text:
This Press Release was released in 2012 following the establishment of the Northern Sleddog Entrepreneur's Association...
On July 12th 2012 many of the foremost entrepreneurs in the sled dog business gathered in Yllas to establish the Lappish Sled Dog Entrepreneur's Association.
Why? Mushing is one of the biggest attractions that Finnish Lapland has to offer as a tourist destination. By setting up this new association, Lappish sled dog entrepreneurs will have a common voice and means with which to promote the national and international awareness and profile of this vital segment of the tourist market.
The association also aims to drive the continued development of sled dog businesses with respect to dog welfare and business quality standards whilst, at all times, linking these to sustainable environmental practices. In order for Lappish sled dog businesses themselves to be sustainable in themselves, the association aims to be at the forefront of cooperation between all of those with a stake in the use of Lapland's wilderness trails and natural resources (eg local authorities, local residents, reindeer herders and other tourism-related businesses).
Pasi Ikonen, the group's president said, 'As independent business operators we each, individually, have no voice in the area's development. However, as a unified body representing the sled dog business and, in turn, the continued development of tourism in Lapland, we hope to be able to make our needs and concerns heard at a local and national level'.
For further information, please contact any of the following representatives of the Lappish Sled Dog Entrepreneurs' Association:
Pasi Ikonen, President: Manager of Hetta Huskies and CAPE Lapland: 0505 772 762 / [email protected]
Niina Pietikäinen, X: Harriniva Hotels & Safaris
Juha Lainen, X: Snowriders Safaris
Juha-Pekka, X: Guesthouse Husky
Editors' Notes
Lapland's growing tourism industry contributes > 400M euros, annually, to the region's economy; in the process attracting new businesses to the area and also providing critically needed employment opportunities to locals. Sled dog experiences are one of the key attractions in this market and they also contribute significantly to the number of visitors who return to the area a second and third time. In other words, the continued development of a vibrant and growing tourism market in Lapland is directly linked to the health of the sled dog industry.
Politically, it is hoped that the new association's work will increase the recognition of the importance of the sled dog business to the area's development at both a local authority and national level and to give a long-overdue acknowledgement of the needs of this industry to thrive alongside other Lappish industries.
DOG ENTREPRENEURS ASSOCIATION RULES (English)
1. The name and domicile
Lapland's Sled-dog Entrepreneurs Association, based in Rovaniemi.
2. Mission & Quality Statement
The association aims to promote cooperation between dog sledding businesses, to increase the national and international appeal and recognition of such businesses, as well as to promote and develop the general conditions for dog sled businesses with respect for sustainable environmental values and dog-welfare standards, in cooperation with local residents, businesses, authorities and other stakeholders / interested parties. (* See below for propsed ammendments to the mission & quality statement)
To realize these goals the association may:
3. Members
The association can be full members, support members, Contributing members and honorary members.
The association as a member to accept the dog with legal operating company that accepts the purpose. The association may adopt a separate upon application for active membership to any person or legal capacity, which operates in the same sector or industry produces a dog that support your products or services.
Support for membership can be accepted by natural persons, and incorporated societies, which accept the association's purpose. Support member has the right to speak at meetings of the association, but no voting rights.
A supporting member may be authorized natural person or legal capacity for a community that wants to support the purpose and activities. Supporting members have no voice, nor the right to vote.
Ordinary members, support members and supporting members of the board approves the application, which also maintains a register of members.
4. Resignation and dismissal
Members are entitled to withdraw from the association by giving written notice to the Board of Directors or the President or by announcing meeting of the association on record.
The Board may expel a member from the association if the member has failed to become due to membership fee, or otherwise failed to fulfill the obligations to which he is joining the association committed, or its conduct, or outside the association has substantially damaged the association, or no longer complies with the Act or the rules of the conditions for membership. Before the decision, the member concerned is given an opportunity to report on the adoption issue, except when the separation of the reason is the failure to pay the membership fee.
5. Membership fees
For ordinary members, support members and supporting members joining, and the sum of the annual membership fee for each member of the group's annual meeting to decide.
6. Government
Association is managed by a board consisting of the annual meeting elected the chairman and three other permanent members. The Board shall elect a vice chairman. In addition, the board meetings can be called by non-voting expert members. The association may be a board appointed by the executive director and other officials. Salaried employees are not members of the government, but the government can act as rapporteurs. Board of Directors for a term of time between annual meetings. The Board of Directors will meet the President or in his absence, the Vice Chairman, when they see it necessary or when at least half of the members demand it. The Board has a quorum when at least half of its members, the Chairman or Vice Chairman included, are present. Votes are ruled by an absolute majority of votes. The Chairman has the casting vote.
7. Association Signing
Association's name signed by the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the two together.
8. Fiscal year and audit
The association's financial year is 1.6. - 31.5. The association is the annual meeting of the activities chosen by the inspector / auditor and deputy auditor operations / deputy auditor. Closing of the accounts and the annual report must be given operation to the inspector / auditor at least one month before the annual meeting. Operation of the inspector / auditor must give a written report no later than two weeks before the annual meeting of the Board of Directors.
9. Meetings of the Association
Association's annual meeting is held annually on the date in September to November. An extraordinary meeting will be held when the meeting of the association so decides, or when the Board deems it necessary or when at least one tenth (1/10) of the voting members of the board for a special issue of the written request. The meeting is held within thirty days after the demand has been made to the board. Meetings of the association is a permanent member one vote. Support member and supporting member has a meeting to attend and speak. Decision of the meeting shall, unless otherwise specified, the opinion which is supported by more than half of the votes cast. Have the casting vote of the chairman, election by lot.
10. The calling of meetings of the association
The Board is an association meeting at least fourteen days prior to the meeting by letter posted to the member or by e-mail to the address.
11. The annual meeting
In the annual meeting the following items:
12. Amendments to the Regulations and the dissolution of the association
The decision to amend the rules and to dissolve the association must be made at the meeting of the association for at least three-fourths (3/4) majority of the votes cast. The notice shall specify the rules or to dissolve the association. In case of dissolution of the association used the funds of the association, the dissolution as prescribed by the closing meeting. The association is suppressed for the same purpose.
Missing and Quality Statement Proposed Amendment Suggestions...*
The association aims to promote cooperation between and best practice throughout dog sledding businesses by:
It is hoped that by keeping those goals in mind, the association will act to enhance the national and international appeal and recognition of sleddog businesses.


text:
ARRL Executive Committee Approves Resource Grants for Five Schools
In December, the ARRL Executive Committee reviewed grant applications for the ARRL's Education & Technology Program (ETP), awarding equipment and resources valued at nearly $7000 to five schools. Two types of grants are awarded: ETP Grants and Progress Grants.
ETP School Station Grants
Grants for school radio stations are awarded to schools that provide a plan to use Amateur Radio as part of an enrichment program and/or as part of in classroom learning. The following schools recently received ETP equipment and resource grants at a total estimated cost of $6000:
- Taft Middle School, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Teachers at this school have a two-fold interest: Providing a high altitude ballooning program and participating in an ARISS contact with astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The school has the support of a local Amateur Radio club. Based on the evidence of the support provided by the local ham radio community, commitment of the school administration and the strength of the plan as outlined in the grant application, the school will receive a basic VHF station to get its program going and support its high altitude balloon tracking efforts.
