text:
Why did the old Folly end now, and no later? Why did the modern Wisdom begin now, and no sooner?
-Rabelais, Prologue to Book V
Academia, like our nation's morals, seems to be forever in peril. When I first heard of the replication crisis - about how standards are so loose that a scientist can't even replicate what he ate for breakfast three days ago, much less reproduce another scientist's experiment - I was reminded of my grandpa. He once complained to me that colleges today are fleshpots of hedonism and easy sex. Nonsense, I said. Each year literally tens of students graduate with their virtue intact.
Nonetheless, the more I learned about the replication crisis, the more alarmed I became. You know a crisis is serious when it has its own Wikipedia page, and when its sister phrase "questionable research practices" gets its own acronym: QRP (pronounced "Quirp"). These practices range from data "peeking" - ogling a p-value before she's half-dressed - to fabricating data, one of academia's gravest sins. (Apparently grant agencies have gotten very picky about researchers lying about their results and wasting millions of dollars.) One of my friends suggested campaigning for a War on QRPs, with scientists in white labcoats stamping out QRPs like cockroaches. Who knows - someday QRP Exterminator may become as respected and honorable a position as Lab Manager.
One such QRP was recently flushed out of hiding in an article by
published in the journal PNAS (pronounced "P-NAS"), with the klieg lights thrown on cluster correction, the most common FMRI multiple comparison technique. If you're in a neuroimaging lab, or if you've read about FMRI in a magazine, you've come across these clusters - splotches of reds and yellows, color-coded to show the strength of the result. They look attractive, especially on glossy magazine pages, and they make for good copy.
Relative popularity of different correction methods. The majority use cluster correction; a smaller percentage use voxel-based thresholding (i.e., correcting for the total number of voxels in the brain); and the remainder do not use correction. Men who don't use correction claim that it feels more spontaneous and natural. Adapted from Woo et al. (2014)
There is another reason for the popularity of clusters: As each FMRI dataset contains tens or hundreds of thousands of voxels, and as each voxel is similar to its neighbor, it is useful to test whether a cluster of voxels is significant instead of each voxel individually. This increases the sensitivity of detecting activation, although at the cost of reduced spatial sensitivity. If I point to a cloud of smoke in the distance you will assume there is a fire somewhere, although seeing the cloud itself gives you only a vague idea of where or how big the fire is - or, for that matter, whether its the result of a dozen individual campfires, or of a single inferno.
Problems with Cluster Correction
The authors don't take issue with cluster correction
per se
; rather, they claim that the assumptions behind the technique, and how the correction is used, can lead to inflated false positives. In other words, using cluster correction makes one more likely to say that a cluster represents a true activation, when the cluster is actually noise. The assumptions they question are:
1) That spatial smoothness is constant over the brain; and
2) That spatial autocorrelation looks like a Gaussian distribution.
Spatial smoothness is in fact not constant; it varies over the brain. Midline regions such as the precuneus, anterior cingulate cortex, and prefrontal areas show more spatial smoothness than the the outer regions - possibly because the midline areas of cortex, with the gray matter of the hemispheres in close proximity to each other, have similar structure and similar timecourses of activity which are averaged together. The underestimation of spatial smoothness in these areas can lead to inflated false positives, which may be why midline areas (such as the anterior cingulate cortex) turn up as a significant result much more often than other areas.
Effects of spatial smoothing at different smoothing sizes, or kernels. The larger the smoothing kernel, the more that adjacent voxels are blurred together, resulting in greater similarity of spatial structure and also of the timecourse of activity.
It is the second assumption, however, which is the main cause behind the increase in false positives demonstrated in the Eklund paper. The idea behind spatial autocorrelation is simple: A voxel is more similar to its immediate neighbors and less similar to voxels farther away, the similarity falling off in concentric spheres around a given voxel. This correlation between each voxel and its neighbors is traditionally modeled with a Gaussian distribution - the same bell-shaped curve that models most distributions, such as IQ or height - when in reality the autocorrelation distribution has much thicker tails:
Comparison of the Gaussian distribution (green) with the empirical ACF (black) and mixed model of a Gaussian and exponential distribution (red). Note the increasing discrepancy between the Gaussian distribution and the empirical distribution around 5mm, with the thicker tails of the empirical distribution suggesting that more distant voxels are more correlated than is assumed under traditional clustering methods.
When the authors ran simulations on large datasets under different experimental conditions (e.g., block design and event-related), they found that this assumption of a Gaussian shape led to false positives far above the expected 5% rate across all the major software packages (SPM, AFNI, and FSL). The commonly used p = 0.01 threshold for the individual voxels of the cluster led to much higher false positive rates than a more stringent p = 0.001 threshold. (Notably, permutation testing, a nonparametric method that does not rely on assumptions of normality, did not show any substantial difference in false positives under any conditions.) These inflated false positive rates led to the following figure, which was picked up by the popular media and discussed in a fair, evenhanded way which emphasized that although false positive rates could be increased in some cases, it would be hasty to conclude that all neuroimaging results are wrong.*
Figure 1 from Eklund et al (2016). Simulations on an open-access dataset for different block and event-related designs. Upper left: Cluster-defining threshold (CDT) of p = 0.01 uncorrected; upper right: CDT of p = 0.001 uncorrected; bottom: voxel-level inference. Black line: Expected false positive rate of 5%. A threshold of p = 0.01 leads to inflated false positives across all of the major software packages (SPM, AFNI, and FSL), while a threshold of p = 0.001 leads to clusters closer to the expected 5% false positive rate. Voxel-level inference is slightly conservative in all cases. Permutation testing (circled in red), a nonparametric method, does as expected under all conditions.
*Or not.
There are three solutions to this problem; solutions to make neuroimaging respectable again, to cease being laughed at as cranks, charlatans, raiders of the public fisc, and attention-seeking, unscrupulous bloggers.
One solution is to use voxel-wise thresholds; although, as shown in the Eklund paper, these are often far too conservative, and can lead one to conclude there are no results when they actually do exist. I, for one, cannot stand the thought of those poor results slowly suffocating in their little gray coffins, alive but unable to signal for help. With voxel-wise thresholds we stop up our ears with wax; we think we hear the dim scratching of nails, the whimpers for succor, but dismiss them as figments of a fevered imagination; and we leave those tiny blobs and their tiny blob families to know that their last moments will be horror.
The second, more humane solution is to use more conservative cluster-forming thresholds, such as p = 0.001 uncorrected, in conjunction with more accurate modeling of the spatial autocorrelation. I recommend updating your AFNI binaries to the latest version (i.e., the beginning of 2017 or later), and using the -acf option in 3dFWHMx. For example:
3dFWHMx -mask mask+tlrc.HEAD -acf tmp.txt errts+tlrc.HEAD
Which will generate parameters for a more accurate estimation of the empirical ACF; you will see something like this:
++start ACF calculations out to radius = 37.68mm
+ACF done (0.74 CPU s thus far)
11.8132 13.748 12.207
0.260939 6.36019 16.6387
The first line of numbers are the traditional smoothness estimates in the x-, y-, and z-directions, as well as a weighted average of them (bolded). The second line of numbers are the a, b, and c parameters for the ACF model,
With the last number being an updated estimate of the smoothness. These are then input into 3dClustSim:
3dClustSim -acf 0.26 6.36 16.64 -mask mask+tlrc.HEAD -athr 0.05 -pthr 0.001
The difference between the two smoothness estimates leads to substantial differences in significant cluster thresholds. In this case, the traditional estimates lead to a cluster threshold of 668 contiguous voxels, while the ACF version gives a threshold of 1513. This was using an initial cluster-defining threshold of p = 0.01, which can lead to such large differences; more stringent thresholds (e.g., p = 0.001) have less of a difference, but still a significant gap between them.
The third solution is to use non-parametric methods, such as permutation tests; which, since they do not rely on assumptions of normality, are immune to the autocorrelation assumptions listed above. Some popular tools include SPM's
(Statistical non-Parametric Mapping); FSL's
; and Eklund's
. Out of the three, I've only used randomise, and found it straightforward to use (see the tutorial
Have we been profiting too long from dubious methods in neuroimaging? Have we become lax and complacent in our position as a period science, knowing that no matter how poorly designed the experiment is, no matter how ludicrous the question we are investigating - such as where the word YOLO is in the brain, or how the consumption of Four Loko affects delayed discounting - no matter whether our subjects are technically alive or not, we will probably still get a significant result, most likely in the precuneus?**
The answer to all of these, I would say, is yes. But just because I was able to get the results of my first paper to squeak by with an outdated version of AlphaSim, and consequently have an easy time in graduate school, make tons of money, and be envied by all of my friends, doesn't mean that you should have the same privilege. The way forward will be a hard one for the neuroimagers of today; standards will be higher, methods tighter, reviews harsher. But if you put in enough work, if you exercise enough diligence, and if you live long enough into the ninth year of your graduate program, you may just be able to take advantage of the next major statistical loophole that comes along. Have faith.***
**For the record, I still don't know where the precuneus is. My best guess is: "Somewhere right before the cuneus."
***In all seriousness, AFNI has been responsive, helpful, and, given the circumstances, even gracious with any issues that have come up with their programs - specifically, 3dFWHMx (the smoothness estimator) and 3dClustSim (the cluster threshold estimator). The problems are not so much with AFNI, as with how it is used; and even though it is being patched, it is worth keeping in mind that there will likely be other issues discovered in the future, as with all methods - even non-parametric ones. (Their response to the Eklund paper can be found
.) The responsibility of the user is to make sure that the results that are reported follow the most up-to-date correction methods; that suspicious-looking activations that don't make sense in the experimental context, or consist of several blobs connected by threads of voxels, should be interpreted with caveats; and that even results which are weak and do not pass correction with the current methods, may still be real but underpowered effects. As with any result, it's up to the researcher to use their best judgment.


