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Michael Moal's Modified
Though many have been able to pass the hot rod torch onto their children, it is quite rare when the torch has been passed through four generations. But such is the case with Michael Moal, son of Steve, grandson of George, great-grandson of William.
It was William Moal, a wheelwright who got things going back in 1911 building coachbuilt cars. Through the '20s and '30s William created custom bodies for customers in the San Francisco Bay Area. George followed in his footsteps and became a bodyman, when he wasn't out racing wooden race boats or whittling something fantastic out of wood.
When George's son, Steve, was old enough the pair became partners in an Oakland-based bodyshop, which is where Steve's sons, Michael and David, learned the craft from the earliest age.
Steve Moal's name should be well known to hot rodders as he has created some memorable vehicles, both for himself as well as others (including Gary Meadors and TV/movie star Tim Allen).
Starting out at the shop by sweeping up after school, Michael learned over the years from the best people Steve could hire, including the very talented Jimmy Kilroy.
Once old enough to drive, Michael's interest in cars was wide-based, and he liked everything from Autocross racing to vintage Shelby Mustangs. In the late '90s, as his father slowly got out of body and fender work to concentrate solely on building hot rods for customers and creating a line of chassis and suspension pieces, Michael's interest in that particular type of car piqued.
By the beginning of this decade, Michael began designing a car in his head-something with a racing flavor but with a traditional feel. Influenced by the Hilborn-Warth streamliner, Phil Remington's dry lakes racer, Barney Navarro's iconic track-nosed Model T roadster, and after talking it over with his dad, Michael finally figured out what he really wanted: a traditional-looking 1929 Ford Modified.
By the end of 2003, Michael had a Brookville Roadster pickup body in the shop, but it would take a few years for it to finally become a full-fledged project worthy of spending all hours and any extra money on it. But as an added benefit, through the years Michael was absorbing what was happening in the shop and figuring out how to apply it to his ride. When most people mention "table scraps," they think of what's left on the dinner plate that goes to the family dog. But when you're a Moal, it's whatever parts and pieces that were left over from different projects that are taking up space at the shop when they really could be used in a project. So Michael began gathering parts, and soon it was time to put everything together.
By February 2006, a chassis began to go together in the shop's chassis jig using 2×6 boxed 'rails and a custom suspension system. Steve Moal has not only made a name for himself with the high quality of workmanship that comes from his shop, but the cars also work really well, too, and their unique suspension is why.
Michael's ride uses a torsion bar setup, with the front suspension using an I-beam axle and a pair of chromoly arms that run between a mount on the batwings to a pair of torsion bars mounted lengthwise between the framerails. The rest of the suspension looks like a "regular" hot rod with hairpins and covered shocks (though these are Strange-built double-adjustable units with Moal covers).
Wilwood four-piston calipers work to clinch 12-inch rotors up front, while another pair of 12-inchers work a similar setup out back. Another set of torsion bars are found in the rear, too, but mount transversely and forward of the Halibrand V-8 quick-change rearend, which has one-off mounts welded to the axle tubes for the triangulated four-link suspension bars.
With a mind guided by sports car performance, Michael used a NASCAR 12:1 power steering box modified and blueprinted by Tommy Lee to help with the steering, and it connects to a LimeWorks column. Rollers come in the way of Vintiques wires, 15×6 and 16×8, which have been shod with Goodyear Eagle GT II 195/60-15 and 285/60-16 rubber.
Now all that the roller needed was a motor, and one was found in the form of a '65 Chevy 327. Dan Brewer, out of Torrance, California, went through the engine for Michael, reassembling the polished and balanced crank with stock rods and oversize (0.040) pistons along with a COMP Cams camshaft and stock iron heads. Up top a trio of Holley carbs mounted to an Offenhauser manifold feed the small-block, and exhaust exits out a pair of Corvette iron manifolds. The V-8 bolts to a Muncie four-speed transmission, which is guided by a floor-mounted Hurst shifter.
Once complete with engine, the chassis could now receive the body, but "stock" really isn't in the Moal vocabulary. A custom three-piece aluminum hood was also fabbed up (with three rows of louvers added to each hood side), and the most striking addition to the car-the track nose-was soon created at Moal's in November 2007. Michael wanted a vintage '40s look to the nose, so this one was made with a little more vertical profile (very similar to the one found on the old Barney Navarro dry lakes racer) than what you'd find on a contemporary roadster.
By January 2008, Michael was ready to gain a little extra room in the cockpit so the rear section of the roadster pickup cab was extended a few inches. The next big custom piece was the trunk, which would sit over the rear end. Made from aluminum and riveted together, the trunk actually conceals a bladder-type fuel cell that takes up roughly half the trunk's space. And with the chopping of the windshield posts and the addition of the cowl vent and scoop, the body was ready to roll into the spray booth at Moal's at the end of December 2009. Moal's Mike Faccini and Al Aguyao used PPG paint to coat the car in white, after which Michael laid out a scallop job in contrasting black. After Rory came by to 'stripe the pickup, the exterior was pretty well done.
The interior was next, and Michael thought something simple would work well but simple is a lot harder to do correctly than it looks. Michael started with a new, larger dash made from aluminum, added a glovebox and door, then in the first week of January 2010, filled the dash with a set of Moal Bomber gauges. The steering wheel is a Schroeder four-spoke, 14-inch midget wheel, which has a black anodized aluminum horn button that looks like a mini crash pad, and mounts to a LimeWorks column.
Another advantage to Michael was when it came time for some seats. He wanted bomber-style buckets, and it just so happened that the first pair of seats Moal's made for the California Special back in 1997 weren't used in the car, so he claimed them before sending them to Tom Sewell to have him cover them in pleated red leather. The door panels are aluminum, but they're covered in black leather by Sewell. Down below black and gray carpet was laid out.
By January 26, the car was off its jackstands and getting prepped for its first public showing: the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California. From a rather slow start over a period of years to a mad dash for the last six months, Michael now has first-hand experience in what it takes to get a car finished and ready for its first show.
In the time it took him to start and finish his first traditional rod he not only had a son (Rex, his first) but now he's old enough to be enrolled in school. Rex has already shown an interest in the shiny, glossy vehicles down at the shop, so here's hoping the Moal legacy will be carried on well into the 21st century!


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(Reuters) - The embattled mayor of Pennsylvania's financially crippled capital of Harrisburg was ousted on Tuesday when she lost the Democratic primary to the owner of an independent bookstore.
Mayor Linda Thompson's loss to Eric Papenfuse comes after a tumultuous term in which her outbursts and statements caused a loss of confidence in her administration.
Papenfuse is likely to win the general election in this heavily Democratic city in November, but he must still face off against independent candidate Nevin Mindlin.
There were also more than 400 Republican write-in votes for a variety of candidates.
Papenfuse won with more than 38 percent of the nearly 6,500 votes. City Comptroller Dan Miller came in second with 32 percent, and Thompson trailed with about 28 percent. The remaining votes went to the other candidates.
Thompson once referred to Miller - Harrisburg's first openly gay elected official when he was on the City Council - as a "homosexual, evil little man," according to local media reports. In subsequent stories, she did not deny the comment.
In her concession speech Thompson said: "I don't feel this is a failure. I did the people's work over the last three-and-a-half years."
The central Pennsylvania city of nearly 50,000 became a poster child for municipal financial mismanagement because of a questionable 2007 bond deal to finance upgrades to the city's trash incinerator. The borrowing put Harrisburg on the hook for what is now at least $340 million in debt, though some reports peg the figure at $370 million.
Harrisburg faces a cumulative deficit of at least $13 million. It is struggling to pay for basic services and has had to skip at least $9 million in debt service payments.
After trying unsuccessfully in 2011 to file for bankruptcy, the city is under the financial control of state-appointed receiver William Lynch. Lynch is trying to sell or lease several city assets under a court-approved fiscal recovery plan.
It was under the former mayor of 28 years, Steve Reed, that the city inked the incinerator financing deal. Thompson ousted Reed in the fall of 2009.
Reed was also at the helm when the city misstated some information on financial disclosures, leading the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to charge the city with fraud earlier this month.
Problems with late financial disclosures allegedly continued once Thompson took over. No individuals were named in the case and the city made no payment under its settlement with the SEC.
Thompson has a strong base in the city's majority African-American population. But former staffers have said her aggressive style and controversial statements created a toxic atmosphere inside her office.
At a victory party in his Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Papenfuse addressed his supporters.
"Long work lies ahead of us, and with your help, Harrisburg's best days are ahead of it," he said.
Reporting by Michael Sadowski in Harrisburg, additional reporting by Hilary Russ in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Nick Carey and Philip Barbara

subset: commoncrawl


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Each new year begins with expectations. And because I tend to be an optimist, I came into 2010 expecting it will end as a better year for the economy and the industry. I don't expect an immediate turnaround, but I do hope it's coming.
With those positive thoughts in mind, I put together a wish list for the industry for 2010:
1. The economy will turn around, businesses will stop laying off employees and they will start hiring again. This wish goes for health clubs and fitness equipment manufacturers, as well as businesses in general.
2. Feeling more confident about the economy and their job security, people will start buying memberships again, leading to a record year in club memberships for the industry, and club operators will start buying equipment again.
3. Banks will loosen their grip on their money and start lending again to businesses, including fitness facilities.
4. Good clubs will not go out of business, but poorly run clubs and unethical operators will be pushed out of the business by well-run operations. This eventually will lead to a better image for the industry. And when these bad clubs close, I hope they won't do so unexpectedly, leaving just a note on the door and bad publicity for the industry.
5. Retention rates will soar as clubs implement true new member integration programs that take members by the hand into all areas of the club. These programs will include follow-up with members through phone calls, e-mails and face-to-face communication, and they will get people involved in the club community so they want to come back.
6. Front desk staff at every fitness facility will actually offer a warm hello and sincere goodbye to every member.
7. Members will follow club etiquette, clean up after themselves in the locker rooms, return club towels and actually put personal items in locked lockers.
8. More club owners will install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and train their staff on their proper use.
9. Fitness facilities will be free from any injuries, natural disasters or random acts of violence.
10. A manufacturer will release a truly new product in the industry that will create a stir unseen since the release of the elliptical.
11. The fitness industry will come together and decide the best way to proceed with certification of personal trainers — and how to deal with trainer licensing legislation.
12. The medical community will view the industry as a worthy partner, leading doctors to participate in the Exercise Is Medicine campaign waged by the American College of Sports Medicine and other groups to help combat obesity.
13. Business owners will truly see the importance of corporate wellness programs to provide a healthier work force and lower insurance costs. This realization will lead business owners to say "yes" to fitness facilities that offer wellness programs to them.
14. The obesity rate will drop for the first time in years, leading to a healthier population and less spending on medical issues.
I know that I won't get everything on my wish list, especially those wishes that seem too fantastic, but wouldn't it be great if at least a few of these wishes came true?
I'm sure you have your own wish list for the year. Let me know what's on your list, and I'll share those items on our blog.


