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Chronicling the misadventures of our minority-elect President's alternate reality, alternative facts and the miscreants that comprise his administration so you don't have to:
Outrage that his get out of jail free 'Justice' is facing credible accusations begins today's misadventures of our malignant minority-elect president* as his Supreme Court Nominee is going down in flames, our national embarrassment had a difficult week at the UN, our dimwitted dip shit actually believes a full FBI investigation into Kavanaugh's accusations will exonerate him, once again Trump's despotic delusions of grandeur were on full display as he kissed the North Korean dictator's ass, Trump's latest 'trade deal' is nothing short of another massive fraud being perpetrated by corrupt corporations that own his corrupt ass, a look at the years of frauds and cons perpetrated by the bloviating Orange butt wipe in the White House and how he was aided and abetted by the press who spread his lies for decades, how Trump is the resistance from inside his administration and much more.
Trump is reportedly furious that Christine Blasey Ford 'seems credible' article from The Week. –
Our Sexual Predator-in-Chief is reportedly outraged because the corrupt get out of jail free 'Justice' he nominated to the Supreme Court to keep his ass out of prison is being shot down in flames:
Person close to Trump says Trump is raging at how bad this has been for Republicans so far. Trump told people Ford "seems credible," per source
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) September 27, 2018
The U.N. General Assembly is not going so well for President Trump article from ThinkProgress. –
After being laughed at on a world stage for bragging about his delusional embellishment's and speaking at his usual 4th grade level while further embarrassing himself and the U.S., our Sociopathic 70-year-old toddler managed to piss off even more countries much to America's detriment while lying his ass off…
Trump insists China respects his 'very, very large brain' article from Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. –
Our national embarrassment can't keep his lies or delusions straight as there is no way in hell China respects his stupid ass for anything, especially after starting his moronic trade war and lying about them interfering in U.S. elections.
It's Difficult to Overstate How Unhinged and Legitimately Scary, That Trump Presser Was article from Common Dreams. –
The fact that our impotent imbecile can't string two coherent sentences together speaks volumes:
"I was saying things that nobody in the room even understood," said the President of the United States. This was certainly correct, in a sense, though Donald Trump was referring to meetings he'd held with representatives of the Japanese government. It also applied here, in a press conference Wednesday featuring Presidential Monologues that wouldn't have been out of place tumbling out of the mouth of some guy on a street corner, hollering at passing cars. His mind flitted from topic to topic, leaving sentences behind in gnarled fragments with just enough form to expose the virulent impulses that lurked beneath.
It is difficult to pinpoint one moment, or even three, that truly showcase the range of unhinged behavior on show here. For instance, he once again magicked up the idea the United States was on the brink of nuclear war with North Korea before he was elected, saving "millions of people." Here he is suggesting the Chinese government has "great respect" for his "very, very large brain":
Trump: Expert says China has great respect for "Donald Trump's very, very large a'brain." pic.twitter.com/XEkupdW17l
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) September 26, 2018
But perhaps the most critical moment was when the president seemed to suggest he always sides with the accused in cases of alleged sexual misconduct because he himself has been accused (at least a dozen times, though Trump suggested it was four and you could verify that with Sean Hannity), and those who accused him were "paid off."…"
Trump Saw Himself In Kavanaugh Performance, Relished Opening Statement article from Talking Points Memo. –
Our Liar and Thief who has been accused of sexually assaulting 19 women and is incapable of telling the truth has faith in his get out of jail free 'Justice' nomination because he's a carbon copy of himself that, if confirmed – and not impeached when the GOP loses Congress in a couple of months – will end up being a very bad choice for this country.
Bad news for Trump: An emoluments clause lawsuit against him just had a major win article from The Raw Story. –
America's most corrupt-ever president* is going to face even more lawsuits as a result of his insanely corrupt failed presidency – which he won't handle well…
Trump's Distorted Attacks on His Accusers article from Fact Check. –
Lashing out and lying about everything after claiming he 'grabbed them by the pussy' and slandering all of his accusers isn't going to work out well for the impotent Orange imbecile in the White House.
Watch: Trump says the FBI is 'doing a really great job' doing 'whatever it is they do' on Brett Kavanaugh article from The Raw Story. –
Our dimwitted dip shit actually believes a full FBI investigation into his get out of jail free 'Justice' will clear him:
"President Donald Trump is en route to West Virginia, and before departing from the White House he answered questions about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh from the White House lawn.
Trump said he was looking forward to the rally where "we're going to have a lot of fun," but most of the questions asked of him were about Kavanaugh, who will now be investigated by the FBI.
The White House Is Already Obstructing The FBI Investigation Into Brett Kavanaugh article from PoliticusUSA. –
Our treasonous feckless fuhrer is doing his damnedest to obstruct justice in the investigation into his get out of jail free 'Justice's' sexual assault allegations.
A Complete Analysis Of Donald Trump's 88th Unpresidented Week As POTUS article from Rantt Media. –
A look at America's worst-ever president's* most recent failed week in office.
Trump Goes Off The Rails And Calls Brett Kavanaugh A Drunk article from PoliticusUSA. –
Our ignorant Ignoramus-in-Chief has lost all touch of reality and isn't doing his get out of jail free 'Justice' any favors:
This One Trump Tweet Could Undo Limitations on the FBI's Kavanaugh Investigation Set by His Own White House Counsel article from Alternet. –
Once again our Twitter tyrant shot himself in the foot after egregiously obstructing justice by limiting – albeit illegally – the scope of the FBI's investigation in the claims of Kavanaugh's accusers:
"In a tweet sent Saturday evening, President Trump may have undone limitations by his own White House placed on the FBI investigation allegations of sexual assault levied against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The tweet in question, from Donald Trump's personal account, is attacking NBC reporting of the FBI probe, claiming that his office will allow the FBI to "interview whoever they deem appropriate."
NBC News incorrectly reported (as usual) that I was limiting the FBI investigation of Judge Kavanaugh, and witnesses, only to certain people. Actually, I want them to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion. Please correct your reporting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2018
NBC news had reported on significant limitations on the scope of the FBI's investigation, including barring investigation of claims of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh brought forth by Julie Swetnick. The Wall Street Journal also reported on these same limitations…"
Trump Attacks Female Journalists and Spreads Kavanaugh Conspiracies in Wild Press Conference article from Splinter News. –
The pressure of his Russia scandals and trying to confirm his get out of jail free 'Justice' is wreaking havoc on what little is left of our demented delinquent's mind:
Trump says he and North Korean dictator 'fell in love,' adding, 'No, really' article from Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. –
Herr Frump's despotic delusions of grandeur were once again on full display as he foolishly worshipped North Korea's dictator…
Trump dangles blackmail material over head of Democratic senator article from ThinkProgress. –
Comrade Cheetolini's threatening blackmail over his get out of jail free 'Justice' getting confirmed serves as yet another example of why he shouldn't be:
Imperiling People and Planet, Warnings Mount That Trump's NAFTA 2.0 Just Another 'Corporate Giveaway' article from Alternet. –
Our lackluster lame duck president* always brags about his non-existent negotiation skills, and once again, his uselessness is screwing the people while enriching fraudulent corporations that own him:
"Environmentalists on Monday slammed President Donald Trump's replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with Food & Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter warning that it "would enshrine and globalize Trump's deregulatory zealotry into a trade pact that would outlast the administration and imperil future efforts to protect consumers, workers, and the environment."
Presented as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), many have noted that Trump's trade deal, as Bloomberg put it, "looks more like a rebranding than a revolution," despite Trump's vows when he was a presidential candidate that he would negotiate a new deal that's dramatically better for American workers. As experts and campaigners comb through the details of the agreement, environmental activists are homing in on provisions they warn would endanger people and the planet.
Calling on Congress to reject the deal, Hauter outlined in a statement how USMCA:
*features deregulatory provisions that "would have a dangerously chilling effect on food safety enforcement";
*includes "giant giveaways to the agrochemical industry," from rolling back Mexico's GMO rules to enabling companies such as Monsanto and Dow to keep pesticide safety data secret for a decade; and
*bolsters Trump's industry-friendly agenda with measures that would "encourage more pipelines and exports of natural gas and oil that would further expand fracking in the United States and Mexico."…"
How Trump Is Trying – And Failing – To Get Rich Off His Presidency article from Forbes. –
Despite breaking the emoluments clause while illegally enriching himself during his illegitimate presidency, our Marmalade miscreant is failing to enrich himself further.
Behind the Trump Empire: Bombshell NYT Report Details 'Sham Corporations,' 'Dubious Tax Schemes' and 'Outright Fraud' article from Alternet. –
As anyone who has followed our nefarious narcissist's business dealings for years knows, his business empire is built on fraud and money laundering – which is one of the many reasons he doesn't want his tax returns released.
Trump's boasts about commanding global respect appear ridiculous article from Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. –
Our Orwellian Orange Charlatan's delusions about commanding global respect – like his non-existent accomplishments – would be comical were it not for the fact that he's such a corrupt, lying piece of shit that actually believes it.
Trump's Biggest Secret And Myth Have Been Blown To Pieces article from PoliticusUSA. –
Our Mango Mussolini's lies about being a safe made billionaire just got blown out of the water:
"The myth of Trump as a self-made billionaire was concocted to cover up the big secret that Trump got his wealth from tax fraud.
The New York Times reported:
The Times's investigation, based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that Mr. Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father's real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day.
Much of this money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents' real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings…"
Adam Schiff Drops The Hammer After NYT Bombshell On Trump Tax Crimes article from PoliticusUSA. –
Our gift that keeps on giving is going to have more of his bubbles burst in his land of delusion once Democrats start investigating his fraud and tax evasion – and he won't handle it well:
President Trump is the only modern presidential candidate to refuse to release their tax returns, reneging on a promise to do so. The revelations in the New York Times only heighten the need for the public to see his tax returns and understand his family's financial dealings. https://t.co/Oan95VWGpS
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) October 2, 2018
'Fox & Friends' spin of damaging NYT story about Trump's tax fraud is beyond belief article from ThinkProgress. –
Our unindicted co-conspirator's Ministry of Propaganda is busily trying – yet again – to salvage his fraudulent ass, though not very well.
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Reveals How the Media Was Complicit in Selling the 'Blatant Con' of Trump's Business Success article from Alternet. –
More on how the fraudulent bloviating Orange butt wipe in the White House has been aided and abetted by the press who ran with his bogus delusions for decades:
He has not been financial genius. He has not been a great deal maker. He has not been a great business mind. But he has been great at convincing the credulous press to describe him as such over a period of decades. pic.twitter.com/BilPRKs4er
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) October 3, 2018
Following report, Trump crafts underwhelming response to fraud allegations article from Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. –
As usual our imbecilic man-boy president* attacks the purveyor of bad news against him but doesn't deny the fact that it is the truth:
"The latest reporting from the New York Times on Donald Trump's finances is absolutely brutal. Based on exhaustive research, the newspaper uncovered evidence of "dubious tax schemes" and "outright fraud" that Trump exploited to receive hundreds of millions of dollars from his father.
The findings paint a picture in which the president, far from the self-made man he pretends to be, relied heavily on illegal handouts. At the heart of the story is the prospect of criminal fraud, criminal tax evasion, and money laundering, which the American president exploited to fuel his rise to power.
Given that the Times' reporting effectively made Trump look like a criminal, I was eager to see the White House's response. Last night, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a written statement condemning "the failing New York Times" – these folks do strive for message consistency – for publishing a "misleading attack." Her statement didn't point to any factual errors, though, Sanders quickly changed the subject to the nation's low unemployment rate.
This morning, the president himself weighed in via Twitter…"
Trump's Mocking of Christine Blasey Ford and the Dark Laughter of His Audience article from The New Yorker. –
Why it matters that our Hitler-aspiring wannabe dictator acts like a psychopath during his rally speeches and why it's time to quit cutting his moronic minority of minions slack and start holding them accountable.
Daddy's Boy: New York Times Investigation Exposes the Breadth of Trump's Lies and Corruption article from Common Dreams. –
More on Hair Hitler's bull shit claims of being a self-made billionaire being shot down in flames and why it matters.
Seriously, we need to see Donald Trump's tax returns article from Vox. –
After all his lies about being a self-made man and all his white collar crimes – not to mention his business dealings with Russia and history of money laundering – it's time for America to know the truth about our Liar and Thief.
Trumps Could Owe New York State $400 Million in Taxes & Penalties article from PoliticusUSA. –
Our Lord of the Lies could end up going bankrupt courtesy of his fraud and tax evasion:
"A leading business publication in New York City has reported that President Donald Trump and his siblings could owe New York state more than $400 million.
Crain's New York came up with that figure, which includes unpaid taxes, interest and penalties, after the blockbuster New York Times report about the Trump family's finances. The report said that Donald Trump's parents left the president and his siblings more than $1 billion worth of real estate and cash, most of which was not taxed.
"The Trumps could be on the hook for $210 million in unpaid gift or estate taxes and a similar amount in unpaid interest and penalties #CrainsNY"
The Trumps could be on the hook for $210 million in unpaid gift or estate taxes and a similar amount in unpaid interest and penalties #CrainsNY https://t.co/pTIZMF8Yqs
— Crain's New York (@CrainsNewYork) October 3, 2018
'Crappy Businessman – Great Con Artist': Trump Expert David Cay Johnston Dissects Bombshell NYT Report on President's Taxes article from Alternet. –
More revelations of how our fraudulent Liar-in-Chief committed more financial crimes and should be removed from his illegitimate failed presidency.
Mayor Says New York City Is 'Looking to Recoup' Unpaid Trump Taxes article from PoliticusUSA. –
Trump's legal woes are going to grow exponentially worse since more of his lies reveal that he committed yet more fraud and tax evasion.
Donald Trump Is the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration article from Politico. –
How our dysfunctional Orange dumb ass is responsible for all the belligerent distractions emanating from the White House.
If there is something you'd like to see added or would like more information you can contact me here.