text:
Coach Harbaugh says he's not a fake Drake fan.
Jim Harbaugh, the head football coach at the University of Michigan is one of the most unique, polarizing head coaches in the sport, or in any sport for that matter.
The quirky, passionate, mad genius eats, sleeps and breathes football but he also wants his players and recruits to know that he's also hip with the time. Take for instance his recent announcement on twitter, where he proclaimed that he "wasn't a fake" and proceeded to list his Top 5 Drake songs.
His tweet about Drake's Top 5 came in response to a recently unveiled SNL skit, which was cut from the show, that portrayed Drake as a Michigan alum.
Here's how he ranked Drizzy's best tracks:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
R. Budd Dwyer (1939-1987)
I'm dead in the water
The image an empty vessel
Turned in hands of the giant wheel
Listless master of drowned flies
The good people of Pennsylvania
Watch Tom Cruise play football
Leaves turn, his scholarship jeopardized
Another factory closes
Down with cracked asphalt, oil spots,
And dead streams the crippled titan
Drags his torso over wet leaves
Mud cold and unforgiving
The smoking gun
The pension paid
Hollowed be thy eyes
When the system will not die
Inanimate as a lamp-shade
On the treasurer's desk
Lonely gallows
Kick pebbles and fight the shakes
There's belief somewhere
In a pair of slacks
A warm handshake
Pigskin from a judge's soft psalms
Every fucking day is war
To my dearest with the lights cut off
I am just two nostrils
I sing the songs
Somewhere in the primordial Quaker stew
There was justice. There is none here.
We are neatly pressed shirts
All smiles in Harrisburg, PA
The good ole boys slapping backs
Nay, wrists—except for R. Budd Dwyer
The constituency must see
The noise we can make
One less noble man
One hundred thousand less jobs
You saw him, yes?
Blow his brains out on public access?
It must be a marker of guilt
He had the rope
All this time, he had the rope
It was right there in the envelope
It was the Big Game
Lamb to the slaughter
It was a daughter without a father
Evidence with no proof
There are wedding rings with more discretion
Maybe he could've been reached…
Could've been reasoned with
As if fifty years is a viable alternative
This is what happens when you corner a man
Let the great big doe eyes see
What's been consecrated here
Conviction, conviction


text:
On my last day at work the boss gave me a couple of pressies from the team and one was a bag of Fritillaria Uva Vulpis (Note the mispelling on the tag in the pic below!)
Also. Something else to not is that the tag says 20 bulbs. But in actual fact there was 60 in there. Ok… Some will fail but still. Not bad at all!
So, after a couple of tweets asking for info and a bit of Googling I realised that I needed to get them in now if I want to have a show in springtime. And with that knowledge, guess what I was doing this morning? Yup… Procrastination… Erm, no. Serious planting!
So with gloves and an awesome dibber. (That's a broken, thicker piece of bamboo to you and me!) I planted them all. Most went into the front of the garden but I did keep 3 bulbs to put in the back deliberately in a darker patch to see if it will grow at all. If they don't then *shrug*.
Most of the bulbs were already pushing so I am hoping they were in the ground in good time.


text:
Comentarios de usuarios
Crítica de los usuarios - Marcar como inadecuado
Attributes evolutionary theories to cultural norms that affect behaviour and calls it "science". Many of Buss' theories on the evolutionary psychology with regard to gender have been debunked by other studies that include non-heterosexual male and female subjects. Also, paleontologists and anthropologists say that Buss' perception of prehistoric humans is false and falsely interpreted as how humans have evolved. Because he's spent his career pushing forth his theories as fact/science, he doesn't consider that he is wrong; therefore, he has a very large blind-spot in his interpretations of the results of his studies.
Crítica de los usuarios - Marcar como inadecuado
Todos los comentarios - 2
5 estrellas - 1
4 estrellas - 0
3 estrellas - 0
2 estrellas - 0
1 estrella - 1
Sin calificación - 0
Todos los comentarios - 2
Comentarios editoriales - 0
Todos los comentarios - 2


text:
The FNAIM's "32nd Meetings for Real Estate Professions"
On 19 February 2013, Kijner & Sons International Realty participated at the "32nd Meetings for Real Estate Professions" organized by the Paris & Parisian Region's FNAIM Chamber for Real Estate Professions* (CIM-FNAIM).
The FNAIM is the French National Real Estate Federation, which by its number, is the first European organization for real estate professionals. Hosted in the magnificient decor of "La Maison des Arts et Métiers" private lounges, the meetings were followed by a refined cocktail during which French Real Estate specialists met and networked.
Mr. Didier Camandona, President of the CIM-FNAIM, invited prominent speakers from the banking, political and real estate spheres to debate on subjects such as the real estate economic prospects for 2013, condominium management as well as upcoming housing and urban legal bills.
Key speakers included Mr. Pierre Harel (Crédit du Nord), Mrs. Véronique Baco-Reaume (Ecole Supérieure de l'Immobilier), Mr. Jacques Laporte (Foncia), Mrs. Françoise Descamps-Crosnier (Deputy-Mayor, Rosny-sur-Seine), Mr. Jean-Jacques Hyest (Senator-Mayor, Madeleine-sur-Loing), Mr. Michel Frechet (President of the Housing General Confederation), Mr. Ruchard Titin-Snaider (CMI-FNAIM Administrator) and Mr. Jean-François Buet (President of the FNAIM). Video support was provided by TivImmo, the interactive real estate and housing e-channel.
* Chambre FNAIM des Métiers de l'Immobilier de Paris et la Région Parisienne (C.M.I.)


text:
And just like that, its over. But that doesn't mean we can't rejoice in just how awesome III Points 2017 was. However, let's cut to the chase, the reason why … Read More
The Tracklist for RL Grime's Halloween VII Mix is Here
Here Is the Perfect Playlist for Your Next Acid Trip
Rae Sremmurd – "No Type" (ASTR Cover) [Free Download]
Why All Ages Clubs Need to Just Stop
Billie Eilish – "Bored"
Ultra Worldwide to Make Abu Dhabi Debut in 2020
October 16, 2019
Dustycloud Returns With Bolstering 'Skyfall' EP on Insomniac Records
October 13, 2019
Top Five Festivals to Attend This Fall
October 10, 2019
The Alchemy Tour Charms Chicago Ft. NGHTMRE, SLANDER, The Glitch Mob + More
October 9, 2019
Grimes Announces Bio-Haqué For Art Basel Featuring Nina Kraviz and Sophie
October 8, 2019


text:
Olivier mosset at jean-paul najar foundation
December 19, 2017
Olivier Mosset is the subject of a solo exhibition at the Jean-Paul Najar Foundation in Dubai. His first exhibition in the Middle East, Olivier Mosset: Abstraction showcases works that span over fifty years of the artist's career.
Exibited works include Mosset's iconic identical oil paintings, featuring a black circle in the center of a white square canvas, of which he painted over 200 between 1966 and 1974, as well as more recent monochromes – including pure color fields, patterned paintings and shaped canvases. The exhibition also features new works produced by Mosset in his studio in Tucson earlier this year. Revealed to the public for the first time, this group of multi-panel chromatic works vividly contrast blocks of orange, green and blue against pure white.
The Jean-Paul Najar Foundation for Contemporary Art is a non-profit museum, with a focus on abstract European and American art from the 1960s to the present. Olivier Mosset: Abstraction is curated by Hervé Mikaeloff and will be on view through February 28, 2018.


text:
Interview: Behind True Crime
We were delighted to be invited to take part in the Hunt a Killer podcast 'Behind True Crime' which is a bi-weekly conversation with different types of people working within the genre of true crime: criminologists, writers, directors, podcasters, detectives, and now us.
In this interview, we talk about our 'routes' into true crime (including the incident where Emma ended up texting the thief of her own laptop), Henry VIII, book and podcast recommendations, making issue one and what our readers can expect from issue two and much more.
Issue two will be publishing on 30th April, make sure you're one of the first to get your hands on one by pre-ordering here.


text:
Barista Coffee
Client - Cafe 24-7
Type - Television Commercial, Social Media
Cafe 24-7, the cafe arm of APCO Service Stations makes high quality, barista coffee. Cafe 24-7 asked us to produce a TVC and Social media promotional video to let the world know that the Service Station coffee game had changed.
The first thing we said to ourselves when we had our Cafe 24-7 coffee before our meeting was "That's a good coffee" and hence the catch-cry was born. Our goal was to change the perception that coffee served at Cafe 24-7 was every bit as good as a specialty coffee house, with the convenience and price that a service station provides.


text:
BangPop Gets Some Great Press!
This Sunday Jay Piscopo, creator of the Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli, will be traveling up to Bangor to take part in the BangPop Comic Book and Pop Culture Convention which is being held in the Bangor Civic Center. The Bangor Daily News did a great write up about BangPop in today's paper. Check it out HERE.
Sunday is BangPop! Kid's Day and I'll be doing free superhero sketches and the crew will hand out Capt'n Eli Collectible Card Games and Seasearcher tattoos. Both volumes of The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli will be on sale at a special convention price and there will be free event kits for educators librarians. Just stop by the booth. Educators and libraries click HERE for more about this all ages graphic novel series and our free curriculum.
WHAT: BangPop!
WHEN: Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20
WHERE: Bangor Civic Center, Bangor, Maine
COST: Kids 12 and under free (accompanied by an adult) Adults $10
Posted by The Crew at 9:20 AM


text:
Board of Directors
Board Chair: Ann Marie Von Hacht Horner '69
Ann Marie Von Hacht Horner '69 is the 2018-2019 Chair of the Board of Trustees for MSJA. Ann Marie is a founding member of the Horner Foundation, which supports not-for-profit organizations in four regions to foster youth development through sports and experiential learning opportunities.
Seated, from left: Dr. Judith Caviston (Principal); S. Marjorie Keenan, SSJ; Elizabeth Brown; Lori Nicoletti Peruto '79; S. Deborah Hughes, SSJ; Elizabeth Bouquard '02; S. Nancy Fitzgerald, SSJ; Nancy McKernan; Jennifer Caillier Boston.
Standing, from left : Jill Gregori (Director of Development); Mark Paviglianiti; Kathleen McGirr (Director of Finance); Laura Johnson '08; James Paul; Stephen Gozdan; S. Kathleen Brabson, SSJ (President); Jeffrey Kohler; Monica Duvall DiLella '88; Carl Jenkins; Pamela Hunt Gwaltney '79; S. Theresa Maugle, SSJ; Jody Romano (Vice President of Institutional Advancement).
Not pictured: Ann Marie VonHacht Horner '69, Mary Merz Berko '48, Robert Havard, Deacon John Mischler, Dorothy Riehs.