- Roosevelt Junior High School, Roosevelt, Utah: This school requested equipment to support a school club with an emphasis on satellites and the goal of an ARISS contact. The lead teacher on the grant application is licensed and a graduate of the TI program.
- Mill Springs Academy, Alpharetta, Georgia: The Amateur Radio program at this special education school focuses on student licensure, applying for an ARISS contact and participating in School Club Roundup. The program, as outlined in the grant application, anticipates extensive outside help from the local ham community.
Progress Grants
The purpose of the ETP Progress Grant is to offer modest resource support to teachers who are currently using Amateur Radio as an instructional tool in their classrooms and who need additional resources for specific purposes. The following schools received equipment and resource Progress Grants at a total estimated cost of $700:
- Curtis A. Strange Elementary School, Kenosha, Wisconsin: The application requested support to start a STEM program base on the Sea Perch ROV platform, carrying the remote sensor package suite being developed for a future ETP Teachers Institute 2 Remote Sensing program. This school wants to build a remote sensing component that includes all of the pillars of the ETP: basic electronics, microcontroller programming and the science of radio. The school will receive one Sea Perch and the associated electronics cards, with a condition that one of the teachers involved in this program attend a TI session this summer as part of the training on how to use the resources in the classroom.
- Delcastle Technical High School, Wilmington, Delaware: The applicant, a TI graduate who teaches electronics, requested 15 of the 5 Building Blocks circuit boards used in the TI to instruct the science of radio content. The students will populate these circuit boards as part of the soldering instruction they receive, then use the populated boards to support the science of radio instruction unit that mirrors what is taught during the TI.
A central goal of the ETP is to develop a foundation of wireless technology literacy among America's teachers and students. It employs Amateur Radio to explore radio science and electronics and provide hands-on activities that engage students' minds and imaginations, opening doorways into math, science and technology curriculum topics, as well as other core curriculum areas such as geography and language arts.
More than 500 schools and 600 teachers across the country have received support from the ETP in the form of grants for equipment, curriculum and resources, as well as teacher in-service training through the Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology (TI). Applications for equipment and resource grants are accepted twice each year; application deadlines are May 1 and November 1.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Ref Name | AFPUB-2008-ASN-001 | Old Ref. | afpol-asn200708 |
Status | Obsolete | ||
Date | 27 Feb 2008 | ||
Author(s) | Andrew de la Haye Stacy Hughes |
Organisation | |||
1.0 Proposal:
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Policy for Allocation of ASN Blocks (ASNs) to Regional Internet Registries (Global Policy proposal)
According to the current global policy (AFPUB-2008-ASN-001), IANA will cease to make any distinction between 16-bit and 32-bit only ASN blocks by 31 December 2009, when making allocations to RIRs. This proposal is to extend this date by one year, to 31 December 2010.
This document describes the policy governing the allocation of Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) from the IANA to the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs).
This policy document does not stipulate performance requirements in the provision of services by the IANA to an RIR. Such requirements will be specified by appropriate agreements between ICANN and the Number Resource Organization (NRO).
IANA allocates ASNs to RIRs in blocks of 1024 ASNs. In this document the term "ASN block" refers to a set of 1024 ASNs. Until 31 December 2010, allocations of 16-bit and 32-bit only ASN blocks will be made separately and independent of each other [1].
This means until 31 December 2010, RIRs can receive two separate ASN blocks, one for 16-bit ASNs and one for 32-bit only ASNs from the IANA under this policy. After this date, IANA and the RIRs will cease to make any distinction between 16-bit and 32-bit only ASNs, and will operate ASN allocations from an undifferentiated 32-bit ASN allocation pool.
16-bit ASNs are the AS Numbers in the range: 0 - 65535
32-bit only ASNs are the AS Numbers in the range: 65536 - 4294967295
32-bit ASNs are the AS Numbers in the range: 0 - 4294967295
Each new RIR will be allocated a new ASN block.
An RIR is eligible to receive (an) additional ASN block(s) from the IANA if one of the following conditions is met:
4.1. The RIR has assigned 80% of the previously received ASN block
4.2. The number of free ASNs currently held by the RIR is less than the RIRs two months' need. This projection is based on the monthly average number of ASNs assigned by the RIR over the previous six months.
An RIR will be allocated as many ASN blocks as are needed to support their registration needs for the next 12 months, based on their average assignment rate over the previous six months, unless the RIR specifically requests fewer blocks than it qualifies for.
5.0 Announcement of IANA Allocations
The IANA, the NRO and the RIRs will make announcements and update their respective websites/databases when an allocation is made by the IANA to an RIR. ICANN and the NRO will establish administrative procedures to manage this process.
6.1 Arguments Supporting the Proposal
Due to operational issues external to the IANA/RIR policy process, 32-bit only ASNs are not being issued by the RIRs at the anticipated rate. As it stands, RIRs will likely not be able to justify a new block of ASNs from the IANA after 31 December 2009 due to a glut of free 32 bit only ASNs in the RIR's pool. This leaves available, essential 16-bit ASNs stranded in the IANA free pool. This proposal seeks to remedy the potential problem by extending the deadline for differentiation by one year.
With this proposal the policy will be aligned with the actual reality in regards to 32-bit ASN deployment and usage.
6.2 Arguments Opposing the Proposal
Some may think that extending the previously set timeline can be perceived as some discouragement for the deployment of 32-bit ASNs. One counter argument to this is that RIRs and Internet community have some other mechanisms and activities to raise awareness for 32-bit ASN pool (via public presentations and trainings). These activities will continue while 16-bit ASN blocks are still allocated to RIRs by the IANA as they are available and they are needed.
History | |
29.08.2007 | Proposal was posted to rpd mailing list. AFPUB-2008-ASN-001 Initial Version |
02.10.2007 | 15 Days Last Call for Comments starts. |
17.10.2007 | 15 Days Last Call for Comments ends. |
20.08.2007 | Submitted for board approval. |
30.01.2008 | Ratified by board. |
27.02.2008 | Announcement made on rpd about board approval. |
24.11.2010 | Obsoleted by AFPUB-2009-GEN-005 |


text:
I received the following email from cyclist Ken Adams Sunday night, relating a dangerous encounter with a CHP officer who buzzed their bikes, then came back to argue his apparent misunderstanding of California bike law.
Re: Encounter with Maniac CHP Officer While Cycling on Glendora Mountain Road / Glendora Ridge Road
I'm trying to spread the word of my experience yesterday as far and wide as possible, because it was quite unbelievable and extremely dangerous.
I don't know if you're familiar with the roads I mentioned, but they are very popular cycling routes, especially for Saturday morning rides. I was riding with a friend, starting from his house in Glendora. There was another training ride with about 9 people starting from a coffee shop in Glendora that I was aware of because of an event invite on Facebook.
