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Please come by and join our services.
We would love for you to worship
with us in spirit and in truth.
We are glad to have you as a visitor and hope you find a warm welcome. It has been my privilege for the last four decades to have been the pastor of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. A church that is a stronghold for "Old Time Religion" with emphasis upon spiritual worship and strong Bible preaching and teaching. A church with a mission and a ministry of exalting the Savior, expounding the scriptures, evangelizing the sinner and encouraging the saints.It is my prayer that all which is accomplished through the ministry here at Mt. Sinai might redound to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
Reverend Rudy W. Smith


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Jeffrey Moll on Amaro
Here's what I know about amaro: it's Italian, and Randolfi's master mixologist, Jeffrey Moll, likes loves it.
That's it.
I asked Moll to give me the run down on 5 of his favorite amari so I can add them to my bar and impress my friends, and now you can too. Or you could just go over to Randolfi's, pull up a seat at the bar, and learn something from the master himself. Plus, his name fall cocktail menu just arrived, and it is immense. [Randolfi's has since closed, but you can still find Jeffrey slangin' drinks around town]
Averna Amaro
Luxardo Amaro
Amaro Sibilia
Lazzaroni Amaro
Fernet Amaro

subset: commoncrawl


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|School and Program Information
|Online Program?
|GRE Requirements
|Time for Completion
|George Washington University
Online MPH, Online MHI, Online MHA
CEPH Accredited
|check_circle Online
|GRE Waivers Available
|As little as 12 months
|University of North Carolina
Online MPH
The University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health is an Accredited School of Public Health under the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).
|check_circle Online
|GRE, GMAT or MCAT scores required
|As few as 20 months
|Simmons College
Develop the methodological, leadership, and advocacy skills needed to address health inequity during our 21-month program.
|check_circle Online
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|As little as 2 years


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Solutions to this are all about balance. They can lower the pain by distributing their demand on the thumb across the entire hand. Some of this will be about changing habits, and some may well be about how to pull power from other places.
Reducing Rotation
The Rolf 'Line'
Superficial Facia
Fascia is Structural
Fascia is structural. Imagine being wrapped in a wetsuit of the finest fibers available. And it's alive! Growing and responding to your movements day by day your entire life. That's what's under your skin. What we call 'superficial fascia'. It's the 'bag' within which you live. (Yeah, I know, not pretty!) And it supports you. Sometimes .. it limits you.
Fascia has this nasty tendency to thicken and anchor. It does this in response to strain. So if some nasty bloke misses the ball and nails your shin with his cleats, you're lower leg's going to swell. Or if you happen to fall out of the saddle and get dragged by your favorite horse a few dozen meters, your ankle might just swell a bit.
So? 'That was years ago', you say. Well, yes. And to provide some support, your fascia thickened and created a sort of 'cuff' about that lower leg or ankle, just under the skin. Cool, isn't it?
Go ahead, feel around there a bit. If it feels a bit different from the other leg, then that fascial 'thickening' never dissolved out. 'Hmmm', you say. 'Could that be related to my twisting the same ankle again and again? .. or maybe even why I've got pain in that damn knee?'
Yes, possibly. The fascia is there to support you - in the face of poor posture, significant injury, and chronic pain. Yet those 'helpful' thickenings don't always melt away when we think they ought to. And their consequences can be far-reaching, say, from your right ankle to the cant of your head.
Time to begin noticing the 'held' patterns in your body. You can change them. Everything can change. You just need good tools and patience.
Adductor & Hamstring Injuries - Are They Related?
Another way to look at injuries to the adductor is that these are directly, physically linked to the hamstring, and likely have significant connective tissue connectivity. Investigation and repair for full recovery may require addressing both muscle groups. 'Incomplete' recovery suggests that fascial adhesions remain in either group or, more likely, across both groups.
Investigating Neck Alignment
Aggravated tension and related complications involving the neck and shoulders is frequently raised as a primary concern by people from as diverse backgrounds as office workers to athletes and across geographies as far reaching as the Americas and Southeast Asia. The concern is real and growing, and there are simple solutions available.
IUD Contraindications: Bodywork & Yoga
Neck: Hands-on Solutions
Q: What might be done to alleviate neck pain (recently diagnosed with cervical disc degenration)?
A: I see disc degeneration and arthritis as possible symptoms of excessive compression or uneven tension. So the first thing I investigate is where some slack can be found. Conceptually, the spine is simply a stack of blocks with cushions between them. Guy wires - the erector spinae - anchor in at the sacrum and run up on either side of the spine to tie in at the occiput, the base of the skull. Slack may be found anywhere along that stretch.


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Prompt SGIA 2016 Award
The introduction of the optic fiber connected, direct laser Computer-to-Screen system which dlp imaging corp. (dlpic), Ronkonkoma, NY demonstrated during this year's SGIA Expo in Las Vegas, NV could not have been more successful.
SGIA selected the fineLine directLaser! digital image setter powered by Lüscher Technologies for their 2016 Product of The Year award in the pre-press category. The recognition of dlpic's screen imaging system was based on unmatched features that have not been available for screen printing and provides new business opportunities for screen printers. Some of the outstanding and noteworthy details:
- range of available resolution of 2540 and 5080 dpi in the same machine
- selection and usage of the exact UV exposing energy in millijoules
- fastest exposing of Diazo based dual-cure emulsion types with white or yellow polyester or stainless steel mesh types
- fastest exposing of any type or thickness of capillary film with white or yellow polyester or stainless steel mesh types
- exposing of finest lines, angles and circles without sawtooth and line counts of >130 lpi
- exclusive warranties for equipment and laser diodes
- available demo center in Ohio for testing any mesh/emulsion combinations
The flatbed version of the fineLine directLaster! machine can process screens up to 59" x 57" and can be precisely custom-designed for any demanding screen printing application. Pixel sizes from 40 – 1.25 microns can be selected for line widths and type sizes not available in Computer-to-Screen technologies before. The machines can be configured with laser diodes in groups of 16 up to a maximum of 128 lasers. This machine images and exposes screens as well as UV litho plates.
Each optic fiber connected laser diode is covered by an industry-leading, 10,000 exposing hour warranty that offers 5 – 6 years of trouble-free machine operation. This unique reliability guarantee can be prolonged with an inexpensive annual insurance coverage for the life of the equipment offering the least expensive operating and ownership cost.
A fully operational demo center in Ohio is available for screen printing companies interested in imaging tests with their own screen/emulsion combinations. "TEST before you INVEST".
dlpic also released their brand new website "digitalscreenprinting.com".


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AFFILIATE clubs 2018-2019
Trent Accounting Society
Trent Accounting Society (TAS) is officially Affiliated with the TBSA!
TAS is committed to the goal of providing all students of Trent University, regardless of their specific degree, with the information regarding Accounting, and the Accounting Specialization. Their organization provides students with conference information, peer study groups, and the opportunity to interact with students and accountant professionals.
Get in touch with them via;
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
2019-2020 Academic Year
If you are a registered business club on the Peterborough campus and wish to affiliate, please complete the form below and submit to email@example.com in September 2019.
For more information refer to the TBSA's constitution or email email@example.com.


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AFRICAN DOOR BAULE Crocodile Africa Tribal Carving Statue
BAULE DOOR CrocodileAfricaIvory CoastTribal Carving Statue Baule people.
Ivory Coast (Cote D'Ivoire)
Date: Early Twentieth Century
This fine example of a Baule door most probably dates from the first half of the Twentieth century. The condition of the carving and
surface points to its being used as an interior door of a house pivoting on the two short posts carved into the top an bottom of the door. This quality of carving is rarely seen today reflecting a tradition rapidly in decline.
Doors such as this were considered prestige items and often were carriers of proverbs. The door is well carved with much attention to detail so prominent in Baule carving. This door, with its intertwined crocodile motif, is flat and is wired to hang on a wall, mounted on another door or mounted as a freestanding sculpture. This outstanding example of classic Baule carving would be a
centerpiece of a collection. Wonderful condition and shows some age use and insect holes and a lower left tribal repair {filled}. Measures 21" Wide and 59" High. Fantastic Old Baule Door.
~~~ ACCEPTED PAYMENTS: CASH, CHECK, POSTAL MONEY ORDER, Visa, Master Card, Paypal , I will email you with payment address to send checks or Money Orders, Cash. PLEASE !!! Local Pickup OR Email me for Shipping Options and Cost ~ Questions ~ International shipping Rates, Please Email Eric at email@example.com or Call 330- 434 -1010
Agestribalarts Gallery 194 Myrtle Place
Akron Ohio, 44303


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This page contains Videos of Drills, Exercises, Movement Patterns and Stretches used in the Golf Fitness Made Simple Classes by GolfGym and Ken Pierce.
In this video, I take golfers through an overview of the Golf Fitness Made Simple classes I teach. It begins with some simple warm up exercises/movement patterns that will help to get you ready for the first tee. Then we move into rotational stretches and movements to help you develop better shoulder rotation and the feeling of using the ground up for more power. Using Anti-Rotational drills with the GolfGym PowerSwing Trainer, we can develop the critical muscles used in the golf swing that will help to prevent injury to your spine. The stronger your stabilizing muscles are, the more protection you give to the spine including the lower back. In a One-Piece Takeaway drill you will feel the Pressure Shift in the golf swing to establish a more powerful base from which to swing more consistently in a controlled manner. One of the drills utilizes a core principle from the Tathata Golf teaching. Opening the chest from a golf posture that helps with rotation and posture. The tools used in the classes are: 1. An Alignment rod, 2. Your Driver, 3. The GolfGym PowerSwing Trainer, 4. The GolfGym Squeasy Ball. This video is packed with Simple Golf Specific drills and exercises to help every golfer get more flexible and strong in order to maintain Stability, Flexibility and Mobility in your Golf Game.


