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Pseudoscience, The Paranormal, and Conspiracy Theories - Think Atheist 2022-12-02T08:55:12Z https://www.thinkatheist.com/forum/categories/pseudoscience-the-paranormal/listForCategory?feed=yes&xn_auth=no on reincarnation tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2019-05-08:1982180:Topic:1642299 2019-05-08T06:25:08.442Z rudrappa agadi https://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/rudrappaagadi
I believe that there is reincarnation i.e., the soul, according to it's Karma (universal law of action-cause-effect) and also to fulfill its ambitions/desires, takes another life with another body. Sri. Paramahansa Yogananda ji in his master work Autobiography of Yogi clearly refers to LIFETRONS, the atoms which finally go with the human soul are responsible for reincarnation. From these Lifetrons, which are inherently intelligent and Karmically pre-determined, join the ovum and sperm in…

I believe that there is reincarnation i.e., the soul, according to it's Karma (universal law of action-cause-effect) and also to fulfill its ambitions/desires, takes another life with another body. Sri. Paramahansa Yogananda ji in his master work Autobiography of Yogi clearly refers to LIFETRONS, the atoms which finally go with the human soul are responsible for reincarnation. From these Lifetrons, which are inherently intelligent and Karmically pre-determined, join the ovum and sperm in the womb. This is a very secret procedure which science has not yet invented and I doubt whether science will be able to discover Consciousness, which is nothing but Soul(causal body) and above this causal body there is astral/bioplasmic/subtle body which are not yet invented by science and it takes still many years for the same. /firstname.lastname@example.com//
 The Afterlife tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2017-01-05:1982180:Topic:1611807 2017-01-05T15:39:58.627Z Dustin Eveland https://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/DustinEveland
OK, let's start from the beginning.

The first time I became Atheist, it was short-lived, only read 36 pages of the Bible, didn't make sense to me.

During my announcement of converting a way of thinking, my step-father said to me,"Do you believe in ghosts?" I nodded my head, he continued, "How do ghosts exist if there is no God?"

Needless to say, my 15-year old, freshman year self had my eyes wide open, thinking,"Oh my, God does exists.

Now, I realize that…

OK, let's start from the beginning.

The first time I became Atheist, it was short-lived, only read 36 pages of the Bible, didn't make sense to me.

During my announcement of converting a way of thinking, my step-father said to me,"Do you believe in ghosts?" I nodded my head, he continued, "How do ghosts exist if there is no God?"

Needless to say, my 15-year old, freshman year self had my eyes wide open, thinking,"Oh my, God does exists.

Now, I realize that Christians just want something to believe in, like some people want some monster to believe in, like Slenderman or the Loch Ness Monster.

Now my question, I haven't explained to myself the existence of ghosts, how do they exist if there is no God?
 Remember the creationist hypothesis about high pressure atmosphere leading to gigantic dinosaur sizes? tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2016-08-09:1982180:Topic:1597996 2016-08-09T22:49:24.699Z matt.clerke https://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/mattclerke
Remember the creationist hypothesis about high pressure atmosphere leading to gigantic dinosaur sizes? Well check this out: creation science at its best! Basically, this guy believes that dinosaurs and humans lived together and he wants to prove it by recreating what he thinks the early Earth's atmosphere…

Remember the creationist hypothesis about high pressure atmosphere leading to gigantic dinosaur sizes? Well check this out: creation science at its best! Basically, this guy believes that dinosaurs and humans lived together and he wants to prove it by recreating what he thinks the early Earth's atmosphere was like, particularly, a far higher pressure than it is today (presumably due to the water/ice above the firmament or something), and growing his own dinosaurs.

Here's my favourite part:

And though he's already got a working prototype, it's yet to yield any results.

What makes you chuckle about this? I'm glad there's a creationist actually willing to test a hypothesis like this, yet troubled that he believes this strongly enough to actually follow through with it. Who knows, maybe in 2 or 3 years we will all be praising Jesus and riding our velociraptors to work!
 Illuminati,NWO,creation of life and future of mankind. Opinions? tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2015-06-11:1982180:Topic:1535949 2015-06-11T19:34:46.658Z ỮŊĐÜムņĮØńệ尺 https://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/UNDUEAAIOEnechi
▲ "The infinity risen from out of water greeting with nature.

Nature bursts into wisdom. Wisdom leads to crafting.

The perfection of craft for a blind eye appeals as magic. Magic tends to trick.

Tricking follows into discord. Discords nature is the key of war.

War ends down with death. Death suggests of chaos.

Chaos's end is the beginning of order.

The…

▲ "The infinity risen from out of water greeting with nature.
Nature bursts into wisdom. Wisdom leads to crafting.
The perfection of craft for a blind eye appeals as magic. Magic tends to trick.
Tricking follows into discord. Discords nature is the key of war.
War ends down with death. Death suggests of chaos.
Chaos's end is the beginning of order.
The representation of line with two points… Order and Chaos. The never ending cycle..."

Creavi ad perdendum

The author of the following statement has the bravery of being unknown to most circles of life. An eager of spreading a just and perfect vision of the world drove my inner being in pursue of truth. Five years of little to no researching, but own mind evaluating has rendered me capable of unfolding those mysteries to the ones that seek, which till now, have been kept secret as the grave. I've derived it knowledge at first from brainwashing media, puppets of those who know. As the zombie mind began to die off I became possessed of its effects; and on over the signs of Illuminati, found the door into deep dark ocean of desires to globalize this shattered world. Remarks on great plan, which exited my curiosity so far that I revolved on accomplishing my honest scheme, without going through the forms required by the society.
My regard for the present, and respect to the future, is the only inducement to this publication, which is intended not only to affect those who, perhaps, have been lately awaken, and still remain ignorant of the true foundation of the NWO. To become the followers of invisible order of Illuminati. An opportunity of judging for themselves as to the obligation and nature of the society are going to escape into, and to confider the advantages and disadvantages of the engagements by which they are bound. Such is the intention of this undertaking an important task of throwing the fattest gambit in the history of life and death.

Phaenomenon re silentium
The future they seek

Radiation accumulated nations with cancer riot. One in every five. There were many ready to lose themselves…
The green planet. Like an apple, it's eventually turns into red and then after inky yellow in some time. 2070s. There was time when the planet has been covered in cities and life was pushing as a train. The planet was looking grayish of monotony. 2090s nearly new century, life turned into flaming red and even the telescope of far icy satellite of Europa would've see the fire.
Right after 90 percent of all mass destructive weapons were sent to Mars on 2096 a machine of sorrow began to swirl across the nations. The same year World War Three dropped its wheal of depleting death on December 26th. Many believed that it was the one, the thermonuclear. The truly to be "war to end all wars". Six years passed the war was finished in victory of neo communism party and resulted with groundbreaking 42 percent of humanity slaughtered in the process. 2120s…Mini World War four as many called was sponsored by last standing religious men propagandized to be the plague of anarchy from across the globe, they were stomped by the ruthless agenda, the logic in just two years. The utopia of believing in something great after death was killed by unstoppable science. Since then it was all about now, your sweat, your tears, your work, your every second beating heart no time to pray, its illogical elite suggested as many much bigger things with it. There were still lands where certain religion group could live in peace and prosperity, but they were rejected from the great fraction.
Due to economic crisis the world began to divide into old, settled capitalism and neo communism increasingly pushed by youth and uprising societies. Cold elitism with the limit against the free will without exit. . Cyborg future began to rise in minds of many after multiple scientific discoveries with genetically modified organs and half organic electronics. The new reforms were pushed through parliaments of continents. Religions were faded by order and science. Countries spared their history and culture on slope of internet while eventually becoming into single globalized corporation: simply called "The Earth". The technology eventually advanced to the final stage when humans could transform their usual brain into computer, swapping their right eyeball with AI information filter. . It was pc installed directly into the mind with extra tweaks to turn into potential hard worker anyone who carries it. Plus it gave obvious advantages as well connection with lots of unusual for human body applications. Alarm, Internet, games and etc. At the age of eighteen every single inhabitant of Earth was supposed to lay on surgeons table to spare the system. After each of their move being recorded, their life began a part of 100 points cycle. Merely speaking each positive and logical effect on humanity and the planet was resulted with extra point. An invention if it was in ranks of genius may send the owner to 50 points up. On the final mark the 100 points meant a continuation of family tree for its individual. A man or woman with 100 points would've done such operation with its half that was above 50 points. The murder of human will make the obtaining reduced to 0.1 for each point and of cause jail didn't disappear. People still had the free will to spend entire life in block two by two. The humanity was finally assorted right, thanks to technology. Recycled cities were changed with next gen technologies of pure customization in all types of products. China, Russia and USA closed all factories and then reopened many by one name, reducing human industrial activity to minimum. Later everyone agreed to proceed in same pace, putting advertisement into the grave. Even so the world was communist like, advancing to perfect the race, the cloths were blue or graffiti like, the electric cars were changing color and form on the run. Only thing was it all happened by seeing world from integrated right filter-eye. Things were gray everyone agreed, but the future since was brighter than ever...

"Illuminate your foes by creating chaos, play both sides, control all. Sacrifice the present for the sake of future. And you will succeed, those who got nothing to follow, open your eye and see the truth before life becomes harsh and full of pain. Faith controls and creates wars. Stop it and there wont be any more." Illuminati

Each second there are more negative things humankind does then good and if we will think mathematically about it that means that once everything will end, pretty soon. Our moves are changing the physical nucleus of the reality as also recreating the chaos. Nonphysical life is our final destination to save the species...
There's an undertone in everything around you, unknown reader. Tone of possibilities in each move I can do in the next second. Casual moments could have played in different styles under particular circumstances causing me to think of many dimensions being born around us.
Here is the truth. Just like that. No church, no invitation, no paychecks and scam. No brainwashing for rich and few to get the same result... Youth will do much harder, faster, stronger and better.

