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How to Become Healthy? The Four Pillars of Health A Short Book of Health Blog About the Author Contact
How to Become Healthy?
Hello. My name is Ivan Kropyvnytskyy and I help people to be healthy.
This website is for those that are looking for real knowledge and support that allows to focus on life and its simple pleasures rather than constantly chasing after the trendy health products and services with flashy bells and whistles without any real value.
The essence of this project is to help you achieve optimal health through lifestyle changes so that you could fully reveal your potential and achieve everything, according to your true life potential.
To build a real health is easy. But as the saying goes, the trick is in the details. This project is dedicated to the discussion of these details.
Overall, this program and this approach supports a comprehensive and gradual transformation of a person by changes in the lifestyle: nutrition, exercise, sleep and recovery, and mastery of the mind and psyche. This is the only way to achieve deep and lasting improvement of human life. This program, the implementation of which will take some time, is actually quite simple and very effective, and it can greatly help in achieving good health, peaceful sleep at night, and feeling a state of happiness every day of life.
In this program, we do not treat the disease. Instead, revitalizing the body and bringing it to a whole new level of performance, we allow the human body to transform itself, and the diseases, even those that are quite serious and deemed incurable may simply disappear healed by the body. But remember, the more advanced is the disease - the less chance of success there is because the body may already be unable to cope with the level of problem. This is not a reason for despair, but more advanced problems will require significantly more work. So, start early.
After studying the material and creating an action plan to improve the lifestyle, depending on the baseline, the first positive changes in health can be observed most likely a few weeks after the start of the program. If everything is done properly, after a few months a significant progress can be expected. But for sustainable improvement and creation of a certain "autopilot" long-term success likely a year, and sometimes longer, will be needed.
This method is not for everyone and unfortunately only a small number of people they will fully use and benefit from it. To succeed, two conditions are critically important:
1. High self-motivation: to change the lifestyle and lay the true foundation of health will require time, effort and overcoming many obstacles.
2. Open mind: the ability to take in new information, albeit slowly, and the ability to use it practically in life.
I'm not a magician, and I do not practice miracles. If you do not want to help yourself, I will most likely not able to help you either. So, before you meet these two conditions, please do not waste your (and my) time and come back when will be ready. Amassing the number of participants is not one of the prime objectives of this project, and I will take every efforts to filter out everyone who came to this site by chance, and does not have the spirit for the true change, and the sooner the better.
By the way, I'm a doctor, not a writer. I speak four languages, but none of them perfectly. You will have to live with my stylistic, spelling and grammatical errors. As well as with the other features of my approach: I have no desire and no time for empty games of courtesy, and we will communicate directly, sometimes harshly. If you do not like this style, please find yourself some other assistant and another program.
If you are willing to work hard, I advise you to start by reading the entry on the Four Pillars of Health, then get acquainted with the book and blog articles. You can learn more about the author here. My contact information is provided in order to ask questions, share your thoughts about this program, and in order to register for free 1-2 hour group sessions that I regularly offer via Skype and now these are usually held once a week (currently on Tuesday, at 09:00 EST time).
This is not a commercial project. As mentioned, the group classes, as well as the book are available for everyone for free. And this (book and group Skype lessons) should be absolutely sufficient to obtain all the necessary information. During the sessions (group or individual) I do not sell any other products or services. There is a charge for one-on-one individual sessions (also via Skype) for those who have an interest and has the possibility to pay. I do not have a lot of time allocated for the individual sessions so you may have to wait. Fee in each case is determined individually, depending on your capabilities and the complexity of the situation. But again, the individual sessions, in my opinion, do not offer any particular advantages and I highly recommend to start with free group lessons first. In the off-line world, some workshops are planned in the future "in real life" in different parts of the world, depending on the interest of participants, and my plans for travel and stay in particular cities or countries. Watch for new information on this site.
Good luck and I wish you all the best!
Ivan Kropyvnytskyy


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Psalm 1:1-3
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Labels: bible, spirituality


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Ingredients of Reality
Wednesday February 29, 2012 – Saturday April 7, 2012
the Dismantling of New York City
Lan Tuazon, Parking Lot Landmass, 2010. Wood and moss. 40" x 78"
February 29 – April 7, 2012
Opening Reception: February 28, 2012, 7PM
Ingredients of Reality: the Dismantling of New York City by Lan Tuazon was an exhibition that presented sculptures, drawings and prints that discuss how history, the law and class structures are written on the physical environment.
Surrealist in concept, Tuazon takes real/existing parts of the built environment — including buildings, lots, and monuments – and creates a new reality against the repressive logic of property. Ingredients of Reality: the Dismantling of New York City included the presentation of two new works, Architectures of Defense and New York City Bar Graph, paired with Tuazon's Army Park (2009) and Parking Lot Landmass (2010) that together presented the city disassembled into parts and functions unveiling taxonomies of power reordered into new composite figures that render visible what reality has ceased to distinguish.
Isolating how space is demarcated, Architectures of Defense is made with concentric and cascading layers of wrought iron fences that demonstrate ornaments of power and property. The demarcating lines that create spaces of difference, in and out, here and there, is essentially what characterizes an exclusionary definition of an "us" and "them." New York City Bar Graph is a taxonomy of over 120 models of notable skyscrapers categorized by function: civic, corporate, hotel, luxury residence, public housing & utilities, media, office, and world banks. Arranged in bar graph shelves, the piece takes stock in what types of structures are built in NYC to assess the scale and quantity of prioritized functions. Taking order as a primary mode of meaning and visualizing how current land use can be re-conceived as a raw material landscape, Parking Lot Landmass is an island and topographical landscape made from all existing parking lots in the city. Parking Lot Landscape is accompanied by four woodblock print studies showing the arrangement of unmarked territories of the island. With similar organizational intent, Army Park is an ink drawing of a public park proposal that brings together statues of heroes on horseback that exist throughout Manhattan, uniting the figures into a singular army placed in front of and charging towards the Downtown Civic Center.
About the Artist
Lan Tuazon, b. 1976 in the Philippine Islands, lives and works in New York whether she likes it or not. She is Lan Tuazon twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. www.lantuazon.com


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My muse...
I pulled Riley's picture into my Silhouette program, traced her out and had my Silhouette do the rest of the work for me {you could do this in Photoshop OR print your image out on paper, cut it out and then trace it on black paper}. I decided I liked the look of the reverse silhouette, so I kept her outline.
This was the hardest part. I am a book lover by nature. Though I have succumb to the silhouette craze, I have not fallen into the Kindle or Nook craze. So, when I decided to use a dictionary page for Riley's body, I had to fight through everything in my nature to actually cut a page out of a book.
Any guesses what page I used?
And there it is proudly on display with her first dog collar and Marley and Me {which if you've read any of my previous Riley posts, you'll understand how fitting that is}.
Linked up and a big thanks to:


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The Parnell administration remains committed to growing opportunity for Alaskans. As we look ahead to 2014, our economists forecast Alaska adding 1,500 jobs — 2,400 new private sector jobs, diminished some by a decline of 900 government jobs.
Alaska added more than 1,500 jobs through the first half of 2013, and Alaska is one of just a handful of states that has recovered all of the jobs lost during the recent recession. Alaska's unemployment rate has been below the national rate for a record 61 consecutive months as of November.
A recent Washington Post article claims that Alaska is the only state that lost jobs in 2013 — a claim that warrants a clarification with facts. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers used in the article are suspect because they are preliminary and have been subject to very large revisions in recent years.
For example, numbers reported from that same data set in July of last year showed a loss of 3,400 jobs, but revised final numbers showed a gain of 4,300 jobs. Similarly, November 2012 numbers showed growth of just 300 jobs, but those numbers were later revised to show growth of 3,100 jobs.
State economists, who work closely with the BLS to produce jobs numbers and unemployment rates for Alaska, estimate that when the revisions are complete, Alaska's job numbers will be in the plus column — and 2013 will be the state's fourth straight year of job growth since the 2009 economic downturn.
Additionally, thanks to legislation championed by Gov. Sean Parnell, Alaskans will see a 22 percent reduction in unemployment insurance tax rates in 2014. Unlike Alaska, 36 states have borrowed from the federal government to keep their unemployment trust funds solvent, and about a dozen continue to do so.
Also, because of Alaska's low unemployment rate, our state is no longer classified as a single zone of underemployment for public construction jobs. The critical take-away on this reclassification is that it was based on the fact that Alaska has a healthy economy, and the Parnell administration continues to strongly support and encourage Alaska hire throughout the state.
Alaska's future is especially bright with the passage of the 2013 More Alaska Production Act. Already, we're seeing new opportunities as billions of dollars in new investments on the North Slope create new jobs and increase economic activity. We expect more good news to follow, and continued growth in Alaska's oil and gas industry.
For much more detailed information on our 2014 jobs outlook, look for the January 2014 issue of Alaska Economic Trends online at Labor.Alaska.Gov.
Dianne Blumer is commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.


