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Marlon Wayans ROASTS Kim Zolciak & Kandi And Kim Go At It AGAIN After The RHOA Reunion
I think it's safe to say that Marlon Wayans is NOT a fan of Kim Zolciak-Biermann. He posted this pic of her on Instagram early this morning with the caption "no we are not in production for White Chicks 2. [WTF]?!"
I can't believe Marlon Wayans had the cajones to actually post Kim's picture on HIS instagram just to make fun of her lips, but then again, I can! lol
Of course, Kim saw the pic (I'm sure her fans were tagging her in the comments) and she commented back "Was always a super big fan of yours and my kids loved you. This hurts but I guess it's all for laughs."
Personally, I don't know if it's for laughs or if it's a serious issue that Kim tries so hard to look like the women that she acts like she hates.
She acts like she hates Nene. But then she goes and tries to buy Nene's lips!
And she has been back and forth with Kandi ever since she stole Kandi's money for producing "Tardy For The Party". And they were still going at it last night.
Kandi commented on Instagram:
And Kim Zolciak replied:
I don't like how Kim is calling Kandi "sweetie" but anyway, Kandi didn't like how Kim was accusing her of having failed spinoff shows – so she had to pull up some facts for Miss Kim Z. She posted a picture of an article stating that her spinoff "Kandi's Wedding" premiered with higher ratings than any other RHOA spinoff.
And she captioned the pic:
Ok, So Wig apparently watches the show but doesn't keep up with the ratings. I see that she's posting fake news that I had 3 failed spin offs… Bish where? 🤔 I've had the Highest rated spin offs with my specials. I googled it for you just in case you need proof.
#NoCap #AllFacts
Kandi's Wedding debut 2.4 million viewers
Kandi's Ski Trip debut 1.457 million viewers
Xscape Still Kickin It debut 1.7 million viewers
All higher than Tardy's original debut of 1.3 million viewers… (& your recent seasons haven't debuted that high)
And for your info I only do multi-episode hour long specials because I'm too busy with filming at least 20 (or more) episodes a year of #RHOA & Holding a peach 🍑. What are you doing when you're done with your much shorter season of 30 minute episodes of Tardy? 🤔 Oh yeah, watching us! Thanks boo! No love lost! Keep being Tardy! 😘
OK!! So Kandi cleared that up!
Do y'all think it was out of line for Marlon Wayans to post Kim's picture on his Instagram like that? Or do you Kim deserves to be made fun of for how she treats the ladies on Real Housewives of Atlanta?


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Obtain a Dashing Derrière by Summer…
Tracy Anderson: Is the hot Hollywood trainer-of-choice. Anderson is a former dancer whose Pilates and aerobics-inspired workout has garnered fans like Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna. Anderson also offers personalized programs according to student's muscle structure. Two of her videos are highly recommend, but skip her dance DVD which is very difficult to follow even for seasoned dancers, and check out her awesome butt routine she sent Gwyneth for New Years: see video
Words from Tracy:
1) The biggest no-no is often the type of exercise people are doing. People don't understand how manipulative the muscles are. The type of exercise they choose greatly effects what they're going to physically look like.
2) Of course I believe in my method, which focuses on targeting the accessory muscles to pull in the large muscle groups and give you a tiny dancer body. I designed a machine called the "hybrid body reformer" – over 2,800 moves on the machine hit your muscles from all different angles and rotations. If you aren't able to come to my studio or do the cardio DVD, then the best advice I can give is to stay away from repetitive motions like running, lifting weights in conventional rotations, stair climbers, etc. A form of circuit training would be much better. I am a huge fan of cardio on the trampoline; it's more effective than running and is much better on your joints. Make a disk of your favorite songs for 40 minutes, get a mini-trampoline and jump like mad. Use your arms and dance on the trampoline. If you're a woman never lift over 3 pounds.
3) NEVER let yourself go. Working out is like brushing your teeth – you just do it. If you've let yourself go, you must start moving. Get really good at cardio; watch what you eat. Then, once you can do 40 minutes a day of cardio straight, you can eat what you want. While you are watching what you eat I, am a fan of milk or soymilk in the morning with berries. Chicken or turkey for lunch with cucumbers and tomatoes and grilled fish with brown rice and spinach for dinner for example. Then, you also need to deal with reengineering your muscular structure – some sit-ups with your legs out straight in front of you then lifting one foot at a time, lifting three-pound weights in many different ways. I love Grande Pliés in second position for your butt and legs.
Official Madonna Afterparty at TIL – Sat Oct 18th, 2008
This is London (TIL)
Madonna's DJ , DJ Enferno will be spinning. They have also confirmed that Madonna's dancers will be there to start the party off right and quickly! Get on the guestlist and bypass the cover/waiting in line. Get there early, because the guestlist ends at 11:30pm. A strict dress code is in effect.
Email to get on the guestlist here.
The Sticky and Sweet tour, follows Madonna's latest album entitled Hard Candy. She plays Toronto's Air Canada Centre on October 18. BEST BET: Go down to the Air Canada Centre 5 minutes after the show starts and buy tickets from desperate scalpers. Buying "Section: CFLR" for less than $325/ticket is a deal! The tickets are pretty much worthless to the scalper once she gets on stage anyway.
This is London is a 16,000 square foot venue divided between a main floor and a mezzanine. Set in a renovated warehouse in Toronto's Entertainment district. Its multilevel design features several bars, VIP lounges, a seasonal outside courtyard, a fabulous ladies SPA type washroom, and the ultra cool VIP "Room 364". On Saturdays it's a party spot that is definitely not for little kids.
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subset: commoncrawl


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All or Nothing – Living in Extremes
I heard you speak at a conference about a limited thinking and behaviour pattern, that from memory you called all/nothing thinking. Can you please share more about this and what to do if this is how I think? – D Woolf, Pretoria, South Africa
All or nothing thinking, also known as black and white and either/or thinking, is a cognitive behavioural style that is expressed in our thinking, speaking, feeling, choosing and acting. You may intentionally choose to use this style for different contexts and activities, or it could be an overused pattern outside your awareness that dominates your thinking and your life.
How would you know if this is a dominant pattern for you?
You delay starting projects, discussions, emails, documents, study, cleaning your house, mowing your lawn, having sex, etc; unless you can complete all of the activity in one go.
You may do nothing of a particular task until you either have to, or can get it all done. You feel the fatigue of "pulling all nighters" (or at least your staff does!). You often find yourself blocking out all other activities and distractions to fully immerse all of yourself in just one task, while other important issues and activities accumulate around you. All or nothing thinking is an inherent trait of procrastination.
You feel in conflict, flipping back and forth as you oscillate emotionally and energetically between extremes; feeling torn, conflicted and wretched. You experience massive highs and extreme lows. Perhaps you feel you are "dammed if you do or dammed if you don't". Either or thinking is the foundation of a "double bind" and an ingredient in mania, depression and schizophrenia.
You hear yourself or others arguing a point; you hear yourself keep on going and going and going some more, until you are satisfied that others fully, 100% agree or at least understand you. (I know you have never done this…) Maybe you have been told you are rigid in your thinking. Possibly you take all the variables another offers you, and proudly distill them into two clear, distinct and diametrically opposed categories, creating in your mind clarity out of all elements. You hear yourself state, "All of that may be true, but in reality you either do this or that…"
You have to abstain or avoid all together the sweet indulgences of life. If you open a packet of chips you will not be able to have just one or two. If you attempt to leave an opened packet of chocolate biscuits in your cupboard or ice cream in your freezer, you will finish off the whole packet before daybreak (I of course have never done this!) The same may be true about drinking, smoking, having sex, gambling etc. All or nothing thinking is a requirement for binge eating and drinking, addictions and compulsions.
Maybe you set yourself a goal, only to sabotage momentum and success. Jim had not been doing any physical activity for several years and resolved to himself that it was "time to get into shape". He identified what he believed to be his ideal strategy, concluding he would work-out six days of the week and give himself Sunday as a rest day.
With great anticipation and motivation, Jim declared he would start the next Monday morning. Monday arrived, something unexpected happened; Jim was unable to work out. Tuesday clocked around, and Jim thought to himself "well…there is no point in starting today, as I can only now work out five days and I will never achieve my goal unless I am working out six days". As a result, Jim did nothing in terms of his fitness for the next five days, only to promise himself, "Ill start again next Monday…" (Sound familiar?) All or nothing thinking inhibits progress and momentum.
Have you ever eaten something and had a bad feeling after, only to find subsequent times you consume that same food you get a bad reaction? Perhaps when you are around pollen or dust you start sneezing and your nose begins dripping. Maybe you get car or seasick. Perhaps you find you stutter or have involuntary movements in your arms and legs. Maybe you once got frightened by a mouse and now have a phobia about them. All or nothing can become so ingrained, it can become a neurological and biological response and can contribute to allergic reactions, phobias, stuttering, panic attacks, asthma, cancer, sexual dysfunctions, anorexia, bulimia, auto-immune disease, autism, etc.
