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vision's fickle centre, peripheral flicker, denter
All Day Event
205 8 Ave SWwww.truck.ca
vision's fickle centre, peripheral flicker, dentervision's fickle centre, peripheral flicker, denter runs December 6 January 31, 2017 in the TRUCK Contemporary Art +15 Window Space at Arts Commons (205 8 Ave SW).
Closing Reception January 18, 2018 @ 6PM. The reception will continue with drinks and snacks at The Palomino Smokehouse and Social Club (109 7 Ave SW) from 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM.
About the exhibition:
The silhouette of an ashtray left on construction paper, its colour bled by the sun. A divot or flattening, as the indentations left in carpet by loveseat legs or the settling of earth upon an interred thing. An actions afterimage treads softly but exerts real force, connecting and repelling bodies and objects across time, throughout space. Not quite the whole thing, maybe... the hole left by the thing?
About the artist:
Brett Bonk is invested in developing a highly specialized queer methodology. Equal parts plastic, pantyhose and perpetual instability, she organizes constellations of materials which orbit the viewer, only slightly sideways. Currently living and working in Calgary, Brett received her BFA in Painting from the Alberta College of Art + Design in 2017.
Festivals & Fanfare
Strong and FreeNovember 9, 2017
Stand Strong and Free as you strike your best superhero pose with Bankers Hall in celebration of Can... Read More
05:00 pm - 05:00 pm
+15 North Bridge, Bankers Hall
Art & Galleries
Autumn Colour; solo exhibition by William DumaNovember 9, 2017
Opening reception: Saturday October 28th from 2-5PM: Live jazz and artist in attendance. Discover a... Read More
05:00 pm - 05:00 pm
Wallace Galleries - 500 5th Ave SW, Calgary
Lecture & Education
Emotionally Intelligent LeaderNovember 9, 2017
Learn and practice EI concepts, frameworks and tools to develop your emotional leadership practices.... Read More
08:30 am - 04:30 pm
University of Calgary Downtown Campus 906 8Ave SW Calgary AB T2P 1H9
Stage & Screen
Flight RiskNovember 9, 2017
ONE MAN'S HEROIC JOURNEY TO FIND PEACE. Hank Dunfield is on the verge of his 100th birthday. Sar... Read More
12:00 pm - 01:00 pm
160 115 9 Ave SE
Art & Galleries
Art Market Art & Craft SaleNovember 14 - November 17, 2019
Be part of an amazing Calgary tradition and mark your calendar, Art Market Art & Craft Sale is comin... Read More
10:00 am - 09:00 pm
120-9th Ave. SE
Art & Galleries
YYC POP: Portraits of PeopleOctober 18, 2019
YYC POP: Portraits of People is an OPEN CALL out to the community, the entire city and the world, fr... Read More
Calgary, AB


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A teenager's first taste of independence is thwarted when an in-app purchase is refused. The reason? Her first basic income payment has been withheld. Alone in the woods, she is forced to launch Nova, her personalized AI tutor. Nova seizes the opportunity; whatever it takes, she is determined to get her human to finally complete the last module of the universal education app. In a world where augmented reality has enabled the gamification of everyday things and automation has replaced the need for human labour, every citizen must now complete this learning app, an effort to curb the misinformation crisis of the twenty-first century. Much like a driver's license signaled freedom to past generations, completing universal education is now the new marker of adulthood. So why has this teenager put it off for so long? And what are Nova's true motives — can she be trusted?
This video uses a speculative narrative framework overlaid onto documentary footage to ponder money, relationships and critical thinking in the Information Age as automation accelerates on.
Andréanne Germain
Germain's love of movies began in the 90s, when she'd skip school to catch a weekday matinee from the very back row of the theatre, feet up on the old musty seats below — a clandestine meeting with that big screen in a dark room. A French Canadian filmmaker and picture editor, she has directed several documentaries with the National Film Board of Canada through its various initiatives over the years including Tremplin as well as the award-winning webdoc GDP: Measuring The Human Side Of The Canadian Economic Crisis. In 2009, she couchsurfed solo across Europe to produce documentary content for TV5's Müvmédia. Nowadays, when she isn't working on her own projects, she finds herself editing branded content for various agencies. She has previously worked in feature film sales for Universal and is the is the recipient of a Chalmers Arts Fellowship from the Ontario Arts Council. Her work has been broadcast on Radio-Canada, TFO, TV5, Canal D, TVO, screened at at the Montreal International Documentary Festival, Toronto's Cinéfranco Festival and the Festival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie. Germain studied film at Ryerson University and is currently based in Sudbury, Ontario.
Written and Directed by
Andréanne Germain
France Huot
Amazon Polly
Editor, VFX and Colourist
Andréanne Germain, CCE
Narration Recordist
Matthew Wiewel
Special Thanks to
Serge Miville and Michelle Latimer
Planetary Nebula Dissipating
ESA/Hubble M. Kornmesser
Kilanova Explosion
ESO/L. Calçada
Additional Sounds from
"Star Coin": DontMind8
"Metal Click": Mobeyee Sounds
"Level Up Sound": copyc4t
"Drone": Erie
"Dark Drone": jdagenet
Commissioned and Distributed by
Cinema Politica
Executive Producer
Svetla Turnin
Ezra Winton
The Next 150: Documentary Futurism Project Coordinator
James Goddard

subset: commoncrawl


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This beautiful beach is located just outside of Gyeongju city, at the coast of the east sea. Many visitors and locals travel here in the summer season to enjoy the scenery and the cool water of the beach. The fishing village is known for it's crab in particular, and it's tasty selection of fish restaurants. If the day is nice, it's worth it to travel to Gampo and explore the area.
© Skyscanner Ltd 2002-2019 Site map


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ALBION AWAKE are proud to present an evening of resistance and re-enchantment featuring the righteous post-punk-prog-poptones of Parliament Of Trees, motorik grooves from Moondrive71, award-winning performance poet Tommy Sissons and songs of old Albion from Windy.
All presided over by guest MC Kate Sharpley (notorious WW1 anti-war activist, deceased). Discover the legend of the Wild Deserters through an exhibition of wallhangings, battle-scarred banners and unearthed artefacts. Time to tell a different story. All for only £5 on the door.


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Purchase this article with an account.
J. W. Lee, N. Mast, I. Pascual, N. Tserentsoodol, N. B. Javitt, I. A. Pikuleva, N. Gordiyenko, I. R. Rodriguez; Expression and Localization of Cytochrome 46A1 in Monkey Retina. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2007;48(13):58.
Download citation file:
© ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)
Cytochrome P450 46A1 (CYP46A1) is known to be a brain-selective sterol hydroxylase that converts cholesterol to 24-hydroxycholesterol for the purpose of maintaining cholesterol homeostasis. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the expression and localization of CYP46A1 in the monkey retina and to learn about its potential function in the retina.
CYP46A1 protein and mRNA expression were measured in monkey retina and cultured RPE cells by immunoblot analyses and real time RT-PCR. CYP46A1 localization was performed by immunohistochemistry and imaged by confocal microscopy. Subcellular localization was performed by co-transfection of ARPE19 cells with a CYP46A1-GFP construct and pDsRed2 cellular organelle markers. Monkey retina lipids were extracted and analyzed by GC-MS.
Immunoblot analyses detected a significant presence of CYP46A1 enzyme in the monkey retina. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR detected mRNA levels in the retina that were approximately one fifth of those found in the brain. CYP46A1 localized mainly to the photoreceptors outer segments, especially the cones outer segments and synaptic pedicles. Immunoreactivity was also observed in the ganglion cell layer (GCL), RPE and choriocapillaris. CYP46A1-GFP expression in transiently transfected cells localized mainly to the ER but also to the mitochondria. Small amounts of 24-hydroxycholesterol were identified as a TMS derivative by GC-MS in the monkey retina extracts.
CYP46A1 is highly expressed in the photoreceptors, especially the cones outer segments and synaptic pedicles. The localization to cone synaptic pedicles supports the partial mitochondrial localization observed in the transfected ARPE19 cells. The detection of 24-hydroxycholesterol supports its potential function in maintaining cholesterol homeostasis. However, its localization in the photoreceptor outer segments and synaptic pedicles hints at alternative functions.
This PDF is available to Subscribers Only


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Build on stage in LA
Dress locations in LA.
Dress locations in Palmdale.CA
Dress locations in LA
Build and dress on location in LA
4 Music Videos tied.Build on stage in LA
Build on stage in NYC
Build on stage and location in LA
Set build on stage in LA
Dress location in LA
Build on stage in London UK.
Dress location LA
Build on location LA
Music Video Montage Reel
Production Design Archival Music Video show reel.Created in 2008.


