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MY life, it has been seen, began with winter. Then followed a season of storm and sunshine, merging in a long gloom. If I had died of that six years' illness, I should have considered my life a fair average one, as to happiness,—even while thinking more about happiness, and caring more for it, than I do now. I did not know, ten years ago, what life might be, in regard to freedom, vigour, and peace of mind; and, not knowing this, I should have died in the persuasion that I had been, on the whole, as happy as the conditions of human existence allow. But the spring, summer and autumn of life were yet to come. I have had them now,—all rapidly succeeding each other, and crowded into a small space, like the Swedish summer, which bursts out of a long winter with the briefest interval of spring. At past forty years of age, I began to relish life, without drawback; and for ten years I have been vividly conscious of its delights, as undisturbed by cares as my anxious nature, and my long training to trouble could permit me ever to be. I believe there never was before any time in my life when I should not have been rather glad than sorry to lay it down. During this last sunny period, I have not acquired any dread or dislike of death; but I have felt, for the first, time a keen and unvarying relish of life. It seems to be generally supposed that a relish of life implies a fear or dislike of death, except in the minds of those shallow and self‐willed persons who expect to step over the threshold of death into just the same life that they have page: 484 quitted,—with the same associates, employments, recreations,—the same every thing, except natural scenery. But this does not at all agree with my experience. I have no expectation of that kind,—nor personal expectation of any kind after death; and I have a particularly keen relish of life,—all the keener for being late: yet now, while in daily expectation of death, I certainly feel no dislike or dread of it; nor do I find my pleasant daily life at all overshadowed by the certainty that it is near its end. If this seems strange to people who hold other views than mine, their baseless conclusions,—that I must dread death because I enjoy life,—appear no less strange to me. They surely do not refuse to enjoy any other pleasure because it must come to an end; and why this? And if they feel sad as the end of other pleasures draws near, it is because they anticipate feeling the absence and the blank. Thus, we grieve, and cannot but grieve, at the death of a friend, whose absence will leave a blank in our life: but the laying down our own life, to yield our place to our successors, and simply ceasing to be, seems to me to admit of no fear or regret; except through the corruption introduced by false and superstitious associations. I suppose we must judge, each for ourselves, in such matters: but I cannot but remember that I have gone through the Christian experience in regard to the expectation of death, and feel that I understand it, while Christians have not experienced, and I perceive do not understand, my present view and feeling in the expectation of death. But if they care to have my own statement, they are welcome to it. It is what I have said:—that for ten years I have had as keen a relish of life as I believe my nature to be capable of; and that I feel no reluctance whatever to pass into nothingness, leaving my place in the universe to be filled by another. The very conception of self and other is, in truth, merely human, and when the self ceases to be, the distinction expires.
I remember that when the prospect of health and prolonged life opened before me, there was a positive drawback, and a serious one, in the dread of having the whole thing to go over again, some time or other. I had recourse to desperate comforts under page: 485 this apprehension. I hoped I might die by a railway crash, or some other sudden accident; or that I might sink away in mere old age; or I trusted that time might somehow make some change. I little thought how short a time would make so vast a change! I little thought that in ten years I should find myself far more fatally ill, without the slightest reluctance, and with the gayest feeling that really it does not matter whether I feel ill or well,—(short of acute and protracted pain, of which I have still a great dread) if only other people are not made unhappy. All the solemn, doleful feeling about my sufferings, which seemed right and appropriate, if not religious, a dozen years ago, now appears selfish, and low, and a most needless infliction on myself and others. Once become aware of how little consequence it is, and how the universe will go on just the same, whether one dies at fifty or seventy, one looks gaily on the last stage of one's subjection to the great laws of nature,—notes what one can of one's state for the benefit of others, and enjoys the amusement of watching the course of human affairs from one's fresh and airy point of view, above the changes of the elements with which one has no further personal concern. The objective and disinterested contemplation of eternity is, in my apprehension, the sublimest pleasure that human faculties are capable of; and the pleasure is most vivid and real when one's disinterestedness is most necessary and complete,—that is, when our form of its life is about to dissolve, to make way for another.
After spending a month on the shores of Windermere, I went for a long visit to my dear elder brother's, some of whose children had grown up from infancy to youth during my illness. He and his wife had attached me to them more than ever by their recent conduct. Thinking me right in my effort to recover health, and wronged in much of the treatment I had received, they upheld me steadily and effectually, while, at the same time, they saw how the wrong was mainly owing to prejudice and want of the knowledge pertinent to the case; and they therefore did not find it necessary to quarrel with any body. I thought then, and I think now, that they were just and kind all round; and I am sure they were no small assistance to me in keeping my tem‐ page: 486 per temper . They took a great interest in the subject of mesmerism, and enjoyed seeing its operation in cases similar to my own, and in many others, in which sufferers, pronounced incurable by the doctors, were restored as I had been. One amusement to us all at that time was the pity with which the doctors regarded me. I could quote several medical men who reasoned that, as my disease was an incurable one, I could not possibly be radically better; that I was then in a state of exhilaration, infatuation, and so forth; and that in six months (or three months or a year, as might be) I should be as ill as ever, and mourning over my having been duped by the mesmerists. Now and then we heard, or saw in the newspapers, that I was as ill as ever, and mourning my infatuation,—though I was walking five or seven miles at a time, and giving every evidence of perfect health. The end of it was that I went off to the East,—into the depths of Nubia, and traversing Arabia on a camel; and then the doctors said I had never been ill! It is very curious,—this difficulty of admitting evidence about any new, or newly revived, fact in nature. I remember Mr. Hallam (the last man open to the charge of credulity) telling me at Tynemouth a story which struck me very much. He told me how he and his friend Mr. Rogers had had the privilege of witnessing that very rare spectacle, "the reception by a great metropolis, of the discovery of a pregnant natural fact." He told me,—and he has so manfully told plenty of other people, that I am betraying no confidence in repeating the story once more,—that Mr. Rogers and he had, many years before, seen some mesmeric facts in Paris which convinced and impressed them for life. When they returned, they told what they had seen, and were met by such insulting ridicule that they were compelled to be silent, or to quarrel with some of their pleasurest friends. One physician in particular he named, who treated them at his own table in a way which prevented their ever again communicating their knowledge to him, if they wished to remain on civil terms with him. By degrees, in course of years, facts became known; higher scientific authorities on the continent declared themselves convinced, or in favour of that genuine inquiry which has always ended in con‐ page: 487 viction conviction ; and the tone of London society began to change. The physician referred to ceased to gibe and jeer, and sat silent and embarrassed while the subject was discussed; and at length began to ask questions, and show a desire to learn: "and now," continued Mr. Hallam, "we can say that we are acquainted with nobody who has attended to the subject with any earnestness who does not consider certain facts of mesmerism to be as completely established as any facts whatever in the whole range of science." He added, "this reception of a great truth is a great thing to have seen."—In a note I had from Mr. Hallam before I left Tynemouth, he declared his view to be this. "I have no doubt that mesmerism, and some other things which are not mesmerism properly so‐called, are fragmentary parts of some great law of the human frame which we are on the verge of discovering." It appears to be the method of the London doctors now to admit the facts (being unable longer to suppress them) and to account for them, each according to his own favourite physiological view; and thus the truth is near its full admission. When the facts are admitted in London, the medical men in the provinces will not long continue to scoff and perpetrate slander: and when a score of commentators on a single class of facts offer a score of explanations, the true solution is so much needed that it must soon be obtained.
Amidst the happiness of my visit at my brother's, I felt a really painful longing to see verdure and foliage. On leaving Newcastle, I had been carried swiftly past a railway embankment covered with broom; and the dark green of that bank made my heart throb at the time, and bred in me a desperate longing to see more. I did not think I could have wished so much for any thing as I did to see foliage. I had not seen a tree for above five years, except a scrubby little affair which stood above the haven at Tynemouth, exposed to every wind that blew, and which looked nearly the same at midsummer and Christmas. It was this kind of destitution which occasioned some of the graceful acts of kindness which cheered my Tynemouth sojourn. An old friend sent me charming coloured sketches of old trees in Sherwood Forest: and an artist who was page: 488 an entire stranger to me, Mr. McIan, stayed away from a day's excursion at a friend's house in the country, to paint me a breezy tree. For months the breezy tree was pinned up on the wall before me, sending many a breeze through my mind. But now I wanted to see a real tree in leaf; and I had to wait sadly long for it. The spring of 1846 was the latest I remember, I think,—unless it be the present one (1855). My impatience must have been very apparent, for my sister‐in‐law "fooled" me, when I came down to breakfast on the 1st of April, with lamentations about "the snow under the acacia." There was no snow there; but the hedges seemed dead for ever; and there was scarcely a tinge of green on them when I left Edgbaston for Nottingham, on the second of May.
There,—at Lenton, near Nottingham,—new pleasures awaited me. Spring is always charming on the Trent meadows at Nottingham, where the clear shoaly river runs between wide expanses of meadow, where crocuses almost hide the grass for a few weeks of the year. It was an unspeakable pleasure to me to move freely about blossoming gardens; but no one but a restored invalid can conceive what it was to ramble for miles, to Clifton woods, or to Woollaton, drinking in the sunshine in the fields, and the cool shade under the green avenues. Now, at the end of ten years, I do not find my thirst for foliage fully quenched, after the long absence at Tynemouth. There were excursions from Nottingham to Newstead and elsewhere,—all delightful; but I don't know that I had not more pleasure from the common lawn, with the shadows of the trees flickering upon it, than from any change of objects. The surprise to my friends, and also to myself, was that I was so little nervous,—so capable of doing like other people, as if I had not led a sick and hermit life for so many years. This exemption from the penalties of long illness I believe I owe to mesmerism being the means of cure. I had left off all drugs for ten months, except the opiates, which had been speedily reduced from the outset of the experiment, and now discontinued for half a year. I had not therefore to recover from the induced illness and constitutional poisoning caused by drugs; and my nerves had been well strung by the page: 489 mesmerism which I had now discontinued. I certainly felt at first, when at the Lakes and at Edgbaston, by no means sure that I knew how to behave in society; but old associations soon revived, and I fell into the old habit of social intercourse. It was not very long indeed before we proposed,—my friends and I,—to ignore altogether the five years at Tynemouth,—to call me 38 instead of 43, and proceed as if that awful chasm had never opened in my path which now seemed closed up, or invisible as it lay behind. There were things belonging to it, however, which I should have been sorry to forget, or to lose the vivid sense of; and chief among these was the kindness of a host of friends. I have observed, however, at intervals since, that though the sense of that kindness is as vivid as ever, the other incidents and interests of that term of purgatory have so collapsed as to make the period which seemed in experience to be an eternity, like a momentary blank,—a night of uneasy dreams, soon forgotten between the genuine waking interests of two active days.