The origin came from nothing. In the world of nothing there was a simple element that was missing, as it was causing significant changes into everything.
In the world of nothing, there were no rules upon anything of it nothingness. Therefore without the rule, you create new elements, because there's nothing for it to stop.
Something created the challenge that made new worlds of different colors with crazy structural levels.
Infinity caused rules...
The rules cause challenge. Challenge cause variety as also scars upon it. Variety is continuing the infinity as scars causes the chaos. Chaos destroys or brings the rules while also the challenge gaining or losing an enormous amount of possible variety and this keeps on going without time limits. Chaos doesn't let things to unite themselves too long so it will never fill the infinity.
We are the fighting for the immortality sort of variety as also for infinity, but if we fall into chaos then we will lose rules and we would intoxicate with darkness. It's all about chance.
When the mankind will gain an absolute access over everything they ever could then we will have a possibility to create worlds in virtual realities causing new dimensions, but it got to be a perfection level that we could calculate anything so right to live for infinity time inside of the organic system, somewhere where any desires are possible immediately.

Our lifes represent a passage of choice. It's got two perpendicular endings. The circle of life and death could portray the unity at the same time the zero. Happy ending and the darkish end. The complex system of living points out on how our society works. Imagine a broken mirror in the shadow of the room. As you can see it got black details connected to white and grey. White expresses all the possible scientific discoveries of future that could be led to our saving. Black is the struggle of the past that helps us to learn on mistakes of others. Dark, white grey areas are the pentacle of this picture. It's the mystery, the missing elements that must be found before failure or victory, but their something else sacred. Therese invisible lines that could connect the other elements across major pieces of this jigsaw. This means that's the passage of primal success will never be that easy to accomplish without using any means necessary, whether its structures of past or present. So therefore the name of the b0ok that will serve as Illuminati's mindset is The Sleeping Scars. It represents those invisible lines for the world to find and understand. It must be vague... It meant to create different thoughts upon the ultimate questions, while silently pushes correct answers in the waves of spree. What's free will compared to future with triple dots? What's the solution of ego affecting the world in every kind of human industry? Many of other answers will be found in my b0ok, but the understanding of those words in proper is the main game's point. I'm not here to make you think vague, but just to think above the usual human morals. Over intelligent aliens would've fun reading this extrapolated saga because they went through this problem billions of years ago. What about you? Would you have fun to see the immortalized future before it ends and then manage to end the past before the world itself? The world required it to be dissented from its future, hiding behind the past cause of understandable development... It's time for an unknown to coordinate the jurisdictions of what's right and wrong. It's time for people to stand by its own rights. I'll show humanity what's a utopian society really is and how it will highly improve after time. As well as not that utopian society, but quite an opposite. As I call it in the theory as the almost perfect, the final and failed traces of experiences aka by this weathered pages of the script-dimensions.

Let me give you a taste of what Sleeping Scars is going to be on one of its five dimensions.

The Negativus

Alslantima

An empty looking planet was glistering far in the deep of space across giant Jupiter. Someone inside was chanting solemn burble. Low tones of undiscovered world were whispering the unlimited triumph to their ruler…
There in the depth of mixed structures was steel golem in female form that looked surrealistic compare to any ghost of light and onyx as also reeked with its alien appearance for this reality. Its sharp outline contour was pushing with its greatness towards any of her creations. Eyes were turning dark with sparkles purple when she was silent, thinking or green with flames of flash when she was speaking. The most unusual colors of her eyes were red and silvery. Bloody spheres were shown limitedly at the times when she was wishing of something that was new. For a god, wishes were like unseen dreams. Wishing was just so fast, so spontaneous that she could have just seized it in her mind for just short period. Once there is a master that comes in and creates it in new reality. One day there is this once that changes anything into everything. Eh, how confused was she billions years ago and how bored since. Different numbers and they are everywhere. They came and never going to leave…
Presently, how about to create a world that doesn't have numbers? Would the master be lost with it?
She looked at the Negativus. Then she turned her eyes onto the mirror particles of platform that blew her vicious stare into its own. The purple fire slept inside of her pupils and then spurted with scarlet agony of visual enthusiasm. It was actually unique…
The goddess smiled with blend set of teeth. Her cold steel nose like sword was fumbling into upper lips. The crown that resembled her status was spiked stiff out of her metallic hair.
At first when I began to settle the new life inside, there was just a core warming surroundings and raising a tremendous pasture for my creativity. My unlimited force sliced the burning orb into two equal pieces. I took one to be kept in time of war as my primary weapon against unknown owners of the cosmos. The other I left to rotate in time to bring something like day and night for the world that I named as the Negativus.
Through the aegis, the heat from the center was creating a bright energy inside that eventually ramified to shadows of darkness under the turning hemisphere. The void of obsidian screen was so cold that a bubble in oceans size flipped out and covered the interior.
The dark was gathering free source of life and as a result, the shadows turned into individual souls. Some of them then moved towards the light, while others decided to remain in chaotic places of birth. These two oppositions began to create the city around the half-orb in the rules of my word. They were almost immortal only, because of inability to survive on oppositions sector. That's why they all must run… I enjoy my observing over the onyx undulationers running circles as the light changes the position of shine. I was also happy to see their progressive intellect in terms of communication skill as from cryptic symbols on the ground to the perfect plans of creating the greatest city in the universe. Their living habit was always on the move, so they lived in similar structured inhibitors.
The purpose of life of the DL* is to create worlds as to continue the infinity.
I won my world; I've got it to the perfection level... This means that everything what was physically possible to create and analyze has been done, and only the imagination is left for the continuation of the future.
Each time the DL is ready to create a new universe, the members of the planet come to me so I choose two masters to become into part-time demigods. Light is the meaning of creation, but without another color such as any darker there wouldn't be any single particle- just only a white list.
The rules of participating in the creation of the world are simple. The light undulationers must create a perfect race of beings, which will know all the possible knowledge of their universe to be able then to move into the stage of their immortality and ability to create anything they ever wanted. They got to catch the masters innovation of life before the innovation of death gets to finishing line. The onyx undulationers must to verify their strength in order to deserve the place under the gods. If the world doesn't stand into that category then the darkness destroys the creation of light. The ones that lost their world then forever will be turned onto dark side.
Completed worlds overlap the souls of those who got to the end, but do not get the memories of those who controlled over. One life in continues activating the new one.
This was all so simple since now on was to her like nothing.
Suddenly she saw the most unexpectedly thing for her always been victorious life. The flames of her eyes extinguished as if candles under sturdy breath to the stage of silver color. Those she used to hear the gods get, in the warning of incoming danger and… within there was something else… the death of somebody closed to her, probably the closest one was.
She was so power sensible that felt someone's lasted beat of heart on the other end of universes.
The titan in the middle shuttered around and aloud.
"Today is the day when the one who could have protected me is dead in the sign that I got not much time until my fate will end up the same." The god Alslantima whispered in last looking at her lovingly created world from the ladder of inner planet.
Maybe that's why someone innocent fell dead for me few hours ago. I got a feeling that it may be my last world to cover… This, maybe again...
"Let us begin..." Alslanti addressed to her right hand listener Plod-U-Pas. He was her slavery toy. His silhouette was too blurry to proper explain since he was always doing something for his highest master. Just some dusky strain on legs that was squeaking full of polite speeches and in split seconds notified with finished job.
"Yes, the queen..." Within low intonation replied a tiny ghost under the shadow of his owner and spread away.
Calling signal was out on every corner of full roof-covered streets of the Negativus. The new world was about to begin...
The place of infinity where the races could have faced each other was far in the top corner of the straight ceiling of half-orb, shinning with hallowed fire. The heat on that side wasn't that bad, just only flames coming from the coal ground.
Light ones were grouping on the way up to there, while the onyx has been already around the platform of infinity. They had been always there up in the swimming pool that vertically rained small tears of water like it had low gravity. Pure darkness was the only mansion that was fleeing around the main city followed by washing rain.
Sedin, the master of evil was wearing a shadowy red-black heavy armor and a gold mask on half face with thorns on the top. His low-shaped square look was glowing blue over uncovered skin. His eyes were bleeding the shadowy rays mixed with spooky explosions of bright.
He set on an armchair in front of a new master of light named Zefijay. The old one lost his second world and been claimed to get overthrown into lower stages of organisms to fight his way back through mysteries and another billions of years. Zefijay was here before anyone else. His simple made glowing bronze toxically mask was directed towards the Sedin with his army. He was looking so boring that the expression of him was losing in cryptic words by flaming distinction.
Riot of excitement was from all sides. Right up the heads of masters somewhere the ruler of evil was glancing on his pawn Sedin.
"Please to present, the queen of the Negativus, Alslantima!" With a scream shouted Plod-U-Pas into the crowd of phantoms.
Everything fell into silence; only the cold steps began to grow louder towards the cobbled mantel with Sedin and Zefijay. The last step up of stairs from the firing angle of semi-circle was the beginning of her speech to the masters: "I would like to see a solution by you to feed the signs of perfection." She pointed at Zefijay as she said that.
"You, stop him, but remember if the world is worth to be, so let it."
Sedin only nod his head down as same as the light owner did.
From the beginning of a sharp claw of Alslanti a white sheet appeared and laid down across the paved table between two masters.
Zefijay was very nervous, this was his second world and the last one he deprived, while having an unshaken body with the sign of the calm comportment and readiness to face the devil itself.
The dark wizard was imposing fear deep into his eyes, trying to convince of the future failure, silently; even so the creator of realities got his mask on so the spooky force can't harm his mind.
"You may start, now." Plod-U-Pas whispered to the table and gone away, following the queen to the top of the hovering stairs that was rising up into the deep of the planet.
 The Illuminati: The Original Anonymous tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2015-02-24:1982180:Topic:1518183 2015-02-24T17:29:53.855Z Nerdy Keith https://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/keith

The Illuminati in reality is not based on the conspiracy theories. They did exist a few hundred years ago. Don't worry guys, I may have a different worldview to some of you; but I'm no conspiracy theorist.