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If a stray cat growls and hisses, does that mean it has rabies?
There has been a black cat with kittens outside my house and I took food/water out to them. The mother always growls and hisses even if I just make eye contact with it. Is this rabies? If so, can it be spread from mother to kittens?
18 answers 18
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Our experience in the commercial market place and meeting the strict regulations and working practises required in this area means our teams work to the very highest standards of workmanship andcustomer care. All our engineers have also been trained in renewable technologies. We have a commitment to the future and continually invest in ongoing apprenticeship schemes.
Show businesses near Shirebrook


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The feast of St. Andrew's is upon us once again! The Patron Saint of Scotland, Cyprus, Greece, Romania, and many others is celebrated on the 30th of November.
Get involved this year and celebrate St. Andrew's Day!
Here's 9 St. Andrew's Day Products That You Cannae Go Without!
Get involved this year and celebrate St. Andrew's Day!
Here's 9 St. Andrew's Day Products That You Cannae Go Without!
Tam-o-shanter Tartan Hat!
Celebrate St Andrews Day with the Tam O' Shanter Tartan Hat, comes with attached pom pom and ginger hair.
Scotland Flag Mask!
Scotland flag mask, card with elastic strap
Tartan Kilt!
You'll look a wee bonnie lad in the Tartan Kilt with Sporran. Don't forget to complete the look with Tam O'Shanter hat.
Scotsman Set !
Self adhesive ginger beard, moustache and eyebrows set, looks great for a lumberjack or for a Highland fling.
Brave Scotsman Costume!
Stand out at the fancy dress party with the Brave Scotsman Costume, includes a top, kilt with sash and leg ties; perfect for St Andrews day.
Scotland Flag Morphsuit!
Scotland flag morphsuit extar
18" Foil St Andrew's Cross!
18" Foil Balloon: St Andrew's Cross sold un-inflated, requiring helium filling
Bunting: St.andrew 8ft!
8ft x 10 Flags St. Andrew Paper Bunting, Flags are 6" x 4"


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Acclaimed author and illustrator Tor Freeman will be here to launch her new Bog Eyed Books collection Welcome to Oddleigh on Thursday 4th October, 7-9pm!
Sendak Fellowship winner Tor is the creator of numerous picture books, including the popular Digby Dog and Olive series. But Tor has also been a keen comics creator on the side, producing a webcomic that she has self-published into print, and in November 2017 was the winner of the Observer/Cape/Comica graphic short story prize (you can read her entry here).
So we're very pleased that Gary Northfield and Nicky Evans of Bog Eyed Books are continuing their work of showcasing excellent British kids cartoonists and giving Tor's webcomic, Welcome to Oddleigh, the profile it deserves with a lovely new collection!
"Chief Inspector Jessie and Sergeant Sid are tasked with policing the town of Oddleigh. Oddleigh is no ordinary place; strange things and bizarre behaviour are the order of the day. But Jessie's sworn to uphold the law of the town, and she's going to do it - no matter how weirdly its citizens are behaving..."
Tor will be here to sign books, maybe do a little sketch here and there, and raise a toast to the launch of Welcome to Oddleigh on Thursday, October 4th, 7-9pm. Be there or be...well...just be there!
But if you can't be there, then you can click through to the web-store to order a signed copy for reservation or mail order
Keep up with any news or updates on the Facebook event page.


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Middle Aged Men In Lycra
Narrated by Phil Liggett
BCI does not particularly endorse this film, but it certainly resonates with many of us & lots of BCI members are signing up to go !
The show needs to get more people signed up or it will not be shown, so if you want it to screen in Irvine, sign up in advance!
Here is a Trailer
and a here is a review from a woman's perspective on Chicks Who Ride Bikes.
$12.50 + $1.95 booking fee
(see also Newport showing)


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By: Theresa Coates — The gates opened and the tubes were flying as pools opened in communities and homes across America. It was Memorial Day weekend — and the fun began — but here are some pool safety rule reminders!
The American Red Cross offers these important responsible guidelines during pool season for communities and homes:
- Secure your pool with appropriate barriers. Completely surround your pool with a 4-feet high fence or barrier with a self-closing, self-latching gate. For a home pool, place a safety cover on the pool or hot tub when not in use and remove any ladders or steps used for access. Consider installing a pool alarm that goes off if anyone enters the pool.
- Keep children under active supervision at all times. Stay in arm's reach of young kids. Designate a responsible person to watch the water when people are in the pool—never allow anyone to swim alone. Have young or inexperienced swimmers wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
- Ensure everyone in the home knows how to swim well by enrolling them in age-appropriate water orientation and learn-to-swim courses from the Red Cross.
- Keep your home pool or hot tub water clean and clear. Maintain proper chemical levels, circulation and filtration. Regularly test and adjust the chemical levels to minimize the risk of earaches, rashes or more serious diseases.
- Establish and enforce rules and safe behaviors, such as "no diving," "stay away from drain covers," "swim with a buddy" and "walk please."
- Ensure everyone in the home knows how to respond to aquatic emergencies by having appropriate safety equipment and taking water safety, first aid and CPR courses from the Red Cross.
The American Red Cross and National Swimming Pool Foundation® have partnered to create an online Home Pool Essentials course that describes steps home pool owners can take to prevent tragedy and keep a well maintained pool or hot tub. The course is available at www.HomePoolEssentials.org.


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S&T has recently completed two South Auckland school projects.
At Clayton Park School, a new administration building and hall was designed and constructed to replace the existing leaky building. The new building is fresh, contemporary and colourful.
An administration building and library was completed for Kereru Park Campus - also a building replacement project for the Ministry of Education.
S&T have worked on more than 30 education projects over the last 5 years, considered to be the first generation of Modern Learning Environments (MLE). These projects are transforming our schools and empowering our next generation through spaces that are well-designed, healthy and fun!
See more photos in the gallery.