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(No. 623)
Delivered on Sunday Morning, April 9th, 1865, by
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job."-Job 1:8.
HOW VERY UNCERTAIN are all terrestrial things! How foolish would that believer be who should lay up his treasure anywhere,except in heaven! Job's prosperity promised as much stability as anything can do beneath the moon. The man had round abouthim a large household of, doubtless, devoted and attached servants. He had accumulated wealth of a kind which does not suddenlydepreciate in value. He had oxen, and asses, and cattle. He had not to go to markets, and fairs, andtrade with his goods to procure food and clothing, for he carried on the processes of agriculture on a very large scaleround about his own homestead, and probably grew within his own territory everything that his establishment required. Hischildren were numerous enough to promise a long line of descendants. His prosperity wanted nothing for its consolidation.It had come to its flood-tide: where was the cause which could make it ebb?
Up there, beyond the clouds, where no human eye could see, there was a scene enacted which augured no good to Job's prosperity.The spirit of evil stood face to face with the infinite Spirit of all good. An extraordinary conversation took place betweenthese two beings. When called to account for his doings, the evil one boasted that he had gone to and fro throughout the earth,insinuating that he had met with no hindrance to his will, and found no one to oppose his freelymoving and acting at his own pleasure. He had marched everywhere like a king in his own dominions, unhindered and unchallenged.When the great God reminded him that there was at least one place among men where he had no foothold, and where his powerwas unrecognized, namely, in the heart of Job; that there was one man who stood like an impregnable castle, garrisoned byintegrity, and held with perfect loyalty as the possession of the King of Heaven; the evil one defied Jehovah to try thefaithfulness of Job, told him that the patriarch's integrity was due to his prosperity, that he served God and eschewedevil from sinister motives, because he found his conduct profitable to himself. The God of heaven took up the challenge ofthe evil one, and gave him permission to take away all the mercies which he affirmed to be the props of Job's integrity, andto pull down all the outworks and buttresses and see whether the tower would not stand in its own inherent strength withoutthem.In consequence of this, all Job's wealth went in one black day, and not even a child was left to whisper comfort. A secondinterview between the Lord and his fallen angel took place. Job was again the subject of conversation; and the Great One defiedby Satan, permitted him even to touch him in his bone and in his flesh, till the prince became worse than a pauper, and hewho was rich and happy was poor and wretched, filled with disease from head to foot, and fain to scrape himself with amiserable potsherd, to gain a poor relief from his pain.
Let us see in this the mutability of all terrestrial things. He hath founded it upon the floods," is David's description ofthis world; and, if it be founded on the floods, can you wonder that it changes oft? Put not your trust in anything beneaththe stars: remember that "Change" is written on the fore-front of nature. Say not therefore, "My mountain standeth firm: itshall never be moved;" the glance of Jehovah's eye can shake thy mountain into dust, the touch of hisfoot can make it like Sinai, to melt like wax, and to be altogether on a smoke. "Set your affection on things above, whereChrist sitteth on the right hand of God," and let your heart and your treasure be where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,nor thieves break through and steal." The words of Bernard may here instruct us: "That is the true and chief joy which isnot conceived from the creature, but received from the Creator, which (being once possessed thereof) none can take from thee:compared with which all other pleasure is torment, all joy is grief, sweet things are bitter, all glory is baseness, andall delectable things are despicable."
This is not, however, our subject this morning. Accept thus much as merely an introduction to our main discourse. The Lordsaid to Satan, "Hast thou considered my servant Job?" Let us deliberate, first, in what sense the evil spirit may be said to consider the people of God; secondly, let us notice what it is that he considers about them; and then, thirdly, let us comfort ourselves by the reflection that one who is far above Satan considers us in a highersense.
I. First, then, IN WHAT SENSE MAY SATAN BE SAID TO CONSIDER THE PEOPLE OF GOD?
Certainly not in the usual Biblical meaning of the term "consider." "O Lord consider my trouble." "Consider my meditation.""Blessed is he that considereth the poor." Such consideration implies good-will and a careful inspection of the object ofbenevolence with regard to a wise distribution of favour. In that sense Satan never considers any. If he has any benevolence,it must be towards himself; but all his considerations of other creatures are of the most malevolentkind. No meteoric flash of good flits across the black midnight of his soul. Nor does he consider us as we are told toconsider the works of God, that is, in order to derive instruction as to God's wisdom and love and kindness. He does not honourGod by what he sees in his works, or in his people. It is not with him, "Go to the ant; consider her ways and be wise;" buthe goes to the Christian and considers his ways and becomes more foolishly God's enemy than he was before. The considerationwhich Satan pays to God's saints is upon this wise. He regards them with wonder, when he considers the difference between them and himself. A traitor, when he knows the thorough villainy and the blackness of his own heart, cannot help being astounded, when he isforced to believe another man to be faithful. The first resort of a treacherous heart is to believe that all men would bejust as treacherous, and are really so at bottom. The traitor thinks that all men are traitors likehimself, or would be, if it paid them better than fidelity. When Satan looks at the Christian, and finds him faithfulto God and to his truth, he considers him as we should consider a phenomenon-Perhaps despising him for his folly, but yetmarveling at him, and wondering how he can act thus. "I," he seems to say, "a prince, a peer of God's parliament, would notsubmit my will to Jehovah. I thought it better to reign in hell than serve in heaven: I kept not my first estate, but fellfrom mythrone. How is it that these stand? What grace is it which keeps these? I was a vessel of gold, and yet I was broken;these are earthen vessels, but I cannot break them! I could not stand in my glory-what can be the matchless grace which upholdsthem in their poverty, in their obscurity, in their persecution, still faithful to the God who doth not bless and exalt themas he did me!" It may be that he also wonders at their happiness. He feels within himself a seething sea of misery. Thereisan unfathomable gulf of anguish within his soul, and when he looks at believers, he sees them quiet in their souls, fullof peace and happiness, and often without any outward means by which they should be comforted, yet rejoicing and full of glory.He goes up and down through the world and possesses great power, and there be many myrmidons to serve him, yet he hath not thehappiness of spirit possessed by yonder humble cottager, obscure, unknown, having no servants to wait upon her, butstretched upon the bed of weakness. He admires and hates the peace which reigns in the believer's soul.
His consideration may go farther than this. Do you not think that he considers them to detect, if possible, any flaw and fault in them, by way of solace to himself? "They are not pure," saith he-"these blood-bought ones-these elect from before the foundations of the world,-they still sin! These adopted children of God, for whom the glorious Son bowed his head and gave up the ghost!-even they offend!"How must he chuckle, with such delight as heis capable of, over the secret sins of God's people, and if he can see anything in them inconsistent with their profession,anything which appears to be deceitful, and therein like himself, he rejoices. Each sin born in the believer's heart, criesto him, "My father! my Father!" and he feels something like the joy of fatherhood as he sees his foul offspring. He looksat the "old man" in the Christian, and admires the tenacity with which it maintains its hold, the force and vehemence withwhichit struggles for the mastery, the craft and cunning with which every now and then, at set intervals, at convenient opportunities,it putteth forth all its force. He considers our sinful flesh, and makes it one of the books in which he diligently reads.One of the fairest prospects, I doubt not, which the devil's eye ever rests upon, is the inconsistency and the impurity whichhe can discover in the true child of God. In this respect he had very little to consider in God's true servant, Job.
Nor is this all, but rather just the starting point of his consideration. We doubt not that he views the Lord's people, and especially the more eminent and excellent among them, as the great barriers to the progressof his kingdom; and just as the engineer, endeavouring to make a railway, keeps his eye very much fixed upon the hills and rivers, and especiallyupon the great mountain through which it will take years laboriously to bore a tunnel, so Satan, in lookingupon his various plans to carry on his dominion in the world, considers most such men as Job. Satan must have thoughtmuch of Martin Luther. "I could ride the world over," says he, "if it were not for that monk. He stands in my way. That strong-headedman hates and mauls my firstborn son, the pope. If I could get rid of him I would not mind though fifty thousand smaller saintsstood in my way." He is sure to consider God's servant, if there be "none like him," if he stand out distinct andseparate from his fellows. Those of us who are called to the work of the ministry must expect from our position to bethe special objects of his consideration. When the glass is at the eye of that dreadful warrior, he is sure to look out forthose who by their regimentals are discovered to be the officers, and he bids his sharpshooters be very careful to aim atthese, "For," saith he, "if the standard-bearer fall, then shall the victory be more readily gained to our side, and our opponentsshall be readily put to rout." If you are more generous than other saints, if you live nearer to God than others, as thebirds peck most at the ripest fruit, so may you expect Satan to be most busy against you. Who cares to contend for a provincecovered with stones and barren rocks, and ice-bound by frozen seas? But in all times there is sure to be contention afterthe fat valleys where the wheat-sheaves are plenteous, and where the husbandman's toil is well requited, and thus, for youwhohonour God most, Satan will struggle very sternly. He wants to pluck God's jewels from his crown, if he can, and takethe Redeemer's precious stones even from the breastplate itself. He considers, then, God's people; viewing them as hindrancesto his reign, he contrives methods by which he may remove them out of his way, or turn them to his own account. Darkness wouldcover the earth if he could blow out the lights; there would be no fruit to shake like Lebanon, if he could destroy that handfulof corn upon the top of the mountains; hence his perpetual consideration is to make the faithful fail from among men.