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Thank you from Syeda
Syeda and her children are from Myanmar, but fled to Bangladesh after her village was attacked.
Thanks to ShelterBox supporters, Syeda and her four children received the aid they needed to transition to their new life. Now Syeda is working for an international aid agency in Bangladesh, helping other Rohingya people who have lost everything after fleeing their homes.
The work Syeda is doing is invaluable
Learn more about where your aid is currently helping families recover from disaster and conflict.


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YouTube Gallery WordPress plugin allows you to display a single YouTube video on your site, and in this article we'll explain how to do it.
This is how you can do it:
Go to Source tab and set up one source group by clicking Add:
Next, Paste the video's YouTube URL into Sources field.
Go to Layout tab, Header section and set the option Show Header to off.
Go to Layout tab, Columns&Rows section and set one column and one row:
After that you just need to save the gallery and copy its shortcode into an area that supports WordPress shortcodes (for more information on WordPress shortcodes and how to use them, see https://elfsight.com/help/what-are-wordpress-shortcodes-and-how-do-i-use-them/).
Try YouTube Gallery for free
Check all features and find out the coolest look of the YouTube Gallery on your website.


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If you ever thought that Fifty Shades of Grey and Game of Thrones like shows could never take place in an Indian setting then you are wrong. Move on to the new Indian erotic web series, shows that you've never seen before.
So Let's Take A Look At Adult Bold Indian Web Series That You Must Watch Only If You're Above 18 Years!!
1. Twisted: Twisted is the second original web series by Vikram Bhatt. This series stars Nia Sharma in the lead role and is a romantic-thriller show. Many of our Indians think that Indians could not have extramarital affairs at their offices as it's an American concept, not Indian.
2. Maaya: Maaya is an original web series by renowned director Vikram Bhatt. Maaya web series created a storm on the social media. The sultry performance of Shama Sikander raised many eyebrows. It introduced the Indian audiences to the concept of BSDM.
3. Gandii Baat: It is an erotic web series produced under the brand of ALTBalaji. So far only four episodes have been released which already surprised the Indian audience. This Ekta Kapoor's erotic web series explores bizarre sexual theme stories from the various rural parts of India.


text: Epithelial mesothelioma : Mesothelioma Law Firm ASBESTOS LAWYERS : Car accident lawyers : Personal injury law firm is a kind of cancer, which is instigated because of direct contact with asbestos and it is also identified by the development and place of its cancerous cells. Epithelial mesothelioma cells contain a specific structure along with detectable nuclei. This is the most general different form of this kind of mesothelioma cancer and this one arises if malignant cells grow on any of the mesothelial linings. If seen under a microscope, these mesothelioma cells appear in the form of uniform size and Continue Reading →


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"Lord, what is your purpose for my life?
I have been roaming the land empty hearted for so long.
I have come to accept the truth, I am lost?
I have come to a fork in the road as I stand before you
Pleading for an answer that has been in my heart, Am I the One?"


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Welcome to Hazel Lodge
Hazel Lodge is a genuine solid wood Norwegian Log Cabin giving you the log cabin experience but with all the comforts of gas central heating and double glazing .
Hazel Lodge offers 2 x twin bedrooms, has a good sized shower room/wc with heated towel rack, galley fitted kitchen, an open plan living dining area with 32″ freeview tv. There are double doors opening onto a large south facing balcony with picnic table and an enclosed wrap around veranda with gate and outside lighting.
This cabin could accommodate an extra 2 guests as there is a sofa bed in the lounge.
Hazel Lodge is in the middle of 3 cabins with water approximately 25 paces behind the cabin for fishing and there is a large lockable storage area under the cabin, there is also 2 allocated parking spaces next to the cabin.
Hazel Lodge is situated in a lovely spot next to open meadows where the deer can be spotted coming to graze each evening.
Weekly Bookings Friday – Friday & Monday – Monday (7 Nights Stay)
Midweeks Bookings Monday – Friday (4 Night Stay)
Weekend Bookings Friday – Monday (3 Night Stay)
Wifi is available.
See photos of cabin below.


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Chocolate Mint Cake
Fudgy devil's food cake and semisweet chocolate leaves are the ideal contrast for cool mint buttercream.
- Yield: Makes about 17 1/2 cups batter
Source: Martha Stewart Weddings, Spring 2006
- 3 1/2 recipes Devil's Food Cake, baked in square pans
- 4 recipes Mint Buttercream
- 12 1/2 pounds rolled fondant, tinted pale green
- Chocolate Mint Leaves
Batter amounts and cooking times for 3-inch-deep square pans
4-INCH: 2 cups batter, 55 minutes; 8-INCH: 8 cups batter, 1 hour 45 minutes; 12-INCH: 20 cups batter, 1 hour 50 minutes; 16-INCH: 32 cups batter, 2 hours.
To assemble
Cut each cake horizontally into 5 even layers. Spread 4 layers with buttercream. Stack layers, placing plain layer on top. Thinly coat tiers with buttercream; chill. Smooth fondant onto tiers. Wrap with ribbons; secure with gumarabic. Decorate with chocolate leaves.
Filling, frosting, and fondant amounts for each tier
4-INCH: 1/4 cup buttercream per layer (1 1/2 cups total), 1 pound fondant; 8-INCH: 1 1/2 cups buttercream per layer (9 cups total), 2 1/2 pounds fondant; 12-INCH: 3 cups buttercream per layer (18 cups total), 3 pounds fondant; 16-INCH: 5 cups buttercream per layer (30 cups total), 6 pounds fondant.
Cook's Notes
Make this batter recipe 3 1/2 times for a 4-tiered cake. Bake 1 cake for each tier. The finished cake will serve about 225.


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Non-owned vehicles
Purpose Trusts and Foundations
In physics, it is known as escape speed, it is the speed needed to `break free` from the gravitational attraction of a massive body, without further propulsion.
In offshore world, it is known as `beneficiary-less` bank account, it is the option to `keep low`.
As the name `Purpose` suggests, it is clear that purpose Trusts and Foundations are created in favour of a specified purpose rather than individual human beneficiary or beneficiaries.
Purpose Trusts
Generally common law used to not recognize purpose Trusts established for purposes other than charitable purposes, such as for the relief of poverty, the advancement of religion, the advancement of education, or any other purposes beneficial to the community. English and other common law countries courts have over gone some changes over the years, and now permits for Trusts to be established for non-charitable purposes as well. However the main and real changes are mostly introduced offshore.
The greatest advantage of non-charitable purpose Trusts is clearly that there are no beneficiaries. Trustee will hold the legal ownership, while no one else will hold the beneficial ownership. So these types of vehicles are sort of a `non-owned vehicles`.
Lately non-charitable purpose Trusts have become somewhat popular, as such vehicles can lawfully be used for purposes like international project financing, securitisation transactions, off balance sheet transactions, holding of shares in family companies and many other purposes.
All in all law requires for the purpose to be substantive, such as, planting cherry tomatoes or oak trees, this way purpose is more substantive, nevertheless it doesn't begin to look like a beneficiary trust. Such purposes are substantive enough, but not charitable and such purposes are not concerned with the form that the funds take or how they are invested, but rather concerned with how they are to be applied. When more substantive purposes are chosen, such as, plating trees on a particular persons land (Re Bowes[1896]), or to provide recreation ground for the benefit of employees of a particular company (Re Denley´s Trust Deed [1969]), the Trust begins to look like a beneficiary trust, where the beneficiaries have rights to the benefits, which, perhaps, is not in the interests of the settlor.
Even though the rule for purpose Trusts that comes from common law procedures is somewhat strict, it is possible to flex it in regards to purposes being admitted lawful, bear in mind that offshore purpose Trust legislation was drafted with especially wide flexibility.
Purpose Foundations
There are rather similar functions and reasons for establishing a Foundation or a Trust, the difference is the legal structure. The main difference is that Trusts historically originate from common law countries, e.g., England, USA and India, therefore are mainly used by these countries. While Foundation is a product predominant and understandable by the Civil law countries, e.g., France, Germany, Russia, Spain.
Nowadays Foundations are being created as well in various common law jurisdictions, based on the demand for a multiple tax planning vehicles and different type of tools, in both common law and civil law countries.
Same way as Trusts law evolved in time, Foundation law evolved and Foundations can also be established for a non-charitable purpose. Foundations can be established for same purposes as Trusts, e.g., can be created to hold the shares of family company. Basically Foundation may pursue every purpose that is permitted by law and is not immoral. Foundation can be established for similar purposes, as well as created as pure family Foundations, which means that the funds of the Foundations can serve for the costs of child-rearing or education, the endowment or maintenance of members of one or more families or any other similar family interests.
Purpose of the Foundation is the core, the heart and soul of the Foundation itself, only through the purpose it can be determined how the assets have to be applied to serve its objects.
When establishing Foundation purpose has to be specifically identified, and it is same as with Trusts, the purpose has to be substantive, clear, certain and further the purpose has to be outward-related rather than self-serving. Internal or self-serving purposes are usually purposes, such as the preservation in value of its assets, such Foundations that only concern the form and administration of the assets and upkeep of the foundations existence.
