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Psychotherapy and Spiritual Direction
The Grand 20-Day Pilgrimage
Summary: For those who want it all, this is grand tour of Ireland, beginning with the slower and more rustic flavor of the Irish west coast and ending with the bustle of Dublin. It takes in the landscapes, villages, and history of Clare and the Burren; Connemara; Donegal, and the Dingle Peninsula, while still taking the necessary time to experience the feel of Ireland and enter into the space to reflect on the Celtic Christian experience. Then it is off to Glendalough for a night, before three final nights in Dublin.
The fee at this time (est. using 2015 prices) is $4,500 double-occupancy and $5,400 single-occupancy. Airfare (which may be estimated at around $1,100) is not included. What is included: all bed and breakfast lodging; ground transportation; ferry fares to Inishmore; and all retreat materials and lectures.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 Friday
Today you begin your pilgrimage, preparing yourself both physically and spiritually for your flight to Shannon airport on the west coast of Ireland.
Day 2 Saturday
After morning arrival into the relative peace of Shannon Airport, we head north to the town of Ennis where we will stop for a spot of tea or coffee. After this we continue north into the Burren, a dramatic landscape known throughout Ireland, to visit Dysert O'Dea and its high cross, church ruins, and round tower. After further stops to view the high crosses and churches of Killnaboy and Kilfenora, we are into Cappabhaile House in Ballyvaughan to rest and settle in for two nights. Later in the evening, there is the option to head a few minutes down the road to the famous traditional music village of Doolin for dinner and entertainment.
Day 3 Sunday
After a substantial breakfast we will visit the beautiful ruins of Corcomroe Abbey where we will celebrate mass. After this we will take a meditation hike in a mystical setting to St. Colman's well. Then up to Clarinbridge for lunch at Moran's Seafood Cottage and possibly a visit to the village fine antique store. After this respite we head back into the Burren to Liscanor to experience St. Brigid's well and the Cliffs of Moher,
Day 4 Monday
Today we leave county Clare and the Burren and head around Galway Bay to Connemara. On the way we stop for a morning visit in Galway. After lunch in Galway we head north through the village of Moycullen stopping to visit the Connemara Marble Factory. Then onto our B&B where we will stay the next five nights.
Day 5 Tuesday
After breakfast we will head over to the ancient pilgrimage site of Mameam for a meditative hike and teaching. Later we will visit more of the Connemara area, stopping in Roundstone and Clifden in time to explore, shop, and find refreshments. Then on to Kylemore Abbey and later Killary harbor for a pint in Leenane.
Day 6 Wednesday
This morning we travel north to experience Ballintubber Abbey, the traditional beginning of pilgrim route to Croagh Patrick. Then into Westport to explore, shop, and find refreshment. Leaving Westport we will visit the mountain of Croagh Patrick where St. Patrick spent an entire Lent, and which today is still one of the two most famous pilgrimage sites in Ireland.
Day 7 Thursday
After a week of travel, exploration, and spiritual work, we take a rest day. This is a good day to quiet down. There will be opportunity to hire a ghillie and boat to fish on Lough Corrib, or to take a boat trip on the lake and visit the ruins of a Celtic monastery on a remote island. Later in the afternoon we may make a visit to the village of Cong, location for the film The Quiet Man.
Day 8 Friday
After an early breakfast we head to the harbor to board the ferry to Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands, there to visit the famous prehistoric fort of Dun Aengus, as well as the sites of some of the earliest Celtic Christian establishments begun by St. Enda.
Day 9 Saturday
This morning we travel north to Donegal, stopping first at the pilgrimage destination of Knock, renowned for the vision of St. Mary and St. John. Our next stop is in Drumcliffe, to view St. Columba's high cross and W.B. Yeat's grave, then into Donegal town and our B&B for three nights.
Day 10 Sunday
After our morning mass we will visit Donegal town and castle. In the afternoon we head west to the village of Glencolumcille for a visit and meditation hike/walk.
Day 11 Monday
Today we are off to explore the northern reaches of county Donegal, including the Colcumcille Heritage Center at Lough Garten and the crosses of the Inishowen Peninsula.
Day 12 Tuesday
This day we leave Donegal and head south to Clonmacnoise. It—along with Glendalough—was the site of one of the two greatest monastic settlements of Celtic Christianity. These were the monasteries that "saved civilization" We will stay nearby in the village of Adare.
Day 13 Wednesday
After a morning visiting the quaint village of Adare it is over the dramatic Connor Pass and down into Dingle for two nights.
Day 14 Thursday
Today we explore the ancient Celtic Christian sites of the Dingle Peninsula, taking time to learn about the spiritual life of these "desert" seekers, and taking time to meditate on how we incorporate this knowledge into our experience. The rest of the day is time to rest and explore the village of Dingle, as well as to head over to John Benny's Pub in the evening meal and some good traditional music.
Day 15 Friday
After breakfast we head over to Killarney for a visit. Then, with a stop at St. Brendan's Cathedral in Ardfert, we head to the village of Bunratty for last minute souvenir shopping and reorganizing for the trip home. Tonight we stay at the Bunratty Castle Hotel. We will gather this night for a farewell dinner and pint.
Day 16 Saturday
This morning it is the 10 minute drive to Shannon Airport for those flying home. For those opting for the four day extension, we board the van and drive to Glendalough, arriving in the late morning, early afternoon. After a visit to the Visitors Center, we will take a reflective walk to St. Kevin's Cell. The remainder of the day is resting in Glendalough.
Day 17 Sunday
After Mass in the ancient monastic ruins of Glendalough, we leave Glendalough and head for Dublin in time to enjoy Evensong at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The remainder of the day is spent exploring Dublin.
Day 18 Monday
This morning we travel a few miles out of Dublin to visit the ancient sites of Newgrange and Knowth. Then over to the Hill of Slane, site of St. Patrick's burning the Easter fire, and down to the grand high cross of Monasterboice. Then back into Dublin for the night.
Day 19 Tuesday
After breakfast it is off to see the magnificent Book of Kells in Trinity library. Later in the day we will take in the history of the 1916 Uprising that brought freedom to the Republic of Ireland. Tonight, we take in music and possibly a performance of Riverdance during our last night in Ireland.
Day 20 Wednesday
Off to Dublin airport and the flight home.
Copyright 2009 Institute for Christian Psychotherapy & Spiritual Formation. All rights reserved.


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UPDATE: Mom Charged With Dumping Baby, Lying to Police
A 3-week-old girl abducted from outside a post office Thursday morning in downstate Stark County has been recovered, police said.
Mia Graci Thompson was taken from the backseat of a car about 8:10 a.m. Thursday in front of the Toulon post office, according to an Amber Alert issued by Illinois State Police.
Toulon is about 30 miles northwest of Peoria and 125 miles southwest of Chicago.
Illinois State Police announced Thursday night Mia was recovered and the Amber Alert was canceled.
Further details of the girl's condition were not immediately available.
NOTE: This post was originally published Sept. 27, 2012.

subset: commoncrawl


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Smart Fitness Suspension Trainer
If you want a full and intensive body workout without using too many different types of equipment, the Smart Fitness Co Suspension Trainer is the perfect tool for the job. You can train all your different muscle groups thanks to using nothing more than your own body weight. This is one of the best ways to improve strength and core training.
Why Choose The Smart Fitness Suspension Trainer?
If you want a thorough workout, increase your flexibility, and build strength simultaneously, the Smart Fitness Co Suspension Trainer is the perfect option for you. When using this versatile training system you are using nothing but your own bodyweight to build overall strength. This makes using the suspension trainer a very safe and reliable exercise routine.
When you buy the Smart Fitness Co. Suspension Trainer, you are buying a product that makes it easier than ever before to integrate fitness into your everyday life. And thanks to the strong comfortable handles, quick release adjustable zinc/alloy fasteners, and adjustable straps, you are going to want to keep using it regularly. If you are looking for a fitness product that will give you the perfect workout based on your body weight, this is the best option for you.
More and more people are opting for bodyweight exercises – and with good reason. You are always able to functionally work out, you are not restricted as you are with certain machines, and you are able to target those core muscles that machines often neglect. This is going to give you endless variation and allows you to take your training to the next level.
Suspension Training is great for facilitating whole body workouts. It can be attached to virtually any solid structure. It allows you use your own bodyweight to perform a number of exercises that can strengthen all of your limbs and core all at the same time!
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Warehouse Apps 526 Apps found. category: Warehouse ×
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$ 502.61
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Stock Items Screening
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The tool to calculate stock demand trends and make prediction for future demand statistically
Stock Demand Trends and Forecast
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Marshall FFA collecting used shoes
Marshall FFA is collecting used shoes now through Friday, January 20.
The shoes will be donated to the Shoeman Water Projects in conjunction with Soles4Souls.
Shoes can be brought to the Saline County Career Center Office between the hours of 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. during the week.
The Shoeman Water Project organization will pick up the donated used shoes and export them to retailers in developing countries.
The resale of the shoes provides jobs and affordable footwear, according to Marshall FFA advisor Callie Dobbins.
Funds generated from the export of the shoes provides well drilling rigs, water purification systems and hand pump repair to help bring clean, fresh water to developing countries.
From August of 2008 through June of 2011 Shoeman Water Projects has collected over 1.5 million pairs of shoes resulting in the purchase of 4 water-well drilling rigs and more than 250 wells drilled serving more than 200,000 people in Kenya.
This is the second time that the Marshall FFA has collected used shoes for the Soles4Souls organization.
Two years ago 1,200 pairs were collected from Marshall High School students and the Marshall community.
"We would love to beat our previous total," said Dobbins.
For questions, call Dobbins at 886-6958.