It needs not much wisdom to discern that the great object of Satan in considering God's people is to do them injury. I scarcely think he hopes to destroy the really chosen and blood-bought heirs of life. My notion is that he is too good adivine for that. He has been foiled too often when he has attacked God's people, that he can hardly think he shall be ableto destroy the elect, for you remember the soothsayers who are very nearly related to him, spoke to Haman onthis wise; "If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail againsthim, but shalt surely fall before him." He knows right well that there is a seed royal in the land against whom he fightsin vain; and it strikes me if he could be absolutely certain that any one soul was chosen of God, he would scarcely wastehis time in attempting to destroy it, although he might seek to worry and to dishonour it. It is however most likely thatSatan no moreknows who God's elect are than we do, for he can only judge as we do by outward actions, though he can form a more accuratejudgment than we can through longer experience, and being able to see persons in private where we cannot intrude; yet intoGod's book of secret decrees his black eye can never peer. By their fruits he knows them, and we know them in the same manner.Since, however, we are often mistaken in our judgment, he too may be so; and it seems to me that he thereforemakes it his policy to endeavour to destroy them all-not knowing in which case he may succeed. He goeth about seekingwhom he may devour, and, as he knows not whom he may be permitted to swallow up, he attacks all the people of God with vehemence. Someone may say, "How can one devil do this?" He does not do it by himself alone. I do not know that many of us have ever beentempted directly by Satan: we may not be notable enough among men to be worth his trouble; but he has awhole host of inferior spirits under his supremacy and control, and as the centurion said of himself, so he might havesaid of Satan-"he saith to this spirit, 'Do this,' and he doeth it, and to his servant, 'Go,' and he goeth." Thus all theservants of God will more or less come under the direct or indirect assaults of the great enemy of souls, and that with aview of destroying them; for he would, if it were possible, deceive the very elect. Where he cannot destroy, there is no doubtthatSatan's object is to worry. He does not like to see God's people happy. I believe the devil greatly delights in some ministers,whose tendency in their preaching is to multiply and foster doubts and fears, and grief, and despondency, as the evidencesof God's people. "Ah," saith the devil, "preach on; you are doing my work well, for I like to see God's people mournful. IfI can make them hang their harps on the willows, and go about with miserable faces, I reckon I have done my work verycompletely." My dear friends, let us watch against those specious temptations which pretend to make us humble, but whichreally aim at making us unbelieving. Our God takes no delight in our suspicions and mistrusts. See how he proves his lovein the gift of his dear Son Jesus. Banish then all your ill surmisings, and rejoice in unmoved confidence. God delights tobe worshipped with Joy. Oh come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let uscomebefore his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms." "Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous,and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart." "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say, rejoice." Satan does notlike this. Martin Luther used to say, "Let us sing psalms and spite the devil," and I have no doubt Martin Luther was prettynearly right; for that lover of discord hates harmonious, joyous praise. Beloved brother, the arch-enemy wants to make youwretched here, if he cannot have you hereafter; and in this, no doubt, he is aiming a blow at the honour of God. He iswell aware that mournful Christians often dishonour the faithfulness of God by mistrusting it, and he thinks if he can worryus until we no more believe in the constancy and goodness of the Lord, he shall have robbed God of his praise. "He that offerethpraise, glorifieth me," says God; and so Satan lays the axe at the root of our praise, that God may cease to be glorified.
Moreover, if Satan cannot destroy a Christian, how often has he spoilt his usefulness? Many a believer has fallen, not to break his neck-that is impossible,-but he has broken some important bone, and he has gonelimping to his grave! We can recall with grief some men once eminent in the ranks of the Church, who did run well, but ona sudden, through stress of temptation, they fell into sin, and their names were never mentioned in the Church again, exceptwithbated breath. Everybody thought and hoped they were saved so as by fire, but certainly their former usefulness never couldreturn. It is very easy to go back in the heavenly pilgrimage, but it is very hard to retrieve your steps. You may soon turnaside and put out your candle, but you cannot light it quite so speedily. Friend, beloved in the Lord, watch against the attacksof Satan and stand fast, because you, as a pillar in the house or God are very dear to us, and we cannot spare you. As afather, or as a matron in our midst, we do you honour, and oh-we would not be made to mourn and lament-we do not wishto be grieved by hearing the shouts of our adversaries while they cry "Aha! Aha! so would we have it," for alas! there havebeen many things done in our Zion which we would not have told in Gath, nor published in the streets of Askelon, lest thedaughters of the uncircumcised should rejoice, and the sons of the Philistines should triumph. Oh may God grant us grace,as aChurch, to stand against the wiles of Satan and his attacks, that having done his worst he may gain no advantage overus, and after having considered, and considered again, and counted well our towers and bulwarks, he may be compelled to retirebecause his battering rams cannot jar so much as a stone from our ramparts, and his slings cannot slay one single soldieron the walls.
Before I leave this point, I should like to say, that perhaps it may be suggested, "How is it that God permits this constantand malevolent consideration of his people by the evil one?" One answer, doubtless, is, that God knows what is for his ownglory, and that he giveth no account of his matters; that having permitted free agency, and having allowed, for some mysteriousreason, the existence of evil, it does not seem agreeable with his having done so to destroy Satan;but he gives him power that it may be a fair hand-to-hand fight between sin and holiness, between grace and craftiness.Besides, be it remembered, that incidentally the temptations of Satan are of service to the people of God; Fenelon says theyare the file which rubs off much of the rust of self-confidence, and I may add, they are the horrible sound in the sentinel'sear, which is sure to keep him awake. An experimental divine remarks, that there is no temptation in the world which is sobadas not being tempted at all; for to be tempted will tend to keep us awake: whereas, being without temptation, flesh andblood are weak-and though the spirit may be willing, yet we may be found falling into slumber. Children do not run away fromtheir father's side when big dogs bark at them. The howlings of the devil may tend to drive us nearer to Christ, may teachus our own weakness, may keep us upon our own watch-tower, and be made the means of preservation from other ills. Let us "besober, be vigilant, because our adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour;" andlet us who are in a prominent position be permitted affectionately to press upon you one earnest request, namely, "Brethren,pray for us." that, exposed as we are peculiarly to the consideration of Satan, we may be guarded by divine power. Let usbe made rich by your faithful prayers that we may be kept even to the end.
II. Secondly, WHAT IS IT THAT SATAN CONSIDERS WITH A VIEW TO THE INJURY OF GOD'S PEOPLE?
It cannot be said of him as of God, that he knoweth us altogether; but since he has been now nearly six thousand years dealingwith poor fallen humanity, he must have acquired a very vast experience in that time, and having been all over the earth,and having tempted the highest and the lowest, he must know exceeding well what the springs of human action are, and how toplay upon them. Satan watches and considers first of all our peculiar infirmities. He looks us upand down, just as I have seen a horse-dealer do with a horse; and soon finds out wherein we are faulty. I, a common observer,might think the horse an exceedingly good one, as I see it running up and down the road, but the dealer sees what I cannotsee, and he knows how to handle the creature just in such quarters and at such points that he soon discovers any hidden mischief.Satan knows how to look at us and reckon us up from heel to head, so that he will say of this man, "His infirmity islust," or of that other, "He hath a quick tempter," or of this other, "He is proud," or of that other, "He is slothful."The eye of malice is very quick to perceive a weakness, and the hand of enmity soon takes advantage of it. When the arch-spyfinds a weak place in the wall of our castle, he takes care to plant his battering-ram, and begin his siege. You may conceal,even from your dearest friend, your infirmity, but you will not conceal it from your worst enemy. He has lynx eyes, and detectsin a moment the joint in your harness. He goes about with a match, and though you may think you have covered all the gunpowderof your heart, yet he knows how to find a crack to put his match through, and much mischief will he do, unless eternal mercyshall prevent.
He takes care also to consider our frames and states of mind. If the devil would attack us when our mind is in certain moods, we should be more than a match for him: he knows this, andshuns the encounter. Some men are more ready for temptation when they are distressed and desponding; the fiend will then assailthem. Others will be more liable to take fire when they are jubilant and full of joy; then will he strike his spark into thetinder. Certain persons, whenthey are much vexed and tossed to and fro, can be made to say almost anything; and others, when their souls are like perfectlyplacid waters, are just then in a condition to be navigated by the devil's vessel. As the worker in metals knows that onemetal is to be worked at such a heat, and another at a different temperature; as those who have to deal with chemicals knowthat at a certain heat one fluid will boil, while another reaches the boiling-point much earlier, so Satan knows exactly thetemperature at which to work us to his purpose. Small pots boil directly they are put on the fire, and so little men ofquick temper are soon in a passion; larger vessels require more time and coal before they will boil, but when they do boil,it is a boil indeed, not soon forgotten or abated. The enemy, like a fisherman, watches his fish, adapts his bait to his prey;and knows in what seasons and times the fish are most likely to bite. This hunter of so souls comes upon us unawares, andoftenwe are overtaken in a fault and or caught in a trap through an unwatchful frame of mind. That rate collector of choicesayings, Thomas Spencer, has the following which is to the much to the point-"The chameleon, when he lies on the grass tocatch flies and grasshoppers, taketh upon him the colour of the grass, as the polypus doth the colour of the rock under whichhe lurketh, that the fish may boldly come near him without any suspicion of danger. In like manner, Satan turneth himselfintothat shape hich we least fear, and sets before us such objects of temptation as are most agreeable to our natures, thatsohe may the sooner draw us into his net; he sails with every wind, and blows us that way which we incline ourselves throughthe weakness of nature. Is our knowledge in matter of faith deficient? He tempts us to error. Is our conscience tender? Hetempts us to scrupulosity, and too much preciseness. Hath our conscience, like the ecliptic line, some latitude? He temptsus tocarnal liberty. Are we bold spirited? He tempts us to presumption. Are we timorous and distrustful? He tempteth us todesperation. Are we of a flexible disposition? He tempteth us to inconstancy. Are we stiff? He labours to make obstinate heretics,schismatics, or rebels of us. Are we of an austere tempter? He tempteth us to cruelty. Are we soft and mild? He tempteth usto indulgence and foolish pity. Are we hot in matters of religion? He tempteth us to blind zeal and superstition. Are we cold?He tempteth us to Laodicean lukewarmness. Thus doth he lay his traps, that one way or other, he may ensnare us."
He also takes care to consider our position among men. There are a few persons who are most easily tempted when they are alone; they are the subjects then of great heaviness ofmind, and they may be driven to most awful crimes: perhaps the most of us are more liableiable to sin when we are in company.In some company I never should be led into sin; into another society I could scarcely venture. Many are so full of levity,that those of us who are inclined the sameway can scarcely look them in the face without feeling our besetting sin set a-going; and others are so somber, that ifthey meet a brother of like mould, they are pretty sure between them to invent an evil report of the goodly land. Satan knowswhere to overtake you in a place where you lie open to his attacks; he will pounce upon you, swoop like a bird of prey fromthe sky, where he has been watching for the time to make his descent with a prospect of success.
