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Had I known where it was headed, I might not have begun where I did.
The lines were:
and my father
one hand raised
to block
the hot blades
of the sun
that split him wide
and in returning to it, I was asking myself, what is it I am trying to say about my father?
The poem did not even start with my father, but from a photograph of a photograph. I was writing a series of poems prompted by art works in a book of contemporary Korean artists.
But today, this father is my father and the moment of the photograph is just after he had said, as we stood around the pool, "You sure fill out that swimsuit."
Is this something that a father says to a daughter? is the question I keep returning to.
The swimsuit was a garish orange floral pattern. It had been chosen in the same desperation and despair as every other swimsuit I owned in those years, in my twenties, when my war with my body raged hot. I did fill it out. I was what the fashion magazines might have termed curvy.
I was there, in Jacksonville, to visit my father. He had just moved into his own apartment in a low-slung concrete building that encircled a grim rectangular pool around which a few old plastic lounge chairs were scattered. He paid for my ticket. He must have felt a little bit of power, summoning me to him as he had, after so many years of estrangement.
Poems have their origins in life and Helen Vendler names the two talents of poets as being imagination and mastery of language. It is this first I am thinking of this morning. To rewrite this moment, I think: what if the water of the pool itself rose up from the ground and drowned us? No. Drowned him. What if I conjured it with my own rage? But it does not seem possible to animate that flat and lifeless pool. Then: what other disastrous forces can I draw down on him? On us? On the sad desolation of this scene?
I do have a photograph of that visit, from later that day perhaps. I'm wearing denim cut-off shorts and inexplicably, a man's tailored suit vest over the orange swimsuit. (Was that something I wore then? Suit vests over shorts?) My father is hunched a little, from persistent back pain. He's gray -- his hair, his skin. He's leaning on a cane with one hand and his other arm is around my shoulder. I am standing as far away from him as I can in this configuration and while I may not be scowling exactly, my expression could not be mistaken for anything other than discomfort. Who is taking this photograph, I wonder?
Does the water rise, or does the pool drain itself? Does the sky get dark? Does wind shake the tree branches? Does the earth itself open up and swallow us -- the lounge chairs, the pool, the sad apartment complex?
At the center of this poem is my father. Son of immigrants, high-school dropout. Served his country in ways that were never clearly articulated -- or at least, not to me. Twice divorced. Some time after this visit, he will remarry and he will write a few letters to me in which he hints at his newly-rediscovered sexual satisfaction.
At the center of this poem is me. Lost girl. Half-scowling. I'll return to Providence and fall for distant men who barely see me. And the poem will unravel, and I'll keep trying to put it back together.


text: One of the characteristics of the Iranian society is the existence of different cultures and ethnic groups. Some Iranologists and tourists believe that this cultural diversity has made Iran more attractive. Northern, southern, central, eastern and western parts of Iran have their own specific subcultures due to Iran's vastness. Climatic features influence these cultures to a great extant. Each part of Iran has its specific subculture and because of recent communications between people, some subcultures have been influenced by others.

subset: commoncrawl


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Innovation in learning technologies is happening across the campus, with several 'Proof of Concept' projects planned for 2017. Here are some of the learning technologies being piloted this year to improve the student experience, as well the key steps involved in a proof of concept project if you are thinking about trialling a new learning technology yourself.
Desire2Learn Brightspace
Brightspace is a Learning Management System, similar to Moodle (iLearn) and is being trialled across two faculties.
The Faculty of Human Sciences will be using D2L Brightspace to facilitate the new Professional Development Program for teachers in schools. Several courses will be offered online using the Brightspace platform selected for its professional look, ability for external users to access it and in-built ePortfolio.
The Faculty of Business and Economics Applied Finance Centre will also be evaluating whether Brightspace would be a preferred alternative to Moodle to deliver four of their online courses.
YourTutor after-hours online writing skills help
YourTutor provides an after-hours online writing support service for students. The type of support provided by YourTutor includes essay and report writing, assignment research, basic English, Maths and Science. The service will be piloted with selected students in Macquarie University International College (MUIC) and the Widening Participation Initiative where staff hope students will benefit from additional help with their academic writing.
The Examity online proctoring service allows students to take exams at an external location while still being fully invigilated. The Faculty of Business and Economics are interested in exploring the concept of online exam proctoring and are planning to trial Examity as an exam alternative for students in one unit.
The Faculty of Business and Economics also have plans underway to trial the YouSeeU platform to allow students to submit video assignments. (There is currently no capability for this in iLearn or Echo360.) In this pilot project, students will be asked to video their tutorial presentation and submit it to iLearn, rather than presenting in front of the class. The initial idea was to free up valuable tutorial time for other learning activities, but this proof of concept also seeks to look at whether students prepare more thoroughly and produce a higher quality result, as well as any other benefits or disadvantages for students and staff.
Thinking of trialling a new learning technology in your area? Get your planning started here!
If you're thinking of piloting a new technology to enhance learning and teaching in your area, talk to the Learning Innovation Hub team for help and guidance. For example, you may have applied for a grant to cover the cost of purchasing the system or licence, but there are some key steps along the way that we can help you with to make sure things get up and running smoothly.
The paperwork
You'll first need to negotiate and sign the vendor's contact or agreement before they will start setting anything up for you. Allow plenty of time to do this properly. The main checks are:
- Macquarie's legal requirements – The LIH can help put you in touch with MQ's fabulous Office of General Counsel legal team who know exactly what needs to be included to make sure the university, you and your students are protected while using the technology.
- What the vendor is offering – Make sure everything you were promised by the salesperson in written down, and includes things like plenty of technical support, training and security.
- Who will sign it? Identify the executive or head in your area who will sign the contract. Keep them included and updated so the ink can hit the paper as soon as possible.
The Tech stuff
How will staff and students access the system? Do you want to be able to login with your MQ OneID or even more directly, by linking through iLearn? It takes a fair bit of technical work behind the scenes to make this magic happen, so work with the LIH and the vendor to investigate available options early.
Help! How do I use this thing?!
Work out how and who will provide support if there are technical issues. Find out what training options are available from the vendor so that staff and students can learn how to use the system. There is often a range of online resources, webinars or sometimes a trainer will come on campus (for a price) and run a face to face session. You will also need to communicate to your students that you are using this new tool, why it will benefit them and how to use it.
Is this system any good? Should we keep using it?
Don't forget evaluation! You probably embarked on this project to improve the learning experience for your students, make your teaching more engaging or maybe to make a process more efficient or secure. Make a plan from the beginning on how you will measure if this was actually achieved and whether you'll continue using it or go back to the drawing board.
For more information about the learning technology proof of concept projects, or how the Learning Innovation Hub can assist you in your own project, get in touch with firstname.lastname@example.com .


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Episode 26 - Conner Habib -Author/Writer/Gay Adult Film Star
Comedian Rosie Tran (@FunnyRosie) interviews Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib). Conner is a contributing writer to Vice, Salon.com, and various other online websites. He has a book coming out this Fall on the Disinfo label:"Remaking Sex", and is also a gay adult film star. Rosie and Conner discuss his upcoming book "Remaking Sex", which explores the belief systems we have been brought up around sex and many of the misconceptions that are taught in society that create for an unhealthy relationship with sex. Conner says, "Question everything." Amazing, fun, and heartfelt interview with a major Out of the Box thinker!
Check out Conner Habib's Blog