 Its been a while since I've started a thread on Think Atheist and I wanted to share my perspective on this topic. I still cannot…

The Illuminati in reality is not based on the conspiracy theories. They did exist a few hundred years ago. Don't worry guys, I may have a different worldview to some of you; but I'm no conspiracy theorist.

 Its been a while since I've started a thread on Think Atheist and I wanted to share my perspective on this topic. I still cannot grasp why on earth people are taken in with the conspiracy beliefs concerning the "Illuminati"

Lets just clarify something factual here, the Illuminati did exist a few hundred years ago. They were not this scary cult of devil worshipers or a group that took people out with questionable views.

Historically speaking, the real Illuminati or rather Bavarian Illuminati was founded in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt; during a period commonly referred to as the "Age of Enlightenment. The name itself "Illuminati" means to be illuminated or enlightened. They were a secret secret society; just not the secret society the conspiracy theorists claim. They were a secret society oppose superstition, obscurantism, religious influence over public life and abuses of state power. I suppose you might view them as the original "Anonymous"; without the technology of course.

Eventually the Illuminati disbanded in approximately 1790 due to the vilifying of organised religions and a hard core level of defamation.

With that all said. Why do you suppose people still believe in the conspiracies?
 The latest conspiracy theory: Beheadings faked! (NSFW) tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2014-09-04:1982180:Topic:1488683 2014-09-04T20:01:07.387Z Unseen https://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/Unseen
This site claims the beheading was done on a dummy of some sort and provides documentary "evidence." You will not see Foley's alleged head sitting on his alleged body. There is a shot of his head (unless it's a fake, too) on top of a headless body. There are some seeming contradictions, such as that Foley is said to smile at times before the beheading, suggesting he's…

This site claims the beheading was done on a dummy of some sort and provides documentary "evidence." You will not see Foley's alleged head sitting on his alleged body. There is a shot of his head (unless it's a fake, too) on top of a headless body. There are some seeming contradictions, such as that Foley is said to smile at times before the beheading, suggesting he's in on the fake.

There's also a link to the actual ISIS video, but even that video apparently cuts away after the first few strokes of the knife (or so the article claims: I don't watch beheading videos).

Now, I'm a bit of a knife collector, and the knife the supposed executioner seems to be using doesn't seem up to doing anything like a beheading at all efficiently. Imagine carving a chicken with a Swiss Army Knife. Also, it would probably be useful to let the body largely bleed out before attempting to get through the spine.

Despite all that, apparently ISIS claims responsibility. The conspiracy theorist seems to lay responsibility on the doorstep of Britain and/or the Iraeli Mossad.

 9/11 never happened (not like you think it did) tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2014-08-29:1982180:Topic:1487644 2014-08-29T04:29:11.284Z Unseen https://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/Unseen
According to...

John Lear, the son of Learjet inventor, Bill Lear, has given his expert evidence that it would have been physically impossible for Boeing 767s, like Flights AA11 and UA175 to have hit the Twin Towers on 9/11, particularly when flown by inexperienced pilots:

 'No Boeing 767 airliners hit the Twin Towers as fraudulently alleged by the government, media, NIST and its contractors', he claimed in the affidavit.

 'Such crashes did…

According to...

John Lear, the son of Learjet inventor, Bill Lear, has given his expert evidence that it would have been physically impossible for Boeing 767s, like Flights AA11 and UA175 to have hit the Twin Towers on 9/11, particularly when flown by inexperienced pilots:

 'No Boeing 767 airliners hit the Twin Towers as fraudulently alleged by the government, media, NIST and its contractors', he claimed in the affidavit.

 'Such crashes did not occur because they are physically impossible as depicted, for the following reasons: in the case of UAL 175 going into the south tower, a real Boeing 767 would have begun 'telescoping' when the nose hit the 14 inch steel columns which are 39 inches on center.

 'The vertical and horizontal tail would have instantaneously separated from the aircraft, hit the steel box columns and fallen to the ground.

 'The engines when impacting the steel columns would havemaintained their general shape and either fallen to the ground or been recovered in the debris of the collapsed building.

 'No Boeing 767 could attain a speed of 540 mph at 1000 feet above sea level 'parasite drag doubles with velocity' and 'parasite power' cubes with velocity.

(read more)
 Class action suit against parents who don't vaccinate their kids tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2014-04-25:1982180:Topic:1452420 2014-04-25T16:37:57.349Z Unseen https://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/Unseen
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Health, Knox County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have confirmed an outbreak of measles in the Knox County area.

At this time, the health agencies have confirmed 16 cases of the measles. The initial cases were from unvaccinated travelers who returned to Ohio from the Philippines. (…

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Health, Knox County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have confirmed an outbreak of measles in the Knox County area.

At this time, the health agencies have confirmed 16 cases of the measles. The initial cases were from unvaccinated travelers who returned to Ohio from the Philippines. (source)

Anti-vaccination folks, if they are not among the mentally challenged, are what I call "educated idiots." It's funny how a little college education gives people the hubris to become experts outside their field. Are there medical people who think vaccination is related to various conditions, autism for example? Sure. Likewise, you will find the occasional physicist who thinks God created the universe.

However...

the vast majority of experts in epidemiology and medicine believe vaccination is important and don't hesitate at all to get their children vaccinated. Who should we follow? Actual experts and the practices they follow, or some paranoid tinfoil hat pseudoscience followers who may also believe the hollow earth theory.

Is it time to get tough when it comes to vaccination?

Maybe a class action suit against these people would be justified.

 What Happen at the Loring Military Base? tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2014-04-11:1982180:Topic:1448616 2014-04-11T14:09:42.180Z Michael https://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/Michael456 Military bases are frequently targets of UFO activities. The paranormal media has capitalized on this. However, green men from mars can't always be the explanation.

 What are the other possibilities besides mass hysteria.

 UFO sighting:

 During the fall of 1975, the base was the location of unidentified flying object sightings. During the night of 27 October, an unidentified object was spotted hovering near the secure weapons area (the former Caribou Air Force… Military bases are frequently targets of UFO activities. The paranormal media has capitalized on this. However, green men from mars can't always be the explanation.

 What are the other possibilities besides mass hysteria.

 UFO sighting:

 During the fall of 1975, the base was the location of unidentified flying object sightings. During the night of 27 October, an unidentified object was spotted hovering near the secure weapons area (the former Caribou Air Force Station). Around 7:45 at night, a member of the 42nd Security Police Squadron spotted an apparent aircraft over the northern perimeter of Loring, at a low altitude. A later teletype message to the National Military Command Center in Washington, D.C., stated: "The A/C [aircraft] definitely penetrated the LAFB [Loring Air Force Base] northern perimeter and on one occasion was within 300 yards of the munitions storage area perimeter." In the control tower, a member of the 2192nd Communications Squadron was on duty, when he picked up the craft on radar, nearing the base. After trying to contact the unidentified aircraft to warn it that it was approaching a restricted area, the aircraft entered the airspace over the nuclear weapons storage area and hovered over it at an altitude of 300 feet, later lowering to 150 feet. Commander of the 42d Bombardment Wing, Colonel Robert E. Chapman[N 1] arrived fifteen minutes later at the weapons storage area and police units were ordered in as well. At this time, he also declared a Security Option 3.[35]

 At 8:45, another person who was on duty in the control tower received a call to track the mysterious craft on radar. For the next forty minutes, it was observed circling around the weapons storage area, when it suddenly vanished, as though it had landed or dropped below the radar. Witnesses later observed it flying away towards Grand Falls, New Brunswick, twelve miles to the east. Messages were sent to the National Military Command Center, the Air Force Chief of Staff, and Strategic Air Command headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base. The base continued to remain on a high state of alert until the following morning, as efforts to identify the unidentified aircraft through the Maine State Police, local police departments, and the Houlton Federal Aviation Administration office remained elusive.[35]

 The next night at 7:45, a craft very similar to the one the night before approached the base. In addition to being tracked on radar, it hovered around the area for thirty minutes, with characteristics of movement similar to a helicopter. Additionally, it hovered above the weapons storage area at the same altitude as the night before. At this time, possibly another object (it is unclear if it was the same one as the over the weapons storage area, but it is possible) was spotted over the flight line. The cigar-shaped object was described as hovering in mid-air, jerking around, and turning on and off its lights once. During the blackout, it traveled from the flight line, to the northern end of the runway. According to one service member, the object was chased, and eventually discovered to be hovering five feet off the ground. During this time, it was determined that the object was four car lengths long.[35]

 Once again, the object was tracked on radar, taking off towards New Brunswick. Teletype messages were again sent to higher commands, with no explanation being found. One teletype sent on November from Loring's Office of Special Investigations detachment to the National Military Command Center and OSI headquarters reported another, "unidentified helicopter sighted at low level over Loring AFB" over the past two nights (31 October – 1 November). It also referred to the intruder as an "unknown entity." Additionally, Captain Richard R. Fuhs an Operations Officer in the 42nd Security Police Squadron (SPS) stated, "...advised that there had been three verified sightings of an unidentified A/C [aircraft] flying at low level over and in the vicinity of LAFB" during this period. An initial sighting was made by a member of the 42nd, who was on duty at 11:14 pm Another member spotted the object near the East Gate, going from east to west.[35] Demon Possession tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2014-02-07:1982180:Topic:1431741 2014-02-07T05:39:27.473Z Chrono-Synclastic Infundibulum https://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/ChronoSynclasticInfundibulum
I wanted to know any of you guys' thoughts on demon possessions. What do you make of stories like the possessions of Clara Germana Cele, Roland Doe or, more recently, "Julia"?

What spurned my curiosity was a recent occurrence that I'm loosely connected to. A family that I know contacted my father, a reverend, to bless their house because they believe it's haunted. Every family member has claimed to have seen and heard strange things. The mother says she's seen a girl appear randomly…

I wanted to know any of you guys' thoughts on demon possessions. What do you make of stories like the possessions of Clara Germana Cele, Roland Doe or, more recently, "Julia"?