How too, will he consider our condition in the world! He looks at one man, and says, "That man has property: it is of no use my trying such-and-such arts with him; but here isanother man who is very poor, I will catch him in that net." Then, again, he looks at the poor man, and says, "Now, I cannottempt him to this folly, but I will lead the rich man into it." As the sportsman has a gun for wild fowl, and another fordeer and game, so has Satan a differenttemptation for various orders of men. I do not suppose that the Queen's temptation ever will annoy Mary the kitchen-maid.I do not suppose, on the other hand, that Mary's temptation will ever be very serious to me. Probably you could escape frommine-I do not think you could; and I sometimes fancy I could bear yours-though I question if I could. Satan knows, however,just where to smite us, and our position, our capabilities, our education, our standing in society, our calling, may all bedoors through which he may attack us. You who have no calling at all, are in peculiar peril-I wonder the devil does notswallow you outright. The most likely man to go to hell is the man who has nothing to do on earth. I say that seriously. Ibelieve that there cannot happen a much worse evil to a person than to be placed where he has no work; and if I should everbe in such a state, I would get employment at once, for fear I should be carried off, body and soul, by the evil one. Idlepeopletempt the devil to tempt them. Let us have something to do, let us keep our minds occupied, for, if not, we make roomfor the devil. Industry will not make us gracious, but the want of industry may make us vicious. Have always something onthe anvil or in the fire.
"In books, or work, or healthful play,
I would be busy too,
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do."
So Watts taught us in our childhood; and so let us believe in our manhood. Books, or works, or such recreations as are necessaryfor health, should occupy our time; for if I throw myself down in indolence, like an old piece of iron, I must not wonderthat I grow rusty with sin.
Nor have I done yet. Satan, when he makes his investigations, notices all the objects of our affection. I doubt not when he went round Job's house, he observed it as carefully as thieves do a jeweller's premises when they meanto break into them. They very cunningly take account of every door, window, and fastening: they fail not to look at the next-doorhouse; for they may have to reach the treasure through the building which adjoins it. So, when the devil wentround, jotting down in his mind all Job's position, he thought to himself, "There are the camels and the oxen, the asses,and the servants-yes, I can use all these very admirably." "Then," he thought, "there are the three daughters! There are theten sons, and they go feasting-I shall know where to catch them, and if I can just blow the house down when they are feasting,that will afflict the father's mind the more severely, for he will say 'O that they had died when they had been praying,rather than when they had been feasting and drinking wine.' I will put down too in the inventory," says the devil I shallwant her," and accordingly it came to that. Nobody could have done what Job's wife did-none of the servants could have saidthat sad sentence so stingingly-or, if she meant it very kindly, none could have said it with such a fascinating air as Job'sown wife, "Bless God and die," as it may be read, or "Curse God and die." Ah, Satan, thou hast ploughed with Job's heifer,but thou hast not succeeded; lob's strength lies in his God, not in his hair, or else thou mightest have shorn him asSamson was shorn! Perhaps the evil one had even inspected Job's personal sensibilities, and so selected that form of bodilyaffliction which he knew to be most dreaded by his victim. He brought upon him a disease which Job may have seen and shudderedat in poor men outside the city gates. Brethren, Satan knows quite as much in regard to you. You have a child, and Satan knowsthat you idolize it. "Ah," says he, "there is a place for my wounding him." Even the partner of your bosom may be madea quiver in which hell's arrows shall be stored till the time may come, and then she may prove the bow from which Satan willshoot them. Watch even your neighbour and her that lieth in your bosom, for you know not how Satan may get an advantage overyou. Our habits, our joys, our sorrows, our retirements, our public positions, all may be made weapons of attack by this desperatefoe of the Lord's people. We have snares everywhere; in our bed and at our table, in our house and in the street. Thereare gins and trap-falls in company; there are pits when we are alone. We may find temptations in the house of God as wellas in the world; traps in our high estate, and deadly poisons in our abasement. We must not expect to be rid of temptationstill we have crossed the Jordan, and then, thank God, we are beyond gunshot of the enemy. The last howling of the dog of hellwill beheard as we descend into the chill waters of the black stream, but when we hear the hallelujah of the glorified, we shallhave done with the black prince for ever and ever.
III. Satan considered, but THERE WAS A HIGHER CONSIDERATION WHICH OVERRODE HIS CONSIDERATION.
In times of war, the sappers and miners of one party will make a mine, and it is a very common counteractive for the sappersand miners of the other party to countermine by undermining the first mine. This is just what God does with Satan. Satan ismining, and he thinks to light the fuse and to blow up God's building, but all the while God is undermining him, and he blowsup Satan's mine before he can do any mischief. The devil is the greatest of all fools. He has moreknowledge but less wisdom than any other creature, he is more subtle than all the beasts of the field, but it is wellcalled subtlety, not wisdom. It is not true wisdom; it is only another shape of folly. All the while that Satan was tempting Job, he littleknew that he was answering God's purpose, for God was looking on and considering the whole of it, and holding the enemy asa man holds a horse by its bridle. The Lord had considered exactly how far he would let Satan go. He didnot the first time permit him to touch his flesh-perhaps that was more than Job at that time could have borne. Have younever noticed that if you are in good strong bodily health you can bear losses and crosses, and even bereavements with somethinglike equanimity? Now that was the case with Job. Perhaps if the disease had come first and the rest had followed, it mighthave been a temptation too heavy for him, but God who knows just how far to let the enemy go, will say to him, "Thus far,andno farther." By degrees he became accustomed to his poverty; in fact, the trial had lost all its sting the moment Jobsaid, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away." That enemy was slain-nay it was buried and this was the funeral oration,"Blessed be the name of the Lord." When the second trial came, the first trial had qualified Job to bear the second. It maybe a more severe trial for a man in the possession of great worldly wealth suddenly to be deprived of the bodily power ofenjoying it, than to lose all first, and then lose the health necessary to its enjoyment. Having already lost all, hemight almost say, "I thank God that now I have nothing to enjoy, and therefore the loss of the power to enjoy it is not sowearisome. I have not to say, "How I wish I could go out in my fields, and see to my servants, for they are all dead. I donot wish to see my children-they are all dead and gone-I am thankful that they are; better so, than that they should see theirpoorfather sit on a dunghill like this." He might have been almost glad if his wife had gone too, for certainly she was nota very particular mercy when she was spared; and possibly, if he had all his children about him, it might have been a hardertrial than it was. The Lord who weighs mountains in scales, had meted out his servant's woe.
Did not the Lord also consider how he should sustain his servant under his trial? Beloved, you do not know how blessedly our God poured the secret oil upon Job's fire of grace while the devil was throwingbuckets of water on it. He saith to himself, "If Satan shall do much, I will do more; if he takes away much, I will give more;if he tempts the man to curse, I will fill him so full of love to me that he shall bless me. I will help him; I will strengthenhim; yea,I will uphold him with the right hand of my righteousness." Christian, take those two thoughts and put them under yourtongue as a wafer made with honey-you will never be tempted without express license from the throne where Jesus pleads, and,on the other hand, when he permits it, he will with the temptation make a way of escape, or give you grace to stand underit.
In the next place, the Lord considered how to sanctify Job by this trial. Job was a much better man at the end of the story than he was at the beginning. He was "an incredible disgrace upon Satan.If you want perfect and an upright man" at first, but there was a little pride about him. We are poor creatures to criticizesuch a man as Job-but still there was in him just a sprinkling of self-righteousness. I think, and his friends brought itout, Eliphaz and Zopharsaid such irritating things that poor Job could not help replying in strong terms about himself that were rather too strong,one thinks; there was a little too much self-justification. He was not proud as some of us are, of a very little-he had muchto be proud of, as the world would allow-but yet there was the tendency to be exalted with it; and though the devil did notknow it, perhaps if he had left Job alone, that pride might have run to seed, and Job might have sinned; but he was insuch a hurry, that he would not let the ill seed ripen, but hastened to cut it up, and so was the Lord's tool to bringJob into a more humble, and consequently a more safe and blessed state of mind. Moreover, observe how Satan was a lacqueyto the Almighty! Job all this while was being enabled to earn a greater reward. All his prosperity is not enough; God loves Job so much, that he intends to give him twice the property; he intends to givehim his children again; he means to make him amore famous man than ever; a man whose name shall ring down the ages; a man who shall be talked of through all generations.He is not to be the man of Uz, but of the whole world. He is not to be heard of by a handful in one neighbourhood, but allmen are to hear of Job's patience in the hour of trial. Who is to do this? Who is to fashion the trump of fame through whichJob's name is to be blown? The devil goes to the forge, and works away with all his might, to make Job illustrious! Foolishdevil! he is piling up a pedestal on which God will set his servant Job, that he may be looked upon with wonder by allages.
To conclude, Job's afflictions and Job's patience have been a lasting blessing to the Church of God, and they have inflicted incredibledisgrace upon Satan. If you want to make the devil angry, throw the story of Job in his teeth. If you desire to have your own confidence sustained,may God the Holy Ghost lead you into the patience of lob. Oh! how many saints have been comforted in their distress by thishistory of patience! How many have been saved out of the jawof the lion, and from the paw of the bear by the dark experiences of the patriarch of Uz. Oh arch fiend, how art thoutaken in thine own net! Thou hast thrown a stone which has fallen on thine own head. Thou madest a pit for Job, and hast falleninto it thyself; thou art taken in thine own craftiness. Jehovah has made fools of the wise and driven the diviners mad. Brethren,let us commit ourselves in faith to the care and keeping of God-come poverty, come sickness, come death, we will in allthings through Jesus Christ's blood be conquerors, and by the power of his Spirit we shall overcome at the last. I wouldGod we were all trusting in Jesus. May those who have not trusted him be led to begin this very morning, and God shall haveall the praise in us all, evermore. Amen.
NOTE.-At the request of several subscribers, we intend in future to mention the passage of Scripture read at the service,or some other more suitable to be read with the sermon.
PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON-Job 1 & 2:1-10.