Maybe you believe that you and your family and friends of your same religion, are the only ones who will go to heaven and everybody else will go to hell. Perhaps you believe all Muslims are terrorists or at least dangerous. You might believe that anybody who believes in God, but is not assigned to formal religion, must be into new age mysticism or a cult. All or nothing thinking is a key to fanaticism, idealism, racism, fundamentalism, elitism, and supremacy.
Perhaps your loved one does not respond to your phone call, email, or text message within 10 minutes; you conclude that he or she does not love you. Perhaps you find yourself trying to adhere to or accusing yourself and others of "right and wrong" behaviour. Maybe your partner notices the beauty in another man or woman and you accuse them of being unfaithful. Maybe you are on a fourth date with a man or woman who you have decided is pure perfection. You are starting to truly adore them, all of their mannerisms, their laugh and their way of being. But on this date, you find a fault and you never date them again. All or nothing contributes to criticism, judgment, ego separation, abuse, arguments and conflict in relationships.
Conceptually, all or nothing thinking creates artificial either/or dichotomies and polarities. When this pattern is in play, we are only able to see, hear, feel or think in terms of black and white. We are unable to perceive degrees or shades of black, white or grey (incremental and finer distinctions). Some every day examples include concepts such as: love/hate, good/bad, success/failure, rich/poor, light/dark, win/loose, us/them, etc.
When thinking in this way we are forced to make gross generalisations in order to fit all the stimulus data and input into only two categories. Using success/failure as an example; Gabby achieved 92% in her assignment, however because she did not achieve 100%, Gabby classified her 92% result as a failure.
Despite Gabby being in the Top 3% of the UK for this area of study and the significant recognition she gained from her Professors, family and friends, Gabby's all or nothing thinking generalised not only that she had "failed" her assignment, but that she was a failure in her entire life. All or nothing is a key factor in obsessional perfectionism.
Where does all or nothing patterning come from?
Black and white thinking is a natural and essential stage of our cognitive emotional development. Piaget defined this as the concrete stage of thinking; your ability to separate and distinguish large categories. Over time a child will begin to see, hear and feel, and think in finer and finer distinctions and eventually most will start to see grey and perceive a continuum.
If all or nothing is currently a dominant style where you have little or even no flexibility to think in continuums, perhaps you have experienced or perceived some form of trauma and/or illness that reverted your adult brain into sorting for safety and fight/flight in order to survive. Neurological patterning such as Autism, Aspergers, ADHD, etc, also will contribute to black and white and either/or thinking.
How do I get rid of all or nothing thinking?
That question, in and of itself, is an all or nothing question!
All or nothing thinking is not a bad or even un-useful thinking pattern. It is not something to eliminate, as there are certain contexts where black/white, all/nothing thinking is a critical ability to possess. Such as; dangerous or life threatening situations of safety and survival, for many functions in society, such as road rules, taxes, engineering, accounting, IT, science, etc.
In fact, somebody who does not have the ability to think in black/white terms, may have difficulty in actually making concrete choices and decisions, screening out distractions and following rules.
Problems can arise when we do not also have the flexibility to think in both/and terms AND in a continuum or with multi-dimensionality.
What are both/and, continuum thinking and multi-dimensionality?
Both and thinking, or what we might call simultaneous thinking, is simply being able to hold seeming oppositional polarities in mind, without resistance or conflict. For example, loving and hating, or maybe success and failure, simultaneously. Perhaps it is being able to keep multiple activities in your life at the same time; for example, starting a new relationship with a lover and continuing to participate in your other core relationships.
"The true mark of genius and intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at one time." F. Scott Fitzgerald
Some questions to explore when you experience ideas, activities, and options in polarity, may include:
How could both of these be true?
How could I experience both /and?
What would I need to believe, think or feel to be able to experience both?
If I rise above this seeming paradox, what is the higher or bigger perspective?
What choices and decisions would I need to make to experience both/and?
What would I need to accept to experience both/and?
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein
Continuum thinking is being able to see, hear, think or feel a scale and to perceive fine distinctions along such a scale. I have been using the metaphor of being able to discern different shades of grey, rather than only seeing black or white. Similarly, if you have ever heard somebody learning to play a piano, you have heard him or her practicing scales. As a student takes one note at a time, their hands will go up and down the piano as they attune their fingers and ears to these finer distinctions of each note and its sound.
The same is true for our emotional instrument. As we start to feel the differences we can discern a range of emotions. Instead of just being happy or sad, we can distinguish the range of emotions in between and beyond. We can also discern the range of a specific emotion. For example, you may scale your anger, from annoyance, frustration, mild anger, calm anger, passionate anger, aggression, to rage.
In planning, continuum thinking enables us to see a project, task or activity in incremental steps and stages, from start to middle all the way to successful completion. We will be able to see micro-steps as part of those stages, and smaller steps again. The degree to which you will be able to see steps and stages, will also depend upon the level of detail and specificity that you like and can achieve.
In developing new skills, capacities and talent, continuum thinking supports us to experience development as a process, not something that occurs in one massive leap. We do not move from incompetent to competent or from competency to mastery in a blink, or without having to go through essential stages. As we are able to see development and learning as process and then the steps and stages, it helps us to align realistic expectations, clarify our intentions for each specific step/stage and allows us to count, acknowledge and celebrate the stages. Without being able to see performance in degrees and a scale, you will have difficulty counting and validating your children, loved ones and team members. You will be ineffective at giving constructive and useful feedback.
As you think about the process you went through to learn to run, you know as a baby you first had to learn to roll over, sit up, pull yourself up, crawl, stand, walk – all before you could run. All of us had somebody nearby who celebrated each stage either by clapping, cheering or with simple words. Each time we heard this acknowledgement, our body took it as feedback that we were on the right track, and that we could move onto the next step or stage. Being able to know that a stage is achieved allows us to focus on the next stage, thereby developing momentum, achieving progress and moving towards success and fulfillment.
You may see a continuum thinker gesturing as they speak with their hands, as they mark out the steps and stages. They will use few generalisations, or extreme absolute statements, as those tend to come from black and white thinking.
You will hear them evaluate their success in degrees and percentages e.g. "I am 65% of my way there", perhaps "I am making progress", may be "I have made a start".
Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Continuum thinkers mostly feel like they have a balanced life, neither living in excess or limitation, nor in extremes unless intentionally embarking upon an adventure. They will be able to start a task or project well ahead of deadline and "chip away" at it till it is complete.
They will relish being present in a given moment, while simultaneously knowing other activities and facets of their life are a work in progress. They can freely enjoy an experience for the experience sake, without needing to categorise it and compare it or others.
Their physiology and health mostly flow, as they usually experience healthy levels of stress and tension, avoiding the stress that most people feel from pressure, conflict, fatigue and extremes we can be pushed to by all or nothing thinking.
Multi-dimensionality is being able to think simultaneously in multiple dimensions. "The principle of multi-dimensionality, maintains that the opposing tendencies not only co-exist and interact, but also form a complementary relationship". (Systems Thinking, Gharenjedaghi, 1999)
A multi-dimensional experiencer will find the interconnectedness of multiple systems. For example they do not dichotomise work and play, public personality and private personality, self and other, the planet and humans, etc. They will see each system and process in both its individual state and be able to see and experience its inter-connectedness and essential nature to each other and the whole.
For example, a multi-dimensional does not think of human life as just a body or a body and a mind. They think of the inter-relationship between mind, body, emotions, energy, and spirit, in relationship to the planet and the planet to the universe, etc. They will define themselves co-existing and interrelating from and through all dimensions of space, matter and time (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th etc).
With the ability to distinguish the complementary relationship of seemingly oppositional forces or tendencies, a multi-dimensional will experience a sense of relative harmony, acceptance and understanding, while an all or nothing thinker may categorise the same scenario as a breakthrough, revelation, or a disaster or crisis.
What are the steps to developing flexibility?
- Bring conscious awareness to your all or nothing, either/or thinking.
- Discover the contexts where you are most seduced to thinking and acting in these ways.
- Evaluate does this pattern serve you in this context? Does it give you maximum choice and internal freedom in this context?
- Begin the process of challenging yourself to think in both/and terms.
- Identify tasks, activities and development opportunities and break down into incremental steps.
- Count and recognise the smallest improvements of yourselves being able to see and use these distinctions.
At risk of trying to give you the ALL on all/nothing thinking, continuum thinking and multi-dimensionality, I am going to stop here!
The fastest way to develop this flexibility is to work with a person who has expertise in facilitating this type of development and is moving towards mastery in this area in themselves. Because this pattern is usually outside of conscious awareness, a skilled facilitator will quickly hear you and see you doing it and be able to interrupt your pattern and help you develop new choices in the way you think, feel, speak and act.
You can enjoy a sense of liberation and personal freedom!
End Note.
