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In terms of assets Barclays' "S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures" ETN is among the leaders in volatility ETFs with around a billion dollars under management. I suspect it's also one of the leaders in investor confusion.
Although VIX is in its formal name VXX doesn't actually track the CBOE's VIX index with any degree of precision. In fact, it's not unusual for VXX and VIX to move in opposite directions for a day or two. VXX can't directly follow the VIX index because nobody has figured out a way to cost effectively make a market in the VIX index. The best that can be done is to invest in VIX futures—which tend to have a mind of their own.
VIX futures come in monthly series that expire the 3rd or 4th Wednesday morning of each month. The next VIX future series to expire is called the first or near month and its settlement value is determined by a special calculation that closely corresponds to the opening quote of the VIX index on expiration day. This is the only linkage between all the various series of VIX futures to the VIX index—a once a month synchronization point with the just expired future. It's much worse than a stopped clock—which is right twice a day.
Just holding contracts for one futures expiration month at a time would give VXX a variable maturity. To provide a constant maturity Barclays executes a daily roll of first and second-month contracts, gradually reducing the number of first-month contracts until they are all sold right before they expire. Barclays describes this process as providing a "constant weighted average maturity of one month."
This is really misleading.
The VIX index tracks "the market's expectation of 30-day volatility." It computes this using a weighted mix of options that are at least 24 days from expiration plus longer dated options.
When the near month VIX futures contract expires it closely matches the VIX index value—the 30-day estimate. But on that day VXX has 100% rolled over to the successor VIX futures contracts that have another 30 calendar days before they expire—so VXX is really providing a weighted maturity volatility expectation of 60 days, not 30.
A longer effective maturity would at least partially explain VXX's tendency to move about 50% of the VIX index daily moves on average. Longer term volatility expectations are less volatile.
To verify this analysis I created a spreadsheet that computes average maturity for VIX futures using linear interpolation/extrapolation of the futures prices. Since this does not require modeling the buying / selling of VIX futures contracts there are no distortions due to contract rolls.
The chart below shows the historical volatility (22 trading days) of the VIX index compared to the historical volatility of VXX and my synthesized mix of first and second month (M1/M2) VIX futures that I believe corresponds to a 60-day expectation of volatility.
My synthesized values match up well with VXX's actuals. It is interesting that VXX's huge contango costs don't show up in this chart. The average of VXX's historical volatility since January 2009 has been 58%—compared to 102% for VIX.
Next I shifted my synthesized mix of M1/M2 futures to closely match the true 30-day expectation of VIX.
My simulation uses a linear extrapolation of the VIX term structure, rather than an exponential match, so I expected extreme volatility events to be understated. But in quiet times the match between the VIX index and my true 30-day maturity mix of VIX futures is often quite good.
I think Barclays' stated "constant weighted average maturity of one month" is a month shy of reality, and I'd like to see that changed in their literature. This product is confusing enough without misstating the duration of its volatility expectation by a factor of two.


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Tone is extremely subjective online, as you well know and I don't think my tone is male bashing. I have a great deal of concern about what's going on with men folk. I have a son. I also have a daughter. This is important stuff Norm.
Again, this is seemingly a MAN problem. Should I not say that?

subset: commoncrawl


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Les Tambours de Feu (The Drums of Fire) are a group who fuse percussion, costume and pyrotechnics into a street performance. Creating a sense of ritual with an emphasis on the visible physicality of the performance. The effect, on the audience, is hypnotic, and uniting.
The group is a part of a Basque street-performance group called Deabrubeltzak


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YWCA of the U.S.A. Records: The Microfilmed Records
Browse Finding Aid:
- Overview
> Information on Use
Information on Use
Terms of Access and Use
Restrictions on access:
The records are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection with the following accesptions:
Portions of the physical papers are stored offsite. To access boxes 893-964 and 1061-1132, researchers must give two working days advance notice. Advanced notice is NOT required for other boxes.
Access to audiovisual materials may first require production of research copies.
Microfilm reels are currently closed for digitization..
Restrictions on use:
The YWCA of the USA retains copyright ownership of the records, but has authorized the Sophia Smith Collection to grant permission to publish reproductions or quotations from the records on its behalf.
Copyright to materials authored by persons other than YWCA staff may be owned by those individuals or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights for permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use."
Preferred Citation
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
YWCA of the U.S.A. Records, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
History of the Collection
The YWCA of the U.S.A. donated a portion of its records to the Sophia Smith Collection in 1964 and the remainder in 2002 and 2003.
Processing Information
Processed by Maida Goodwin, Amy Hague, Kara McClurken, Amanda Izzo, 2008 FY 07-08
Reel Lists and Record Groups
The YWCA microfilm reel list is divided into 3 (PDF) files:


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The Ellinwood Family, Clinton, Iowa
Rufus arrived late this afternoon! Ashley was so excited! She is reading everyone's entries and admiring all the cool key chains! He's sooo cute. Nikki isn't so sure of him though! I think he is glad to be back in the A/C; it's been really hot!
Today is Ashley's doctor appointment in Iowa City for her check up. It's a 2 hour drive so we are glad to have Rufus along! Everyone loved Rufus so much and thought this was such a great idea! I asked to see if we could put Ashley on the pump, and they feel she is too young. So I guess we will have to wait longer. Ashley found a key chain that she would like to add to Rufus!
Today we are going to Grandma's for supper! She always does so well in preparing Ashley's supper! Ashley had Rufus sitting at the table eating, too. I made sure he didn't get messy though.
The Clinton Herald stopped by to interview Ashley and Rufus. After all that was done, we decided to take Rufus to see our park and the Mississippi River.
Today we took Rufus shopping!
Ashley and Rufus are visiting her Dad's house today. They went bike riding and went for a walk. When they came back they were both really exhausted so I sent them to bed after Ashley had her bath.
Mom is really stressed out today. We haven't had any internet service for the last few days! We are getting ready to send Rufus off, so Ashley is outside showing him to all her friends before he leaves! We will miss you Rufus!
Ashley Ellinwood, age 7, dx'd 6/00, and Barb Johnson, mom
Ashley and Rufus
At the Mississippi River
Ashley gives Rufus his shot
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Rufus and Ruby, the bears with diabetes, is the creation of Carol Cramer, who owns the copyright to Rufus and Ruby. The graphics of Rufus are from Rufus Come Home, written by Kim Gosselin and illustrated by Terry Ravenelli, and are used by permission of the author.
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For many years, we've traveled to places around the world which intrigue us. Capturing photos, and always memories, this blog is our attempt to inspire others to pursue their dreams.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Sunday, March 18th, Hearing Returns
Greetings! I've received lots of well-wishes and inquiries about the hearing loss I suffered on our recent trip to Africa. I want to sincerely thank all of you for the love and concern you all have showed. The good news is that the visit to my doctor last week showed that Pat's suspicions were correct about my left ear. A giant goober of wax dissolved quickly at the hands of a talented nurse and the right set of solutions. The Serengeti dust reinforcing it didn't help either. And that's the conclusion as to why both ears were impacted. Standing like a human weathervane at the top front of the land rover we used in Kenya and Tanzania caused both ears to receive prolonged trauma to the ear canal. They just weren't used to that much direct wind and dust. And recover wasn't aided by the inflamed nasal passages caused by the cold I've been trying to get rid of for two weeks now. But I can tell you all that I'm hearing fine now. Yesterday, Pat and I attended the memorial service in Marin of a good friend of mine from college, and I actually heard every word well. Because most of us attending are getting on in years, and our voices are fading anyway, I was happy to be there fully. I learned a good lesson about the frailty of ears. And have an enormous appreciation of the difficulties experienced by those whose hearing weakens. Gregory
Posted by Gregory Fearon at 1:37 PM
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- March 20, 2012 at 6:16 PM
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BloodRayne was the creator behind Hexen:Edge of Chaos. He has been working privately on Grimm. Which is a venture into a game that let's go of regular FPS conventions and hack and slash conventions while it dips into platform type gameplay combined with weaponry that is only limited by the skill and timing of the player. Grimm aims to be a hardcore game for experienced players.
behind the scenes
Well, the final version has finally been released!
The next release should be a full commercial title and I hope to change lots of things before releasing that. It feels like it's all just starting now and I have some fresh inspiration for where I want to go with the title. I am really interested in adding a second gamestyle to the game, where the current style could be labelled 'Arcade', the other style would be a half/fledged RPG kind of thing. I have some ideas leaning to working with experience points based on combat style and I really, really, really, really want to adjust the weaponry so that it learns and adapts to the player's style. I think this is something new that has never been done in a game and can add a real fresh feeling to the game, as well as replay value.
What I'm thinking about is this, if the player is a button smasher (e.g. likes to repeatedly smash the attack button) then the Scythe will go into the 'quick attack' speciality where you can excel in button smashing. But if players use more controlled moves than new combos can be achieved that require greater and greater control, giving more and more experience points. The idea is just 'on the surface' now but I'm letting it roll in my head the following weeks to see where I can take it.
Behind the Scenes?
I've been thinking about doing a behind the scenes sort of thing for Grimm, going into some of the development, my working style etc... I'd be interested to know if there is interest in such a thing. I could start with either a blog type thing right here, or perhaps a real youtube 'Making Of' video. What do you guys and gals think?
While working on Grimm I always try to get inspired by playing the right music. Besides the tracks that Justin made for Grimm which I listen to each time I work on Grimm there was one album that's helped me in particular to focus while working. It's an album called 'Hello' from a band called StereoTopics. If you like good music to work to, with few lyrics and lots of relaxed instrumentals I definitely advice you to check it out here: Itunes.apple.com
With that I will leave you with a promise of posting a bit more blogs from here on in, and in turn hope that you will like to read them. If there are any particular aspects of Grimm that you would like me to dig into, for example 'Could you elaborate on the new clutter system that you created for Grimm' then let me know and I will make sure to post a blog about it.
With that I leave you until next time!
another golden blog
Best to hop over directly to the latest news!
Cliiicck > Moddb.com
Old news:
Last things! Added some batch files for easy configuration of the graphics options.
Been tweaking things here and there and am about to decide to keep the DarkWarrior enemies out of this release as I am simply unhappy with just about everything about them except for the model. Luckily there's only about 6 of those guys in the entire release so it's an easy last minute fix.
I'm taking a bit of a gamble in terms of the freshly added blood and gore.
I'm not sure how performance on lower end systems might end up so I have a quick patch ready to release if anything goes sour on that end that tones down the blood effects at the expense of visual quality. I'm not counting on any complaints in that regards but it's nice to be prepared and have a quick fix ready.
I also just edited the tutorials a bit and am in the first steps of re-creating them in the form of small video-tutorials and example walkthrough videos explaining some of the more advanced fighting and platforming techniques that you can use in Grimm.
Other than that I'm about to invest a nightly 6 hour session running through the game in all three difficulty modes as a final test so I have a small to-do list in the morning. Then it's time to package things up, finish writing up the readme file and twiddle thumbs while waiting for the release to go live.
So I'm off!
grimm has gone gold!
Grimm has gone gold: Moddb.com
Happy cause I fixed all the bugs, added the Challenge arena (of which a lot more will follow very soon as they are actually very little work to create).
I've packaged everything up and am ready for release day tomorrow.
Not much stuff worked on today.
Been fixing up some of the latter parts of Ramata, I feel details are missing on the walls but I'm not sure what to do to make it more interesting. I'm leaning toward extra detail layers, but meh... som extra static meshes might make it more lively as well.
I've laid out the groundwork for a new weapon, called a 'gunblade' which is basically a big sword with a gun attachment. This weapon will run on the same principle as most of the other weapons: Damage is dealt according to the timing by the player. The better the timing, the more damage is done.
More tomorrow!
igniting the fuse
Been working on implementing a new system today where 'stuff' gets to set 'stuff' on fire. The biggest ordeal I have is my principle of no SDK/source work, for the moment. And I should really start importing my base into a clean structure before I have too many Doom3 assets used in the mod.
The system is very simple, but pretty neat. I merely set a global if something is using a 'burning' attack. If so, it burns that something. Most of the 'somethings' in my maps that can burn are breakables, like barrels or wooden structures. I've been struggling with not breaking the continuity of the game by giving wood that burns a different look than other wood, but it starts feeling console-ish so I dished that.
The result of today's work can be found at the videos section.
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Hi there! The end of this week has been really sunny and warm here in Finland. Although I enjoy the amount of light we have I'm not too keen on the heat. But the warmer weathers make me think about autumn - yes, strange. Autumn marks the start of the schools and even though I never took anything for my teacher in the start of the school year I always had a little something for them in the end of the year. So nowadays when I go to a workshop, I also want to give a little something to the teacher. So that's the story behind these tags I created for 7 Dots Studio.
I attended some workshops in June in Turku and these tags went together with the presents I gave to the teachers. Using the 7 Dots Studio ready tags and die cuts the tags were done in no time!
I made two of the tags blue and two red and used Cold Country die cuts as the main images in the tags. The backgrounds have a stenciled pattern as well as stamped texture on it.
Wishing you a great weekend!
Wishing you a great weekend!
Materials from 7 Dots Studio:
Destination Unknown: Tags 12x12
Illumination: Clear Stamps 1
Destination Unknown: Line Elements Mask
7 Dots Studio coordinates from Um Wow Studio: Starry Night flair, Destiny flair


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During our contributor's adventure to the Swiss Performance/Swiss Moto Motorcycle Trade Show in Zurich he caught up with a local band of speed racers.
This February my wife Tricia and I attended the Swiss Performance / Swiss Moto Motorcycle Trade Show in Zurich, Switzerland as guests of event organizer and fellow land speed racer, Ruedi Steck. Our job description included a visit to Mount Santis, 2502 meters above sea level; so high up that in addition to spectacular views of the world famous Swiss Alps, you could literally see deep into Austria and Germany.
The Rhine Falls rushed beneath a manmade visitor platform, the thunderous drone and frothy overspray adding a sense of excitement for those brave enough to stand at arms reach and take it in. Conversely, a quiet walk through downtown Zurich with its quaint shops and sidewalk cafes, jutting church towers and emerald waters of the Limmat River gave way to massive Swiss banks, upscale jewelers and posh restaurants and coffee houses. Zurich is one of the richest cities in the world, and THE world's largest gold trading center. We had coffee, croissants and a fistful of Luxembourgers, these insanely good miniature macaroon pastries shaped like tiny hamburgers at Sprungli. We were lucky to leave with change from our 100 francs, but it was worth every cent – it was that good!
So where was I? Oh yes, the Swiss Performance / Swiss Moto Trade Show. Enclosed in a large mall-like setting were six floors of custom and exotic motorcycles, the latest offerings from major OEMs, scantily clad models posing for that
That's Ruedi in the black cap and a Suzuki representative on my other side. On the table next to us is Studer Vodka. Notice the shot glasses lined up with the Swiss Chocolate nuggets in the base of each.
perfect presentation and a stunt show that rivaled the best seen anywhere. There's great food, lots of drinks, amazing chocolates and cheese dishes ranging from the insanely delicious to the somewhat stinky that only a local or true adventurer could enjoy…
In additon to Ruedi's mastery of the trade show, he also put together a colorful ensemble of speed racers who join him annually at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Their inspiration came from the movie "The World's Fastest Indian," which drove them to travel across the globe to Bonneville in 2007 to compete on the infamous hallowed ground. Like many, once there a bond was formed, and they keep coming back.
Ruedi's Band of Gypsies includes: Hans Versfeld, industrial power support manufacturer, riding the naked muscle-bike Suzuki B-King; Fritz Egli, master frame builder, racer and bike designer riding a purpose-built Suzuki Hayabusa-powered sidecar; and Sven Traber, owner of Sven Cycles and builder and tuner of American V-Twins riding a 2035cc turbocharged V-Twin.
My new Swiss friends are a fun bunch. During the trade show we toasted OEM big wigs in suits while sipping vodka swirling in gold flakes with a Swiss Chocolate nugget finish. We drank Schnapps with vendors and wine with the President of Motorsports – all things I'm not accustomed to doing. In fact, I rarely drink during the day, but who was I to interfere with tradition.
It was there that Ruedi revealed to me his latest passion… a new streamliner in the works to challenge the ultimate two-wheel land speed record. Before I get too far into the future, let's first look at the recent past. Those with a discerning eye may have noticed Sam Wheeler's EZ Hook streamliner sporting the Swiss Performance insignia in recent years. At the end of 2007, Ruedi spoke with Sam and agreed to sponsor his effort for a couple of years while he better learned the ins and outs of motorcycle land speed racing at the highest level. His approach to conquering the top speed record runs parallel with Sam's: lightweight, efficient aerodynamics and a single high-output engine.
The "less is more" concept works for Sam, has worked numerous times for Jack Costella and a number of other successful builders, and should do Ruedi well. I have to admit, the era of Campos and Vesco with their multi-engine, oversized muscle-bikes – for lack of a better word – still has a certain appeal to me. Imagine the sound of Ross Brown's triple engine Yamaha screaming at full giddy-up when it finally reaches the Australian salt bed at Lake Gairdner. That's the beauty of our sport. If you can dream it, you can build it and race it. What works is determined by that little printout you get at the end of your run. Enough said…
So, just how good are the Swiss Performance racers? Every member of the team holds land speed records and comes back year after year to raise the bar. Fritz Egli, now in his 70s, set a sidecar record on a Hayabusa powered machine that he designed and built running over 206 mph! Sven Traber has multiple records in AMA and FIM classifications. His hand built V-Twin racer is one of many unique motorcycles designed and built at his factory, Sven
Cycles, just outside of Zurich. Hans Versfeld, the life of the party at the Swiss Performance / Swiss Moto trade show, the one who took me and Tricia to dizzying heights atop Mt. Santis, and who also made me dizzy with the constant flow of vodka, schnapps, wine and beer until the show closed its doors and the barkeeper cut him off, also holds a record of over 172 mph on his B King Suzuki.
This truly is a great bunch of guys. Perhaps the most serious of them, however, is Ruedi. He holds his share of motorcycle speed records, once competing onboard the rare Feuling W3, to his current machine, the omnipotent Hayabusa. For him it's been a learning curve to prepare him for bigger things on the horizon. I witnessed a scaled model of his new streamliner project which will be powered by a supercharged Hayabusa engine and will run on bio fuel derived from household garbage, which he claims is a Swiss specialty. He plans to begin testing of his new machine in 2012, and if things go as planned – and planning is Ruedi's forte – look to see the streamlined Swiss racer on the salt in 2013.
I for one will not want to miss it.
Enjoy the ride…