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Penn State QB Steven Bench granted release to transfer
Steven Bench telling QB coach Charlie Fisher how excited he is about the Christian Hackenberg era, probably. (AP)
By Zac Ellis
Sophomore quarterback Steven Bench has been granted his release from Penn State, the school announced on Wednesday. Bench will complete the spring semester at the university before transferring elsewhere.
"I have been meeting with all the players this week with my evaluation of where they are at related to football and academics and to discuss what they need to work on this summer," Penn State coach Bill O'Brien said. "After meeting with Steven, he informed me he wants to play elsewhere. We want what is best for Steven. I want to thank him for his contributions to the program. We wish Steven the best in the future and will assist him anyway we can."
Bench saw action in two games as a true freshman in 2012, finishing 2-of-8 passing for 12 yards while backing up Matt McGloin. O'Brien said sophomore Tyler Ferguson and freshmen Christian Hackenberg, D.J. Crook and Austin Whipple will compete for the starting job this fall.


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Garnet (January Birthstone)
Garnet Gemstone
As a January birthstone, garnet provides a versatile family of affordable gems that can be enjoyed year-round.
Garnet is actually the group name for a family of gemstones that come in every color except blue. They're beautiful, durable and most garnets are very affordable jewelry choices.
The name "garnet" comes from the Roman word granatus meaning "seed", as the gems were thought to resemble pomegranate seeds. The most common garnets are the red to red-brown varieties that people know best. Red garnets can show almost as much fire as rubies.
Garnets were often worn by soldiers to heal wounds and stop blood flow. They were also said to promote true love, warn of danger by changing color, and protect the wearer's home from fire and lightning. Garnets in yellow, brown and orange were believed to stimulate energy and promote compatibility in lovers.
If you prefer spring or summer greens, Tsavorite Garnet from Africa comes in clear light greens to rich dark greens and is more affordable than fine Emeralds. Yellow-green to mid-green Demantoid Garnet is found mostly in antique jewelry. Green gemstones are said to bring prosperity, calm the nerves and protect the wearer from emotional stress.
The pink to reddish purple colors are in Rhodolite Garnet, the largest transparent species. The lighter, sparkling bright pinks can resemble pink sapphires. They are believed to attract romance and cure broken hearts.


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Posts tagged 'Cobblestone'
You must be Yoke-ing
Indeed I am!
Got all the pieces together and I'm finally yoke-ing.
Feels good to be in the final stretch.
I guess I always get a little anxious as the end of a project approaches.
Perhaps I just lose focus after working on one thing for a while and start looking for diversion.
Or maybe I worry about if it's going to turn out just right.
But I'm close. Really close.
Chone says "lookin' good so far, Maaaaa!"
The Chicken Girls Accesorize
For a long time I've been thinking that our chicken feed bags were worth saving.
They are colorful, with cool chicken art, and I really couldn't bring myself to throw them away.
Sometimes they even have different background colors, like this pink one for breast cancer awareness-
And they are fairly indestructible, being made of plastic woven tarp-like material-
And this week, while stuck home in the snow, I finally decided to do something with them!
Tote bags! Aren't they sporty?
Great for the grocery, the farmers market, holding projects, etc. etc.
The material is a little bit of a pain to sew, because it slips around some, and it is really hard on stick pins, but the tote bag styling is really simple, and I think now that I've done a few the next batch will go faster and easier.
And in wool news, I am making steady progress on Cobblestone
One more sleeve, then we get to the exciting part: the yoke! A little texture, some short rows.
Pretty sure I've got the yarn to cover it now.
The Wrong Kind of White Fluff
We have snow.
Now, this isn't entirely unusual (it IS January), but I'm having a hard time mustering any excitement about it.
So I'm trying to concentrate on indoor pursuits!
Especially those that serve to promote toastiness.
For example,
Cobblestone, beginning to look like it might be a sweater!
It's really hard to take good true-to-life colors in photos of really dark colored objects, and that's about all I could manage for now. But I have started one of the sleeves as well-
You'll have to trust me when I tell you that the charcoal-y grey blend of Chone and Spike is much more appealing in person.
And I've been spending a little quality time with Hank, my Pirtle wheel, spinning nice soft cushy singles-
Aren't they fun? No idea what they want to be yet.
But I'm ok with that.
(see last post ) 🙂
Out with the Old, In with the New!
First, the sheeps helped me close out the old year, by recycling the christmas tree
They like evergreens, and it makes their breath all fresh and piney 🙂
Then in order to get the new year off on the right foot, I brought out the other herd, my spinning wheels, for a cleaning and oiling.
Don't they look swell, all shined up and ready for 2012's challenges?
I also dug out the partial distaff that I got with Sophie (on the right), and found a branch out in the yard that might serve as the basket-type part on top. I'm going to work on drafting from the distaff and see if I can get the hang of it.
And lastly, I got a start on my next sweater project- the Chone/Spike Cobblestone
Still have 3 or 4 more skeins to go for this one, so I'll be working at it from both ends for a bit-
Goal completion date: end of Feb.
Sweaters and Sheeps and Such
Little short on words tonight, so I'll just make this a quick progress report on current projects-
Chone and Spike's yarn for Cobblestone-
I did observe National Hug A Sheep day on Saturday, but sadly do not have any documentation, as it is hard to hug a sheep and take a photo at the same time. 🙂
Managed to get some quality time with most of the boys as they were enjoying their dinner-
Felix too, though he didn't stay for a snapshot-
There is something so nice about just sitting with the sheeps as they dig into their hay.
munch munch munch
munch munch munch
Moving Right Along
Shadow is shaping up nicely!
Sleeve #1 is blocked
Really enjoying this knit. Nice cable pattern that is easy to memorize.
Little nervous about the sewing up part, but I guess I'll figure that our when I get there.
I'm also doing some planning for the next project- a Chone and Spike Cobblestone
I've liked this pattern for a long time, and just had someone express interest in having me make one, so here we go!
plus Spike
I just love doing swatches.


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It has been good to continue to work on this over the last few days, tweaking the text and experimenting with both, changing the size and positioning of the two images, and the positioning of the folds. I look forward to finishing my pamphlet later today.
I did contemplate uploading the pdf of my pamphlet to this blog, but currently I have decided against this, due to my preference for the physical object where the viewer has a choice of how to view it this ability is significantly reduced with a pdf.
I have maintained my desire not to make the pamphlet too precious, to avoid fetishisation, as this seems to better resonate with my current work – where I have sought not to beautify the detritus etc. Thus I have ratified my decision to make the pamphlets simply on a desk jet printer using economy printer paper, using fast draft print settings to, symbolically, use as little ink as possible.


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't Is mighty cute :-) Kitty bling bling, you never outgrow that!
I agree! I have to say though, the chain is a bit cheap looking : ( I will still wear it, just wish it was as nice as the kitty..
I have a nice Hello Kitty Necklace and the chain is soooo cheap. I still wear it and I am a fully functioning adult LOL. But agree with you. But I still Love it.


