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You, Your Student, and Their Privacy
There may be instances when you need to contact Gallagher Student on behalf of your student – whether it's to check their enrollment dates, ask a benefit question, or inquire about a specific claim. We want to be able to assist you; however, if your student is 18 or older, we are forbidden by law to provide you with any information without their consent.
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- Health Care Clearinghouses—entities that process nonstandard health information they receive from another entity into a standard (i.e., standard electronic format or data content), or vice versa. In addition, Business Associates of Covered Entities must follow parts of the HIPAA regulations.
What Information Is Protected?
- Information your doctors, nurses, and other health care providers put in your medical record.
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- Information about you in your health insurer's computer system.
- Billing information about you at your clinic.
- Most other health information about you held by those who must follow these laws.
To view the law on the Department of Health and Human Services website:


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Friday, September 11, 2009
Smashwords Supports Operation Ebook Drop
The other day on the Amazon Kindle message boards, Smashwords author Ed Patterson met a U.S. soldier stationed in Iraq who wanted to download ebooks for his Kindle, yet Whispernet (Amazon's wireless download service) didn't work in Iraq.
Ed offered to email the soldier all 13 of his ebooks, for free. The soldier gratefully accepted.
Following the chance encounter with the soldier, Ed, himself an Army veteran, queried other indie authors on the Kindleboards message boards, asking if they too would be willing to offer their ebooks for free to troops deployed overseas.
In a matter of days, about twenty authors volunteered their books. Almost immediately, Ed began receiving additional requests for ebooks from soldiers and their families.
Ed and some of the authors started using Smashwords as the platform for distributing the ebooks to soldiers. Using the Smashwords Coupon Generator feature, authors are emailing 100%-off coupons to the soldiers.
I stumbled across the thread at Kindleboards yesterday, and was pleased to learn about Ed's project and see so many Smashwords authors participating. I immediately decided I wanted to get Smashwords more involved.
I got on the phone with Bill Kendrick, Smashwords' CTO (and chief magician), and together we brainstormed how we could help take Ed's campaign to the next level. Then late last night, Ed and I spoke on the phone for more brainstorming.
What began as "Operation Kindle Ebook Drop" has now morphed into something much bigger - "Operation Ebook Drop," in recognition of the multiple ebook-reading devices - cell phones, Kindles, Sony Readers, laptops, etc. - people use to read ebooks.
With Ed's encouragement, over the next week or so, we'll begin notifying our 1,300+ Smashwords authors and publishers about the opportunity to participate in Operation Ebook Drop.
The campaign, as we kick it off today, will roll out in stages.
For stage one, we'll encourage Smashwords authors to email Ed to opt-in to participate. On a regular basis, as Ed receives requests from deployed soldiers, he'll pass these requests on to the authors, who will directly email the soldiers hyperlinks to their book pages at Smashwords, along with Smashwords coupons which the troops can redeem to download the book in multiple formats, readable on any e-reading device.
For stage two, we'll look to create a more automated system of matching soldiers with ebooks, so that rather than the manual process described above, we'll create a catalog, either hosted at Smashwords or by the military, where service members can access the books.
The biggest challenge we'll face is authentication, but we think this can be achieved with some simple hyperlinks originating from within secure websites and intranets operated by the military. Ed has already started reaching out to different military branches to explore opportunities for collaboration on this important project.
How to Participate
Authors and Publishers - Operation Ebook Drop has been discontinued. Here's how author's created coupons: To create a 100%-off coupon, log in to your Smashwords account and click on the Coupon Manager link. Ed will email you book requests, and then you simply email the soldier a hyperlink to your book page, and the corresponding coupon code. From your Dashboard, coupon redemptions will show up in your Sales & Payment History Report, and you'll also receive instant email notification. If you're not yet a publisher with Smashwords (why not?), you can learn how publish with us by visiting our How to Publish with Smashwords page.
Deployed troops - Operation Ebook Drop has been discontinued. Here's how service members created redeemed coupons: All coalition military personnel deployed overseas who need multi-format ebooks are eligible. According to Ed, "If you're overseas and away from your home and loved ones, your dependence on reading might increase - and so we a gifting you ebooks for Kindle, Sony, iPhone, Blackberry etc." For free ebooks, please email Ed at the address above. Please note that the ebooks you receive may be shared with fellow deployed service members, but may not be distributed or shared elsewhere. Please also consider the coupon codes you receive as privileged information, not to be shared elsewhere. The participating authors are pleased to offer you their books.
Where to Learn More
Operation Ebook Drop has been discontinued. The unofficial staging area for Operation Ebook Drop campaign is over at the Kindleboards message boards. Check it out, help out, and support the young men and women in uniform with some great reads! Operation Ebook Drop also has its own web site, here.
October 15, 2009 Update: Ed Patterson and I were interviewed at PodioRacket tonight with an update on Operation eBook Drop. Listen to the interview here.
October 31, 2010 Update: Ed Patterson informs me over 500 indie authors are now participating in Operation Ebook Drop. Awesome! Congrats to all.
April 22, 2013 Update: Ed Patterson informs me that Operation Ebook Drop has been discontinued. Ever since the pull-out of troops from Iraq, and now the wind-down in Afghanistan, the need for the service has diminished. My thanks to Ed for his great volunteer effort, and thanks also to the thousands of Smashwords authors who supported this.
59 comments:
- Laura Eno said...
I've been participating with Ed for the last few days. It's great that you're expanding the program!
- September 11, 2009 at 9:51 AM
I've been participating, too, and have already been able to send books to two soldiers - and I want more. More!
Thanks for getting involved. This is outstanding. My husband would have loved something like this when he was deployed. - September 11, 2009 at 10:49 AM
- Alan said...
This is a great idea. I'm in Australia and don't have any particular connections beyond shared interests, but I'll certainly get involved.
- September 12, 2009 at 1:58 AM
- Susan Helene Gottfried said...
This is such a fabulous idea. Kudos to you guys at Smashwords for allowing other formats to become available.
- September 12, 2009 at 3:49 AM
- Joanna Penn said...
Hi Mark,
I think this is a great idea but are you going to send ebooks to troops of all nationalities? or just the US troops or friends of the US? or to the nation troops of the various author nationalities you have on this site? or to any soldier?
I know how much you (and Smashwords authors) are proud of the international angle of the publishing site. You have no country boundaries on publication. So I just wondered how that would work for this idea!
From an English author, living in Australia, who is pro-America but also an international peace-keeping fan!
Thanks, Joanna - September 13, 2009 at 1:00 AM
- Dovetail Public Relations said...
Hi Joanna, yes, this goes beyond American forces. We categorized it above as "coalition forces," but it's really open to all international peacekeeping forces as well. Ed's intention here is to provide indie authors the opportunity to give back by honoring the sacrifice these men and women make, independent of nationality, and independent of whether or not he, I, the authors or anyone support these conflicts.
- September 13, 2009 at 8:53 AM
I've just emailed Ed and signed up, what a grreat idea and kudos to you for it being for All Peacekeeping forces.
(Not sure which id this blog uses - I have several! - so this is my smashwords page...)
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/sarahbarnard - September 13, 2009 at 11:45 AM
- Unknown said...
I am proud and privileged to be a participating author in Operation Ebook Drop. I encourage my fellow authors to join in this worthy effort.
Elmore Hammes
Author, The Twenty Dollar Bill
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ElmoreHammes - September 14, 2009 at 7:47 AM
- ECP said...
41 Authors have signed up for this initiative and over 1000 Ebook coupons have been dropped for the troops. I am very thankful for the participants here - but I'm agrredy son of gun, and want more. Our men & women in the Armed Drces are well worth the effort and giving free books is no great sacrifice compared to their lives on the line daily for our basic freedoms, including the freedom to write.
Edward C. Patterson - September 14, 2009 at 9:59 AM
Great news, Ed! I'm so happy and so proud to know that so many indie authors are taking part in this program.