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John at Back Fence PDX - 9/27/13
Talk about the band, the records, the shows.
Moderators: Moderators Emeritus, Moderators
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John at Back Fence PDX - 9/27/13
John appeared at Back Fence PDX on 9/27/13 to talk about some of his adventures after dark : http://vimeo.com/77172523. Sometimes John's stories scare me a great deal. Also sometimes I think it's a miracle he's still alive.
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This mini-site provides information to approved Wizards Play Network Organizers on how to schedule and report DCI- and RPGA-sanctioned events.Join the WPN!
To become a WPN Organizer, please click here.
Running WPN events is a great service you can offer your friends and customers, keeping them involved in organized play at your location for a long time to come.
For more information about the new Wizards Play Network, please visit www.wizards.com/wpn.
Scheduling Events, Requesting Gateway Kits and Requesting new DCI / RPGA cards.
Cancelling Events Online
Step-by-step instructions on how to cancel DCI- and RPGA-sanctioned events.
DCI Reporter Tournament Software
Walkthroughs on how to run and report events using DCI Reporter.
Tournament Documents & Rules
Information on running events according to DCI and RPGA policy and individual game floor rules.
DCI Judges
Information about what Judges are, what they do, and how to locate one. Note: while highly recommended, you do not need DCI-certified Judge present at your DCI-sanctioned tournaments.
The RPGA is the roleplaying arm of Organized Play at Wizards of the Coast, dedicated to providing play opportunities and support for Dungeons & Dragons and other d20 System games.
Event Organizer Message Boards
Ask questions, read comments, get 24-hour support, participate, share experiences, be involved, get connected.
Read about what other Organizers are doing at their store.
Contact info
Locate your regional DCI Tournament Organizer Representative.


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This 'N That
Most of the minor league teams are still in the playoff hunt.
Salt Lake has won the first three games of their crucial five-game series at Colorado Springs, opening up a 5 ½ game lead in the PCL Pacific Northern Division with ten games left to play. They have games tonight and tomorrow against the SkySox.
Arkansas is ½ game behind Springfield, which also won the Texas League North Division. If the Travs can't take the second-half title, then they have to finish with a better record than Tulsa, and they currently trail the Drillers by 1 ½ in the overall standings. Arkansas has ten games left — three at home against Springfield, then four on the road at Tulsa, and finally three at Springfield. The Travs' destiny is in their own hands.
Rancho Cucamonga is on fumes. They trail Lancaster by eight games in the California League South Division with nine games to play. They need to catch Inland Empire in the overall standings to get a wild card slot, but they trail the 66ers by five games.
Cedar Rapids has won nine straight games to put themselves in a strong position for the post-season. They're currently in second place in the Midwest League Western Division, 3 ½ games behind Quad Cities. The Kernels play the Swing in Davenport the next three nights, then have seven games left on the schedule. Four teams in the division qualify for the playoffs, including the two halves' division winners and then the two with the next best records, so the Kernels are looking pretty good.
Orem is one game behind Idaho Falls, who won the first half, with 14 games to play. If the Chukars win the second half too, then the team with the next best record goes to the playoffs to face Idaho Falls. They have three games on the road at Idaho Falls next week, then three at home later in the schedule. The Tom Kotchman mojo has been a little late in arriving, but the Owlz have won five of their last six and eight of their last eleven. because their season runs later than the Arizona League, Orem usually gets a couple players from Tempe in early September so we'll see who moves up to help.
Tempe has faded, losing four straight. They're currently 2 ½ games out with five games to play. It doesn't look good.
The photos for this year's three lowest levels — Cedar Rapids, Orem and Tempe — are all done. They're in the FutureAngels.com Digital Photo Gallery and available for purchase.
I'm going to start work on the remaining photos, but it may take a while. I also want to start posting video highlights. If you've been reading the FutureAngels.com Bulletin Board, there's been a lot of chat lately about Nick Green. I filmed Green when I was in Arkansas last May, so I'll post that and also footage of Nick Adenhart.
I've been suffering from some tendonitis in my right arm, though, so it's a bit painful to do computer work. But I'll keep plugging away.
My wife and I have long-range plans to move to the Space Coast in Florida, so we'll be in Cape Canaveral and thereabouts September 7-10 to look at properties. (Hurricanes willing …) Compared to Southern California, the price of homes in the Space Coast is insanely low. Among the properties we'll be looking at is a 3,600 square foot luxury penthouse atop a condo tower in Merritt Island. The price just dropped from $625,000 to $550,000. We're also looking at homes in a golfing community (no, we don't golf) called the Savannahs that's next to the southern boundary of Kennedy Space Center. The homes are in the low $400,000s and typically around 2,500 to 3,000 square feet. What NASA doesn't use is permanently protected as wildlife refuge, so we don't have to worry about rampant development as we do here in Orange County CA.
The game plan is to buy now while housing prices are so low, rent it out for five years, then when we're eligible for our pensions take the money and run to the Space Coast.
Will FutureAngels.com will still be around? Your guess is as good as mine. If it is, I don't see why it can't continue some coverage. The Angels have no affiliates in Florida. The nearest minor league team is about ten miles down the road, the Brevard County Manatees, currently a Milwaukee Brewers affiliate. The Manatees are in the Florida State League, the same level as the California League.
So who knows, maybe I can volunteer my photography services and start SpaceCoastBaseball.com …


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Nov. 1, 2005
Birmingham-Southern proved to be too much for the Lipscomb Bisons soccer team.
Scoring one goal in each period, Birmingham Southern won its fourth straight game, a 2-0 shutout Tuesday night at the BSC Soccer Park.
Gino Cozzolino scored t he first goal for Birmingham-Southern at 39:48 of the first period. Karim Dietx. Who had an assist on the Cozzolino goal, scored a goal of his own at the 77:26 mark of the second period.
The Bisons had only eight shots, five of them shots on goal. Micah Johnson had two shots on goal for the Bisons.
Birmingham-Southern made 21 shots, eight of them shots on goal.
J.D. Murphy made five saves for the Bisons. Birminghan-Southern goalkeeper Joe Nasco was credited with four saves.
The Bisons are 2-2 in their last four games. They finish the season Sunday afternoon at Alabama A&M at 1.
Birmingham-Southern Sports Information contributed to this story.