text:
How Jesus Will Keep You in 2019
We're looking at John 17 this morning, in what is known as Jesus's High Priestly Prayer. It's Jesus's final recorded prayer on behalf of his people prior to his crucifixion and death. We'll break it into three parts: (1) What is Jesus Praying For? (2) Who Is Jesus Praying For, and (3) How Is Jesus Expecting His Prayer to be Answered . Let's pray and ask for the Lord's help.
I want you to picture a group of young army men hunkered down in a field. They're nervous — eyes-wide open, hearts are beating out of their chests. They are crawling carefully, slowly, because they are deep behind enemy lines.
They're the remnant of what had been a much larger group. But by this time, much of their squad has already fled from the battle, overwhelmed with fear and disillusioned with the mission. Only these eleven remain.
Why do they remain? Because they trust their commander. His presence, alongside them, provides security, his wisdom brings them hope, and the words he had spoken to them so many times before was now quieting their souls: "Do not worry, I will keep you when the bullets fly."
This imagery is my attempt to capture the essence of what it may have felt like for the disciples to have followed Jesus throughout the course of his three-year ministry in Galilee and Judea.Despite the danger all around them (demon possessed men, outraged religious leaders, the insecurity of not knowing where they would lay their head at night) these disciples could not, would not, leave their leader, Jesus, for as one of them, Peter, had said, "Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life. and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." (Jn. 6:68-69)
But that sense of security, the feeling of comfort within the battle, was about to be tested.
John 17 is located at the tail-end of Jesus' three-year ministry. And Jesus, having completed every task the Father had given him up to that point, lifts his voice in prayer, saying, 17:1, "Father, the hour has come." There's one final task Jesus has yet to complete: He has to suffer his own death at the hands of the very ones he came to save. Knowing he was about to die and would be going to the Father, and knowing his disciples would not die at that time, but remain in the world, Jesus prays, now skipping down to verse eleven of chapter 17, "I am no longer in the world...but they are in the world…"
Come back to the imagery of the young army men crawling through the field deep behind enemy lines. Now, imagine that one of them, is so shaken with fear, he resolves to look up. The fear had finally gotten to him, everything in him is screaming "retreat, retreat" yet, he knows that if he could just look up and catch a glimpse of his commander — the steel in his eyes, the love in his heart, the strength in his arms, the power in his presence — He would have the courage to press on. So, he looks up —— and he sees his commander staring right back at him, only this time there's a look of concern on his face. And the commander whisper two solemn words, "I'm leaving."
How vulnerable would you feel?
Jesus, our commander, our protector, prays: "I am no longer in the world... but they are in the world…"
How vulnerable do we feel?
In addition to vulnerable, we might also rise in anger. What! You said "I will keep you when the bullets fly…" Well, the bullets are flying, where are you?
You might shake your head in disbelief- How could I have been so foolish? Why did I ever believe him? Why did I ever trust him?
Perhaps you'd puff-up in pride and determination– Good riddance. Who needs him? I can do this on my own!
Perhaps you'd tear the emblems off your sleeves and turn your camouflage inside out. Cut your hair, change your name, and learn the language of the enemy. Not a double-agent, but a single-minded, full-fledged, card-carrying apostate.
Vulnerable, angry, prideful, rebellious — are these the words that describe us when we feel far from Jesus?
Like when Jesus says he will never leave us nor forsake us, and then spiritual droughts come and we feel so far from him we consider whether the love we had for him was ever real in the first place. Or when Jesus says he'll keep us, and then doubts / questions come flooding into our mind and we wonder if Jesus actually is who he says he is. And when Jesus says he'll satisfy us, and yet day-after-day we feel lonely and hopeless, questioning if we should look to another because this whole Jesus thing just isn't doing it for us.
We know these feelings, we know these seasons of struggle, we've likely all experienced them to some degree. Some of us are in the very depths of them right now. These times are real, and they are dangerous, and they are exactly the reason Jesus is praying.
In light of the context for John 17, let's answer three questions.
Q1: What Does Jesus Pray For
17:11, "And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, (here is the prayer) keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." He goes on, saying, "While I was with them I kept them in your name, I have guarded them in your name and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction (referencing Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus).
Keep them? Guard them? How?
I don't know about you, but when I encounter the struggle of living in a broken world, whether it's in the midst of the heart-crushing experience of losing a love one, or the earth-shattering prognosis of disease, or the heavy, hazy darkness of ongoing depression/hopelessness, two solutions come to mind:
Solution 1: Jesus will rescue me out of this struggle. The pain will go away, the disease will be healed, the family member will return, the heart will start beating once more.
Or Solution 2: Jesus won't rescue me, and I'll have to rescue myself out of the struggle (2x)
In either option, the end result is rescue out of the struggle, the only consideration is who's going to do it: Jesus, or myself.
Solution number 1: Jesus will rescue us out of the struggle:
This doesn't last long long as week look through John 17. As Jesus's prayer continues, we see:
Verse 14: "the world has hated them because they are not of the world"
Verse 15: "I do not ask that you take them out of the world."
So, they are going to stay in a land where they are hated. Jesus is not asking that we be taken out of the world, out of the struggle.
Now, sometimes, Jesus does cause a specific struggle to cease. He heals a hurt, closes a wound, fills a gap, provides an answer, sometimes — and we take a deep breath, wipe away our tears, and rejoice. But even still, with the specific struggle taken care of, the everyday pains of living in a broken world have yet to come to a halt for us. We still live here, hounded by sin in our own hearts (pride, anger, lust), wounded by the sin in the hearts of others (harsh words, selfishness, unfaithfulness) and damaged by the affects of sin in our broken world (sickness, injury, natural disaster). And Jesus says, "I do not ask that you take them out of the world."
For many of us, as our personal struggles and pains persist, seeing that Jesus has yet to take them away, we fall into option 2: We rescue ourselves out of the struggle.
We might say "Jesus, I won't wait any longer. I'm going to take things into my own hands. When the depression comes I'm going to reach for a drink or for a drug - anything to numb the pain. When loneliness hits I'm going to pull out the phone - social media, online shopping, pornography, anything to mute my loneliness. When fears flood in (terrorism, governmental shutdowns, death) I'm going to ignore it and pretend like nothing is happening. Or, I'm going to close up inside and go into preservation mode – no more going outside, lock the doors, close the blinds, safety at all costs even if it means hurting others.
It's safe to assume these acts of becoming our own savior, self-preservation, and ditching our trust in Jesus, is not the kind of response Jesus has in mind for us when he prays to the Father, 'I do not ask that you take them out of the world.' So, what does Jesus have in mind?
Thus far we've considered two options, both involving being taken out of worldly struggles, but What about a third option? We are not taken out of worldly struggles, but kept, by Jesus, while remaining in them.
And this is what Jesus prays for, 17:11: "And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name."
But this then begs a question:
(Question 2) Who Does Jesus Pray For?
See we struggle with this because Jesus says I've kept them, I've guarded them, not one of them has been lost. But…
What about our classmates, our friends, our family members, maybe even our spouse, who we use to go to church with, who we prayed with, who we even read the Bible with, and now they want nothing to do with God? Has Jesus kept them?
And we don't know what God has in store for those people. We pray that they would come back, that they would savor Jesus, that they would come to have real, genuine love for Jesus. But from out vantage point, at least right now, it seems they show no signs of coming to Him.
So it's vital we find out who Jesus is praying for, because if it's these people in our lives who, right now, couldn't care less for him, If this is who Jesus is praying for, then, at least for now, it looks like his prayer has failed.
And if it has failed for them, then I think, well, what about me? What about me in ten, twenty, thirty, forty years from now? Why would my story be different from theirs? Why should I hold on, be kept, when others weren't?
But as we see throughout John chapters 14-17, it is clear as day: Jesus says what he says here, does what he does here, not for all people, generally, as a whole, but for the sake of a specific group of people, his people, those he knows by name, those he predestined from all eternity to live with him, those he will, most definitely, keep.
15:3 "you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you"
15:11 "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
15:15 "All that I have heard from my Father I have made known (spoken) to you."
16:1 "I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away."
16:4 "I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you."
16:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace."
17:2, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him."
Yes, Jesus has authority over all flesh. Yet, there is a specific group, a remnant, and these are the one's his promise is for, and his promise will not fail!
Who are these people? Am I one of them? What is their defining characteristic? Is it those who are beautiful, talented, or intelligent? Those who are of a certain culture, language, or lineage? Those who are useful or productive?
Continuing on in the prayer:
17:6 "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word."
17:8 "I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them (in the words) and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me."
Who are God's people? Who are the kept ones?
Answer: Those who keep His word.
And this is all over John's gospel:
8:31 "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Contrast 8:43 "Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word."
8:51 "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."
Contrast 12:47-48 "If anyone hears my words and does not keep them...The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day."
14:23 "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word"
And the contingent promise: 15:7 "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."
God's people don't hate God's word, they don't ignore God's word, they don't pick and choose which parts of God's Word to follow, they don't push his word off to the side thinking, "I'll get to it when I have time." They keep it, they love it, and they immerse themselves in it.
One question here: How do you know if you are one of God's people? Do you love the word? Do you see it as life? Do you rely on it for everything?
I'm not saying you are always overjoyed in reading God's word, it may, at times, feel tiresome / boring, you may have questions/concerns, you may get side-tracked with other activities, you may need reminders or accountability to read it…but despite all the bumps in the road, at the end of the day, if you look to God's Word and say, "Yes, that is what I stand on, that is what I'm banking on for life — these are the characteristics of a child of God."
So, what is Jesus praying? That his people be kept.
Who is Jesus praying for? His specific people, those who love and keep his word
And this brings us to our third and final question:
(Question 3) How Does Jesus Expect His Prayer to be Answered
Starting again in John 17:15,
"I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (Here it is) Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."
Jesus could have asked anything, anything of the Father, and the Father would have answered him. And what does he ask? Father, sanctify them in the truth.
Sanctification essentially means the process of being conformed / changed into the image of Christ (growing to think, speak, behave, look, increasingly, more and more like Jesus)
Sanctification happens precisely in the way Jesus prays for it to happen, namely, John 17:17, "Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth."
We are sanctified, and thus kept, as we tether ourselves to God's Word, immerse ourselves in it, and pray that God would help us to love and understand it.
in 2019, we don't know what will come our way:
Will it be injury, disease, death?
Will we lose our health, our job, our spouse, our kids, our home?
Will relationships grow tense, money grow scarce, and our outlook grow dim?
Will our government fail us, our enemies attack us, and our national and personal safety grow questionable?
We don't know, 2019 might be full of delight, it may be full of pain, or it may be a mix of the two, we don't know.
But, we do know how we, God's people, will be kept, by Jesus, in 2019: We will be kept by being sanctified in the word of God.
If we lose our job and our money is short in 2019: We will grow to be like Jesus as we cling to Psalm 37:16-17, "Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous."
If our government fails and terrorism runs wild in 2019: We will trust in Jesus as we hold onto Matthew 10:28, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul."
If depression sets in and it feels like hope is nowhere to be found 2019: We will rely on Jesus as we maintain Philippians 1:6, "I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
If we hear that vile whisper in our ear "God will not keep you, he will forsake you, he will withhold from you in 2019." We will be kept by Jesus, as we read John 17:26, "I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
Yes, we will be kept by Jesus in 2019 as we immerse ourselves in his Word.
The Table
Let's close by taking a look at one final section of Jesus' prayer. 17:19 "And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." When Jesus says "I consecrate myself" consecrate, here, connotes a setting aside for God's use. It's Atonement language, like on the Day of Atonement when the High Priest would consecrate himself (set himself aside) for the great task of offering the sacrifice animal as a payment for the sins of the people.
Jesus, our great high priest, is saying here that he is about to consecrate himself, leave his disciples, his people. Why? He is going to leave them, not in order to save his life, but to offer it as a sacrifice on behalf of his people. Jesus, our commander, leaves his soldiers behind as he walks ahead to his very death.
And best of all, having done so, Jesus has now conquered death, he is now seated at the right hand of the Father, and he is, right now, interceding for us, loving us, keeping us. And because of all this, his word is true: "Do not worry, I have died for you, and given my word to you, and I have done all this in order that I might keep you when the bullets fly."


