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The 2010 Amgen Tour of California Schedule and Stage Map is official, with the following cities playing host as the tour jumps across the entire state for eight stages next May:
Stage 1: Sunday, May 16 – Nevada City to Sacramento
Stage 2: Monday, May 17 – Davis to Santa Rosa
Stage 3: Tuesday, May 18 – San Francisco to Santa Cruz
Stage 4: Wednesday, May 19 – San Jose to Modesto
Stage 5: Thursday, May 20 – Visalia to Bakersfield
Stage 6: Friday, May 21 – Pasadena to Big Bear Lake
Stage 7: Saturday, May 22 – Los Angeles (individual time trial)
Stage 8: Sunday, May 23 – Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village/Agoura Hills
The host cities for the record-setting Amgen Tour of California professional cycling road race were announced this morning via a Twitter exchange that took place shortly before 9 a.m. PT between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and some of America's most accomplished cyclists, including Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Dave Zabriskie and George Hincapie. This marked the first time an event of this stature has ever been announced via Twitter.
Along with the overall announcement of the race, the four cyclists also revealed their intentions to participate in the fifth-annual event, considered to be America's most important and prestigious cycling race.
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong's announcement of his intent to compete in the fifth-annual race was met with enthusiasm from race organizers and fans. After mounting an incredible comeback to professional cycling in 2009, competing in the Amgen Tour of California and other top races around the world, including finishing third in the 2009 Tour de France, Armstrong will start the 2010 season on his newly formed Team RadioShack. Returning to the Amgen Tour of California for the second consecutive year, Armstrong is expected to be a top competitor in the race.
The 2010 Amgen Tour of California will travel to 16 host cities throughout the state over the course of eight days from May 16-23. After four years of being positioned in February, the date change will allow the Tour de France-style road race to visit locations that wouldn't have been possible in February, including the very first mountain-top finish in race history.
The Amgen Tour of California will cover more than 750 miles of beautiful California terrain, beginning with the first ever visit to Nevada City, Calif., which will also be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Nevada City Classic, in which many notable riders got their start. The eight-day race will travel through some of the state's most scenic landmarks, with the overall finish taking place in title-sponsor Amgen's hometown community of Thousand Oaks.
The 16 official stage start and finish locations that have been selected for the 2010 race include: Nevada City (new city for 2010), Sacramento, Davis, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Modesto, Visalia, Bakersfield (new city for 2010), Pasadena, Big Bear Lake (new city for 2010), Los Angeles (new city for 2009) and Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village (new city for 2010)/Agoura Hills (new city for 2010).
"For the 2010 Amgen Tour of California we had the unique opportunity to move our race to a part of the year when we are almost guaranteed great weather in California,†said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports. "This timing will help us to better showcase the beautiful features the state of California has to offer, while allowing us to travel to parts of the state that just weren't feasible in previous years.â€Â
Highlights of the route brought on by the date change and new host cities include the race's first venture into the Sierras and the Sequoia National Forest, creating a new backdrop for America's largest cycling event. Another exciting addition to the 2010 race, the first-ever mountaintop finish in Big Bear Lake, will give fans the opportunity to see each and every cyclist in a grueling battle to the Stage 6 finish line.
For the first time in the race's storied five-year history the route will travel through the city of Los Angeles. Stage 7, the individual time trial, a significant stage in the race, will take place in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The stage will both begin and end at L.A. LIVE, the new sports and entertainment district that is home to Staples Center, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE and much more.
Beginning with the inaugural year in 2006, the Amgen Tour of California quickly became the most successful race in the United States with regards to economic benefits to the state, global recognition and the level of competition. The race also continues to set records in attendance for a single sporting event in the state of California, as well as any cycling event ever held on U.S. soil, with an estimated 2 million spectators in 2009.
"Choosing the host cities for the Amgen Tour of California gets more and more difficult every year, as interest in the race continues to grow throughout the state,†continued Messick. "We are fortunate to have visited some of the best cities in the state during the last four years and the list keeps growing with the addition of four brand new cities in 2010.â€Â
With the timing of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California moved to later in the year, giving the cyclists even more time to train, the competition will be even tougher. In previous years, the race has drawn some of the world's most renowned and respected riders, such as top Tour de France competitors, World Champions and Olympic medalists that include Lance Armstrong, Tom Boonen, Oscar Freire, Paolo Bettini, Fabian Cancellara, Carlos Sastre, George Hincapie, Mark Cavendish and Andy Schleck.
After the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, three-time defending champion and Santa Rosa resident Levi Leipheimer went on to compete in the Tour de France, but unfortunately suffered a crash during Stage 12 that took him out of the race. After a few weeks of recovery time, Leipheimer, who recently announced that he will race during the 2010 season for Lance Armstrong's newly formed Team RadioShack, returned to take sixth place in the Tour of Missouri.
"To win the Amgen Tour of California once, that was huge. To win it twice, that was almost a little bit of a surprise and almost felt like luck. But now, to have won the Amgen Tour of California three times, it's the sweetest victory of all. It's hard to describe,†said Levi Leipheimer after winning the 2009 race.
Returning as the title sponsor for the fifth consecutive year, Amgen will continue to leverage the race to raise awareness and support for people affected by cancer through the Breakaway from Cancer® initiative. A leading global biotechnology company with headquarters in Thousand Oaks, Calif., one of the 2010 race host cities, Amgen's invaluable support has helped to ensure the continued success of the race and impact beyond the sporting arena.
"Sponsorship of the Amgen Tour of California has given Amgen the opportunity to educate people about the great advances in medicine made possible through biotechnology, and to strengthen our relationships with local communities, cancer support organizations and cancer survivors through our Breakaway from Cancer initiative,†said Stuart Arbuckle, vice president, Amgen Oncology. "We look forward to collaborating with this year's host cities to promote the Breakaway from Cancer initiative in their communities.â€Â
One of the only American races listed on the international professional cycling calendar (2. HC ranking), the Amgen Tour of California has drawn the attention of both cycling enthusiasts and first-time spectators, solidifying its position as one of the most anticipated cycling events of the year.
Beginning with a road stage, a first for the race, the 2010 Amgen Tour of California will visit 16 host cities for official stage starts and finishes, while other cities along the route also will have the opportunity to witness the excitement of elite professional cycling.


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Historical adventure story playing this week at Toronto.
Norwegian directors Espen Sandberg-Joachim Rønning's action-adventure Kon-Tiki - Norway's most expensive feature, shot on a $16.2 million (NOK 93 million) budget - will be Norway's official candidate for the 2013 Oscar as Best Foreign Language Feature.
Exeeding 583,000 domestic admissions since it was launched last month (Aug), the Jeremy Thomas-Aage Aaberge production from Nordisk Film Production Norway and UK's Recorded Picture Company had a special presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival, where HanWay Films continued foreign sales.
"Kon-Tiki is an adventurous account of a single man's ambition to make his mark in history by drawing a map larger than himself," said the Norwegian Oscar committee. "Sandberg and Rønning emphasise the narrative format of the epic, with space for the detail, the individual and the small story set in a universal context. Strong performances, especially by lead actor in Pål Sverre Hagen, contribute to create intimacy in a broad history."
Scripted by Petter Skavlan, the film follows Norwegian anthropologist and explorer Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition with five fellow scientists from South America to the Polynesian Islands - a 8,000-kilometre journey on a wooden raft which took 101 days, which was filmed by Heyerdahl to win an Oscar in 1952.
Pål Sverre Hagen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Odd-Magnus Williamson, Tobias Santelmann, Jakob Oftebro and Agnes Kittelsen star in the second Norwegian feature by the director team of Sandberg and Rønning, whose Max Manus was Norway's Oscar candidate in 2009. - The Oscar Academy will announce its five nominations on Jan 15, prior to the ceremony on Feb 24.

subset: commoncrawl


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It looks like the Starks were right—it's the first day of Winter! Air out that snow gear and make sure your house and car are ready for the cold weather. In the meantime, talk to us about anything you want in this week's Open Thread.
Same drill as always, open-threaders: You can chat and ask questions with your fellow readers all week long at the #openthread hashtag page, but our weekly open thread post is your opportunity to reach the most people. Ask questions, offer advice, discuss productivity tips, or just chat about whatever's on your mind. You'll need a commenter account to participate, then you're ready to roll.
An extra reminder: If you're not quite satisfied with the interaction in the weekly open thread or in #tips, remember that you can also share your expertise every day on our Expert Pages.
Photo by tsaiproject.