With this new day of activity arose a strong fresh interest. It was at Lenton, near Nottingham, that I first saw Mr. Atkinson, whose friendship has been the great privilege of the concluding period of my life. I have told above that Mr. and Mrs. Basil Montagu mentioned him to me in the letter in which they besought me to try mesmerism. I had never heard of him before, as far as I know. I have often said, as I am ready to say again, that I owe my recovery mainly to him,—that my ten last happy years have been his gift to me: hut it is not true, as many people have supposed and led others to believe, that I was mesmerised by him at Tynemouth. I am careful in explaining this, because many persons who think it necessary to assign some marvellous reason for my present philosophical views, and who are unwilling to admit that I could have arrived at them by my own means and in my own way, have asserted that Mr. Atkinson was my mesmeriser, and that he infused into me his own views by the power he thus gained over my brain. I might explain that I never was unconscious,—never in the mesmeric sleep,—during the whole process of recovery; but the simplest and most page: 490 incontestible reply is by dates. I was first mesmerised on the 22nd of June, 1844; I was well in the following November: I went forth on my travels in January, 1845, and first saw Mr. Atkinson on the 24th of May of that year. The case was this. Mr. and Mrs. Montagu, earnest that I should try mesmerism, brought about a meeting at their house, in June, 1844, between Mr. Atkinson and an intimate friend of mine who had visited me, and was about to go to me again. They discussed the case: and from that time Mr. Atkinson's instructions were our guidance. He, too, obtained for me the generous services of the widow lady mentioned above, when my maid's operations were no longer sufficient; and we followed his counsel till I was well. As for the share he had in the ultimate form assumed by my speculations, on their becoming opinions,—he himself expressed it in a saying so curiously resembling one uttered by a former guide and instructor that it is worth quoting both. The more ancient guide said, when I was expressing gratitude to him, "O! I only helped you to do in a fortnight what you would have done for yourself in six weeks." Mr. Atkinson said "I found you out of the old ways, and I showed you the shortest way round the corner—that's all." I certainly knew nothing of his philosophical opinions when we met at Lenton; and it was not till the close of 1847, when, on my setting about my book on Egypt, I wrote him an account of my opinions, and how I came by them, and he replied by a somewhat similar confidence, that I had any clear knowledge what his views were. I shall probably have more to say about this hereafter. Meantime, this is the place for explaining away a prevalent mistake as to my recovery having been wrought by the mesmerising of a friend whom I had, in fact, never seen.
I vividly remember the first sight of him, when one of my hostesses and I having gone out to meet him, and show him the way, saw him turn the corner into the lane, talking with the gardener who was conveying his carpet‐bag. He also carried a bag over his shoulder. He looked older than I expected, and than I knew he was. His perfect gentlemanliness is his most immediately striking and uncontested attribute. We were struck with this; page: 491 and also with a certain dryness in his mode of conversation which showed us at once that he was no sentimentalist; a conviction which was confirmed in proportion as we became acquainted with his habit of thought. We could not exactly call him reserved; for he was willing to converse, and ready to communicate his thoughts; yet we felt it difficult to know him. It was years before I, in particular, learned to know him, certainly and soundly, though we were in constant correspondence, and frequently met: but I consider myself no rule for others in the matter. All my faults, and all my peculiarities, were such as might and did conspire to defer the time when I might understand my friend as he was perfectly willing to be understood. One of the bad consequences of my deafness has been the making me far too much of a talker: and, though friends whom I can trust aver that I am also a good listener, I certainly have never allowed a fair share of time and opportunity to slower and more modest and considerate speakers. I believe that, amidst the stream of talk I poured out upon him, it was impossible for him to suppose or believe how truly and earnestly I really did desire to hear his views and opinions; and as, in spite of this, he did tell me much which I thought over, and talked over when he was gone, it is plain that he was not reserved with me. A yet greater impediment to our mutual understanding was that I, hitherto alone in my pursuit of philosophy, had no sufficient notion of other roads to it than that which I had found open before me; and Mr. Atkinson's method was so wholly different that it took me, prepossessed as I was, a very long time to ascertain his route and ultimate point of view. I had, for half my life, been astray among the metaphysicians, whose schemes I had at my tongue's end, and whose methods I supposed to be the only philosophical ones. I at first took Mr. Atkinson's disregard of them and their methods for ignorance of what they had done, as others who think themselves philosophers have done since. Let it not be supposed that I set this down without due shame. I have much to blush for in this matter, and in worse. I now and then proffered him in those days information from my metaphysical authors, for which he politely thanked me, leaving me to find page: 492 out in time how he knew through and through the very matters which the metaphysicians had barely sketched the outside of. In truth, he at his Baconian point of view, and I at my metaphysical, were in our attempts to understand each other something like beings whose reliance is on a different sense,—those who hear well and those who see well,—meeting to communicate. When the blind with their quick ears, and the deaf and dumb with their alert eyes meet, the consequences usually are desperate quarrels. In our case, I was sometimes irritated; and when irritated, always conceited and wrong; but my friend had patience with me, seeing what was the matter, and knowing that there were grand points of agreement between us which would secure a thorough understanding, sooner or later. If, amidst my metaphysical wanderings I had reached those points of agreement, there was every reason to suppose that when I had found the hopelessness of the metaphysical point of view, with its uncertain method and infinite diversity of conclusions,—corresponding with the variety of speculators,—I should find the true exterior point of view, the positive method, and its uniform and reliable conclusions. In this faith, and in wonderful patience, my friend bore with my waywardness and occasional sauciness, till at length we arrived at a complete understanding. When our book,—our "Letters on Man's Nature and Development,"—came out, and was abused in almost every periodical in the kingdom, it amused me to see how very like my old self the metaphysical reviewers were;—how exclusively they fastened on the collateral parts of the book, leaving its method, and all its essential part, wholly untouched. It is a curious fact that, of all the multitude of adverse reviewers of our book that we read, there was not one that took the least notice of its essential part,—its philosophical Method. Scarcely any part of it indeed was touched at all, except the anti‐theological portion, which was merely collateral.
Such was my method of criticism of Mr. Atkinson, on the first occasion of our meeting. As we walked up and down a green alley in the garden, he astonished and somewhat confounded me by saying how great he thought the mistake of page: 493 thinking so much and so artificially as people are for ever striving to do about death and about living again. Not having yet by any means got out of the atmosphere of selfishness which is the very life of Christian doctrine, and of every theological scheme, I was amazed at his question,—what it could signify whether we, with our individual consciousness, lived again? I asked what could possibly signify so much,—being in a fluctuating state then as to the natural grounds of expectation of a future life, (I had long given up the scriptural) but being still totally blind to the selfish instincts involved in such anxiety as I felt about the matter. I was, however, in a certain degree struck by the nobleness of his larger view, and by the good sense of the doctrine that our present health of mind is all the personal concern that we have with our state and destiny: that our duties lie before our eyes and close to our hands; and that our business is with what we know, and have it in our charge to do, and not at all with a future which is, of its own nature, impenetrable. With grave interest and an uneasy concern, I talked this over afterwards with my hostess. At first she would not credit my account of Mr. Atkinson's view; and then she was exceedingly shocked, and put away the subject. I, for my part, soon became able to separate the uneasiness of contravened associations from that of intellectual opposition. I soon perceived that this outspoken doctrine was in full agreement with the action of my mind for some years past, on the particular subject of a future life; and that, when once Christianity ceases to be entertained as a scheme of salvation, the question of a future life becomes indeed one of which every large‐minded and unselfish person may and should say,—"What does it signify?" Amidst many alternations of feeling, I soon began to enjoy breathings of the blessed air of freedom from superstition,—which is the same thing as freedom from personal anxiety and selfishness;—that freedom, under a vivid sense of which my friend and I, contrasting our superstitious youth with our emancipated maturity, agreed that not for the universe would we again have the care of our souls upon our hands.
At length, the last day of May arrived, and my longings for page: 494 my Lake lodgings were to be gratified. The mossy walls with their fringes of ferns; the black pines reflected in the waters: the amethyst mountains at sunset, and the groves and white beaches beside the lake had haunted me almost painfully, all spring; and my hosts and hostesses must have thought my inconcealable anticipations somewhat unmannerly. They could make allowance for me, however: and they sent much sympathy with me. It was truly a gay life that was before me now. My intention was not to work at all; an intention which I have never been able to fulfil when in health, and which soon gave way now, before a call of duty which I very grudgingly obeyed. On the day of my arrival at Waterhead, however, I had no idea of working; and the prospect before me was of basking in the summer sunshine, and roving over hill and dale in fine weather, and reading and working beside the window overlooking the lake (Windermere) in rainy hours, when lakes have a beauty of their own. My lodging, taken for six months, was the house which stands precisely at the head of the lake, and whose grass‐plat is washed by its waters. The view from the windows of my house was wonderfully beautiful,—one feature being a prominent rock, crowned with firs, which so projected into the lake as to be precisely reflected in the crimson, orange and purple waters when the pine‐crest rose black into the crimson, orange and purple sky, at sunset. When the young moon hung over those black pines, the beauty was so great that I could hardly believe my eyes. On the day of my arrival, when I had met my new maid from Dublin (my Tynemouth nurse being unable to leave her mother's neighbourhood,) and when I had been welcomed by a dear old friend or two, I found an intoxicating promise of bliss whichever way I turned. I was speedily instructed in the morality of lakers,—the first principle of which is, (at least, so they told me) never to work except in bad weather. The woods were still full of wild anemones and sorrel, and the blue bells were just coming out. The meadows were emerald green, and the oaks were just exchanging their May‐golden hue for light green, when the sycamores, so characteristic of the region, were growing sombre in their massy page: 495 foliage. The friends whom I had met during my winter visit were kind in their welcome; and many relations and friends came that summer, to enjoy excursions with me. It was all very gay and charming; and if I found the bustle of society a little too much,—if I felt myself somewhat disappointed in regard to the repose which I had reckoned on, that blessing was, as I knew, only deferred.