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Patrick wrote this article for the Dutch radical journalism platform, De Correspondent. It sets out the context for the referendum on whether to repeal the 8th amendment to the Irish Constitution. And it describes in detail the machinations of the Citizens' Assembly, whose deliberations led to the referendum.
All Hands On believes that we require radical, systemic changes to our democratic processes if we are to address systemic issues such as climate change and inequality. Citizens' Assemblies and the sortition process by which they are selected are an example of such change.
But we also require fundamental, systemic changes to the media and the role of journalism. De Correspondent is a shining light in this respect. It is an advertising free, participative journalism platform, funded through a membership subscription model. It has over 60,000 paying members at the time of writing. Its manifesto is based on ten principles, which describe its business model, its dedication to journalistic ideals rather than any political ideology, its social aims, and its desire to shift the emphasis from passive readers to active participants. Patrick experienced the latter at first hand as he took part in a live Q&A session in the article's comment thread.
The thread was joined by Citizens' Assembly member, Mike Loughnane. At the time of writing there are 81 comments in the thread. The discussion reflects deep both a dissatisfaction with democracy's status quo, and consequent admiration for what the Irish have achieved with their Assemblies. The quote below is indicative.
The thread also had an unexpected "guest" appearance from De Correspondent contributor and author of Against Elections, David Van Reybrouck.
Patrick's article is published in Dutch. An English transcript is shown in full below.
Ireland's immaculate conception – a step forward for democracy?
By Patrick Chalmers
Irish voters will weigh countless women's stories today in deciding how to balance the rights to life of a mother and her unborn child. These life-and-death dramas have dominated months of impassioned campaigning, years even for some, each one an individual truth about a pregnancy.
They include Sorcha's, who described travelling to England for a termination she couldn't have had in Ireland. A mother already, she wanted no further children and also feared a recurrence of severe post-natal depression and possibly having a still-born child. And Tracey's, who went to Liverpool in England to have her terminally-ill daughter Grace induced early, an illegal act at home. Her baby's ashes arrived back by courier three weeks later.
On the other side were those of women such as Carina. She first knew her son Benjamin had Down Syndrome after his birth. She fears more liberal laws would have Ireland following the likes of Britain, Denmark and Iceland in aborting most Down Syndrome babies. Or Emma, who says someone like her might abort their unplanned baby, rather than keep it, if abortion were more easily available.
The binary nature of a referendum means only one side will win on an issue that's far from black and white. For Ireland, abortion pits traditional Catholic morality and rural conservatism against the modernising morals and ethics of its more urbanised, youthful population. It's not any easy mix.
So there's a deeper story buried here, one beyond any single woman's pregnancy experience, however poignant. Its core concerns Ireland's use of a democratic device inspired by Ancient Greece to resolve this highly contentious question. Not the referendum itself but what made it possible – a randomly selected jury of Irish people whose collective wisdom broke through a decades-long deadlock over abortion.
During dozens of hours those everyday Irish jurors considered the medical, moral and ethical issues involved. Their main recommendations – to repeal a de facto constitutional ban on abortion law to free politicians' hands on the matter – surprised pretty much everyone. The evident seriousness of the work, and clear-cut conclusions, opened the doors for an all-party committee of politicians to follow the assembly's lead.
Today's vote is the third leg of this unique process, a mandatory requirement for any change to Ireland's constitution. It gives all Irish citizens a direct say on abortion law. For all the imperfect bluntness of referendums, let's not talk about Brexit, the electorate has a bedrock of facts and testimony on which to decide. Many countries wouldn't dream of giving citizens a say on abortion still less with such high-quality support materials. A brake on targeted political advertising on social media has also helped keep things more transparent.
That means whatever the outcome, some will quietly celebrate having radically changed the rules for doing democracy.
No Irish joke
So, in a country of renowned story tellers, it's this one that may endure beyond all others. Its essence is that Ireland has changed the rules for doing democracy – for all of us, everywhere – no joke.
The referendum emerged from a process far closer to original Athenian ideas of power to, or government by, the people. We've not seen anything like it in a couple of centuries, when the modern version of government by elections took root. Without the assembly, there might not even have been a referendum, so entrenched had abortion become for Irish people and politicians of all parties.
Ireland's message for the world is simple enough: that ordinary citizens, given time and the right conditions, show deep, collective wisdom quite unlike what comes from adversarial politics. The implications go way beyond a single referendum, whatever the result, and way beyond one country even.
That's why I went to Ireland in July last year - to get a close-up look at what seemed like a different way of doing democracy. Inside a North Dublin hotel, nestled by a sea front dotted with sailing boats and other small craft at anchor, I met members of a public jury fresh from five weekends spent pondering their country's abortion laws.
My trip was the latest step on a journey I'd first thought of more than two decades earlier as a news reporter in Brussels. Back then I'd been shocked at how EU's leaders had tossed aside, with little evident debate, environment ministers' attempt to install a European carbon tax. What struck me then was how the leaders guillotined months of negotiations on tackling climate change, telling journalists nothing of their closed-door meeting's who, why or how.
My thinking had evolved over the years into an all-encompassing critique of elections themselves. Part of that was the skewed outcomes of my native Britain's first-past-the-post electoral process. Another was the growing body of books unpicking representative democracy's claims to be either representative or democratic. They included the revelation that Ancient Greeks – think Aristotle – saw democracy as requiring public assemblies and random selection of public office holders. They barely used elections, devices they saw as inevitably oligarchic or aristocratic, meaning they inevitably favoured an elite few.
The Irish jury process I came to see – the Citizens' Assembly – was firmly in the original democracy camp. Its 99 members comprised randomly chosen citizens intended to represent ordinary Irish people by age, gender, social class and region.
Quiet pride
What struck me most was participants' quiet pride in what they'd done. That quality shone through on camera, and again in phone interviews I did with other participants for a Guardian newspaper article. These story tellers spoke about personal transformation, how they'd deeply engaged in the jury process and even moved their positions as a result.
David Keogh, a truck driver in his late 40s, was one of them. He couldn't have been more enthusiastic.
"It's been the best experience of my life and I mean that genuinely. It's, what can I say? It's the inside of the machine – we're inside the machine."
A step back from participants I met Dimitri Courant, a French researcher in political science at the Universities of Lausanne and Paris 8. Speaking to him after the Assembly ended, in 2018, he described a process that put Ireland in the front rank of democracy innovation.
"There's a new standard, a new norm to be taken seriously – and that's the Irish example."
Assembly enthusiasts highlight two aspects of the approach that set it apart from electoral politics. The first is to randomly select participants to represent more accurately the views of wider society. That pricks the narrow bubbles of elected politicians, making policies less elitist. The second is to create the necessary conditions required for people to deliberate. That means having balanced panels of experts address participants, presenting different perspectives and arguments, and giving time for reflection and exchanges among members.
Gender bias impacts
The first element certainly matters in Ireland when it comes to questions of women's reproductive health, not least abortion. That's because Irish women are chronically under-represented in politics. Despite hitting an all-time high in the 2016 general election, they still hold just one in every five seats in parliament.
So, while men may take part directly in most conceptions, they never do gestation and are rarely left holding any baby. Hardly the place of deep knowledge from which to craft women-friendly policies, to put it mildly. That imbalance plays out in serial policy failures.
That's not to say gender questions led directly to the assembly as their antidote, though they certainly fuelled enthusiasm for it. One of the 2016 intake of new Teachta Dála or TDs – members of the Irish parliament's lower house – was Kate O'Connell. Her political ambitions flowed directly out of experiences she'd had after diagnosis of a potentially fatal condition in her unborn son, one that might have required her to have an abortion, in England.
A Citizens' Assembly was already in prospect for the Fine Gael minority coalition government in 2016, part of an attempt to restore voters' trust in politics. The idea harks back to something more like original democracy's meaning of government or rule by the people.
History's lessons
The Greeks of antiquity understood implicitly the pitfalls of elections. To avoid them, they embedded random selection of citizens and assemblies as their political mainstays. Downgrading elections meant would-be candidates couldn't lie about their plans, themselves or their opponents. It also prevented the handing of powers to elites, they called them aristocrats or oligarchs then, who usually win most ballots.
Those basic elements, then and now, make for very different political dynamics from what we're used to. Instead of fractious debates between rival parties or candidates for election, assembly participants are more likely to tackle issues on their merits. That difference certainly jumped out in the style of exchanges witnessed within the Citizens' Assembly versus those of the joint parliamentary committee that took up its recommendations.
"There was no major arguments or disputes here at the Citizens' Assembly even though there was serious disagreements, as there would always be on this subject," said John Long, a 56-year-old electronics technician from the southern Irish city of Cork.
Long was another of the 99 random strangers brought together for the assembly. They spent their first five weekends over five months tackling abortion law, ending in April 2017.
"I would say we probably put a couple of hundred hours of total time into it, which is probably more than any parliamentary party committee would have… So, we're probably the best-informed amateurs in the country on this topic at the moment."
He, like some others on the assembly who spoke publicly, said his views gradually moved towards liberalising abortion laws.
That's not to say assemblies alone could solve the pervasive crisis of trust in election-led political systems around the world. They're fragile entities, needing transparency in their use so as to build public trust in their potential. That means choosing genuinely representative samples of jurors. It means politicians buying into the process, giving the necessary budget and support staff to make things work. They must also commit to act on assembly recommendations, even those they might not agree with. None of this is guaranteed.
The point is to create space for people to grasp complex issues, and perhaps change positions as their opinions evolve. That's why Ireland's decision to hold one on abortion and put its core recommendations to politicians and then a referendum, marks a quantum change worldwide for the approach.
While Ireland's recent efforts may make it the poster boy for those advocating for more assemblies, it's not an only child. This year saw the launch of Democracy R&D, in Madrid. Its members' collective focus is to explore ways to do democracy better. Core principles involve using randomly selected juries, so-called sortition, coupled with deliberation.
An Irish "yes" vote would certainly boost case for sortition, vindicating politicians' choice to use it to test voters' deliberated thinking. A "no", rejecting the Assembly's recommendations, would weaken the idea's appeal though probably not fatally. British Columbia used a citizens' assembly to consider electoral reform in 2004 but then saw the recommendations rejected in a referendum. Despite the result, the process won praise for the seriousness and quality of members' thinking, engagement and conclusions. The same would likely be true of Ireland.
Either way, playing the long game looks like any would-be reformers' best option. That an assembly took place at all in Ireland was thanks to seeds planted during fallout from the global financial crisis of 2007/2008. The credit crunch knocked the stuffing out of several leading Irish banks and burst the local property bubble. Political scientists saw economists digging into the causes and reckoned they should too, arguing Ireland had to change.
"Without radical reform, we are in danger of sleepwalking into a different crisis in 20 years' time," they said.
Ireland has certainly moved on since then, not least in the "yes" vote for same-sex marriage in a 2015 referendum that emerged from that very reform process.
For Kate O'Connell, the pharmacist-and-mother-of-three-turned-politician, just holding a jury had worked wonders for abortion questions, even before May 25.
"I think this issue, in Ireland, could never have gotten to the point we're at today, were it not for the Citizens' Assembly. I think we would have been years getting there, if we ever got there."


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Power BoardsEdit
On the 2011 system, there is a board which has the regulator, fuses, and connectors for all of the power, and the turn-off switch.
This board is the most frequent to fail, as it is constantly having things plugged in and removed.
To design and build the power board took 10 people hours.
We have 7.2V NiMH batteries (1500mAh, 1800mAh, 3600mAh). They all charge at the 4A setting on our battery quick-charger.
We also have 3 7.4V 5400mAh LiPo batteries. They have a maximum charge rate of 5.4A and must be charged on the LiPo charge setting or run the risk of fire and explosion.
We have an old battery quick-charger.
We have decided to get the Intelligent Battery Manager 606-D by G.T.Power Re. The digital battery charger can charge NiMH as well as a number of types of lithium batteries. It will run off of AC or DC power. The charge rate can be set between 0.1 and 6A. Care must be taken to charge batteries on the correct setting. If unsure about how to operate the charger cunsult the manual. Improper charging could destroy batteries or cause fire.
http://www.joliebrisemodels.co.uk/tenth/rc.html See this page; batteries must be sized for both maximum and average discharge current.
Regulators change the voltage level. Presently we use 1A linear regulators (LM7805), with 2 filter capacitors, and a 1A fuse on each regulator circuit.
Regulates the voltages so that components aren't fried by too high or too low a voltage.
7805 - 5V {C}7812 - 12V (dont think we need this?) {C}7833 - 3.3V
Data-sheet here: (insert link)
These are all 1A regulators.
http://knol.google.com/k/electronic-circuits-design-for-beginners-chapter-4# good basic reference about selecting voltage regulators
We need to heatsink our regulators, depending on how much power they are dissipating and their thermal resistance (see the LM7805 data sheets). This is important, and needs to be done before the boat is water-tested.
Google "heatsink selection", there's some good info.
Wiring and FusesEdit
Wire, connectors, and fuses must be sized to current.
Fuses must be sized to protect wiring, batteries, and circuitry. Fuses we use are fast-blow.
In the past we've used Dean's Ultra connectors, rated to 10A or something high, for our batteries, theres a guide to soldering them here http://www.ezonemag.com/~awilletts/deansultra.mpg and it's also on dropbox.
Power Systems on GaelForceEdit
Arduino can supply 40mA maximum.
Questions marks mean that I made it up quickly, and someone needs to actually look up the numbers.
- Arduino 5V (200 mA)
- RC Receiver 5V (200 mA?)
- Compass 5V (50mA,15 in sample mode)
- Pololo 5V (500mA?) and 12V (50mA?)
- Multiplexer 5V (10mA?)
- RS232 to TTL 5V (1mA)
- Wind sensor 12V 150mA?); 1A fast-blow fuse required
- Smartwinch 3.8->9V (18A stall current)
- Rudder servo 5V (4A stall current?)
Power Systems on GaelForce IIEdit
As of June 2011, the current power system for GaelForce II is as follows:
- Arduino 5V (200 mA)
- Compass 5V (50mA,15 in sample mode)
- Pololo 5V (500mA?) and 12V (50mA?), 5V is currently unused and draws no power.
- RS232 to TTL 5V (1mA)
- Wind sensor 12V (150mA?); 1A fast-blow fuse required
- Smartwinch 3.8->9V (18A stall current, 23mA idle, 650mA no load current)
- Jib Servo 4.8 -5V(1800mA stall current, 285mA at no load)
- Rudder servo 4.8 -6V (180mA at no load)
Total curernt draw : 415mA for sensors/ electronics , between 100mA idle, around 1.5A no load on motors
8A with all motors at max.
Research for 4m PowerEdit
This stuff is complicated: http://www.mpoweruk.com/bms.htm we ideally want something off the shelf? this seems like way too much detail.
Will design systems for $$: http://www.claytonpower.com/power/renewable/
"designing battery management systems": http://www.edn.com/article/512154-Designing_battery_management_systems.php
Power monitoring to detect low voltage is important
There's a chip we have on hand to shut down things at certain voltages (MAX696EPE+-ND)


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Agile Leadership
Agile organization and leadership have become important topics in today's corporate world. But what do these terms actually mean? Here is a short breakdown:
An agile organization is characterized by small working groups that focus on customers rather than stakeholder. Also holding on to a plan is not the priority, but quickly accepting changes and challenges that arise inside and outside of the company. There is more freedom given to the employees, even though this does not mean, that they are left completely on their own. In fact in a clearly defined framework the employees are given the freedom to experiment and also to make mistakes.
The success confirms the approach of agile companies. On average, they are 2.7 times more successful than the competitors with traditional and rigid structures. Furhtermore agile working ethics, when properly implemented, will result in higher employee motivation, faster time-to-market and reduced risk.