text:
1 in every
1,900 babies born in the UK
have sickle cell disease
We provide support to people affected by sickle cell disease to enable them live normal life.
Campaign, volunteer, fundraise, donate - get involved and promote awareness of sickle cell disease.
Sickle cell disease is a blood disorder that's inherited from parents to their children.
Sickle cell anaemia is a disease passed down through families. It is an inherited condition of the blood and it is considered the most common genetic disease. It is a group of disorders that affects haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is the protein, which carries oxygen to the tissues.
Sickle cell disease is not contagious, but is acquired at birth. It occurs when a child inherits two sickle haemoglobin genes, one from each parent.
The disease is caused by a genetic abnormality in the gene for haemoglobin, which results in the production of sickle haemoglobin.
Life expectancy for patients with Hb-SS has increased to a median of 45 years and for HbSC patients to 65 years, a significant improvement from 14.3 years for Hb-SS 3 patients.


text:
I was featured in Garden Design Magazine's website this week. Following is a photo tour of my apartment and garden, along with some thoughts about what makes a house a "home". Sort of a funny way to think about your house! I'd love you hear what makes YOUR house a home.
+ Photo by John Chaffetz


text:
The mechanism of 3-hydroxy epimerization of chenodeoxycholic acid by Clostridium perfringens was investigated in 3 alpha, 7 α-dihydroxy-[2,2,4,4-2H4]-, 3 alpha, 7 α-dihydroxy-[3 β-2H]- and 3 beta, 7 α-dihydroxy-[3 α-2H]-5 β-cholanoic acid transformations. Our findings rule out a dehydration-rehydration pathway and agree with a redox mechanism involving 3-oxochenodeoxycholic acid as intermediate.
This content is only available as a PDF.
© 1985 London: The Biochemical Society


text:
CRM has always encompassed so much more than just sales management
CRM Projects Are Always More Than Just CRM
Ask yourself, "When was the last time your CRM project was about just traditional sales management?" I have been implementing CRM for near 20 years now and I can count on one hand the number of projects I have done that were about traditional sales management. There is always some component that involves customer management, but rarely a component of traditional sales management.
What Are The Boundaries Of CRM?
There are defined areas within organizations with well established software systems that are not CRM. An example of this is accounting software for the accounting department. Another example would be a content management system maintaining a company website; and, CRM is not a document management system with all the nuances of document management that we have all come to expect today.
But CRM Does Creep Into Other Traditional Software Arenas
CRM has definitely travelled a far distance from the traditional sales force management systems that they were originally meant to be. I often find CRM systems replacing HR systems because of the flexibility they offer in configuration. And, I have built CRM systems that are stakeholder management systems for mining companies, configuration systems for home improvement companies, legal project tracking for law firms, membership management systems for associations, foreign exchange management systems for the banking industry, and the list just goes on, and on, and on ...
What Departments Could You See Realizing Efficiencies With CRM?


text:
Peruvian Fueltalk at Central - 0 to 4,000 Meters MAMSL in 2hrs
Perú is a nation with vast historical cultural periods dating back to 13,000 B.C. when the first hunters and gatherers migrated from North America. Pre-ceramic and Ceramic periods led to the Pre-Columbian period during which many communities strived to build civilizations. During the 1400's the Incan Empire sought to unite four regions spanning what we know today as Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Meanwhile, in Europe, the Spanish crown was funding explorations to find India. Columbus was searching for spices and other tradeable goods yet he didn't forsee discovering gold soon after setting sail for "India." Don't worry this is not a history listen. I'm sure you've read history books, listened to podcasts, talked to an overly energetic South American at a bar, or stood in line at the Machu Picchu entrance so you might not want more of my historical snippets but I promise this educational information will be lit in a few.
It turns out Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel was so much more about a cultural phenomenon than another guinea pig conquest story. Peru's conquest gave birth to a complex societal development that will forever live on. I mean I still live this dynamic environment every time I set foot in Perú. Visiting Perú is really intense and you definitely need to visit the land of the Incan Empire as soon as you can. Ok, back to the impact of Peru's conquest on nutrition. Where was I? Oh, Peru was Spain's viceroyalty in Latin America which in reality is just a nice way of describing a European peon. Actually, the Spanish colony in Perú was constructed by many peons from Africa, China, and other regions throughout the New World. This is where it starts to get lit, people. What happens when a Kenyan slave, a Chinese welder, and a Peruvian indigenous farmer meet at a Spanish hacienda near Lima? Lomo Saltado. Get your mobile phone or laptop out and open up an app like Yelp. Search for a Peruvian restaurant and research where the best Lomo Saltado is near you. I'm an herbivore now but this dish is primo for meat lovers, trust me. Wait, don't go just yet, finish reading this first so you have something to talk about while you eat. Moving on.
Spain set up their HQ's in Lima making Perú a centralized nation until the present day. This is super important to Peru's nutritional database because, until modern day Chefs like Virgilio Martínez Véliz from Central, Peru's culinary peak was just a reinterpretation of "colonized dishes." Don't get me wrong, I grew up savoring colonized dishes cooked by my mother and grandmother but there is so much more than the lomo saltado's, ceviche's, and anticucho's made in Peru.
The economic, cultural, and touristic decentralization of Perú is marking a path for curious seekers to find nutritional gold spanning from 0 to 4,000 meters above sea level. Peruvian topography roars with coastlines, deserts, wet jungles, dry jungles, Andes mountains, and the Amazon providing the world with a rich database of nutritional ingredients waiting to be discovered. Just go to your nearest wholefoods in the U.S. or local lux market in Europe and you will find various Peruvian superfoods like maca, camu camu, quinua, kiwicha , and lucuma ready to be thrown into your next smoothie. Chef Virgilio and his sister Malena launched Mater Iniciativa to unearth native ingredients, collect data points, and protect Perú's finest gold, culture.
In September 2017, I embarked on an excursion with three buddies from Las Vegas. I was the only person in the group to previously breathe air south of the equator. The plan was to have no plan and somehow get to Machu Picchu, experience central, watch a world cup qualifier, and ride bicycles down the sacred valley. However, my A-type buddies needed a plan so my analytical alter ego appeared. Suddenly, an all-inclusive excursion arose from the ashes and we were ready to board the plane with tickets, resos, and lycra.
Coming up on the next Peruvian Fueltalk blog post, I will break down our first Fueltalk exploration experience, how Central blew our minds, our record-breaking hike up La Montaña, not cycling, and world cup qualifier match. Stay tuned!
- Pablo Quiroga, Fueltalk Creator


