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Most of us are familiar with the terms codes and standards, and if you work in the field of construction, facilities management, engineering, or fire protection like us, you will probably encounter both terms on a daily basis. But, what exactly is the difference? Is one or both legally enforceable? What even is a model code? Is it "better looking" than a code?
- Model codes serves as a generally accepted guideline for design, fabrication, construction & installation.
- The model codes in the United States are currently developed by two organizations: the International Code Council (ICC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
- The intent of a model code is to have an industry-wide standard that can be adopted and customized by local jurisdictions, thereby saving the jurisdiction the time and expense of developing and maintaining their own code.
- Model codes are not enforceable, until adopted by a jurisdiction. An example of a Model Code is the International Building Code, developed by ICC.
- The IBC has been adopted by most jurisdictions in the US, as well as many foreign countries.
- A code is a model code that has been enacted into law by a local, regional, or national authority having jurisdiction so that the engineer or contractor is legally obligated to comply with the code.
- A code tells you WHAT should be done, but not HOW it should be done
- Codes often include references to standards, which means the standards are incorporated by reference and therefore are part of the code and legally enforceable.
- Examples: NFPA 1 – Fire Code, NFPA 101 – Life Safety Code
- A standard is a set of technical definitions, specifications and guidelines
- A standard specifies what subject matter experts consider to be the minimum requirements and instructions for manufacturers and users of equipment
- A standard clarifies HOW something should be done
- A standard is not a law
- Examples: NFPA 10 – Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers, NFPA 17 – Standard for Dry Chemical Extinguishing Systems, NFPA 80 – Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives
The terms building codes and fire codes have been used synonymously over the years, but fire codes were originally developed to regulate the hazardous material or processes that may be present in an occupancy, including combustible construction.
Fire codes have continued to develop into comprehensive documents which are now intertwined within the building codes.
Current fire codes regulate the built environment, which includes maintenance of both active and passive fire protection systems, maintenance of egress and exits and much more.


