text:
Hello all FREESCO Users
Well Here is the Short story, followed by the long version.
The Short Story ...
The Old forum (forums.freesco.org) is no longer. The server is gone and the files on it are gone. Use this forum as you had used the other one.
The Long Story ...
A couple weeks ago now, the forums (forums.freesco.org) site, hosted on the dedicated server that I 'HAD', went off line. Up to that time we have had a few issues with being down for a couple days or so (every other month or so). Well this time it did not come back on. The owner told me, over the phone, that there was a power issue (the same reason for the last downtime). I was getting worried at this point, because it had already been a week and that was the first time I had been able to speak to an actual person. I decided to do some other research and made some phone calls. Well it looks like the place that was housing the server, went out of business. Things did not look any better as I dove deeper into the research. I will not go into all the details as things are still in processes.
This left me with the latest backup that I had been able to download, which is from July 13th 2006. This means we have lost almost 5 months worth of posts. Understand that Unlike the majority of everyone on the forums here, I am still running off of dial-up (ok everyone sigh all at once now, keep in harmony please). ok ok ok. Yes that is changing, but back to the subject. Since I am on dial-up it makes it kind of hard to keep making 200+Mb backups every month, that takes a day or more to download and etc. etc. etc. Well it bit me in the ASS hard this time. BUT there is SOMETHING at least.
Now that we have gotten a new home made for the forum, I worked on doing the SQL stuff, well the LARGE LARGE 80+Mb SQL command file, was a problem. Even manually editing the file and such it is still a big issue. So it was decided to ARCHIVE the forum that was backed-up (To July 2006) A link to this forum will be included in the forums here, after I get it completed and running like I want it to (a lot of re-work to fix errors). The Old Forum will be in "Read Only" mode, but can be accessed. The new forum (this one here) will be used up to an undetermined date, then it will also be archived, to keep a little more control over the backup size, and still not loose any information, just move it. The archive process, I am hoping, will keep the amount of downtime (heaven forbid) to a smaller amount int he need of moving it like this again (which should not happen).
I have to appologize for this issue, in reality the forum should have been moved after the downtimes started to be more frequent, but hind site is 20/20
On another note, along side the Forum issue, that is FREESCOsoft ...
Well ... FREESCOsoft is off-line until further notice. I am very sorry, but I have no place to host the large (file size) site yet. I am working on it, but no luck so far. Please use the mirror sites, they will (should) have the latest copy (within a week of the downtime, normally), and should be online yet. I will get something setup under that domain, to point to the other mirrors. This site !!!! WILL NOT CONTAIN ANY PACKAGES OR PAGES !!!! (please refer to the dial-up issue I mentioned before).
Again, I am sorry for all of the issues this may have caused for everyone on the forums here. Hopefully everything will be sorted out soon and we can continue to give the same high quality of support, as we have in the past.
Kevin 'Howler' Perry


text:
Adria Rae Opens Her Long Legs and Spreads Her Pussy For You
She Wants You To Get Up Close and Personal With Her
Join CherryPimps NOW For Hot Pornstars and LIVE Shows!
HD Videos
HD Photos
Live Shows
Daily Updates
Live Pornstar
Babes from the last 8 shows!
Cecilia Lion
Mar. 13 @ 5pm
Alexis Zara W Valentina Nappi
Mar. 12 @ 5pm
Athena Faris
Mar. 11 @ 5pm
Winter Jade
Mar. 10 @ 5pm
Layla Love
Mar. 09 @ 5pm
Lola Fae
Mar. 06 @ 5pm
Lala Ivey
Mar. 05 @ 5pm
Lily Larimar W Kamryn Jayde
Mar. 04 @ 5pm
Emma Starletto
Mar. 03 @ 5pm
Linzee Ryder
Mar. 02 @ 5pm
Amari Anne
Feb. 28 @ 5pm
Audrey Miles
Feb. 27 @ 5pm
18 U.S.C. 2257 Record-Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement
All images, content & intellectual materials are
Copyright © 2020 BLT Innovations, LLC. All Rights Reserved
All persons depicted herein were at least 18 years of age at the time of the photography. In Compliance of 18 U.S.C. Section 2257

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The death or serious illness of a key director or employee can have far-reaching or even disastrous consequences for a business. It can result in:
- Loss of profits
- The recall of loans
- Reduced capacity
- Loss of key clients/contacts
- Reduced practical know-how
Having the correct insurances in place and making sure that they are regularly reviewed and updated as your business changes can be a particularly onerous task.
As part of my corporate service, I will undertake an in depth review of your business and work with you to implement a tailored insurance programme to help protect your business from a wide range of risks.
Determine if key person assurance is necessary
Calculate the value of protection required
If you should wish to discuss how I could help you, please contact me for further details.


text:
In the past two years we?ve been bombarded with marketing telling us that two is always better than one. In no other space was this truer than video cards. NVIDIA has had a huge push with their SLI graphics and ATI is coming on strong with CrossFire. The reality is that all that hype isn?t for nothing as in most cases two video cards can give you the power to play games at resolutions that we only dreamed of a few years ago. In that past year and a half we?ve seen the two major players in the graphics card landscape launch more products than ever before and because of that today we enjoy terrific performing cards all the way at the bargain price segment.
Today however take everything that we?ve seen and toss it aside. Forget your 7900 GTX?s and X1950XTX. What you see at the top of this page is, by far, the most powerful and most advanced consumer level graphics card ever.
For those that have been living under a rock the past year or wondering what the heck the big deal is, let me spell it out for you. The NVIDIA 8800 GTX is the first DirectX 10 capable video card on the market. DirectX 10 is not just another release of the same old, same old. It?s the start of the next generation of gaming and computer graphics. GPU?s are becoming so advanced that they are outpacing what the CPU can actually supply to it. DirectX 10 looks to relieve some of the CPU bottleneck as well as add advanced rendering features which will power the most impressive looking and immersive games that we have ever seen.
Before we get into the operation of the card and into the benchmarks let?s talk about the most important part, price. The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX will hit the street with an MSRP of $599. Once you get over the sticker shock you have to remember that this is the fastest single video card that you can buy today. Once ATI releases their DirectX 10 capable card early next year prices will no doubt fall. Until that time however you?re going to have to ?pay to play.?
The second card that we?ve got on the burner today is the GeForce 8800 GTS which is a slightly stripped down model that carries a friendlier price tag of $449 MSRP. While it?s by no means cheap it?s faster than everything else on the market except for its bigger brother and still gives you that DirectX 10 support.
The music to enthusiast?s ears is that NVIDIA continues the tradition it started with the 7800 GTX of having cards in retailer and e-tailor?s hands on the day they announce the card. As soon as you?re done reading this article (or just skimming the benchmarks) you can head over and purchase one which is great for you impatient types.
Here is NVIDIA's current pricing model for those not interested in spending $400+ for a video card.
Comments are closed.


text:
Abbemat 3000
The Abbemat 3000 is equipped with an automatic temperature...
Part No.: 173451
Abbemat 3100
The highly accurate Abbemat 3100 provides precise refractive index...
Part No.: 173452
Abbemat 3200
The Abbemat 3200 conducts refractive index measurements within a...
Part No.: 173453
Automatic refractometer
Abbemat 3200, 3100, and 3000 refractometers are available with or without temperature control in different temperature and measuring ranges. They ensure fast, easy, and precise refractive index and concentration measurements. The Abbemat 3X00 refractometers give exactly the functions needed, and smoothly integrate into laboratories in the beverage, food, chemicals, and fragrances industry, without taking up much space or time – or money. Reliable refractive index measurements with an accuracy of ±0.0001 nD are obtained at the push of a button on the 5.8" intuitive color touchscreen. The measurement data is stored on an internal data memory and can easily be exported or printed for further reference via USB, RS-232, or Ethernet ports.
Payment Methods
Our service is global
We are where you are! With 32 subsidiaries Anton Paar is present in 110 countries. There we have developed strong local partnerships and long-lasting customer relationships. On all 6 continents our customers benefit from our certified and individualized service packages. Our service is accessible, close and far-reaching.


text:
I love this plant dyed wool felt. There's something SO magical about the colors you get when you use Mother Earth's own! They are wonderfully bright and vivid but with a softness to them that is unique to natural dye. Oooooo, we were so excited to get started on all the Christmas ornaments we wantIf you want to read more…click here
Felt Christmas Tree Ornament
November 25, 2012 By 12 Comments


text:
"The Early Show" viewers on Wednesday didn't get to see what made Adam Lambert's performance at the American Music Awards so controversial.
In a move that could be seen as prime evidence that the double standard which the gay, male singer has spoken out against in recent interviews does indeed exist, the network blurred a pair of racy moments from his performance footage, included a simulated sexual act and a kiss with his straight keyboard player.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: From 'Wicked' To 'Idol': Hot Shots Of Adam Lambert
"The Early Show" also played Madonna and Britney Spears' famous same-sex smooch from the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards – without the blur. But why?
"We gave this some real thought," a CBS rep said in a statement to Access Hollywood. "The Madonna image is very familiar and has appeared countless times including many times on morning television. The Adam Lambert image is a subject of great current controversy, has not been nearly as widely disseminated, and for all we know, may still lead to legal consequences."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Gay & Lesbian Hollywood
In turn, GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, spoke out against the editorial decision in a statement to Access on Wednesday.
"'The Early Show's' decision this morning to blur Adam Lambert's kiss from the American Music Awards reinforces an unfortunate double standard that is applied to openly gay performers," Jarrett Barrios, GLAAD's president, said in the statement. "I would have hoped CBS would provide the same treatment for images of gay and lesbian people and not create an unfair double standard that treats our community differently."
Barrios went on to cite other networks' coverage of the event as being fairer.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Madonna - Music's Royal Madgesty!
"CBS regularly shows kisses throughout every daypart. The kiss was not blurred on ABC nor in news coverage on other networks. While we continue to applaud 'The Early Show' for featuring Adam Lambert today, we have reached out to the show's producers to express our concerns about their decision and offer ways they can make their coverage of gay and transgender people more fair."
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: Adam Lambert Performs 'Whataya Want From Me' On CBS' 'The Early Show'
PLAY IT NOW: Is Adam Lambert Too Controversial For Morning TV?
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Adam Lambert - American Idol - MTV Video Music Awards - CBS - ABC