As to this matter,—of society. There is a perpetual change going on in such neighbourhoods in the Lake District as that of Ambleside. Retired merchants and professional men fall in love with the region, buy or build a house, are in a transport with what they have done, and, after a time, go away. In five or six years, six houses of friends or acquaintance of mine became inhabited by strangers. Sorry as I was, on each occasion, to lose good friends or pleasant acquaintances, I did not call on their successors,—nor on any other new‐comers: nor did I choose, from the beginning, to visit generally in Ambleside. When I made up my mind to live there, I declined the dinner and evening engagements offered to me, and visited at only three or four houses; and very sparingly at those. It did not suit me to give parties, otherwise than in the plainest and most familiar way; and I had some idea of the mischiefs and dangers of such society as is found promiscuously cast into a small neighbourhood like this. I had not time to waste in meeting the same people,—not chosen as in London, but such as chanced to be thrown together in a very small country town,—night after night: I was aware how nearly impossible it is to keep out of the gossip and the quarrels which prevail in such places; and there was no adequate reason for encountering them. I foresaw that among a High‐church squirearchy, and Low‐church evangelicals, and the moderate‐church few, who were timid in proportion to their small numbers, I might be tolerated; and even courted at first, on account of my reputation, but must sooner or later give deadly offence by some outbreak of heresy or reforming tendency, stronger than they could bear. I therefore confined my visiting to three or four houses, merely exchanging calls with others: and it is well I did. Of those three or four, page: 496 scarcely one could endure my avowal of my opinions in 1851. Even with them, I had before ceased, or did then cease, to exchange hospitalities. As they had sought me, and even urgently pressed themselves upon me, (one family in particular, whose mere name I had never heard when I arrived) they were especially in need of my compassion at the plight they found themselves in,—with goodness of heart enough to remember that our acquaintance was all of their seeking, but with too much narrowness and timidity to keep up intercourse through such opprobrium as my opinions brought on me among their High‐church neighhours. They had the shame (which I believe them to be capable of feeling) of being aware, and knowing that I was aware, that they sought me, as they are wont to seek and flatter all celebrities, for my fame, and to gratify their own love of excitement; and that their weakness stood confessed before the trial of my plain avowal of honest opinions. It made no difference that, after a time, when the gossip had blown over, and my neighbours saw that I did not want them, and did not depend on their opinions in any way, they came round, and began to be attentive and kind:—their conduct at a moment of crisis proved to me that I had judged rightly in declining Ambleside visiting from the beginning; and their mutual quarrelling, fierce and wide and deep, certainly confirmed my satisfaction with my independent plan of life. My interests lay among old friends at a distance; and I had as much social intercourse as I at all desired when they came into the district. I was amused and instructed by the words of an ingenuous young friend, who, taking leave of me one winter afternoon at her own gate, said: "Ah! now,—you are going home to a comfortable quiet evening by your own fire! Really, I think it is quite hypocritical in us!—We dross and go out, and seem to be so pleased, when we are longing all the time to be at home! We meet the same people, who have only the same talk; and we get so tired!" It was not long before that family withdrew from the Ambleside visiting which I had always declined. A very few faithful friends, whose regard did not depend on the popular nature of my opinions, remained true page: 497 and dear to me; and thus I found that book,—the "Atkinson Letters,"—do me the same good and welcome service in my own valley that it did in the wide world;—it dissolved all false relations, and confirmed all true ones. Finally, now that that business has long been settled, and that all my other affairs are drawing near their close, I may make my declaration that I have always had as much society as I wished for, and sometimes a great deal more. And this leads me to explain why I came to live where I am;—a prodigious puzzle, I am told, to the great majority of my London acquaintance.
When I had been thoroughly and avowedly well for half a year, I found my family had made up their minds, as I had scarcely a doubt that they would, that my mother's settlement at Liverpool had better not be disturbed. She was among three of her children settled there, and she was suited with a companion better adapted to aid her in her nearly blind condition than any deaf person could be. It would have been a most serious and injurious sacrifice to me to live in a provincial town. The choice for me, in regard to my vocation, was between London and a purely country residence. I was partly amused and partly shocked at the amazement of some of my really intimate friends, to whom I supposed my character fully known, at my choosing the latter. One of these friends wrote to me that she could not at all fancy me "a real country lady;" and another told Mr. Atkinson that she did not believe I had any genuine love of natural scenery. Mr. Hallam told me, some years afterwards, that he and others of my friends had considered my retreat from London, after having known the delights of its society, "a most doubtful and serious experiment,—a most doubtful experiment;" but that they found, by the testimony of mutual friends who had visited me, that it had "answered completely."—My reasons are easily told. I was now, when at liberty to form my own plan of life, past the middle of its course. I had seen the dangers and moral penalties of literary life in London for women who had become accustomed to its excitements; and I knew that I could not be happy if I degenerated into "a hackney‐coach and company life." No true woman, married or single, can be happy page: 498 without some sort of domestic life;—without having somebody's happiness dependent on her; and my own ideal of an innocent and happy life was a house of my own among poor improvable neighbours, with young servants whom I might train and attach to myself; with pure air, a garden, leisure, solitude at command, and freedom to work in peace and quietness. When to all this could be added fine natural scenery, the temptations were such as London could not rival. If I had country, I would have the best; and my mind was made up at once,—to live at the Lakes,—as soon as I was sure of my liberty to choose. I began to look about in the neighbourhood at cottages to let or on sale. The most promising was one at Clappersgate, at the head of Wintermere, which was offered me for £20 a year. It had more rooms than I wanted, and an exceedingly pretty porch; and a little garden, in which was a tempting copper‐beech. But the ceilings were too low for my bookcases, and the house was old; and it commanded no great beauty, except from the attic windows. A friend who went with me to view it said that £20 was the interest of £500; and that for £500 I could build myself a cottage after my own heart. This was strikingly true: and thus the idea of having at once a house of my own was suggested. By the necessity of the case, the matter was soon settled. A dissenting minister, an opulent man who had built a chapel and school, and bought a field for cottage‐building, found life too hard for a dissenter among the orthodox at Ambleside, and especially after he had proposed to supply the want of cottages which is there the screw which the rich put upon the labouring classes; and, after his health had sunk under the treatment he encountered, he was obliged to leave the place to save his life. My house‐viewing friend brought me, on the 27th of June, the plan of this minister's field, which was to be sold in lots the next day but one. The time was short; but land was becoming rare in the neighbourhood; and I went to see the field. One of the lots was a rocky knoll, commanding a charming view. I knew no one whom I could ask to go and bid; and I could not feel sure of a due supply of water; not knowing then that wherever there is rock, there is a tolerable certainty of water. The other lots page: 499 appeared to me to lie too low for building; and I, in my simplicity, concluded that the pretty knoll would be the first and surest to sell. Next day, I found that that lot, and the one at the foot of the rise remained unsold. I went to the minister for a consultation. His wife satisfied me about the water‐supply; and she moreover said that as the other unsold slip, valued at £70, would not sell by itself, if I would buy the Knoll, I should have the other for £20. I agreed on the spot. There was one other three‐cornered piece, lying between these and the meadows which were entailed land, certain never to be built on: and this bit had been bought at the sale by an exciseman, to graze his pony when he came his rounds. My friends all agreed in lamenting over that sale, and said the exciseman would soon be running up some hideous structure, to make me pay "through the nose" for his nook. I replied that I must stop somewhere; and that the matter seemed settled by the land having been sold. It makes me grateful now to think what pains my friends took on my behalf. Mrs. Arnold consulted the Wordsworths; and they all came to exhort me to try to get the nook, for the sake of myself and my heirs; and my original adviser found up the exciseman, and came back with the news that no conveyance had yet been made out, and that the man would let me have the land for a bonus of £5. I whipped out my five sovereigns; and the whole was mine. It may seem that I have gone into much detail about a trifle: but I am giving an account of myself; and there have been few things in my life which have had a more genial effect on my mind than the possession of a piece of land. Those who consider what some scenes of my life had been,—my being left with a single shilling at the time of our losses, my plodding through London mud when I could not get my series published, and my five years' confinement at Tynemouth, may conceive what it was to me to go, in the lustrous days of that summer, to meliorate in my field at eventide, and anticipate the heathful and genial life before me. The kind cousin whom I have mentioned as always at my elbow in all time of need, or when a graceful service could be rendered, came with his family to the Lakes at that precise time. Knowing my affairs,—of page: 500 which he generously took the management,—he approved my scheme; and he did more. I asked him plainly whether he thought me justified in building a house of the kind I explained, and of which I showed him the builder's estimate. He called on me alone one morning,—on business, as he said; and his "business" was this. He told me that he considered me abundantly justified: he added that there could be no difficulty in obtaining, on such securities as I could offer, whatever additional money would be requisite for finishing the house (the land was already paid for,) but that, to save trouble and speculation, I had better send in the bills to him; and he would, to save me from all sense of obligation, charge me with interest till I had paid off the whole. The transaction, of which this was the graceful beginning, was no less gracefully carried on and ended. The amount was (as always happens in such cases) more than we expected; and I was longer, owing to the failure of one of my plans, in repaying the loan; but my cousin cheered me by his approbation and sympathy; and at last presented me with the final batch of interest, to purchase something for the house to remember him by.
Then came the amusement of planning my house, which I did all myself. It was the newest of enterprises to me; and seriously did I ponder all the requisites;—how to plan the bedrooms, so that the beds should not be in a draught, nor face the window nor the fireplace, &c. I did not then know the importance of placing beds north and south, in case of illness, when that position may be of the last consequence to the patient; but it so happens that all my beds stand, or may stand so. The whole scheme was fortunate and charming. There is not a single blunder or nuisance in my pretty house; and now that it is nearly covered with ivy, roses, passion‐flowers, and other climbers, and the porch a bower of honeysuckles, I find that several of my neighbours, and not a few strangers, consider my Knoll,—position and house together,—the prettiest dwelling in the valley;—airy, gay, and "sunny within and without," as one family are pleased to say. "It is," said Wordsworth, "the wisest step in her life; for" ... ... ... and we supposed he was page: 501 going on to speak of the respectability, comfort and charm of such a retreat for an elderly woman; but not so. "It is the wisest step in her life; for the value of the property will be doubled in ten years."
One of those London friends whom I have mentioned as doubting my discretion in settling here, was paying me a morning visit at my lodgings when I was planning my house; and while taking a kind interest in looking over the plan and elevation, she thought it right to make a remonstrance which she has since recalled with a generous amusement. "Now, my dear friend," said she, "I take a real interest in all this:but,—do be persuaded,—sell your field, and stay where you are, in this nice lodging. Do, now! Why should you not stay here?"
"First," said I, "because it costs me more to live here in three rooms than it would in a whole house of my own.
"Second: there is no room here for my book‐cases; and I want my library.
"Third: I am paying for house‐room for my furniture at Tynemouth.
"Fourth: this house stands low, and is apt to be flooded and damp in winter.
"Fifth: this house was a barn; and the dust lies a quarter of an inch thick, in some weathers, on every thing in the sitting‐room.
"Sixth: the chimney smokes so that I could not have a fire without keeping a window open.
"Seventh: Being close on the margin of the lake, the house is swarming with rats.
"Eighth: ... ... ... ."
"O! stop—stop!" cried my friend, now quite ready to leave my own affairs in my own hands. She long after spent some days with me at the Knoll, and pronounced my house and my scheme of life perfect for me.