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I live in a house full of allergy sufferers. Not your mild sniffle and itchy eye allergies either. I am talking swollen eyes, stuffy nose, take multiple allergy medicines and still miss school type allergy sufferers. I know there is nothing I can do to prevent my kids from coming into contact with dirt and pollen, unless I want to have them live in a bubble during the spring, but I do take reasonable precautions to limit the effects of their allergies. We replace the air filters in our home monthly, they shower every night before they get into bed, we stay in on windy days, and we keep the windows and doors to the house shut.
One thing I have to admit I never thought about was the cabin air filter in my car. The cabin air filter filters out the air that enters your car through the ventilation system. We owned our previous mini van for almost 10 years and never once did I change the cabin air filter. When I learned that FRAM Fresh Breeze cabin air filters filter out 98% of the dust, dirt, and allergens that enter through the ventilation system, I knew I wanted to give it a try.
I wish I had the cabin air filter from my old minivan. I can imagine it was pretty gross. We have had this van for a month and you can already see the dust that was in the old filter. I can only imagine what got THROUGH this cabin air filter. The cabin air filter that came with the car when it was new is much flimsier and lighter weight than the new FRAM cabin air filter I installed.
Do you have seasonal allergy sufferers in your house? What are your favorite simple tricks to help reduce your family's allergy symptoms? Leave your ideas in the comment section below and you will be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card!
Visit FRAM on Facebook and Twitter for more information!
Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
- Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
- Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: "#SweepstakesEntry"; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
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- For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 7/1-7/31/2014.
Be sure to visit the FRAM Fresh Breeze® brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers' posts!


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Breast Screening
Information for women who may have missed an invitation to a screen
Some women aged between 70 and 79 are being offered the opportunity for a breast screen. This is because some women did not receive an invitation for a final screen, as part of the routine NHS Breast Screening Programme.
The Breast Screening Programme usually invites women to have a screen once every 3 years when aged between 50 and 70 (up to their 71st birthday). This means women will usually receive their final screen sometime between their 68th and 71st birthdays.
All affected women registered with a GP will receive a letter by the end of May with further information.
A helpline is also available: 0800 169 2692.
Breast Screening: Mammography
Telephone: 01582 497599
Who is it for?
- Women aged 50 – 70 years (registered with a GP)
- Self-referral over 70
What is the test?
- Mammogram – 2 x-rays of each breast
- At special clinics or mobile breast screening units
Telephone: 01582 497599
The Benefits of Breast Cancer Screening
- Evidence suggests breast screening reduces the number of deaths from
breast cancer by about 1,300 a year in the UK. - Breast cancers found by screening are generally at an early stage. Early
stage breast cancers are more likely to be cured and may need less
treatment. - 99% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer at the earliest
stage (stage I) survive their cancer for 5 years or more.
Website: wbhbss.nhs.uk


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Ten Years in Social Entrepreneurship: The 19 innovators who presented at GSBI represent broader entrepreneurship trends
The social entrepreneurship concept and community have grown tremendously in the last decade. In the august company of pioneers such as Skoll Foundation and Acumen Fund, Santa Clara University's Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI™) celebrates 10 years of working with over 150 social entrepreneurs to build financially sustainable ventures that scale.
On Aug. 23, 19 truly amazing social entrepreneurs in our tenth cohort delivered their business plan presentations. Individually and collectively, they reflect broader trends in social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship more generally—especially the rise of women as pioneers in social entrepreneurship, the pursuit of energy solutions that are independent of grids or other infrastructure, the use of mobile platforms, and focus on increasing agricultural productivity in Africa.
Women. Ten of the 19 social entrepreneurs who were awarded scholarships for the GSBI are women, and so for the first time, we have a majority of women in the cohort. While this majority reflects global population dynamics (due to lower life expectancy for men), it also exemplifies what the latest literature teaches us about the different, but complementary, leadership abilities of men and women. One Child One Light's female leader Ramani Vedula aims to bring four million children back to school and increase the literacy rate through an innovative solar power lantern-charging model. Nazava's woman entrepreneur Lieselotte Heederik brings safe drinking water to poor households in Indonesia, saving them money and reducing carbon emissions. Headed by a male entrepreneur committed to keeping girls in school, BaNaPads produces affordable, eco-friendly sanitary pads from banana stems in Uganda.
Energy. Because of the significance of energy as a barrier for the poor, we have consciously pursued an energy sector strategy formulated by GSBI Director Emeritus Jim Koch and Base-of-Pyramid (BoP) thought leader Al Hammond. A sector strategy also allows us to gain deeper insights into the technology solutions, business model innovations, and contextual factors that can influence whether a social enterprise can scale in a financially sustainable fashion.
Half of our cohort seeks to address energy poverty, including EcoEnergy Finance, which delivers clean energy to rural Pakistan, a true frontier market. UbiLuz gets clean energy to poor people in Central America. Potential Energy, formerly the Darfur Stoves Project, has already helped more than 120,000 displaced persons in Sudan and Ethiopia. And Mali Biocarburant, a leading specialty oil and biodiesel supplier in West Africa, also provides livelihoods for smallholder farmers and enables food security through intercropping.
Agriculture (in Africa). Speaking of agriculture, this year's cohort includes a cluster of three social enterprises working in Kenya, all headed by women: Kilimo Salama, an innovative micro-insurance program for smallholder farmers; Backpack Farm, which provides training and green agri-tech solutions to improve the agricultural production capacity of smallholder farmers; and, M-Farm, leveraging broadly available mobile technology to create markets for smallholder farmers.
Mobile apps. Building on the ubiquity of simple mobile phones as the entry point for solving some of the world's most pressing problems, many of the entrepreneurs have mobile strategies. All of the agriculture-focused social enterprises in this year's cohort leverage mobile technology in some fashion. So, too, does InVenture with the ambitious mission of enabling financial access for all through simple, accessible SMS-based financial tools. CarbonKeeper, initially focused on mobile information management for rural energy businesses, broadened its vision to mobile CRM for social enterprises during the course of GSBI and has renamed itself CustomerKeeper.
Increasing sophistication of social entrepreneurs. In general, we are finding social entrepreneurs have more real-world experience as well as more academic credentials. Starting in Rwanda, the Chief Instigating Officer of Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) Elizabeth Scharpf, focuses on better sanitary protection for women; she holds two Harvard degrees. Increasingly sophisticated social entrepreneurs leverage individual and collective wisdom, learning from success stories to create their own. SalaUno, in Mexico, is essentially replicating the successful business model and enabling culture of Aravind Eye Care to eradicate preventable blindness. In India, Sarvajal marries electronic point-of-sale technology with a micro-franchising strategy to deliver safe drinking water through "water ATMs."
Nokero is an excellent example of sophistication in the energy sector. In operation only two years, this remarkable social enterprise has already distributed more than 400,000 solar powered lights in 120 countries – using just $60,000 in start-up capital. In a first for the GSBI, Nokero has multiple distributors in the class, including Earthspark International, which distributes clean and affordable energy products in Haiti. Solanterns, another classmate, is testing market demand for Nokero's products in Kenya as it drives to replace one million kerosene lamps with solar lanterns.
The Power of Community. Solar Sister, a GSBI 2011 alum, is also a distributor for Nokero in Uganda, demonstrating the power of the GSBI network: social entrepreneurs who share a vernacular for sustainable, scalable businesses and find they can readily partner – when it makes sense. And our alumni are reproducing! Lifeline Technologies, a for-profit progeny of GSBI 2004 alum non-profit Lifeline Energy, highlights the emergence of hybrid structures that ensure impact-first investment of operating surplus.
A video replay of last week's event, featuring business presentations from each of these amazing social entrepreneurs can be found here.
Thane Kreiner is executive director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society, at Santa Clara University, home of the GSBI.
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Andrew Gale: It's time to take stock after a draining Championship season
Obviously, not getting over the line in the final game of the season was disappointing and there were not many celebrations down in London, I can tell you.
It was just not to be, but we gave it everything that we could.
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Hide AdBut if we are being totally honest, we did not play the cricket to deserve to win the County Championship.
But having said that, when you come so close as that, you feel you still deserve to get over the line.
Personally, I am taking stock of my position as captain at Yorkshire and I will see where I am at in a month's time.
At the moment, if I am being honest, I am pretty drained. I will just see how I feel in a month.
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Hide AdIt has been a tough year for me personally in not scoring the runs that I would have liked. I pride myself on leading from the front as captain and to not do that has taken its toll.
But you don't become a bad player overnight and I am sure I can bounce back from this.
Batting wise, it was one of the toughest years I have ever had in my years in the game, definitely.
I was fighting quite a few battles in early season and not playing one-day cricket had an effect as well. It just wasn't meant to be this season.