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War comes to Australia Seminar - Sydney
Event Information
16 Feb 2012 9:00am - 4:20pm
- State Records NSW, 2 Globe Street
- The Rocks, Sydney
- New South Wales
Other Information
- Cost: $50
- firstname.lastname@example.com
- 08 8395 7476
- Booking form
This one-day War comes to Australia Seminar is being held the day before departure on the Unlock the Past War comes to Australia: WWII 70th anniversary tour
Date: Thursday 16 February 9am-4.30pm
Location: State Records NSW, 2 Globe Street, The Rocks, Sydney
Cost $50 - bookings now open
(lunch available from various places nearby - at your cost)
Preliminary program
- 9.00am - registration
- 9.30am - welcome and notices
- 9.40am - War Comes to Australia 1788-1939 - Dr Craig Wilcox
- 10.30am - tea break
- 11.00am - 3 short presentations
- 11.00am - Qantas Empire Airways and the military WWII - Alan Kitchen
- 11.20am - Using the Society of Genealogists to trace your military ancestors - Heather Garnsey
- 11.40am - Introduction to Unlock the Past and some other military resources - Alan Phillips
- 11.50am - 1942: War comes to Australia (an outline of attacks on Australia) - Brad Manera
- 12.40pm - lunch
- 1.40pm - Sydney under attack May-June 1942 - Brad Manera
- 2.30pm - The social impact of war at home (drawing on the State Library's holdings and other collections) - Dr Tracy Bradford
- 3.15pm - break
- 3.25pm - Tracing Military Ancestors at State Records NSW - Christine Yeats, SRNSW
- 4.20pm - finish
A selection of Unlock the Past publications and military history books will be on sale.
Dr Tracy Bradford
Tracy Bradford is the Head of Manuscripts at the State Library of NSW, a position she has held since May 2009. Tracy has previously worked in a number of NSW state government agencies, including TAFE NSW, Lands Department, Department of Community Services, Department of Aboriginal Affairs and State Records NSW. Tracy has post-graduate qualifications in history and archives; her master's thesis was titled Commemoration Exhortation and Mourning: Honour Rolls in the Great War, and her doctoral thesis explored the history of TAFE NSW, 1949-1997. Tracy is a member of the University of Western Sydney Indigenous Employment and Engagement Advisory Board and the Salvation Army Eastern Territory Heritage Society Executive Committee, and has previously served as a Councillor of the History Council of NSW and as a member of the State Records of NSW Public Sector Advisory Committee.
Heather Garnsey
Heather Garnsey has worked full-time with the Society of Australian Genealogists since 1984, where she is also a Fellow and holds the Diploma in Family Historical Studies. She regularly lectures on a wide range of family history topics and contributes a monthly genealogy column to Australian Personal Computer magazine.
Alan Kitchen V/President "Skippy Squadron" Civilian - Qantas Aircrew Vietnam
Cabin Crew 37 years with Qantas Empire Airways (QEA) 1965 – 2002. With approx. 500 plus volunteers, crewed Troop Charters to/from Tan Son Nhut Airport Saigon on QEA Boeing 707's 1965 -1972. Flight Service Director on Boeing 747's for 23 years. Awarded (VLSM), Vietnam Logistic Support Service Medals to Civilians in 1994, followed by the (AASM) Australian Active Service Medal 1945/75 Clasp Vietnam in 2000. QEA Crew in 2002 invited to Canberra by the Vietnam Veterans ACT Branch for the 10th anniversary of the Dedication of the Vietnam Memorial in ANZAC Parade. Alan has gone on to extensively research and help publish articles of the History of QEA and its involvement with the Military since the late 1930s
Brad Manera
Brad Manera is the Executive Manager of the Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney, and a keen battlefield archaeologist and public historian. His recent documentary work includes historical input into In Their Footsteps (2011) and Gallipoli: the Front-Line Experience (2005). Brad has worked as a museum curator and historian for 30 years, beginning his career at the Western Australian Museum then building collections and developing exhibitions at the National Museum of Australia and the Australian War Memorial. His work at the War Memorial included curating the travelling exhibition Australia Under Attack 1942-43 and a major portion of the new Post-1945 Conflicts galleries. He moved to Sydney to take up the role of Head Curator at Hyde Park Barracks Museum and, after helping achieve World Heritage Listing for that site, has moved to the Anzac Memorial to prepare it for the commemorative activities that will be part of the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign.
Alan Phillips
Alan has been involved in local and family history since 1971. He was foundation President of the Torrens Valley & District Historical Society in 1976 and The Gumeracha and District History Centre soon after. He has contributed to, and published, a number of books and booklets on the Hannaford, Kelly and Randell families of South Australia - as well as assisting with 3 historical books on the North Adelaide Football Club. Much of Alan's time is now devoted to Unlock the Past, an innovative venture to promote history and genealogy through special events, publishing guide books and various online directories and resources. He established the following historical/genealogical services.
- Gould Genealogy & History (1976)
- Gould Publishing Services (1990)
- Archive Digital Books Australasia (2003)
- Family Photo Book (2009)
- Unlock the Past (2009)
Dr Craig Wilcox
Craig Wilcox is a military historian who lives and writes in Sydney. He's worked at the Australian War Memorial and had fellowships at the National Museum of Australia and the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies in London. His books include Australia's Boer War (2002), shortlisted for the NSW Premier's History Prize, and Red Coat Dreaming (2009), a study of colonial Australia's surprisingly warm relationship with the British army.
Christine Yeats
Christine Yeats is the Manager, Public Access at State Records NSW, where she coordinates the public programs and services. These include the reading rooms, the copying and enquiry services, the outreach services and the implementation of the access provisions of the State Records Act 1998. Christine has been the Convenor of the Australian Society of Archivists Reference, Access and Public Programs Special Interest Group. She is Treasurer of the History Council of NSW; Treasurer of the Professional Historians Association (NSW); immediate past President of the Randwick and District Historical Society; NSW Liaison Officer, UNESCO Memory of the World Committee and Convenor of the Sydney Joint Committee of the Australia Women's Archives Project. Christine is a regular speaker at seminars, workshops and conferences across the State where she delights in encouraging the use of the NSW State archives.
Presentation summaries - more to come
Tracing Military Ancestors at State Record NSW - Christine Yeats
As war came to Australia in 1942 the decisions made by Governments at National, State and Territory levels had an impact on the lives of many men, women and children of this country. This presentation will explore some of the records within the NSW State archives relating to the NSW Government's response to the war. These records range from defence preparations to granting military leave to public servants. This presentation will provide guidance on how to locate this material using State Records' guides and finding aids, using selected examples from the collection. It will also explore some of key records in the National Archives of Australia and the Australian War Memorial relating to the men and women who served in the armed forces during the Second World War.'
War Comes to Australia 1788-1939 - Dr Craig Wilcox
Did war come to Australia long before 1942? Was the British annexation and occupation of our continent a form of war? Was it marked by serious fighting? And what of white Australian fears of invasion by France or Russia, by China or Japan from the Napoleonic wars to the 1930s? What military preparations did our forebears make out of concern that they might be swept aside just as the Aborigines had been? And when did Japan emerge as the focus of that concern?
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Next week, WRC staff, friends and partners will be gathering on the North Umpqua River for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the permanent protection of the Swiftwater Park property, which spans a mile of the river at the head of the North Umpqua Trail.
We hope you'll join us!
The Umpqua and Rogue are the only two coastal rivers in Oregon with headwaters in the Cascade Range. All other coastal rivers rise in the lower-elevation Coast Range. Fed by snowmelt, the North Umpqua flows clean and cold year-round, its chilly emerald waters a contrast to the nearby rivers that warm dramatically in summer. This anomaly is what makes the North Umpqua so crucial to cold-water fish, including Chinook and coho salmon, sea-run cutthroat and summer and winter steelhead.
Western Rivers Conservancy is heading to the river this Black Friday when we #OptOutside with REI and millions of others who've decided to skip the madness of the mall and hit the great outdoors. Our destination of choice, of course, is the sweet smelling, soul soothing river, where we'll hike, fish, birdwatch and maybe even do a little winter kayaking. We hope you'll do the same!
To help you decide where to go, here's an abbreviated Field Guide to WRC Rivers--places where we have acquired land to protect habitat and create and improve public river access for all! And if you like these rivers, support our efforts to do more on great rivers around the West.
See you on the river!
All of us at Western Rivers Conservancy are proud of the progress we made in 2015 working to save the great rivers of the West. We could never have done it without your help.
We created this slideshow of ten rivers we worked to conserve in 2015 as our way of saying thanks, to all of you who have ever supported WRC. We hope it gives you the same sense of pride that we feel—and that it serves as inspiration for the year to come.
The North Umpqua River is one of Oregon's great recreational treasures and one of the finest rivers in the Pacific Northwest. Flanked by the North Umpqua National Recreational Trail for most of its length, the river is accessible by foot or mountain bike for 79 miles, making it a haven for anglers, mountain bikers, hikers, backpackers and boaters. But what really sets the North Umpqua apart is its clean, cold water and its extraordinary fishery.


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Create your own little piece of paradise in your own backyard with a Mini Pondless Waterfall! Tuck a small waterfall by the front door, nestle one by your backyard patio, or carve a meandering stream through your existing garden beds. Then enjoy the birds and butterflies that come to visit!
Enter our giveaway for your chance to win a complete backyard Pondless Waterfall DIY kit!
Attend our Water Feature Workshop this Saturday at Marenakos to receive an extra entry into our giveaway! Register below.
Winner will be selected on July 31, 2017. Winner will be notified via email, must be an active subscriber to our email list to win. Winner must pick up the waterfall kit in person at The Pond Store located inside Windmill Gardens in Sumner, WA within 2 weeks of being selected, or will forfeit the prize. The waterfall kit includes the following products: Waterfall Spillway 22", AquaBasin™ 45, Pre-cut EPDM Liner 7.5' x 7.5', Pre-Cut Flexible PVC Pipe 1.5" x 15', AquaSurge® 2000, Water Pump, AquaSurge® Low Suction Instake Attachment, and an Installation Kit. Rocks, plants, lights, or any other decorative features are not included and must be purchased separately.


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Közvetlen letöltés
App letöltése az asztalra
As a simple,nice and user-friendly application of weather.
We provide you only useful information.
- Direct weather information from a trustworthy source
- Real time weather status and forecasts at your finger tips
- Various widget sizes to fit all needs
- Vividly clear display that provides information in an instant
- Animation effects that enliven simplicity
- City management interface for users to manage their own cities.


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Live better. Work better.
Improve your life as an editor - both at your desk and away from it.
What's the point of Cmd+Edit?
Being an editor usually means constantly being busy whether it's looking for work, finishing a job and looking for more work. And let's not forget continuing to level up your skills. Then somewhere in there you need to remember to have a life.
Nick and Josh are both video editors in vastly different fields. Nick edits mostly feature films as a full-time freelancer. Josh edits training videos and corporate promos as a full-time employee. Between the two they have experience with a broad variety of topics related to our industry.
Tips on improving your editing lifestyle both at your desk and away from it
This podcast is about life as a video editor. It is about post production and post production beyond the desk. Episodes run 30 minutes to an hour in length and discuss anything from are demo reels actually needed to whether you should be a specialist or generalist to when to say no to jobs and much, much more all while sprinkling in nuggets of technical how-tos and actionable tips.
Join Nick and Josh each week as they analyze editors' thoughts, habits and best practices in order for you to create better videos and lead a happier, more fulfilled live as a video editor.
Nick is a feature film editor based out of the great white north of Toronto, ON. He has worked as a freelancer for several years, starting as a cinematographer and eventually landing in post-production.
Being self-taught in the ways of filmmaking, he started operating as Merc Media promoting himself as a "mercenary" for hire to help get the shots you want. Working quickly and efficiently go hand-in-hand with him. His specialty since 2013 has been editing for feature films concurrently with production. In many cases by relocating his edit suite either on-set or nearby, he is able to deliver a picture-locked feature within a few short weeks or even days after a film wraps.
You can follow him on Twitter @Merc_Media and follow his tips as he works from project-to-project.
Josh is a video editor and video editing educator in the Washington, DC and Northern Virginia areas. He cuts training videos for multiple industries, marketing and corporate promos and really anything he can get his stubby hands on.
Josh began writing his thoughts down on the Internet in early 2013 and started Edit Video Faster, a website and service dedicated to helping video editors in any way possible, in June of 2014. Shortly after that Josh started getting replies on Twitter from this guy named Nick. And they kept happening for weeks and months and Josh became quite fond of this guy from somewhere in Canada he couldn't pronounce. Josh and Nick took their relationship to the next level when Nick asked him if he'd be interested in working on a project with him...a podcast.
Helping others, coming up with creative ideas, the pursuit of new experiences and overall life optimization are things Josh is passionate about. Josh is married and has a 20LB best friend named Peyton.