text:
Suppose $f \in \mathbb{Q}[x]$ is monic, with roots $\alpha_{1},\dots,\alpha_{n}$. Define the discriminant of $f$ to be the number $ \Delta = \Pi_{i<j} (\alpha_{i} - \alpha_{j})^2$. Let $D(f) = \sqrt{\Delta} = \Pi_{i<j} (\alpha_{i} - \alpha_{j})$ be the square root of the discriminant. Here are the questions:
1) Let $p/q \in \mathbb{Q}$ be fixed. What can be said about the set $\{ f \in \mathbb{Q}[x] : D(f) = p/q \}$? For example, if we fix $p$ to be some prime, then the family of quadratics having this prime as the discriminant are just translates of the polynomial $x(x-p)$ by any rational number. Of course, the whole family has the same (trivial) Galois group. What can be said about the Galois group of families of polynomials of greater degree with fixed discriminant? The Galois groups will be subgroups of $A_{n}$, but is there any reason to expect any 'stability'?
and less interestingly,
2) What rational numbers $p/q \in \mathbb{Q}$ have the property that $p/q = D(f)$ for some $f$ as above, with the degree of $f$ fixed to be some natural number $n$? For example, every rational number is the discriminant of some quadratic. But it seems clear that there is no cubic $f$ with $D(f) = 2 \times 2 \times 3$. What can be said in general?
The context of this is I'm trying to generate some families of polynomials that don't have Galois group $S_{n}$ and my simple-minded idea is to use the discriminant to 'pick them out' (it won't do to just generate polynomials randomly, as the set of polynomials with Galois group $S_{n}$ is thick in the set of all polynomials).
Thank you!


text:
Physical Oceanography Laboratory
Physical Oceanography Laboratory deals with applied and theoretical oceanography, with the aim of studying the termohalinic, hydrodynamic and optical characteristics of the Adriatic Sea. Laboratory workers collect and analyze data of in situ and remote measurements, develop measurement systems in real time, and explore the processes in the sea using hydrodynamic numerical models. In addition, laboratory workers actively participate in educational activities within the framework of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral studies at the University of Split, University of Zagreb and the University of Dubrovnik.
Laboratory also studies the processes of mass and energy changes in the border layer between the atmosphere and the sea (AdHOC), taking place on sinoptical, seasonal and multiannual scale. The relationship between termohalinic features of the Adriatic and hemisferic meteorological processes is studied, and their joint effect on the thermohalinic circulation and the Adriatic Sea ecosystem is analized.
Activities of the Laboratory include satellite oceanography, as well as measurement of optical properties of the sea that are the result of complex biophysical interactions.
Measurements of dynamic properties of the sea are carried out by anchored and moving current-meters, high-frequency radars , autonomised meteorogical-oceanographical stations on buoys set in open and coastal waters of the Adriatic, and the stations set up on the coastal mainland and ships (link na Bios dva; Liburnija).
Research of unusual phenomena, such as meteorological Tsunamis, are realized with the use of specially designed measurement system, which measures the appropriate parameters on a second-based time scale.
Besides the analysis of measured data, laboratory workers deal with numerical hydrodynamical modeling, and develop and apply models of finite differences with vertical σ (POM model) and the layers by potential levels (Adria model). The results of numerical models are used in the study of different physical processes caused by atmospheric and hydrological activities, and application of models range from modeling the circulation of the whole Adriatic, the Adriatic shelf, the restricted coastal domains, to the motion in small semi-closed coastal pools.
Laboratory participates in a variety of academic, professional and economic projects as well as in international research projects conducted within the framework of research program of the European Union and bilateral cooperation with many countries.


text:
Many thanks to all those who have been visiting my Guild of One Name Studies CUMPSTON website. Over the last 2 weeks I have been uploading lots of new data about 11 more families. The site is now 3 years old and has had over 380,000 hits. There are now 506 pages of information and new families include the following:
http://www.cumpston.org.uk/#/charles-hartwell-compston/4562108945 update of information re Charles Hartwell COMPSTON and his family
http://www.cumpston.org.uk/#/edw-compston-1-1792-kendal/4539318726 linked this family with http://www.cumpston.org.uk/#/edward-compston-2-kendal/4538862969
http://www.cumpston.org.uk/#/henry-cumpston-keswick-d-1909/4539409835 A new page for Henry Cumpston of Keswick born 1862
http://www.cumpston.org.uk/#/robert-compston-kendal/4563070018 lots of new information about Robert Compston of the Diamond Fields Horse regiment.
http://www.cumpston.org.uk/#/samuel-compston-kendal-1844/4539475901 More work on Samuel Compston of Kendal born 1787
http://www.cumpston.org.uk/#/thomas-compston-kendal/4563097286 a new page on Thomas Compston relative of Samuel of Kendal and Thomas' brother William at
http://www.cumpston.org.uk/#/william-cumstone-1609-kendal/4563103199 a page for my earliest Kendal entries
http://www.cumpston.org.uk/#/derbyshire-births/4533438431 lots of work on Derbyshire births linking 3 families together
http://www.cumpston.org.uk/#/ethel-rubina-cumpstone/4563148711 a huge new family tree for Ethel Rubins CUMPSTONE born 1898 in Shardlow Derbyshire
If you have any CUMPSTON sightings (or for the 42 variants and deviant forms of the name) do let me know.
Related articles
- CUMPSTONE entry in New Zealand newspaper (cumpstonresearch.wordpress.com)
- US Civil War Widows and Other Dependents Pension Files – Elizabeth M CUMPSTON (cumpstonresearch.wordpress.com)
- CUMPSTON, JAMES M. – Medal of Honor Recipient (cumpstonresearch.wordpress.com)
- Obituary William John CUMPSTON Nottingham December 2011 (cumpstonresearch.wordpress.com)
- Google Alert finds another CUMPSTON – Myrtle Zelda CUMPSTON (cumpstonresearch.wordpress.com)
- New Zealand papers on line (cumpstonresearch.wordpress.com)
- Sidney Dewayne Cumpston sudden death Burgettstown PA (cumpstonresearch.wordpress.com)
- Australian female criminals (cumpstonresearch.wordpress.com)
- Wisconsin, Marriage Index, 1973-1997 (cumpstonresearch.wordpress.com)


text:
Yesterday, Ms Yeo and I went to the Sarawak Museum Grounds for some quiet afternoon sketch. The weather was fantastic for outdoor sketching; sunny yet breezy.
We picked a bench under a shady tree facing the old bandstand on the museum grounds and sketched. (photo by Sia, who coincidentally was there with Ivy having rojak)
After capturing the main subject itself, I continued working on mine while we were having ais kacang at the nearby Summer House, an old pagoda structure with added overhang that housed stalls selling local desserts like rojak, belacan beehoon, shaved ice concoctions.
We will be back for the other structures.


text:
Comparative Analysis of Second Malignancy Risk in Patients Treated with Proton Therapy versus Conventional Photon Therapy
Content Contributor: Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Last Reviewed: September 22, 2008
Presenter: T. Yock
Presenter's Affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Type of Session: Scientific
- Proton radiotherapy is rapidly gaining favor as a treatment modality in the setting of many cancers. Due largely to the physical nature of protons as particulate matter, proton radiation can improve dose distribution to treatment volumes while reducing dose to neighboring organs at risk.
- Use of proton therapy is being examined in several clinical trials currently, and protons are being utilized for treatment of many different malignancies. Their benefit is potentially greatest when tumor tissue is within close proximity to organs at risk, and/or for specific subsets of the population for whom late effects to normal tissues may be more significant than expected for the general population (e.g. pediatric patients).
- As use of protons has increased, and more proton centers are being constructed, concerns regarding late-effects from proton therapy have gained interest. Among these is a potentially increased risk of second malignant neoplasms (SMN) in patients treated with proton radiotherapy (Hall E, IJROBP, 2006).
- The theoretical increased risk of SMN after proton radiotherapy results from scattered neutrons that may arise from the head of the treatment machine.
- This risk may be greatest when proton radiotherapy is given using a passive scatter technique rather than a scanning technique; passive scatter technology is the most common type utilized in proton treatment machines, and the only type currently available at US centers.
- Although fairly large numbers of patients have been treated with proton therapy at select centers in the US having access to this technology, the magnitude of SMN risk in these patients when compared to those treated with photon radiation has not been reported.
- This study was undertaken to attempt to quantify the risk of SMN associated with proton radiotherapy compared to photon radiotherapy.
- The study described here was a matched retrospective cohort study comparing patients who received proton radiotherapy at the Harvard Cyclotron associated with Massachusetts General Hospital in Cambridge, MA to patients receiving photon therapy enrolled on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry.
- Patients were matched according to age (+/- 10 years), year of treatment (+/ - 5 years), disease histology, and radiotherapy site.
- Patients were required to have at least one year of follow-up.
- Patients with eye tumors (mainly uveal melanomas and retinoblastomas) were excluded, as were patients who underwent radiosurgery.
- The primary outcome of this study was SMN developing at any site following radiotherapy, regardless of histology or radiotherapy fields.
- Multivariate Cox regression analysis and Poisson regression were used to analyze risk of SMN relative to other patient characteristics.
- 1441 patients treated between 1974 and 2001 with proton radiotherapy at the Harvard Cyclotron were identified. Of these 503 were eligible to be considered in this study.
- These 503 patients were matched in a 1:1 fashion to 503 patients registered in the SEER database.
- The authors note that most patients treated with photons at the Harvard Cyclotron received 20% of their dose with photon radiation; this occurred because the Harvard Cyclotron is used for patient treatment only 4 days each week. On the 5th day, the machine is dedicated to research purposes and patients receive photon treatment rather than proton.
- Median age in both groups was 62 years (range 1 year – 90 years).
- Median follow up was 6.8 years for patients treated with protons, and 5.2 years for those treated with photons. This difference was statistically significant (p < 0.0001).
- Median year of treatment was 1991 for both groups.
- Second malignant neoplasms occurred in 6.4% (n = 32) of patients treated with proton therapy, and 13.1% (n = 66) of those treated with photon therapy.
- The incidence of SMN was 8.2 and 21.6 per 1000 person-years, respectively.
- Multivariate analysis using Cox regression adjusting for age and gender demonstrated a hazard ratio of 3.01 for development of SMN with photon treatment versus proton (p < 0.0001).
- Poisson regression was used to account for discrepancy in follow-up time, and again demonstrated increased SMN risk with use of photon therapy.
- The authors conclude that proton radiotherapy appears to be associated with decreased risk of SMN when compared to photon radiotherapy.
- They note that the prolonged latency of second cancers will require ongoing close surveillance for improved understanding of SMN risk.
- They note that their study is limited by its retrospective nature, but that these data represent the first comprehensive analysis of SMN following proton radiotherapy. Certainly, prospective data will be valuable, but will take many years to gather. In the meantime, these results are encouraging in that they do not indicate increased SMN risk with use of proton radiotherapy.
- Second malignant neoplasms are certainly of concern for any patient treated with radiotherapy. As new technologies become available, consideration of this risk must not be neglected.
- This study represents an important effort to quantify the SMN risk following proton radiotherapy, and to compare this risk to that encountered by patients undergoing photon-based treatment.
- This study does not demonstrate an increased SMN risk for the general population of patients receiving proton treatment. The data presented here may make us optimistic that such a risk will never be identified.
- As the authors point out, the study presented here is limited by its retrospective nature; however, in the absence of prospective data (which will take at least 10 years to accumulate meaningfully) the data presented here are very important.
- Subset analysis of the pediatric patients treated with proton versus photon treatment would certainly be of great interest. Children are acknowledged to be at greatly increased risk for SMN following cancer treatment than are adults, likely with risk approaching 10-fold. Analyzing this group separately would likely be interesting and meaningful. In addition, recognizing the genetic predisposition of retinoblastoma patients to development of SMN, comparison of treatment techniques for this population would be of interest.
- Additionally, further analysis of details of SMN encountered by patients in this study would be of interest – the location (in-field versus out-of-field) and histology of SMN noted would likely shed light on the contribution of radiotherapy to their development.
- Finally, the authors do not compare risk of SMN in either of the populations analyzed to the risk within the general population. This comparison would likely help to shape perspective regarding the data presented here.
- Overall, this data is very interesting and important to the field of radiation oncology as proton treatment becomes more accessible and widely used. As more information becomes available, studies such as this will in all likelihood become more detailed and specific; in the meantime, however, this study may reassure us that SMN risk does not appear to be greatly increased with use of proton radiotherapy, and may in actuality be decreased.


