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The First Snow!
The first snow! Bon Iver! Friday's snow was awesome! I love that it's suddenly turned into winter. I left the office early to head up to Ames to meet Zach for his company Christmas party. His boss is beyond generous and blocked us a hotel room so we wouldn't have to worry about driving home afterward. I packed a quick bag (hot tub swimsuit and shorts) and headed up!
The party was awesome! Snow background, golf course club house with a fireplace and wine and scotch. We played trivia, caught up, and ate great food.
Zach and I grabbed drinks with friends at Cafe Baudelaire in Campustown and then took the snowy roads back to the hotel.
We slept wayyyyy in (thank you Saturday). And grabbed omlets and coffee at this old amazing diner in Ames that we tried to eat at many times when I was in college.
The day was spent in our apartment. Reading and cleaning (me) and playing video games (him). We tried a new Asian place near our apartment, and it was awesome! Pho and sweats= true love.
The (new and improved) Spaids had us over for cheese and drinks! We hot toddy'd and talked and made our way home!
The first snow, you are good and cheerful and refreshing.
More days in a warm apartment ahead :)


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Sandra Levin | English Faculty | USASend Sandra a message
Sandra Levin | English Faculty | USA
Sandra Levin has over 25 years of experience working with students of all ages and in a variety of capacities. For the past 20 years, Sandra has worked as a classroom teacher and learning specialist in New York City's independent schools. This Fall, Sandra will teach English at an independent school, as well as working privately as an educational specialist and consultant. She holds two masters' degrees and has accrued many post graduate hours. In addition to working with middle and high school students, she also coaches teachers on best teaching practices. During the summer of 2018, she taught two writing classes for Columbia University's Peace Corps Fellows. Sandra has a BA in Dance/Performing Arts; Minor: Psychology from Marymount Manhattan College, a M.A. in Dance/Movement Therapy from New York University and a second Masters in Special Education from Bank Street College. She also received her certification from Urban Schools Attuned Institute: A Collaboration Between Dr. Mel Levine's All Kinds of Minds and Bank Street College in New York.
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This summer, I was honored to be involved with hosting the Annual American Cancer Society's (ACS) Blossom Ball with my family, OncoSec Medical was one of the sponsors and together we helped raise over $150,000 for cancer research and funding. As a biopharmaceutical company developing advanced-stage immunotherapy to treat skin cancer, I believe it is very important to be involved as an individual and represent OncoSec Medical with both the ACS and the group CEO's Against Cancer. Below is an excerpt from the speech I gave that night at the fundraiser, providing an outline on the CEO's Against Cancer program.
As a CEO, there are many different ways to cause or affect change. Being a corporate influencer puts you not only at the forefront of your company's decision-making process but also in talks with many other CEOs and industry professionals. With this power also comes the chance for positive social partnerships that can benefit individuals, communities, societies and even the world…AND CEOs Against Cancer aims to do just that; bringing together CEOs from across the world, in order to help save lives, through cancer prevention and research. Our vision is to leverage the collective knowledge, power and resources of the American Cancer Society and business community to turn the tide of this epidemic and chart a path to a world with less cancer and more birthdays for people everywhere.
As an arm of the American Cancer Society, CEO's Against Cancer works alongside ACS: using the power and knowledge base of this group, in order to spur fundraising, spread knowledge and impact businesses, employees and their communities. This is also accomplished through the company-centric ACS Work Place Solutions that creates cancer prevention and community involvement programs for independent businesses. With these sub-groups of the organization, the American Cancer Society brings together top business executives, managers, and employees, around cancer education, community growth, and the fight against this disease.
Cancer is everyone's business; whether we want it to be or not.
Because of funding and efforts from organizations like ACS, having cancer is no longer a death sentence and we have countless survival stories about someone close to us who had a positive outcome after their diagnosis with the C word…
From these collaborative efforts between business, academic institutions, cancer advocacy groups we are fortunate to have some of the most successful treatments today that did not exist 20 years ago because of cancer research.


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For some reason Blogger isn't allowing me to upload my video to this post, but you can watch it here by following this link.
Youtube Video: What's up with Huw?
0 Comments
Hey Huw
I was about to drop you a text to make sure you were ok, so glad you've posted to say that you are alright!
I can see why you would put something like your blog change on the backburner – you have too much juggling to do and the things that actually make you money should take priority, eg your writing, selling on ebay etc.
Interesting about what's happened with your budgeting though – I guess it's not something you could have foreseen, although now that you mention it, it seems quite obvious, ie budgeting with a full time job vs budgeting without a full time job. That's two different books, isn't it? 🙂
Great work on the Kindle Publishing and hope you get a lot of sales! "Huw Can Do It"! 😀
I was starting to wonder if you were okay, good to know you've been absent purely because you're busy cracking on with your (albeit slightly changed) goals.
Sounds like the income goals are going according to plan, and sensible to push the other stuff back for prioritisation reasons – but at least they are in a state where you can readily take action on them at the right time, you've laid a foundation already.
Fingers crossed, November and December will be cracking months on kindle!
Great to hear from you Huw, looking forward to the Fire Escape in the Midlands.
I agree with Weenie that a change in your budget might be too budgeting systems that are 'right' for different stages (regular payday vs generating income). My system has changed multiple times and sometimes I'd go back and change (if I could), but mostly it was right for me at the time. (I spent a year spending only in £5 notes because that represented an hours work and everything was judged against whether it was worth working for another hour – that would be crazy for me today, (no airmiles!), but was perfect at the time). If your old system was right for you at the time then it is probably something that other people would benefit from learning about.
It sounds like you're loads more energised towards the new goals so I bet you'll see results before the end of the year!
Hey Weenie,
Thanks for the concern, but I have to say…. I'm great!
Yeah, I would love to spend some time on the Blog, and I'm looking froward to sorting it all out, but I can't justify spending the time on it right now.
I do love my budgeting! I haven't changed it due to the job change as such. More for what I want to do with my money. For example, I'm going to be putting money aside each month for Education, Giving, a Long term spending account, as well as turning my spending account into a % rather than a capped limit.
Thanks for the support as ever. I really appreciate it.
I hope all is well with you. I'll pop over to your Blog this weekend, and check what you've been up to!
Hey M,
Ha ha. Yes, I'm not dead… just busy. 🙂
Income is ticking along nicely. I made another £64 on ebay today (after fees & postage), and my kindle is continuing to rock. I'm not going to be far off my goal for November, but I'm confident I'll surpass it in December.
Thanks for the support and encouragement. I know I'm doing the right thing and on the right track. Next year is going to be a huge year for me!
I hope all is well with you M. I'll catch up on your Blog this weekend and see what you've been up to.
Take care!
Hi Emma!
Yes, me too. I get very energised by the gatherings, and it'll be great to see everyone again.
I love formulating a budget. Similarly to a good meal plan, you set it up and then let it do the work for you. I don;t need to think about where my money is going it's all on auto pilot. I've decided to invest more money into myself, as we are all our biggest asset in life. Therefore, I'll be putting more money into Education, long term spending money, and even spending money – Frugal Gasp!
You're so right with an ever changing budget. Like everything else in life – workouts, learning, socialising, we need to adapt to out new circumstances and needs. I think the £5 note idea is a good way to think and a great way to link spending to hours worked.
I'm excited about Decembers earnings. I'm confident that I'll be able to earn more than my average wage at PGL, and for me that will represent a huge landmark, and prove that the move was worth doing.
Thanks for the encouragement and support!
Speak soon
I like the % based budgeting – this is what we've been doing it for quite a long time. It works pretty well when your income is variable too, although you might need to have a one month buffer i.e. live off last month's income. I wrote about it in my post about Li Ka-Shing and how to divide your income. We will be changing our system again for new year, still based on his system, but we split our income into 6 types of outgoings instead of 5 to include the 'giving' category which we've always done. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this new method works out. It feels simple and logical and will hopefully allow us to spend where we want and need, whilst also apportioning money to the other priorities in our life.
Would love to hear more about your new % based budgeting i.e. how much to each category and how many categories do you have… maybe it deserves a blog post all of its own?!
Thanks for the link M. I'm very intrigued by budgeting at the moment and it made for an interesting read.
I can see why you like % saving. I prefer the budget already.
When I'm paid a wage (from Kindle income) I put £605 into a separate account – for Essential living costs. Note – I've been able to reduce this figure due to cross overs in the latter categories.
Once the fundamental living costs have been taken care of, I split the remaining amount (whatever it is) in the following way:
65% – Investments – Split between reinvesting in Kindle, and then Shares
10% – Education – Course, books, coaching
10% – Long term spending money – Big purchases like a new car
10% – Spending – On whatever the hell I want – Drugs, hookers and booze money
5% – Giving – charity, gifts
Any further income I receive from reselling on Ebay and Amazon, Topcashback, or P2P lending I split in the following way:
22.5% – Investments – Split between reinvesting in Kindle, and then Shares
22.5% – Education – Course, books, coaching
22.5% – Long term spending money – Big purchases like a new car
22.5% – Spending – On whatever the hell I want – Drugs, hookers and booze money
10% – Giving – charity, gifts
I'm going to try it for a few months and see how I get on…..
that's a really interesting way of doing it. pretty similar to ours I guess. Our essential living costs are pretty high, although I kind of include pension contributions as part of that, so really my figure is a bit lower.
do let us know how you get on. I like our system so far, even though we've modified it over the years, it generally works quite well.
I will keep you posted M for sure. I plan on taking a flexible approach with it too. Try it out, see how it fits and modify if needed.


