text:
Liz Evans, Derek Bell, Sheree M S Smith">
Liz Evans1*, Derek Bell1,2 and Sheree M S Smith2,3
1NIHR North West London Collaborating Centre for Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC), Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, United Kingdom
2School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
3Respiratory, Sleep and Environmental Health Research Academic Unit, Ingham Institute of Applied Health Research, Liverpool, Australia
Received Date: August 07, 2016; Accepted Date: August 29, 2016; Published Date: September 05, 2016
Citation: Evans L, Bell D, Smith SMS (2016) Resilience in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic Heart Failure. Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis 1:14. doi: 10.21767/2572-5548.100014
Copyright: © 2016 Evans L, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) place a significant burden on individuals and health care systems. Selfmanagement has been shown to be effective in reducing the symptoms of these conditions and improving quality of life. Resilient behavior has been suggested as underpinning the ability to self-manage well. This review sought to assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase resilience in people with COPD and/or CHF.
Method: This literature review used MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychArticles and PsychINFO databases to identify published studies. References listed were also appraised. Articles were eligible for inclusion if they met pre-set criteria. No studies were found so the secondary objective of a narrative review was implemented.
Results: Four studies were included in the narrative review. Three themes emerged; interventions that may increase resilience and self-management, resilience as a predictor of effective self-care and self-management in patients living with long term conditions including COPD and the role resilience plays in relation to the physical and psychological impact of living with CHF.
Conclusion: There are few published studies on resilience and COPD or CHF. This review suggests the evidence base for resilience enhancing interventions is limited as published studies lacked methodological quality for level II evidence. From this narrative review a link between psychological distress, resilience and the likelihood of positive engagement with self-management in patients with COPD and/or CHF appears evident. There is a need for further methodologically sound research to determine the relationship between resilience and COPD and CHF and to examine the effectiveness of interventions to improve resilience in patients with these conditions.
COPD; Chronic heart failure; Resilience; Selfmanagement
Due to the increasing interest in resilience and its potential effect on health behavior and chronic disease selfmanagement, this review sought to explore the evidence for an association between low levels of resilience and psychological morbidity and assess interventions designed to increase resilience in people with COPD and/or CHF [1].
Long term conditions place a significant burden on the affected individuals and have a direct impact on the health care system and society as a whole. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) represent two of the most common chronic long term conditions and often co-exist. The World Health Organisation estimates that there are 64 million people with COPD [2] and 26 million with CHF worldwide [3]. COPD is the 12th most common cause of morbidity worldwide [4], CHF is the most common cause of death in Europe accounting for 1.8 million deaths a year [5]. In addition to physical impact of these long term conditions, significant psychological co-morbidity is well recognized [6-8].
The negative impact on the quality of life of patients living with COPD or CHF is well documented [9,10] and co-morbid depression and anxiety are common in this group of patients [11-13]. As a result, the clinical management of COPD and CHF has recently focused more on patient centered outcomes including Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) [14]. Depression and anxiety in patients with COPD or HF contributes to low HRQOL scores [14,15].
In the management of COPD and HF there is a move towards personalized self-management planning with some evidence that this contributes to improved wellness and quality of life for people with long term condition [16]. A component that may allow individuals to live more effectively with their disease is resilience. Resilience for the purpose of this paper refers to an individual's ability to "bounce back" and adapt to or recover from an adverse event [17]. This has been explored as a potential mediator in a range of adverse or traumatic experiences including those experienced as a result of living with and managing long term physical and mental health conditions [18-24]. Resilience has been suggested as an underpinning reason that determines a person's ability to selfmanage their disease [25] and so may play a significant role in shaping psychosocial support offered to patients with COPD and CHF in the future.
The objective of this review was to explore the evidence for an association between resilience and psychological morbidity and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase resilience in people who have COPD, CHF or both reported in the literature.
Search strategy study selection criteria and process
A review protocol was developed a priori with a detailed strategy to facilitate a systematic search and review of published literature associated with resilience promoting interventions for COPD and CHF patients. This protocol reflects the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidance [26]. The search strategy sought to identify relevant articles, and a search of peerreviewed literature was conducted for publications on the following electronic databases: MEDLINE (Jan 1946-present), EMBASE (Jan 1946-present), CINAHL, PsychArticles and PsycINFO (1987 to present). The search parameters included publication date from 1946 to present; humans; not infants, children or young people; and published in the English language.
The database searches focused on resilience and interventions for COPD and CHF patient populations using combinations of keywords and their abbreviations (Table 1). The search was restricted to the keywords "resilience" and its abbreviation "resilien*". Other terms related to resilience such a coping were not included in the search for the following reasons: Recent concept mapping work [17,27] has shown resilience to be a complex, multifactorial amalgam of internal individual attributes including temperament, aptitude, selfefficacy, determination, the availability or access to external resources such as social support and consequences such as effective coping behavior, that combine to comprise resilience [17,27]. There is no evidence that these concepts or behaviors associated with resilience and resilience concept mapping [17,27] e.g. coping styles, self-efficacy, mastery and access to positive social support, on their own are comparable to resilience which is a more complex and multifactorial. Therefore extension of the search terms to include a wider number of different resilience related components would dilute the objective of the review, which was to examine resilience as a whole concept, rather than its component parts, as has been the case in other studies.
|Resilience and Chronic Obstructive and Resilience
|COPD" OR "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease" OR "lung disease" OR "pulmonary disease" OR emphysema*" OR "chronic bronchitis" OR " "pulmonary fibrosis" AND "Resilien*" AND "interven*"
|Heart Disease / Failure and Resilience
|"pulmonary hypertension" OR Pulmonary Pressure" OR "heart failure" or "heart disease" OR "valvula heart failure" AND "Resilien*" AND "intervene*"
Table 1: Search keywords.
For this review, research designs of studies were restricted to systematic reviews and meta-analyses, randomized control trials (RCTs) and the patient population under study were adults with either COPD or CHF. Exclusion criteria included non-randomized studies such as cohort, case-control, descriptive and qualitative studies.
Resilience interventions were not pre-defined and were included if they met two inclusion criteria: It was stated that resilience was the focus of the intervention and the resilience intervention was administered as part of a study where there was a reported comparison group.
The primary outcome of interest in relation to resilience interventions was evidence of improvement in selfmanagement by the patient that resulted in decreased emergency department visits and improved health reported through valid disease specific measurements.
Study selection and data extraction
The predetermined protocol outlined the process for title and abstract identification and agreed search criteria. The parameters of interest to be studied included resilience definition and measures used, study methods, participant details and demographics, diagnostic criteria for COPD and CHF, outcomes of study and in particular any correlation between assessed levels of resilience and ability to selfmanage impact of LTC and the results.
After the initial search, duplicates would be removed (Figure 1). All extracted titles and abstracts would be independently screened by the reviewers (LE and SMS) to identify studies that met the eligibility criteria.
Disagreements on the studies to be included or excluded would be resolved by discussion between the reviewers (LE and SMS) and a third arbiter (DB) was available if agreement could not be reached.
Full text articles would be obtained and independently reviewed in detail by the two reviewers (LE and SMS) and disagreements regarding inclusion of studies to be settled through discussion with consensus being reached. All included articles to be re-read with data collected and coded using a data collection form.
Quality assessment
The quality of the selected published studies would be assessed for risk of bias using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists for randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews [28].
These tools enabled risk of bias assessment in random sequence generation; allocation concealment; blinding of participants and personnel, blinding of outcome and selective reporting. For the assessment of methodological quality of systematic reviews, the Assessing for Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) checklist was used [29].
Differences between protocol and review
Due to a lack of published systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials the implementation of the a priori protocol was not possible. Both reviewers (LE and SMS) independently concluded that no articles had met the criteria for inclusion in the second stage of this review.
As no eligible published literature was identified, our primary objectives could not be achieved and a secondary objective was determined. This objective focused on a narrative thematic review of data reported within published studies on the association between resilience and psychological morbidity in people living with COPD/CHF.
To support the secondary objective, all full text retrieved articles that utilized any study design and met the criteria of being resilience focused in adults with COPD, CHF or both were included (Table 2).
|First author and year
|Study type, parameter studied and objectives
|Interventions used in study
|Summary of Findings
|Purposive literature sampling to begin dialogue on use of nursing interventions to optimise patients self-righting and self-management capabilities.
|Chronic Conditions inc COPD
|Nursing interventions proposed by study
Psycho-social assessment on admission to inpatients
Tailored education to patient and family carers
Referral to peer support groups
|Patients self-righting and self-management capabilities are considered integral to reducing negative impact of long term conditions and resilience factors can be assessed and accessed by nurses.
|Cross-sectional study to explore relationships between fatigue and physical, mental, social and demographic factors in older patients with CHF
|Community / Primary care
|No interventions used
|Fatigue more closely related to restrictions in role functioning for physical reasons than to reduced physical functioning per se or to mental and social factors.
|Cross-sectional study to examine relationships among depressive symptoms, resilience and physical and psychological health and determine whether resilience plays a mediating or moderating role in the relationship between depression and physical and psychological health status
|Community / Outpatients
|No interventions used
|There is an association between physical and psychological status and depression in CHF patients and resilience is a mediator of psychological distress. SO enhancing resilience may facilitate improving psychological health status in depressed patients with CHF
|California USA
|Descriptive cross sectional design to evaluate the influence of different variables on the ability of patients with heart failure to self-care and self manage.
|Community / Outpatients
|No interventions used
|Resilience was a moderate predictor of effective self-care and self-management. Age, physical health status and access to autonomous health care professional support were strong predictors.
Table 2: Studies meeting review secondary objective and included in narrative thematic review.
Using the a priori protocol the electronic search of databases, hand searching of journal article references and secondary sources identified 1,134 studies for further screening. After duplicate records were removed, 987 remained for further assessment. Abstracts were reviewed and 950 articles were excluded as they did not meet the inclusion criteria. Thirty-seven full text publications (19 COPD and 18 CHF) were obtained and assessed using the pre-determined criteria. After assessment none of the 37 studies met the inclusion criteria for review. An overview of the manuscript selection, review process and reasons for excluding studies from this review is detailed in Figure 1. Yaffe et al. [30] describe this outcome as an empty review which demonstrates limited research has been undertaken on the topic.
In accordance with the modified protocol and our secondary objective both COPD and CHF data from 4 of the retrieved full text articles were included for synthesis and narrative thematic analysis. Three themes emerged from these 4 papers: interventions that may increase resilience and selfmanagement [31], resilience as a predictor of effective selfcare and self-management in patients living with long term conditions including COPD [1] and the role resilience plays in relation to the physical and psychological impact of living with CHF [32,33]. Additionally one paper referenced cultural factors as having an impact on how resilience may manifest and be understood in communities with different sociocultural norms and understanding [33].
There are very few published studies on resilience and COPD and CHF found through our literature review and none met our original objectives inclusion criteria. The following is a summary of the three emerging themes from the four studies included in the secondary objective narrative thematic analysis.
Interventions to support resilience
Based on a purposive sampling of previous literature Edwards [31] proposes that resilience in patients living with long term conditions including chronic respiratory diseases can be assessed by nurses and other health care professionals and then optimized by targeted interventions. This paper suggests that identifying deficits like co-morbid illnesses and mental health problems as part of a nursing assessment and enhancing resilience using interventions such as motivational interviewing and referral to peer support groups, benefit selfrighting and self-management behavior in patients with long term conditions including those with cardiovascular and respiratory disease and co-morbid mental health problems.
Resilience as a predictor of effective self-care and self-management
A study by Alomari [1] of 395 CHF patients found that age, physical health status and access to autonomous health care professional support were strong predictors of effective selfcare whereas resilience was only a moderate predictor. Gender and ethnicity were not found to be predictors at all. The author recommends that these predictors are used to assess and personalize self-care programs to support targeted interventions that will maximize benefit for CHF patients.
The role of resilience in relation to the physical and psychological impact of living with CHF
Hagglund et al. [32] in their study of the relationship between fatigue in older patients with heart failure and multiple variables, including resilience, found that patients with CHF experience of fatigue had little to do with levels of resilience. The predominant factor in this study was the patient's level of physical functioning while the other factors including resilience, psychological comorbidity, social status and demographics were not found to be significant. In contrast a study of resilience and psychological health in CHF patients from Taiwan [33] found an association between physical and psychological status and depression in CHF patients and that resilience, as measured by the Chinese version of the Resilience Scale [34], mediated, or explained, the association. Interestingly the same study found no mediating association between depression and physical health status in patients. In the same paper Lui et al. [33] reflect on the impact of culture and religion on the manifestation of resilience in certain groups and how these may shape and influence responses to adversity.
The selected studies in our narrative thematic analysis described above show mixed findings. Some show correlations between resilience, reported psychological comorbidity and effective self-management [1,33], whilst others report factors other than resilience may have stronger correlations [32]. We suggest these findings indicate future research is needed to assess the impact of resilience, the inter-relationships between psychological and physical health, human behavior and the dynamics of self-management in patients with COPD and/or CHF.
The most simple and often used definition of resilience is the ability to bounce back or recover from adversity or trauma [35]. Defining resilience is a complex task with varying foundations in numerous disciplines engaging many perspectives including developmental psychology, biological and genetic studies, demographic and cultural perspectives and economic and social [35]. Some commonalities do exist between the various definitions relating to resilience in the literature as outlined by Windle [17] and Garcia-Dia et al. [27], both describe in their concept mapping models the presence or absence of essential components of resilience such as the availability of internal or external assets or resources to individuals. Components of resilience can be manifest as risk or protective factors [17] and as Rutter [36] observed these may be acquired throughout life or be present at a single point in time. Garcia-Dia suggests these components may be external, for example socioeconomic status and access to financial resources, strength of family, social and community support in times of adversity, or they may be internal and unique to the individual such as personality traits, effective self-help skills or neuroplasticity of the brain in response to life events [27] that are thought to support resilience. Determination, self-efficacy, mastery and positive coping styles along with effective use of available assets and or protective factors are also commonly cited as essential attributes of resilience [17,27]. The relative importance, contribution and interaction between these components are extensively examined in resilience related research [35-38]. The expression and interpretation of resilience and its mechanisms may also be linked with cultural practices, beliefs and social norms which may need to be taken into consideration in any future study [25,33,39,40].
A methodological review of 19 resilience measurement scales concluded that all had conceptual or theoretical problems and that further development and validation work was required on all [41]. Of the 19 studied 4 achieved better psychometric ratings than the others, these were the Connor- Davidson Resilience Scale [42], the Resilience Scale for Adults [43] and the Brief Resilience Scale [44].
This review of the available literature suggests some associations between resilience and reduced levels of psychological comorbidity in patients with COPD and/or CHF [33]. Moreover there is emerging evidence that resilience is a predictor of an increased ability to self-management [1] which in turn can support improvements in some indicators of physical and mental wellbeing of people with LTC's if supported through personalized care planning [16]. With regard to the application of resilience based interventions, health care professionals using a person centered approach may be ideally placed to assess and provide interventions to enhance resilience in those adults who have a chronic disease and a reduced level of resilience [31] through strategies such as motivational interviewing. Motivational interviewing has been shown to enhance self-management abilities of people with COPD [45].
A link between resilience levels and improvements in the physical health of adults with COPD or CHF was not found as part of this review as there are only a small number of published studies on this topic. However, a study by Chan et al. [25] of patients in Hong Kong living with coronary heart disease (CHD) who had coronary angioplasty rather than CHF or COPD, found adults with high personal resilience levels responded better to rehabilitation with improved physical health outcomes [25]. They [25] also found that high personal resilience in this group was a predictor of post-traumatic growth as defined by Heffron et al. [46] as a positive change occurring as a result of trauma or adversity.
The mediating role explaining the association between resilience and depression and psychological health status in patients with CHF [33] also presented an interesting line of enquiry into the impact of high or low resilience levels on health outcomes of patients with COPD and / or CHF. This mediating role is particularly important given the link between psychological comorbidity and mortality and hospitalization found in the wider body of literature on this topic [14-50].
Research into resilience interventions outside COPD and / or CHF has shown some level of effectiveness. Macedo et al. [51] and Leppin et al. [52] have completed systematic reviews to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of resilience promoting programmes for adults. These reviews involved studies from a wide range of settings including the workplace and health related studies of mothers of children recently diagnosed with cancer, breast cancer survivors, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, mild depression and people with posttraumatic stress syndrome. The interventions included positive psychology techniques, CBT, transformational coping, acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness, interpersonal therapy, attention and interpretation therapy, relaxation and diaphragmatic breathing [51] and self-directed and electronic interventions; individual coaching or training sessions and group courses and sessions [52]. The reviews' autshors acknowledge a positive trend toward the benefits of resilience and recommended further research as long as definitions [52], interventions and methodological concerns [51] are resolved.
This systematic review sought to examine the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase resilience in people who have COPD and /or CHF. With no eligible published studies being identified a thematic narrative synthesis was completed. The themes emerging from the literature were focused around interventions that may increase resilience and selfmanagement, resilience as a predictor of effective self-care and self-management in patients living with LTC's including COPD and the role resilience plays in relation to the physical and psychological impact of living with CHF.
To date evidence for resilience-enhancing interventions on symptoms and physical health status remains unclear. Given the growing interest in resilience and the suggested benefit to patients in terms of self-management and their overall health, the absence of published literature indicates a need for research to determine the evidence for the relationship between resilience, self-management and COPD and HF.
Liz Evans (LE) conceived the study, all authors contributed to defining and refining the review question and scope of review, LE, SMS (Sheree Smith) reviewed selected published manuscripts. Derek Bell (DB) was the arbiter for disagreements regarding study inclusion or exclusion for this review. All authors reviewed the findings and contributed to the content, writing, drafting and revision of the manuscript, and agreed to the final version. LE is guarantor of the manuscript.
None declared.
This article presents independent research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under the Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) programme for North West London. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.
All Published work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Copyright © 2018 All rights reserved. iMedPub LTD Last revised : June 18, 2018