In Neuro-Semantic terms, All/Nothing Thinking Style – Continuum Thinking – Multi-Dimensionality is a Meta-Program; referred to as our Classification Scale. It is just one Meta-Program of more than 60 different Meta-Programs that have been identified thus far. To learn more about Meta-Program see Figuring Out People, Reading People Using Meta-Programs (Hall and Boddenhamer, 2005)


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Brass Colonial Candlesticks (Set of 2)
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The house was completely burnt down because the fire escalated so quickly before help was able to arrive. Their is no current answer to how the fire started, but Goodall mentioned that it is being investigated.
At this time, Goodall was not able to share information on the family affected by the fire, but they will not need additional shelter.
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If you are one of the many residents in Tennessee who has struggled with high revolving credit card debt, you know the level of stress that can cause. You might be afraid to get your mail or email or to answer your phone due to fears that creditors are trying to get you to pay your bills that you are unable to pay. If you are thinking about bankruptcy as an alternative to help you get out from under this mound of debt, you may be then concerned about if you could ever get credit again.
Massive debts prompt restaurant owners to seek Chapter 7
Most may assume that a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is something only individuals seek. The common assumption may then be that when businesses in Tennessee file for bankruptcy, they instead choose to file under Chapter 11. There may be logic in this line of thinking; after all, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a company to reorganize is management structure and present a new plan to its creditors that details its road back to success. Yet in those cases where a company's leadership may not have any plans to stay in business, then the potential of having some of the company's business debts discharged through a Chapter 7 filing might be more attractive.
What are the penalties for missed credit card payments?
The prevalence of consumer debt in America may prompt you to believe that you should avoid having credit cards altogether. Yet financial experts in Nashville do not typically discourage having credit cards (on the contrary, many actually recommend holding three or four for the credit benefits they offer alone). However, proper management is the key to enjoying the benefits that credit cards can provide. Yet there may come a time when funds are tight, and you may think that missing a monthly payment (with the intention of making it up the following month) is fine. This, however, prompts the question of what penalties a credit provider is allowed to assess for missed payments?
Financial problems? Perhaps bankruptcy is a possible solution
Any type of financial decision you make requires an informed thought process and careful discernment. Especially if you're considering filing for bankruptcy because things have gotten a bit out of hand. It is critical that you research what types of options are available and determine which seems most viable in your particular situation. Filing for bankruptcy is not the end of the world; in fact, many Tennessee residents have used it as a means to overcome serious financial problems and to lay the groundwork for restored financial stability in their future.
Revoking a discharge from a Chapter 7 case
A significant portion of Nashville residents may presume that bankruptcy laws are misused. This likely comes from stories of celebrities or other people who are perceived to be "well to do" filing for bankruptcy yet continuing to enjoy seemingly lavish lifestyles. The truth, however, is that several regulations are in place to keep people who might be trying to use a personal bankruptcy for uses other than what it has been intended from doing so.
Former governor's first lady files Chapter 13 bankruptcy
It might be easy for those in Nashville who are struggling with debt to think that the answer to their problems is to simply make more money. This no doubt comes from the perception that an abundance of income can easily overcome one's liabilities. Yet there are countless cases out there suggesting the contrary. People at all income levels may be subject to financial struggles, many of which are due to a plethora of circumstances. Some might be saddled with unexpected medical expenses; others might simply struggle in effectively managing their money. Then there are those who face a seemingly perfect storm of dire financial circumstances.
Bankruptcy court must approve your Chapter 13 repayment plan
Many people consider bankruptcy an intimidating process. You may also hold this idea, and while it certainly is a complex legal process to go through, you do not have to feel so intimidated that you choose not to consider it a debt relief option. If you earn a steady income and face substantial debt, you could qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.


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new shots. General form is almost over. Then the real work will start.
new shots. General form is almost over. Then the real work will start.
Very Nice Champ!
Very nice work but what plane are you modeling.
This has nothing to do with the modeling of the aircraft, I just don't recognize it.
I am sure when you tell me it will be one of these moments!
Sorry about that. Here is a little introduction:
"The T-6 Texan single-engine trainer aircraft entered production in 1937 after the United States Army Air Corps made an order for 180 aircraft and the British Royal Air Force for 400. The USAAC designated their aircraft as BC-1, while the RAF called theirs the Harvard I. The US Navy received 16 modified aircraft, which they designated SNJ-1, and then 61 more as SNJ-2. As the war began in Europe, a total of 1,173 were contracted to be given to the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force via Lend Lease; these were the AT-6 Harvard II variants with squared-off wingtips and straight-edged rudders. As the United States geared for war, the US Army Air Force received 1,549 AT-6A aircraft and the Navy 270 SNJ-3 aircraft, which were trainers equipped with the more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-1340-49 Wasp radial engines."
Radial Engine has been created and integrated to the cell. Propeller is added. Then we will "clean" it, create the cockpit, landing gear, animations etc... lots of work...but we are on the right tracks.
It's one of these
The RAF used them to train their fighter pilots in the run up to and during the Battle of Britain.
This one is housed at Rochester Airport where I occasionally have a poodle around in a Cessna. One day I'll fork out the cash to get an hour in that.
To have one in game to simulate the last days of training before deployment will be great
I second that! Now if we can get a steerman biplane trainer (sorry if I spelled that wrong) we'll be all set! Very exciting. Good work Champ!!
Thanks for the pictures and replies.
I knew I should have known what plane was being modeled.
I redid the Tail
Tonight after work I will work on cutting the cockpit and the stab after i have added a the Landing gear and a few other items
cut the cockpit and the tailfin.
Very nice Champ, its coming along.


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Of everyone heading to McCormick Place for the 2007 Chicago Auto Show the nation's largest Maserati fans are among the most enthusiastic.
Auto Show faithful on new-model hunt
At $110,000 to $130,000, with a waiting list of just a few months, its 2007 Quattroporte Automatic is more accessible than the Ferrari, at $200,000 and a two- to three-year wait, but still has the distinctive Italian sports car engine sound. (Both Ferrari and Maserati are owned by Fiat Group.)
This week, Chicagoans will get their first glimpse of the new Quattroporte, a sedan with Maserati's first six-speed automatic transmission. Barrington resident and Italian-car enthusiast Tim Roberts, 46, is eagerly anticipating seeing the new driving machine.
When did your interest in cars begin?
This is not a midlife crisis. I've loved cars since I was a little kid. I remember going to the Chicago Auto Show a long time ago. I walked up to the Ferrari booth and thought about how cool it would be to have one of them.
Is attending the show as an adult as much of a ritual as it was when you'd come in from Milwaukee as a kid?
For the last four or five years, upper management (at Catalyst Exhibits Inc., the Crystal Lake firm he founded) has gone to the First Look for Charity night. It is a tradition. We get so excited. I go back to being a little kid, getting to play with all the buttons. A group of us at the office started to go together because our wives didn't want to go.
How does your wife feel about your hobby?
She was fine with it until I flipped the Ferrari.
You flipped your Ferrari?
In July 2006 I took my first Ferrari (360) to the Ferrari Driving Clinic in Elkhart Lake (Wis.). I lost the brakes when we were going 160 mph; they overheated. We tried to slow down through a gravel pit, but we hit a 15-foot fence and flipped over it. The car was on top of me. The instructor was in the car, too.
We were bruised up pretty bad. The first thing I said when I saw John Weinberger, owner of Continental Auto Sports (the Hinsdale dealership where he buys his cars), was, "Does this move me up on the F430 list?"
Did it?
Yes. I got the F430 the Thursday before New Year's. I am very excited to be back in the saddle.
With a brand-new Ferrari F430, why the interest in the Maserati Quattroporte?
An automatic would be a different kind of driving experience. And I like to change up my car once a year.
Last summer I went to the Maserati and Ferrari factories in Italy. You can see how they are all hand-sewn, hand-attached, see the thickness of the stitching. That's the fun of Italian cars. They are very much like a fine suit.
|2007 Chicago Auto Show
McCormick Place, Lake Shore Drive at 23rd Street
(630) 424-6030; www.chicagoautoshow.com
Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Feb. 9-Feb. 17; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Feb. 18; First Look for Charity, 6:30-10:30 p.m. Feb. 8
Admission: $10 adults, $5 seniors and children 7 to 12, free children 6 and under; charity event is $200, and patrons can choose which charity receives ticket money
©2007 by Crain Communications Inc.