text:
My friend San Juanita (known to those who love her as Janie), whom I also met at Rice, fell in love with Washington on a summer visit many years ago. Lucky for me, the fond memories of that visit came back to her when she was planning her wedding, and she decided to get married here.
The wedding was at Snoqualmie Falls (speaking of breathtaking beauty), and, using my trusty Trip Planner, I learned that you can actually get there on the bus. My parents were invited, too, so we cheated and rode with them, but for those of you who are interested in bussing it to the falls:
1. From downtown (2nd Avenue), catch the 554 Issaquah Express.
2. Get off at Issaquah Park & Ride AcRd (I think this means access road) and 17th Ave NW. The ride should take about 30 minutes.
3. Get on the 209 North Bend. This route takes you right to the entrance of the lodge and also takes about 30 minutes.
From what I can tell, the 554 and the 209 line up well, so there isn't a lot of waiting in Issaquah. The entire trip from downtown takes an hour and five minutes, which isn't much worse than driving.
Another consideration: The Falls have a 90-minute parking limit–unless you want to pay the Salish valets $5 (plus tip).


text:
October 2007
Kevin Costner and the Rays
On November 8th, the Tampa Bay Rays will present the new look of the future to all in attendance in waterfront Straub Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. It has been billed as a event for all ages with special appearances by ex-players Fred McGriff and Mr Hall of Fame, Wade Boggs showing off the new duds.
This date is only the first of two kick-off dates to showcase the new uni's and logos. The following day, the crew hits the Tampa downtown Gaslight Park to again display the uniforms and give fans a venue to vent or shout their approval on the choices.
For years, the team has been working behind the scenes to update and translate the new look Rays to the public. They have done a massive retro fitting to the home stadium, the Trop., that has been converted from a average ballpark, to and interactive family friendly park with all the new bells and whistles.
The next step was the on field look to complete the transition from the Vince Namoli era to the new Stu Sternberg baseball look.
The uniforms are suppose to convey and old style that will accent the days of uniform lore. Gone will be the green lettering and the blue piping. Gone will be the green modern looking "Rays" logo on the outer gear and home uniforms. Also going the way of the dinosaur, will be the "Tampa Bay" lettering on the away jerseys.
This is not the last stage of the transformation of the team. The on field product is taking leaps and bounds in confidence and skill. The record does not speak well of the developments, but we did play 17 games against Boston, and 7 against Cleveland this year. This is noted, since they are the two teams via to play the Rockies soon in the World Series.
Oh, I forgot the main thing about that day.
Kevin Costner, Mr Crash Davis and Billy Chapel of baseball cinema fame will be on hand to help in the unveiling of this new look. This is a guy who made our AAA franchise a hit with everyone from Cali to Maine. I think he personally made it cool to wear a Durham Bulls hat.
I still wear mine daily to work.
Kevin had a special place in my psyche. He has been in 2 of my favorite baseball related films, "Bull Durham", and "For the Love of the Game."
Both are great films with a flair for the cocky and confident nature of the sport. I have the honor to have personal collectibles from both films and they are treasure possessions to me. I am currently working on getting a "Meet and Greet" with him for a photo op and a signing of the 1999 Baseball America magazine with him portraying "Bill Chapel" on the cover.
The event will conclude with a waterfront fireworks display, and a few hundreds hats and items throw to the masses.
The next evening, ____Rays players and coaches will be situated all over Tampa Bay to meet and greet fans at the Champs sporting good store locations to help the official public sales of the new look ___Rays merchandise.
I am looking forward to it like a kid at Christmas. I have been a fan even before our first pitch. I was a fan wanting and waiting since the first proposed "buying" of a team back in the days. For those who forgot, before we got our team, we tried to buy the Twins, A's, Mariners,Giants, and White Sox. All those efforts went by the wayside by either MLB rulings, or local ownership in the their respective areas finally bellying up to the bar and paying for their teams.
I am excited to hear Costner's band , "Modern West". If this band had half the talent that he has on the screen, they will rock the bay that night and send everyone home with a memory for the ages…….


text:
Cee Cee & Bee Review and Giveaway!
Dog bless Etsy shops and the amazingly creative magical wizards that hand-craft the most delightful treasure and treats. I recently discovered Cee Cee & Bee on there, and their shop is now one of my faves! They make all sorts of luxurious bath and body products—soaps, bath bombs, body scrubs, tub truffles—many of which are vegan-friendly!
Vegan bath treats I'm gaga for:
Tub Truffles, $15 ~ Mmm, gotta love truffles that make ya feel good sans the calories! This 3-pack of gorgeous cocoa butter bath truffles includes Lavender, Rose, and Cafe Mocha. They are as luxurious as they sound. They're made with rich wildcrafted cocoa butter, silky kaolin clay, and are laced ever so slightly with essential oils to turn your tub into a beautiful smelling bath. This is such a great way to treat yourself—would make a great gift for someone you ♥, too.
4 Pack of Simplee Irresistible Cocoa Butter Soap (Lavender, Crimson Rose, Rosemary Mint and Café Mocha), $32 – These vegan handmade soaps are cold-processed, mega moisturizing, and specially formulated for dry and itchy skin. Each soap is made of coocoa butter along with highly moisturizing body oils. Each soap is also topped with naturally exfoliating ingredients depending on the scent: Lavender Buds, Fresh Coffee Grounds, Rose Petals & Rose Hips or Rosemary. I caught a whiff of these beauties even before I opened my box of goodies. They smell like heaven, and they are SO pretty to look at.
I'm SO in ♥ with the products above that I've partnered with Cee Cee & Bee to give away a set of these bath treats (cocoa butter soaps and tub truffles) to one lucky VBR reader! They've also set you guys up with a 25% off promo code for their etsy shop. Just enter code: 25VBCCB2014 when checking out (code good until April 30, 2014). Enjoy! xo
About Sunny (Sunny's Profile)Longtime vegan, hardcore compassionate beauty junkie, serious cake aficionado, and lover of all things floofy and sparkly! If there's something in particular you'd like me to review, drop me a line at firstname.lastname@example.com. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Google +.
Filed in: giveaway • vegan skin care
Comments (18)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
I would love to try everything, and would be happy to win anything. It looks like a great product. I support any company that is against animal testing and cruelty!
I love soaps like this. I'd take any of them!
4 Pack of Simplee Irresistible Cocoa Butter Soap (Lavender, Crimson Rose, Rosemary Mint and Café Mocha)
I would love to try those wonderful bath truffles
I work at a coffee roaster, so the Cafe Mocha soap looks like the product for me 🙂
I love healthy homemade natural soaps. These look yummy.
I love this shop so much! I can't wait to get my order!
Well, I've never heard of tub truffles and lavender is just so relaxing, so I'm most excited to try the lavender tub truffle! Sounds yummy!!!
The 4 pack of cocoa butter soaps sound fantastic!
The rose and wine soap looks beautiful!
I love natural soaps and they look amazing! definitely excited to try
mmm cafe mocha for sure!
I am quite intrigued by the Rose Wine Cocoa Butter soap!
OH MY GOD! These look good enough to eat! I have super sensitive skin so I would love love love to win!
Thanks for the giveaway, Sunny! The tub truffles look awesome!
Love their soaps! Thank you for this giveaway x


text:
INA PTUEY30 Bearing
Bearing PTUEY30 INA - In Stock - Min Qty 1
RAI Bearing Trade Co, Ltd specializes in providing INA PTUEY30 Bearings for many years, INA PTUEY30 has a large number of stock, a number of PTUEY30 Bearings INA suppliers and brand agency cooperation, such as (NSK, SKF, FAG, INA, timken, koyo etc.), to meet your different INA PTUEY30 quality and different brand needs , Also let a lot of INA PTUEY30 Bearings suppliers offer you at the same time, let you have a plurality of comparison and reference, can let you find a PTUEY30 bearing supplier that is more suitable for you, more PTUEY30 INA specific picture on a reasonable and satisfied price. Get detailed parameters can be sent to e-mail inquiry, and if you have any questions about this INA PTUEY30,please contact: [email protected]
INA PTUEY30 Bearing Points of attention
INA PTUEY30 Bearing bearings have high precision and are therefore used with care.
Inspection and maintenance of INA PTUEY30 Bearing after installation should be checked regularly.
The use of INA PTUEY30 Bearing can not be careless, and the impact may be damaged by indentation fracture.
INA PTUEY30 should be avoided in wet places, and gloves should be worn to prevent sweat from getting on.