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Business owners should consider whole life insurance.
Many business owners poo-poo whole life insurance because they say it's too expensive. Instead, they say buy term insurance (which is cheaper) and invest the rest. But the thing is, most people don't end up investing the rest. So the money ends up going to other things.
But for some business owners, whole life insurance may be just what the doctor ordered.
First, let's get a few facts out of the way. Term insurance is where you rent life insurance for a specific period of time. The average term policy is around 20 years. If you die during the term, your heirs will receive the face amount of the policy.
If you are still alive at the end of the term of the policy, you get nothing. In other words, you don't earn anything on the money that you are using to buy life insurance. Nada. Zilch. A big goose egg. Obviously, you are not looking to win by buying life insurance. You are looking to protect your family if something should happen to you.
Whole life insurance, otherwise known as permanent insurance, is a type of insurance that will pay your beneficiaries when you die as long as you pay the premiums to keep it in force.
The premiums you pay are fixed. The policy is not for a set term, meaning that your heirs will get the insurance proceeds when you die.
Whole life insurance is more expensive than term insurance for several reasons.
- The insurance company will eventually have to pay your heirs, so there is a higher cost to insure you because the policy will pay out.
- Part of the premiums that you pay into the policy will be invested mostly in bonds by the insurance company and used to pay you a cash value.
- The cash reserve which builds up is tax deferred and usually guaranteed. You can withdraw up to the amount of money you put in the policy tax free, since it is a return of your principal.
- You can also take a loan against the cash value.
- The first few years' cash value goes to the insurance company for administrative costs, and also as a commission to the insurance agent who sold you this policy. If you don't want to use an insurance agent to by whole life, you can buy no load whole life insurance – just Google it.
I am a fee only financial planner. I don't sell any insurance. But I think you may want to consider whole life insurance as part of your overall investment portfolio, especially if you are a business owner. Why? Here are my 5 reasons:
- You usually invest a lot of your money back into your business. While it's always good to reinvest in your business, it's also a good idea to diversify and invest in places outside of your business. Whole life insurance is a forced savings plan. You are buying this with after tax money in your name. After about 10 years of contributions, the cash value really starts to build up and grow. This could be a great way to fund your retirement. When you get the premium notice from the insurance company, you are most likely going to follow through and pay because you want to protect your heirs. Bottom line, you will keep paying.
- Your business is inherently risky. You could have 3 clients that make up 80% of your revenue. Or, your industry could be the 1st thing that people cut back on when the economy gets bad. So you want to invest in something low risk with some sort of guarantee — something to fall back on for peace of mind. Another way to think about it? If you've never been good at investing in stocks and stock mutual funds, whole life insurance could be a safer way to invest.
- Whole life insurance buys you flexibility in retirement. You could tap into the cash value in retirement or not touch it, spending down your other retirement assets, knowing that your heirs will inherit the insurance policy. The insurance policy gives you more freedom to spend your money if you still want to leave something to your heirs, like a younger spouse with a longer life expectancy.
- You want a line of credit to use for your business. But you can't get a home equity line of credit or you don't want to go through underwriting at a bank to get a business loan (it's tough to get a loan if your business is down,) and you need money quick. You can borrow money from the cash value of your policy. If you do this, make sure you have a source of funds to pay this back. The last thing you want to do is invade an insurance policy's cash value that took years to build up, and not have a plan for paying it back. That would be a major buzz kill. The current rates to borrow on a policy right now are somewhere around 6-8%.
- If you die and you don't have a plan for who will buy your business, you know your heirs will inherit some money, no matter how old you are.
You need to do what's right for you. That always the case. But before buying any type of life insurance, review all of the features, benefits, and costs with your insurance agent. Make sure you understand what you are buying.© Copyright 2012 Justin Krane, CFP


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You want to talk about this project of yours? A documentary? A commercial? A Promo? Or you want to rent some of my gear?
No matter what plans you've got, drop me a line or ring me up and I'm happy to help you realise your next film!
+49 173 625 60 22


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Holiday Selfie Card
Holiday Selfie Card
Have your selfie a very merry Christmas! What better way to personalize your holiday card than putting those selfies to good use? Text can be edited to say "Have your selfie a happy new year."
Choose between a flat one-sided card or a folded card with an additional personalized message on the interior (both are 5" x 7").
$24 for set of 10 flat cards (on sale for $18 through Dec. 7)
$35 for set of 10 folded cards (on sale for $26.25 through Dec. 7)
Envelopes are included with both options.
Once you've placed your order, we will email you to discuss layout ideas, wording, color preferences and to get your photos. You will receive an e-proof within 5 business days of placing order.
When selecting quantity, please indicate number of sets (10 cards per set).


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On June 1, 2006, EPA announced that it is proposing a rule to clarify that water transfers are excluded from regulation under the Clean Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") permitting program. The proposed rule defines a water transfer as "an activity that conveys waters of the United States to another water of the United States without subjecting the water to intervening industrial, municipal, or commercial use." Such transfers include, inter alia, routing water through tunnels, channels, or natural stream courses for public water supplies, irrigation, power generation, flood control, and environmental restoration. The exclusion would not apply to pollutants that the water transfer itself might introduce to the water being transferred.
The question of whether or not an NPDES permit is required for water transfers has been of widespread concern, particularly in the arid western States, where such transfers are longstanding practices necessary to provide a safe and reliable water supply to a rapidly growing population. The United States Supreme Court addressed the issue in South Florida Water Management District v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians et al., 541 U.S. 95 (2004). However, the Court left the matter unresolved, remanding the case for further fact-finding as to whether the two waters in question were "meaningfully distinct."
On August 5, 2005, EPA issued an agency interpretation clarifying that water transfers do not require NPDES permits under section 402 of the Clean Water Act. EPA noted that this conclusion is consistent with longstanding Agency practice and that Congress "intended to leave oversight of water transfers to water resource management agencies and the States."
EPA's recent announcement confirms the Agency's initiation of a formal rulemaking process to expressly exclude water transfers from regulation under the NPDES permitting program. EPA will accept comments on the proposed rule for 45 days.Alfred E. Smith, II is a Partner in Nossaman's Los Angeles office who specializes in environmental, water and complex commercial litigation. He represents public and private water purveyors, major water users, corporations and public agencies on matters including environmental compliance, water rights disputes, conjunctive use, public utility regulation, groundwater management and litigation over allegedly contaminated water and soil. Alfred is a graduate of the Harvard Law School, and he is an appointed member of the Association of California Water Agencies' (ACWA) Legal Affairs Committee. He can be reached at (213) 612-7800 or email@example.com.
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Thanks for everyone's comments and support!
I can't get past the white browser color. It hurts my eyes. If it would take on my theme color, it wouldn't be a problem, and I could probably live with lack of titlebar.
It sounds from some of your comments like Opera is in the middle of some big developmental, and maybe organizational changes.
But maybe I'll try it again someday. Thanks again!


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Introducing Ichiban Bath Co.
We here at In the Loop are proud to present a new addition to our blog titled, #MakerMonday, in which we spotlight vendors that are participating in our Old Town Night Market events. Each Monday, a maker from our market will unveil their passion, their brand, and some interesting things about themselves that might surprise you! The purpose of this segment is to give thanks and appreciation, while familiarizing our audience with the local artisans which make this event possible!!!!!!
Meet Naki, maker of Ichiban Bath Co.
How did your craft making come to fruition?
In 2010 around the holidays, I had purchased a bath bomb kit. I had decided that year, I would give handmade gifts to friends and family. After that people started offering (me) money to make bath bombs as gifts. At that time, my husband was in between jobs and the kids were just toddlers. We just jumped right in and started selling at the local farmer's market.
What is the meaning behind your brand name?
"Ichiban" means #1 in Japanese. I'm half black and Japanese. Growing up in Okinawa, my mom used to take me and my siblings to her best friend's beauty shop. Her friend Mariko did facials and make up. So I was introduced to high end brands like Shiseido at a young age and was taught to only use products with the best ingredients. I research the benefits of each and every ingredient that goes into my products.
Where do you get inspiration?
I get inspiration from everything. Memories. Emotions/Vibes. Music. Often times my childhood and life growing up in Okinawa and Oahu plays a big part. I'm also very receptive to vibes. And I'll blend my own fragrances to convey a certain emotion or vibe. Some scents are comforting, like Brown Sugar + Fig. Other scents, like Hibiscus Tea are beautiful and unique. I also listen to chill music while I work like Alina Baraz. Or DJ Okawari, Ta-ku so overall my scents are refreshing and relaxing.
What's that little thing in life that brings you happiness?
That little thing in life...COFFEE is LIFE.  Sometimes I'll make coffee syrups from scratch. I'm a bartender too so I know how to make my own simple syrup. I have a sign on my kitchen wall that was made by Amy of Hollywood & Twine that says "Mug life."
What do you love most about Temecula?
I love the food in Temecula. My family moved to Temecula in 1992. To this day, my favorite breakfast place is Penfold's Cafe. Their biscuits and gravy will make you do a happy dance in your seat. Rosa's Cantina has the best Mexican food. Those two places are treasures that only "true" Temecula folks know about. Their not hyped up like the other spots in Old Town, but they've established their roots.
Advice for any aspiring makers?
My advice to aspiring makers, if you're going to do this as a business, you have to study the trends, and then put your own spin on it. Don't be afraid to set yourself apart. Your brand is your story.
Tell us something about yourself that we would find surprising.
Something surprising? Well, it's not shocking but very few people know that I used to hula dance. I appreciate hula for many different reasons. It demonstrated a different approach to storytelling. And every Kumu hula instructor (Kumu means teacher) had a distinct style. When you see someone dance, you knew who their Kumu was. And I hope to achieve that with my brand.