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List of all Bollywood Comedy Movies with starcast, confirmed release date, reviews, genre, duration and other details.
Genre: Comedy
Release date: 14th December 2012
The story revolves around an old-aged husband-less mother Ammaa (Faruk Zafar), her 5 grown-up children's and a second-rate two-seater scooter living in a small town. Ammaa's five grown-up children's, namely Parmu (Govind Namdev), Jeetu (Sitaram Panchal), Rukmi (Sanjay Mishra), Kalavati (Himani Shivpuri) and Hari ...
Director: Narayan chauhan
155 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Release date: 26th February 2010
Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? could be the story of Puneet and Munmun, a joyfully committed couple living in Mumbai whose lives get an appealing change when a remote general, Chachaji appears unannounced at their home from the far off village. The visitor overstays his welcome therefore significantly so the exasperated couple ...
Director: Ashwni Dhir
135 minutes
Genre: comedy
Release date: 10th March 2017
This Holi, witness India's first love franchise film. Starring Varun Dhawan as Badrinath Bansal and Alia Bhatt as Vaidehi Trivedi, the film is more than just your boy meets girl love story. It is the coming together of raw and refined with a touch of desi-pan and a hatke definition of pyaar! Join them in the journey of...
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Genre: Comedy
Release date: 9th June 2006
A debt-ridden young man attempts suicide, but is rescued only to find that his luck is finally turning....
Director: Priyadarshan
120 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Release date: 5th December 2008
The film follows exactly the same plan as Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives. Occur contemporary Mumbai, the film has a shut consider the developing equations among metropolitan couples and shows the metamorphosis between the relationships with a comic stroke. The film songs the lives of two modern-day committed couples ...
Director: Anil Sharma (Senior)
Genre: Political Satire, Comedy, Drama
Release date: 10th October 2014
Two sons set out to get their father what he dreamt of all through his life –the ultimate sign of respect. High on thrill and laughter, this film takes the audience through the unbelievable attempt of Shekhar and Subhash Joshi to provide their father an Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami. Purushotam Joshi is a common man who f...
Director: Ravindra Gautam
Genre: Comedy
Release date: 14th December 2012
Four Two Ka One ia upcoming romantic comedy hindi feature film produced by Sunil Shah, and Directed by Anwer Khan....
Director: Anwar Khan
Genre: Comedy
Release date: 28th July 2013
The film is the story of two best friends who on one New Year's night decide to travel from Mumbai to Pune. But a trip that should only take a couple of hours ends up becoming an all-nighter, with whacky events keeping them on the road and preventing them from reaching their destination. In the end they realize they l...
Director: Jyotin Goel
155 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Release date: 23rd July 2010
Striving road structure contractor, Sachin Tichkule (Akshay Kumar) is doomed to Desire big. There is no opportunity in hell that his dreams can actually come true, simply because he doesn't have money to offer! To make Issues worse, the new municipal commissioner ends up to be his ex partner (Trisha) who today hates hi...
Director: Priyadarshan
Product of VGB IT Solution, made with ❤ in India


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2019 Honda HR-V: Comfortable and Versatile Crossover
In the small SUV market there is one vehicle that does it better than the competition. That vehicle is the 2019 Honda HR-V, don't be fooled by its small stature, this compact vehicle has much more to offer besides efficiency. If you're on the search for a versatile vehicle that is great for city driving and long-haul adventures alike, get ready to explore this crossover.
Comfortable Interior
Inside the cabin of the Honda HR-V are a variety of standard and available features that make your life easy and comfortable. Take control of your comfort and entertainment with the available Display Audio interface that gives you access to media and the touch-based climate controls. In the driver's seat available heated seats keep you cozy through cold commutes and the one-touch power moonroof can give you a breath of fresh air. With seating for up to five and a variety of available premium materials, the Honda HR-V makes travel comfortable and convenient.
Versatility in Every Inch
When it comes to SUVs versatility is a must, although most compact crossovers just don't get the job done. The Honda HR-V, on the other hand, provides a variety of cargo configurations that makes life a breeze. The 60/40 split 2nd-Row Magic Seat® gives you a variety of configurations for carrying cargo. This special cargo management system allows you to configure the cargo space into utility mode, long mode with the rear and front passenger seats folded, and tall mode that is nearly four feet tall. In addition to cargo versatility, the Honda HR-V gives you the versatility of travel. Available all-wheel drive gives you confidence in weather condition and the ability to venture off the pavement.
If you're interested in a new 2019 Honda HR-V, visit Cardinal Honda. Our Honda auto experts will help you explore the model that interests you and get you behind the wheel for a test drive.


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It's time for outdoorsmen in the greater Yellowstone area to once again exercise bear safety as bears begin emerging from hibernation.
In the first confirmed report of grizzly bear activity this year in Yellowstone National Park, guides and visitors on March 4 observed and photographed a bear along the road in the Mud Volcano area of Hayden Valley, north of Yellowstone Lake. The first black bear of the year was spotted Feb. 11 near the southern end of the park.
"There have been no additional grizzly bear sightings reported since Tuesday, but roads are beginning to close for plowing, so there are fewer people out there to see bears," Yellowstone bear management biologist Kerry Gunther said Friday.
Park officials say this is about the normal time when grizzlies typically emerge from hibernation. News of the first grizzly sighting was released on March 14 last year and March 12 the prior year.
Gunther said Yellowstone has had above-average snow this year and that generally leads to higher numbers of winter-killed elk and bison.
"That's a good spring food for bears, so we expect to see more bears on carcasses this spring," Gunther said.
Bears begin looking for food soon after they emerge from their dens, and because carcasses are such an important food source, they will sometimes react aggressively when surprised while feeding on them.
With the emergence of bears, park officials are advising hikers, skiers and snowshoers to stay in groups of three of more, make noise on the trail and carry bear spray.
Yellowstone's website advises visitors to learn about bears before they come to the park, with sections on reducing the risk of a bear encounter, reacting to a bear encounter, understanding the bear's mindset, and the use of bear spray. Updated information is available online.
Bear safety information is also available in the park newspaper, distributed at all park entrances, while information on seasonal bear management area closures, designed to reduce encounters in areas with many elk and bison carcasses, can also be found online.
Yellowstone regulations require visitors to stay 100 yards from black bears and grizzly bears at all times. The best defense is to stay a safe distance from bears and use binoculars, a telescope or telephoto lens to get a closer look.
Park officials advice that visitors traveling away from developed areas should stay in groups of three or more, make noise on the trail, keep an eye out for bears and carry bear spray. Bear spray has proven to be a good last line of defense, bear experts say, if kept handy and used according to directions when a bear is approaching within 30-60 feet.
Visitors are also reminded to keep food, garbage, barbecue grills and other attractants stored in hard-sided vehicles or bear-proof food storage boxes. This helps keep bears from becoming conditioned to human foods, and helps keep park visitors and their property safe.
Bear sightings should be reported to the nearest visitor center or ranger station as soon as possible.


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In Native American culture, the feather symbolized a number of things including strength, trust, honor, wisdom and freedom. Native Americans proudly displayed feathers in headpieces and wardrobes, or had the image tattooed on their bodies.
A Native American received a feather for an act of bravery, such as protecting the tribe or tribesmen from an enemy or animal attack. Upon returning from the hunt or defense, the tribesmen recounted their story in front of the tribal court. Native Americans believed receiving a feather from the head of the tribe was one of the most honorable experiences. Once received, the feather got displayed in the receiver's home or worn out in public at all times. Native Americans treated the feather as if it were the U.S. flag and never let the feather touch the ground.
The most valuable and important of all feathers were those from a Golden or Bald eagle as Native American culture belief held that eagles had a connection to the heavens.Tribes felt eagles were powerful medicine animals and banned their killing. Native American legend stipulated that whoever ate the meat of an eagle immediately transformed into a monster. Some tribes such as those from the Plains states required the feathers be plucked from a live eagle only.


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Convention season is upon us and the coverage here at Atomic Geekdom is coming in fast and furious. Long Beach Comic Expo came and went with Justin, Jenny, and Patrick filming the entire event! Check out our video below and the photo gallery below that and if you're in our footage, let us know! @AtomicGeedom on Twitter and Instagram!
Photography/Videography and editing by Patrick Nagy


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Welcome to WebmasterWorld Guest from 18.104.22.168
Forum Moderators: Robert Charlton & goodroi
in fact I haven't done anything for over a year with the site
I had one site "recover" from Panda 2 ... HOWEVER, I didn't touch this site ~ whatson
If you haven't recovered by now, and you've made changes, there's probably no reason to think you ever will. ~ Shatner
joined:Dec 29, 2003
votes: 0
Because that suggests to me that perhaps domain age has grown in prominance.My pandalized name is old, very old.
Don't give in so easy. Re-review your site. I have found problems after I thought I had fixed everything. And I continue to find potential issues to this day.And the site will never be perfect. The thing whether to kill yourself wondering if Verdana instead of Arial is killing your site's traffic.
[edited by: indyank at 4:39 pm (utc) on Jul 12, 2011]
I'm going to make this assumption it was essentially tech targeted
It is nothing to do with tech themed sites or any other theme, but is general for all web sites.