text:
I write mysteries.
During the auction for my first novel,
an editor wanted to know if I was a detective
or a journalist or a lawyer or a police officer.
I was none of those things. I didn't know what to say.
I responded politely, "No, I am a writer,"
sensing that wasn't good enough for her.
She asked if I'd been exposed to crime scenes and criminals,
police procedures and law enforcement and the mean streets.
I said, no, I'm a writer.
She dropped out of the auction.
But my book sold anyway
to an editor who loved writers.
My story is buried in the ground of the mysteries I write.
My past is woven into my characters' pasts.
I am the hero and the villain of my story.
When I work, I dig up the past.
I analyze it.
I disclose my successes and failures.
I rediscover my pleasures and pain.
It is believed that an author's platform sells books.
I think story and character sell books.
Everybody wants something.
I want something.
My characters want something.
They want the truth from me.
I want the truth from them.
I write mystories.
The Smell of Rotten Apples
Writer's rituals have always intrigued me. Stephen King starts his day by eating a piece of cheesecake. Charles Dickens combed his hair obsessively while he wrote. Victor Hugo wrote naked, wrapped in a blanket. James Joyce wrote "Finnegan's Wake" on pieces of cardboard, using crayons. Truman Capote considered himself a "completely horizontal author" because he couldn't write unless he was lying down.
My favorite writer's ritual is Friedrich von Schiller's. He was the pop star of his time, an 18th-century German poet and the author of Ode to Joy, which Beethoven set to music in the final movement of his Ninth Symphony. Friedrich couldn't write unless he smelled rotten apples. He hid the fruit in his desk drawer and let it go bad. His wife was appalled by the sweet stench permeating his office, and even his friend Goethe thought it was messed up. But Schiller claimed the aroma heightened his creativity.
I decided to conduct an experiment and see if the smell of rotten apples would be a fruitful or futile contribution to my writing process. Here's what happened:
Monday, April 2nd:
I buy two Cortland apples and place them in a drawer of my writing desk. I'm excited to try this. It feels like resurrecting a small, odd piece of history.
Wednesday, April 4th:
I open the drawer before I start writing. The apples smell slightly sweeter.
Thursday, April 5th:
Hm. No change. Same color. I smell Graham Crackers, maybe???
Sunday, April 8th:
It's been a week and they're still bright red. Still not rotten. I don't know what they put in apples these days—chemicals to increase their shelf-life, for sure.
Wednesday, April 10th:
I decide these apples are no good, and throw them out. I'm buying new ones.
Thursday, April 11th:
I buy two Macintosh apples. See how this goes.
Friday, April 12th:
A faint woodsy smell from inside the drawer.
Sunday, April 14th:
A slight discoloration. A sweet, cidery tang. Now we're talking.
Wednesday, April 17th:
This cloying fragrance pulls me east, back to my childhood… long-lost sunsets in late August when school is just over the horizon.
Friday, April 18th:
Nectar-y grainy smell. Down by the ocean, bulrushes, seagulls. Summers on the Cape.
Wednesday, April 19th:
I see brown spots on both apples. Are they shriveling? I might be imagining the shriveling.
Thursday, April 20th:
Okay, if nostalgia has a smell, then this is it—falling leaves, Halloween pumpkins, candy corn, picking apples with my family at the local orchard.
Tuesday, April 23rd:
Tart. Vaguely distracting. Maybe not Schiller-level rot yet. I don't think this is it—but it's the smell of playing outdoors. Dusty hot feet. Large hazy moons. Falling asleep with the windows open. Barn owls hooting back and forth. Crickets.
Sunday, April 28th:
I see a pattern of bruised spots over both apples now. Should I be worried about ants?
Monday, April 29th:
Here we go. Funky now, almost like tobacco. Barn-y. Cidery. Reminiscent of hay dust, cow manure, and siloes of fermenting grains. Totally Schiller-esque.
Friday, May 4th:
When I open the drawer, I'm hit with a disturbing puckery smell. Officially offensive. Both apples have silver-dollar-sized mushy brown spots with fissures running through them. Like leftovers you'd find in a serial killer's fridge. Fuzzy baloney-ish, black banana-y.
Saturday, May 5th:
I don't want to open the drawer. I really don't.
Monday, May 7th:
I open the drawer. Rancid pulpy smell. I try to imagine what Schiller found so inspiring about this, because it makes me want to throw up. And it's spring. I don't want to throw up. The dogwoods are blooming.
Tuesday, May 8th:
I'm done with this. I'm no longer intrigued. I throw the rotten apples away.
The Verdict:
I don't like input when I write—I need the world to disappear. I wear earplugs to block out sound. I sit in a corner with no windows or sunlight. I don't listen to music.
The smell of rotten apples was distracting. It only inspired me to clean out my desk drawer with disinfectant wipes.
Centuries later, few remember Friedrich von Schiller for Ode to Joy, but people like me remember him as the rotten-apple guy.
Too bad, because in Ode to Joy, he wrote this:
Joy, joy moves the wheels
In the universal time machine.
Flowers it calls forth from their buds.
Suns from the Firmament,
Spheres it moves far out in Space,
Where our telescopes cannot reach.
Story begins: Man who fears water
Middle of story: kills
End: shark
Story begins: Man of the cloth
Middle of story: becomes
End: devil
When I was a little girl, I used to run away if a car pulled into our driveway. We didn't have many visitors. I didn't want to say hello. My parents were only slightly less awkward than I was.
When I was in high school, I wore too much makeup. My mother didn't stop me. "Do whatever you want," she said. "Just don't tell me about it."
When I got too excited about something or had too many thoughts crammed into my head, I'd stop in the middle of a sentence and stare off into space.
When I couldn't express my feelings, I'd cross my arms and say things like, "No, that's not what I mean," because verbalizing things was difficult for me.
When I was a freshman in college, my friends thought I got stoned a lot. I didn't.
When I was a senior, my friends thought I didn't care about them. I did.
When I wanted to hide, I wore a Sears parka with a fake-fur hood and synthetic padding, with low-ride jeans and cute little tops. I wore my parka everywhere, in all kinds of weather. Over the years, it became frayed and worn out, but I refused to get a new one because I could pull that hood over my head and become invisible. When the hood was up, I could hide. When the hood was down, I exhausted people with my exhausted eyes.
When I was growing up, you see, there was a wolf who would snatch the words right out of my mouth if I couldn't articulate my thoughts at the speed of light. A smiling, critical, judgmental wolf for whom I wasn't good enough. I was a sheep in a wolf's house.
When I felt like the world was judging me, and I didn't know who I was, why wouldn't I hide?
When I took myself seriously, nobody else did.
When I understood this, I became a writer.
"What Would You Wear To Your Own Funeral?"
Here's what I would wear.
One. My 1982 Lee straightleg jeans. Lee jeans, not Levi's. They stretched everywhere I moved. They're faded now, with tiny moth holes. I can barely get them over my hips. But these are the jeans I wore when my husband and I first got married and were just learning about each other.
Two. My Book Culture T-shirt. Book Culture is a bookstore on the upper East side of New York. I've never been there. I must go some day. My husband went there while I was home writing my new book (when you're a writer, sometimes it seems like you never leave home). He surprised me with the T-shirt as a gift. I wear it to sleep at night. I wear it when I write. It gets stinky, but it gets softer each time I wash it. It's as comfortable a thing as can possibly exist. I am a novelist, and I belong to the book culture. I'll wear it to my grave.
Three. I'll have on a black winter coat, quilted and super soft, plush and fleecy. I wore it all over London while on vacation there in the nineties. My husband and I had so much fun. We picnicked in Hampstead Heath, and a pit bull with brown spots and a broad smile ran across the entire length of the field to steal our Brie cheese, and it was so funny we let him have it. He wanted it so damned badly. He deserved it. We took pictures. We don't have a dog. We have a picture of this dog. He will be in my coat pocket.
Four. Many years ago, my father went on a sabbatical to New Mexico, chasing his dreams. He joined an archeological dig in the desert, and after the dig, he came to visit me in Los Angeles and pulled a necklace out of his dusty backpack and gave it to me. It's Navajo. Hand-strung. Rough pieces of turquoise. Clumps of nickel silver. Blue hearts and squash blossoms. He bought it cheap but this necklace is as precious as my memories of him.
Five. On my right ear I'll wear a single vintage drop-dangle earring of a Victorian woman's hand. Tarnished silver. Brass earwire. Palmistry jewelry. Just the one earring. I lost the other one at a job I hated. Actually, I lost it walking around a nondescript haunted neighborhood for an hour because I couldn't bear to eat lunch with the lifers. Finding that earring became an obsession during my remaining days at that shitty job. I never found it. I've had some good jobs but also many shitty jobs in my life. Every single shitty job I've ever had has made me a better writer. Everything is an opportunity. To learn. To grow. To dream. To scream and write it all down. I remember when my husband gave me the earrings. I opened the pillow gift box. They were exquisite—the shiny, delicate hands. Now her hand is open, fingers outstretched, blackening, oxidized, surface-scratched, soft patina, so beautiful to me.
Six. The cheap beaded bracelet I was wearing when I met my husband for the very first time at college, and I drank too much out of nervousness and got sick to my stomach, and he held my hair while I puked in the toilet, and that's true love.
Seven. Sunglasses. I love the idea of wearing sunglasses at a funeral. People don't like it when you wear sunglasses, especially if they can't see your eyes. One guy tried to kick me in the head once because I was wearing mirrored shades.
Eight. I'll be wearing a yellow gold ring with a black onyx stone on the fourth finger of my left hand. It has an Art Deco shank and open-weave mount. My husband found it in an old mason jar filled with wood screws, washers and roofing nails. One day, while visiting his folks, he felt an impulse to rummage around in the basement, and he emptied the jar on a workbench, and out spilled the ring. Had his grandfather hidden it there? Were there other rings in other jars strewn around the old basement? We'll never know. His parents are gone. The house is gone. But it's my wedding ring now. It's magical. I cherish it.
Nine. My beat-up Beatle boots. I wore them to see Patti Smith, The Ramones, The Dead Boys, X, The Pixies, The Smithereens, Til Tuesday, Rash of Stabbings, Mission of Burma, Husker Du. Heels worn down. They make a funny scraping sound when you walk. You can feel the road beneath their soles.
Ten. I'll be holding a preserved rose flattened between two pieces of cellophane. My husband presented it to me on the morning we got married by a justice of the peace. A single cut flower. A rose bud. We put it in a vase and set it on the coffee table, and by the time the civil ceremony was finished, the rose had blossomed to full bloom in a beam of sunlight. Things like that just don't happen—until, of course, they do.
What you wear to your own funeral is about who you really are. What you've done. Who you loved and were loved by.
This is a love story.
What would you wear to your funeral?
Excerpt from "Darkness Peering"
Excerpt from "Darkness Peering"
Nicole could count every pore on the boy's face. A big blue vein stood out on his neck, and he wouldn't look at her directly. He was taller than her by half a foot, with soft formless features. His dark hair grew out straight but ended in little waves, like the ruffles on a potato chip. His fingernails were dirty and his hands were callused, and he kept glancing at her as if he expected something to happen.
"Feels like I've been bad or something," Nicole confessed.
"Why?" he whispered.
They'd been whispering all afternoon.
Fantastic review by Tom Nolan in The Wall Street Journal
Mysteries: Surviving a Trifecta of Traumas
A damaged woman takes on a cold case--the abduction and murder of her younger sister.
By Tom Nolan
April 6, 2018
Boston's Kate Wolfe, the 32-year-old child psychiatrist at the center of Alice Blanchard's terrifying thriller "A Breath After Drowning" (Titan, 441 pages, $14.95), endured a grim childhood. Her mother was committed to an asylum when Kate was 10--and later committed suicide. Kate's younger sister was kidnapped and murdered in a horrific way. Her father retreated into solitude soon after.
But Kate survived her "trifecta of traumas" to devote her adult life to a career helping young people negotiate similar crises--in part as a way of assuaging the guilt she still feels for having left her sister alone the night she was abducted. It is all the more distressing, then, when an emotionally vulnerable teenage patient hangs herself as soon as Kate prepares to leave on a long-deferred vacation. "None of this was your fault," her old mentor tells her. "Sometimes the darkness takes over." In this case, the darkness won't let go. At her patient's funeral, Kate encounters Palmer Dyson, a retired police detective from her hometown back in New Hampshire. Palmer shares his doubts that the man convicted of killing Kate's sister--and soon to be executed--is actually guilty. After meeting the condemned man, Kate begins to have doubts of her own. It could be that the real killer is still at large.
With the ex-cop's guidance, Kate is soon acting like a detective in her own right: poring through old police files, considering alternative scenarios and using her psychiatric training to deduce the identity of someone Palmer is convinced is an undetected serial killer.
Bizarre coincidences and shocking revelations concerning former neighbors and Kate's own family members, as well as the murder of the mother of another one of her patients, cause Kate to question her own hard-earned sanity. But she'll need all her wits about her, and then some, to eventually do battle with one of the most memorable genre villains since Hannibal Lecter.
Write what you fear.
Write what makes you cry.
Write what makes you laugh out loud.
Don't be afraid to reveal yourself.
This is a writer's job.
The German "The Breathtaker" is "Zahn um Zahn" which means "Tooth for Tooth."
The Dutch "Darkness Peering" is "Onder de Huid" which means "Under the Skin."
The French "The Breathtaker" is "Le Tueur des Tornades" which means "The Killer of Tornadoes."
The German "Darkness Peering" is "Der Tod in Deinem Blut" which means "The Death in Your Blood."
The Italian "The Breathtaker" is "Respiro" which means "Breath."
The Italian "Darkness Peering" is "Tenebre" which means "Darkness."
Another German "The Breathtaker" is "Sturmfieber" which means "Storm Fever."
The Polish "A Breath after Drowning" is "Głód Zabijania" which means "The Hunger For Killing."
The Spanish "A Breath after Drowning" is "El Aliento de los ahogados" which means "Breath of the Drowned"
The Italian "A Breath after Drowning" is "Un Respiro Nell'Acqua" which means "A Breath In Water."
NYT Review of THE BREATHTAKER
"Nothing about the delicately rendered psychological terrors of Alice Blanchard's debut novel, ''Darkness Peering,'' could have prepared us for the howling horrors of THE BREATHTAKER. Set in a region of rural Oklahoma known as Tornado Alley, this gale-force thriller charts the warped progress of a serial killer who strikes only during tornadoes and models his handiwork on their devastation. That should be enough of a charge for one book, but such is Blanchard's artistry that she whips up even more excitement by taking us joy riding with storm chasers who jump into their trucks and ride into the path of the big twisters. ''Heroin for the heartland'' is their catchphrase for storm chasing. As one enthusiast puts it, ''When you chased the wind, the ground fell away from under your feet and you were transported someplace else.''
Charlie Grover, the seasoned police chief of Promise, Okla., joins these daredevils when his 16-year-old daughter is kidnapped by the killer and driven into the eye of a majestic storm -- a plot development that satisfies genre conventions but seems superfluous in a story that gets more blood-pumping effects from its spectacular weather reporting. In truth, Blanchard writes so well that even her quiet descriptions of desolate towns and lonely people are good enough to rattle the rafters."
By MARILYN STASIO, NY TIMES
Am I a Writer?
Sometimes you wonder—am I a real writer?
Do you get the most brilliant ideas when you don't have a pen or scrap of paper?
Then yes, you're a real writer.
A three-year-old, screaming, and her stern-faced mother saying, "Use your words. Find your words." Where? How? A vortex of nano-particles choking my throat. Holding my breath until I turned blue.
Elementary school.
A skinny dark-haired tomboy, scowling at the world.
I couldn't spell. I inverted letters on the page. Went became want. Hole became howl. How are you? became Who are you?
I struggled to read. I trudged over to the big round reading table in a pissy mood. All my friends could recite aloud, but when it came my turn, I was quickly overwhelmed by the hieroglyphics drifting across the page.
My teacher would say, "Try again." Ugh. I developed a stammer.
My father told me not to worry—he'd struggled with reading once, too. He showed me an illustrated book, and inspired, I wrote my own version of Alice in Wonderland. Alice follwo'd the rabbit down a howl. Bown, bown and bown she want.
Grade school.
Awkward and lost. A wildness in my eyes.
Deathly afraid of failing in school, I finally learned how to read by falling in love with the characters in stories. To this day, I can't explain why or how, but suddenly I was reading everything I could get my hands on. And my imagination soared.
I hated school, but what I really hated was confinement. Dry lectures and big windows with perfect views of blue sky and green grass.
My stomachaches sometimes fooled my mother, and I'd stay home and write.
Middle school.
Skinny, scrawny, too much makeup caked over the eyes. Self-conscious about my K-Mart clothes.
I got my first dictionary. Right away, I looked up dyslexia.
My grandfather once wrote me a check for a million-trillion dollars, which I kept in my coat pocket until my mom made me throw it away. On our walks in the woods, he would make up stories about fairies who lived in the roots of trees. Each time I visited, he would say, "You can have any book in my house." His books were leather-bound and dusty. He'd flip through the pages and read aloud, and I loved the sound of his voice. He gave me confidence. He made me love words.
I decided. I would write books.
And so I wrote, and when I wasn't writing, I wasn't breathing.
Junior high.
Pencil-thin, greasy long hair, distracted smile, rebellious.
I wrote essays about fruit flies and being a nonconformist.
I wandered the halls. I wanted to disappear. Everyone was rushing. Why?
High school.
A shallow-breather hiding inside my parka. Impulsive girlie-girl. Creative. Curious.
I had my core group of friends. We hung out together, majoring in alienation. We wrote and read and talked a blue streak. My first writer's group.
A sullen Bambi lost in the forest. Not always understanding what people were saying but taking things too literally.
I attended college in the city, as far away from the woods and the barns and the cows as possible. I took drugs and drank beer and made new friends and enemies.
My father's letters to me—meticulously handwritten—would often have words crossed out, with corrected spellings written above them. And sometimes his corrected spellings were misspelled.
I starved myself. I didn't eat well. I wasn't sure why. I wrote about my confusion. Cynicism was my core curriculum.
I called home, looking for assurance, full of secrets I couldn't share with my parents. I was thoroughly down the rabbit hole. My mother and I would talk about practical things.
Then she would hand the phone to Dad.
"Hi," he would say.
"Hi," I would say.
"How are you?"
"Fine. You?"
We no longer spoke the same language.
When the conversation was over, I'd say with relief, "I love you, Dad."
"I love you, honey."
I'd hang up and write about those things I couldn't say to him—stories about love and childhood and hometown friends and things I missed and dreams I wished would come true.
I'm a published author. I still struggle.
I'm not sure what my story can teach you.
I just never gave up.
From "The Stuntman's Daughter" by Alice Blanchard
"We passed the joint around, and as it got easier to inhale, I started noticing how the leaves seemed to be falling in slow-motion from the trees. I laughed with my mouth full of smoke. I got all caught up in the way my dark hair rested against my shoulder, like a photographic negative of snow blowing through an open door. My eyes fixed on my friend's necklace, something I hadn't noticed before—a tiny gold chain with a gold word at the base of her neck. Aires, gold lassoes for letters, riding her pulse. My thoughts felt about thumb-sized."
When I was a little girl, I wanted to fly. I would hop off the ground like a broken toy.
When I was a little girl, I went to a friend's house and looked around for their books. There were none. "Where are all your books?" I wondered. Our house was full of books. My father built bookshelves out of white pine planks that warped in the middle and the books fell off.
When I was a little girl, I collected keys. Skeleton, mostly. I kept them in a tin box. My father took me to junk shops and let me buy rusty old keys. He told me music had keys and that deadbolts didn't. He said there were keys to the kingdom. One time he got so mad at me he said he would lock me up and throw away the key, and that frightened me more than anything he ever said. Once I found a key in the dirt outside an old barn. It fit into a padlock on the barn door and it was like opening a tomb.
When I was a little girl, I'd lie awake all night, worrying about squirrels in the attic and my father hurting himself. One time, I got out of bed and went downstairs and discovered that Dad was awake. He was full of worries, too. Together we went outside, listened to the silence, and watched the sunrise.
Before I can sit down and write a 350-page novel, I need three things—a dream, a memory, and a true story that fascinates me. Only then can the alchemy begin.
1. The Dream:
Each one of my novels was inspired by a dream. Before I wrote "A Breath After Drowning," I had a dream that my husband and I came home and couldn't get our front door open. I slid the key into the lock but it wouldn't turn. Inside, the phone was ringing off the hook, and I knew in my heart something horrible had happened. That dream was the seed that grew into my new novel.
Dreams contain an underlying truth. What did this one mean? I was suddenly homeless. I'd lost my identity. An unknown force was threatening everything I held dear. I'd been locked out of my own home—this ignited my imagination, and I became obsessed with its literary implications.
2. The Memory:
My father was admitted to a psych ward after his first suicide attempt. I remember visiting him there when I was sixteen years old. The clocks in the waiting room told the wrong time, and the magazines were three years old. Dad shuffled toward us in his pajamas and bathrobe. He looked washed away. His eyes were faded. He talked to us as if he'd forgotten who we were. As if something alien had replaced him. This memory still haunts me, and it inspired the pivotal scene in "A Breath After Drowning" where, as a young girl, Kate visits her mother in the asylum.
3. The True Story:
The murder of Jessica Lunsford effected me deeply. She was a nine-year-old girl from Florida, who was murdered in 2005. Her body was found 150 yards from her home. She'd been buried alive. Her death was so tragic and cruel, it filled me with anger and sadness. I couldn't imagine how her parents coped with such a loss, and so I gave their terrible pain to my main character.
In my novel, "A Breath After Drowning," child psychiatrist Kate Wolfe's world comes crashing down when one of her young patients reveals things about Kate's past that she shouldn't know—things involving the murder of Kate's sister sixteen years earlier.
In writing this book, I felt a powerful connection to Kate, a connection so strong it propelled the book forward. She took the dream, the memory, and the true story, and she put it on her shoulders—I followed.
I own a lot of books. Hundreds. Stacked on tables, crammed into bookshelves, packed away in boxes. Usually, I'll read a book once and that's it. Occasionally I'll come across a book I truly love, and I will turn to it again and again. These pages are dog-eared. The jackets are missing. I don't own these books—they own me.
Here's a short list of my favorites:
Susan Minot wrote a book called Monkeys about growing up with lots of brothers and sisters and having a father who slowly loses his mind. The entire family dances around the elephant in the room, and the children try to fix the world for their parents but can't. I love this book, and I love this writer. Minot's young characters speak with the disturbing honesty of children stuck in hell.
"The Ballard of the Sad Café"
In The Ballad of the Sad Café, Southern Gothic author Carson McCullers penned a love story about an awkward, tall woman who falls in love with a short, cagey stranger. The stranger breaks her heart, makes her look like a fool, and then leaves the small town she's stuck in forever. What's not to love about a storyteller like that? McCullers was a fearless woman writing crazy fables of tragic love at a time when women were supposed to behave like Doris Day.
"Rosemary's Baby"
Rosemary Woodhouse is the face of all that is good in Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby, one of my favorite books. She's modern, optimistic, funny, vibrant. She loves her husband, who turns on her in the most vicious way imaginable, forcing her to become the primal mother who wields a knife to protect her child. Rosemary is everywoman, wanting life to be good for the people she loves, until she comes face to face with true evil. Instead of shrinking, she fights.
"Nine Stories"
The characters in J.D. Salinger's Nine Stories can't cope with the hypocrisy of the adult world—how we lie to ourselves, how we betray each other daily. My favorite story in this delicious collection is "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." In it, Seymour Glass is losing his mind. He went to war, and now he's back, married to Muriel, a shallow young woman who doesn't understand him. Seymour loves her, but that only makes his sense of isolation more painful. While his wife is preoccupied with frivolous things, Seymour sits on the beach and talks to three-year-old Sybil, who calls him "See more glass." Seymour tells Sybil about bananafish, an allusion to his inner turmoil. It's the story of a man who can't contain his pain any longer, and somehow it's funny and sweet and poignant… and the most hauntingly realistic thing I've ever read.
"Silence of the Lambs"
Gorgeously written by Thomas Harris, Silence of the Lambs is a chilling look at the fine line between good and evil. Clarice Starling grew up poor and struggling, but the one thing that kept her afloat was her father, a cop who believed in justice. After he died Clarice got sent away to live with relatives, where she witnessed the slaughter of the spring lambs. The death of the lambs drove Clarice to become the kind of person her dad would've been proud of. But it's just the kind of psychological weakness Hannibal Lector preys on. Clarice needs his help to stop a psychotic creep from skinning more victims, and she allows Hannibal to probe her psyche, but instead of manipulating and controlling her, Hannibal comes to admire this dauntless woman. Clarice is a hero who can't be corrupted and she outwits both monsters in the end.
"The Exorcist"
William Peter Blatty's crowning achievement is a superbly written shocker and the definitive horror novel. Great thrillers are often about ordinary people confronting evil, and never has there been a more authentically ordinary character than Chris MacNeil. Despite the fact that she's a movie star (there's nothing ordinary about that), she comes across as a regular person—a divorced mom and compulsive worrier who lies awake at night fearing death and… what-the-heck-is-making-that-scraping-sound-in-the-attic? When a demon possesses her daughter, Regan, Chris is forced to battle not only the supernatural, but a medical establishment that cannot help her little girl. My vote for the ultimate horror Mom.
"Jesus' Son"
Denis Johnson's legendary collection of short stories is a harrowing masterwork—hypnotic snapshots of young men who use drugs to ward off the suffering they feel every day of their failed lives. Each gemlike tale is carved from Johnson's own vivid life experiences. We are transported into a radiant world full of ravishing beauty and raw visions. Johnson's genius is that he has us willingly embracing the transformative power of human emotions—yearning, grief, and wonder.
I love these books with all my heart.