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Internet Politics: States, Citizens and New Communication Technologies
Author: Andrew Chadwick
Publisher: New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006
Review Published: December 2006
Andrew Chadwick's Internet Politics: States, Citizens and New Communication Technologies is a three-in-one publication: it is a traditional textbook; it is a thoughtful take on the conceptualization of a recently formed field of study; and it comes with a website, complete with visual aids and addenda to the print publication.
As a textbook, it is organized with a very keen awareness of pedagogical requirements: each chapter starts with a "chapter overview" outlining the main points discussed by the author. Pivotal definitions or quotes are labelled "exhibits" and highlighted by being printed against a dark grey background, offsetting them from the rest of the text. All technical terms are defined with precision and thoroughness. Each chapter is followed by "discussion points" which may serve either as essay subjects or as starting points for class discussion. Suggestions for further reading are provided with critical commentaries. All of these features make for clarity and accessibility.
The website functions as a companion to the textbook. The themes analyzed in each chapter can be downloaded as Powerpoint slides. Data that did not make it into the book are made available. The website's overall tone is close to that of a blog, giving a conversational, seminar-like feel to the online material. Thus, the textbook plus online material provide an excellent example of the kind of media convergence that is increasingly the rule in pedagogical practices.
Chadwick's approach to his material is carefully thought out. In his introduction, he delineates the thesis underlying the book's title and contents; his work's "organizing assumption," he writes, "is that the Internet is now more heavily politicised than at any time in its short history" (2). Politicization is then defined as "a struggle for control, coupled with new uses of its technologies for political ends" (2). Chadwick thus opens up for himself two fields of study of unequal size. The first one is the struggle for institutional control over the network; although the issues at stake here are considerable, the conceptual scope remains relatively limited, as will become apparent later on in the book. The second field of study, on the other hand, is that of the political uses of the Internet, and its conceptual reach is anything but limited. Indeed, like Braud (1995) and other theoreticians of political sociology, Chadwick defines politics as a specific social interaction between individuals on the one hand, and individuals and institutions on the other hand, and points out that the central political question is that of control and lawmaking. With this two-faceted politicization thesis, Chadwick is able to cover in-depth both the individual and institutional aspects of the political uses of the Internet. Although most of the focus is on the United States and the United Kingdom, the comparative approach used throughout makes for useful analyses of the increasing transnationalization of many of the same issues.
Part One, entitled "Contexts," contains three chapters, the first which provides conceptual tools essential to the understanding of the ongoing academic discussion of ICTs. Chadwick explores the competing approaches of technological and social determinism, seeking "a virtuous path" (21) halfway between these two extremes. Thus, he relies on Langdon Winner's (2000) political theories when he writes that "many of the issues around the politicization of the Net arise from the nature of the technology and ... this, in part, structures political and social action" (20). He then qualifies this statement by adding: "The Internet is an inherently political set of technologies, but its politics are subject to decisions made in supremely political contexts" (21). The one example given in support of this consensual stance, while convincing enough as it stands, hardly constitutes a sufficient demonstration of the usefulness of conflating two so-called determinisms into an all-encompassing theory. In addition, Chadwick seems to disregard the fact that the diffusion of any innovative technology depends not only on political decisions or technological features, but also on another crucial factor -- social practices. What really tips the scales is not determinism of any sort, but the myriad, often unexpected uses emerging with the technology and giving rise to widespread social debates that eventually translate into specific social choices (Marvin 1990; Bijker 1995; Rhys-Morus 1998; Serfaty 2000). This particular controversy is, however, less than central to Chadwick's work, and the following section brings the book back on track as it outlines the "eight key conceptual themes" (22-36) that have informed much of the academic debate centering on Internet and politics. Chadwick reviews the essential literature in political sociology as well as in communication theory as they apply to the Internet, all the while insisting on the cross-disciplinary approach required by Internet studies -- a position I fully endorse in my own research, given the protean nature of the field.
The remaining two chapters in Part One show that, despite all claims to the contrary, Chadwick is not so much attuned to any sort of determinism as to a conception of the diffusion of innovations based on social and political choices. He thus offers a historical perspective on the development of ICTs, followed by an analysis of the digital divide, both of which stress the importance of human agency and the considerable part played by pre-existing social and political structures (78-9), as well as pre-existing social capital -- or lack of it (96).
Part Two, entitled "Institutions," is devoted to the fields traditionally covered by political science -- democracy, mobilization, campaigning, and government -- all with the e-prefix of course. This is where the author gives the full measure of his erudition and analytic abilities. Consistently relying on his extensive command of political science theory, Chadwick covers a large number of examples in each chapter and elucidates the ways in which the Internet has modified political practices and, in the process, generated new versions of existing political theories, notably the threshold theory and Olson's "free-rider" theory (140). Chadwick traces the gradual insertion of the Internet in the political repertoire through a study of online campaigns from the 1990s to the present (151-7). Even though Internet fund-raising and vote trading received nationwide attention both in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2000 (157-62), Chadwick shows that "politics as usual [has] move[d] online" (149) in both countries. He concludes with the assessment that "Internet-only campaigns are clearly unsustainable" (167). His thorough analysis of the 2004 presidential campaign moves from a description of the Dean, Kerry, and Bush e-campaigns to an analysis of the effect of "resource inequalities on parties' online competition" (168). He then addresses the issue of the possible impact of the Internet on voter turnout (169-173) and on campaigning itself (173-4). Chadwick steers away from hasty generalizations and idealizations and emphasizes throughout how ICTs merge and mesh with pre-existing technologies and power structures (174).
The third and last part is entitled "Issues and Controversies" and covers four sensitive issues in as many chapters. Chapter 9 lists and describes the key organizations set up by bodies such as the U.N., the G8, or the WTO to regulate the information society. Chapter 10 further explores the same terrain and provides an analysis of current Internet governance, with a focus on its legal aspects. The next chapter covers security and privacy through the lens of four theories of surveillance, concluding that Haggerty and Ericson's "surveillant assemblage theory" (2000) seems closest to the mark as it "manages to capture the decentralized but pervasive nature of Internet surveillance" (287). Chapter 12 closes the third part and investigates the political economy of the Internet through a comparison with traditional print and broadcast media in terms of concentrated ownership and news distribution, as well as examining several intellectual properties issues, including file-sharing. True to his ongoing stance, Chadwick debunks Internet-related myths of disintermediation while simultaneously engaging in an analysis of the impact the network has had on the strategy of "transnational media conglomerates" (298).
Andrew Chadwick's Internet Politics: States, Citizens and New Communication Technologies is intended to be a textbook and it functions admirably as such. Its methodology and its insights, however, go far beyond introductory material and stand as a model of scholarly analysis. Chadwick is fully aware of the risks with which the field of Internet Studies is fraught, yet he has managed to transcend the essential fluidity of his subject matter to write a solidly researched and constantly illuminating book.
Bijker, W. E., (1995) Of Bicycles, Bakelites and Bulbs: Towards a Theory of Sociotechnical Change (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press).
Braud, P. (1995) Sociologie Politique (Paris: LGDJ Editions).
Haggerty, K.D., and Ericson, R.V. (2000) "The Surveillant Assemblage." British Journal of Sociology 51 (4), pp. 605-22.
Marvin, C. (1988) When Old Technologies Were New (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Rhys-Morus, I. (1998) Frankenstein's Children: Electricity, Exhibition and Experiment in Early Nineteenth Century London (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).
Serfaty, V. (2000) "De la r�pulsion � la fascination: l�Internet et les repr�sentations des NTIC." ASP (27-30), pp. 231-241.
Winner, L. (2000) "Do Artifacts Have Politics?" In Kraft, M.E., and Vig, N.J. (eds), Technology and Politics (Durham, NC: Duke University Press).
Viviane Serfaty:
Viviane Serfaty is an Associate Professor of American Studies at Universit� de Marne-la-Vall�e (France). She co-wrote and edited L'Internet en politique, des Etats-Unis � l�Europe (Strasbourg, Presses Universitaires de Strasbourg, 2002), a collection of essays in English and French. In 2004, she published The Mirror and the Veil: An Overview of American Online Diaries and Blogs (Amsterdam and New York, Rodopi). She is currently working on a manuscript devoted to freedom of speech on the Internet. <firstname.lastname@example.com>


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Our salary levels are generally competitive with the private sector, and are adjusted periodically. The majority of Water Authority employees are members of one three bargaining units. The Water Authority pays bi-weekly on Friday; automatic deposit is mandatory.
Health, dental and vision insurance are provided. Compared to other utility employers, the Water Authority's plan is one of most generous and the least costly to employees because the Authority pays 80% of the premium cost. Employees, their qualifying spouse or domestic partner, and qualifying dependents are eligible for insurance coverage.
New employees joining the Water Authority elect to participate in one of two retirement plans. The state retirement plan (PERA) is a defined benefit plan that provides retirement income up to 90% of the average of your five highest years' salary. Retirement under PERA also guarantees you access to the retiree health care plan.
New employees who do not wish to join PERA are eligible to participate in a 401 Defined Contribution Plan, similar to 401(k) plans available in the private sector. Employee contributions are pre-tax, and plan participants are not taxed on employer contributions or upon earnings until funds are withdrawn.
Group term life insurance coverage equal to a percentage of your annual salary is provided at no cost to every employee. Employees may elect to purchase additional life insurance at a reasonable cost. Long-term and short-term disability insurance is also available for purchase at competitive rates.
Other benefits include deferred compensation programs, flex benefit plans, domestic partner benefits, employee assistance programs, career counseling, educational leave and tuition assistance, and training credit achievement.
Employees accrue sick leave at the rate of 3.7 hours biweekly to a maximum of 1,200 hours.
Employees accrue vacation leave every pay period on the following schedule:
Accrued sick and vacation leave balances may be paid out at the time of retirement.
The Water Authority provides ten days of paid holiday leave annually and a paid day of birthday leave. Other paid leave includes jury duty, bereavement, voting, annual military service and education.
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Schedule a Reclamation Plant Tour


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[ Cardigan - BDG via UO, scarf - gift, top and pants (old) - American Eagle, boots - local ]
Hi, hi! I am Alissa from the blog Alissa B, and I'm coming to you from the hills & plains of Oklahoma. I was so excited when Charity asked me to do a guest post for her because of course I love her blog and want her to have an amazing time relaxing and not worrying about the interwebz.
I wanted to introduce myself with my most favorite piece of the moment, this mustard colored cardigan from Urban Outfitters. I usually tend to gravitate to neutrals and black colors, so this cardigan is a perfect pop of color for the drab winter weather. You've already seen me wearing it before here and here.
Enjoy new friends and come stop by at my blog to peep my photos!


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Do You Believe?
I believe.
This simple two-word statement begins so many of life's treasured moments. When I was literally shaking as I left my mother's minivan, nervously ready to start high school, my mother calmly shared, "I believe in you Matthew."
One of my favorite movie moments is from "Miracle on 34th Street" when a young Natalie Wood repeats, "I believe, I believe…" convincing herself Santa Claus exists.
At Church, "I believe" is ingrained in our profession of faith, and it is during the sacrament of Confirmation that I made sure I meant these two powerful words. Often times we are asked, "What do we believe?" Take three minutes to reaffirm the bigger question of "Do I believe?" and enjoy the graces of a resounding 'yes' to God.
Matt Weber is an author as well as the host of the CatholicTV show, A Word with Weber.Read More
The true story of how a faithful God, a selfless wife, and a sense of humor carried a newly married man through the most difficult year of his life.Shop Now
Matt Weber employs his sharp wit, earnest candor, and gift for great storytelling to illustrate for young adult Catholics both the real challenges and the immense joys of publicly living out the Catholic faith.Shop Now


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Our Impact
Since 2003, we have been able to create lasting social, economic and transformational investment to over 3.5 million people across Kenya. Our 2014-2017 strategic focus was distributed across the following focus key areas: Education, Health, Economic Empowerment, Water, Technology for good and Disaster Relief.
Some of our achievements include 194 co-funding partnerships and 241 implementation partnerships supporting 442 projects in all the 47 counties.
Our impact in numbers of the lives touched under this strategy were:
- Health- 212,914
- Education-157,163
- Arts and Culture- 175,000
- Water- 109,700
- Economic empowerment- 16,517
- Environment- 130,000
- Disaster response- 3,400
- Technology- 95,052
The projects are clearly highlighted below:
Filter by:
Launch of Ustawi Programme in Partnership with Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) in Wajir County
Handover of a classroom, greenhouse and sanitation facilities to Nyangiendo Primary School in Homa Bay County