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European countries must be prepared to absorb the impact of economic sanctions on Russia in order to encourage president Vladimir Putin's regime to behave "properly" in Ukraine, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said.
Mr Hammond was speaking after the European Union and US agreed new measures targeting sectors of the Russian economy in the wake of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which has been blamed on Moscow-backed rebels in Ukraine.
The new EU sanctions include an arms embargo, a ban on the sale of dual use and sensitive technologies, and a ban on the sale of bonds and equities by state-owned Russian banks in European capital markets.
Eight more officials - including four members of Mr Putin's inner circle - are also expected to be subjected to asset bans and travel freezes.
The White House swiftly followed up the EU's announcement with a fresh round of sanctions of its own, targeting three Russian banks.
Mr Hammond told Sky News that the measures had been "designed to maximise the impact on Russia and minimise the impact on EU economies".
But he added: "You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, and if we want to impose economic pain on Russia in order to try to encourage it to behave properly in eastern Ukraine and to give access to the crash site, then we have to be prepared to take these measures."
US president Barack Obama said: "Today Russia is once again isolating itself from the international community, setting back decades of genuine progress. It does not have to be this way. This a choice Russia and president Putin has made."
Prime Minister David Cameron said the new sanctions should send a message to Mr Putin that his behaviour in Ukraine was unacceptable" and Russia could expect "tough action" from the international community until it changed course.
The measures were agreed as world aviation chiefs set up a "senior level" international task force to deal with the threat to passenger planes following the downing of flight MH17.
A top-level safety conference involving more than 190 nations will also take place in February under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Following a meeting of global aviation bodies in Montreal, ICAO's secretary general Raymond Benjamin said all the aviation bodies "strongly condemned the use of weapons against the civilian aircraft".
European Council president Herman van Rompuy said the new EU sanctions had been imposed after Russia ignored calls to seek a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Ukraine, with arms and fighters continuing to flow across the border in support of the pro-Moscow separatist rebels.
"It is meant as a strong warning: illegal annexation of territory and deliberate destabilisation of a neighbouring sovereign country cannot be accepted in 21st century Europe," he said.
"Furthermore, when the violence created spirals out of control and leads to the killing of almost 300 innocent civilians in their flight from the Netherlands to Malaysia, the situation requires an urgent and determined response."
Meanwhile, US secretary of state John Kerry accused separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine of showing "an appalling disrespect for human decency" in carrying on fighting close to the site where MH17 crashed after apparently being shot out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile.
The fact that not all the remains of the 298 victims of the disaster had yet been recovered had placed "an unsupportable burden on families", who "clearly deserve a thorough, international investigation", Mr Kerry said in a Washington DC press conference.
Mr Cameron met families of Britons killed in the MH17 crash at 10 Downing Street yesterday, as the parents of one victim said they were "angry and frustrated" his body had not yet been returned.
Barry Sweeney, whose 28-year-old son Liam died in the July 17 crash, said: "We basically asked Mr Cameron just to help. The talking I suppose has got to stop and the doing has got to be done.
"I feel very angry and frustrated. It would be nice if they could just stop fighting for a little bit so that we could get all our boys and girls home."
Signs were emerging of concern in the City of London about the possible blowback sanctions on Russia could inflict on the UK economy.
Energy giant BP - which owns a 20% stake in Russian oil firm Rosneft - warned that further international sanctions could have a "material adverse impact" on the company's business in Russia and its own financial position.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said the sanctions could have an impact not only on British companies in sectors like oil, but also on the London property market, where Russian millionaires have been keen purchasers of luxury homes.
But he said the EU measures were "absolutely necessary and right".
Mr Balls told Sky News: "It's important that the European Union rises to the challenge, and I think it's now beginning to, working with our American partners.
"You can't have a situation where our global economy, peace and stability in Europe, is being destabilised by the kind of irresponsible and idiosyncratic go-it-alone actions we've seen from Mr Putin in Russia.
"The world has got to stand up and say 'We are not going to go back to those days. The way in which things have happened in Ukraine has been so badly wrong that we need to make a stand'."
He added: "I think these sanctions will be tough. We need to keep an eye on what is happening in our economies. Clearly, BP are saying today it will affect them, but it's also going to affect lots of Russian oligarchs who will find it harder to bring their money to London to invest in houses here.
"It's important that Mr Putin understands there are consequences when he does some of the things he has done."
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Just like Online Pass, which EA said would launch with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 in June, THQ is including a one-time use code in each copy of UFC Undisputed 2010. Try to play online, and you'll first be prompted to enter the code. Buy the game used or rent it and you'll have to pay $5 to enter the online Octagon.
Destructoid broke the news this morning and managed to get a statement and confirmation from THQ this afternoon.
THQ is delivering a truly unmatched online gaming experience for fans of UFC and across all fighting games in general. The main enhancement of UFC Undisputed 2010's premium online content is the new Fight Camp Mode, in which players can assemble ranks of up to 40 people and train together. This is a significant value-add to the game as players can continually improve their skills by training with their friends and bringing teams of MMA specialists together.UFC Undisputed 2010 is set to ship on May 25 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
This multiplayer content for UFC Undisputed 2010 will be available via a one-time code included with the game at purchase. Codes for accessing the content will be available for second-time buyers for an additional $5.
Sharkey says: EA has started a publishers' revolution. Entering a code to access multiplayer modes will soon be the norm in all games, and I fully expect Activision to really test gamers this fall with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops. If gamers have shown an overwhelming willingness to pay $15 for the privilege to play three new maps in Modern Warfare 2, I have no doubt Activision will try to find out if they're willing to pay to access the core game's multiplayer right out of the box -- whether you're buying new or used. I think $5 sounds about right. And after that, I fully expect the CoD series to graduate to a monthly subscription model. It's coming, folks. In some way, shape or form, it's coming.


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b. ca 1900
d. April 1, 1903, Ariz. Territory
Age at Death: 3y
Headstone broken, lying on ground
Site # D/09/14
Citizens Cemetery records
Contributed on 6/28/04 by jlwight
Email This Contributor
Record #: 7759
Thank you for visiting the Arizona Gravestone Photo Project. On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in Arizona, we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 6/28/04 • Approved: 12/30/16 • Last Updated: 9/30/18 • R7759-G0-S3


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Continuing the "city series", Lisboa 2014 consist on 5 serie of 12 analogue photographs. Playing with the overlaping technic, each photograph shows 2 different installation made in the street of the portuguese capital.
In the process of showing, a choosen picture is enlarged on wall-paper (2x2m) and shaped by cut.
Built with Berta


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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Whether or not America's politicians can find a way to sidestep the brutal automatic military cuts of sequestration, the era of rising Western spending on weapons and wars is over.
That reality increasingly is challenging major arms manufacturers, spurring them to look for new markets, cost cuts and mergers. It is also confronting policymakers with difficult political and strategic choices as new rivals, particularly China, spend more on their armed forces.
U.S. military spending still dwarfs that of other countries - the equivalent of the next 13 nations' spending by some estimates - but the global military balance is clearly shifting. With European states already cutting, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies this year reported that Asian military spending outstripped Europe's for the first time in several centuries.
U.S. lawmakers may well avoid or delay automatic across-the-board budget cuts that would hit the military hard and are set to begin on January 2 if there is no deal on deficit reduction. But few see the United States avoiding military budget cuts in the next few years given that the government's debt burden has now surged above $16 trillion and continues to rise.
Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney has pledged to increase Pentagon spending, particularly on the Navy. But he could find himself struggling to keep that promise if he defeats President Barack Obama next month.
U.S. strategic options may soon be defined more by what Washington can afford than by what it believes it needs.
"For the first time in our history, we may be facing a moment where we really do not have the money to do exactly what it is that the experts or the policy advisers ... suggest is the right thing," said Todd Harrison, senior fellow at the Center on Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. "Budget cuts could end up determining the shape of U.S. policy."
That would be a far cry from the last decade, when military cost control was often of secondary importance as the United States waged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Whenever we found a problem, we cauterized it with cash," Undersecretary of Defense for Industrial Policy Brett Lambert told a meeting of Reuters defense and aerospace reporters last month. "Those days are over."
That is a reality some industry executives have quietly conceded. They have been pinning their hopes for growth on more sales to civilian government agencies and emerging states - an approach that has prompted viciously competitive battles for business with India, Brazil and the Gulf.
Attempts to fold Britain's premier defense firm BAE into its larger European rival EADS were in part an acknowledgement of shrinking markets - even if differences between Britain, France and Germany ultimately killed the deal.
Meanwhile, U.S. defense firms have already begun laying off staff and closing facilities to reflect lower demand and the $487 billion in cuts already planned for the next decade.
U.S. defense spending in 2012 will total $612 billion, down slightly from 2010's $691 billion peak as operational contingency spending specifically earmarked for the Iraqi and Afghan wars fell, according to the Pentagon.
The core Pentagon budget - with the cost of the wars excluded - is now $531 billion. As things stand, defense takes up around 20 percent of the entire federal budget, roughly the same as Social Security and massively outstripping federal spending on transportation, education and science.
But overall U.S. military spending is now expected to drop for the first time in more than a decade, with the Pentagon proposing a base budget of $525 billion and war spending of just over $88 billion in the fiscal year that began October 1. When inflation is taken into account, it has been falling since 2010.
The sequestration cuts would strip just over 11 percent from Pentagon spending. While that might not seem devastating, the pain would be shared indiscriminately - including in areas seen as increasingly vital, such as special operations and cyber warfare.
Only on Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned that unnamed foreign actors were targeting U.S. computer control systems that operate chemical, electricity and water plants, as well as transportation.
If the budget cuts go through as planned, more than 1 million jobs could be lost at U.S. weapons plants and in the surrounding communities, according to some estimates. Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin warned it might be forced to make 10 percent of its workforce redundant.
But the campaign to stop sequestration, some suspect, could simply be the start of a much larger battle.
It's now a mantra for top Pentagon officials and the wider defense sector that cuts beyond the $487 billion already planned would make nonsense of Washington's entire national security strategy, which was unveiled only last February.
"Defense has already been cut through the muscle and we are now into the bone," said Marion Blakey, chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), pointing to 50 "significant sized" projects the Pentagon says it has already canceled. "I wish we lived in a safer world, but we don't."
One of the three cardboard-mounted cartoons she often carries to meetings delivers a blunt message to politicians.
"Defense cuts equal job losses" reads one, a 1930s-style pen and ink image of a line of muscular defense workers marching directly into a polling booth. "Workers return the favor."
Not everyone agrees. Opinion pollsters say defense often tops the list of areas where the public would like to see cuts, while fatigue over the last decade's wars makes new overseas commitments hard to sell.
Some experts argue further efficiencies and cuts are more than possible. They suggest buying more flexible systems and using special forces, drones and new technology to replace more expensive traditional equipment.
"The companies will put up a fight (against cuts)," said former U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, now chairman of the Center for a New American Security think tank. "But as long as the civilian and military leadership stick together, I don't think the companies will win."
In Washington, a city full of defense lobbyists and where major firms help fund many private foundations that help draft policy, there is no shortage of authorities pointing to potential threats.
China almost invariably tops the list, with its military spending perhaps only a fifth of that of the United States but by some estimates doubling every five years. Long-standing troublespots such as the Middle East also have not gone away.
The argument from the AIA and others, however, goes well beyond the strategic - essentially saying that defense projects themselves are effectively a common good, driving economic activity and innovation at a difficult time.
Some are openly skeptical, even within the industry.
"We shouldn't build a carrier because it creates jobs," said Mike Petters, chief executive of shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls, the largest employer in several U.S. states including Virginia, whose votes could help decide the November 6 presidential election. "We should do it because we decide we need an aircraft carrier."
Critics say European military purchases are already often dictated less by strategy than by the conflicting needs to reduce deficits while supporting "national champion" defense firms like Britain's BAE or Italy's Finmeccanica.
When Britain's newly elected government began its strategic defense review in 2010, it found itself severely limited by the cost of cancelling expensive pre-agreed contracts such as the purchase of two new aircraft carriers.
Already over budget, costs surged further this year after the government changed its mind twice on whether to fit one of the ships with catapults for conventional aircraft or to simply rely on vertical-takeoff jets.
One key reason costs escalate so fast, defense executives argue, has always been the shifting and excessively complex demands from government and military buyers.
"The war fighter almost always wants to add yet another switch," said Petters at Huntington Ingalls. "I think it's our greatest challenge as an industry."
Former Lockheed chief executive Norm Augustine famously predicted in 1984 that by the middle of the 21st century, a single fighter aircraft could be so expensive that the U.S. Air Force and Navy might only be able to afford a single airframe that they would share between them on alternate days.
Now, with coffers emptying, governments may have no choice but to ask themselves whether something less than "best at all costs" could get the job done.
"If you're chasing after a pirate with a Kalashnikov in a small boat, you don't necessarily need to do it with a multi-million dollar destroyer," British Chief of the Defense Staff David Richards told a Washington audience in May.
Additional reporting by Marcus Stern, Jim Wolf and Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Warren Strobel and Xavier Briand


