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The long and short of it
A Model of Moral-Hazard Credit Cycles
Roger Myerson
Journal of Political Economy, October 2012, Pages 847-878
This paper considers a simple model of credit cycles driven by moral hazard in financial intermediation. Financial agents or bankers must earn moral-hazard rents, but the cost of these rents can be efficiently spread over an agent's entire career by promising large late-career rewards if the agent has a consistently successful record. Dynamic interactions among different generations of financial agents can create credit cycles with repeated booms and recessions. In recessions, a scarcity of trusted financial intermediaries limits investment and reduces employment. Under such conditions, taxing workers to subsidize bankers may increase employment enough to make the workers better off.
Patriotic name bias and stock returns
Evangelos Benos & Marek Jochec
Journal of Financial Markets, forthcoming
Companies whose names contain the words "America(n)" or "USA" earn positive abnormal returns of about 6% per annum during World War II, the Korean War, and the War on Terrorism. These abnormal returns are not realized immediately upon the outbreak of each of the wars but are accumulated gradually during wartime. Given that no such effect is observed for the Vietnam War, we hypothesize that major, victorious wars arouse investors' patriotic feelings and cause them to gradually and perhaps subconsciously gravitate toward stocks whose name has a patriotic flavor.
Buying Beauty: On Prices and Returns in the Art Market
Luc Renneboog & Christophe Spaenjers
Management Science, forthcoming
This paper investigates the price determinants and investment performance of art. We apply a hedonic regression analysis to a new data set of more than one million auction transactions of paintings and works on paper. Based on the resulting price index, we conclude that art has appreciated in value by a moderate 3.97% per year, in real U.S. dollar terms, between 1957 and 2007. This is a performance similar to that of corporate bonds - at much higher risk. A repeat-sales regression on a subset of the data demonstrates the robustness of our index. Next, quantile regressions document larger average price appreciations (and higher volatilities) in more expensive price brackets. We also find variation in historical returns across mediums and movements. Finally, we show that measures of high-income consumer confidence and art market sentiment predict art price trends.
The Inefficient Markets Hypothesis: Why Financial Markets Do Not Work Well in the Real World
Roger Farmer, Carine Nourry & Alain Venditti
NBER Working Paper, December 2012
Existing literature continues to be unable to offer a convincing explanation for the volatility of the stochastic discount factor in real world data. Our work provides such an explanation. We do not rely on frictions, market incompleteness or transactions costs of any kind. Instead, we modify a simple stochastic representative agent model by allowing for birth and death and by allowing for heterogeneity in agents' discount factors. We show that these two minor and realistic changes to the timeless Arrow-Debreu paradigm are sufficient to invalidate the implication that competitive financial markets efficiently allocate risk. Our work demonstrates that financial markets, by their very nature, cannot be Pareto efficient, except by chance. Although individuals in our model are rational; markets are not.
New evidence on the first financial bubble
Rik Frehen, William Goetzmann & Geert Rouwenhorst
Journal of Financial Economics, forthcoming
The Mississippi Bubble, South Sea Bubble and the Dutch Windhandel of 1720 together represent the world's first global financial bubble. We hand-collect cross-sectional price data and investor account data from 1720 to test theories about market bubbles. Our tests suggest that innovation was a key driver of bubble expectations. We present evidence against the currently prevailing debt-for-equity conversion hypothesis and relate stock returns to innovations in Atlantic trade and insurance. We find evidence consistent with the innovation-driven bubble dynamics documented by Pastor and Veronesi (2009) for new economy stocks. Our evidence seems inconsistent with clientele-based theories that emphasize bubble-riding and short-sales restrictions.
Does Religion Matter to Equity Pricing?
Sadok El Ghoul et al.
Journal of Business Ethics, December 2012, Pages 491-518
For a sample comprising 36,105 U.S. firm-year observations from 1985 to 2008, we find that firms located in more religious counties enjoy cheaper equity financing costs. This result is robust to a battery of sensitivity tests, including alternative assumptions and model specifications, additional controls for noise in analyst forecasts, and various approaches to addressing endogeneity. In another set of tests, we find that the equity pricing role that religion plays comes predominantly from Mainline Protestants. We also document that the effect of religiosity on firms' cost of equity capital is larger for firms (periods) lacking alternative monitoring (regulation) mechanisms as measured by lower institutional ownership (the pre-SOX era), implying that religion plays a corporate governance role. Finally, we find that the importance of religion to equity pricing is concentrated in firms that suffer lower visibility, which tend to be more sensitive to local social and economic factors. By examining the links between religiosity and valuation at the firm level, we provide strong, robust evidence supporting the perspective that religion facilitates economic development.
Wall Street and the Housing Bubble
Ing-Haw Cheng, Sahil Raina & Wei Xiong
University of Michigan Working Paper, September 2012
We analyze whether mid-level managers in securitized finance were aware of the housing bubble in 2004-2006 using their personal home transaction data. We find little evidence of them timing the bubble or exercising cautious behavior in purchasing homes on average, relative to two uninformed control groups: one composed of non-real estate lawyers and the other of non-housing equity analysts. Our findings cast doubt on the popular "inside job" view of the recent financial crisis that Wall Street employees knowingly ignored warning signs of the housing bubble.
U.S. presidential elections and implied volatility: The role of political uncertainty
John Goodell & Sami Vähämaa
Journal of Banking & Finance, forthcoming
This paper focuses on the effects of political uncertainty and the political process on implied stock market volatility during U.S. presidential election cycles. Using monthly Iowa Electronic Markets data over five elections, we document that stock market uncertainty, as measured by the VIX volatility index, increases along with positive changes in the probability of success of the eventual winner. The association between implied volatility and the election probability of the eventual winner is positive even after controlling for changes in overall election uncertainty. These findings indicate that the presidential election process engenders market anxiety as investors form and revise their expectations regarding future macroeconomic policy.
Lauren Cohen, Karl Diether & Christopher Malloy
Review of Financial Studies, forthcoming
We demonstrate that a firm's ability to innovate is predictable, persistent, and relatively simple to compute, and yet the stock market appears to ignore the implications of past successes when valuing future innovation. We show that two firms that invest the exact same in research and development (R&D) can have quite divergent, but predictably divergent, future paths. Our approach is based on the simple premise that while future outcomes associated with R&D investment are uncertain, the past track records of firms may give insight into their potential for future success. We show that a long-short portfolio strategy that takes advantage of the information in past track records earns abnormal returns of roughly 11 percent per year. Importantly, these past track records also predict divergent future real outcomes in patents, patent citations, and new product innovations.