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New CMS Program Integrity Final Rule Is Here—Guideposts for Operationalizing the New Disclosure Requirements
Recorded On: 11/06/2019
- Registration Closed
Time: 2:00-3:30 PM Eastern (90 minutes)
Session Format: Live Webinar
CLE Credit Available: Yes
On September 5, 2019, CMS released a final rule with comment period called "Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Programs; Program Integrity Enhancements to the Provider Enrollment Process." Finalizing a proposed rule from 2016, CMS has imposed new enrollment disclosure requirements and created new avenues for denying or revoking enrollments across the range of providers and suppliers that participate in Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP. Beginning November 4, 2019, providers and suppliers will be required to disclose certain current or past "affiliations" with other providers and suppliers if those affiliated providers and suppliers have been subject to a "disclosable event." One key to understanding the impact of this final rule is understanding the broad scope of both "affiliation" and "disclosable events." Hospitals, SNFs, physicians, and other providers and suppliers will need to keep track of a new range of conduct among a new range of relationships. Failure to track and disclose these affiliations will be at one's peril, as CMS has authority to deny or revoke an enrollment if it determines that an affiliation presents "an undue risk of fraud, waste, or abuse" or if the provider or supplier failed to disclose the affiliation. The goals of this webinar will be to describe key concepts in the final rule and give those representing providers and suppliers guideposts for how to operationalize the new affiliation tracking that CMS has imposed. The webinar will focus on practical examples and takeaways.
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
- AHLA Member: $149
- Government, Academician, Public Interest, or Solo Practitioner AHLA Member: $99
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AHLA Member Listen with a Colleague Option (see "Listen with a Colleague" link on Overview tab): $99
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Content Lead:
- Regulation, Accreditation, and Payment Practice Group
The "Listen with a Colleague" option allows multiple registrants from the same organization and location to participate in the webinar at a discounted rate. It may ONLY be used if at least one person from your organization and location has registered at the regular/full webinar registration rate. Please note that those who register under the reduced "Listen with a Colleague" rate must access the webinar from the same location and computer as the full-priced registrant they are registered under.
The "Listen with a Colleague" option is continuing legal education (CLE) credit-eligible. In order to obtain a certificate of completion for submission to a state CLE accrediting body, those registered under this option must obtain the attendance verification code—which will be displayed at a random time during the webinar—and enter that code under "Verification Code for Live Webinar" section of the webinar description webpage. Please note that each registrant must submit a complete evaluation from their individual accounts to obtain a certificate of completion.
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Regionals 2019 Tillsonburg March 29 - 31, 2019
Western Region is proud to be using Score2Stats for our Year-End Regional Event.
A U7 Skills Event is part of the Friday Regional Events. This is an exciting opportunity for these beginning Ringette stars to enjoy on ice mentoring from some of Western Regions outstanding and successful players. For full details click on the link in the left hand menu
Qualified Minor Officials are never in abundance and those wishing may apply on the Regionals home page. There will be Shot Clocks for all U12 and above. If we do not have time keepers, score keepers and/or shot clock operators we will be requesting that the Teams provide from their fans. These hours will not count towards an associations volunteer requirements.
All round robin games may end in a tie, all medal games will play to a winner. Each team is required to be ready to go on the ice 10 minutes before scheduled start time and there will be only a 3 minute warm up period after the Zamboni leaves the ice.
Games can start 10 minutes early except for the first game of the day Your team must be ready to start the game 10 minutes before game time.
All final placing, determination of who goes on to medal games, and resolving of ties in round robin play standings will be done in the tournament office. These will not be conducted until all results required have been verified to the actual game sheets. It is a team's responsibility to find out if and where they play on Saturday - there are too many teams and divisions to allow the tournament organizers to call everyone. All Championship Placements will be posted on Score 2 Stats.
Western Region will have an executive member in each arena during the complete event to represent the region if problems arise but any major problems must be brought to the tournament offic for resolution.
The Ontario Ringette Fair Ice Policy is in effect for this tournament.
The Western Region Code of Conduct is in effect for this tournament with a no tolerance policy. Please remember that this tournament is for the enjoyment of all.
Tournament Check-In will before your first game but one volunteer from an organization can check-in for all teams. A Registration sheet for Regionals is posted be posted on this web page click on Assoc Registration Slips on the left side menu - Print it off fill it in with the requested information and bring it to registration:
The Prize Table will have once again fabulous gifts for everyone including a Loonie Stick and a Toonie stick. Tickets will be available at the Prize Table in Aptiva and you do not have to be present at the drawing to win. The draw will be conducted starting at 4 PM Friday afternoon.
Have a great tournament and may all your experiences be positive.


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Symphonic Band - CHSAA Festival
Friday, April 14th 2017
Cherokee Trail High School
25901 E. Arapahoe Rd.
Aurora, CO 80016
9:40 Go to Symphonic Band and get changed
9:55 Load Bus
10:00 Depart LHS
11:15 Warm Up
11:45 Perform/Clinic
12:15 Sight-Reading
12:45 Depart for Lakewood
1:30 Arrive Back at Lakewood/Eat Lunch (Bring a sack lunch this day)
2:00 Return to 8th Block
Students will be excused for 6th/7th block
Students need to bring a sack lunch this day
Tuesday, April 18th 2017
Colorado State University
University Center for the Arts
1400 Remington St.
Fort Collins, CO 80524
9:40 Meet in Band room and change/load buses (after Tiger Time)
10:15 Depart Lakewood
11:15 Lunch in Loveland (bring $ for lunch)
12:15 Depart Loveland For Fort Collins
12:50 Arrive at UCA and unload
1:15 Watch Skyline HS
1:45 Warm Up
2:15 Perform in Griffin Concert Hall
2:45 Clinic
3:15 Picture/Put Instruments Away
3:45 Watch Cherry Creek II
4:15 Watch Cherry Creek I
4:45 Depart Fort Collins (Snack on Bus)
6:30 Arrive back at LHS
Students - please bring $10 along with permission slip for the bus
Parents are welcome to come up to Fort Collins to watch the performance and the performance of the top concert bands in the state.
Our arrival time at Lakewood is dependent on traffic.
Congratulations Winter Guard
Congratulations to the Lakewood Winter Guard on a fantastic finish to their season! The Winter Guard performed at the RMCGA State Championships on Saturday, April 1st. The guard placed 4th in Finals Competition! Way to go ladies and gents!
We could not be more proud of this group of students who put everything they had in to their show, Everlasting Peace. They came a long way from the beginning of the season and showed tremendous growth as individuals and performers.


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In 2010, the Hockey Hall of Fame has decided to do something that could be a couple years in the making, but they will update their bylaws in order to consider women to become part of the Hall of Fame. Currently, the by-law states that only four players to be inducted per induction ceremony. However, with the new by-law change, four men and two women will be allowed to be inducted per induction; which will open things to the women's side of the game to finally be given the honor they deserve.
I have talked about this subject before when Cammi Granato got the nod for the US HHOF, and I still believe it's beyond the time for women to be inducted. The women's game, especially in the last decade, has taken off and the time is right for the HHOF to actually start up the bands for the pioneers of the modern game and those who have broken the barrier in years past to allow the pioneers to excel as they have.
However, the main concern I have is that after you get Granato, Hayley Wickenheiser, and a couple others who have excelled, there could be a stall in the voting that the by-law could be changed once again, which could screw the pooch for this whole ordeal. This could be a whole thing where the Hall knows it's time to induct women, but they don't want some to take the spot of a male player for one reason or another. Maybe once they get all the top names out there and appease the masses, they'll change it back to normal. That's the eternal pessimist in me, so pay me no mind.
The ol' boys club seems to be seeing the light on the issues that have changed hockey for the better for all involved. Now, if only they could get Dino Ciccarelli in the Hall and things would be on the up and up.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Hall Of An Idea
Posted by ScottyWazz at 9:15 PM
Labels: Cammi Granato, Hall of Fame, Women's Hockey
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It's rather incredible what a simple thing like DISTINCT can do the performance. Recently I was tasked with improving performance on a query. It was taking over an hour to complete. Running the plan and watching SQL Monitor it was easy to see that the plan was spending the vast major of time on a SORT UNIQUE step. It was sorting thru 1.4 Billion rows, so that is a lot of data to go thru. But the worse part was there was the same number of rows going into the SORT UNIQUE as coming out. Meaning, all the rows going in were already unique.
Looking at the columns in the select list, one column (an ID type field) was part of a primary key for a table was in the select list. The other column of the primary key was a numeric representation of a date, this second column of the primary key was not in the select list. The actual date was stored as a separate column. (Why they do this I have no idea, but there it is.) And this date column was in the select list along with the ID column. Because of this the ID and Date combination was unique. The optimizer didn't and couldn't know this because those two columns were not the primary key definition. Hence it had to do the UNIQUE step to find the unique values, which in this case was all entire set of rows. Why it didn't do a HASH UNIQUE I couldn't figure out, that likely would have been faster than the SORT UNIQUE.
But really the fastest way to do this was to not do it at all. It was completely unnecessary. Removing the unneeded DISTINCT chopped off an hour of processing time.
Once again proving the fastest way to do anything is to not do it at all.
What I hope you get out of this is, know your data. You will always know something the optimizer doesn't know. Use that knowledge to write a better query and help the optimizer make better choices.