text:
I for one am sick of this weather maps they take good maps and ruin it with these weather situations.
Who is tired of these weather maps?
Started by NotNiceSpartan, May 19 2017 03:53 PM
4 replies to this topic
#1 Posted 19 May 2017 - 03:53 PM
#2 Posted 19 May 2017 - 04:28 PM
I mean most people don't like them - but three topics with the same name is perhaps a bit much
There's a mask upon my face
I can't live without
So you won't recognize me
When I am in the crowd
#3 Posted 19 May 2017 - 04:55 PM
So your first 4 posts on the forums is to start 3 threads on the same thing and then 1 about info they have already talked about multiple times. I can see great things from you...
#4 Posted 19 May 2017 - 04:56 PM
I never liked them, so I'm not really tired of them. I can tolerate a few on low rotation but if they add any more I will get salty.
XOXO, Noobius Y
#5 Posted 19 May 2017 - 05:02 PM
I don't like playing on the weather maps. There's only two ways to play them- dig in and camp hard; or yolo and die quick to go to the next map.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Lots of Layouts!!!
10 comments:
Love each and everyone of them. You did an amazing job with the kit!!!ReplyDelete
You've been a busy lady! Wonderful layouts. TFS.ReplyDelete
These are so fun! Great job on all the layouts!ReplyDelete
Great work with this amazing kit, I really like your style.ReplyDelete
Love all your layouts! You are so good at layering! That's something I am just getting into...need more practice for sure! That "Nutella" layout cracked me up!!!!! LOL!ReplyDelete
Have a good day!
Oh my! I love so many of these. Great work. :)ReplyDelete
I love that the first one doesn't have any pictures - so cool! I just used that paper today, too :)ReplyDelete
You did a great job. I only got the main kit and it was sorely lacking in "coordination" I pulled a lot from my stash.ReplyDelete
Fabulous work Danielle. Noah locked up is my fave, but they are all pretty special!ReplyDelete
Wow! Great pages! Especially love the first one!ReplyDelete