Political Climate, Optimism, and Investment Decisions
Yosef Bonaparte, Alok Kumar & Jeremy Page
University of Miami Working Paper, February 2012
We show that people's optimism towards financial markets and the macroeconomy is dynamically influenced by their political affiliation and the existing political climate. Individuals become more optimistic and perceive the markets to be less risky and more undervalued when their own party is in power. These shifts in perceptions of risk and reward affect investors' portfolio decisions. Specifically, when the political climate is aligned with their political identity, investors increase allocations to risky assets and exhibit a stronger preference for high market beta, small-cap, and value stocks. Due to these portfolio reallocations, investors improve their raw portfolio performance when their own party is in power, but the improvement in risk-adjusted performance is economically small.
Danling Jiang, Alok Kumar & Kelvin Law
University of Miami Working Paper, September 2011
Using a unique dataset tracking the personal political contributions of sell-side equity analysts from 1993 to 2009, this paper shows that personal political preferences of sell-side equity analysts are reflected in their professional decisions and market prices. Specifically, we find that Republican analysts who are conservative in their personal decisions issue more conservative earnings forecasts and stock recommendations. Further, Republican forecasts are more accurate because their conservatism partially mitigates the adverse effects of known optimism biases in analyst forecasts. Sophisticated market participants are aware of the superior abilities of Republican analysts as they receive greater media coverage and are more likely to be voted as all-star analysts. In contrast, the market reaction to their revisions is weaker, particularly among stocks that are more actively traded by retail investors. Thus, less sophisticated retail investors are unable to identify the positive relation between personal conservatism and forecasting skill.
Emotion regulation and trader expertise: Heart rate variability on the trading floor
Mark Fenton-O'Creevy et al.
Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, November 2012, Pages 227-237
We describe a psychophysiological study of the emotion regulation of investment bank traders. Building on work on the role of emotions in financial decision making, we examined the relationship between market conditions, trader experience, and emotion regulation while trading, as indexed by high-frequency heart rate variability (HF HRV). We found a significant inverse relationship between HF HRV and market volatility and a positive relationship between HF HRV and trader experience. We argue that this suggests that emotion regulation may be an important facet of trader expertise, and that learning effects demonstrated in financial markets may include improved emotion regulation as an important component of that learning. Our results also suggest the value of investigating the role of effective emotion regulation in a broader range of financial decision-making contexts.
The Real Effects of Financial Markets
Philip Bond, Alex Edmans & Itay Goldstein
Annual Review of Financial Economics, 2012, Pages 339-360
A large amount of activity in the financial sector occurs in secondary financial markets, where securities are traded among investors without capital flowing to firms. The stock market is the archetypal example, which in most developed economies captures a lot of attention and resources. Is the stock market just a sideshow or does it affect real economic activity? In this review, we discuss the potential real effects of financial markets that stem from the informational role of market prices. We review the theoretical literature and show that accounting for the feedback effect from market prices to the real economy significantly changes our understanding of the price formation process, the informativeness of the price, and speculators' trading behavior. We make two main points. First, we argue that a new definition of price efficiency is needed to account for the extent to which prices reflect information that is useful for the efficiency of real decisions (rather than the extent to which they forecast future cash flows). Second, incorporating the feedback effect into models of financial markets can explain various market phenomena that otherwise seem puzzling. Finally, we review empirical evidence on the real effects of secondary financial markets.
Short-Selling Bans Around the World: Evidence from the 2007-09 Crisis
Alessandro Beber & Marco Pagano
Journal of Finance, forthcoming
Most regulators around the world reacted to the 2007-09 crisis by imposing bans on short selling. These were imposed and lifted at different dates in different countries, often targeted different sets of stocks, and featured varying degrees of stringency. We exploit this variation in short-sales regimes to identify their effects on liquidity, price discovery, and stock prices. Using panel and matching techniques, we find that bans (i) were detrimental for liquidity, especially for stocks with small capitalization and no listed options; (ii) slowed price discovery, especially in bear markets, and (iii) failed to support prices, except possibly for U.S. financial stocks.
Paying Attention: Overnight Returns and the Hidden Cost of Buying at the Open
Henk Berkman et al.
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, August 2012, Pages 715-741
We find a strong tendency for positive returns during the overnight period followed by reversals during the trading day. This behavior is driven by an opening price that is high relative to intraday prices. It is concentrated among stocks that have recently attracted the attention of retail investors, it is more pronounced for stocks that are difficult to value and costly to arbitrage, and it is greater during periods of high overall retail investor sentiment. The additional implicit transaction costs for retail traders who buy high-attention stocks near the open frequently exceed the effective half spread.
Out of the Dark: Hedge Fund Reporting Biases and Commercial Databases
Adam Aiken, Christopher Clifford & Jesse Ellis
Review of Financial Studies, forthcoming
We examine the potential for selection bias in voluntarily reported hedge fund performance data. We construct a set of hedge fund returns that have never been reported to a commercial hedge fund database. These returns allow a direct comparison of performance between funds that choose to report to commercial databases and funds that do not. We find that funds that report their performance to commercial databases significantly outperform nonreporting funds. Our results suggest that the voluntarily reported performance in commercial databases suffers from a selection bias that may exaggerate the average skill of the universe of hedge fund managers.
On the Size of the Active Management Industry
Luboš Pástor & Robert Stambaugh
Journal of Political Economy, August 2012, Pages 740-781
We argue that active management's popularity is not puzzling despite the industry's poor track record. Our explanation features decreasing returns to scale: As the industry's size increases, every manager's ability to outperform passive benchmarks declines. The poor track record occurred before the growth of indexing modestly reduced the share of active management to its current size. At this size, better performance is expected by investors who believe in decreasing returns to scale. Such beliefs persist because persistence in industry size causes learning about returns to scale to be slow. The industry should shrink only moderately if its underperformance continues.
Wall Street occupations: An equilibrium theory of overpaid jobs
Ulf Axelson & Philip Bond
London School of Economics Working Paper, June 2012
We develop an optimal dynamic contracting theory of overpay for jobs in which moral hazard is a key concern, such as investment banking. Overpaying jobs feature up-or-out contracts and long work hours, yet give more utility to workers than their outside option dictates. Labor markets feature "dynamic segregation," where some workers are put on fast-track careers in overpaying jobs and others have no chance of entering the overpaying segment. Entering the labor market in bad economic times has life-long negative implications for a worker's career both in terms of job placement and contract terms. Moral hazard problems are exacerbated in good economic times, which leads to countercyclical productivity. Finally, workers whose talent would be more valuable elsewhere can be lured into overpaying jobs, while the most talented workers might be unable to land these jobs because they are "too hard to manage."