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Finally, I can share with you photographs from Drea & Paul very stylish wedding. I met them two years ago when I had a pleasure to photograph their engagement. They loved it so much they decided to hire me for their special day. I knew the wedding would be unconventional and I was right! I just love everything about this unique wedding.
Florist Designer: https://thesecretgardenflowers.co.uk
Cake Designer: http://www.littlelarkcakes.co.uk


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Year in Review 2016: Part IX - Thuraya Telecommunications Company
Source: SatMagazine
By Bilal Hamoui
Chief Commercial Officer, Thuraya
The finalization of FUTURA, Thuraya's nexgen constellation plans; launching the world's only dual mode, dual SIM satellite phone; and the arrival of the company's first terminal to work in North America made for a memorable, disruptive and fascinating year.
For Thuraya, 2016 will always be remembered as a year of innovation, paving the way for a transformative and revolutionary future.
Thuraya's future—FUTURA. Thuraya will become a "one-stop shop" for L-band, HTS, IoT, and GSM, offering an unparalleled portfolio of mobile products, applications and services. Thuraya will extend its geographical reach, move into new market sectors and launch new services and devices.
While continuity is a ssured with both existing satellites, the L-band network will be enhanced significantly with the planned launch of nexgen from 2020. Thuraya will focus on delivering high mobility services both in existing core and newly accessible markets and will innovate, disrupt, and redefine across land, sea and air.
Earlier this year, the firm promised to unveil initiatives that will push the innovation boundaries in satellite and terrestrial convergence further, and that promise was kept. The company launched the best satellite phone in the world, the Thuraya XT-PRO DUAL, which delivers unprecedented flexibility, transforms usability and choice, and meets rising demand for convergence.
XT-PRO DUAL users can move seamlessly in and out of terrestrial coverage, enjoying connectivity everywhere. Opt for a Thuraya SIM card and a GSM card, or select any combination of SIM cards that meets users' needs.
The new handset's 'Always On' capability allows users to effortlessly alternate between calls, ensuring they are always reachable on both the satellite and terrestrial networks. Callers can be contacted on their GSM number even while on an active satellite call - and vice versa.
2016 was also the year of M2M for Thuraya. The company's dedicated M2M service and terminal became available over North America for the first time. In partnership with ViaSat, Thuraya is now bringing real-time IP satellite communications to a greater share of the M2M market. As ViaSat's vice president and general manager, mobile satellite services, Phil Berry, said, "Thuraya's FT2225 M2M device running over the reliable ViaSat L-band service will serve a broader class of markets."
Launching the world's most rugged vehicular terminal was another proud achievement at Thuraya. The IP Commander, purpose-built for military, government, civil defense and emergency response teams, is engineered to enable mission-critical voice and data connectivity in the remotest of areas within minutes. Offering IP data speeds of up to 444 kbps, this is the only MIL-SPEC vehicular terminal capable of achieving streaming IP speeds of up to 384 kbps as well as user-definable asymmetric streaming functionality.
Thuraya ventured into the connected wearables sector as well, joining forces with WiCis-Sports and achieving groundbreaking positive results. With the WiCis-Sports app running on a Thuraya SatSleeve+ on expeditions to Nepal and K2, climbers and their families enjoyed a more secure experience by resting assured their vital information was continuously being checked.
New agreements and partnerships have opened up exciting new markets and ensured that no one is left behind. The company is a pioneer in the Maldives, with Ooredoo, providing fisheries and anglers with satellite connectivity. Fishing operators can access monitoring systems and services with Thuraya SatSleeve+ and SatSleeve Hotspot devices and data packages.
In Vietnam, the company's first service agreement is helping VNPT VinaPhone establish satellite services across the country. Vietnamese customers can now access the mobile satellite services and maritime communication services they need. Thuraya's XT-Lite handsets and maritime communication solution SF2500 are being introduced to consumers, government agencies and enterprise customers. Costs are being driven down by an average of 40 percent, offering unprecedented value.
Thuraya's reach across the shipping routes of Europe have been extended, as well. As Satnews editors put it, "Into the Black Sea goes Thuraya with a new service partner." With NBS Maritime, the firm's first ever service partner in Bulgaria, Thuraya advanced its regional maritime strategy into the Black Sea where an alternative to the status quo is clearly needed.
Thuraya's satellite capabilities were demonstrated at the firm's primary gateway office in Sharjah to a delegation from NASA who on a visit organized in conjunction with the UAE Space Agency. NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Badri Younes, welcomed this "great opportunity to see just how much Thuraya has grown in recent years. Thuraya has historically provided many agencies with tremendous service support, and we at NASA would like to work together closely too."
Saving and improving lives is in Thuraya's DNA. This is the company's purpose and makes a difference when knowing that what the firm accomplishes has such great impact on people's lives in other parts of the world. This humbling privilege and responsibility unifies Thuraya as a team and as an organization. In 2015, the company met the call for help that followed the devastating earthquake in Nepal.
Thuraya support continues and the company is still heavily involved in providing communications to humanitarian organizations working on CSR programs for rebuilding remote communities, schools and hospitals. Similarly, in 2016, the ITU deployed 30 XT handsets and five of Thuraya's IP terminals in flood-stricken Sri Lanka.
These are momentous times for Thuraya. New announcements, services, products and updates are looked forward to during 2017, product, services and technologies that will break barriers and will further advance innovation.
Thuraya will start the New Year with the nexgen system RFP on schedule, taking the firm ever nearer to the vast breadth of opportunities to be delivered through the company's FUTURA program.


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Description of Greenway Glamping
Set in the Corvedale Hills, Greenway Glamping is a small friendly park with stunning views.
Miles of walking, cycling and sightseeing in all directions. Fabulous sunsets and night skies.
Buzzards, Red Kites and many other birds including the Nuthatch regualarly seen overhead and in the hedges.
Craven Arms itself has a museum, Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, Stokesay Castle, 3 pubs, 4 cafes, 4 takeaways, Post office, Supermarket, Petrol Station and more.
Varierty of pubs and restaurants in surrounding villages and towns.
Other local attractions include Ludlow and Ludlow Castle, Acton Scott Working Farm, Long Mynd, Flounders Folly, Ironbridge Gorge and Museums including Blist Hill Victorian Village, Carding Mill Valley, Attingham Park, Berrington Park.
Each Glamping pod has a double bed settee, kettle, fridge, crockery and cutlery for 2 people, heating and lighting.
Use of a chimenea and BBQ is available. Bring your own bedding, towels and food.
On site there is a modern toilet and shower block, washing up area, recycling and dog walking area.
Picnic tables and benches also available on site.
Public footpath providing short walk for dogs or longer walk into Craven Arms adjacent to the site.
Wi-Fi is available free of charge.
Information on local attractions, walks, cycle routes, pubs and restaurants available from the site.
Accommodation Highlights
Glamping Pods
- 5 Units
- Sleeps: 2 Persons
- Toilets (Shared) , Showers (Shared)
- Towels(No) and Bedding(No)
- Self Catering
Wooden glamping pod with window and door. Double bed settee. Curtains.
Fridge, kettle, crockery and cutlery for 2 people.
Washing up bowl, dustpan and brush, waste paper bin.
Heating and lighting.
Chimena outside.
Communal Areas
- Shared Showers
- Shared Toilets
- Washing Up
Shared Amenities
- Wi-Fi
We now provide free Wi-Fi.
What to bring?
- Basic Provisions
- Bedding
- Bikes
- Cooking Utensils
- Duvets
- First Aid Kit
- Pillows
- Sheets
- Sleeping Bags
- Towels


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Miah, A. (2007) Genetics, Bioethics & Sport, Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 1(2), 146-158
In part, the reasons for wanting to defend gene-doping emerge out of my concern for the methodological limitations of anti-doping and the desire to see anti-doping embrace a broader bioethical debate about genetics, the ethics of enhancement and the use of medicine in sport more generally. The kinds of arguments that have emerged in the last 40 years of bioethical discussion have not informed the ethical discussion about doping in sport very much at all, which seems very unfortunate. Within academic ethical debates, neither have links been made to critical developments in bioethics. For example, despite numerous allusions to the importance of establishing the value of 'humanness' as a basis for what makes sport special, there have been nearly no references to bioethical discussions about humanness, dignity or personhood. This is not to say that anti-doping has been critically informed by academic debates in the philosophy of sport either. Far from it. Part of the explanation for this is historical, though much more of it would appear to be institutional. Sport philosophers have rarely published in medical journals and scientists concerned about ethics have rarely engaged with (and are often dismissive of) sport ethics or bioethics. Yet sport offers a particularly rich context where one can develop an ethical critique of genetic technology (Miah 2004; Tamburrini and Ta¨nnsjo¨ 2005). In this sense, philosophy of sport offers something useful to the development of bioethics, as the references to it suggest. For one thing, the global context of sport raises challenging philosophical issues about the universality of moral principles – are sport ethics universal? In a world that remains befuddled by the human cloning debate and the internationality of ethics related to human genetics, WADA is bypassing that confusion and asserting what is right and proper for humans by prohibiting gene-doping on the basis of a contested assumption that there are unified codes of ethics in sport.
The prospect of gene-doping can make it impossible to avoid making these connections between bioethics and sport ethics. Inevitably, any policy concerning the use of genetic technology in sport will find itself beholden to broader bioethical policies about the use of gene transfer technology. For example, in a world that permits the use of gene transfer technology for therapeutic purposes, it would be inconceivable that sports authorities could prohibit such athletes from competition, just because they were genetically modified. In this respect, gene-doping is unlike any other method of performance enhancement in sport. Moreover, the world of sport is reacting to genedoping in a way that is unparalleled by any other form of doping. For once, it has an opportunity to derive ethical guidelines before the technology is realised, a problem that has inhibited much of its strategy for other methods of doping.
Yet, there are good reasons for avoiding the straightforward classification of genetic modification as any other form of doping, which I have tried to outline here. None of the discussions about gene doping have even considered the debates taking place in the AAAS, the ALRC or the US President's Council. Yet, each of these organisations presents quite different accounts of the critical ethical issues arising from gene technology in sport. If the WADA prohibition can be seen as a precautionary statement, then this need not be a lost opportunity to use gene-doping as a means to reevaluating what matters in sport, bearing in mind that it might have changed since antidoping began.
However, the ethical debate about gene-doping must take place on a far wider scale, and anti-doping policy-makers must be prepared to accept that it might be a far better strategy to seek ways of legitimising such methods of performance enhancement rather than ban them. The genetically modified athlete is not somebody who can straightforwardly be labelled as a 'cheat' and this is critical to realise when beginning to discuss the ethical implications of this technology. After all, genetically modified athletes might not have altered themselves at all, but might have been brought about by the knowledge provided by genetics. Alternatively, if we are discussing whether a genetically modified athlete should be allowed to compete or not, it is important to recognise that the discussion might involve the offspring of genetically modified humans. As such, we would only indirectly consider such persons to be genetically modified and the extent to which they could be labelled cheats becomes far more complex, even if they have a competitive advantage in sport.
These concerns are consistent with a further criticism of anti-doping that, predominantly, it continues to penalise the athlete in the 'culture of doping' as described by Lord Charles Dubin in his post-Ben Johnson report (Dubin 1990). Dubin's conclusions were significant for identifying that it is not just the athlete who creates the doping culture of sport. Rather, it is a range of people and professions that make it possible. Houlihan (1999; 2004) has written extensively on the weaknesses of solely targeting and punishing athletes, stressing the importance of education and sanctions for people within the athlete's entourage, including team physicians.
Yet, athletes remain the target for criticism when doping cases arises. One of the most recent examples of this was tennis player Greg Rusedski's positive test for nandrolone, which illustrates the inadequacies of the 'antiathlete' approach to doping. While there was no question about whether the results were reliable, it transpired that the consumption of the substance arose from a nutritional supplement, which was distributed by the Association of Tennis Professionals. Rusedski could not be held responsible for having tested positive. The Rusedski case provided unequivocal evidence that the very standards required of athletes by sports authorities to ensure they do not consume prohibited substances are not met by the institutions themselves who set them. As such, the moral high ground so often taken against the 'guilty' athlete overlooks the more detailed and complex circumstances within which positive tests arise and the conceptual difficulties with establishing what constitutes an ethically permissible method of performance enhancement in sport.