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1: {{velocity}}$xwiki.ssx.use('Compare.WebHome'){{/velocity}} 2: The aim of this page is to compare two of the most famous wikis solutions: XWiki and MediaWiki. We have other dedicated pages if you want to [[compare>>xwiki:Compare.WebHome]] XWiki to other solutions. 3: 4: {{box cssClass=""}} 5: {{toc depth='1'/}} 6: {{/box}} 7: 8: (% class="hidden" %) 9: = About XWiki and MediaWiki = 10: 11: (% class="row" %) 12: ((( 13: (% class="col-xs-12 col-md-6" %) 14: ((( 15: == XWiki == 16: 17: XWiki is an open source project supported and developed by the [[XWiki community>>http://xwiki.org]] and by [[XWiki SAS>>http://xwiki.com]]. Because of the LGPL license, you own your wiki and its data. It is developed in Java and distinguishes itself from the other wikis by offering [[enterprise-oriented features>>doc:platform:Features.WebHome]]. 18: 19: Other strengths include flexibility and scalability. XWiki is an application development platform, so it allows the creation of dedicated/specific applications. Lots of extensions, applications and macros are available in the [[Extensions>>doc:extensions:Main.WebHome]] repository. 20: 21: In terms of business uses, XWiki is used by teams to create knowledge bases and collaborative workspaces but also across the company as an intranet, extranet, website, etc. XWiki counts amongst its clients big [[companies>>xwiki:References.WebHome||anchor="HProjectList"]], such as: Amazon, AFP, EDF, DCNS, EMC, EADS but also SMEs and associations. 22: ))) 23: 24: (% class="col-xs-12 col-md-6" %) 25: ((( 26: == MediaWiki == 27: 28: MediaWiki is a free & open source wiki software written in PHP, originally for use on Wikipedia. It is now also used by several other projects of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation and by many other wikis. 29: 30: MediaWiki benefits from the awareness of Wikipedia. When we talk about wikis, people always think of Wikipedia, since it is the most famous wiki. Many users come to wikis from Wikipedia and so, they immediately think of using MediaWiki to meet their business needs. This is a good thing since it helps promote wiki usages. However, this is not the most suitable wiki for companies and their business needs. 31: 32: MediaWiki supports multilingual management, various extensions and media formats, providing also options to configure the wiki appearance. 33: ))) 34: ))) 35: 36: = Comparison between XWiki and MediaWiki = 37: 38: (% class="table table-hover" %) 39: |=(% width="10%" %) |=(% width="27%" %)XWiki|=(% width="27%" %)MediaWiki|=Why is it important? 40: |Free and Open Source|{{check/}}|{{check/}}|Open Source protects your investment through reversibility and extensibility. 41: |License|{{html}}LGPL{{/html}}|{{html}}GPL{{/html}}| 42: |Technology|Java|{{html}}PHP{{/html}}|The technology difference is most seen in performance, security or hosting costs. 43: |Operating System|Windows, Linux and Unix variants, MacOS and all platforms supporting JDK 1.8 or higher|Windows, Linux and Unix variants, MacOS| 44: |Databases|MySQL / PostgreSQL / Oracle | MySQL / PostgreSQL / Oracle / SQLite| 45: |Cloud version|{{check/}} + Trial + Free hosting on [[myxwiki.org>>http://www.myxwiki.org/]] for individuals/non-profit|{{check/}}, third-party hosting services| 46: |Usages|Knowledge base, Collaboration for teams, Business application, Intranet, Extranet, Public website, Support, Documentation|Public wiki, Knowledge base, Documentation| 47: |Translations|38 languages|140 languages| 48: |Classic wiki features|{{check/}}|{{check/}}|Both solutions provide Page and File Versioning, Templates, Rights, Search, Discussions, etc. 49: |{{html}}WYSIWYG{{/html}} Editor|{{check/}}|{{check/}}|From version 8+, XWiki uses CK Editor, the best WYSIWYG editor with advanced features. The WYSIWG editor is still quite recent for MediaWiki and not the default. 50: |Wiki Syntax Editor|{{check/}}|{{check/}}|For advanced users, Wiki syntax editing is more efficient allowing fine-grained control over the page. XWiki has made the choice to fully support several [[markup syntaxes>>http://rendering.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome#HSupportedSyntaxes]]. 51: |Office documents import/export and Office/PDF viewers|{{check/}}|{{check value="false"/}}|XWiki offers the ability to import from various formats and syntaxes, including Microsoft Office documents. You can turn your unstructured Office documents into wiki pages and gather multiple files into an organized instance. Data export is available in many formats ({{html}}PDF, HTML, XAR{{/html}}). 52: |Extensible|{{check/}}|{{check value="partial"/}}|Both solutions support some sort of extensions (Forum, Calendar, etc.). While XWiki supports installing complex applications, MediaWiki's extensibility is done though PHP code hooks. 53: |App Store|{{check/}}|{{check value="false"/}}|Additional to the paying store, XWiki's [[Extensions Repository>>http://extensions.xwiki.org]] is focused on providing free extensions contributed by our community. 54: |Authentication {{html}}LDAP{{/html}} / {{html}}AD{{/html}} / {{html}}SSO{{/html}}|{{check/}}|{{check/}}| 55: |Multi-wikis|{{check/}}, each sub-wiki can be fully customized independently|{{check value="false"/}}|In XWiki you can create multiple independent sub-wikis, each with a set of totally different collaborative applications. The wikis decide if they want to share or not users, applications or customizations. 56: |Theming and Styling|{{check/}}|{{check/}}|XWiki provides multiple ways to completely alter the [[styling>>doc:xwiki:Documentation.UserGuide.Features.Skins]] of your instance. You can start selecting from predefined Color and Icon Themes, to integrating small changes through {{html}}CSS{{/html}} just for some pages, to the ability of totally change the look&feel by customizing the Skin. 57: |Programming capabilities|{{check/}}, Java but also full {{html}}API{{/html}} access through scripting in wiki pages and in various languages: Velocity, Groovy, Python, plus Ruby, PHP with extension|{{check/}}, using PHP, Perl |The programming capabilities allows XWiki to adapt to the project's needs increasing the project's success. By using [[scripting>>doc:xwiki:Documentation.DevGuide.Scripting.WebHome]], this is accessible to more people including some non-developers by reusing examples from others, and for developers the development speed is much higher. 58: |Structured Data|{{check/}}|{{check value="partial"/}}, with extension|XWiki's unique structure feature will enhance the value of information for all users. Also [[App Within Minutes>>doc:extensions:Extension.App Within Minutes Application]] allows end users to benefit from XWiki's powerful data management system and easily create applications. 59: 60: (% class="noitems" %)Source: [[www.wikimatrix.org>>http://www.wikimatrix.org/compare/MediaWiki+XWiki]] 61: 62: MediaWiki and XWiki are both excellent wikis, although each one uses different programming languages. The PHP architecture of MediaWiki has problems adapting to the needs of the big companies. 63: 64: The significant difference between them is given by the business-oriented features. While XWiki allows the management of both unstructured and structured data, MediaWiki only supports unstructured data. Besides being a second generation wiki, XWiki is a true development platform. With XWiki you can even create your own applications, by using the Application Within Minutes wizard. 65: 66: = Why use XWiki rather than MediaWiki? = 67: 68: 69: **XWiki: a wiki ... but not only** 70: 71: While MediaWiki addresses basic wiki needs, XWiki goes much further. XWiki is actually a complete development platform. It allows you to start with a simple knowledge base, then add wikis or features to address other issues. If your projects are getting even more complex, XWiki will fit to become a real collaborative intranet. 72: 73: Finally, its customization abilities are very important. From the appearance of your wiki to the creation of applications to solve your specific problems, with XWiki it is possible to meet your your needs (Knowledge Base, Collaborative Intranet, Extranet, Website, Documentation, Support, Business applications, etc.). 74: 75: **XWiki is the professional Open Source wiki** 76: 77: In terms of market positioning a first difference is the fact that XWiki is aimed towards businesses, work groups and developers, while MediaWiki targets mainly Wikipedia and final users. Most of MediaWiki's developers work on the Wikipedia project, which makes them consider Wikipedia issues that do not really respond to business needs, mostly the ones related to performance and functional optimization management of the large volume of contributions. 78: 79: == XWiki import services == 80: 81: 82: If you are a MediaWiki user, it is possible to [[import your data>>doc:extensions:Extension.MediaWiki.MediaWiki XML.WebHome]] into XWiki with our import modules.
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Understanding science is hard for non-scientists because of the technicalities involved, especially the mathematics. But no intellectually responsible non- scientist can get away with ignorance about the sciences, which collectively constitute humanity's greatest achievement. There is no excuse for lacking at least a broad-brush sense of what is happening in fundamental physics, cosmology and biology — just to take the major areas of contemporary interest — not least because there are so many good books for the general reader by first-rate practitioners in these fields.
A paradigm case is Jerry Coyne's lucidly brilliant account of evolutionary theory, Why Evolution Is True. For many reasons, among them the rapid advances we are witnessing in contemporary biological science, an understanding of evolution as the central principle of biology is crucial. If we are to be informed participants in the debate about what we want from the applied biological sciences, across the range from medicine to cloning to genetic modification of crops to the saving of endangered species, we need a proper understanding of evolution as the living world's organising principle.
Everyone who reads Coyne's book with attention will acquire this understanding. It is a model of expository clarity and intellectual rigour, a point for other science writers to note; all that readers need note is how accessible it is, and how fascinating. Moreover in it Coyne carefully and conclusively refutes efforts by "intelligent design" creationists to contest evolutionary biology. This, given the state of the debate over biology, is by no means the least important aspect of his book.
Religion-motivated efforts to derail serious biological enquiry, and therefore to interfere with responsible science education, are worse than merely a time-and-energy wasting distraction. They arise in connection with all three of the main nodes of contention between religious and non-religious outlooks in today's society. One is the question of the intrinsic credibility of the claims made by revealed religions, another is the question of how much influence religious viewpoints should have in the public square, and the third is the overall question of the relation between religion and science.
In this last domain two different, indeed inconsistent, strategies are open to religious apologists, some of whom nevertheless combine them. One is to say that religion and science speak different kinds of truth because they address different realities, the spiritual and material. The other is to say that religion and science are direct competitors for the truth about the one and only reality, namely, this world; which is what creationists claim.
An ability to embrace contradiction in a non-Hegelian way (for an Hegelian, contradictions always disappear by resolving into new syntheses) is a specialty of the religious mindset. Thus in their recently-published book Questions of Truth Nicholas Beale and physicist-turned-preacher John Polkinghorne are able to defend a form of Episcopalian Christianity by nominating some bits of the Bible as symbolic and others as literally true, in order to diminish the points of conflict between Biblical accounts and science, and then by making standard "god of the gaps" and "argument to the best explanation" moves, which in a nutshell come down to saying "we don't understand this so let's say Fred did it" ("Fred" is my name for any suppositious supernatural agency defined ad hoc for some purpose religionists have in mind).
Creationists in their disguise as "intelligent design" (ID) theorists are squarely in the camp of treating religion and science as direct competitors. They claim that nature contains "irreducibly complex" phenomena which can only be explained by invoking a designer, on the grounds that they cannot have arisen through non-purposive processes acting on simpler elements.
Coyne and anyone else could offer a short answer to this: that it is a version of the Fred arguments just mentioned, in that if it were true that one cannot see how some complex thing came to be, it is better to keep looking for the explanation — or even to accept the one does not know the answer — than to take the gigantic leap to the profoundly implausible quick-fix of claiming that some putative Fred did it. The reason that ID theorists invoke a Fred is that they have other and prior reasons for wanting Fred in the picture — mainly, to keep us observing their preferred version of morality, and paying our tithes.
But Coyne does not take this easy option, even though it is right. He does another right thing, which is to walk us, in painstaking and illuminating fashion, through the evidence for biological evolution, and to display the failure of the "intelligent design" case in comparison.
We accordingly see the mountains of evidence for evolution from fossils, embryology, biogeography, transitional forms, the formation of new species both in the fossil record and in real time with natural selection observably in action, the existence of vestigial structures (the human appendix, for example), dead genes, and suboptimal organisation (if there were a designer, this would be evidence for incompetence, sometimes gross). And evolutionary theory makes testable predictions: biologists can predict where (in place and period) fossils will be found, in particular when in the evolutionary story shared ancestors will fit in and what they will be like; and what characteristics species will have if they have certain other characteristics — for example, if an animal species has brightly coloured males and drab females, one can predict that it will have a polygonous mating system.
What all these lines of enquiry overwhelmingly attest is yet further supported by genetics. "DNA sequencing supports the evolutionary relationships of species originally deduced from the fossil record?Every fossil that we find," writes Coyne, "every DNA molecule that we sequence, every organ system that we dissect supports the idea that species evolved from common ancestors." And it is not only what we do find but what we do not find that provides support: "We don't find mammals in Precambrian rocks, humans in the same layers as dinosaurs, or any other fossils out of evolutionary order."
Even though it is not the only mechanism of evolutionary adaptation, natural selection is by far the most important. Coyne devotes many pages to marshalling the evidence for it. A simple example is the fur colour of wild mice. Mice that live on dark soil have dark fur, mice that live on pale soil have light fur. Experiments have shown how quickly mice populations can adapt to the colour of their home soil. A research team at Kansas University built large outdoor enclosures and populated them with mice, some with dark and some with light fur. The mice whose fur more closely matched the soil survived owl predation better than those whose fur did not camouflage them. The former bred more, and soon the population as a whole had fur closer in colour to the soil.
What had happened was that natural selection had operated on the distribution of genes for fur colour, increasing the frequency of those variants that made for survival-enhancing fur colour and hence greater chances of reproduction. "There is no will involved, no conscious striving," Coyne points out; adaptation is inevitable and automatic in the circumstances.
And more to the point, the mechanism of adaptation is fully sufficient for the emergence of complexity from simpler elements. The increasing elaboration of anatomical traits is clear to see in the fossil record. Biochemical pathways do not fossilize, so here the detective work is more intriguing: such cases as blood clotting (a sixteen step process) and the several times that eyes have separately evolved in different parts of the animal kingdom, can be reconstructed step by step. Coyne gives examples — in the case of eyes, starting with the light-sensitive pigments seen in flatworms and going through the increasingly more sophisticated versions of precursor eyes respectively in limpets, the chambered nautilus, ragworms, abalones, and so upward – showing how every stage of the process confers some evolutionary advantage in the way of finding food, avoiding predators, and/or reproduction. Moreover he reminds us of the huge lengths of time and the billions of failures that contribute to the evolutionary story too.
Coyne shows science carefully, responsibly, testably, profoundly at work on the glory that is the natural world. It starts with no prejudices (it is not trying to prove that there is no Fred, having decided at the outset that this is its aim), but is open and self-critical. What you see in Coyne's account is science as the enterprise that seeks to understand, and always stands ready to revise itself in the face of contrary evidence. It is a beautiful process, and the results are literally wonderful. Coyne's book is a testament to this. It seems almost coincidental to say that it is also a brilliant introduction to evolution which should be required reading: in its blaze of illumination the ID case melts like summer snow.
Reviews & Essays
Why Evolution Is True
By JERRY COYNE
Understanding science is hard for non-scientists because of the technicalities involved, especially the mathematics. But no intellectually responsible non- scientist can get away with ignorance about the sciences, which collectively constitute humanity's greatest achievement. There is no excuse for lacking at least a broad-brush sense of what is happening in fundamental physics, cosmology and biology — just to take the major areas of contemporary interest — not least because there are so many good books for the general reader by first-rate practitioners in these fields.