Causes and Consequences of Linguistic Complexity in Non-U.S. Firm Conference Calls
Francois Brochet, Patricia Naranjo & Gwen Yu
Harvard Working Paper, October 2012
We examine the determinants and capital market consequences of linguistic complexity in conference calls held in English by non-U.S. firms. We find that linguistic complexity is positively associated with the language barrier in the firms' home country. Also, linguistic complexity in firms' conference calls affects the extent to which the capital market reacts to the information releases. Firms with more linguistic complexity in their conference calls show less trading volume and price movement following the information releases, after controlling for the actual earnings news. Further, the capital market's response to linguistic complexity is more pronounced when there is greater implicit (as captured by the presence of foreign investors) or explicit (as captured by how actively analysts ask questions) demand for the English conference calls. This suggests that the form in which financial information is presented can impose additional processing costs by limiting investors' ability to interpret the reported financials.
The Impact of Social and Conventional Media on Firm Equity Value: A Sentiment Analysis Approach
Yang Yu, Wenjing Duan & Qing Cao
Decision Support Systems, forthcoming
This study aims to investigate the effect of social media and conventional media, their relative importance, and their interrelatedness on short term firm stock market performances. We use a novel and large-scale dataset that features daily media content across various conventional media and social media outlets for 824 public traded firms across 6 industries. Social media outlets include blogs, forums, and twitter. Conventional media includes major newspapers, television broadcasting companies, and business magazines. We apply the advanced sentiment analysis technique that goes beyond the number of mentions (counts) to analyze the overall sentiment of each media resource toward a specific company on the daily basis. We use stock return and risk as the indicators of companies' short-term performances. Our findings suggest that overall social media has stronger relationship with firm stock performance than conventional media while social and conventional media have strong interaction effect on stock performance. More interestingly, we find the impact of different types of social media varies significantly. Different types of social media also interrelate with conventional media to influence stock movement in various directions and degrees. Our study is among the first to examine the effect of multiple sources of social media along with the effect of conventional media and to investigate their relative importance and their interrelatedness. Our findings suggest the importance for firms to differentiate and leverage the unique impact of various sources of media outlets in implementing their social media marketing strategies.
Gilles Hilary & Charles Hsu
Journal of Finance, forthcoming
We show empirically that analysts who display more consistent forecast errors have greater ability to affect prices, and that this effect is larger than that of stated accuracy. These results lead to three implications. First, consistent analysts are less likely to be demoted and are more likely to be nominated All Star analysts. Second, analysts strategically deliver downward-biased forecasts to increase their consistency (if at the expense of stated accuracy). Finally, the benefits of consistency and of "lowballing" (accuracy) are increasing (decreasing) in institutional investors' presence.
Do Less Regulated Markets Attract Lower Quality Firms? Evidence from the London AIM Market
Ulf Nielsson
Journal of Financial Intermediation, forthcoming
The paper examines whether the moderately regulated London AIM market is at a disadvantage in attracting high quality firms. The results show that firms listed on AIM are of the same quality level as firms listed in the U.S. and in Continental Europe, albeit smaller in size. Furthermore, the delisting and valuation pattern is the same across markets, whereas AIM listed firms raise relatively more capital. Thus, rather than catering to low quality firms seeking to conceal their type, the AIM market attracts small firms that - due to size - face disproportional regulatory costs, but are otherwise equivalent to firms listing in more regulated markets.
"Preparing" the Equity Market for Adverse Corporate Events: A Theoretical Analysis of Firms Cutting Dividends
Thomas Chemmanur & Xuan Tian
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, September/October 2012, Pages 933-972
This paper presents the first theoretical analysis of the choice of firms between "preparing" and not preparing the equity market in advance of a possible dividend cut. In our model, insiders have private information about their firm's intermediate cash flow as well as about the net present value of its growth opportunity. We show that, in equilibrium, firms in temporary financial difficulties but with good long-term growth prospects are more likely to prepare the market in advance of dividend cuts, while those with permanently declining earnings are less likely to prepare the market. Our model generates several new testable predictions.


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Here is the text of "Pickman's Model," one of HP Lovecraft's classic stories. I love it. I think it delivers that frission you expect from Lovecraft, which comes from the realization that there is another, darker world just beyond this one. And sometimes its inhabitants pay us a visit.
Now, below is an adaptation of the story from the second season of Rod Serling's Night Gallery. You can watch it if you want, but it's awful. I think it's entertainingly bad, and certainly worth a viewing. But you've been warned.
The episode is bad for some of the obvious reasons. It's just standard mediocre TV type stuff. But what makes it truly disappointing is Pickman's paintings themselves... as well as the guy in the rubber suit at the end. And that's where Serling does us a favor. The crappiness of the show actually reveals something about horror. It shows us that there are some monsters which can never be shown.
"Pickman's Model" is structured much like Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", where a narrator is speaking to us as if we are a character engaged in a dialogue with him. It's a weird framing device, and both authors use it to make us unsure of what to believe. "Pickman's" narrator is describing his encounter with a group of paintings that were so terrifying they made him scream out loud. As readers we're incredulous. But he seems sincere and level-headed, and as he explores Pickman's studio he sees and hears things which even he admits he's unsure of. Because we're removed from the action, we feel this great tension. What the hell just happened? Poe's narrator might actually be crazy -- he comes right out and says so in the very first sentence -- and his horrifying encounter might be an auditory hallucination, or it might be some kind of supernatural phenomena.
In both cases part of the horror comes from the uncertainty of dealing with other people. We spend our lives telling each other stories, transmitting information. And each story is like a flashlight shining in a dark room. I am showing you something, but you know deep down that there's much you can't see. And of course I could be mad, or lying, or carefully shading the truth for some reason only I know. Seeing Pickman's monster is not the point. It is doubting the tale-teller, and feeling a little of the paranoia that is the background noise in every conversation you've ever had... Because while you're fumbling around in that dark room, I might just turn out the light.
What Do The Latest Mueller Indictments Mean? Twitter Speculates - [embed eid="28234" /] "But what does it all *mean?*" Has Trump offered them pardons? Did Gates change his mind about cooperating with Mueller? Inquiring ...

subset: commoncrawl


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When you're looking to start a blog then the first and most important thing that you decide upon before anything else, is what your blog is going to be about. I'm going to start off by assuming you already know
What is a Blog, Hosting, Domain Name
When you are looking into starting a blog it can be hard to understand all the jargon and confusing as to which type of blogging software, hosting and what domain name to pick. Let's start off by getting an understanding
Building a Blog Made Easy
Do you want to start a Blog? You're interested in starting something online… But what should it be? Should you just be on social media, because that's a fantastic way to reach people and interact with them… will that be


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VALLEY FALLS, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Board of Regents gave preliminary approval to a $38.6 million budget for specific projects at universities but rejected a suggestion to seek a $23.8 million funding increase to cover inflation.