All in all as long as the purpose is outward-related, benefiting some human beings, the purpose itself can be determined in a wide manner.
Purpose Trust and purpose Foundation are somewhat similar, but not same. Non-charitable purpose Trusts and Foundations have quiet specific as well as strict requirements in regards to the purposes that are being set. Mainly and most importantly, purpose Trusts or Foundations, which are non-charitable purpose, which have an end in themselves and cannot show that assets are beneficiary for some external benefit, are way more difficult to be saved.
How to enhance the formula
In order to add a degree of extra insulation, combination of vehicles is possible.
Thank you for reading my post! And you are welcome to leave comments, feedback, suggestions for other posts or contact me for more information.
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A More Personal Take on My Issues with The Evangelical Church
My last two posts covered some of my theological, and political, issues with the (white) Evangelical Church at least in the US. But, as I've been trying to – and this morning (March 17, 2019) succeeding – get myself back to attending church with at least some regularity, I got thinking about how at least one aspect of the Evangelical Church impacted me, and how I see it impact others. I'm specifically talking about the aspect that gives that portion of the church its name, and in many ways and for many years gave it its identity: its emphasis and and style of evangelism.
As I saw from both the outside and inside, the Evangelical Church, at least in the U.S. at its core is focused around the central ideas that the an individual is only saved if they hear about Christ's work on the cross, and then make a personal decision to accept that salvation; and that the primary job of any Christian who has been so saved is to attempt to reach out and bring that message to as many others as they can.
I grew up in the Presbyterian tradition, which in the mainstream Presbyterian denominations doesn't make a big deal about the exact nature of salvation. But many years ago when doing research on the various branches of the larger Presbyterian Church, I came across writings from an Orthodox Presbyterian Church that vehemently condemned the "Armenian Heresy," which is the belief that is core to American Evangelism. So, while it wasn't emphasized, my Christian upbringing in fact comes from a tradition that is separate from this idea.
With my eyes open to this, I can look at a traditional Presbyterian worship service, and see evidence that their beliefs tend more towards the idea that salvation is the work of God than anything of man's doing.
However, starting around the time I got engaged, I started attending various Evangelical churches. For the most part during this time, I had few major issues with the churches. However, one issue continued to bother me to a lesser or greater degree: the fact that while I had believed in God, in Christ, and in the fact that Christ had died for my sins, for as long as I could recall, I had never consciously made the decision to accept Christ in the Evangelical sense. At more than a few points, the pressure caused by being in this environment caused a feeling akin to guilt, which led me to fee that maybe my belief wasn't enough and that I needed to go ahead and say the salvation prayer. But, that didn't change anything – either relieving the guilt, nor creating the so-called sense of salvation peace.
Then there is the other part of this. The part I saw more clearly both before and after I was regularly attending Evangelical churches, but still saw at other times. The reverse effect of evangelism.
I've known many people who find much of the outward evangelism practiced in this country off-putting. This is true of both the personal evangelism from friends and strangers, and the general evangelism found in advertising and mass outreach.
Telling someone that they are going to be punished because of who they are, or because of what they do, or do not believe, is a very off-putting message to a lot of people. This is even more so to people who have studied disciplines such as science and engineering, so their minds are bent towards analytical thought. Then, the fact that many of the most aggressive purveyors of evangelistic outreach for decades have also been the ones who love to condemn the very people that they think they are trying to save – think Jack Chick and they group who used to show up with yellow signs at Comic-Con International telling us how anyone who reads comics was bound for hell – and you are creating an environment where evangelical outreach is driving people away from all kinds of Christian Churches.
So, between my personal issues where I found that being regularly put into a position of doubting my beliefs based on a model of salvation that I don't think I ever truly accepted as true, and knowing that that model of salvation was hurting the Church as God's (or at least one of God's) outreach to mankind by driving people away from it, I have to suspect that it was only a matter of time before I would reach a point where other factors would make me realize that I could not continue to worship or attend churches built around evangelism.
My Basic Problem with Evangelical Theology and Practices
What I'm writing here may bother some of my friends and family who are or have been part of Evangelical Churches, and still have that as the basis for their Christian theology. However, this is also key to things that have bothered me at varying levels for years. And, while the broad support for the Republican agenda and Trump as it shows more and more that it is not an agenda of love, but one of hate and greed that may have been the metaphorical straw that broke the camels back and has led me to want to have nothing to do with American Evangelicalism in any way, what I'm going to write about is a vast majority of what that metaphorical camel was already loaded with.
At least as I understand it, dating back to near the beginning of the protestant reformation, there have been two competing views of salvation that have split the Church.
In the most extreme version, one is the view that those who are going to be saved are elected or predestined and God knows who they are. Nothing that man can do will impact their salvation. In this view, the role of the Church is to be there for the saved who have heard the word of God as a place for learning and fellowship, and to provide opportunity for the saved who have not heard the word of God to hear it.
In the most extreme version, the other is the view that the only way to be saved is to explicitly and consciously accept God's salvation. And, unless one has made that explicit decision, and made it known to God, they are still unsaved and condemned. In this view, the role of the Church is to make sure that everyone everywhere hears this message, and as many people as possible make the decision and let God know.
The issue is that in the last twentieth and early twenty-first century, the American Evangelical Church, they practice the most extreme version of this second view. In their version of Christianity, one is only a Christian if they have at some point when they can recall, have made that decision and said some form of the magic prayer. Anyone else is condemned to some sort of eternal suffering – which might just be an existence disconnected from God, but that is bad enough (both in my view and theirs).
For someone who spent his first thirty-three years pretty much exclusively in Presbyterian churches, which come out of the first tradition, this was a continual thorn in my side. I never had that point because it wasn't a thing growing up. In my church, my whole denomination and faith tradition, the assumption for the most part was that if you were in the church and believed, you believed. You didn't have to know when you were "saved." You didn't have to have explicitly asked God for his gift, he gave it freely. Confessing sin was something we did regularly – it was part of most services, and something we were encouraged to do as part of our regular prayers.
But, as I look back on it, I see there is more to this idea, and a much worse aspect to it that bothers me, and bothers me more that I've been pushed to the point that I'm seeing so much of the American Evangelical movement as broken. I see this idea as a way that these institutions use to control people.
It starts with the message: "In order to be saved, you need to accept Christ's salvation by saying this prayer: …" But, soon it moves into "In order to be part of our church you need to believe …" This is where these organizations start changing people's beliefs. Soon, someone who was spiritually open and seeking, but had been a firm believer in something that the church didn't like (gay rights, abortion, immigration, Democratic politics, etc.) finds their spiritual needs being met in the church, and then feels like their other beliefs must have been wrong and starts changing them too.
And, given the way that the Evangelical Movement influences people into listening to other Evangelical voices over any non-Evangelical voices, it doesn't even have to be someone in a specific Church, or even someone who is explicitly speaking in a church role who can push that change in belief. I'm reasonably convinced that much of the Evangelical Movement's political power comes from, or at least starts from this ability to influence people.
On the other hand, Churches that work from the idea that salvation is mostly or entirely in God's hands, concentrate on equipping believers for living the life Christ called us to. This frees people to use their own facilities to decide many issues. Yet, quite possibly as a combination of the fact that these churches tend to see social justice (in, perhaps a slightly older sense of the term) as a major part of their mission, and the fact that many people who see themselves as Christian but are politically liberal are pushed away from Evangelical churches, these churches do tend to have a more liberal political bent in their membership.
Now, I confess I've not been to church regularly since the summer of 2016. This was for a number of reasons, but my complete loss of ability to associate with any church (or near-complete ability to associate with any other aspect) that is part of the Evangelical Movement has been part of it.
I suspect that if I could keep from oversleeping (badly) and make it to the church I grew up in, and the one my Mom still attends, at 11:00 am on Sundays, I'd actually be OK. The three sermons (albeit two were at memorial services – one very short at my Dad's, and one a bit longer at a long-time family friend's) I'ver heard there in the last couple of years have been very good. And I have family and family friends who attend there. It isn't the closest Presbyterian church, but it might be a good fit.
Issues and Concerns with the Theology and Practices of the American Evangelical Churches
For many of the last 18 years, I attended or was a member of churches that were part of or could be associated with the American Evangelical movement. For a lot of that time where I was both spiritually and politically may have kept me from noticing all of these issues and concerns that I now see, they are now very obvious to me. However, many of them bothered me even then.
At least for much of that time, the churches I was in were not overtly political most of the time. However, the fact that most or all of the visible and prominent leadership of the American Evangelical movement has seemingly shed the last of its Christian message for one of pure politics, and politics that are opposed to what I can support, and what I believe aligns with the teachings of Christ, I do not foresee my being a regular attendee or member of any church that is part of this movement anytime in the near future.
But politics is far from the only issue I have with the American Evangelical movement – or, I'll have to admit – the mostly English speaking, white dominated parts of the American Evangelical movement that I've been exposed to. The African/Black and Spanish speaking parts of the American Evangelical Church may have few or none of the features I object to, but I've not been exposed to them.
Life Report/Trip Report
When last I posted way at the other end of this surprisingly long February, I had a job, and a potential house. Since then, Tara and I have packed up, gone to a convention, moved across two and a half-states, and settled in at my parents' house until we can get our San Diego house sold.