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Giving Back
American Lake Golf Course is the only golf course in the United States designed to be played by disabled veterans. Since 1995 the operation and maintenance of the course has been maintained entirely by private donations. Help us continue to provide relaxing, therapeutic and accepting environment by giving back to those who have given so much..
Help us by volunteering! The American Lake Veterans Golf Course would not exist without its nearly 200 plus volunteers. No government funding exists for operation and maintenance of the course, and there is not one single paid employee. Volunteers, ranging in age from 23 to 92, give selflessly of their time to support our servicemen and women regaining hope and strength while playing the great game of golf. Bound by one common purpose, former privates, retired generals and committed civilians— some with their own disabilities— come together to serve and assist America's veterans. Volunteer positions range from management to cutting grass and picking up range balls. We are always in need of additional volunteers.
Positions that are available to all interested parties are:
- Management
- Administrative / finance / clerical
- Computer troubleshooting
- Data entry
- Check-in counter personnel
- Grounds maintenance crew
- Vehicle maintenance (mechanics)
- Course marshals
- Course starters
- Handyman / carpenter
- Club repair
- Janitorial
- Barbecue cooks and assistants
- Trainers / coaches / assistants
- General workman (range balls, etc)
Volunteers are eligible to join the golf course (otherwise only open to veterans) and will receive free membership after their first year, if they work at least 160 hours during that period (prorated amounts for interim hours). Grounds maintenance crew receives immediate free golf as an incentive to join a crew. Interested volunteers may apply in person at the golf course or can contact us through our email at firstname.lastname@example.com . There are many volunteer opportunities throughout the golf course. All interested parties must fill out an application, be able to pass a background security check and attend a short training session.


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For an expectant crowd of cinephiles sitting down to see a four-hour film, it is easy enough to identify with Fabian, the main character of Norte, the End of History, that screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Fabian is a young student in the midst of a growing existential malaise. He drops out of university to just live in his own idealistic way.
Given the grim events that dominate news headlines today, the despondency that creeps into Fabian's otherwise privileged life as a gifted law student in Laoag City, located in the Ilocos Norte province of the Philippines, is intoxicating.
What makes the celebrated Filipino director Lav Diaz's 250-minute epic so hard to bear is that our protagonist begins to spiral beyond his comfortable armchair philosophising with his beer buddies – and resolves to take his romantic student politics into everyday life. This leads him, almost an hour into the film, to brutally murder his local money-lender. In the act he confronts the unlikeable woman in her home and stabs her to death in front of her young daughter – whom he also murders on an impulse as a witness to the crime.
For the remainder of the film, Fabian's commitment to acting out his increasingly radical beliefs exposes the futility of his righteous actions. Fabian's character stands in contrast to Joaquin, whose partner Eliza struggles with their debt while he recovers from a leg injury.
After farcically attacking Magda the moneylender from his crutches, it is Joaquin who is accused of the murder. Speechlessly, the labourer accepts making a guilty plea for a crime we know he didn't commit. Throughout the film a faceless justice system administers impenetrable social control. Accepting a life in prison, his sentence is ameliorated only by the fact that the rooms we see in residential buildings do not differ greatly from the stifling atmosphere of the prison's interior.
The cinema of Lav Diaz
A mature writer and director, Diaz has made 15 films since 1998, including the eight-hour survey of existential desolation in Filipino life, Melancholia (2008). He is known for his commitment to an editorial style that attempts to capture real moments of lingering and banal social interactions which expose the extreme situations of contemporary life.
Norte screened at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and has since received glowing praise.
What's rarely noted in mainstream press, however, is the violence inflicted on almost all of the women in the film. The woman as victim, as the helpless subordinate, is a figure repeated here again and again, to the point of producing our disgust.
Diaz's critique of the mythology of the West is clearly marked. Signifiers of western culture make constant appearances throughout the film.
Fabian is reading Norman Mailer and the Marquis de Sade. He discusses missionary philosopher Derek Parfit with his ever-encouraging law teachers. Meanwhile, the prisons are labelled with English-language imperatives such as "visitor meeting point". The Tagalog dialogue frequently breaks into English catchphrases – and Fabian finds work for a time in an American-style diner in Manila staffed with born-again Christians.
Who has the time?
The brutal symmetry of the time-rich audience, who can afford to sit down to enjoy a 250-minute film in a cinema matches only too well with Fabian's student life. Long, idle periods are made available in which to ponder the state of the world. By contrast, Eliza and her family work long days at the margins of a society in which there's an entrenched gap between the poor and the wealthy. This is the central conceit of the film.
The contrast reinforces the polarising dynamic between Fabian, the demonised intellectual and Joaquin, the angelic and redemptive hero. Ultimately Diaz's film is a thorough and sincere lamentation on the fatalism of a post-colonial world. The children who grow up into this situation are already orphaned by the system they have inherited.
There is a line from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment, that's been etched into my memory and upon which Diaz's film has been loosely adapted from: "We've got all the time in the world," says the investigator Porfiry to the villain Raskolnikov, caught in the excruciating deferral of his fate. Similarly, in Diaz's strong-arm character, Wakwak – a prison heavy who brutalises Joaquin and the other prisoners – as the literal manifestation of the film's dystopian psychodrama, the end of history is the end of a form of life.
Modernity, patriarchy, social organisation and domination, are all placed in crises by the broken philosophies that undermine this image of Filipino society. The barbarity of this contemporary breakdown reinstates all horrors of the epoch. Diaz's characters are cut adrift from all the once-stabilising structures such as law, justice, civility. Their world is defined by dollar value.
In a four-hour long film, we have all the time in the world to consider this misogyny and misanthropy, and pathos – realised as a despairing result of one reading of the despotic conditions reappearing under late capitalism, or, the end of history.
The Melbourne International Film Festival 2014 runs until Sunday August 17. See all MIFF 2014 coverage on The Conversation here.


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when i wanted to do a family newsletter last year i set out looking at my options. i'm always looking for the cheapest (or freeest) way to do things. i am not enough of a photographer or graphic designer to feel justified investing in Photoshop, but from looking around it seemed that was really what i needed if i was going to put the newsletter together on my own. so i found a free alternative: GIMP
i work on a mac. it took a little bit of tech-saviness to get the download unpacked, installed, and launched but they do a good job of leading you through the process. (hey its free, can't be too easy)
then i took a family newsletter i had found on pinterest that i loved and went to work making changes to it. this particular template was the photoshop file (.psd). when i opened it in GIMP it automatically converted it to a .xcf, which is their equivalent to .psd. all the layers Lacey had used in creating it were there ready to personalize.
problem was i didn't know the first thing about using GIMP. luckily youtube is the land of tutorials. i watched a few beginner videos on using GIMP:
Edit text on image (the file i chose had some text in image format, not typeable, so i had to use the eraser tool to erase, for example the name of their family, and type over the white space the name of our family)
How to download fonts (i needed to add some unique text, not only edit already existing text)
How to move objects (learned how to move around the boy graphics so they lined up nicely)
with a little trial and error i changed this
all before it was time to pick the kids up from school 😉
you'll want to download a number of fonts for a graphic like this. pinterest is a great source for finding cute, free fonts and scoping out which fonts pair well together.
as for the boy and pregnant woman graphics. i found them via Google and just brought them in as .png files (GIMP automatically creates a new layer for you), moved them where i liked and resized.
STEP 1: get GIMP
STEP 2: find a .psd or .xcf to use as your base template that you can manipulate (or if you are brave start from scratch bringing in your own background .png file)
STEP 3: watch youtube GIMP beginner tutorials
STEP 4: start making changes to your template as you learn techinques from the videos
STEP 5: download fun free fonts and graphics to make the template work for you