subset: commoncrawl


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(photo inspired by the better executed one found here.)
We are coming up on our sixth day of dreary weather and gray skies and I am starting to pull my hair out. I am aching for sunshine and warmth. I am counting the days until we are back in California. (No offense, east coast, the homesickness - that lay dormant for 1.5 years - is getting to me.)
Inspired by this and this blog this past weekend. What is inspiring you?


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Submitted by ahna on
Congratulations to the dedicated families who participated with their canine companions in Dog-Ed's recent Saturday Training classes held in the AHNA Education Room. These classes, taught by Jenny White, CPDT-KA of Dog-Ed, were not only fun filled but they help families to teach and strengthen basic manners. Jenny's classes strengthen the bond between families and their pets while helping the dogs become polite members of the community.
During the once weekly classes of the "Concentration" Training Class, registered attendees each brought their canine companion to learn how to focus and how to shift the companion's focus back to them during distractions. New environments, people, and other dogs are examples of challenges for which Jenny White, CPDT-KA taught participants focusing skills. After completing the concentration class, these families have learned the foundation of gaining their dog's attention and setting up their dog for success in their next level of training manners, such as polite walking on leash, coming when called and much more.
Several families participated in the most recent Follow Me! Learn to Enjoy Walks With Your Dog Again. This series of classes helped families become skilled at loose leash walking along with helping their dogs focus during distractions and strengthen their mechanical and motivational skills so future walks will be more pleasurable. All the hard work and success the families achieved in 4 short weeks shows.
We want to say a big "way to go!" to all the families who participated in the Saturday Training classes. You are setting your dog up for success in life, helping them become a polite canine citizen and, most importantly, spending time and building a special lifelong bond with your very special canine companion.
Classes like these are different from the Free (People-only) Behavior Help sessions that we have here at Animal Hospital of North Asheville on specific weekday evenings. While the Free sessions require no registration, registration and payment is required for the Saturday classes that dogs attend along with a caregiver. Dogs and their people love these classes as they are fun and are taught using positive reinforcement. To learn more about upcoming Saturday Training classes at AHNA or future classes taught by Jenny White, CPDT-KA of Dog-Ed please visit: Dog-Ed.net or AHNA's Events Facebook page.