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Many designers tend to think of colors as something that have only a purely aesthetic impact. However, colours are actually a vital component of the psychological impact of your design on users. Colors send a message without being overt and can thus determine buying choices. It only takes 90 seconds for a person to form an opinion about your product, and it's estimated that up to 90 percent of that opinion is based on colors alone. Since colour is often the first thing users notice, it has a huge impact on their thoughts.
Color is a part of the language that designers use to communicate with their users. Having an understanding of color psychology is a key aspect of creating color palettes that increase conversion. In this article, I want to share practical tips on how to use colors to increase your conversion rate.
What is color psychology?
Color psychology is a discipline that examines how color influences human behavior and decision making. Color psychology is essential for sales and marketing as different colors can impact the way buyers perceive a brand.
Color psychology is based on the theory of how our brain processes colors. The human eye has a visual response to light. Light travels in waves, and each color has a different wavelength. These different wavelengths hit the eye in different ways. They create electrical impulses that go to the hypothalamus in the brain, which controls a number of functions in the human body—behavioral patterns, appetite, and body temperature among them.
General facts about colors
To understand the impact of color on buyers' actions, it's important to understand the impact colors have on our thoughts and emotions.
1. Colors can be stimulating or calming
There are two types of colors—warm and cold. As you can probably guess, these classifications have an impact on how we comprehend the colors.
Warm colors are colors in the red area of the color spectrum. Red, orange, and yellow can invoke a sense of warmth and passion in design. Warm colors have long wavelengths and radiate a considerable amount of energy. As a result, warm colors work best when they are used as accent colors. Using warm colors as a basic color can easily make your design look irritating and annoying.
Cool colors contain higher amounts of blue. Blue, purple, and green are cool colors. These colors naturally create a calming effect, and are often popular in interior design because they encourage relaxation. However, when overused, cold colors can call to mind feelings of sadness.
2. Different genders have different color preferences
Gender can influence the color choices we make, and there are differences and similarities between men's and women's perceptions of color schemes. In 2003, Joe Hallock researched color and shared his insights in his paper Colour Assignment. The paper highlights some clear preferences in specific colors across gender. Among the most noticeable is that both genders like blue and green.
Similarly, men and women both shared least favorite colors: brown and orange.
But the study also highlighted a difference in preferences. The second favorite color among women is purple. However, purple is the least favorite color among men. Another valuable insight is when it comes to shades, tints, and hues, men generally prefer bold colors, while women prefer softer colors.
You might also like: 10 Beautiful Ecommerce Website Color Schemes.
3. Color can mean different things in different cultures
Colors are a powerful tool for creating emotions. Many articles about color discuss the phenomena of color associations. We often read that blue is the color of sincerity, green represents growth, while red demonstrates passion. The problem with such categorizations is that reactions to color are somewhat learned. Colors can mean different things in different cultures. For example, in many Western cultures, white is associated with positive things, while in many parts of Asia, white is associated with mourning. As a result, it's almost impossible to narrow one color down to a solid meaning.
Designers should consider the cultural background of their target audience and use color palettes that do not create negative cultural connotations.
4. Color associations in industry
Color plays an essential role in brand and industry recognition. People form color associations for specific industries, such as white for tech, green for eco products, and red for fast food. As I've mentioned above, this association is learned. By putting users in the right frame of mind, you can influence them to make a purchase.
But there are no hard and fast rules. In fact, while many companies choose to match customer expectations by using their industry's standard colors, others have found that going against the standards can be a very effective way to make an impression.
How to use color in designs
Now that you have a basic understanding of different color associations, you can put color to work in your designs. Below are four techniques to remember.
1. Understand your users' expectations
It's vital to invest in user research and understand your users' expectations. Conduct a series of user interviews and ask questions about color, such as, "What color do you associate with our product/brand?"
This helps you understand what your users expect to see and, most importantly, why.
2. Use the 60-30-10 rule
The 60-30-10 is a simple rule that will help you create well-balanced and visually interesting color palettes. The idea is that one color (usually, a neutral color) makes up 60 percent of the palette. Another complementary color makes up 30 percent of the palette. A third color, which is used as an accent, takes the remaining 10 percent. This formula works because it creates a sense of balance and allows the eye to travel comfortably from one focal point to another.
This method makes it much easier for designers to start experimenting with color palettes. It's also easy to create a palette using brand colors. For example, 60 percent of your design should be a neutral color, 30 percent should be your secondary brand color, and 10 percent should be your primary brand color.
You might also like: Creating Dynamic Color Schemes with Theme Options and Presets.
3. Contrast is key
In an attempt to improve conversion rates, many designers try to find the colors that sell—a magical color that will make users click the button. A few years ago, Joshua Porter conducted a famous study called The Button Color A/B Test. He compared the conversion of two variants of the same landing page. The only difference in A and B was the color of the primary call to action button. Version A had a green CTA button, while version B had a red button.
Even though Joshua predicted the green button would perform better, the red button outperformed it and resulted in 21 percent more clicks.
Does this mean that red is the color that converts the best? No. It's likely the red button got more attention because it was the only object that stood out on the page. So the rule of thumb: if you want users to interact with something, make it stand out!
Accessibility is another reason why you should use contrast in your design. Color contrast helps users to distinguish text and user interface elements. Approximately 8 percent of men and 0.5 percent of women suffer from some form of color blindness, and if you're using colors with low-value contrast, be aware that those users will have problems interacting with your product.
However, it's easy to improve accessibility by increasing the value contrast between colors. The W3C recommends the following contrast ratios for body text and image text:
Text type |
Color contrast ratio |
Large text (at 14 pt bold/18 pt regular and up) and graphics |
3:1 against the background |
Small text |
4.5:1 against the background |
4. Test your color choices
As the red vs. green experiment by Joshua Porter shows, no matter what color we think will work the best for our users, in reality, we can have completely different behavior. That's why it's essential to treat every design as a hypothesis and validate it with your users. Get feedback from your target audience as early as possible by conduct testing sessions and evaluate your color choices by asking a few simple questions:
- What is the first thing you noticed on this page? And what is the first thing you want to interact with?
- How does this design make you feel? Rate it on a scale of 1 (very unpleasant) to 5 (very pleasant).
You might also like: 9 Tools for Website Accessibility Testing.
Color is powerful
Color is a powerful communication tool and can give user signals on what action to complete. Those signals can influence mood and outcomes.
If you invest time in understanding the difference between colors, this knowledge will help you make better design decisions and make your design more persuasive.
Read more
- 10 Beautiful Ecommerce Website Color Schemes
- Creating Dynamic Color Schemes with Theme Options and Presets
- 7 Inspiring Stores Built by Shopify Partners to Get You Through the Winter
- 14 Image Tools for Web Developers in 2017
- Top Ecommerce Web Design Trends from January
- 10 Bookmark-Worthy Websites for Free Stock Photography
- How to Direct, Control, and Hold Focus Through Design
- 13 Web Design Trends to Watch in 2020
- Top 5 Features to Include When Building a Successful Fitness Site
- How to Use Video in Ecommerce Web Design to Boost Conversions
How do you use color in your designs? Let us know in the comments below.