We started our ride just after 8 am. We started the climb on GMR at about 8:15. At approximately 8:30, about 2-3 miles North of Sierra Madre, a CHP SUV passed us dangerously close – probably about 2 feet away. Neither of us gave the incident much thought, as it happens frequently, although it is unexpected from law enforcement. A few miles later, the same CHP vehicle was stopped and the officer had exited the vehicle. He was standing on the shoulder and commented something to the effect "watch out, there are cars coming up". We turned and looked, but saw nothing. We assumed he was referring to some type of event that was occurring, so we were extra vigilant. We never saw any unusual vehicle traffic – in fact, traffic was unusually light for a weekend.
We continued riding, past East Fork road, where GMR becomes GRR. Approximately 13 miles from the previous incident, the same CHP SUV passed us again, this time much more closely. He was no more than 1 – 1.5 feet from us. At that point, the road was straight, there were clear sight lines for at least ½ mile, no oncoming traffic and we were riding single file on the white line. There are also no lane demarcation lines painted on the road, as the road is less than 2 lanes wide at that point.
We both raised our arms as he passed in a "what the heck" gesture. The officer continued down the road, but we could see that in the distance he was turning around. My friend started recording as he returned. I raised my arm again in a "what the heck" gesture and the officer slowed and started lowering his window. We stopped our bikes and an animated conversation ensued. I have included a link to that video on my FB page:
Subsequent to this incident, we continued our ride. We encountered additional riders and described our experience with the CHP SUV. Incredibly, they told us they had experienced the same thing. When I returned home, I went to the FB event page I mentioned earlier and posted about my experience, asking if anyone else on that ride had experienced an issue with a CHP SUV. I got a number of responses from cyclists who had either witnessed or experienced brushes from this same CHP officer.
It is my opinion that this officer had some type of agenda yesterday. He either has some type of antipathy towards cyclists, was trying to prove a point, or was trying to provoke a confrontation that he hoped would escalate to the use of force. Even in a best case scenario, as you can ascertain from viewing the video, he is woefully misinformed about cycling laws and vehicle interactions with cyclists. Most troubling to me was his cavalier attitude about endangering my life and the life of my friend. He seemed completely unconcerned, not to mention excessively arrogant.
I filed a complaint on the CHP website yesterday, but I hardly trust the CHP to police themselves with this matter. In case you'd like to read the content of that complaint, here is what I wrote:
I was riding my bicycle on Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road on the morning of 7/11/2015. At approximately 8:30 am, on Glendora Mountain Road, about 2 miles north of Sierra Madre, a CHP SUV with license plate number 1365395 passed me and the cyclist with whom I was riding with significantly less than 3 feet (I'd estimate about 2 feet). We continued riding and at approximately 9:55 am, on Glendora Ridge Road, approximately 13 miles from the previous incident, the same CHP SUV passed us again, barely missing us, by approximately 1 foot. The officer continued on for some time, then turned around and returned. We flagged him down and had a conversation with him. We have a video of this interaction, which I would be happy to share with you. I would like to point out that Glendora Ridge Road is a very desolate spot with minimal vehicular traffic. The road is less than 2 lanes wide and has no lane demarcation lines painted on the road. At the point we were passed by the CHP vehicle, there was no oncoming traffic, the road was straight with clear sight lines for at least 1/4 – 1/2 mile and we were riding single file on the white line. During our conversation, the officer claimed that he must drive on the right half of the road and that he "cannot violate a law to follow a law" when asked about California's 3-foot cycling law. He seemed completely unconcerned when I pointed out that he had just needlessly endangered my life. In the course of the rest of my ride and subsequently via social media, I learned that this same officer passed numerous other cyclists dangerously close during this same time period on the same stretch of road. This officer endangered my life twice, the life of the person I was cycling with twice, at least 4 other cyclists that I've been in contact with and who knows how many others. I suspect this type of aggressive and unsafe driving behavior is not what you expect from your officers. This incident has significantly affected my trust in the professionalism of the CHP as an organization. Cycling on California's roads is sufficiently dangerous without our law enforcement officers adding to the danger. I sincerely hope that this officer receives some additional training on correct and safe vehicular interaction with cyclists, because it is clear that he currently is lacking in this area.
I would very much like to get the dash cam video from his tour yesterday, as I'm sure it clearly shows his two assaults on us, as well as the numerous other assaults on other cyclists.
This officer is a menace to cyclists and needs to be dealt with, swiftly and harshly IMO. It is bad enough when Joe Citizen behaves this way. It is completely unacceptable when law enforcement does.
The LA Times crunches the numbers, and identifies LA County's most dangerous intersections.
According to the story, just 1% of intersections account for 25% of pedestrian collisions; chances are, those same intersections are just as dangerous for people on bicycles. And bike lanes could be part of the solution, along with other traffic calming efforts.
They also report LA Mayor Eric Garcetti will announce a Vision Zero plan next month to eliminate traffic fatalities in the city within 10 years.
The question is whether the city is really willing to make the hard choices necessary to get there.
After all, they can't even get bike lanes promised in the unanimously approved 2010 bike plan installed on Westwood, Lankershim and North Figueroa, thanks to roadblocks thrown up by a few councilmembers.
Chris Froome keeps the lead in the Tour de France, as his Team Sky finishes just one second behind BMC in the team time trial; the injury riddled Orica-GreenEdge team tanks it. Cycling Weekly offers five talking points following Sunday's ninth stage.
Chris Froome continues to lead, but Teejay van Garderen is just 12 seconds behind.
The New York Times looks at the unexpected success of Eritrean riders at the Tour, while WaPo explains why it matters.
Mayuko Hagiwara becomes the first Japanese woman to win a stage at the Giro Rosa. Meanwhile, it looks like the Tour de France's La Course stiffed some of the women competing in last years race out of their already ridiculously low prize money.
And US women sweep the bronze mountain biking medals in the Pan Am Games. Am I the only one who didn't know the Pan Am Games were even going on right now?
A teenage boy was shot and killed while riding his bike in the Florence neighborhood of South LA. Something that's happening far too frequently these days.
Bike Metro posts a photo of what looks like secure bike parking at the Beverly Connection shopping center on La Cienega.
Another bike rider has been hit by a car in Newport Beach; fortunately, he's in stable condition. Thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up.
The Orange County Bicycle Coalition urges you to sign a petition to preserve plans for a Class 1 bike trail through Peters Canyon.
CSU Fullerton police recover three stolen bikes off campus.
A San Diego cyclist's life was changed forever by the alleged stoned driver who plowed into a group of riders on Fiesta Island last year.
Oceanside's Strand will be widened, including a shoulder for cyclists and pedestrians, only 35 years after it was damaged in a storm.
San Francisco's Sunday Streets visits some of the city's sketchier neighborhoods in the Tenderloin.
A Sacramento bike advocate says the city is lagging behind in planning for bicycles.
A distracted driver killed a Sacramento father and critically injured his eight-year old son as they rode their bikes; the 25-year old driver was reading a text message when he drove into the bike lane they were in. Tragically, the victims were refugees from war-torn Afghanistan, and had only been in the city for a few weeks.
No Trespassing signs go up on a Modesto bike and pedestrian trail, presumably by mistake.
Redbook suggests riding a bike together could make you fall in love all over again.
My hometown considers joining other Colorado city's in embracing bikeshare; the city already enjoys a successful bike lending library.
Someone apparently deliberately rigged a truck to crash into an Oklahoma bike shop.
Tragic news from Minnesota, as a small town ambulance crew responds to a bicycling collision, and finds their own boss fatally injured.