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Wonder what other second place team lost 3 games at home by over 20pts each?
Wonder what other second place team lost 3 games at home by over 20pts each?
---------- Post added at 04:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:05 PM ----------
we play similar scheds so no excuses, no matter how bad we have been we are still ahead of you guys.
[QUOTE=The New Guy]
2000: Miami 11-5 - Jets 9-7
2001: Miami 11-5 - Jets 10-6
2002: Jets 9-7 - Miami 9-7
2003 Miami 10-6 - Jets 6-10
2004 Jets 10-6 - Miami 4-12
2005 Miami 9-7 - Jets 4-12
2006 Jets 10-6 - Miami 6-10
2007 Jets 4-12 - Miami 1-15
2008 Miami 11--5 Jets 9-7
2009 Jets 9-7 - Miami 7-9
2010 Jets 11-5 Miami 7-9
2011 Jets 8-8 Miami 6-10
The Jets won the division 1 time in 2002 (at 9-7) and the Dolphins won it twice (both with 11 wins)
Enjoy second place at the end of the season. (If the Bills don't finish ahead of you) This will be 3 out of 4 years that the Jets have struggled to have a winning record with Rex and Sanchez. Hopefully Rex will keep a good thing going and keep Mark as the starter.
[QUOTE=The New Guy;1064518974]It is sad, it sucks we aren't going back to the playoffs but tiebreakers count so we are on the raod to 7 of the last 9 seasons finishing ahead of you. I've been here since 2004 and only 2005 and 2008 you finished ahead of us yet every year I hear how you guys are going to be better and you have the brighter future.Originally Posted by The New Guy
The 9-7 Jets team in 2002 played in a division where the weakest team was 8-8. The '02 Jets would ahve smacked the '00 dolphins or '08 dolphins and last I checked the '08 team got smoked at home in the WILD CARD round.
Rex and Sanchez have finished ahead of Miami every year so you must really not like winning.
Jets hold the tiebreaker to what? Lower draft picks?
This has been your Franchise's best 12 years and the Dolphins worst. You should have finished ahead of Miami 12 out of 12 times. I'm sure you have heard a bunch of ridiculous things from fans on this message board. There has not been many years in the past decade that I thought that Miami would finish ahead of the Jets or made that claim on this board. With change comes hope for the future. I have not been happy with the changes the Dolphins made in the past, but for the first time in a long time, it looks like the Dolphins are headed in the right direction. I have no idea if Philbin and Tannehill will pan out, but I like the direction we are heading in. We have 5 picks in the first 3 rounds and are in a better cap situation than the Jets. I don't think any expert in his right mind would pick the Jets near future over the Dolphins. The Dolphins are in year one and have already exceeded expectations. The Jets are in year 4 and have been going backwards for 2 years now.
Rex and Sanchez have struggled to have a winning record 3 out of 4 years in the NFL. That has nothing to do with Miami being worse the last 3 years. I hope they keep it up because it won't take much improvement to move ahead.
The dolphins have not exceeded expectations, teams go from bad to good right away. You were supposedly a playoff team after you beat us. Remember all the Tannehill vs. Luck matchups we'll see? the new Brady vs. Manning. Come on.
To be considered one of the best, quality regular seasons are needed. The Jets would not have even made the playoffs in 09 if it was not for Indy laying down. They had a quality season in 2010, but that seems to be a fluke rather than the norm. One more season like this one and Rex, Sanchez and Tannenbaum will probably be gone and the Jets will be starting all over. Sanchez and Tannenbaum might even be gone after this year.
Most experts thought the Dolphins would win 2 to 4 games all year. Especially with a QB as inexperienced as Tannehill, I was thinking 5 or 6 wins. 5 wins with 4 games to go in the season has definitely exceeded expectations. I'm sure you heard a lot of things from fans. You can't attribute those things to me because I never thought that or said that. What I am saying now is I would rather have the Dolphins future over the Jets. Most non aquas would as well.
Last edited by The New Guy; 12-04-2012 at 09:35 PM.
Junc, you don't have a QB. Thats not a bright future. The book is out on ours but we have a head start. Thats a brighter future.
we made the playoffs in '09, stop whining. If you didn't play dead teams throughout 2008 you wouldn't have made the playoffs but you did and you made it.
I only go by the experts on here and the experts here told me 9-11 wins, playoff berth and possible overtaking of the Pats.
playoff apps/wins in AFC:
NE: 9 playoff apps, 16 playoff wins, Jets 1-1 vs. them in postseason
Ind: 9 playoff apps, 9 playoff wins. Jets 2-1 vs. them in postseason
Pitt: 8 playoff apps, 12 playoff wins, Jets 0-2 vs Pitt
Bal: 7 playoff apps, 6 playoff wins, 0-0
NYJ: 6 playoff apps, 6 playoff wins
SD: 5 playoff apps, 3 playoff wins. NYJ 2-0 vs. SD
Ten: 4 playoff apps, 2 playoff wins
Den: 4 playoff apps, 2 playoff wins
Cin: 3 playoff apps, 0 playoff wins. NYJ 1-0 vs. Cin
KC: 3 playoff apps, 0 playoff wins
Oak: 2 playoff apps, 3 playoff wins. NYJ 0-2 vs. Oak
Jax: 2 playoff apps, 1 playoff win
Mia: 2 playoff apps, ZERO playoff wins
Hou: 1 playoff app, 1 playoff win
Cle: 1 playoff app, 0 playoff wins
Buf: zero playoff apps
5th in playoff apps out of 16 teams, 4th in playoff wins.