The board said Thursday it will make final recommendations in September and forward those to Gov. Sam Brownback for consideration as he devises a budget to present to the state Legislature, The Lawrence Journal-World reported.
The list given preliminary approval includes top priorities from each of the state's post-secondary schools, such as $10 million to build a technical institute in Dodge City as part of a proposed merger with Fort Hays State University; $5 million for ongoing funding of a drug and discovery institute at the University of Kansas; and $5 million to renovate and expand Seaton Hall at Kansas State University.
The list also includes a $2.5 million increase in need-based student financial aid.
Regent Fred Logan said that in the past several years neither the Legislature nor Brownback has considered increasing in base funding for higher education but there has been interest in specific projects.
"We had great success last year by proposing targeted enhancements," Logan said.
But Vice Chairman Shane Bangerter said not covering inflation amounts to a funding cut and will lead to increased tuition rates.
"If you get a decrease on one end, you have to increase on the other. There seems to be a direct correlation between those two numbers," Bangerter said.
The inflation figure was based on the Higher Education Price Index, which covers the universities' primary costs, such as salaries, contracted services and utilities.
Another list of other projects, totaling $57.8 million, for future consideration also will be sent to Brownback.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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I wasn't happy to post about the death of the GTA-03 last month. It was hoped to be the hardware vehicle that would finally signal a consumer-ready combination of soft and hardware from the Openmoko team - a group whose work inspired me from the first time I read about them. I saw photos of the Neo1973 (below) in 2006 and eagerly awaited release, for a while. Learning of the company's recent downsize and redirection was a bit saddening, but not a surprise.
Openmoko, while presenting some promising concepts and demonstration videos, was plagued with perpetually pushed release windows, the encroaching obsolescence of each new device they embraced, and in a way, the enormous shadow cast by Apple. More specifically, the break-neck pace dictated by Jobs & Co's breathtaking strides in the cell phone market. Keeping up with the constantly changing standards put Openmoko off balance, and our current economic situation seemed to have finally tipped them over.
Fortunately, the company and the idea live on. Sean Moss-Pultz, CEO of Openmoko, reached out to everyone on the Openmoko mailing list on June 2nd; addressing the layoffs of May 25th and the future of the Openmoko software and the Freerunner (GTA-02):
"We've always said that the talent and creativity of those outside the
company is superior to that inside the company. We have stuck to these
principles. We've have opened up more than any other phone, from any
other company, in the history of this industry. Every time we chose
openness over internal control, we have been rewarded."
You can read the message in its entirety here. The nut of it is that the FreeRunner A7, along with the use of the Openmoko name, has been turned over to the community with Openmoko as a sponsor. It turns out that the little company that could has their collective eyes set on "an altogether different type of device." Will it run Openmoko? (Probably.) Maemo? Android? is it a MID? I don't have the answers to any of these questions, but I hope this means the company will rise from the ashes in a big way.


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Goodafternoon, my loves.
Just stumbled upon yet another Olivia Palermo-outfit that is to die for. I have a couple of favorites, but this one is an addition. I am completely in love.
First off: The colors are amazing. It's no secret that I'm not the color-blocking type (at least to a certain extend), so these earthy colors make my heart melt.
Second off: The shoes. PER-FEC-TION. I'm completely smitten.
But the thing I'm actually really loving, is her jacket - or sweater, which it actually is. I've been examining the picture for long enough to see, that it's a knit sweater. I'm loving the A-shape and most of all the fur.
I'm praying that my grandmother sees this and starts knitting something like this... Perhaps?
The rest of the Olivia's top ten outfit-pictures are to be found here, and I just snapped one of them.
Happy birthday to Olivia (did I forget to mention that?).
Much love and gros bisous


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The lineups for Game 5 of the 109th World Series at Busch Stadium:
St. Louis Cardinals
2B Matt Carpenter
CF Shane Robinson
LF Matt Holliday
RF Carlos Beltran
C Yadier Molina
1B Allen Craig
3B David Freese
SS Pete Kozma
RH Adam Wainwright
Boston Red Sox
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
2B Dustin Pedroia
1B David Ortiz
LF Jonny Gomes
RF Daniel Nava
3B Xander Bogaerts
SS Stephen Drew
C David Ross
LH Jon Lester
Briefly: Allen Craig wasn't in Mike Matheny's original lineup, but he's playing now. With the Series tied 2-2 and shifting to Boston for Game 6 on Wednesday, Matheny wants his A lineup tonight. Craig, who limped off the field with a sore left foot after being awarded home plate for the game-ending run (thanks to obstruction) on Sunday, said he's good to go. He got on base in the final inning when turning a pinch double into a pinch single. . . . Pulled from St. Louis' lineup: first baseman Matt Adams, who hasn't hit lefties well. . . . Funny that Boston's first baseman, David Ortiz, a 37-year-old DH by trade, is more mobile than St. Louis'. . . . Ortiz is 8-for-11 in the Series — a .727 hitter — and was robbed of a grand slam. . . . Shane Victorino (back tightness) is out of Boston's lineup for the second straight night.
Follow on Twitter @JohnSheaHey


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Open water excitement begins the minute you step aboard our 255 LXF. The incredible ride and performance not only make it fun to drive, but the boat's lines will make you the envy of all your friends as you pull up to your rendezvous point. There's ample space throughout the boat not only to move around freely, but also for storage, including the large under-console seat cooler and additional storage located in the bow below the forward seating area with removable backrests. An innovative fold-out table and extra hide-away cooler are ideal for entertaining or just relaxing out on the open water. Aft, you'll find additional seating with the fold-down transom seat.
2017 Scout 255 LXF - Shark gray hull with twin painted white Yamaha F150's
Added Options:
- Painted white engines & brisa heritage cushion upgrade
- Garmin 7610XSV upgrade
- Fresh water wash-down & Porcelain head upgrade
- LED trim indicator and Edson steering wheel
- Battery Charger
- Upgraded leaning post (300LXF)
107 R Elliot St.
Danvers, MA 01923
United States


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On last year's Prism, Katy Perry coyly demands, "So let me get you in your birthday suit/It's time to bring out the big balloons." There are two ways to read this: it could be about balls, which would fairly progressive for a pop song, or more likely, it's Perry telling her guy (John Mayer?) that if he gets naked, she'll strip down, too, and show off her "big balloons." Perry's certainly proud of her impressive cleavage, as she explained to GQ.