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Benjamin Watson, tight end for the New Orleans Saints, wrote a fantastic blog about the Ferguson situation on his Facebook page. You can read it below:
The blog went viral online, thanks in large part to his fellow NFL players sharing the positive message with their own fans.
And because of Watson's well-written blog receiving the attention it deserved online, CNN decided to interview the budding role model for our youth. I commend them for that. Now more than ever the NFL needs spokesmen like Watson.
The entire CNN interview was somewhere in the 5 to 7 minute range, and it was filled with awesome and positive advice from Watson, who likely is a devout Christian. He spoke about the dangers of making assumptions (which is well documented in the book 'The Four Agreements' by the way) as well as the fact that sin, not skin color, is what is driving the riots and looting in Ferguson.
After basically handing over the mic to Watson for the entire CNN interview, when he delves more into the topic of Jesus something strange happened… a color spectrum screen appears and cuts the interview dead. So for nearly 6 minutes Watson has the stage to talk about his message and the blog, but when he mentions Jesus dieing on the cross, which apparently is controversial in some circles, interview over…
Watson stated "…understanding that Jesus Christ died for our sins. And so to me, on a micro level…" before the interview abruptly ended.
After the cutoff the CNN host casually stated "Oh, and just like that we lost him" as she pantomimes touching her ear piece… as if to try and see if he is still there.
CNN censorship? Or is that just the cable news channel's way of letting their guest know time is up? You be the judge.
More from the great Benjamin Watson CNN interview below:

subset: commoncrawl


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In loving memory of Jerry Doyle
So for those of you who don't know, my favorite TV show of all time is a sci-fi from the 90's called Babylon 5. I was introduced to it nearly ten years after it completed its run by a high school classmate, and while its presentation is certainly dated (you can tell it came from the 90's, which actually makes me like it all the more), its storylines and life lessons are timeless.
All the characters and actors in the show were unique and brilliant in their own ways, but today I want to talk a little about one in particular, who passed away far too soon this week: Jerry Doyle.
Jerry played Michael Garibaldi, the badass, no-nonsense security officer. And he was just as badass and no-nonsense in real life, running a talk show that didn't pander to either political party but flayed them both as they deserve. While I didn't agree with everything he said (I don't agree with everything anyone says), I did like his stance on most subjects, and I loved his delivery, as he always had a funny story to add to the subject, whether it was the time some drunk men insulted his wife at dinner and he buttoned his jacket before beating them up ("This was going to be a formal smack down"), or his hilarious reaction to being told to watch out for terrorists on Independence Day ("Don't touch my Johnsonville brats, or you will pay a heavy price, ISIS…the Johnsonville brats will be served, and July 4th Barbeque Justice will be done in my house."). I've listened to his show avidly for years and browse the website of the organization he founded, Epic Times, for news more than any other news source.
It's one of my biggest disappointments in life that I'll never get to meet him in person. We interacted on Twitter and exchanged emails, one of which he read hilariously on the air, and he was going to be at a convention I took my dad to in 2014, but he had to cancel. After that there was never a chance. I can only hope he's hanging with his parents and the other cast members who left us too soon, and he better be ready for some serious snark from me when I get there ("You just couldn't stand to stick around for the election, could you?").
I'd say rest in peace, Mr. JD, but you're the kind of person who I think would sooner agree to "give 'em hell," even in heaven. Either way, we'll miss you!
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Not even a rushing river of Mountain Dew can adequately quench the thirst of a young man seeking the dutiful affections of a woman. But alas, even after minutes (or if the gentleman has the patience of a 18th century aristocrat, hours) of being "nice", oftentimes the woman in question will fail to realize she is a mere one-dimensional object that should hastily agree to all social and gender normatives thrust upon her by a righteous male. And thus the purgatory of being a "nice" guy in the friendzone was born:
Thank you to College Humor for some of the images above and everyone at Reddit for being great fodder.
And if you enjoyed this hilarious look at the friendzone, be sure to check out the most embarrassing prom photos and the most awkward Facebook pictures ever!


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In an interesting discussion on Linkedin Howard Green MD (@dermhag) explains the outcome for Doctors in 2017 from the $multibillion eHealth Record companies being focused on profiteering from Patients rather than helping them. I think this is just one of the reasons why everything changes when the Medical Record is permanently carried/accessible on the device that we all own and it doesn't surprise me that giant mobile companies like Apple (with a cash reserve of $820Billion) understand this and are making it clear that their future role in the mHealth market is on the side of Patients (and not the short term quick buck that is available if they were to focus on reimbursement/insurers).
This month a Doctor in the USA was jailed for inappropriately browsing the Electronic Health Records at the Hospital he worked for yet no one is even talking about it being a real problem for a NHS Hospital Trust to have handed over 1.6 million NHS Patient records to Google.
It's no longer good enough to blame Patients for wasting your time when you insist they visit you for things that you could've fixed for them by just pointing them to a resource on the internet.
It's no longer good enough to tell someone who knows how to use the supercomputer in their pocket that they need to go somewhere to talk to a stranger.
Related Posts:
Is a 'first opinion' now a Google search of your symptoms on your mobile? (Oct 2015)
With your access to the internet & my medical degree imagine how we could work together? (Dec 2015)