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Friday, April 22, 2011
Mini Scrapbook
9 comments:
- Katherines Corner said...
cute!Happy Friday,Happy Good Friday, Happy Earth Day, Happy Jelly Bean Day ( yes it's actually jelly bean day)Hugs from Katherine. P.S have you entered my giveaway?
- April 22, 2011 at 7:35 AM
- Sassy Sites! said...
You are the Sassy Top Spot for the week!! suprise! Come by and check it out! :)
Don't forget to enter the giveaways...
- April 22, 2011 at 8:33 AM
- Sassy Sites! said...
suRprise! haha! I forgot the R! :)
- April 22, 2011 at 8:34 AM
- bethanndodd said...
Adorable! Way to use what you already have. I should learn from you ;-)
- April 22, 2011 at 9:31 PM
- Flamenco92627 said...
Ooh, Lyndee, that is so pretty! It is so cheery. That is such a good idea; I have several LO kits that I just HAD to have and were perfect for THOSE pictures, then were promptly put on my shelf. Time to take those perfect kits and pictures and introduce them!
- April 22, 2011 at 11:09 PM
- Naturally Me Creations said...
Very cute. :) This is such a fun way to document special or fun occasions too. :)
- April 24, 2011 at 2:49 AM
- Nicole @ The Wonderful World of Wohler said...
I need to follow your lead! I bought a calendar kit about 2 years ago, started it then put it back in the box! Good luck with your goal of doing one a week! Thanks for sharing!
- April 24, 2011 at 10:49 PM
- Debbie @ OtRD said...
So cute, love it!
- April 27, 2011 at 8:20 AM
- Leanne said...
What a great idea to make one a week. It's so cute! Thanks for linking to Home Decor and Organizing Link Party.
- April 27, 2011 at 11:33 PM


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Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Great balls of fire...
I have two new paintings ready to go to our Open Studios Exhibtion in Harpenden on the 1st September (see post below). The Tree of Transformation came out of nowhere and painted itself while I had no idea what was going on. It just sort of grew. I don't know what you might see in it but I see worlds being re-formed and re-born, and it took me quite a while to realise the bird was going to be a Phoenix. Which is probably why it looks nothing like one. Luckily for me it has hardly any blue in it as blue is horrible to try to match for prints (which will be available very soon). I must remember to do more red and yellow paintings and save myself the agony of Cobalt Blue.
This is a larger version of a little painting that I've had for sometime, meaning to work it up into something proper. To save you craning upside down the words around the picture read:
The Seket boat, wherein is thy majesty, goeth forth with might, thy beams are upon all faces, thy rays of red and yellow cannot be known, and thy bright beams cannot be told.
It's from a very old translation of the Papyrus of Ani, from E.A Wallace Budge's 'Egyptian Religion'. I rather like it. 'Thy rays of red and yellow' (and no tricky Cobalt Blue).
3 comments:
- Teresa K said...
I really like the Tree of Transformation, and the quotes around the edge, reminding us that nothing stays the same. It's very appropriate right now . . . !
- 26 August 2009 at 21:26
- Sue W said...
It is, isn't it? Perhaps that's why I had to do this painting!
- 28 August 2009 at 13:47
- Lúthien Athariel said...
Hi, I came upon your name and work via an exhibit of Tolkien inspired art. Googling your name, the first image that I saw was the "Tree of Transformation" and then the "Sun Boat". They appeal to me, they have a strong mythical quality as CG Jung's drawings in "the Red Book".
- 16 March 2011 at 11:49
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Money can be such a horrible thing. Being a former accountant, I can say that for a fact. Without money, we cannot fund our dreams or desires. No money means no relaxation. And more likely than not, the jobs that pay more money do not necessarily equate to things we actually enjoy doing. But we choose these kinds of jobs because they're lucrative and they give us the financial safety net to hang above poverty and squalor. I highly doubt anyone is genuinely passionate about working in finance, engineering, and law; if you are, good for you. You have hit the jackpot of loving a job that pays well. Meanwhile, the jobs that are more fun, such as dancing, baking, or photography, they do not; in terms of viewing this from an economic standpoint, so many people want to do these kinds of jobs, meaning that the supply for dancers, bakers, and photographers is high, but our society only ever calls for so many, meaning that the demand will almost be nowhere near the supply. Because the supply is higher than the demand, these kinds of jobs are generally lower paying, if they exist at all. And it sucks.
I had recently met a young violoncellist whose passion was to be a famous musician. But he outright admits that he was studying a useless major; he majored in music at University of California, Los Angeles, and while the school is reputed, his major, not so much. And that is a similar issue I ran into when I wanted to become a pastry chef. I love to bake, and even after interning and working in pastry kitchens, I still love it. This is the job I could happily do, had it not been for the pay being complete garbage. I genuinely hate the fact that money is the one thing stopping me from pursuing my passion. But the question is, do I want to be rich or happy? While doing accounting will definitely not make me poor, I will be spending the limited years of my life doing something that I know I will not want to do for the rest of my life. Meanwhile, if I pursue pastry, then I will basically be dirt poor, but I will be spending my entire life doing something I want to do, even if it means being homeless or living in less than perfect conditions: by that, I mean not necessarily knowing where my next meal is, having to work long hours to the point of possibly not being able to have my own family, and on top of that all, living paycheck to paycheck.
The smartest thing to do would be to have a compromise or a balance here. Start in accounting and then move into pastry. But again, the trade off of knowing that I am selling years of my youth, my youth specifically meaning prime time for me to learn, grow, and explore living, to become an accountant so that I can be older, less energetic or enthusiastic, but well-off enough to become a pastry chef. But if I start as a pastry chef, work hard, and get lucky (which is highly unlikely and I cannot rely on that), I can quickly find myself becoming a culinary superstar, at the cost of all structure and stability (time-wise and financially) in my life. My entire existence will revolve around the restaurant and doing what I can to sustain it. That much pressure, it's getting me stressed thinking about it. Yet, I know that when I am on the line, cooking, none of that stress comes up again. It goes away as I am flying through the kitchen. In almost all of my internships, the chefs I have worked under have told me to never become a chef. But working in accounting, all of my older coworkers tell me that I should pursue what I am passionate about and that in one look, they know that I am not going to stay in accounting forever.
The obvious question now is what do I want to do? I am still struggling to determine if Food and Beverage or Accounting is the path I want to pursue right out of the gate. It is not like I am under-qualified in either, but I know that the trade-offs in both choices, there will be something that I will lose sleep over and would definitely regret. It is hard to live life knowing that there is an entire other hypothetical life that I am stepping away from with each choice, but that kind of thought process is what got me so depressed in the first place. I need to learn to commit to a choice, regardless of what that may be, and stick with it. I can never look back. I can never turn away from my decision. Commitment is the difference between a successful person and somebody who will never amount to anything. I need to commit to my choice, and thrive with it.