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Preheat broiler.
Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Brush both sides of eggplant with 1 teaspoon oil and season with salt and pepper.
Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membrane.
Arrange bell pepper halves, skin sides up, on baking sheet with eggplant; flatten with hand.
Broil 4 minutes; turn eggplant over (do not turn bell pepper over).
Broil an additional 4 minutes; remove eggplant from pan.
Broil bell pepper an additional 7 minutes or until blackened.
Place bell pepper in a zip-top plastic bag; seal.
Let stand for 15 minutes; peel and discard skin.
Toast bread or buns until lightly browned.
Spread 1 tablespoon pesto on each of 2 bread slices.
Layer each bread slice, pesto side up, with 2 eggplant slices, 1 bell pepper half, and 2 eggplant slices.
Divide baby greens evenly between sandwiches.
Spread goat cheese over each of 2 remaining bread slices; place, cheese side down, on sandwiches. (Makes 2 sandwiches)


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Berne Kids' Bark Washed Insulated Bib Overalls
Item # 0861T9
- Berne Kids' Bark Washed Insulated Bib Overalls
- Item # 0861T9
$94.99 Original Price -$15.00 Sale Savings -$16.00 20% Savings
$63.99 Price After 20% Savings
Additional Information
Features & Description
- Triple-needle stitched main seams
- Adjustable elasticized straps
- Tool pocket, reinforced hip pockets, side utliity pockets, and two chest pockets reinforced with brass rivets
- Insulated "High-Back" design for added warmth
- Brass two-way front zipper with outside storm flap
- Four-needle stitching on waistband with full elastic back
- Reinforced knees
- Heavy-duty leg zipper with snap closure at hand openings
- Heavy-duty nylon protects leg hem from wear
Your kid can work alongside you with this tough work overall by Berne. These kids' overalls are made of durable duck cloth with brass hardware, reinforced knees, tool pocket and utility pockets, and a nylon hem to protect the leg hem from fraying. The overalls are insulated so that no matter what the weather, your child will stay warm while helping you get the job done. Sizes: XS- 5/6, S- 7/8, M- 10/12, L-14/16, XL- 18/20


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This week saw our whole school take part in the global
Internet Safety Day for 2015.
We watched the videos below
and also discussed what to do when on the Internet,
so that we stay safe.
We learnt that it is important to act responsibly
when we are on the Internet, especially if we are on any social media sites.
Part of our activities at school
included designing a poster about Internet Safety.
The best poster in each class will be chosen and prizes will be given.
So remember, always stay safe on the Internet and follow safe practices!
We also listened to this song and joined in.
See if you can also join in.
What did you learn from our Internet Safety day?
What do you do to stay safe on the Internet?
What advice would you give someone about staying safe on the Internet?
Leave a comment.
We would love to hear from you.


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This October, LIBRARY will be playing host to the UK launch of Mentalmorfosis, an illustrated book designed and hand-drawn by Mexican 'free thinker' and artist, Franz De Paula.
De Paula's professional background is in creative advertising and design. As well as providing artistic direction in campaigns for international brands including Panasonic, Revlon, Campbell's and American Express, he has also worked as a regular collaborator in contemporary art, film and music publications.
His latest work, Mentalmorfosis, is his personal manifesto setting out a revolutionary and inspiring thinking scheme that he aims to turn into a global critical thinking movement. Rather than a work with any traditional narrative, Mentalmorfosis presents a collection of images and thoughts, which come together to communicate its philosophy.
Join De Franz at LIBRARY on 15th October as he discusses his unique creation, and his aim to change our perceptions of both our reality and ourselves.
Words by Grace Cain