Fifteen-hundred cyclists ride 160 miles across the state of Indiana.
Connecticut bike riders no longer have to ride as far to the right as practicable, only as far to the right as they deem safe. We so need that wording change here.
New York is working to improve safety by reducing left turns. Banning left turns on busy streets would improve safety in LA, while allowing the near-ubiquitous center turn lanes to be reconfigured to make space for bike lanes. And yes, it is possible to avoid a left turn and still get where you're going by just driving around the block.
The NYPD has issued a BOLO Alert for the hit-and-run bike rider who critically injured pedestrian last month.
A Winnipeg paper calls for approval of the city's proposed bike and walking plan, despite the overt objections of some city councilors.
Londoners react to the latest subway strike by doubling usage of the city's bikeshare system.
A new Brit bike satnav system attaches to your handlebars and lights up to indicate where to turn.
Once again, UK police stop a "silly cyclist" from riding on a major highway.
A British soldier tracks down the thief selling his stolen bike on Ebay, and finds the trail leads to a fellow soldier in his own barracks. Oops.
No offense, but who would confront 25 angry teenagers to stop a bike-jacking? Props to this British man for trying, but seriously, when you're outnumbered 25 to three, just let the damn bike go, already.
Copenhagen may be a bicycling paradise, but it's also a popular spot for bike thieves; a bike shop owner was arrested after being caught with hundreds of hot bikes.
Israel will construct a nearly 100 mile bicycling network, including 10 cycling expressways.
A writer for the New York Times gets busted for borrowing a bike from Japan's unofficial bikeshare.
Bangkok officials clean up the streets to prepare for a bike event in honor of the queen's birthday.
Talk about crappy customer service; a Utah bike shop employee decks a deer that wandered into the shop. You can get Audi's new limited edition racing bike, as long as you're willing to travel to Dubai. And not a deer, presumably.
And a Kiwi website offers advice on how to deal with the bike haters on social media.


text:
Common Questions > Injustice
Does Reincarnation Fit With Scripture? Q&A
Dr. Timothy Keller
Dr. Timothy Keller
Listen to an excerpt from Dr. Keller's Question and Answer sessions.
About Dr. Timothy Keller
Timothy Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He was first a pastor in Hopewell, Virginia. In 1989 he started Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan with his wife, Kathy and their three sons. Today, Redeemer has more than five thousand regular Sunday attendees and has helped to start nearly two hundred new churches around the world. Also, the author of Generous Justice, Counterfeit Gods, The Prodigal God, and the New York Times bestseller, The Reason for God, he lives in New York City with his family.
About Rev. David Bisgrove
David Bisgrove has lived in New York City since 1988, the year he received his MBA and MPH from Columbia University. After working nine years in Healthcare Administration and Finance, David joined the Redeemer staff as Director of Finance and Operations in 1999. He was ordained in 2004 and now oversees the areas of Prayer, Evangelism, Worship, Stewardship, and Family Ministry. He lives on the Upper West Side with his wife Alice and their two daughters Mary Claire and Charlotte.
About BL Jenkins
BL Jenkins is the President and Founder of The Park Forum, a nonprofit that creates curriculum to help urban professionals read the Bible daily. Prior to founding The Park Forum, BL worked at the New York Stock Exchange, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. House of Representatives. BL received her JD from Columbia Law School, her MA from The George Washington University, and her BA from Baylor University. She enjoys running in Central Park and makes her home on the Upper West Side.
About Jason Garber
Jason Garber never set foot in a church service until September 2008 when he walked into Redeemer and was shocked to find that there were people in 21st century Manhattan that actually worshiped Jesus. Intrigued by this odd phenomena, Jason hung around Redeemer in order to observe this strange counterculture. Due to God's irresistible grace (and the free cookies after the service), Jason fell in love with the beauty of the Gospel and placed his trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior.
About Dr. Tuck Bartholomew
Tuck Bartholomew is the organizing pastor of City Church. Tuck holds a PhD in Sociology. Prior to coming to Philadelphia he served on the pastoral staff of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.


text:
member since February 02, 2009
See it? Click it if you like funny stuff and also havent clicked it yet.
I update daily, and I tend to make
the deadline. Usually at night :P
Trophies I wouldnt have to mention if the DD Trophy system worked:
~Top 1000
~100 Visitors
Comics By Gillespie
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This is a webcomic about various things. No strict plotline. "Superheroes" and "villains" can be found here, along with randomness, and oddly funny (maybe) characters. People have called this comic "Awesomater!" Updated EVERY DAY!
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Imafunnyman at 6:39AM, Nov. 11, 2010
This is an I am the 1337 Master account in thus leaving you a comment is the same as if I am the 1337 Master had done it. Except under this name he's less stupid.
I Am The 1337 Master at 4:30PM, Nov. 29, 2009
I never left you a comment? But you're so beast! Good work and hope it continues. ):D
Limzee at 4:22PM, Nov. 25, 2009
Thank you for addin' me! =D
Janen at 10:03AM, Oct. 2, 2009
Gracias for the add, see you around.
Insizwa at 4:08AM, Sept. 23, 2009
Big Happy Joe at 7:35PM, Sept. 11, 2009
Yeah... no offense taken. But the reason people read my comic is because it's funny (or at least, to them it is). The point is also... it's funny.
manicmerganser at 11:56PM, Sept. 8, 2009
my dear gillespie as long as I got a fan in you its enough excuse to keep drawing hot babes!
DOUK at 7:24PM, Sept. 8, 2009
I dicked around with spacing and I think I got it good enough. Though you can still edit the comic if you feel and I'll replace it ASAP
DOUK at 7:21PM, Sept. 8, 2009
Sory to seem like I'm nitpicking but I uploaded your guest comic however there's one problem: It doesn't fit with my page payout. If you want to make the comic panels wider or I could just add empty space around it whichever you prefer :D
Exzachly at 12:21PM, Sept. 2, 2009
hey I know you.... you're that guy who does the thing!
Jetz at 8:35AM, Aug. 18, 2009
I have a new friendly friend that is... GASP! YOU!
jimbob47 at 12:50PM, Aug. 13, 2009
The world thanks you for your serport of the adding of Rm & Mm Peace be with you.
Kirii at 12:41PM, Aug. 13, 2009
Thanks for the add!
cbacolo at 1:12PM, Aug. 7, 2009
yay- new friend! Thanks for the add.
theopenminded at 5:53AM, Aug. 3, 2009
thanks for friending me lolz :D
ChrisTH at 5:11PM, July 30, 2009
Thanks for da add
Smiling Platypus at 10:30AM, July 30, 2009
Very funny and original comic (Bacon Strips). Thanks for adding me as a friend! Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the cast of As the Galaxy Turns thank you also!
oldguy85 at 11:07PM, July 24, 2009
Damn, boy your comics look so much better with clean borders and backgrounds. Look at font.
oldguy85 at 11:02PM, July 24, 2009
Borders and backgrounds really make a great improvement. You gonna rule. Keep focused
DOUK at 7:38AM, July 17, 2009
I'm loving the bacon strips!
HiNaTa_fan_13 at 8:23AM, July 4, 2009
Thanx for being a reader! And for the add!