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UK Football
Kentucky football team lands commitment from top-100 recruit Lynn Bowden
A recruiting class that was already in the discussion as Mark Stoops' best at Kentucky added its most highly touted member yet with Saturday's commitment from Lynn Bowden, one of the most dynamic offensive players in the country.
Bowden — a 6-foot-1, 190-pound prospect from Stoops' hometown of Youngstown, Ohio — put up ridiculous numbers while playing quarterback for Warren G. Harding High School this past fall. The future Wildcat ran for 2,277 yards, passed for 1,366 yards and accounted for 57 total touchdowns as a senior.
Scout.com ranks Bowden as the No. 60 overall prospect in the 2017 recruiting class, and he projects primarily as a slot receiver at UK, though the Wildcats are expected to use him in a variety of roles.
"He is outstanding with the ball in his hands," Scout.com's Allen Trieu told the Herald-Leader. "He's a guy who can score from anywhere on the field, and that's not just because of his speed, but his elusiveness.
"He was really good as a junior, but he really kicked it up another notch as a senior. He put up huge stats. And not only that, but he was the guy on that team that you went into every week game-planning for. Everybody's goal was to stop him, and he ran right through everybody."
Bowden, who chose UK over fellow finalists Penn State and West Virginia, is now the highest ranked player in the Wildcats' 2017 class, which is ranked in the top 20 nationally. Vince Marrow was his primary recruiter at Kentucky.
Though he likely will be listed as a wide receiver in college, Bowden is a true athlete who could be used as a running back, wildcat-formation quarterback and kick returner, and he even has the ability to play defensive back if needed.
"The way that offenses are run now, you can do so much with him," Trieu said. "I can see him being a tailback. He's that good with the ball in his hands. But being in the slot allows you to hand it to him on some jet sweeps. He's a guy you want to throw some quick screens to. I think slot is the best fit, but he's a kid you can put a lot of different places."
It's almost always unfair to compare a high school kid to a highly successful professional football player, but many recruiting observers have likened Bowden's skill set to Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb, who played quarterback in high school before becoming a do-everything offensive star at Kentucky.
Bowden's senior-season highlight film — which Trieu called one of the most exciting in the country — will also remind UK fans of Cobb.
"I think that's a fair comparison," Trieu said. "You don't want to compare a high school kid to one of the best receivers in the NFL. But, at the same time, when you have a kid ranked in your national top 100, we obviously think he's going to be an impact player and able to live up to some of those expectations. So I don't think that's crazy or out of line at all to see that he compares favorably at the same age."
Trieu noted that Bowden might not be quite as speedy as the 5-10 Cobb, but the new Wildcat is bigger than the former UK star. Bowden is expected to be at about 200 pounds by the time he plays his first game for the Wildcats.
That debut is likely to come this fall.
Bowden joins a UK recruiting class already packed with commitments from offensive "skill" players — wide receivers Josh Ali, Isaiah Epps, Javonte Richardson and Clevan Thomas, as well as running back Bryant Koback — but his dynamic playmaking ability and versatility will make it tough for UK's coaches to keep him on the sidelines.
"I think he can absolutely play as a true freshman," Trieu said. "He's going to come in physically ready to go. He's a competitive kid, so he's not going to shy away from the competition.
"I think he can play even if he doesn't know all of the playbook, because he's going to be a guy you can create certain packages for. He has skills you can utilize as a role player as he picks up the rest of the system."
Ben Roberts: 859-231-3216, @BenRobertsHL


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The Gallery at Still River Editions will be among the venues across the state participating in Connecticut's annual Open House Day. Three other Danbury organizations will be opening their doors to the public for free events--The Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut, Workspace Collective (which shares an address with the Cultural Alliance), and Art & Frame of Danbury.
The Gallery at Still River Editions will be hosting the opening reception for Nancy Lasar's solo exhibition "Flux and Flow: Unique Techniques and Collaborations" from 2 pm - 4 pm, with art, light refreshments, and conversation. Lasar's gorgeous, often large-scale work combines techniques and methods in surprising ways, always populated by her lively lines which dance form joyfully into being.
As a bonus, Still River Editions is offering a 10% off digital printing services coupon for visitors that day to use on their next (or first) digital printing order.
All four venues are within a short drive of each other, and there are numerous excellent food and beverage options around Danbury and Bethel we'd love to recommend if you'd like to take a breather in between things.
The Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut and Workspace Collective will be open at 287 Main St. from 11 am - 6 pm, and will have light refreshments. The Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut's gallery will be open with the exhibit "Faces: Works by Larry Morse." The Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut is a non-profit arts organization, community resource, and gallery right in the heart of Downtown Danbury and serving the Greater Danbury area.
Workspace Collective is a small-maker boutique, retail co-op, workshop studio and handmade gift store that occupies the same storefront as CAWC. Their offerings include designer apparel, accessories, body care, and home goods.
Art & Frame of Danbury at 60 Newtown Rd., Danbury (in the same shopping plaza as Chamomille) will be hosting the opening for the group exhibit "Abstracted Thoughts" from 5 pm - 7 pm, which will feature music by the ukulele swing group Edukated Fleas. Art & Frame's openings feature excellent, homemade munchies.
Mark Savoia, Catherine Vanaria, and Lys Guillorn of Still River Editions all have pieces in the exhibition, along with many other members of the local arts community.
Also local things of interest not officially participating in Open House Day (paid, ticketed admission applies)
The Danbury Museum and Historical Society - 43 Main St., Danbury
The Danbury Railway Museum's Antique Car Show - 120 White St., Danbury
For more information on events and offers in each municipality please go to the Open House Day page on ctvisit.com.


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The Ashkenazi Glossed Bible
- Article written by: Javier del Barco
- Theme: The Hebrew Bible
- Published: 21 Aug 2016
The first of the biblical translations – the Targum or Aramaic paraphrase – is nothing less than a commented or glossed translation of the Hebrew text. So when theTargum was incorporated into Jewish liturgy,[1] Jews soon felt the need to produce Bibles that included the Aramaic gloss together with the Hebrew text. These Bibles usually present the Aramaic translation following each verse of the Hebrew text, both sharing the same mode of script – usually calligraphic square – and letter size. This makes it almost impossible to distinguish between the Hebrew and Aramaic at first glance.
At least as far back as the beginning of the 13th century CE, more up-to-date commentaries began to be copied together with the biblical text. The commentary composed by Solomon ben Isaac of Troyes (1040–1105 CE), better known as Rashi, became the standard commentary in northern France and then in the rest of Ashkenaz – encompassing Germany, central Europe, and northern Italy. Reading the Targum was still a liturgical obligation in Ashkenazi communities, but reading Rashi's commentary was far more convenient for ordinary Jews who wanted understand the Hebrew text in the context of their own cultural settings.
Thus, Bibles were produced containing the Hebrew text, the Targum (at least Onkelos, the standard Aramaic paraphrase of the Pentateuch), and Rashi's commentary that adopted new strategies to accommodate all these texts. The resulting format was more suitable for the way the Bible was read – by going back and forth between the Hebrew text and its accompanying texts. These strategies focused on establishing textual hierarchies and included: different, separate spaces; different letter sizes; and different script modes for each text.
Therefore it was in Ashkenaz where Bibles containing the Targum and Rashi's commentary became a model of the glossed Hebrew Bible until the 15th century CE. Surviving copies of the Ashkenazi glossed Bible date from as early as the 13th century CE – for example, Add MS 26879, a Bible of possible French origin containing the Prophets. The beginning of Kings (f. 108r) shows how the texts are arranged in three separate columns, using different letter sizes and script modes. The Masorah[2] is copied, as is customary in Masoretic Bibles, in the upper and lower margins, but here it is aligned exclusively with the column containing the Hebrew text.
The Former and Latter Prophets
Beginning of the book of Kings in a 13th-century Ashkenazi glossed Bible, with parallel columns containing the Targum and Rashi's commentary in geometrical shape (Add MS 26879, f. 108r)View images from this item (1)
Other examples from the 14th century CE show the standardisation of the model of the Ashkenazi glossed Bible and its main characteristics (Harley MS 5709, f. 1r; Harley MS 1861, f. 57v; Add MS 26878, f. 209r). All of these present a page layout with three columns – one for the Hebrew text, one for the Targum, and one for Rashi's commentary. The central column is reserved for the main text in Hebrew, while the inner columns contain the Targum, and the outer columns Rashi's commentary.
Upper and lower margins are filled depending on a use-on-demand basis, which means they may be used if the amount of text to be written on one particular page is long enough to require the space in those margins. This happens quite often with the text of Rashi's commentary, especially in sections where the commentary referring to the Hebrew text on a particular page is lengthy (see, for example, Harley MS 5709, f. 1r, with the beginning of Genesis, and Add MS 26878, f. 209r, with the beginning of Deuteronomy).
The Hebrew text in the centre is copied using a calligraphic square script of Ashkenazi type. The same mode – calligraphic square – is used for the Targum, but the letter size is smaller, which clearly differentiates the main Hebrew text from the secondary Aramaic gloss. Rashi's commentary is third in the hierarchy of texts. This is indicated by its place on the page – occupying the outer margins – and its script mode and letter size – a semi-cursive script of small size.
Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary and Targum Onkelos
Beginning of Genesis, with the Targum in the right column and Rashi's commentary in the left column, and upper and lower margins (Harley MS 5709, f. 1r)View images from this item (3)
Abraham's Pentateuch and Rashi
Beginning of Exodus with a large panel containing the initial word of the book. This causes large blank spaces in the right and left columns parallel to the area where the panel has been decorated (Harley MS 1861, f.57v)View images from this item (1)
Pentateuch with Targum Onkelos and Rashi's commentary
Beginning of Deuteronomy with the Hebrew text, the Targum, and Rashi clearly differentiated and hierarchised (Add MS 26878, f. 209r)View images from this item (1)
Sections of the Bible other than the Pentateuch do not always present the layout described above. These include the Hagiographa or Ketuvim in complete Bibles – containing the twenty-four books of the Hebrew Bible, the haftarot,[3] and five megillot[4] in liturgical Bibles. These sections do not always include the Targum. As a result, they have a large central column containing the Hebrew text and a smaller, marginal outer column with Rashi's commentary.
When specific haftarot are presented with the Targum – as it is the Ashkenazi custom to do with the haftarot for Passover and Shavuot – the scribe makes room for a third column in the specific place where this is needed. Thus, in Harley MS 5709, f. 285v, which contains a section of the haftarot, the upper half of the page is arranged in two columns corresponding to the Hebrew text and Rashi's commentary. And the lower half of the page, which contains the beginning of the haftarah for the first day of Passover, is arranged in three columns. The corresponding section from the Targum is included here.
Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary and Targum Onkelos
Haftarah for the first day of Passover. The scribe has made room to include a third, inner column with the Targum (Harley MS 5709, f. 285v)View images from this item (3)
In the 15th century CE, other commentaries and texts relating to different traditions merged with the Ashkenazi glossed Bible, especially in Italy. There, migrant Jews from both Ashkenazi and Sephardi regions had arrived, bringing with them their textual and liturgical customs. Thus, new models of the glossed Bible emerged that included commentaries other than Rashi's.
Harley MS 5772, a Pentateuch produced in the 15th century CE, contains the typical texts of the Ashkenazi glossed Bible – including the Targum and Rashi's commentary – plus the commentary composed by Abraham ibn Ezra (1089–1164 CE), one of the most authoritative interpreters, or commentators of the Bible, among Sephardi Jews.
As you can see in f. 1r of this manuscript, the page layout for the Hebrew text, the Targum, and Rashi's commentary, is identical to that of the Ashkenazi glossed Bible. To accommodate Ibn Ezra's commentary, the scribe has simply added a fourth, narrow column in the outer margin, in addition to using the upper and lower margins to complete the text needed for this particular section.
Pentateuch with the commentary of Rashi
Beginning of Genesis containing, in addition to the typical texts of the Ashkenazi glossed Bible, the commentary by Abraham ibn Ezra copied in the outer margins of the page (Harley MS 5772, f. 1r)View images from this item (1)
Bibles produced in the 15th century CE both in Italy and in the Iberian Peninsula show different choices and selections of texts. The result is sophisticated and even artistic page layouts in multi-glossed Bibles. The publication of the Biblia Rabbinica – merging different traditions, types of Bibles, and page layouts from biblical and halakhic manuscripts[5] – sanctioned this diversity and ultimately opened a new chapter in the history of glossed Hebrew Bibles.
[1] I refer here to the prayers and readings from the Bible, their order and performance, as publicly instituted in the synagogue service.
[2] Notes concerning the counting of words and their listings, and the indication of scriptural particularities, written in micrographic script, and usually placed in the upper and lower margins and in spaces between columns.
[3] Sections from the books of the Prophets that are read in the synagogue after the weekly section from the Pentateuch.
[4] Books that are or were read from separate scrolls—in Hebrew, megillot—in the synagogue on the occasion of particular festivities. These books are Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Esther.
[5] Manuscripts containing works on Jewish religious law, of which the Talmud is the most ancient and the basis for later works and commentaries.
The text in this article is available under the Creative Commons License.