text:
Life Transitions in AmericaBy: Francesco Duina (author)Paperback
Up to 2 WeeksUsually despatched within 2 weeks
DescriptionWe celebrate, talk about, and worry a great deal about transitions in life. Going to college, having a first child, losing a job, and retiring constitute just a few of the pivotal moments in the lives of many. Sociologists and psychologists have devoted considerable attention to life transitions. Yet we know very little about whether there exists a common thread to our understandings of life transitions in general. How do journalists, leading politicians, sport icons, bestselling authors, government agencies, Hallmark cards, popular TV shows, and other voices of popular culture talk about transitions in life? Do these voices provide a coherent picture of how we make sense of life transitions? In this book, Francesco Duina shows how the dominant American discourse articulates two basic approaches to transitions in life. The first approach depicts transitions as exciting, individualistic opportunities for new beginnings: the past is cast aside, the future is wide open, and the self has the opportunity to recreate itself anew. The second paints transitions as having to do with continuity, our connections to others, and the life-cycle, with an emphasis on acceptance and adaptation. Though contrasting, the two approaches ultimately complement each other. Their analysis reveals a great deal about American culture and society, and will be of great interest to students of the life course and the sociology of culture.
About AuthorFrancesco Duina is Professor and Head of Sociology at the University of British Columbia, Canada. He is also Visiting Professor in the Department of Business and Politics at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.
ContentsFigures and Tables vi Acknowledgments vii I Introduction 1. Discourse and Transitions in Life 3 II Eight Transitions 2. Starting College 23 3. Getting Married 41 4. The First Child 62 5. Losing a Job 85 6. Surviving a Life-Threatening Disease 106 7. Divorce 125 8. Parents Death 143 9. Retirement 160 III Conclusion 10. Transitions in America 181 Appendix: Data Sources Overview 194 Notes 205 References 230 Index 255
Product Details
- publication date: 24/01/2014
- Format: Paperback
- Number Of Pages: 259
- weight: 410
Delivery Information
- Saver Delivery: Yes
- 1st Class Delivery: Yes
- Courier Delivery: Yes
- Store Delivery: Yes


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text:
Lucia van der Post
Central Kalahari, Botswana
|On safari at the Kalahari Plains Camp in Botswana
Though independent overland travellers have been wandering through it for some 20 years or more, it is only now that Wilderness Safaris' Kalahari Plains Camp and Kwando Safaris' Tau Pan Camp have arrived that there is somewhere for the less intrepid to stay, be guided and fall irrevocably in love. The Kalahari Plains Camp, which has just 10 simple but comfortable canvas tents, overlooks one of the Kalahari's famous pans and is close to Deception Valley, home to the famous brown hyenas that Mark and Delia Owens wrote so fascinatingly about in Cry of the Kalahari. For much of the year, the land may seem "rude, silent, incomprehensible at first" but stay, listen, watch, learn to love the silence and its subtle beauty will get to you. Watch the shadows on the sand, see the moon, study the ways of the black-backed jackal, the meerkat, the Cape fox or the honey badger.
Go in summer (late October-April), during the rains (usually short and sharp) and you'll find another land entirely. Herds of game – zebra, wildebeest, steenbok, springbok, gemsbok, red hartebeest – arrive for the lush short grass. Stalking them down are the predators, the awesome black-maned lion and cheetah, brown hyena and leopard. Many of the camp staff come from the ancient San clans who made this land their home. Take a walk with them and they will illuminate a world that is quite unlike any other.
Details: Africa and India Explorations (www.africanexplorations.com) offers a six-night trip to the Kalahari Plains Camp from £2,570, including all meals, but excluding flights. Kwando Safaris' Tau Pan Camp ( www.kwando.co.za) costs from $420 per person per night.


text:
|Ian Bramham's Photoblog
The Rythm of the Trees
Posted by Ian Bramham (Manchester, United Kingdom) on 25 August 2009 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.
Photographed during a walk in the hills in Corsica where I was on holiday with my family over the last few weeks.
I'd almost forgotten what strong sunlight was like. We had 2 weeks in Corsica of high temperatures, deep blue skies and wonderful Meditteranean light which was really great after the summer of overcast skies and drizzly rain we've had this year at home in Manchester.
Like what you see here and are interested in photographic composition?.....the blog section of my website now has a complete set of 5 articles covering my personal approach to the subject: Ian Bramham Photography - Blog
For purchasing high quality archival prints of any of these photos you can send me an email by clicking here or by going to my website Ian Bramham - Fine Art Photography where prices are listed in the gallery sections under each individual photo.
Mike from Lichfield, United Kingdom
25 Aug 2009 6:00am
@Mike: Thanks Mike!
Paco Díaz from Palma de Mallorca, Spain
25 Aug 2009 6:06am
@Paco Díaz: Thanks Paco!
Mirjam from Kiev, Ukraine
25 Aug 2009 7:05am
Mirko Herzner from Germany
25 Aug 2009 7:28am
Anna.C from LA ROCHELLE, France
25 Aug 2009 7:52am
k@ from Paris, France
25 Aug 2009 8:01am
Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal
25 Aug 2009 8:54am
Polydactyle from Montreal, Canada
25 Aug 2009 10:22am
Jim (365,000 words) from Hunnebostrand, Sweden
25 Aug 2009 11:47am
Ian Smith from London, United Kingdom
25 Aug 2009 12:48pm
hugo poon from hong kong, Hong Kong
25 Aug 2009 2:30pm
dr pankaj shukla from panaji, India
25 Aug 2009 2:30pm
Bishop from Houston, United States
25 Aug 2009 3:03pm
john4jack from Corvallis, Oregon, United States
25 Aug 2009 6:08pm
Eldiablo from over the rainbow, Monaco
25 Aug 2009 6:33pm
Mags from Paris, France
25 Aug 2009 7:40pm
Daryl Johnson from Farnham, United Kingdom
25 Aug 2009 7:47pm
Magda from Vancouver, Canada
25 Aug 2009 10:23pm
amy from Nanaimo, BC, Canada
26 Aug 2009 3:27am
NaveenBachwani from Bombay (Mumbai), India
26 Aug 2009 10:20am
Pavan Kaul from Mumbai, India
26 Aug 2009 2:44pm
Mah-Gol from Paris, Iran
27 Aug 2009 1:39am
Stu from Kyoto, Japan
27 Aug 2009 2:37pm
Marie from FRESNES, France
29 Aug 2009 8:41am
MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany
29 Aug 2009 9:21pm
Didier DE ZAN from somewhere, France
30 Aug 2009 7:33am
dj.tigersprout from New York City, United States
31 Aug 2009 2:00pm
Laura from Eindhoven, Netherlands
3 Sep 2009 4:50am
Nikon D40


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Nail Polish $10 // Sweatshirt // Nursing Bralette | Inexpensive Version $13 // Boyfriend Jeans $40 // Slip on sandals $37 // Sunnies $60 // Stud Earrings $10
My style definitely varies day-to-day; I usually prefer to go super casual over dressy-dressy and lately, that has totally shown.
Basically: casual > anything that takes effort ha
So, today I'm sharing my faaaaavorite casual outfit + the BEST pair of jeans that literally go with everything AND they're 40% off making them only $40!
In the boyfriend jeans, I suggest going down a size or two, depending on the look you want. More fitted, go down a size and for a more relaxed look, stick with that size you would typically buy. I go down a size and they fit exactly like these maternity jeans that I wore in this blog post.
I don't know how long they'll be marked down for but since I spotted them on sale, I figured I'd let y'all know too!
They're my favorite brand of jeans in general, so if any other style catches your eye, don't hesitate - they're truthfully the best and super inexpensive for the seriously great quality you get!
I also linked this seriously cute nursing bralette to wear under my sweaters and tees after this little dude is born (and definitely before because, yeah... comfort). It's sort of on the expensive side but the quality is reeeeeally good, which is definitely a necessity since it'll be tugged on and pretty much washed daily, ya know what I mean? But I wanted to share this one for the fraction of the cost - like we're talkin' $13! I love the thin straps and all of the colors they come in, so I grabbed a couple of them too!
Stud earrings are a staple for me because I always wear them. No question. They go with everything and they totally make me feel "put-together" even when I'm running out with my hair a mess and sunglasses on. These are great quality if you're not looking to dish on real diamonds, plus these will last just as long because they're sterling silver!
Speaking of sunglasses, I loved my other sunglasses so much that I had to get these too lol the color is totally fit for spring and I looove that these have the mirrored lenses.
Last but not least - these shoes! I'm obsessed with the ruffle detail! But I also secretly wanted a pair of Birkenstocks like these but I sorta refuse to pay $90 haha It's like I like them but do I really LOVE them? I wasn't so sure but I did find these and they're sooo cheap, it's crazy and all of the sudden, I fell in love. Plus, they're buy one get one for 50% off soooo you should totally grab em' all because I totally might.😍
Oh and lately, I've been getting the SNS dip polish rather than gel. They wear like acrylics BUT they come off like gel. They're definitely thicker than gel too but I love them because they last soooo much longer plus they don't have the damaging effects that acrylics do - score!
My go-to color is the plain white and I pair it with this polish on my toes. It's my absolute favorite color combo of all time!
My go-to color is the plain white and I pair it with this polish on my toes. It's my absolute favorite color combo of all time!