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Is there any time of the year when the swiss travel pass is on sale? I will only be there for 3 days next March and have bought the global eurail pass for 2 consecutive months (as am travelling all over by train) which was very expensive, so hoping I could get the pass cheaper if I wait?
Hi Tazkat28, welcome to MySwissAlps.com!
There is no fixed date or season for pass sales. The options also depend on where you live as some retailers may offer a promotion while others do not. The best you can do is keep an eye on the Swiss Travel Pass promotion section and this forum. Promotions will be announced there. As you can see there is a promotion available for your country Australia right now, but not one you'll benefit from if you only stay 3 days.
By the way, as you have a Eurail Global Pass there is no point in buying a Swiss Travel Pass too as it covers everything the Eurail Global Pass covers (so you'll pay double for that), and more. A Swiss Half Fare Card is cheaper and might be useful if you plan to go anywhere not covered by the Eurail pass.
Thank you so much for your reply- it was much more helpful than I could work out from rail Europe! Could you tell me please if it is worth getting the swiss half fare card get a discount for a trip to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise? I am also planning Chateau de chilllon, paragliding in Interlaken, taking the boat to St Beatus caves (I think there is a discount with the global pass for this?), seeing the chocolate show at the Grand Hotel Schuh, and going to La Maison du Gruyere but wasn't sure if any of those would have a discount with the swiss pass, if not and the global pass will cover my travel, I will be a very happy girl!
Oh wow, I didn't know Swiss Passes can sometimes be discounted. Good thing I saw this forum. Thanks kaztak28 for asking!
Hi Tazkat28,
Good to hear Arno's information has been helpful. The validity section of the Eurail Global Pass page helps you to find out what's covered and what's not: myswissalps.com/eurail globalpass/validity. You can compare it to the Swiss Half Fare Card validity information: myswissalps.com/swissh alffarecard/validity.
Museums such as the Chateau de Chillon and La Maison du Gruyère aren't covered by the Swiss Half Fare Card. The only advantages to the Swiss Half Fare Card I see right now are a somewhat cheaper trip to Zermatt and discounts to Klein Matterhorn. This probably won't justify getting the Swiss Half Fare Card, but doing a detailed calculation based on a list of each and every trip you intend to make, as explained at myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass, will get you the decisive answer.
Planning your trip is much easier with a free MySwissAlps account. Learn all about Switzerland and get in touch with us quickly if you have questions.
Let Swiss travel consultants create a customized itinerary. They will book your entire trip.


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Kristen Bell Shares The One Piece Of Advice She Would Give Her Younger Self
Whether it's sharing the secret to a happy marriage or championing the issues she cares about on social media, Kirsten Bell has long been one of the most refreshingly honest celebrities out there.
The actress recently opened up in a video created with the Child Mind Institute about the advice she would give herself when she was 18 and struggling with terrible anxiety and depression. "What I would say to my younger self is ... don't be fooled by this game of perfection that humans play," she says. "Everyone's human. Everyone has problems. Everyone feels yucky on the inside sometimes. And you deserve to feel just as beautiful on the days when you wear no makeup, the days when you don't shower, and the days when you feel depressed."
Bell has long been an advocate of taking care of both her body and mind, and she works to banish the idea of perfection in all areas of life, even if that means passing up a role, as she almost did before taking on the role of Anna in Frozen in 2013.
"When I was young, I bit my fingernails and was clumsy. I did not have good posture. That's why I initially rejected the perfection of Anna [the way she was initially written]." Bell told Good Housekeeping. "Before the project started, I said, 'No, she's got to be goofy.' After that, the filmmakers and I had a few conversations about how we could reroute it. Once we got to the dynamic of making Elsa misunderstood and different, and having Anna refuse to believe her sister did anything wrong, it felt right."
Inspired by Bell's honesty? Here's a peek into the future of mental health.


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Kitchen remodeling is never simple – the cost, the work mud, and the countless delays….and infinite Chinese take-out. One thing is getting simpler, however, and that is discovering smart sustainable choices in all areas of the kitchen.
When you can afford wooden flooring, go for it. Nothing would look more conventional than an old school wood flooring. For these of you with a restricted finances, think about vinyl or linoleum tiles instead. They're value-effective, durable, and now come in a wide range of types. Some well-designed vinyl and linoleum tiles can even imitate the look of marble and wood, however price only a fraction of the actual supplies.
The kitchen was ugly to say the least. It got here with no appliances other than an previous electric range. The exhaust hood was not vented nor recirculating (thus useless), the dishwasher didn't work, the water was not drinkable and the sink leaked out the bottom of the cabinet when the faucet was turned on. The plastic coating on the cabinets was peeling off in large sections held in place in some spots with delivery tape. The ground was covered in peel and stick vinyl tiles which have been broken in places and mis-matched patched in others. The ceiling like the remainder of the primary flooring was acoustical tile, full with stains.
My husband had informed me Larry and Shane had been taking Sunday off. I was looking ahead to the prospect to sleep in for the first time that week on Sunday – if I could. (I believe I forgot to say that to entry the book room, one has to pass my bed room. Because the earthquake in 2003, I've not wanted to put my bed room door again on. Anybody passing my room would be capable of look in. That meant I needed to be up and dressed much earlier than usual any day the men were working.) I did need to go to church, but wasn't sure I'd make it. I awoke just in time to have a piece of toast, throw some garments on, and get to church before the sermon began.
After: This kitchen rework entailed upgrades to the countertops and backsplash, in addition to some modest plumbing work, however it's the brand new lighting that makes the renovation stand out. Benkowski employed two different therapies: beneath-cabinet lighting and blue pendants above the breakfast bar. Granite replaced the white tile countertops, and a brand new sink, faucet and disposal rounded out the makeover.


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Extern Adventures Part II: Steubenville Vocation Day
On October 9, I (Sr. Mary Cecilia) represented the community at the Vocation Awareness Day at Franciscan University of Steubenville. I had never been to Franciscan University before, but fortunately for me I was attending with not 1, but 3 friars! Fr. Benedict Croell, OP (St. Joseph Province), Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP (England), and Fr. Colm Mannion, OP (Ireland) were my trusty companions on the adventure!
We had an early start from St. Dominic's Parish in Youngstown in order to arrive and set up before the doors opened at 9am. Upon our arrival we were greeted by many student volunteers who were eager to help us to the Fieldhouse with our materials. After being directed to our tables and setting up our displays, I had a little time to get a quick (and very needed!) cup of coffee.This also gave me an opportunity to meet some of the other communities who were attending. After some quick introductions and hellos it was time to head back to my table and start handing out brochures and lollipops!
I can only imagine what it might have looked like for some of the participants to come down and see "Dominican Alley" - all the Dominican communities were lined up in a row! In total there were 14 Dominicans present representing the contemplative life, 3 active congregations as well as the friars from the Eastern and Western Provinces. I enjoyed explaining how the nuns' prayers are the foundation of their preaching activities! With about 70 communities and dioceses representated it is a great opportunity to see the variety of ways that one can be called to serve the Church.
My brief visit to Franciscan was very encouraging. I had many good conversations throughout the day with young women (and a few young men) who are very honest and sincere in their search for God's will for their lives, including an 8-year old who wants to be a nun when she grows up! And even if some of them aren't sure if God is calling them to religious life they were very interested to hear about the monastic life. But one of the highlights for me had to be attending Mass on campus - how can you not be joyful when seeing a chapel filled with young Catholics!
Before getting back on the road we made a quick stop at the Portiuncula to visit the Blessed Sacrament to give thanks to the Lord for the blessings of the day, and to pray for all those we met. It was a great blessing for me to attend and I left encouraged in my own vocation and filled with hope for the future of religious life in the Church.


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It's finally here. Limeades for Learning. Sonic's new grant making initiative to put more than half a million dollars in public school classrooms across the country. Starting today, when you visit a Sonic, your drink will be delivered with a sticker that has a unique code (yep, there's more than 80 million codes out there in Sonicland). You can use the code to find & vote for a public school teacher's learning project.
I've voted for projects at my neighborhood school and at the school Sonic has partnered with for more than 15 years. Any friends who are public school teachers? Let me know your project name and I'll cast a vote or two for you, too.
Professionally, this initiative has been incredibly rewarding. I've co-led the day to day management of Limeades for Learning with a colleague from Sonic's marketing department. And, what a great job the marketing team has done ... Check out the Limeades for Learning spot now running on a cable network on your TV:
This work is really different from our two people in a car campaign. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this campaign. Our agency partner, Barkley, has done a great job supporting this initiative and I think they are enjoying the work as well.
On Monday, we kicked off the campaign by surprising teachers at six schools in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Dallas/Fort Worth. At all-school assemblies and classroom visits coordinated with the school principals, Sonic fully funded teachers project requests. It was really, really fun and media covered the events as well. Here's Cliff Hudson, Sonic's CEO on KWTV-News9 in Oklahoma City talking about Limeades for Learning:
Our partner, DonorsChoose.org has supported public school teachers for years now, by giving regular folks like you & me the opportunity to be citizen philanthropists and for a few hundred dollars, make a real difference in a classroom.
So, it's simple. Go to Sonic & buy any drink, sized small-Route 44. Peel the sticker off the cup. Go to LimeadesforLearning.com and find a project & vote. Repeat. All month long. You sip. Kids learn.