"I lay on my back one night and looked down at my feet, and I prayed to God. I said, 'God, will you please let me have boobs so big that I can't see my feet when I'm lying down?' " At age 11, "God answered my prayers," she says, glancing south. "I had no clue they would fall into my armpits eventually." (Via)
She also discussed weed…
Now the smell of a different type of flora—Cannabis sativa—wafts in from the hallway…. Ah, okay, Rihanna's suite is twenty feet away. "Everyone is high!" Perry declares, giggling. She means everyone else: "The weed—I'm not friends with it." She is bare-shouldered, bare-legged, barefooted—bare-everythinged, basically, except for the wig cap on her head and the teensy light blue Hello Kitty terry-cloth wrap that cinches above her breasts and ends where butt meets thigh. "I can't do that stuff. I'd be like in the corner: 'Are you trying to kill me?!'"
Her "relationship" with President Obama…
"I see everything through a spiritual lens," she says. "I believe in a lot of astrology. I believe in aliens. I look up into the stars and I imagine: How self-important are we to think that we are the only life-form? I mean, if my relationship with Obama gets any better, I'm going to ask him that question. It just hasn't been appropriate yet."
"I might have won Wisconsin for him," she says. "Actually, I didn't do too much, but he called on me a couple of times. Which was very nice."
…and losing her virginity.
She lost her virginity at 16 in the front seat of a Volvo sedan while listening to Jeff Buckley's album Grace. "Love that record so much," she tells me.
There are no references to ducks nor dynasties. Just a lot of photos.
For more photos, head over to GQ.


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A First Federal Bank Debit Card is like having an ATM card and checkbook rolled into one!


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The Dark Wars
Chapter 1
Within the monastery of the Brotherhood of the Word a young monk scanned through the texts that lay before him. This part of the library had not seen visitors for many years. The young monk, named Altimos, began to look for interesting texts to read when his eyes fell upon an ancient and worn book, a book so old that the gilt lettering on its spine was faded from view. Young Altimos took the book from its place, "I wonder what stories this book holds" he thought to himself. "I bet it's a story of the Order!" excited now, he went to the nearest table and opened the tome. "The Chronicle of the Dark Wars" this is the title that Altimos saw, "A history of the Dark Wars!" he exclaimed "No one knows what really happened during the Wars!" His excitement was now high as he began to read of a dark chapter in his world's history.
Year of Golden Flame
Day 239
This is the account of Captain Talis, leader of the Northern Flight and knight of the Order of the Flame. Thus far the troops of the Dark Union has been steadily pushing us back, even as I write this entry the enemy draws ever closer. I fear that the Order may not survive this conflict so I have taken it upon myself to write a history of our fall.
It all started back some twelve years back, when Navaros returned from who knows where to wreak havoc on us, his brothers. Apparently the Dark Union had corrupted many of our greatest warriors and mages, many of our Bonded too were swayed by the curs. With the Destruction of the supreme Order council in Drakan City, the troops of the Dark Union surged out of the wild lands in the east. The great and wondrous city of Drakan, laid to waste by Wartocks and other creatures serving the Union.
The forces of the surrounding cities and local garrisons were immediately summoned to fight, and fight they did! Our troops kept the evil creatures at bay for nearly a week, then enemy reinforcements arrived and our forces were forced o withdraw or be overrun. Thus was how the war has gone, the enemy throws vast numbers of troops against us; we fight and spill our blood to defend our position, and are beaten back.
The war would have been lost except for the Bonded that remained loyal to the Order, of my flight not a single Bonded pair was swayed by the Dark Union! The great dragon flights have kept some of the enemy at bay, but not all. And then there are the enemy dragon flights, some are even from the elite Flame Wing! The most elite of the Bonded pairs, and some of them war against us!
I fear that I can not write further, the horn is blowing signaling the arrival of a messenger from the council. May the news be good, for my sake and the sake of us all let it be good news.
Year of Golden Flame
Day 242
The news was good; the enemy was defeated at Broken Horn Vale! But we can not rest, not while the enemy here is still alive and determined to crush us. I have been ordered to sortie against the enemy position near the Golden Hills, the enemy encampment is said to be poorly organized and lightly defended, and we should cause great damage to the enemy if we can burn their main camp.
Year of Golden Flame
Day 244
The sortie was successful; the enemy force along our front has been beaten back. We even caught some of the enemy Bonded on the ground and unawares! They were all put to the flame, though I do not enjoy killing those who were once our brothers. Damn the Dark Union, and damn Navaros! May that wretch meet his end at the gibbet, not a battlefield!
I do not know how long the troops can hold out; the War has been going badly, though we have won several victories I do not think that we can hold out for much longer. I fear the Order, the beacon in the darkness is fading and there is nothing any of us here can do to stop it. But, I will continue to fight the enemy even if I am doomed, I will still fight. Besides, Karokh will not let me quit, no matter what I say. He's a good companion, and a fearless warrior, if we only had a hundred more like him in our ranks, than the Dark Union would be in real trouble.
Year of Golden Flame
Day 246
We are retreating again, though it is by the order of Command that we give up this blood soaked piece of ground. There is a rumor going around the camp, the rumor is that the army of the Order is rallying for a major offensive against the Union. There might be some truth to this rumor, many of the dragon flights have been ordered to scout and provide cover to the ground troops, nothing unusual about that, it's the reconnaissance against enemy held points that are unusual as the territory has only outposts, no garrisons.
Perhaps there is a plan to aid in a future offensive by burning the supplies and laying waste to the supply lines of the enemy, but this is only speculation, nothing more.
Year of Golden Flame
Day 251
We have arrived at the new position; we are near the Cloud Seeker Mountains and the great mountain of Tibor itself. We have just received word of our mission, a magic sword called the Runeblade has bee forged to use against Navaros, and our army is to make its stand here, here at the foot of mount Tibor we will make the enemy bleed. Our other forces in the North will have to fend for themselves if we fall here, may the Gods show them mercy.
Year of Golden Flame
Day 278
The battle is not going well, the enemy is pressing us from all sides and no matter how many we slay more continue to appear. We have received word the Navaros himself is coming to personally lead the Union to victory, now the plan will put into place, the warrior Heron and his Bonded dragon Arokh have been selected to pierce the withered heart of the that fiend.
Year of Golden Flame
Day 279
Navaros has been seen! We are now preparing to for the battle of our lives, to just Heron and Arokh there chance to slay that abomination! This journal will be sent to a special place near Surdana should the battle go ill, may this book serve as a witness to the honor and bravery of the Order and its followers.
Year of Shadow
Day 149
Captain Talis and his dragon flight have not been heard from in ten years, all attempt to reach the Southern continent has failed, it would appear that Captain Talis and the armies of both the Order and the Dark Union have been destroyed there. Here in Surdana we have been cut off from both the Southern and Northern Lands, we stand alone against the tides of darkness. The Wartoks and the other beasts of the Dark Union still remain, but they have fallen to fighting amongst themselves, it is my sincerest hope that they destroy one another in the process, though this is a thin hope at best. As per the final orders of Captain Talis, I am taking this journal to a monastery in the East, in the Black Stone Mountains; maybe the monks there will keep the memory of the war within their halls. May the valor of those who have died in the War never be forgotten by the next generation, and those who come after.
notes A.F. is the measurement of time during the age of the Order, it stands for After Founding.