- September 14, 2009 at 10:36 AM
- Randolph Lalonde said...
I was happy to sign up and offer all my books. It's only fitting, since a lot of it is sci-fi adventure with a military touch.
Thank you for putting this together guys! - September 14, 2009 at 5:27 PM
- dannistories said...
Count me in! I'm going to Smashwords now to sign up!
http://dannistories.com - September 17, 2009 at 6:34 PM
- Unknown said...
Wonderful and now to get the word out to everyone!
Good job, Smashwords!! - September 20, 2009 at 9:32 PM
- Rebecca J Vickery said...
Hi Mark,
First, thanks for forming Smashwords to begin with. Then thanks for getting involved in such a worthy cause. I just signed up and am looking forward to seeing my first download go out to one of the troops listed. I am totally happy with my decision to move over here to Smashwords. - October 13, 2009 at 4:26 PM
- Dovetail Public Relations said...
Thanks, Rebecca. Welcome to Smashwords! And a big shout out to all the indie authors who have checked in with Ed Patterson to sign up. Over 60 authors participating now. Just had a thread with one great person in Texas yesterday who is purchasing several Amazon Kindles out of his own pocket to pre-load with OED books to ship off to several units overseas.
- October 13, 2009 at 4:46 PM
- Rebecca J Vickery said...
This was simple to do and within 20 minutes of sending my first emails to the troops I had 2 of them take advantage and accept my book. What a fantastic feeling. Thanks Ed and Mark. I even got a nice thank you note from an officer aboard ship for my participation. Thank you to everyone who is participating.
- October 13, 2009 at 9:50 PM
- LK Hunsaker said...
What an incredible program! As the spouse of a recently retired soldier, it does my heart good to see this kind of support. As an indie author, I'm in!
- October 14, 2009 at 11:30 AM
- LK Hunsaker said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- October 14, 2009 at 11:33 AM
Great idea. I'm in.
ARNE - October 15, 2009 at 4:58 PM
- Robin Van Auken said...
Wonderful idea. Thank you. I just ordered and received a Kindle for my son who is on his third tour "studying abroad." During his first tour, five years ago, he asked for books and our community rounded up and shipped 10,000 real books through http://anysoldier.com.
I think they'll like receiving eBooks better. Toting 30-lb boxes is not fun.
I work with a new eBook publisher, http://publishing.kolbnetworks.com, and I've added our authors' books and many 99-cent classics before sending it overseas. When I ship it, I'll include Ed's email addy. - November 4, 2009 at 6:03 AM
- davidsartof said...
This is a brilliant idea. Count me in. Also, if you need help coordinating PR and contributions from the UK, I offer my assistance. I am an ex-military officer (with 20-years service, including NATO) and I have some useful press contacts on this side of the Atlantic.
Keep up this good work
David - November 13, 2009 at 8:01 AM
- Dovetail Public Relations said...
Hey David, awesome. Thanks for your offer of assistance to help spread the word. Why don't you contact Ed at the email address in this post and he can help you coordinate. Thanks!
- November 13, 2009 at 8:27 AM
- davidsartof said...
I have emailed Ed. Feel free to let him know it is on its way to his in-box!
Let's see if we can keep up this great momentum!
D - November 13, 2009 at 8:55 AM
- Donald James Parker said...
This is a great idea. I just wished I could participate. All my ebooks are free to everyone, but since I'm not a SmashWords author, I'm not eligible to donate here.
Donald James Parker
Author of Reforming the Potter's Clay - November 16, 2009 at 3:08 AM
- Dovetail Public Relations said...
Hi Donald, you don't need to be a Smashwords author to participate. Contact Ed and he can add you to the list. Thanks.
- November 16, 2009 at 6:50 AM
- Robin Sullivan said...
What a great program - I'm so happy to have my husband's books be a part of this!
- November 17, 2009 at 3:19 AM
- Aggie Villanueva said...
I'm on my way to smashwords right now to sign up my book! What a wonderful idea.
- November 17, 2009 at 5:46 PM
- Unknown said...
Is this something that Paradigm could champion/support as part of the Welcome offering from the UK.
- November 18, 2009 at 9:05 AM
- David Sartof said...
Simonc @Paradigm. Please give me a shout through UK blog site http://oebduk.blogspot.com/you can find my contact details there.
- November 18, 2009 at 4:21 PM
- Unknown said...
As a proud third generation military vet (USAF) and Smashwords author, I think this is a great idea and will sign up! Great recon of the boards to make this idea go global.
John Marion Francis
http://www.marionfrancis.com - November 22, 2009 at 6:13 AM
- Joseph Picard said...
Haha.. the only thing stopping me from jumping on board with this is that my stories involve military, and although it's a military in the 'near future' in a country that I made up, I suspect that REAL soldiers would find SO many flaws in how I 'operate my military'.
- November 23, 2009 at 7:38 PM
- Aggie Villanueva said...
Joseph, I felt the same way, though my military scenes take place in BCE times, I'm still intimidated to let a real military person read it. But I did, and so far two of them have ordered it. Gulp!
- November 23, 2009 at 8:50 PM
- Joseph Picard said...
I guess it's worth a shot.. I mean.. at worst, they hate it, and ask for a $0 refund, right?
- November 23, 2009 at 10:20 PM
- Aggie Villanueva said...
Exactly, Joseph. At least give them the chance to love your book.
- November 24, 2009 at 10:03 AM
- Joylene Nowell Butler said...
I sent some books with my son when he left for Kandahar. He lent out a copy and had everyone autograph it, then gave it back to me at his wedding in April. What a treasure.
- November 25, 2009 at 2:27 PM
- TriGirl Kate O said...
My son is deploying to Iraq in March and I was thinking about getting him a Kindle or some other digital reader for Christmas. My sister mentioned how difficult it was to download books while overseas and suggested I first research it. What a wonderful, worthwhile endeavor for our troops! Thank you and I'll definitely have my son let his fellow soldiers know about this program.
ps I haven't yet decided what to get him, but am leaning towards a Kindle. - December 14, 2009 at 12:08 PM
- Perry P. Perkins said...
Just signed up all mt titles.
What a great idea!
www.perryperkinsbooks.com - December 17, 2009 at 10:24 AM
- D.B. Pacini said...
We're honored to feature Operation E-Book Drop as our Starry Night Creative Artists Community Winter 2010 Showcase. Operation E-Book Drop will be our featured showcase until April 2010.
Scroll down to "Showcase" link.
Warm Regards,
Starry Night Staff - January 8, 2010 at 6:10 PM
- Kristan said...
What a fantastic effort. I'm not sure any troops would be interested in my book, but I plan to email Ed just in case. :)
- June 18, 2010 at 2:04 PM
- Unknown said...
Great idea. I hope this spreads across all nations troops.
www.expatinoz.com - July 25, 2010 at 8:58 AM
- Kelly Rae said...
I was wondering if the free Ebooks was still available for those who are deployed.
My brother left for Afghanistan last Wednesday and got himself a Kindle before he left and I would love for him to have access if you are still doing this. Thanks!
Kelly - October 3, 2010 at 12:38 AM
- Unknown said...
Yes, we are still sending books. Email Ed at the address above and the word will get to your brother about all the free books he can download!
- October 3, 2010 at 6:14 AM
- S.R.Claridge said...
I am very excited to be a part of this incredible program with my mystery/romantic suspense novel, NO EASY WAY!
Thanks Ed and Happy Holidays! - December 7, 2010 at 8:32 AM
Have my two ebooks out there for Ed to hand out as well. Wish i would have had something like this when i was in Iraq all those years!
Great job Ed!! - December 28, 2010 at 6:26 AM
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- February 19, 2011 at 11:48 AM
Laudizen King is proud make his eBooks available for free download in Operation Ebook Drop
- February 19, 2011 at 11:53 AM
- Unknown said...
Hello I'm Bill See, author of "33 Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream." Operation ebook Drop is a great program and I'm honored to be a part of t.