What spurned my curiosity was a recent occurrence that I'm loosely connected to. A family that I know contacted my father, a reverend, to bless their house because they believe it's haunted. Every family member has claimed to have seen and heard strange things. The mother says she's seen a girl appear randomly in different parts of the house; they all say that their TV turns on and off of its own accord; the father says that a shadow has appeared over him multiple times (not sure what that means; he didn't know how else to explain it); they say they've seen things move of their own accord; and finally, the exact day my father was supposed to go over there for the blessing he got a call shortly before he was going to leave- the house caught on fire; the investigators say it was a dryer fire.

The family attributes all these things to a set of figurines their daughter has of Santo de Muerte. They say when she got them and started messing with them, that's when it all started.

Anyways, I'm just curious to hear what you guys think of stories like that. Also, have any of you heard or experienced anything similar?


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The Mughals were in battle with the Marathas The Marathas were indulging in gorilla warfare. They would attack the Mughals and come back to their camp at night. In this warfare they had to go through many problems. They always had the problem of shortage of rations. Then it was wintertime and they did not have adequate warm clothing. One soldier's clothes got torn and as he looked at the ragged attire he felt a little sad. He went to Chatrapati Shivaji. "Your majesty, it is biting cold and the body is shivering. There is no protection from the cold. Even the cold I can bear, but my clothes are so ragged that I am not even able to cover my modesty." Shivaji saw that his brave soldier had weakened, was giving up. Said Shivaji, "Brave soldier, do you know you have a wound on your body? What do these wounds say? Said the soldier widening his chest, "They speak of my bravery." "So brave soldier, if you wear all your clothes, these wounds will be covered. These clothes will conceal your courage." Revitalized the soldier returned to his camp.
The desire for comfort and luxury conceal courage.
Whenour minds are awake to the need of deriving comfort, the power of courage weakens. The one who follows the body will think of physical comfort while the one who follows the soul will think of physical benefit. Comfort is a small truth while benefit is a larger truth. A man may derive comfort by continually sitting for fifteen hours, but that is not to his benefit. The probability of diabetes increases in such a man. Maharishi Charak has said that those desiring luxury are prone to diabetes. There is a limit to comfort. The body needs comfort, but to subordinate the body to excessive ease and comfort is detrimental. Kayaklesh should be understood in this context. Mahavira established the principle of kayaklesh so that a man does not develop his desires for luxuries or negligence towards duty. It is not a contradiction of penance. When water is added to flour it becomes wet. When the dough is baked, it becomes dry again, looses its wetness. Similarly the body put through the fire of penance is not vulnerable. A pot that has not been fired cannot be used to store water. Only after baking it, it can be used for storing water. Is firing the clay causing it pain? When a potter fires his clay should we say he is causing pain? This is not the method of torture; it is the method of strengthening. Kayaklesh too is not the method of causing pain but of strengthening.
The one who has not been seasoned cannot far hardships. Vajrasan may not be comfortable, but is definitely beneficial. The one who has not strengthened his knees cannot sit in that posture. His knees give way.
The one who wears more woollens in winter has very little capacity to face the cold. Even to face scorching heat, the body has to be trained. To live in shunya (loosely translated as vacuum), to live alone is very difficult. Cosmonauts are acclimatized to undertake their journeys. Anybody and everybody cannot undertake this journey. Only those who have been trained can undertake the journey.
Kayaklesh is the second lesson in sadhana. The first lesson in training is fasting. Bhagvan Mahavira gave four instructions in respect of food:
- Fasting,
- Meager meals,
- Different resolves pertaining to food, and
- To give up milk, yoghurt etc.
Jainism does not treat fasting as compulsory. To bring about a balance between a person's energy and his inner capabilities, fasting is advised. Fasting till the mind is healthy and happy.
If the mind is not pure then even the fasting is not. Fasting does affect the body but it helps fully the development of the inner capabilities. This is not a method of causing pain to the body or the mind.
Bhagvan Mahavira gave three instructions with respect to kayaklesh: asana, atapna and giving up of bodily samskaras (sharir samskar).
We have many energy centres in our body. Asanas play a great role in awakening them. For mental development it is necessary for our endocrine glands to function properly. Asanas help in ensuring that also. Sarvangasan regulates the functioning of the thyroid glands. Half an hour of practice of sarvangasan may be strenuous physically but it is not meant to give pain. That physical exertion which troubles the body but does not give comfort can be said to be torturing the body. Kayaklesh however means bringing real happiness and doing good to the body. Matsyasan, vajrasan, virasan are all-important asans, which promote development. So their utility cannot be negated.
Absorbing heat from the sun (atapana) is also very useful. The solar radiations are not only the source of life to the physical body but they are also the secret of the source of strength to the psyche. With this the brilliance increases and loss of light is prevented. To take the heat of the sun with the eyes open, to gaze at the sun can be both beneficial and detrimental. In the first step the heat of the sun is absorbed either on the back or while lying down. In the second step it is absorbed by facing the sun in a standing posture. Some take the sun's heat in the morning and some in the afternoon. In Bhagvan Mahavira's time hundreds of monks used this technique.

subset: commoncrawl


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Harrison Fisher Sachets are filled with lavender and arrive in a gift box with a matching gift bag. The sachet measure 4" x 4" Shown from left to right: Tea Thyme, The Maiden, and American Beauty. The fabric is subject to change depending on availability.
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It's not often that you get a chance to see how a politician behaves among ordinary people. They're usually surrounded by security, and mobbed by media, so on that rare occasion in which you find yourself relatively alone with one for even a moment, most people will try to exploit the moment and express their own opinions. In these situations, some politicians bear up better than others, and some are able to disguise the actual contempt or at least ambivalence they feel for we "little people." The Romney campaign thought it would be a good idea to have Mitt fly coach just to be among the people. Unfortunately, once there, he promptly ignored a fellow passenger who wanted to discuss health-care reform with him, reports a New York Times blogger, Emmarie Heutteman. According to the article, Carolyn McClanahan of Jacksonville, Florida was seated next to Romney.
From the blog posting:
According to Ms. McClanahan, about an hour into the flight — which Mr. Romney mostly spent reading USA Today and using an iPad while wearing headphones — she told him her idea for improving the American health care system: slashing overhead costs by switching to an electronic billing system.
"He looked at me blankly and said, 'I understand,' then put his iPad headphones in and kept reading," she said.
While Ms. McClanahan said Mr. Romney was probably exhausted, she was disappointed he showed so little interest. Even another passenger's request for a restaurant recommendation in Boston elicited little from Mr. Romney, she said. "I can't give you any," he said, according to Ms. McClanahan. "You'll have to ask someone else."
This is demonstrative of the arrogance that pervades the permanent political class. I recognize that Romney just wanted to catch his flight, but if you sit in coach in an attempt to appear to be "just one of us," then you should expect that people will attempt to make some conversation, particularly if you're a presidential candidate. Mitt is just another of those politicians who want your vote, but not your opinions. I have no idea whether Ms. McClanahan had any good ideas or not, but after all, you never know. I'm not surprised by this, although this sort of confirmation is troubling.
Undoubtedly, this may be Mitt's last appearance in coach, because now his campaign is catching grief. The Times article concludes:
Ms. McClanahan said that if Mr. Romney wants to improve his image with voters, he's going to have to do more than just fly coach.
"I think that one of the problems right now is that politicians aren't in touch," she said. "They're trying to act like they're in touch. You need to be a little more sincere about it."
Indeed. That's one of the problems with Mitt. In fact, it always has been: He's roughly as genuine as a stuffed ape holding a plastic banana. He's got no credibility with average Americans because he simply isn't one of us. He never has been, and he clearly seems out of his element when among us. It's only a matter of time before they put him in flannel at a skeet-shooting range, or at a NASCAR race to show us how he's one of us. McClanahan's instincts are right about Romney. He's out of touch. He's out of style, and if conservatives and Tea Party folk have anything to say about it, he'll be out of the running. Sadly, that's going to be more difficult than some now think.


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How Jesus Changed My Life
I received Jesus as my savior when I was 14 years old in Brazil. I remember being on fire for the Lord but that fire dimmed down as I pursued truth and was always told the opposite of what I read in the bible. As this continued, I grew away from the church. I made decisions for my life and left God out of the picture. After years of not being satisfied at the age of 35 I wanted a change. I wanted something more than what I had been living.
As I surrendered my life to him and made him the Lord of my life, not just my savior, I finally began to be totally at the mercy of God. He has blessed me in so many ways and I have not looked back since. God is faithful and making him the Lord of my life has been the best decision I ever made. Thank you Jesus!


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David Neal Doyle
Executive Pastor
I was born in Brazil, where my parents served as Southern Baptist missionaries to the Amazon region for almost 40 years. I grew up as much Brazilian as I was American. In some ways, perhaps more. Portuguese was my first language, alongside English. I grew up immersed in two different cultures.
My full story is one of a runaway come home. After my second year of college as a student of architectural design at Texas Tech University, I felt what I understood to be God's call to full-time Christian service. So, in response to the call, I transferred to Ouachita Baptist University and started mapping out "my" lifetime of service to God. The plans were detailed, and all the pieces seemed to fall into place. But I had left God out of the planning process. Gradually I saw everything that "I" had so carefully planned and held dear crumble in front of me. By the time I graduated from Ouachita I was broken spiritually and rudderless, and I convinced myself that God had not really called me. Wrong. Little did I know that over the next 44 years God would perform a complete "re-do" on me. At the end of March 2017 and in response to a very gentle tap (a reminder) by God on my shoulder, I retired early from the second of two careers with the Department of Defense to finally answer the call that God had made to me 44 years earlier.
I am grateful that God placed Pam in my life at exactly the right time and place. Not only is she my wife but she is also my best friend. We have three fantastic children and the perfect son-in-law and daughter-in-law. We are blessed with five grandchildren.
Favorite Bible verses: Romans 8:1-4. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.