subset: commoncrawl


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Discussion in 'G8orbill's GatorTail Pub' started by u8evol19i, Dec 21, 2010.
The Book I Read-Talking Heads
Classical selections, currently Chopin.
Backsell - Desaparecidos
This is a masterpiece if you can get your brain wrapped around this the right way. If you can't, you're probably beyond any hope of musical enlightenment. You might as well just buy the entire Abba catalogue and listen to that the rest of your life.
Heard a song on Pandora today...not really musically my taste, but lyrically, I loved it.
"Gray or Blue" by Jaymay
If you don't like this, you are atonal, arhythmic, and your life has no meaning. You should just walk into traffic with your eyes closed, ideally with an iPod plugged into both ears. At least your last remaining seconds will give you some hope of momentary enlightenment. Jesus will not be your savior, but Brian Eno might be.
You feel strongly about this tune.
Oooooh shnap
ZBB made some love makin music
Calexico's version of the Minutemen song, Corona.
Original version performed by the band that packed more into 2 mins or less than any other, Minutemen
Now, a great cover by Calexico with added guitars, brass and steel guitar
the new p.e.
Sent from my mind using esp
Here's a good one if you dig electronic disco. Benoit & Sergio, local to where I live. Been listening to them a lot lately.
We need more Chuck D
Been watching a lot of Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles on YouTube. Her eyes and gyrations is like soft porn. One I have been listening to a lot is "something that you said" from their Doll House cd. Watch the French version of it. Truly amazing
Brother, let me tell you. I saw her in NYC a couple of years ago doing an accoustic set with Matthew Sweet at a very small venue. I was then and still am totally mesmerized. 52 yrs old and even more stunning now IMO.
that track is pretty tight what do you think
Sent from my mind using esp
That track is very solid.
I dig it. Makes want to buy up some of their older stuff that I had on tape but have since lost.
I must have also been drinking strongly that night. Still think it's a great song, but I have to admit that the first time I heard it in the late seventies, I totally didn't get it. The change in tempo, the weird falsetto scream and the lyrics were too much for my cannabis saturated brain. Had to put on some Marley afterwards to regain my equilibrium. Talking Heads didn't coalesce for me until Remain in Light. It wasn't till then that the early stuff made any sense, and then of course the movie, Stop Making Sense.
Yeah, same here. It was so unorthodox for the times, I suppose. Stop Making Sense is what hooked me. Still does, brilliant stuff.
some tech-house from one of the masters:

some deep house from one of the up-and-comers:

some techno from a seriously underrated producer:


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Faced with the daunting task of replacing Paul Henare, the Hawkes Bay Hawks basketball outfit pulled a rabbit out of the hat by signing former Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin for the 2013 National Basketball League season.
The 54-year-old hasn't coached in the competition since 2001, but has won more titles than any other coach in league history, guiding the Auckland Stars to five in eight seasons.
His return gives him a chance to regain the lead for career wins - he currently has 203, second only to current Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic (237).
Baldwin was a key figure in the development of predecessor Henare as a player, luring him from Napier to Auckland in 1998 to be part of his championship dynasty. After hanging up his sneakers, Henare guided the Hawks to the 2011 NBL final and the semis again last season, but has signed with the Southland Sharks next year.
After leaving the NBL, Baldwin steered the national men's team to their first Oceania series victory over Australia in 2001, taking them to two world championships, the 2004 Athens Olympics and silver medals at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
He surrendered the Tall Blacks' reins in 2007 to pursue a professional career in Europe, coaching in Turkey, Romania and Greece, before taking the Lebanon men to the 2010 world championships and Jordan within a basket of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics.
He is currently coaching the Fujian Sturgeons in the Chinese national league. Baldwin will arrive in Napier in the New Year for pre-season.
"Returning to New Zealand is such an exciting move for me and my family,'' Baldwin said.
"I've missed the people, the lifestyle and the basketball community that have given me so much throughout my career.''


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"Nowhere is this more heartfelt than in Italy. The euro is more than a currency: It is the strongest symbol of belonging to Europe, a relationship that many Italians hope can teach them better governance."
The euro has weighed on winemaker Elio Grasso for years. The currency's high exchange rate shaves into profits of his U.S. exports, while his domestic customers suffer in Italy's long recession.
But the silver-haired maker of Barolo wines doesn't want Italy to abandon the euro. "If we were on our own, we'd have bigger problems than Greece," he said in the cavernous cellar below his vineyard.
Europe's common currency has left the continent's southern countries depressed, indebted and struggling to compete internationally. But even in the tumult of Italy's national election campaign this month, the question of euro membership isn't being seriously debated. In Italy, as in Spain, Portugal and other crisis-hit countries, popular support for the euro remains strong.


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By Michael Aneiro
Mortgage real-estate investment trusts, which were just showing some signs of stability after their steep slide that started in early May, are falling once again in the wake of yesterday's more-hawkish Federal Reserve policy statement and the ensuing bond sell-off, not to mention today's sharp stock slide. The sharp rate rise hurts the book value of mREIT holdings, at a time when the Fed hinted it's moving closer to tapering its $85 billion monthly purchases of Treasuries and mortgage bonds, and also ups the cost of financing for mREITs.
American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC), which just cut its quarterly dividend by 16% this week,is down another 3.7% to $23.53, and it's now down 27% since early May. Annaly Capital Management (NLY), which also cut its dividend by 11% this week, is down 2.9% to $12.62 midmorning Thursday, and down 17% since early May. MFA Financial (MFA) is down 2% today, Two Harbors Investment (TWO) is down 1.8% and the iShares FTSE NAREITMortgage PLUS Capped Index Fund (REM) is down 2.7%. All of these currently sport double-digit yields, and at some point they'll make for very good income investments again, but you better have the stomach for some more volatility and a pretty strong conviction that this price decline is going to halt. You can read Keefe Bruyette & Woods' recent take on a possible end to the market's free-fall in this post.