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By Shane McGlaun
For many people when it comes time to exercise they simply walk out their front door and go for a walk. Walking is one of the most popular forms of exercise and there is all sorts of gear designed to help people who like to walk get the most out of their workout.
A new software offering for the Nintendo DS and DSi is being announced called Personal Trainer: Walking. The software works with the DS or DSi portable consoles and includes a pair of wireless activity meters that can each store about 7 days worth of data.


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This article solely contains book for coding interviews, but if you are interested to find good books on other topics e.g. concurrent programming or Java and other topics, then just look at those links and some more I have shared at the end of this article.
Books for Programming/Coding InterviewsThis is the second article in the series of must-read books for preparing programming job interviews. In the first article, I have shared books especially for Java interviews but after receiving lots of good feedback and request about general programming interview books, I decided to write this article. I have also not included 10, 15, or 20 books in this list as it would be very difficult to consult or refer too many books, instead I always like to have a core group of 3 to 4 best books on a topic, hence I am only sharing 5 books on Programming/Coding interviews.
Programming Pearls
This is one of the best books to prepare for coding interviews. The Programming Pearls (2nd Edition) by Jon Bentley focus problem solving, algorithm design, correctness, and performance. The book is old but still worth reading and it will prepare you well for any type of programming interviews. Some of the questions discussed in this book are simply a great resource for programming interviews. Don't believe, you can decide yourself:
Find all sets of anagrams in the given dictionary.
How to sort 10 million unique non-negative integers, all of which are less than 107 in 1.25M memory?
The question doesn't end here, you have follow-ups like, What if we have only 1M (or less) memory available? What if our integers are not unique, but the number of occurrences of each value is limited?
One more similar questions is:
You have a file with 4 billion 32-bit integers. Find an integer which is not in the file.
with follow-ups like How would you do it if you have an ample amount of RAM? What about the case when you have only a few hundred bytes of RAM, but you are allowed to write temporary files?
This book also has a sequel called More Programming Pearls: Confessions of a Coder, but that's not really about programming interviews or algorithm design, nevertheless a good read for any programmer.
Elements of Programming Interviews
This is one of the advanced books on Programming interviews by Adnan Aziz, Tsung-Hsien Lee, Amit Prakash, who have already authored a couple of books like Algorithm for Interviews, aiming to prepare programmers for toughest programming job interviews with likes of Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. This is one of the best books to prepare for onsite, face-to-face coding interviews, which might require you to code on the whiteboard. It can also be used as a companion to Cracking the Coding interview book, which contains basic questions more suitable for telephonic and screening round of interviews.
The Algorithm Design Manual
This is another great book to prepare algorithm design. The Algorithm design manual is written by Steven S. Skiena and also one of the famous algorithm design books too. The only problem is it's hard to read and follow. If you are like many programmers who finds it hard to read books with a lot of theory then I recommend starting with interview questions and refer this book when encountering algorithmic concepts. This way you won't be bored by just reading theory and you will also learn the key algorithms.
Cracking the Coding Interview
This is your general purpose coding interview book. Gayle Laakmann McDowell has shared his insights on programming interviews and what tech companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter or Apple looks on the candidate when they hire for Programmers. These books give essential basic knowledge by covering all important topics of programming interviews e.g. data structure, algorithms, SQL, Java, Networking, Database, Operating System and general guide of how to prepare code interview. This book is also a huge collection of common programming questions, which is the most important reason I recommend it.
Programming Interviews Exposed
This is the book I first read on the topic of a software engineer or IT interviews. It's so good that I can't refrain myself to recommending this one, the only problem is its basic for experienced programmers, but if you want to read your first programming interview book, this should be the one. It explains in detail how to solve a problem with pros and cons of different approaches and also covers essential topics for Programming job interviews e.g. puzzles, string, array, coding, algorithms, binary trees, networking, computer science etc.
That's all in this list of top 5 books for Coding or Programming interviews. All the books I have mentioned here are best of the best and you can further shortlist depending upon your goals and companies you are going to interviews. For example, if you are targeting Google then Elements of Programming Interviews and Algorithmic design manual is must read, but for most of the programming job interviews, Cracking the Coding interviews will do the job as it covers most popular questions.
Further Learning
The Coding Interview Bootcamp: Algorithms + Data Structures
Data Structures and Algorithms: Deep Dive Using Java
Algorithms and Data Structures - Part 1 and 2
If you a book nerd like me, here are couple of more articles to explore some of the best programming books:
- 10 Books Every Programmer Should Read (list)
- Top 5 Data Structure and Algorithm books (list)
- 6 Books to Learn and Master Programming (list)
- 5 Books that will Make ou a Rockstar Developer (list)
- 10 Algorithm Books Every Programmer Should Read (list)
- 5 Object oriented design, patterns, and best practices books (list)


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6 April 1990
Multi-talented and not limiting himself to the comic genre, Joost Swarte developed himself as a successful designer, architect and stained-glass artist, always recognizable for his Clear Line.
His work has been exhibited all over Europe now, and as co-owner of publishing company Oog & Blik he was responsible for the design of many prize-winning Dutch books.
This was the first time ever that Joost Swarte agreed to an elaborated sale exhibition of his work. In the past he kept his work to himself for future publications in books and to organize a grand and extensive exhibition when the time was there.
The exhibition in Galerie Lambiek included many early works and illustrations made for various magazines like: Humo, Oor, Vrij Nederland and the Real free press.


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Vermont lawmakers are preparing to gather for the start of their 2013 session this week.
Expected issues include physician assisted death, marijuana decriminalization, and how to address a projected shortfall of $50 million to $70 million in the fiscal 2014 budget.
Activities begin Wednesday with both the House and Senate convening at 10 a.m. to elect their top officers, the House clerk and the Senate secretary.
On Thursday, lawmakers gather in joint assembly to see Gov. Peter Shumlin and other statewide elected officials sworn in, followed by the governor's second inaugural address.


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I have to confess that I was somewhat burned out of posting and blogging and all that jazz. It's been great to take a little break for the summer and I know by the end of it, I'll feel recharged! Before I go on vacation with my family, I wanted to leave you with some of my summer loves. Enjoy!
Swimsuit Cover Up
Isn't this the cutest? I'm in my swim suit most days, so a good cover up is a must!
Gray Bathrooms
I really wanted to lighten up my bathroom with a cool tone and this is the color I used! I love how much brighter it seems!
Crystal Light
I'm sure you're thinking, "Why is she loving this so much?" Well, on days when I can't eat before the gym, I put it in my water bottle and it gives me that extra boost. Or if we're going to a BBQ and I don't want to eat before, I just sip on this! It's the best!
This looks almost identical to the hat that I have. I have so many hats that I could probably cover my entire bed with them. In the summer I just go to the gym, shower, put my hair in a low pony, and on with the hat! So easy!
Guest Rooms
I've been finishing decorating our guest room since we're having so many people stay with us this summer. I love the look of this room!
Monterey Bag
I'm known for constantly changing my diaper and swim bags. This one is just so cute!
Victoria's Secret Lip Gloss
Nothing stops me from getting chapped lips better than this stuff. It makes my lips so silky...and my hubs doesn't hate it either:)
White Sofas
Who doesn't love Sarah Richardson? I love the white sofas with the black piping.
A Quiet Place
I've been enjoying some quiet time when my son takes a nap at the pool and my daughter is swimming. Nothing is better than having that space and time to yourself.
Pendant Necklace
I love jewelry and I'm totally Jonesing for this piece!
Shabby Apple Suit
Such a cute, unique suit! I love the throw-back style!
I'll miss you while I'm away!
Keep enjoying your summer!
Click on image for source


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What You Need:
- Glass Candle Jar or Holder
- Rubber Bands
- Frosting Spray Paint
How To Make It:
- Put the used candle in the freezer overnight.
- Once frozen, break the wax with a butter knife and scoop it out. When you have removed the wax, clean the glass.
- Wrap the glass with rubber bands.
- Spray frosting spray paint to the glass.
- Once dried, remove rubber bands.
- Yes it is that easy!!!
Places We're Partying:


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Opening Session
Thursday 25/11 – Amsterdam Opening of the Conference at Restaurant David en Goliath Historisch Museum Kalverstraat 92
19.00 Arrival Guest be seated 19.30 Guest be seated
Opening Lectures Jan De Groof - President of ELA, College of Europe, TIAS (Belgium)Job Cohen - Mayor of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Opening Addresses Friday 26/119.00Amsterdam University of Amsterdam Herengracht 180-182
Chair Jan De Groof (Belgium) President of ELA, College of Europe, TIAS
Opening Address Ján Figel' European Commissioner for Education Mohammed Bedjaoui Member Executive Board - UNESCO Former President of the International Court of Justice
Presentation of the Conference Publications
Willem-Jan van der Wolf (Wolf Legal Publishers)
Session 1 - EDUCATION AS A HUMAN RIGHT Friday 26/11AmsterdamUniversity of Amsterdam Herengracht 180-182
Katerina Tomashevski (Denmark) - Former Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
Panel Romain Murenzi (Rwanda) - Minister of Education Aziz Polozani (Republic of Macedonia) - Minister of Education and Science André Keet (South Africa) - South African Human Rights Commission Viktoria Mohácsi (Hungaria) - Former Ministerial commissioner for Roma and impoverished children at the Ministry of Education, Member of the European Parliament Hermann Avenarius (Germany) - Deutsche Institut für Internationale Pädagogische Forschung Paul Zoontjens (Netherlands) - Tilburg University Charles Russo (USA) - Dayton University
Rapporteur Walter Berka (Austria) - University of SalzburgCompilation and editing of the report on the sessionGracienne Lauwers (Belgium)
Session 2a - ACCESS AND EQUITY IN EDUCATION
Friday 26/11Amsterdam University of Amsterdam Herengracht 180-182 14.00 – 16.30
Chair Philip TK Daniel (USA) - Ohio State University, President US-ELA
Lecture Naledi Pandor (South Africa) - Minister of Education
Panel Scott Ferrin (USA) - Brigham Young University Abraham Yogev (Israel) - Ministry of Education + School of Education (Dept. of Sociology)Tim Kaye (U.K.) - School of Law, University of BirminghamIngo Richter (Germany) - Irmgard Coninx Foudation
Address Marc Rutte - Secretary of State - OCW (Netherlands)
Rapporteur Charles Russo (USA) - Dayton University
Compilation and editing of the report on the session
Cristina Rotar (Romania) - Gerhard van der Schyff (South Africa)
Session 2b - THE RIGHT AND THE OBLIGATION TO BE EDUCATED
Friday 26/11Amsterdam University of Amsterdam Herengracht 180-182 14.00 – 16.30
Nederlandse Vereniging voor Onderwijsrecht Dutch Association for Educational LawDiscussion on the necessity of new rules on compulsory educationExamples from comparative educational law 14.00 – 16.30
Chair Dick Mentink, Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Lecture 14.00Naledi Pandor (South Africa) - Minister of Education14.45 Welcome and Introduction by Dick Mentink, Erasmus University Rotterdam, President of the Dutch Association for Educational Law (NVOR), chair 15.00 The right to education and the right of teachingTheo Storimans, Inspector of Education, Boardmember of NVOR 15.20 Homeschooling, comparison between Belgium and the NetherlandsJoke Sperling, LL M lawyer, member of the NVOR-study group on Compulsory Education and the Right to Education 15.40 Exchange of views and Discussion 16.00 Conclusion
Session 3 - THE COST OF EDUCATION
Saturday 27/11Amsterdam De Rode Hoed Keizersgracht 102 1015 CV , Amsterdam 9.00 – 12.00
Chair Stanislav Tkatsjenko (Russian Federation) - Vice-rector of the State University of St. Petersburg
Lecture María Jesús San Segundo (Spain) - Minister of Education and Science
Panel Helge Ole Bergersen (Norway) - Vice-minister of education Kurt Larsen – OECDAriranga Govindasamy Pillay (Chief Justice, Supreme Court Mauritius)Antonio Barbas-Homem (Portugal) - University of Lisbon Frank Brown (USA) - University of North Carolina John Panaretos (Greece) - Athens University of Economics and Business
Rapporteur Hans-Peter Füssel (Germany) - Hochschule Bremen
Compilation and editing of the report on the session:
Daniele Vidone (Italy)
Session 4 - ENSURING EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIESSaturday 27/11Amsterdam De Rode Hoed Keizersgracht 102 1015 CV , Amsterdam 14.00
Address Sijbolt Noorda (Netherlands) - President of the Board of the University of Amsterdam
Chair David Ford (Australia) - President of ANZELA
Lecture Albi Sachs (South Africa) - Justice of the Constitutional Court
Panel Virginia Bonoan-Dandan (Philippines) - University of the Philippines Chairperson, United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, OHCHR, Geneva Azaz Polozani - Minister of Education of Macedonia Olöf Olafsdottir - Head of Department of School and Out-of-School Education, Council of Europe Mareks Gruskevics (Latvia) – Deputy Director of the Department of Education Policy Charles Glenn (USA) - Boston University Tayseer Mandour (Egypt) - El-Azhar UniversityXiao Yanhui (China) - Hunan University H.W. Okoth-Ogendo (Kenya) - Commissioner of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission Kishore Singh Division of Basic Education, Education Sector, UNESCO and Secretary of the Joint Expert Group UNESCO/ ECOSOC on the monitoring of the Right to Education Lilla Farkas (Hungaria) - Hungarian Helsinki Committee
Antonio Barbas-Homem (Portugal) - University of Lisbon
Compilation and editing of the report on the session
Gracienne Lauwers (Belgium) - Veronica Spasskaja (Russian Federation)
Session 5 - SAFETY IN EDUCATION
Sunday 28/11 - 16.00 - 19.30 Tilburg"Villa 4 Jaargetijden" Noordstraat 36 5038 EJ Tilburg
Chair Dick Mentink (Netherlands) – Erasmus University,
Lecture Cyrille Fijnaut (Netherlands) - Tilburg University, New York University
Panel Yisa Claver (Rwanda)- Director of Planning of the Ministry of Education, RwandaRalph Mawdsley (USA) - Cleveland State University Johan Potgieter (South Africa) - University of South Africa Sally Varnham (New Zealand) - Massey University Anatoly Kapustin (Russian Federation) - Peoples' Friendship University
Rapporteur Ingo Richter (Germany) - Irmgard Coninx Foundation
Compilation and editing of the report on the session
Cristina Rotar (Romania) - Bengt Verbeeck (Belgium)
Session 6 - RELIGION IN EDUCATIONMonday 29/11Tilburg Tilburg University Warandelaan 2 Building E, room 4 (TIAS) 9,30 – 14.00
Chair Hermann Avenarius (Germany) - Deutsche Institut für Internationale Pädagogische Forschung
Lecture Godfried Kardinaal Danneels (Belgium) – Cardinal
Beverly Mc Lachlin (Canada) - Supreme Court Chief Justice
Panel Kurt Graulich (Germany) - Judge at Bundesverwaltungsgericht John Dowd (Australia) - Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Rassie Malherbe (South Africa) - Rand Afrikaans University Tayseer Mandour (Egypt) - El-Azhar UniversityBen Vermeulen (Netherlands) – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Compilation and editing of the report on the sessionJurgen Neuts (Belgium)
SOLEMN HEARING OF THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TILBURG"No person shall be denied the Right to education in Freedom"Reception AULAUniversiteit Tilburg - Warandelaan 2 – Tilburg Afternoon 16.00
Jan De Groof (Belgium) - President of ELA, College of Europe, TIAS
Piet Akkermans Memorial Lecture Paleis Raadhuis (Stadhuis) – Willemsplein – Tilburg19.00h.
Chair Jan De Groof (Belgium) President of ELA, College of Europe, TIAS
Presentation Of The Recommendations Gracienne Lauwers (ELA – University of Antwerp)Daniele Vidoni (Boston University)
J.S. Verma, Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of India Maria J.A.van der Hoeven, Minister Of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands, Chairperson of the European Council of Ministers of Education
Session 7 – optional programme
Tuesday 30/11The Hague International Court of Justice Peace Palace 2517 KJ The The Hague 11.00
Chair Johan Beckmann, Past President of SAELPA
Ben Vermeulen (the Netherlands) - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam "Immigrants and educational policies"Stan Meuwese (Netherlands) - executive director of Defence for Children International, section The Netherlands
"Education and children's rights"
Visit of the International Court of Justice (The Hague), Mayoral reception 14.00 Transfer to Schiphol (Airport)


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With 15-plus years of chart-topping hits under her belt, pop star Britney Spears is back and better than ever in her Planet Hollywood Las Vegas show, Britney: Piece of Me.
Britney performs all her infectious dance songs, as well as tracks from her latest album. But don't expect a recreation of her music videos. Her intense performances are way more electrifying - some even dreamlike and daring. Whether Britney's flying across stage, singing in a ring of fire or dancing in front of multiple mirrors, this shining diva knows just how to work it.
Located inside The Axis at Planet Hollywood, the 4,500-seat theater provides a pulsating Las Vegas concert experience. And with state-of-the-art light and sound effects, the venue feels like a nightclub. The Axis houses the world's largest indoor projection screen, resulting in an explosive theatrical experience. Get ready to relive your favorite Britney moments and dance the night away.
Britney: Piece of Me proves to be a sexy, action-packed Vegas show from start to finish.