text:
Ladouceur Law Firm, LLC offers a wide array of legal services to our clients. Our attorneys are Board Certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization in the areas of Estate Planning and Administration and Family Law.
Both Lindsey and Ray Ladouceur have been named as a Louisiana Super Lawyer for over 10 years.
We assist clients with matrimonial agreements; divorce; child custody and support; spousal support; community property partitions; estate planning and administration; business formations, disputes, reorganizations, and dissolution; taxation; wills, trusts, and successions; ethical issues; and legal, medical, and accounting malpractice. We also handle select personal injury claims.
Our firm is the perfect size — small enough for personal service, but large enough to get the job done. Our mission for the past 28 years has been to protect our clients' interests in the most cost-effective manner possible.
To inquire about our services or to schedule an appointment, please call 985-718-4992.
Lindsey Ladouceur is a family law practitioner and a qualified Family Law Mediator. She has handled every aspect of family law in the 22 years in which she has been Board-Certified as a Family Law Specialist. She has served as a court-appointed Special Master in family law disputes. Lindsey is also a collaborative divorce practitioner and encourages clients to consider the collaborative process in lieu of traditional litigation. Lindsey has also handled personal injury and medical malpractice claims and has obtained numerous multimillion-dollar judgments for her clients. Lindsey has been a qualified Civil Law Mediator since 1994. She also is a consultant to the Louisiana State Bar Association in matters of legal ethics and co-authored its Louisiana Practice Aid Guide. Lindsey is devoted to pro bono work and is on the Board of Directors of The Pro Bono Project, of which she is also a Past President. Lindsey was admitted to the United States Supreme Court in 1997 and is admitted to all Louisiana federal and state courts.
Ray Ladouceur' s practice is devoted primarily to estate planning, wills, trusts, succession administration, taxation, business law, commercial litigation, and contracts. He has represented clients in federal and state courts on a variety of matters and has served as a court-appointed executor and trustee. Ray also offers tax compliance services through his CPA firm, Raymond P. Ladouceur, CPA, LLC.
Both Lindsey and Ray have achieved the highest rating for legal ability (AV) from Martindale Hubbell. Ray is a frequent lecturer at legal and accounting seminars and conferences sponsored by, among others, the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Society of Louisiana CPAs. Lindsey is a frequent lecturer on all things related to family law and legal ethics. Together, they co-authored the widely-acclaimed practice manual, Planning for Marriage, Separation, and Divorce: A Louisiana Perspective, which is used by hundreds of attorneys and accountants.


text:
Terraria Game
Depending on who shows up, additional rules may have to be discussed beforehand. I'm sure most of you can behave yourselves, though.
Everyone will need to have hamachi installed and join the group BigMinely, to which the password is 'qa'. If it wasn't obvious, you must start a new character as well.
Looking to record terraria with you guys also. Who owns it? Requirements as follows
1. Mic [Excluding Milk, and only Milk.]
2. talky talky
3. not going to throw bombs and dynamite and destroy the house on purpose
4. see above, you will seriously not be invited back if you do this
5. Willing to have gameplay and audio recorded by me for comedic purpose.
List of people below:
BigWimply [pro]
Bendetta [pro]
Bluzix [pro]
Max [pro]
Eagle [pro]


text:
South Charlotte
There is no debate: This team is top notch
They call it boot camp.
Every day after school - and often on weekends - dozens of students gather for hours-long practices to hone their skills, sharpen their reasoning and dominate when the stopwatch starts.
If you miss practice, you're benched.
You're probably thinking it sounds a lot like a varsity football team.
But this group is bigger than that.
Meet the Ardrey Kell High School speech and debate team, which this year has 102 members.
In less than four years, the team has gone from obscurity to regional supremacy, nabbing the No. 1 spot in the state and the No. 46 spot in the national rankings.
At the helm is teacher Maggie Koller, 37.
When Koller was hired at Ardrey Kell in 2008, then-Principal Mike Matthews told her that along with journalism and English classes, she'd also need to teach a few sections of debate and coach the school's speech and debate team.
At the time, you could hardly call the loosely organized group of 10 students, none of whom had ever been to a tournament, a team.
There's no guide or curriculum, so just see what you can do, Matthews said.
Koller accepted the challenge.
Not knowing where to start, she turned to the long-time renowned debate program at Myers Park High.
Coaches Andrew West and Jason Kline walked Koller through the logistics, gave her the rundown on the National Forensic League and taught her how to manage a team.
They felt that having strong speech and debate teams in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools meant more than a rivalry.
"But they joke that they're done helping me now," said Koller.
The Ardrey Kell team is competing in speech and debate tournaments every weekend in January for a total of 14 tournaments by the end of the year.
The debate team has a trophy case in the school so full that the overflow trophies and medals are displayed in Koller's classroom.
The school won first-place sweeps (the top team award) in the last three tournaments they competed in.
Senior Sowmya Pelluru, a team captain, joined Koller's gang as a freshman, during the team's first year. They only competed in one tournament.
"I went into my first tournament not even knowing something had to be memorized," said Pelluru. "This year, (other teams) walk in and say 'Oh gosh, it's Ardrey Kell.'...We create fear."
But some obstacles along the way came close to shutting the door on Ardrey Kell's budding team.
At the end of her first year at the school, Koller was one of more than 300 CMS teachers to be laid off. The move came in anticipation of cuts in county funding.
Unbeknownst to Koller, her students rushed to her defense. One junior collected 230 student signatures on a petition to keep her.
Koller was rehired that fall.
The following year, however, the school's debate classes were canceled due to budget cuts.
The hybrid classroom/after-school team became purely extracurricular.
And still, it grew. By the end of Koller's first year, there were 34 students on the team. By the end of her second, there were 50.
The class was reinstated last year, and more than 80 students were on the team.
This year, they have eight debate classes (Koller teaches four of them).
The team is split 50-50 between the debaters, fact-driven students who practice in the computer lab, and the theater-type "speechies," who practice in Koller's classroom.
Girls are well-represented on the speech side, while most of the debaters are boys.
In Koller's room, the speechies are a chorus of murmurs. Individuals and groups of two or three are scattered around the room, reciting oratories, acting out duo scenes and practicing storytelling, dramatic interpretation and impromptu speaking.
A mirror rests against a table near the windows, and students stand in front of it to study their facial expressions as they speak.
Occasionally, they'll gather for a performance, which is followed by gentle critiques from team captains.
The computer-lab scene is another story.
The debate students meet there so they can round up research on their topics.
The four main types of debate are: Congressional, Lincoln-Douglas, Policy and Public Forum.
Koller says she loves to walk softly to the door of the lab to eavesdrop on their practices.
"You'd think they're in the middle of a knock-down, drag-out fight," said Koller. "It sounds like Congress."
The topic for the public forum debate at Myers Park last weekend was: The costs of college outweigh the benefits.
When practicing, a team of two argues the pro, while the other argues the con. They throw researched arguments at one another, and each duo gets opportunities for rebuttals and crossfire.
Koller says she often gets compliments from other teachers who are impressed with the unflappable poise her debaters and speechies have when giving presentations, especially with the senior exit project.
"The kids that aren't in debate are so nervous," said Koller. "The debate kids get up and say 'This is easy. I'm not competing. I just have to give a speech.' "
While most schools with large debate teams have more than one coach and a group of assistant coaches, Koller works alone.
The beloved teacher also works as a tutor with Upward Bound, a program at Johnson C. Smith University, where high school students from low-income families prepare to enter post-secondary education.
So the students pick up the slack.
The eight team captains are the core. They lead the practices and pore over the debaters' notes and prepared speeches.
Koller has to work two weekends a month, so if a tournament falls during that time, the students recruit other teachers to chaperone.
Senior captain Shiamak Ratra, 18, says their success is, in part, because the captains are so involved.
"Usually the top people don't do anything for others...whoever was good kept to himself," said Ratra. "We play a bigger role...a coach role."
"The kids are driving it," said Koller.
During last weekend's tournament at Myers Park, Ardrey Kell competed against schools from New York, Kentucky, Alabama and California, including the No. 1-ranked team in the nation: the Bronx High School of Science. (The results weren't yet in as of press time.)
But even more than the victories, this group of students who were looking for a niche, found it, and got a school family, too.
"I don't have kids, so these are my kids," said Koller.
Team captain and speechie Jake McHugh, who has a number of first-place finishes to his name, says the team is the "no-doubt-about-it" defining experience of his high school career.
Says McHugh: "Debate has given me this amazing family of people."


text:
The Althorp chimneypiece
This delicate, beautifully drawn and carved white marble mantelpiece features corner blocks carved with circular paterae, decorated with flowers, above inverted obelisk jambs. The frieze supports a wealth of beautiful detail, with a running band of small and large twisted guilloche interspersed with delicate flower heads.
Materials: White marble
Product Specifications
- Dimensions
- Depth: 6.5 Width: 40 Height: 46.875 Length: 57.6
- Lead Time
- 10 Weeks or longer (Made to Order)
Nearby Showrooms
About Jamb Limited
Jamb has built a reputation with the world's leading architects and designers for dealing in the finest antique and reproduction chimneypieces, fire grates, lighting and furniture.
View Profile