- April 9, 2011 at 6:04 PM
- Amy Blackwelder said...
Love this, so honored to take part
Shifter Evolutions has had some soldiers contact me directly, and so I think this program will bring it to many more!
Shifter Evolutions - April 11, 2011 at 6:11 PM
- Unknown said...
Fantastic idea. I have made my novel Stags! available. My thanks to Edward Patterson and Smashwords for helping to bring this together.
Michael Madden
Author of Stags!
www.michael-madden.co.uk - April 17, 2011 at 11:18 AM
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/44703 I threw my book into the hat as well :)
Lori Dake - April 17, 2011 at 2:54 PM
- Marilyn Yarbrough said...
Our soldiers deserve more than we can ever give. My husband is a Vietnan Vet and both our sons are Vets of the Desert Storm Gulf War.
- June 19, 2011 at 7:27 AM
- KL Parry said...
I think this is an awesome idea! My oldest son did a tour in Kuwait and I know there were restrictions on what kind of books could be sent to him. This will not only allow them availability but also a larger variety. I'm in!
- July 1, 2011 at 10:00 PM
- M.T. Melder said...
I have a suggestion . . . What about free books to the VA hospitals around the US? My son is a Purple Heart recipient and I have thought about trying to volunteer at one of the VA hospitals. Sadly, I am so far away from any of them to be able to go. Free books at the VA hospitals would be ideal, since a lot of the soldiers are confined to their rooms if not in therapy. This would make me feel as if I helped in a small way, if they had access to my book for free! Any comments?
- July 27, 2011 at 12:46 PM
- Bernard Schaffer said...
I was ecstatic to get an acceptance email for the Operation. Thank you so much! www.ApiarySociety.com
- December 4, 2011 at 11:37 AM
- ray p daley said...
dropped you an email offering all my work which is already free anyway.
ex-forces myself so happy to be able to help any comrades in arms. - January 12, 2012 at 2:02 PM
- Berrit Bites said...
Will be emailing you shortly. I have no problems giving out any of my books for free. Great way to get their minds off of things wherever they're stationed!
- March 26, 2012 at 3:54 PM
- Sadieforsythe said...
What a wonderful idea! I love it. I just wish I had more books to offer.
- May 1, 2012 at 1:36 PM
- Unknown said...
A wonderful idea and I just started participating. Have sent my first batch of emails with code to the troops on the list
- December 2, 2012 at 8:24 PM
- Unknown said...
Great idea. Ive signed up
- December 10, 2012 at 5:04 AM


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- Ikht'tkstykl
Select a Template:
Cultural: Afghul Afrika Ahaggar Amazon Arabic Aztec Congo Egyptian English France French Gobi Greek Inca Japan Khitai Norway Places: Archaic Canada Coastal City Geographic Hamlet Place I Place II Place III Place IV Place V Place VI Scotland Street Name Tolkien: Baggins Buckland Eldar Gamgee Goblin Khuzdul Shire Took Items: Mystical Item Miscellaneous: Idea I Idea II Idea III Idea IV Idea V Idea VI Somethin Quest Steps Quest II Names of People: Darabi Elf Epithet I Epithet II Epithet III Exotic Female I Female II Hyboria Insectoid JDH Minotaur Male I Male II Male III Male IV Myconid Name I Name II Name III Name IV New Nounverber Titles Ophidian Saurian Shadow Sidhe Skaven Wolfen Title
Select a template from the drop down list, select the number of times you want to run the generator, and hit "Go" to create a random list of ideas, people and place names. Alternatively, you can pick from the list lower on the page instead of using the drop down select.
This PHP application draws from many sources. Basically, it is a replication of the model that TableSmith uses. A random generator and tables that link together. After I found out about TableSmith, I set about converting some of the older name templates in Names 2.01 (by Michael Harvey) into .tab format, as well as collecting some freely available TableSmith .tab files off the net, and additionally pulled some various random lists from RPG websites scattered across the web.


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Note that if you're using a question mark as a placeholder for a string value, you don't surround it with quotation marks in the MySQL query.
For example, do this:
mysqli_stmt_prepare($stmt, "SELECT * FROM foo WHERE foo.Date > ?");
Do not do this:
mysqli_stmt_prepare($stmt, "SELECT * FROM foo WHERE foo.Date > '?'");
If you put quotation marks around a question mark in the query, then PHP doesn't recognize the question mark as a placeholder, and then when you try to use mysqli_stmt_bind_param(), it gives an error to the effect that you have the wrong number of parameters.
The lack of quotation marks around a string placeholder is implicit in the official example on this page, but it's not explicitly stated in the docs, and I had trouble figuring it out, so figured it was worth posting.


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Experienced teams and crew leaders
Exellence in every move with years of experience in the Industry
Get StartedWe will cover you on every step of your move, whether you're relocating to, within, or out of Searcy, regardless of the size and distance of the move. That's what it means to be the best moving services in Searcy, Arkansas for us. Here, at Mayzlin Relocation, we are fully devoted to proving our worthiness and professionalism, while providing affordable pricing for your home, apartment, and commercial moving.
We are trying hard to be the best movers in Searcy, AR so we provide full-cycle packaging and moving services — locally and interstate. We treat every client with competence and respect, and their belongings — as our own. If you place your move to Searcy, AR in our company's hands, you can sit back and relax.
We know how much hurdle and stress the moving can bring, so as your top in-state and interstate movers in Searcy, Arkansas , we offer budget-friendly moving insurance with full or partial coverage. We are always looking up to clients' expectations, so you're free to choose the most comfortable conditions.
To make your moving in Searcy stress-free we will take care of all the packing mundane for you — packing, taping, and wrapping. We will pack your delicate belongings up as securely as we possibly can, and unpack them with the best care. Among all the moving companies in Searcy, AR it'd be quite a task to find more dependable and responsible movers.
Mayzlin team has years of experience and a history of thankful reviews from our clients in Searcy, Arkansas. We pride ourselves on providing friendly assistance. All of our Searcy, AR movers received special training to ensure that your belongings get to their destination without incident. Every member of our Searcy moving team is experienced in handling a wide range of things, including furniture, boxes, fragile items like vases, and family heirlooms. We can also assist with packing up items and unpacking them if necessary.
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⚡ Reliability and security
Battery Lenovo L15M4A01 is a high-quality replacement for your original battery, which meets all technical requirements for reliability and security.
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Battery Lenovo L15M4A01 has CE, FCC and ROHS certificates, and complies with all requirements for safety applicable within the territory of the EU member states.
+Our batteries are 100% WITH CE-/FCC-/RoHS-Certified for safety
+We only uses high quality materials and grade A battery cells to ensure true capacity and more recharge cycles.
+Thorough, comprehensive testing – each battery cell is tested for correct capacity and to ensure all safety requirements are met - all before installation.
Lenovo V4400 Seires
Ideapad 100-15IBD(Ideapad 100
Lenovo TianYi100-14
Lenovo TianYi100-14IBD
Q: How to charge the Lenovo L15M4A01 battery properly?
A: You should charge the replacement battery for Lenovo L15M4A01 before the battery exhaustively discharged, otherwise it will shorten its life. It is feasible to charge the laptop battery before the power is less than 20%. Meanwhile, the battery should be charged in a dry place, and please pay attention to high temperature, which is the biggest threat to battery life.
Q: How to deal with the replacement battery for Lenovo L15M4A01 when you won't use for a long time?
A: If you let your Lenovo L15M4A01 battery lay idle for a long time, please charge the laptop battery or discharge to about 40%, and then put it in a dry and cool place to save. Indoor temperature is best maintained at 15 to 25 degrees Celsius because the temperature is easy to accelerate the battery aging either too high or too low. You'd better fully charge and discharge the battery at least once a month. Finally please save it in accordance with the above method.
Q: How to replace your Lenovo L15M4A01 Battery?
1.Turn off your Lenovo L15M4A01 laptop and disconnect the AC adapter.