Jason Rivera at 7:07PM, May 13, 2009
Thanx for da add LOVE THE STRIP!
oldguy85 at 3:13AM, April 27, 2009
Bacon strips just plain funny Thx for add
soulcelshade at 2:16PM, April 26, 2009
DrLuck at 2:48PM, April 18, 2009
Thanks for the add, man.


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How to get great advice
There are any number of reasons why you, as a small business owner, might need professional advice. From facing a new phase of development or growth, to specific business challenges such as operating at a loss, it's important to know where to go for advice.
For that reason, you should identify your best sources of mentors, advisors and guidance. That way you'll always know where to turn when you have questions or when you're being challenged. So what you need to do is take some time to decide exactly how a mentor could help your business and what attributes they should have. The better the brief, the better the match.
Your ideal business mentor
There are two main types of mentors – one that's paid as a professional, and one that's a fellow small business owner happy to share their experiences. It's a good ideal to take advantage of both, if you can.
What you're looking for in a mentor should include:
- Someone with industry experience. For obvious reasons, you'll want to talk to someone who understands your industry and its dynamics.
- Someone who's launched and grown a business themselves. It's important that your mentor understands the challenges of starting and developing a business.
- Someone who's done what you're trying to do, such as increasing productivity, enhancing financial management, or driving sales forward.
How to find a mentor
Once you've refined a) your objectives for obtaining advice and b) what attributes your advisors and mentors should have, it's time to start looking for them.
Your accountant – the ideal adviser
The best source of advice and guidance is, in most cases, your accountant. This is especially true if you've been with the same one for some time; you've developed a relationship with them, they know and understand your business and its history, and you trust them. Their combined financial and business knowledge, along with an innate understanding of your particular business, means that your business mentor accountant should be your go-to source for sound business advice.
Additional advisers
Although you may be getting great advice from your accountant, it doesn't hurt to talk to other people as well. Word-of-mouth is a good way to get sound advice, especially if you know other business owners who've benefitted from a particular form of guidance.
You can also:
- Make use of your business networks. What you're looking to do here is develop and maintain an extensive network of business contacts by attending networking events, such as those organized by the US Chamber of Commerce.
- Get in contact with your regional development agency through the US Economic Development Administration (EDA)
- Join your industry's business association. It's a great way of meeting a mentor who has the exact experience and expertise you're looking for. Look for those owners in larger, more successful businesses that may be open to giving you some friendly advice.
Paid professionals
People you pay for advice are more likely to give you unbiased guidance. The Finding a Business Mentor section of the US Small Business Administration website is a great option.
Meeting mentors
Arrange to meet the mentors you've selected. Make sure that they're open to giving advice if they're not professional advisors. When you meet with them in person, ask yourself if they're the sort who'll give you a push when needed, and is not afraid to tell you harsh truths. What you don't want is someone who'll just pay you lip service.
Agree on the overall objectives of your mentoring relationship. Decide how often you'll meet and how you'll communicate between meetings.
It's a smart idea to take time to build a strong relationship with your mentor. If your mentor gets to you know you and your business well, they'll be able to give you advice that's less generic and more tailored to your business's specific requirements.
Relationships with mentors can sometimes fail. If the match isn't right for whatever reason, end the agreement amicably and find another one. It's common to talk to a number of people before you find someone with the right balance of experience and empathy.
Business mentoring can give you a fresh perspective on your own business. It can propel your business into profitable areas that you didn't consider before. Take the first step towards finding a business mentor today – you and your business will benefit greatly in the future.


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Lydney Resin Driveway Installers
Lydney "Resin Bound" Driveways
What is resin bound?
Resin bound, sometimes known as 'trowelled' paving, is made from a mixture of natural stones and a clear UV resistant resin. To guarantee each stone is coated fully in resin, the liquid and stones are combined in a force-action mix process, to form a mixture that is then poured onto your Lydney driveway, or any other area you wish to cover.
Once poured, the mixture is then hand-trowelled to form a smooth, consistent surface with no loose stones. Resin bound surfaces are permeable, letting rainwater pass through. Because of this they require little maintenance and can be cleaned with a simple jet wash.
Benefits of Resin Bound Surfaces:
- Reduced flood risk (permeable)
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- Grippy, anti-slip surface
- UV resistant (colour won't fade)
- Very low maintenance
- Choice of aggregate colours
Lydney "Resin Bond" Driveways
Resin bond solutions are fast becoming a popular way to surface your Lydney driveway, patio or paths. Made from a mixture of natural stones they offer a durable and hard-wearing surface that looks great in any application. Along with its non-slip properties, it only requires a low level of maintenance to keep looking fresh and clean.
We can construct a new Lydney resin bond driveway from scratch or re-fresh your current, worn out driveway with a new resin bond layer. Whether you have a small private one-car driveway, or a large commercial Lydney car park, we can provide resin bond surfacing for all your needs.
What is resin bond?
Also known as scattercoat, broadcast or coat system, resin bond involves first coating the top layer of a driveway with resin, then applying a loose layer of stones and pressing them into the surface.
Resin bond offers a wide range of aggregate colour options, allowing you to choose a driveway surface appearance that works for you.
Should I Choose Resin Bound or Resin Bond for my Lydney Drive?
Both resin driveway surface types are a great option to improve your property, however we would recommend resin bound for most Lydney clients. This is due to its permeable nature and the reduced risk of loose gravel escaping the surface.
How Much Are Resin Bound Driveways In Lydney?
Resin Bound Driveways can come in a variety of styles and colours. To give our customers an accurate Resin Bound Driveway price, we can undertake a free, no obligation survey of your driveway or area. Give us a call on Lydney 01594 590437 to arrange your free site survey today.


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The End of Britain?
I've checked with the editor of MoneyWeek, and yes it is genuinely their production. The reason why it looks different from the rest of their output is because it was written by their marketing department. And that of course gives the clue as to what this is all about. Whether or not they genuinely believe there will be a disastrous collapse is not the point, though to be fair MoneyWeek is generally fairly pessimistic about the UK and has been forecasting a property market collapse for several years now. No, this is all a marketing ploy. They want to scare you into buying a subscription to their magazine.
I could just say "Don't do it", but actually as this bulletin is seriously scary I think it would be more useful if I took it apart and debunked it. So here goes.
The first thing that the bulletin does is establish credibility by listing all the events that MoneyWeek has correctly forecasted in the last few years. So they claim credit for forecasting the 2008 oil price spike - which actually is a much under-rated phenomenon which is not often discussed. And the reason it is not discussed is because of the financial crisis and the fall of Lehman, which happened the same year. Did MoneyWeek forecast that? No, they did not. They claim that they warned people to "stay away from the big banks". But Lehman wasn't a big bank. Nor was Northern Rock, or Bradford & Bingley, or even HBOS. Nor were the Icelandic banks. Nor were the hundreds and hundreds of US lenders that went bust. MoneyWeek DID NOT forecast the financial crisis.