text:
5 Tips & Tricks for Strengthening Immunity
Your immune system is an interconnection of organs, cells, and proteins that work night and day to protect the body from foreign (and potentially dangerous) materials that may compromise your health.
An autoimmune reaction or allergy is when our immune system mistakenly identifies "self" cells as "non-self" cells, also referred to as antigens.
When you strengthen your immunity, you increase your bodies effectiveness to discern what is a true threat, and what is not.
My 3 Favorite Herbs/Supplements for Immunity:
1. Echinacea
Research supports that one of Echinacea's strongest uses is for a recurring infection. "A 2012 study published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that Echinacea showed maximal effects on recurrent infections, and preventive effects increased when participants used Echinacea to prevent the common cold."
A 2003 study found the immune support activity from Echinacea, especially in response to upper respiratory infections.
My Favorite Intake Method:
Echinacea Goldenseal Tincture
If even a roommate or co-worker seems to be getting sick, I take 1 tsp of Echinacea tincture up to 3 times per day.
Click for my favorite brand.
2. Elderberry
A Hippocrates favorite!
Elderberry is used often for its support in fighting cold, flu, allergies, and inflammation.
A research study has supported the fast-acting results of Elderberry when taken within the first 48 hours of premature cold and flu symptoms. It was supported that the duration and severity of the sickness were lessened when Elderberry was taken.
My Favorite Method of intake:
Elderberry tincture – 1tsp, 3 times a day.
3. Probiotics
Strengthening the gut is the FIRST step to a strong immune system.
Probiotics are foods or supplements that house digestive bacteria that support the colonization of healthy microorganisms in our gut.
Taking probiotics regularly can lower your chances of getting a cold; further, reducing the symptoms if you do end up catching that cold.
When looking for a probiotic supplement, choose one with the following bacterial strains:
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
In alternative medicine, we often trace back allergies or cold/flu ailments to the gut – Leaky Gut, to be more specific.
Our gut is a muscle and when it loses tonification, proteins pass through the intestinal lining and into the bloodstream before they have been processed.
So, now the body does not quite recognize the proteins and ultimately sends antibodies to fight off these (what seem like) "harmful" materials. Unfortunately, we've got a double-edged sword, friends…
Exercising aids in the body's natural mechanism to 'cleanse' and 'detoxify' your respiratory system and promotes a more 'active' immune systems. When you exercise, your White Blood Cells circulate quicker, allowing them to detect harmful perpetrators.
Additionally, the quick rise in body temperature is a helpful way for your body to fight bacteria and infection.
Lastly, exercise promotes the release of your 'happy' hormones – endorphins (think Elle Woods from Legally Blonde...). This conversely, reduces the release of stress hormones, which often contributes to a quicker lapse into illness and inflammation.
I don't think I can stress this point enough…
First and foremost, sleep is like pressing the 'refresh' button on the body and brain.
"Sleep is the golden chain that binds our health and bodies together." Thomas Dekker
During sleep, physiological cleansing takes place in your heart, blood vessels, and brain; your body sifts through memories, toxins, hormones, and immunity protocols.
When you sleep, your body releases proteins, called cytokines - proteins that help ward off illness. When lacking in a sufficient amount of cytokines, your bodies defense is simply not up to par, thus threatening your immunity.
Lastly, when your body does not get enough sleep, you begin to secrete stress hormones (notably, cortisol), which have a natural inflammatory response in the body – further, increasing you 'stress response' and compromising your bodies ability to remain strong and healthy.
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to email me, or visit my consultation pages for one-on-one consultation packages.
*This information is for educational purposes only. Please consult a healthcare practitioner before administering use, especially if pregnant, nursing, on medication. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not to be used for diagnoses, treatment, or prevention of disease.


text:
2018 - 2019 Cheerleading Champs
Thank you to all athletes, coaches, students, family and friends who braved the weather this weekend to attend and participate in the 2018 GWOC Cheerleading Championship. Congratulations to Centerville on their back-to-back East Division wins, as well as this year's 2018 Conference title! This year's North Division title went to Troy, the South to Xenia and the West to Springboro. Great job to all and thank you for another successful Cheerleading Championship event!


text:
Nick discusses the power of partnerships in helping people achieve their financial goals, partnerships based on honesty and focus on a common goal.
As Aristotle once noted, synergy results when "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." Working in partnership with a good financial adviser will pay you back multiple times over whatever advice fees you pay. Remember: a good financial adviser is one who tells you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.
Likewise, working with a cheap or bad financial adviser is a false economy - you may as well flush your money down the toilet!
In terms of your finances, have you found your Peter Taylor, who was the "ying" to Brian Clough's "yang"? If not, it may well be time to start looking!
"Provided You Don't Kiss Me" by Duncan Hamilton
Photo of Nick and hat at Trent Bridge, with a nervous looking @PhilBray73
Any comments or feedback gratefully received. Likewise with suggestions for future shows. Get in touch with Nick on Twitter or via good old email.
AND LEAVE A FIVE STAR REVIEW ON iTUNES - OR ELSE.


text:
A very intense historical period that saw the birth, growth and distinction of great artists, men and women, united by a thought of artistic life. Non-conformist and revolutionary in its own way, the Italian Pop Art becomes the protagonist of an exhibition scheduled at the Stadium of Domitian, from the 16 September to the 30 October.
SPIRIT OF ROME - The Italian Pop Art in the Piazza del Popolo School covers the years of the movement, its characters and the relationship that they had with the city. Testimony of that is living the Sergio Lombardo artist will attend the opening - the 16 September at 18: 00 with Prof. Francesco Gallo Mazzeo, curator of the exhibition - To tell the artistic value of that era and the cultural climate that lived in the city of Rome: a lounge of meetings and discussions, the Roman experience, in which thoughts, plasticity, passions, icons and forms have become history and tracks to follow for artists of subsequent generations.
On display along with the paintings of the great masters of Italian Pop Art - Mario Schifano, Tano Festa, Franco Angeli, Renato Mambor, Cesare Tacchi, Pino Pascali and Sergio Lombardo - Also documents and images coming from 'Archives in Latin State.
"With the exhibition SPIRIT OF ROME is celebrated a historical period considered among the most fertile in Italian contemporary art – It emphasizes Emanuele Lamaro who have been entrusted conception and realization of the exhibition project. The protagonists of this extraordinary adventure, considered by many as a 'pop art Italian' or 'school of Piazza del Popolo', were a group of young artists in different backgrounds and for language, who shared the cultural climate of Rome late '50 that it would in a short time led to the creation of a new expressive code, in some revolutionary ways, such as to exert a lasting influence on the art world ".
The exhibition designed for the Stadium of Domitian aims to represent some glimpses of that time, through selected works of a decade expression "mythical." The exhibition is enriched by documents and images that intend to introduce visitors is the artistic values is certain socio-cultural fragments of such an exciting time for the city of Rome as the Italian modernity. "Never as in those years Rome was the stage of the new international trends and artists of Piazza del Popolo there were the actors" Lamaro continues.
But how did you meet the characters who shaped the so-called School of Piazza del Popolo? Emanuele Lamaro he asked Sergio Lombardo in a dialogue with the artist: "There was a formal meeting, we knew each other because we frequented the places of night life and international culture, but above all because we were very different from conformist artists of the time - says Sergio Lombardo. In Italy there were only two official artistic currents: the Socialist Realism and a type of poetic traditionalism Mannerist the "moonlight". Both currents were traditionalist and especially "heteronomous", however, carriers of prepackaged dirigiste content. Each of us, despite coming from different disciplines and experiences, he wanted to be an innovator in the way of living, an "engineer of everyday life", to quote Arvatov. We were free, modern, a bit 'night, a bit' existentialists. We all found ourselves between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza di Spagna, in the tourist area, the Americans, the Roman nobility, the nightlife and we attended the only two galleries exhibiting international art: La Tartaruga of Plinio de Martiis Square the People and the Ascent of Gian Tomaso Liverani to the Spanish Steps. "
SPIRIT OF ROME - The Italian Pop Art in the Piazza del Popolo School It is the side event first edition of the international competition ART PRIZE ROME 2016, A new prestigious award every two years designed by Amedeo Demitry - art advisor and curator - And organized by Artiamo Events.
For more information on times and prices of events: http://www.stadiodomiziano.com


text:
Backbone was founded in 2018, combining the creative talents of Andrew Butler & James Wilson, bringing together over 15 years of experience in visual content production. As a film-making/Directing duo, we can fit into projects that already have a production team behind them, or are equally comfortable providing a full 'concept to completion' service, where we can call on our trusted and reliable team of freelance collaborators to deliver a project from start to finish.
As Director of Photography, Andrew has a broad range of experience in commercial, documentary, music video, and short/feature films. He has worked with a host of global clients including the BBC, Sky Arts, UEFA, FIFA, and London's leading product and food commercial studio, Packshot Factory. 'In Another Life,' a feature film he shot in and around the refugee camps in Calais and Dunkirk, was successful on the international festival circuit and won both a British Independent Film Award and 'Best UK Feature' at Raindance Film Festival.
James, as a Director/Producer, has created content for world renowned clients including FIFA, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, BT Sport and UEFA - for which he was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award. His work has seen him travel Europe and the world, bringing to life human stories and capturing historic moments, all with a cinematic eye. Away from sport James has produced work for BAFTA, MTV and even once fed Keith Allen ecstasy as a part of a Channel 4 experiment.
We combine quality, passion, experience and craft to create beautiful, evocative and cinematic content for big and small screens. Whether it is a brand that needs promoting, or a story that needs telling, we would love to work with you.


text:
UFC 205 merchandise sales best ever for company
November 15, 2016
The UFC sold more merchandise during UFC 205 than for any event in company's history according to Darren Rovell.
UFC: UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden sold more merchandise than any fight card in the organization's history.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 16, 2016
Reebok introduced New York-themed clothing for the event which ranged in prices from $16-$50 per a report by the Sports Business Journal.
Payout Perspective:
The UFC expected $14-$15M in live event revenue from Saturday night's debut in New York. The good night in merchandise is a positive sign that the UFC would achieve its benchmark. Saturday night was a good night for the company and it appears that business was very good.
6 Responses to "UFC 205 merchandise sales best ever for company"
d on
November 15th, 2016 9:43 PM
Not including the gate? Because the gate was 17m.
d on
November 15th, 2016 10:02 PM
Oh, wait, didn't realize that was just the expectation.
Combo on
November 16th, 2016 7:09 AM
UFC keeps hitting new milestones.
Joe on
November 18th, 2016 6:00 PM
When your previous record is $1000 and you sell $2000 it's the "best ever"
It'd be nice to have more info
Joe on
November 18th, 2016 6:00 PM
When your previous record is $1000 and you sell $2000 it's the "best ever"
It'd be nice to have more info
d on
November 19th, 2016 6:48 AM
Making up numbers again Joe?
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.