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Hypervitaminosis A is having too much vitamin A in the body.
Vitamin A toxicity
There are two types of vitamin A hypervitaminosis:
Chronic vitamin A toxicity develops after taking too much vitamin A for long periods.
Treatment involves simply stopping the use of too much vitamin A.
Most people fully recover.
Taking too much vitamin A during pregnancy may cause abnormal development in the developing baby. Talk to your health care provider about eating a proper diet while you are pregnant.
Call your health care provider if you think that you or your child may have taken too much vitamin A, or you have symptoms of excess vitamin A.
To avoid hypervitaminosis A, avoid taking more than the recommended daily allowance of this vitamin. Recent emphasis on vitamin A and beta carotene as anticancer vitamins may contribute to chronic hypervitaminosis A, if people take more than is recommended.
Mason JB. Vitamins, trace minerals, and other micronutrients. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 225.
Zile MH. Vitamin A deficiencies and excess. In: Kliegman RM, Stanton BF, St. Geme JW III, Schor NF, Behrman RE, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 45.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch)
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MANUFACTURER: Leupold
Review This Item
The LEUPOLD DeltaPoint Reflex Sight Matte, 3.5 MOA Dot, Cross Slot Mount (67435) reflects all the qualities of the world's best and wraps them into one high-performance shooting optic. From Leupold, holders of the first generation red dot patent licensed for every major manufacturer today, the DeltaPoint is a next generation sight with even more progressive technology in an ultralight, rugged magnesium frame.
With almost limitless applications, the DeltaPoint Reflex Sight is in its element on a shotgun, plinking or competitive shooting, and is an ideal home defense optic. Intuitive operation with precision red dot ease and accuracy keeps even novice shooters right on the mark. Handguns to shotguns to AR variants, the agile Leupold DeltaPoint is never out of its comfort zone.
The image brightness of the DeltaPoint comes from the unique aspheric lens. You'll be amazed at the edge-to-edge clarity, thanks to a viewing window up to 56% larger than comparable sights. The sharp, clear picture is boosted by edge blackened lens treatments to reduce glare and light diffusion for even more resolution and clarity. The lens is also treated with DiamondCoat for complete abrasion and scratch resistance. Together these features create a clear, crisp aiming point.
The Leupold DeltaPoint sight is a true precision instrument, thanks to generous adjustment room for windage and elevation. A locking adjustment system ensures retention of your zero, even under the stress of large caliber semi-auto pistols with heavy recoil. Easily adjustable with the included tool. The DeltaPoint features a 120-MOA adjustment range for both elevation and windage, so zero is easy to change and maintain, and adjustments are easy to make at the range.
This model comes with a standard, 3.5-MOA Dot reticle, a tried-and-true aiming point familiar to many shooters.
Leupold proprietary motion sensor detects even the slightest movement, and instantly activates the illumination. Just give it a twitch and the DeltaPoint is ready to rock. By continuously sampling lighting conditions, the sight establishes optimal reticle intensity. It also eliminates aiming-point flicker, for a consistent target reticle in low light situations.
The DeltaPoint Reflex Sight has lightweight but tough as nails, the rugged magnesium housing, which protects the lens during fast-paced action. The sight is shockproof for maximum performance on large caliber firearms. It is also absolutely waterproof and completely reliable in any condition.
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1. Mom will appreciate any gesture that shows her you were thinking of her.
2. Dads aren't the only ones who like gadgets.
You don't want to send the wrong message with a gift that's associated with housework or fitness, though there are exceptions. As one mother told me: "I'd only give [a fitness gadget] to someone who I was very sure would understand that it was given with all the right intentions. And make sure that you are giving it with the right intentions!"
With that in mind I have compiled a list of gadgets – big and small, expensive and cheap – to consider when shopping for Mother's Day. This list is bereft of any scientific expertise or data. I interviewed a few mothers with different backgrounds and tastes, thought about my wife and my mother, and employed some tech gadget expertise to cobble this together. If I missed something please let me know in the comments section below.
Photo printer
We've never had more photographs than we do now. Most of them are stuck in our phones. It's not difficult to transfer them to physical prints via a photo web site such as Snapfish or your local CVS. It's also much easier and, eventually, cheaper to use a photo printer.
Check out the VuPoint Solutions Photo Cube IP-P10-VP Photo Printer (starting at $99, Yahoo! Shopping). Compatible with iPhones and Android phones, this small printer lets you view and print pics while it charges your device. No computer, cables or USB necessary.
A half-dozen moms told me the Fitbit (starting at $53, Yahoo! Shopping) is the kind of health/lifestyle gadget that would be welcomed on Mother's Day. Fitbit trackers aim to empower and encourage by delivering real-time feedback that helps you be more active.
"I just started exercising, and it's all so nebulous," said Felicity of Baltimore. She's dropped many hints around her house that she wants a Fitbit for Mother's Day.
"I like concrete tools I can measure my progress against, and the Fitbit looks like it offers that. Plus, its website is very visual. I'm getting the Flex (due this spring). It's like a very subtle bracelet, which is attractive, mostly so I won't accidentally wash it."
Wendy, a mom of two living in Rhode Island, has owned both the Fitbit Ultra and the Fitbit Zip.
"I love the Zip because it is so small and you have the option of simply putting it in your pocket. The best part for a mom constantly on the go is having it connected to a free app, such as My Fitness Pal, so you can track on your computer or smartphone."
Her recommendation also comes with a warning: Spring for an extra $4 to get the "leash."
"It's very sad when you don't notice yours is gone or, worse, in the toilet."
Cooling Towel
Tara, an avid athlete and sports fan from Maryland, is a chip off the ole block. Her mother is as active she is. Especially when it comes to tennis. Knowing this, Tara gave her mom the simple but incredibly thoughtful gift of a cooling towel.
"They cost about $20 and they are great if you are exercising outdoors. They cool you down real fast. You can even just drape one around your neck if you're outside on a hot day watching a game, or just walking around the neighborhood."
The Mission Enduracool Instant Cooling Towel ($15, footlocker.com) is made of a proprietary performance fabric that instantly cools down when it's wet, wrung out and snapped in the air. The towel absorbs moisture and regulates the rate of evaporation for a cooling effect that lasts for hours, without feeling wet.
Belkin Kitchen Stand and Wand for Tablets
I'm the cook in our house and I don't mind when sauce or oil splashes onto a cookbook. It adds character. I do not feel the same about our tablet. My wife, an excellent baker, often uses the tablet when cooking. It's great for recipes and video instruction for precise techniques.
Since my wife rarely reads my stories I can safely say this stand ($22, amazon.com) is in the running for one of her Mother's Day gifts this year. She'll be able to prop her tablet up on this stand and use the included stylus to navigate the touchscreen without getting buttered fingerprints on the screen.
Most of the moms I surveyed said they want a tablet of their own – not one that is shared by the kids or partner. Moms want a tablet that goes where she goes, is loaded with her apps and is powerful and intuitive at the same time. I typically shy away from recommending a specific tablet. I think they're a personal choice. However, you can't go wrong with an Apple iPad or a Kindle Fire HD. Known for their elegance and simplicity, the iPad and iPad Mini are solid tablet choices if you have the cash. Jo-Ann, a mom from Maryland, is looking for an iPad this year.
"I'm thinking of getting the iPad for all of the reading I do, but also because I can better integrate it with my phone, calendar, iTunes, and work access. Especially with work – now that weekends and days off are more like 'days out of the office when you're still expected to be accessible and get things done no matter where you are.' Carrying around a slim iPad for easy access to work files and online access is much more convenient than hauling around a work laptop everywhere."
On the other hand is the Kindle Fire HD. An excellent device backed by the Amazon juggernaut, this tablet is especially attractive to moms who love books and movies. If your mom is a movie buff, she'll be happy to know Amazon and IMDB recently released "X-Ray for Movies." With a single tap mom can discover the names of the actors appearing on the screen and what they've been in. If she can't remember where she's seen the actor playing Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey, mom simply taps on the screen to see a full filmography. (It's Hugh Bonneville, also in Notting Hill.)
Amazon has since expanded X-Ray to TV. X-Ray for TV is also available as part of the free Amazon Instant Video app on Wii U.
The Original Rabbit Corkscrew
Lisa is a mother of two and a high school teacher in Rhode Island. For Mother's Day she wants a robot that can clean her house. Since those don't exist – outside of robot vacuum cleaners – she said she'd settle for a Rabbit Corkscrew. This has been around for a while – it first won design awards in 2001 – but it's still a favorite because it perfectly performs an important task.
The Rabbit Corkscrew pulls a cork in three seconds flat and then automatically releases the cork. Its user-friendly ergonomic design opens any size wine bottle. Mom will also appreciate the 10-year warranty and the fact that a portion of sales for the pink model goes to Breast Cancer Research.
Ergorapido stick vacuum from Electrolux
OK, it's a vacuum. But it is a pretty cool vacuum. It may not be on the top of mom's list. However, the Ergorapido (starting at $153, Yahoo! Shopping) is such a neat spin on the traditional vacuum that she might be happy to have it – especially if you pair it with something else (a spa day gift certificate never fails).
The Ergorapido is a two-in-one cordless stick vacuum that can replace that behemoth waiting for you in the closet. It works on countertops, floors and carpeting with a detachable handheld unit for smaller jobs.
Charging station/backup battery
Crystal is a mother of four daughters. Just writing that sentence made me weep for her a little. Despite her beautiful burdens she was quick to think of a (seemingly) selfless gift when I asked her about Mother's Day.
"A device charger pad for mothers of teens. Teens always lose the chargers for their respective devices and borrow mom's and never have it when I need it! Also, one if those backup battery chargers for your phone that you can keep in the car or your purse. Inevitably, your plans change while running people around and your phone is just about to die when you know your kid is supposed to contact you."
The Sanctuary Charging Station by BlueLounge (starting at $130, bluelounge.com) is a beautiful, simple solution to Crystal's problem. The simple and compact design conceals a universal charger compatible with over 3768 electronic devices from most major brands and a USB port allowing hundreds more electronic devices to be charged.
Duracell's Portable Backup Battery ($50, duracellpowermat.com) wireless-battery-backup/fits in the palm of your hand and is equipped with two connectors that allow it to charge a variety of devices. On one side, it has a Micro USB connector, which lets it charge most smartphones, eBooks, Bluetooth headsets, and more. On the other end, it has a 30-pin Apple connector for your iPhone and iPod.
Moms, what are your thoughts on these picks?
- Technology & Electronics