2.Release the latch or other attachment devices that hold your battery in place.
3.Slide the old battery out of its compartment or storage bay
4.Take the replacement battery for Lenovo L15M4A01 laptop out of the box.
5.Slide it into the notch or bay.
6.Close the safety latch to lock it into place.
7.Reconnect the AC adapter and give the new battery for your Lenovo L15M4A01 notebook a full charge.
Tags:Lenovo L15M4A01,Lenovo L15M4A01 battery,Lenovo L15M4A01 Laptop Battery,Lenovo L15M4A01 Batteries,replacement battery for Lenovo L15M4A01,Lenovo V4400 Ideapad 100- 15IBD.
Free Shipping on All Products
All orders placed for Standard Shipping on all stock items will be shipped within 1 - 2 business days.
Estimated Delivery Time:7 - 15 Business Days
It is very easy for you to check the status of your order and locate the package during transit, as an email with a tracking number will be sent to your email address after your order has been shipped out. Tracking number will be emailed to buyer once your ordered item is shipped out.
Attention: Priority mail will be used for all PO Box shipping addresses ,But All APO's and military addresses do not apply here. Please use standard shipping for these. Thank you.
1.Make sure the laptop is unplugged and turned off, and that the battery has cooled.
2.Flip the laptop upside down. Push the battery latch to the left "unlock" position. While holding the latch in this position, slide the battery out of the computer.
3.Look for the serial number that is printed on the label on the back of the battery. The serial number will be a combination of some letters and numbers that more conspicuous.
4.For you convenience, please refer to the pictures below to see an example for a A32-K93 part number:
1.Open the laptop and check the area near the keyboard first. Manufacturers commonly print the computer model (such as Aspire 4736G for a Acer computer) on or near the keyboard.
Please note : High capacity batteries with the bigger size shape, and them will extend out about 1 inch from the bottom / side of the laptop.


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git-gui (1)
Leading comments
Title: git-gui Author: [FIXME: author] [see http://docbook.sf.net/el/author] Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets v1.79.1 <http://docbook.sf.net/> Date: 08/10/2017 Manual: Git Manual Source: Git 2.14.1 Language: English
git-gui - A portable graphical interface to GitSYNOPSIS
git gui [<command>] [arguments]
A Tcl/Tk based graphical user interface to Git. git gui focuses on allowing users to make changes to their repository by making new commits, amending existing ones, creating branches, performing local merges, and fetching/pushing to remote repositories.
Unlike gitk, git gui focuses on commit generation and single file annotation and does not show project history. It does however supply menu actions to start a gitk session from within git gui.
git gui is known to work on all popular UNIX systems, Mac OS X, and Windows (under both Cygwin and MSYS). To the extent possible OS specific user interface guidelines are followed, making git gui a fairly native interface for users.
- Start a blame viewer on the specified file on the given version (or working directory if not specified).
- Start a tree browser showing all files in the specified commit (or HEAD by default). Files selected through the browser are opened in the blame viewer.
- Start git gui and arrange to make exactly one commit before exiting and returning to the shell. The interface is limited to only commit actions, slightly reducing the applicationcqs startup time and simplifying the menubar.
- Display the currently running version of git gui.
git gui blame Makefile
- Show the contents of the file Makefile in the current working directory, and provide annotations for both the original author of each line, and who moved the line to its current location. The uncommitted file is annotated, and uncommitted changes (if any) are explicitly attributed to Not Yet Committed.
git gui blame v0.99.8 Makefile
- Show the contents of Makefile in revision v0.99.8 and provide annotations for each line. Unlike the above example the file is read from the object database and not the working directory.
git gui blame --line=100 Makefile
- Loads annotations as described above and automatically scrolls the view to center on line 100.
git gui citool
- Make one commit and return to the shell when it is complete. This command returns a non-zero exit code if the window was closed in any way other than by making a commit.
git gui citool --amend
- Automatically enter the Amend Last Commit mode of the interface.
git gui citool --nocommit
- Behave as normal citool, but instead of making a commit simply terminate with a zero exit code. It still checks that the index does not contain any unmerged entries, so you can use it as a GUI version of git-mergetool(1)
git citool
- Same as git gui citool (above).
git gui browser maint
- Show a browser for the tree of the maint branch. Files selected in the browser can be viewed with the internal blame viewer.
- The Git repository browser. Shows branches, commit history and file differences. gitk is the utility started by git gui's Repository Visualize actions.
git gui is actually maintained as an independent project, but stable versions are distributed as part of the Git suite for the convenience of end users.
A git gui development repository can be obtained from:
git clone git://repo.or.cz/git-gui.git
git clone repo.or.cz/r/git-gui.git
or browsed online at m[blue]repo.or.cz/w/git-gui.gitm[].
Part of the git(1) suite


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Kanye has a big ego anyways. My sister even said that months ago after seeing him at Lollapalooza! Actually, she didn't really see him. She walked out after a few minutes of him talking because he was so arrogant, she said. O_O now give those two eyes shutter shades and you're goooooood.
Blah blah blah, Friday's floral granny outfit.The debut for my new floral tights I bought Thursday at H&M. Not from the CDG collection, but for $7.90, why not? They're vibrant enough to make a nice contrast with grey and black items, but soft enough to be mixed with other prints.Tights, H&M. Cardigan, Delia's (my sister's). Pearl bracelets, Claire's. Everything else is some form of secondhand so I will not bother giving details...the pink skirt is a baby dress that's gone through the family that I now totally overwear as a skirt, and I belted it with a raggy green scarf I totally overwear as a belt. I put a pink lace miniskirt (used to be sister's) over everything, and since I have just rediscovered it will also be totally overwearing that (and will definitely have pastel Japanese street style combinations in mind...)I have made a new rule for myself that I have to find all ways to wear something before a thrifting trip. I'd say I've been doing pretty good, no?Also, I was interviewed at The Fashion Press for their blogger feature. Thanks Nancy and Lee!
Later, gator.


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Just watched Bret Victor's powerful video:
Inventing on Principle | CUSEC
Simply put, watching it was a lifechanging moment, for me.
In some ways, Victor's talk was deeply philosophical, though it's easy to assess it as a demonstration about software engineering. It was delivered (here in Montreal) at a software engineering conference and Victor masterfully adapted his talk to a software engineering audience.
But, more than Hofstadter "philosophy book, disguised as a book of entertainment, disguised as a book of instruction" (that I consider to be a computer science book disguised as semi-academic nonfiction), Victor's talk is a call to action disguised as a talk on software engineering. It makes a profound philosophical statement using software engineering as a launching point. In other words, it may have had more of an impact on me (as an ethnographer and a teacher, but also as a human being) than it may have had on software engineers who were present.
Quite a feat for something which seems to have had a significant impact on some software engineers.
This impact relates to how I got to Bret Victor's presentation…
I follow John Gruber's Daring Fireball blog. On Monday, he had a short link post about Bret Victor:
Astoundingly insightful and inspiring essay by Bret Victor. One of the most thought-provoking pieces I've read in a long time.
That insightful essay is on Learnable Programming.
Its starting point is a response to Khan Academy's use of his work. In that sense, it's a levelheaded but rather negative review of what the Khan folks did. As such, I associate it with critiques from science teachers. For instance:
Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videos | Action-Reaction
Started reading that post but context was missing, for me. Wasn't able to really hang on to it. I then decided to look at that post in which Victor was cited.
John Resig – Redefining the Introduction to Computer Science
Victor's impact on software engineering is clear in that post, as Resig describes a shift in his thinking after watching Victor's thought. But the shift was based on a few elements of Victor's talk, not on the main ideas behind it. At least, that's what I get after watching Victor's presentation.
Of course, I may be wrong. In fact, my reaction to Victor's talk may be based on all sorts of other things. Maybe I'm putting into it all sorts of things which weren't there originally. If so, that's a sign of something powerful.
And, again, watching it was a powerful moment.