We actually started packing in late January, with the delivery of a PODS container (hereafter referred to as a/the pod). It took some effort to get it loaded, largely due to a combination of lack of motivation, and never having the right things to put in it when we needed. In the end, I suspect it could have had more volume, but was probably about where it needs to be weight wise. At first, we intended to have the pod picked up while we were at Gallifrey One, but we were far enough behind that we postponed it until the following Tuesday.
Gallifrey One was nice, even if a combination of Tara having to go in for her last day of work in California, and trying to pack a few more things into the POD meant that we didn't get there until after nearly everything but evening programming was done on Friday. Comfortingly, most of the people I ran into up there didn't see any problem with us being at a con less than a week before we were supposed to move.
We knew that we'd need help with the move, so we arranged for Ace Relocation/Allied Van Lines to pack at least some of our stuff and ship everything that wasn't pre-loaded into the pod. However, when I was talking to the Ace agent, I probably overestimated the amount we'd have packed, so both our estimate and the work order were short. As it turns out, this was far from the only time where my communication skills failed.
On Tuesday February 16, the pod was picked up. While this was happening, Tara and I grabbed lunch and headed over to Poway to pick up a Cruise America 25′ RV that would be our home during the final packing and moving process. When we got back, we moved a few basics in – including Naga (who we wanted to have time to acclimate before adding the other cats). We also got as much packing as we could done.
Wednesday morning the packers arrived early, and proceeded to do exactly as little as they could based on what was in their work order. As a result, not even everything that we'd ask to be professionally packed was packed. When the truck and loaders arrived, none of us were happy. Given that Tara and I had crapped out on packing, we ended up contracting to have the loaders do a bunch of the packing (at a premium), which ended up taking the rest of the day Wednesday and into Thursday morning. Additionally, this resulted in having things packed that shouldn't have been – the worst being our mid-weight coats, and one of the cat carriers, specifically the more expensive soft one that Pabu needs to be in since she hurts herself on the bars of a regular one.
In retrospect, we should have gone ahead and had the pod picked up on Monday (or Friday), and had the packers there on Tuesday to pack everything.
As it worked out, Tara and I moved into the RV (parked outside our house, hooked up to an extension cord on a circuit that wasn't rated for the full 30 amps required) on Wednesday night, with Naga. This was the first (and so far only) time Naga has had us at night without other cats around. But, she didn't seem interested in snuggling – just making sandcastles in the middle of the night.
When we originally planned on using the RV, we figured that it would be easy and safe to put a tow dolly on it and pull Tara's car behind. However, the RV only has a 2,500 pound tow capacity, which Tara's fairly light car exceeds on its own. After a lot of back and forth, I finally it upon a solution during Wednesday night – Tara could fly back to San Diego in a week or so, and then drive her car back for about the same or less than the cost of the tow dolly. (After a few refinements, Tara improved on the plan to avoid having to stay with anyone in San Diego, and we reduced the cost by using frequent flyer points)
Given the layout and bed size of the RV, Tara and I ended up in separate beds. She took the bed that could be made out of the dinette, where I slept on the most permanent bed in the back (deciding that the over-cab bed would be better left to the cats). This worked out since it kept her from needing to climb over me (or visa-versa) at night, and us from being crowded into a bed that probably wouldn't have fit me anyway.
The rest of the cats joined on Thursday and managed to get along OK – albeit Naga and Pabu sometimes disagreed about who should snuggle with Tara at night, and none of them snuggled with me.
Late Thursday, we headed to drop Tara's car off with the friends who will be keeping an eye on it, and picking her up at the airport when she flies in. After that, we stopped at PetCo shortly before closing to get another soft-sided cat carrier, and, at Tara's suggestion, some training pads to put under the cats in their carriers; as both girls have been known to have accidents when traveling.
It was on Friday that I discovered more communications problems. First, I thought that we were good for the carpeting people to be in on Friday, but I needed to sign the work order. So, instead the carpeting was scheduled for Monday and we had to wait for the carpeting guy to drive over with the order to sign.
We did manage to get the cats secured into their carrier, and everything in the RV and my car ready to go on Friday. But, instead of the 10:30 or earlier I'd hoped for, it was nearly noon when Tara took the RV down to see The Kid, and I took a detour to sneak some of the stuff from the freezer and refrigerator that weren't worth cramming into the overflowing RV fridge to a dumpster, and then to see The Kid.
After leaving The Kid a bit before 1, I went to find a place to dump the electronics recycling off in El Cajon. The first place I had an address for turned out to be closed, but I found a second. However, the route to it was blocked by a major accident investigation, requiring detours both to get to the center, and then to get onto I-8 east after dropping stuff off. As a result, it was after 2:00 when we stopped for lunch – not in El Centro as I'd expected, or Yuma as my most optimistic plans had hoped, but at the Golden Acorn Casino about half-way between the Alpine and the descent into the Imperial Valley.
It was also at this lunch stop that we discovered that three of the four cats had managed to pee in their carriers, requiring us to replace their pads. This left us with too few to make it to Albuquerque on our original plan if the trend continued. So, after a stop near El Centro, I ran ahead to the PetSmart in Yuma to get more pads (and more toys since the one we got seemed to help calm the kitties in transit). I left word to have Tara meet me at the Pilot travel center towards the eastern edge of town.
However, my memory was very bad. The travel center I was thinking of was a Love's center not a Pilot, so Tara went right past it. However, she found another place to stop before leaving Yuma, and called me so that we could meet up. It was at this meeting that we determined that it wasn't a good idea to press on to Coolidge as it was already dark and we were already tired.
So, we located an RV park with an opening less than a mile away, and I drove the RV to the park and got set up for the night. I hooked up to shore power (for the first time in a real 30 amp circuit using the weird connector) and city water (not that we trusted it that much). I skipped hooking up the sewer line because the ground connection in the park looked about the same size as the hose we had, and I didn't think we had any sort of a coupler for that kind of connection.
Saturday morning, I decided that the trip to Coolidge was short enough that it was still worth our time to try to get preview night tickets to Comic-Con. However, this delayed our departure about an hour from when we could have left. However, I was also worried because the "black water" tank of the RV was already showing 2/3 full, and I wasn't sure we wanted to keep going with it that full. Still not believing I could use the local sewer, we ended up driving about 20 minutes back into Yuma to a gas station where we could dump. We waited another 20 or 30 minutes for the two RVs ahead of us to finish dumping before we could dump and hit the road. I let Tara run ahead, and stopped at an Albertson's to get a gallon of bottled water (I'd been unable to satisfy my nighttime thirsts for anything resembling a reasonable cost with what we could get at gas stations or convenience stores). I also grabbed some sandwich makings figuring that we wouldn't want to find a place to eat along the way (Yuma to Coolidge has a paucity of places to eat until one gets to the exit in Casa Grande for Coolidge).
I met up with Tara at the only open rest area along I-8 in Arizona not that long after she got there. However, it wasn't quite as open as it should have been: the bathrooms were closed. It was also hot. So, we had to fire up the generator in the RV to comfortably have lunch. When checking things at the rest stop, I discovered that the black water tank still showed 2/3 full.
After lunch, the trip to Coolidge was fairly uneventful (except for a detour due to the exit from Eastbound I-8 to Westbound I-10 in Casa Grande being closed.
We got to Coolidge, and parked into our spot at the RV park where Tara's parents spend their winters (in a "park model" RV, which is an RV in name only) mid to late afternoon. Tara's mom had made us dinner, so we had a nice supper and then turned in for the night.
On Saturday, since it was daylight when we parked, I went ahead and hooked up to the sewer system, opening both valves under the seemingly understandable assumption that that was the way to do it. Later, I read the fine manual tucked in a nearly hidden compartment in the RV, and discovered that in a park situation like we were in, they still wanted the valves closed until ready to dump.
Sunday morning, we slept a bit later than optimal, and still had to do a bit of packing before hitting the road. This was slowed down when Tara's mom insisted on feeding us before we left. I also chose to take advantage of the city water to attempt to flush whatever was causing the black water tank sensor to read wrong, which both added to our delay in leaving, and resulted in me nearly being trapped in a squatting position (not wanting to put my knee down in the rough gravel of the parking pad).
Since before leaving, I'd been debating the best route from Coolidge to Albuquerque. Google maps kept insisting that the fastest route was to take US-60 past Qumedo and then cut up to I-40. I'd been preferring the route up I-17 to I-40 – knowing that the route down south through Demming and Hatch was much longer (even if Google kept claiming it was an OK alternative). Finally, I (foolishly) decided that we should listen to Google's advice.
This turned out to be a mistake. First, there was a lot of construction around Superior Arizona, which slowed us down. Then, Tara was so worn out by the winding drive down into the Salt River Canyon. So, we switched vehicles, and I drove the RV up the less winding side of the Salt River Canyon. Even so, by the time I got to Show Low, I decided that staying on US 60 was not a good idea. So, I found the alternate route to I-40 at Holbrook (a short hop, albeit one that was a bet westerly).
One thing that did help was that on Sunday, Tara and I finally started taking advantage of the FRS radios we had with us. (I finally, well after the trip confirmed that we could have been legally using a GMRS band and power off of my recently renewed GMRS license – but I didn't know that then so our range was somewhat limited). As long as we were within, more or less, visual distance of one another, we could communicate without phone service or the dangers of driving (a 25′ RV) while trying to use a hand-held phone.