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Hide AdObviously, Jason Gillespie has now left Yorkshire after his time as coach. Outside of international cricket, I think that Yorkshire is probably the biggest job you can get.
Dizzy's record has been fantastic and we will miss him. But it is a big opportunity for a new coach to come in and rebuild and bring some more silverware to the club.
Looking at things over the course of the last season, I felt little things cost us in terms of not being able to make it three titles in a row.
The top-order didn't fire at times throughout the year and there were times when we were not ruthless enough with the ball as well.
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Hide AdWe also had injuries at the start of the year and there were opportunities to win games at the start of the season which we didn't do – those were the sort of chances which we took in previous years.
At the end of the day, Middlesex were worthy winners. But to get so close was disappointing.
Looking at the season as a whole across all formats, I guess we were the 'nearly team' – in getting to the semi-finals in the one-day competitions and almost like a final in the County Championship.
Not to come away with silverware is tough. In previous years, we have nearly finished bottom in the one-day stuff, but won a trophy and you would probably rather have it that way and win something than get so close.
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Hide AdIn terms of individuals, I felt that Tim Bresnan deserves a mention for having a fantastic year. Since coming back from injury, he has been outstanding, with bat and ball.
I thought Adam Lyth also freed the squad up in the shorter form and with the few hundreds he got in a row, you could see a massive difference in that way that the team played.
Jack Brooks, with 60-odd wickets again, put in an amazing effort for the third year running too and I think Azeem Rafiq deserves a mention as well.
It is not easy to come back into a team and Azeem has had a good year.
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Hide AdIt might be the off-season now, but I was busy in a 65-mile charity bike ride as part of my benefit year on Thursday.
I am not much of a golfer and one golf day was enough for me and I much preferred to get on the bike, although getting the lads at Yorkshire to do a bike ride at the end of the season was challenging!
Bres volunteered and he was on it and all in all, there were about one hundred people doing it.
My three charities are the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, PCA Benevolent Fund and Yorkshire Children's Trust, based in Halifax.


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Blue Bird Card
By Jessica Okui
This little Blue Bird Card was inspired by an online avatar, proof that inspiration can come from anything. The wing swivels out to reveal the message, as if the bird is telling a secret. Here's how I did it, if you'd like to make one to send to a friend.
Mini circle brad
Double-stick tape
White cardstock Use a cardstock that's 110lb or heavier.
1. Ready the template.
Download the template, then make a color printout on heavy cardstock. Cut out both pieces.
2. Fasten the wing.
Cut out a small circle, about 1cm in diameter, from the white cardstock. Punch a small hole in the designated white dot on the wing.
Place the brad through the wing and then through the cardstock circle. Open the brad.
Place a small piece of double-stick tape on top of the open brad and the little circle only. This will allow the wing to swivel freely. Adhere the wing to the back of the bird so that the brad is only visible on the back side of your card.
3. Inscribe your message.
Now all that's left is to write a message. Pull the hidden wing out and inscribe your note. Tuck the wing back in so your recipient can be surprised when she opens it.
To make your card more personal, you can decorate your bird any way you wish. Some ideas are to draw with markers, or adorn with glitter, buttons, or ribbon.
About the Author:
Jessica Okui creates a variety of crafts that span from knitting to recycled art. She shares her crafts and tutorials on zakkalife.blogspot.com.
4 thoughts on "How-To: Bluebird Card"
I'm going to try and make some yellow chicks as Easter cards from this how-to. Fun fun idea!
Great idea, Shawn! You'll have to post up some pictures when you do!
Comments are closed.
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Auntie Anne's, the world's largest hand-rolled soft pretzel chain, has chosen Scotsman Ice Systems as its 2012 Supplier of the Year, for its exemplary customer service and quality ice machines. Auntie Anne's will present the award to Scotsman on June 3 during a celebration dinner.
"We are so pleased to recognize Scotsman Ice Systems as the 2012 Supplier of the Year," says Dale Smucker, vice president of purchasing and distribution for Auntie Anne's. "Scotsman has always been incredibly responsive to the needs of our stores and our customers. In 2012, Scotsman brought the Nug Truck from the company's Luv the Nug initiative to our 17th Annual Auntie Anne's C.A.R.E.S. Charity Golf Tournament, benefitting Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, as well as two local charities."
Scotsman is one of the world's largest manufacturers of ice systems, with more than 300 models of ice machines, storage bins, and ice and water dispensers. In 2013 and 2012, Scotsman earned the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award, and in 2011, Scotsman was the recipient of the ENERGY STAR Award for Excellence in Energy-Efficient Product Design. Offering more than 35 ENERGY STAR qualified models, Scotsman Prodigy technology reduces energy and water consumption.


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Story highlights
The laws are suspended pending a vote on whether to repeal them
Before the suspension, those found guilty faced up to 14 years in prison
The suspension is a rarity in a continent that criminalizes such relationships
Malawi is shelving its laws against homosexuality pending a vote on whether to repeal them, a rights group said, a bold move in a continent that mostly criminalizes such relationships.
The justice minister said the laws are suspended and police cannot arrest or prosecute homosexuals until parliament votes, Amnesty International said in a statement Monday.
Same-sex relationships are illegal in the southern Africa nation and carry a penalty of up to 14 years in prison.
In 2010, Malawi made international headlines when it arrested two men for getting married. The two were later pardoned after an international outcry.
"Amnesty International welcomes Minister (Ralph) Kasambara's statement and hopes it serves as the first step toward ending discrimination and persecution based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity in Malawi," said Noel Kututwa, the rights group's director for southern Africa.
CNN attempts to reach the justice ministry were unsuccessful.
Earlier this year, President Joyce Banda pledged to review the laws in a move aimed at boosting relationships with international donors. Critics accused her predecessor, who died in April, of rebelling against the international community and risking foreign aid that benefits the poor.
Foreign donors, including Britain, have threatened to withhold aid from nations violating gay rights.
The same year Malawi arrested the two men, it also detained a man for putting up posters supporting homosexuality.
Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries, where sodomy laws were introduced during colonialism.


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Announcing Internet Explorer Feedback
Many customers have asked us about having a better way to enter IE bugs. It is asked "Why don't you have Bugzilla like Firefox or other groups do?" We haven't always had a good answer except it is something that the IE team has never done before. After much discussion on the team, we've decided that people are right and that we should have a public way for people to give us feedback or make product suggestions. We wanted to build a system that is searchable and can benefit from the active community that IE has here.
As of today, our new Internet Explorer Feedback site is live. This site uses the Microsoft Connect platform that has been developed for Beta programs within Microsoft. It will probably take some time to work out all of the kinks and to figure out the best way to work with you there but we decided it is better to go live with this now instead of waiting until Beta 2. The intent of this work is to give everyone a better place to give IE7 feedback and to prepare the ground for future versions of IE later.
Visit the Microsoft Connect site and sign up for our Internet Explorer Feedback program in order to access the IE pages.
I have prepared a short FAQ for the site to try to answer some questions ahead of time.
Internet Explorer Feedback FAQ
1. Where is the public bug database for the Internet Explorer team located?
It is located on the Microsoft Connect site at https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=136.
The current version of the site will require visitors to have a Passport account in order to view or enter bugs. In an update in a couple of months, visitors will be able to view existing bugs without logging into the system.
2. What version of IE is this database for?
The feedback site is for IE7 and future versions of IE. Feedback for the current version under development will be taken through the site. Once IE7 has shipped, it will be used to report issues with IE7 to examine for following versions. As Beta builds become available, it is a mechanism to report issues seen in them. The site should not be used to report issues with earlier versions of IE such as IE5.5 or IE6.
3. What kind of response should I expect for any issues that I enter?
Any bug or suggestion that is entered will be seen by the Internet Explorer team. We do expect that a lot of issues will be entered, especially in the initial period after the site is available. Because of this, we do not promise a specific response time on any issues and we want people to be aware of this. We will have a team examining the incoming issues and making sure that they are actionable and that they go to the right members of the IE team. As an issue is worked on, you should expect to see comments added to the bug giving some details.
4. What kind of privacy can I expect on issues that I enter?
Bugs can be marked as either public or private. A public bug can be viewed by anyone who goes to the website and searches for bugs. This allows people who run into the same issues to vote on them and know that they are entered.
If you mark a bug as private, only Microsoft employees and you will be able to see the bug, its status, or any comments or changes to it. It will be invisible to other people.
The site will require users to log into it with Passport to view or enter bugs. This allows us to have an e-mail address to contact if we have questions about an issue and for customers to have bugs associated with their Passport accounts. This means that people can easily track their own issues.