I know… that sounds big. But it's one of those triggering moments, I feel, when things are connecting in interesting ways. In fact, I'm comparing it to another lifechanging moment I had four years ago and which became the basis of my "Happiness Anniversary".
What happened that time is a larger set of things, but one specific point connects that date with Victor's presentation. Four years ago, I participated in a CTLS workshop by Janette Barrington called "Writing a Personally Meaningful Teaching Philosophy Statement". That workshop was based in part on the Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI), which is where the connection with Bret Victor starts.
Here are the five perspectives identified by Daniel D. Pratt and John B. Collins (summary):
- Transmission: Effective teaching requires a substantial commitment to the content or subject matter.
- Apprenticeship: Effective teaching is a process of socializing students into new behavioral norms and ways of working.
- Developmental: Effective teaching must be planned and conducted "from the learner's point of view".
- Nurturing: Effective teaching assumes that long-term, hard, persistent effort to achieve comes from the heart, as well as the head.
- Social Reform: Effective teaching seeks to change society in substantive ways.
(Unsurprisingly, my highest scores were for developmental and nurturing, followed by social reform. Transmission and apprenticeship were quite low, for me.)
During the workshop, participants were teamed up according to these results. I don't remember the exact details, but the mix of perspectives in our four-person team was optimal. We were so compatible with each other that we went to the "performing" stage of Tuckman's classical model in no time. Haven't heard from any of the three women with whom I was working, but it was a powerful moment for me.
Something I've noticed within our team is the importance of "social reform". Though I teach social sciences, I'm no activist, but I find myself to be quite compatible with activists. In a way, my nurturing/developmental perspective is in complementarity with activism. I do wish to enable people, regardless of their goals. And these goals are often guided by deep principles that I tend to associate with activism.
Something else I've noticed had to do with engineers. If I remember correctly, there was a team made up of engineering teachers. They also appeared to be quite effective in their approach. But they were also quite distinct from our team. This has nothing to do with stereotypes and I fully realize that these same individuals may be quite different from one another in other contexts. But, at least in this context, they had a common perspective which, I would say, was furthest away from social reform and much closer to transmission.
Victor's talk is doing the reverse, with software engineering. Through his presentation, Bret Victor encouraged engineers to think about the worldchanging potential of their work instead of emphasizing mere transmission of information (e.g., how to do a binary search). Given the talk's influence on some software engineers, I'd say that it was quite effective. Not on everyone, and I'm sure there are engineers who dismiss Bret Victor in whichever way. But I find something there.
And much of it has to do with complementarity. Victor insists in his talk that it's not about forcing people to "follow his lead". It's about allowing these people to understand that their lives and work can have a strong basis in deep principles. Having spent a bit of time with RMS, a few years ago, I can feel the effects of such lives and work.
So, how did Bret Victor change my life? In some ways, it's too early to tell. I've watched this video and started reaching out about it, including in a long email to people I think might be interested. That email served as a basis for this post.
But there are some things I'm noticing already, which is why I call the experience lifechanging:
- I'm finding ways to connect different parts of my life. I teach social science to people with diverse orientations to learning, often with an emphasis on problem-solving. Victor gives me a way to link problem-solving and social reform, making it easier for me to accomplish my goals of enabling people's own goals.
- While I'm no activist, my goals probably do relate to a core principle, which I haven't really articulated, yet. Enabling others to action, or tummeling, gets very close to it.
- For quite a while, now, I've been thinking about the role of public intellectuals. It's something of a common theme on this blog, and I've been thinking about it in new ways, lately. Victor's presentation is an exquisite (!) example of what I think a public intellectual can do.
- More personally, this talk made me realize that I'm not so blasé after all. Lately, I've had times during which I couldn't get stimulation. In fact, watching Apple's iPad mini keynote left me with a definitive meh feeling, as if the "reality distortion field" had been turned off. Bret Victor's CUSEC talk had more of an effect on me than did any Apple keynote, including celebrated ones by Steve Jobs.
I now feel a sense of purpose.
What else can I ask from 54″ of my time?


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With all of the unanswered questions caused by COVID-19 and the economic slowdown we're experiencing across the country today, many are asking if the housing market is in trouble. For those who remember 2008, it's logical to ask that question. Many of us experienced financial hardships, lost homes, and were out of work during the Great Recession – the recession that started with a housing and mortgage crisis. Today, we face a very different challenge: an external health crisis that has caused a pause in much of the economy and a major shutdown of many parts of the country. Let's look at five things we know about today's housing market that were different in 2008. 1. Appreciation When we look at appreciation in the visual below, there's a big difference between the 6 years prior to the housing crash and the most recent 6-year period of time. Leading up to the crash, we had much higher appreciation in this country than we see today. In fact, the highest level of appreciation most recently is below the lowest level we saw leading up to the crash. Prices have been rising lately, but not at the rate they were climbing back when we had runaway appreciation. 2. Mortgage Credit The Mortgage Credit Availability Index is a monthly measure by the Mortgage Bankers Association that gauges the level of difficulty to secure a loan. The higher the index, the easier it is to get a loan; the lower the index, the harder. Today we're nowhere near the levels seen before the housing crash when it was very easy to get approved for a mortgage. After the crash, however, lending standards tightened and have remained that way leading up to today. 3. Number of Homes for Sale One of the causes of the housing crash in 2008 was an oversupply of homes for sale. Today, as shown in the next image, we see a much different picture. We don't have enough homes on the market for the number of people who want to buy them. Across the country, we have less than 6 months of inventory, an undersupply of homes available for interested buyers. 4. Use of Home Equity The chart below shows the difference in how people are accessing the equity in their homes today as compared to 2008. In 2008, consumers were harvesting equity from their homes (through cash-out refinances) and using it to finance their lifestyles. Today, consumers are treating the equity in their homes much more cautiously. 5. Home Equity Today Today, 53.8% of homes across the country have at least 50% equity. In 2008, homeowners walked away when they owed more than what their homes were worth. With the equity homeowners have now, they're much less likely to walk away from their homes. Bottom Line
The COVID-19 crisis is causing different challenges across the country than the ones we faced in 2008. Back then, we had a housing crisis; today, we face a health crisis. What we know now is that housing is in a much stronger position today than it was in 2008. It is no longer the center of the economic slowdown. Rather, it could be just what helps pull us out of the downturn. SOURCE KCM #HousingMarketUpdates #ForSellers #ForBuyers #SimardRealtyGroup #eXpRealty Leave a Reply. |
October 2022


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Not too long ago I was waiting in line at a restaurant and in the front was an Italian mama making the gnocchi that was on the days menu. Gnocchi has been on my mind ever since and when I recently came across a gnocchi board I knew that it was time to make some! Gnocchi are small soft dumplings that can be made from various different ingredients, though these days they are commonly made with potatoes. At first I was going to make potato gnocchi but then I remembered that I had some pumpkin puree that was looking for a home and I figured; Why not add more flavour by using the pumpkin to make the gnocchi?
Gnocchi can be a bit time consuming to make but it is also a little fun so I always enjoy it. If you are making a gnocchi that requires you to roast something like the potatoes or in this case, a pumpkin, it is always nice to do that a day or so ahead of time to cut down on the effort required on the day that you make it. Once you have your wet ingredients you simply mix in flour until the dough is soft, light and not too sticky to work with. From there you roll the dough out and cut it into small pieces and if you like you can roll the pieces over a fork or other ridged surface to give it more nooks and crannies so that it can hold more sauce. Next you cook the gnocchi in boiling water briefly and then you are ready to use them in whatever dish you desire. Although the soft just boiled gnocchi are really good, every once in a while it is nice to fry them up in some butter after boiling them to give them a slightly crispy outer layer that conceals the softness inside.
Pumpkin Gnocchi
- 2 cups pumpkin/squash puree
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch nutmeg (optional)
- If your pumpkin puree is really wet, simmer it in a sauce pan to dry it out a bit and then let it cool down.
- Mix the egg yolk into the pumpkin puree.