However, it was already getting dark by the time we hit the New Mexico border. I'd wanted to pull over at the rest area just inside of New Mexico, but they were closed (apparently for the night, as there were plenty of cars parked there, or just leaving, as we passed). So, Tara suggested the Cracker Barrell in Gallup instead.
We appreciated the meal, and the time off the road, but it further delayed us on an already delayed day.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, albeit dark; and for me driving what I came to think of as a behemoth a bit stressful. There was the side trip through Grants due to a badly labeled low bridge warning.
Upon arriving in the Albuquerque area, I followed family knowledge rather than Google and took Unser across the West Side. Even at night, this was an odd trip knowing that the stretch from Paradise to Irving should have been known as Lyons, should haven't gone passed either road, and the fire station on the west side of the road should have been a county station not a city station (or at least those were the condition when I last lived in Albuquerque and frequented Paradise Hills).
I also gave Tara the radio tour of some of the area – knowing that she was probably as tired as me, so having me make snide or tour guide remarks probably would be at least somewhat appreciated.
We got in late – after 10, and much later than I'd have anticipated or wanted. (The fact that the clock in the RV was still on Pacific time probably added to me thinking it was earlier than it actually was most of the afternoon).
Monday, we dropped the RV off, and then got signed into both of our storage units – the original 10×30 unit the relocation agent recommended over having the local Allied agent store our stuff, and the 10×10 unit I added to deal with the extra stuff that we ended up hauling due to the movers not getting it.
Tuesday, I borrowed my Dad's pickup and we took about half of the stuff we'd offloaded to the locker and put it away. On Wednesday and Thursday we took over a few more loads and continued to organize and recover.
Friday, the movers arrived with our main load. Due to the manager at the storage place finding an ideally placed unit, it took just two movers to unload and pack the unit (80% of the way from the back to the front, and all the way to the 15′ ceiling for much of that).
Yesterday, we took the last load up to the storage place (putting it in the large unit, since it was closer to the entrance and had room), as well as a few other errands.
Tomorrow, I start my new job – first with an online webinar with anyone else new to the contract, mostly at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, then by spending the afternoon at the badging office. On Tuesday, Tara flies to San Diego and starts heading back this way with her car.
Life Updates
For the few people who only see my updates from my blog (or LiveJournal which mirrors my blog), here are a couple of updates on my life:
1: I have a new job. I will be working at and for the Air Force Weapons Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base in (just south of) Albuquerque. I don't have a start date yet because they need to finish at least the preliminary security check. That is in process, but there is still at least one piece of paperwork that needs to be completed and sent back to the contractor I'll be working for – who are based in Huntsville Alabama.
2: Tara and I have an accepted, but contingent, offer in on a house in the Sandia Heights neighborhood in the Sandia foothills in far northeastern Albuquerque. We'll be moving to Albuquerque in a few weeks and living with my parents until we can close the sale of our house here.
3: Speaking of our house here in San Diego: it should be on the market about the time as when we leave town. We've got some minor fixes that need to be done and will be easier done on an empty house. We also believe that the house will show better without the cats in residence.
This morning, I was called into a meeting with my bosses boss. As soon as he asked for the meeting, I was pretty sure what the meeting was about, and I was right. I have been given a sixty day notice that my job is being eliminated. I am getting generous severance package, and Qualcomm is providing outplacement services which I plan on taking full advantage of.
I sent some more job applications out, before seeing advise from the outplacement agency not to start sending applications right away. However, I'll wait until I talk to them on Monday before doing anything more. But, I intend to be as aggressive as I can in looking until I find something.
My hope is that I'll be able to find something during the next sixty days that I can start in mid-December or early January. Obviously, I'd prefer something in San Diego, or possibly parts of Orange County where I can fairly easily commute from Rancho Bernardo. A job that could be 100% telecommuting would be the same as any job in San Diego. If I have to relocate, we'd probably prefer Albuquerque since there is family there, and we have contacts who have contacts who might know how to deal with The Kid – who would probably have to relocate with us, but not live with us. The Chicago area (at least as long as we could move back to the Bartlett/Hanover Park area) would be in play, as would Silicon Valley (provided the job was good enough to deal with the cost of living). I'd consider Seattle, but Tara is less sure since we'd be further from family.
I've started reducing expenses – suspended piano lessons, reduced the number of DVDs Netflix will deliver, dropped premium channels, canceling newspaper, etc.
There are a few other things I need to do soon. I need a new suit since my really nice suit fit about 100 pounds ago. I'm sure that there are a couple of others, but I cannot think of any.
I'd appreciate prayers/good thoughts. I'll accept any job leads that you want to provide (thank you already to Glenn and Susan – I've followed up on your leads already).
Musical Updates
For much of the year, and into last year, I have been (was) taking music lessons. First voice lessons and then piano lessons. Of the two, the voice lessons have been more successful. However, those ended in the spring when my instructor moved away and I've not resumed them with a new instructor – at least not yet.
I still have three piano lessons scheduled this month, but may put them on hiatus as well to let some other things calm down (mostly some house rearranging and minor remolding – replacing the flooring in two rooms as part of the rearrangement). Hopefully, once rearranged I'll be able to set up the keyboard in my new office without it taking up the whole room and may feel like I can practice and resume lessons.
But, overall, I'm thinking that singing is my strength. So, that is what I should focus on. I will need to go back to the songs I worked on when I had voice lessons and try them again – recording them and listening back so that I can be sure I'm still on key, pitch, etc.
But, I'd also like to expand my {word I cannot spell well enough to fix with spell check, that means list of works one is able to perform}. I've got a few songs that I have lyrics and accompaniment tracks for that I could work on. Obviously, most of these are mainstream songs – although thanks to a program that does an OK job at stripping vocals from sufficiently complex tracks (it fails miserably if the track is essentially mono) I have a couple of filk standards ("Mal's Song" and "Hope Eyrie") available.
However, I'm running into an odd problem. Having only recently discovered it, I'm finding Stan Rogers' "White Squall" a very inviting song to learn to sing. [It is a bit odd to think that someone from New Mexico enjoys songs about The Great Lakes, many of which are disaster songs – fictional or non-fictional. On the other hand, I spent many years in the Chicago area, and my dad's family comes from Grand Haven, Michigan]. But, karaoke-version.com doesn't have a version. Nor have I turned any up in my other searches. And, I cannot strip the version I (currently) have because it is from Apple Music making it a DRMed AA3 and the program needs a non-DRM MP3 to work.
Another thing I'm thinking I should try a bit is song writing. One idea I have is to take my grandfather's story about an ancestor who ended up working in Chicago (or Milwaukee) as an operating engineer for a hotel boiler; but would periodically swap jobs with a friend who worked a steamer crossing to Grand Haven. This song would fit well with "White Squall" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (another song I'm tempted to learn).
One other thing that I'm still tempted to do is pick up and learn (or refine to correct skills) a cajon and/or other hand drum. At least short-term, I think if (when) I start spending more time in filk circles these might be useful instruments. Longer run, these might also become what I'd be likely to use should I end up doing more formal performances; relying on either accompaniment tracks or (preferred) someone else providing accompaniment.
Brief 2015 Hugo Award Finalist Reviews
Note: This post was drafted back when I was actually reading through the various Hugo Award Finalists (and then voting on a category by category basis). It was hidden until after the awards were announced (or should have been announced – I'm counting on the ceremony to start on time and run less than two-and-a-half hours) as I'm part of the 2015 Hugo Awards subcommittee, and I don't want anyone to accuse me of stacking the deck.
I'll present the categories in the order I read (or otherwise finish consuming) them; and the works in the order I voted for them.
Best Short Story
At first, I was having a hard time liking this story. But, as it went on there was a good balance between ideas and action which makes it stand out in this category.
Again, at first I wasn't liking this story. It does drag the action out a bit – and it is almost entirely action, with just a few bits of history and a not quite out of context Bible quote. Having a short story drag its action is a bit of an accomplishment, but not a good one.
No Award
"A Single Samurai"
This story was all action and background. Now, that isn't necessary a bad thing, but in this case it resulted in a pretty boring story. Even if I didn't read a lot of short stories in 2014, if I'm this bored, it isn't a Hugo worthy work.
Asside: when I was regularly playing paper and pencil RPGs, I'd often find long, drawn out, combat boring, so I think that my standards aren't the same as others as to what makes a story boring.
"On a Spiritual Plain"
This story is short, and has one pretty good idea. But, the execution still results in a story that is almost all idea and little action. And the action that is there is pretty mundane.
"The Parliament of Beasts and Birds"
The part of me that likes when Christian ideas cross with science fiction really wanted to like this one – even if Wright's screeds about a TV Show predisposed me to dislike his stories. But it was just talking, and more talking, and even more talking. And the dialog, or I probably should say "Parliament," was all philosophy and at the end theology. Its last sin (a pretty ironic term in this case) was that from the beginning I pretty much knew where it was going to end.
Best Novelette
"The Triple Sun: A Golden Age Tale"
At first this story was kind of slow, but it was short enough that the initial slow action wasn't a big drawback. However, I did, mostly, solve the mystery well before the narrator. The fact that it is ranking first, tells me that this is a pretty weak field.
"The Day the World Turned Upside Down"
An interesting idea, and well executed. I think my main issue was dealing with the suspension of disbelief over the interesting idea. The juxtaposition of the narrator having his world both figuratively turned upside down by the loss of a long-time girlfriend, and then literally being turned upside down is its biggest strength.