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Yesterday morning began in a most unusual way! When I left my room to go to breakfast, I took the back stairs, as is my normal practice. I looked down at the stairs as I started to descend them. By my foot there was
one green bug
It reminded me of a bug I've seen in Seattle. Its color was brilliantly green, almost fluorescent. I passed it by but was afraid it would get stepped on so I came back and pushed it to the side of the stairs. I walked away but then realized how hot it was in the sun. The bug had looked like it was dying. It occurred to me that it would certainly die if I left it sitting in the sun so I went up the stairs again, got something to pick the bug up with, and took it to a part of the landing that had some shade. I placed the bug in a crevice and continued on my way. At the next landing there were
two black crows
sitting on the railing. We looked at each other for a moment. One cawed and then they both flew away. One green bug followed by two black crows; that was an interesting "co-incidence." I looked over the railing and the first thing I saw were
three Indian girls
Okay, this feels like no co-incidence. I think I will play the game. I wonder what will be next. Now I'm on the first floor (which in India is one floor above the ground). I look ahead in the distance and at the far part of the hall I see a doormat with shoes on it. As I get closer I see there are
four thongs scattered on the mat
Going down the last set of stairs, I'm now on the ground floor. I turn the corner and pass the supply office where
five Indian family members are getting bedding
As I make may way to the cafe, I pass a tree with
six hibiscus flowers which are being picked by an Indian woman
Once I arrive at the café I see there are
five people ahead of me in the breakfast line
I order my food and take it to the table where
four friends eat breakfast together
I finish my food, wash my dishes and take them to the drying station where there are
three towels for drying dishes
I take my empty water bottle to the drinking water station where I find
two are filling water bottles
I fill my water bottle and then head back to my room. I push the elevator button. Soon there is
one person on elevator
Well, that was an interesting way to start the day. I wonder what the rest of my day will hold. (BTW, the bug was gone when I returned to that crevice again.)


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An intimate and behind the scenes tour of Napa with rosémakers Laura & Blake. Napa is central for us but we'll visit the whole of our rosémaking region. Winery, vineyard, and purveyors by day and our favorite dinner spots at night. Most of the lineup is Rose & Thistle exclusive - meaning you can't rent a limo and do these excursions on your own. We are excited to ROSÉ it UP with you guys... and viognier, grenache, cab, and of course some killer chardonnay too being we are upon ground zero! YESSS. full accommodation available / Napa airport in Santa Rosa is super easy or get our rate with Silver Car (super easy app driven Audi A4 rental) excursion transport included of course but plenty of free time to explore further
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: April 21Rose & Thistle Spring Rosé Launch WKND
Later Event: October 5Rosé Getaway Palm Springs


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What makes me different as a wedding photographer?
How I photograph your day
Try and imagine a scene, you're stood talking with a few friends after your wedding ceremony, someone is relaying a funny story to your small group, your photographer notices something going on so comes over and starts taking pictures. Lots of pictures, until the punchline is delivered then they move on somewhere else and do the same thing.
It's called 'shooting through the moments' in photography circles, either standing in the same place or circling a group of people taking plenty of pictures of that conversation (or whatever else is going on). The idea being when it comes to having a picture of something happening at a particular moment in time the photographer can scroll through 10's (sometimes hundreds) and choose one they like.
That's fine from a picture perspective and I'm sure that technique delivers a nice picture, but for me (and having been a guest at plenty of weddings myself), I do find it rather distracting and a bit bloody annoying to have someone just taking picture after picture after picture for what seems like ages while I'm trying to have a conversation and relax, it makes me uncomfortable and that's me as a photographer - goodness knows how normal wedding folk feel!
So I don't do that, I believe there's a moment to be photographed alright, but one picture will do it not loads - I take a picture either while I'm part of the conversation myself (remember I'm just like a guest and because I rarely put my little camera to my eye people don't even know I've taken their picture), or a quick in and out before anyone knows I've even been there - It's simply down to observation, listening to what's happening around me and pre-empting where I need to be and when (so I'm not distracting people or getting on their nerves). That's also why so many people are surprised I'm the photographer at a wedding, because I don't stand around taking hundreds of pictures of the same thing.
One moment > one picture that's my motto. It's far less annoying. No clackety clack clack of a camera going off, no weirdo bobbing and weaving in your peripheral vision. Nice and easy, nice and relaxed.
If you love the sound of my approach and want a really low key photographer at your wedding, have a browse around for a while and get in touch - I'd love to hear from you.
I'm based in Cheshire and offer my very relaxed wedding photography across Cheshire, manchester, the UK and Europe (and occasionally further afield).


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Social Question
Does anyone else find these commercials offensive?
Asked by Judi (39826) November 30th, 2011 from iPhone
I just saw a Capital One credit card commercial where they portrayed a credit card as "the Employee of the Month."
There is another commercial (sorry I forgot the product) where they are congratulating a building for getting an employee award.
Am I crazy or is it really insensitive, in this time of high unemployment, where corporations are now considered "people" and sending jobs overseas to be de personalizing employees?
Maybe I'm off base but I find this highly offensive, do you?
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Week three of portrait painting class.
There has been some progress.
I managed to get to class at the studio, about a 45 minute trip one way, and back home without missing a turn or getting lost...it usually takes five or six trips for me to remember how to get anywhere in a clean shot. That's big. Even if I don't come away with a completed painting, I can proudly show my face at home, sharing the results of my ability to find my way and back (check out my earlier posts about my GPS, Samantha, and my driving exploits).
And, to the great glee of the instructor, I showed up with everything I needed to paint. The first week I didn't have the right medium, any paper towels or the right oils. Week two was a bit better, I did manage to get all of the paints together.
But, week three was a total success...on the equipment side. I brought along a new pad of palette paper (to replace my wooden palette that has wet paint on it, which always manages to get on everything in my car and everywhere on my clothes while traveling), new medium (I hear the joke, "What no large?"), and a whole roll of paper towels, to continually wipe away mistakes on the painting! I go through a lot of paper towels.
Things were looking good, regarding preparation. Painting was a different thing.
To continue painting the portrait on which I am working, I was advised to, "Look at it as a landscape, check the drawing by measuring everything to redraw the face, and drop lines so see where corners of the mouth fall in relation to the eyes, or where the center of the lip falls in relation to the nose, and so on"..."Take it apart," said the instructor, "Don't think of the person, think of values and lines...treat the pieces of the painting."
Fortunately, I did have an Exacto knife with me, so it was easy to take it apart. I wasn't sure of exactly how to "take it apart," so I just cut it into four pieces.
Right away I could see the problems. Here, to the left, one can see that the eye is too big and falls to the left...it would have been a better painting had I seen that. The eye on the right (here and there), is much better, but her chin looks like a blister and the red coloring to the right looks like an infection...didn't see that when it was a part of a larger picture.
Years ago, on Monhegan Island, as I prepared to throw a painting away, an artist stopped me and said, "Before you get rid of that, take a small mat and go around the large painting looking for a smaller one. In every bad painting there's usually a great postcard!"
The chin here, with the neck looks better...maybe it is okay and there's something wrong with the upper right portion...this is strange. But, I guess it's like wearing sneakers...they don't go with everthing.
I do think the neck is coming along well...but now I see that the blotching has spread to her chest...perhaps it's a rash...sitting under hot lights for hours will do that.
The point of all of this measuring and getting values correct is for the "finish."
Getting the light lights on at the end is what "makes the painting sing."
As she sits holding this pose, the lightest light is on her forehead, as you can see here to the right.
I put on the white highlight and didn't hear a thing.
Of course, now that this part of her head is separated from the rest, I can see that this is really a great part of the painting.
The lesson here is that, at times, we have to sacrifice for our art and learn something in the process. Chopping up a painting may not feel good or be the best action to take.
However, now that I look at these, and working with the "postcard" theory, maybe there's a market for partial portraits...I only paint your good side or good feature!
Let me know.
Musings from a guy who just wants to live near a sidewalk...within walking distance of a community, store, coffee shop, living breathing people! Something, anything, and be a sidewalk networker! While I think about moving nearer to civilization, here are some happenings that may resonate with readers. Humor in the life of a husband, father, brother, and son who has a background in art, hotels, spas, and...starting with a kindergarten report card to prove it...playing well with others!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Partial Portraits
Posted by Paul Cunningham at 5:19 PM
Labels: Drawing, Exacto Knife, Medium, Palette Paper, Paper Towels, Partial Portraits, Paul Cunningham Artist, Portrait Painting, Postcard, Values
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Ooopsie! That Page couldn't be found.
It looks like the page you are looking for no longer exists.
But if you are looking to learn more about us, we an help with that! We still want you to browse the site, click the link below to take yourself back to our welcome page.