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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
What Plugins Do I Use And Recommend Today?
I typically receive between 40 to 100+ emails each day. There are a number of questions that I get over and over again and one of the more popular questions is "What plugins are your currently using for WordPress?" I've answered this question on previous episodes of Podcast Answer Man. However, as time goes on, I either find new "must have" plugins or find better plugins to replace older ones.
In this episode, I give you my up-to-date list of plugins that I am now using on my site and I share a little bit about why I am using each of them.
Note: Before trying any of these plugins on your site, I highly recommend that you have a good backup of your WordPress database and all the files that exist on your website's server. (BackupBuddy is perfect for this)
My Can't Live Without Plugins!
If you were to ask me rank my plugins in order of importance to me, I have five plugins that would tie for first place. I'll list each of these essential plugins here. To learn the reason why I find them to be so essential, please listen to this episode. Again, please note that these first five plugins are of equal value to me.
BackupBuddy (Affiliate Link) – Good intentions are not enough when it comes to having a full backup of everything that resides on your web hosting server. BackupBuddy is a MUST HAVE plugin if you have a self-hosted WordPress website and want to have the best protection again losing data should your site get hacked or your server's hardware fails.
I am so incredibly thankful to Darryl Tott and the other members of The Podcast Mastermind that brought this plugin to my attention. Special thanks goes out to Cory Miller for coming on to the show to discuss BackupBuddy.
Lead Player (Affiliate Link) – I am using more and more video on my site. My dream plugin would be a plugin that allowed me to embed an "unlisted" YouTube videos onto my website and that would allow me to keep those viewing the video on my site from being able to click through to YouTube to see the unique URL of that unlisted video.
I'm happy to say that the Lead Player Plugin is my dream come true plugin. In fact, the creators of the plugin are actually working on (not in the current version as I write this) another dream feature of mine, which is to allow me to actually control the thumbnail image for each of these unlisted YouTube videos that I would embed on my site.
Lead Player actually works with regular YouTube videos as well, not just unlisted ones. While the items written here are the reasons that I chose to purchase this plugin, there are a lot other features that I am certain will appeal to other members of the Podcast Answer Man community. You can learn about all these features by listening to this episode or by checking out the sales page for Lead Player.
Pretty Link Lite (Link) – Being able to create my own custom branded short urls has been a major blessing. I have been using the Pretty Link plugin since it was first introduced. I just checked and I show that I've created 1,357 pretty links so far. The best part is that I've never had a need for anything more than what the Lite/Free version offers.
PowerPress (Link) – I'm a huge fan of the folks over at Blubrry and I'm incredibly thankful for the time, effort, and energy they have put into creating, maintaining, and supporting the PowerPress plugin.
This plugin does way more than I personally use it for. I simply use it for it's included 1 Pixel Out audio player and the ability to easily create media enclosures. With PowerPress, I can configure a WordPress installation for podcasting within ten minutes. I have a tutorial called WordPress For Podcasters that shows my step by step process how I configure PowerPress to work in my preferred method of setting up a podcast. You can get that tutorial by clicking here.
LiveFyre (Link) – LiveFyre is a commenting system that replaces the built-in commenting system that comes with WordPress. When I saw LiveFyre in action for the first time, it was love at first site. In fact, if you want to hear me fall in love with this commenting system, I encourage you to listen to episode 116 of Social Media Serenity where we first tested it out live, during one of our live shows.
The Other Plugins That I am Using:
As I shared above, the previously mentioned plugins all tied for first place. I list the following plugins in their order of importance to me.
Shareaholic (Link) – Shareaholic adds an attractive social bookmarking menu, and optional related content widget, to your posts, pages, index, or any combination of the three. To see this one in action, scroll to the bottom of this post and see where it says "Share And Enjoy!"
Audio Player (Link) – Please note that this plugin has not been update in over 2 years. It is NOT a plugin that I think 99.9% of my clients or students would ever need. However, I do still use it to place audio players on pages where I am not interested in creating a media enclosure. You can see this audio player in action my Podcast Answer Man Testimonial Page and my gspn.tv Plus Membership Page.
Google Analyticator (Link) – There are a lot of plugins that allow you to connect your WordPress site to your Google Analytics account. I can't remember how I came about using this particular one. However, I can tell you that I do enjoy the stats overview that it puts in my WordPress Dashboard. It's cool to be able to see a quick snapshot of how my traffic is growing each time I log into my site.
Lightbox 2 (Link) – In the episode, you'll hear me mention that I've not been happy with how this plugin has been behaving for quite some time. It turns out that that the developer discontinued this plugin back on April 13th, 2011. I'm still in search of a lightbox replacement. If you have a suggestion, please post it in the comments section below. – See Notes On Next Plugin
Fancybox for WordPress (Link) – As I mentioned in this podcast episode, I knew that my Lightbox 2 plugin was quite outdated. I am now using Fancybox for WordPress instead. If you want to see an example of what this Lightbox plugin does, scroll down and click on the image of the Podcast Mastermind Logo found later in this post.
Gravity Forms (Affiliate Link) – As I shared in this podcast episode, I've had so many issues with the free contact form plugins that attempt to you your server's send mail functionality.
Nearly 400,000 WordPress site are actively running Gravity Forms, which tells me that I'm not the only person who found the free plugins leaving much to be desired. I don't have any examples of forms to show you on any of my sites, at this time. However, I have used Gravity Forms on my site in the past and it works flawlessly.
Webinar Bridge (Link) – I shared my full thoughts on Webinar Bridge back in episode 224 of Podcast Answer Man. This plugin allowed me to create a page on my site were people could enter their name one time and I was able to both sign them up for my mailing list and register them for a GoToWebinar session at the same time. If you do webinars as much as I do, this is an amazing tool to have.
Use Google Libraries (Link) – This plugin allows your site to use common javascript libraries from Google's AJAX Libraries CDN, rather than from WordPress's own copies.
A number of the javascript libraries distributed with WordPress are also hosted on Google's AJAX Libraries API. This plugin allows your WordPress site to use the content distribution network side of Google's AJAX Library API, rather than serving these files from your WordPress install directly. I'm told that this plugin helps take the load off of my server.
W3 Total Cache (Link) – W3 Total Cache improves the user experience of your site by improving your server performance, caching every aspect of your site, reducing the download times and providing transparent content delivery network (CDN) integration.
WARNING: W3 Total Cache is a pain to configure. I only suggest that use use it if you either know what you are doing or have someone else who knows what they are doing to set it up for you. Thankfully, the folks at ServInt offered to set this up and configure it for me. Last year, John over at TentBlogger.com did a lengthy blog post about setting up WP Total Cashe.
WP Smush.it (Link) – To find out what this plugin does and how it works, I simply invite you to read the details at it's WordPress plugin page. I'm told by people I trust that this plugin is helping my site run faster by reducing the file size of all my images on my site without reducing the quality of any of my images. Sounds like a bit of magic to me. 🙂
WPtouch (Link) – One of my favorite things about modern day smart phones is that they have mobile web browsers that make it possible to see full websites the way that they were designed to be seen on the web.
For some reason, many people believe that we should all optimize the layout of our site to fit within a little five inch screen. To that, I say WHATEVER!!! Thankfully, this plugin gives me the ability to offer a mobile browser optimized version of my site if my vistors scroll to the footer of my site if they are viewing it from a mobile device.
Note: It is configured, by default, to automatically show the mobile optimized version of your site when displayed on mobile devices. Thankfully,they included an option where I could set my full web design view as my default view for all browsers. 😉
Akismet (Link) – Ah, the old days of comment spam. These days, if you launch a WordPress website and leave it online for 30 dyas without running either a spam filter plugin or a full comment system replacement, like LiveFyre, you are likely to receive thousands of spam comments per month, if not per day.
If you are using the WordPress comments system, The Akismet plugin checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not and lets you review the spam it catches under your blog's "Comments" admin screen.
While I still have this plugin installed, and activated, I currently have no use for it at all. I should probably go in and turn it off. Follow my advice and just use LiveFyre!
Taking My Public Speaking To The Next Level!
I signed up for Kent Julian's Speak It Forward Bootcamp that will take place in Georgia on October 25-27, 2012. I've been doing a lot of public speaking over the past few years and I'm going to be delivering my first Keynote speech at the end of this month. I'll do a decent job with my talk. However, I'm ready to take my public speaking to the NEXT LEVEL! Maybe you will consider joining me.
I'm Coming To Dallas/Fort Worth
I'm so excited to announce that I am going to be speaking at the Catholic New Media Conference. The conference is going to be held in the Dallas/Fort Worth Texas area on August 29th-31st. I'm very honored to be the Keynote speaker that will open up the event on the 29th. I'll be talking about "How To Market Your Message To The World." If you are in the area, or willing to travel there, I would love to meet you in Dallas next month. I'll be there for the whole conference.
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COUNTDOWN: Internet Emergency
BREAKING: the government has JUST announced they will consider a sneaky attempt by Bell to undo new customer protection rules through an obscure, rarely invoked parliamentary procedure.1,2
If successful Bell could kill Canada's smaller and more affordable Internet providers so they can price-gouge you at will. And you don't have to be a Bell customer – this will impact everyone.
This means the countdown has started until the government makes its final decision on the future of affordable Internet access, and we only have a short window to make as much noise as possible.
Please sign our petition and we'll make sure your opposition to Bell's power-grab goes on the public record. Join over 20,000 Canadians speaking out to stop this price-gouging scheme.
Why are they trying to do this? The answer is obvious: to rip-off Canadians, control the entire ISP market, and ensure we have no choice but their outdated services.
And if they succeed it will be nearly impossible to undo.
James, this is why we need you to speak out now more than ever. Please, tell the new government to reject Bell's underhanded power-grab NOW before it's too late.
Your small OpenMedia team spent more than a year fighting to win these rules. We put the perspectives of over 30,000 Canadians on the public record in favour of greater choice and affordability. And we won.3
But now Bell is pushing the Liberal government to hurt Canadians through measures that would reduce Internet service choice and crank up prices. Which raises the question:
Who will the new government side with? Big Telecom? Or us?
This is a make-or-break moment for the Internet in Canada. Please hurry.
–Josh, on behalf of OpenMedia
P.S., Going up against Bell's army of lobbyists is no small feat. We need your donations to help power our campaign. Donate now to help stop Bell from killing Canada's smaller and more affordable Internet providers.
[1] Bell is lobbying the Canadian government for a "free pass". Source: Medium.
[2] Petition to the Governor in Council concerning Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-326. Source: Industry Canada.
[3] Our crowdsourced policy became government policy. The CRTC heard your call, Canada. Source:OpenMedia.