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Our family is deeply grateful for Dr. Lubecki's guidance and encouragement. His help was invaluable in our mother's recovery of endometrial cancer. In May of 2009, she was first diagnosed with endometrial cancer. We initiated, to some extent, Bill Henderson's ("Cancer Free") protocol- juicing, detoxing with sauna, coffee enema, and infrared amethyst mat. On July 6, 2009 a total abdominal hysterectomy was performed. The surgeon reported cancer had spread and that it was Stage IV. Over the next two months, she developed ascites which became severe and required an ER visit. The ER doctor prescribed morphine. The prognosis was approximately three months to prepare final affairs.
The news was devastating, outlook bleak, and mom began using a wheelchair. She had difficulty eating, breathing, and having any bowel movement. We attempted to more stringently follow the previous protocols and research other alternatives. On October 28, 2009 mom's highest cancer tumor marker test (CA-125) was at 239; the normal range being less than 35. Due to the increasing discomfort, she relented to palliative chemotherapy in exchange for paracentesis (draining her two gallons of fluid, with still much fluid remaining). The doctors warned that any relief was only temporary.
As mom's health deteriorated, it was at this point we contacted Dr. Lubecki per Bill Henderson's newsletter. The day of the paracentesis, November 3, 2009, Dr. Lubecki and our family began implementing his protocol (laser, imprinter, homeopathic detox boxes, etc). She also continued with previous protocols of dit, detox, and spiritual healing.
During the next two months of stringently following Dr. Lubecki's instructions, mom started showing signs of increased appetite, energy, bowel movement, and loss of remaining abdominal fluids.
Her strength increased so much so, she no longer required a wheelchair. She also refused any further chemotherapy. On February 4, 2010 her tumor marker had decreased to an incredible 35.9. Mom has made such a remarkable recovery she is now able to maintain the quality of life she previously enjoyed.
Again, we would like to convey our sincere appreciation to Dr. Lubecki for his responsiveness and patience to our many requests and never ending inquiries.
Family of Kuniko Oshiro
Aiea, Hawaii


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Well more accurately, may the luckiest foot win - depending on which of the these two products does the better job of protecting my feet from blisters. As part of my upcoming trip to Mt. Whitney in a few weeks, I'll be doing a side-by-side test of Hydropel (right foot) and BodyGlide Liquified Powder (left foot) to see once and for all if Hydropel deserves the hype and cult following status.
I'd like to personally thank Hydropel and BodyGlide for being the unofficial sponsors of my feet. Naturally, being the gram weenie that I am, I have repackaged both products into tiny 3ml dropper bottles and will be taking 9g of each with me on my trip. I'm excited to see how the two products compare.
Disclosure: The author owns these products and paid for them using their own funds.
About Brian
Brian is a Charlotte based backpacker, gear junkie, runner, and CrossFit(er). Originally from Southampton, England, Brian has lived in the US for over 20 years, finally settling in North Carolina. He spends as much time backpacking as his busy work schedule and family life will allow.


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Alien: Covenant (2017)
- 123 min
- Sci-Fi
- May 9th, 2017
Latest 'Alien Covenant' News
Ridley Scott Is Writing & Directing a Third Alien Prequel According to New Report
A new report claims that Disney is moving ahead with a sequel to Alien: Covenant that will be directed by Ridley Scott.
Is Ridley Scott Still Working on Alien: Covenant Sequel for Disney?
Following the merger between 20th Century Fox and Disney, director Ridley Scott may still be working on Alien: Awakening.
Katherine Waterston Wants to Do Alien: Awakening, But Disney Probably Doesn't
Even though Fox currently has no plans for a new Alien movie, Katherine Waterston would be happy to make the follow-up to Alien: Covenant.
Alien: Awakening Details Emerge for Ridley Scott's Shelved Covenant Sequel
New details for Ridley Scott's planned finale to the Prometheus trilogy, Alien: Awakening, promise the return of the Engineers and a familiar franchise location.
Unused Prometheus 2 Ideas Revealed in Alien Covenant Concept Art
Unearthed Alien: Covenant art teases a very different sequel back when Ridley Scott was still making Prometheus 2.
Alien: Covenant Sequel Is Dead at Fox, Will Disney Reboot the Franchise?
Despite Ridley Scott's insistence, a new report claims that Fox has canceled the planned Alien: Covenant sequel.
Ridley Scott Insists He's Still Making an Alien: Covenant Sequel
Despite the lackluster box office of the latest entry in the franchise, Ridley Scott insists a sequel to Alien: Covenant is still happening.
Next Alien Movie Is More About Androids Than Xenomorphs
Director Ridley Scott reveals that the Alien: Covenant sequel will focus more on androids and less on Xenomorphs.
Will Blade Runner 2049 Be a Bigger Bomb Than Alien: Covenant?
Do today's audiences care about the legacy of Blade Runner, or will the movie prove to be producer Ridley Scott's second misfire in a year?
Alien: Covenant Honest Trailer Goes Savage on Ridley Scott Bomb
Alien Covenant gets lumped into the bad Alien movies category as the Honest Trailer team tears into Ridley Scott's disappointing sequel.
Alien: Covenant Deleted Scene Explores Engineer Graveyard
David leads the Alien: Covenant crew through the creepy Engineer graveyard in a cut scene from Ridley Scott's sequel.
Alien: Covenant 2 in Trouble as Fox Rethinks Franchise
Poor critical and box office reception for Alien: Convenant has Fox calling the whole franchise into question.
Alien: Covenant Blu-ray Has Over 20 Minutes of Deleted Scenes
Fans will get to explore over 100 minutes of bonus features on the Alien: Covenant Blu-ray, including 20 minutes of deleted scenes alone.
Engineers Will Return in Next Alien Movie If It Even Happens
Director Ridley Scott has revealed some intriguing story details for a possible sequel to Alien: Covenant.
Neomorph Vs. Xenomorph Fight Almost Happened in Alien: Covenant
Ridley Scott reportedly decided to axe a crucial Alien: Covenant scene that pitted the Neomorphs against the classic Xenomorph monsters.
Alien: Covenant Prequel Book Shows a Different Side of the Story
The story behind the upcoming Alien: Covenant tie-in book gives audiences a better understanding of the events that took place before the movie.
Alien: Covenant Concept Art & Sequel Ideas Hint at Shaw's Fate
Screenwriter Damon Lindelof has an idea where Ridley Scott may be taking the next Alien movie, if it still happens.
Every 2017 Horror Movie Coming Before Halloween
Horror fans are going to be bombarded with a ton of scary movies in the lead up to this year's Halloween festivities.
Why Ridley Scott Needs to Stop Making Alien Movies
Is it time to hand Alien over to someone else after Covenant failed to reignite the franchise in the way fans were hoping?
Alien: Covenant Barely Gets Box Office Win Over Guardians of the Galaxy 2
20th Century Fox's Alien: Covenant barely unseats two-time winner Guardians of the Galaxy 2, winning with $36 million.
- Release Date
- May 9th, 2017
- Director
- Writers
- Dan O'Bannon
- Ronald Shusett
- Jack Paglen
- Michael Green
- John Logan
- D.W. Harper
- Cast


text:
September 1, 2015
Amanda Majeski talks with CS Modern Luxury magazine about stepping up to the plate and which opera character she'd like to chat with over coffee.
It seems lyric soprano Amanda Majeski was just meant to sing Countess Almaviva in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. In 2010, the Gurnee native took to the Lyric Opera of Chicago stage on short notice, when bronchitis sidelined the scheduled star. And last season, she did the same at the Metropolitan Opera when the slated Russian diva dropped out of Richard Eyre's new production. But she did more than step up to the plate; she made the role her own. Although fate may have jump-started Majeski's career, pure talent propels it.


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'No LTE.'
'Such a sharp screen makes small text easily readable in the browser.'
'low price'
'Similar to the Moto X, the phone sports a curved back for a comfy grip, along with sturdy Corning Gorilla glass and a splashproof body. '
'high peak brightness'
'It's a decent, slim and lightweight phone. '
'the One mini doesn't feel sluggish, which is the important point.'
'Amazing build quality and design.'
'At just over £80, locked to Virgin Mobile, the ZTE Blade V is clearly pitched towards the very budget conscious, ideal for those that want a cheap smartphone to take to school.'
'Neat-looking metallic rear. '
'For today's standard, the Blade V's screen is pretty small at 4in. '
All the right ingredients
'decent overall spec'
'The HTC Desire is one of the best looking smartphones available right now.'
'It looks and feels like a great little phone, but it's impossible to view it in isolation and on the current market there are choices which present better value for money at (and in fact below) this price point. '
'The Desire 500 tackles the essentials well, doesn't cost the Earth and has a more interesting design than most budget smart phones. '
'Nice aluminum design.'
'Fingerprint scanner's location makes it difficult not to swipe the camera lens.'
'excellent display and stellar battery life'
'As with the regular HTC One, image quality is incredibly sharp, while brightness, colour and contrast are all excellent.'
Large, pretty screen, Snappy performance
Powerful processor, and a brilliant screen
Huge long-lasting 3200mAh battery
Powerful performance, good low-light camera, brilliant screen
Swift processor, fat battery offset by cheap plastic
Advanced controls and preset modes are easy to use
Good value-for-money for a convergence device
10x zoom lens and dedicated camera controls
Good battery life, Decent web browsing
Svelte metallic design, Pentaband radio
Thinnest smartphone in the world
Stylish, powerful enough for most uses
The Ascend P6's physical design is impressive but it has too many other issues to recommend
'The HTC Desire 601 is a phone that gets close to the sort of specs you'd get in a top-end One-series phone, but at a slightly lower price.'
'The viewing angles of this IPS LCD screen are also quite decent.'
'capable dual-core processor'
Want BoomSound and Zoes but without the expense?
ReviewGist helps you find the best products to buy by making sense of online reviews. We are currently aggregating 376,500 reviews covering over 29,474 products.


text:
Kia ora my name is Toby and I like to draw, and play lego. I am 8 years old also i'm year 4 at pt england school. I enjoy school very much it is very fun of learning other things. I like to travel with my family.
I enjoy festival 1 that is where christian bands play. My favourite band is lat-aties-masaidies. I have 4 brothers and my favourite sport is volleyball.