5. What about security bugs?
Because of the volume of incoming bugs, any truly time sensitive bugs should go through the normal security channels. Security issues should be reported to email@example.com to guarantee a timely response to the issue. There is an overview of the Microsoft Security Response Center available and an article on managing vulnerabilities from them as well. They are recommended reading for understanding how Microsoft responds to security issues.
6. Will all bugs reported be fixed before IE7 is released? If not, when will they be fixed?
Not every bug reported will necessarily be fixed. Issues reported during the IE7 Beta 2 will be looked at and we will do our best to fix issues reported to us. There are specific windows of time where risky or very complex issues can be fixed and times when it would jeopardize shipping on time and with the quality necessary for the release. This makes determining which issues can be fixed and when a bit of a juggling act and it is up to the individual feature teams working on Internet Explorer to make the best possible determination of what can be reasonably addressed.
As Bill Gates mentioned at MIX06 this week, we have committed to doing regular releases of Internet Explorer moving forward. Anything that we cannot fix during IE7 that is a valid issue will be considered for the next IE release following it. Just because a bug is not fixed immediately, it doesn't mean that it has been forgotten.
7. What goes into a bug?
A "Best Practices for Bug Reporting in Internet Explorer" series of pages has been created on the site. This goes over some of the best practices for putting a bug into the system and will help bugs entered get acted on easily by the IE team. Please take a look at it before entering any issues that you have found.
8. What else does the IE team have planned for this program?
There will be an ongoing blog for feedback created in the near term which will cover the top issues reported during the week, what is getting the most votes from users, and so forth. This will be run by Al Billings as part of the overall feedback process.
The site will be undergoing a series of improvements over the next few months. Right now, there is a single form for bug entry but we will be able to customize that. Also, you must log into Passport to view issues, not just to enter them. This will eventually change so that users can view issues without logging into Passport and the URLs will be friendlier for direct linking.
9. What does the bug database site look like?
The bug database runs under the Microsoft Connect program at https://connect.microsoft.com. The Internet Explorer team is using this software so we can focus on doing what we do best, working on Internet Explorer. The Connect program is an ongoing project run by the MS Connect team to provide a place to host Beta and Customer focused programs, offer articles, FAQs, and downloads for users along with allowing them to report issues and make product suggestions.
As mentioned above, users will need to have an account with Passport in order to use the site. On the site, users can go to a link for "Available Programs" and see a list of open programs hosted by Connect. "Internet Explorer Feedback" is one of the programs listed there. The link under the programs can be used to join the program. Once you are a member, you can follow links on the Connect site go directly to https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=136 to view the Internet Explorer program. On the home page for the program, IE will have links to relevant articles, websites and even FAQs. On the sidebar, you can select the "Feedback" link to go to the portion of the site where you can enter or search on bugs.
The feedback home page is at https://connect.microsoft.com/feedback/default.aspx?SiteID=136 and looks like this:
In order to enter a bug or a suggestion, you are required to search first to see if the issue has already been reported. If you're search turns up a bug, it will look like this:
The form for entering a bug looks like:
Opening a bug, you will see this:
Well, that's it. We hope that you find the site useful and participate on it.
- Al Billings


text:
This morning I am going to take the liberty to change what I had anticipated to speak to you on. I'm having a hard time getting started in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. It's not that I haven't done the preparation; I've been working on it for a couple of weeks. But, I just feel prompted in my spirit to continue the direction of things that I said to you two weeks ago. You remember a couple of weeks ago I wanted to express my gratitude to you and to the Lord for the church. I'm so grateful, and I...I likened our church to the church at Philadelphia, which was the church with an open door, a church that the Lord did not condemn but only commended, and I tried to draw the parallels between the church at Philadelphia in the book of Revelation and our church.
And, I've been thinking about what a blessing this church is and what a wonderful church it is. And after spending time last week with the dear friends from Russia, and having them affirm to me how much this church means to them and how many of you came to me and thanked me for that message which was so encouraging, I decided that maybe I ought to give another one on the same subject. I haven't by any means exhausted my gratitude to God or to you. And a couple of weeks ago, I did mention that another church that is a parallel to Grace, aside from the church at Philadelphia, was the church at Thessalonica. And so, I really found myself unable to escape the fact that I probably need to follow up on that and take you to that church at Thessalonica and show you the parallels.
So, if you'll open your bible to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, I want to give you part two this morning on encouraging the church, a church to be thankful for. And you know, I really do feel mandated by the Lord to do this, because I know that the preacher spends a lot of his time confronting the congregation, a lot of time pointing out sin, a lot of time correcting and training and all of that, and perhaps not an adequate amount of time expressing gratitude to God and gratitude to you for your faithfulness. It has been a remarkable, remarkable life to be a part of this church, for me and for many, many of you. God has singularly and greatly blessed us because of Grace Community Church and what He has chosen to do here. We take no credit for it whatsoever, but are merely the recipients of God's grace and mercy, and the recipients of the kind of blessing that comes to the faithful proclamation and the faithful obedience of the word of God that has characterized this church from its beginning. And, it is right for us to thank God. In everything we are to give thanks. And sometimes, thanks is on the...sort of the last of the list. And, because in the church there are so many problems and so many needs, very often we're done praying before we get to the category of being grateful.
But, I can honestly confess to you, most of my prayers through the years for this church have been prayers of thanksgiving. And certainly, there is much to be grateful for, and we would be unfaithful to the command of Scripture to give thanks if we were not to stop and thank God for our church. This is a beloved church, not only to the Lord, but to me and to all of us, and we need to express gratitude for what God is doing here.
The best way to do that is to look at parallels in Scripture, and certainly, the church at Thessalonica is such a parallel. Let me describe this church to you by simply reading the first chapter. It's just 10 verses. Listen to how the apostle Paul describes this church. "Paul and Silvanus" or Silas "and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come."
The European theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once said cynically, "The church is like Noah's Ark. If it weren't for the storm outside, we couldn't stand the stink inside." Well, such a comment indicates that he never attended the church at Thessalonica. There wasn't really any stink inside there. And I certainly would say it's obvious he never attended Grace Church, either.
This church at Thessalonica was a remarkable church. One of the most notable omissions at the outset in the salutation is that Paul does not identify himself as an apostle. He just says, "Paul." In all of his letters, he identifies himself as an apostle, a servant of God, a messenger of Jesus Christ, in order to enforce his authority, because it is intended in the letter that he will bring to bear upon that church some authoritative correction. Not here. He never even identifies himself as an apostle. This is not a letter that needs any authority. He doesn't have to bring his great apostolic bearing upon them. There are no issues to confront, really, the call for such authority. This is a letter of gratitude. It is a letter of encouragement to a church of believers who were living holy lives, who were loving each other in a Christ-like way, and who were enduring suffering faithfully. This was a noble church. And this first chapter is the initial outburst of gratitude from the heart of the apostle, which he unpacks in more detail through the remaining chapters of the epistle. But, when you read this first chapter, you really catch the passion of this letter, and you catch the character of this church.
Verse 2 sets the tone for everything. "We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers." Paul's prayers for the Thessalonian church were prayers of gratitude. He was giving thanks to God always. In other words, it was exclusively thanks, and it was extensively thanks for all of you. This congregation brought him nothing but joy, nothing but gratitude. In chapter 2, he was thankful to God for the way they received the gospel, as it was the word of God, and not the word of men. He was thankful, verse 14, that they had become imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus. He was thankful, that same verse, that they had endured suffering. Over in verse 17, it says he was longing with great desire to see their face, for they were, according to verse 19, his hope, his joy, his crown of rejoicing. Verse 20: "You are our glory and our joy."
Chapter 3 verse 5, he says he could not endure it any longer, finding out about their faith, "for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor should be in vain." But, now that Timothy has come to see us, he's come from you, he's brought us good news of your faith and love, "and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you." He was so glad when Timothy came and told him everything was as it ought to be, very different from the Corinthian situation, which was a wrenching, heartbreaking experience of a church in disaffection, disobedience and mutiny against the beloved apostle. In fact, in verse 9, he says, "I am speechless. What thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account? You have brought us so much joy; I am speechless to know how to return that joy."
Chapter 4, essentially the same thing, verse 9 he says, "As to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia." Here was a church that was faithful; here was a church that practiced the love of the brethren in its fullness; here was a church that brought Paul tremendous joy. Chapter 5, verse 11, "Encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing." I mean, they were a church that was in every sense a church to be thankful for, and that's why the first chapter is sort of an outburst as he launches the epistle, it's an outburst of reasons for that thanksgiving.
And there are many parallels, I believe, here to our own church, to the goodness and grace of God toward us through all these many forty years of life as a church. This church has always been a church to be thankful for, a church to rejoice over.