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John H Zublionis
NCCAOM Certification #: 172707
NCCAOM Professional Designation: Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM)®
Certified since: 10/21/2019
Certification Expiration Date: 9/30/2027
A Diplomate of Oriental Medicine is a practitioner who is certified by the NCCAOM®. It is a considerable professional achievement to earn the designation Diplomate of Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM®). NCCAOM® Certification indicates to employers, patients, and peers that one has met national standards for the safe and competent practice of acupuncture and Chinese herbology as defined by the acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) profession. National board certification in Oriental medicine has been the hallmark of excellence in AOM since the inception of the NCCAOM® Oriental Medicine Certification Program in 2003.
Earning Criteria:
Comprehensive training in traditional differential diagnosis and proper treatment methods requires that an NCCAOM® Diplomate of Oriental Medicine:
- Completed four academic years of education at the Master's Degree level in an Oriental Medicine Program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM).
- Demonstrated professional competency by passing NCCAOM® Certification Examinations in Foundations of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture with Point Location, Chinese Herbology, and Biomedicine.
- Maintains the NCCAOM® Certification by re-certifying every four (4) years.
- Abides by the NCCAOM® Code of Ethics.


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We've had our fair share of typically grey days this winter, but they've not been accompanied by as much rain as we usually get. This type of weather rather irritates me as I feel we should at least get something back for putting up with drab and dreary days…some token rainfall at least to justify the lack of sunlight.
Dismal proclamations have been made about this state of weather affairs whenever the topic of rain, or more to the point, the lack thereof has arisen in conversation.
"There'll be no olive crop at this rate," is the gloomy prediction.
"The water will run out; the dam will be empty; the springs will dry up."
All of these prophesies are accompanied by head shaking and heavy sighing, and indeed the lack of rain, the threat of drought are serious matters, and not to be laughed at. Some snow has fallen on Mt Pelion, and the snow melt will contribute to the water table, but it hasn't been enough.
Zeus, that unreasonable god of the rain, has messed us about all winter long. After a fairly long period of unseasonably warm weather, just as I was beginning to think of putting winter bedding and coats away, just as the fig trees are filling with figlets and the orange and lemon trees are beaming with blooms, so has he decided to make himself felt. And did he ever!
He started quietly on Sunday, no fuss. No thunderbolts. A bit of wind later in the day when he called upon Aeolus to join him in mischief. But at nightfall he let rip, throwing down torrents of water which thrummed and drummed on the hard ground, the roof, the trees. Welcome it was, at first, but soon it became too much of a good thing, and began to concern us. I found it difficult to sleep, fearing that flooding would occur, would lead to landslides, that people would have problems.
Monday morning we awoke to the thick brown river of mud flowing across the Pagasitic, evidence of the downpours on higher ground.
Snow on the mountain, several major and minor landslides, flooding in Volos city centre, and numerous incidents of damage and difficulty as a result.
It rained heavily all day yesterday, and there's still more to come according to the weather gurus. And so, it wasn't all that much of a surprise when our friends 'phoned from their car this morning with the news: "The bridge over the river has collapsed. We have to turn around and go via the top road."
The unpaved and unmaintained top road. Four-wheel-drive territory at the best of times. The long way round. A quagmire.
Ah well, never a dull moment, but the damage to the bridge is more than just a nuisance: it will take a long time to repair and will be costly. I wonder if the Ancients felt as furious at Zeus?