Then they claim that five years ago they forecast the slide in the pound, and that it has now suffered a "long decline". Let's check this, shall we? Here's the GBP/USD exchange rate chart for the last 10 years:
click here for larger version
Five years ago is January 2008 - by which time the pound was already falling from its 2007 high. Doesn't take a genius to forecast something that is already happening. Admittedly the pound did then fall off a cliff because of the base rate cut later in 2008, but it then climbed back up a bit and has held at around the same level ever since."Long term decline"? Doesn't look like it to me. And what about that dramatic drop? Oh wait, they didn't forecast the fall of Lehman and the subsequent deep recession, did they - you know, the deepest recession since the 1930s? So obviously they couldn't forecast the exceptional measures taken by the Bank of England to support the economy, including deliberately weakening the pound - of which Mervyn King is still rather proud.
Then they also say that three years ago they told everybody to SELL EUROPE. So that''s January 2010. When exactly did the Eurozone crisis start? The BBC has helpfully provided a timeline here. Here's an extract:
Well, well. It seems that here too MoneyWeek "forecast" something that was already happening. It didn't take much imagination to realise that the Greek crisis was going to affect the countries tied to it by a single currency. And "Europe" is a rather wide defnition, don't you think? Here are the yields on 10 year German bunds over the period 2007-2012 (just to remind you, falling yields=rising prices and vice versa):
If the UK had been a business or an individual, we'd have been declared bankrupt by now. We'd have been forced to sell our business premises or our home and would have been housed in a run-down flat long ago.Er, no we wouldn't. You see, although we have a lot of debt and we spend a lot of money, we EARN a lot too. Our charts versus GDP look pretty good, really. I'd say we were definitely a going concern.
3. The great collapse
They take about 15,000 words to do it, but in a nutshell MoneyWeek forecast that rising interest rates will cause failure of the banking system, collapse of the bond and property markets and hyperinflation.
Firstly, let me say that MoneyWeek are correct to make the point that the UK's borrowing costs are historically low, and debt would be more of a burden if they were higher. No doubt their investors would like rates to be higher, which might be why they are forecasting that they will rise - talking things up often does work. At the moment there are no signs whatsoever of interest rates getting off the floor, so this looks very much like wishful thinking to me.
But then they lose the plot and start comparing the UK to Greece again. Greece had falsified its debt position and deliberately misled investors as to the true state of its public finances. Is it any wonder there was a buyer's strike? And what on earth is the reason for supposing that the UK would suffer the same fate?
And it gets worse. Further down they compare the UK to Argentina. This is frankly silly: a large part of Argentina's problem was its attempt to hold a currency peg to the US dollar at the expense of its economy. The only time the UK ever came close to trashing its economy in the same way was 1988-92 when it was pegging its currency to the Deutschmark at too high a rate, which forced the economy into recession. The UK was eventually forced out of the ERM and now has an absolute horror of pegged or managed exchange rates. Sterling is fully floating and likely to remain so. No way are we going to suffer Argentina's fate.
The property market crash they forecast I think is possible. I don't think the housing market corrected sufficiently in 2007-9 and it still has further to fall to reach a sustainable price level. In the short term this would indeed hurt people who were over-mortgaged and financially overstretched. And it would annoy the people (mostly middle-aged and elderly) who bought their properties when prices were much lower and were expecting to profit from house price appreciation. Tough, frankly. But we have had housing market crashes before and recovered. Why should this be any different?
The bank failure that they forecast simply isn't believable. The run on Northern Rock was caused by the inept handling of what was originally a liquidity crisis by both the Treasury and the Bank of England. There are measures in place now to ensure that banks really can obtain emergency liquidity - the Bank of England now has a proper discount window facility like the Fed, which it did not have in 2007. And banks actually DO have more money: they are being required to have more capital and more liquid assets to protect them from bank runs. But more importantly, it is absolute nonsense to say that the UK won't have enough money to bail out its banks. This isn't the Eurozone. The UK has a central bank and issues its own currency. It can NEVER run out of its own money. As I've said numerous times now, the risk for currency issuers is not insolvency, but inflation. Which brings me to the next scary story.
4. The inflation monster
There are two parts to this: firstly that we would see a return to the inflation of the 1970s, and secondly that the public debt level would so erode confidence in the currency that there would be Weimar-style hyperinflation. These two are not remotely related, which demonstrates how very muddled this paper is. I shall take each in turn.
The background to the economic problems of the 1970s was the breakup of the Bretton Woods managed exchange rate system, the Yom Kippur war leading to the oil price shock of 1973, and a property market collapse leading to the Secondary Banking Crisis of 1973. But underlying it all was inept fiscal and monetary management of the economy. Inflation had in fact been rising steadily since the devaluation of the pound in 1967, and the wrong measures were used to contain it. We are, frankly, MUCH better at managing inflation now. Yes, we have had slightly higher inflation than we would really like in the last few years. But in no way has inflation been allowed to run "out of control", and there is absolutely no reason to assume that that would change. I debunked the 1970s inflation monster myth here.
The idea that the UK's debt level would cause Weimar-style hyperinflation is also rubbish. The roots of Weimar's hyperinflation lay in the First World War and its aftermath, particularly the imposition of war reparations which far exceeded the ability of a war-damaged economy to pay them, as Keynes noted, and which had to be paid in foreign currency (gold). As far as I can see, the UK has not recently lost a world war and there are no claims for punitive reparations that I know of. Nor does the UK have particularly high levels of debt denominated in foreign currencies - unlike Hungary, for example. Most of its debt is in sterling. And as I've already noted, sterling debts can always be serviced - perhaps at the price of slightly higher inflation, but not hyperinflation. Whoever wrote this should have done some basic research into the causes of hyperinflation - here, for example.
And finally we get to what this is really all about:
5. GUBMINT COULD STEAL YOUR MONEY! Subscribe to our magazine to find out how to protect your wealth.....
Oddly enough, this is actually the strongest part of this bulletin. They really did do their homework on the occasions in the past when governments have fleeced their own citizens. And I have to admit that it is certainly not beyond the bounds of possibility that UK savers could indeed suffer savings confiscation in a variety of ways. Indeed they already are, through negative real interest rates. Am I bothered? Probably not. I lose much less sleep over the prospect of savers losing their savings than I do over the prospect of ordinary people losing their jobs and their homes.
I think it is very sad indeed that a respected investment magazine like MoneyWeek is so desperate for business that it is resorting to despicable scaremongering. This bulletin is poorly researched, badly written and presents completely the wrong image. I'm not about to advise anyone what to do with their money, but I can certainly think of much better things to do with mine than subscribe to this rag. This marketing ploy by MoneyWeek is a very, very bad mistake.


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© Scrappin Doodles
Whimsical Christmas 12" x 12" Backgrounds
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Cal |
Welcome to the Craniofacial Center web site. Our team of experts is focused on providing the very best care available for craniofacial birth defects. We treat children from the United States, as well as from around the world. By virtue of our focus on treating these unusual conditions, and by providing personalized care for each child, we have become one the very busiest craniofacial centers. This site is designed to provide you with initial background information about specific birth defects, and is not meant as a substitute for obtaining a diagnosis and treatment plan from a major craniofacial team. Click on any of the birth defects listed below for further information. If you have any other questions either about a particular birth defect listed below, or one not listed, please call 972-566-6464, or e-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com and we will be happy to provide you with additional information. To learn more about our center, and our team, see the "About the Dallas Center" section. Parents may also find it helpful to read about some suggestions on choosing the right craniofacial surgeon in the "Choosing a Doctor" section. Dr. Fearon is available for in-office and videoconference consults for new and returning patients. To schedule an in-office appointment or telehealth videoconference consult, please call the office at 972-566-6464. |
Craniofacial Conditions: |


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Everyone feels overwhelmed sometimes. Those feelings are completely valid, but sometimes you need a little reality check. David Cain, author of Raptitude, shares 6 reminders for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed:
One maddening tendency of any small electronic device is that whenever the battery is low, it wastes most of its remaining power beeping and flashing to tell you that battery is low.