And so Paul writes, along with his friend, Silas, who was a Jewish coworker, and Timothy, who was his son in the faith, and he writes to the church of the Thessalonians, and he identifies this church - and this is very important - as "in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ." In other words, this is a true church. They're in vital union with Jesus Christ. He is expressing living union with the very person of God and Christ. They were a church to whom he could say, "Grace to you in peace," because they had a right to receive God's grace and peace. They were a genuinely redeemed church. They were a beloved church. Verse 4: "Knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you." They were an elect church. In other words, all of that is to say they were genuine. They were real. They were a saved group. He says, "You are in God the Father. You are in the Lord Jesus Christ," that is in vital saving union with Him. "You are the recipients of grace and peace. We thank God for all of you." That means as far as we can tell, he didn't know of any tares among the weak, of any disaffection, of any mutiny, of any false teachers, of any false prophets, of any insurrectionists, any heretics. He was thankful for all of them. They were the beloved of God. They were sovereignly loved by God. They were chosen. They were the elect of God. And all of that is to emphasize that the reality was this is a saved community of believers, genuinely redeemed people. And so Paul is so grateful for the fact that this is genuinely the church of Jesus Christ. And in verse 2 he expresses that gratitude to God for all of them, and how he continually thanked God in his prayers.
Now, as the passage unfolds, starting in verse 3 there, it unfolds with a list of the characteristics of this church, and I listed ten of them that we'll work our way through, touching on them only briefly, because there are many of them. These are the ten things that made Paul thankful for this church. And as I worked through those in thinking about this this week, I was struck by the fact that they're all characteristic of our own fellowship as well. And I'm so grateful that this is not a Corinthian church, but that this is a Thessalonian church, and we're going to see that as we see the unfolding of the characteristics of that church. And again, I remind you, this is not a testimony to our greatness, this is a testimony to the grace of God. This is not some kind of tribute to our cleverness or our ability to grit our teeth and hang on. This is a testimony to the power of the Spirit of God, faithfully serving the purposes of God in the work of this church through these years, in spite of our weakness, in spite of our failure. But, if we are to give honor to whom honor is due, certainly we are to give honor to God for what he has done in this place.
Now, let's look at the characteristics that mark a church to be grateful for, and I think mark our church by God's grace to us. Number 1, they had a faith that works. They had a faith that works. Look at verse 3. Paul says, "We are thankful, always mentioning that gratitude toward God in our prayers, constantly bearing in mind, constantly remembering, first of all, your work of faith." The first thing that comes to mind in Paul's thinking, as he looks at this Thessalonian church, is that their salvation was real and it manifest itself in works. "Work" refers to the deed done. It refers to an act, a deed. It refers to an achievement, ergon. And he is saying, "Your faith, your saving faith, the genuineness of your salvation is evidenced in the work that you have done."
Now, Paul makes it very clear that you can't be saved by works. Romans chapter 3, Romans chapter 4, Romans chapter 5, etcetera, etcetera, all through the New Testament, Ephesians chapter 2, Galatians, everywhere in Galatians that is emphasized. Paul makes it very clear he is adamant on the fact that a faith without works saves. Okay? We just want to affirm that. A faith without works saves. You are saved by grace through faith alone. It is apart from works. But, though we are saved by a faith without works, Paul is also clear and adamant that the faith that saves produces works. Ephesians 2:10, "We are his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them." And James even goes so far as to say, "Faith without those works is dead faith, non-saving faith. It is an illusion." James says, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, because that's a condition of self-deception."
I can't see the new birth. I can't feel regeneration. I can't touch the new creation. I cannot hear God declare a person righteous. So, how do I know who's saved? You know it by their work. "By their fruit you shall" what? "know them," Matthew 7 says. What distinguishes counterfeit faith from the real thing is righteous deeds. Righteous behavior will be inevitably produced in those who have authentic saving faith. Faith is, by nature, turned and toned toward obedience. So, good works are inevitable, showing the work of God in the heart, the presence of the Holy Spirit, the evidence of real salvation. Yes, we fail, yes, we fall, but never cease from having the disposition to obey and do what pleases God.
This church produced works. These people were saved, and it was evident because they worked. They labored; made their salvation manifest in spiritual works. They were productive. I look at our church and I through the years have been really overwhelmed at the amount of spiritual work that is done in this church; the deeds of love and kindness; the deeds of mercy; the exercise of spiritual gifts; the teaching; the nurturing; training; the building up; the serving; the helping; the ministering has been manifest through all the years. Jesus emphasized this in Matthew 7, when He said, "It's not the people who say 'Lord, Lord,' it's the people who do the will of My Father who belong to Me." And certainly, through the years, this has been a serving, working church.
As you know, early on in our ministry, this church was known as the church with 900 ministers, because they came and looked at us and said, "Everybody is serving. Everybody is working. Everybody is doing things to make this church productive." And, that's the way it has always been. I never cease to be amazed at what comes by way of spiritual production out of this congregation. And even through the years recently, our pastoral staff has shrunken smaller, and smaller, and smaller, and smaller, as more and more of the ministry is taken on by you. You have a faith that works as well, and it's always been that way. This is a working church, people serving relentlessly in this church, here, on our campus, out in the community, and many of you all over the world, in many, many ways. I can't even begin to recite all the myriad of ways that you serve. This has been a serving church since the very, very start. I come here on a Sunday and I'm prepared to preach; but, everything else that goes on here is carried on by you, by faithful folk who do so many, many tasks. This is a church that demonstrates its faith in its work.
Sometimes, people can't believe how active this church is. People always ask me why the parking lot in this church is always full, every day of the week and every night of the week; how these people stay so involved. Sometimes pastors say to me, "How do you do this?" And my answer is, "I don't do this. I just come and do what I do, and they've always been moved to do what God has prompted them to do," and that's so commendable.
Secondly, Paul addresses not only their work of faith, but their labor of love. They had a faith that works, they had a love that labors. The word "labor" is a little different than "work." Work looks at the deed done. Labor looks, rather, at the effort expended. Labor is a term that has to do with arduous wearying toil to the point of exhaustion, kopos. And it looks at the effort expended to yield the work done. Why is it that your faith produces such works? Because you arduously labor. And what motivates you? It's your love that motivates you. It's not me up here browbeating you. It's not me putting some legalistic trip on you. It's not me manipulating you to do these kinds of things. It's not a group of people straining and working and pulling and tugging at you to try to force you to do these things under threats. It is rather you motivated internally by the love of Christ and the love of God and the love of the church, laboring out of that love, and it's always been that way. We have avoided legalism, we have avoided manipulation, we have avoided the kind of intimidation that forces people to do things apart from a God-honoring, Christ-exalting, loving motive. And yet, through all the years, people have strained with all their energy to the maximum to serve the purposes of God and do the work of faith in this church out of the love of Christ that is in their hearts, and the love of the people of God around them. Serving the Lord out of love, agape, that self-sacrificing willful love has always characterized this congregation.
And that is true of the Thessalonian church, and Paul is so grateful for it. As I read earlier, he says to them, in chapter 4, verse 9, "As to the love of the brethren, I don't even have to write to you. I don't even have to bring it up. It's not a subject that needs to be addressed, because you have it. You love Christ, and you love those that are Christ's, and it's manifest." All of this, the church's ministries, all of this church's ministries, from one end to the other, are dependent on people who do the work of faith because they love enough to labor to do those things.
As I said, we cut down our staff, we trimmed back our staff, and yet we have this almost endless ministry going on that comes from the love of your heart. I love that concept, the labor of love. And it should be true in my life as well. I mean, all of us should be in the labor of love. I know I get paid to preach and to pastor, and that's okay, too; because the Bible says that those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel, be paid to do that, and those who work hard in the word and doctrine are worthy of double honor or double support or pay, and you care for the pastors of this church well to do that. But, the amazing thing to me is you're all uncompensated, and this church is full of thousands of people who work, who toil to the point of weariness — from elders right on down to people who help in the simplest task — and do this without any earthly compensation at all. This is a labor of love. This is certainly...this is certainly the greatest uncompensated work force in the state of California, and I thank God for that. I want in my own life for it to be laboring where I have no earthly reward as well, and that's one of the reasons that I many, many years ago gave myself to the ministry of Grace to You and didn't want to take any money for any tapes or any broadcasts or anything at all that's produced and distributed through Grace to You. That...I wanted to have a labor of love. I wanted to join you and serve the Lord purely and only for that which is eternal.
But, you have been faithful through the years, and that was true of Thessalonica. Their hearts were filled with love toward Christ and toward those who were Christ's, to the point that they were willing to work exhaustively and make great effort to do the work for which they would never be compensated, except in the life to come, which was evidence of the real condition of their hearts; true faith, evidenced by affection for Christ and for Christ's own people.