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The only way the evening could have been any more entertaining was if David Chang had crashed our dessert course and delivered a drunken rant about our cheese plate.
Hey, can I get some f*cking figs?"
That didn't happen, but even so, the night was a fun-filled feast featuring a four-course meal of fresh, local, and thoughtfully prepared food paired very nicely with an array of Black Box wines.
The evening started with some beautifully presented charcuterie in Spruce's "Library." This was my kind of library – sliced meats, crusty bread, wonderful wine, crackling fireplace, and absolutely no books. We were also allowed to speak above a whisper, which really works out great for me.
I enjoyed several glasses of Black Box's 2008 Columbia Valley Riesling as I chatted up my fellow Foodbuzz Featured Publishers. Seeing that most of the others were drinking the 2007 California Merlot, I wondered if my cold white wine was the best choice for the house-cured meats. I would have looked it up, but like I said, there were no books.
We moved from the Library to a handsome private dining room in the back of the restaurant. This was a good thing since there's nothing more annoying than trying to enjoy a romantic, softly lit meal, only to be subjected to the strobe-like flash lighting from a couple dozen cackling food bloggers.
There's a certain special something about having a meal in a private room like that. The food tastes better, the wine pairs more perfectly, and the conversations seem even more interesting. It's no wonder meetings about launching companies and plotting murders are held in such spaces.
Our first course was a visually arresting beet and pear salad. The deeply colored, carpaccio-style sliced beets were topped with aged goat cheese and walnut vinaigrette. The sweet, soft pear proved a perfect liaison between the sexy salad and the accompanying 2008 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
Next up was a perfectly roasted halibut, served atop chanterelles and fennel frond broth, finished with a subtly sweet, jam-like puree of fennel bulb. This course was paired with two Black Box chardonnays– a 2008 Monterey County and a 2008 Napa Valley Reserve.
I really enjoy chardonnay paired with mushrooms, and thought both worked very well, however, when we were asked which we thought was the better match, I chose the Monterey County, as did Black Box's wine guru Steve Hosmer. Take that, bloggers that liked the other one better!
The main course was an impeccably presented bavette steak with sauce bordelaise, served with a stack of duck fat fried potatoes. I'd like to type that again… a stack of duck fat fried potatoes. A few thought this a bit too safe of a pairing with the 2007 California Cabernet Sauvignon, but I defended the decision by simply repeating, "yeah, but duck fat potatoes," over and over.
The dessert course was a trio of cheeses served with honeyed almonds, and dried cranberries. It's at this point in the evening when I stopped asking questions like, "what cheese is this again?" – I put away the camera and pen, and just enjoyed the end of a great meal. Talking food, laughing, winking, and just being in the moment.
Throughout the dinner the sommeliers would explain what we were drinking and why it was paired with these ingredients. Usually, to this old chef's ear, these course introductions sound like, "…blah, blah, tannins, blah, blah, oak, blah, blah, vanilla," but I actually tried to pay attention to the whys and what fors. There really are reasons certain pairings work and other do not.
It was impossible not to notice how prideful the folks from Black Box are when they talk about their offerings. They know they have some great wines, and you can see how much they enjoy the fact it's packaged in a black box.
Due to the facts that it was decanted for service, and so damn food-friendly, not once during the entire evening did the thought, "we're drinking wine from a box," cross my mind. To me, that's the best compliment I can give.
Thanks to Foodbuzz for another wonderful evening! Thanks to Black Box Wines for (see above), and thanks to Spruce for all the wonderful food!
Check out some of my fellow food blogger's recaps of this event:
Danielle at Bon Vivant
Denise & Lenny at Chez Us
Janet at Pretty Green Girl
Joel at Six By 10 Tiny Kitchen
Jesse at Beer and Nosh