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This List Has Expired


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Yesterday I was updating my iPod smart playlist "Dan's Favorites." It was time for an overhaul because while most of the songs on that playlist really do qualify as my favorites, I found I was skipping a lot of them when I would listen to the playlist, mostly because I wasn't in the mood for the song or I had just heard it too many times. I will also admit to wanting to put some new stuff on there to expose Anna to because I knew that we would be driving down to the horse barn last night. After I got done taking away and adding songs – the playlist perpetually hovers around 100 songs and everything on the it has 5 stars – I realized that I had yet another "same title, different song" pairing that I could put head to head in a blog post. This one's a little bit of a cheat, but it's close enough for my purposes and maybe, by the time we're through with these songs, we'll all be a little bit more prepared for Valentine's Day which is just around the corner.
The first contestant this go around is the 1975 Helen Reddy song "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady." This song is pretty much always on "Dan's Favorites." I've written a lot about Helen Reddy before and how listening to her Greatest Hits album on 8-track as a kid was pretty formative for me and my overall musical tastes. It's pretty classic 70s soft rock, with a predictable verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/verse/chorus. At just under 3 and a half minutes, it doesn't overstay its welcome either. I've always said that the fact that an 8 year-old version of me went around the house singing "I guess it was yourself you were involved with/I would have sworn it was me" says quite a bit about me although what exactly that is I have yet to ascertain. Proudly, I've caught my own child singing along to the chorus of this song, although I doubt it will end up reverberating with her as much as it did me.
The second song up for consideration is Bonnie Raitt's "No Way To Treat A Lady." I'll admit that my Bonnie Raitt knowledge is pretty much limited to her late 80s comeback Nick of Time and, especially the album Luck of the Draw. But somehow or another, "No Way To Treat A Lady" ended up in my iTunes and, perhaps because of the title's similarity to the Helen Reddy song, I started to give it more than a casual listen. Raitt's "No Way To Treat A Lady" feels like a 70s song, albeit in a much different way than the Reddy song, but it's actually from 1986! And written by Bryan Adams to boot. I don't know, I could hear this song on the radio with songs like Suzi Quatro's "Stumblin' In" but not so much with late 80s fare. Anyway, this song made "Dan's Favorites" yesterday and I'd forgotten just how much I enjoy it.
So does Helen Reddy or Bonnie Raitt have the better song for telling all of us guys what we're not supposed to do when dealing with the opposite sex? This is a photo finish for me, but it's probably Reddy by a nose, just because of longer exposure. Vote below in the poll or let me know in the comments what you think!


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12 holiday book marketing ideas for THIS season – and 6 for NEXT year
OK – it is admittedly late to BEGIN thinking about holiday book marketing for the current season, but there's still time to do some. Here are a few ideas to get you started. Please use them as a jumping-off point only; use your own SBM* creativity to do things that will work for your book in your market.
1. Offer a 12 Days of Christmas special. Surely you can come up with 12 freebies or specials to help promote your book. Offering one a day – via a drip e-mail campaign and/or your social media platforms – can help drum up interest in even a dated title, perhaps breathing new life into your book marketing. Free chapters are obvious. Character back stories, a map of your fictional location, a link to a song that captures the time/feel/message of your book, a video message, a recipe, and a quiz are just a few of the types of things you might offer.
2. Host a Holiday Giveaway of your book. Make it easy by using Rafflecopter so that you can embed the offer almost anywhere and easily track your participants and results.
3. Give away someone else's book! Build rapport with other authors by giving away a book or two that you know your readers will enjoy. Or offer a holiday-themed book. Let the authors know what you're doing so they can help you advertise the giveaway. Promote the giveaway, the winner, and the authors of the giveaway books with news releases to all parties' local media outlets.
4. Partner with another author or two to offer a holiday package. Book buyers love deals, so help them out by offering 3 or 4 books in a package deal. The great thing about this is that you will all promote the special on your websites/blogs. Just make sure you partner with people you trust. Then set a price you can all agree on and figure out how you'll do the money split.
5. Host a holiday contest related to your book, inviting your readers to incorporate their favorite holiday image, song, or concept into an essay, graphic, or video. Offer a bookstore gift card as the prize.
6. Create a holiday recipe book. Don't do the work yourself, though. Ask your readers to share their favorite holiday recipes, and then compile them into an eBook. Do a week-long promotion and give away the eBook to anyone who buys your book. Remember to thank your contributors by giving them a free copy of the recipe eBook.
7. Donate a portion of your proceeds to charity. If you don't already do this on a regular basis, the holidays are a great time for giving back. Offer a percentage of your proceeds for the holiday season to your favorite local charity. Be sure to issue a media release and alert the charity, as they'll likely want to help you spread the word!
8. Write or share a holiday story. This will be easier if your book is fiction, but even if it's nonfiction, craft a short holiday story around your characters or the theme of your book. Use it as your holiday greeting to your fans and readers.
9. Create a holiday tip sheet. This one will work best for nonfiction authors. Create a tip sheet tailoring it to your book's theme and the holidays.
- 9 holiday lawn decorating ideas.
- 10 ways to keep your kids safe for the holidays.
- 3 tips to alleviate stress when the in-laws are visiting.
Use it as a blog post, social media blast, or news release.
10. Offer to gift wrap books for people who buy from your site. Choose (or create, if you're really crafty) holiday wrapping paper that that corresponds to the theme of your book, along with an appropriate gift tag.
11. Make a "Christmas tree" from your book cover and use the image for your holiday cards.
12. Get festive with your email signature. Put a holiday greeting at the bottom of each email. Maybe plop a Santa hat atop your logo or include a line from your favorite Christmas carol. Remember to include a mention of the holiday special you're offering.
1. Partner with local retailers. While I see the value and purpose of Amazon, I am a HUGE proponent of shopping local. Local bookstores, bakeries, hardware stores, restaurants – where I can, I keep my business at home. Small local shops love to partner with local product providers. So get off the couch and get creative to find non-book stores in your area that would be a good fit for your book. Hit them up in the summer, when they're starting to think about holiday displays, but haven't committed to anyone else yet. Better still, suggest a signing or reading that will bring in more people to their venue – and then make sure you promote the event!
2. Be a front-of-store vendor. Many local bookstores allow vendors in front of their stores, particularly at the holiday season. Approach your favorite well in advance of the holiday season and secure your spot. Do a signing and other promotional giveaways to attract people to your display.
3. Host a holiday book signing at a local restaurant. Choose your favorite ethnic restaurant and ask them to serve your favorite holiday dish. Or serve eggnog or other holiday treats while you do a signing and reading for your local fans.
4. Remember that holiday story from above? Repurpose it by sending it to your (on- or offline) local community paper, your alumni magazine, and/or special interest publication about the topic or theme of your book.
5. Host a children's book drive at your local library. You don't have to be a children's/YA author to give back to the kids in your community. Challenge your friends, neighbors, colleagues, readers, clients, and customers to donate new books for your holiday book drive. Then rent a room at your favorite library or bookstore and invite the kids from a local shelter or nonprofit group to come choose a book for the holidays. If you can get someone to don a Santa outfit for you, all the better! This is the type of event that's worthy of a media coverage – so remember to write and send your news releases!
6. Offer your book to local bakeries or coffeehouses for inclusion in their holiday gift baskets. Put on your thinking cap around this one – it doesn't need to be a food establishment. If there's a business better suited to give away your book, why not approach them with the gift basket idea? It may be something they'd never considered – so you'll generate even more goodwill by helping them market their business for the holidays.
While pre-planning is definitely your friend when it comes to book marketing, once you learn to think like a marketer, you'll realize there are ALWAYS things you can do to keep your book in front of your audience. Wishing you a festive, happy, productive December and holiday season!
*Savvy Book Marketer
We welcome and encourage your thoughtful, courteous comments below.
Speaking of holiday specials, we're offering a special design package for the holidays: Bookmark, Postcard, Business Card, and One Sheet branded with your title and/or logo, all for just $499 (or 2 payments of $275). If you've been meaning to update your marketing materials or have a new title coming out for the first of the year, this opportunity is tailor-made for you! Offer expires 1/31/13. Visit Holiday Marketing Package for more details.


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We stand at the entrance to a great and wonderful mansion, with innumerable rooms of every size and configuration, and every room a repository of the riches of eternity. I remember a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. Calvin had a shovel and was digging in the yard. Hobbes came along to observe, and wanted to know if Calvin had found anything. An old can, some disgusting grubs, a rusting spoon . . . were the sorts of things Calving mentioned that he had found.
"On your first try?" Hobbes asked, amazed.
"There's treasure everywhere!" Calvin assured him. And in like manner I assure you that in these rooms in this book there's treasure everywhere! I will point out where I can some interesting sculptures of gold sometimes overlooked, some etchings of silver glittering in infrequently explored closets and hidden rooms, some fabulous jewelry that has often been noticed but perhaps not fully appreciated. Feel free, indeed, feel obligated, to wander off on your own. Take all the time you can. Move slowly through the chambers and closets and stairwells. Shine your light around and stop to examine what you see. Walk out on the balconies of the Helaman rooms and wander through the back hallways of the Alma wing. Investigate the sheds and the out-buildings of Ether. And when you find things of great value, ask the important questions: Why is this treasure here? How will it enrich me, my family, my ward.