Thirdly, Paul commends this church not only for faith that works and a love that labors, but a hope that endures, a hope that endures. He says in verse 3, "I am constantly reminded of the steadfastness of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father." And he's talking about eternity there. You work in the light of eternity. You labor in the light of eternity. You labor for future glory. "Steadfastness" is hupomonē. It means "to remain under." It has the idea of endurance under difficulty, endurance under literally thlipsis, pressure, tribulation. You don't defect. You don't go into a stall. You have spiritual staying power. You stay with it. You are, in the language of Revelation 2 and 3, overcomers. You are the seed that is planted in the soil and when tribulation comes you don't die. You overcome the trouble. You flourish. You are not like those who defect. First John 2:19, we've been talking about them, those who went out from us because they were not of us. You persevere. You continue.
The Thessalonians were under persecution from the Jews. They were under persecution from their own countrymen. Those things are mentioned in chapter 2 verse 14. It wasn't that they were in a bed of roses. It wasn't that they weren't suffering persecution. It wasn't that there weren't attacks upon them, because in fact there were. But, trouble didn't kill them, because they had their eyes fixed on what was eternal.
You've had struggles. Life isn't the way you want it to be. It doesn't come out all the way you would like to script it. We struggle through things as a church. We've struggled through some grave difficulties through the years as a church. You in your own life have struggled through relationships within the family of God, within your own family at home, in the areas of ministries here. There may have been prices to pay for you from unconverted family members. Who knows what. Life is not going to be the way we would like it to be. But, we're not questioning God, we're not assaulting God. We don't expect a world of comfort, and we are willing to endure whatever comes in this life because we look to the life which is ahead. We are willing to suffer anything in this life because we anticipate the things that God has prepared for them that love Him, and we believe with the apostle Paul that the sufferings of this life are not to be compared with the glory which shall be ours.
And that kind of enduring hope sustains people through the long haul. It's been so wonderful to see this church through all these years from its beginning never wavering, enduring under all the varying pressures with a faith that works, a love that labors, and a hope that perseveres. And here we are all these years later, and you have still been faithful.
Having established those three things as the primary issues reminding us that the three great virtues are faith, love and hope — Paul identifies them as such in 1 Corinthians 13. — he says, "You have the three most important things: Faith that works, love that labors, and hope that endures." And he's really referring to their present condition. You have those. You exhibit those.
In verse 5, he looks back to their past conversion, and this is an important thing as well. This was true of their church and I think of ours also. He says in verse 5, "Our gospel didn't come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction, just as you know what kind of men we prove to be among you for your sake."
They had powerful preachers. They had powerful preachers. They had a faith that works, they had a love that labors, they had a hope that endures, and they had preachers that were powerful. This is a most interesting point to me. One of the things that made that church what it was, was the power of the preachers that came to them. They had Paul, they had Silas, they had Timothy. This is most interesting. And Paul says, "Our gospel didn't come to you in word only." It has to come in word, but not word only. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word. How shall they hear without a preacher? It has to be in language. God is revealing Himself in words that can be understood in human language. So, they had to hear the words. But, the gospel came to them not just in word. It was, according to 2:13, the word of God's message, the word of the gospel, and it has to be that. But, he says, "Our gospel came not in word only." And, by the way, I want to just mention, he says, "Our gospel." He doesn't say, "We came not in word only," because he really wants to set the messenger aside and emphasize the message. Instead of saying, "We came to you, not in word only, but in power," he says, "Our gospel came," therefore emphasizing the messenger...the message rather than the messenger. The message is the issue to him, not the speaker. The good news of salvation, which these preachers brought, came. And it wasn't just talk. He says, "It came in power, it came in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction." You know what you had? You had powerful preachers, you had Holy Spirit-filled preachers, and you had preachers with strong convictions.
You know, beloved, I really believe that is an absolute essential to building a strong church. You just didn't have people who could make speeches, who could speak with polished rhetoric, who were clever communicators or, you know, trained orators. You didn't just hear some truthful discourse. You got more than that. You got men who came to you not just in word, but they came with power, and they came with the Holy Spirit, and they came with strong conviction, so critical. This divine power was woven into the fabric of Paul's life. This divine power was woven into the fabric of Silas' life. This divine power was woven into the very warp and woof of Timothy's life, and Paul is saying, "We were preachers possessing the power of God."
The message itself had power. "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation," Romans 1:16. But the preacher had power, too, because he was devoted and dedicated to Godly living and to holiness. He has here in mind the inward reality of spiritual power in the preacher, making him a mighty preacher, and making the people aware that they were hearing something more than a speech, and they came in power because they came in the Holy Spirit. The two go together. They're utterly inseparable. I mean, totally inseparable. The person behind the power is the Holy Spirit. You could perhaps translate it that he is saying, "Also in power, even in the Holy Spirit."
Those people in Thessalonica, those idolatrous pagans in that city, just going along with their damning life, had some preachers come to town who were not just ordinary men. When they stood up to preach, they were Holy Spirit empowered men, and the preached — I love this — with full conviction. Strongly confident of the truth of the gospel, strongly confident of the reality of Jesus Christ, strongly confident of the saving message, strongly confident of God's divine revelation in Scripture, they came and they preached powerfully under the energy of the Holy Spirit with great conviction. They were confident that the word would not return void but that Isaiah 55:11 would be fulfilled. And you, you have to ask yourself the question, really: What would you be like? Some of you can answer this, because maybe this has been your experience in other places. But, what would you be like if you were exposed to polished rhetoric, fine speech making, even truthful discussions, but, all you ever heard was a weak impotent, fleshly preacher speaking his own clever words without strong conviction and the power of the Holy Spirit? What would you be like? Would it make a difference in your life? You bet.
But, the very experience of the Thessalonians was that they were exposed to men who were powerful, Holy Spirit driven, with full conviction of the truth of their message.
Let me tell you something. I speak as a preacher to you now. When you preach the truth of God, and you experience the amazing power that comes in that preaching...and that's the only way I know to express it. As one of my sons said to me one time, when I preach, I'm something unique, but, the rest of the time, I'm nothing special. He was acknowledging the fact that something happens to the preacher when he preaches; something that is...I don't want toa say it's miraculous. It isn't miraculous, but it is a power that God grants. I find myself saying things that surprise me, and if I sometimes smile when I make a good point, it's because it's the first time I've ever heard it, too. I never cease to be amazed at how the Lord can make my mind work to be saying things that have some biblical profundity, when I don't have time to think about what I'm going to say. It is an amazing thing to have experienced the power of God. You say, "Well, don't you prepare what you're going to say?" I prepare what I'm going to say, but I certainly don't say just what I've prepared. Once you've experienced that, and once you've experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, which results in the conversion of people, and the conviction of people, and the transformation of lives, and once you've preached with real conviction because you believe what you preach and you see what God does in the lives of people, you can't trade that in for a book review, or anything else. I say that to young men. If you'll just spend the opening part of your ministry in faithful exposition of the word of God, you will see the power of God through His word, you will sense the tremendous energy of the Spirit of God as He works through you to convert souls and transform lives, and if you do that with full conviction and you begin to experience what happens when you do that, you will never be able to settle for anything less. But, if you go out and start with some cheap substitute for that, you may get stuck there the rest of your life. So, the apostle Paul says, "You know the kind of men we were when we came."
What really marks a church to be thankful for is that that church has been exposed to power in the pulpit. And, from the very beginning, Dr. Householder and Dr. Elvey and through all of the preaching that's been done on the pulpit of this church through the years, not certainly just mine, many, many others, this church has experienced powerful, Holy Spirit preaching with full conviction. That has an immense impact.
Number 5 in my little list as we wrap this up, a church to be thankful for also has life that is new. Life that is new. Look at verse 6, "You also became imitators of us and of the Lord." That's really amazing, because the apostle Paul only ministered in Thessalonica for a few weeks, just a few weeks, and it hasn't been very long after that that he's writing this letter back to them, and he says, "You have already become imitators of us and of the Lord." What does that mean? That means they were regenerated. That means they were born again. That means they had newness of life. There was a dramatic change on the inside among these sordid, idolatrous pagans, and these legalistic, self-righteous Jews. They had been revolutionized. They had become Christians and already were manifesting, imitating characteristics of Paul and of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. They had new life. They were imitators of Jesus Christ. They were new creations. It didn't take long. In a few weeks, they were giving powerful demonstration that they had been born again. They were indeed God's elect and beloved, and they had been transformed. "Imitators," beautiful word from mimētēs, mimics; it means "little copies" of Paul and Silas and Timothy, and of the Lord Himself, evidence of regeneration. They had new life in that church. They were imitating Jesus Christ.