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Bon Secours will build new community education health facility in Richmond's East End
Bon Secours Virginia Health System says it will break ground later this year on a new community health education facility in Richmond's East End.
The project, which will be known as the Center for Healthy Communities, will be located at 2600 Nine Mile Road. Bon Secours plans to transform a vacant gasoline station into the new center, which will offer health education, outreach services, disease prevention and group treatment for chronic diseases.
Bon Secours also plans a 25,000-square-foot medical office on Nine Mile Road, across the street from the new community center, as part of an expansion of its nearby medical campus at Richmond Community Hospital.
The company's role in helping to address economic and health issues in the East End, where some residents live in poverty, began in 1995 when the nonprofit took ownership of the Richmond Community Hospital. Since then, Bon Secours has rebuilt the hospital, and expanded staff and clinical services.


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The New Geopolitics of Food
From the Middle East to Madagascar, high prices are spawning land grabs and ousting dictators. Welcome to the 21st-century food wars.
I saw this article come across my feed reader and thought it looked interesting. It was very interesting. Admittedly, I don't know much about the geopolitics of food systems, but the concept of food systems has been on my mind lately.
A Little Bit About Where I'm Coming From
We do this thing every so often called 7 Days 100% local challenge. The goal of the challenge is to move our diet in a more local direction with the goal, for those 7 days, of getting as close to 100% locally sourced food as possible. A big part of this is discovering what my friend would call an "honest" local meal. What does it look like to really eat local? What would be missing from your plate? What new items would show up? How is eating local in Portland different than eating local anywhere else? It's not about making substitutions. It's about discovering what "here" means. (Of course, the ultimate in "honest" local food would be only foraged an indigenous items, but I haven't gotten there yet.)Doing this challenge has also let me to thinking about other issues--mostly what really is the impact of eating local. If part of the goal of the challenge is to move more people and dollars away from industrialized food and toward local sources, does that really have an impact? How many people and how many dollars would need to be moved out of Kroger Corporation's pockets and into the local food economy before it could be considered "making a difference"? According to the 2009 Kroger Fact Book (PDF), Kroger has 2468 super markets representing 36 different brands with over $76 billion dollars in annual sales. That's freaking huge! There there is a gigantic industrialized agriculture machine pumping unimaginably large quantities of food products out these stores.
How in the world can choosing to eat local impact this system? How can something so big, so entrenched, and with so much money behind it be moved by just by choosing to eat local? We could do the "our family chooses to eat local" thing, but that just feels too self-righteous for me. Honestly, I've started to become pessimistic about the whole thing.
Where the Article Steps In
The New Geopolitics of Food does not brighten my day. It's a really interesting article that hit home the point that the world of food is really about food for the world. This is the opposite of local intention. The article points out how food is used for foreign relations. We export massive amounts of food to other countries when they are having a bad year. It also points out how as economic growth and the appetite for meat seems to go hand-in-hand. China is a specific example. Meat production is soaring there, and demand is outpacing supply. For anyone concerned about the horrors of industrialized meat production, this represents a very real and growing nightmare. It also makes a good point about the rising price of food and how foreign governments (mostly in Africa) are leasing their arable land to foreign food companies while their own population starves. It also points out the we are starting to use grain for fuel as a substitute for fossil fuels. This is putting tremendous pressure on grain production because its using up our "surplus".
Multiple Problems. Multiple Answers.
The answer the article positions at the end, is to find ways to increase crop yields in a hurry because there is an international food catastrophe on its way.
The answer, apparently, is not to transition more to local sources.
Increasing yields also could be a way of supporting more intensive industrialization of the food chain, along with more GMO products. Overall, this solution is the opposite of what the local food movement cares about.
Also, as food--especially meats and grains--becomes even more of an international bargaining chip, having deep production reserves will be a key component of being a powerful nation, just as oil reserves are now. Given this reality, it seems unlikely that the government will want to support reducing industrialized food production. This puts the local food movement fundamentally at odds with the government also.
What to do!
Is the local food movement really taking everything into consideration? Is local food philosophically aligned with isolationism? And is that realistic in today's interconnected world?
As a person interested in transitioning away from industrialized food and who believes that the commoditization of food in general creates lower quality food, damages the environment, and encourages a system ripe for abuse under the guise of increasing "production efficiency", this article causes a lot of thoughts. Unfortunately, not all of them are hopeful.


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Far Cry 3 has a relatively expensive item economy, IMO, and money is a little hard to come by when you're at the early parts of the game. Compared to some of the other games I play, I find myself having to frequently grind killing people, and manually collecting the loot of every fallen individual just to get a little money.
What are efficient ways to get the big bucks (maximum money for minimum effort, preferably methods which are repeatable) in Far Cry 3?
EDIT: I'd like to add that at later parts of the game, money is no longer an issue. My problem now is where to spend it. Even though my wallet has reached the maximum crafted capacity, I'm still hitting the limit. =)


text: 1 Summary of significant accounting policies 1.1 GeneralThe Company financial statements of Bouwinvest Dutch Institutional Office Fund N.V. (the Office Fund) are included in the consolidated financial statements and are prepared in accordance with the legal requirements of Part 9, Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with provision of Article 2:362 subsection 8 and 9, of the Dutch Civil Code, under which the Company-only financial statements may be prepared in accordance with accounting policies as adopted in the consolidated financial statements.If no other policies are mentioned, the applicable policies are those of the consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements should be consulted for an appropriate interpretation of the Company financial statements.The notes in the consolidated financial statements also apply to the Company accounts. If Company amounts are not directly traceable to the consolidated notes, additional notes are included in the Company notes.The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as endorsed by the European Union.The exemption laid down in Article 402 Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code has been applied to the Company profit and loss account of the Fund.1.2 Financial assetsSubsidiariesSubsidiaries include all entities over which the Fund has the power – directly or indirectly – to control financial and operational policies. Subsidiaries are valued under the net equity method, but not lower than zero.The equity value is measured by valuation of assets, provisions and liabilities and determination of results based on the accounting policies of the consolidated financial statements.Recognition of lossesIf the share in losses attributable to the Fund exceeds the carrying amount of the net investment (investment and other unsecured receivables), further losses will not be recognised, unless the Fund has provided securities to the associate, committed to liabilities or paid on behalf of the associate. In that case, a provision will be set aside for the excess. Added to My report add to My report Share this article


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Earth's a Full-On Monet:
Earth's a Full-On Monet is named after one of my favorite lines from the movie, "Clueless." A Monet is when someone looks good from far away, but they're a total mess up close. This is how I feel like seeing Earth from space must feel like.
This piece is part of a collection pondering love and loneliness. I hope these illustrations find you in an optimistic headspace. If not, I hope they help bring you a sense of hope and togetherness.
We are not alone, and we will be okay.
Everybody Say Love Series:
2020 was a real b*tch for most of us. I've struggled, I've been okay, and for many days I haven't been okay.
This series is a collection of thoughts about love and loneliness. With the year nearing to a close, I am the most upbeat and optimistic that I've felt all year. I hope these illustrations find you in a similar place, and if not, I hope they help bring you a sense of hope and togetherness.
We are not alone and we will be okay.
If you need more unique ways to say and share the love, check out the rest of this collection and others in my shop.
Product Details:
This is a high-quality print of my original illustration which was done by hand, with the textures and color added digitally. It is printed with a professional quality inkjet Epson on heavyweight photo supreme matte paper.
The print will be stamped on the back by yours truly. It will come shipped to you via USPS in a clear cellophane sleeve within with cardboard packaging envelope to ensure a safe bend free delivery.
***Frame is not included.
Printed in High Color on an Epson Stylus Artisan 1430 printer.
Printed on Epson Enhanced Matte Paper (Heavyweight Stock).
Have Questions or Want More?
If you need a special size just contact me. I can print larger or smaller if needed.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions! Thank you for viewing my store.
For my latest doodles, pictures of commissioned work, and giveaways, follow me on Instagram @Tami_Draws or Facebook @tamilikelikestodraw.


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Dua Lipa's Powerful Best New Artist Acceptance Speech Cut Off During Grammys
Dua Lipa took home the 2019 Grammy Award for Best New Artist Sunday night (Feb. 10) right after wrapping her performance with St. Vincent.
In her powerful acceptance speech, Lipa thanked her family and fans for the win. "Thank you to my fans for letting me be the best version of myself," she said, going on to recognize other strong female artists and also told fans "you can do whatever you put your mind to."
Unfortunately, Lipa's speech was cut short before she could get all of her words in. One of the most noteworthy parts of her speech was, "No matter where you're from, or your background, or what you believe in, never let that get in the way of you and your dreams, because you deserve it."
Tonight's Best New Artist win marks Lipa's second Grammy win and her second nomination.
The full list of Best New Artist nominees for this year's Grammy's included Chloe X Halle, Luke Combs, Greta Van Fleet, H.E.R., Dua Lipa, Margo Price, Bebe Rexha and Jorja Smith.
Last year's Best New Artist winner was Alessia Cara, who presented Lipa with her award tonight.