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Oh wow, I'm in Thailand. Leading up to the trip, the day of the trip, and mid-flight of my trip, people kept asking me if it hit me that I was flying around the world for a solo adventure. Well, no, not really. I kept thinking it would. Every time I went shopping for travel gear, I waited for that feeling. When I said goodbye to my family and boyfriend, I waited. When I said goodbye to my brother in Cali before boarding my international flight, I waited. When I landed in Krabi, I thought "this is it!" But still, no feelings were different other than exhaustion and "what the hell am I doing?" And then this happened, Koh Phi Phi.
Mostly known for its epic parties, blue waters, and Leonardo Decaprio's "The Beach," Koh Phi Phi is visited by swarms of people and scoffed by serious backpackers for being "too touristy." Not sure what I would think, I decided to book a 4 Island tour that would include all of the highlight of the area. In the end, after booking through 2 tour companies, both ended up being cancelled as they were overbooked. I literally was 20 minutes out from being picked up when a lady rushed into my hostel to refund my money (I was wildly impressed she took the time to find me). I was slightly bummed but decided to take it as a sign that maybe a speedboat tour wasn't a good idea. I walked across the street, booked a ferry ticket, and in 15 minutes I was on a ferry to the island. Two hours later, we pulled up to the island and are immediately dumped into a rat maze of stalls, bars, and cheap rooms for rent. There was no beach in site. After 20 minutes of wandering, I find "The Beach" (actually the party beach) which was mostly a pool of trash and super hot water with several people passed out. "Um, this can't be where I've seen so many epic pictures" I thought. Wandering back through the rat maze, I find a map and directions to another secluded beach about 30 minutes in the opposite direction. I literally hiked through a jungle and just when I thought I wouldn't see any fabled Phi Phi beaches, this popped out before me….
Yes!!! I literally threw my stuff down on a rock and jumped into the waters. All around me, schools of yellow fish swam. The water was so clear, no snorkel mask was needed. I had never seen anything like this before. Dorothy was definitely not in Kansas anymore. As I lay in the water, watching the blues turn to green and the long boats whizz by, I suddenly realized, "I'm in Thailand! This is what I've worked so hard for these last 3 years! OMG, I'm really here!" Best. Feeling. Ever.
Take Flight and Live!


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There are so many choices for kitchen countertops that the selection can be overwhelming. Laminate, natural stone, solid surface all have a plethora of options that can be combined to create a unique space. But there are some alternative not often considered that provide a completely different feel. While generally more expensive then granite (which has been dropping in price) they are also more environmentally made/mined.
Soap stone
– Soft and warm appearance and texture
– Non-porous, seal with mineral oil
– Will scratch but can be removed with sand paper
– Expensive
– Soft and warm appearance
– Sealed with mineral oil
– Resistant to heat and scratching but patched easily with polymer
– Can crack and chip; expensive
Paper stone
– Made of compressed recycled paper
– Popular for a number of years in Europe but came into Canada recently
– Abrasion and scratch resistant
– Only solid surface certified to FSC for 100% recycled counter


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The first time I made it, I was in love, and so was Gradon! He says my recipe is better than anything he's tasted in a restaurant. It's one of my favorite home-cooked meals because it's fast, incredibly flavorful and healthy too!
I like to serve it over a bed of whole grain spaghetti or penne, but you really don't need pasta. Just pair it with some fresh broccoli or a green salad if you'd like!
One serving is just 340 calories and 14 grams of fat. And it's all ready in about 30 minutes or so. Try this once and I guarantee it will become a go-to weeknight dinner that you can feel great about!
Skillet Chicken Parmesan
Nutritional Information: (1 Chicken Breast)
Nutritional Information: (1 Chicken Breast)
Calories: 340 | Carbs 13g (Sugar 1g) | Total Fat: 14g (Sat Fat 6g) | Protein: 39g | WW Points: 7
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp garlic salt
- 1 large egg
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1 lb)(If you have 2 large breasts, simply cut in half)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¾ cup marinara sauce
- ¾ cup low moisture, part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (buy in a block and shred it yourself, i'm begging you!)
Start out by shredding your mozzarella cheese. As mentioned in the ingredient list, please shred it yourself! I cannot stress enough how much better blocked cheese tastes and melts. Pre-shredded is okay in a pinch but is generally waxy and easily burnt. Try shredding it yourself once and you will never go back. It takes an extra minute and is infinitely worth it.
In a shallow bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano and garlic salt. In another shallow bowl, beat the egg until frothy.
Wrap the chicken breasts in plastic wrap and place on a cutting board. Pound each breast with a mallet/meat tenderizer to an even thickness (about ½ inch). Gradon always laughs when he sees me pounding chicken—it's a good way to get out your frustration!
Dip each chicken breast into the beaten egg to coat, and then roll in the breadcrumb mixture.
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, checking underneath the breasts after about 2 minutes to make sure they're not burning. Cook until well browned and just cooked through.
Spoon an equal amount of marinara on top of each breast. Sprinkle with your lovely mozzarella cheese on top and cover the pan, reducing the heat to low.
Cook for about 3 more minutes, or until the cheese melts. Mmmmm cheesy goodness awaits you!


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Gibbslet sagte …
I am The Gibbslets On Fanfiction.com If anyone wants to read my Tiva + Team story Breaking 12 feel free. Mehr tiva in the works! Posting 3 new storys today! gepostet Vor mehr als einem Jahr
|Mehr tiva fan fiction Umfrage >>
|Mehr tiva fan fiction Antwort >>
FanFiction everyone on this sitepage must off read/write them. A lot of Du will also know about fanfiction.net
Now what my plan is, to make a Liste with reall good tiva fanfictions so that Du do not have to search, because mostly fellow readers can point the best stories at you.
The idea is this, name the story+ the Autor in your Kommentar and I'll put it on the list, but please don't put your own in the comments, let's stay objective.
My girl - Angel-death-dealer
Disclaimer-I am not affiliated with Navy CIS oder CBS.
I do not have any part in creating in these characters, nor do I own them.
Anthony entered the building with less swagger and less spring in his step. Mondays were basically torture for him, it ended his weekend that was filled with bier and trödel, schrott, junk-e- food. As soon as he placed down his gear, Ziva started to snicker.
"What?" he snapped.
She looked up from her computer screen.
"None of your business." she retorted hatefully.
I am absolutely confident that there are lots of medical mistakes and the like. I am also fully aware that the police would've taken Tony's phone at the crime scene, but for the sake of the story, I'm asking Du to overlook it.
WARNING! Characters VERY OOC.
When the World Falls Down
This chapter takes place a very short while after the first.
Gibbs liked to work on his boot late at night. It gave him time to reflect on the latest case, remind himself that he made a difference in the...
Sorry for the oh so long break & oh so short chapter, but I think my Muse in back. The Weiter chapter is already in the works. Enjoy & don't be mad!
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, the characters oder any of the lyrics used.
Having phone sex? Laila Tov. Nesiah Tovah. I'm tired of pretending. I was just going to tussle your hair, sometimes it makes Du smile. For you. Why are Du here, Tony? I couldn't live without you…
Hope Du like it!
Navy CIS x Navy CIS x TIVA x TIVA x
Blank Canvas
Chapter One - I Can Hear the Sirens
Police sirens blaring. A cordoned off alleyway and paramedics jumping out of ambulances. Tony DiNozzo was just about to take a vacancy. With a shotgun wound to the stomach and multiple bruises to the head, chest and leg areas, it didn't look good. He had survived, against the odds, to live long enough for the krankenwagen to get there.
"Will I live through this?" he choked. He could barely breathe with all the tubes going down his...
ok heads up this is written from my I pod touch so it we be a little rough so be gentle I just had to write it before it was out of my head forever
All of a sudden when she thought that it was an all clear she heard a single shot Followed Von hearing her partners agonizing cry
She had never been so scared in her entire life ... oder so she thought seeing him being carried off on a gurney was way way worse
Upone her arrival to the hospital she ran in flashed her badge and sagte DiNozzo
At the sight of Tony she hurled herself into his arms. He gladly took he in and started shhing and rubbing her back when she started to cry again. He picked her up bridal style and walked to his bett laid her gently down and held her and he could've swore she was whispering "Tony, how could you?"
Ziva's pov
I woke up in his arms. The man I love. The man I won't dare datum because I am too afraid of what my father oder Gibbs will do to him. The man who risked his life saving me in Somalia. The man who I had just had a nightmare about dieing in my...
Tony gets off the elevator and sees her. She still didn't look good. It's been a week after Samalia and she still is being withdrawn, Schauspielen like someone is going to pop out of no where and drag her back there. Back to all the pain and torture. Tony knows that that is imposible but even if it wasn't it wouldn't happen. He wouldn't let it. He would not loose her again. He sighs as he gets to his schreibtisch and sinks in his chair. They had just finished a case and now it was time for paperwork. To his surprise his computer made a dinging sound signaling that he hd a new instant message. He opened up...
If Du give a girl a gun,
She'll want something to shoot.
So you'll have to get her a target.
While she's shooting, she'll remember her first mission.
She'll also start remembering her first partner,
And she'll want to find out how he's doing.
So you'll get a McProbie to hack into Mossad,
So she can find out where to send a letter.
As she's Schreiben the letter, she'll remember that time she killed a man with a pen.
|Mehr tiva fan fiction Artikel >>
I hope Du guys enjoy(: It's Tiva and McAbby. :D
|Mehr tiva fan fiction Links >>