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Hot July hot Pokemon Go! The popular game Pokemon Go has set off global boom since its release in July, 2016. Developed and published by Niantic, Pokemon Go is a FTP (free-to-play), location-based augmented reality game for IOS and Android devices. Players use GPS to locate, capture the virtual creatures in game, who are called Pokemon.
About Us
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Personal Banking
Small Business Banking
Commercial Banking
Private Client Group
Personal Financial Services
For the quickest answer, search previously asked questions below. Chances are, others have asked a similar question and there's already an answer waiting for you. If you can't find a match, ask a new question and our team members will answer.
Taylor, Marstons Mills
June 6, 2015 10:18:38 PM
1 Response
In reply to Taylor, Marstons Mills
Thank you for joining us here at TD Helps, Taylor. We're more than happy to help you log back in to your Online Banking account.
If you've forgotten your Online Banking User Name and Password and prefer to get it reset without calling us, you can visit us at any local TD Bank Store during lobby hours with your valid photo ID. For lobby hours and locations, please visit http://bit.ly/TDStores. You're also welcome to visit a Store if you need assistance logging in to your credit card account, or your online banking for a loan you may have.
Just in case you choose to reach out to us by phone, our Banking Specialists can be reached directly 24/7 at 888-751-9000. After account verification, we would be happy to help reset your User Name and Password and get you back up and running for your Online Banking.
If you're referring to logging into tdcardservices.com, you may also contact a TD Credit Card Specialist 24/7 at 888-561-8861.
We hope this is the information you were looking for, Taylor. Visit us again anytime.
Justin B, Mount Laurel
June 6, 2015 10:19:17 PM


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If you are looking for reliable, high-quality products or services for your next home project, we invite you to attend the next Florida Home Design and Remodeling Show. Our renowned home improvement events in South Florida are specifically created to bring people like you together with qualified experts from all sectors of the home improvement industry.
We proudly hold two shows each year in Miami and another two in Fort Lauderdale.
Here are some of the superior products and services you will find at the Home Show:
Product demonstrations, discussion panels, and one-on-one time with exhibitors are all included in your experience at the Home Show. Our South Florida home remodeling shows happen four times a year, enabling us to highlight the most cutting-edge trends and brands in the home improvement industry. Additionally, we always have new design celebrities joining us for home improvement seminars.
Our South Florida home improvement shows feature virtually everything you need to transform your home into something truly spectacular. Many of our exhibitors can also help you improve the look and feel of your office space, giving you the opportunity to create your ideal work environment as well.
As you explore the multitude of offerings at one of our Florida home and garden show, you will recognize high-design brand names such as Door Factory by Braga, W|W Water and Wellness, Modern Homes 2 Go, Zesti Woodfired Ovens, and many more.
Electricians, plumbers, roofers and interior decorators are just a few of the professionals who join together under one roof for our Florida home remodeling shows in Fort Lauderdale and Miami. You will also have the opportunity to meet celebrity interior designers who can answer your questions and schedule a future consultation with you. In the past, our attendees have met with celebrity guests from ZZ Design Interiors, Shack Design Group and Green Shield Surfacing.
Every year and on two separate occasions, the Miami Home Show is held at the Mana Wynwood Convention Center. Wynwood also known as Wynwood Art District, is Miami's 'hotspot' in residential and commercial development and home to innovative businesses and design creatives, restaurants and world-renowned tourist attractions. Mana Wynwood Convention Center's central location allows for easy access and ample parking for homeowners, renters and business owners driving from anywhere in Miami-Dade and Broward.
To better serve the South Florida community, we also host two Home Show events at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale every year. This highly acclaimed convention center is surrounded by some of the finest beaches, restaurants and attractions in the area, which makes it an exciting and popular place to be.
Considering that our Florida home remodeling shows sell out quickly, we strongly recommend purchasing your Home Show tickets today. By reserving your tickets while they are still available, you can ensure that you won't miss out on everything the Home Show has to offer.
Offer a new employee benefit of discount Home Show tickets that will save your employees up to 50%! Corporate discount tickets are available to companies with 100 or more employees. If you are interested in signing up for the corporate discount ticket program, email firstname.lastname@example.com for more information.
Join us at the Home Improvement Stage for daily lifestyle seminars presented by special guests who are experts in the field of home improvement and enhancing your quality of life, at home.
See the complete schedule of events for both stages here.
1950 Eisenhower Boulevard Fort Lauderdale, FL
I-95 Northbound toward W (Palm Beach), Exit 25 for FL-84 to Marine Mile Blvd, follow signs for Florida 84 E/Marina Mile Blvd, Merge onto FL-84 E/Marina Blvd, Continue onto SE 24th St, Left onto Eisenhower Blvd.
I-95 Southbound ramp to Miami, Right onto I-95 South, Exit 25 for FL-84 E , Merge onto FL-84/Marina Blvd, Continue to follow FL-84, Continue onto SE 24th St, Left onto Eisenhower Blvd.
318 NW 23rd St, Miami, FL 33127
Whether you're driving your own car or using a car-sharing service, Wynwood is located in close proximity to Miami's major highways, making for easy access to the neighborhood.
Take the MacArthur Causeway east to the mainland and exit onto Biscayne Boulevard/US-1 north. Continue north to NE 29th Street. Turn left at NE 29th Street and continue westbound to NW 2nd Avenue. A left turn at NW 2nd Avenue will place you in the heart of Wynwood.
Take I-95 south to I-I95 east. Take the North Miami Avenue exit and head south (right turn) to 29th Street. Turn right at 29th Street and continue to the next traffic light at NW 2nd Avenue. A left turn at NW 2nd Avenue will place you in the heart of Wynwood.
Take I-95 north to I-195 east. Take the North Miami Avenue exit and head south (right turn) to 29th Street. Turn right at 29th Street and continue to the next traffic light at NW 2nd Avenue. A left turn at NW 2nd Avenue will place you in the heart of Wynwood.


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My current adaptor is a pesto jar lid and nylon hose clamp rig similar to this one for the Fuji F30. It does a wonderful job aligning the camera and makes for a hands-free setup, but suffers from one drawback. The adaptor has to be pressed onto the eyepiece of the scope before the camera can be inserted to take an image. Its a fast operation, but with the adaptor on the scope eye relief is lost, and its almost impossible to see a moving bird in the scope w/o removing the adaptor. My ideal setup is an adaptor that can be attached to the camera so that the unit can be simply placed over the zoom eyepiece for a snug fit and proper alignment. And I think I've found it!
My new adaptor makes use of a simple PTFE Thread Seal tape dispenser cap and a Canon LA-DC58F lens adapter. The LA-DC58F was an ideal digiscoping adaptor for my Powershot A620 because it attached directly to the camera and it fit over the 20-60X Zoom eyepiece. Unfortunately, the camera suffered from some vignetting at all magnifications, and was thus somewhat limiting for digiscoping. The LA-DC58F unfortunately is also a little too large to connect to the Nikon Coolpix P5000, and I'm not about to superglue it to the front of the camera. Here's where the pipe thread cap comes in. It 'snaps' snugly over the threaded lens cover on the front of the camera, and its outside diameter is the same as that of the LA-DC58F. With a bit of force the Canon adaptor can be pressed inside the teflon cap and the unit can then be snapped onto the front of the camera. The unit is snug enough to support the weight of the camera, and can easily be pulled off. Applying a layer of male velcro tape to the inside rim of the LA-DC58F the unit will fit tightly over the Zeiss 20-60X zoom eyepiece.
The beauty of the unit is that the camera can be easily rotated, zoomed and operated hands-free, and can be easily attached and removed w/o the need for clamps or screws.
Warning! Do not carry the scope w/ the camera attached as it WILL fall off. The unit is stable for hands-free digiscoping (timer mode or taking videos), however! Cost? $0.97 for the teflon thread seal tape. I already had the the LA-DC58F, but it may(?) still be available online for about $20.
Attached to the scope vignetting is visible at the lowest zoom setting, but is easily removed with a few clicks of the zoom. There is the slightest amount of CA along the edges of the vignette circle, which tells me that I don't have the ideal eyepiece / camera lens spacing, but it doesn't appear to affect image quality. Here's a pic of my Asia at 20X and no zoom on the P5000. Here's a 100% crop showing the detail that still present in her fur. A House Sparrow in the background made for a quick capture, as did this Crocus.
For those of you w/ Coolpix P5100's the teflon cap snaps on just the same as w/ the P5000.


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How to Locate Apps in Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 uses two different types of apps. The traditional software program that ran in older versions of Windows, such as Windows 7, is what is known as a desktop app. Windows 8 introduced an app known as the Windows Store app (because you typically downloaded these apps from the Windows Store).
Fortunately, you generally don't need to be concerned about an app's type. You can run any of your apps by clicking or tapping their respective tiles on your Start screen.
If the app that you'd like to locate is on your Start screen, you simply click (or tap) the tile to start the app, just as you did in Windows 8. No tile? No worries! If you don't see the tile, you can simply start typing the name of the app.
Windows 8.1 will suggest items that match,. Although you could also find your apps using this method in Windows 8, Windows 8.1 makes the operation easier because it doesn't limit your results the way Windows 8 did.
The smallest app tiles typically don't show the app name; however, if you hover the mouse pointer over the tile, Windows 8.1 will pop up a small box that shows the app name.