It is no small thing to volunteer to guide believers through the halls and rooms of the most remarkable scriptural edifice ever constructed. But if you are willing to tag along once in a while, I am willing to try. Are you ready? Lets open the door. . . .
Find a Book of Mormon. Hold it. Riffle through some of the pages. Examine the type and the text. The book is real. It exists. This has become a great dilemma for our detractors and our enemies. Since the book is here, it must have come from somewhere. For 170 years a multitude of unbelievers has been trying to explain where exactly that was. Hugh Nibley spoke of this predicament. He said:
There are three possible explanations for the origin of the Book of Mormon. One is that it is a product of spontaneous generation. Another is that it came into existence in the way Joseph Smith said it did, by special messengers and gifts from God. The third is the hypothesis that Joseph Smith or some other party or parties simply made it all up. No experiments have ever been carried out for testing any of these theories. The first has not even been considered, the second has been dismissed with a contemptuous wave of the hand, and the third has been accepted without question or hesitation.And yet the third theory is quite as extravagant as the other two, demanding unlimited gullibility and the suspension of all critical judgment in any who would accept it. It is based on the simple proposition that since people have written books, somebody, namely Smith or a contemporary, wrote this one. But to make this thesis stick is to show not only that people have written big books, but that somebody has been able to produce a big book like this one. But no other such book exists. Where will you find another work remotely approaching the Book of Mormon in scope and daring? It appears suddenly out of nothing - not an accumulation of twenty-five years like the Koran, but a single staggering performance, bursting on a shocked and scandalized world like an explosion, the full-blown history of an ancient people, following them through all the trials, triumphs, and vicissitudes of a thousand years without a break, telling how a civilization originated, rose to momentary greatness, and passed away, giving due attention to every phase of civilized history in a densely compact and rapidly moving story that interweaves dozens of plots with an inexhaustible fertility of invention and an uncanny consistency that is never caught in a slip or contradiction. We respectfully solicit the name of any student or professor in the world who could come within ten thousand miles of such a performance. As a sheer tour-de-force there is nothing like it. The theory that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon simply will not stand examination. (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.7, Ch.6, pp.137, 138)
Look at the book again. The hand and power of God are behind it. The witness of the divinity of Christ is in it. The fullness of the gospel comes from it. Elder McConkie, in a remarkable sermon given at BYU on 18 August 1978, after expressing his love and reverential awe for the Bible, made the following five statements about this book:
Most of the doctrines of the gospel, as set forth in the Book of Mormon, far surpass their comparable recitation in the Bible.This Nephite record bears a plainer and purer witness of the divine Sonship of Christ and the salvation which comes in and through his holy name than do the old world scriptures.Men can get nearer to the Lord; can have more of conversion and conformity in their hearts; can have stronger testimonies; and can get a better understanding of the doctrines of salvation through the Book of Mormon than they can through the Bible.More people will flock to the gospel standard; more souls will be converted; more of scattered Israel will be gathered; and more people will migrate from one place to another because of the Book of Mormon than was or will be the case with the Bible.There will be more people saved in the kingdom of Godten thousand times overbecause of the Book of Mormon than there will be because of the Bible. (The Book of MormonIts Eternal Destiny, by Elder Bruce R. McConkie: Church Education Symposium, Brigham Young University, August 18, 1978)
Turn in your Book of Mormon to the Introduction and read the sixth paragraph: Joseph Smith wrote
I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.
I remember looking at the arches in the Roman ruins at Caesarea. They all had keystones - specially shaped stones at the top of the arch designed to hold the arch together and to keep it from collapsing. And those arches still standing had been there for 2000 years! The image is clear enough. What would happen to the Church and to your testimony of the Church if it were to be proved tomorrow, conclusively and incontrovertibly, that the Book of Mormon is a fraud?
President Benson said
. . . a keystone is the central stone in an arch, which holds all other stones in place things. Surely the Book of Mormon is a sacred thing, and yet if removed, the arch crumbles. . . . there are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of the religion of Latterday Saints. "It is the keystone in the witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony." (Ensign, Nov. 1986, p. 5)
Elder McConkie taught that
The Prophet's expression that "the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion" means precisely what it says. The keystone is the central stone in the top of the arch. If that stone is removed, then the arch crumbles, which, in effect, means that Mormonism socalled which actually is the gospel of Christ, restored anew in this day stands or falls with the truth or the falsity of the Book of Mormon. Thus our program and our purpose, as witnesses of the Lord in this day, ought to be to devise ways and means and to create inducements that will persuade those who are not of us to read the Book of Mormon and to read it according to the revealed pattern. (Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, April 1961, pp.38-39, emphasis added)
Turn to the Title Page of the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith told us in 1830 that . . . the titlepage of the Book of Mormon is a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the collection or book of plates, which contained the record which has been translated, the language of the whole running the same as all Hebrew writing in general; and that said titlepage is not by any means a modern composition, either of mine or of any other man who has lived or does live in this generation. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section One 183034, p.7)
Moroni told us in Mormon 8:5 that he would write the intent of the book if he had room on the plates or ore to make more plates, but he had neither. Clearly he found ore, however. For he later abridged the book of Ether and wrote the book of Moroni, and he wrote the intent of the book on the final gold leaf, on what we call the title page. The title page of the book suggests three great purposes for the Book of Mormon, and they can be summarized in three words: show, know, and convince.
SHOW: The book will show a remnant of the House of Israel - the Lamanites - the great things the Lord hath done for their fathers
KNOW: The book will help them know the covenants of the Lord, which assure them that they are not cast off forever
CONVINCE: The book will help convince the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.
If you are interested, other purposes of the book can be reviewed in D&C 10:62,63, Mormon 3:20, and D&C 20:13-15.
The three witnesses and the eight witnesses wrote testimonies that are cited in every copy of the Book of Mormon. They are both remarkable statements but they are very different. It might be worthwhile to consider for a moment why they had such different kinds of involvement with the plates.
How would people have responded if the only witness were the witness of the three? Theirs is a wonderful testimony founded exclusively in the supernatural.
• We know [the plates] have been translated by the gift and power of God
• His voice hath declared it unto us
• The engravings . . . have been shown unto us by the power of God
• An angel of God came down from Heaven
• The voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record.
These were men who claimed to have gone off into the woods to pray, and who said that they saw the plates and an angel and heard the voice of God saying that the translation was correct. An hallucination? Mass hypnosis? Perhaps a drunken reverie?
But what if the only testimony were the testimony of the eight who went one day with Joseph and saw and handled the plates as they lay on a stump. Their language is literal and temporal.
• Joseph Smith . . . has shown unto us the plates
• They have the appearance of gold
• We did handle [them] with our hands
• We saw the engravings
• All of which has the appearance of ancient work and curious workmanship
• We have seen and hefted
• We . . . know of a surety that said Smith has got the plates
Their testimony is so practical, so literal, so simple. Eight men in broad daylight saw and handled and examined the plates.
Taken together, these witnesses, and the witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith which follows theirs in the beginning of the Book of Mormon, are a powerful affirmation to every person who reads the book, now matter how spiritual or cynical he or she might be.
But there are other testimonies. Our literature is filled with the accounts of those who read and prayed and knew. Here are some examples: (the numbers in parentheses after each account below are from Susan Easton Black, ed., Stories from the Early Saints: Converted by the Book of Mormon)
Within a few days of obtaining a copy of the Book of Mormon, Sidney Rigdon knew, by direct revelation, that it was true. "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto me, but my Father which is in heaven" (p. 68). Luman Shurtliff " heard a sweet melodious voice" testify to the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith and the truth of the Book of Mormon (pp. 7172). Harrison Burgess testified that "a glorious personage clothed in white" came to him and showed him the plates from which the Book of Mormon had been translated (p. 27). Benjamin Brown found himself strongly rebuked by two of the Three Nephites for his lack of faith in the Book of Mormon, and then heard "the Spirit of the Lord" say to him, "Now, you know for yourself! You have seen and heard! If you now fall away, there is no forgiveness for you" (p. 31). The angel Moroni appeared to Oliver Granger and testified to him of the truthfulness of the book (p. 10).Such joy, however, was not always the immediate reaction of those who came to know the truth of the Book of Mormon. The case of Daniel Spencer, Jr., illustrates this well. In 1840, he was a highly successful businessman in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Then the missionaries arrived. He listened to their message and gave it serious consideration. One day, while his son was with him in his study, he suddenly burst into tears and cried out, "My God, the thing is true, and as an honest man I must embrace it; but it will cost me all I have got on earth." Nevertheless, he accepted baptism and moved to Nauvoo, where he eventually succeeded Joseph Smith as mayor of the city.