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A dozen new black holes found in Milky Way's center
X-ray telescope data suggest thousands more are crammed into the galaxy's inner region
John Colosimo (colosimophotography.com)/ESO
The center of the Milky Way may be abuzz with black holes. For the first time, a dozen small black holes have been spotted within the inner region of the galaxy in an area spanning just a few light-years — and there could be thousands more.
Astrophysicist Charles Hailey of Columbia University and his colleagues spotted the black holes thanks to the holes' interactions with stars slowly spiraling inward, the team reports in Nature on April 4. Isolated black holes emit no light, but black holes stealing material from orbiting stars will heat that material until it emits X-rays.
In 12 years of telescope data from NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hailey and colleagues found 12 objects emitting the right X-ray energy to be black holes with stellar companions. Based on theoretical predictions of how many black holes are paired with stars, there should be up to 20,000 invisible solo black holes just in that small part of the galaxy.
Hide and seek
Scientists used the Chandra X-ray telescope to seek black holes (circled in blue) in the inner 3.26 light-years of the Milky Way (circled in yellow). The small red circles denote other objects that emit X-rays, like neutron stars or white dwarfs, that are found scattered around more of the galaxy.
The discovery follows decades of astronomers searching for small black holes in the galactic center, where a supermassive black hole lives (SN: 3/4/17, p. 8). Theory predicted that the galaxy should contain millions or even 100 million black holes overall, with a glut of black holes piled up near the center (SN: 9/16/17, p. 7). But none had been found.
"It was always kind of a mystery," Hailey says. "If there's so many that are supposed to be jammed into the central parsec [about 3.26 light-years], why haven't we seen any evidence?" Finding the 12 was "really hard," he admits.
It's unclear how the black holes got to the galaxy's center. Gravity could have tugged them toward the supermassive black hole. Or a new theory from Columbia astronomer Aleksey Generozov suggests black holes could be born in a disk around the supermassive black hole.
The researchers ruled out other objects emitting X-rays, such as neutron stars and white dwarfs, but acknowledged that up to half of the sources they found could be fast-spinning stellar corpses called millisecond pulsars rather than black holes. That could add to the debate over whether a mysterious excess in gamma rays at the galactic center is from pulsars or dark matter (SN: 12/23/17, p. 12).
"The theorists are going to have to slug it out and figure out what's going on," Hailey says.
C. Hailey et al. A density cusp of quiescent X-ray binaries in the central parsec of the galaxy. Nature. Published online April 4, 2018. doi:10.1038/nature25029.
A. Generozov et al. An overabundance of black hole X-ray binaries in the galactic center from tidal captures. arXiv:1804.01543. Posted April 10, 2018.
E. Conover. See a 360-degree visualization of the center of the Milky Way. Science News Online, January 12, 2018.
E. Conover. Excess antielectrons aren't from nearby dead stars, study says. Science News. Vol. 192, December 23, 2017, p. 12.
E. Conover. We share the Milky Way with 100 million black holes. Science News. Vol. 192, September 16, 2017, p. 7.
A. Yeager. Conditions right for stars, planets near Milky Way's supermassive black hole. Science News. Vol. 191, March 4, 2017, p. 8.
C. Crockett. Milky Way's black hole may hurl galactic spitballs our way. Science News. Vol. 191, February 4, 2017, p. 11.


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classic...feminine.....not gaudy.....just elegant...
This wonderful parure , is just beautifully designed and the workmanship is superior. This bracelet and clip earrings are a matched set, they have both emerald colored rhinestone chatons and pink aurora borealis chatons . Necklace measures 16 inches has an adjustable hook, for easy adjusting. The set is just the epitome of feminine charm set in a heavy goldtone metal plate it is tiered for depth .All stones are intact as well as original. excellent condition. Signed Florenza on the back.
This is a bit different for Florenza, being that it has an old Hollywood charm to it.
Bracelet measures 71/2 inches of wearable length, by 1 inch wide fold over clasp
Earrings are clips and measure 1 inch.
The set is just spectacular in person, very layered and tiered for a dazzling , elegant, feminine charm.
Unlike any Florenza set , this is just old Hollywood. Be ready for lot's of questions and tons of jealous women.
5 other shoppers are interested in this item
Old Hollywood Bling Be The Diva You Dream About When Only The Best Will Do.
Love It......Want It.......Put It In Layaway Make an Offer I cannot resist!!!
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USPS Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box
|Shipping to:
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text:
Tattoo is a modification of body which is done by printing a specific design with the help of ink which is penetrated below the skin. Some are temporary and some are permanent. Tattoos have captivated the minds of generation especially women around the globe. Tattoos not only look adorable but help to boost up the confidence of a person. Internet is a showcase to many extravagant collection of tattoos. You can have a glance on 45+ Beautifully Designed Tattoos for Women. You ll locate heterogeneity in designs.
No matter you are fascinated with name of god or the crown of Elizabeth queen, you ll nail it while attaining one which matches your state of mind. If you feel like enticed by the scenario of 3D effects which helps you retaining a particular event through out your life or the one you wish to sketch it all black and white to dispense the mourning wishes all around else the moon view en-captures the peace of your mind you can go for it. There are no bars to select the design and implement one. If you are a tattoo lover and find your self weak enough to take a step forward you still did not nail it.
Tattoos are the best platform to scout your creativity and present your thoughts to the world. Some girls come under the pressure of elders or their boss and don't affix a representation, stop inventing fears in your mind because nothing is amazing than having a tattoo which has led to your confidence and happiness. Be it neck, ears, back, thighs, legs, hands, wrist, shoulders select the placement of your comfort and give your mind the acceleration select one design from 45+ Beautifully Designed Tattoos for Women which is going to encapsulate your brain and promote you to be a better person in real.


text:
Just got engaged? CONGRATULATIONS! How does an engagement session on us sound? Read all guidelines and official rules on how to enter below. Don't forget to fill out and submit the form after you have completed all of the steps.
My first ever proposal just so happened to be AMAZING. Traveling 6 hours for a 30 minute ordeal sounded crazy, but I knew it would be so worth it. (I was right) Enjoy!
Baby Kaia was 9 days old and photographed like a dream. She didn't wake up but once and when she did she was just looking around trying to focus on something. Most likely the most laid back newborn session i've had to date.
I can't lie, after doing this shoot, I am completely in LOVE with milk baths! I have been eyeing them for a while now, but never really came across any milk baths with babies! Baby girl did incredible! I'm a proud momma. :) I used my wedding garter as her headband, last minute decision, but i'm obsessed.
I'll admit, posting the before picture is a bit embarrassing, but it's real. This room became the 'I don't know where to put this, so I'm going to put it in here' room. I knew that before I even attempted to turn it into my dream office, I would have to be 100% commited. 3 years living of in our home & two kids later, I finally (thankfully) reached the time in my life where I was ready to conquer this mess and transform it into a space that would be my sanctuary
Britnie + Michael maternity session.
Taco Family Halloween 2015 | Laraina Hase


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Thursday, March 13, 2008
Photos from Chris Martin
Click on picture to enlarge.
1. In this picture: Dixie Duggan, Steve Gilbert, Ken Wegg
2. In this picture: Bruce Tompkin, Ann Dickson, Colin O'Handly, Bruce Harvey
3. In this picture: Bob Brown, Kelly Johnson, Steve Gilbert, Mike Binns, Nick Ioannou, Jack Lauder, Don Steele
4. In this picture: Harry Abbey, John Badali
5. In this picture: Warren "Duffy" Dufton, Doug Jones, Doug Scott, Mark Grimes
13 comments:
- Anonymous said...
#5 Warren (duffy) Dufton
- March 13, 2008 at 3:46 PM
- Anonymous said...
#4 Harry Abbey and John Badali
- March 13, 2008 at 3:47 PM
- Anonymous said...
#3 Bob Brown, Steve Gilbert, Mike Binns, Nick Ioannou, Jack Lauder
- March 13, 2008 at 3:51 PM
- Anonymous said...
#1 Dixie Dugganm Steve Gilbert and Ken Wegg
- March 13, 2008 at 4:20 PM
- JimmyMac said...
Pic#3 Before they were Mr. & Mrs. they were Kelly Johnson and Stevie Gilbert. Together they had Jessee.
I miss Stevie...Alot!
- March 13, 2008 at 4:49 PM
- terri a said...
Here here Jim. I Didn't know Stevie as long as many, but he was such a good guy and a lot of fun. Nothing but respect. It's nice to see the pictures and the smiles.
- March 13, 2008 at 5:27 PM
- Anonymous said...
pic 3 Don Steele seated
- March 14, 2008 at 2:38 PM
- sandra conroy said...
picture #2 bruce tompkin to the left of the option booth, girl in striped dress ann dickson next to colin o'handly bruce harvey to the right of option booth on equity side
- March 14, 2008 at 9:53 PM
- Anonymous said...
When i think about it, I really don't remember Stevie without a smile on his face!
- March 17, 2008 at 1:16 PM
- JimmyMac said...
In Pic# 5 Doug Jones on far left and Doug Scott far right and a fuzzy Mark Grimes in the middle (booth). Who is that beside Duffy?
- March 18, 2008 at 12:04 AM
- Chris Martin said...
Pic #5 That's Russ Martin beside Duffy.
- March 21, 2008 at 4:31 AM
- Chris Martin said...
I think of Steve Gilbert almost every day. I'll never meet anyone like him again.
- March 21, 2008 at 4:41 AM
- jimmymac said...
Chris, I couldn't agree more with you about Stevie. We were lucky to have had him in our lives.
One of a great kind.
- March 22, 2008 at 1:11 PM