text:
JaeJoong released his newest solo album and I have no words to describe it but AMAZING AND PHENOMENAL. Really, those words aren't even enough to describe it but I can't think of any other adjective to use that would fit it.
I can't choose any song as my favorite in this album because all the songs are equally great. They all stand out for me because JaeJoong used different styles and melodies for each. I can honestly say that I like this album better than "I" simply because of the variety of styles that JaeJoong displayed on "WWW". He just keeps on improving on every album/song he releases!
I've said this a million times already but I'll never ever get tired of saying it again and again: I'm super proud of JaeJoong! I'm proud of his improvements as an artist and on what he has achieved in his career. I'm thankful that he's finally showing the whole world the God-given talent that he has. I'll forever be proud that I'm a die hard Kim JaeJoong fan because I know that I'm supporting an artist worthy of all the support and praise I give him.
Listen to the full album below and please, please buy his album! I swear you'll not regret it! Keep supporting Kim JaeJoong and JYJ! :)


text:
Greenwood Village is located just south of the Cherry Creek neighborhood and west of Cherry Creek State Park. It was named for the Greenwood Ranch and was developed during the 1860's when settlers came from the east and Midwest looking for gold. What was once primarily a rural, farming community has developed into a dynamic blend of urban and residential areas.
Today, Greenwood Village offers some of the most diverse housing opportunities in metro Denver, from condominiums to magnificent luxury estates in gated enclaves showcasing outstanding amenities.
The community boasts a quality of life better than most of the rest of Colorado, a state with a quality of life already well above the rest of the nation. More than 70% of the people in Greenwood Village are permanent residents, a sign of a strong and stable community. The seven public and one private school in the area rank in the top 10% of Colorado schools. And the robbery and assault statistics are half the Colorado average.
The Greenwood Village culture is dominated by people living affluent and progressive lifestyles. The neighborhood offers residents the chance to take advantage of the outdoors, fine arts and theater shows, or spending time in high-class, contemporary dining and after-hours establishments. The area even has its own country club. The Glenmore Country Club, located on the northern side of the Village, is a resort with golf, a spa, a fitness center, and a three-star hotel. Several areas within Greenwood Village provide panoramic views of the majestic Rocky Mountains.
Residents of Greenwood Village enjoy access to numerous parks, in addition to an open space with miles of trails, and the High Line Canal. The area is just minutes from The Denver Tech Center, one of the finest and most expansive business campuses in the nation. Some of the nation's largest companies are headquartered near the Greenwood Village area. And almost 25,000 people commute here every day for work.
Despite being a hub or business, Greenwood Village remains a small community with its own identity. And tt is one of the most desirable places to live in metro Denver's southern corridor.


text:
Rocker Courtney Love has launched legal action against her former lawyer, accusing the attorney of wrecking her relationship with daughter Frances Bean Cobain.
The Hole frontwoman is suing Rhonda Holmes, who she hired in 2008 to try to track down millions of dollars missing from her late husband Kurt Cobain's estate.
Love claims the lawyer made false statements about her to Frances in a 2009 letter, in which she is alleged to have written about a "very scary conspiracy" against the teen - the heir of the Nirvana star's fortune.
Love alleges that the note was a breach of client confidentiality, and insists it has driven a wedge between mother and daughter.
The singer is seeking damages for legal malpractice and emotional distress.
Holmes has already filed suit against the star for allegedly defaming her in tweets and press interviews.
Her own legal team claims the letter in question was actually penned by Love.
A trial is due to take place in early 2014.
tagged in Courtney Love Kurt Cobain Nirvana Fortune Singer


text: Agents of SHIELD S6Ep1 Green Eyed Fitz May 13, 2019 ~ Metacrone Share this:TwitterFacebookPinterestEmailPrintTumblrLinkedInRedditWhatsAppSkypeLike this:Like Loading... Published by Metacrone My world is secretly seen in terms of Les Miserables. I can also do Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, King Arthur, Jane Austen, Classic Trek and various ancient mythologies. Other tropes on demand. But Les Miserables explains the universe 99% of the time. View all posts by Metacrone


text:
Join 1000's of happy customers and get the best blackout solution on the market for your home. The Multi Award Winning BlocOut™ and BlocOut™ XL
use side rails and a bottom seal to achieve unrivalled levels of darkness in your room.
Cut down on light and draughts whilst reducing heat
loss through the window by up to 43%. Ideal for bedrooms, nurseries, children's rooms, home cinemas and more.
A total blackout solution for larger windows (up to 2400mm). Join 1000's of happy customers and get the
best blackout solution on the market for your home. The Multi Award Winning BlocOut™ and BlocOut™ XL
use side rails and a bottom seal to achieve unrivalled levels of darkness in your room.
Cut down on light and draughts whilst reducing heat
loss through the window by up to 43%. Ideal for bedrooms, nurseries, children's rooms, home cinemas and more.
The simple, yet stylish, shading solution for your home. Swappable fabric feature as standard which means you can have a new look for your home in seconds by hooking off one fabric and hooking on a new one!
The Motorised Roller Blind Range by Bloc Blinds brings safety, simplicity and sophistication to your home. Alongside the Fabric Changer system you can enjoy easy to install cordless blinds that operate at the touch of a button on the stylish remote control.
The Twin Roller Blind is a multi-tasking concept. The double roller system allows you to choose between two fabrics for ultimate flexibility. A Translucent fabric will allow light and daytime privacy. The blackout fabric will provide night time privacy and heat efficiency.
Perfect for DIY novices and pros alike, this roller does not require any power tools for installation. It can be fitted in minutes and is even adjustable after installations. Suitable for recess fit blinds only.
This contemporary blind includes a sleek pelmet to complete the look of your window dressing. Both the fabric and the pelmet are swappable for enhanced design flexibility so you can give your new home a fresh new look in seconds.
A contemporary alternative to vertical blinds, these blinds let you adjust the position to your desired privacy and light setting for enhanced flexibility.
Find out about our award winning Fabric Changer Roller Blind. Change the decor of your room in seconds without removing the existing mechanism. One fit, endless options.
Give your window the personal touch and order your own customised blind today. Choose your own image of children's drawings, fun family photos, crazy pets or scenic holiday snaps...you decide!
Easy to install and perfect for turning attics, sun rooms and other rooms with roof windows in to a useable space. Suitable for VELUX® Roof Windows, Roto, Fakro, Dakstra and more.
Harness the sun's energy and use it to power your blind. The Motorised blinds are perfect for hard to reach skylight blinds using the sleek remote control. Suitable for VELUX® Roof Windows, Roto, Fakro, Dakstra and more, as well as made to measure sizes.
Don't worry if your skylight window is not a standard size. We can custom make your blind to fit your skylight window perfectly.
Skylights are often hard to reach. Make life easier with a Skylight Opening Pole or choose a motorised blind with Remote Control function.
Watch How to Measure video guides for all Bloc Blinds' products and see how to get the perfect fit
for your window. Scroll down the list to find the product to suit your window type and needs.
Watch How to Install video guides to help you fit your Bloc Blind. Scroll down the list to
find your chosen product and follow the simple step by step installation process.
Our professional team of Measure & Fit Window Design Consultants advise on the best product for your home, taking accurate measurements to ensure the perfect fit every time. Enter your postcode to check if this service is available in your area.
With Measure Protect™ You Can Guarantee A Perfect Fit For Every Blind. For Just An Extra 10% Per Blind We Will Insure Your Measurements Against Mistakes
See what other customers are buying. Browse our top sellers in products and fabrics.
Have a specific room in mind? Browse by room to find the perfect product to suit your home.
We work with a range of designers both locally and internationally to bring you the finest selection of designs to choose from for your home.
Our range of hand picked fabrics are perfect for children of all ages from new born to teen. Combine with the BlocOut™ system for a better night's sleep.
Create an uncluttered, contemporary look with our cordless range. Chain-free and Safe By Design, these are a favourite among homes with children present.
Order a selection of our swatches to view at home and find the right match for you. Choose from our range of classic and contemporary fabrics available in both plain and patterned designs.
Give your home a fresh new look in seconds with a replacement fabric for your Bloc Blind. Simply hook off the old one and hook on the new one, it's that easy!
Shop our range of accessories to make operating your blinds even easier.
Find out more about the delivery or your Bloc Blinds here.
Mon - Fri : 8am to 6pm
Sat : 11am to 3pm
Give us a call on
Mon-Fri 8am-6pm
Sat 11am-3pm
Give us a call on 0800 107 5535
Mon-Fri 8am-6pm
Sat 11am-3pm
Email us firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Sign Up
Log In
Thursday 6:30 PM Kickball (Spring 2013)
• standings
An existing child account with an identical was found. To continue with adding that child, click the Add Player button below.
A member with that email address already exists.
NAKID provides sports and social events that help build personal relationships between young, professional adults. The sports offered include kickball, dodgeball, volleyball, flag football and other seasonal sports and the social events include parties, happy hours and more. Learn more about us in
and Washington, DC.
All participants must be 21 or older and have health insurance.
© 2017 NAKID Social Sports. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions
League management software by LeagueApps.


text:
1. Point
Point yourself over to our simple, free quote request form and get connected instantly with a photography specialist.
3. You're covered!
We provide the finest, most-respected, local photographers in France to fit your exact needs when and where you need them. Our photography specialists will be personally in touch with you through every step of the process to ensure that your project is a complete success. We don't consider a job closed until we have your stamp of approval.