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My husband is about to turn 50. He has visions of his feet in white sand, bottomless drinks, and me running slo-mo down a beautiful beach, Baywatch style, as our kids happily frolic nearby. I may not be able to rock that iconic red one-piece without scaring the locals, but I can book our family on a flight somewhere memorable to mark his milestone. That I can do.
I didn't think my airfare search would stress me out as much as bathing suit shopping with a C-section pouch, but it did. Scoring good travel deals requires patience, planning, and perseverance. Here's what I learned on my journey to find affordable airfare for my family of four.
- Plan Ahead -- But Not Too Far Ahead. Knowing when to buy flights saves serious cash. As a general rule, book at least 21 days in advance. The chances of securing amazing last-minute fares for your family without wanting to pull your hair out strand by strand are small. Plan ahead to avoid a premium for booking too late (within 14 days) or too early (more than 5 months). You'll also save money at the hair salon; knowing your flight details in advance means fewer gray hairs. Trust me.
- Some Days Are Cheaper. The day of the week you fly on can make a huge difference. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are typically the least expensive flights, and Friday and Sunday are the most costly. If you're traveling for the weekend, consider Saturday to Monday or Tuesday instead of a Thursday or Friday to Sunday trip. Tuesday to Tuesday is often the cheapest for a full week. Better yet, be flexible and check a bunch of alternate dates around the same time period because airlines, like kids, can be unpredictable.
- Shop Around! I know you're busy, but resist the temptation of booking the first fare you see. There are so many resources online to compare flights, dates, and prices. Kayak pulls from hundreds of airlines and travel sites to deliver deals. It pays to fly when no one else wants to (i.e., red-eyes) or before or after holidays. I also subscribe to sites such as TravelZoo because it handpicks the best fares and sends them to my inbox every week.
- Break Up the Family if Needed. This one sounds crazy, I know. Big families get the price breaks, right? Nope. Airlines limit the number of seats per flight they sell at the lowest rate, so you can price yourself out of a good deal by having too many passengers. If an airline has two seats remaining on a flight at $200 and a bunch of other seats available for $250, a search for a group of five will show the $250 rate. But if you search for two seats, you will get two for $200 and only have to pay the extra $50 for the remaining three. You can probably get everyone together when you pick your seat assignments.
- Baggage Fees Can Weigh You Down. Most airlines charge for checked bags, and some even charge carry-on fees! It's important to factor those fees into your purchase decision. Only two domestic carriers, JetBlue and Southwest, let your first suitcase slide (see websites for specifics). If you opt for an airline with baggage fees, pay them ahead of time because they may charge a premium if you wait until you get to the airport.
- Check Alternate Airports. If there is more than one airport near you or your destination city, check them both. I live between the Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island airports and can personally attest fares vary quite a bit. It's worth the extra step during your search.
- Buy on a Site That Offers Payback. Many airlines will pay you the difference if the price of your itinerary drops before your trip. Sites like CheapAir offer Price Drop Payback and mix and match fares from multiple airlines to put money back in your handbag.
- Sign Up for Airline Emails & Frequent Flier Programs. You should never play hard-to-get when you're chasing airfare. The airlines want to build a relationship with you, so they will send you promo codes and deals if you sign up for their emails. Frequent flier miles also add up so make sure you set up an account. You may also want to apply for an airline credit card. My uncle takes his entire family (including children and grandchildren) to Hawaii every year using points. He pays all of his household bills with his airline credit card every month to accrue points. He doesn't incur interest fees because he pays it off every month, but he does gain thousands of points. Brilliant.
- Use Social Media. Some prime deals are posted on social media sites for a short time. Follow every airline you're interested in on Twitter and log on several times a day. You can also follow @Airfarewatchdog for tweet alerts with promo codes and other airfare deals. Some airline Facebook pages are also quite active. It pays to add them to your daily social media fix to save money on fares for your family.
What are your best tips for saving money on airfare?
Image via ARZTSAMUI/Flickr


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Snow often lies on mountains around the 4,000ft mark year round in Scotland. So you will need to know how to deal with snow if you are planning to tackle any of them.
Tip 1: yaktrax
Take ice grips such as Yaktrax in your rucksack if you think you may encounter icy conditions. Yaktrax increase your grip on ice but are useless on fresh, powdered snow. If you go hiking in winter and have crampons you could take these instead however it is not necessary to buy them just for snow capped peaks in summer.
Tip 3: cornices
Cornices on Ben Nevis
This is the most important point made in this page! If snow is on the ground keep well away from the edge of the mountain as there may be cornices that you are unable to see. If you stand on one of these cornices it will most probably collapse and you will be dropped off of the mountain. Cheerful, I know!
Tip 2: snow caps
If you are taking hiking poles be sure that the snow caps (the round things that can be screwed on above the cap) are on. This will prevent your walking poles from sinking into the snow as much and thus means that you have to use less energy to pull them up.
Tip 4: no snowballs
Don't throw snowballs... Sorry! But incase you didn't know: snow is cold. If you chuck a snowball at someone and it slides down their back or neck they are going to be frozen the whole way home (not fun). Not only is it not fun but you may actually be putting them at risk of hypothermia.
tip 5: stick to paths
Stick to paths or follow cairns. Snow covers up dangers so you may end up tripping over something you couldn't see from above. By sticking to paths or following cairns you can minimise this risk as the land owners have most probably removed large boulders from paths. You should only follow substantial cairns as smaller cairns could have been made by one person and could lead you in the wrong direction.
Note: If you plan to go walking in snow in Winter then you will also need to know how to use ice axes and crampons. Unfortunately this information is not available at the moment on this site. We will try to add this information ASAP. Sorry for any inconvenience.


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LEGO The Lord of the Rings – Trivia
Game Trivia
This is the second LEGO video game to feature talking minifigures. The lines are taken directly from the The Lord of the Rings movies.
Contributed By: Sour.
Got Some Trivia?
You can submit your own trivia, quotes, or connections for this game to share them with our users.


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A fatal dog attack in Michigan left a man dead Wednesday. Police say a jogger killed by two cane corso dogs are implicated in previous non-fatal attacks. Now, the animal's owner is facing charges in the Michigan dog attack, according to a July 25 Fox News report.
The victim in the deadly dog attack is identified as Craig Sytsma, 46, a resident of Livonia. Wednesday evening he decided to go for a jog in Metamora Township, an area about an hour's drive from Detroit. The jogging path is a busy area frequented by runners, walkers, bikers, and other recreational users.
Suddenly, the Michigan man was attacked by two dogs, which locked onto his body in a vicious manner and didn't let go. A neighbor mowing his grass had just waved to the jogger earlier and was shocked at the eerie scene when he made another pass moments later.
After seeing the two massive dogs mauling the man in the Michigan neighborhood, the resident fetched a gun and fired shots in an attempt to scare off the animals. He managed to graze one of the unleashed dogs with a shot, but it was too late. Paramedics transferred the mauling victim to a local hospital, but he was pronounced dead a short time later from severe dog bites.
He was jogging, doing what everybody else does out there, running and riding bikes," Metamora Township police Officer Sean Leathers said.
With no wallet or billfold on his person when first responders arrived, police did not make a positive identification of the victim until the following day. A fellow worker became worried when they arrived to work Thursday and observed Stysma's car was still parked on the premises. Police were called and eventually made the connection.
After the Michigan jogger died from two dogs involved in the mauling, sources said animals — possibly the same two — from the same address of the owner facing charges, were involved in two previous attacks.
April Smith of Oxford was one of those victims, who said she and her sister were walking along a path two years ago when one of the same dogs attacked her. She suffered three serious bite wounds in that encounter. And when Michigan woman heard of the jogger's death from the dogs, she said this:
I cannot believe this happened to someone. I'm not mad at the dogs; I'm so upset with the owners. I thought something would be done with these dogs, but nothing was done. Nothing was ever done. Those dogs are vicious. It's not a joke."
However, this time it seems the dogs and owner will face harsh consequences from this week's fatality. "They're a public threat. They're beyond rehabilitation," said Lapeer County Sheriff's Office Det. Sgt. Jason Parks.
The cane corso dogs, often confused with bull mastiffs, are Italian breeds meant to hunt wild boars. Fully grown, they can weigh as much as 100 pounds and are equipped with solid muscle.
Sadly, the dead Michigan jogger leaves behind three children after the dog attack. According to reports, he's divorced.


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Jimenez Arms J.A.380 .380ACP Semi-Automatic Pistol, NRA Blue, Full Lifetime Factory Warranty
This is a brand new Jimenez Arms J.A. .380 Semi-Atomatic Pistol NRA Blue. Comes with Jimenez Warranty and Lifetime Service.
The Jimenez Arms J.A. .380 is quite possibly one of the simplest, easiest to use and most comfortable compact .380's on the market today. Jimenez Arms includes such features as: a comfortable stance and an extended finger rest located at the bottom of the magazine. Other manufacturers offer this feature only on specialty clips at higher prices. Jimenez Arms, however, includes this feature at no extra cost. If you're in the market for a compact .380 and price, accuracy and comfort is a factor- the Jimenez Arms J.A. 380 is your solution.
Model: JA-380
Height: 3.75 inches
Thickness: .960 inches
Weight: 19 Ounces
Length: 5.3 inches
Barrel Length: 2.75 inches
Magazines: two six round
Is this firearm legal in your area? It is the buyer's responsibility to to make sure a firearm is legal in their area. Find out BEFORE you bid. No refunds will be given on any firearms that are not transferable.
Have questions? Drop me an email
There are no returns on firearms. Warranty Issues Are Handled By The Manufacturer.
I must recieve your local dealers FFL before the item can ship. Your dealer may email or fax his FFL. Fax (877) 688-7334 FFL Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Jimenez Arms JA380 380ACP NRA Blue 6 RDS
- Brands Jimenez Arms
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Tags: Jimenez Arms, J.A.380, .380ACP, Semi-Automatic Pistol, NRA Blue, Full Lifetime Factory Warranty


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The attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens was planned by attackers who used the protest outside the consulate as a diversion, U.S. sources say.
The sources could not say whether the attackers instigated the protest or merely took advantage of it, and they say they don't believe Stevens was specifically targeted. Stevens and three other Americans suffocated trying to escape a fire after a grenade was thrown into the building, a senior U.S. official said.
London terror analysts speculated that Stevens was the victim of a targeted al Qaeda revenge attack. The assault "came to avenge the death of Abu Yaya al-Libi, al Qaeda's second in command killed a few months ago," the analysts said.
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Home > Services > Neurology
Learning you have a medical condition that affects your nervous system (brain, spinal cord and related muscles), can be frightening. Neurology is the medical specialty that focuses on nervous system disorders. The specially-trained doctors who study, diagnose and treat neurological disorders are called neurologists and neurosurgeons.
Common nervous system disorders include stroke, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.
The neurologists at Meritas Health Neurology work closely with other specialists, such as interventional radiologists, neurosurgeons and neuropsychologists to coordinate your care.
Because precise imaging is key to accurate diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions, we offer state-of-the-art tests and imaging services, including electroencephalogram (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound.
If surgery is the best treatment option, your neurologist will refer you to a neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeons at Meritas Health Neurosurgery use the least invasive procedures possible to treat spinal disorders neurological conditions, which means you have a faster recovery and the best outcomes.
Parkinson's disease
North Kansas City Hospital's Rehab Services department has physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists who specialize in treating a wide range of nervous system conditions. They customize therapy plans to address problems related to each person's specific diagnosis.
A short video clip entitled "What is Alzheimer's Disease" showing how the disease progresses and the order that it affects different parts of the brain. Created by Elder Options of Texas in partnership with Alliance for Aging Research.
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After a stroke, Virgil lost the use of his right arm and hand. Ten years later, an innovative treatment plan is helping him improve his quality of life. Watch Virgil's story.