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Who are Streets of Perth?
Streets of Perth was created by local couple Duncan & Nikki Atack in June 2014. Their Facebook page had attracted over 200,000 followers and continues to grow each month.
For those who'd like to know more, below is a recent video we shot for Stories Out Loud, followed by a copy of an interview we did with Fluoro Magazine in February 2015.
What inspired you to start Streets of Perth?
Duncan is an amateur photographer and likes going into the city and surrounds, shooting photos of the details he sees on the streets such as architecture, street art, stickers, signage, that sort of thing. I'd never really paid attention to Perth's growing street art scene until I started looking at his photographs, then suddenly my eyes were opened to all the amazing public art that our city has to offer. One day he visited the Wolf Lane car park in Perth which is wall-to-wall murals, and there was something about Anya Brock's "Fierce" mural that just grabbed me. I told Dunc that we should really do something with his photos, just to show our family and friends what's happening in Perth nowadays and so I started the Facebook page 'Streets of Perth'. That was back in June last year and we were amazed when we reached 100 followers; but then those followers started sharing our photos, and more people joined the page, and more people shared out photos... Nine months later, we've now got 40,000+ page likes and have extended our photographs across Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Google+ too (all via @streetsofperth).
Why street art?
Originally Streets of Perth was going to focus on all the details Nikki mentioned above - stickers, signage, architecture - as I find beauty in the shapes, textures and colours that people walk past every day but don't really pay any attention to as they're too focused on getting to their destination. But the more street art we posted, the more we enjoyed that particular element and the page eventually evolved into an urban art appreciation blog – and the following we have now clearly reiterates that our audience loves murals just as much as we do.
How do you find new art to photograph? What research do you do?
Most of the time we just pick a new suburb to explore within the Perth metro area, and usually discover a few new pieces along the way. As the blog has grown though, we get people emailing in tips all the time which is brilliant – and we always ensure we credit them as the 'finder' when we eventually post a photo of the mural they alerted us to. We've also created an interactive urban art map of all the pieces we've posted so far (over 400 and counting -bitly.com/streetsofperthmap), which we add to every week. We've received such great feedback about that actually, it's been covered by a couple of local newspapers and a travel blog, and we get some lovely emails about it too; for example we had a group of mums who took their kids on a 'street art safari' around Perth using our map, and a bunch of cyclists who used the map to plot a new cycle route so they could take in some art along the way. Things like that make me smile so much. :)
Nikki also keeps an eye on the Facebook and Instagram feeds of the artists we follow too, just to stay up to date on any new works they might be doing so that we can get out there and snap the occasional "in-progress" shot as well as the finished piece. We're lucky that quite a few of the local artists we've met along the way will actually send us a message in advance now, so that we can pop along to their location for a chat and to take some shots for of them too. For example, we were recently invited to an apartment block where a local artist was painting a private commission inside the block (an incredible mural of the Andrews Sisters). By inviting us along, we were able to shoot some photos of the mural and share it with our followers, which was exciting for us because without that private access and the opportunity to publish it on SoP, only a handful of people who visited the apartment block in the future would have been lucky enough to see it.
What are your happiest moments since starting SoP?
There have been a couple of standout moments for me. The first was regarding a homeless man called Stephen. We'd been told about a new mural in a car park in the city so went to shoot it one weekend for the blog. There was a chap young man sat in the corner of the car park in front of the mural, and as Duncan was setting up the shot, he said "would you like me to move my bed?" It turned out that he was homeless after breaking his leg which led to him being unable to work, which then led to him being kicked out of his rental property. Our hearts broke for him so we gave him some money, bought him a meal from a nearby Subway store and asked his permission to post his photo on SoP in case any of our followers would like to do the same. Within an hour of sharing his photo, we had tons of comments from people wanting to take him food, and help him find shelter; a A local physio even offered free sessions to help rehabilitate his broken leg so he could get back on his feet. Even more astonishing was that a suggestion was made to setup a fundraising page, and by the end of the evening we'd raised $1300! That really helped to restore my faith in humanity. Later on the same evening, the Salvation Army found Stephen and worked with him and I over the following weeks to get the money to him and find him a room at a brand new men's refuge in Perth. He's moved on now and is hopefully in a better place, but it felt good to do something as a result of SoP. The other thing that moved me was on a particular day when a spiteful women kept trolling our photographs and complaining about "hideous murals" and "nasty street art". We politely replied that it was a street art appreciation page and she was welcome to express that perhaps she preferred some artwork to others, but there were ways of doing that in a sense that was still respectful to the artists (and to us!). She became quite abusive though so in the end we blocked her from accessing the page, at which point she tried continued the debate by email but we just ignored her. The outcome of that experience though, was that we posted a note on SoP that evening explaining that we run the page as a hobby, not a business, and that our photographs were intended to make people happy; so we had no problem with banning rude or disrespectful people. We weren't sure how our community would respond to such a message, but were delighted when we started to receive comment after comment from people congratulating us on taking a stand.
More importantly though, we started to get comments from art teachers telling us that they show our photos to their students each day, and a mother who told us that her teenage daughter was inspired to become an artist after seeing our posts. Obviously we can't take credit for that as we just share other people's amazing work, but the mum did say that by us aggregating the murals into one Facebook page, her daughter finally embraced her inner creativity and so she didn't worry about her emotional wellbeing so much nowadays. That really touched me.
Other things that have made us smile include:
- Finding out that a colleague's teenage son's school told their students our page was "something they needed to look at daily".
- Seeing a friend of Nikki's sister in UK sharing the link to SoP on her sister's wall because she knew we lived in Perth – and having no idea the page was actually ours. :)
- Being told by a page follower that her two favourite Facebook pages are Humans of New York and Streets of Perth. We're MASSIVE massive fans of HONY so that was a huge honour to even be considered in the same dimension.
Have you considered extending your project to other Australian cities?
We would love to extend SoP to become a national blog, but at the moment it's just a hobby that we run in our spare time. We both work full time during the week (Nikki is the Digital Marketing Manager for HIF, the Health Insurance Fund of Australia, and I'm the Channel Manager for Lotterywest), so we spend at least one day per weekend now lurking in car parks and laneways, then we spend hours after work processing the photos and researching each piece as much as possible so we have a good background story to tell. Maybe one day if we win the lottery we can establish Streets of Australia – that's the dream anyway! Perth will always be our one true love though.
What's next for SoP?
While it's just a hobby at the moment, one day we'd love to take it further by perhaps establishing the blog – and especially our urban art map – as some kind of tourism platform, for locals and visitors alike. We've met quite a lot of the artists we feature now and they've all been so encouraging about SoP, inviting us to conduct interviews and offering items for us to give away as prizes, so I think we have a lot of scope to take SoP to the next level.
There are countless opportunities out there for us through the blog, we just need the time and funding to make it bigger and better than ever. In the meantime though, local organisations such as FORM Gallery, The Little Wing Corner Gallery, Six Two Three Zero and the Laneway Collective Perth are doing extraordinary things for Perth through new mural commissions, urban art festivals and so on, so we're not going to run out of content any time soon!


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Michael Gove's plan to do away with the GCSE and introduce a tougher EBacc qualification by 2015 has set middle-class mothers with children of a relevant age aquiver, their minds calculating times, dates and potential outcomes with the precision of Swiss watches. Is it better for one's child to be among the last batch of the children taking the bargain-bucket GCSE, or the first crop of those testing out the new EBacc?
To which all I can say is that it doesn't really matter too much, since whatever exam they take will be in the company of all the other pupils in the same year, and they will differentiate themselves accordingly. The only important consideration is that the EBacc promises to be more academically exciting.
At my school, I was both a relic and a guinea pig of a changing exam system within the space of two years. Mine was the last academic year to sit the old O-levels, and then – thanks to the need to fill up some free periods in an A-level year – I was among the first group to sit the new Spanish GCSE. I was thus able to compare the two, and it was glaringly apparent that the GCSE was a relative doddle. The French O-level required serious revision if you weren't to come a cropper, but the Spanish GCSE was of a different nature entirely: indeed, I got the date of the exam wrong, and was relaxing at home when the worried call came from the school to say that I had missed the test in the morning, but could take it under strict security in the afternoon.
I was deprived of my usual chance to cram, but got an "A" anyway, received with the kind of pleasure that comes from an undeserved windfall. I say this not to make out that I was some sort of linguistic prodigy – I wasn't – but to demonstrate the unusual indulgence of the examiners: even then, I was acutely aware that that would not have been the happy outcome of an O-level paper.
The Gove-era generation of pupils will be travelling in the opposite direction, from relative ease to rigour. Still, nothing much happened to the first year that sat the GCSEs en masse, apart from staggering on towards A-levels with a bit more academic catching-up to do. I don't recall anyone worrying about it, but in those days parents didn't. It wasn't the fashion to worry about everything your children did or didn't do. It is now. All around me, middle-class parents with children in successful schools seem to be fretting about their children's levels of literacy, numeracy, participation in after-school clubs, musical prowess, interpersonal skills, and future. The unspoken view is that children need to be cajoled, organised and prodded into success, or that a lifetime in a bedsit puffing skunk awaits them. It's mildly contagious: you start to worry that you aren't worrying enough. If everyone else is pushing their children forward with the intensity of the North Korean gymnastics team coach, you get a little concerned that yours might be left behind doing silly jumps on the miniature trampoline of life.
But then I remember my own childhood in the Seventies and Eighties. I gave up ballet at the age of seven because it interfered with my after-school ritual of tea and toast. I failed my Grade 5 piano exam in an appalling meltdown at the Belfast School of Music. I resented any extra impositions on my free time, but my school was a good state grammar, and there was enough in the atmosphere to foster academic success.
Many parents cannot rely on a similar standard of state education now, which may demand more input from the family – but the most extreme, nervous "overparenting" often seems to occur among those who have installed their children at the top schools anyway. And even at my six-year-old son's state primary, the teacher gently reminded parents not to do their children's model-making projects for them. But why would we? If the child makes a shambolic model, they will be embarrassed by it next to those constructed by their peers, and try harder next time. Too much adult involvement simply skews the learning experience.
Yet, at the other end of the spectrum, we hear of parents who have taken the principle of laissez-faire to a startlingly bad place – who cannot be bothered even to feed their children a proper breakfast, toilet train them in time for starting school, or read them a book. British parents are becoming ever more polarised. If your attitude to your children is exceptionally neglectful, you can certainly help create a disaster. But I'm not convinced that hurtling to the opposite extreme is a recipe for success.
Lost in the undergrowth of another life
'Forest Boy" is missing again. If you remember, he was the young vagabond who turned up in Berlin claiming to be a 17 year-old called Ray who had lived rough in the forest for five years with a father who had recently died. Last June he was revealed to be Robin van Helsum, a troubled 20-year-old Dutch youth. Now the German authorities are suing him for the £16,000 care bill, if they can find him.
I have a sneaking sympathy with Van Helsum, whose forest seemed to be of the psychological variety, a thicket of difficult relationships from which he attempted to emerge afresh. The "Reggie Perrin" stunt is less worthy of sympathy when done for financial gain, as in the case of John Darwin, who pretended to die in a canoeing accident and popped up again in Panama while his wife collected the life insurance. Sometimes it is deeply disturbing, as with Frédéric Bourdin – the subject of a recent documentary film, The Imposter – a Frenchman who falsely claimed to be the missing son of a Texas family and was, incredibly, accepted into their home.
Such stories fascinate us because it is always alluring to imagine what it would be like to slough off one identity and inhabit another. Yet most of us are prevented from doing so in the knowledge that – although it might sometimes feel as if abandoning one's original self like a piece of lost property would make everything simpler – what followed would get more complicated by the day.
A red menace lurks in Hampstead
Every so often, the flora and fauna of this land are menaced by an alien invasion. There is the hideously robust grey squirrel, which has long since driven our trembling red Nutkin into protected reservations. There is Japanese knotweed, the ferociously energetic plant that annexes gardens and can shatter tarmac. And then there is the new, toxic harlequin ladybird from eastern Asia, which is gobbling up our harmless, useful native variety.
One of the most terrifying arrivals, it emerged last week, is the red swamp crayfish, which has come over from the US to take up residence in the bathing ponds on Hampstead Heath, and is bullying swimmers by nipping them in vulnerable spots. It has been said that these crayfish are aggressive in defence of their territory, and they appear to think of the sleepy Hampstead waters as their manor, a delusion that makes me think we should go in hard, net them, and flog them off for sandwich fillings.
One by one, these pugilistic arrivals are shredding our long-established pleasures and creatures. Coming soon: a mite that spoils real ale, and a giant mosquito that only attacks Morris dancers.