text:
Sunday, 15 December 2013 02:25 PM
Though the odds still point to no major policy change when U.S. central bankers meet Tuesday and Wednesday, most of the recent domestic economic data suggest the beginning of the end of their massive bond-buying program is coming sooner rather than later.
If it acts it may reflect as much a growth in confidence in the global economy, for whom the withdrawal of the flow of cheap dollars will be a shock, as in the recovery in the United States alone.
Growth in jobs, retail sales, services and overall output in the world's biggest economy — combined with last week's breakthrough budget deal in Washington — has convinced some economists that the Fed will announce a reduction to its $85-billion a month in purchases on Wednesday.
While that could amount to a vote of confidence in the halting recovery from the Great Recession, the risk is that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's message sets off a market selloff that undermines growth worldwide.
The question is whether more U.S. fiscal stability and some good signs out of Europe and Asia will convince key Fed policymakers that the U.S. economy can handle less monetary support, and that investors won't overreact.
"Tapering now would tell us that the Federal Reserve believes the U.S expansion is durable and that the global economy, at a minimum, is less fragile," said David Kelly, chief global market strategist at JPMorgan Funds.
The U.S. central bank will issue its policy decision at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Washington, just a week before the Christmas holiday. It is Bernanke's last press conference as Fed chairman, and he is expected to stress that interest rates will remain low for a long while irrespective of when the quantitative easing program, or QE, is shelved.
About half of the 60 economists polled by Reuters last week expected the Fed to wait until March before it trims the asset purchases, which are meant to spur investment and hiring. Twelve saw the so-called QE tapering this week, up from three when the poll was done a month ago.
While U.S. unemployment dropped to a five-year low of 7 percent last month, U.S. GDP growth is expected to stall this quarter as businesses cut inventories, complicating the central bank's decision.
"Timing the reduction in stimulus, while at the same time convincing the economy it's a good thing to do, is going to be challenging," said Jerry Webman, chief economist at investment manager OppenheimerFunds.
Relatively less drama surrounds a decision later this week by the Bank of Japan, expected to keep in place its aggressive policy easing, and a European Union meeting where a long-awaited deal on a banking union could be struck.
In the world's third-biggest economy, the Japanese tankan survey is expected on Monday to show business confidence improved on the back of robust fiscal and household spending. The BOJ, whose monetary stimulus eclipses even that of the Fed, meets Dec. 19-20.
In Britain, where the Bank of England has said it will not consider a rate-rise until unemployment falls to 7 percent, a report is expected on Wednesday to show the jobless rate was unchanged at 7.6 percent in the three months to October.
At the same time, minutes of this month's BoE meeting are expected to show policymakers stressing their message that rates won't rise automatically once the threshold level is hit.
In general the European recovery looks less solid than that in the United States.
Central banks in Hungary, Sweden and the Czech Republic are under pressure to ease policy further this week. Turkey's central bank could tighten policy, but that will be out of concern over the impact of a withdrawal of U.S. stimulus on its lira currency, inflation and current account shortfall.
Purchasing managers indexes for the eurozone, Germany and France should give a snapshot next week of the health of Europe's manufacturing sector.
EU leaders will try on Thursday to reach final agreement on agency for closing down failing banks in the eurozone, a crucial part of efforts to create a single banking framework for the currency bloc that would dampen any future crises.
© 2019 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
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Ji Seong-ho left his homeland in 2006. He says he crossed thousands of miles on crutches after enduring years of hunger, grievous injuries from falling on train tracks, and torture at the hands of North Korean police.*
"I understand you still keep those crutches as a reminder of how far you have come," Trump said during his State of the Union speech. (Ji Seong-ho was there)
To some extent, we can be defined by the things we keep and those we don't.
We keep photos (either by posting them on social media or saved on our phones or in hard copy) of cherished people and moments we want to remember.
We keep talismans of love – dried flowers, love letters (or texts), a baby blanket made by a grandparent, etc.
We keep reminders of our victories – a diploma, a sobriety chip, a clean bill of health, the first dollar made in a new business, etc.
Unfortunately, we sometimes hold onto things that would be better let go – anger, a grudge, worry or fear, hurt, portions of our old selves prior to conversion, false teachings we just want to be true, things (ideas, teachings, items) that make us feel secure although it is false security.
The things we keep are usually passed along to the next generation for them to cherish, share, deal with or dispose of. Therefore, we have to give some thought to what we keep and what we throw away, for our own sakes as well as for the next generation.
Recently, I was listening to a book on Audible called "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter." (By Margareta Magnusson, published by Simon & Schuster) Sounds a bit morbid, I know, but it is really about giving some thought to decluttering your home so you won't leave a mess to for your heirs to deal with. I think this is good advice from both a physical point of view and from a spiritual one.
Sometimes it is difficult to let physical things go – like that skirt I am sure I will be able to get back into and the last wallet my mom carried before she died (her driver's license is in there).
More importantly, it can be difficult to let some things go, when we really should – like the pain of a terrible tragedy, like the voice of unworthiness someone placed in your head, like life-long prejudices, like offense, like habits of sin.
But the life of a Christian is about is very much about what we should hold onto and what we should let go.
Because we pass along the things we keep, we should:
- Let go of anger as quickly as possible and replace it with love and peace. [Eph. 4:26; Psalm 34:14; 1 Peter 3:11; John 15:12, 17; Romans 12: 10]
- Let go of hurt by way of forgiveness. [Matt. 6:14-15; Luke 17:4]
- Let go of worry by way of trust in the Lord. [Psalm 125:1; Prov. 3:5; Isa. 26:4]
- Let go of pride by embracing humility. [James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:6]
- Let go of revenge and leave it to God. [Romans 12:19]
Because we pass along the things we keep, we should:
- Keep hope alive even in the darkest times and pass the message of hope onto the next generation.
- Keep love in our hearts for God and man, and pass it along to everyone we meet at every opportunity. [1 Peter 4:8; Mark 12:30-31]
- Keep/hold onto our early passion for God – our first love. [Romans 12:11]
- Keep peace, pursue it. Keep the peace to the best of our ability. Sow in peace, reap a harvest of peace and then replant it so that the seeds of peace never run out. [Romans 12:18]
Ji Seong-ho currently lives in South Korea, where he works to raise awareness about the situation in North Korea and to help fellow defectors. He may choose to keep those crutches to remind himself of the triumph of escaping the horror and pain of his life in North Korea. His heirs, if he has any, will likely not keep them after he is gone. But hopefully they will keep the legacy and lessons of Ji Seong-ho's post escape life spent helping others.
This is Ji Seong-ho's more important legacy – a life turned from ashes to hope, one of unbelievable grit and triumph against evil turned to help for others, blessings used to lift up others, hope shared.
Some things are meant to endure from generation to generation – to be held onto tightly and passed along. 1 Corinthians 13:13 [NKJV] And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these [is] love. Maybe if our hands, hearts and lives are full of these things, we would not have room for anything else. Truly, if our hands, hearts and lives are full of faith, hope and love, these qualities are themselves the reminders of how far we have come. These are the things to keep and pass along.
Each day, we choose what to hold onto and what to let go. We would do well, sweet sisters, to be very careful in the choices we make.
I'd love to hear your comments and questions. You can write me at email@example.com.
*You can learn more about Ji Seong-ho at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji_Seong-ho


text:
Police Dispatch Equipment
Police Dispatch Equipment Featured Products
AQUA Evolution - Automates the Entire Emergency Dispatch Case Review Process
From Priority Dispatch Corp.
Priority Dispatch Certification, Software & Specialty Courses
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Police Dispatch Equipment Featured Article
4 ways ProQA increases law enforcement agencies' efficiency in police call taking
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Police Dispatch Equipment Product Originals
When disaster hits: Improving communications interoperability (eBook)
Communication problems, especially reliability and interoperability, are widespread and complicate preparedness, training and response
Should dispatchers be officially classified as first responders?
911 call takers and dispatchers are not considered first responders according to the Office of Management and Budget
Who is that voice on the other side of the radio?
Though those voices on the other side of the radio are nearly ubiquitous, many officers don't know a lot about their dispatchers


text:
Friday, October 13, 2017
Article By: Morgan Bancroft-Howard
No words were necessary for M. (Matthew) Ward as he stepped onto the Fox Theatre stage in Boulder, the night of Friday the 13th. Picking up his sleek, black Cordoba "Solista CE" electric classical guitar, he rolled right into a jam session of his own mind. The crowd was silent and tension was building, as people bounced on the balls of their feet, prepared to move but unable to, as Ward had everyone utterly transfixed. He continued to pull at the strings of his guitar with his eyes closed, moving about the stage with his own music. The tempo sped up, and got more complicated as the crowd got more and more excited. A few people whooped and hollered, praising him and breaking the spell in the process. His fingers moved faster, sliding up and down the frets with intensity. If you shut your eyes, you would feel calm, and be lulled into a world where the only thing that exists is the music.
This is how M. Ward entered the stage; with a presence that exudes confidence and skill. Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Ward was immersed in the music scene and easily became inspired by old folk and blues recordings. As a kid, he taught himself the guitar, working through different Beatles songs and eventually recording his own music on a four-track analog tape recorder. In the late 90's he was signed by Co-Dependent Records and began producing and recording albums of his own, culminating in a series of single albums through 2009, one of the more popular being Transfiguration of Vincent. This tour commemorates his latest solo release, More Rain.
Over the years, M. Ward has come to collaborate with many different groups and artists, some of the more well-known being actress Zooey Deschanel of the band, She and Him, as well as Rock-folk group, Monsters of Folk. Ward continues to record music for both of these groups, in addition to his own personal projects. Ward begins each new composition by recording it on the same demo recorder he's had since he was a teenager.
After Ward's transformative entrance on stage he rolled into a much mellower number, "Rave On," that calmed the crowd. Everyone falls into a place of comfort as they watch him sing. Slowly, from backstage, the rest of his band came out to join him, and the song picked up pace as the crowd began to sing along. And just like that everyone was hooked. The lights flashed in warm tones of yellow, orange, and red and there is happiness. One cannot help but grin at the collectiveness he has brought to the room.
From then on, the mood of the show was up-beat. The songs were quick, and the crowd was dancing, and really feeling the rhythm. It becomes so easy to shut your eyes and feel the music. Ward, after the first few songs, switched from the Cordoba to a Black Les Paul guitar, and the tempo picked up again.
Often times the attitude of the performer will make or break the show. What made Ward so successful, so engaging, was his obvious love for the music. During nearly every song his eyes where closed as he was feeling what he was playing, concentrating and in his brown leather cow boy boots, moving with his own rhythm that one couldn't help but copy in their own dancing. Ward took turns playing to the audience but also to his band, switching sides and collaborating with each musician. He would play to his guitarist, bassist, and drummer, all one at a time and making a connection with them before reengaging with the audience. And all the while he was smiling, whether his eyes where opened or closed--because he was happy, he was in love with his music and that was seamlessly conveyed to the audience.
Nearing the end of his set, he moves into a song called "Slow Drive," a new song that he had never played in from of a live audience. As "Slow Drive," began, the tone of the theater once again mellowed. Everyone got quiet, and swayed with their friends or their partners, unable to stand completely still. Here, Ward chose the perfect moment to bring the crowd back to reality before once again speeding the tempo up with a few of his major hits such as "4 Hours" and "Primitive Girl."
The show ended abruptly, with one of Ward's many intense and dream like guitar solos. All of a sudden, he was gone, with the band following suit. A large part of the crowd expected an encore, but an encore never came—and isn't all that surprising. If Ward didn't need to enter with any words in order to command his audience, he really didn't need to leave with any in order to satisfy the same audience. In fact, he barely said more than a few sentences throughout the entire show. It was solely about the music. Nearly every song had some sort of tangent made up by Ward in the moment, like an intense riff on the guitar that took the listener away. He accomplished the difficult task of relating to an audience; captivating them with a story, without the use of any words. To master that, is to accomplish a feat not many can stake claim to, and for that he is an artist to be revered.
Hopefully M. Ward can come back to Boulder in the near future, as he is one of those hidden gems we are hard pressed to find very often.