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Hi PDD Families,
We are currently in the process of setting up in studio purchases at PDD and will no longer offer online sales. Our store website has been taken down. Please be patient with us during this time as we are working to set up a barcode system for sales and get our stock in. Check back weekly for updates as we will email as soon as our uniforms are available in studio for purchases. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this transition period. Teachers are aware of this transition period.
Current students: Please continue to wear uniforms you already have if you were promoted to a new level or enrolling in a new class. Teachers are aware that you may not have the correct uniform at this time.
Trials/new students: Please see below for acceptable clothing while waiting for uniforms if you do not have other dance attire
- Creative movement, Jazz and Ballet: fitted clothing (i.e. leggings and tank top) and bare feet or socks
- Hip Hop: comfortable/loose fitting clothing; sneakers for footwear, but they need to be clean and free of rocks and dirt when worn in the dance rooms
- Hula/Tahitian: tank top and shorts; bare feet
Thank you again for your patience!
PDD Head Administrator


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- 6" x 6" base card, matt & layer with purple paper downloaded free from Bearly mine web site, ink edges and fix to base card.
- Cut out 3 banner strips and wrap ribbon around then fix to card..
- Matt & layer floral paper again free from Bearlymine website onto white card and fix to base card.
- Stamp images three times, colour with pro markers & decoupage.
- Matt & layer onto nestabilities cut out, wrap ribbon around.
- Cut out small nestie shape, ink and fix flower box decoupage on it, then fix to card.
Sunday, 13 January 2013
Bearlymine Blogspot Challenge #68
Posted by Maggie at 14:19
2 comments:
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RCP is tracking the delegate counts for the presidential nominations. Through Saturday, Romney leads with 59, Huckabee has 40, McCain 36, Fred 5, Ron Paul 4, and Guiliani one, which goes to show you how far we have to go in the primary/nomination process. 1,191 delegates are needed to gain the party's nomination.
The real interesting thing is how the different states decide their delegate counts -the next big state up, Florida on Jan. 29th, is a winner take all state and has 57 delegates, half its normal allotment due to the party penalty (that may or may not end up being imposed at the convention) for moving up its primary date. (Maine votes today for its 21 delegates). Thus, the winner in Florida is likely to take the lead in the delgate count and should get a big boost in momentum for the 22 state bonanza on Feb. 5th. Another factor is that this is the first "closed" primary - only registered Republicans will be able to vote. Current polling in FL has John McCain with a very slight lead (23-20%) over Rudy, who has oriented his entire campaign on the state. Romney and Huckabee are right behind in the high teens, with Fred trailing just under double digits.
Other winner take all states having primaries on the 5th, and their delegate counts -New York (101), Missouri (58), Arizona (53), New Jersey (52), Utah (36), Connecticut (30), Montana (25) and Delaware (18). You have to figure NY and NJ in the Rudy camp, AZ for Mac, and Utah and Conn. for Romney. There are another 700 delegates available in the other states on the 5th as well, which are likely to be split up at least between four candidates. There are a little over a thousand delegates available after Super Tuesday as well.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Republican Delegates Counts
Posted by Kalthalior at 8:56 AM
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Job Description
A leading e-Commerce company are looking for a Data Scientist with modelling experience to join their award winning team in Central London
The Data Scientists will:
* Develop models and algorithms - Propensity, attrition/churn modelling, etc.
* Monitor the performance of Models
* Work with a wide range of teams and stakeholders to deliver advice and recommendations.
* Communication complex models with a range of colleagues
Essentials: R and SQL
Desirable: Python, Spark, Hadoop
Successful candidates will be contacted within 24 hours of submission
Parallel Consulting is a multi-awarding winning, global leader in Analytics & Data Science recruitment.
With over 12 years expertise, we assist our clients within Analytics, Customer & Marketing Insight, Web Analytics, Big Data, Data Science, Credit Risk and BI.


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Asian stocks at one-and-a-half year highs on robust Wall Street Asian stocks edged up to fresh 19-month highs on Thursday, helped by an extended rally on Wall Street and strong US data though the dollar stepped back after a recent bounce.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 percent, rising to its highest since July 2015. It is up by a tenth so far this year partly underpinned by more optimistic earnings expectations and a gradual unwinding of bearish emerging market bets.
For more information ✆ – 0731-6642300 or Visit http://www.epicresearch.co
You may also like:
|Sensex, Nifty hold morning gains; Ambuja Cements, ACC rally
|Nifty hovers around 8800 as investors await RBI policy; ITC up


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Link to the actual article. Click here.
Culture Time!
As almost anyone who paid attention in history class will know, the Roman Empire conquered the known world, dominating the local people they defeated and often spread their own culture to new soil, as well as pick up some local beliefs and assimilated it into their own culture.
But how often do we think about the Roman influence in Africa?
Rome did travel and claim the African land around the Mediterranean as their own, and logically left their mark there. The article linked above gives a beautiful explanation of some popular mosaics about the Roman god Bacchus and his frequent appearance in tableaus (actually, the plural for "tableau" is "tableaux", since it is a French word [yay for a foreign language lesson!]).
Keep on Learning!


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Anyone on here have experience floating E TN rivers with the freedom hawk kayaks? looks to be great for flat water fishing but wonder how they are on moving water with shoals and rocky ledges.
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Anyone on here have experience floating E TN rivers with the freedom hawk kayaks? looks to be great for flat water fishing but wonder how they are on moving water with shoals and rocky ledges.
I don't have any experience with Freedom Hawk kayaks but they look like a great idea. If the 14' boat came with the in-line feature that the 12' boats have I might buy one. I have been thinking about buying a kayak but from what I have read they are hard to fish from on a river while the generators are on. I would think that this boat would be better in that regard. I wish there was a dealer near here where you could demo or rent one. If you get one I would like to hear what you think about it.
The closest dealer that would probably have them in stock is river supply in bluff city. I was planning on driving up this weekend to check them out and maybe check out the sulph. hatch on the Soho, but had to change plans again. :frown:
I'm also waiting on the new river fishing kayak from Jackson kayak to come out. Supposed to be the best designed kayak for rivers on the market.
Don't think I would take any kayak or canoe out on the river during heavy generation to try and fish from. A fast ride down the river for the scenery maybe. A drift boat or jon with a jet drive, would be much safer.
Thanks for the info Blake. I saw Drew's video on his laptop for the prototype when he was here for the Sevierville tourny. Glad someone is actually designing something for river anglers. I sold my aire lynx and very antcy waiting on the Jackson to be released. Gettting tired of lifting my 16ft Mohawk canoe on top of my truck!
Has anyone tried the Hobie Mirage ProAngler? It looks like it might be a great kayak to fish from. Has a pointy bow which should make track through the water fairly straight, has a broad beam for stability with plenty of storage built in, rod holders, and some other nice features.
Don't care for their funky propulsion system, would rather have a good trolling motor. Here is the link:
I'd like some opinions on this if you would care to chime in. ;)
I ended up making two critical mistakes that hurt my final score. Also didn't help I checked in a couple minutes late. I pushed the limits but I was on a new to me float so it took a bit longer than I expected. The perils of tournament fishing, should of, could of, would of, :biggrin:
Kytroutbum, I thought about trying the Hobie, but with the propulsion system on that yak, I would be afraid of busting it loose on a shallow rock in the rivers. There seems to be too much stuff in the cockpit area to grab the flyline also.
I agree, those foot pedals to run their propulsion system is just too much in the cockpit. If you eliminated that "stuff" and went with a rear mounted trolling motor, I think it would be fine for fly flingin" IMHO.
FlySouth in Nashville carries the Freedom Hawk 12. It looks great and was designed to be able to mount a trolling motor in the center between the 2 pontoons...I think they sell them for $995. The 12 weighs about 50 pounds when you take the outriggers off and 72 lbs all together. The only negative I can see on it might be the extra drag you'd get because of the outriggers.
I have the Native Ultimate 12 (about 55 lbs) and its very stable but its still not something I'd feel comfortable standing up in to fly fish out of...I think it retails for about the same price as the Freedom Hawk. Its probably easier to paddle than the FH simply because it doesn't have any outriggers.
I guess in the end its how much you value being able to stand up and fish out of your craft.