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How Self Storage Makes Moving Easier
Categories: Storage
Moving can be one of the most exciting and stressful times in anyone's life. With so many things on the go, most people welcome ways to make life more manageable. This is how self storage is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. By having a place to put your belongings during your transitions, self storage allows you to focus on your move or renovations.
Here are a few ways self storage can help you during this transition in your life.
Let's face it, space sells! Staging your home has proved again and again to be one of the most effective ways to get top dollar for your home! Whether you are trying to declutter your home so buyers can get a sense of the space, or ultimately have all of your belongings taken out and replaced to appeal to a particular type of buyer, self storage takes the worry out of where to safely put your belongings for the time being. After all, having less clutter is essential for letting the potential buyer envision themselves in your home.
Since they will be looking at every room, every cupboard, every space, by packing up a lot of your belongings that you won't need during this time, is a great way to get it out of sight and out of mind. Another advantage of this process is to see what you need. Perhaps you are looking to downsize your belongings. By going through and giving yourself the time and feel of what you need or don't, you can donate, sell or give away objects that are just collecting dust.
Clean and tidy
Life doesn't stop when you decide to sell your home. By packing away things you are not currently using at this time, it allows you to keep your home clean and tidy. Instead of scrambling to keep your house tidy after receiving a call last minute for a showroom, it would make your life much easier to store some of your belongings in self storage to ensure your home is in the best condition for presentations.
Move at your pace
By moving in stages, you may feel less overwhelmed on the big day. We all know the scene: once the moving truck is gone, your new home looks like a labyrinth. With an endless maze of brown boxes, where do you even begin to start the unpacking process? The thought of being inundated with boxes is enough to want to give up. But having the majority of your belongings stored ahead of time, it allows you to tackle the unpacking process in a relaxing and breathable way.
Let's face it, moving is often stressful and something everyone goes through a few times in their life. Any little bit of relief helps, and one of the best advantages of renting a self storage unit is you can rent it for as short or as long as you want. At Access Storage, you will feel comfortable and confident that your belongings will be safe and secure in one of our top-of-the-line facilities.
Happy Moving!


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London, April 23 (IANS) People in colder and less sunny regions of the world have higher rates of alcoholic cirrhosis, a disease caused by excessive drinking which results in irreversible scarring of the liver, scientists have found.
A new data from more than 190 countries presented on Saturday at the International Liver Congress 2017 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, suggests that every increase in temperature of one degree Celsius was linked with a decrease in the alcohol-attributable fraction (AAF) of cirrhosis of 0.3 per cent.
Heavy alcohol intake causes a perception of warmth, while fewer sunlight hours have been linked to depression, which, in turn, may lead to alcohol abuse. As a result, the researchers hypothesised that colder countries would have higher rates of alcohol consumption and therefore an increased burden of alcoholic cirrhosis.
"Our research reveals that a country's climate and geographical location have a startling influence on the burden of liver cirrhosis," said lead author Dr Neil D. Shah, and senior author Dr Ramon Bataller from the University of North Carolina.
"As average temperatures and yearly hours of sunshine decrease and latitude increases, rates of alcohol-attributable cirrhosis increase. This suggests that drinking alcohol excessively to combat the cold and dark could put people at increased risk of suffering from alcoholic cirrhosis."
In the univariate analysis conducted by researchers, there was an inverse association between mean average temperature, mean annual sunshine hours and a positive association with absolute latitude with AAF.
In the multivariate analysis, average temperature and sunshine hours remained independently associated with the burden of alcohol-attributable liver cirrhosis or AAF after adjusting for the percentage of binge drinkers among active drinkers and alcohol consumption.


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Read what our clients have to say about CFM.
Submit your review
This company provided excellent service from initial request thru the project completion. An accurate and detailed estimate was provided very quickly. The work started on time and was finished during the timeframe provided. Any concerns we had were addressed immediately. The work was top-notch. I would highly recommend.
Custom Fence and Masonry replaced 10 section of fence in our back yard, replaced deck railing, refreshed our gravel path and replaced our 3 car cement driveway. Travis and Ted are experienced, strong communicators and meticulous. During our driveway replacement they discovered rotted wood in our foundation adjoining the old driveway and they were able to quickly remove and repair it. They were onsite for the concrete pour and made sure that the concrete was appropriately sloped and storm drains were working properly. For our deck railings they primed and painted the wood in their facility and then installed the railings - what a smart approach. I would not hesitate to use CFM for any future project and highly recommend them. They take pride in their work and you feel like they are making the effort they would on their own home. Great people.
Quality work, with quality craftsmen. Highly recommend. Many projects completed over many years, which included driveways, patio, fountain. Always completed in a very timely manner.
Custom Fence & Masonry put up a decorative fence in my yard. I was very happy with the quality of their work, and especially pleased with their interest in helping determine exactly what style of fence would best serve my needs. I will use them again, and recommend them highly.
We wish we could say that we build gates and also do masonry, but Custom Fence and Masonry gives us a reason to stick with JUST gates. Ted does an amazing job, which is why he is our preferred mason and the only one we call when our clients request columns and pillars at the entrance to their homes. They are always happy with his work. Thanks for making us look good!
We just finished a large project with CF&M. The built a new back patio, entry walkway and front driveway for us. This was as substantial project and we can't be happier. The work took a while due to weather earlier in the year, but once they got rolling, things moved along nicely. I have done several remodeling projects over the years and Ted and crew were one of the most pleasant I have worked with. For me, a big key is showing up when they say they are going to. Over the three months our project took, they were always at our house when they said they would be. The work was clean and neat, they never left a mess. I really can't say enough good things. If I ever have another project, patio, driveway, fence, walls, fire pit, etc. I will hire them again.
We used CF&M to install three custom wood gates at our property. With very little direction from us, they built and installed them, and they look and work great. The carpentry work was excellent, and the installation was top-notch despite oddities in the installation locations. They made the gates match our existing wood fences with almost no direction from us at all. Ted was responsive to emails so we had no problems with communications. One thing -- they had a longish lead time before they could start the project, which is understandable, because they do good work and are probably in demand. We would use them again.