The term of Northern Flight means that it is a unit of mounted dragon knights, or Bonded as they are now referred as. More than likely this unit came either from Surdana, or the North Lands, from some long forgotten province of the Order.


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WITH the deadline for Commonwealth Games selection fast approaching, this must be a stressful time for a lot of athletes who have still to achieve the qualifying times they need to be part of Team Scotland.
Thankfully, I have known since last September that I would be in the team – I was one of a big group, including others such as Eilidh Child, who were selected back in September.
I feel very fortunate to have been put in that position, because that early selection has allowed me to get down to training without worrying about arranging races in search of qualifying times. My coach and I have put a good training programme together and I'm very happy with the way things are going. I raced indoors in Glasgow at the start of the year, but I've yet to race outdoors. I've got a little bit more fine-tuning to do first, but the plan is for me to make my season debut in the next couple of weeks.
It will be a pretty low-key start, in front of nothing like the crowd that will be at Hampden for the Games. Competing in front of such a large crowd is one of the things I'm most looking forward to, as that has always been something I've enjoyed.. At the Beijing Paralympics in 2008, for example, there was a crowd of around 80,000, I think, and because there was a Chinese competitor in my race it sounded like every one of them was shouting at the top of their voice. It didn't matter that they were all cheering on of my competitors – all that noise encouraged me too and played a part in my winning a silver medal.
That's something to bear in mind when we talk about home advantage in Glasgow - the excitement generated can help other athletes too. But anyway, since then I've always felt at home in packed stadiums, like we had at the London Paralympics four years later, and it will be great to race at a full Hampden.
Being registered blind, I run with a guide, Mikail Huggins, whose health and fitness is obviously just as important as my own. His training has been going well, too, and he's even looking forward to wearing a kilt now as part of Team Scotland. He's from Birmingham, and, when we competed in Glasgow in January, he was told that every member of the team would be kitted out with a kilt for the Games. I'm not sure if he was entirely convinced at first that it was a good idea, but he's embraced the whole idea now. As part of his education for becoming Scottish, I made him drink some Irn Bru the other day. He wasn't sure at first, and kept asking me what it tasted like – but it's almost impossible to put into words, so I just told him the only way to know was to try it for himself. So he did, and he quite liked it.
It's only the 100 metres in my category that is on the schedule this time, whereas normally at a paralympic event I would compete in the 200 as well. Physically I'm so used to competing in both that just having the 100 won't make things much easier – my workload in training will be exactly the same – but, mentally, it is quite nice to only concentrate on the one event for a change. In any case, the 100 is definitely my best event.
I'll have a chance to compete in both later in the season at the IPC European Championships in Swansea – if I qualify, that is. But that's for later in the season.
At present, the focus is purely on Glasgow. Everything is going well, and the atmosphere is building up nicely, with more and more competitors. The Games can't come soon enough.
My final is on the first night of the athletics competition, so, hopefully, it will be a good way to start off and give the rest of the squad confidence. It can make a massive difference to team morale if you win medals in the first day or two, so I'm very aware that I have a responsibility to all my team-mates as well as to myself.
• Support SSE Home Nation ambassador @LibbyClegg and her team-mates ahead of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games by tweeting #GoScotland, and by doing so help fund the next generation of athletes in your community. Follow @ScottishHydro to keep up to date.


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Shower In a Can is a spray used in the episode "Nautical Novice" that resembles deodorant.
Shower in a Can appears to be a light blue spray can. The label on it is light yellow with a shower head above the title and the product's name is written in red. It is operated like a normal spray can.
Role in episode
Mrs. Puff uses it on SpongeBob after he stays up all night, studying for his field trip. SpongeBob is dirty/smelly and missing his teeth. As a result, Shower in a Can cleans him up instantly.
- Apparently, Mrs. Puff carries around a bottle of this spray.
- When Mrs. Puff is spraying the Shower in a Can bottle her fin resembles a human hand with an index finger and thumb.


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There are many views within the body of Christ when it comes to Bible prophecy and end times events. My goal in this article is not to put down other points of view, but just present my case for the pre-tribulation rapture.
Types of Tribulation
The Tribulation that comes upon the Church
There is no doubt that the Church has in its history, and will continue to, experience tribulation and trials. Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) This, however, is different than the Tribulation that will come upon the earth.
The Tribulation that comes upon the Earth
The Tribulation period is a specific 7-year period where God deals with the Nation of Israel and pours out His wrath on the whole world (Daniel 9:24-27). Speaking about that time, Jesus said, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matt 24:21-22)
There are those that believe we will go through the Tribulation period, and often their criticism of the Pre-trib view is that "Pre-tribbers are escapists!" I believe that this is only partially true. Are we to be escapists?… Yes and No! Yes, we want to escape the wrath of God, but no, we do not want to escape trials and tribulation out of fear. Paul the apostle said that Christians that live godly will suffer persecution (2 Tim 3:10-12).
The key to remember is: the tribulation that the Church experiences comes from a different source than the Great Tribulation! The tribulation and persecution that comes upon the Church originates with Satan and fallen man (i.e. the wrath of Satan), whereas the Great Tribulation that comes upon the earth comes from God (i.e. the wrath of God – Rev. 6:16-17)
Evidences for the Pre-Tribulation Rapture
A. The Nature of the Church
I believe that one main reason people do not understand the timing of the rapture is because they do not understand the nature of the church. It is not just a matter of eschatology, but ecclesiology.
The 1st time the word "church" is used in the New Testament is in Matthew 16:18, where Jesus said, "I will build My church." The word "will" shows that it was still future from the moment Jesus said it. The Greek word for "church" is ekklēsia, which comes from two Greek words, ek meaning "out from", and kaleo, which means "to call," thus the word church literally means "the called out ones." We are the ones called out of this world to Jesus Christ.
In the N.T., we see that the Church is UNIVERSAL. The Church can be defined as: every genuine believer in Jesus Christ all over the world, regardless of denomination, race, or gender, from Pentecost (Acts 2) until the Rapture, whether in heaven or on earth. Notice that this includes those already in heaven! Thus, those that believe the Church will go through the tribulation don't have a problem with Eschatology, but Ecclesiology – most of the Church is already in heaven! I would assume then that they just don't understand what the nature of the Church is. The Church is not just those on the earth right now, but includes those believers that have died since Pentecost.