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The Song of the Week for September 21 is…Singing in the Rain by Gene Kelly
Love that song! Way to go for classic musicals!
What's your fave song? Be sure to vote for next week, right here! If you don't see your fave song, add it to the list!
And remember to be sure to vote ;)
Click this link: Singing in the Rain by Gene Kelly to buy your own copy of this song from iTunes!
[gravityform id="104" name="Vote Song of the Week for September 28" ajax="true"]
(Photo Credit: Orin Zebest)


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Fitness Industry
The videos in this section help people to explore the fitness industry. Learn about exercise and fitness topics, facility design concepts, fitness management, trends and the business of fitness.
We support leaders who support you!
Videos in this section are organized by exercise interests. You can select from exercise and training videos, health club and fitness facility design concept videos, and videos exploring the business of fitness. We work with fitness industry leading exercise educators, exercise equipment manufacturers, facility and group fitness design consultants, and exercise professionals worldwide. We are advocates of useful technologies, innovation in fitness programming, and world-class solutions designed to inspire professional fitness communities. Together, health clubs, fitness facilities, educators and exercise professionals can work together in the common goal of improving community health and fitness as a result of regular exercise.
Fitness industry leaders – including thousands of exercise professionals – Life Fitness®, Precor®, Queenax™, Pavigym®, Escape Fitness®, LES MILLS®, and Active Design Systems (among others) offer exercise, and fitness solutions for private sector customers, and commercial companies responsible for fitness programming, education, design, and product manufacturing and supply. These commercial companies include health clubs, fitness facilities, exercise educators, personal trainers and group fitness exercise instructors. Each of the videos below invite people to experience a segment of our industry. They also drive new and innovative products, and solutions that can help service providers make exercise more interesting, fun, and engaging. Explore — you'll be amazed. Have fun!
Leaders & Educators – Join us, and help a new friend today!
We believe you will love us as much as for who we are — as you will love us for who we are not. If you are an exercise professional, manufacturer, or product distribution organization interested in sharing the latest trends, technologies, and fitness industry solutions with our website visitors, we want to hear from you. Thank you for visiting TRIBELOCUS — find or share health, fitness, and exercise for quality of life and experiences of a lifetime.℠
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My daughter likes to tell me that times have changed since I was a little girl; life seemed simpler, communities more tight knit, and school less intrusive.
- Pencil sharpeners, car windows, and can openers were manual.
- Mom and Dad could trust that I would come home when the street lights came on.
- At only 8 years-old, I could ride my bike for miles and miles without my parents worrying.
- My sister and I spent the entire summer outdoors, climbing plumb trees and picking berries.
- Waiting for photos to be developed was almost as exciting as Christmas – Each photo flipped was like a tiny sparkler celebration of unexpected joy.
- Slip N Slides held enough summer fun for an entire afternoon.
- A carefully dug hole became a homestead for my imaginary family, complete with mud pies and grass salad.
- School projects forced me into a library of Encyclopedia Brittanica.
- Television watching was for rainy days, but even on those, I preferred rain dancing over Punky Brewster.
- Sheets weren't for sleeping, but for outdoor fort building.
- Joy came wrapped in Tootsie Roll pops from the candy store.
Yes, times have changed, especially in regard to how we acquire knowledge.
Knowledge Is Power
I remember sitting in my classroom, just a young girl of 10. I was waiting for school to end and I sat forward in my desk, staring toward the front of the room at a poster. "Knowledge is Power" was written in bold, black letters. I didn't stop and think about what that meant, but in the years to come, I continued to see this written on the walls of my classrooms.
Challenging Claims
As an adult, I reflect more on what I learned as a child. Your perspective changes as you add more experience holes onto your life belt. You start to question things you were taught – whether they were accurate or misleading.
Do you ever challenge what you were taught? Like knowledge being power. Is it?
Sure, acquiring knowledge has given me the power to challenge the claim that knowledge is power, but there has to be more to it than that.
Challenging Knowledge as Power
Sometimes I recognize themes in my life. The theme may last an entire season or just a day. Recently, when I woke up, I saw a Facebook post I had written from a couple years prior. It said this:
There are two types of wisdom: The first is Human Wisdom (James 3:15), which is earthly (limited to man's reasoning), natural (part of us that desires our will and our way), and demonic (its root is found in Satan himself). The second is Godly Wisdom (James 3:17), which is pure (perfect), peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. Why would you not choose the second?
It got me thinking; knowledge may be powerful, but it can also be harmful if used inappropriately. In contrast to the good ole' days, you can find just about anything you want to know through the internet. Gone are the days of having to search through Encyclopedia Britannica's. From self-help books to T.V. shows, to articles and blog posts, knowledge is plentiful!
This is where the caveat lies. If I could add to those Knowledge is Power signs, they would read:
Knowledge is power when rooted in wisdom." – Lettered Roots
Knowledge is not the problem today. People are consuming information left and right. The problem today is that knowledge is not rooted in wisdom. When wisdom is not used in conjunction with knowledge, that's where problems arise.
How to Use Knowledge With Wisdom
So how does one use knowledge with wisdom? It starts with a shift in your mindset. It requires that you stop trying to do things with your own strength and instead, rely on the one who created wisdom in the first place!
The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord, and the branches thereof are long life. Ecclesiastes 1:20
Fearing the Lord doesn't mean cowering down in a corner, shaking like a leaf. It means having respect and awe for Him. It means pressing into and leaning on Him daily.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. – Proverbs 1:7
It's going to take some time and effort, but if you really want to use knowledge wisely, it requires the sacrifice of spending time in God's Word. Just like brushing your teeth becomes a habit and necessity, you will find over time, that spending time in God's Word becomes a habit. What began as a sacrifice will become like a cool drink of water on a humid summer day. You will begin to crave spending time with Him.
Are you relying on your own strength?
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. -Proverbs 9:9
You must be willing to take correction from others and allow yourself to grow. You have an entire book of wisdom at your fingertips. While the rest of the world may see Godly wisdom as a weakness, I challenge you to tell me stories of when Godly wisdom failed.
Walk in wisdom today.


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Isn't decorating for the holidays supposed to be fun? If so, why do many of us cringe at the idea of pulling out our boxes of garland, bows, and lights? Sometimes creating a holiday home can make even the most cheerful person feel like Scrooge. This month, I'm going to share some tips that will make your decorating easier, faster, and more fun.
Tree Watering: Instead of squeezing yourself under the branches in order to water your tree, take a trip to the auto-supply store. Pick up an automotive funnel with a long, flexible neck. You can rest the funnel tip in the stand and then easily pour water from a pitcher or cup. It is still a good idea to keep a towel beneath the funnel in order to protect your tree skirt.
Homemade Garland: Stringing popcorn and cranberries with the kids always seems like a good idea until you are knee deep in kernels and broken thread. I suggest skipping the thread and putting waxed dental floss through your needle. Floss is strong and slick, so your popcorn and cranberries will slide on easily. If you pick up some mint flavored floss, the "thread" will even be a holiday green.
Tangle-free Lights: Start collecting cardboard tubes from rolls of paper towels. Make a small slit at the top of the rolls in order to secure the plug end of the light strand. You'll find it very easy to wind the lights around the tube. This will make next year's decorating so much easier.
No More Missing Plates: With all of the parties and family get-togethers this time of year, it is common to lose track of some plates and containers. You can help your hosts identify dishes by putting a label on the bottom of each item you bring. Write your name on the label using a waterproof marker.
Hanging Wreaths: Instead of putting a nail in your wooden door, loop decorative ribbon around the top of the wreath and secure it to the top edge of the door with several thumbtacks. This works especially well on doors that close too tightly to support over-the-door hooks. For glass and metal doors, purchase magnetic or suction hooks. You can find them online and in hardware stores.
Happy holidays!
If you're looking for interior design services in New Jersey, call J. West Design Services at 908-405-1393, or fill out our online request form.