To all of this I add my witness, just as you will add yours. I know the Book is the work and the word of God. The witness of its divine origins came to me with overflowing love and burning power in 1965 as I sat reading 2 Nephi 4. It came again as a quiet, penetrating affirmation as I knelt alone late at night with the book in my hands. It came as a part of the most powerful experience I have ever had with the Spirit. Therefore, to the witness of Oliver and David and Martin and the others, I add my own. And I express my willingness to share that witness with anyone who will hold still long enough to listen.
The plates were buried for 1400 years. The labor of engraving and preserving was not performed for those whose lives and histories are given in the thousand years of history, nor for those who lived soon after. This book is for us. This reality is best expressed by Moroni, but it is alluded to throughout the book. Moroni said:
Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you. Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing. (Mormon 8:34,35)
The title page mentions this truth - that the book was written with us in mind: Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. Why write by the spirit of prophecy and revelation unless you are writing for the future? It was for this reason that the book was sealed up and hid up until the time that the work should come forth to those who needed it most.
Why do we have such a great need? For at least three reasons: (1) In a world that retreats from the concept of absolute truth, or religious truth of any kind, this book gives us a chance to know the truth of all things. (2) In a world turning away from a belief in the divinity of Christ, this book offers Another Testament of Jesus Christ - an independent, beautiful, inspiring witness of his divinity and atonement. (3) In a world with 5000 different religions and denominations, where even the meaning of the words of God in the Bible are misunderstood, this book teaches us how to conform to his will.
The Book of Mormon has power to change human nature. Joseph's promise that abiding by its precepts will bring us closer to God is a promise that has been repeated many times by other prophets.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball said of this book in 1963,
But after all, it is not the book's dramatic crises, its history, its narrative that are so important, but its power to transform men into Christlike beings worthy of exaltation. (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1963, p.6)I have felt that transforming power in my own life. I suspect that you have too.President Benson, who may have been the greatest advocate this book has had since Joseph Smith, said something very similar about the study of the Book of Mormon:The Book of Mormon will change your life. It will fortify you against the evils of our day. It will bring a spirituality into your life that no other book will. It will be the most important book you will read in preparation for a mission and for life. A young man who knows and loves the Book of Mormon, who has read it several times, who has an abiding testimony of its truthfulness, and who applies its teachings will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and will be a mighty tool in the hands of the Lord. (Ensign, May 1986 p. 43.)
President Hinckley said it this way:
Without reservation, I promise you solemnly that if each of you will observe this simple program, regardless of how many times you previously may have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your livesan added measure of the spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His command-ments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God. (Gordon B. Hinckley, Faith, the Essence of True Religion, p. 64)
Have you seen the Star War's movies? When the first of them appeared, I stole the name of a robot to use as an acronym to assist in studying the scriptures in a way that would enhance the power of the book to transform lives. The name was C3PO. I wrote it for my students like this:
C=Commitment - make a commitment about when and where and for how long you will study.
P=Prayer - Pray before you read and as you read. Heavenly Father, help me understand the messages that are meant for me. Help me know the truth of these things . . .
P=Pencil - Mark the scriptures as you read. Turn them into a treasure map so that you can return at appropriate times to review the things you have learned. Take notes and record insights in your journals.
P=Ponder - Take time to think about what you have read and to ask yourself some questions: Why is this account or story or verse or word in the book. Since the book contains only the hundredth part of what was available to Mormon, why did he include this? And what does it mean to me?
O=Obey - Do the things the scriptures and the Spirit teach you to do.
If you read this book of scripture regularly and in this way, with prayer and a pencil and pondering, and with a determination to do what you are taught to do, then the Book of Mormon will truly transform your life. Of that I am a witness.
As you study this book, a witness of its divinity will come into your hearts, again and again. This is a spectacular blessing, but it is not the destination of this journey. Knowing the book is true is important, but it is for all of that less important than what else we know when we know the book is true. For you see, if the Book of Mormon is true, then Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and Joseph Smith was his prophet, and the Church of Jesus Christ is restored again on the earth. If it is true, then we are accountable for the teachings and the doctrines and the instructions and the injunctions given in its pages. It is in a quest for those teachings and doctrines and instructions and injunctions that we come searching. They are the treasures that will show us the way to eternal life, and "he that hath eternal life is rich.
A NOTE FROM THE TEACHER: I want these lessons to be useful to you. I want, as much as possible, to meet your needs and expectations. Please feel free to contact me with concerns and suggestions and insights and inquiries. My email address is firstname.lastname@example.com. Have a great year!


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December 31, 2017
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December 25, 2017
- Link: March 17, 1944 Memorandum of the Latvian Central Council
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October 31, 2017
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April 9, 2017
- Link: They raise the world's happiest children - so is it time you went Dutch?
- Link: UNICEF Office of Research Innocenti Report Card 11: Child well-being in rich countries, A comparative overview
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March 24, 2017
- Link: Ģirts Eisters' Latvian Coins Site
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- Estonia–Latvia–Lithuania: Independence centennial to be celebrated with new commemoratives; have your say in design competition
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- What Lithuanians read - and what they want you to read about them
- The U.S. Shouldn't Fear Russia: America Is Vastly More Powerful
- Tillerson to skip April NATO meeting
- Latvia heads off Russian gas mischief with legislation on strategic companies
- Stolen Russian billions ended up in EU states
- Picture Album: View toward St. Paul's Church, in the Grīziņkalns section of Rīga
March 17, 2017
- Link: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania country studies
- Link: The "Volunteer SS Legion" in Latvia
- Link: 16 March Explained
- Russian Espionage Piggybacks on a Cybercriminal's Hacking
- Moldova: Russia Intimidating Officials Over Corruption Probe
- Gazprom Makes Concessions in E.U. Gas Deal, but Trouble Looms for Russian Giant
- WEF: Estonia is Europe's most entrepreneurial country
- Four thousand ethnic Russians in Estonia now consider Estonian their native language
- ON TARGET: Nazis and Canada's Latvian love-in
- Support for March 16 falling
- Artists in Our Town—Larisa Aukon, Latvian Artist
- She's a real life Rapunzel!
- Lithuanian parliament moves to impeach MP over Russian ties
- Conspiracy Theorist Mike Cernovich's Documentary on Sweden Contains Footage from Lithuania
- Lithuanian Dairy Company Sends Trial Products to Chinese Market
- Picture Album: A bucketful of colorful Latvian mushrooms
March 10, 2017
- Link: 1985 Song Festival, remembering Gido Kokars
- Moscow Advises US Troops to Commemorate Allies Who Died Fighting Nazis
- In a giant plane, America sends a message
- State Language Center Launches Inquiry into Suspended Ventpils Mayor Lembergs
- Accenture opens innovation studio in Latvia
- Police in Latvia, Germany and Great Britain raid homes and offices linked to a gang of suspected cyberthieves
- Picture Album: An overcast day along Old Riga's cobbled streets
March 3, 2017
- Link: Angel Falls on YouTube
- Baltic news agencies unexpectedly cease co-operation with Sputnik
- Lithuania convicts ex-air force captain of spying for Russia
- US challenges Kremlin with new Russian TV channel
- Graube will head patriotic fund "Namejs"
- Masks and snowy streets herald pre-spring rite in Latvia
- Latvia first to ratify Canada-EU trade deal
- Latvian Love Injected: Top 10 entries
- Picture Album: Away from Rīga's historic center
February 24, 2017
- Link: Estonian Institute
- British soldiers given guide to strip clubs while taking part in NATO training exercise in Estonia
- Latvia earned EUR 8.5 mln from Estonians' alcohol purchases
- The penalty imposed on Ušakovs for tweeting in Russian and English is upheld
- A Latvian woman describes how she has already been living on public assistance for 15 years; working is not convenient
- Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis visits Germany
- Picture Album: Soviet generals über ales
February 17, 2017
- Link: The Old Prussians: The Lost Relatives of Latvians and Lithuanians
- Link: An uncensored look behind the Iron Curtain: Long-lost images of Stalinist Russia snapped by a U.S. diplomat
- Putin planning to send 100K troops to Baltic border for drills?
- Britain begins deporting immigrants who have no registered residence or job
- Belarus introduces visa-free travel for 80 countries
- Programmer Days Commence in Latvia [IN LATVIAN]
- Quadrilateral meeting of prime ministers of Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia to be held in spring
- Tax burden in Latvia the heaviest in Baltics - Swedbank Institute of Finances
- Visitor number at tourist accommodation establishments in Latvia up by 1 million
- Latvia won't surrender to threats
- Cory Booker calls Putin cause of global terror, slams Trump for 'cozying up' to him
- Picture Album: Jugendstil artistry in Old Rīga, a male figure
February 10, 2017
- Link: Chris Nunn immerses himself in the turbulent regions of Ukraine
- Link: Remembering Estonian Choral Composer Veljo Tormis
- Link: International Security and Estonia, 2017
- U.S. Abrams tank to participate in Estonia's Independence Day parade
- Fence stretching 23-km already up on Latvia-Russia border
- Latvia Factory Output Rises
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- The recipe for success in the Estonian basic education system
- Radio Free Europe, Voice of America launch new Russian-language TV channel
- Picture Album: Arriving home on a cold December day.