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|CFP closed at
|May 02, 2019 03:05 UTC
A house divided against itself cannot stand.
DevOpsDays DC is the conference where the community gathers to discuss building and operating high-velocity organizations.
- Whether you are in government, academia, or the private sector, DevOpsDays is for you.
- Whether you are in operations, development, QA, security, or any other department, DevOpsDays is for you.
- Whether you want to learn about DevOps, share your experiences, or just talk shop with DevOps practitioners, DevOpsDays is for you.
Join the community Monday, July 8, 2019 & Tuesday, July 9, 2019 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C..
CFP Description
You have a great story and we want to hear from you!
Want other ideas for topics or feedback on your ideas? We're here to help! email@example.com with CFP in the subject.
All proposals are due by May 1, 2019 at 11:59PM EDT. Speaker selection notifications will go out no later than May 15, 2019 at 11:59PM EDT.
Submit as many proposals as you like. Panels or multi-presenter proposals are fine. Speakers will receive free admission to the conference and an opportunity to address 500+ people interested in DevOps in our nation's capital.
Our criteria for selection include…
- We embrace diversity and encourage proposals from people in underrepresented parts of our community.
- LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!: we prefer speakers who work within 100 miles of Washington, D.C..
- Original content: content not yet presented at other conferences, or a new angle to an existing problem
- New presenters: people who are new to the space and have insightful stuff to say; we want to hear everybody's voice
- No vendor pitches: we value vendors and sponsors, but this is not the right forum
Talk Types
We are accepting talks in both the ignite format, and a more traditional 30 minute format. For those of you not familiar with the ignite format and would like to see a sample of some of the best, - here are some to view. Here's a Youtube search for previous DevOpsDays ignite talks.
Competition will be fierce especially for the 30 minute slots; the organizer committee will vote on which presentations are selected. We understand if the talk isn't written yet, but we want enough details to understand what your time will be filled with and what people will learn from it.
One of the main building blocks of DevOps is Culture. We highly value diversity and embrace it. We believe that DevOpsDays should shine a spotlight on it. If you're an underrepresented minority we'd love to hear from you!
Remember DevOpsDays is for DevOps practitioners looking to take whatever they're doing to the next level. Be specific. "Metrics are good yay" isn't enough of a takeaway, so for example if you pitch "Metrics and DevOps" we'd like to hear more about what your content will be - what metrics exactly, what actionable things people will take away, etc. Culture talks are good, but similarly, we're looking for more actionable details than "DevOps is about culture. Hug more." If you don't have a lot of specifics, we would suggest going for an ignite talk instead of a full talk.
Demos are welcome but, of course, there's always that slim chance that wireless will give you trouble or other technical issues may come into play - just prep well and have a backup plan.
You can run your own laptop for full talk slots - again, have a backup plan (dropbox, thumb drive, save in multiple formats - be paranoid). You'll be asked to provide lightning talks in PDF format and your keynote slides in any format by the weekend before the conference. Ignite talks will all be run by the lightning talk wrangler from their system on auto-advance.


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Remodel: the counter
So this morning we went to MSI located in Hayward California. Wow it had every possible stone could imagine. We brought along our samples for the doors to new cabinets and our intentions were to purchase a light gray stone counter. We need more greeted by a woman who was interesting character, extremely friendly and great personality. Let's just say P. was awestruck with with this woman.
It began her husband large warehouse walking up and down probably about 20 different aisles looking at various stones from quartz to soap stone to granites but we walked fast through the marble section. I'm just not a marble fan. Our intentions was to purchase a stone that was gray in color, preferably not too dark preferably not too light. For some reason we kept coming across green stones that really cried out to us. But we knew that having a color stone would not be a good idea for resale.
After looking at hundreds of different stones, our contact started to help us weed through everything that we have just seen. She showed us several different kinds of stones and we decided we wanted a brushed or matte surface. For some reason I'm not a big fan of polished shiny surfaces. She finally showed us three different stones that all had one thing in common. They were all had a green tint to them. The first one was a pretty dark green color, the second was mild in green color. The third stone was more off-white color with green undertones and red veining. We really liked the second stone but they only had one slot left. The main location located in Los Angeles only had that zero left. Which meant that we had to wait at least 2 to 3 weeks for the new stones to arrive. Would've been great about this stone is that it was originally from alarm which I'm sure with a pissed off a few family members on my side of the family.
Before we left this morning, I asked clem to take a look at a photo I found online. The kitchen in the photo had dark cabinets but the light cream colored stone counter. So it was interesting that she showed us was a cream color stone green tones and red veining in it. Which would complement not only the cabinets but also the floors. After looking at seven different slabs we ended up choosing three of the slabs, of which we will only use two. Previously I had gone to several stone place is located in Santa Clara at the recommendation of our contractor. What I found was all those stones found in those locations were pretty much was found this one large location at MSI. So for all you future remodelers of kitchens, check out MSI in Hayward first. The staff is friendly, the selection is amazing and well well it's not a place for kids, the staff love kids.
So now the plan is to go back and pick out floor tile. Right now we are leaning towards metro stone because we haven't found a porcelain tile that actually meets our expectations. Check back for that blog entry and check back for the cabinet entry coming up later this week.


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Coordinates: 40°44?56.55?N 73°50?47.57?W / 40.7490417°N 73.8465472°W
The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a stadium complex within Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. It has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in August and September, since 1978 and is operated by the United States Tennis Association (USTA).[1] The facility has 22 courts inside its 46.5 acres (0.188 km2; 0.0727 sq mi)[2] and 11 in the adjoining park. The complex's three stadiums are among the largest tennis stadiums in the world; Arthur Ashe Stadium tops the global list with a listed capacity of 23,200.[3] All 33 courts have used the DecoTurf cushioned acrylic surface since the facility was built in 1978.
Near Citi Field (home of the New York Mets) as well as LaGuardia Airport, the tennis center is open to the public for play except during the US Open, junior and wood-racquet competitions.[4]
Formerly called the USTA National Tennis Center, the facility was rededicated for Billie Jean King on August 28, 2006.[4]
|Attractions and Geographical Features of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
Attractions and geographical features of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park:
Citi Field
Flushing Meadows Carousel
Flushing Meadows Natatorium
Flushing River and Creek
Meadow Lake
Mets-Willets Point (LIRR and subway stations)
National Tennis Center
New York Hall of Science
New York State Pavilion, Queens Theatre and Queens Zoo
Queens Botanical Garden
Queens Museum
Willow Lake
World's Fair station (demolished)
The idea of the tennis center came about in January 1977, when William Hester, the then-incoming president of the USTA, saw the underused Singer Bowl on a flight into nearby LaGuardia Airport. He asked the City of New York to let him use the stadium and adjoining land for a tennis facility to host the U.S. Open. The stadium was heavily renovated and divided into two venues: Louis Armstrong Stadium and the adjoining grandstand. The National Tennis Center opened in August 1978.[1][5]
After rumors of a possible move to San Diego, a major upgrade and expansion began in March 1995. More land was committed to the USTA National Tennis Center, and in August 1997 the newly built Arthur Ashe Stadium replaced Louis Armstrong Stadium as the main court. The four-year expansion was completed in 1999. Arthur Ashe Stadium holds more than 22,000 spectators while Louis Armstrong Stadium was downsized to hold just 10,000 spectators (the original size was 18,000).[1] In 2006, at the location of the old indoor tennis building near the East Gate, work began on a 245,000-square-foot, multi-purpose tennis pavilion.[1] The new facility was completed in 2008[2] and includes 12 courts, classrooms, fitness facilities, and a pro shop.[1] It also includes a hospitality center, museum, and food commissary.[1] Other renovations included the players' lounge, locker rooms, and medical, training and office space.[1]
In 2011, the facility opened a new show court, Court 17, located in the southeast corner of the grounds, seating 2,500 to 3,000, making it small in comparison to the facility's other show courts. Next in size after those courts -- Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the Grandstand (the latter with a capacity of 8,125) -- the court has large television screens and Hawk-Eye electronic line-calling capability which allows for player challenges. In constructing the new court, foundations from the 1939 and 1964 World's Fair were discovered, and the water table was found to be several feet higher than expected.[2] Because the playing surface of Court 17 is below ground level, the new court has received the nickname of "The Pit".
The center is in the middle of a $550 million renovation that has included the erection of a retractable roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium, which was completed for the 2017 US Open. A new show court was opened in 2016 in the southwest corner of the complex. It has 8,125 seats, making it the third largest court in the center, and replaces the old Grandstand. A new, 14,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium (also with a retractable roof) has been constructed on the site of the original stadium, and was completed in time for the 2018 US Open.[6]
|Arthur Ashe Stadium
|Louis Armstrong Stadium
In July 2008, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and Arthur Ashe Stadium hosted its first ever non-tennis event, when the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) played in the "Liberty Outdoor Classic: 2008". The game itself was a historic event as it was the first ever professional basketball regular season game ever played outdoors in the USA, by either men or women. The contest featured the Indiana Fever defeating the New York Liberty.[7]
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is the site of the annual New York State High School tennis championships, held in May. This tournament is sponsored by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA).
|Preceded by
West Side Tennis Club
| Home of the
U.S. Open
|Succeeded by
current venue