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Behind the bar at The Boathouse
Behind the Bar at the Boathouse
As well as serving delicious tapas the Boathouse is open 6 nights a week as a bar, we have a range of wines, Beers and spirits but the stars of our bar are our selection of Gins, Whiskies and cocktails. Here are a few of our Barman's favourites –
Our Gin menu is growing by the week! We now have a menu of 20 Gins to choose from, here are our top 5 sellers –
Ultra-smooth distillate, which is blended with natural coconut and pink grapefruit. Best served with Fever tree tonic or try it as part of our 'Huckleberry gin' cocktail
Eden Mill Love Gin
Taste of strong warming spirit, juniper and rhubarb spice with hints of vanilla and strawberry
Number 3 Gin
An 'old school' London dry Gin with strong botanicals and a zesty finish
Koval Dry Gin
This is a small-batch, organic gin from Chicago's first distillery since Prohibition, hints of lime and vanilla
A sophisticated South African Gin made with Kalahari truffles, cardamom, Juniper and hints of coriander goes beautifully with
Our recently updated cocktail menu features a selection of classics as well as some of our own creations such as our Boathouse Bellini and Liquid Biscuit which is a must try for those with a sweet tooth!
Take a look at some of our cocktails –
White rum, spiced rum, fresh mint and limes topped up with cloudy lemonade
English Martini
Bombay sapphire, vodka, Elderflower and wedges of lemon
Strawberry Daiquiri
Dark rum, Bacardi, strawberry puree, soda, lime wedges, mint
Romeo and Juliet
Cointreau, champagne , passion fruit syrup
Vodka, spiced rum, White rum, orange juice, cranberry, grenadine, passion fruit
Long Island iced tea
Our take on a classic
Liquid Biscuit
Baileys, Frangelico, amaretto, dark chocolate shavings
Boathouse Bellini
Prosecco, peach puree, grapefruit, gin
Huckleberry Gin
Prosecco, coconut gin, elderflower
From the whisky cellar….
Our whisky cellar is something we here at The Boathouse are most proud of, we now have on offer a selection of bourbons and whiskies to suit all tastes. Amongst these are some of our personal favorites –
Nikka – Japan 51.4%
A double matured blended whisky. Smokey and sweet
Bushmills single Malt Reserve – Ireland 40%
Aged for 12 years, this whisky can only be purchased directly from Bushmills distillery, Ireland. The full range of Bushmills is also available from our bar
Haig club, clubman – Scotland 40%
A single grain Scotch whisky matured in a bourbon cask, a light taste with hints of vanilla
Hibiki – Japan 43%
A lighter and more fragrant whisky to the Nikka with just as much elegance
Also on offer at the Boathouse are –
Bullet bourbon
Gentleman Jack
Makers Mark
Jim Beam
Special offers
Happy hour –
Every Friday evening join us for Happy hour from 6.30pm – 7.30 pm any 2 cocktails for £7.50 or any 2 bottles beers for just £5
Sparkling Sunday –
Every Sunday a bottle of our Casanova range prosecco for just £10!
Gin Club –
Join us for our monthly Gin tasting evenings for just £15 pp including 5 Gins and a 5 dish tapas
Our wine list features a range of New world and European wines with a choice of 3 Rose, 15 white wines, 12 red wines and 8 Champagne and sparkling wines. We also have a range of Casanova prosecco for the fizz lover


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I look forward to seeing you soon.
As you may know, I've been heavily involved in supporting our community as Board-Certified physician over the past 30 years. Recently we've opened up a new office in the Houston Museum District across from the Houston Museum of Natural Science. In the time we've been at this location, we've already received national recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for our Patient-Centered Care. I look forward to welcoming you, your family and friends to our office at 1213 Hermann Drive, Suite 845, Houston, Texas.
(Our Adult Primary Care Practice currently has a waiting list for new patients. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please contact us during office hours so we can add you to the waiting list.)
To make an appointment, you can reach us at (713) 529-9224 or you can email us with your preferred date and time. (Don't include any personal health information when emailing us, that is not allowed!)
We participate in nearly all major insurance plans.
I really think you'll like this new location. It's a great neighborhood to walk around in and the Museum District Metro train connection is very convenient. In the adjacent blocks you can visit the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and Houston Museum of Natural Science. And it's very close to many other nearby attractions, like the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the Children's Museum of Houston.
Our building has its own private parking lot (enter on Caroline Street), plus there is ample street parking, including free 3 hour street parking by the Houston Museum of Natural Science. And if you live in the Houston Midtown neighborhood (or work in downtown Houston or at the Texas Medical Center) you'll love that you can take Houston Metro Red Line right to our office. Get off at the Houston Museum District Station and walk east to Caroline Street and Hermann Drive. See our map for more details.
Wishing you good health,
Gary Brewton, MD, FACP
Make an Appointment with Dr. Gary Brewton today
Dr. Gary Brewton MD is a Board Certified primary care physician / internist. Dr. Brewton received his undergraduate degree from Rice University and his medical education at Baylor College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center. Dr. Brewton is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP). Dr. Brewton has admitting privileges at Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas.


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By Ray Mark Rinaldi
I'm approaching the Star Wars exhibit at the Denver Art Museum the same way I'm dealing with the fact that Donald Trump is president. That is to say, I'm going to keep breathing and wait for it to be over.
They have a lot in common, the man and the movie franchise. Both are mega-entertaining, show-biz fluffs that have puffed themselves up into something crucial to the culture; each has successfully hijacked our devotion from more credible rivals; and neither belongs in the big house.
No doubt, we can all agree that pop culture has a meaningful place in our stressed-out age. I've seen every Star Wars movie and sat through at least four seasons of Trump's TV show The Apprentice. Fun stuff. But i never confused it with art, that most valuable of things that challenges us to look at our world in rich and complex ways, that peddles candid truths, and not phony effects, as a way of pushing us forward. Art has had its bold and shocking movements, no doubt, but it's always been a journey toward a more authentic and soulful way of seeing, not a reduction of everything around us into good vs. evil, me vs. you, absolute truth vs. heresy.
DAM is the house of art. The place that isn't afraid to hurt our brains while it entertains. But the only thing Stars Wars and the Power of Costume hurts is our wallets at $28 a pop. It is among the greatest sell-outs in the recent history of American museums.
The problem isn't the subject material, necessarily. It is that Star Wars is simply a weak exhibit that lacks the sort of critical thinking a museum like DAM has the skills to produce, or even that Star Wars fans themselves in engage in during their own deep exchanges over the films.
Viewers parade past one costume after the next — the flowing black robes worn by the character Darth Vader, Queen Amidala's elegant gowns, the sleek, white armor of the stormtrooper soldiers. They're as well-made as you'd expect from a movie with a multi-million dollar budget, though you've seen every fiber of it before, probably multiple times. There's nothing new of note, except maybe a few underplayed sketches that examine the creative process and some recreated office dioramas that, set behind glass, look entirely canned.
The whole show is built on nostalgia. Film clips from the movies whiz by, that familiar soundtrack music blares. There's only a bit of interactivity and it's disappointedly low-tech. Push a button and the (clearly visible) tube of a lightsaber glows pink or green. It's schlocky, like the low-budget Battlestar Gallactica television series, definitely sub-quality for anything to do with George Lucas' highly-polished movies.
There's hardly a single moment of authentic challenge or enlightenment. The show exists only to make you feel good about everything you feel good about already. That's exactly the opposite of DAM's mission and a degradation of the temple we hold dear.
Yes, you do get to see costumes up close, to examine their construction, and that is interesting. But ultimately it's empty. The colorful characters of the world's highest-grossing action films are turned cold and static. Star Wars: The Power of Costume positions itself as an elevation of costume design but ends up being a total insult to it. Objects intended by their artists to be in motion and glimpsed in passing are de-animated and demystified. It's like a magician giving away the secrets to his tricks or like hanging a Picasso upside down because you think it looks better that way.
A movie fan has to wonder who let this happen. All of the costumes came from the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and clearly it cooperated with this self-defeating venture. Though maybe that isn't a surprise to anyone, like the folks in my own household, who have seen the endless run of TV commercials lately where Star Wars has signed over its brand as a way of selling cars for Nissan. My spouse, a life-long fan whose father actually let skip school to see the very first Stars Wars in 1977, sighed in surrender as it came on. The franchise has lost itself.
And DAM is off-course as well. There's an argument that museums need to do these things to stay afloat. That's not the case here. Denver's biggest museum is well-funded; no comparable institution gets more public funding to ease its burdens and the museum has been in expansion mode for a decade, building and improving structures at a rapid pace. It's not desperate by any means.
There's also a case for getting new faces into the place, though DAM constantly touts its high attendance already. And at what cost does it want more visitors? One supposes it could ask all the guards to go topless and visitors would quadruple over night. Neither that, or Star Wars is a good way to go.
It didn't have to be this way. A curator with some imagination and a bit of courage could build an intellectual outing around the costumes in Star Wars, and at DAM in particular, pairing the costumes and weapons with related clothing and objects from its Western or American Indian or textile collections so we could examine its inspirational roots, or display it up against some of the high-end pieces of couture the museum has acquired to show how it reflects the evolution of the art of fashion. How interesting it might be to see that severe stormtrooper gear or one of those shiny leathery, jet fighter suits next to some S&M-inspired creations of iconic fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier or Alexander McQueen.
Suppose it placed the fictional costumes of evil empire generals next to actual uniforms worn by soldiers in Mussolini's Fascist army or held up Yoda's wrinkled, ratty cloak against items worn by the homeless people who hang on the corners in the surrounding neighborhood. I'm not interested on a debate about the cinematic accomplishments of Star Wars, it has multiple merits. But it's not Truffaut or even Tarantino or even Woody Allen. It espouses a simple, black-and-white view of the world — the force is with you or it ain't — and any actual attempt to present it in a more complex and human way, would be welcome. In other words, a museum could still cash in on the brand, fill its galleries with fresh faces and retain its integrity.
Or suppose it let Star Wars happen at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science or the Colorado History Museum, successful venues that present the past in a purer form.
Or this: suppose it designed the exhibit so folks, who are now forced to exit through the gift shop where they can buy Star Wars socks or Star Wars lunch boxes, were routed through DAM's great collections of Spanish Colonial or African or Pre-Colombian art? Or even better, a show of high-tech work by some of Denver's current artists who rarely get to exhibit there.
There would, in that bold move, be a challenge, an invitation to come back for something a little more arty, and adventurous in a different way. No one wants to cram fine art down anybody's throat — take it or leave it, I say — but instead of being a commercial for the next Star Wars movie, coincidentally released this month, it could be an ad for DAM itself.
It's a missed opportunity. All give and no take, except for the $28 bucks. I don't recommend it, especially for Star Wars fans; be strong and hold on to your movie fantasies. They're valuable, respectable and absolutely necessary in these times. Don't wreck it for yourself.
As for those of you who won't line up for this costume pageant, just keep breathing.
Star Wars and the Power of Costume continues through April 2, at the Denver Art Museum. Tickets are $28. Info at 720-913-0130 or denverartmuseum.org.