Similarly, the human body comes with many self-defeating features. For example, whenever you're low on oxygen, say while trying to recover your electronic device from the bottom of a public pool, the body goes into panic mode, raises the heart rate and burns away what little oxygen you have to work with.
The mind exhibits this kind of foolishness too. In has a cruel habit of misplacing its wisdom whenever you need it most. There are certain truths I really need to remember when I'm in a panicky state, which is exactly the time they are hardest to remember. So you may want to bookmark these gentle reminders, because the next time you're overwhelmed you will never remember them.
1. The sky has fallen a thousand times already
I can't count the number of times my world has ended. At least several dozen times in my life I've found myself in a situation so tangled and hopeless that I could not believe I would ever be happy again. Somehow, during each of those personal apocalypses, I forget that each of the previous ones somehow worked themselves out and are no longer relevant. Yet in real-time, the current catastrophe always seems to promise the death or at least permanent disfigurement of my entire life, and I crumple into despair and indignation. If only I could remember that almost all of the problems I've ever had are currently solved except the two or three most recent developments. This is just the way life moves along. It is my problems that are always marching to the gallows, not me.
I'm sure your sky has fallen many times before too. The overwhelmed mind underestimates the scale of a human life and therefore over-calculates the ultimate importance of any particular problem. Don't be fooled.
2. Your problems are the same problems human beings have always had
You will never end up finding a way to suffer that hasn't been fully explored yet. Heartbreak, death of loved ones, sickness and old age, chronic pain, shame, addiction, failure, poverty, and introspective nightmares are all realms that have been braved by people consistently and exhaustively for thousands of years, and to degrees much worse than yours. There are ultimately only a few basic kinds of human trouble, and they've all been suffered and confronted before.
Humankind's vast experience with suffering is an asset to every one of us, because for every classic human problem there is a world of literature about the best ways to deal with it that other humans have found, and it's never been easier to get access to this wisdom.
3. Being overwhelmed comes from a breakdown of your thoughts about your life, not a breakdown of your life
The feeling of being overwhelmed creates a convincing illusion. It makes you think everything is happening at once, but that's not really possible. While different conditions of your life situation can happen concurrently — say your debts are in collections at the same time your relationship is falling apart — life still only unfoldsone moment at a time, and it's quite rare that you need to do more than one small thing in any given moment. Each issue might demand that you deal with a number of difficult moments, but as a rule you only need to deal physically with one particular moment at a time. The "everything is happening at once" feeling is a mental phenomenon that doesn't reflect the linear way in which concurrent life problems actually unfold.
Thoughts change over much more quickly than life's actual happenings do, and so in one minute of worried thinking you can experience a dozen problems mentally. It's easy to get lost in this abstract realm, thinking that there's too much happening "at once" to possibly know what to do, but when you're ready to actually deal with a problem in the physical world, you can safely ignore the others for the moment it takes to act on one of them.
4. It is mathematically unlikely that your problems are as bad as you think they are
Most people seem to be pessimists. I certainly have that tendency and I'm slowly re-calibrating toward the optimistic side. From an evolutionary perspective, it's not hard to understand why we tend toward catastrophizing our setbacks. If you run from every snake just because it may be a deadly one, then you're less likely to die by snakebite, even though 85% of the time you are running from a creature that ought to be running from you. Pessimistic tendencies may aid self-preservation overall, across a lifetime of ambiguous situations, but this comes at the cost of increased stress and a lot of unnecessary running from things.
To know you are a pessimist is to know that things are generally better than they appear to be. A pessimistic mind will usually create a mental image of the situation that's much more dangerous and difficult to address than it ultimately will be in real life.
And for many of us, we're not talking about slight exaggerations of the seriousness of our challenges. On the many occasions in which I realized I may have made a mistake at work, usually it expands quickly to certainty that I have made a mistake, that I will be found out and fired, and that I will never work in this industry again. Within a half a minute I'm suffering a mental movie of myself pounding the pavement on a gloomy day, handing resumes out to fast food managers. If this mental reflex sounds familiar — and if you're overwhelmed often, it probably is — you are likely a pessimist, and you can almost depend on the situation turning out to be easier to deal with than you initially imagined.
5. Things change pretty quickly when you start doing things instead of thinking so much
The darkness in the overwhelmed person's mind comes from the feeling of helplessness, and helplessness comes from the belief that nothing you do matters. Although this feeling is common, it is almost never true. However bad the external circumstances actually get, they are probably not quite Auschwitz, and even there you would be able to fall back on Viktor Frankl's great discovery — that nobody can take away your freedom to choose your way of relating to your circumstances. Wherever you are, you can do something to make the rest of the day better than it would otherwise be, and that means you are not helpless. No matter how small the action, once you see you are capable of improving your position, the feeling of helplessness cannot survive unless you want it to.
Overwhelm is an affliction of messy thoughts rather than messy circumstances, and this becomes clearer when you start acting on the circumstances. Repeatedly throughout my life, a hellish day becomes bearable the moment I make a dent in just one of my dilemmas. It spoils the mirage of total catastrophe, and makes it hard to remain a passive participant in your bad day.
6. It is most tempting to not do things when you most need to do things
Another self-defeating habit of the normal human mind. There is a tendency to freeze when things feel like they're going off the rails, for two reasons.
The first reason is that you are afraid to make things worse. The ground feels shaky everywhere, and in your apparent stupor of incompetence you don't want to step in the wrong place. But the bigger reason is that by making a decision to do something you are deciding to take responsibility for where you are, and that's not a natural reflex for most of us. Particularly when you believe your problem is someone else's fault, it's tempting to wait for the person responsible to actually be a responsible person. That doesn't usually happen, and often I'm mistaken about who is at fault anyway. I know I always want it to be someone else's fault, and I don't think I'm unusual there. Believing another party is responsible is tempting because it lets you fantasize about a deus ex machina ending to your crisis, the timely swooping-in of the cavalry, which makes for a lame movie because it makes a fool of the protagonist, and never really happens in real life anyway.
Defy the temptation to cross your arms and wait for some form of cosmic justice to save you — or at least remember that you will feel a temptation to do nothing, right when you should probably be doing something.
David Cain is a Winnipeg-based writer and blogger. He is the author of Raptitude, a street-level look at the human experience.6 Helpful Reminders For The Overwhelmed Person | Raptitude


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Tri-Town Democratic Committee
10 March 2016
Meeting Agenda
Call to Order
Presentation None
Secretary's Report
Treasurer's Report
Digital and Social
Media Report
Old Business:
Primary Results
Changes in Budgets
Honors Dinner
Committee Report & Planning
Other Old Business
New Business:
Joint Executive
Council Candidate Forum for Mike Cryans and Andru
New NHDP Info and Initiatives
Other New Business
Upcoming Events:
- The Dover Dems are having their 9th Annual Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner on March 14th. The keynote speaker is the great Governor Maggie Hassan.