I'll note that this story was translated from, I believe, Dutch. Yet the setting didn't feel either particularly European nor particularly American. I don't know how much of that is from the original, and how much is how the translator dealt with some of the descriptions.
No Award
"Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Earth to Alluvium"
Not a bad story, but I don't think it is Hugo worthy. The idea is interesting, but the execution ends up kind of dull.
"Championship B'tok"
This isn't a Novelette, this is an outline of the first part of a large series. After spending much of its time skimming over world building and character development, it just ends. It leaves character threads hanging, the main action hanging, and just about everything else hanging.
This one also gets special mention for being yet another case of abusing apostrophes to make a language alien.
"The Journeyman: In the Stone House"
This has a similar problem to the last one. Except being the beginning of an incomplete story, it is the middle of an incomplete story. Now, the prior story exists, which might help explaining some of what is going on.
But as a stand alone piece, all of the aspects of the story are left lacking. The worldbuilding is rushed through or implied (I'm guessing that this is a case of a world that has fallen back to being psuedo-medevil), and the main characters are more caricatures – broad outlines. The secondary characters are even less developed.
My Nominations
For reference, I nominated the following for Best Novelette:
- The Ghosts of Bourbon Street Seanan McGuire
- Stingers and Strangers Seanan McGuire
- Bury Me In Satin Seanan McGuire
- Snakes and Ladders Seanan McGuire
(Yes, they are all InCrypid stories by Seanan McGuire – but I nominated almost everything I read from last year, at least if it was good. And I really like these stories)
I'd probably still rank these above just about everything in the above category.
Best Novella
I enjoyed "Flow" a fair amount. It is a pretty straightforward explorer's story, with the protagonist learning about parts of his world beyond his original ken, and nearly getting into serious trouble
No Award
Yes, only one novella seemed Hugo Worthy to me.
One Bright Star to Guide Them By
This wasn't all that bad of a story. But, as I was reading it, I couldn't help by see Narnia shining through. This left me feeling off until a friend summed up what it was quite succinctly: "Bad Narnia Fan Fiction."
"The Plural of Helen of Troy"
This story was hard to follow – coming from a collection of shared-world stories (I gather based on the title of the collection it comes from). It is a mish-mash of alternate history, time travel, and paradoxes. But, instead of being intriguing as this could/should be, it was just confusing. The stories not-quite back-to-front ordering added to the problems, even if it was necessary to hide the outcome.
"Pale Realms of Shade"
I didn't finish this story, which means I probably should have left it off my ballot (but it is there at the time of writing). After reading a not insignificant part of the story, my feeling was that I needed to re-read (re-listen to) Seanan McGuire's Sparrow Hill Road (one of my Novel nominees) to wash the taste of it out of my brain.
Like the Rose Marshal ghost stories in Sparrow Hill Road, "Pale Realms of Shade" is a ghost story told, in first person, from the perspective of the ghost. In this case, it was combined with an attempt at a Noir feel and Celtic urban fantasy. Again, this resulted in a bit of a mish-mash that became unreadable.
Big Boys Don't Cry
I didn't finish this story either. But, it did do something very important for me: it convinced me that I don't like the type of military SF that is mostly combat.
Best Novel
Note, I didn't read the excerpt from Skin Game. Being part of a long-running series that (from what I understand) has a lot of continuity, I didn't feel that I could enjoy or judge the story. Also, at the time of this review, I was still reading The Goblin Emperor, but had read enough to make my judgements and cast my ballot. Plus, I was getting to where I was going to start seeing preliminary results in testing and wanted to minimize my influence.
The Goblin Emperor
I'm enjoying this story a lot. It is a coming of age story, with a lot of unique elements. On top of that, the author is doing a good job of revealing a world that is both unlike ours, and unlike your typical fantasy world – even if characters are referred to as "elves" and "goblins."
If I have any complaint, it is her odd use of older speech forms in the dialog, but not in the text nor the internal monologue.
The Three Body Problem
Again, a very enjoyable story. There is what I have to conclude is a definite flavor coming from the setting in modern China, but it also resonates with the parts of the world I'm more familiar with. If anything bothered me significantly, it was some possibly out-of-date information regarding nearby star systems.
The Dark Between the Stars
At first, I was liking this a fair amount. But, I quickly grew tired and quit listening for two reasons. First, the information carried over from the author's previous 7 book series in the same universe seemed to becoming something that was really needed to understand and follow the story. But, more importantly, the story quickly found itself in a "many lines, all waiting" situation. Having read (OK, listened to) about 1/3 of the story – around 18-20 chapters, I'd only seen 3 characters having more than one chapter as the PoV character. On top of that, most of the story lines appeared to be independent, with no indication of how or why they might be interconnected.
Ancillary Sword
I know Ancillary Justice was last year's Hugo Award winner. But, I couldn't get through the first chapter of the excerpt. Not only did there seem to be a lot of information from the first book that was needed to understand what was going on, it was sounding or feeling like the setup for yet another military SF drudge story.
Possible WSFS Proposals
First, a proposal I'm very tempted to tack onto B.1.4:
I move to amend B.1.4 by adding {somewhere} "provided that the Hugo Award Subcommittee of a Worldcon can elect to continue the previous process of counting nominations until one of the following conditions is met:
– A prior Worldcon has used the revised method.
– They have received and accepted (1) pusedo code, programming code, or mathematically rigorous formal specifications for the program to count the nominations, and (2) a set of sample data that contains sample nominations from at least 2/3 of the number of people to cast nominating ballots in the largest category over the last three years.
Second, some year in the future, I'm tempted to make the following motion:
I move to amend the WSFS constitution by making the following changes:
1.5.x: Members of the immediately preceding Worldcon, or the immediately following Worldcon shall be allowed to purchase a Hugo Award Nominating Membership for no more than a regular supporting membership, and for no more than $20.00 USD or the equivalent in local currency, adjusted upward by inflation as reported by the United States Department of Commerce. These memberships shall only grant the right to participate in Hugo Award Nominations, and shall grant no other rights.
3.7.1 The Worldcon Committee shall conduct a poll to select the nominees for the final Award voting. Each member of the administering Worldcon granted full voting rights,
the immediately preceding Worldcon, or the immediately following Worldcon as of January 31 of the current calendar yearand persons with Hugo nominating memberships shall be allowed to make…
My Radical Agenda
For a moment, let's pretend that I'm somehow made, simultaneously, into both the President and the entirety of congress, here are some of the radical ideas I'd have – which probably go to show how far reality has pushed me from my former libertarian-ish views.
- Progressive tax reform – reinstate the higher tax brackets starting at either $1,000,000.00 or $10,000,000.00 of income. Also adjust the corporate tax and capital gains taxes so that corporations are encouraged to invest long term and pay dividends rather than raise their stock prices.
- A "basics" package for all U.S. Citizens, including
- Basic education: PreK – College (4 years)
- Basic income, paid to all citizens over 16 who are not full time students
- Basic health insurance: no deductible, pays 80%-100% depending on purpose of visit, choice of appropriate provider (urgent care over ER), etc.
- Basic access to housing with water and heat.
- Massive investment in infrastructure – repair first then maybe a new WPA
- Plans to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. This should include fuels from what would otherwise be waste products, and fuels produced in non-agricultural areas.
- Reduction of military involvement in training and direct action in foreign countries. Retrain them to be ready to perform humanitarian missions, including rescues of persecuted groups.
- Ensure that the military has the equipment it needs – but only what it needs, not what congress decides it needs.
- A more open immigration system, and an expedited asylum system. Immigrant parents of US citizens should also get the basics package until their child is independant; by which time they should have had enough time to become naturalized citizens in their own right.


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There is a war going on in Pete's Dragon. Thankfully, and with much apparent pride on the part of the filmmakers, it is not between robot armies, drones, orcs or any of the other products of the zeros and ones that have made watching film spectacles such a bludgeoning experience for the past decade plus. This movie—essentially a boy and his dog tale where the dog is a furry green dragon—is cut from much gentler cloth than that.
Written by: David Lowery and Toby Halbrooks
No, the battle here is between the sincerity of the filmmakers' intentions and the cynicism driving the film's creation. Part of Disney's ongoing attempt to use CGI to make fresh meals out of the dustiest cans in its cupboard, Pete's Dragon is one of those movies that talks a lot about magic—Robert Redford, the grandfatherly narrator whose "by and by" bookends the film, says the word at last seven times—rather than effectively presenting it on screen. It functions on the mistaken idea that its genuinely kind heart and occasional cinematic flourish can make up for generally muddled characters who are supplied with the barest of motivations.
Which is not to say that Pete's Dragon doesn't do a lot of things right, starting with jettisoning everything from the 1977 original save the title and the boy with a dragon friend that occasionally turns invisible. (That film was a rather cynical attempt on Disney's part to keep the Mary Poppins gravy train running.) There are no songs, no comically inebriated lighthouse keepers named Lampie, and the action has been relocated from seaside Maine to a lumber town in the Pacific Northwest. Pete, a 10-year-old we first meet when his is about 4, is an orphan, the result of a car accident that dispatches his parents but leaves him largely unscathed. Wandering the forest primeval, Pete happens upon the title character, which he names Elliot after a lost puppy from his favorite picture book.
"Are you going to eat me?" asks Pete upon their first encounter. Except for occasional Rooby-Rooby-Roo-type vocalizations, the dragon doesn't talk, letting cuddling and free rides on his back signify its good intentions. But Pete raises a good question: What does this creature eat? We never see it munch on as much as a daisy despite engaging in such calorie burning activities as flying in and out of cloud cover and battling back interlopers. A small point, perhaps, but for the kind of magic that the movie is reaching for to manifest itself fully, the details matter.