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architectural portfolio
commercial portfolio
A series of photographs of the Z-House, an upscale beach home, has won an award for best photography in a Canadian magazine.
Azure magazine published an avante-garde summer home built by two successful lawyers. Made of very ordinary construction materials common to the cottage community on the shores of Lake Winnipeg - cement and plywood - this clever design transcends the ordinary by a good measure.


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Iris, new GinD member…and new cyclist!
Freshly graduated, I recently joined the Georgia in Dublin team! I have been in Ireland for four years and I enjoy the atmosphere very much, but never really got used to the cold Irish wind.
I never thought I was a good cyclist. I learnt cycling on a boy's bike, and never had a nice bike which enabled me to enjoy cycling. Clearly, the weather did not help. I used to walk with my headphones everywhere and thought cyclists wearing high viz were very brave for not caring that much about their style (I am sorry, but that is what I thought).
Then, I had to find a job and got along very well with the GinD team! GinD is not only about the practicalities of bike or horse riding; it is also about fashion. Within two weeks, I was on a Dublinbike. A few days later, I was wearing my own GinD high viz and my Dorothy Cover on the dublinbikes. Now, after one month and a half, I have my own dutchy bike, all the GinD garments and three locks. Yes, Georgia kind of persuaded me.
What every GinD follower can agree on, including me of course, is that Georgia in Dublin's rainwear is really efficient. And chic! I cycled home not only in the rain, but the deluge. Not only I was dry when I removed my Rainwrap and so on, but thanks to the carefully adjusted hood of my Bronte, I had no trouble to see the road, I did not get sick thanks to its high collar keeping the wind out, I was comfortable and obvisously visible.
I really like working for Georgia in Dublin, and now I also like cycling! I find that having a nice and comfortable bike that you actually like, plus lovely waterproof clothes in which you do not feel like you are dressed in a bin bag, makes it a lot different and more enjoyable.
On my second day being on my bike, I was crashed into by another cyclist! Everybody is fine, bikes too. Every relationship has ups and downs!


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Dominium by les Oliveraies de Jugurtha
Dominium AWARDS
Producer Story
The Company of Les Oliveraies De Jugurtha produces & markets under the DOMINIUM brand, a high Quality extra-Virgin Organic Olive Oil, which comes from the Chetoui Cultivar grown at 800 m altitude in the mountainous region of Sakiet- El Kef in northwestern Tunisia.
The creation of "Les Oliveraies De Jugurtha" , the parent company operating the DOMINIUM Olive oil Brand, obeys a strong and sincere desire of its promoters, two foreign educated brothers, to highlight the rich potential of the remote and mountainous area located in the extreme Northwest of Tunisia from which their family originally come from.
This region, located in Le Kef Governorate, and characterized by a rich historical and cultural legacy dating back to the Numidian , Cathaginian and Roman eras, is also one of the flagship sites in Tunisia, in terms of quality organic olive oil production
Through this project, the company's promoters intend to tie the local economic fabric consisting mainly of smallholder farmers with a cereal, arboreal and pastoral vocation to the international value chain of olive oil and to give them all the benefits of a premium quality product designed to the best international standards and with access to international consumers and markets.
In addition to the family olive groves operated by the two brothers, the company's olive oil production also comes from a network of small partner farmers for whom the Dominium project offers free technical assistance in obtaining the organic label for their plots, free technical assistance in adopting organic farming techniques, a guaranteed premium price for their production according to fair trade principles.
Brand Description
Our DOMINIUM Organic Extra Premium Virgin Olive Oil is extracted from mountain olives, grown in the traditional way and hand-picked in early autumn, to capture all the finesse and fruitiness of Chetoui.
It is a very special olive oil resulting from a unique blend of a high-altitude continental microclimate of Mediterranean type, and qualities of the famous local cultivar of Chetoui.
With an average level of antioxidant polyphenol of more than 750 mg/kg Dominium Premium EVOO is one of the most polyphenol-rich oils in the world.
The high quality of our Olive oil, nationally recognized, began in 2020 at the international level to break through and appear in a new light, through numerous awards and gold medals received from our first participation in the prestigious competitions in New York (NYIOOC), London (LIOOC), Tokyo (Olive Japan) and Sydney (Australia).
100% Organic Chetoui Extra Virgin Olive Oil .
Les Oliveraies de Jugurtha SARL
4 bis Rue Soyouti El Menzah
City: Tunis
Postcode: 1004
Country: Tunisie
Tel: +216 98 341 956
Email: email@example.com
Company Website:


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — When you watch the reports on European elections, about change sweeping through the euro zone, be grateful that you live or invest in the U.S. of A.
The United States promises much. It dreams big and it always outperforms. It comes together. Through ingenuity and grit, the U.S. perseveres and pays its bills with interest.
Europe promises the world. It dreams. Then the group starts to fight amongst itself. It falls apart. Europe defaults. It needs to be bailed out, sometimes by the U.S.A.
During the last 200 years Greece has defaulted twice, Spain twice, Portugal twice. Germany has defaulted. Italy has defaulted. There have been 10 defaults in the last 100 years. And that list, compiled by the business school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, doesn't include defaults caused by "wars, revolutions, occupations and state disintegrations."
They just kind of went belly up.
Add those wars and disasters, and European defaults might exceed 30 or more, a rate of more than one default a decade.
That's nice of the MIT people to look at it that way. After all, the U.S. has had several wars during that time, including one with itself. Indeed, it's bailed out Europe's butt militarily and economically a couple of times in the last 100 years. Still, it's paid its bills.
In many ways, it's that history that explains why Europe is being punished in the markets for veering away from austerity and the U.S. never was. It's why Standard & Poor's was wrong in downgrading U.S. sovereign debt last year. It's why Warren Buffett, who knows a thing or two about credit, called the United States a "quadruple-A" credit.
It's why the Greek stock market (GD) fell 6.7% Monday, the FTSE 100 (UKX) slipped 1.9%. And why sovereign debt in the region hardly budged. French 10-year government bonds (10YR_FRA) remain near 3%. Greece 10-year bonds yield (10YR_GRE) 22%. Italian (10YR_ITA) bonds of the same maturity yield 5.4% and Spanish bonds (10YR_ESP) 5.75%.
And these are the rates you get when the European Central Bank has pledge to buy $272 billion in sovereign debt from at-risk countries (France not included).
Sell all of them if you can, because Europe is about to respond to a crisis caused by printing too much money by printing too much money.
Now, for a country such as the United States, printing money may not be a bad strategy. To work, it requires something from investors: confidence. And confidence is earned.
One of the ways to earn the confidence is to never default. Another way is to turn printing money into economic expansion. And for all of our whining about the recovery — "only" a 2.5% growth rate and a "high" unemployment rate of 8.1% — it is nothing compared to the euro zone: 10.9% unemployment in May and an expected 0% economic growth rate in 2012.
In other words, we're going gangbusters compared to the austerity-driven economies just west of the Caucuses.
And that's largely why the United States, with a total sovereign debt load of roughly $15 trillion, has better credit than the euro zone, with $13.6 trillion.
The bigger problem, of course, is that the European Union is really an oxymoron. If Europe is a "union" then salt is pepper and up is down. It's just patently wrong. Europe like any expansive region with multiple states is, by definition, always at war — culturally, economically and socially.
But unlike the U.S., which has a strong central government to get its states in line, Europe has to count on the goodwill of its members. You know, the members who start talks by blaming economic problems on their neighbors.
This isn't to knock the ambition of the European Union, which was coalesced in 1993 and introduced its currency in 1999. It's just that the 27 members have never abdicated any power to the greater good.
That's why French President-elect François Hollande, Mario Monti, the new prime minister of Italy, the Pasok and New Democracy parties in Greece and, for the time being, David Cameron in Great Britain and Angela Merkel in Germany really have no standing.
They represent a momentary blip in leadership among countries that never will get along nor work together, now that the global capital bubble has popped. Having never agreed to share the pain, they will never share the pain.
Ultimately, the constant upheaval of leadership and plans will make the bonds of Spain, Italy and Portugal an even dicier proposition. Private investors, seeing this will sell them. U.S. bonds will strengthen in the long-term flight to safety.
Europe is division. America is united.
It sounds silly and simple — kind of like the idea that 27 adversaries could become friends over money.


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Happy Friday! Here are some oddball things I came across, submitted for your enjoyment…
It is "spring" here in New York's Scenic Hudson Valley, but The Winter That Will Not Die rained ice chips on me while I walked the dogs yesterday and there are still mounds of unmelted snow along side driveways and parking lots in the neighborhood, but I don't think I have much to complain about because at least we are not buried in tumbleweeds like they are in Victorville, California:
High winds have left a California desert town buried in tumbleweeds. Residents of Victorville, which is northeast of Los Angeles were shocked when hundreds of tumbleweeds blew into their town, burying everything in their wake, including 150 homes. There were so many weeds that they reached the second story of some of the houses.
Video captured and posted to YouTube showed massive piles of the weeds blowing through the town, completely covering some homes as clean-up crews worked to remove the tumbleweed. MORE
H/T iOTWReport.com
When I saw a headline earlier this week about how some human beings have a genetic mutation that allows them to remain underwater for longer than most people, I expected I'd find out that they'd grown gills, but it turns out that they have special spleens. Via National Geographic:
If you hold your breath and plunge your face into a tub of water, your body automatically triggers what's called the diving response. Your heart rate slows, your blood vessels constrict, and your spleen contracts, all reactions that help you save energy when you're low on oxygen.
Most people can hold their breath underwater for a few seconds, some for a few minutes. But a group of people called the Bajau takes free diving to the extreme, staying underwater for as long as 13 minutes at depths of around 200 feet. These nomadic people live in waters winding through the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where they dive to hunt for fish or search for natural elements that can be used in crafts.
Now, a study in the journal Cell offers the first clues that a DNA mutation for larger spleens gives the Bajau a genetic advantage for life in the deep. READ MORE
H/T: Instapundit
Two cops were having a rough time trying to arrest a couple of miscreants who were violently resisting. One cop was knocked unconscious, when a female off duty medical assistant came to the rescue with a BODY SLAM to one of the thugs (also a female) who was attacking the cops. The bystander turned heroine then held the crook in place until the downed officer was back up and the cops could finish the arrest. Via FoxNews:
Officer Brian Lowenhagen and Sgt. Eric Walters were attempting to arrest the suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Jacob R. Hellenbrand, outside of a convenience store on Sunday when a woman who was with him punched Loewenhagen "numerous times," according to the police department.
As Sgt. Walters attempted to restrain the woman, identified as 21-year-old Olivia J. Boomsma, the "male was able to blade his body toward Sgt. Walters and forcefully kick Sgt. Walters on the right side of his face and head," according to the police department.The kick was so forceful Walters lost consciousness.
Around that same time, an off-duty medical assistant who had stopped in the convenience store on her way home came to the rescue.
Divine Savior Hospital employee Vanessa Guerra ran toward the officers after she noticed Walters had fallen unconscious. As she was checking on him, the "female suspect was beginning to fight with Officer Loewenhagen again and was yelling about having a knife in her pocket," police said.
That's when Guerra "disregarded her own safety to help protect the officers," the police department explained. She "body-slammed" Boomsma against a wall and "held her there until Sgt. Walters resumed consciousness and was able to handcuff the female," the station added.
"I'm in the medical profession. When you get into that mode, you're there for your patients, you're there for the person that you see in need. And that's what you do," the medical assistant later told WKOW.
Portage Police Chief Manthey of the Portage Police Department thanked Guerra for her bravery, WKOW reported. RTWT
Dogs. They really do make everything better! Via SunnySkyz:
A group of Border Collies are having the time of their lives and they don't even realize how much they are helping the planet.
Last year, wildfires in central Chile destroyed over a million acres of forest land.
Months later, a unique team was brought in to help restore the damaged ecosystem.
A border collie named Das and her two daughters,Olivia and Summer, have been fitted with special backpacks that allow them to distribute native plant seeds throughout burned forests.
Although the task is a serious one, it's an excuse for the dogs to have fun.
"They reeeeeally love [it]!!" their owner, Francisca Torres, told Mother Nature Network. "It's a country trip, where they can run as fast as they can and have a great time."
Depending on the terrain, the four-legged trio can cover as many as 18 miles in a day and distribute more than 20 pounds of seeds.
Dogs helping to reforest the forest. The longer I live, the longer I come to believe that there is little in this world that cannot be improved with dogs.
Have a nice weekend!
MJ Stevenson, AKA Zilla, is best known on the web as Zilla at MareZilla.com. She lives in a woodland shack near a creek, in one of those rural parts of New York State that nobody knows or cares about, with her family and a large pack of guardian companion animals.