text:
The group is not a standard publisher, but will work with developers until their titles are mature enough to pitch to a publisher for distribution. It will also work with its partner, Depth Entertainment, to work on the movie industry side of things and help bring its IPs to the big screen.
Radar Group announced three titles today - Prey 2, Earth No More and Incarnate. According to the press release, "Earth No More does away with the "lone-hero" shooter archetype, instead focusing on the dynamic between an ensemble cast that must learn to work together to survive the threat of an environmental extinction event. As Will Foster, a DHS chemical weapons specialist, you are among the first to respond to a gas attack on Washington, D.C. However, it soon becomes clear that the gas attack is a cover-up for something much more sinister. Earth No More is currently being developed in close collaboration with Recoil Games and is slated for release on next-gen consoles and PC."
It has the following to say about Incarnate: "Incarnate poses the question: Can evil ever die? The re-incarnated souls of history's most evil people are converging on present-day Chicago. As Thomas Ludlow, you are recruited by a secret organization to hunt down and capture these 'Incarnates'. But the further you dig into the reasons for their arrival, the more you learn of the true nature of your efforts and your own connection to the events unfolding before you. Stalk your prey in the wide open city, search for them in the dark places, and maybe you will survive long enough to solve the mystery of your own past. Can you break the chains of destiny, or will you let them bind you to your doom? Incarnate is currently being developed in collaboration with a yet-to-be-announced studio."
The most well-known franchise on the list is Prey 2, the follow-up to the PC and Xbox 360 release from a couple years back. Here's what Radar Group has to say about the sequel: "The follow up to "Action Game of the Year" (PC Gamer), reprise your role as Tommy, the native warrior who saved Earth from alien invasion in Prey. This time, abandoned and framed for the disappearance of his family and girlfriend, Tommy escapes an Earth that no longer wants him for a future that cannot survive without him. Building on the mind-bending portal and gravity-defying gameplay of the original with several innovative new twists, Prey 2 promises to once again take players into a compelling science-fiction world with breathtaking visuals and adrenaline-pumping action gameplay. Prey 2 is currently being developed in cooperation with Human Head studios and slated for Xbox 360 and PC platforms."
Radar Group is headed up by CEO Jim Perkins, CCO Scott Miller, Executive Creative Director Raphael van Lierop, and VP of Strategic Partnerships Dave Adams.


text:
If all goes according to plan there will be not one, but two tribute concerts for Michael Jackson at London's O2 Arena this August. The date for the first is Aug. 29, which would have been Jackson's 51st birthday.
"As the schedule stands right now, there will be a second show on Aug. 30," said a source involved with the scheduling.
Jackson's brothers, Jermaine, Jackie, Tito and Marlon, have been involved in "every part of the concerts' planning process" according to the source, and they have good reason to be: they'll be performing at the shows, too. Expect to see the Jackson 4 perform a medley of the Jackson 5's greatest hits.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
A plan to do a tribute show was first announced at a meeting of "This is It" tour cast and crew on June 27. At that meeting, tour director Kenny Ortega told the cast and crew that the memorial concert would be "what Jackson would have wanted."
According to the current schedule, rehearsals will take place in Los Angeles the first two weeks of August, and they'll move to London the week before the concerts.
AEG has yet to make an official announcement confirming the plans.
Does Chris Brown's cyber-apology count?
Chris Brown took to YouTube to issue a public apology to Rihanna, saying "Since February, my attorney has advised me not to speak out, even though ever since the incident I wanted to publicly express my deepest regret and accept full responsibility."
Brown's attorney Mark Geragos didn't respond to calls and e-mails for comment on whether he approved Brown's online statement, but it's clear the wording was strategic: the two-minute mea culpa did not include the words "hit" or "domestic violence" but it's obvious that's what Brown is talking about.
So why make the video, especially since the incident he speaks of has been mostly forgotten? Also, why give the "exclusive" to TMZ — the same Web site that ran the photos of a bruised and bloody Rihanna when Brown had his own Web site to post to exclusively (reps for Brown and TMZ wouldn't answer this question, either).
At the end of the day, the statement raises more questions than it answers, which is never a wise publicity move. Yes, it's good to take responsibility, but to do so in the most controlled way possible does not have the same value as, say, appearing on live television, where difficult questions would be raised, or giving an exclusive to a magazine, which would mean writers and editors could also influence tone. Instead, Brown issued a video where he appeared well lit, well edited and definitely scripted.
During a time when people ask constantly what there is to learn from celebrities and what precisely the value of pop culture might be, Brown did nothing to advance the cause. He proved that once again, being a celebrity means you get to control your message. Brown closed his statement by saying, "I intend to live my life so that I'm truly worthy of the term role model." This isn't how I, for one, want my role models to act.
Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter: @ courtneyatmsnbc.


text:
Pre- School Ballet
Federal Academy Of Ballet
Dance Ballet Toddlers
Ages 3 - 4
Pandan Indah, Kuala Lumpur
Ballet promotes physical strength and agility,it can also boost concentration.Ballet improves muscular strength, flexibility and range of motion. In addition to its physical benefits, ballet can also help to improve children's mental and emotional health. Federal Academy of Ballet is Malaysia's most established Ballet School. It has almost 50 years of experience. There are 5 branches within easy reach for most people in the Klang Valley. Children will have frequent oppurtunities to perform. There will be 2 showcase performances a year. Federal Academy of Ballet also has it's own performance theatre at the Headquarters and it is also one of the main examination centres for Ballet for the Klang Valley.
RM 23 per lesson
Once per week
Payment Method : Monthly Registration Fee : RM 25 Deposit : One month fees Class duration : 45 minutes Trial classes : Kindly book from the button above.


text:
In Concert
A Band Called Honalee
Those heady days of the 60s and 70s come alive in the form of the modern-day folk trio A Band Called Honalee, which visits the Madison Theatre with a tribute to the music of Peter, Paul & Mary and friends. The band — composed of Sarah Randall Hunt, Chris Ware and Eli Zoller — demonstrate their passion and enthusiasm for folk music with inventive arrangements that honor the past while bringing fresh take on these beloved songs. Their show also includes tunes by Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, The Mamas and the Papas, The Weavers, Judy Collins, and other folk/rock artists. Enjoy the era's many hits, including "If I Had a Hammer," "Blowing In The Wind," "Puff The Magic Dragon," "Leaving On A Jet Plane," "The Times They Are A'Changin," "I Dig Rock And Roll Music," "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?," "Both Sides Now," "Mr. Tambourine Man," and "California Dreamin'."
Sunday, Feb. 23, 3 p.m. $25-$35. Madison Theatre, Molloy College, 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre. (516) 323-4444 or www.madisontheatreny.org.
On Stage
Best of Broadway
Adelphi University's Department of Music honors "Hammerstein & Sondheim" in the latest edition of its popular Best of Broadway series. The revue, directed by Michael Hume and accompanied by Adrienne Borbely, features Adelphi's vocal and theater students performing some of Broadway's great hits in a salute to these two giants of American musical theater. Hear those outstanding songs of the Great White Way, from Showboat and Oklahoma! to Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods.
Saturday, Feb. 22, 8 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 23, 3 p.m. $20. Adelphi University Performing Arts Center, 1 South Ave., Garden City. (516) 877-4000 or www.aupac.adelphi.edu.


text:
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Birthday FAIL
At her daycare, they do a little party for them during snacktime at 3PM. I bring in cake in the morning and everyone sings, and if you're the mom watching, you get little tears in your eyes.
Last year, I happened to have the day off, so I went to the party and then brought Mel home afterwards. This year, it didn't work out that way, but I was still hoping to go to the party. I work pretty close to the daycare, so I could have easily slipped out, gone to the party, and then gone back to work. But I know from prior experience that if I show up at daycare, Mel will not let me leave without her. I don't want to make her cry on her birthday.
After much internal debate, I finally asked my boss if it would be all right if I brought Mel to work with me for a couple of hours, and she'd be totally quiet and good. "Oh God, don't bring her to work," my boss said. "Just go home after the party. It's okay." (My boss is a sweetie.)
So I was all set, or so I thought. But then several things happened, including that my census of patients exploded and I can't reduce my list without begging other people to see my patients, which I really hate to do, especially considering Friday is generally a busy day. I also stupidly scheduled a doctor's appointment for today, which means I can't stay late today either.
And then I got a call from the scheduler for my clinic, asking if I could add on a couple of extra patients for Friday.
I am beginning to feel like I am doing too much to make it to this party. I am calling in favors, inconveniencing other people, canceling appointments, all just to make a 15 minute party. She probably won't care if I'm there anyway and we're having a regular birthday party on the weekend. I should just accept that it isn't going to happen.
But then I think to myself: this is WHY I took a flexible job, so that I wouldn't miss special moments like this. If being there for my daughter's birthday party isn't high priority for me, then I feel like my priorities are screwed up.
It's hard being a working mom.
6 comments:
Why should your daughter's birthday party be any less important than other reasons? If you took this job so you don't have to miss these special moments, let go of that guilt and push on through. Attend the the birthday party and wipe away that tear. And when your colleagues ask you for favors for their important reasons (like say, a ski trip), you can return the favor with a smile.ReplyDelete
My daughter's birthday is Sunday. I do the birthday school thing every year. I was e-mailing the teacher last night trying to set up bringing Boston Cream PIe, C's idea, on Monday. Last year we did ice cream pie. And get coverage for the time the teacher tells me to come.ReplyDelete
Apparently there is a new policy at the school. Cookies and cupcakes only, to be handed out by the child at snack time. Send them to school with your kid in the morning. Parents don't come. This is a bit of a relief to me, especially since I have to get covered tomorrow to be the "grandparent" at GP Day (no grandparent can go) and we are having a huge rent out the roller rink party Saturday night.
I agree with above, go if you at all can. Hang the moon. But don't sweat it if you can't make it. And hopefully they will adopt a policy change:)
LOVE IT!!! Go and have a 15-minute blast!!! You will remember and you will be glad that you went.ReplyDelete
I love the idea of not allowing parents. Let the kids have their own celebration, not made more complex for the kids or the parents. Parents in the classroom get kids confused and riled up (witness your daughter not wanting to stay in school after you come by). And then have a great birthday party at home. And remember that your child will not be scarred because you didn't come to school to celebrate her birthday. My mom never did that-- and I'm pretty sure she never sent me in with cake either-- and I turned out just fine.ReplyDelete
As I read your post I was thinking of how relieved I am that parents also don't come to the birthday celebrations at my daughters daycare - one less thing for me to be guilty about! I hope it works out!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMarch 12, 2013 at 6:36 AM
My children are old now, but I wouldn't have gone. I never went until it was time to go home, because it was too confusing turning up in the middle of the day. And I guess birthdays have always been pretty low key, both when I was a child and now that I have children. But it's hard if you wanted to be there. I'm amazed at how many times I think, 'I thought I had a flexible working arrangement, howcome I miss so many things?'ReplyDelete