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Before starting the Navy Seal Workout candidates should know little information about Navy Seals and their responsibilities, because this information will be very helpful for those who are willing to become a navy seal. Initially they should know that it is most challenging jobs. Their duties and responsibilities may include,
- Their most important duty is that they should conduct insertions and extractions by Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) accomplish covert, operation missions and special warfare
- Then they should capture high-value terrorists all over the world
- They should collect information and intelligence through reconnaissance missions and should carry out direct action missions and small unit missions against military targets
There is no need of a college degree to become a Seal, but they should have good mental and physical fortitude that only few possess. Here they will be facing immense challenges and will be given constant training to earn success in their field and also they will be given a chance for leadership aspirations and officer role.
Working environment of Navy SEALS
Their environment is totally based on teamwork and adaptability. They will give training in all kinds of environments which includes rural areas, mountains, urban areas, desert, woodlands, and arctic conditions and even in the jungles. They have to operate knit Seal units which include task units like 32 men, for platoons, 16 men, for platoons, 8 men for squads, 4 men for teams and 2 men for swim buddy. This training process will prepare them for the extreme mental and physical challenges of Seal missions. Their preparation may consist of more than twelve months of initial training, basic underwater demolition, parachute jump school, seal buds school and SQT (SEAL QUALIFICATION TRAINING), followed by 18 months of pre deployment training and intensive specialized training. If they are well trained they can gain incredible physical shape and also a high range of determination, confidence and team work to achieve success in a combat circumstance.
How to become A SEAL?
Here are a few stages that every candidate should come across to become a seal
First, they should choose their seal rating
This stage can be called as a training stage where they involve Navy Seal Workout, here are few information regarding this training stage:
- Seal preparation course – 8 weeks, this gives them an intro about BUD/S techniques and performances, beginning and ending with PST (PHYSICAL SCREENING TEST)
- BUD/S orientation, course – 3 weeks, this introduces the people who have passed the Seal Preparation Course to the training facilities, training programs and instructors
- Phase I, physical conditioning – 7 weeks, which includes physical conditioning, they can study hydrographic surveys and charts and small boat seamanship
- Phase II, combat diving – 7 weeks, here they can learn closed and open circuit combat diving and also learn long distance underwater transit dives, medical skill training and basic dive medicine
- Phase III, land warfare – 7 weeks, which includes rappelling, military land and underwater explosives, weapon training, land navigation and small unit tactics
- Parachute jump school – 3 weeks
- Seal Qualification Training 26 weeks
- Opportunities for advanced training – graduation and navel special warfare Seal Classification.
This stage can be called as Advance training and placement stage those who completed this stage within training period of six months will be moved on to the next stage.
- Advanced medical training course – 6 months – SEAL Medic
- Individual specialty training course – 6 months
- Unit level training – 6 months
- Task group level training – 6 months
This stage can be called as deployment and combat operations stage. Mostly, deployment stage will last for six to eight months.


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Kumusta! today I will share to you how to start up and create your very first blog on blogger.com. I recommend this blogging platform for those who has no budget for hosting or for those who knows little or none about HTML or CSS, you can also earn money blogging through Google Adsense. But before we start I would like to share to you the Advantage and Disadvantage of blogger.com.
- Easy to use. If you have a google account, you can use it to log in into blogger.com, once you finished signing up you can start blogging right away!
- No need to install anything.
- Domain name is free. Although you can see a .blogspot.com in your domain name, it is still free. You can remove it later if you want.
- Very easy to post. If you are familiar with microsoft word or paint, then you will not have a hard time using blogger when posting articles, because it looks like the same. Its dashboard is user friendly and easy to use.
- One dashboard. All you need is one blogger.com account and you can create multiple blogs and you can manage them all in one dashboard.
- Blog theme is easy to change. If you can't design your own template, there are many sites that offer blogger templates, you can try them without cost.
- No special skills needed. You don't need to be techie savvy, but a little knowledge would definitely help.
- Google friendly.
- Limited flexibility. Compared to self hosted blogs like wordpress.org, your blogger has its limitation on terms of flexibility. Some blogger blogs almost looked the same because it has limitations on its design.
- You don't own your blog. Although you own your articles and posts, blogger.com is owned by Google. It is just like you are renting an office space that is not yours.
- Google can delete your blog anytime. If you violate some of their rules on using blogger, your blog can easily be deleted, and it sucks a lot! all of your hardwork could banish anytime if Google wants to.
- Blog name is long. Having ".blogspot.com" in your blog domain could be annoying. Most people are used to typing without a sub domain.
- SEO limitations. It could be, it could be not. Actually for me it depends on the blogger itself on how he markets on search engines. But blogger.com has no SEO plugins compared to wordpress. In blogger.com SEO is done manually.
Now we are done with the introduction lets begin creating a blog on blogger.com.
How to create a blog on blogger.com
1. Go to blogger.com. You can sign in using your Google account if you have one. If you have no Google account you should create one.
3. Now that you have a blog you can start posting articles. Design your blog some other time, you need to have at least 15 articles on your blog. And you are done!
If you have some questions about redesigning it you can comment below or visit my my articles about blogger tips, widgets, and tricks.
Happy blogging!


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Saturday, 31 December 2016
I am what I think, so
nothing like some light and beauty to start the new year! Another beautiful photo taken by Phil - some sort of grass I suspect, photograph taken on the Wainui coast.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd bought a new plant, well it exceeded my expectations and here it is -
and the view from the other side, a few weeks later -
I've mislaid the label and my h-a-h doesn't recognise it, so if anyone can help, I'd be grateful.
I haven't done much actual quilting but haven't forgotten the Venetian Dream quilt top needing a backing. I've reluctantly decided not to take on another pet cat at the moment, so this will probably be the backing -
I have continued to knit, mainly baby blankets of various sizes.
I enjoy doing them knitting from the corner; I was asked for the pattern at a recent meeting - cast on three stitches, first row: knit into the back of the first stitch, increase in the second stitch by knitting into the front and back, then knit into the back of the third stitch. Just keep on doing this, there will be one more stitch to knit on every row. When you decide it's large enough, repeat the row but decrease by knitting two together through the back of the second and third stitches until you end with only one!
'Wrong' side on the left; I used a plain colour and a variegated, doing two rows of each.
I've mentioned the bear before - he makes a handsome model!
The internet makes so many things easier for lazy people like me; I was able to order a treadmill, talk to the technician who wanted to know how tall I am and how much I weigh ?? he then arranged delivery so no excuses from me, took me some while to get accustomed to using it. I actually have friends who say they enjoy doing so but what I do enjoy is having it set up in the living room so I can watch my large TV - Netflicks your way to health, as my son put it.
I've enjoyed "Longmire" and "Shetland" and am now onto "White Collar" but while I'm on the treadmill I watch the last fifteen minutes of The Chase - a quiz programme I find quite entertaining, then it's the News - which I would happily ignore if I could..........
Saw something interesting on Longmire - true country-
I think it's about time I sorted through the music on my computer, I have it playing in the background and it makes me realise that's the music from way back, just listening to the words and realising they shaped my growth as a teenager, hmmm
A calm night on Wainui coast, at the beginning of December the same night that Phil took the first photograph. The mountains are in the South Island, probably Kaikoura - which name now resonates with us all.
I'll leave you with the thought that "I hope for the willingness to live this year in a way that will be gentle to myself....."
Thanks for reading my blog,
4 comments:
- Nancy J said...
I think your new plant is this
"Sisyrinchium striatum 'Aunt May' (v)
pale yellow-eyed grass " and I have it here, it multiplies and from one plant several years ago, I have hundreds. Beautiful scene from the coast, and lovely words to finish your post today. Lately mine are " Any day that you can put your feet on your own floor in the morning is a good day "....... Many Felicitations for the New Year, ( a word my dear friend Walter was so fond of writing in his letters to me)
- 31 December 2016 at 17:27
- Razzle Dazzle Quilter said...
I think your plant is a NZ iris. I've just started watching Longmire. Oh dear another addiction. What about "The Crown"? Fell into binge watching that!
- 1 January 2017 at 22:19
- Razzle Dazzle Quilter said...
Forgot to say, thanks for the blanket pattern. I think I could just about cope with that.
- 1 January 2017 at 22:20
- Liz B said...
Nice to see you back June! I've missed you.
- 14 January 2017 at 23:07