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MATE International/World Championship Information
Innovations for inshore:
ROV Operations in Rivers, Lakes, and Dams
The 2019 MATE competition highlights the role that ROVs play inshore - in freshwater rivers, lakes, and dams in Eastern Tennessee.
The 18th annual MATE international ROV competition will take place June 20-22, 2019 at the Kingsport Aquatics Center in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. Regional contests will take across the U.S. and around the world.
Teams must compete at the nearest regional competition or complete a demonstration of their vehicle to earn the opportunity to move on to the international competition. Click here to find information about the regional contest nearest you. Not sure which regional your team would participate in? Contact Jill Zande.
The links below will become active as information is available.
2019 MATE ROV World Championship Competition Results:
Awards List - Recipients
Awards List - Prizes
- LODGING & TRAVEL INFORMATION - updated 4/28/19
- Visit Kingsport - visitor information
- Kingsport Aquatics Center
- Marriott MeadowView - "Grab and Go" menu from the NOLI concession stand in the convention foyer
- Shipping Information
- Schedule of events - FINAL 7 June
- Individual team schedules
- Engineering Presentation Schedule
- Product Demonstration Schedule
- Information about workstations and safety inspection protocol
- Safety Inspection Protocol
- EXPLORER class teams and number assignments
- RANGER class teams and number assignments
- Tent/workstation assignments
- Team Product Demonstration Briefing
- EXPLORER Initial Safety Inspection
- RANGER Initial Safety Inspection
- Additional Image Recognition Verification schedule
- EXPLORER Image Recognition and Autonomous Control
- RANGER Image Recognition
- (Not so) Secret Mission Information
- ONSITE t-shirt (and more!) printing
- Fine Designs will be here again this year selling MATE ROV Competition t-shirts, sweatshirts, and more! You can find them in the lobby of the Aquatic Center.
- Fine Designs will be here again this year selling MATE ROV Competition t-shirts, sweatshirts, and more! You can find them in the lobby of the Aquatic Center.
- Judge and volunteer roster
- 2019 Awards List
- Congratulations to the 2019 regional winners!


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Diabetes Channel
Related Channels
Healthy Eating for Diabetics
Related MultimediaClick on an icon to view.
The Diabetes Food Pyramid is a general guide of what and how much to eat each day as part of healthy eating for diabetics. It is similar to the Food Pyramid you see on many food packages. The pyramid is divided into six groups. You should eat more foods from the largest group at the base of the pyramid and less from the smaller groups at the top of the pyramid. The number of servings needed every day is not the same for everyone, so a range of servings is given to ensure you get the foods you need for good health.
The food groups and suggested servings per day are as follows:
- Grains, beans, and starchy vegetables: These are good sources of B vitamins and fiber -- 6 or more servings a day.
- Fruits: These contain vitamins C and A, potassium, folate, and fiber -- 3 to 4 servings a day.
- Vegetables: These provide vitamins A and C, folate, and fiber -- 3 to 5 servings a day.
- Milk: This is a source of calcium, protein, and vitamins A and D -- 2 to 3 servings a day.
- Meats and meat substitutes: These are good sources of iron, zinc, B vitamins, and protein -- 2 to 3 servings a day.
- Fats, sweets, and alcohol: These foods at the tip of the pyramid should be eaten in small amounts. Fats and oils should be limited because they are high in calories. Sweets are high in sugar and should only be eaten once in a while.
Remember that the number of servings listed is for the entire day. Since food raises blood sugar levels, it is best to space servings throughout the day. For example, four servings of fruit might be divided between three meals and one snack.
Diets for Diabetics
Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD


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It has been a hot minute and Overwatch is still on fire. Here is a sampling of the officially licensed goods, some indie merchandise and of course, in game loot!Read More
Shapeways and Valve announce a brand new licensing agreement for real world goods.Read More
Diablo news.Read More
Bow to Nintendo SenseiRead More
We're so close, and it's looking good.Read More
Hi, my name is Sandy. I have a problem. Please, hide my wallet from me.Read More
Watch NFL Players try their hand at ancient combat.Read More
Here are some highlights from Gabe Newell's most recent AMA.Read More
Looking at the classic loot shooter through a new lens.Read More
GTA IV modder goes city scaling with the plumber.Read More
Ryan's excited for the switch, so here's one more look before we get more details tomorrow night.Read More
This is just weird.Read More
The editors sound off on their favorite games of 2016Read More
Let's play spot the programmer.Read More
This is what it looks like when Ryan plays shooters.Read More
What kind of RPG path do you prefer to follow?Read More
That looks uncomfortable.Read More
Video game studio head actually seems to like outside stuff like trees and grass.Read More
Voice actors actin' a fool.Read More


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Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Dr Wendy Dearborne on Fruits and Vegetables and the… AnnaBella on Try our New Cleopatra Fac…
All you have to do is look at certain whole foods to see the connection they have to body parts! A carrot sliced into a coin shape looks like an eye, while a tomato has four chambers, just like a … Continue reading
Visit the Redlands-Loma Linda Patch website to read an article on Laura's Wellness Spa and Studio of Esthetics at Laura's Wellness Spa.
Laura's Wellness Spa, along with our new partner Studio of Esthetics, was featured in the Redlands Daily Facts newspaper in February. Here is the write up: After being approached by several online coupon companies that would take half of any … Continue reading
Sunscreen is so important, and no one should go outside before slathering some on. Here's a great story on how to protect your skin from the Loma Linda Patch website, with information from the chairman of the Department of Dermatology … Continue reading
Laura's Wellness Spa is featured in the "Playlist" section of the new Inland Empire Magazine, with Carrie Underwood on the cover. The issue is out now, so pick up a copy and tell us what you think!