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The rise of zombies has come; will you survive or join the horde? Our zombie costumes take their roots from the world-wide fascination of zombies, creatures that defy the laws of life and death and come from various origins. Viruses, voodoo magic, results of international war, and the failed results of science experiments; all these origin stories have inspired the imagination. Our zombie Halloween costumes dive deep into that allure by appealing to the gruesome decay, the discolored flesh, and the rotting core that makes up zombies.
Our zombie costumes incorporate custom-fit masks, air-spray painted designs full of blood and gore, and specially molded latex body parts to truly make a convincing zombie character. Their designs hold up to movie-quality standards, meaning if you have an indie film or work at a professional haunted house attraction, these Halloween costumes will meet your needs. All of our Halloween costumes have a unique personality of their own, and we assure you that their life-like features will scare the pants off you at the end of the day.
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At Small Country, we require that you perform winterization your RV in a timely fashion, at the latest by November 15. The following steps should be taken:
* You must heat tape and pipe wrap your water hose from your trailer to the hose bib and heat tape and pipe wrap the spigot and pipe all the way to the ground. If you don't know how to do this, please check with management.
* Make sure your sewer hose does not have any low spots that will hold water and freeze. Ensure that you have a "donut" in around the sewer hose.
* We also recommend that you skirt your unit which will help prevent potential freezing and water leaks under your trailer this winter. Use approved skirting ONLY (ask management). Do not use cardboard boxes, scrap wood, insulation or other such materials. This campground will not look trashy.
* If you haven't already made arrangements for a large propane tank, you can call Blossman Propane on 540-832-0090. If you don't have a large propane tank, we will assume you are using electric heat and expect you to pay an additional $5/day for electric heat unless you can show that you are using your own propane tanks (receipts required).
* We highly recommend that you keep your parking places and walkways raked, swept or shoveled this fall and winter as the accumulation of leaves will cause slipping and sinking … plus you will carry the leaf trash into your units. DO NOT put down straw or hay or any other organic material in the parking spots or walkways as that only causes more sinking and slipping.
Read Below for more great and in-depth tips for successfull winterization of your RV!
During snow falls management will endeavor to open the roads as quickly as possible. Please be patient. We will NOT shovel your driveway or walkway. This is your community. We ask that you keep your site clean and neat and that you please don't throw down cans and bottles or other litter on the campground or on our roads. We do recycle. Call or come to the office if you want to report any problem. Thank you!
Most RVs simply weren't designed to be used in the winter. They were built for family outings and weekend getaways during the warm months and were intended to be stored away when the weather got too chilly for outdoor picnics. Full-timers are faced with living in their traveling home, whether it is well designed for cold weather or not. Luckily, there are lots of things that you can do to make your RV more comfortable during the colder months.
Let's start by keeping that cold weather outside and the warm air in. To do this, you need to increase insulation and reduce cold air infiltration. Your windows are a great place to start. Most RV windows are single-pane and many do not seal well. A simple solution is to use shrink film on the insides of your windows. This film is readily available at home supply and hardware stores. It is a clear film that you cut to size and affix to the window frame using double-sided sticky tape. Once the film is stuck down good, you use a hair dryer to shrink it until it is smooth and tight. This not only slightly improves the R factor of the window, it makes the window airtight. This will eliminate those annoying cold drafts and also help reduce condensation on the insides of your windows. After the winter, you simply peel it off and throw it away. Getting the tape residue off the windows can be a bit of a hassle, but rubbing alcohol works well to remove the sticky stuff. It's a great, inexpensive storm window and is relatively easy to apply. I do almost all of my windows, leaving one window at each end of the rig uncovered so that it can be opened on warmer days.
Now that the windows are covered, let's think about the roof vents. Most vents really don't seal well and we all know that warm air rises, so what can we do to stop it? Again, there are lots of possibilities: That same shrink film can be used, or some fiberglass insulation can be cut to fit and held up with a piece of cardboard. There are also nifty little pillows that are designed to fit snugly into the vent opening to seal and insulate it. These are great, as they are easily removed when you want to have the vent open.
Finally, we need to seal all those other places where cold air can enter our rig. Any compartments that open into the inside of the rig need to have good weather seals. Under the rig, there are many openings where water and gas lines enter the living area. These openings need to be sealed and some of that aerosol self-expanding foam is great for this. Alternately, foam rubber can be forced into gaps to help reduce air leaks. Finally, the entry door needs to be checked to make sure that it seals properly. Adding some inexpensive foam tape or weather-strip will really help seal those air leaks.
Now that we've gotten the rig pretty airtight, we've got a new problem to deal with. Moisture from cooking, washing and just our breathing raises the humidity inside the RV. As it gets colder, this moisture condenses out on cooler inside surfaces like window frames and doors. This can lead to mold and mildew, water stains or even worse. The best way to prevent condensation is to avoid introducing excessive moisture into the air. A good practice is to always use the range hood vent when cooking and the bathroom vent when showering. This will draw most of that moisture out of the rig. It may be necessary to keep a roof vent open slightly to provide some ventilation and keep condensation in check. Insulating exposed surfaces that tend to collect moisture will also help. A small dehumidifier or some of those little tubs of desiccant crystals may be necessary, depending on the RV and how many are living in it.
This discussion of condensation brings up a related subject… the method of heating that you use in your RV. When propane is burned, it releases combustion byproducts and one of those byproducts is a surprisingly large quantity of water vapor! Most standard RV furnaces are vented to the outside of the rig and will not add any moisture to the inside air. This is not true of any unvented propane heater, including popular catalytic heaters. Using your stovetop burners also adds moisture to the inside air. If you intend to heat your rig using an unvented propane heater, you will have to provide a larger amount of ventilation to remove the additional moisture added to your air. Most unvented heaters are pretty nice for milder climates and are great for taking that morning chill off. Using them as your primary source of heat in really cold weather can prove to be a challenge because of the potential for condensation problems.
Many folks choose to use portable electric heaters to heat their rig. This method of heating doesn't add condensation to the air and depending on the cost of propane may actually be slightly cheaper to run. Great care must be taken to not overload the wiring in your RV or the electrical system in the campground. Most parks will either put you on an electric meter or charge extra for electric heat. Use only UL approved heaters and keep combustibles away.
Now that we're warm, draft free and hopefully dry inside, let's deal with the stuff outside your rig. The first thing we need to do is keep your fresh water hose from freezing. If you are traveling a lot, simply use the hose to fill your freshwater tank and then disconnect it each night. If you are parked for a longer period, consider heat taping and insulating your water hose. Standard 110v heat tape can be wrapped in a spiral along the length of the hose and then covered with either round foam insulation or fiberglass batting wrapped with tape. Don't forget to wrap the faucet to protect it and add a pad of insulation where the hose connects to your RV. In moderately cold weather, this should keep your water flowing. If it gets extremely cold (below zero), it may still be necessary to let a faucet drip overnight.
Sewer lines need special attention in sub-freezing weather too. It's necessary to support the hose and provide a continuous slope from the RV sewer connection to the park sewer hookup. That way, water will drain from the hose and not create an ice plug at the low point. Alternately, you can use a straight section of thin wall PVC sewer pipe and the necessary fittings to complete your sewer hookup. The PVC will stand up to cold temperatures better than your plastic hose and is fairly inexpensive.
Depending on your RV's design, you may need to take extra steps to protect your fresh water and holding tanks from freezing. Tank insulation for exposed holding tanks can be fabricated from fiberglass insulation and light plywood… just build a small lightweight box around the tank and line it with fiberglass. A small electric light bulb can be used to provide a safe source of heat. For rigs with enclosed tanks, it's often enough to provide some source of heat in the tank compartment and small electric bulbs can be used here as well. If you are too mobile for such solutions, then you should look into special heating pads designed for RV holding tanks. They can be purchased from many RV parts dealers or camping catalogs and will allow you to use the holding tanks as you normally would with no fear of freeze ups. Alternately, many Rv-ers who travel in the winter simply minimize use of the holding tanks and keep plenty of RV antifreeze handy to treat them.
We hope these winterization tips and campground instructions are helpful! Stay warm out there campers!


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From the weekly report (10/5/12) of the Bowman International School in Palo Alto, this note from a student in room 5:
The sand tiger shark lives near the shore. Sometimes they [sand tiger sharks] confuse surfers for seals and attack them.
This is certainly non-standard, but there are two distinct possible sources of the problem:
the choice of verb: confuse rather than, say, take or mistake (mistake surfers for seals); or
the choice of preposition: for rather than with (confuse surfers with seals)
What remains constant in all the examples so far is the assignment of participant roles (which I'll refer to as RIGHT and WRONG, indicating correct and incorrect identification, respectively) to non-subject syntactic arguments (direct object and oblique object); all fit the template for "misidentification verbs":
V DirObj:RIGHT P OblObj:WRONG
That is, the sharks are confronted with surfers (RIGHT), but perceive them as seals (WRONG), whether the event is packaged syntactically as (A) mistake surfers for seals, (B) confuse surfers with seals, or (C) confuse surfers for seals.
C-type examples (with a V of type A and the P of type B) are by no means rare, and there's more to come.
Type C examples came up on ADS-L back in August 2007, when Larry Horn caught the following in the NYT Book Review of Books ("Family Blessings", on Mary Gordon's memoir, by Darcey Steinke):
[referring to one of Gordon's aunts] Lilian is the only good aunt; known as a "featherhead," a beautician who dyes her hair and uses chrome cocktail shakers and cigarette holders. When Kennedy is assassinated she confuses him for Jack Lemmon. "I was wondering whey everyone was so upset," she says. (p. 10)
Larry briefly considered the possibility that this example was an inadvertent error, an error in language production in which the patterns of A and B are inadvertently blended. But the number of type C examples — roughly 2500 raw hits just for {"confuses it for"}, some in edited prose — is too great to make that idea plausible. Larry's collection included:
If the hat is black, the Simpsonizer probably confuses it for your hair.
Holy Mother Church has divined the "ends," the "final be-cause," from Aristotle's physis, and confuses it for Aristotle's instrumental reasoning…
the chocolate is mixed by waterfall (though it is less appealing after one of the parents confuses it for raw sewage)
The Japanese girl believes that what it is that she wants is sex, confuses it for love…
What we're seeing here, then, is the extension of the A pattern (with the P for) to at least one verb (confuse) originally from the B pattern. For the record, the opposite innovation — extending the B pattern (with the P with) to at least one verb (mistake) originally from the A pattern — is reasonably well attested, but not nearly as impressively as confuse for:
Be Provocative — But Don't Mistake it with Bad Behavior (link)
Budweiser Budvar – the original Budvar, be careful not to mistake it with the American "Bud"! (link)
You may mistake it with a techinque called shield cancelling. (link)
These new patterns fall in with other cases of alternation between Ps in various constructions: different from/to/than, at risk for/of (here), new lease of/on life (here), plus a great many Ps selected by Vs, for example in V to/toward(s), for cater, pander, and cotton (here).
Now, back to misidentification verbs in general: those of type A (take, mistake), standardly taking for, and those of type B (confuse, mix up), standardly taking with. From my files, some typical (RIGHT, WRONG) pairs for type A:
(landmine, frisbee), (ribaldry, humor), (the acolyte, the high priest), (him, Rafael Nidal), (hemlock, parsley), (notoriety, fame), (kindness, weakness)
and for type B:
(dissent, disloyalty), (accidentals, essentials), (correlation, cause and effect), (jingoism, patriotism), (activity, productivity), (assertiveness, aggression)
Further relevant facts: type B verbs allow coordinate objects with a misidentification interpretation (don't confuse dissent and disloyalty), while type A verbs don't easily do so (??don't mistake dissent and disloyalty); and coordinate objects with a misidentification interpretation, like coordinate objects in general, can occur in either order (don't confuse disloyalty and dissent).
I speculate that the symmetry of coordinate objects promotes the possibility of a symmetric interpretation for the objects of type B verbs. And, in fact, these verbs sometimes occur with RIGHT and WRONG reversed: confuse cause and effect with correlation alongside confuse correlation with cause and effect. In a famous quotation (on See It Now, 3/9/54, reporting on Sen. Joseph McCarthy), Edward R. Murrow cautioned, "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty", but he is variously quoted as having said "We must not confuse dissent for disloyalty" (with for) and "We must not confuse disloyalty with dissent" (with RIGHT and WRONG reversed), as well as the coordinate "We must not confuse dissent and disloyalty" and "We must not confuse disloyalty and dissent".
A further speculatiom is that for was imported from the mistake pattern (A) to mark the status of the two objects of confuse more clearly.
In any case, the developments for confuse involve choosing a P and, more generally, choosing an argument structure (as in the case of blame, with its alternation between blame SOURCE / CAUSE for RESULTANT / CAUSED SITUATION and blame RESULTANT / CAUSED SITUATION on SOURCE / CAUSE — see here). And then a connection to reversals: simple semantic reversals (for example, benefactor/beneficiary, ancestor/descendant, here) and argument-structure reversals (for substitute and blame, for example, here),