The story involves the discovery of Pete by the family of a kindly forest ranger played by Bryce Dallas Howard and of Elliot by an ambitious logger played by Star Trek Beyond's Karl Urban, who seems to be doing a riff on Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. There is a lovely face-off in the half-light of twilight between Elliot and the loggers trying to capture him, which along with a thrilling chase of Pete through the mill town shows off the cinematic imagination of director David Lowery (Ain't Them Bodies Saints). Lowery also coaxes fine performances from his young actors, Oakes Fegley as Pete and Oona Laurence as Natalie, the girl who helps acclimate him to society by introducing him to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and long playing records. (They are among the many elements, along with cop cars straight out of The Blues Brothers, which suggest the modern day film's heart remains in the late '70s.)
But one does wish that the film's talented cast were given a bit more characterization on which to feast. The film also feels more interested in pushing through the machinations of its not terribly involving plot than developing the sense of wonder one craves in fables of this sort. Still, one cannot help but admire the sweetness of the film and the gentleness that is profoundly welcome following a summer of cinematic bombast. Nevertheless, while Pete's Dragon does manage to take flight and occasionally soar, like the overgrown golden retriever at its center, it just can't seem to stick the landing.


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Holiday Weekend Open House
Now thru every Friday and Saturday through Dec 22 2018 we are having Open Houses from 11 - 4pm. Stop by the gallery to shop the latest works for your loved ones. Fine art is an amazing gift that will be passed down from generation to generation. All our work can also be shipped right to your final destination for the holidays!


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Global equity markets went through volatile trading over the past fortnight with major Wall Street indices ending lower ahead of the United States non-farm payroll data, an important data point that could influence the timing of the Federal Reserve's next rate hike. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 32.7 points, or 0.6 percent, finishing at 5,306.85 on Thursday, while the S&P500 shed 16.4 points, closing at 2,160.88.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average took the biggest hit with 17 out of 30 components recording declines on Thursday. The employment report comes ahead of the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting on the first two days of November, a week before the United States presidential election on 8 November.
Asian indices, on the other hand, fared slightly better on the back of a further recovery in oil prices. Crude oil prices returned back above US$50 per barrel for the first time since late June after leaders of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to lower output for the first time in eight years.
The Hang Seng Index ended at 23,818.99 on Friday, adding 0.6 percent over the past two weeks. Though the Nikkei 225 staged a rally early this week edging close to 17,000, the index lost momentum on Friday, gaining 0.6 percent over the fortnight to finish at 16,860.09, as losses in the retail, construction and communication sectors led shares lower.
In the local scene, the Straits Times Index inched up 0.6 percent to end the week at 2,875.24 from its closing of 2,856.95 a fortnight ago. The benchmark index was lifted by blue chip gainers such as Keppel Corporation and Sembcorp Industries.
Join The Conversation
The Shares Investment editorial team welcomes constructive feedback on our coverage and content. We would also be delighted to answer any questions on the above article. Leave us a comment below, and we'll get back to you shortly!


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Watch movies & tv shows for free on Android device, Amazon Fire Stick, Fire TV, Nvidia Shield, etc. Beetv application also has a new and upcoming feature called modules these modules will allow the user to add extra features the the application, these modules can also be know as addons like in kodi let's hope this feature actually gets released for use and hope the features areas they are explained on their site also a link below to go to their site and check for any update on the modules function being added also i will be keeping an eye out for this feature also and updating here.
Downloads (Version 2.3.0)
Android: BeeTV-APK.apk
FireDL code: 246959
Filelinked code: 30837432
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While were were visiting family in Carefree, AZ (a suburb of Phx) we had the opportunity to spend our first Valentine's Day as a married couple at Binkley's. Owner/Chef Kevin Binkley trained under two fo teh most highly respected chefs in the US: Thomas Keller of the French Laundry and Patrick O'Connell of Inn at Little Washington. We often fail to make reservations. That's just the kind of kids were are. We fly by the seat of our pants and see where it takes us. To get a table at Binkley's is in a nutshell, hard. Speaking with some of the locals, you need to call weeks in advance to score a spot. But, there is a catch. They have a bar that seats 8. First come, first serve. So, we banked on eating at the bar, given that my in-laws lives mere moments away from the restaurant. I call and inquire about tables, just to see. And what do you know….there are 5 tables available…2 at 6:00 pm and 2 at 8:00 and 1 and 8:30. We choose the bar. Why? Because we didn't think that we were going to eat a big meal given the fact that we have been eating ourselves silly since the moment we landed in AZ. We just wanted to try a few things given the fact it's not often you get to eat food prepared by such an amazing chef. It's 7 o'clock when I call…there are 6 folks at the bar. She tells us to hurry…and that we do.
When we arrive, she is so excited to tell us that a very romantic table just became available outside by the fire (it's AZ…it's 65 degrees). She ensures that there are portable heaters and it's a great table. I'm thinking, "Score. Fancy fireside table for V-Day with the cheesemonger" and as soon as I finish my thought, I hear Si say, "Nah. We are good at the bar". Wha?? Fireside table…romance…real seats. But, alas…we are taken to the bar. You might be thinking at this point: Way to go Si…screwing up your first Valentines Day dinner with your gorgeous wife. Wrong. He made the most perfect choice.
The bar sits directly infront of the kitchen. Our seats were prime for chef watching. And when you are freaks about food like us…you can't get enough of this kind of thing. So, there we were, sitting at Binkley's by a wing and a prayer getting a front row seat to watch the action. Best Valentine's Day present ever!
Now, Binkley's works differently than other restaurants I've been to. There are servers, maitre d's (one being the sommelier), one bartender, a guy at the kitchen window, Chef Binkley and his kitchen of culinary minions. At first, I didn't really understand who was who…what type of system they used…but then as we got settled in…we figured it out. In the front of the house, there is one Maitre d'Hotel for each server (almost). The server is responsible for greeting you and taking your order. At Binkley's your meal is not confined by what you order. You are given 'tastes' throughout your meal. Small, bite-sized morsels of immense flavor and gastronomic uniqueness. Some are given to you on spoons, some are in shot glasses. As you read through the courses…you will understand what I mean. So, you have to understand how quickly and perfectly things must come out of this kitchen. The Maitre d's assist with this. As soon as an order/course/tasting is ready to go…they deliver. Oh, just writing this entry makes me yearn for another visit. It truly was an amazing place.
Now, the guy at the kitchen window is not just an ordinary expediter. From what we gathered, he is Chef Binkley's right hand man. Chef de Cuisine if you will. He is the man responsible for timing of all dishes. He is the one who calls orders to Chef Binkley(CB for short) when they are needed. He is a timing genius. He knows the menu like the back of his hand. Once this guy tells Chef Binkley what he needs, then Chef Binkley throws down the order to his kitchen brigade. Each plate is inspected by CB and then presented for service. In between these plated coming out of the kitchen, the Chef de Cuisine is also responsible for getting that evening's 'tastes' out to the patrons in between their courses. And that he does.
Each sever/Maitre d is responsible for delivery of courses and tastings and for removal of empty plates. Not once did we sit with an empty plate in front of us. Timing was impeccable at this place.
So, there were were, sitting at the helm of this amazing kitchen. As the bartender (our server as we were sitting at the bar) asked us what we wanted; we just looked at each other knowing the answer. "Just have the kitchen send out what they feel is appropriate for the evening." We chose the 6 course tasting menu. Now, given the fact that we were on the cusp of bustin out of our britches from the week's eating…we decided we would each get a bite of everything. CB would cook one BIG tasting menu and we would share (romantic, huh). And I am so very glad we did. All and all, we had 25 courses of food. At first, I found myself being a bit embarrassed that we were sharing. But CB put as at ease knowing full well that he was about to knock our socks off.
So, here we go. Each course is in chronological order from memory…so bear with me. I didn't write it down table side b/c I thought it would be to awkward. So as soon as we got home…we jotted it down. We shared the big plates of the tasting menu. We were given individual 'tastes' in between courses….no sharing there.
1. Duck Consume: a rich velvety duck consume served with sherry in a white porcelain espresso cup. Balanced flavors, robust and a wonderful taste to get you ready for the evening.
2 . De-constructed Calabrese: a sliver of ripe cherry tomato drizzled with a port reduction, topped with a miniature basil leaf, brioche crouton topped with a mozzarella cream sauce. All in one little bite. Yum. Summer in your mouth.
3: House made breads and sweet cream butter. Simon had the sourdough. I had the cranberry walnut. Bread and butter. Good.
4. A blue cheese 'puff' with candied walnut and and endive spoon. Served in a shot glass. A creamy, light as air puff of blue cheese, scooped up with the endive. The sweet crunch of the walnut was a fabulous accompaniment to the blue cheese.
5. Sous Vide Chicken, wrapped around baby carrot served with maple brown sugar foam. Served on a two pronged fork in a glass orb filled with the foam. Out comes the most perfectly cooked chicken I've ever had. One bite each.
6. Octopus served over a white wine gelee and garlic chip. To this day, Simon claims this was the most tender flavorful octopus he has ever tasted. Served on a Japanese soup spoon.
***A word of insight. Each bite was so flavorful, the thought of eating an entire meal out of it would render one in sensory overload. As the night progressed were were AMAZED at how much flavor one man could get in one bite of food. AMAZED!