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Saturday, 4 August 2012
She is a special present for a little girl from her parents, her name is Kailani, so I have appropriately named this piece 'Kailani'.
It took me some time to obtain the skin tone to suit. The flower in her hair and the hibiscus down the sides is iridized glass, white with both pink and green hues. The time spent on this piece was well worth it.I was very happy with the result as was my client.
I have scaled down my markets this season due to family commitments. I will be at the Flemington Craft Market each month from September 2012 through to May 2013. I will also occasionally be at the Newport Substation Artists' Market.
Posted by Sue at 14:52 No comments:
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President Anne Hopkins will call the meeting to order.
President Anne Hopkins will address the Board and present the President's Report. She will ask Trustee James Stallings to serve as acting chair of the Board.
Acting Chair Stallings will open nominations for chair and vice chair of the Board.
Trustees will be provided with basic organizational operations of the Board.
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Arun Sudhaman 09 Apr 2011 // 11:00PM GMT
NEW YORK--Lisa Rosenberg has quit Porter-Novelli after 20 years for a new role as president of Euro RSCG PR North America.
Rosenberg departs Porter-Novelli after rising to become one of its key senior leaders - holding the roles of senior partner, director of the global brand marketing practice and New York managing director, while also sitting on the firm's global executive committee.
The appointment means that current Euro RSCG North America president Marian Salzman is to be promoted to CEO, with an additional brief to oversee healthcare agency Euro RSCG Life's global rollout.
Salzman confirmed the development when reached at home on Sunday night. Rosenberg's shift to Euro RSCG PR represents a reunion of sorts with Salzman, who departed Porter-Novelli in 2009.
One of North America's leading consumer PR practitioners, Rosenberg has led marketing programs for the likes of Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Reckitt Benckiser, Harman International and Johnson & Johnson. She was appointed as MD of Porter-Novelli's flagship New York office in 2008.
"When I think about where Euro is at this point - they are in growth mode and at a very different stage to where Porter Novelli is," said Rosenberg. "Euro is coming from a position where they are tiny and growing and they are very entrepreneurial - when I joined Porter it had that entrepreneurial spirit and edge."
"I feel like Euro is at a place where Porter was 20 years ago," added Rosenberg. "Over the years as Porter has grown, they have all the trappings of a really big global agency and all the pressures that come along with it. In some ways, when you are smaller you have the opportunity to be more nimble, and that's what I see at Euro."
Her arrival at Euro RSCG PR, later this month, comes after a year of significant top- and bottom-line growth at the North American operations of the Havas-owned firm.
Porter Novelli global president Julie Winskie said that Rosenberg's departure was "very amicable".
"In Q4 2010, we agreed to shift Lisa out of the NY MD role and that was public to all PN staff," said Winskie. "She had not yet fully moved into a new marketing role. We will name a NY MD this quarter as planned and will fill agency marketing needs with internal resources for now."


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In the Czech Republic, another attempt is being made to settle claims of churches for property that was nationalized after the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948. An agreement between a government committee and religious orders reached in 2007 (see prior posting) did not obtain sufficient votes in Parliament for its approval. According to the Prague Daily Monitor last week, now a government commission has proposed that 56% of the churches' former property (mainly fields, forests and ponds) be returned to them, and that they be compensated the equivalent of $3.55 billion (US) over periods of up to 30 years for the remaining land. These figures may be adjusted as it is determined what to do with property now in military areas.
In an article last Friday, the Prague Daily Monitor reported additionally that the Defense Ministry, as part of a plan to reduce the number of military training areas, is willing to return additional forest land plus 5 church buildings on property now held by the military. This would reduce the compensation for remaining lands to $3.43 billion. These proposals will become the basis of negotiations with the Czech Ecumenical Council of Churches. The goal of the settlement is to make churches financially independent. Currently they receive the equivalent of $9 million (US) from the government each year. The opposition Social Democratic Party has criticized the proposed settlement. It wants the settlement funds to go to a special foundation created by the government and managed by the churches.


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> From: Tantek Celik [SMTP:email@example.com] > > Presumably you refer specifically to v6 right? > [DJW:] I'm pretty sure he meant V4, given the nature of the particular bits of missing error recovery and the reference to the, proprietory, layers feature. I'm pretty sure that the table closing problem is actually the result of an extreme lack of strictness in the parser. My guess is that it is the result of tag soup parsing, where the </table> tag triggers the output of the table. A browser that parses the document would know that there was an open element, and might be reasonably expected to forcibly close it. (On the other hand, one that did this rigorously would terminate font earlier than expected on many real pages and be accused of being broken.) Tag soup means that the browser acts on each tag, rather than on the elements. > If you want to develop strict content, validate your content using the W3C > validator[1] from day 1. Every time you make major changes, validate > again. > [DJW:] That's the only safe way that you can check things like missing closing tags, or overlapped elements. However I'd note that you can also download the parser and DTDs and use them to validate pages locally. > Modern browsers (IE5+,Opera,NN6) from more than two manufacturers produce > the same or pretty much the same output from CSS-1 styling. > [DJW:] That's not really true of NS4, which makes it difficult to write CSS that degrades well for NS4, even though it will degrade well for non-CSS browsers. Moreover, the fact that all browsers start with very similar style sheets is not a requirement of CSS, but rather the result of commercial pressure to produce the same appearance as the page produces on IE. In the terms of CSS, you would need a fully specified style sheet to achieve that level of compatibility. The HTML concept requires that the HTML should read well for any sensible style sheet, although that is not the way HTML is normally designed. The point of style sheets was to separate the information on presentation from that which was necessary to convey the information content of the document. A browser should pass the conformance tests even if it displays paragraphs with an indented first line and no gap between paragraphs, unless text-indent and the relevant margins, etc. are explicitly specified. No new browser is likely to do this, as people would, wrongly, accuse it of being broken. -- --------------------------- DISCLAIMER --------------------------------- Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically states them to be the views of BTS.Received on Friday, 20 October 2000 14:14:00 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Wednesday, 7 January 2015 15:05:55 UTC


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|Message view
|« Date » · « Thread »
|« Date » · « Thread »
|"Bill Davidson (JIRA)" <j...@apache.org>
|[jira] Commented: (DBCP-301) maxOpenPreparedStatements needs a better default or at least better documentation.
|Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:31:59 GMT
[ https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/DBCP-301?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel&focusedCommentId=12769350#action_12769350 ] Bill Davidson commented on DBCP-301: ------------------------------------ Looks good. > maxOpenPreparedStatements needs a better default or at least better documentation. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Key: DBCP-301 > URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/DBCP-301 > Project: Commons Dbcp > Issue Type: Improvement > Affects Versions: 1.2.2 > Environment: Tomcat 6.0.20, Sun Java 1.6.0_16 > Reporter: Bill Davidson > > If you set poolPreparedStatements="true", it is important to set the maxOpenPreparedStatements to something reasonable. The default of unlimited is very likely to cause many applications to run out of cursors, since pooled PreparedStatement objects are not actually closed, which means they keep cursors open. I ran out of cursors because of this using Oracle. > I realize that setting the right default is problematic, and the best choice almost certainly varies with which DBMS is being used, how much memory it has available and the nature of the application. Perhaps better warnings in the documentation would make more sense. > The current configuration documentation for these options contains only this warning: > "NOTE - Make sure your connection has some resources left for the other statements." > That really doesn't make it clear that poolPreparedStatements is going to eat up all of your database cursors after a while if you keep connections open for very long (as you might if you have a very active system). > It would be nice to have some sort of warning there letting people know that using poolPreparedStatements but not setting an appropriate maxOpenPreparedStatements has a high probability of causing problems on busy systems. Maybe something like this: > NOTE - When setting poolPreparedStatements="true" it is highly recommended that you also set maxOpenPreparedStatements to a value appropriate to your DBMS and application. Pooled PreparedStatement objects are not closed, and so can keep to many database cursors open on busy systems which can consume all of your cursor resources. The optimal value of maxOpenPreparedStatements will depend upon your DBMS, the application, and your hardware resources but it must be set to something less than the maximum number of open cursors allowed on a Connection by your DBMS. > I'm sure that it could probably be worded better. I'm just trying to get the idea across. -- This message is automatically generated by JIRA. - You can reply to this email to add a comment to the issue online.
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text: The Geography Research Unit of the University of Oulu is highly acknowledged academic community that consist high international profile researchers and professors, research groups and vivid teaching programs. We produce Masters of Science (MSc) and Doctors of Philosophy (PhD) who place in good positions in both academic and other work life.The annual intake for the degree program in Geography is 35 new students. The total number of students in the degree programme is approximately 250 undergraduates and 30 postgraduates. There are also 30‒40 other students studying Geography as a minor subject. Teaching is based on the subjects of the research staff and performed by lectures, seminars, reading circles, book examinations, tutorials and field courses.The degree programs of Bachelor of Science and Master of Science are in Finnish. However, the Geography Research Unit offers over 20 courses in English for our exchange students from European (Erasmus) and other exchange programs.You will find more information about research and studies in our Unit from these pages… Welcome!