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ACLU: FBI Illegally Surveilling Muslims
It will always be a line hard to draw, between protecting the nation from another terrorist attack and reaching too far in the name of preemption. The American Civil Liberties Union sees the latter, though, and on Thursday said the FBI is using extensive community outreach among Muslims to gather intelligence secretively and illegally, reports Jerry Markon of the Washington Post.
FBI agents in California illegally recorded information about individual's political and religious affiliations while attending mosque gatherings and other events in Muslim communities, the ACLU says, citing internal bureau documents, according to the Post. FBI officials deny the allegations.
Some of the files the ACLU cites show FBI agents working with local communities to fight drugs and crimes. But others show agents recording Social Security numbers and other personal information, noting their political affiliations in at least one incident. The information seems to be used for follow-up investigations, but heavy redactions make it tough to come to firm conclusions, according to the Post.
To read more click here.
Posted: December 2nd, 2011 under FBI, News Story.
Tags: ACLU, civil rights, FBI, Islam, Muslim, terrorism
Comments: none


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Brunch with view
Bern is beautiful. We know that. Every day in the Kursaal Bern we have the best view over the city to the mountains. At Panorama Brunch we share the breathtaking view with you. Discover the city from a new perspective. Sit, marvel, feast.
Capture the beautiful moment with our photo box. So that in the end more remains than the memory of a special day.
What to expect at the Panorama Brunch
- Breakfast: from croissants up to salmon
- Lunch: from boiled ham up to Entrecôte
- Vegetarian: from salad up to vegetable lasagna
- Dessert: from cake up to chocolate fountain
- Beverages: from coffee up to Prosecco
Panorama Brunches 2022:
Easter (17 April): Book now
Mother's day (8 May): Book now
Pentecost (5 June): Book now
1st of August: Book now
First Advent (27 November): Book now
Second Advent (4 December): Book now
3rd Advent (11 December): Book now
4th Advent (18. December): Book now
69 CHF per person
7- to 12-years old 50% off
Kids until six years old are free of charge
Breathtaking view
The best view of Bern and the Alps is included. Of course there is also a glass of champagne.
Gigantic selection
You will find everything your heart desires at our sumptuous buffets and live cooking stations.
For our younger guests the "Kids Corner", Johnny the Trämeler and many more highlights are waiting.
The Panorama Brunch in the Kursaal is perfectly located - accessible in five minutes by public transport from the train station in Bern with its own "Kursaal" tram station or by car directly into the hotel's own car park.


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This is a video, in Arab, with Dutch subtitles, of Ayat Al-Qormezi reading a poem.
A video, which was on YouTube but has been removed there, about Bahrain used to say about itself:
Ayat al-Ghermezi, 20, had recited her poems, in which she slammed the ruling regime and Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifah Ibn Salman al-Khalifah, during protests in Pearl Square in the capital city, Manama, Fardanews reported.
Shortly afterwards, Ghermezi
UPDATE: sometimes spelled Ayat Al-Qormezi
received an influx of insulting and intimidating letters and emails, but when she referred to the police to report the threats, she was insulted and mocked by officers, her family says.
In late March, security forces raided Ghermezi's home twice, threatening her family to reveal Ayat's whereabouts, otherwise they would "destroy the house over your heads, by the order of high-ranking officials."
After the security forces coerced Gehrmezi's family into disclosing her hideout, the family heard no word from her, Ayat's mother said.
When the family started searching for Ayat, the police told them they have no information about Ayat and tried to force them to confirm through a letter that their daughter had gone missing.
In mid-April, an anonymous call was made to Gehrmezi's family, informing them that Ayat was in coma at an army Hospital.
At the hospital, doctors confirmed that Ayat had gone into coma after being raped several times.
Eventually, the physicians' efforts failed to save Ayat's life and she died at the army hospital.
So far, several other women, including doctors, university professors and students, have been kidnapped or arrested by Bahraini security forces.
Since mid-February, thousands of anti-government protesters in Bahrain have poured into the streets, calling for an end to Al-Khalifa dynasty, which has ruled the country for almost forty years.
On March 13, Saudi-led forces were dispatched to the Persian Gulf island at Manama's request to quell the countrywide protests.
According to local sources, dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested so far during the government clampdown on the peaceful demonstrations.
See also here.
Poem about this: here.
UPDATE 5 June 2011: Ms Ayat al-Ghermezi survived torture, still in danger: here.
Dr Masaud Jahromi, Chairman of the engineering department at Ahlia University in Bahrain, was arrested at 2:30AM on 14th April 2011; having been beaten and dragged from his bed in front of his family. His family, students, friends and colleagues are unaware of his whereabouts and health: here.
The regime of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Bahrain is continuing its reign of terror against political opponents. According to human rights organizations, nearly 1,000 people have been arrested or are missing in the recent crackdown on popular opposition to the autocratic regime that began in mid-March: here.


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It is a common problem for men, the first dating email to the person you like…
"What to write", you might be thinking.
Since this is one of the most important steps in initiating contact with the desired person, you have to do it right. In this article you will find tips about how to do this properly and without scaring your target. We prefer emailing over chatting (you can start chatting later on) because emailing gives you more time to think of something interesting to say, especially if you're just starting out.
Basic guidelines for the first dating email
It is a bad idea to write complete essays about yourself in the first dating email, people find this creepy and fake. For all they know you send these messages to hundreds of people, and it will come across as weird to tell about your whole life without actually knowing the person you are addressing. Your first dating email shouldn't be much longer than 3 sentences.
How to make your target curious about you
Try to get into a calm, confident, natural state of mind. Think to yourself, "what would be a nice first dating email message that I could sent to my target?". Be witty and creative.
For example, if something caught your eye on the profile, comment on that with a little bit of humor. If you see that the person's hometown is a small village, you could make a lighthearted farm joke about all the cows the target probably needs to milk in morning in order to be able to eat cornflakes. It is important not to come across as an asshole, but as a balanced, "fun to be around" person with confidence. The target will be thinking, "all the guys always try to suck up to me, but this guy is confident, different and funny, I want to know more about him!" And will be more likely to respond to your message. Another thing you can try is having sincere interest about something that you found on the profile. If you see that the person likes to do something that interests you, you could ask the target to explain a little bit more about it. Important is that you always stay respectful and remember the 3 sentences guideline.
Don't communicate too long through email
It's also important to be a little bit mysterious about yourself, but not too much or you will come across as insecure and not sincere! As previously mentioned it's all about finding the right balance. Aim to email back and forth for no longer than a few days, make your target get more and more curious about you in a positive way. Tell your target something about yourself, not too little and not too much. Always try to end a conversation with a cliffhanger, in other words, try to end the conversation at its highest point. Because of this your target will be really eager to find out more about you, preferably in an actual date!
It is important to give a good impression when you are sending your first dating email to your target, the message will make or break you. As mentioned in the article, it is important to make the target curious about you by being confident, flattering, challenging, funny, respectful and a little bit mysterious. (also called charming) However, if you completely don't tell anything about yourself you will come across as an insecure, scary guy. Also do not communicate too long through email, arrange an actual meeting when the time is right. More about this subject in the next article.