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Residents of Marofu village in Kamukuywa ward in Kimilili constituency have been left astonished after a cow belonging to Eliud Simiyu delivered a two-legged calf on Friday.
In an exclusive interview, Simiyu said his cow was well throughout the nine months and when it was about to deliver he availed himself to help it deliver and to his surprise it did not have the front legs.
He said despite the rare feature the calf is very healthy and he has to always assist it to suckle saying the issue has proved to be a very strenuous exercise to him as he has been forced to abandon all his other duties to help it the moment it needs to suckle.
Mr. Simiyu disclosed that the cow has been healthy all along and did not expect that it would deliver such a calf saying his family together with the village mates are coming to terms saying previously some were suggesting that they kill the calf.
He called upon those who take care of such deformed animals to consider visiting him and taking the calf for proper care saying it will also be an opportunity for the world to know that such an animal exists in the world.
One of the neighbours, 89-year-old Joseph Nyongesa said since he was born he has never seen such an incident, adding that it's God's own creation and also called for help to ensure the calf undergoes proper care.


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Product Code : AB-S-01
This is a solution to temporary bollards that can easily be installed in our city centres without compromising on aesthetics.
These bollards allow authorised vehicles through through a rotating feature.
Secured to a turn table, these bollards in a normal position will block vehicles access.
When needed, the base of the bollard can rotate out of the way to allow traffic flow.
Installed with LED lights, they can give a clear light signal – red for prohibited and green for allowed access.Soft Approach to Hard Security Catalogue


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Tesla will launch a right hand drive version of the Tesla Model S Performance Plus in the UK next month, and according to Tesla it will be able to drive 300 miles in just one charge.
Tesla also said that the new Tesla Model S Performance Plus will be able to drive the length of the country with just one 20 minute charging break.
The 20 minute charging break will give drivers an extra 130 miles, this means that drivers of the Tesla Model S Performance Plus in the UK will be able to drive the length of the country after just one break of 20 minutes to recharge, which certainly sounds impressive.
The majority of the electric cars in the UK at the moment have an average range of around 100 miles, and they usually need to be charged overnight to fully recharge the battery.
Tesla are also installing new charging stations in the UK which will cover an area from Dover to Bristol, and one of the first Tesla charging stations will be at South Mimms services in Hertfordshire, which is situated at the junction of the M25 and A1.
The Tesla Model S Performance Plus will be available in the UK next month and it will retail for £70,000, it will be interesting to see if it becomes popular in the UK.
Electric vehicles have yet to really take off in the UK, in the first quarter of 2014 there were just 1,547 electric cars registered, it will be interesting to see if Tesla can change things in the UK with an electric vehicle which gives you a similar range to a petrol or diesel car.
Source The Telegraph


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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is your background? How did you get to where you are today?
A: I went to Boston University for photojournalism, and upon graduating I went a slightly different route. I did a lot of freelance commercial and food photography before going into a full-time in-house photographer role at a national jewelry company. Missing my photojournalism roots, I left that role to start my own photography business with a focus on weddings.
Q: How many years have you been capturing weddings?
A: I have worked over 60 weddings and counting. I just finished up my fourth season of wedding photography in 2018, and my photography business is celebrating it's fourth anniversary on April 1st, 2019.
Q: Where are you located?
A: I am based out of Brookline, Massachusetts, but travel all around New England, New Orleans (where my parents live and I visit often), and beyond for weddings. I love to travel, and I am also available for destination weddings. In fact in 2018, I captured my very first destination wedding in Samerberg, Germany (in Bavaria about an hour outside of Munich) and had a total blast capturing it.
Q: What is your photography style?
A: I work very hard to capture the emotions and feelings of the day in the most beautiful way possible. The term for this style is "lifestyle wedding photography." I scout your wedding locations before the wedding day to know where the light will be, and the best backgrounds for different shots during the day. This allows me to document the day photo-journalistically with a beautiful, editorial look.
Q: What makes you different than other photographers?
A: I really love to get to know my clients on a deeper level. My company is not a wedding photography machine, and I take only 20-25 wedding clients each year because I want to have a very personal relationship with each couple. By getting to know each other, I have a better understanding of how to best capture your love story. In addition to this I create a streamlined photography timeline ahead of time, and scout out your wedding day venues ahead of time. This means that your wedding day will be just about your love for each other and celebrating it with your loved ones.
Q: How many weddings do you shoot per year?
A: I capture between 20 and 25 weddings per year. I like to keep that number low because I really want to get to know each of my amazing couples. Being your photographer for your wedding is such an intimate role, and I want to make sure that we know each other well so that I can tell your love story in the most honest, unique way possible.
Q: Do you offer a second photographer?
A: Yes!! I love working with my group of favorite second photographers, and second photographer coverage is included in multiple packages. This is a great way to get coverage of parts of the day where multiple things are happening at once. An example of this is when I am shooting photography of family formals, you may want photography coverage of your guests at the cocktail hour at the same time.
Q: How do we book you as our photographer?
A: You can contact me through this contact form or via email at firstname.lastname@example.com. I will send you my pricing and collections details. A 50% retainer fee and a signed contract are required to get your wedding day officially on the calendar.
Q: When do we receive our images after the wedding?
A: You will receive your wedding images via your password protected online gallery within four to six weeks after your wedding.
Q: How many images do we receive
A: I capture about 70-100 images per hour. After editing for the best photos you will receive approximately 500-800 images for an eight hour wedding day.
Q: How do we receive our images?
A: You will receive your wedding images via your password protected online gallery. You can view, download, print, and share images from this gallery. These images are hi-resolution and un-watermarked, I want you to show your images in the best quality and I feel that watermarking the images will hinder the beauty of the photos.
Q: Do we have permission to share images online?
A: Definitely! All I ask is that you credit Ellysia Francovitch Photography in the caption when sharing on social media.
If you have any more questions that I haven't covered here, feel free to email me at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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23 Jan Are Social Security Disability Appeals Getting Tougher?
A recent House Oversight Committee reports suggests that Social Security disability claimants may face a tougher road in obtaining approval for their claims in the future. The committee, led by Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, believes that judges hearing appeals from denials of claims are guilty of "gross incompetence" and of valuing "quantity over quality" by trying to clear out as many appeals as possible. Reform is needed, the committee suggests, so that administrative law judges (ALJs) who approve claims that should have been denied are removed from their positions.
A Brief Review of the Appeals Process
A large percentage of Social Security disability claims are initially denied by the administration. However, a claimant whose claim is denied may appeal that decision. There are four levels of review, including:
- Reconsideration, in which your entire claim is reviewed by an individual who did not take part in the initial denial of your claim;
- ALJ hearing, in which you appear before an administrative law judge and explain your case, why you believe you are disabled under the law, and why your claim should be granted;
- Appeals Council, which reviews the ALJ's decision and can correct an erroneous ALJ decision on its own, send your claim back to the ALJ for another hearing, or find that the ALJ's decision was correct and affirm that decision; and
- Federal courts, which can review the decision of the Appeals Council.
The House Oversight Committee's complaints against some current ALJs is that, in an effort to "clear out" a backlog of appeals, some ALJs are approving claims that have been denied twice (once in the initial decision and again on reconsideration) without fully investigating the merits of the claim. The committee estimates that just one erroneous ALJ approval of a claim can cost up to $300,000 over the course of the claimant's lifetime.
What Does This Mean for Social Security Disability Claimants?
For now, there have been no changes to the appeals process as a result of the committee's report. If any action is taken, however, ALJs are likely going to be encouraged to more fully investigate claims before approving them. This can not only lead to an increase in the amount of time necessary for an ALJ to submit a written opinion approving or denying the claim, but it can lead to a decrease in the chances of approval. For disabled claimants who are in need of benefits in order to meet their day-to-day expenses, an increase in the time it takes for an appeal to be decided or a decrease in the likelihood of approval are both unwelcome news.
Social Security disability claimants are always encouraged to seek the assistance of an experienced Social Security disability attorney when applying for disability benefits. While claimants can apply for benefits without an attorney, claims are more likely to be approved if it is prepared and presented with the assistance of a professional. If you have applied or thinking of applying for disability benefits, we can help you get the benefits you deserve. Contact us for a free initial consultation at (843) 216-8860.