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Twitter filling up Amazon's Shopping Cart
- 10/06/2014
- Blog
Twitter filling up Amazon's Shopping Cart
Amazon and Twitter have teamed up in a new marketing/sales initiative which promises to be a win-win initiative for all parties involved. Amazon anticipates higher sales, Twitter gets more engagement, marketers will get their needed exposure and consumers get another avenue for online shopping.
The Collaboration
This initiative by Amazon allows consumers to add to cart, items that they like by just sending a reply on Twitter.
All users have to do is to connect their accounts on the two services. Once that is done the user can add a product that they see on a Twitter link to their cart by replying to the tweet with the hashtag #AmazonCart (for the US) and #AmazonBasket (for people in the UK).
(Currently this service is only available to people in the US and UK)
Once you have replied to a product link, Amazon will reply using @MyAmazon Twitter account. This reply from @MyAmazon will include:
- Details on every request's status
- Confirmation that the product was added to the users shopping cart
- Notification on availability. E.g. if the product is out of stock etc.
- Instructions on how to complete checking out later
An email confirmation will also be sent to the user when an item is added to their shopping cart via this process.
Keep in mind that the system only saves items to the cart. It does not automatically purchase. The user will then need to go to their Amazon account, review or edit their cart, before completing their order.
Are There Any Shortcomings?
Yes, there are a few things that are of concern regarding this new purchase method:
The first one being Privacy. It is possible that the world can easily be privy to a person's shopping habits (via this method), unless their account is set to private. This is risky and could also end up being embarrassing.
Secondly this new collaboration does not support digital products. Although it seamlessly supports the millions of physical goods available on Amazon, digital goods are not included. The reason given for this omission is that digital goods are purchased via Amazon's one-click system and not its shopping cart.
As a closing note I would like to say that, as there are issues, there are also multiple benefits (easy purchase, marketing benefits, etc.) to this new method of purchase. It now remains to be seen how this new collaboration is perceived by the users as this will be what makes or breaks this initiative.
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Original Stars Helen Hunt And Paul Reiser Confirmed For "Mad About You" Reboot
We just saw another major step in another of our favorite sitcoms from the '90s being revived.
Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser have officially inked deals with Sony Pictures to star in a reboot of NBC's former hit Mad About You. The show ran on the network from 1992 to 1999 and focused on a documentary filmmaker, played by Reiser, and a PR Specialists, Hunt, as they encountered life's daily struggles. The series was nominated for Outstanding Comedy at the Emmy's five times, with Hunt winning the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Lead Actress four years in a row.
Reiser initially told Variety he was initially worried about the series' two-part time jump finale, which would have answered what the characters would be doing since the show's end. "One of the things we did deliberately in the finale was that we jumped ahead in the future. We saw where they went. Part of why we did that was to avoid the temptation of going back…When you watch a reunion (show), all you do is say 'Wow do they look older.'" With the recent reboots of Will & Grace and Roseanne, who have both pretty much ignored their original finales, there's no reason for Reiser to be concerned about that any longer. Roseanne even pretended the death of John Goodman's character never happened! They're probably good.
Hunt has always been hopeful a reboot would happen. She told People, "The dream is to get to do it. I'I've been watching Will & Grace and laughing so hard out loud. They're just crushing it. I have remained very, very close friends with Paul. Reboot or no reboot, we have lunch once a month. We really enjoy and care for each other. It was a very loving piece of work. We loved it. It would be fun to work on something that's really about love,"
Surprisingly, the next major step for a Mad About You reboot is to find a network. Though NBC would obviously be the logical landing network, though they never owned or produced the show, so it's still not clear where the reboot will land.
Sony was not available for comment.
Via People


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Thomas Gimbrede to Thomas Jefferson, 6 March 1809
From Thomas Gimbrede
Union tavern George.—March the 6th 1809.
Mr Gimbrede has the honor to offer to Mr Jefferson a Little Sketch in Cameo, which if he should deem it worthy of his acceptance, he will please to receive it, as an evidence of my Esteem & high consideration, with an unfeigned wish that in your retirement—you may experience that tranquility & happiness that your usefulness in public Life has so Eminently entitled you to.
RC (DLC); dateline at foot of text; addressed "Mr Jefferson"; endorsed by TJ as received 6 Mar. 1809 from Georgetown and so recorded in SJL.
Thomas Gimbrede (1781–1832), engraver and miniature painter, immigrated to the United States from France in 1802. He was appointed instructor of drawing at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1819 and held the position until his death (Mantle Fielding and Glenn B. Opitz, Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers, 2d ed. [1986], 327; Washington National Intelligencer, 4 Jan. 1833).
The enclosed little sketch in cameo, Gimbrede's engraving of Thos Jefferson the Pride of America (New York, 1809), is reproduced elsewhere in this volume.
Index Entries
- Gimbrede, Thomas; engraving of Thos Jefferson the Pride of America search
- Gimbrede, Thomas; identified search
- Gimbrede, Thomas; letters from search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Portraits; T. Gimbrede cameo search
- New York (state); U.S. Military Academy (West Point) search
- Thos Jefferson the Pride of America (Gimbrede) search
- United States Military Academy (West Point, N.Y.); faculty of search


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The impressive modern main road that connects one of Latin America's most state-of-the-art airports to the Colombian capital, the Avenida El Dorado, is surrounded by a playground of upmarket hotel chains, stylish residential and office buildings and plenty of greenery. Here you'll find the Gran Estación shopping mall, the entertaining Salitre Mágico theme park, the Maloka interactive science park and the city's monumental Simón Bolívar park.
You'll be blown away by the variety of culinary options and recreational areas which confirm Bogotá's reputation as one of 'the' most important capitals of South America. Set just to the west of the city center, this neighborhood – which was part of the urban development plan in the 1990s – took its name from the El Salitre estate which occupied the area between Avenida El Dorado and Calle 22, and between Carrera 50 and Avenida Boyacá.


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One of the most beautiful WATERFRONT estate parcels SOUTH of Scenic Hwy 30A, THE DAVIE ESTATE sits on 4.12 private Acres with 504 Lakefront Feet and 583 feet of frontage on Hwy 30A. This stunning property located on one of 30A's RARE COASTAL DUNE LAKES offers UNOBSTRUCTED VIEWS across Big Redfish Lake to the emerald colored GULF OF MEXICO! A Colonial Style brick home and carriage house totaling 4,331 square feet, are currently the only 2 structures on the property but usage possibilities abound! The 3 adjacent parcels that make up this Lakefront Estate are zoned Neighborhood Infill but buyer will need to do due diligence for whatever can be done with the new Coastal Dune Lake regulations allowing density usage of up to 10 units per acre. With unbelievable unobstructed views from the ground level, just image the views at 50 feet of height. a DEVELOPER'S DREAM! If you have been searching for privacy and pristine location, look no further! Shown by appointment only. Be sure to view the movie and photos. Information contained within this listing such as square footage, is deemed to be accurate but is not guaranteed. Buyer to verify
Listing courtesy of Linda Miller Real Estate LLC. Selling Office: The Premier Property Group Watercolor Office.


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Log Kitchen Table Plans - The kitchen is a very functional portion of the house. Actions are going about in there, each day and people are going in and out. However, just since it is among the home that is most active places does not mean it should be messy and look unappealing. Seemingly, many realize that the reason why decorating a kitchen is now a long-been-proficient tendency. And of course, some of the most looked after furniture when designing a kitchen will be the table inside it and the seats.
Normally, kitchen tables and seats are essential portions of the kitchen. Before being considered as cosmetic components, they're first and foremost functional portions of it. There are just a lot of functions and tasks to which they can be used for that a kitchen can't be complete without them. Over time though, more and more had admitted their cosmetic value that there are now so many kitchen table sets readily available for purchase.
There are sets that are vintage, some are made of pine as well as other kinds of wood and there are those made of steel. The mix of seats and tables also widely differs. Seats on a set may also be replaced by means of a table seat. All these simply show that we have plenty of sets for you yourself to select from.
Compared to independently purchasing regular kitchen table or an island table and seats, buying them is significantly more suitable also. And undoubtedly, it could even be more cost effective. If you're not really into decorating and designing, you do not have to mix and match the table and seats by yourself and think if they look good together. You can even get the things included with reductions if purchased in a set.


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Metro-East News
Bargain-hunters shop Saturday despite weather
Shoppers in droves braved heavy rains Saturday to hunt for post-Christmas bargains and use gift cards given them the day before.
John Conkright, the owner of Ben's Crafts and Florals in downtown Belleville, said business was very good on Saturday. He noted a major factor being his decision to reduce the price of all Christmas-related items by 50 percent.
"I just wanted to get rid of it," said Conkright. "We wanted to get ready for spring. I have a ton of spring merchandise coming in. I just decided to get it out of there and get ready for spring."
A few blocks away, at the Crystal and Spice Shoppe, at 318 E. Main St., co-proprietor Gloria Smith said Saturday unfolded prettily busily all day Saturday.
The shop's customers show up "because Christmas is over with. Now the next thing they're getting ready for is New Year's. And now they got company visiting," Smith said. "They have to come to the spice shop because they got stuff here when they were here visiting last year. Now they want to get that before they to back home."
A few miles away, at the Belleville Crossing shopping center, a steady stream of bargain-hunters poured in and out of the major stores at the center.
Taking shelter from the pouring rain in the foyer of the Target store while he waited for his wife to pull up the car , Al Chester of Dupo said he was visiting the store because his wife had received a gift card.
"And we came by to get a few things," Chester said. "We (saw) a lot of sales in there. Fifty percent off. Thirty percent off."
Amy Jo Miller, of Belleville, said the hope of buying "wrapping paper" and "a couple gift bags" led her to venture out into the rain with her family to make a visit to Target.
Miller admitted she's usually not a big day-after-Christmas shopper.
"Maybe next week sometime I don't mind going out," she said.
Brick-and-mortar merchants across the nation were hoping for big post-Christmas sales numbers to make up for disappointing numbers posted during the build-up to Christmas.
As a result, according to Forbes magazine, national retailers such as Gap and Old Navy were slashing prices across a wide range of items. Some retailers, because of excess inventory and the need to drum up more foot traffic, sought to lure customers with a range of "blow-out" sales.
Macy's is one of these retailers. Its "website landing page reads like a fire sale complete with 'late-breaking deals' of up to 75 percent off many items," Forbes reported on its website. "Christmas wasn't a blowout for retailers, but the after-Christmas sales will be for shoppers."
The popularity of gift cards will be a big factor in post-Christmas sale numbers. Gift card spending in 2015 is expected to hit almost $26 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.
Ashley Sanders, the assistant manager of Famous Footwear, said business was "on and off" Saturday, with the biggest issue the heavy rainfall.
"Most of it was gift cards today and exchanges," Sanders said. "Everyone's opened up their Christmas and 'Well, I don't like these. I need a bigger or smaller size.'"
Next door to Famous, Ashley Varone, the assistant "coach," or manager at Hibbett Sports, said the day was "busy with returns." Before the rains hit, the store was busy with customer traffic.
"But since it's been raining, it's been slower," Varone said.
Mike Fitzgerald: 618-239-2533, @MikeFitz3000


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Yvette Jacquez | Ekka
Tell us your bold boss story:
I started a wellness subscription company that has morphed into something so special! I have always been interested in the wellness space giving friends tips and tricks to find their best self through working out and eating well.... without giving up the things they love, it's all about moderation and balance!
I wanted to create something for people who cared about self-care, self-love and not just a "quick fix". Something more than just take a pill and you will be cured but a community that is formed through trust and learning in the process.
Ekka Recovery inspires individuals to help them through their hard times while having a community that they can call on.
We're all about bold boss moments, tell us about one of yours!:
I think my biggest boss moment is being able to wear as many hats as needed. Most hats I didn't even know I could do! I am pretty amazed that I can figure things out when fires happen. I mean... Google is my savior BUT I'm the one that did the work!
I'm proud that in less than 3 weeks I brought (with the help of my amazing business partner) the company 15k. I'm proud that I am able to continuously hustle and let people know what we are up to. I'm proud at how dedicated I am to this company and the mission behind it. I can honestly say that I live, breathe, and dream Ekka. This is not just a job. This is a lifestyle!
What advice or words of encouragement do you have for the Bold Boss Tribe?:
In the similar words of Glengarry Glen Ross... Always Be Open. The life of an entrepreneur means shifts, spirals and consistent change. Pivots are going to continue to happen. Try things on to see how they fit and if they work and don't be married to an idea because sometimes it just may not be the best fit for the company. That doesn't mean change your strategy like you change your underwear... I mean be open to the idea that in order to grow change needs happen.
Website | Ekka Recovery Instagram | Ekka Recovery Facebook | Pinterest
P.S. Exciting news! We launched a free #BoldBossTribe Facebook Group and would love for you to join us! Come on over!