text:
Click on an alumni listing from Macclenny, FL to find more information about the person.
The listing of alumni from Macclenny, FL includes graduates from 2 schools. To filter results, select a Macclenny, FL high school using the links to the right. The Macclenny alumni list on this page come from a variety of sources. Clicking one of your friends will give you locations that you can get back in touch with the fellow graduate. To view alumni that graduated in Macclenny around your class year, enter your graduation year in the search box at the top of the page. You may also be able to find friends close to your home town. We also have listings for graduates from Glen Saint Mary, FL, Baldwin, FL, or Raiford, FL.
Approximately 400 of residents in Macclenny (7%) are the normal age for attending high school (15-19). Also, around 200 Macclenny residents (3%) are the average age for high school seniors (18-19). Population stats are from the United States Census Bureau.
|Sign up for free to get in touch with high school friends
|Sign up for free to get in touch with high school friends
|Macclenny, FL
Macclenny, FL 32063
|< 0
|over 85 >


text:
Crafty is a pop-up burger restaurant, run every week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in St Martin's Coffee Shop. We have a carefully designed, simple menu featuring quality drinks and homemade, fresh food, sourced from local producers and suppliers. Great burgers, delicious fries.
We are in the heart of Leicester City centre, just a five minute walk from The Highcross Shopping complex and the King Richard III visitor centre.
Our Food and Suppliers
Our beef burgers are reared, butchered and dry-aged by March House Farm, Great Dalby. Our buns are baked daily by Milner's Bakery of Blaby, and our cheese is from Country Fayre, of Leicester Market.
St Martin's
Crafty is housed inside the beautiful city centre coffee shop, St Martin's. If you'd like to know about our menu, events, or anything to do with St Martin's, this button will take you there.
Want to experience something of Crafty at home, or on the commute? Just want to find out what we're listening to right now? Follow our Spotify playlist!


text:
Run drop-in only classes? Are you missing out on customers who prefer to pre-book? Offer your customers flexibility, and fill your empty spots too. Here's how.Read More
All the details from the Connect with Hoop panel on the secret to running successful baby and toddler classes. Experts shared their take on what keeps families coming back to their favourite activities for little ones.Read More
Key insights from our panel on running successful classes for little ones. In a wide-ranging discussion, the panel shared insights from their own experiences , revealing the things that work and how to connect with your customers and keep them coming back week to week.Read More
Top tips from industry experts on all things pricing: what works, what doesn't and how to avoid common pitfalls - whatever kinds of activity you run. From Hoop's Coffee Morning and Expert Panel in December 2018.Read More
A full run-through of Hoop's December 2018 panel discussion, where experts from the family activity sector shared their own experiences about what works and what doesn't with regard to free and paid trials.Read More
Everything you need to know before setting up your new term prices - from why families want the option to book for the term, what you should do in case of missed sessions, pro-rata pricing & more.Read More
What kinds of activity providers are best suited to offering a monthly membership charge? Here's some things to consider before deciding if it's right for you.Read More
Why you should consider using flexi passes, what kinds of classes they are best suited to, and top tips for managing attendance.Read More
Do free trials attract more customers? Do parents find paid trials off-putting? How to figure out what works for your business.Read More
Why should you consider paid trials? Are they effective? And how much should you charge for a trial class?Read More
Should you offer free trials? How can you make sure families to come back? And what about no shows? Here's your guide to the good and bad of running free trials.Read More


text:
UCLA discovers massive prime number
Mathematicians at UCLA have discovered a 13 million-digit prime number, a long-sought milestone that makes them eligible for a $100,000 prize.
The group found the 46th known Mersenne prime last month on a network of 75 computers running Windows XP. The number was verified by a different computer system running a different algorithm.
It's the eighth Mersenne prime discovered at UCLA.
Primes are numbers such as 3, 7 and 11 that are divisible by only two whole positive numbers: themselves and 1.
Mersenne primes – named for their discoverer, 17th century French mathematician Marin Mersenne – are expressed as 2P-1, or two to the power of "P" minus one. P is itself a prime number. For the new prime, P is 43,112,609.
Thousands of people around the world have been participating in the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, or GIMPS, a cooperative system in which underused computing power is harnessed to perform the calculations needed to find and verify Mersenne primes.
The $100,000 prize is being offered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for finding the first Mersenne prime with more than 10 million digits. The foundation supports individual rights on the Internet and set up the prime number prize to promote cooperative computing using the Web.


text:
Catherines is the fashion and fit authority for sizes 16W?34W and 0X?5X. We offer a beautiful selection of fashions and intimates, including hard-to-find extended sizes and an exclusive fit customers love.
Funds are raised for your chosen cause when you make a purchase from the store site in accordance with the store's terms. If you make a purchase from the store site the transaction will appear in your online account within 10 days.
Suprema BOGO 50% off! From 10/15-10/21!
Apparel Womans


text:
Tap to Read ➤
California Poppy Flower
Loveleena Rajeev
Jan 27, 2019
The California poppy, with its bright and sun-kissed color, can have quite a dizzy effect. It also has excellent medicinal properties. Read on to know more about this flower.
Where flowers bloom, so does hope
― Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson, First Lady of the United States (1963-1969)
This is exactly what a flower to me is; hope of a new beginning, even when it fades away. It fades away only to bloom again. Of all the beautiful flowers, a bed of California poppies can be quite captivating.
The scientific name for the California poppy is
Eschscholzia californica
, named after Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, a Baltic German botanist. In 1890, the California State Floral Society selected this flower as its state flower.
April 6 is celebrated as the California Poppy Day. Spanish explorers named the poppy as
Copa de Oro
, or the Cup of Gold. The Indians often told the tale of poppy blooms depositing gold in the earth. Owing to this golden connection, the California poppy symbolizes wealth and success.
This is a spring flower that requires a sunny and open spot to grow. It can also grow in sandy places and rocky areas.
These flowers are most common in California and also in Southern Washington, Nevada, New Mexico, and Northwest Baja. It can now be grown in any garden, anywhere in the world. Seeds are easily available in shades of yellow and orange, with dashes of red.
Seeds of California poppy can be sowed bi-annually, in autumn and spring, for continuous showing in early summer and late spring. Soil must be well prepared and the pH balance should be maintained at neutral. Seeds can be directly sowed or thinned later. Sow the seeds 0.25 cm deep in the soil.
Keep the moist and cover it. The cover should be removed as soon as the saplings sprout. Inadequate sunlight would result in either the death of the sapling or poor flower show. Transplant at a four-leaf stage. Feed it with liquid manure when the buds first appear. These plants are mostly insect and pest-resistant.
Flower Description
These flowers have a bright sun-kissed orange color, hence they are also known as golden poppies. They are generally four-petaled. They bloom completely when it is sunny and close at night or on cloudy days. The flower stem is 5 to 20 inches tall, and the seeds are found in the center of the flower. Insects are the main pollinators for California poppies.
The plant, root, flower, and seeds of the California poppy are used for their therapeutic medicinal purposes. Unlike the red poppy, this variety is milder in its sedating properties, is analgesic, and has antispasmodic properties too. It is dried and used to prepare diffusions, tinctures, and powder. Following is the list of its uses:
It helps to normalize psychological function without depressing the central nervous system.
It treats insomnia, anxiety, and bed-wetting in children.
It helps in treating behavioral disorders, such as ADD and ADHD, in children and young adults.
The treatment method that uses the California poppy essence to treat learning disabilities, like dyslexia, in children is a widely accepted treatment.
These flowers help relieve toothache.
They are a remedy for high fever, rapid pulse, and persistent spasmodic cough.
They help to contain head lice.
The tincture is used to treats cuts and scrapes.
California poppy flower arrangement can liven up the dullest corner with its golden hues. A mix of other colors and varieties can be added. The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is located 15 miles west of Lancaster, California which offers free guided public tours daily. Another place worth a visit is the California Poppies at Morro Bay State Park.
Write for us
Follow Us:
Become a Contributor
Become a Contributor
Different Types of Exotic Flowers
Different Types of Flowers
Buttercup Flowers
Fall Flowers in Season
Different Types of Flowers with Pictures
Purple Flower Names


text:
Magnolia Bostad expands the management team
Magnolia Bostad continues to grow and strengthens the organization with a total of five people. After summer, Linda Wiman will assume the position of Head of Business Area Development. She will also join the management team as its seventh member.
Linda Wiman has worked at JM for more than 20 years and previously held a position as Head of Sales, Stockholm Region, where she was responsible for the sales of approximately 1,500 apartments per year.
In addition, the Stockholm office is expanding with another four employees:
- Patrik Ekestubbe, QEHS manager, previously held a similar post at Coor. Patrik has business development experience in the quality, environment and working environment management area.
- Johanna Andersson, Group Controller. Previously held a similar post at Familjebostäder. She also has experience as an authorized public accountant at PWC, where she was employed for ten years.
- Effective as of June, Angelica Andersson is employed as Project Developer. He most recently comes from a similar role at Serneke Projektutveckling AB.
- Effective as of September, Malvina Poucette, is employed as marketing project manager. Most recently, she comes from Objektvision.
For more information, please contact:
Fredrik Lidjan, CEO
+46 70-223 43 47, email@example.com
Mikaela Senator, Investor Relations Manager
+46 70-775 57 57, firstname.lastname@example.com
Magnolia Bostad develops efficient, attractive and functional residential properties, including rental apartments, tenant-owned apartments and hotels, in attractive locations primarily in Sweden's growth areas. Our work is based on a holistic approach where the operations are conducted in a manner that promotes long-term, sustainable urban development. Magnolia Bostad's share (MAG) is listed on Nasdaq First North Premier. Erik Penser Bank is the Certified Adviser for the Company. More information is available at www.magnoliabostad.se


text: Bingo! by TheBonny | Jul 9, 2018 | 0 comments Calendar Add to Calendar Add to Timely Calendar Add to Google Add to Outlook Add to Apple Calendar Add to other calendar Export to XML When: August 24, 2018 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm 2018-08-24T19:00:00-04:00 2018-08-24T20:00:00-04:00 Submit a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website


text:
Travel Luggage
Going on holiday? In need of a new duffel bag for that big adventure you have planned? At Cotswold Outdoor we stock a wide range of travel luggage designed with travel in mind, from large wheeled luggage to duffel bags and accessories such as locks, dry bags, weight scales, from your favourite brands Osprey, Lifeventure, Mountain Equipment, Rab and more.