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January 11, 2008
The End of a Great Week!
I've had the best week with Hattie this week. It was our first full week of no sickness in the house. It was fabulous! She was back to her charming, funny self. It was a dream! The week that a stay-at-home mom dreams of! Now if I could just do something about the morning sickness and constant fatigue. No, I am happy to have that, too!!! :0)
One of Sean's closest friends, Josiah, is getting married tomorrow. I am so excited for him and his bride to be. Sean and Josiah have been friends for so long, and he really is such a godly, great guy, and Cindy seems so sweet and is just radiant. I love weddings anyways, but this one will be extra special!
It'll be Hattie's first wedding to attend and her first time staying with us in a hotel since she was 4 months old. I'm a little worried about that.....but it'll only be for one night, so how bad can it be, right? Maybe I shouldn't ask that!
I found the cutest dress for her at a resale shop a while back to wear to the wedding. I paid $7 for it, and the lady who owns the store assured me that I got a bargain. I think her exact words were, This is like a hundred dollar dress. It's really pretty, but I am shocked at how much money people spend on baby clothes! They just grow out of them so fast.
The dress I'll be wearing is borrowed from my bestest bud, Christie. Luckily I was able to find something in her closet that I can squeeze into. I tried the dress on last night, showed Sean, and asked him, Do I look pregnant in this or just fat? His reply, I don't know. NOT THE CORRECT ANSWER!!!! I am just in the very bloated, unattractive phase of pregnancy right now. I don't feel good. My skin is broken out, and it's a mystery if I had one too many donuts or if I'm pregnant. You know what I mean. That in between stage. You're probably wondering how I can be there already since I'm only 2 months pregnant. Well, this is #2 for me, and it is true that you start showing sooner the second time around. Atleast that's what I keep telling myself!
So I'm hoping to get some great pictures of Hattie in her designer dress, and Sean will be in a tux since he's in the wedding. I just love seeing him in a tux, especially when it's across the room. I don't know why, but he seems more handsome across the room.....okay that sounds bad, but you know what I mean...... :0).
So here's hoping that the end of our great week will be.......even greater!?!?!
3 comments:
- Lindsay Newcomer said...
We're looking forward to seeing y'all tomorrow!
- January 11, 2008 at 9:01 PM
- Missy @ It's Almost Naptime said...
I always wanted a t-shirt that said "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant!"
- January 15, 2008 at 12:12 AM
- Aya said...
Good post.
- November 11, 2008 at 12:49 AM
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Wisdom From the Pope
"The inalienable dignity of every human being and the rights which flow from that dignity - in the first place the right to life and the defense of life - are at the heart of the church's message." Pope John Paul ended his address, saying: "In spite of divisions among Christians, 'all those justified by faith through baptism are incorporated into Christ...brothers and sisters in the Lord.'" Pope John Paul 2


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Saturday, October 04, 2008
Saturday O/T: What really happened when the world's smallest man met the woman with the longest legs
First of all, He Pingping is a cool little dude. Standing at 2'5" he runs his own restaurant and talks like a chipmunk. He's officially been named the world's smallest man.
Svetlana Pankratova, meanwhile, owns the longest legs in the world, which stretch to 4'4".
Together, they made for a strange but entertaining photo opportunity. Check out this clip - but especially watch for Pinping taking a little peek-peek up Svetlana's barren gulag:
That dude kills me. I wonder if they hooked up afterwards? If they did, I hope she tied a broom handle around his ass to keep him from falling in.
In any case, what you don't see here is what he was really looking up at. For that, you had to see it form this difficult-to-obtain view of a innocent, bystanding ground squirrel:
Poor feller. I bet he swears off nuts.
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CentennialMarch 16, 2009
Well, today was a really sweet day. First of all, the iPod Touch 2G JailBreak came out today. I haven't used it yet, but I will soon after I finish this post. BTW, there is a great tutorial for it here. Secondly, I reached 100,000 total hits today. Woot! Finally, I broke my record for the most hits in one day (I actually did this yesterday too, but didn't realize it until like 5 minutes ago). So my new record is 1734. That's like twice what it was a month ago.
So had this really awesome feature planned involving my fav XKCD comics and some commentary. I am a commentary freak. Seriously…I have a running commentary 90% of the time. And for those of you who have to live with it, I apologize. Gomennasai.
Unfortunately, the pics didn't upload…and I didn't realize this until I had started the upload for all like 25 of them without writing down which ones I was gonna do. Sad, I know. But you can still get some random letter goodness (seriously, what is up with that name?) at XKCD.com.
Anyways, instead I'm gonna do a little survey. Ok, two surveys.
Oh yah, and I have a wallpaper to post. This is one I wasn't gonna post, but I've gotten really into Bleach- which by the way is awesome- and thought I would.


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Phyllis Reardon M.Ed.
Life Coach
Good morning. Hope you are enjoying this weekend as we welcome in the new beginnings of Spring.
May your new beginnings grow to successful events and ventures in your life.
It has been a busy but productive winter and the spring is shaping up to be just as busy and productive.
Some of you may have received an email from me re Dr. Michael Craig's Blog Talk Radio show; I will be interviewd by Dr. Craig on Tuesday, April 10 at 6pm EST. Love to have you as part of the audience.
You can listen by joining us at http://blogtalkradio.com/logicalsoul
If you would like to ask a question please call 347-843-4544.
We will be discussing successes and growth in business and personal life with a focus on mentors and people who influence this growth.
Hope you can join me!
Have a great day.


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Elementary School News
Marshall/Anna Bus Stop Moves to Southwest/Limit Due to Road Construction
The MRH Transportation Department's priority is to keep all bus riders safe while traveling with us, as well as boarding and departing the district's buses. After reviewing the Marshall and Anna bus stop, the District has decided to make a temporary change to provide a safer situation for our students.
While construction is happening along Marshall between Manchester and Maple, buses will be picking students up at Southwest and Limit. This change will affect ECC Bus #5, Elementary Bus #5, and High School/Middle School Bus #2.
The MRH Transportation Department will stay updated on the progress of the construction and inform parents and students as soon as we are comfortable moving the stop back to Marshall and Anna.
Please review the temporary schedules that show the change for the Marshall and Anna bus stop moving to Southwest and Limit.
For more information, contact MRH School District at (314) 644-4400.


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Order your next Motability car from West Way Nissan and get £250* towards your advance payment. More information
Latest Motability Offers
Discover how easy it is to get behind the wheel of a brand new Nissan through the Motability scheme with West Way.
We are proud to be a Premier Partner of the Government-funded Motability scheme. This means that when you visit West Way, our dedicated Motability experts will help you find a car that will meet all your individual needs and requirements plus advise you on any addition aids you may need.
Available through the Motability Scheme, we have the award-winning Qashqai and Juke, both very popular crossover models. If you're wanting something larger then we have the new 4x4 X-Trail or NV200, the perfect people carrier. Looking for something for city driving? We suggest either the Micra, Pulsar or Note which are all available with West Way Motability. Or go 100% electric with the LEAF.
If you're currently entitled to Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance, War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement or Personal Independence Payment, you can use the funding to obtain a car from us that will help assist you in day to day life.
What Is Motability?
It's a charity organisation that was set up in 1977 and is funded by the Government to assist with disabled people's travel, making their lives easier and providing access to areas possible out of reach without this scheme.
Who can apply for Motability?
To apply for the scheme you will need 12 months remaining on the following disability benefits:
● Higher Rate Mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance - HRMC DLA
● An Enhanced Rate component of Personal Independence Payment -ERMC PIP
● War Pensioners Mobility Supplement -WPMS
● Armed Forces Independence Payment -AFIP
Looking at the above disability benefits, if you're someone that receives one of these or you're a carer, parent or nominated driver then you can check on the 'Motability Eligibility Checker' to find out if you're eligible to join the Motability scheme. For more information on joining Motability, visit: How To Join The Scheme.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)What Is PIP - Personal Independence Payment is an allowance that's gradually replacing the Disability Living Allowance. There are 2 parts to PIP, you have a daily living allowance and a mobility allowance. Then for each allowance, there are 2 rates, a standard rate and an enhanced rate. You can lease a Motability car by using the enhanced rate.
Who's Affected By PIP- PIP will replace DLA for disabled people aged 16-64. Disabled children will still receive DLA until they hit 16. DLA will be available to people aged 65 and over.
When To Make A Claim For PIP?- You don't need to actively do anything, you'll be contacted by the DEP between now and 2018 to make this change.
For more information on PIP, read: Personal Independent Payment
How long on my award do I need remaining?
For our Motability Contract Hire Scheme, you'll need at least 12 month's allowance remaining.
What benefits will I receive on the Motability Scheme?
There is a range of benefits which make leasing a car through the Motability Scheme an attractive choice. Not only will you be driving a car that's been tailored to meet your individual needs, you will also benefit from the following:
● 60,000 mileage allowance over three years
● Service & Maintenance at any of our 15 West Way dealerships
● Insurance for two drivers
● Full RAC Breakdown Assistance
● Annual Car Tax
● Free Replacement of Tyres if and when required
● Free Replacement of Windscreen if and when required
● A variety of adaptations available at no extra cost
Why choose West Way?
We are the largest Nissan Motability provider in the UK with 15 locations across the country, and because of this we're able to provide some of the best tailored Nissan Motability schemes.
Whether you're interested in the ultra-popular Qashqai, a jazzy Juke or the award winning X-Trail, we will have a car that ticks all your boxes.
In addition to this, here are some more reasons to choose West Way to help with your vehicle Motability:
● We have dedicated Motability Experts at each one of our 14 dealerships nationwide
● Servicing & MOT services available at all 14 dealerships
● Delivery & collection facility available on the day of your Service
● 3 Years Manufacturer's Warranty on all models
● A range of attractive offers including Nil Advance Payments across the range
● Accessible parking & facilities
● Refreshments & Wi-Fi