text:
Ch. 5 Who Will Know God
Last revised: 19 May 2010
Who will be saved?
Who among us shall see God? When we ask ourselves that question, different answers might arise. We might soon find ourselves in bitter disagreement with our fellows as to who shall be saved and who not.
In fact, over the centuries, a deep and bitter quarrel has developed on the subject, resulting in endless, deadly conflicts with ironic names like "holy wars" and "crusades." We have committed the most disgraceful behaviour in the name of God.
But all this division and conflict is spiritually unwarranted, or so we shall find out here. The differences and divisions that have sprung up between us have no independent reality to them.
Let us take the example of quarreling over whose God is God. Sri Ramakrishna thought it ridiculous to dispute such a thing. He had followed several religious paths to their end and found their destination was always the same nameless, formless God.
I have practiced all religions – Hinduism, Islam, Christianity – and I have also followed the paths of the different Hindu sects. I have found that it is the same God toward whom all are directing their steps, though along different paths. … Wherever I look, I see men quarrelling in the name of religion – Hindus, Mohammedans, Brahmos [a small sect of westernized Hindu intellectuals], Vaishnavas [worshippers of Vishnu], and the rest. But they never reflect that He who is called Krishna is also called Siva, and bears the name of the Primal Energy [also called the Divine Mother or Holy Spirit], Jesus, and Allah as well – the same Rama with a thousand names. A lake has several ghats. At one, the Hindus take water in pitchers and call it 'jal'; at another the Mussalmans take water in leather bags and call it 'pani.' At a third the Christians call it 'water', Can we imagine that it is not 'jal', but only 'pani' or 'water'? How ridiculous! The substance is One under different names, and everyone is seeking the same substance; only climate, temperament, and name create differences. (1)
What lies at the root of our religious and social conflict?
At the root of the world's conflict is the ego. The ego is our sense of ourselves as separate. The ego is comprised of our thoughts. In fact, it as if we wander through life immersed in a cloud of thoughts. This cloud of thoughts keeps us from seeing God. It is the only real barrier to enlightenment, but it is no easy barrier to remove. Usually, when the mind is stilled, the ego quieted, we are able to know God.
We discover on the spiritual path that the ego is persuasive but unreal. We find that we are not, after all, separate selves, but the Universal Spirit. But, until we are enlightened, the ego seems very real and persuasive. It is the source of our wanting. It thrives on action and excitement, friction and quarrels. It craves to feel right, justified, and validated, and, worst-case scenario, will lash out at those it thinks threaten it or any of its interests.
It attaches itself at an early age to what it considers "me and mine." In later years that attachment expands to include the "us and ours" of family. It can expand to include a block, a neighbourhood, a school district, a city, a province, a nation.
Finally, after acquiring things, it feels the need to hold onto them and creates a self-interest, an agenda, which eventually it comes to share with others. Up rises the notion of "our side" and "their side."
"Our side" can be anything — a club, nation, or religion. We bend all our efforts to see that "our side and what belongs to our side" thrive.
One of the ways in which ego shows itself in the religious world is to maintain that only our side will reach paradise or heaven. Is it accurate to say that only one group will be saved and the rest will be lost? Can any enlightened master be found who teaches such a thing?
Redemption is promised for all
In fact none can. The masters are unanimous that all of us will be saved, that redemption is not exclusive to one faith, but the birthright of all. They are united and unequivocal in saying that exclusivity is not true. Universality is true. Everyone will see God. Everyone is destined to enter Heaven. Some sooner; some later; but all will eventually.
Let us listen to Sri Ramakrishna teaching his devotees the truth of universal redemption, another Design Element of God's Divine Plan for life.
All will surely realize God. All will be liberated. It may be that some get their meal in the morning, some at noon, and some in the evening; but none will go without food. All, without any exception, will certainly know the real Self. (2)
The Mother will not allow any of her children to go hungry. He who is hungry in the morning will be fed in the morning. He whose appetite is aroused late in the evening will be fed in the evening. (3)
Everybody will surely be liberated. (4)
Jesus taught this as well in his mystical teaching that "Wisdom is justified of her children." (5) In the Biblical code, who is "Wisdom"?
As we shall see, "Wisdom" is another name (popular in the Old Testament and the Apocrypha), for the Holy Spirit or Divine Mother (For examples of sages calling the Holy Spirit "Wisdom," see footnote 6). We are Her children.
God has charged the Mother-Spirit with creating and administering the natural law. The purpose of the natural law is to educate us and keep us moving towards our goal: knowledge of God the Father. The Child or Son of God works hand-in-hand with the Divine Mother or Holy Spirit to bring all lost sheep back to God. This whole book is a description of how that happens.
God has commanded that all should return to Him after wandering in the world, without one being lost. When each individual does, Wisdom is justified of Her Child. When all of us do, Wisdom is justified of Her Children. God's Plan is to see that all of us, all points of consciousness, go out into the world, realize Him, and return, at which time Wisdom, the Holy Spirit or Divine Mother, is justified of all Her Children.
"Universal" vs. "exclusive" redemption
Everyone will eat; some in the morning, some in the afternoon, and some in the evening. This is universal redemption. There is no trace of exclusivity here; God, it would seem, has no partiality.
Sri Krishna, an Incarnation of the Divine, taught this truth to Arjuna:
All mankind
Is born for perfection
And each shall attain it
Will he but follow
His nature's duty. (7)
He does not equivocate: All are destined for perfection and each shall attain it. There is room for great rejoicing here.
I wish to turn again to Jesus in a minute. But before I do, I'd like to communicate how I see him. In my view, Jesus is an "avatar" or a "descent of the Divine" into the world and is similar in this respect to Rama, Krishna, Ramakrishna, Anandamoyi Ma, and Mata Amritanandamayi ("Ammachi"). Jesus declared that he was avatar in the following passage:
Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. (8)
Sri Ramakrishna was given a vision of Jesus during which Jesus merged in his physical form. In the spiritual sense, Sri Ramakrishna "knew" Jesus in a way that you and I could only wish to. His considered opinion of Jesus was that he was a Divine Incarnation of God, as the following story makes clear.
One day at Dakshineswar a Christian minister was brought to meet Sri Ramakrishna.
Shivanath Shastri told Sri Ramakrishna: "Sir, one of my Christian friends has come to see you. Having heard of you from me, he was very eager to meet you."
On hearing this Sri Ramakrishna bowed his head to the ground and said: "I bow again and again at the feet of Jesus Christ."
Surprised at such [an] utterance, Rev. Sannyal said: "How is it, sir, that you bow at the feet of Christ? What do you think of Him?"
Sri Ramakrishna: "Why, I look upon him as an Avatara [Incarnation of God]."
Rev. Sannyal: "Incarnation of God! Will you kindly explain what you mean by it? Is he one like Krishna and the others?"
Sri Ramakrishna: "Yes, exactly like that. An incarnation like our Rama and Krishna. Don't you know there is a passage in the Bhagavata where it is said that the incarnations of … the Supreme Being are innumerable?" (9)
I would like now to turn to Jesus' teachings because Jesus' use of the first-person pronoun "I" for the Christ rather than for the man Jesus, I think, has escaped many people, leading to the conclusion that only followers of Jesus will be saved. I don't think this is what Jesus meant.
What Jesus Meant by "I" and the "Christ"
To interpret all the passages in Jesus's teachings where he used "I" to refer to the Christ rather than to his person is a large task, beyond the scope of this book. Of necessity, I must restrict myself to a few passages. Speaking as the Christ, the Light of the world, Jesus said:
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (10)
What has the Father sent into the world? The Father has sent fragments of himself, a shower of divine, eternal sparks, into the world. The Transcendental Himself has entered the Womb of the Mother and is born into the world as the Son, Christ, or Self in each of us.
To this Christ was given the task of losing no person but saving all on the last day of mortality and the first day of immortality. All people, all Children of God, all beings in whose heart the Christ, Atman, or Buddha-nature dwells, will be raised up in enlightenment on the day that separates their unliberated from their liberated existence.
Every one who sees the Son, the Christ, the Light of the world, and who focuses on that Light (and we shall hear examples, below, of aspirants who do) shall have that liberation – that "everlasting life." The Christ, the Light of the world, will raise him up on the last day.
The First Sight of the Christ
Later chapters will examine what the event of liberation looks like, but in this chapter I would like to examine what the first sight of the Christ looks like. Let us listen to masters who have "seen the light" in the experience of illumination that occurs when the spiritual energy, or kundalini, reaches the fourth or heart chakra (not to be confused with the spiritual heart). Hindus call this event "spiritual awakening" and Buddhists call it "stream entering."
Sri Ramakrishna
The fourth center of consciousness (anahata) is in the region of the heart. Spiritual awakening comes when the mind rises to this center. At this stage man has a spiritual vision of the Divine Light and is struck with wonder at its beauty and glory. His mind then no longer runs after worldly pleasures. (13)
St. Paul
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts. (14)
Jacob Boehme
A wonderful light arose within my soul. In it I recognized the nature of God and man. (15)
John Ruusbroec
In the abyss of this darkness in which the loving spirit has died to itself, God's revelation and eternal life have their origin, for in this darkness an incomprehensible light is born and shines forth; this is the Son of God, in whom a person becomes able to see and to contemplate eternal life. (16)
It is Christ, the light of truth, who says, "See," and it is through him that we are able to see, for he is the light of the Father, without which there is no light in heaven or on earth. (17)
Ralph Waldo Emerson
No man ever forgot the visitations of that power to his heart and brain, which created all things new; which was the dawn in him of music, poetry, and art. (18)
J. Krishnamurti