1. The Church is distinct from Israel and Gentiles.
The Church is referred to as the Body of Christ (Col. 1:18) composed of both Jews and Gentiles, of which there is no difference (Gal. 3:27-28), forming "one new man" (Eph. 2:11-16). The Church is a whole new thing! Paul the apostle wrote to the church in Corinth, "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God." (1 Cor. 10:32) The Church is distinct from Israel and Gentiles, yet is made up of both.
Until Jesus died, there were only 2 entities: Israel (Jews) and the Gentiles, but now there is a 3rd entity – the Church! From Adam to Abraham there were only Gentiles (Gen. 1-11). From Abraham to Jesus there were both Jews and Gentiles. From Jesus to the Rapture, there are Jews, Gentiles, and the Church. From the Rapture through Tribulation there will be only Jews and Gentiles again, and from the 2nd Coming, when the Church comes back with Jesus, through the Millennial Kingdom, there will be Jews, Gentiles, and the Church again here on the earth.
2. The Church is not appointed to Wrath.
Paul, in writing to the Romans, said, "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." (Rom 5:9) Also, he wrote to the Thessalonians, "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come," (1 Thess 1:10) and "for God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess 5:9) On the cross of Jesus Christ, He took the wrath of God that we deserved upon Himself in our place, thus we will never have to face God's wrath again! We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ! (Rom. 5:1)
In Jesus' letter to the church of Philadelphia, He said, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from (literally 'out of') the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." (Rev 3:10)
B. The Nature of the Tribulation.
1. It is the "Time of Jacob's Trouble."
The prophet Jeremiah refers to this time period as the "time of Jacob's trouble." (Jer. 30:1-11) This is the "70th Week" that the prophet Daniel refers to in Daniel 9:24-27, where God deals with Israel as a nation.
2. It is the Wrath of God.
The Book of Revelation makes it clear that this period in history is the wrath of God. (Rev 6:16-17; 11:18; 14:10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19; 19:15) The Tribulation is also called "The Day of the LORD" throughout the prophets in the Old Testament, which refers to the whole 7 year period of God's wrath and judgment.
3. It is the wrath of God upon all people.
In speaking of this time period, Isaiah wrote, "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible," (Isaiah 13:9-11) and "For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." (Isa 26:21)
The prophet Jeremiah wrote, "For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD." (Jer 25:29-31)
Jesus promised that the Church in Philedelphia would keep them "out of the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." (Rev 3:10), and the it clear in the New Testament that the Church will not experience the wrath of God! (Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess 1:10; 5:9).
4. The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail Against the Church.
At Cesarea Philippi, Jesus told Peter, "That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt. 16:18) The prophet Daniel wrote about the AntiChrist and said, "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them." (Dan. 7:21) Also, the apostle John wrote, "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." (Rev. 13:7) Thus, these saints cannot be the Church.
5. Believers that survive the Tribulation will repopulate the earth.
Cf. Isaiah 11:6-8; 65:20; Matthew 25:31-46. For those that hold a Post-trib view, they have a problem here. Who will repopulate the earth in the Millennium if only believers go into the Millennium and they are all translated at the Rapture (1 Cor. 15:51-58; Matt. 22:30)? Those believers cannot be the Church.
C. The Nature of God.
1. God won't judge the righteous with the wicked.
Cf. 2 Peter 2:9; Genesis 18:22-25; 19:15, 22. In Christ, we are completely righteous! (Rom 4:5; 5:1-2; Eph 2:1-9)
2. Judgment is God's strange work.
Cf. Isaiah 28:21.
D. The Old Testament Model.
1. Enoch was taken before the Flood. (Genesis 5:24)
2. Lot was delivered before the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 18:22-25; 19:15, 22)
3. Daniel was not present during the worship of the golden image. (Daniel 3)
E. The Testimony of Paul.
1. Paul expected to be alive at the Rapture.
1 Thessalonians 4:15 – "…we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord"
2. Paul taught that the Rapture would precede the Tribulation.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-9. Verse 3 says, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" The Greek word for "falling away" is apostasia, which means "departure." It is used twice in its noun form (Acts 21:21; 2 Thess. 2:3), 15 times in its verb form, and of all those it is just translated "depart" 11 times. Our modern English word apostasy has the idea of "departing from the faith," but the Greek word apostasia does not. It just means a general "departure." This same Greek word is used in 1 Timothy 4:1 as a departure from the faith, but it adds those words "from the faith" to describe exactly what kind of "departure" it is. There is nothing like this is in the text of 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
The AntiChrist will not be revealed until there is a "departure" first, so then we need to figure out what kind of departure Paul is talking about in its context. In verse 3, there is a definite article used with the word which implies a specific departure, which Paul just mentioned in verse 1 where he says, "by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto Him." He also mentioned that departure in his 1st letter to the church in Thessalonica (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Thus, the Antichrist will not be known (cf. Rev. 6:1; Dan. 9:27) until after the "departure" or the Rapture of the Church.
3. Paul referred to the Rapture as the Church's "Blessed Hope."
Titus 2:11-14; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 4:18.
4. Paul loved the appearing of Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 4:6-10.
F. The Testimony of the Book of Revelation.
1. The Church is not mentioned on Earth from Rev. 4:1 – 19:14.
2. The Identity of the 24 Elders.
Revelation 4:4, which says, "Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads," and verse 10, "the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:" When you look at the identity of the 24 Elders in the Book of Revelation, it's pretty obvious that they represent the Church. The description of the 24 Elders follow the exact promises that Jesus gave to the 7 churches in Rev. 2-3.
a) They sit on thrones. (Cf. Revelation 1:6; 3:21)
b) They are clothed in white raiment. (Cf. Revelation 3:5)
c) They have crowns of gold on their heads. (Cf. Revelation 2:10; 3:11)
d) They sing a song only the Church can sing. (Revelation 5:5-11, 14)
Revelation 5:9 says, "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;". This group is made up of Jews and Gentiles from all over the world. Verse 10 say, "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." This is a phrase John used in Revelation 1:4-7 referring to the 7 churches!
d) They cannot be Angels. (Revelation 7:11)
f) They cannot be Tribulation believers. (Revelation 7:13-14)
g) They cannot be the 144,000 Jewish believers on earth. (Revelation 11:16; 14:1-3)
h) They cannot be the complete Nation of Israel. (Revelation 7 & 12)
i) They are only mentioned in Rev. 4-19, and they are always in heaven! (Revelation 19:4)
j) There are 24 of these Elders.
Some say that they represent 12 from Israel (O.T.) and 12 from Church (N.T.). However, the text says 24 and there is no justification for separating them. The number 24 indicates a representative group and a completed body, as in 1 Chron. 24 & 25 where there were priest singers in 24 "courses" or "divisions". The 24 courses represented the whole Tribe of Levi. In the N.T., "elders" are the representatives of the Church, thus it would seem that these 24 Elders would represent the entire Church.