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Come see us today for your next pre-owned car, truck or SUV and become a part of the Fort Hays Auto Sales family!


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They were the original deadheads. That was the term used for logs that slipped from barges during transport and sank in Florida's rivers and lakes.
The recovery of deadheads — particularly cypress logs — supplies a new source of wood for construction and design.
Bok Tower Gardens will host a presentation on recovered cypress logs in its Lunch and Learn event Sept. 7 at noon. Here is an unedited news release from the attraction:
Over a century ago, Florida's "gentle giants" – virgin, ancient and massive bald cypress trees – were logged and rafted down river to waiting mills for lumber. During the process, many of the densest logs sank to the bottom. Thanks to the restoration efforts of the Goodwin Company, of Micanopy, Florida these amazing logs are now seeing the light of day as beautiful reclaimed building products.
This fascinating history of cypress sinker logs will be presented by Goodwin Company's resident historian and antique wood expert Jeffrey Forbes as part of the ongoing Bok Tower Gardens Lunch and Learn series Wednesday, September 7 at 12:00 p.m. in the Alexander Discovery Center. The event is included in general admission and is free to members. Event attendees are encouraged to bring their lunch or purchase a to-go meal in the Blue Palmetto Café. To RSVP, visit www.boktower.org.
In planning the largest expansion in the history of Bok Tower Gardens, Lake | Flato Architects of San Antonio, Texas requested the use of 2,000-3,000-year-old River-Recovered® Heart Cypress for use as siding on the new Alexander Discovery Center.
To achieve this design and aesthetic, craftsmen from the Goodwin Company – originators of the River-Recovered process – milled the heart cypress for the project from logs recovered from the Suwannee, Withlacoochee (northern) and Apalachicola Rivers. Forbes will discuss the Bok Tower Gardens project and specifically how to use heart cypress to create masterful designs. His presentation will also highlight many other insightful historic topics including:
• The Rise of Sustainable Architectural Design
• The Architectural Use of Virgin Growth Cypress
• A History of Florida's Virgin Bald Cypress Forest
• Logging Practices in 19th Century Florida
Forbes will also include information on the restoration of longleaf pine habitats which is an ongoing mission for both Bok Tower Gardens and Goodwin Company.
They were the original deadheads. That was the term used for logs that slipped from barges during transport and sank in Florida's rivers and lakes.


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A troubled man meets an equally troubled woman. Can a budding romance help to heal old wounds?
So, I saw this one awhile ago and have been ruminating on it since. I keep flicking back and forth between liking it and hating it and seem to have ended up somewhere in the middle. There is both plenty to like and plenty to dislike about this film, and I can't help but be a bit disappointed even though overall I think it is a OK film, though this probably has a lot more to do with how much a few people I know raved about it before I saw it.
On the one hand we have two very good actors (Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper) bringing a lot of charm and energy to the screen. Their performances were believable and as endearing as they needed to be. The story makes you like Pat, played by Bradley Cooper, even though there is something clearly wrong with him and then quickly does the exact same thing with Tiffany, played by Jennifer Lawrence. The chemistry these two have in front of the camera are what makes this movie. Whenever the two of them have a chance to interact is when I was most interested. Seeing the two of them bounce against one another was entertaining to say the least. These are hardly the only interesting characters in the film. I would go so far as to say that every character in this film who gets more than two lines either has enough depth or at least implied depth that you truly get a sense for who the characters are.
Sadly for me that seems to be the only place "Silver Linings Playbook" truly impressed me. When I finished the film I was left with a warm feeling as I am sure was intended. But, as with all good movies, I continued to think about the film for awhile even after the credits rolled. It was then that I noticed the plot doesn't seem to quite hold up. The amazing character work goes a long way to disguising it but the plot is hardly any different from the standard romantic comedy formula we have all come to be able to predict. Boy falls for girl, girl falls for boy, boy does something dumb and makes girl mad and then does something romantic/dashing to make it up to her and they fall in love! If you really look at "Silver Linings Playbook" you can see that it doesn't depart from this formula in any way serious enough to make the departure interesting.
"Silver Linings Playbook" is like a crappy old house that's been repainted. Sure it looks nice from a distance and if you don't pay attention too closely it will always look nice. But as soon as you scrutinize it in any way it falls apart and you realize its just the same old house its always been. 5.5/10
Available on Netflix Instant Streaming


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Anthony M. Grant and Sean A. O'Connor
Full reference: Grant, A.M. & O'Connor, S.A. (2010). The differential effects of solution-focused and problem-focused coaching questions: a pilot study with implications for practice. Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 102-111.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the differential effects of problem-focused and solution-focused coaching questions by means of a literature overview and results of an exploratory pilot study.
Design/methodology/approach – In a problem-focused coaching session 39 participants complete a range of measures assessing self-efficacy, their understanding of a problem, positive and negative affect, and goal approach. They then respond to a number of problem-focused coaching questions, and then complete a second set of measures. The 35 participants in a solution-focused session complete a mirror image of the problem-focused condition, responding to solution-focused coaching questions, including the ''Miracle Question''.
Findings – Both the problem-focused and the solution-focused conditions are effective at enhancing goal approach. However, the solution-focused group experience significantly greater increases in goal approach compared with the problem-focused group. Problem-focused questions reduce negative affect and increase self-efficacy but do not increase understanding of the nature of the problem or enhance positive affect. The solution-focused approach increases positive affect, decreases negative affect, increases self-efficacy as well as increasing participants' insight and understanding of the nature of the problem.
Practical implications – Solution-focused coaching questions appear to be more effective than problem-focused questions. Although real-life coaching conversations are not solely solution-focused or solely problem-focused, coaches should aim for a solution-focused theme in their coaching work, if they wish to conduct effective goal-focused coaching sessions that develop a depth of understanding, build self-efficacy, reduce negative affect, increase positive affect and support the process of goal attainment.


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Apple iPhone 6s is known for its classy design and distinctive 3D touch technology. The handset comes in either Space Grey, Silver, Gold, or Rose Gold coloured casing. It is endowed with 3D touch for the first time in Apple iPhones' history. This screen technology recognises different levels of pressure for an extra dimension of interaction with a gadget. The 4.7 inches capacitive display offers 16 million colours with 750 x 1334 pixels resolution which compliments the high-quality images.
The camera features of iPhone 6s bring a great 12-megapixel camera with advanced capabilities, so get ready to shoot the special moments in different modes. You can also capture sharper and brightest selfies with 5MP F/2.2 front-facing camera with BSI sensor and HDR mode.
Along with these, the iPhone 6s runs on Dual-core 1.8 GHz Twister 64-bit CPU and packs 2GB of RAM, so you can truly enjoy the fast performance. So to get your hands on this pretty decent phone on a tight budget, RefurbishedPhones4U is here to offer you with a quality range of refurbished iPhone 6s. All products are available on the cheapest deals with a standard warranty period. So, you can buy any of your choice with full peace of mind.


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Coffee Shop Author is a writing contest for authors wishing to hone their craft and who enjoy writing. Authors register with Coffee Shop Author and secure the endorsement of their favourite coffee shop (or library or other public space - yes, we'll even accept that you do most of your writing in a pub!). They then pledge to work on a novel, short story collection, poetry collection or a work of creative non-fiction at their chosen space between October 2010 and March 2011.
Through the Coffee Shop Author website, blog space, and interactive map, participants will have an opportunity to become part of a world-wide network of writers.
Registration for Coffee Shop Author runs until February 15th 2011. Manuscripts must be submitted by email by March 31st 2011. Included for the fee of $30.00 (CDN/US) is registration in the contest, a Coffee Shop Author sticker for your mug, bike or car, and blog space to share your experiences with fellow writers and the world.
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