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Interview: Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan
24 October, 2012
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As the world's youngest country, South Sudan faces numerous challenges. More than half its people don't have enough to eat, and inter-communal violence has left hundreds of thousands in need of basic life-saving aid. Since conflict broke out in Sudan's Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States in 2011, over 170,000 refugees have fled to South Sudan's Unity and Upper Nile States in search of safety. Hundreds of refugees continue to arrive every month, many of them malnourished and destitute.
UN agencies and humanitarian organizations are providing life-saving aid to displaced people and those who are short of food, but lack of access and limited funding are affecting their work. This year's humanitarian appeal for US$1.1 billion is only 57 per cent funded so far.
Toby Lanzer was appointed Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan in July 2012. Here, he talks about the country's humanitarian and development priorities.
Q. What are your priorities for South Sudan?
A. There are many priorities in South Sudan – development, security and humanitarian. There is a link and overlap between these priorities. As the Humanitarian Coordinator, the single biggest priority for me is to make sure that the refugees arriving from Sudan have the protection and assistance that they need immediately. We also need to frame that response within a development context. Unfortunately, it is quite possible that the refugees won't be able to go home soon. I think we need to do everything we can to empower the refugees so that they can look after themselves – their children can continue their education and people can take advantage of the upcoming planting season. We have to treat people with as much dignity as possible and not simply as victims. These are survivors of what is happening in Sudan and we should do what we can to strengthen their ability to cope with this very difficult situation.
The number of food insecure people has gone up considerably in South Sudan. About 2.4 million people are receiving food assistance. I think the World Food Programme (WFP) is doing a fantastic job at changing the approach so that it's less about hand-outs and more about helping communities develop assets and resilience so that they can eventually become food secure.
Ultimately, South Sudan could care for its own population whether it's on a day-to-day basis or in moments of distress. The country has a long record of seasonal floods so I think disaster risk reduction, early warning and preparedness have to be very high on our priority list. I was in Warrup State and Northern Bahr El Ghazal where recent floods have affected three times as many people compared to 2011.
Q. Has there been enough funding to carry out humanitarian work?
A. I think the support for South Sudan had been quite strong throughout this year but the needs have become far greater than we had anticipated. In the beginning of 2012, the consolidated appeal was seeking $776 million but now that is above $1.1 billion. While it is true that the appeal is only funded at 57 per cent, it is 57 per cent of a very, very large amount. I think that we should recognize that the donors, who themselves are living through a period of austerity, have actually stepped up quite well to provide the financial support that UN agencies and NGOs require. In the specific case of refugees, I know that UNHCR requires $20 million just to see through to the end of 2012. What I would like to do is to call on the donors now that it is the onset of the dry season – a six month period where aid agencies have a moment to not only respond to ongoing needs but preposition supplies for the following rainy season. So it is extremely important for money to be available right now so that the agencies can do as much as possible, not only for the dry season but beyond it as the rains strike.
Q. You were in Sudan before the independence of South Sudan. How different is South Sudan today?
A. I had the opportunity to visit Juba and Jonglei in 2009 very briefly and Juba today is unrecognizable in a very positive sense. When I visited three years ago, there weren't many roads that were paved; now there are many. There were no buildings more than two storeys high, now we have many buildings that are taller. Juba is definitely a different city today. Sadly in other areas, like in Jonglei, problems still persist and there are tensions on the ground.
There have been efforts to address it by the State and the peacekeeping mission. I think it is fair to say that there have been some improvements in terms of security. When we look at the number of incidents of extreme violence and clashes that have taken place, there have been over 200 this year throughout the country, in particular in Jonglei. Last year there were twice as many. How many people lost their lives this year compared to last year? Well, that number is well below 50 per cent. So let's hope that the trend in terms of violence continues to be positive and that things continue to improve. It is reassuring that NGOs and UN agencies are on the ground – they are strong and getting ready to meet the needs as they arise. I think they are doing an increasingly good job, working hand in hand with state institutions and making sure that the capacity to manage things is stronger and stronger.
Q. Have there been many people of South Sudanese origin returning this year?
A. We anticipated that about 250,000 people would return from Sudan to South Sudan this year. We haven't seen that number. We are so far up to about 125,000 people – I think that's a fair planning figure for 2013. What we recently saw are positive developments in the negotiations in Addis Ababa, where the South Sudan and Sudan Governments have now agreed on a bill whereby the citizens of both countries can travel to the other country to live and work. Also they have the right to property in the other country. This means that the South Sudanese who are currently in Sudan have the rights and the opportunity to stay in Sudan. I think the chances are that many of them will choose to do that instead of returning to South Sudan at this stage. So I don't expect a particularly large influx of returnees next year; however, the planning figure of about 125,000 does oblige us to be ready and make sure the reintegration process is as smooth as possible. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) are responsible for this and they will, of course, get my full support, but I expect them to work very closely with the Government of South Sudan on the reintegration process.
Q. What will you be focusing on next year?
A. Next year, my focus will be on education which I think is very vital for today and the coming years in South Sudan -- whether it is primary or secondary or tertiary education, or whether it is education for refugees or internally displaced people or people who are just poor. We need to make sure that UNICEF is spearheading this effort. We need to make sure that every boy and girl has access to schools and an opportunity to learn. If we don't get that foundation right, all the other work will be much, much more difficult. An educated population is the foundation for addressing institution building, rule of law and human rights. So I will be supporting UNICEF as much as I possibly can. There will be many priorities but education, in addition to meeting the acute humanitarian needs, will be at the forefront of my work.


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Heh heh heh heh..."we have to pass it to know what's in it", she said. Well now you can read it and weep.
Here's more of what the socialists are after. Enjoy.
$5B Hollywood Handout Bankrupting Obamacare
Thursday, 24 Mar 2011 05:51 PM
By Chris Gonsalves
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A $5 billion handout to states, big corporations, and Hollywood unions to subsidize health insurance for early retirees is threatening to bankrupt a major part of the year-old healthcare reform law, according to staffers of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
A small percentage of the organizations signed up for the plan has already drained more than $500 million from the programs coffers.
Like many provisions in Obamacare, the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program has largely escaped public scrutiny and congressional oversight. The program provides subsidies to employers and unions to cover between $15,000 and $90,000 of the healthcare costs for early retirees.
The ERRP program was designed primarily to help early retirees over age 55, along with their spouses and dependents, who are not eligible for Medicare.
Nearly 5,500 organizations have been approved to participate in the program. Among the 253 participants that received more than $535 million in ERRP funding last year were Hollywood unions such as the Screen Actors Guild, and large corporations like Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Sara Lee.
The lions share of ERRP reimbursements went to state governments, followed by non-profits, corporations, unions, and religious organizations, the report says.
Over one-third of the of the money spent in 2010, some $182 million, went to just five government entities: California Public Employees
Retirement System $57.8 million; State of New Jersey Treasury Department, Pension Accounting Services $38.6 million; Georgia Department of Community Health, State Health Benefit Plan $35 million; Commonwealth of Kentucky $29.7 million; and Employees Retirement System of Texas $20,982,299.
The retiree reinsurance money was supposed to last until 2014. The program received $5 billion the same amount provided for high-risk coverage pools for people with pre-existing conditions. But with 10 percent of the allocated funds already spent on less than 5 percent of program participants in just a few months, the fund will likely run dry by early next year, according to Richard Popper, Director of the Office of Insurance Programs at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program is helping to control healthcare costs and protect coverage for early retirees and their families, says HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. This program is providing critical financial relief to help states, private employers and other organizations preserve access to affordable health coverage for millions of Americans.
The House staffers report concluded differently, however.
With the public debate focused squarely on the spiraling costs of the federal budget, and this administrations lackluster efforts to create job growth, the committee staff was surprised to learn that the healthcare law would subsidize the early retirees of corporate America, Hollywood, state, county and municipal employees, as well as unions, the Congressional staffers wrote.
It is inappropriate that a bill sold to the American people as healthcare legislation would contain a sweetheart deal for unions and Hollywood, and it is grossly inefficient that in troubling economic times, the American taxpayer would be asked to subsidize the healthcare costs of massive corporations.