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Repairing the bodywork of a Porsche is a job that requires an exceptional level of understanding, care and skill.
To that end we have a network of Porsche Recommended Repairers in the UK whose facilities meet strict Operating Standards. These standards are updated as technical developments are made within the vehicle range and are based on the qualitative processes and workmanship expected by Porsche.
Porsche Recommended Body Repairers:
Porsche Dynamic Repair by our service team offers repair methods to keep your vehicle in perfect showroom condition for aesthetic and minor concerns.
Whether you have a stone chip on the screen, a dent in a panel, a scratch in the paint or a split in the leather, our Porsche Centre can offer a range of repair solutions, only replacing parts when absolutely neccessary. This saves on time, costs and resources.Contact us
First impressions count. We are as proud of your vehicle as you are. Our service team can detail your vehicle as if it were going on display in our showroom. Using experience, expertise and premium quality products our Porsche Centre can transform the appearance of your Porsche to the highest standard.
The detailing process includes a full interior and exterior treatment including engine bay, wheels, wheel arches and door shuts. Specialist techniques including a multistage machine polishing process will give your vehicle a fantastic finish.Contact us
© 2019 All rights reserved to Porsche Centre Tewkesbury and its licensors.
* Data determined in accordance with the measurement method required by law. Since September 01, 2018 all new cars are approved in accordance with the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), a more realistic test procedure to measure fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. You can find more information on WLTP at www.porsche.com/wltp. From 01 January 2019, all fuel consumption figures are shown as determined in accordance with WLTP. CO₂ figures will be shown as NEDC-equivalent values, as CO₂ based taxation will continue to be based on an NEDC value (derived from WLTP) until 06 April 2020. Fuel economy and CO₂ emission figures are only intended as a means of comparing different types of vehicles tested under the same test cycle. New WLTP homologated vehicles are therefore not directly comparable with any vehicles tested under NEDC.
Values are provided for comparison only. To the extent that fuel consumption or CO₂ values are given as ranges, these do not relate to a single, individual car and do not constitute part of the offer. Extra features and accessories (attachments, tyre formats etc.) can change relevant vehicle parameters such as weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamics which may result in a change in fuel consumption and CO₂ values. Additionally, weather and traffic conditions, as well as individual driving styles, can all affect the actual fuel consumption, electricity consumption, and CO₂ emissions of a car.


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Vodafone Smart II
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1. Find "Settings"
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- This event has passed.
Asian Lantern Festival at Reid Park Zoo
March 23, 2019 @ 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
$14 – $18
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every day that begins at 6:00 pm, repeating until March 23, 2019
Reid Park Zoo is partnering with the Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona, Tianyu Arts & Culture Inc., and Tucson Chinese Cultural Center to bring over 40 colorful, customized lantern displays to Southern Arizona. Save the date for this event that will transport you across the world with Asian-inspired entertainment, cuisine, and culture.
Throughout the evening, you'll enjoy:
- Over 40 larger-than-life lanterns
- Authentic Asian cuisine
- Chinese name writing, calligraphy, painting, music, crafts, and so much more!
- $18 for Adults
- $16 for Children (2-14)
- Children 1-year-old or younger are free
- Members get $2 off admission
Additional Details:
- The Asian Lantern Festival is a family-friendly event.
- Carousel rides will be available for an additional fee.
- Food from Taste Catering will be available throughout the Zoo for purchase.
- Tickets are non-refundable. Discounts cannot be combined.
- Animals will have access to heated habitats behind-the-scenes for this event, and will likely choose to be off habitat.


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Romney was unable to translate economic argument into a win
Mitt Romney staked his campaign on the economy, and the economy let him down.
For years, Romney promoted himself as a turnaround artist, a corporate expert with extensive executive experience who knew how to make systems work. He would point to his stewardship rescuing the scandal-plagued 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, and his record at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he co-founded, in helping companies succeed.
The Republican nominee tried hard to convince voters the economy should be doing better, that President Barack Obama lacked the knowhow to manage and improve it.
Obama looked vulnerable. Just one year ago, his approval rating had sunk to 41 percent, driven down by a sluggish economic recovery and a disillusioned, divided public.
But the numbers just were not bad enough to warrant replacing the president. The unemployment rate in October was 7.9 percent – a tick above the 7.8 percent the month Obama took office, but well below the 10 percent peak of October 2009. The economy grew at a 2 percent clip in the third quarter – not robust, but hardly a recession.
And consumer confidence, a key measure of voter sentiment, was up last month.
"He felt the economy was going to be enough. It really wasn't," Colorado-based political analyst Floyd Ciruli said of Romney.
The economy's slow-but-steady improvement robbed Romney of his best argument for why people should vote against Obama, but he also failed to make a clear case for why people should choose him instead.
Romney was dogged throughout the campaign by charges he was too quick to change his views, too inauthentic. Conservatives distrusted him because of his moderate ways while governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 – and Wednesday, some took fresh aim.
"Out of last night's disaster comes some good news – conservatives are saying 'Never again' are we going to nominate a big government establishment Republican for president," said veteran conservative strategist Richard Vigurie.
Moderates were wary because Romney seemed to shift sharply right during his presidential run.
As a result, "he was everybody's second choice in the (Republican) primaries," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion.
On issue after issue, Romney's views seemed to change to fit his political needs.
In January, when seeking the Republican nomination – and aiming to woo conservatives – he urged "self-deportation" for illegal immigrants. Six months later, the nomination now secure, Romney took no position on Obama's new directive allowing many younger immigrants to stay in this country.
Two days before the first debate Oct. 3, Romney had another view. He told the Denver Post he would not overturn visas granted under Obama's policy.
Romney's demeanor didn't help. "Romney just never really connected directly to people and touched them in a way that they thought he understood their concerns and their values," said Republican political consultant David Carney.
Romney seemed stuck in the polls around 48 percent. So was Obama, but the president was a known quantity, and Romney was not. The more swing voters came to know him, the more they seemed unable to warm to him.
As a result, Romney could not make inroads into Obama's coalition of Latino, African-American, women and younger voters. Romney won the white vote Tuesday by 20 percentage points, according to exit polls, but the electorate is changing and Romney couldn't convince Obama's most ardent blocs that they should send a stronger economic message.
Romney's quest for acceptance seemed to never recover from the September release of a video recorded at a fundraising event that put Romney's campaign on the defensive. In the video, Romney said that 47 percent of Americans would vote for Obama "no matter what." He characterized the president's supporters as irresponsible "victims" who pay no income tax and are "dependent upon government."
The video, published online by Mother Jones, reinforced the Obama campaign's attack that Romney was an out-of-touch rich snob, a label he never quite managed to shake.
"He defined Romney before Romney did," said Ciruli, the pollster.
Romney contended that his business success made him uniquely qualified to lead the country out of recession, but his huge personal fortune – worth up to $250 million – proved an impediment from the start.
Romney repeatedly stumbled into awkward gaffes such as offering a $10,000 bet during a primary debate, referring to wife Ann's "two Cadillacs," and boasting of his friendship with "NASCAR team owners."
The off-the-cuff remarks made Romney vulnerable to accusations that he was out of touch with ordinary Americans struggling in the aftermath of the economic crisis.
Democrats fueled that perception by hammering him for months over his refusal to release more than two years of his tax returns. In late September, when his campaign finally did release a notarized 10-year summary from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the family's tax preparer, the document showed that Romney paid an average effective tax rate of 13.66 percent annually – lower than many middle-class families.
Romney did his best to redefine himself as more moderate in the widely praised Oct. 3 debate performance, but by Election Day the debate momentum that had carried him for weeks had dissipated.
In the final week of the race, Hurricane Sandy's disastrous strike on the East Coast further eroded what was left of Romney's debate bounce.
The storm forced the campaigns to cancel rallies, lightened the aggressive tone of speeches and shifted focus away from the economy. Most importantly, it gave Obama the chance to act presidential.
Even New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a high-profile Romney backer, effusively praised Obama for his response to the storm, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, endorsed the incumbent president, saying that Sandy had brought the stakes of the race "into stark relief." Bloomberg cited the problem of global warming, which he blamed for the severity of the storm, as a primary reason for his decision.
With Sandy's devastation dominating headlines, Romney's suggestion during the primaries that he would reduce federal funding for disaster relief came back to haunt him. In a June 2011 debate, Romney implied that states or the private sector could take on the role of the cash-strapped Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In the aftermath of the storm, his campaign released a statement stressing that a Romney administration would provide help from FEMA, to be managed by states – another position tweak – but the damage was done.
His last-ditch effort to convince voters that Obama's effort to revive the economic recovery had been a failure backfired when his campaign aired a TV spot that suggested General Motors and Chrysler planned to ship jobs overseas to China. The companies' executives ridiculed the claim and fact checkers quickly debunked it.
Romney's opposition to the federal government's $80 billion bailout of GM and Chrysler haunted him into the final days of the campaign, particularly in key Midwestern manufacturing states Michigan and Ohio.
In a 2008 New York Times op-ed, titled "Let the Auto Industry Go Bankrupt," Romney had called for a "managed bankruptcy" for Ford, GM and Chrysler, without the federal loans or assistance that the Obama administration provided. He later repeated the headline on television.
The president never let him forget it. Neither did the voters.
Late Tuesday night, even after several networks had called the presidency for Obama, some aides in Boston told reporters it was too early to give up until all votes had been counted.
But by midnight Romney could no longer deny the defeat. Shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday, the former Massachusetts governor took the stage and wished the president and his family the best.
"I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation," he said.


text: Friday, October 25, 2013 APTA Private Insurance Page Adds Expanded MPPR Resources The increased use of the multiple procedure payment reduction (MPPR) by private and workers' compensation payers is already affecting physical therapists (PTs), and it's now among the elements of the changing insurance landscape addressed in an expanded APTA private insurance website. APTA online resources now include targeted MPPR information related to the move made by private insurers to adopt policies first developed by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The shift toward MPPR poses a risk to PTs, who need to carefully review contracts with insurers to evaluate impact. The APTA website includes tips on contract review that can help PTs determine if the policy is appropriately applied under the contract and payment guidelines to help PTs verify the accuracy of any overpayment amount claimed by the insurer. Several insurers, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) of Kansas City, BCBS of Missouri, Wellmark, Aetna, and UnitedHealthcare have implemented MPPR over the past 2 years, and are paying claims using an MPPR methodology. A recent example of the trend toward MPPR use surfaced earlier this year, when Humana announced that it would be applying MPPR policies, an approach that it had initially adopted in 2011 but quickly reversed. Not long after the reversal, Humana announced that it would be reviewing the MPPR payment methodology and stated that it may make changes to payments. When those changes were implemented, Humana made providers aware of its shift to MPPR by sending notifications of overpayments on claims as far back as 2012 for contracted providers. Noncontracted providers were told that they were responsible for overpayments dating back to 2011. In light of Humana's reversal on MPPR, APTA sent a formal letter (.pdf) to Humana's CEO addressing several areas that it views as problematic for PTs. APTA expressed particular concern over the lack of prior warning of Humana's intention to adopt the policy, the administrative burdens associated with overpayment recovery, the appropriateness of MPPR's application to medical procedure codes, the suitability of application to all contracts, and apparent inaccuracies in calculations that result in incorrect overpayment amounts.