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Startups + Black Coffee
I've spent almost 20 years across America and Mexico in entry level to senior leadership roles at big companies like Pepsi, Honeywell and Energizer, to VC backed start-ups like HireVue. I now run two successful companies, Ramp Talent and Sumato Coffee Co.
I've won, and I've lost. Along the way I learned a lot.
I work with other leaders because there are many good people at work, like you or me, who become bad bosses and cause dysfunction at work. I hope to use my experiences to help others grow and hire talented people.
I understand the political watch-outs and pressures a management team is under. I've learned how to how to leverage my skills in recruiting, talent management, talent attraction, entrepreneurship and technology to help companies and leaders become more successful with the part of their business that matters most, Human Capital.
I launched Ramp Talent after realizing that building my own dream business was not at odds with helping others achieve theirs. With Ramp Talent I can help CEO's, owners, executives and entrepreneurs achieve their dreams, all while enjoying a smooth cup o' joe.
Get after it.
- Ben


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Experian Global News Weblog
Social networking, also known as social media, is a web-based community where a group of people get related by bonds of friendship, skilled relationship or some kind of widespread curiosity and keenness. Deforestation is the primary trigger for the trees within the Amazon rain forests to not completely take in the carbon let out into the ambiance and this will also result in various climatic adjustments because of the presence of world warming.
All three dictionaries exhibit the identical macro-level patterns with the sharp surge in negativity in January 2011, but the Carbon Seize Report engine's specific tuning for use on information content means it yields a slightly clearer image.
Ecological imbalance, local weather change, global warming and carbon emissions are points that have set the alarm bells ringing. With the usage of the units like sensible phones and tablet computers, individuals can connect to their social networking anytime from anyplace provided the devices are outfitted with the Web connectivity.
Its difficult to make a distinct connection between killer hurricanes and world warming, however there's a widespread college of thought who theorize that there is indeed a direct connection between past killer hurricanes Sandy and Harvey and local weather change.
Increased schooling has a key position to play in countering the spread of populism and nationalism and tackling international challenges similar to poverty and local weather change, by reasserting common values of human dignity and the worth of science and analysis, UNESCO's training chief, Stefania Giannini mentioned.


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Today, with all the sculpting complete it was time to began the painting process of the Lark Rise sign. First was a coat of primer to be followed by the actual color. Once we have a couple coats of color in place the glazing and gilding will go quickly. I caught a picture of Hailey painting the base coat this afternoon. The shot is dramatic but to get it I had GET DOWN AND DIRTY and actually lie down on the floor.
-grampa dan


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Scientists unlock the secrets of marijuana's pain-relief potential, study says (Miami Herald)
Study Explores How Different Marijuana Extracts Kill Types Of Cancer Cells (Marijuana Moment)
Senate Banking Committee Holds Hearing On Cannabis Banking (NORML)
Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Give Marijuana Businesses Access To Insurance Coverage (Marijuana Moment)
Miami Cops Can No Longer Use Just "Weed Odor" as Excuse to Search Cars (MERRY JANE)
Marijuana Compound CBD Shows Promise For Treating Cocaine And Meth Addiction, Study Suggests (Marijuana Moment)
Top Congressional Chairman And Presidential Candidate File Marijuana Legalization Bills (Forbes)
Federal Officials Give Hemp Legalization Update At Senate Hearing (Marijuana Moment)
How legal weed companies are starting to address driving while high (Fast Company)
Michigan Cuts Cannabis Fees in 19 Cities Impacted by Drug War (Leafly)
Presidential Candidate Proposes Medical Marijuana Waivers For Military Veterans (Marijuana Moment)
California seizes $30 million in black market cannabis from illegal pot shops (Los Angeles Times)
Record number of states considered marijuana legalization in 2019 (The Hill)
New York City Council Passes Two Marijuana Reform Resolutions (Marijuana Moment)
Former Drug Warrior Biden Unveils Cannabis Decriminalization Plan (Leafly)
Enslaved on a British cannabis farm: 'The plants were more valuable than my life' (The Guardian)
Marijuana Legalization More Popular Than Free College And $15 Minimum Wage, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)
UK hemp farm could lose £200,000 in crop destruction (BBC)
Why marijuana's illegal classification is based on politics, not science (The GrowthOp)
Entrance to illegal pot dispensary blocked again as cat-and-mouse game continues (The Toronto Star)
Pot-smoking teen caused Maui brushfire, police say (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
FDA (Again) Rejects Petition To Further Restrict Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)
Mystery Solved: Icelandic Horses Probably Ate Cannabis (The Reykjavík Grapevine)
It's Getting Harder to Fire People for Using Pot (Bloomberg)
Were Vikings Growing Cannabis in Newfoundland 1,000 Years Ago? (Leafly)
Young Americans Are More Likely To Smoke Marijuana Than Cigarettes, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)
Testing CBD: Defenders test finds huge unreported range in THC levels (WCNC)
Here's How Much Legal Marijuana Canada Has Sold Since Legalizing Adult-Use Cannabis (Yahoo! Finance)
UFC teams with Aurora Cannabis on CBD study in fighters (CNN)
Hundreds Of Pet Owners Tell FDA That CBD Is Helping Their Furry Companions (Marijuana Moment)
Did Indigenous Canadians use Cannabis Before Europeans Arrived? (Leafly)
The Real Difference Between Smoking and Eating Marijuana (The Atlantic)
Medical marijuana or your guns: Missourians may have to choose (KSHB)
The New, Cool Term For Cannabis? It's Still Up For Grabs. (Green Entrepreneur)
Psilocybin Initiative Leader Starting National Decriminalization Group (Westword)
Both CBD and Psilocybin show potential in fighting alcohol use disorder (Regina Leader-Post)
3-year-old fights for her life after mistaking ecstasy for candy in Ibiza (New York Post)
Girls hospitalised after taking MDMA at Victorian school camp (Geelong Advertiser)
Ayahuasca and Dreaming (Chacruna)
A Clinical Psychologist's First Experience with Ayahuasca (Chacruna)
Silicon Valley Is Spending Millions Trying to Synthesize THC From Yeast (VICE)
Alabama Corrections K-9 dies after allergic reaction inside prison (Montgomery Advertiser)
Mindfulness-Based Prevention Outcomes for Cocaine Dependence Improved by Ketamine Injection (Psychiatry Advisor)
Spring Center of Hope discusses possible effects of ketamine on mood (Chron)
PCP Is 'No Worse' Than Other Drugs When Used Properly, Says Hamilton Morris (Inquisitr)
Summit County concert promotes free app to connect naloxone carriers to people overdosing (Cleveland.com)
The biggest civil trial in U.S. history will start with these Ohio counties (The Washington Post)
Five drug companies stop making fentanyl for Canadian market (The London Free Press)
Former narcotics officer sues sheriff's office following fentanyl exposure (WREG)
An editorial board of user-activists takes on the opioid crisis (Columbia Journalism Review)
Internal Probe Reveals SEAL Team 10 Operators' Cocaine Use (The Daily Beast)
Police Admit They Were Totally Just Joking About Those 'Meth-Gators' (TIME)
Rising Meth-Involved Deaths of Major Concern Amid Estimated 2018 Overdose Fall (Filter)
Too much caffeine during pregnancy may damage baby's liver (EurekAlert!)
The latest on caffeine limits (Medical Xpress)
Is Caffeine Fueling Your Anxieties? (HealthDay)
Young Man Dies from an Accidental Caffeine Overdose, Coroner Rules (Legal Reader)
Daily E-Cigarette Use Can Help Smokers Quit, According to One of the Most Comprehensive Studies Yet (TIME)
Nicotine Testing for High Schoolers Is a Drug War-Style Disaster (Filter)
Facebook, Instagram is age-restricting alcohol, tobacco content (WITN)
FDA targets teens with e-cigarette prevention ads (Engadget)
Costa Rica: Tainted alcohol death toll rises to 20; 41 people affected overall (USA Today)
Leaked draft of the National Alcohol Strategy shows why Australia can't stop drinking (Australia Broadcasting Corporation)
Is it safe to drink alcohol while breastfeeding? (Medical Xpress)
Why Some People Have A Higher Alcohol Tolerance Than Others (HuffPost)
Pabst Blue Ribbon Seeks Buzz With Hard Coffee (NPR)
Playboy model's skin left rotting from alcohol addiction (New York Post)
Kambo: A Powerful Amazonian Frog Secretion That Offers Healing! (MenaFN)
Kratom for excessive weight loss (The Bona Venture)
Can you use Kratom for Performance-Enhancing? (Chart Attack)
Nebraska Regional Poison Center warns of dangers of using Kratom (KPTM)
The Role of Khat in Yemen's Humanitarian Crisis (Small Wars Journal)
Kenyan khat farmers receive a lifeline as they start exporting the potent twigs to Israel joining rival Ethiopia (Business Insider)
Psychedelics Decriminalization Moves Forward In Cities Around The U.S. (Marijuana Moment)
More people try drugs for the first time in the summer, study says (CNN)
President Duterte's War on Drugs Is a Pretense (The New York Times)
Mark Kleiman, who changed the way we think about crime and drugs, has died at 68 (Vox)
Football, basketball and drug testing: Texas school district to randomly test extracurricular students (USA Today)
Military police called in to help tackle county lines drug dealers at train stations (Mirror)
Vancouver's overdose task force calls for safer supply of drugs (The Globe and Mail)
India Persecutes Leading Legal Advocate for People Who Use Drugs (Filter)
When Drug Addiction Is Criminalized We All Lose (The National Interest)
Ethical and Sustainable Access to Entheogenic Plants (Chacruna)
Will Oakland Lead the Psychedelic Revolution? (The Bold Italic)
The complex forces at work behind drug deaths at music festivals (The New Daily)
Psychonaut Hamilton Morris on Drugs After Prohibition (Reason)
Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week's update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.
Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychoactives" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.
Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.