- Mix the salt and nutmeg into the flour.
- Mix enough of the flour into the pumpkin puree to form a soft dough that is not too sticky to work with.
- Knead the dough for a minute and then roll it out into 4 long thin rolls about 1/2 inch thick.
- Cut the rolls into 1/2 inch pieces and then roll the pieces in flour lightly shaking off any excess.
- Roll the pieces over a gnocchi board or a fork to give them the ridges.
- Cook the gnocchi in boiling water in small batches until it floats to the surface, about 2-3 minutes, remove and set aside to drain.
- Use as desired.


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Anti-Bashar Assad forces in the Syrian city of Aleppo now have at least a few tanks, rocket-propelled grenades and improved explosives.
And that has U.N. observers warning about the deadly consequences of heavy weapons being used by both sides within such a "confined urban area," NPR's Anthony Kuhn said earlier on Morning Edition. The fear, of course, is that even more non-combatants will be caught in the crossfire.
There's also evidence emerging — in videos — of anti-Assad fighters allegedly executing members of the shabiha militia that has been fighting for Assad. So now, as Anthony said, there's talk of atrocities being committed by both sides.
Meanwhile, CNN and other news outlets are reporting that sometime in the past several months, President Obama "signed a covert directive authorizing U.S. support for Syrian rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad's forces." The reports cite "U.S. officials" who have knowledge of the president's action.
Update at 11 a.m. ET. Annan Reportedly Quitting:
Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan "says he is quitting as special envoy to Syria, effective Aug. 31," The Associated Press reports.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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A to Z Map of Liverpool 1000 Piece Jigsaw
Jigsaw Puzzle Size Chart
Jigsaw Puzzle Size Chart
Pieces 🧩 |
Dimensions |
🧩 1000 Pieces | 66cm x 50cm (26 x 20 inches) |
🧩 500 Pieces | 50cm x 38cm (20 x 15 inches) |
🧩 500 Pieces [Square] | 49cm x 49cm (19 x 19 inches) |
🧩 400 Pieces |
41.5 cm x 31.5 cm (16 x 12.5 inches) |
🧩 400 Pieces [Circle] | Diameter of 45.5cm (18 inches) |
🧩 200 Pieces | 50cm x 38cm (20 x 15 inches) |
Available for same day dispatch (before 2pm)
All orders are shipped from the UK - Free Delivery on UK Orders over £40!
Location |
Standard Rate |
Express Delivery |
£4.99 | £6.99 |
For personalised or framed orders, please allow up to 5 days for your order to be hand-made and dispatched.
Liability for supplementary costs on delayed / lost / misrouted lie with us.
Responsibility for cost of goods return is decided on a case by case basis.
Costs for orders outside the UK are calculated by weight - please note a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle weighs just under 1kg
United States and Canada
£11.99 - Orders under 2kg
£15 - Orders between 2kg and 4kg
£20 - Orders between 4kg and 6.5kg
£30 - Orders between 6.5kg and 10kg
£40 - Orders Over 10kg
Areas Covered By Shipping Zones
Shipping costs vary depending on the country and size of the order. Your shipping will be calculated at checkout.
Zone |
Countries |
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Wednesday, October 07, 2009
A brush with Jehovah's Witnesses
Anyway, this is build up to explain why I was enjoying a nice nap today after an exciting round of healing Heroic Oculus on my level 80 priest, when the doorbell rang. I answered it and was confronted by a smiley woman in her forties or fifties, and a twenty-something middle eastern looking young woman.
They were looking for "Katherine," and when I said there was no Katherine here the older lady said that perhaps they had the wrong house. I said "You might be talking about my sister, Keryn." Then she asked if we were believers in God in this house, and I said "No, we're pretty much all atheists." She lit up and said "Well that's great, we love talking to people of all religions and, uh... people of none. I am sure this is the house I was at before, she told me to come back later." At that point I asked if they were Jehovah's Witnesses, they confirmed it, and we were off.
Now, I know some people who would try to get rid of JWs as quickly as possible, but I love them. I've only had one other encounter with them, which I documented here. They are so full of confidence that their book holds all the answers, yet generally pretty ignorant of basic facts. So I decided to pass some time chatting.
I was introduced to the younger woman, who pretty much never spoke the whole time, as a converted Muslim. I had to explain the whole "Jewish atheist" upbringing thing, which the lady interpreted to mean "Oh, so you read the Bible but you never actually got to know the Lord." I told her I didn't see it as getting to know anyone, but rather as not being raised to believe that their god existed.
The woman eager to start reading from the Bible, so I patiently refrained from calling it a book of fairy tales, or a big book of multiple choice, and she proceeded to gush happily about how the Bible is full of stuff that she finds inspirational. She asked me permission to read me one, and I consented.
To be honest, I don't even remember which part she picked. I just remember that at some point shortly after, we were talking about Adam and Eve, the first people, and she brought up how they defied God and ate the apple. So I asked whether they had the knowledge of good and evil at the time when he ordered them not to eat the fruit?
A little evasively, she said that they didn't know good and evil, but they understood that it would be disobeying God. But I persisted, did they really? How did they know that it was wrong to disobey God if they didn't know good and evil? What did they learn from the fruit of knowledge if they had that much understanding about not disobeying God?
She started to read what God said about how the day that Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they would die. So I said "But they didn't die that day. So God was wrong." And she said no, they certainly did die, in the sense that they became mortal. Then we talked about how the word "day" is sometimes a metaphor, and I brought up young earthism, so she said that she dismisses young earthism. "Yes," I said, "but there is no indication in the Bible how long those 'days' of creation actually were. Science had to figure it out first, before you could take credit for her." I also had to fill her in on background history of Bishop Ussher, since she didn't know how widely accepted young earthism once was.
I asked how, with all the non-literal stuff in the Bible, she can tell the difference between what's meant to be taken seriously and what's not? The Bible has no key to interpreting itself -- she pointed out that "in the beginning" from Genesis could be an indeterminate length of time and I pointed out that there is no way, without the insight of scientific examination, to actually determine that this is meant to stand for exactly 14.5 billion years.
But then she said that yes, the Bible has lots of original scientific knowledge, such as the order of creation matching up perfectly with what science says. "Oh reeeeally?" I asked, because this is one of my favorite claims to respond to. "Show me this ordering of creation please, that's fascinating!" So she skipped back to Genesis and started running through the separation of light and darkness, and then plants, and then... "Where was the sun at this point?" I asked.
She had an answer for me: "Oh, this verse doesn't mean that the sun was CREATED there. It just means that the sun was REVEALED at that point." Then she started to explain to me about the vapor canopy hypothesis, where the firmament water that would eventually become the water of Noah's flood, was blocking out the visibility of the sun.
"So," I said, "you believe that when plants came into existence, there was no visible sun on earth." "That's right." "And you believe this is in accordance with what modern science says? Seriously? How do you think plants get their energy? Ever heard of photosynthesis?" She put it to me that plants were getting energy straight from God.
So I said "I'm sorry, but you originally said that you think this information matches up with current scientific data. I know a lot of scientists, and I think it's safe to say that only a very tiny minority would give any credibility whatever to your version of events, including the vapor canopy hypothesis." She insisted that she had all kinds of literature she can bring back proving its scientific accuracy. I replied that I'm well aware that lots of creationists believe in that, but that doesn't make it in agreement with scientific thinking.
"What I'd really like to see is some kind of mainstream, peer reviewed, scientific journal that seriously advances the ideas that you're talking about." She promised that she would do the research and come back with it later. Asked what time would be good for me, and we agreed on Saturday at 11. The whole conversation lasted about 15 minutes, I think.
Personally, I'm betting they won't be back.
33 comments:
cool post. thanks!
That is awesome. Personally, I have a hard time getting past feeling sorry for them because I know they will not be able to convince me of anything, so I avoid it. Something about looking them in the eyes is sad...