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Hi everyone, it's been a very long time since I post about my cooking/baking recipe. Honestly, most of the time I can't be bothered to cook, write the recipe, take proper pictures, and blog it! It's so time consuming, I'm not that good in multi-tasking you know! Especially when I'm not the expert in the cooking area. I cook because I have the duty to feed my troops with healthy foods, plus dining out and take-aways are expensive so we can't do it every single day, and my DH will disown me if I do that! 😜 I also think home-made food is way better than processed ones, at least I know what I put it in it, right!?
Mostly I find taking a good food picture with perfect lighting etc etc is difficult. Why? Because I normally finish cooking dinner around 6, so by that time the sun is almost out it's impossible to get that sharp clean picture like those professional bloggers, the ones that make you drooling just by looking at their Instagram feed! 😝 . Unlike my food photos, it would only kill your appetite (good when you're on diet, I guess🤔) or make you vomit!
Anywaaay…..now I'd like to share a kale salad recipe that is delicious and very easy to make. Do you like kale or hate it? My kids and husband dislike kale so much. They don't know that kale is packed with nutrients and fiber and a cup of kale contains two times the amount of vitamin A!
The original recipe is from Cookie + Kate but I modify a little bit to suit me, and I don't make the granola, I just use a store bought one and it still tastes good. I personally think the combination of strawberries, granola, and feta cheese makes this kale salad even more scrumptious 👌🏻
- Kale
- Strawberries, hulled and sliced
- Feta cheese
for the dressing
- 3 tbspn olive oil
- 2 tbspn lemon juice (about 1 small lemon)
- 1 tbspn dijon mustard (you can omit this if you don't have it)
- 1/2 tspn honey
- sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
To make the dressing:
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and honey. Season with a dash of sea salt and generous amount of ground black pepper.
To prepare the kale:
Remove the tough ribs from the kale. Chop the kale leaves into small bite sized pieces. Transfer the chopped kale to a salad bowl. Sprinkle with sea salt over the kale and crunching the leaves a big handfuls at a time with your (clean) hands, as if you massage the leaves, until the leaves are darker in color and fragrant. Salt help cut the bitter of kale and by massaging the kale, makes it more palatable.
Drizzle in the salad dressing and toss well until the kale is coated in dressing. Add the strawberries, crumble the feta cheese over the salad. Toss again, then sprinkle with a couple handfuls of granola. Serve
This salad keeps well, refrigerated and covered, for a day otherwise the strawberries will go mushy.
Hope you like this recipe and it will make you feel like a Superwoman after you eat a giant bowl of kale salad! 😝💪🏼


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Childers Park
Coming Soon
Community by Meritage Homes
- Coming Soon
- 5 New Homes
- Last Updated 24 hours ago
Call 888-402-3941 to connect with the builder right now!
This community is coming soon! Be the first to know when tours are available.
4325 Orphanage Road, Concord, NC 28027
Sales Agent Lisa Swinehart Marshall, Jessie Johnson
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$0 Down VA Loan Eligibility for Veterans
Use the VA benefits earned through your military service to buy a new home with $0 Down. See if you're eligible today!Learn More »
Community Map
Community Map for Childers Park
Buying new construction allows you to select a lot within a community. Contact Meritage Homes to discuss availability and next steps.
- Pool
- Trails
Model Coming Soon. Childers Park will offer energy-efficient two-story homes with open-concept living, stunning amenities and access to a host of entertainment in Kannapolis and Concord.
Map & Directions
4325 Orphanage Road
Concord, NC 28027
Homes & Plans
Available Homes
Ready to Build
Concord, NC 28027
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Ready to Build
Concord, NC 28027
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Ready to Build
Concord, NC 28027
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Concord, NC 28027
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Community Info
Green Program
Setting the standard for Energy Efficiency Learn More »
Community & Neighborhood
Schools Near Childers Park
- Cabarrus Co SD
Actual schools may vary. Contact the builder for more information.
Local Points of Interest
- Concord Mills Mall
- SEA LIFE Charlotte-Concord
- Old Armor Beer Company
- Cabarrus Brewing Company
- Highland Creek Golf Club
- Afton Ridge Shopping Center
- Dave & Busters
- Carolina Mall
- Atrium Health Ballpark
- 44 Mills Kitchen & Tap
- Johnnys Farmhouse Restaurant
- North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame
- The Club at Irish Creek
- Frankie's of Charlotte
- Punchy's Diner
- The Gateway To Athens
- SOGO Japanese Seafood Steakhouse
- Rosario's Pizza
- Afton Tavern
- Park Road Soda Shoppe
- Charros Mexican Restaurant
- The Donut House
- Groundwork Common
- High Branch Brewing Co.
- Grounds & Vine
- Journeymen's Bar and Grill
- Havana Carolina Cafe
- Fiesta Mexicana Grill
- Fresh Off The Grill
- Cabarrus Country Club
- NorthStone Country Club
- Gibson Field
- Skybrook Golf Club
- Afton Pub & Pizza
- Vietnam Veterans Park
- Hector H. Henry II Greenway
- iFLY Indoor Skydiving
- Bracket's Bluff Private Disc Golf Course
- Village Park
- Dorton Park
- Hartsell Park
- Irish Buffalo Creek Greenway
- Brown Mill Mountain Bike Trail
- The Speedpark at Concord Mills
- Home of the 90's Museum
Health and Fitness
- Pool
- Trails
Neighborhood Amenities
Grocery Stores
- Food Lion
0.89 mile away
547 Winecoff School Rd
- Mi Pais Latino Market
1.92 miles away
898 Concord Pkwy N
- Best Fresh Foods Inc
2.04 miles away
1480 Concord Pkwy N
- Harris Teeter
2.06 miles away
1245 Concord Pkwy N
- Food Lion
2.49 miles away
1746 S Cannon Blvd
- Food Lion
Specialized Stores
- Eddy's VIP Bread Corp
0.63 mile away
3160 Patrick Henry Dr NW
- Havana Carolina Bakery
1.91 miles away
900 Cloverleaf Plz
2.04 miles away
1480 Concord Pkwy N
- Breadsong Bakery
2.17 miles away
920 Church St N
- Dough New York Style Bakery
2.49 miles away
360 Exchange St NW
- Eddy's VIP Bread Corp
- Asian Garden
0.89 mile away
545 Winecoff School Rd
- McDonald's
0.90 mile away
4550 Davidson Hwy
- Huddle House
1.40 miles away
5111 Davidson Hwy
- La Villita
1.57 miles away
981 Central Dr NW
- Divine Fish & Fixins
1.57 miles away
981 Central Dr NW
- Asian Garden
Coffee Shops
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe
1.97 miles away
1421 Concord Pkwy N
- Doughnut House 2 LLC
2.22 miles away
3387 Cloverleaf Pkwy
- Juice Bar Solutions Inc
2.29 miles away
349 Copperfield Blvd NE
- Dunkin'
2.48 miles away
538 Kannapolis Pkwy
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe
- Super Shoe LLC
0.88 mile away
4537 Orphanage Rd
- Shoe Show Inc
1.36 miles away
2201 Trinity Church Rd
- Contact Lens & Spectacle Shop
1.76 miles away
45 Optical Ct NW
- America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses
1.83 miles away
1497 Concord Pkwy N
- Ann's Alterations
1.91 miles away
908 Cloverleaf Plz
- Super Shoe LLC
Bars & Nightlife
- Chili's
2.02 miles away
1365 Concord Pkwy N
- Applebee's Grill + Bar
2.13 miles away
1240 Concord Pkwy N
- Afton Pub & Pizza
2.56 miles away
5380 Village Dr NW
- Afton Tavern
2.57 miles away
355 John Galt Way NW
- Buffalo Wild Wings
2.73 miles away
289 George Bay Ct
- Chili's
Please note this information may vary. If you come across anything inaccurate, please contact us
Builder Details
Meritage Homes
We don't simply build beautiful new housing communities. We create the framework for a better way of life. Since 1985, we've held ourselves up to a higher standard – one that combines unique building practices with superior energy efficiency. So we can deliver homes that are quieter, cleaner, healthier, smarter and safer. Find out more about getting the keys to Life. Built. Better.
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text:
Stamp 7 Large - Seagrave Edition
Size specific pro-level concave platform pedal provides optimal shoe/pedal interface.
- Special Edition Stamp 7 pedals featuring the signature black/pink colorway of Tahnee and Kaos Seagrave
- Optimal surface area
- Minimal profile 11mm-13mm thin
- Concave platform for secure foothold
- 10 adjustable pins per side for grip
- Premium bearings & seal system
- Grease port for easy maintenance
- Stamp large recommended for shoe sizes: 10-15 (us) // 43-49 (eu)
- Stamp small recommended for shoe sizes: 5-10 (us) // 37-43 (eu)
- Serviceable, pedal refresh kit found here
- Owners Manual and Technical Documents here
Regular price €179,99
Tax included.
- Low stock - 5 items left
- Inventory on the way
Body Material Forged 6061-T6 Aluminum
Footprint 114mm x 111mm
Shoe Size US 10-15 // EU 43-49
Adjustable Pins 10 per side
Inner Bearing Type Igus LL-glide bearing
Outer Bearing Type Igus LL-glide bearing
Spindle Material Forged SCM 435 Chromoly Steel
Max Rider Weight No restriction
Weight 375g per pair
Warranty 5 years


text:
April Fool's day is an awkward time to be winning lottery jackpots, but a Coos Bay man is happy nonetheless.
Meat cutter Brett Glover purchase a $5 Keno 8-Spot ticket at the end of his shift on the 1st of April. But when he got it scanned the next morning and they said he won $89,000, he initially thought it was just a prank. But doing multiple scans and calling the lottery offices only confirmed the win.
Glover now plans to use his windfall to buy some property and save what remains.
Read more in http://kcby.com/news/local/coos-bay-man-thought-his-89k-oregon-lottery-keno-win-was-april-fools-joke


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A camp site used Rural Development Programme (RDP) support to increase its capacity to accommodate visitors and upgrade its infrastructure and improving accessibility.
Projects & Practice
Total results: 5.
A new participatory approach for increasing landowners' knowledge on how to manage drainage ditches that play a key role in Swedish agriculture.
Introducing a new forest management method that ensures the rapid and natural rejuvenation of harvested forests.
Using Rural Development Programme (RDP) support to set up modern poplar plantations in response to the increasing demand from industry for high quality raw materials
The construction of two small water basins that minimise the risk of floods and offer a habitat that promotes biodiversity.