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May 3rd , peg 79 covey 4
After fishing on Spey canal a couple of days earlier i fancied another try at the open on the prolific F1 venue partridge lakes although the weather had taken a dramatic turn for the worse with heavy overnight rain and strong winds replacing the blue skies we had all week luckily the rain was forecast to ease off towards dinner time so i figured that the fishing might be a bit tough especially with 91 anglers due to contest the match , a few of my mates had decided to fish it today as well so when i arrived at the complex i knew quite a lot of people there and as the rain had been literally bouncing it down all morning majority of them was hiding under the shelter waiting for the draw .
As there was a lot of anglers here today Covey 1-5 plus Spey canal was in the draw bag and after Fridays successful day i fancied drawing latter but my drawing arm let me down with peg 79 covey 4 sticking to my hand not the best of draws and even getting the section will be difficult competing against flyer peg 83 but i was going to try my best anyway and fancied a bit of pellet fishing , my home for the day looked the same as most on Partridge lakes coveys with it being 13m to the mudline a reed lined far-bank but unlike the other pegs in my section i had little in the way of margin cover .
I set up three rigs today to cover my options ;
4ft deep on both slopes
3ft deep on both slopes
2ft deep in front of spare platform
As i mentioned earlier i fancied a bit or pellet fishing so that was the main bait on my side tray plus a few maggots ;
2 pint red maggots
1 pint soaked micros
1 pint soaked 4mm pellets
Small tub 4mm expanders
When the all in sounded in the distance i decided to start on my 4ft rig along the far shelf i decided to start at this depth because of the cold overnight rain which i figured would have hopefully pushed the fish further down the slope into the warmer water and i could also leave the usually more productive 3ft line for when the temperature increased later in the match , i shipped out to the mark on my 11 meter section where i had earlier plumbed up to find a relatively flat spot towards the reeds and i then tapped in a few micros before slowly lowering my expander hook bait among it . It took a couple of feeds before i had my first sign and F1 number one hit the net at nearly 2lb i hoped that they would all be this size , by working my rig and changing between feeding balls of micros — half a dozen 4mm pellets i managed to keep the fish coming for the first hour but all of a sudden they were gone and i hadn't got a clue why .
I set up a new swim a meter to my right towards the empty peg but this only produced a solitary F1 and no further indications in a twenty-minute spell , another line at the same depth to my left also failed to produce anything but gudgeon ! ! ! a few people in my section had caught well in the margin but because i didn't have any cover i decided to feed a pot of maggots in front of the spare platform every twenty minutes since the match started , i expected the F1s to have settled there by now so you can imagine my surprise when absolutely nothing happened i didn't want to waste too long because you would get at least a liner if any fish had been present but i continued to feed it to try later in the match .
With no more bites coming from my 4ft rig i thought that they must have moved further up the slope so for the next couple of hours i set up various swims at 3ft along the far-bank with limited success and i just couldn't get the F1s to settle i had even tried using maggots but this only produced silvers or foul hooked fish things weren't going well , i noticed a carp swirl under the far-bank cover so with nothing to lose i decided to cut down my unproductive 3ft rig but as the wind had got increasingly stronger i choose to use a longer lash between pole and float with a couple of back shots to aid in hitting bites plus i could keep my pole away from where i was fishing . I continued using pellets as this was the only bait which had so far produced any fish i started by taking it a bit easier with the feed until i knew what was going on under the water .
I tapped in a few 4mm pellets then lowered my rig in among it and it just kept on going at long last i had another F1 in the net , putting double 4mm expander on the hook and by careful feeding i managed to keep the fish coming with F1s plus the odd big carp if anything the peg was getting stronger and stronger , i couldn't get in quick enough but with time running out and being behind in the section i was taking liberties when playing the fish losing the odd one in the process . The all out came way too soon for my liking and i was kicking myself for not finding them a lot sooner because i felt that the peg was good enough for a framing weight with 70lb getting sixth my 35 F1s+carp went 56lb which was only good enough for third in the section but on the plus side the last ninety minutes was the best i had ever fished on here using pellet , i am looking forward to next Saturday when i will be contesting the Fisho qualifier at the Oaks fishery another venue that i haven't been too before but with the limited information a few of the lakes could be right up my street .


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Welcome to Sporthotel Zoll**** in Sterzing!
Sporthotel Zoll green & active is a family-run house in Sterzing. As pre-certified KlimaHotel, we use local resources for efficient and ecological energy generation. By realising our "Sporthotel green & active" concept, we have for instance built new sports facilities and amplified our activity and fitness offer over the past years.
For our guests, we offer comfortable rooms in various sizes as well as newly designed apartments with kitchen, balcony, two bathrooms and two bedrooms that are ideal for families. Our small guests will also look forward to a playground and playroom in the hotel.
The culinary offer is oriented towards the traditional South Tyrolean cuisine, yet it includes vital dishes and light Italian delicacies. As well, we use regional and biological products according to the season as well as vegetables and herbs from our garden. Every morning, we spoil you with a rich breakfast buffet.
For your active holidays at Sporthotel Zoll, we offer an indoor climbing wall with boulder area, a fitness room with modern equipment and professional assistance, tennis, beach volleyball and minigolf in the outdoor area as well as a weekly sports and entertainment programme. The wellness area with indoor and outdoor pool, various saunas, whirlpool and relaxation rea is perfect for relaxing. On request and against payment, it is possible to book rehabilitation treatments, massages and various baths.
The environs of Sporthotel Zoll in Sterzing offer countless activities for nature lovers and sports enthusiasts. In summer, you will look forward to dreamlike hikes, unforgettable tours with our mountain bikes and e-bikes as well as wonderful motorcycle rides. Other famous sports are climbing at Skytrek high-rope course in Sterzing, golf, rafting and horse riding. In winter, skiing lovers appreciate perfect slopes and a tobogganing run at Rosskopf skiing area, wonderful cross-country ski runs in Ridnaun, Pfitsch and Pflersch and much more.
We are looking forward to your visit!
Family Messner


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David Blackett
David is a Director at Blackett Maguire + Goldsmith – a leading Building Code of Australia (BCA) consultancy and building certification firm based in Sydney. David is an A1 (unrestricted) accredited building certifier in NSW, ACT and QLD, and has over 28 years' experience providing BCA compliance advice for all development types.
David's extensive knowledge of building legislation across all classifications allows him to provide a first-class consultancy service. He prides himself on helping clients create cost-effective developments, which incorporate innovative and value-engineered design options, outside of traditional prescribed building regulations.
David's diverse experience is complemented by his ability to think outside the square. He enjoys reviewing new products and systems, and he has expert knowledge of specialised building classifications. This allows him to formulate unique solutions to complex compliance issues.
David is on the Board of Directors for the NSW Association of Accredited Certifiers (AAC). He is a member of both the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors and the Planning Institute of Australia. He also sits on multiple technical advisory committees, including the Health Infrastructure Panel of Expert Consultants (NSW and ACT). David holds a Graduate Diploma in Building Surveying and an Associate Diploma in Applied Science (Health and Building).
Presentation Overview
The design and construction industry are forever changing in the pursuit of more time and cost-effective materials, systems and ideas.
The introduction and evolution of off-site manufacturing of construction models and systems over more recent years has seen many benefits, challenges and lessons leant in the wider industry.
To focus in on one specific, yet integral part of the wider industry, being building code compliance and certification, opens up a whole separate discussion on pros, cons and lessons-learnt with the use of off-site manufacturing options for the design and construction of today's buildings.
David's presentation will provide a high-level overview on the advantages, disadvantages and challenges experienced in the building code compliance and certification arena when it comes to the use of off-site manufacturing.
The presentation will attempt to identify matters and situations that project teams and clients may give due consideration to for their future off-site construction developments.
If we, as a holistic industry, can continue to identify and work through the challenges surrounding off-site manufacturing that are currently experienced in the compliance and certification sectors, then we will collectively move closer to a future where off-site manufacturing will no doubt, become a preferred design and construction solution for tomorrows projects.


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Food, Clothing and Shelter
Epicurus , Martin Seligman and many others emphasize once the basic needs of food , clothing and shelter are taken care of, money does not buy additional happiness. After my retirement, these are the areas I focussed on...
Food :
Learning to cook has been very rewarding. I've stopped eating out ( unless the cooking is extraordinary) - and the thought that world cuisine is just a googling away is a comforting thought. It has also given me great pleasure to teach / cook for friends and family.
Clothing :
It has been ages since I spent over Rs.200 on clothing. I've shifted to Bermudas as a symbol of my retirement two years ago, and have worn formal trousers only on a handful of occasions ( and hated everytime I did it). You get great denim shorts / casual shirts for as low as Rs.40, if you know where to look. With my garment industry exposure I know to sort the duds from the excellent ones.
I get my Tshirts, undies made at my factory and it costs me next to nothing.
56 Sq feet + a 15 Sq ft = 71 Sq ft is all I require to live, work and entertain friends. Everyday , without exception , my studio is filled with friends and I would'nt trade this tiny bit of heaven for anything else.
Shelter .... 2
I have another 70 Sq ft of mobile space as I converted a Tempo Traveller into a caravan with a kitchen, toilet, drawing room and driver's cabin. Today we faced a power shutdown and I spent the whole morning in my caravan - where I have no power cuts ! Jayaraman and Ravi loved it !


