Version Naming Conventions
CESM X.Y.Z - CESM model release versions include three numbers separated by a dot (.) where:
- X - corresponds to the major release number indicating significant science changes.
- Y - corresponds to the addition of new infrastructure and new science capabilities for targeted components.
- Z - corresponds to release bug fixes and machine updates.