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Friday, June 27, 2008
Another great summer afternoon...
The weather is great, and two of Kyle's classmates came over to play, so the kids are having fun on the new "Skimmer Surfboard" slip and slide. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant in the historic district we've been wanting to try, and Kyle had his last day of Rock/Guitar Camp this morning. Tom is having the same mystery stomach pains he experienced in Red Bluff a few months ago and we are wondering if they are related to his diverticulitis. Hopefully not, and we'll keep our fingers crossed they go away as quickly as they came. They must not be too bad, as he managed to get the slip and slide set up, so that was a good sign!
at 4:15 PM
1 comment:
Looks like fun in the sun playing on the slip and slide with your friends. Looking at your weather in the paper it looks like you're having beautiful weather in the 80º . Here it's been hot (100) and my air conditioning isn't working. I just got a call and the repairman is on his way out so I hope he can fix it. It has also bee very smokey so we need to keep the windows closed and the fan running. Have a good day. Love, Mom
- June 28, 2008 at 10:40 AM
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Tuesday, 20 January 2015
Talk on Tuesday
4 comments :
Thanks so much for your encouragement today, visiting from Beauty in His grip Link-Up, remain blessed! :)ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks for stopping by. I wanted to leave a comment on your blog post but wasn't sure how. Blessings, DianeDelete
Everyday courage is the hardest one. And at the same time, it's the measure for us and the side of us that most people see. How we behave every day of our lives, the normal and ordinary days, with nothing special. And if we are everyday cowards, that is what people learn about us.ReplyDelete
I don't think anyone can have everyday courage, it's too hard for us. It's just not possible. Only God can have courage like that. And only extraordinary people show their courage every day.Replies
Thanks for your comment. It is hard to have courage everyday. But with God's help we can do the things that are difficult to do. Blessings, DianeDelete


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Rachel Dolezal, the former NAACP branch president who gained global notoriety for claiming to be black now insists she is "trans-black" and silently changed her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo in a Washington Court last October.
Her new first name Nkechinyere originates from a Nigerian language, Igbo, and stands for "gift of God" or "What God has given". Diallo also originates from a Nigerian language, Fula (Muslim ethnic group), and means "bold".
There is no clear reason why Dolezal decided to rename herself; it could be the negative press she received once the scandal broke in 2015, when her parents disclosed that she wasn't black as she claimed.
Heat Street reports:
She was consequently forced to step down from her position as NAACP branch President in Spokane, Washington and as a professor at a university there. She later admitted that she was "biologically born white to white parents" but insisted that race isn't "coded in your DNA."
According to a recent interview with The Guardian, Dolezel is having difficulty getting by after the scandal. She told the paper that she's nearly homeless, can't find a job and is currently living on food stamps.
She has applied for well over 100 jobs, including a supermarket position, but received no offers. The only offers the former professor receives are to perform in pornography or reality television, opportunities she has declined.


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It's Easter time!
Eggs have always played a special role in past beliefs, ever since ancient times decorated eggs were customarily exchanged during the Spring Equinox.
The pagans used to celebrate the Feast of Ostara and the Goddess Eostre, whose symbols were the hare and eggs, which were adopted by Christianity for Easter to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ.
In the Middle Ages, people began making artificial eggs covered in metals and precious stones, culminating in the legendary Fabergé Eggs created for the Russian imperial family in the late nineteenth century. This led to the customary chocolate eggs and the traditional games of Anglo-Saxon culture: Egg Rolling, with the most famous being the White House Easter Egg Rolling which takes place on Easter Monday at the White House.
Happy Easter!


text: It took me about five weeks to knit this sweater and I enjoyed every minute of it. The pattern is called Nutmeg Ginger and I had it in my wishlist for quite a while, since I liked the neck of it so much. Finally I started knitting it and I am so happy I did. The pattern is very well written and so easy to follow! I especially liked the knitting of the sleeves since I never started from the top before. First time without any problems attaching the sleeves – yeah! The wool is from me beloved brand Karoo Moon and the colour is called navy.


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Jill over at Universal Musings has some great answers to this quiz, here are mine.
- (X ) Shot a gun- I had a man target posted over my bed when I was single and living alone. It had an absolutely fabulous grouping. You had to go through the bedroom to use the bathroom, no one ever seemed to notice it though. Even then I had an off beat sense of humor. For our 2nd date with my son's dad, he took me target shooting. I was a better shot than him, I think that's when he fell in love.
- (x) Gone on a blind date – my car pool partner in college set me up on a double date, her boyfriend paid too much attention to me, so I lost my space in her car.
- (x) Skipped school – yup, but only in high school. I used to not go in the morning, then show up after lunch and talk the secretary into letting me in without a note. A couple of times I went to San Francisco on the bus instead of class.
(X ) Watched someone die – unfortunately
(x) Visited Canada – When my mom was pregnant with my little sister, I think she needed a break. So my dad took the other 4 kids on a road trip, towing a trailer. I broke my glasses on a ride at a fair in Vancouver so much of the return is a blur.
- ( ) Visited Hawaii – not interested
(X ) Visited Cuba- lived there from 9 months old to 3 years old.
( ) Visited Europe- This is something I really want to do
(X ) Visited South America Ecuador
(x) Visited Las Vegas I not only visited, I lived there, and had a child there
( ) Visited Central America- Panama
() Visited Asia- on my real bucket list
( ) Visited Africa
(x) Visited Florida- I went when I was 21 to meet my mother's cousins who lived there. Also we lived there for a little while when I was a toddler.
( X) Visited Mexico – once, then I moved here
() Uh, why isn't Australia on the list?- dunno, but I'd like to go there too.
(x) Seen the Grand Canyon in person – yup, when I moved from Las Vegas to Arizona
() Flown in a helicopter – don't want to either, but I took flying lessons (airplane) when I was 15
() Served on a jury –
- (x) Been lost – I have no sense of direction, but I am really good at reading maps
(x) Traveled to the opposite side of the country- moved from New York to California by car
() Visited Washington, DC –
(x) Swam in the Ocean– both of them
(x) Cried yourself to sleep see answer #4
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Played cowboys and Indians –
(X ) Recently colored with crayons – and you are surprised because?
( ) Sang karaoke- no I am not so mean as to do that to drunk people
( ) Sang a solo or duet in church – pardon me while I stop laughing, I'd do it but no one else would enjoy it.
(X ) Paid for a meal with coins only – I do it all the time here
(X ) Made prank phone calls My friend, Patsy and I, used to call people and tell them they had won a chicken dinner then order them one. We were 12 so I doubt that any of those dinners were delivered.
(x) Laughed until some beverage came out of your nose- who hasn't?
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Had children in three different states, good thing I stopped moving around.
(x) Had a pet
( X) Been skinny-dipping that's what all these high walls are for
(x) Been fishing took my son to a trout farm when he was little
() Been boating
( ) Been Downhill Skiing
( ) Been water skiing
(x) Been camping in a trailer/RV see answer #5
(x) Been camping in a tent- too many times to mention, especially during Ren Faire
( ) Driven a motorcycle- I've ridden on the back of lots of them
( ) Been bungee-jumping – no way, I am not going parachuting either
(x) Gone to a drive-in movie – my standard date in high school, we used to park the pick up backwards and sit on a mattress in the back.
(x) Done something that could have killed you- Among other things, I accidentally brushed my teeth with Nair once. I was sober too.
- ( ) Done something that you will regret for the rest of your life- I try not to have regrets, well maybe the brushing my teeth with Nair incident.
( x) Rode an elephant –at the county fair
( X) Rode a camel – at the county fair
(x) Eaten just cookies or cake or ice cream for dinner – probably, but not recently
(x) Been on TV – been living scenery several times for various Renaissance Faires. Once got interviewed for Dickens' Fair when we were still at the pier. Or rather Josephine Eulalia Kennedy Hawkins was interviewed, since I was in character
( ) Stolen any traffic signs- no, but I did own one
(x) Been in a car accident and I got hit by a bus once
(X ) Been in the Hospital in past 24 months– yup
( ) Donated blood– tried to but they wouldn't let me
( ) Gotten a (speeding) or any other type of ticket in the past 12 months- I no longer have a driver's licence.
(x) Gotten a piercing (ears count)
( ) Gotten a Tattoo –
(x) Driven a manual transmission vehicle – cars and buses
() Ever owned your dream car – I don't have a dream car, but I'd like to own a horse and carriage
(x) Been Married
(x) Been divorced
(x) Fell in love
(x) Fell out of love
(X ) Paid for a strangers meal
( ) Driven over 120 mph – not even in an airplane, I don't do fast
() Been scuba diving –
(x ) Written a published book/story/poetry – you can buy them here
(x) Eaten snails – I see snails as an excuse to eat garlic butter, and who doesn't like garlic butter?


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Saturday, January 30, 2016
USAFit Marathon
I got a 6th floor hotel room, just hoping to see a sunset. I very rarely see such a thing. My ipad picture thru a window doesn't do it justice.
The marathon is not until tomorrow. They gave me my finisher's jacket at packet pickup. Sort of takes a bit of the thrill out of it.
I never know how fast or slow I'll go in a marathon. But I think if I go a bit slow, I can still be in the car and heading home by noon. And then I can lay on my bed and read and nap the rest of the day away. And go to work again on Monday.
What will be good about this race? I know I'll have little conversations with others. I know I'll experience moments of mental freedom. I know I'll admire the many people who do marathons much slower than me.
Posted by Ultra Monk at 5:25 PM
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A secret is made in the midst of a promise to be engraved on the decrees for discretion, the endless need to inspire curiosity, and combat the wanting envy and greed, that lingers in the shadows waiting to deceive.
A secret is made in the midst of a promise, to an end unknown, so long as there is a symphony to accompany this secret waltz of ours, as the boosts and declarations are made about one who has enriched our lives to some majesty way.
A secret has been made by the girl lying awake with two hours till dawn, as the cold night air flutters the covers with unnecessary ease, her eyes remain fixed to the heavens above, lost in the hazy embrace of one particular individual's face that haunts the mind.
A secret has been made, time cannot be saved, and vows are to be engraved, for all that has come to pass will surely end in a final solution, a grand resolution.
A secret has been made and now she is all but at the mercy of silence in the wake of this imaginary alliance.