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U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Nationwide Trucking Firm's Policies Discriminated Against Disabled Employees, Federal Agency Charges
DENVER -- Interstate Distributor Company will pay $4.85 million and provide other significant relief to settle a nationwide class disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC's suit said the nationwide trucking firm unlawfully denied reasonable accommodations to hundreds of employees and fired them pursuant to Interstate's maximum leave policy.
According to the EEOC's suit, under the challenged leave policy, if an employee needed more than 12 weeks of leave, Interstate automatically terminated them rather than determining if it would be reasonable to provide additional leave as an accommodation. The EEOC also charged that Interstate violated federal law by refusing to make exceptions to its "no restrictions" policy. Under this policy, if an employee had restrictions, Interstate refused to allow them to return to work and failed to determine if there were reasonable accommodations that would allow the employee to return to work with restrictions.
Interstate's maximum leave and no restrictions policies violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability. The law requires an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation, such as paid or unpaid leave or some modifications to the job functions or reassignment, to an employee with a disability, unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense for the employer.
The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Civil Action No. 12-cv-02591-RBJ, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The consent decree resolves the EEOC's lawsuit and seven charges of discrimination filed by individuals with the EEOC. The systemic investigation was conducted by the EEOC's Denver Field Office, which is part of the Phoenix District Office.
In addition to the $4.85 million in monetary relief, the three-year decree includes injunctions against engaging in any further discrimination or retaliation based on disability, and requires the company to revise its policies and ADA policy to include reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Interstate will provide mandatory periodic training on the ADA to employees. The company will also report to the EEOC about all employee complaints of disability discrimination relating to the attendance policy and about Interstate's compliance with the consent decree. The company also agreed to post a notice about the settlement. Finally, Interstate will appoint an internal consent decree monitor to ensure its compliance with the decree. The settlement applies to all of Interstate's facilities and employees throughout the country.
EEOC General Counsel David Lopez said, "I note that this outstanding and highly impactful resolution occurred during National Disability Rights Awareness month. I am pleased the parties were able to resolve this historic case without resorting to prolonged and expensive litigation and proud that the Commission has been very successful, particularly recently, in ensuring that people with disabilities are protected from workplace discrimination."
Nancy Sienko, field director for the Denver office, added, "This settlement demonstrates the need for employers to have attendance policies which take into account the need for paid or unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities."
EEOC Regional Attorney Mary O'Neill added, "This consent decree is the result of productive and thoughtful negotiations with Interstate. We appreciate Interstate working with the EEOC to reach a settlement. In addition to providing meaningful monetary relief for hundreds of former Interstate employees, the settlement contains important equitable relief, including company policy changes and training designed to provide people with disabilities equal opportunities in the workplace."
According to its website, www.intd.com, Interstate Distributor Company, headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., is a trucking company that operates in 48 states and Canada and employs 1,800 people nationwide.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the Commission is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.


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Why Us
Shiva Enterprises has become the most preferred choice of customers successfully and positioned.
We have developed the latest and ultra-modern infrastructural facility that enables us to accomplish.
Our Team
We have a team of proficient professionals who help us in offering excellent Services to the clients.
Welcome to Shiva Enterprises
India's Largest Company in the Manufacture, Distribution & Installation of Wire, Wirenetting & Hardware products
Stepped into the industry of Wires, We are a manufacturer, supplier, exporter and Dealers of Fencing Wire in Delhi, Razor Wire in Delhi, Concertina Coil in Delhi, Razor Blade Wire in Delhi, Concertina Wire in Delhi, RBT Wire in Delhi, Security Fencing in Delhi, PVC Coated Wire in Delhi. Incepted in the year 2016, Shiva Enterprises is an extremely recognized firm of the industry that has come into being with a vision to bring the customer's most preferred choice. The ownership type of our company is a sole proprietorship.
The head office of our organization is situated in New Delhi, India. Leveraging the skills of our qualified team of professionals, we are indulged in manufacturing a qualitative and excellent quality range of Fencing Wire, Razor Wire, Concertina Coil, Razor Blade Wire, Concertina Wire, RBT Wire, Security Fencing, PVC Coated Wire, Crossed Concertina Coils, Steel Concertina Coils, Punched Tape Concertina Coils, Razor Tape Concertina Coil. All our products are manufactured with the incorporation of highly qualitative raw material and advanced technology, which make them best in terms of excellence, reliability and other vital characteristics. Moreover, we do not make any compromise in terms of the products' excellence and ensure the supply of error free products in the market. Besides, our transparent business dealings, quality assured range and a timely delivery schedule has assisted us placing our name in the list of top-notch companies of the industry.


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For those who follow the Chinese zodiac, the year of the snake begins Feb. 10. People born under this sign are thought to be more likely to be seductive, gregarious, charming, smart, good with money and, at times, a little jealous. The reptiles themselves are beautiful, sometimes dangerous, creatures that have inspired countless designers over the years. Here are some ways to incorporate the symbol of the year into your wardrobe, with no harm done to any living creature.
It's hard not to turn heads in Equipment's Sloane crewneck cashmere sweater, $298 from Nordstrom, with its snakeskin print in neon yellow.
The Sabine print midi dress, $36.99 from Piperlime.com, makes for a fun twist on the classic floral print, flowy dress for spring.
The Eight Sixty snake print high-low blouse, $96 from RonHerman.com, features a contrast collar that gives the blouse a little more edge.
Pair the 7 For All Mankind the skinny laser snake jeans, $198 from Amazon.com, with a plain tee and solid heels for a go-to outfit for any occasion.
Snake-shaped jewelry is a great way to wear the trend in a subtle way. For a snake accent, try the Jennifer Fisher brass snake cuff, $315 from Barneys.com, the Aurelie Bidermann snake hoop earrings, $335 from NeimanMarcus.com, or the Steven Alan 14-karat gold snake ring by Grace Lee, $385 at stevenalan.com, with snakeskin texture and diamond eyes.
Giuseppe Zanotti takes on the classic outdoor slipper with the snake-print smoking slipper in metallic silver, $625 from BergdorfGoodman.com.
Famed handbag designer Judith Leiber created a special year of the snake clutch, $3,995 from NeimanMarcus.com. The coiled snake is adorned with hand-applied crystals.
Slither around in style behind the Lanvin snake-print leather accented modified square sunglasses, $475 from Saksfifthavenue.com.
Dress up your smart phone in this Stella McCartney snake-print iPhone case, $273.38 from Farfetch.com. It's a pearlized nude snake-print case with gold-tone chain edging and tonal faux suede whipstitch trim.


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Lou Malnati's PizzeriaLittle Village Map
Find Parking | Menu
Chicago has a rich, longstanding love affair with pizza, and loyal fans have lined up for decades to enjoy Lou Malnati's deep-dish pies. From the time the first location opened in Lincolnwood in 1971, the family-owned and-operated business (now managed by sons Rick and Marc) has had the same goal: to provide a casual atmosphere with good food the whole family can enjoy.
Now with over 30 city and suburban locations, Lou Malnati's serves up both deep-dish and thin-crust pizza with the requisite toppings as well as a lselection of soups, salads, pastas and sandwiches. Signature stuffed spinach bread and cheese cubes are must-try appetizers, and both the chicken Parmesan sandwich and antipasto salad serve as yummy pizza alternatives.