And you know that new life really basically shows up in three areas: Holiness, love, and suffering. And Paul addresses those areas throughout the New Testament as the other writers do. Imitating Christ means imitating His holiness, God's holiness, 1 Peter 1, "Be holy as I am holy." It means imitating His love, "Love one another as I have loved you." It means imitating His suffering; suffer together the way I've suffered. "I've given you an example," Peter says, "of how you ought to suffer." So, when you say they became like Christ, what you mean is they were pursuing holiness, love, and willing to suffer. That was the evidence of their newness. Just a baby church, but all things were new, and they had been transformed out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. They had been delivered from idolatry, as it notes down in verse 9, turning from idols to serve the living and true God. They had a life that was new.
I love that about our church, I always have loved it about our church. Some people think our church is a teaching church, and we're all wrapped up in a theology, and that the main thing here is to...is to poke around in obscurities of the text of scripture. But, they don't know our church. Primarily, our church is a place that could approximate a spiritual maternity ward where there's the constant cry of newborn babes in Christ. New life has always abounded in this church, and for that we thank our God.
Number 6 in my list, and looking at Thessalonica, I find another parallel. In verse 6, "You not only became imitators of us and of the Lord," therein marks the transition to new life "but having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit." They had a joy that was transcendent. They had a joy that was transcendent. They received the word, that's the gospel, in the midst of severe suffering. You can read Acts 17 about that. That suffering continued, according to chapter 2, verse 14, from their own countrymen, and from Jews. Chapter 3 indicates that it continued even further. 2 Thessalonians indicates some further suffering. In several passages in 2 Thessalonians they had hostilities on all sides. They weren't without suffering. The word used there in verse 6 is tribulation. Thlipsis means "severe pressure." The idea is that the pressure was hostile and intense; and yet, in the midst of all of that, he says, "You have the joy of the Holy Spirit." No human joy could survive what they endured. They had to be the true Christians, they had to be the elect, the beloved of God, genuinely made new in Christ, or their joy would never have survived their troubles.
Joy was the evidence of their true salvation. They heard the word with joy, and that joy remained. "The kingdom of God," Paul says in Romans 15, "is joy in the Holy Spirit." I mean, that is so basic. That is so foundational to our Christian experience; and it was true of that church, and it's always been true of our church. I love the joy of this church. Whenever I come here on the Lord's day, people are rejoicing together. There're smiles and happy faces as people talk about what God is doing in their lives, as they share the blessing of God since last they met. There's joy in your singing. Clayton always comments to me about how great it is to lead this choir, and how equally great it is to lead this one, the congregation, and how you sing with such exuberance, because the Spirit of God has prompted you to sing and make melody in your heart to the Lord. Your joy comes through in relationships, it comes through in your kindness to others, it comes through in the way you sing, it comes through in the way you give with such generosity. It's there, it's evident, and it's always been a part of this church. It's always been a happy place. It's always been a place of celebration, always a place of jubilation, no matter how serious I might be or how serious the message might be; and you can hear that seriously, and you do that. There is always a sort of a rebounding joy because you, like Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail, have so much to rejoice about. I thank God for a church filled with joy. No matter how difficult times get, and life is not what we want it to be. My life isn't, and your life isn't, either. I would like to fix the whole world; and I'd like to fix our whole state; and I'd like to fix our city; and I'd like to fix everybody I know just the way I'd like them; and I'd like to fix me just the way I'd like me; and I can't do it. And yet, in the midst of all the suffering, in the midst of all the trials and all the hardships and all the difficulty, and all the unfulfillment, there is an abounding joy in my heart, and I see it in yours and I always have. This church, like Thessalonian...the Thessalonian church is known by a faith that works, a love that labors, a hope that endures, preachers that are powerful, life that is new, and joy that is transcendent.
Number 7: Behavior that is exemplary. Verse 7, he says, "You became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia." You became a tupos. Type comes from... The word "type" comes from that, model, an exact replica, a reproduction. "You are imitators of us worth imitating, and you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia." This is really amazing. Paul wasn't praying for them like he was the Galatians when he said, "I am in pain and agony until Christ is fully formed in you." To them, he says, "You became the example. You imitated us, and now you're worth imitating." And this is a young church. Macedonia was the northern province of Greece where Philippi and Berea were located. Achaia was the southern province of Greece where Athens and Corinth were located. And he says, "No matter where, you are the model. You are the model church to the Bereans, the Philippians, the Corinthians and the Athenians. You're the model. You're the example for others to follow. Your lives are exemplary. You are a living evidence of saving faith. You are an illustration of Christianity and how it ought to work. You show others what they're to be like in Christ." Their behavior was so distinctly Christian, so God-honoring, so Christ-exalting, they not...they were knowledgeable in the truth. They were committed to living that truth to such a degree that others could follow their pattern. And oh how I have rejoiced through the years that God has made this church an example. God has used you to be examples to others here, and across this nation, and around the world. What a blessing.
Number 8, this church was marked by a witness that is strong, a witness that is strong. Look at verses 8 and 9. And here is another reason for his commendation. "For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything, for they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you." This is quite amazing, really astonishing. In addition to the exemplary lives they were living, they were bold evangelists. In addition to living examples, they were speaking the gospel. They were proclaiming the gospel. They were really fulfilling the great commission. "The word of the Lord," he says, "has sounded forth from you." Sounded forth, exēchētai, is a strong word meaning, literally, "to broadcast," very strong term. It was used of a trumpet blast. It was also used of rolling thunder. This is a loud voice. "Out of you was broadcast the gospel. Out of you the gospel came thundering forth." And the tense of the verb indicates a continual sounding forth, the constant echoing of the truth of the gospel, increasingly the wider, and wider, and wider, and wider areas.
I think about all the people from Grace Church who've gone all over this community, and all over this nation, and all over the world; and all of our missionaries, and all of our radio ministry, and all of everything that's everywhere, and how the word of truth has sounded forth from this place across the face of the earth. It is astonishing to me. It astonishes me that every single day, eleven hundred times a day, we are able to preach the word of God across the world. It's astonishing to me that all twenty-four hours of the day, the message of this pulpit is being proclaimed somewhere in the world, all twenty-four hours of every day. God has allowed us the blessing of sounding forth the truth, and you have been faithful. Your faith toward God has gone forth so that we have no need to say anything, he says.
And then in verse 9 he, says, "Everybody tells us the story everywhere we go. They report to us how we came to you and what happened." In other words, the reputation of this church had reached far and wide. How did that happen? Well, everybody passing through Thessalonica that was exposed to that church carried the message, and everywhere the Thessalonian believers went, the message went with them. And then, what we affectionately call the grace vine took over, and away it went.
This was a remarkable church, the church to be grateful for. No wonder, in verse 2, Paul said, "We give thanks to God always for all of you." A faith that works, a love that labors, a hope that perseveres or endures, preachers that are powerful, life that is new, joy that is transcendent, behavior that is exemplary, and a witness that is strong and reaches out into the world.
Two final identifying marks of a church to be thankful for that I also believe are parallel to our own church: Number 9, a loyalty, a loyalty that submits, a loyalty that submits. In verse 9 he says, "You turned to God from idols." And then I love this part, "to serve a living and true God." That indicates that they had submitted to God. They turned and they served. You turned to God. A verb, by the way, used in the book of Acts repeatedly for conversion, it's a synonym for repentance and faith that leads to a new allegiance. "You turned from," if I can add, to give you the parallel, "you turned from dead and false idols to serve a living and true God. You turned from the dead and the false to the living and the true. You turned from idols to God, and you are serving Him. You are serving Him. You became slaves. Your relationship to God is that of a slave." Here is the reality of transformation: You become slaves of God. Many of these Gentile Christians were former idol worshipers, perhaps most all of them. Their lives were transformed, and so was their allegiance. John Calvin said, "Only the man who has learned to put himself wholly in subjection to God is truly converted to Him." If you're truly converted, you're going to be subject to God. When God converts a man, He changes the entire person, not just the emotion, so that one regrets his former manner of life, but also the mind and the will. With respect to that, he experiences a complete changeover, and all of this becomes apparent in his outward conduct, as he willingly submits himself to the purposes of God.
Becoming a Christian involves a definite break, a new Master and subjugation to that Master, willing subjugation; loyal, loving service. And again, this church has always been obedient. I was talking to a pastor yesterday, and I said, "What is the joy of your ministry? Tell me what is bringing you joy in your ministry?" He said, "My people submit to the Word of God, and that's really all I care about, and therein is my joy." And I have to say that has been true here from the first day I came here, February 9, 1969. To this very day, this church has always submitted to the will of God, and served God, the living and true One.