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Dr Belinda Coyte
Dr Coyte is a highly sought after doctor as one of a select few practitioners in Australia who have undertaken training in identifying and managing Tickborne diseases, mould exposure and CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome). She also consults in the areas of chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia , Integrative cancer testing and treatment, mitochondrial disease and of course standard general practice conditions.
Dr Coyte has worked in general practice since 1985 and had also worked in the Adelaide University health clinic and for Healthdirect Telehealth Medicine for emergency calls. You may also have heard her on the 5AA radio station where she had a weekly talk back program on health from 2008-2010.
Dr Coyte describes her journey to Integrative Medicine below:
My Granny, Lady Vera White, had a profound influence on my life and when I was a child we would go on outings with a young Melbourne doctor who introduced me to medicine when I was only 11 years old. Once I was in medical school my Granny said to me "it's what you do for other people that matters in life". In her own life she helped to found the Australian Red Cross and my Grandfather helped to found the Royal Flying Doctor Service with Rev John Flynn as well as the Legacy foundation.
I became interested in the area of Integrative Medicine as I witnessed people with rare conditions, or hard to diagnose conditions, finding it difficult to navigate their lives and receive the care they needed. When I studied Integrative approaches to health I found a way to investigate and manage many of these conditions which helped to provide some relief to these patients.
I attended the first International Tickborne Disease Conference in Australia and completed my training with the Karl McManus Foundation in 2013. I have attended this conference each year since then and have also trained with Dr Sandeep Gupta in the Shoemaker Protocol in 2017.
I also undertook further training in mould diseases and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) in 2017.
I live with my husband, 2 stepsons, a hand raised parrot and a dog. I have 5 adult children of my own. I studied English at university and I have written 2 books. I also established and directed a medical history museum from 1998-1999. I speak English, some Italian and I know some sign language. I am passionate about helping to educate financially disadvantaged children.
To make an appointment with an Integrative GP please first visit the Doctors Availability section.


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I often wondered, would people pay regular price to buy things in Lego Store instead of discount retailer?
The answer: Yes, they do....and lots of people have money. (including the super rich.)
A grandpa was looking into the window (the picture below) of two european building sets.
He was with two grand daughters. He was saying to the grand daughters, "Okay, this one and this one. Five hundred dollars? Okay, we'll get it." (nodding to the shopkeeper).
|Lego European building sets.
I guess rich grandparents would spend the money these day and age.
Lots of other parents are buying sets after sets for their kids as well.
The store does sell sets that you don't often find outside:
|london tower bridge lego
|Lego architecture series
|Lego Maersk trucks train
|Lego mini figures
|Lego super hero series
|Lego princess series
One day, I will try to get some architecture sets because they look very impressive.
I will write more about the Lego store trip.


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We offer a wide array of construction services including heavy equipment, truck, and small equipment rentals. We crush, screen, and haul gravel; maintain roads; install water and sewer lines; building lots; and complete tank farm upgrades and tank cleaning.
Our 2016 equipment list and rates can be found here.
Or give us a call to discuss your specific project needs.


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Grace and peace from God our Creator, hope in our Redeemer Jesus the Christ, and the promised gifts of the Holy Spirit are with you, always.
It has been a minute since I've been in this pulpit, after a busy month of traveling all over the place. And y'all have been busy while I've been gone! The quarter is seriously under way, the LEVN year presses on, and life outside of your programs carries on, too. It's a big world out there.
If you've been here the last few Wednesdays or maybe the last few Sundays, you've been trekking through the lectionary as Jesus tells confusing parable after confusing parable. There were mustard seeds, and wedding banquets, and vineyards, and talents. Just as we have been immersed in Jesus' stories about what the kingdom of heaven is like, his original hearers were putting the pieces together, forming a picture of a new and different world.
Some folks were not as sold on Jesus' new way of being in relationship with God and with one another—some religious authorities and, of course, the Roman Empire. They, too, were connecting the dots between Jesus' stories and their reality.
Remember, Jesus and company lived under occupation by the Roman Empire. Everyone was expected to revere and respect the emperor—Caesar Augustus—above anyone or anything else. The coin that Jesus is talking about depicts the Roman emperor as a deity, or as a conduit for the deity. You see, the emperor maintained a relative peace by allowing those under his occupation to worship their God, as long as they also pledged allegiance to him. You can bet that Jesus had a problem with this, because that utmost devotion is not for earthly kings, but for God our Creator, alone.
The tension between Jesus' movement and those with political power was only growing. And while this week's story is not a parable, it's not exactly straightforward. Some of the folks who were opposed to Jesus' movement tried to trap him, tried to get him to either openly pledge allegiance to the emperor or openly disparage the emperor.
They ask him, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" Jesus knows what they're after, and replies with another question, like many teachers do. "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?" He says. "Show me the coin." When they show him the money that is used to pay taxes, emblazoned with Caesar Augustus' name and title, he tells them "give to the emperor what is the emperor's and give to God what is God's." (Matthew 22)
Sometimes, when we tell this story, we do something a little anachronistic and turn it into a modern question: is it Christian to pay taxes? And that's sort of an interesting question, because our tax dollars do a lot to build up our communities—pay for our schools, roads, fire departments—and that's an important Christian value. We provide services and resources to members of our community who would otherwise go without.
But, we don't all agree about how much of our tax dollars should be allocated to which things, or about which things should be covered by our tax dollars at all. A large portion of our tax dollars goes toward building weapons of war—not so much a Christian value. But we know, as citizens and residents of the United States, that we are accountable to one another and responsible for paying taxes.
So is it Christian to pay taxes? Yes...and no. But is that what Jesus is talking about?
Not entirely. Jesus is pointing us toward a larger question: are we servants of God or are we servants of the empire? And not just in the literal political sense—though absolutely in the literal political sense—but in an even more basic sense.
This is the most fundamental building block of our faith. In the commandments given to Moses, we start at the very beginning: "I am the Lord your God...you shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:2-3).
Everything that we have comes to us from God. Yes, we live in a society with a government and with corporations and other trimmings of capitalism, but as Christians we are governed by God first, and by the empire second.
What, that is not our capital-G God, have we devoted ourselves to instead? What do we cling to that is not the triune God?
More than a few things. Money. Power. Status. Security. Institutions—like our governments, our universities, our Churches. National sovereignty. We routinely place our trust and our devotion in things of this earth that cannot possibly sustain us in the way that God can. No human person—charismatic leader, revolutionary, emperor, dictator, or otherwise—provides us that which God provides. Our political leaders are not our saviors.
The commandments given to Moses, the ones that start with "I am the LORD your God," go on to say, "You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth" (Exodus 20:4).
When we talk about these "idols" or false gods, it's important to note that we don't mean other people's gods, like the deities of other religions. The idols we're not supposed to be making are things that the empire would deem holy—namely, itself. "Things we can get confused about that we think are divine, things we believe are of ultimate concern, things we might give weight to above all else that are not really holy."
"Our institutions are not God; the Church is not God; the American flag is not God; our reputations and our egos are not God; comfort, convenience, and safety are not God."[1]
Have you noticed that I always say the same little prayer at the beginning of my sermons? Grace and peace from God our Creator, hope in our Redeemer Jesus the Christ, and the promised gifts of the Holy Spirit are with you, always. It's a habit I've gotten into, and it's so simple that you may have stopped really hearing it. I certainly rattle it off unconvincingly, sometimes. But I say it every time because it is the truest truth I know. Grace and peace from God our Creator, hope in our Redeemer Jesus the Christ, and the promised gifts of the Holy Spirit are with you, always.
There are important things in the world around us that we commit ourselves to, yes, but those things are not God. Those things are not eternal. Those things will end. The empire will fall. God will be with you, always.
Remember, beloved children of God, that you—and all of us—were created in the image of God. You, as you are this very minute, are holy. You are not merely a number in a database—the university's or the Internal Revenue Service's. You reflect not the shiny gold coin of the empire, but the face of God.
Give to the emperor what is the emperor's and give to God what is God's. Give to the empire only that which bears its image, and give to God that which bears God's image—you. [2] You have been given the gift of this life by the God who loves you. Devote yourself right back to the God who is devoted to you. Remember who you are whose you are. Amen.
[1] Margaret Ernst, "Say Unto Caesar: Whiteness is Not God" on The Word is Resistance from Showing Up for Racial Justice, showingupforracialjustice.org/podcast, 20 October 2017.


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Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today urged Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad to set up a C-DAC regional centre at Bhubaneswar.
"I would request for setting up of a C-DAC regional centre at Bhubaneswar so as to accelerate research in high-performance computing and data analytics and its application in industries and governance in Odisha," wrote Patnaik in a letter addressed to Prasad.
Patnaik said establishment of a C-DAC regional centre at Bhubaneswar would enable faculty, Ph D scholars and students to solve problems of State and national importance.
"Odisha being a coastal State and prone to cyclone, application of high-performance computing can particularly help in weather forecasting and disaster management," he added while pointing out that presently Kolkata has the only regional centre of C-DAC in the eastern part of the country.
To emphasize his point further, the Chief Minister drew the attention of the Union Minister to Odisha making steady progress in the field of Electronics and Information & Communication Technology.
"In recent years, many prominent national level educational institutions like IIT, IIM, AIIMS, NISER, USER, Institute of Physics, Institute of Mathematics, IMMT and NIT have started functioning in Odisha and many other reputed institutions like BITS have also evinced interest to open their branches in the State," he added.
Besides, one C-DAC Centre of Excellence has already been set up in VSS University of Technology, Burla and the State government is also actively considering establishment of such high-performance computing and deep learning C-DAC Centres in other State government technical universities and engineering colleges, he stated.