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How to divert your green waste
Did you know that you can actually divert your yard trimmings and other green waste material simply by separating it in your bulky trash pile.
Find out how this new program works and how to take advantage of it.
Next Master Recycler potluck - September 26th
Join us for the next Master Recycler gathering on September 26th, from 5 - 6:30 pm at Bushmaster Park. Feel free to bring your family along. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by emailing Dylan at email@example.com.
We'll update you on a few changes to programming and our recent work, but if you have specific topics that you'd like us to discuss while we're together, please let us know.
Make sure to report your hours
Even if you've completed your 30-hour commitment, we'd appreciate you continuing to report your hours so that we can measure the progress of the program and improve your experience.
Upcoming volunteer opportunities
There a few different opportunities to volunteer this month. In addition to doing recycling outreach at the Farmer's Market on Sundays, there are additional opportunities, including tabling at Science in the Park and First Friday, as well helping out at the Slide Rock Fall Festival. We'll also be doing a second round of recycling and trash audits as part of our recycling pilot in the Townsite neighborhood, if you're interested in seeing how residents are utilizing their recycling and trash bins. Just click on the tabling opportunity you are interested in for contact info. Be sure to keep checking back, as we continue to add volunteer opportunities.
As always, feel free to create your own opportunities and let us know if we can help you by providing outreach materials, helping create presentations, or in any other way.
Volunteer Appreciations
Sue Bassett is the first Master Recycler from the 2018 class to complete her 30 hours. She has been incredibly active since the course wrapped up in March. She has helped spread the word about the recent changes to plastic recycling at multiple Farmer's Markets this summer, as well as going door-to-door in the Townsite neighborhood. Sue has also helped clarify which types of plastic film can be recycled at store drop-offs around town by working with grocery stores to improve signage on-site. Thanks for all you're help so far, Sue! We're glad you decided to contribute to your community through the Master Recycler Program.
Not sure how many hours you've completed?
We've compiled all volunteer activity into a Google spreadsheet, which summarizes the various activities each Master Recycler has completed. If you scroll to the bottom, you can find the total number of hours you have completed. We'll be updating the spreadsheet at the end of each month. You can access the spreadsheet here.


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Well I said the heck with trying to score a Premium XBOX 360 bundle and I went out and bought all the gizmos I need to bring mine up to par. So look out, I am online and slaying the world.
For my first 360 game I chose Perfect Dark Zero because of its rave reviews. I really like the game so far. It's like Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, but easier and more fun. You play female secret agent named Joanna Dark. She has a variety of weapons and gadgets to help her infiltrate enemy bases and complete missions. There is a co-op mode and of course mulit-player.
The multi-player rocks. It's called Combat Arena. All the weapons, cool moves, and tons of ememies to frag. I highly recommend this title as a must have!
Game on dood
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
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A federal jury deliberated for four hours before returning a guilty verdict against a former NBA player who masterminded a real estate Ponzi scheme that swindled victims out of at least $2 million. Tate George, who once played for the New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, was convicted on four counts of wire fraud. George, who was taken into custody immediately following the verdict, could face up to twenty years in federal prison for each count. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 16, 2014.
Beginning in 2005, George owned and operated The George Group ("TGG"), which was touted to potential investors as a successful real estate development company that had a portfolio exceeding $500 million. The company was said to specialize in commercial and residential development financing, and represented that investor funds would be safeguarded in an attorney escrow account. In return for their investment, investors received promissory notes with varying terms reflecting their investment amount and length. In total, George raised more than $2 million from investors – including some former professional athletes.
However, contrary to George's representations, TGG did not have $500 million under management and investor funds were not used to fund real estate development projects. Rather, TGG had virtually no income-generating operations, and George used TGG to run a classic Ponzi scheme by using investor funds for a variety of unauthorized purposes that included the payment of principal and interest to existing investors. George also used investor funds to sustain a lavish lifestyle that included throwing a Sweet 16 party for his daughter, the mortgage and extensive renovations on his New Jersey home (that has since been foreclosed), taxes to the IRS, and traffic tickets. George also spent $2,905 for a reality video about himself (a "sizzle reel" for "The Tate Show," is available on YouTube).
While George spent four years in the NBA, his most memorable playing moment arguably came on a buzzer-beater in the third round of the 1990 NCAA tournament:


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U.S. Troops Occupying Honduras, Two Years After Coup
Six hundred US army troops have invaded Honduras in an escalation of the 2009 intervention, in which the State Department stood by during a military coup against Honduras' elected president, Manuel Zelaya. In all likelihood, President Zelaya would have prohibited the deployment of hundreds of US troops as described in a New York Times story today.
Since the 2009 coup, Honduras has been the scene of persistent popular resistance movements and diplomatic censure by all Latin American countries. The new encroachment by 600 American regular-army troops will be challenged as direct foreign military intervention, deepening the dependency of Honduras on the Pentagon.
The US army forces are deployed "under orders to maintain a discreet footprint" at least at three bases in the interior and on the Honduran coast. Barred from combat except in "self-defense," the Army forces are augmenting Drug Enforcement Agency operatives and Honduran special forces units.
The official US mission has expanded from counter-narcotics to "the potential nexus between transnational organized criminals and terrorists who would do harm to our country," according to Col. Ross Brown commander of the Joint Task Force Bravo force. (New York Times, May 6, 2012) The allegation that Al Qaeda and other terrorists are "potentially" exploiting narco-routes into the United States has been made in Foreign Affairs magazine and other national security journals.
Hondurans, one of the poorest countries in the Americas, was exploited as a US base of regional military operations during the Central American wars of two decades ago. In the aftermath of the Iran-Contra scandal, Congress passed the Leahy amendment, which prohibits military assistance to any foreign military units engaged in human rights violations. The US embassy in Honduras must certify that there are no violations. Congress has never once attempted to enforce the Leahy amendment in Iraq or Afghanistan.
At the recent Summit of the Americas, US drug policy was questioned by virtually every Central American president, bringing the future of the US-created conference into question.


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Where does The New York Times get its reputation for hard hitting investigative journalism? They must be coasting on James Risen's reputation because they look like nose-in-the-sand pushovers when it comes to environmental issues.
Earlier this year I looked at their approach to bee reporting and found more spin than substance. I wondered if that was an accident of fate so I decided to do another test case. This time I looked at how they reported the issues surrounding the failing monarch butterfly migration.
Recommendations About How to Help Monarch Butterflies
Unless you've been hiding away on the space shuttle this year you probably know that the monarch butterfly migration east of the Rocky Mountains is in danger of collapse.
Over the course of 2014, five stories were published by The New York Times about monarch butterflies. Most off the content involved information about the migration and butterflies in general but two of the reports offered brief recommendations about what we can do to help.
But before they told us what we could do they made sure to set a limit. On February 14, they printed the following statement which turned out to be the key phrase for the whole year's reporting. Above all else
"We can't ask farmers to change their habits."
Yet, isn't that exactly what people did when faced with ecological catastrophe in the 1930s? Rather than pretending the dust bowl didn't happen, people learned from the experience and stopped using damaging farming techniques. I have to wonder why change was possible then but unthinkable now.
But let's go back to the action plan. As 'the newspaper of record' with vast resources and access to the wisest experts in the land The New York Times gave the public this advice:
In February: Let's plant milkweed on roadsides and between fields. Maybe we could offer subsidies for farmers to set aside land that is free of herbicides.
By November the advice became: Gardeners should replace tropical milkweeds with native varieties. Make sure to cut them back in the fall. Oh, and we ought to do more experimental work.
Do you know how much tropical milkweed is grown in this country? I don't. But I can give a rough estimate of how much land is used for GMO crops. The USDA reported that in 2012:
Corn fields took up 87.4 million acres
Soy fields used 76.1 million acres
Cotton fields used 9.4 million acres.
The total rounds up to 173 million acres of land. Of that land the majority was planted with Bt and Roundup Ready seed. Looking through the window at the lone tropical milkweed plant waving back at me from my backyard I am honestly astonished that anyone could think it poses any threat at all in comparison to all those millions of acres of poisoned land.
It really is a bit like living during a plague year in old London. All around us is a mass die off resulting from infected flea bites. Meanwhile some guy is making a profit from selling the death blankets to survivors. In the middle of all this drama someone else comes along hoping to start a debate in the town square about the relative merits of cotton vs linen bandages for buboes. I know which problem deserves my attention.
The New York Times disagrees with me I guess. They seem to think that plague sellers like Monsanto and Syngenta are the ones who need protection. I can tell because of the way they have portioned out their story real estate. And because they refused to investigate those who are accountable.
Unequal Story Space Regarding the Causes of the Problem
To be fair The New York Times did specifically mention on two occasions that habitat loss is the prime threat to monarch butterflies. But their phrasing of the problem is a bit disingenuous and a kind of deflection. The cause of all that shrinking habitat is known. Whenever I see 'habitat loss' in print I prefer to replace the phrase with 'herbicide use.'
Knowing that they are aware of the main cause for the problem it is jarring to see which of the problem causes receives the most discussion space. (Please refer to the chart below).
The problem of herbicide use (orange) is dwarfed by an issue that at this time is only speculative — that gardeners growing tropical milkweed (blue) might cause harm to monarch butterflies. The two other causes are largely tangential issues since they have been largely solved (deforestation in Mexico) or impossible to control (severe weather). It is noteworthy that no mention is even given to climate change which has been named as a contributing cause by other publications.
These days people spend a lot of time reading stuff on the internet. Actually, they spend a lot of time looking at pictures and skimming text. Small facts buried in a wall of text don't stand much chance of being remembered or even seen. As with the stories written about bees much of the stuff written about monarch butterflies this year seems designed to divert our attention from actually addressing let alone solving the problem.
News for the One Percent
The New York Times Public Editor recently answered a complaint that the paper is out of touch with most people's realities and that its stories mainly address the needs of the one percent.
I have to agree with that complaint. If my two little case studies are indeed typical then The New York Times has a policy or culture that looks strongly pro-corporate and anti-environment. Maybe they really do think that the potential loss of the butterfly migration is trivial: merely the cost of doing agribusiness.
I do not think that loss is trivial. I think it is a canary. Who knows what is happening to less glamorous insect populations. And insects are Mother Nature's favourite animals; if they go the whole life system could collapse.
I heard The New York Times may reinstate the Environment desk. If they do, I doubt it will make much of a difference to their anti-environment reporting agenda.
Though it is a bit early for end of the year predictions I am going to make one anyway. I think that new environment team will primarily look at climate change and mostly continue to ignore the other pressing issues. Even within the issue of climate change I think their focus will likely be on mitigation rather than actually correcting the problem. This means lots of green-washing articles (buying our way out of the problem) and plenty of profiles of people making money while supposedly 'helping' us fight carbon pollution. I seriously doubt they will provide us with good information to drive policy making.
In other words, reading the New York Times will remain pretty much a waste of time if you care at all about our environment.
How I made the Pie Chart
I used the search function at The New York Times website to identify the stories published about monarch butterflies and limited the time frame to the current year. I broke those stories into sentences (sometimes phrases where appropriate) and used Open Office's word count to find out how much space was allotted. The word totals were sorted into various categories:
- monarch butterflies in general and the migration
- problem causes (which got sorted into the pie chart categories)
- recommendations
- other (mostly a profile about a scientist)