I bet they will be back. Don't make any plans. And when the come back, please do write more!I had a couple a few years ago, and I was probably more blunt than you were. I told them that I thought the Bible was just nonsense. They gave me the scholars-who-tried-to-disprove-the-Bible-and-were-converted and I countered with examples of the exact opposite. They then started to get into prophecies and I was trying to explain to them that for something to be a prophesy it has to actually predict something in advance (compared to chance, given the number and specificity of the prophesies). They were going to bring me a book explaining all the wonderful prophesies, but they never came back.
ReplyDeleteMy experience with JWs was pretty much arguing about the authority of the bible. They told me that they had this great news and started reading from the bible. I quickly told them that I didn't give the bible any more authority than any other book. They tried to convince me of their claims, but kept refering back to the bible and I'd stop them again and ask them how I could trust that the bible is authorative in this. That was about as far as we could get.
ReplyDeleteLast time they came to my door, the spokes person was an African American woman. She had her bible and I asked if she had read it. She said she had read the whole thing. I asked her what she thought about the part that said I can sell my daughter into slavery. She said she had never heard of that. So I told her the verse (Exodus 21-7) and she said she would look it up and discuss it with her teacher. She didn't have time right then because they were busy fund raising for their convention.
ReplyDeleteMinor note: Non literal interpretations of the first few sections of Genesis did occur well before science had an old Earth. For example, there are views in the Talmud which give an old age of the Earth. However, it is quite clear that those views were always a minority among Jews and even more rare among Christians.
Also it is interesting to note that some strains of Hinduism have the opposite problem with their texts. While Jews and Christians have too young an earth, some Hindu texts seem to give an Earth which is too old by orders of magnitude. Almost seems like a failure of imagination on the part of the Abrahamic religions.They might be back actually, JW are a persistent kind. Anyway, I had a few brush with them now and then, usnowadays I usually cut it short with "I don't believe in God so find your mission utterly irrelevant". The worst thing is, I could even get the upper hand of an argument when I was a good little Catholic boy. I think it is because even though they claim the Bible is true, they know close to zilch about it. It is very easy to have them contradict what they just said before. When I was a child, my neighbour, who was a Catholic theologian, could argue for hours and hours with the JW who were foolish enough to knock at his door. We were grateful to him, as they usually didn't bother us after spending time with him.
ReplyDelete- Anonymous10/08/2009 6:29 AM
The only experience I have with talking to them at a door is when I lived in FL. At the time I was Church of Christ, when they came over for their appointment, I ripped into the history of their organization (founded by a conman who was arrested for selling "miracle wheat" before he started the religion). They left quickly and not only did they never come back, we actually stopped getting visits from that day on (and they had been coming regularly for quite awhile).
I'm curious to see if Kazim can permanently scare them off. But if they said they'd be back, I'm betting they'll be back at least for the agreed-upon appointment.
Also, just to note, some family of mine are JWs. But I haven't ever confronted them as an atheist. I was a theist at the time of any discussions. Too bad. Would be interesting to have that chance now. But they don't bring it up with me really anymore. Oh, I'll bet they'll be back. Going into someone else's home would put you at a disadvantage, I'd think. A normal person would be very restrained and respectful. Who could be confrontational in that situation? Actually, I guess the same type of person who would go door to door as if you had never heard about this "god thing" before.
ReplyDeleteThe younger woman did not speak as she was being "coached" I guess you could put it. The older sister was taking the lead.
Belive it or not there is a high probability that she will be back as actually engaging someone at the door qulifies as a Return Visit. Only the next time she comes back it will probably be with a Elder or another Brother who is seen as being strong in the faith. The fact that you had a time established is a good sign if you are actually looking forward to this.
I warn you though, the effects of the indoctranation are quite apt at producing apologists of the Ray Comfort caliber. This woman does not want to engage you in intelegent discourse. She does not care about evidence or what is most likely. She has talking points that she has been trained to use by the Society, further expanded by whatever Circuit Overseer they happen to have. If you let her get enough of them accross it is considered a successfull Return Visit. If there is something that you can refute, it is generaly pushed aside in redirection of the conversation. They will return as long as they feel there is a shot at convincing you of one of the core belifes.
If I had any advice for you, assuming of course you wanted to engage them with this in mind, I would suggest picking one and only one talking point that can not be ignored and making sure that it is understood by whoever returns. Dont let them brush it aside. It doesnt even matter what it is to tell you the truth. The Society preaches that they MUST have all the answers. If you can successfull show that they do not, regarless of what it is, this is enough to shake their faith. Ive seen it happen on the most trivial of biblical matters. Its strange its almost like you are shattering some illusion if you are successfull.
Im not saying that you have a magic phrase that will turn a JW into an atheist, but what will follow is a time of questioning by the lost sheep during which she will go to the elders or turn to someone elese she trust for guidence. Usually the elders reassure the person and it's buisnness as usual. If you happen to be that person -somehow, this is the only time they are sugestable to new ideas, like maybe slavery is never moral.
But anyway good luck, and dont be too agressive. I know its hard but if you are we were trained to run for the hills.I had a couple of them come to my house one Saturday morning several years ago. The more verbal of the two told me that the Bible was a book of hope, to which I retorted along the lines of "No, the Bible requires death and destruction in order for its End Times prophecies to be fulfilled. What is so hopeful about that?"
ReplyDeleteI typically just give the reply "Wiffit" ala carnies would give to each other in the early 20th to let each other know they were in on the con.
I'm honestly curious to see what would happen if one rings ont he bell of a Mormon on mission or the like. It'd be an unstoppable force vs unmovable object scenario!She came by again -- just the older lady this time. Unfortunately, she came an hour late, I was in the middle of doing something else, and she was running late for something else. She handed me a stack of printed creationist literature and asked if I would read them and try again later.
I'll probably skim them and comment briefly. But basically, rather than respond to my request for mainstream peer reviewed literature, she gave me a printout of something citing things like "The Genesis Flood (1961)" and another printout on how science is just like a religion.
Funny, arguing against using science AFTER claiming that her religion matches up with scientific knowledge. :P Sadly, she has not left any other way to get in touch, so I'll just have to wait and see if she comes back.I had a landlord who was outspokenly gay. He told me of a time when JW's came to his door. He was in the shower when the door bell rang. He jumped out and grabbed an apron on the way to the door that read "This is no ordinary housewife you're dealing with." He gets to the door and sees through the spyhole that it's JW's. He yanks open the door, dripping wet and buck naked under the apron and yells "I'm queer and you won't stand up for the national anthem! We have nothing to talk about!" and slams the door. Funnily, they never came back.
ReplyDelete"Funny, arguing against using science AFTER claiming that her religion matches up with scientific knowledge."
That's always the way. They want to cop the credibility that science has by calling their stuff scientific. But when you press them on it, they say that science is just another religion.
I guess that means they think their religion is just another religion, since it's scientific.They might come back, just not with the peer reviewed journal that you requested and she promised to look up, because one doesn't exist. If it did, we would all know about it already. Expect to have to rain on their parade and explain that opinion pieces don't count as peer reviewed science. Then expect them to tell you that you have to accept God's word on faith.
ReplyDelete>Interesting interaction.
>You are correct.
>Most people who claim to know the Bible do not read it but only sections to prove their point.
>Obsession with something you believe in is a life passion.
>Obsession with something you don't believe in is a great way to spend your free time.
>ThanksGreat post as well as the previous one. As a former Jehovah's Witness turned atheist I have to say there's no better way you could have handled both conversations.
Granted, your logic probably didn't appeal to them, and they probably walked back to their car shaking their heads over how "sad" it is you're going to die at Armageddon. If you have a nice house they might have been talking about how they're going to move in after the world's been destroyed (yes, I've actually been with Jehovah's Witnesses out in the "field" who call dibs on houses to live in after their God has killed the occupants).