I sat crosslegged in the meditation posture. When I had sat thus for some time, I felt myself going out of my body. I saw myself sitting down with the delicate tender leaves of the tree over me. I was facing the east. In front of me was my body and over my head I saw the Star, bright and clear. … There was such profound calmness both in the air and within myself, the calmness of the bottom of a deep and unfathomable lake. Like the lake, I felt my physical body, with its mind and emotions, could be ruffled on the surface but nothing, nay nothing, could disturb the calmness of my soul. … I was supremely happy, for I had seen. Nothing could ever be the same. I have drunk at the clear and pure waters at the source of the fountain of life and my thirst was appeased. Never more could I be thirsty, never more could I be in utter darkness; I have seen the Light. I have touched compassion which heals all sorrow and suffering…. Love in all its glory has intoxicated my heart; my heart can never be closed. I have drunk at the fountain of Joy and eternal Beauty. I am God-intoxicated. (19)
John Ruusbroec testifies that the brilliant light he saw was "the Son of God, in whom a person becomes able to see and contemplate eternal life." In my opinion, this universal Light is the Son of God that Jesus was referring to when he used the first person "I."
If we read Ruusbroec's passages carefully, we will recognize in them the parables that Jesus used. I will restrict myself to the parable of the treasure buried in a field, but other parables could be used. (20)
Ruusbroec seeing in the darkness an incomprehensible Light is like the man who comes upon a treasure buried in a field. The Light is buried in the field of the human body; specifically, in the spiritual heart.
Ruusbroec contemplating eternal life is the same as the man selling all that he had. Remember that Sri Ramakrishna said a man no longer runs after worldly pleasures after spiritual awakening. The significance of the man selling all he has is that he divests himself of all other desires save that of owning the treasure, which he now knows but does not possess.
Having focused himself upon that Light – that is, selling all that he has — Ruusbroec now reaches the point of seeing the Light of the Father. Owning the treasure is the same as seeing the redemptive Light of the Father. The day of seeing that Light is "the last day." The man has been raised up. Thus, as Ruusbroec helps us to see, Jesus' parables are mystical teachings on how to gain the Light of the Father through the Light of the Son.
Jacob Boehme recognized the nature of God and man in that mysterious light. When speaking of this Light, neither Boehme nor Ruusbroec is referring to the man Jesus, but to the Light that the Christ is.
All living beings have in their hearts this same Light, this Child of God, or Christ. It is our original, unborn, and undying nature. It has been called the divine spark, (21) the fire always burning on the altar, (22) and a fireband plucked from the burning. (23)
In another place, Jesus says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (24) and "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." (25) These two passages have been used by some to indicate that only Christians will be saved.
But we can see now, from Ruusbroec's description, that contemplating the Christ-Light is in fact the Way to the Father, who is the Truth and the Life (that is, the end of the need to be reborn in matter). That same Christ-Light is to Hindus the Atman and Buddhists, the Buddha-nature. It would be an error on our part, therefore, to suggest that Hindus contemplating the Atman and Buddhists contemplating the Buddha nature would not reach salvation; they are contemplating the Christ-Light as well as Christians are – with just a change of terminology.
The Christ is the Self
Given that the Christ is our own true Self, another way of saying that the Christ is the way to God is to say "know thyself if you wish to know God." Knowing our Self is the way to know God. The Self is the Christ and penetrating into It leads us to the All-Self or the Father.
The twentieth-century American mystic Franklin Merrell-Wolff demurred from confusing the man Jesus with the Christ. Merrell-Wolff knows the Christ as the Self through his own experience.
"No man cometh unto the Father but by Me." Thus spake Jesus. But many heard, though few understood, and so they sought the Father through belief in a man who dwelt for a short time upon this earth. But no man is 'I,' since 'man' is an object while I AM [is] always the subject. Hence, to translate the above quotation as meaning, 'no man cometh unto the Father but by Jesus,' is completely to change its meaning. (26)
According to Merell-Wolff, Jesus was saying that no man approacheth the Father except by the Self, the universal subject. In knowing the transcendental Self, we shall know God.
Only through the 'I' is Identity realized. Approached in any other way, God is ever something other than the seeker and, therefore at a distance. To come to the Father is to be one with the Father, and this can be achieved only through the pure Subject or the SELF. (27)
There is wide agreement among other masters that knowing the Self is the way to know the Father.
Whoever sees his nature is a buddha. (28)
To attain enlightenment without seeing your nature is impossible. (29)
Ibn Arabi
To know God is not an easy matter, until one becomes a knower of one's self. (30)
Knowledge of self is the key to knowledge of God, according to the saying: "He who knows himself knows God." (31)
Anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing
Strain every nerve in every possible way to know and experience yourself as you really are [i.e., as the Christ-Light]. It will not be long, I suspect, before you have a real knowledge and experience of God as he is. (32)
St. Catherine of Genoa
My Me is God, nor do I recognize any other Me except my God Himself. (33)
Sri Yukteswar Giri
The highest aim of religion is Atma-jnanam, Self-knowledge. (34)
Thus, God has laid down that we must approach Him by knowing ourselves first.
As divine sparks or Children of God, we are joint-heirs with the Christ that Jesus was. (33B) When we realize our true and full identity as that Son of God, one with the Father, we will have fulfilled the purpose for which we were born. We will be fully enlightened. The lost lamb, the Prodigal Child, will have left behind the things of the world and come Home.
In my view, then, Jesus does not promise salvation only to those who follow Jesus the man. The Christ in all creation promises it freely to all, by virtue of our being the Children of God. There are no strings attached to our birthright. There may be strings attached to when we shall inherit it.
The crooked shall be made straight
Let us examine two other examples of sages predicting universal redemption. In this case, we are not listening to an avatar, a Descent of the Divine, like Jesus, Krishna, or Ramakrishna. We are listening to two enlightened masters — Isaiah and Lao-Tzu — who say strangely parallel things.
Isaiah says:
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it. (35)
All of us shall be perfected or made straight. Once we are perfected, all of us shall see and know God.
Lao Tzu makes the same prediction.
The crooked shall be made straight
And the rough places plain;
The pools shall be filled
And the worn renewed….
The saying of the men of old
Is not in vain:
"The crooked shall be made straight" –
To be perfect, return to it. (36)
All human beings shall be made straight, their hills and valleys levelled, their pools filled, resulting one day in universal redemption. All can and will return to their original perfection and be redeemed.
So … we are not the ego. We are aware of how much death and destruction has arisen by thinking that our side will be saved and the other side won't. God is not on our side exclusively; God is on all sides universally. By thinking in confused ways, we have divided ourselves into tribes and camps, circles and stripes. Unfortunate and mistaken ways of being have arisen and endlessly multiplied. They did so because of our misidentification with the ego and all of its states, moods, and desires.
We have come upon two more Design Elements of God's Plan for Life: (1) our nature as we have just described it; and (2) the known outcome (universal redemption) of the cosmic drama that we are all involved in.
In regards to the first, our nature is that of the Self, Christ, or Child of God – a Firebrand plucked from the Burning. In regards to the second, all of us have God's Promise that we will be reunited with the Fire one day.
Both these Design Elements are in fact our inheritance, our legacy, our birthright. They are intrinsic to us, inalienable. The situation cannot be changed by act of legislature. It does not bend before religious edict. A dictator could not make the situation different even if he killed us in the process (and we begged for mercy). We are all Children of God and we are all bound for salvation.
What difference does knowing this make?
When it is known that we all are Children of God, that all are loved by Him and destined to be redeemed, each one of us faces a choice. Do we continue to conduct ourselves as if only our fellows in faith will sit on the Right Hand of God? Or do we drop that false notion and see things as the masters say they are?
We were not designed to push the service of our own projected self-interest into areas where it works to the detriment of others. Why not? Because life will push back. And why is that? Apparently, because God has designed it that way.
Viewed from a pragmatic social angle, gone is any valid basis for such views as master races and subject races, "ethnic cleansing" and genocide, crusades or jihads, slavery, dictatorship, class domination. Gone is any valid basis for male enslavement and mistreatment of women or the exploitation of children.
Viewed from a personal angle, gone is any valid basis for my asserting myself over others to their detriment. It has to be win/win. We are all of us Brothers and Sisters, Children of God, part of the same family, and universally bound for redemption.
Our entire worldview could shift if we allowed it. The "hundredth-monkey" effect might tip us into global religious tolerance as we realize that we are all Spiritual Brothers and Sisters, on the road to mutually-assured perfection.
One event will occur regardless of whatever else happens. The basis of all subordinating (superior vs. inferior) worldviews is, by these revelations, removed. The secret is out: there is no superior or inferior to be found anywhere. Spiritually, we are all equal and alike, in nature and in destiny.
Having settled that question, what path will lead us to God? Is it only the one we follow?
(For full details on these sources, see "Bibliography" at https://sbeckow.wordpress.com/the-purpose-of-life-is-enlightenment/ch-13-bibliography/.)
(4) Ibid., 98.
(5) Luke 7:35.
(6) See, for instance, Isaiah's appositives: "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom. " (Isaiah 11:2.) Or Solomon's, in the Apocrypha:
"And who has learned your counsel
Unless you gave him wisdom,
And sent your holy spirit from on high."
("Wisdom of Solomon" in APO, 195.)
Compare with St. John of the Cross:
The Spouse … is the Wisdom of God." St. John of the Cross in CWSJC, 75. "This flame of love is the Spirit of the Bridegroom, which is the Holy Spirit." (St. John of the Cross in CWSJC, 580.)
(8) John 8: 23.
(10) John 6:39-40.
(11) John 16:28.
(12) I Corinthians 15:24 and 28.
(13) Sri Ramakrishna cited in Usha, RVW, 25.
(14) II Corinthians 4:6.
(17) Ibid., 74.
(20) Jesus in Matthew 13:44.
(21) Omraam Michael Aivanhov, LAS, Part 1, 22; also Meister Eckhart in Huxley, PP, 15-6.
(22) Leviticus 6:13.
(23) Amos 4:1.
(24) John 14:6.
(25) John 10:9.
(27) Loc. Cit.
(29) Ibid., 9.
(35) Isaiah 40:3-5.