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High Yield Corporate Bond ETF HYG, $84.41.
|In the present scenario of global economic slowdown, some signs of a recession (for example, yield curve investment) are appearing in the US. The FED finally understood it and adopted a sudden and strong tone dovish for this year, so many analysts in wall Street estimate that this year it's possible not to give any Rate Hike. This would be very beneficial for the bonds, of all types, ratings and maturity: the short-term ones that depend on these rate increases and the long ones that do so on inflation, which is expected to be slowed down with this probably decision of the FED. This week is the FOMC meeting and it must give its first announcement of the year, and most important, the guidance for 2019.
For risky or less conservative traders, high-yield corporate bonds, or junk bonds, followed by the HYG ETF, are a good option for their portfolio, since this fund take a universe of several BB to Ba rating companies that relieves us of the job of looking for specific corporate bonds. The most conservative traders can opt for the LQD ETF that follows the investment-grade bonds.
As seen in its daily chart, HYG did not have a good 2018, but its rebound, due to the 'new' dovish FED at the end of the year, has been powerful, almost 6%, and is about to overcome the Ichimoku cloud, in bull territory. Its next and crucial resistance is the SMA200 average at $84.96. These weeks, only if the risk of recession begins to decrease, is the best moment to invest in this ETF for the short-term, before the bond yields decreases. Even taking into account that, according to Moody's, the annual defaults rate for speculative-grade debt is at very low historical levels, around 2%, when the average is close to 5%.
Emerging Markets Index EEM, $42.20
Currency Pound Sterling ETF FXB, $128.14
|When all the investors were worried about the recent vote of the Brexit (catastrophic defeat for Theresa May) and its repercussion on the pound, it reacted surprisingly well, considering the complicated political situation in that country. It seems that finally, the historic decision was a balm for the British stock market and the pound, because clarified the way, and today it's almost certain that the harmful option of Hard Brexit will not be given, but a consensus agreement between all the parties. Be alert as the debate continues in the English Parliament this week, and their decisions will move markets.
In its daily chart, FXB, the ETF that follows the pound, is soaring, surpassing on Friday its SMA200 average and is about to leave its mid-year ranging price with its resistance at $128. Remember that the pound touched a minimum of 30 years in mid-2016 (with the news of Brexit) and has the field to recover that gap. Forex traders must be trading the pound against all its pairs. I, who do not use forex, plan to enter for a short-term in FXB on news of a deal this week in the UK.


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Straight out of the jungle: The WW2 Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go tanks forgotten in timeWW2, WW2 Pacific Treasures, WW2 Wrecks
By Pierre Kosmidis
Photos by Dirk H.R. Spennemann
According to Dirk H.R. Spennemann at the end of World war II the US forces requested that the Japanese concentrate their equipment for disarmamment.
All tanks were parked for inspection on the Etscheidt property outside Kolonia, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia.
Several of the tanks were pulled out of the undergrowth and aligned in a row in 1995. Two of the tanks were pulled under cover and one tank has been moved into the centre of town where it is now arranged next to the post office. The tanks are private property, purchased at auction from the US Navy in the 1950s.
Some of these tanks have since been cannibalized in order to restore one of them in working condition.


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Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures:
Description: SCP-4000 is an anomalous phenomenon in which a pair of individuals share dreams, memories, thoughts and concepts through time. SCP-4000 will always occur between two individuals with a specific shared history. In all cases one of the affected individuals will be deceased in relation to the second individual.
SCP-4000-1 through SCP-4000- refer to the currently known pairs of individuals affected by SCP-4000. Instances of SCP-4000-1 that are chronologically younger are referred to as SCP-4000-A, while those chronologically older are referred to as SCP-4000-B.
In instances of SCP-4000, affected subjects will typically experience dreams involving the other affected individual before the dreams progress and become participatory in nature. The content of these dreams have varied between affected individuals, but are subject to almost perfect recall upon waking. Other forms of information are typically experienced as sensory hallucinations which imprint themselves on the subject.
SCP-4000 is thought to be retroactive in nature, affecting SCP-4000-A and -B instances concurrently.


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Imagine reading an article that started like this:
Did you know that as many as 1 in 80 adults are diagnosed as tall? Although there is no cure for tallness, the symptoms can be managed with appropriate treatment. Traditional tallness treatments include teaching patients to duck when walking through doorways, and how to stretch after getting out of a car.
Pretty silly, right? But that's how I felt reading an article in the latest issue of Massage Therapy Journal about working with clients with autism spectrum disorder.
Read more over at Medium!


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Sunday Intensive Postponed/ 5pm adult class will happen
Sun, Feb 10, 2019 - 8:00am to 11:00pm
Sunday and Monday, February 10-11
Class schedule
Taiji Intensive Postponed! We will send out a new date shortly.
5 pm Adult class is happening!
Please use your best judgement about getting to the dojo!
Monday, noon class, is canceled.
More class updates as the weather continues.


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About Me
I've been deeply interested in astrology since childhood, keenly interested in the astrological placements of friends and family. Having had many weird and mystical experiences, but also possessing a logically inclined mind, my relationship with astrology was typically an ambivalent one. As a child and as a teenager it presented itself as a fascinatingly accurate window into the strengths and weaknesses of my own psyche, and the natural chemistry I would encounter with some people, but not others. Even so, I rationally concluded it must all boil down to confirmation bias or some other quirk of imperfect human thinking.
At age 13, I was suddenly plunged into a deeper dimension of life, experiencing NDE induced Samadhi in the process of a car accident that took my beloved mother's life. The subsequent experiences of Samadhi and deep grief ultimately propelled me to pursue Enlightenment in as energetic and focused way as I could. In my last year of High School I endeavored to live as a monk in my own home, meditating around 6 hours a day in an attempt to reconnect with the profound mystical experiences that the NDE had brought me into. My quest ultimately led me to a profoundly effortless and powerful meditation technique called the Ishayas' Ascension and a one-pointed monastic environment designed to facilitate the quickest possible growth in Awareness. Shortly thereafter I became a teacher of the practice and remain so to this day. The practice profoundly changed my life, ultimately bringing about the permanent experience of Samadhi.
The state of spiritual awakening brought with it some interesting effects. Instead of viewing life as a random and chaotic series of disparate events, I began to experience the Universe as a living, and unfolding Awareness. This Consciousness unfolds through certain patterns and archetypes, that manifest from the subtlest layers of creation to the everyday comings and goings of our seemingly small human lives. This is the music that moves our lives even when we can't name the tune.
When I returned to its study, I quickly realized that Astrology weaves these archetypal threads into a profound and coherent living language of light. After a period of formal training and deep study I began offering readings on a professional basis. It's my deep pleasure to serve my clients by illuminating the path of their own archetypal journey through the ancient language of Astrology.


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Quick Update
Posted by: matt
We started our demo this past Saturday at Sockit Studio. We're almost done with it (should be done in a few weeks). The good news is, it'll be more than a demo and more like an EP. 4 songs.
We added some image galleries over in the media section and finally, we have some lyrics! So go over there and learn some songs. We'll post more as soon as we can type them up.
We'll be at Tequila's on Thursday so come out and show some love. We may have some new stuff to play for you and your ears.


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A dim, lightweight galaxy on the outskirts of the Milky Way may be the smallest in the known universe, astronomers say.
Known as Segue 2, the dwarf galaxy consists of just 1,000 stars held together by a clump of dark matter. (By comparison, the Milky Way contains at least 100 billion stars.)
"Finding a galaxy this small is like finding an elephant smaller than a mouse," said James Bullock, a cosmologist at the University of California, Irvine, and an author of a paper on Segue 2 published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Segue 2, first discovered in 2009 as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, is important for reasons other than size.
"For about 15 years, we have been predicting that galaxies like the Milky Way should be surrounded by thousands and thousands of low-mass clumps of dark matter" like the one at the center of Segue 2, Dr. Bullock said. Until now, even the smallest "clumps" detected by scientists were high mass — at least a million times the mass of the sun.
At no more than 100,000 times the mass of the sun, Segue 2 "could be the first of these clumps detected that we've been predicting should be out there," Dr. Bullock said.
Until now, failure to find such clumps had puzzled astronomers. "It suggested there was some flaw in our theory of how the universe works," said Dr. Bullock, who was part of a team that used the powerful telescopes at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to study the galaxy.
With this discovery, he said, there is hope that "this might be just be the tip of the iceberg."


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Hint: it's not the Tesla Model S.
Despite its age (it was launched back in 2010) and golf cart-like appearance, the Nissan Leaf remains an incredibly strong seller in the US, for an EV at least. Through this past October, Nissan has sold a grand total of 24,411 units – a 35 percent increase over last year at this time. In fact, Nissan fully expects to surpass the 30,000 unit threshold by year's end. For October 2014 alone, a total of 2,589 Leafs were sold. That's a 29.3 percent increase over October 2013.
Compared to its main rivals, specifically the Chevrolet Volt, a total of 1,439 units were sold last month, a number that's down by 28.8 percent compared to October 2013. Overall yearly Volt sales are also down by 14.9 percent through the end of last month. What's interesting about these figures is that consumers may finally be coming around to driving around a pure EV as opposed to an extended range plug-in. Range anxiety may no longer be the big issue it once was. Both Nissan and Chevy have been offering some discounts in their respective models, but it's the former that dropped the base trim Leaf's price by $6,400 last January. That's quite a significant amount and it appears that consumers have responded.