text:
About Everest
David Sandler Joins Everest Insurance™ to Lead New 'Everest Risk Management' Business Unit
David Sandler Joins Everest Insurance™ to Lead New 'Everest Risk Management' Business Unit
Everest Re Group, Ltd. (NYSE: RE) announced that David Sandler has joined Everest Insurance as leader of a new business unit targeting the risk management client segment.
Seon Place
141 Front Street
Hamilton HM 19, Bermuda
Elizabeth B. Farrell
Vice President, Investor Relations
Everest Global Services, Inc.
(908) 604-3166
HAMILTON, Bermuda – May 24, 2016
-- Everest Re Group, Ltd. (NYSE: RE) announced that David Sandler has joined Everest Insurance as leader of a new business unit targeting the risk management client segment. Everest Risk Management enters the market with a deep product offering consisting of worker's compensation, general and auto liability, foreign casualty, along with a full suite of casualty risk financing and servicing capabilities.
Dave assumes responsibility for the existing Everest underwriting teams dedicated to this segment, while also pursuing the select expansion of additional capabilities across the country. This group of talented professionals are well versed in the multitude of solutions and service requirements brokers and insureds have come to value and expect. Supporting these efforts will be the current Everest Insurance infrastructure with its deep claims, credit, and operational capabilities. This positions Everest Risk Management well to add immediate value to brokers and insureds in this important segment.
Dave joined Everest Insurance from AIG, where he accumulated over 22 years of experience in the primary casualty market. He held a variety of diverse and impactful positions within the overall Casualty structure of AIG, including various underwriting and leadership roles within AIG Risk Management (AIGRM) as President of the Commercial Risk division and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of U.S. Casualty. Most recently Dave served as Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Accounts.
Jonathan Zaffino, President of Everest Insurance North America, commented, "Dave brings to us a very deep and formidable skill set in the primary casualty and foreign casualty markets. He is widely known within the broker community as an astute technician, a thoughtful underwriter, and a talented leader. We are pleased to welcome Dave to the Everest team as he will undoubtedly be a valued addition to Everest Insurance and our expansion efforts within the risk management segment."
Everest Re Group, Ltd. is a Bermuda holding company that operates through the following subsidiaries: Everest Reinsurance Company provides reinsurance to property and casualty insurers in both the U.S. and international markets. Everest Reinsurance (Bermuda), Ltd., including through its branch in the United Kingdom, provides reinsurance and insurance to worldwide property and casualty markets and reinsurance to life insurers. Everest Reinsurance Company (Ireland), Limited provides reinsurance to non-life insurers in Europe. Everest National Insurance Company and Everest Security Insurance Company provide property and casualty insurance to policyholders in the U.S. Everest Indemnity Insurance Company offers excess and surplus lines insurance in the U.S. Everest Insurance Company of Canada provides property and casualty insurance to policyholders in Canada. The Company also operates within the Lloyd's insurance market through Syndicate 2786. In addition, through Mt. Logan Re, Ltd., the Company manages segregated accounts, capitalized by the Company and third party investors that provide reinsurance for property catastrophe risks. Additional information on Everest Re Group companies can be found at the Group's web site at


text:
Health and Medical writer
I have worked for one of Australia's most prestigious medical journals and a variety of health brands as a health and medical writer. I have the ability to understand complex medical topics and write about them in a way that is interesting and engaging.
Some of my health and medical writing
- Psychology Now – Website copywriting
- Implant, injection or the pill: which contraception should you choose? – Defence Health
- Don't 'chute' the messenger – faecal transplants work– Medical Journal of Australia InSight
- Specialist rural outreach needs more support – Medical Journal of Australia InSight
- Stevie's story – Tresillian
- Smoker guilt and stigma delays help seeking – Medical Journal of Australia InSight
- Zika prep confirms microcephaly and FASD link – Medical Journal of Australia InSight
- Mental health care for CHD patients and families – Medical Journal of Australia InSight
- Feeling Anxious? Here are some tips that will help – Defence Health
- Best protection from pertussis? Jab the mum – Medical Journal of Australia InSight
- How to support someone who has lost a baby in pregnancy – Bupa Blue Room
- Depression:to screen or not to screen – Medical Journal of Australia InSight
- Breast Cancer Surgery Major changes in breast cancer surgery to meet quality-of-life outcomes – press release featured in Medical News Today
- Flu vaccine more effective in the morning – study – doctorportal
- Quality of prostate cancer outcomes improving – Medical Journal of Australia press release
- Changes reflect new era for Medical Journal of Australia – doctorportal
- Teens drink more alcohol than adults – doctorportal
Health and medical writing testimonials
Caitlin wrote for me as a journalist, putting together balanced, nuanced, newsworthy reporting on medical matters. She has a real can-do approach, unafraid of a new challenge and a terrific problem-solver.Cate Swannell
We were after a writer to write some parenting stories for our Tresillian Facebook and website pages and Caitlin did such a good job of this we then asked her to contribute stories from mums for our new book on baby's sleep routines (to be launched in June). She did an excellent job of these too, interviewing each Mum on issues they had faced as a new parent. The result was a series of stories that have already resonated with many parents in a similar situation.
Thanks Caitlin, well done!Ann Paton
Want to know more?
Do you need a talented and experienced health writer for your next project? Contact me and we can have a chat about what you need and how I can help.


text:
BEAR Boarding Kennels
I aim to set up a bespoke Kennel and Cattery establishment which offers a tailored and flexible service to the owner.
- Stage Concept Only
- Industry Consumer Products
- Location Taunton, England, GB
- Currency USD
- Website bearsearchdogs.co.uk
Company Summary
BEAR Boarding Kennels aims to offer a flexible and tailored service for boarding and Day Care. Flexibility in that drop off and collection can be done all round the clock means a larger audiance of shift workers can be met and catered for. With the ridged nature of most kennels having only certain opening times some owners may end up paying for more days than they actually need, BEAR Boarding kennels aims to target this audiance.
Alexandra Marie Butlermiss
I have worked as a servinf Police Officer since 2003 and have run my own business of Specially trained search dogs to assist the Police in Missing Person Enquiries since 2008. I am currently looking to change my career to run a boarding kennel so I can focus more on the Search dogs and offer a better service to the vulnrable people in our society.


text:
We will be open until 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays through the months of July and August! Come grab a pint and relax at War Horse Brewery, or food and a glass of wine in Iron Heart Café!
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: July 15LIVE MUSIC: The Ende Brothers at the Bagg Dare Bandstand
Later Event: July 21LIVE MUSIC: Lub Dub


text:
TUF 23's Lanchana Green Aims To Be UFC Strawweight Champion Within Four Years
MMA Crazy reporter Louise Green spoke to The Ultimate Fighter Season 23 contestant Lanchana Green after her time on the show. Lanchana touches on her time growing up in in the quiet area of Darlington, England and the journey that led her to fly out to Vegas to try out for the show. "Ive lived in Darlington most of my life, I spent the first few years in Whitby," She said "My mum is Thai so I spent time going over to Thailand, Ive never actually lived there but we would go regularly."
She names women's MMA pioneer Rosi Sexton as an inspiration and said that she even went to spend time with her to train at one point. But it was her boyfriend and coach that inspired her to make the transition from Muay Thai to MMA and eventually persuaded her to enter The Ultimate Fighter. "He had every belief in me that I could go over there and get my spot on the show" She smiled. "That was it, right, lets give it a go, and I made it onto the show".
A member of Claudia Gadelha's blue team, Lanchana expressed her thoughts of being picked by Claudia and praised her coaching and support that she gave Lanchana and the rest of the team during the show. "Watching the show back I'm so glad I made it onto Claudia's team. From day one she supported us all, she made sure we were on weight, she was helping to enhance our game rather than change any of us." She said.
As it can be seen when watching the show, the blue team truly clicked and it seems that some of that may have been down to the way Claudia and her coaches carried their 'family vibe' over to the team. The same perhaps might not be said about the red team, as Joanna took a very different approach to coaching her team and makes one wonder if that had any effect on the teams loosing streak.
"Its only since watching the show back that I kind of see her (Joanna's) coaching style and its obviously very old school," She explained. "Very go hard or go home kind of aspect. I think MMA in particular has evolved since then, one day you might have a technical session and in the night time might be more intense. It has to vary so we don't break, we're only in there for a short time and if you keep on running yourself into the ground your not going to be fighting at 100% so I didn't really agree with some of her coaching methods."
Lanchana talks about adapting to life in the TUF 23 house and being one of three British female fighters to compete on the show. Its clear that Lanchana enjoyed her time and the experience and she described it as a surreal one, "it was brand new you know, extremely hard. I don't think Im ever going to be put in a situation like that again."
So what is next for Lanchana Green ? "I would like to be the Strawweight UFC Champion within the next four years" She said confidently. "Thats the time scale Ive put on it, if I can do it sooner then that would be even better."
So far we have witnessed Lanchana win her elimination match and most recently her tough victory over fellow brit Helen Harper. She is still early in her MMA career but her journey will be an interesting one to follow as we wait for the remainder of the show to unfold.
Watch the full interview below.