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This year at the IPCPR there were a significant number of new releases from manufacturers. Rocky Patel certainly didn't buck that trend, with a significant list of new products, limited edition products, and line extensions.
One of the special new releases was the Rocky Patel Fifty-Five. Created to commemorate Rocky's 55th birthday, it utilizes tobaccos that are aged 6 – 7 years. Rocky Patel himself created the blend, and Hamlet Paredes came up with the unique sizes. Each of the sizes required custom molds to be manufactured, costing over $30,000, and are tapered on each end with an open foot.
Available in 4 sizes, they're sold in 20 count boxes, with the enormous Titan coming in 10 count boxes. The Corona (4x55), Robusto (5-1/2x55), Toro (61/2x55), and the Titan (8x55).
Update: I was getting conflicting information on the blend from a variety of media sources. I've updated the blend information this morning after reaching out to Hamlet Paredes at Rocky Patel.
Check out our interview with Rocky Patel at the IPCPR 2016 in Las Vegas:
Check out my video review here:
When I nosed the wrapper on the Fifty-Five I was getting a lot of leather, cedar, with a little bit of subtle earthiness underneath. From the foot I couldn't get much else other than the cedar notes.
I used a Xikar v-cutter and found the draw to be excellent. The cigar produced significant amounts of smoke with very light draws.
The initial draws produce balanced flavors of cocoa and spices, with some trailing pepper and trailing cedar. Once the initial few draws pass, some sweetness starts to enter the mix. There's a lot of flavors going on right off the start. The pepper continues to build in intensity as the first third settles in, moving from the end of the retrohale to now linger between draws.
At the halfway point of the first third there's a sweet, cinnamon spice building. Some rich powdered cocoa starts to also break through on the regular draw, and on the retrohale.
As the Fifty-Five moves into the middle third, the sweet cinnamon falls off in strength, the powdered cocoa mixes in with some earth notes, and some rich sweetness comes through serving to cement the profile together. At the halfway point of the cigar, some cedar starts to come through. I feel like it might have been there in the background until now, but I couldn't pick it up due to the variety of flavors.
In the final third, the powdered cocoa ramps back up to take over the profile in the last third.
Total smoking time was 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Everything about the Rocky Patel Fifty-Five impressed me. From the elegant band, to the unique cigar vitola, and the rich medley of flavours.
Although I rated this cigar a box split, I can tell you I'm already seeking it out as a box purchase.
Views: 400
this is one of the sticks I was really interested in at IPCPR... i'll have to track some down
I think this has to be the best Rocky Patel release in the past few years.


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Sarah Joncas was born in 1986 and grew up in both Hamilton and Niagara Falls, Ontario. Her interest in the visual arts developed at an early age, starting with the dedicated drawings of dinosaurs and lizards.
Eventually the study and enjoyment of working from existing images stirred up the need in Sarah to create images of her own; ones that could reflect the world, yet also appease the personal feelings/ideas that she maintained. With this, her direction changed gradually from the world of animation, towards a path in fine art. Sarah graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design's BFA program. She currently resides and works out of Toronto, Canada.
Slightly NSFW.
More info: Sarah Joncas, Instagram, Facebook
The post The Fascinating Female Portraits Of Sarah Joncas appeared first on Design You Trust.


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Welcome to L B ImpexYour reliable partners in sourcing Pulses, Vegetables and Cotton Sheets
Quality AssuranceQuality is the main factor that is taken into consideration, when it comes to the sourcing of good food products.
PackagingAs it is said that never judge a book by its cover; however, this proverb does not fit apt when it comes to this modern world where people get attracted to the products that are appealing.
Our Contribution in the Food IndustryAs it is known that the Indian food industry is booming at a faster pace. It contributes a huge percentage to the world food trade every year.
An Introduction
Improvements in a business is as essential as minerals in a balanced diet. With the changing trends and time, business operations also need upgrade. At L B Impex, we work to be in pace with the current market demands and as a trader and exporter, we understand our responsibility to cater to the demands of our customers for better quality Vegetables, Fresh Maize, Organic Maize, Fresh Yellow Maize, Rice, Pulses, etc. However, we have not limited our offerings to the supply of food products; we also render Cotton Sheeds of unparalleled quality. Guided by our proprietor, Mr. Bijan; we started climbing ladders of success within a year of our inception. It is because of him that we are able to fulfill the demands of our customers on time and at right destination. He guides as well as motivates our personnel to perform best in this competitive marketplace.


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I have just bought a Sipura SPA-3000 from ebay, 20 Euros. If I could wait I think I could buy it some 5 Euros cheaper.
Here are the initial steps for its configuration:
1. Connect Lan port of spa 3000 to the router, phone to a phone and line to PSTN line.
2. Using the connected phone, press 4 times *. The voice menu will be played.
3. press 111 to set static address, 121 to set network mask
4. you should be able to access its website. You can set DNS
5. I could easily connect to my jumblo and 1und1 account with these settings: Here I bring 1und1 settings:
6. in line1 menu:
proxy: sip.1und1.de
Make Call Without Reg: yes
Ans Call Without Reg: yes
Register: yes
Register Expires: 3600
Display Name: name
USer ID: 49xxxxxxxxxxx
password: xxxxxx
in SIP advanced menu, in NAT Support Parameters:
STUN enable: yes
STUN server: stun.1und1.de
that is it, next time I restart it, I can see in info that Line1 is registered and I can call from and call to it.


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Got off the Subway at the same time as Matt Guerrier and Joe Nathan this afternoon. Nathan was bombarded by autograph seekers, but Guerrier was left, for the most part, alone. One sympathetic fan ran up to Guerrier, thrust a ball at him and said, "Here, I feel bad."
A few little facts before the lineups ...
Justin Morneau is looking for his 100th career home run. His walk-off on Sunday against the Brewers was his 99th.
Johan Santana sat in the dugout before the game with his batting gloves on, holding his bat and looking quite excited about the opportunity to hit tonight. Perhaps he'll give himself some of that run support he's been missing.
Michael Cuddyer is riding a nine-game hitting streak. During that time the right fielder is hitting .333.
When asked what he'd heard about Mets starting pitcher Jorge Sosa, Ron Gardenhire said, "slider, slider, slider."
Lineups ...
Luis Castillo 2B
Joe Mauer C
Michael Cuddyer RF
Justin Morneau 1B
Torii Hunter CF
Jeff Cirillo 3B
Jason Tyner LF
Jason Bartlett SS
Johan Santana P
New York
Jose Reyes SS
Paul Lo Duca C
Carlos Beltran CF
David Wright 3B
Carlos Delgado 1B
Damion Easley 2B
Shawn Green OF
Carlos Gomez LF
Jorge Sosa P
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
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Presshive & REV3 Triathlon teamed up again to produce a website for professional triathlete Lisa Mensink. This robust site combined custom plugin programming, API integration and multimedia functionality, allowing Lisa to share her accomplishments with the world.
The collage-like approach to design highlights Presshive's talent for finding creative coding solutions for design challenges.
Site features include:
- Custom plugins for schedule, race resume, sponsors
- Collage style design
- Contact form
- Social media Integration
- WordPress CMS tailored to manage all content by site admins
- Photo gallery with easy upload and management functionality
- Calendar of events with custom fields


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The 120 Series has been our best-selling chair for over 50 years. Recognized for its superior value, the 120 Series provides unparalleled comfort with a cost effective option to meet any budget requirement. Available in four leg, sled based, casters and task / lab stool options, this series has a solution for every classroom. Optional Nylon, Steel or Felt Glides, Wire Book Rack, Casters and Seat Pads.
*QuickShip available in
Navy (QS123NA, QS125NA, QS127NA, QS129NA)
*Scroll Down for Specs and to Request Pricing
Heavy duty, high-density polyethylene material with a light grain surface. Injection molded into a one-piece shell unit with heavy duty reinforcing ribs as well as molded slots to
accommodate the twin back support tubing. This design offers no exposed hardware on the surface and added strength and durability.
The frame is formed of 14 gauge 1" (15 & 17 inch chairs) - 7/8" (11 & 13 inch chairs) steel tubing legs with 3/4" twin 14 gauge back supports. Legs and back are MIG welded for reinforced strength. Constructed using a cross-over leg design providing maximum support with minimum stress on welds. Bright nickel chrome plated for a durable, scratch resistant finish. Legs are swaged for added strength and a more stylish look. Chairs can be cross stacked to 25 high.
The glides are silent, rubber cushioned, swivel of self-leveling, 1 minimum diameter, hard carbon steel, nylon base type with a flat bottom, chrome plated.