- Joint
Executive Council Candidate Forum for Mike Cryans and Andru Volinsky Farmington Town Hall (Opera
House) from 3:30 to 5:30 pm 3-6 on Saturday April 9, 2016.
- Save the date: New Hampshire Democratic Party State Convention will take place on Saturday, June 18th!
Next Meeting Our next scheduled meeting will be on April 14th,
at 7:00 PM in Milton at the Emma Ramsey Center


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Put up your hand if you like shooting landscape photography, and are always looking for new places – but only photograph them once, maybe twice, and then think you are done with that area.
I am guilty of the same thing. I go looking for places to photograph, take photos of them, and think I will go back but never do. Perhaps this is something we need to rethink.
Consider how the seasons affect landscapes and what changes happen throughout the year. In Australia the traditional owners of the land, or the indigenous people, have different seasons to the European ones, there are six of them. They are very descriptive of what happens, though the usual seasons of autumn, winter, spring, and summer can still provide lots of differences to give the same place different aspects.
The most obvious thing about autumn is the changing of the leaves. In some parts of the world, this happens a lot more and nearly all trees lose their leaves. In Australia it doesn't happen as much, and many of the native trees are evergreen which retain their leaves year round. Having said that, there are also many introduced species that do have color changing leaves, and in some towns and areas in the country you can find trees that have those beautiful, golden colors often associated with autumn.
The changing of the leaves isn't the only thing to look for. On billabongs, swamps and dams, you will often find low level mist creating wonderful moods. If you go out early in the morning, and wait for the sun to rise, you can get some great effects from the sun rays as they hit the water.
In those types of locations, sunrises are more interesting and sometimes there is a golden light associated with that time of morning, that you can only see at that time of year. The golden hour that is normally associated with sunsets is there to give your landscape that rich color. It isn't too cold in the mornings, but the weather is changing as winter approaches.
Before you go to bed at night, check what the forecast will be the following day. What you are looking for is the weather to get worse, such as rain in the forecast. In the morning before the sunrise take a look outside at the sky. If the sky is clear and there are no clouds, you won't get that beautiful color that only happens when the sun reflects off clouds. If the sky is very grey, go back to bed, the change has already happened.
In winter the sun doesn't get as high in the sky, so you can get long shadows all day. The shadows are softer and have a moist feel to them, especially in the morning when there is dew all over the ground. You can take photos at any time of the day, it is the best time of the year to photograph.
Frosts and fogs can give the landscape a completely different look, and heading out on a foggy morning can be well worth it. It is cold, but the images will make you glad you went. If you know it is going to be foggy or frosty in the morning you need to just head out, as you may not get many mornings with either of those conditions. If you stay out long enough you might also be rewarded with an amazing sunny afternoon.
Stormy skies and rain can give another dimension to your images. Large storm clouds or grey skies can give a landscape a completely different look compared to those with blue skies. Look for cloudy skies, and breaks in the sun, to give the scene in front of you a great effect.
Winter often means bare trees. Once the leaves have been stripped from them, there are branches that can give your images interesting shapes and shadows. If you like photos with lots of mood, it is a perfect time to get that, especially if you get a great fog to go with the bare trees.
There is an array of colors that you don't see at other times of the year. The dew in the early mornings makes everything wet which can bring out the colors and give you wonderful naturally saturated images.
Some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen were taken when there is a blanket of snow. Unfortunately, in most places here, it never snows. If you live somewhere where that it does, use it. Brave the cold and just get out there and make the most of it.
The most obvious aspect of spring is flowers. It might be flowers in the garden, or wildflowers growing in their natural environment. Having them blooming in the landscape leaves no doubt that it is spring.
It is beginning to warm up as summer approaches, and, while the weather is getting better, there is also going to be lots of rain and more stormy skies, as spring is often the wettest time of the year. You could try taking photos of your landscapes in the rain, it will give them a different look.
Spring is also the time that many baby animals are born, so you can see new life everywhere you look.
Waterfalls, creeks, and rivers run faster, and have more water in them as the snow melts. Go to your favorite waterfall and see how the extra water adds more volume. You will get images that are quite different than you would if you photograph there at the end, or the height, of summer.
This can be the harshest season in Australia. It is dry and hot. Most of the grasses in the landscape die off, leaving brown grass everywhere. There is an absence of color and the landscape is very different to what you find in the winter. The hot sun will also leach out all the color in what you see. A beautiful landscape that you get at other times of the year, will look desaturated.
The light is harsh and hard. The sun is higher in the sky and the shadows are shorter. Going out to get nice pictures in the middle of the day is too hard, and often too hot – though it shouldn't stop you from trying. See what you can get and if you can show that heat in the images. If you have extreme days where the temperature is above 100°F (37.8°C) then it won't matter when you go, it will be horrible.
On a positive note, if you know the next day is going to be a scorcher, check for clouds and head out to a great landscape photography location, as you can be fairly certain that you will get the most magnificent sunset. You need clouds to get a great one and the more the better, but you don't want overcast or you won't see the setting sun. Don't forget to hang around for an hour afterwards to get the best of it. Summer is the best time for amazing sunsets, and over water means you get double.
In Australia it is very hot at that time of the year, but usually after a few days of intense heat it gets broken by a big thunder storm. You can head out, somewhere where you will be protected, and take some photos of the lightning and thunder clouds as they approach.
Using the seasons for your photography
Think of your favorite places that are nearby, places you can get to easily. What are they like at different times of the year? How can you show those differences? It might your photography a new focus, give it a try. I've been doing it for the last couple of years and it's amazing how you can get very different images from the same location.
If you have an area that you love photographing but feel as though you have exhausted it, consider documenting the change throughout the seasons with your camera.
Here on dPS this is landscape week – here is list of what we've covered so far. Watch for a new article (or two) on landscape photography daily for the next few days.
- 6 Tips for Better Low-Light Landscape Photography
- Landscape Photography and the Human Element
- 5 Ways a Telephoto Lens Can Improve Your Landscape Photography
- Landscape Photography from the Side of the Road
- 32 Majestic Landscape Photos to Inspire Your Wanderlust
- Weekly Photography Challenge – Landscape
Table of contents
Landscape Photography
- 5 Tips for Setting the Focus in Your Landscape Photography
- Landscape Photography – Shooting the Same Location Through the Seasons


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It's no secret that sitting is bad for you, but that doesn't mean you magically have the space in your home to build a standing desk. If you're short on space, but want a standing desk, blogger Josh Earl shows off his collapsible standing desk built from an IKEA table and a few extra parts.
Earl's desk is made from a IKEA wall-mounted drop leaf folding table and reinforced with a few wood screws. He also added in a cheap desk grommet to keep the cables organized. The end result is a nice looking standing desk that doesn't take up much space and can be folded down when not in use. Check out Earl's post for a breakdown of the parts and a set of installation instructions.
My $47 collapsible standing desk | while(true) code