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There are some days when you really wonder if it would just have been better not to have bothered and I think today has been one of those days.
It started, and remained, misty, grey and damp. The rosemary was positively groaning under the weight, although they probably don't weigh anything, of the cobwebs all adorned with their glistening baubles of dew. All very atmospheric and charming if you can stay indoors and admire.
Sadly it's Monday so it's back to work down country lanes through mist that gets thicker and thicker. It may have been fog and someone told me the difference between fog and mist the other day but I can't remember what that was. To add to the fogginess of the day I was confronted with a new PC on arrival which for some reason hadn't been set up with Microsoft Office so the long story short, and another hard drive later, I finally started work at 3:30 this afternoon! And then to plunge me further into fogginess I discovered that the new PC came with Office 365 – so new Outlook, Word and Excel! Oh my goodness this is not a good start to the week when I have a number of deadlines jostling for attention, meetings left right and centre, a new work colleague who needs lots of answers as she has a major quick deadline to meet and people chasing responses to emails I had missed as I was, audaciously, on leave on Friday.
And to finish off the fogginess I drove home through even thicker fog – it's definitely fog now – and had to negotiate a diversion presumably due to an accident all round the back of town along with, it felt, half the local population. And now….(yes there is more),.. I am off out back into the fog and over the hills, if I can find them, to a local horticultural society meeting because I am the Treasurer and the speaker has to be paid!
I had planned to write something lyrical about mist and dew or alternatively something deep and meaning about the 15th anniversary of the International Space Station but the whole foggy experience has left me too befuddled to write anything worthwhile for day 2 of NaBloPoMo – sorry


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Happy birthday to the one I love.
True to form, his natal day was heralded by an earthquake. It frequently is. But what could be more appropriate for a man who has devoted his career to studying geologic processes?
The spouse never asks for much for his birthday...he's really not allowed to since I bought him a vintage Cadillac convertible a few years ago. But his really special gift every year is that I bake him a birthday cake...with real buttercream frosting.
How this marvel will be decorated is always a subject of great debate and consideration. The unwritten rule is that it must be yellow cake, and because it's October, hence Halloween, the frosting must generally be orange colored (hey, it's his cake). One year, I drew an elaborate spider web on the cake and made a giant marzipan spider to place on it. Another year, it was decked out with mellowcreme pumpkins, another of his seasonal favorites.
A few weeks ago, we were in the hardware store, and a copy of Country Living caught his eye. Gracing the cover was a cake with orange frosting slathered in chocolate glaze.
So, guess what I've been making all day?
Actually, the project would have been somewhat less time consuming if it hadn't been for Milton, the cat who eats everything and anything. I hid the layers after I'd baked them, but brought them back out to begin the frosting process. I think I turned my back for less than five minutes, but that was plenty of time for him to consume a large portion of one layer. After shrieking the mother of all curse words at him (and yeah, all the windows in the house were open. Sorry, neighbors!) and waving my arms wildly, I regrouped and realized that layer was unsalvageable. So as quickly as possible, I baked another two layers.
Now I just have to hope that I can get the entire thing frosted, chilled and glazed before midnight.
What's an earthquake compared with birthday cake disaster?
Go listen to some good music: "Birthday" by The Beatles from The White Album


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ELMORE has opened its account for the season, winning a high-scoring encounter against Lockington-Bamawm United away from home at the Nichol Trading Oval on Saturday.
After leading for all of the game, the Cats hit the front in the third quarter before a strong response saw Elmore run away late with a 134-110 win.
Shane Brewster led the way for Elmore with five goals, while Dale Williamson and Trent Lang both chipped in with four as they posted a massive total.
Elmore coach Danny Brewster said to recover the lead after losing it in the third quarter had taken real character.
''We're very excited with the win, we were headed in the second half and the response was fantastic,'' he said.
''The message at three-quarter time was to just keep going, and to keep the pressure up. We knew that could get us back in front.
''It was good to see the younger kids didn't drop their heads. The more experienced boys stood up and helped us get across the line.''
Elmore had a five goal lead in the first quarter before a late LBU charge, and led by a similar margin (27 points) at the main break.
They held just a four-point lead at three-quarter time, before a last quarter blitz saw Elmore claim a 24-point win.
The experience of Jack Hayes was crucial in the win for Elmore, as was James Harney with some big marks.
''Jack was fantastic all day with his leadership and his attack on the footy,'' Brewster said.
The coach was thrilled with the pressure his side brought after a lacklustre round one performance against White Hills in a 98-point loss.
''The pressure we brought was certainly the most pleasing aspect of the performance,'' Brewster said.
''There was no real pressure on our opponent in week one. Our main focus was definitely to put pressure on them, so we could force them to turn the ball over.
''There's plenty of improvement left in us as a young side, and it's good we've learned those lessons from round one mistakes and fixed them.''
Sitting with a level 1-1 record after round two, Elmore will host Colbinabbin next week as it looks to string consecutive wins together.
''We expect a tough challenge, Colbinabbin look like they'll be very competitive again this year,'' Brewster said.
''If we can bring that intensity from the weekend, we can get a good result and performance.''


text:
Thursday, March 12, 2009
When my grandson would come over to our place, he's so amazed by the cuckoo clock. It would bring back the memories of my grandmother I was very close to growing up. (From my archives)
Cuckoo Bird Where Did You Go?
Tis a happy day for me
Off to Gramps house to play you see
Tis one thing I don't understand
Little black house with a little white hand
Every time, when the cuckoo comes out
I run behind the living room couch
That little cuckoo bird hid back in
Gramps! Darn! I miss him again?
To see him, I have to be quick as a hick-up
Wait 'til the big hand points straight up
Finally I get to see him, little bird I'd heard before
He came out on his perch, then slammed the door
When I go to Gramps and hear the tick-tock
I see the cuckoo bird I love so much
Up there on the wall
In his big black clock…
20 comments:
- Linda S. Socha said...
WONDERFUL It made me smile and feel about five again. What a gift you are George
- March 12, 2009 at 10:13 PM
- Brosreview said...
Brought a smile on my face!!! This is very well-written!!!
- March 12, 2009 at 10:36 PM
- Patty said...
My grandfather used to have a grandfather clock. I used to love that thing.
Brings back fond memories.
- March 12, 2009 at 11:31 PM
- CathM said...
Hmmmmmm... lovely. Indeed, it does bring back memories of a grandfather clock that used to stand in a house in Wales where we used to spend our short vacs at during term time at boarding school.
- March 13, 2009 at 1:16 AM
- Rikkij said...
children and how they believe. If only they could teach us to believe that a real bird lives in there and sounds when he should. Nice Fri piece ~Rick
- March 13, 2009 at 2:23 AM
- Shadow said...
huh? who'd think.... i was exactly the same as a child. would watch the clock like a tv screen, just waiting for the birdie to pop out it's head.... lovely writing george!
- March 13, 2009 at 3:34 AM
- K.Lawson Gilbert said...
Ah George, what a reminiscence of childhood. We had a cuckoo clock, much like the one pictured, when I was a girl - and I loved that bird too.
I love 'quick as a hick-up"...:)
Just a great, warm, gift of a poem!!
- March 13, 2009 at 7:20 AM
- George said...
Wow! what a treat this morning, some of my favorite bloggers, chiming in (excuse the pun.)
My sister-in-law stay overnight one time, vowing never again. She never got any sleep for all of our companion sounds in the house.
I can safely say we do have a few mechanical clocks throughout the place, sounds of some making a sliding noise, balls dropping, tic-tocs, westminster chimes and of course the cuckoo.
Linda, it's enjoyable for me to bring back those fond memories of childhood, it's always a good thing of joy during a sad time and pain for many in the world.
Brosreview, smiling back, thank you for your comment..
Patty, when I was about four or five and would get to my grandmother's, the first thing I would do is to check where the minute hand was, so I could see that little bird.
Then I knew I could go through the rest of my time there, somehow knowing everything was OK.
CathM, isn't it kind of oddity, that an inanimate object can sometimes bring that sense of warmth and peacefulness to ones meaning?
Rikkij, Peter-pan even said just believe.
Good to see ya, thanks for your response..
Thanks, Shadow. You always make my day when you'd leave me a response...
- March 13, 2009 at 8:14 AM
- George said...
Hi K, it's kind of sad if someone didn't get to experience a cuckoo clock somehow in their childhood.
I sort of wrote this one with that in mind.
Thanks, K.
- March 13, 2009 at 8:24 AM
- Alexandra Garland said...
What a great poem! It's such fun to watch the kids discover the world. Loved it!!
- March 13, 2009 at 8:14 PM
- George said...
Thanks, Alex. When I see kids amazed by their discoveries it kind of gives ya that sense, that the world might actually going to be OK after all...
- March 13, 2009 at 8:33 PM
- Laura said...
My parents have a clock very similar to the one in your picture and bought each of their daughters one for a wedding present. I love mine.
Thank you for the lovely poem.
- March 15, 2009 at 9:26 AM
- Laura said...
Isn't amazing what become our childhood memories? Lovely Poem George!
- March 16, 2009 at 5:27 PM
- George said...
Laura, what a cool wedding gift, especially when kids start coming into the mix. As they start to develop their own memories of life and home.
Thanks for stopping by my humble cottage.
- March 18, 2009 at 7:25 AM
- George said...
Hi Laura, it's good to see your visit.
Sometimes all it takes is a sense of a brief smell, a fragmented sound or even catching something out the corner of your eye to spur a flood of those memories of childhood.
Thanks for your warm comment...
- March 18, 2009 at 7:43 AM
- Small City Scenes said...
Kennewick George. Interesting blog. MB
- March 21, 2009 at 2:26 PM
- Noelle said...
Hi George...I like this one! I remember my brother as a toddler, so obsessed with making the clock go cuckoo....and he used to say "etta cuckoo" (etta would be my sister, Heather)...and he was so right...ha!
- March 21, 2009 at 5:03 PM
- George said...
Hello S C S, It's great these days to see a new visitor, espasially from my old stomping grounds of the I-5 corridor.
Drop by again...
- March 21, 2009 at 5:23 PM
- George said...
Noelle, it's always a pleasure when you visit my corner of the world.
Great story about your brother and sister.
I hope all is well...
- March 21, 2009 at 5:31 PM
- Linda S. Socha said...
Hello George!
You have been tagged to share you 25 Influences at Psyche Connections...Look forward to seeing your post!
- April 2, 2009 at 1:13 AM