text:
Finance Minister Joe Oliver already has his lines down pat for his April 21 budget. He gave Canadians a foretaste of the government's 10th "Economic Action Plan" last week on the factory floor of Canada Goose, a high-fashion coat manufacturer in Toronto.
There was never any doubt about that. For Prime Minister Stephen Harper, eliminating the deficit trumped all other national priorities. No matter what the government had to sacrifice that imperative would be achieved.
He doesn't have to cut. His colleague Tony Clement has taken care of that. The Treasury Board president handed all federal departments and agencies their marching orders on Feb. 23. Most will have to hold the line despite inflation and population growth. A couple with newly assigned tasks (including the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Employment and Social Development) will get a slight increase; and a dozen (including Environment Canada, Canadian Heritage, the Immigration and Refugee Board, the Public Health Agency of Canada, National Research Council, Library and Archives of Canada, and Via Rail) will have to slash their payrolls or programs.
That is true – but it's not the whole truth. The main reason the government's maneuvering room is so constrained is that it relinquished billions of dollars of revenue in tax credits, deductions, exemptions, shelters and loopholes. The Conservatives have created 68 new tax avoidance measures costing the government $155 billion a year in foregone revenue, according to the Fraser Institute. (Since the think tank released its tally, Harper has added one worth $2 billion a year.)
Another drain on the federal treasury is uncollected taxes. "Are we losing $3 billion to overseas tax evasion or $30 billion?" asks Senator Percy Downe. "I don't know, you don't know and most importantly the government doesn't know."
What he didn't explain was why he did not undertake such an assessment before Harper locked in his long-promised "family tax cut" last October. The same red light was flashing then: the price of crude had dropped by 20 per cent and no one knew where the bottom was.
Ignoring the financial risk, the prime minister went ahead with his plan to allow eligible parents to split their income at a cost of $2 billion a year. To insulate himself against accusations of catering to upper-income families, he increased the Universal Child Care Benefit at a cost of approximately $4 billion a year. Both measures are already in effect. All parents with children up to 18 will receive their first payment – typically $520 per child – on July 1.
It is true, as the minister claims, that 1.2 million new jobs have come onstream since the downturn. But a large proportion are part-time, short-term or precarious. They don't allow victims of the recession to get back on their feet. They don't allow young workers to build a career. They don't lift families out of poverty. And don't make up for the loss of well-paying jobs in the oilpatch, the public service, the banks and the communications sector.
Everywhere they look, Canadians see employers shedding workers, outsourcing jobs and cutting costs. Oliver's prediction of job growth contradicts their experience and the government's record.
The finance minister is saving a few details for budget day. On April 21, he will announce additional tax relief, infrastructure investments and manufacturing incentives. But the story-line is firmly set: Thanks to Harper government's prudent management, Canada remains fiscally strong in an uncertain world.
It would be a compelling narrative if there weren't so many holes in the plot.
Carol Goar's column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.


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Doctor's Offer To Save Le Petit Turned Down – New Orleans News Story – WDSU New Orleans.
Tag Archives: St. Peter
Tennessee in New Orleans
One of the most enjoyable weekends for the French Quarter is almost upon us. The Tennessee Williams Literary Festival is a treat for readers, writers, theater-goers, movie buffs, New Orleans historians, mint julep aficionados, good food and talk enthusiasts, and public spectacle lovers (see Stella and Stanley contest).
I have been attending and/or volunteering for over 10 years and find that I add 3-4 useful things to my brain every year, while also enjoying the camaraderie of being with artists of every stripe in one lovely, walkable area of the city.
The headquarters will be at the Royal Sonesta this year with events scattered throughout the old city as always. I am glad to see the Williams Research Center on the venue list; more people need to get through those doors to see their exhibits.
I think the best deal is the weekend literary panel pass, but this year I have added the Southern Rep's world premiere of 3 one-act plays from Mr. Williams (introduced by Zoe Caldwell), and a master class on Friday morning. Take a sick day to get your artistic health renewed….
Just look at that face; How can you not want to find at least one thing to attend this year and/or to simply donate to support our brilliant arts community while honoring the legacy of our favorite adopted son?


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Quasicrystalline order in self-assembled binary nanoparticle superlattices
Original entry: Sujit S. Datta, APPHY 225, Fall 2009.
D. V. Talapin, E. V. Schevchenko, M. I. Bodnarchuk, X. Ye, J. Chen, and C. B. Murray, Nature 461, 964 (2009).
quasicrystal, self-assembly, packing
Key Points
Equilibrium phase transformations are ubiquitous in nature. Because of their complexity, it is often useful to focus on the 'simple' case of hard spheres, whose equilibrium phase diagram is dictated purely on entropic grounds. For monodisperse Brownian spheres with purely hard-sphere interactions, volume fraction is the only control parameter: for small volume fractions, the system is fluid-like; for intermediate volume fractions (between ~49% and 55%), a fluid and crystal phase coexist; for volume fractions larger than ~55%, up to the maximum FCC packing fraction of ~74%, the system is crystalline. For binary systems consisting of particles of two different sizes, the equilibrium phase diagram is much richer (e.g. see "Entropy-driven formation of a superlattice in a hard-sphere binary mixture" by Daan Frenkel's group in 2003), with three control parameters now - the volume fraction of each size particle, and the relative size difference between them. Further complexity develops in the equilibrium phase diagram with deviations from hard sphere behavior, such as the incorporation of van der Waals, Coulombic, and dipolar interactions. Different crystalline phases of nanoparticle systems have been experimentally observed (and theoretically predicted) as a result. This work is the first to demonstrate an equilibrium quasicrystalline phase, with clues suggesting that the phase is solely a general result of entropy, not the interparticle interactions.
The nanoparticles used in this study are made of two different materials, and have two different sizes, respectively (with size ratio ~2.7:1). Because of their surface chemistry, they do not aggregate due to van der Waals interactions, but have additional short range steric repulsions. Thus, the key control parameter in this system is the relative composition of the different nanoparticle components. Consistent with previous work, Talapin et al. found that "normal" crystalline superlattices of different structures form when one component dominates the composition of the system. These themselves have intriguing structures, resembling regular 2D Archimedean tilings of squares and triangles. More surprisingly, Talapin et al. found that for intermediate composition ranges, superlattices with quasicrystalline order formed -- specifically, the superlattices consisting of square and triangle packing motifs organized into a dodecagonal quasicrystal (possessing 12-fold rotational symmetry, and no translational symmetry). The three-dimensional material then consists of periodic stacks of these quasicrystalline layers, making their structure straightforward to analyze using transmission electron microscopy, as is done in this work.
Another clue towards understanding the formation mechanism of the DDQC phase is the observation that such phases tended to coexist with "normal" crystalline superlattices, with a sharp interface between the two. This is possible because the fundamental units of both phases are the same: either square or triangular tiles.
Intriguingly, nanoparticles of slightly smaller sizes or different materials (with a similar size ratio ~2.7:1 or ~3:1, respectively) also assembled into the dodecagonal quasicrystal (DDQC) phase, often extending up to thousands of particles on a side. This suggests that interparticle interactions (which would change for different materials and different particle sizes) do not play a significant role in the formation of the DDQC phase -- furthermore, the possible dependence on particle size ratio suggests that the formation of the DDQC phase may, in fact, be due to purely entropic considerations. However, it is important to note that whether or not the hard-sphere DDQC phase is a thermodynamically-stable phase is an open question, and may be strongly dependent on the manner in which the structures are formed (in this case, by slow evaporation of the suspending liquid). Further work exploring many different particle sizes, size ratios, compositions, and sample preparation mechanisms, as well as simulations of binary hard sphere systems, should help to elucidate the mechanisms driving the formation of this unique phase of matter.


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Although Germany's most popular English opera, Gilbert und Sullivan's Die Piraten von Penzance is regularly performed up and down the land, as far as I know it's represented by merely one recording - of a 1968 television production.
The cast - all professional opera singers rather than musical theatre specialists - was luxuriously embellished with Arleen Augér (at the very start of her career) as Mabel, and even more surprisingly, the legendary Wagnerian soprano Martha Mödl as Ruth.
Some German versions follow the original very faithfully, but libretto and even some characters were liberally translated in this one, and so I am the very model of a modern Major General becomes Ich bin der britischen Krone Admiral und fixter Flottenchef. And here it is from Arwed Sandner (I love the very solemn God shave the Queen near the end):
Or copy the mp3 from here.
And here's Martha Mödl with another rather free translation - Mit Zwölfeinhalb Fing Frederic Schon Mit Whiskey Im Café - in Gilbert's original, When Fred'ric was a little lad (may take time to load):
Or copy the mp3 from here.


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Wine Dinner Menu
Wednesday Night Wine Dinner Menus
A special, 3-course dining experience where you can experience unique, off-menu dishes that have been professionally paired, per course, with wine from around the globe. Available every Wednesday evening at H2O.
Click or tap on a menu to view it in full screen. When viewing on a mobile device, use pinch to zoom: with your index finger and thumb, touch two fingers on the touch screen, and move them apart to zoom in, or together to zoom out.


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The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, has been named as the Patron of the 13th Men's World Floorball Championships.
The WFC 2020 will be held in Helsinki, December 4th-12th, and this will be the biggest international sport event organised in Finland during 2020.
World Floorball Championships 2020 promoted already this summer
The promotional event schedule for the WFC 2020 includes for example the SunSäbä tour and the Finnish workplace floorball championships. These events will be held in Finland this spring and summer. The SunSäbä tour will bring joy to 16 towns during the summer. SunSäbä (SunFloorball) is a form of floorball suitable for playing outdoors on a mobile multisport flooring, which can be used for other sports as well.
The Event Director, Hanne Pirkola, sums up the plans for the upcoming summer:
– It's important for us to be able to help people of different ages who play or are interested in floorball to get active. The World Championships are still far away, but we want to bring the tournament atmosphere to where most of the action is: to the playing fields and various events.