text:
Relationships with
Photo Credit: LeAnn Rimes' picture is courtesy of Skins. Photographic illustrations of LeAnn Rimes are copyright © by their respective holders. The images are published with permission or as allowed by the copyright law's fair use or quotation provisions. If any copyright holder objects to an image being included, please notify us and it will be removed immediately.
Disclaimer: This information about LeAnn Rimes is derived from astrological interpretation of LeAnn Rimes' date, time, and place of birth.


text:
Hydrology Technician is very similar to another occupation for which we have
a full profile.
Check out our full profile for:
Geological Sample Test Technicians
Test and analyze geological samples, crude oil, or petroleum products to detect presence of petroleum, gas, or mineral deposits indicating potential for exploration and production, or to determine physical and chemical properties to ensure that products meet quality standards.
Acid Tester
Chalk Tester
Consulting Petroleum Geologist
Core Inspector
Crude Tester
Electron Microprobe Operator
Environmental Field Services Technician
Environmental Geologist
Environmental Sampling Technician
Environmental Scientist
Field Engineer, Specialist
Gas Analyst
Gas Prover
Gas Tester
Gasoline Tester
Geological Sample Tester
Geological Technician
Geology Technician
Geotechnicial Properties Technician
Hydrology Technician
Laboratory Assistant
Laboratory Manager
Laboratory Technician
Laboratory Worker
Marine Geologist
Materials Technician
Mineral Technologist
Mud Analysis Operator
Mud Logger
Oil Analyst
Oil Field Tester
Oil Laboratory Analyst
Oil Tester
Oil Well Logger
Ore Tester
Petroleum Analyst
Petroleum Geologist
Quality Control Technician (QC Technician)
Research Associate
Technician, Test
Temperature Logging Operator
Test Engine Evaluator
Test Engine Operator
Well Logger
Well-Logging Captain, Mud Analysis
Well-Logging Operator, Mud Analysis


text:
The answer: I dunno, I was sort of invisible, seems unhelpful, so let me parse it out.
When I was an associate at a Philadelphia law firm, I started quilting as a hobby. I'm not a very good or prolific quilter, but then I wasn't a very good lawyer. Interestingly, I didn't feel like a lawyer when I was with lawyers, I felt like a quilter. And when I was with quilters, I felt like a lawyer. In other words, I always felt different.
A couple years later, I went to a national quilt show and conference in Paducah, Kentucky ("Quilt City"). I was in a class where the instructor asked us to go around the room, give our names, and say a bit about ourselves. Surrounded by quilters, I felt all lawyer-y...until two women on the other side identified themselves as lawyers. But I was still different: they were from California.
special snowflake there because we're all different. Sure, we're all writers, but writing is a solitary vocation: each of us writes unique stories, usually in a room by ourselves, and we're convinced no one will ever read them. You'd think since we share the same fears, we'd feel like a tribe and we do, but underneath the war paint, we're alone.
Or maybe I'm the only one who feels that way.
At the Romance Writers of America conference, there's a lot more solidarity. In fact, there are lots of tribes. Long-established published authors make up a tribe. Recently-established but bestselling authors: tribe. Authors of romantic suspense: tribe. Every chapter is a geographical tribe. Authors published by a specific publisher: tribe. Pretty young writers: tribe. And so forth.
I was inducted into a tribe this year: the 2012 finalists in the Golden Heart® contest, aka The Firebirds. We met up at a dinner on the Tuesday before the conference started, and we had official events together on Friday (when we got our certificates saying we were finalists) and Saturday (when the awards were given out). There was even a low-key pool party on Thursday evening.
I went to everything. Nonetheless, at the end of the week, people said, "Hey, where have you been? I haven't seen you."
Interesting. I'd somehow managed the art of invisibility from Tuesday night to Saturday night. It wasn't on purpose--I met up with long-standing friends and met new people too, I attended workshops, parties, and even the Annual General Meeting--but I'm just not good with groups.
Still, I was there, so let me tell you what I saw from beneath my Cloak of Invisibility:
- RWA, as an enterprise, is struggling to keep up with the implications of self-publishing. At the same time, it's trying to keep things like the RITA awards (which go to books published in the past calendar year) relevant to readers. All of this, plus more, came up at the Annual General Meeting, and the reverberations haven't died down yet, six weeks later.
- One of the bennies to being a Golden Heart finalist is you get to sit up front with Real Authors. I sat next to Jennifer Ashley (aka Allyson James), who was up for two RITAS in two different categories. She didn't win either, but like me, she had correctly predicted who would win in her categories!
- My favorite workshops are run by people who normally work with screenwriters. I don't know what it is, but they're awesome and I always learn a lot.
- Dominoes Rule OK: Because I went to a presentation last January at Stonecoast on how to adapt your novel into a screenplay and another one on what screenplay structures teach us, I decided to write a screenplay for my GH finalist manuscript, Blackjack & Moonlight. Because I'd written a screenplay, I joined Scriptscene, a scriptwriting chapter of RWA. Because I'd joined Scriptscene, I got to go to dinner with a bunch of its members, including LA Sartor. Because I sat across from LA Sartor, I got a referral to her editor...who's now my editor.
- I had not one but two hunky men with me for the awards dinner:
|Ross (aka Brit Hub 2.1), me, and Henry (Brit Hub 1.0)
How was yours?


text:
By Julie for the Pennsic Independent
Baron Garwig the boatbinder and his friends spend hours building a Viking ship with intricate detail only to burn it upon the waters of Cooper's Lake at each Pennsic.
The burning of the Viking fighting boat is "a celebration of lives shared and lost," Baron Garwig said. The event is "a tribute of respect and honor, and it involves a certain amount of sacrifice," he said.
Baron Garwig of the Kingdom of Ealdormere puts the boat together plank by plank, gluing one into place and waiting days for it dry before another piece can be added. In all, he spends about 60 to 80 hours building the boat. Sometimes he gets a little help as he did last year when he fell behind on the building. Lady Unnr came to his aid and built the boat, and Baron Garwig put on the finishing touches. Master Charles, a carver, creates an intricate figurehead for the boat each year.
People ask Baron Garwig why he would burn something that has taken so much effort, and that, he says, is the meaning of the sacrifice, putting in your best effort and sending them off to burn.
The boat launched Thursday evening just after a major rainstorm and included tributes to about a dozen loved ones. Usually the launch is on Saturday with some 80 tributes aboard, and this year's earlier date may have caught some people off guard, Baron Garwig said. The tributes are shields painted with the arms of a loved one who has passed. Sometimes there other mementos such as a picture or, in the case of a beloved pet, a part of a collar.
Thirteen candles are placed on the boat in cups of wax, with more wax shavings placed along the boat's bottom. In a brief ceremony usually attended by some 80 people, he reminds them that this is meant "not to mourn, but to honor; not in grief, but in loving memory."
He said the event is very emotional for those involved, that it is a giving up or release. It is "finally saying good-bye in a meaningful way," he said.
The boat is anchored by a fishing line and pulled out into the lake where it burns. The hull of the boat below the water does not burn, and it is brought back to shore and burned in a camp fire. The boat must be completely destroyed according to the tradition, Baron Garwig said.
Baron Garwig usually makes a 4 1/2 foot boat, but created a 6-foot craft this year. This year's dampness caused some problems. The group needed to retrieve and re-light the boat a second time and add wiring to bind some of the planks since the glue began to lose hold.
The event began about six years ago when reigning King Thorbjorn Osis and a woman, Lady Lauren, were killed in a car accident in the spring. Pennsic that year was very subdued for Ealdomere. At that time, Baron Garwig got the idea and built a crude boat in six days.
"The burning of the boat was such an emotional catharsis," he said. Kingdom members who had attended both funerals were still moved by the event. They were so touched, they told Baron Garwig that he could not stop, and so the tradition began.
Because the Pennsic event is based on the Viking tradition of burning a deceased's fighting boat, or drakkar, Baron Garwig's creation is a shallow draft boat only about four inches deep. This Viking design allowed the marauders to move swiftly over the sea, land in shallow water and jump right out to charge in before the local militia could organize, he said.
To the Viking, the boat was "greater than home," Baron Garwig said. In fact, when wintering in foreign lands, Vikings would build walls and use the boat as a roof.
Boat burnings were reserved for great chieftans, the actual owners of the boats. They sometimes were done with the boat being docked on land and being burned with the body on board. At other times, the boat was pushed out onto the water and burned with the body aboard. Vikings also were buried in their boats. Poorer Vikings would have boats built out of stones on their grave sites.
Anyone who would like to remember a loved one or even a pet may do so by contacting Baron Garwig next year at Pennsic. Those who wish to do so should paint a shield at least two days before the launch, giving it time to dry. The blank shields are free, but a $2 donation to Chirurgeons is suggested.


text:
There are two worlds of ringtones. There are the "this is my favorite song" ringtones and there are the "holy shit why didn't I think of that" ringtones. Music, pretty much by default, falls in the first category. The second category, that's harder to define.
And that's where you come in. What's the best, wittiest ringtone you've ever heard or used. I'm thinking sound effects, clever but not annoying pop culture references, you know, something that's not just dumb. You got any?
Image by Ricardo Verde Costa/Shutterstock


text: Stream Freak The Mighty – The Golden Age (LP) Published 10 months ago in September 27, 2019 By Boom Boom If you are looking for ransom I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. Related Articles


text:
Kids furniture setsModern Kids Furniture Sets | Italian Furniture
Kids furniture sets
Kids are, of course, the most important part of their parents' lives. Since children's well-being is their priority, providing them with a cosy, warm environment is very important, especially at home. We are sure that the furniture and decoration of the kids' room played a huge role in choosing and defining the looks of your house. We do really care about babies' spaces, and this section is all about furniture sets that may give an original and unique aspect to your child's room. Of course, it is important that a parent takes their child's preferences into consideration and try to furnish their room accordingly. This is why our furniture sets are made out of simple, very colourful materials. In fact, these products need to be convenient, safe, functional and engaging at the same time - and usually it is quite difficult to combine all these features in just one product.
Furniture sets are made of a variety of different items assembled to form the basic structure of your child's room. We do really think that, a part from the aesthetic value of these products, their strength is also their functionality and optimisation of space. They are usually made of a very spacious shelving system, modular wall units, smart transforming furniture, study desks, trundles and bunk beds, ergonomic chairs, wardrobes, convertible furniture sets. The choice of this items is very important because it will shape your child's views of the place where they should feel more comfortable and at ease, so we know you want to take this decision wisely. They will remember their childhood room for the rest of their lives as the place where they have probably spent most of their time, playing, studying, resting and so on. The main characteristic of these rooms, in fact, must be the fact that kids should feel at ease both concentrating to study and relaxing to play.
It is important that you get help from the best Italian professionals, who are experts in designing these kinds of structures and sets. Of course, it is also very important that the materials are the best quality. Natural wood and fabrics seem the best to accompany your kids' life, since they feature high durability and no harm for your children's health. Bright colours, which are perfect to keep your children in good spirits, are all provided thanks to water-based tints that are not toxic and hypoallergenic. The smallest details of furniture are processed on innovative equipment in conjunction with Italian artisans' manual work, and covered with a durable lacquer plant components that provide excellent smooth surfaces.
Defining the aspect and structure of your child's room is a very important moment of your life, so take a close look at all our sets and try to work out which is the best one for the needs and tastes of your child, comparing them also with the rest of the house. Our main suppliers are Clever, Corazzin and others. If you have any request or query about the available items, please tell us and we will be more than happy to help you out.