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One of our favorite holiday traditions is to go Black Friday shopping with Julie's mom. We coordinate lists, make a plan of what stores to hit, wake up, pile in the car and spend the day together getting our shopping done. This year while shopping we were approached by a journalist asking a few questions about the day. We chatted for a bit and then moved along on our way.
Fast forward to Saturday morning while we are cooking breakfast and grab the paper. As it unfolds we suddenly realize "Holy crap our faces are on the front page of the Baltimore Sun!" (Nothing like getting your fifteen minutes of fame while looking like you got up at 5am with no shower!) We had a good laugh and agreed It was a fun little memory. Here is a snippet of our headline article...
By waiting until Black Friday to start her holiday shopping, Lauree Novak knew she'd miss some big Thanksgiving night deals.
But tradition is tradition.
Black Friday has evolved, with deals now starting on Thanksgiving or earlier and more and more shoppers going online. But Novak, a resident of Germantown, and her daughter, Julie Kostic of Columbia, saw no reason to change their habits.
"We've done the same thing for 25 years," Novak said Friday at Best Buy in Elkridge, her arms full of video games and game controllers. The pair had headed out before sunrise armed with family wish lists, and plowed through store after store — 20 in all — stopping just for breakfast and lunch.
Check out the full Baltimore Sun article here.


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As a content creator, you eventually dive deep into the deep nitty-gritty of the human condition. You are both providing the best possible content while making it appealing and attractive to you ideal audience.
If you make your content to technical and fit the social standards, it can come off dry and without feeling. If it doesn't follow the social norms, your content may be too eclectic and not optimized for the platform that you are working on.
A happy balance is a sweet spot for influential content marketers. If we spend too much time tailoring our content for either side of the spectrum we lose focus of our end goal – which is to reach our audience on a meaningful level.
There is a natural way of communicating that can be learned, harnessed and perfected. The art of providing value in everything you do.
While this skill will help you make thoughtful content without thinking, it is something that you can learn and practice to become a natural reflex in all your writing. Imagine if you could write naturally compelling content with each post. Or if you felt confident that each interaction you had online was reflecting a polished branded identity.
To help you achieve that here are some ways to come up with thoughtful content without thinking (too hard).
Discover what your readers want
The first step is to start writing and discovering out what your readers want and the benefits they are looking for. Is it to get better, faster or more effectively at whatever it is they are doing? Showcase content that targets those direct needs in creative and innovative ways.
If your content is benefit-oriented, it becomes a lot easier to convey thoughtful content. By using the same language that your audience uses, you build a branded vocabulary that can help you fill in the blank when it comes original and tailored content for a targeted audience.
If you offer service or products for health and wellness, your reader may not want to know the Top 10 things that cause constipation, perhaps they don't even know it's an issue. On the other hand, they would more likely click on a link for The health secret to waking up with a spring in your step.
To effectively influence your audience you need to first know that you understand their most pressing pain points. From there, you build and employ your personal solutions that creatively show why you are an authority in your field.
Dissect your own learning process
What comes naturally to you doesn't to other people. If you've ever felt like you had to slow down and take your time to explain something, that may be obvious to you, but other people seem to be oblivious to it, you are the perfect content creator type.
When we think about how to achieve success in our life we can easily use our learning lessons as the cornerstone of our content stategy. However, it is important to show that your information is applicable and actually works.
Only by studying, learning and implementing what has worked for others can we discover our unique process. Once we get a feeling for our process, can we then document it and share it to bring value into the lives of our readers. As a content creator, you are a stepping stone for your readers, that can send them down the path of same success you've achieved.
Reveal common mistakes
Learning to embrace failure, maintain focus, and cultivate resilience in the face of your end goal is an asset of a successful leader in any field. This also includes sharing ways to recover from pitfalls in your industry or topic market.
Your learning lessons are some of the best content to share with your audience. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it – so why do you and your tribe make the effort to invest in their passions?
Looking out for your readers is a thoughtful way to bring value and maintain a relationship. For
Because you want to make it meaningful, it is important to engage in conversation with your audience and build a dialogue. One of the best ways to do this is to build an email list and actively send out invitations to a one-on-one dialog.
Highlight what makes you unique
Every interaction we have online is a chance to define our brand and make our creative mark in the world. From the immersive
What motivates you and your tribe is unique to your network and topic. That means you are acting as a broadcasting station for what drives you and your customers. A lighthouse for others who believe in the same message as you.
To put this into use for content creation, take the time to explain how and why you do what you do. This sort of philosophizing is not only great marketing but is essential to flesh out your brand identity.
Sharing your weekly/monthly and quarterly business updates, how you've changed grown and the lessons you've learned brings in the most important element of a successful online presence which is humanizing your brand.
Humanize your brand
Digital marketing is exciting for brands because it offers a platform to build and scale a communication method with its ideal readers. However, "marketing" is not what your audience is looking for, they seek genuine connection and a meaningful contribution to their lives and the lives of others.
From showcasing your philanthropic endeavors to sharing about family, home pets and other humanizing parts of your personality can help open you up to more meaningful communication. Another example is talking about your employees and present testimonials.
My brand specializes in website design and helping online businesses build an audience. Because I am also very passionate about creative entrepreneurs and startups, I spend time blogging and share ways other people can put to use what has worked for me.
You shouldn't have to try to humanize, you just have to let it flow. Recognize it as a valuable asset that will help you stand out from
What's next?
As you continue on your journey as a content creator there will be many ways to come up with helpful and thoughtful ways to position your message. Being creative and authentic with your audience are the most important parts of really achieving a meaningful connection with your readers.
How do you come up with thoughtful content for your blog? Make sure to comment below and subscribe to the newsletter for more information on ways to be an influential content marketer.
Image by Linus Schütz from Pixabay


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How To Write Your Yearly Vision
At the beginning of every year I like to set professional goals and create a detailed plan for achieving them. I also take time to write down my yearly story. Also known as a yearly vision, it's one of my favourite ways to record my goals.
A yearly story or vision is how you see your life playing out throughout the year. It includes various elements and doesn't involve set deadlines. In this post, I share how you can write your yearly story and how you can use the power of writing to meet goals. There's also a free workbook for you to download to write your own story!
In my free training, I like to ask students to write down their ideal days. Writing down my ideal day is something I started over 10 years ago when I worked in a cubicle and felt stifled by my 9 to 5 corporate job.
To get through the day, I'd write on a Post-it what I'd be doing instead if I were working from home as a freelance proofreader. In that Post-it day I'd be sleeping in, taking my dog to the park, and working at a coffee shop. I did this a few times a day, and after a while it inspired me to make my Post-it life a reality.
This practice of writing down my daily vision evolved into writing down my yearly story. I came up with this exercise so I could see what my goals and desires looked like in narrative form.
I'm a creative person who loves writing, and whenever I write my story, I feel so confident and capable of anything. It's quite the experience to see your year as you dream it, on paper. As Walt Disney once said, "If you can dream it, you can do it."
The Power Of Writing Down Your Story
Writing down your story has a big impact on your ability to reach your goals. In a recent study on the art and science of goal setting, it was discovered that people who wrote down their goals and dreams on a regular basis are 42% more likely to achieve them.
If you share your dreams and goals with someone you trust, then the likelihood that they'll become reality will go up even more. In the same study, researchers discovered that more than 70 percent of people who sent weekly updates to a friend were successful in accomplishing their goal. Seventy percent! If that doesn't make you grab a pen and paper and call up a friend, I don't know what will.
So writing down your desires isn't some groundless exercise, and it's a proven system for achievement and confidence building.
What Is Your Story And How Do You Write One?
Writing down your story is a fun, free-flowing activity where you allow yourself freedom to dream. Don't hold back, but remember you're trying to make dreams a reality, so don't go too far out of the realm of possibility.
Here are some tips for writing your story:
- If you have one, include the word or phrase you've chosen for the year.
- Don't forget your feelings. How do you want to feel in different aspects of your life? Energized? Peaceful? Patient? Confident?
- Think of the people in your life. They impact your story, too. Who and what kind of people do you want to be surrounded by?
- Include your personal, health, spiritual, and professional goals.
- Don't worry about it being linear. Write it down as it comes to you.
- Think about the big goals you want to achieve and write them down as if they've already happened.
Here's an example of how to incorporate goals into your story. If your goals include paying off debt and taking a tropical vacation, then it would look like this:
After I paid off my credit card and the rest of my student loan by the end of summer, I was able to go on vacation to an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean in the fall. I lounged in the sun, went sailing on a catamaran, drank a lot of slushie cocktails, and totally just relaxed. I also read books that had been on my reading list for ages.
See how easy and fun it can be? All you have to do is grab a pen and starting writing down your story. I like to write mine in the past tense, as if I'm reflecting on the wonderful year I just had. If you want to write in another style like future tense, or in point form, go right ahead.
And here's the printable workbook I mentioned above. Grab a copy of the free workbook in the box below and start writing your yearly story today!
Write Your Story Often
Writing down your goals and desires is also a powerful form of visualization. You can write your story whenever you need some inspiration or a pick-me-up.
I write my story when I'm feeling down or experiencing doubt, or when I've accomplished a goal. It's also okay if your story changes as your year progresses, as well.
Goal setting is necessary, and it's important to have an action plan for achieving them, but I think it's just as vital to write down your story. It doesn't get into the nitty-gritty quarterly and weekly breakdowns and deadlines, but you'll have set your path in a certain direction toward a destination. It'll help guide you in your overall decisions.
And if you feel embarrassed over what you've written? Read it again. Do you feel silly because you think it can't be done? Do you feel like you don't have it in you? Just remember that your embarrassment is related to your level of confidence, and every time you read it, it'll be easier to face what you truly want.
Does part of your yearly story involve making extra money, starting a business, or learning a new skill? Proofreading is an in-demand skill that you can learn in less than 30 days!
If you want to learn how you can start freelancing, I'm holding a FREE masterclass on proofreading, copyediting, and marketing.