It's funny they were so quick to deny that they believed you were going to be destroyed, too. But I've seen this all too often. JWs often will deny something they believe as a knee-jerk reaction to hearing an unfavorable phrasing of that interpretation. Their organization clearly teaches that all non-Jehovah's Witnesses will perish at armageddon. I don't think they're denying it for any malevolent reason, it's just that what keeps them in their belief system is an emotional tie. I've brought up similar beliefs to my JW mother and she will have the same knee-jerk reaction "we NEVER taught that!" despite the fact I can show her the exact citation that proves they did.
What I liked most about your method is that you attacked the Bible itself. The Bible is the sacred cow to Jehovah's Witnesses even more than a lot of mainstream Christian religions. If you've ever read their literature, they almost always argue from the assumption that the Bible is correct. Challenge that assumption, and their entire position falls like a house of cards. They become confused when their "the Bible is all true because it says nice things" tactic doesn't work.
Everyone reading this should do what Russell did. I know it's annoying and I know you probably don't care, and I know you probably won't convince most JWs who come to your door. But I know that if I were to knock on Russell's door during the last few years of my time in that organization, it would have really forced me to re-evaluate my position.
Continued...continued from previous comment...
JWs are not an easy religion to leave, in fact they are a harmful cult through-and-through. When you join, you are expected to sever all relationships outside of the church. They do not demand it, but put you under intense social pressure--almost to the point of bullying--to do so. Once that is accomplished, you are in their control. If you leave or show any dissent with their "governing body" (a 9-man council at the headquarters in New York), you are labeled an apostate, an enemy of God, and are disfelloshipped (excommunicated) and shunned. This tactic is (by their own admission) designed to browbeat unrepentant "sinners" back into the fold, because no Jehovah's Witnesses can even speak one word to them, even contact with family members not living in the same home is limited to occasions of absolute necessity, such as a death in the family. Their entire angle in recruiting you is to isolate you from the world, replacing your friends and family with the "family" of Jehovah God, and if your real family shows any objection to this, you are to cut them off as best you can.
Being born into the religion it was extremely difficult for me. I had to go to public school every day having to either alienate my peers or preach to them (I wasn't brave enough for preaching).
Anyway, I'm rambling here. I just want to say again that I think any atheist reading this should endeavor to have a dialog with the next JWs who knock on your door. It very probably won't go anywhere, BUT there are others, many others who are in the same position now that I was back then: struggling desperately to form some sort of logical defense for my beliefs. For me, it was dialog with atheists on social networking sites like digg and reddit that got me truly ready to start questioning the beliefs I had been raised with. It was that dialog that revealed to me that what the Watchtower Society was saying about atheists and evolution wasn't right.
That's why I'm a huge fan of Russell and Matt and everyone down at the Atheist Community of Austin. You guys are proving to people that what their religious leaders are saying about us isn't true, and for some people, that's all they need to make the leap to the "dark side.""(founded by a conman who was arrested for selling "miracle wheat" before he started the religion)."
Just wanted to correct this statement.
The "miracle wheat" debacle actually happened a few decades after C.T. Russell, the founder of the religion, well, founded the religion. Basically he put an ad in the Watchtower (yes, it used to have ads, back then it was more like your typical religious periodical) selling this wheat seed for $1.00 a pound (the equivalent to over $20.00 today) that was supposed to yield at least 5 times the normal amount of grain.
Russell wasn't arrested. In fact, he is the one who dragged the courts into the matter when a newspaper called the Eagle printed a cartoon lampooning his sales pitch and he sued for libel. Government tests proved the "miracle" wheat was no different from regular wheat, and Russell lost the libel suit.- Anonymous11/18/2009 1:26 PM
I used to have a co-worker that was JW. Hearing him and his wife rattle on and on about their particular worldview was annoying like a scorching case of herpes. I was an agnostic theist at best at the time and the little "debates" helped me on my way to being a full blown atheist because it forced me to look into what I was defending and what position I should take when talking to these people.
Anyway, I really enjoy the show and the podcast, and I'm lamenting the fact that we don't have any organizations like yours in Oklahoma City. As a former JW, I can tell you that you handled this perfectly. If you are argumentative or rude, they'll just leave and won't come back. I had an encounter recently; here are some points anyone can use if engaging in discussion with witnesses. This shows that they fail their own requirements. I'll try to make this brief; more detail to all of this can be found online.
I ran into some old friends (current JW's) at a football game a few weeks back. They were asking why I left the religion. We'd all been drinking at the game, so I did my best to avoid talking about it. This is also dangerous, because I'm not officially disfellowshiped (disassociated) and anything negative I say about the organization, could get relayed to elders and result in my being disfellowshiped. I would then loose the association of friends and family.
After much persistence I finally gave in. I stuck to two basic areas. As "L" commented, you need to limit the talking points. What happens (and did happen) is that they just brush off things they don't like, without admitting error. Most JW's are very poorly educated, so it's very time consuming to explain to them how dialog works (or should work), what logical fallacies are, how science works, etc. I have an advanced degree and work as an aerospace engineer. One of the people in the group had a BA; he proved to be the only person I could converse with any meaning with.
The main point I stuck with is the validity of their claim of divine inspiration. Without divine inspiration, they are no different than any other religion, and everything can be brought into question at that point.
The Jehovah's Witnesses make a few major claims which separate them from other religions of the world. They claim that Jesus made an invisible return as king in heaven in 1914, and kicked Satan out of heaven (Satan caused WWI to hide this). In 1918 Jesus inspected all the religions of the world and found the JW's "eagerly awaiting his return" and the only ones giving "the proper food at the proper time" as prophesied in the bible. In other words, they were the only "true" religion. So in 1919, Jesus elected them as the messenger, from Jehovah, to humans on earth. This is what gives JW's their divine authority. They come up with these specific dates by taking unrelated scriptures, out of context, applying the "thousand years equals a day" concept, and applying them to secular dates for events in the bible. So their entire theology is founded on this 1914 date.
First, they claim that the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem occurred in BC 607, and then by taking the above mentioned scriptures—and a lot of mental gymnastics—from that date, come up with CE1914. I pointed out that every single source on the planet refers to this occurring in 587/586. So by using this start date, you can't possibly arrive at 1914. So that means that 1918 and 1919 are also wrong, and the society has no more divine inspiration than any other religion on the planet.
Second, when you go back into the history of the JW's, you notice that in 1914, they were claiming that Jesus came in 1875 and that Armageddon started in 1914. So they couldn't be "eagerly awaiting his return" as prophesied, because they thought he was already here; therefore, they couldn't have been selected by Jesus.
Third, were they giving the "proper food at the proper time"? No. I have a copy of the book "Millions Now Living Will Never Die", written in 1918 by Brother Rutherford (President of the Watchtower Society). The book repeatedly states that Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, King David, etc, would be resurrected in the year 1925, to "perfect earthly condition", to rule as "princes on earth". They even built a mansion in San Diego, called "Beth Sarim" translating to "House of the Princes", to be their headquarters. If Jesus was inspecting them, there's no way he could have considered this "proper".Continued...
This didn't seem to bother any of them. One even said "shame on you for letting something so minor stumble you". My jaw dropped. This is their claim to authority, and by their own requirements, they fail! Shame on me?! I told them to do their own research and see what they come up with. Verify the 607 date; prove it to me; prove it to yourself. They promised they'd research it and get back to me.
I'm not surprised they weren't shocked. When hearing things contrary to what you've been taught, your first reaction is "there must be an answer to this". After all, "so many people can't be so misled". I've heard similar statements before, like "I wish my mom was here; I know she'd have the answers…" It's not until you do the research for yourself that you find out there isn't an answer.
So for anyone out there, next time JW's come to your door, ask: What's up with this 1914 date? Ask them to prove the date to you. They'll probably come back with the answer found on the JW website. They say: We don't use secular dates to prove 607BC. But you have to use secular dates, since there aren't any dates in the bible! And in fact the JW's do use a secular date! Then they use math to derive their 607 date. In other words: All the dates that say 587/586 are unreliable; however, we use one of these "unreliable" sources to derive the 607 date.
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