G. The Doctrine of Imminency.
1. The Church is to be watching and waiting for Jesus to come.
Cf. Matthew 24:36 – 25:13; Mark 13:32-37; Luke 21:28-36; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6.
2. The Church is to be looking for Jesus Christ, not the AntiChrist.
Philippians 3:20 – "For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:"
Titus 2:13 – "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"
Hebrews 9:28 – "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
1 Thessalonians 1:10 – "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
James 5:7-8 – "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."
Revelation 22:20 – "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
H. Jesus Promised to Remove His "Last Generation" Disciples from the Tribulation Period.
Jesus said, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Luke 21:36) He also promised the church of Philadelphia, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." (Rev 3:10)
How does this Doctrine affect us?
A. Promotes Holiness.
1 John 3:2-3 says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
B. Promotes Evangelism.
Believing that Jesus can come at any time gives us an urgency to reach our generation with the Gospel. (Matt. 3:2, 7; 4:17; Colossians 1:28)
C. Promotes World Missions.
If we have an urgency to get the gospel out, this impels us to develop a worldwide missionary vision of reaching the lost. Dr. Timothy Weber, a church historian, has noted that belief in the rapture has been a great incentive for missions in the last 150 years: "By the 1920s premillennialists were claiming that they made up 'an overwhelming majority' of the [missions] movement. Others estimated that believers in the imminent second coming made up from 75 to 85 percent of the missionary force worldwide… American premillennialists were better represented on the mission fields than in the home churches… Instead of cutting missionary involvement, premillennialism increased it." (Thomas Ice, The Truth About the Rapture, pg. 45)
D. Gives Comfort to the Believer.
Writing about the rapture of the Church, the apostle Paul told the Thessalonians to "comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess 4:18)
E. Awakens the Believer!
Paul, in writing to the Romans, said, "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." (Romans 13:11-14)


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What areas of nursing pay the best?
I am planning a career change into nursing in the next 2-3 years. I am 44. I have always wanted to be a nurse and I am not changing into the career for the money-it is what I have always wanted to do. There are many different areas I am interested in. Some things I have thought about are: getting a doctorate and teaching in a BSN program, getting a nurse practioner degree and working in a holisitic wellness clinic, going into nursing management (I have a MBA and a CPA from many years ago). I think I do want to do this for the right reasons, however money is an issue. I would appreciate your input so I can head towards an area that I will like, and can do well financially. Thanks for your ideas.Nov 13, '04CRNA is the highest paying nursing job. Teaching jobs don't pay as much as bedside nursing. Most experienced floor nurses make more than nurse practioners. Hope that helps!Nov 13, '04Travel nursing/ agency nursing/ ICU---med/surg gives great bonuses. Work where you'll be happy is the best reward. Don't go for the money as your first priority, you'll just incur undue stress that money can't reverse.Nov 16, '04Find an area that you like and don't make your decision soley based on monetary gain. You will be much happier if you chose an area that you enjoy.
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Forums → The Tavern → How did you find Armor Games?
Did you just stumble across it? Did someone tell you about AG? Were you visited by the gods of flash games and told "Go to Armor Games. It's Freaking Awesome."? Or some other nonsensical scenario that even I couldn't dream up?
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I can't remember exactly I think it was one of my friends mentioned it when we was talking about game sites.
I wanted to play as the germans in warfare 1917 was what got me to keep coming back, but it was not my first game on this site, I created my account because I wanted to use online saves.
I'm not sure what game I was playing at the time, but I saw the logo somewhere and it prompted me to investigate. I had seen the old logo before when it was the two guys sword-fighting, as well as the more recent designs, but it didn't occur to me for years that there was a site that went with the various logos.
It all started long ago..
When I was in elementary school my friends started getting into online gaming, and the top gaming site they went on was Armor Games. I wasn't into gaming or going on the computer at all at the time, but they nagged me over and over again so I went on just so they would leave me alone. I fell in love with the site (not literally) once I played some of the games. I knew Armor Games ever since it was made actually (around 2 or 3 months after it was established). I remember the game selection being vary small, but the games being so good.
My addiction to online gaming eventually effected my grades in school so I was banned from the computer and gaming period. I wasn't aloud to go on for a long, long, time after that until I got my discipline back. After a while I forgot about AG and then I left the site completely. I didn't come back till 4 years later when I got back into gaming. The first thing that came to my mind when I thought online games was Armor Games, so I made a account and 7 months later here I am talking about it.
It all started out as a site for me to play games on. Then I discovered that you could join the community and...I did nothing. So a few years after this I decided to check it out and voila! I joined the community.
Found it through Addictinggames actually. I forget the game but it was quite a while ago. Needless to say, I haven't gone to addictinggames since then. I think it was the logo that interested me at first, and then the game quality.
Before AG, I was primarily using Agame.com as my main gaming site. I noticed that every other game I played was coming from this site called Armor Games (it was actually irritating me), so one day, I clicked on the logo when a game was loading (if I'm not mistaken, it was Indestruc2tank.) I found the site, browsed around for a bit, then left. (I think this was before 2008.) I kept playing Agame for a while, then they redid the site and completely ruined it.
I got tired of hanging around some place I didn't like (the community is rotten over there, don't even try it.), so I browsed around back in '09 and rediscovered Armor Games. The rest is history. Exit Path came out, and I decided to make an account.
To be honest, I don't even remember! I must have been playing some AG-sponsored game on a different site and clicked on the logo, but I may have just been searching for free flash games... AG is the fourth result, after all! =)
I didn't find it, it found me.
I was playing a game which I don't remember the name in other site. In the game menu there was an option "More Games". I clicked it and than I found this site.
I remember my cousin mentioned it to me when i was a kid, so i kept playing on this site for years but just recently made my account, because i wanted to rate games and post comments.
I didn't find it, it found me.
Did a page you wanted to go to redirect itself to Armor Games? That would be a perfect example of it finding you.
I had seen the old logo before when it was the two guys sword-fighting, as well as the more recent designs, but it didn't occur to me for years that there was a site that went with the various logos.
I have seen this Logo to, on a game called Super Smash Flash. That was the only game where I saw the logo were one person if striking with a sword and another person is blocking it with a shield. Another I saw where two sword hitting each other making a low clanking sound then a shield would appear saying "Armor Games". I saw these logos on almost every online game I would play. I guess you can say Armor Games found me too in a way.
I found the logo on a game and then went to the site. I have played it ever since.
I used to just play games on random sites. A bunch of them had the AG logo, so one day I clicked on it, loved the games here, etc. etc.
Well, I found it on addictiing games. Then I played it and forced three of my friends on. =p
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