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Posts Tagged 'Mustafa Khalifa'
The Shell
This review of Mustafa Khalifa's account of life and death in Syria's Tadmor prison was first published at AlJumhuriya.
"The Shell" opens in 1982 with its young protagonist returning to Syria from his film studies in Paris. He rejects his girlfriend's pleas to stay in France because his home needs him, and he misses its streets, and "in my own country I've got rights."
He is arrested at Damascus airport. Only many years later does he learn the reason for his detention – reportedly he'd made "remarks disparaging to the president" at a Parisian party.
He is sent to the "Desert Prison" at Tadmor, or Palmyra, where the Assad regime consigned the Islamists and leftists who challenged it in the 1980s. Tadmor's 10,000 inmates "contained the highest proportion of holders of university degrees in the entire country". Very many died there. In 1980, a thousand were murdered in one day.
This is (with reservations) a true story. Mustafa Khalifa has transformed his own dreadful experience into a bitter classic of Syria's burgeoning 'prison literature' genre. In prison, denied a pen, Khalifa practised "mental writing". He made his mind a tape recorder, he explains, and then "downloaded" to paper over 13 years later, when he wasn't entirely the same person. And he won't download everything, he warns, for "that requires an act of confession". So "The Shell" is a fictionalised memoir. Published in Beirut in 2008, it was widely admired in Arabic, and is now admirably translated to English by Paul Starkey.
It's a tale of arbitrary victimisation. Accused of Muslim Brotherhood membership, the narrator tells a guard he's not only of Christian family, but an atheist too. "But we're an Islamic country!" declares his tormenter, and the beating recommences.


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Advice for International Students
In the heart of Scotland, Dundee and Angus College is a great study environment for international students.
Our students come from many different countries, so everyone fits in.
Dundee and Angus College is fast developing a strong reputation for supporting education professionals from around the world with significant numbers of students from a greater number of countries around the world choosing to join us.
Our growing reputation means that we are increasingly known for the quality of our educational provision and the achievements of our students.


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Dream Catchers
All our dream catchers are handmade my us. We user either metal rings or bone for the hoops. Decoration options include feathers, semi precious gemstones, beads, shells and conchos. All feathers are individually hand selected for quality. See individual product descriptions for details.
Legends hold that dream catchers aid the sleeper by catching the bad dreams in the web which then perish at day break. The creation story of the dream catcher varies from tribe to tribe.


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The following comment I have just submitted in reply to "Climate science: the IPCC controversy explained" on the FT website, a blog where Fiona Harvey manages to shoot the friendliest of fires risking to fatally wound the IPCC itself:
Fiona – I find your argument weak in the extreme. You're basically tossing away the whole IPCC report apart from the SPM, the only part that "contains only substantiated data and can be relied on by policymakers". In other words, the work of WG-I, WG-II and WG-III cannot be "relied on", by policymakers and by simple extension by anybody else ("informed guesswork" springs to mind).
And it all sounds like you're trying to defend the IPCC by retreating to an incredibly small ground, rather like a Last Stand Hill. Just imagine, if anybody finds now the smallest mistake in the SPM, it will be the end of the IPCC as far as your argument is concerned.
Worse: the SPM as you noted contains governmental contribution. It is written for governments, not for science and scientists. Nobody in their right mind will think that the SPM is a scientific document anymore than any governmental policy paper might ever be.
The end result of your blog is to completely undermine the science of the IPCC. Please reconsider the situation, as only the most extreme non-believers in AGW would want to go that far.
Addendum: And here we are…Richard North has found an incredibly badly-founded claim in the SPM (aka "Synthesis Report"). As already mentioned, this single piece of evidence alone invalidates the whole argument put together by Fiona Harvey in defense of the IPCC. It is a pity that Ms Harvey has been too busy to return to this topic during the past few days.


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These are the focal tender points of the fatigued or injured muscles and tendons that can be injected to relieve pain.
Trigger points are 'tension points' in the painful muscle. In chronic cases, they are taut and even calcified. Experienced practitioner often describes a sensation of 'crepitance' when penetrating a trigger point with a needle due to tissue calcification.
Cortisone is sometimes added to local anesthetic as an anti-inflammatory but injection of cortisone into muscles can at times cause localized muscle atrophy.
Local anesthetic and the action of the tiny needle 'trauma' help to bring increased circulation to the dormant muscle. Local anesthetic, which blocks pain impulses also further helps by breaking the pain cycle.


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When it comes to working out, it seems that everyone is an expert these days. Eat this. Drink that. Wear this. Try that. No matter what new trends and fads pop up in the world of fitness, there are some myths that just don't seem to go away. Here are 12 myths about exercise and weight training debunked for your reading pleasure:
Weight Training Myths:
You can get rid of fat simply by doing strength work in that area.
In reality, experts say that fat reduction only happens through a combination of healthy eating, cardio and strength work. You must have all three in order to see success. Those bicep curls will not give you more sculpted arms if you are not also eating healthy and doing cardiovascular activities.
Machines are safer than free weights.
Neither one is safe if you are not using them properly. Make sure your form is correct in order to avoid injury. If you are not sure of proper form, ask someone at the gym for help. Working out at home? There are many videos online where you can watch experts demonstrate proper form and technique.
Lifting weights makes women bulky.
That depends on your own personal definition of bulky. Some women prefer a sculpted look while others may not feel the same. Weight training does, of course, create some muscle definition and toning. However, the type of weight training that makes women weight-lifter bulky requires an entirely different type of workout than the workouts most people at the gym are doing.
If you stop weight training your muscles will turn into fat.
When you stop training, your metabolism will slow down and over time you will lose that sculpted look as muscle mass declines. Technically, however, it is not physiologically possible for one type of body tissue to actually turn into another.
Cardio Myths:
If you are not sweating like a pig, you are not working hard enough.
As you may have noticed at the gym (or elsewhere), some people perspire way more than others. It does not necessarily mean that the sweaty people have gotten a better workout. Sweat is simply how the body regulates its temperature and internal temperatures may range from person to person.
Running on a treadmill is easier on your body than running outside.
Not necessarily. It all depends on your individual body and the type of treadmill you are using. So use whichever you prefer or whichever feels better for you.
You will enter the fat-burning zone with heavy, sweat-inducing cardio.
There is no actual "zone" (twilight or otherwise) where you burn fat. The idea of a zone simply relates to the time during your workout when your body is working the hardest, whether you are doing cardio or lifting weights. With that said, experts suggest building up to that point in your workout to avoid a quick burnout.
Other Myths:
Stretching before exercise improves performance.
Experts have mixed feelings on this, but most say that the need for stretching is very individualized to one's body. Many recommend stretching post workout. They suggest slow, deliberate stretches for 10-15 seconds while breathing deeply.
You can't get a good workout from pilates or yoga. They are just glorified stretching.
Yoga and pilates can be excellent workouts because your core is engaged during the entire activity. Your entire body is being stabilized by the muscles in your core. Seriously, have you ever seen a yoga instructor who is not in good shape??
You are not getting fit if you are still seeing high numbers on the scale.
Not necessarily. If you are working out and eating healthy, those pounds are likely coming from muscle rather than fat. You may actually be leaner and weigh more, so concentrate more on how you feel than the number you see on the scale.
As long as you exercise you can eat anything you want.
Wouldn't that be fabulous? Sadly, we do not get pig out credits if we've had a great workout. Your metabolism will decide how much you can eat, but it should still be good-for-you foods if your goal is to be healthy and lean.
Low-intensity exercises burn more fat than intense workouts.
Not quite. You may burn less fat with a low intensity workout, but what matters is the number of calories burned, not the amount of fat. Some people rave about low intensity exercises because it is easier on the joints. Keep in mind that the definition of a low intensity workout can vary from person to person. Workouts, regardless of type, burn carbohydrates first. It is only once your body has burned up all the carbohydrates when it starts to burn fat.
"If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health." -Hippocrates
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