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IBM System x3200 M3 Tower Server
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|Microsoft® Windows Server 2008 STD, FE, R2/Microsoft Windows Server 2008 x64 STD, FE, DC/Windows® Small Business Server 2008, Red Hat Linux®, SUSE Linux
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|Serial Ports
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|1 or 3-year customer replaceable unit/onsite limited warranty


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This weekly column looks at classic video games both in how they looked back in the day and how they stand up today. Though scores will be assigned, our tough review standards will be relaxed a bit for these games to give a general overview instead.
All retro games come courtesy of Retro Games Plus, located at 1761 Post Road East in Westport, CT. If you're in the northeastern part of the United States, please give them a look.
As we've seen with the Diablo III and the predictable congestion issues the game is experiencing, as well as the general fan reaction, gaming fans tend to be an entitled lot. When they get what they want, it's usually about how it should have been better. When they don't get what they want, they flail with retard strength, pounding away at their keyboards with scattershot verbal attacks targeted at the developer, their employees, and anyone they've ever loved about what a travesty they've committed against mankind. It goes one step short of offering them a knife as a method of saying "kill yourself and save your dignity".
Sadly, it's oddly reminiscent of fan reaction to Chrono Cross when it came out.
Simply put, Chrono Cross was NOT CHRONO TRIGGER!!! Fans didn't want anything innovative, or inspired, or anything that wasn't a NEW CHRONO TRIGGER!!!. How a new Chrono Trigger would work, or whether it would make sense were never explained, but this was irrelevant for those that wanted MORE CHRONO TRIGGER!!! These fans were so insistent on MORE CHRONO TRIGGER!!! that they went and created their own, with a ROM of Crimson Echoes leaking to the internet last year, against the orders of Square Enix. Naturally, it's terrible, consisting of horrendous continuity breaks, inconsistent dialogue, plot holes one could drive the Epoch through, and generally fanfiction-quality writing, but for the truly zealous, it was at least MORE CHRONO TRIGGER!!!
It's a shame, because Chrono Cross was a great game by its own rights, the proverbial smart, responsible and yet only somewhat less attractive woman bypassed by a fanbase that kept trying to sleep with the supermodel. "I know I'm in there, man, she grinned at me last week!" With Chrono Trigger now in the history books, and Square Enix outright antagonizing their fanbase at this point, it's high time to look back on one of the most underappreciated games of the golden era of JRPGs and see if it stands up in 2012.
Chrono Cross
Original System: Sony PlayStation
Developer: Square Product Development Division 3
Publisher: SquareSoft
Original Release Date: August 15, 2000
HOW WAS IT THEN: Opinions on Chrono Cross in 2000 tended to depend on what people wanted out of the game. For those that wanted an innovative new RPG, they got what they wanted. For those that wanted MORE CHRONO TRIGGER!!!, they were sorely disappointed. The latter tended to be a vocal minority, but the former group was right.
The developers of Chrono Cross went for the fences in terms of developing things that hadn't been seen in the genre, and they connected on most of it. Chrono Cross's battle system focused on two key things: elements and stamina. Stamina was important to determine how many attacks, and the veracity of said attacks, someone could do in a turn, and if too much was used (bringing the combatant into negatives), that character took longer to recover. Meanwhile, elements could strengthen or weaken attacks for whoever exploited the system, friend or foe. While it didn't make every battle a thinking man's game, it did add an element beyond that of Final Fantasy's "mash attack until victory" battle system, and made boss battles particularly challenging. One key thing the developers tried was having statistic upgrades limited until boss battles were cleared, at which point another layer of stats could be added, replacing the standard experience-for-level system. It was an interesting decision that put the onus more on getting through the story and less on mindlessly grinding for levels.
Whereas Chrono Trigger had up to seven characters that could be recruited, all with their own intricate backstories for the player to flesh out, Chrono Cross has 45 of them, across different parallel universes where character A can even interact with his counterpart in world B. This is Chrono Cross's blessing and its curse. Unlike a game like Suikoden, which has alternative ways to flesh out even the less important characters, an awful lot of the characters in Cross feel disposable and unimportant. A lot of time was spent on the game's main story, but more characterization was needed, even if the variety added some spice to combat.
The innovations that Chrono Trigger brought to the table, such as viewable enemies, New Game+ and alternative endings, make their comeback in Cross. The endings, many of which couldn't be viewed outside of New Game+, added hours of replayability for a $50 game that was already long. Dedicated fans surely got their money's worth.
While it wasn't Chrono Trigger, more open-minded fans were treated to a good experience, provided they could overlook a few flaws.
HOW IS IT NOW: Cross is still a very good game with a lot of innovations, and though some of those innovations have become standard industry fare over the years, the game itself is still a quality play. However, some of the design decisions that worked so well over a decade ago are less positive nowadays.
The battle system definitely holds up. I personally don't mind a "mash X until victory" battle system so long as it's in a game that's balanced well; Grandia's amazing battle system can be a bigger pain in the neck when I just want to get somewhere without having to think too deeply about it. Cross does a good job of balancing a system that makes one think with some great ideas that can be used well, keeping things consistently fresh, especially considering the large roll call of characters. While random battles are largely routine, there's enough in here to keep people from falling asleep, at least.
The same can't be said for the story, which has so many nuances, parallels and assorted issues that it gets to Inception-level silliness at times. If I have to go to old message boards to try to interpret what's going on in my game's story, there's a problem, and the throwaway cast of playable characters, most of whom are not written with much effort, don't help things. Chrono Cross has the smell of a game that might have been a little ambitious in scope for its time, to the point where beancounters started urging for the game to see release.
As with most PlayStation-era 3D games, the graphics obviously don't stand up as well as those of its two-dimensional partner, but they do stand up better than some other games of the era, with a relatively minimal amount of pixelation and polygon tearing. It's not as gorgeous nowadays as it would be had it been either 2D or a PS2 game, but it holds up much better than, say, Final Fantasy VII or VIII. What DOES stand up, unquestionably, is the soundtrack, which is, in my personal opinion, the greatest ever. The brainchild of Yasunori Mitsuda, the talent behind the majority of Chrono Trigger's soundtrack (also considered one of the all-time greatest), Cross's heavily Celtic-inspired soundtrack is haunting, atmospheric, and gorgeously arranged, leaving the player with emotions that correspond with what's happening in the game. Outside of the game, the OST is one of my favourites to listen to, and inside of it, it's the greatest marriage of music to interactive entertainment I've ever witnessed.
Ironically, what was once a strength of Chrono Cross turns out to almost be a weakness in 2012: the New Game+ endings. Getting through Chrono Cross can take a long time, even with New Game+, and it's extremely time-consuming to get all of the endings, with the size and scope of this game making it a more arduous task than it was in Trigger. A dedicated gamer in 2000 saw this as admirable, but that same gamer, raised on today's games with today's selection, simply doesn't have the time, or is engaged in perpetual worlds like World of Warcraft, to be replaying the same game multiple times to check out alternatives.
Chrono Cross is about $15 online, with the black label version often going for slightly more. The game was also released on the PlayStation Network for the premium price of $9.99, which has helped drive down the cost of a physical copy significantly. It's definitely worth it, even accounting for the flaws, as there's hours of enjoyment to be had with Chrono Cross for RPG fans of all eras, even the most dogmatic Chrono Trigger supporter.


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A blog reborn! I've been working a lot of Latin animal proverbs which you can see at the Latin Via Proverbs blog... but along the way I keep running into proverbs that I like so much that I've decided to revive this blog after a very long sleep!
What I've decided to do is to choose a theme to explore each year. This year the theme will be learning and school, hoping to accumulate some words of wisdom for teachers and students alike. :-)