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If you're looking for a few holiday decorating ideas, the Lancaster Garden Club's 21st annual Christmas Tour of Homes may be just the place to find them.
Family, friends gather at Bailey home
By GREGORY A. SUMMERS - Features Editor
For Bobby and Thelathia "Thea" Bailey, Christmas means family and their Somerset Drive home has become the holiday gathering place for the Barneses, Baileys and their extended family, too.
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HILLSVILLE — Early traffic reports along U.S. 58 at Hillsville on Labor Day weekend will tell motorists on the way to the massive flea market and gun show to expect delays.
Because of the effect of U.S. 58 bypass construction on roads and traffic patterns, state and local officials have already started preparing for the large number of visitors that come to town for the summer event, police Chief Steve Williams told Hillsville Town Council members at their May 12 meeting.
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JAKARTA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Indonesia plans to make ministers from around the world use bicycles to get about at the U.N. talks on climate change in Bali to help offset the event's carbon emissions, an environment ministry official said on Friday.
Delegates from nearly 190 countries will gather on the resort island on Monday to launch a concentrated effort to hammer out a new deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol, a pact to curb global warming that expires in 2012.
To help offset an estimated 47,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide expected to be emitted during the 12-day event, the government will clear the conference site of cars and lay on about 200 bikes instead to help people move around the area, Agus Purnomo said. "We want people to leave their cars at the main gate and switch to bicycles," Purnomo, the meeting's executive chairman, told a news conference.
"To prevent people from melting in the sun, we will ask everyone to wear light clothes and short sleeves."
Purnomo said the estimated emissions figure included carbon dioxide emitted by flights to and from the island and by the use of electricity to power air conditioners.
More than 10,000 people including official delegates, activists and journalists are expected to show up at hundreds of sessions sprawled across the island's Nusa Dua area. (Reporting by Ad ityani Arga; editing by Sugita Katyal and Roger Crabb)


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We are taught rather boldly in the scriptures that "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10). We're also taught that God's plan is a "plan of happiness." We here talk of the "happiness" prepared for those that serve God. It's almost indisputable that we are promised happiness if we but follow God's commandments. Many are feeling disappointed by these promises, because they feel they've done everything they are "supposed" to do, and feel deeply unhappy. Where's the happiness that was promised them?
I read a blog post today written by a mother who found child raising to be a very unpleasant and at times miserable experience. She hated changing diapers, she hated entertaining her children all the time, and she resented being "pressured" into motherhood and away from other pursuits. The tone of the post expressed a feeling of betrayal—she was supposed to be happy as a mother and a gospel-living saint, but wasn't. And worse, she had sacrificed her ambitions for it. She was feeling trapped by her parental obligations and stymied in her non-familial pursuits (pursuits she believes would have made her more happy). So clearly either she's broken or the Gospel's broken (or at least the way we teach it). At least, that was the implicit conclusion of the blog post.
I completely believe the promises made in the scriptures: the Gospel does bring us happiness. But I believe that we often define happiness entirely differently than God does. The Savior lived the most righteous life of all, and we read that he was a man who was full of sorrow and acquainted with grief. We read that God, the morally perfect being who rules over heaven and earth, weeps from time to time with sorrow and grief. Clearly, the happiness the Gospel promises in this life is not a happiness devoid of sorrow and grief, unpleasantness and discomfort. And knowing the life of the Savior, it is clearly also not a life devoid of loneliness.
Here's what I believe about happiness: at its very core, happiness is personal communion with God and a conscience clean of any offense towards God or man. In short, happiness is Divine companionship and a clean conscience. Consider the purity and simplicity of that. Happiness cannot be achieved without these two things, and happiness requires nothing else. Everything else is peripheral to genuine happiness—at least, to the kind of happiness promised to us in this mortal life to the faithful.
For at least one point of evidence, I look to the scripture following the scripture where we learn that wickedness never was happiness: "And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness" (Alma 41:11). Why is wickedness the opposite of happiness? Because happiness is being with God in the world, liberated from the bonds of iniquity. I interpret "bonds of iniquity" and "gall of bitterness" to represent a burdened conscience, a conscience inflicted by crimes one has committed against God and others. And this is the state that is described as "contrary to the nature of happiness." So there you have it: happiness is Divine companionship and a clean conscience. Anything else is extra.
Consider a different mother that I know, one who is a close friend of mine: she cares for a chronically ill daughter who has been struggling with severe schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. I wouldn't be surprised if caring for her daughter for the past decade has shaved decades off of her own life. And I know for a fact that it has halted and perhaps even buried whatever career aspirations she may have had. And it's a deeply unpleasant experience—her daughter can be frequently emotionally abusive and occasionally physically abusive, through no real volition of her own. It is physically, emotionally draining to care for her. As a family they are grateful for any relief and assistance they are offered and can afford. But nonetheless, it is a relentless burden and a tiring task, one that offers little rest of peace of mind.
And here's the divine irony: were this mother to abandon the parental stewardship she's been given and begin to pursue her career aspirations instead, because she felt entitled to a little bit of "happiness" (because, after all, the Gospel promises happiness, so aren't we owed it?), she could never find the happiness she seeks. Because the happiness she seeks—that is, the happiness the Gospel promises—is not a comfortable, pleasant life devoid of grief, sorrow, heartaches, stress, etc. That's certainly not the happiness the Savior got in exchange for his toil and troubles. The happiness God promises the faithful is a clean conscience and Divine companionship. And nothing burdens the conscience more than shirking one's divinely appointed parental duties.
Simultaneously, the happiness God promises—Divine companionship and a clean conscience—can be found even the midst of grief, sorrow, stress, and heartache. Like the still small voice, the happiness God promises us pierces through the deepest of our Gethsemanes, our Liberty jails, our handcart treks, and our caring for mentally troubled family members. It is a happiness that can be experienced in the midst of trouble, because it is a peace of heart that comes from knowing that we stand clean before God. It requires no idyllic circumstances, no social or physical Utopia. It does not require that we live our dreams, fulfill what we imagine to be our worldly potential, or even get the time to check off activities from our bucket list. This mother does not require any of her "unlocked potential" in accounting or education to be fulfilled or actuated in this life in order to experience this Divine companionship and peace of conscience.
I've been really troubled by a growing feel of entitlement amongst friends, colleagues, and acquaintances—a feeling that the Gospel is not a call to heartache and service in the trenches of life, but a promise of felicity and escape from those trenches. There's sometimes a sense that Christ suffered so that we can live free of pain, as if we've forgotten that all walks with Christ lead through Gethsemane.
The happiness God promises—this Divine companionship and clean conscience—vanishes the moment we resent whatever life circumstances in which we find ourselves called to serve. We are under no obligation to enjoy the trenches of life—the mother in the original article that prompted these thoughts is under no obligation to enjoy changing diapers and driving children to kindergarten and washing dishes. But even as we sometimes find our stewardships unpleasant and unenjoyable, we can still choose to relinquish our feelings of resentment for having been called to serve in those trenches. We can give up our feelings of entitlement to an easier life or a more pleasant corner of the Kingdom to serve in. And it is only as we do this that God can bestow upon us this Divine happiness, which is more valuable than all of its counterfeits combined.
I'm reminded of the words of the hymn: "There's surely somewhere a lowly place in earth's harvest fields so wide, where I may labor through life's short day for Jesus the Crucified. So trusting mine all to thy tender care, and knowing thou lovest me, I'll do thy will with a heart sincere: I'll be what you want me to be." I love the sentiment here: it doesn't matter nearly so much where we serve, or what stewardship we are given, so much as we serve faithfully and discharge that stewardship with a sincere and faithful heart. We don't have to enjoy that lonely part of the vineyard. We may even feel that our unique talents are more useful in other parts of the vineyard. But the Lord doesn't always call us to serve where we can shine the brightest or use whatever talents we might want or enjoy—he calls us where he needs us to be, and whether that's for own growth or the growth of others, we don't always know.
And that's the attitude I missed in the original article I read that precipitated this string of thoughts: the recognition that our own families are as much a part of the vineyard as any other, and if at times in our lives (whether we are male or female) we are called to serve in that part of the vineyard alone, why should we resent the chance to serve? If a man finds himself unable to obtain the job he really wants where he feels like he can really make a difference in the world, and finds himself working solely to financially support his family—or if, for example, he must give up the job he really wants in order to have time for a family—why should he resent that, if he is following his moral conscience? It is a clean conscience that is at the core of genuine happiness, not fulfilling one's career aspirations. Further, if a mother finds herself giving up a job she wants in order to devote her attention to family and children—particularly if her moral conscience whispers that this is the right course of action—is this not the path to true happiness, even if child raising proves itself to be at times burdensome and unpleasant? Can we fully appreciate the tragic irony of betraying our moral conscience in our quest for personal happiness, when at the core of any genuine happiness resides a clean conscience? For us to feel betrayed because the path of conscience sometimes leads away from our extra-familial aspirations and ambitions (whether we are man or woman, mother or father), and to cry out that the divine promise of personal happiness is being yanked from beneath our feet when our career and social ambitions never fully materialize, is to entirely misdefine happiness itself.
Our happiness does not depend on serving where we wish to serve—it's serving where God wishes us to serve. That's because happiness is not "living our dreams," it's not some mythical Maslow-ian "self-actualization" in which all of our latent talents are put to use and all of our emotional "needs" are met, it's not serving in a pleasant calling or living a pleasant life, never burdened with obligations we wish we could avoid. Happiness is Divine companionship and a clean conscience. And that can only be had with a heart pure of resentment, a heart willing to engage in whatever stewardship the Lord sees fit to grant to us. It can only be had with a heart that prioritizes the will of the Lord over the will of the self, even as Christ did in the midst of Gethsemane—a heart willing to submit to the will of the Divine companionship God offers the truly penitent. For that reason, happiness can only be found on God's terms, not our own, and it seems unbecoming of discipleship to resentfully challenge God when the thorns of our own assigned corner of the vineyard prick us and make us bleed, particularly when Christ's corner of the vineyard—Gethsemane—pricked Him until He bled from every pore.
This article should not be taken as a criticism or a judgment upon any particular individual, but rather as a public expression of my ongoing thoughts on a matter of growing concern to me. It is simply an invitation to reflectively consider what we mean when we use the term "happiness." It is an invitation to reflect on the cognitive dissonance that results when we use the world's metric of "happiness" to gauge whether God has adequately bestowed upon us the happiness He promises the faithful. It is an invitation to reflect on the irony that resides in the fact that happiness is linked to discharging our obligations towards God and others—a fundamentally selfless way of living in the world—and the fact that we often selfishly resent the perceived lack of this happiness in our lives. It is an invitation to reflect on whether the happiness God wishes to bless us with (peace of conscience and Divine communion) might reside in the very thickets and trenches in which we sometimes curse God for sending us to serve.