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"Power is of two kinds. One is obtained through the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment." Mahatma Gandhi
I worked through the spin and barks while handling with the same dog. As a mere pup she would spin in anticpation of being fed her dinner. Might be something there in the lines? I identified this early and to this day make her sit before feeding so she can't spin.
Later on in training I racked it up to too much pressure and laid off her and did a ton of confidence blinds which helped the spinning. As she matured I got really good at anticpating a spin/pop and would burn and handle accordingly. The spinning never occurs anymore unless the pressure is amped up or the dog is confused.
For barking on a cast I tried recalling which did no good. I tried whistle sitting immediatly following a bark by a hard "quiet!" then recasted which only worked so-so. Finally, I left it alone and as her confidence grew the dog quieted down. As the spinning she only barks when casting if I apply to much pressure which I'm careful not to do. One thing is positive...too much excitement/anxiety can bring out both. The dog needs structure coming out of the truck all the way to the line.
Good luck.
Last edited by Robert; 10-22-2013 at 04:48 PM.
Jerry....i'll vote for #3 in your options AND send from a remote position only NOT by your side for awhile...Randy
CHRIS ATKINSON...PLEASE don't QUIT CHANGING MY PROFILE PAGE!!
"And if you have a golden, bring TWO towels!"
Not sure why Jerry has not responded but I know he went to the beach. I don't think I have ever seen him spin but I guess jerry has. This dog is not a Spinner like the ones I have seen. I had one one time. Also momentum is not a problem with this dog,just the opposite. Like I said ,and told Jerry just walk up and kick him off. I have also seen him bark after a cast in the field. This happens usually after some pressure for taking a wrong cast.
The next time we train together I'll make a video. I'm sure Jerry appreciates the advice.
another one of those, "sit back and shake your head back and forth threads" on RTF.....
I appreciate the replies everyone. He rarely spins. There isn't any issue with momentum at all ever.
I'll respond with more when I get back to my PC.
Donway's Dixieland Delight - Dixie 2/24/1997 - 2001
Rebel's Ruffian Hank - Hank - 6/05/2001 - 2/3/2011 - Profile Picture
Blue Ridge Pot O Gold - Séamus - 1/22/2011 -
Old North State Queen Anne's Revenge- Annie- 3/21/2013-
Simply waiting until the dog settles is teaching him that he will only get what he wants (to be released) by exhibiting an acceptable behavior, that being to sit quietly and relax. The idea then is to launch him in a more relaxed mind set so that the symptom of the anxiety (bark/spin) doesn't occur. Over time this will re-form into a new set of habits for the dog.
This is not un-similar to simply stepping in and launching him. In that method you're just not giving him a chance to get any more anxious because you're not fidgeting around trying to line him up.
Same goes for sending from a remote position. If he's anxious at your side or anticipating pressure there, send him from a different position where he should be more relaxed.
As has been noted there are a number of ways to address the issue. These are probably the least risky for someone who might dig themselves a hole otherwise (IMHO).
Last edited by DarrinGreene; 10-25-2013 at 08:56 AM.
Darrin Greene


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. . . that way if you do ever decide to make him, I'll be pleasantly surprised!
If Dex can not even have his gentleman's pipe, there is no way you'll ever make Matt Doran's character into a figure! Prove me wrong.
C'mon Hasbro, offer us a drug dealer for our collections. But he's a drug dealer, you reply?
The kids saw the movie, they got the message. A positive message (well, unless they saw Hayden, Ewan, and Rick smoking together somewhere ) that drugs are for the weak minded.
Think of the gimmick potential, retractable death sticks in his right hand so kids can make the score appear and disappear at the drop of a Jedi Mind Trick.
I am not being sarcastic, I'd really like to see him made. If not, at least offer that Jedi with the same antennae for customizers.
Thank you Hasbro


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Its a shame what the tea party is going to do to America. But they won't have it any other way.
What do you expect with a billionaire funded and run organization? The tea party is about as grass-roots as the DNC or RNC. Nice idea, hijaked by big money. And yet so many are being led by their nose rings.
It'll straighten itself out, once America sees it for what it really is. Already happening actually.


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44% less fat • 55% less sat fat • 27% fewer calories than the original recipe. Favorite dried fruit replaces half the chips for a more nutritious cookie.
*To toast pecans, heat oven to 350°F. Spread pecans in ungreased shallow pan. Bake uncovered 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light brown.
We've replaced ingredients with great-tasting alternatives to create better-for-you recipes that are just as yummy as the originals.
No-trans-fat 68% vegetable oil spread can be substituted for the butter. The cookies will spread less and retain a more rounded shape.
Chocolate syrup and unsweetened cocoa add lots of rich chocolate flavor, adding minimal fat to this decadent recipe. Dark chocolate chips are relatively new to the market with several brands available
You can bake smaller cookies for your holiday cookie tray. Drop dough by level measuring tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake 7 to 9 minutes. Makes about 5 1/2 dozen cookies.
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Web Stories
Sympoh presents break dancing show, April 22-24
Posted April 21, 2004; 02:09 p.m.
The Sympoh break dancing troupe will present its third annual show, "Pop, Lock and a Crew of Smokin' Breakers," at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 22-24, in the Frist Campus Center theater.
The show will feature break dancing, acrobatic tricks and comedy set to a range of music, including hip-hop, gospel and funk. It also will include the Indian student dance group Naacho and other guest performers.
Tickets are $6 for students and $10 for others. They are available at the Frist ticket office, (609) 258-1742.
Contact: Eric Quinones (609) 258-3601


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"Dengan nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Mengasihani.Segala pujian bagi Allah,Tuhan yang memelihara dan mentadbirkan sekalian alam.Yang Maha Pemurah,lagi Maha Mengasihani.Yang Menguasai pemerintahan hari Pembalasan.Engkaulah sahaja Yang Kami sembah,dan kepada Engkaulah sahaja kami memohon pertolongan.Tunjukilah kami jalan yang lurus.Iaitu jalan orang-orang yang Engkau telah kurniakan nikmat kepada mereka,bukan orang-orang yang dimurkai ke atas mereka,dan bukan pula orang-orang yang sesat."
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
UK extends mortgage aid scheme to Islamic Finance
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- Dr Purva Pius said...
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Email Kindly Contact: email@example.com


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Mila and Ashton, congratulations on your beautiful baby girl!! Wyatt, you're perfect!! Um sorry if u guys didn't mean for these pictures to come out but I know I am really happy for you all! I'm been watching u both since That 70's Show lol and wondered why y'all never got together but I'm glad it happened eventually because now you have a perfect lil angel that was created in love! You're both very lucky to have each other and now ur complete! God bless today and always, your fan, Lorie
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First and foremost if you read ahead you'll find I have a word limit on questions I'll read. This site is for short simple questions and it should not be for writing essays. Please also note I am unfamilar with most cultures outside of United Stated, UK, and France. Please respect my rules. I don't like rejecting questions.
I will be the first to admit that I don't know everything about dating, women/men, and interpersonal connections. However I have learned quite a bit vicariously from other people's experiences. Think of my advice as a second opinion. I would be happy to answer all questions related to relationships, dating, self-confidence, and self-image that I can. I have struggled with all of those things and probably know better than most how to deal with all of them.
I hope more than anything that my advice and opinions will help give people perspective in their lives, and hopefully make them feel better about themselves and their situations. I will attempt answering questions for anyone of any age group or nationality. However it would be particularly useful to know the age of all people involved. It does make a difference towards the advice I give. Also not terribly familar with arranged marriages and situations in which the family can dictate the details of the relationship.
My Rules:
1). I can't answer questions that ask if a girl or guy likes the other (very difficult to know remotely)
2). No questions that are More Than 250 Words. I understand that problems can be complex, but there is a real limit to how much I can read and fully understand. Particularly if English isn't the questioner's native language.
3). Only questions from Americans, Canadians, British, and cute French women.
4). No questions that ask the meaning behind if a person sets their FB status to single, coupled, or private or if they still have a dating profile undeleted somewhere. If you're cyber snooping you're likely the issue.
I don't really have any specific experience in this area other than learning from other people's mistakes and a few of my own, and whatever I've learned as a psychology major.
B.S. Psychology
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