7. Foie Gras Dippin' Dots with mango gel: It's exactly what you think it is. Small perfectly round balls of duck liver frozen in liquid nitrogen, topped with a few drops of the most pungently amazing mango gel. Again, one bite. Mango filled my mouth..then duck liver. Oh the humanity!!!!!!!!!
8. Lava Lamp Broth: a baked potato broth (it really tasted like a baked potato…seriously) spiked with diced jalapenos, tiny orbs of potato and chives presented in a double shot glass atop a LED coaster( the kind they give you at a restaurant when you are waiting for a table). When the glass was set on top of the coaster, it mimicked a lava lamp. Best lava lamp I ever tasted.
9. Palm hearts, pears, house made coppa, pistachios and balsamic glaze. Need I say more. This was our cold app for the tasting menu. Big plate.
10. Monk fish, mushrooms and polenta. I have never had such a tender piece of monkfish. The mushrooms didn't over power the fish and the polenta was a good choice for a starch. Fish course.
To Be Cont'd……(told you this was going to be a long post)
And at this point I might mention that I was having a lovely glass of big bodied Bordeaux and Si was drinking port. Yep, port. The food was so flavorful and rich that it worked amazingly well. CB was thrilled to see that port was chosen as his his dinner drink. Prior to that it was whiskey..again…the food was strong enough to hold up to that heavy of a drink. Despite running a kitchen and keeping everything perfectly timed, CB and his Chef de Cuisine continually spoke to us about each course. It was so much fun. sigh.


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I am going to tell you something that I haven't told very many people…
I recently had one of those trusted conversations. The "not many people know this" dialogue is precious. I realized, after we got off the phone, the moment of hearing my dear friend say "I want to tell you something…" prompted so many emotions. I was simultaneously excited, nervous, hopeful and full of love for my friend. In that millisecond I worried, "Oh no, I hope I react the right way." I like to think I inhaled deeply and listened. However, I probably just held my breath. Wanting to be sure I didn't shift the space of the conversation in anyway. Afraid that even a breath could take room from the words that needed to come out.
On the subject of holding space for the unknown, I recently listened to a podcast about mysticism. And I'm fascinated. As someone who believes there is a lot more going on around us than meets the eye, my interest in how to cultivate interactions with the wonder of the unexplained, and perhaps divine, is at the top of my intrigue list. My takeaway from The Liturgists' podcast is that sharing certain experiences can almost detract from some of the "magic" around them. It's interesting, in today's "how many likes" parade of posts, to think this way. That, for certain instances, a smaller "circle of knowing" actually adds the value vs. taking it away.
In this world of social media and a wide scattering of information, I visualize thousands and thousands of words zooming past me, like flying cars on a futuristic freeway. Then, in the conversations only meant for a few, I see a rowboat built for two on still water. The sun is lower in the sky and all feels calm. Like the conversation with my friend, a moment of being in true trust feels powerful. When someone has the courage to share and another holds space, this small interaction feels big—precious. It makes me want to remember other "rowboat" interactions on peaceful lakes and, hopefully, have more of them.
Can anyone else relate to experiencing power in one of these trusted conversations? Have you held space for someone and their secrets and felt something sacred in the midst? Feel free to share, or perhaps, embark on a rowboat conversation.
Your Brave Tutu (You're brave, too-too!)
-Take courage in delight. Discover power in small moments.


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First-Meds.net is an online drug store that claims to be an extremely popular one owing to the high prices of drugs and the need for a prescription at local pharmacies. This store seems to have liberated the customers from the pain of buying extremely expensive medications after presenting a valid prescription by offering them cheap generic alternatives. The website has mentioned nothing about its location or the year since it has existed online. There are a lot of categories of drugs available at First Meds which include heart diseases, antifungal medication, anti-allergies, blood pressure, anti-depressants, cholesterol lowering drugs, men's and women's health, birth control, hair loss, pain relief, weight loss, skin care and arthritis, to name a few. ED medications are also to be found at this store, and they are included as the bestsellers at First-Meds. I checked the prices of these medications and found that 100 mg of generic Viagra costs 3.8 US Dollars per pill, a price which is still quite expensive for a generic product. In addition to being offered individually, customers are also provided with certain trial packs that consist of a combination of ED drugs. First Meds have clearly stated on its website that the medicines provided here are approved by the FDA, hence, are completely safe to use.
The modes of payment accepted at First Meds include American Express, Visa credit card and E-checks. As far as the shipping services are concerned, customers have a choice between two. Airmail service takes 2 to 3 weeks to deliver the products and charges 10 US Dollars for it. For the customers residing in the United States, this service is known as US Postal Service. EMS Courier takes 3 to 8 working days only to deliver the parcel but costs 20 US Dollars for this purpose. For getting in touch with the customer care service, the US clients can contact at +1 760 284 3222, and the UK clients can call at + 4420 3286 3820. A form can also be submitted to the company for which the company sends a confirmation message too. Refunds or returns of products are not entertained as per the international rules.
First-meds.net Reviews
First-Meds.com seems to have received a whole bunch of reviews from the customers' side. Some of these reviews are discussed below.
Landon belonging to France has said that he got his products delivered on the step. The products available at First Meds were said to be "cheap" as compared to those in the local pharmacy.
Caleb living in Italy mentioned that his order arrived within "6 days". He said that he would "highly recommend" this drug store to everyone.
Lucas from the United States of America thanked the store for their "prompt delivery". He asked the store to "keep in contact" as he will require more "magic pills" ordered from First Meds.
Evan living in the USA also mentioned that he received his order within one week. He did not forget to mention the "extra 4" pills that the store granted him and Evan said that "they worked great".
Even though the customer response seems to be phenomenal about First-Meds, it must not be forgotten that these reviews are confined to the seller's own website only. Moreover, upon careful analysis, I also found that some of these reviews have in fact, been copied from different websites. Hence, I was not sure about the authenticity of this store anymore.
First-meds.net Reviews 2017
As First-Meds.net has not received any reviews in 2017, I had to check Scamadviser to confirm its authenticity.
Scamadviser has listed FirstMeds as a high-risk website. There is nothing known about the popularity of this drug store, and Scamadviser has given it a zero percent trust rating. All of this indicates that First Meds is a not a store that can be trusted for buying ED drugs.
Scamner has pointed out the pharmacy has a decent popularity, yet it has been given zero percent trust rating. It has also been mentioned by First-Meds that this domain is not safe for browsing or buying medications.
First-meds.net Coupon Codes
First-Meds.net has only one offer to make when it comes to checking the discounts of the store. The offer is about how to avail free shipping.
First Meds has mentioned that it will deliver the products without charging an extra dime if the client is willing to buy drugs worth more than 200 US Dollars. I must say that the discount section of FirstMeds has truly disappointed me.
First-Meds.net does not seem to be a trustworthy website. I was unable to find customer reviews regarding this store on independent forums which is quite suspicious. Moreover, the prices of the drugs offered here are high, and the pharmacy does not offer any discount offers for compensation. In short, First Meds has not provided me with a single reason why I should buy ED drugs from here or recommend it to others. I would like to conclude by giving this store a rating of 1 out of 5.
[the_ad_placement id="dontbuy-label"]


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Operations Manager - Great pub company - £55,000 - £60,000 plus HO perks
- Recruiter
- COREcruitment
- Location
- Hampshire
- Salary
- £55k - 60k per year + HO Perks
- Posted
- 17 May 2019
- Closes
- 17 Jun 2019
- Ref
- Contact
- Stuart Hills
- Function
- Head Office
Operations Manager – Great pub company - £55,000 - £60,000 plus HO perks
Title: Operations Manager
Salary: £55,000/£60,000 per annum + Bonus & company perks
Location: Wiltshire – Hampshire - Portsmouth, and surrounding
Want to be part of a fast-growing, branded pub company? Still known as a new-ish pub company!
This business is about building the team, growing your internal talent, its also but the bottom line but for them it's the people that are KEY for them to be successful!!
Do you have experience in quality, unbranded pubs?
A pub leader – on the hunt for new talent,
This is a great pub company, stable and in growth running some great pubs, across the UK, this company has lots of great benefits and some very talented people in their team and is currently going through some exciting times, growth plans are strong. Fantastic customer service and a people-focussed business. The company is full of people that love food and understand the pub world – Cultural fit is KEY! This business is fast-paced, you have to be able to move with the speed of the business and think on your feet!
The Operations Manager Role
As Operations Manager, you will be overseeing the General Managers, you will be responsible for 10/12 sites, including different concepts and formats, with the OD & MD supporting you. You will have experience in high quality food venues and have a strong operational background. You'll be working alongside the Operations Director on brand standards, maintenance, HR, training, individual site management, customer feedbacks and financial performances, full P&L accountability.
The Operations Manager Candidate
A proactive problem solver, I am looking for a passionate, inspirational hospitality leader who is looking to take that next step in their career. You must have that entrepreneurial flair, with an ideal mixture of having worked in both a structured, corporate business and a more independent-style business. You will be a food/wine/beer lover, with high standards and attention to detail but also fun, enthusiastic and hard working – a proven track record is key!
This role is about the right person, having a passion for internal growth, being able to prove this at interview and selection process! P&L awareness is needed but they are looking for someone that is people focussed!!
If you are keen to discuss the details further, please apply today or send your cv to email@example.com
Get social…….
Tweet us @COREcruitment