text:
After Twisted Angelina's first try at knitting she decided she should move on to a new department until she had further instruction. She pushed her way past all the boxes that engulfed Tami's office to assist in unpacking some new fun note pads. After Tami's finished her computer work they were ready for Joan to put out for all of you to see. From atop the pile of boxes Twisted Angelina was giving Tami encouragement to hurry up so the three very large boxes of new yarn could be put out as soon as possible. Tami will be up half the night getting all the yarns entered and Mikki and Joan will be busting it up and down the stairs so you all can have some new yarns to look at. Come in and see our progress.
This is Twisted Angelina's first attempt at making a mobius out of the new Malabrigo chunky yarn that just arrived. As you can see like some first time knitters she was not at all relaxed and had yarn tangled, needles thrown around, and some stitches that didn't really look like the instructors. With a little encouragement she as signed up for some of our upcoming classes that will be offered very soon. If you would like to take a class with TA be watching our web sight and news letters. We have some really great instructors with lots of knowledge to assist you in learning a new technique.
Here is the mobius I knit in one night of TV watching. There will be a class and I am sweet talking Twisted into getting her needles and yarn and give it one more try. Hope to see some of you there also.


text:
Since the All-Star Break is coming soon, it seemed appropriate to write something related to the two halves of a baseball season. Some teams like the Astros have had great first-half seasons, and other teams like the Phillies have had tough first halves. This raises the question:
What impact does mid-season success have on the team home attendance for the remainder of the season?
I would think there is a connection between success and attendance — teams with winning records in the playoff chase should have a rise in attendance, and teams with losing seasons should experience drops in attendance. We'll explore this question using Retrosheet game log data for the 2014 season.
I download the game logs for the 2014 season. I create a new variable
Half indicates the half of the season (I define the first half as games before July 1). Then I compute, for each team, the mean home attendance in the first half and the mean home attendance in the second half.
In the following graph, I plot the average home attendance against the percentage change
PERCENTAGE.CHANGE= (ATTENDANCE.2ND.HALF – ATTENDANCE.1ST.HALF) / ATTENDANCE.1ST.HALF. (I call this a mean-difference plot since this similar to the plot of this name popularized by John Tukey.)
Several interesting things we see from this graph:
- The big market teams (SFN, NYA, SLN, LAN) experienced little change in attendance from the first half to the second half.
- A couple of Texas teams (TEX and HOU) experienced 10% drops in attendance in the 2nd half.
- A number of small market teams (CLE, KCA, OAK, SEA) experienced big (over 10%) increases in attendance
To address our original question, we collect the number of wins and losses for each team in each half of the season. The next plot graphs the teams success in the first half (the difference between the number of wins and the number of losses on July 1) against the percentage change in attendance.
This is interesting. The two Texas teams had losing records at midseason which could explain the 10 percent drops in attendance. In contrast, practically all of the teams with winning records at midseason had gains in average attendance after midseason. (There are two exceptions, Atlanta and San Francisco who had slight drops in attendance despite a winning record on July 1.) Generally, there is a positive relationship between midseason success and attendance growth. Also, Major League Baseball should be happy to see the rise in attendance for most of the teams — it seems that the new wild card system has kept more fans interested in seeing their teams play.
If you'd like to reproduce these graphs on R, the code is available on my gist site.


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Walter Reed Army Medical Center
What It's About:
(From the Official Website): The Walter Reed Health Care System provides comprehensive health care for more than 150,000 soldiers, other service members, family members and retirees in the National Capital Area. Its hub is Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the clinical center of gravity of American military medicine.
How Henry Helps:
Henry visits Walter Reed several times a year and visits patients, many of whom have sustained massively debilitating injuries during tours of duty.
To Find Out More:
Visit the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Official Website
To find information on ways to support soldiers at home and abroad, or to make donations to Walter Reed, visit the support page.


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Red hot for Valentine's Day…Vibrant Mazzucchelli acetate, handmade sexy 'legs' with red stiletto temples. A conversation starter on or off!
BOLD & COLOURFUL, FACE A FACE'S STYLE HAS REAL CHARACTER, drawing its inspiration from the sources of Modern Art, architecture and contemporary design.
Face à Face frames are developed within the design studio directed by Pascal Jaulent resembling small subtle pieces of architecture, playing with volumes, shapes, material and textures.
The frames express themselves through a unique color range which is a true FACE A FACE trademark.
FACE A FACE eyewear will reveal your individual personality and underline the boldness, the modernity, the seduction of an independent, creative object of design.


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Givenchy Couture
Hat's Off to You
Parisian grayscale women meets 60s furniture, the hat's of Givenchy Couture could be said to be quite risqu
Riccardo Tisci, creative designer for Givenchy for 5 years now, has brought about the new style of hats that resemble Hussein Chalayan's style of construction, but also seem to resemble 1960s lampshades. I'm all for Couture being exaggerated fashion, and I realise it's not something that will realistically be worn outside of a red carpet or debutant ball, but would this really catch on? We never really assume for all weird styles to come up in Ready to Wear and high street, but is it really just a way of standing out? Personally, the clothes are gorgous, hypnotic and seem to be two different styles of collection in one, but I'm not sure about these hats. They seem to be a way of saying "I have something wild, wacky and crazy in my collection that's inspired by art, don't look at the clothes." Alexander McQueen for example had his latest high heeled shoes to accompany his Spring Summer 2010 ready to wear collection, but the clothing and styling was equally as weird. If you take these lampshade hats away from Givenchy couture, the collection wouldn't have the same affect; it would be a generally ordinary collection compared to other couture collections. It's difficult to stand out, especially against such designers like Dior, but as said in the previous post, although it's all extravagant and over the top, it's not dissimilar to previous collections. At this time when designers like Lacroix are struggling, they need to find a way to stand out from the rest. McQueen would be one that if he did a couture collection he would stand out just for being weird, out of the ordinary, and simply bringing something new to the table. Even his ready to wear collections stand out more than couture. It makes you wonder why designers who create couture, a seemly dying collection that is only sold to the elite, don't use their collections to create something more than just wearable. Perhaps this is why all of a sudden we have lampshade hats.
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Firuze French
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What do you think of when you think of North America? Palm trees and beaches? Muscle cars? Dusty roads? Think of them all as we took a journey across California to show the home country of REVGEAR sports… When you think of Revgear in Europe maybe to date the message has been all about the equipment, the fighters and the history Revgear have had in the sport but in the coming months we intend to show you the country and culture from where the worlds best fight brand comes….
Los Angeles is a city almost everyone knows from Hollywood and when you are there it is really apparent how important the "Movies" (English Translation FILM Industry) are in LA. Everyone is an aspiring star from the bars, the cafes and the restaurants to the beaches and the gyms. Everyone knows someone… Its that type of town but the attraction of Hollywood also has made it a city of diversity and contrasts. When Revgear started 20 years ago it set out to be a real martial artists brand and achieved that but in the midst of Tinsel town in many ways it became the solid hard working brand that so many worldwide avoided in favour of a little more limelight and often a little less honest quality.
In 2016 we will show the world the real people behind the brand who have help create and innovate whilst the style of the brand will take on its California Roots and show the world what it can be and where it came from. When you have the masters of the sport such as Chute Boxe Legend and Kings MMA owner Rafael Cordiero, American Muay Thai Boxing Pioneer Mark Dellagrotte, All American CSW MMA Hero Erik Paulson and over 2000 hard working USA martial arts gyms using the brand that really matter in the USA then maybe the rest of the world should take note…. Its here to stay.
In the next few weeks we will share our experiences and joy of meeting some of the great people who made this brand happen and who are continuing to innovate, create and grow. The two featured athletes Jeni & Henrick are typical of the honest martial artists who use this brand in their day to day training but when you mix them with the best coaches of their generation creating the legends of tomorrow ask yourself if you wish to be part of this?
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Hey everyone
Hope your all doing well. A special get well to our Jimmy. 😊 This is a strange question for you all. Have any of you ever seen a ghost? I do office cleaning at night by myself. I seemed to have had company, night before last. I happened to look out in the waiting area, and something darted across the room. I'm actually in that office now.Anyway I have had this
experience over the yrs. Numerous times.
Anyone of your guys ever see any?
Rubyxx 😊 😊