Finally, this marked the Thessalonian church and certainly marks our church: This was a church looking for Christ's return, looking for Christ's return. Verse 10, "And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come." It was a Second Coming church, and that's so wholesome. That's so important, to be waiting for His Son, to understand that this life isn't everything. That's what breaks the back of materialism, do you understand that? That's the... That's what breaks the back of getting caught up in amassing worldly well. That's what puts ecology in its right place. I always remind the ecologists, "If you think we're messing up the earth, wait till you see what Jesus does to it when He gets here."
We are waiting for Jesus Christ. We know the end of history. We are known by the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ, and we live in the light of that hope; and whoever has this hope in him purifies himself. We're looking for Jesus Christ. We're not looking for a time of tribulation. We're not looking for the antichrist. We're not living in fear. We're looking for the Savior to come and take His people. And we know He will deliver us from the wrath to come. That final phrase refers to eternal wrath in hell, I believe. We're looking for the coming of Jesus Christ to deliver us from all the judgment to come, and to take us to eternal glory.
Bottom line, we live in the light of eternity. We have eternal perspective here. We are expectant. We believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ, that He could come at any moment, and we have to live our lives in light of that imminent return. We want to be found faithful when He comes, and He could come at any moment. And I believe living in the light of an imminent return of Jesus Christ has an immense impact on how we live our lives, knowing that Jesus could come at any moment. You've always been that way. This church has always had a strong, strong emphasis on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and that's what creates holiness. And the imminent expectation of the coming of Christ awakens and alerts us, that He could be here any moment, and we want to be found faithful when He arrives.
What was Paul thankful for? What am I thankful for? A faith that works, a love that labors, a hope that endures, a...preachers that are powerful, life that is new, joy that is transcendent, behavior that is exemplary, witness that is strong, loyalty that submits, and looking for the Second Coming, an eager expectation for Christ's return. And these are true of our family of people here, and how grateful to God should we be. How many people languish in a church not nearly so privileged as ours. How grateful we should be.
Beloved, will you just go and somewhere, this day, express your gratitude to God for this church? He has been merciful and gracious to all of us undeserving people. But, because of His goodness, and because of His honoring of His word, and His blessing of your obedience, we have known this full blessing. Now, I'm not under any illusions. While you're thanking God, pray that He'll continue to be faithful to protect us, because the enemy lies at the door wanting nothing more than to destroy what God has wrought. And we want to be watchful in our prayers, even while being grateful.
Join me in prayer. Father, this has been a refreshing time this morning to just rehearse what You've done for us. We are reminded immediately of the fact that to whom much is given, much is required. And we're also reminded that Paul did say to the Thessalonians on several occasions, "Excel still more." We don't want to rest on these things as if we have arrived at some kind of perfection. But, we are thankful for the direction. May we excel even more. May we even be more faithful. Thank you, Lord, for what you've done in this church. We give You all the glory and thanksgiving. In Christ's name, amen.
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GeographyJobs.caGeography Jobs First. In Canada |
By Brian Doucet
January 17, 2008
As I have mentioned previously, geography is a very broad term. In many regards, this is one of our strengths; as geographers, we study and learn about such diverse topics which enable us to learn from each other. I recently completed a masters program in human geography and planning. In our group of around a dozen students, we researched such diverse topics as gentrification in Edinburgh (my own topic), water privatisation in Bolivia, Spanish migration to the Netherlands, social cohesion in a newly built city, and creative clusters in Berlin. All of these topics, of course, fit easily under the umbrella of geography (or to be even more specific, human geography). Because of this, I learned about topics totally different from my own. What is also clear from this small example is that geography is global and there are many variations in geographic phenomenon throughout the world. Studying water privatisation would be much different in another part of the world than in Bolivia, just as migration studies in Asia would probably yield different findings than in Europe.
While being a truly global subject, and being able to learn about a wide variety of topics that fit under the rubric of geography are positive elements of the subject, this vastness and broadness can cause some difficulties. Medical students study medicine, law students study the law, and despite the internal differences within those subjects, they are much more unified in their knowledge than the geography students studying geography. Our subject is so broad that there are at times very few ties that bind us together. We all study the earth, and in the case of human geography, people over space. But these are very weak ties. Geographers study geography, but there is usually a very important adjective attached to the word: urban geography, economic geography, historical geography, or medical geography, for that matter. Are we in danger of becoming so broadly-based that the economic geographers gravitate to the economics department? Did my gentrification study really have that much in common with my colleague studying water privatisation? Are the ties of spatiality really enough to sustain our field in the future? In my opinion they are. Geographers study a variety of topics it is true, but the key element that unifies us is that we add is the element of space and geography to these subjects. In the economic geography example, not only do we contribute to our understanding of the mutually exclusive topics of economics and geography, but also to how economics manifests itself in space. This additional insight to these various disciplines is what gives us our strength as scientists. And, however varied the topics we study throughout the world, it is this element that unifies us together as geographers.


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Based on the hit US reality show America's Next Top Model this Dutch version is presented by Daphne Deckers.
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Plagiarism, Part 1: Overview
What you don't know CAN hurt you!
Much of your college education will involve reading and learning about what others have written and integrating those ideas into your own thinking and writing. Learning from others and integrating their ideas into your own work is what scholarship is all about.
This set of modules is all about learning how to be a good scholar and use the creative work of others ethically.
After completing the Plagiarism Overview, you should be able to:
- Define plagiarism.
- State the consequences of plagiarism.
- Define the words acknowledge, citation, bibliography, and style manual.
28 August, 2009


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MADRID – The Catholic archdiocese in Madrid says it needs more exorcists to help some of its faithful cope with the devil.
An archdiocese spokeswoman said Friday that Madrid only has one exorcist priest and that it is considering a plan to train more. She spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with archdiocese policy.
"The devil exists. That's a fact," she told The Associated Press.
Only a priest authorized by a bishop can perform an exorcism and the brief rite involves blessings with holy water, prayers and an interrogation of the devil by the exorcist during which the demon is asked to leave the victim.
ReligionenLibertad, a Catholic website, blames the growing secularization of Spanish society for what it calls an increase in people asking for help with their demons.


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Nanoelectronics research center imec and Excico have successfully demonstrated the application of laser thermal anneal (LTA) to boost the current in vertical polysilicon channel devices for 3D memory. Due to the larger grain size of the laser recrystallized polycrystalline channel material, up to 10 times higher read current and 2.5 times steeper sub-threshold slope could be obtained as compared to conventional polysilicon channel. This technique provides a way to higher stacking and therefore higher bit density in 3D memory.
Three-dimensional vertical poly-Si channel devices are considered prominent alternatives for many technologies and in particular for new generation nonvolatile memory applications. In such solutions, vertical poly-Si channel transistors are used both as memory cells and as string select transistors. Because devices are typically fabricated with a gate-first, channel-last approach, the formation of single-crystal silicon channel is complicated or even prohibitive. As a result, electron conduction is dominated by scattering at grain boundaries and interface defects of the polycrystalline channel material, significantly decreasing the drive current needed for the read operation.
As a result, grain size engineering is required to obtain larger grains and hence less grain boundaries. Imec and Excico researchers have accomplished this by channel formation with amorphous Si deposition followed by pulsed laser annealing (Excico LTA series, wavelength λ=308 nm, pulse duration < 200 ns). LTA dose needs proper adjustment in order to optimally crystallize the channel (too low doses are not effective whereas too high doses compromise device integrity). Grain structure was inferred from TEM analysis, showing increasingly larger grains from as-deposited, to furnace, to laser recrystallized polysilicon.
In LTA recrystallized polycrystalline channel material, up to 10 times higher read current and 2.5 times steeper sub-threshold slope, could be obtained as compared to other polysilicon channel. Larger grains are obtained that result in less grain boundaries which in turn leads to higher effective mobility, less temperature activation of the conduction mechanism.
Also memory operation was evaluated in cells with ONO (oxide-nitride-oxide) memory stack as well as in macaroni-type cells with a dielectric filler in the center (not shown). Main memory characteristics such as program/erase characteristics, endurance and room temperature retention on fresh and program/erase cycled devices were independent of crystallization thermal treatment, proving that optimized LTA does not impact memory operation. This observation is crucial for the successful fabrication of advanced vertical memory stacks using LTA.
These results were achieved in the framework of imec's Industrial Affiliation Program on Advanced Memory Devices, with imec's memory core partners including Intel, Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Panasonic, as well as Toshiba and SanDisk.