February 3, 2017
- Link: Latvia's Hidden Viking Heritage: the Lost City of Seeburg
- The thaw in US relations with Russia offers a chance to fight terror together
- Telephone conversation with President of the United States Donald Trump
- 2017 Pickle Festival logo revealed
- Gazprom becomes shareholder of 34.1% in new Latvian gas operator
- The Trump Administration's Curious Reaction to Renewed Fighting in Ukraine
- Baltic PMs in Tallinn ink agreement, give go-ahead to Rail Baltica project
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- Picture Album: Umbrellas in Herder Square passing by Soviet era decay on a rainy October day.
January 27, 2017
- Link: Latvian mythology and pagan beliefs
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- Beware of Fake News: Europe's Eastern Front Warns West
- 'Droneboarding' Adds to Winter Fun in Latvia
- Trump Says It's 'Very Early' To Discuss Lifting Russia Sanctions
- Latvian minister of foreign affairs calls [for] abolishing visas for Ukrainians this year
- Picture Album: Snowmen in the park.
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Published on March 26th, 2017 | by pipros0
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Paddock Days - Part 3 - Race day
This series of articles was originally published at: http://www.realclassic.co.uk/
Part 1 can be found here: https://oldandireland.blogspot.com/2018/11/paddock-days-part-1-getting-mobile-on.html
Part 2 can be found here: https://oldandireland.blogspot.com/2018/11/paddock-days-part-2-practical-jokes-and.html
In my early days knocking around the Paddock there were still a few of the more occasional residents that I knew only vaguely. Their bikes however were well known and a constant source of interest. And it wasn't just me, with meticulous nightly inspections being carried out by wandering groups or interested individuals either with or without the owners' presence. Walking the line of parked bikes was always something of a ritual.
Part 1 can be found here: https://oldandireland.blogspot.com/2018/11/paddock-days-part-1-getting-mobile-on.html
Part 2 can be found here: https://oldandireland.blogspot.com/2018/11/paddock-days-part-2-practical-jokes-and.html
In my early days knocking around the Paddock there were still a few of the more occasional residents that I knew only vaguely. Their bikes however were well known and a constant source of interest. And it wasn't just me, with meticulous nightly inspections being carried out by wandering groups or interested individuals either with or without the owners' presence. Walking the line of parked bikes was always something of a ritual.
Amongst a row of fairly standard and well known bikes the exceptions stood out. A yet to be repaired scuff from meeting the tarmac, often told of recent events long before the owner had a chance to put a spin on his folly, while something unknown pointed to new faces or a change of wheels. Either would be good for a bike swap and a blast, a simple ten minutes of road time that could cement friendships for life. Then there were the specials. A set of expansion pipes, rear sets or dropped bars, usually part of a work in progress as funding allowed, provided hours of discussion on the relative merits of what should be done next and what performance improvements could be extracted from a particular model. Few bikes stayed standard for long, but despite the best efforts of many, no bike came close to the ascetic perfection and immaculate preparation achieved by Rust. Although always second hand, his bikes were never seen in less than perfect condition, and while many of the rest of us ran scrappers that were continually in need of mechanical tinkering, the reliability and performance of his bikes was absolutely never in doubt.
Now at that time he was running a Kawasaki triple, and it was resplendent, both its frame and its bodywork, in a coat of red paint even deeper, and more lustrous than his own well cared for locks. The alloy and chrome sparkled whether lit by sun or street light, and along the smooth, flowing lines of the tank the maker's name, Kawasaki, was sign written in huge chop stick script. This bike stood out, attracting onlookers like moths to its red flame wherever it was parked. Beyond its impressive visual presence, I never did get to know what modifications lay inside.
It was early in the year and as evening drew in, the town was becoming quiet. During those troubled days in Northern Ireland, when the shops shut in the evening not many people hung around: most seeming to prefer the comfort and safety of their own homes. Add to this a spring night not yet with the true warmth of summer, and even here in the supposedly safe commuter belt outside Belfast the streets were largely abandoned to us, the dislocated youth.
Our number that evening was boosted by the last distant stragglers from a Kirkistown race meeting who after tea time fish and chips, were milling around the Paddock checking out the bikes before they headed home. Of course, they could not fail to stop at Rust's, and I noticed fingers pointing out various bits and pieces on it. They were one and all mounted on Yamaha's; and since brand loyalties ran deep not everything that was said was guaranteed to be complimentary. As dusk progressed a few of our own got involved with the visitors but before long their discussion escalated. Soon it wasn't just Kawasaki's prowess but our own territorial honour that had to be defended. It was at this point that Rust was called in.
The easy going Rust broke off from his own conversation with a sigh and ambled over, no rush, not a care in the world. At first he just listened, lightening the mood of the critics with an occasional smile or laugh at their comments but nothing much more than yes or no answers escaped him. Despite this the two camps were becoming polarised behind their chosen spokesmen. Still Rust said little and remained at ease with the world, silencing occasional supportive interruptions from behind him with a raised hand. I couldn't tell whether he was just not taking the things seriously or if perhaps he had the whole situation under control. At last he spoke.
"There's only one way to settle this you know?"
"aaAlright", spluttered the visitor, taken aback.
"So you'll race? You can choose the route." Replied Rust nonchalantly.
The visitor backtracked. "But you know the roads, you'll have an advantage."
Rust smiled, looking up towards Fred Blair, (he of Yellow Submarine fame and a long standing friend of Rust's since their schooldays). "We could even things up, I'll take a pillion?" Fred didn't look happy, but neither did he flinch.
I'm sure that this testosterone fuelled rivalry has been going on since people first learned to ride horses, and while there was no juke box here for timing, the coffee bar racers from a decade or two before would easily have recognised the scene. The visitor could not help but rise to the bait and Rust appeared happy to play the line, confident of his own ability to reel his opponent in. His adversary could not reasonably refuse the challenge.
Routes were discussed with some exasperation on our part, as the visitors indeed did not know all the suggested roads. There was mention too of tax books but nothing came of it; the race was to be for honour alone. Eventually a simple course was agreed, following the shore road out of town through the Ballyholme suburbs until it met the town's ring road. The bikes were then to blast a fast section on this dual carriageway before turning right, following the road directly back into town, a total of around 5 miles. Representatives from both sides were sent off to appropriate corners to ensure compliance and fairness.
As we waited a few minutes for the marshals to get into position, the tension was rising. As usual word had made it to a few nearby watering holes where drinks had been abandoned and a small audience was scrambling to get a ringside seat. Engines were being warmed as in one corner the visitors discussed tactics, while in another our two heroes talked quietly, already saddled for the off. On the hour the bikes lined up at the end of the Paddock, the two pilots exchanged glances and suddenly the starters arm dropped. Revs ricocheted off the walls as the bikes surged forward. There was a brief jostle for position as each rider tried to get the best line around the first corner at the old customs house. The Yamaha slipped ahead, and then they were gone from sight. As their two stroke mist dissipated in the Paddock we listened to the rapidly departing engines; trying hard to work out positions and to will Rust on. Then with distance, came silence. Those left behind in the Paddock were momentarily silent too, listening hard for a last hint of what might be happening out there.
My own thoughts had turned to an incident from my childhood when my family lived along the road the racers had just taken. On weekends the sound of bikes or cars travelling much too quickly past our home was far from unknown. The road was cut into a steep slope, with the houses set above this, raised above the tarmac on a bank protected by a stout Victorian stone wall. On one of these weekends my mother who was a nurse had been called out to help with a bike accident, her skills keeping that rider alive until the ambulance came for him. Months later he had returned to thank her, providing an entertainment of appalling revulsion and avid fascination for us children by demonstrating the plate that had been set into his skull. For some strange reason after that, my mother had never wanted either my brother or I to get bikes. I gave quiet thanks for the helmet law we lived with, hoping too that those involved in the current hedonism would made it round in one piece.
In the Paddock the few minutes of waiting seemed endless. Some small groups paced back and forward endlessly while others had moved over to the end of the street where the bikes would reappear. Only a few lowered voices threatened the silence as everyone strained again to hear the first hint of the returning bikes. Somewhere in the distance there was a brief and very faint rise of engine note as the bikes crested a far off hill, then another short moment of quiet.
Suddenly the screaming engines were heard again as they raced down High Street towards us. The noise was confused; no single bike was clearly discernable. Things must be close, and with headlights showing first it was difficult to make out for certain who the leader was. The atmosphere was instantly tense, expectant. Then a cheer rose from the group watching at the end of high Street as a bright red bike slowed, checked in case of traffic, then accelerated again to cross the white road marking at end of our domain. Rust's Kawasaki was immediately surrounded while a second or so later a more dejected looking Yamaha pulled in.
The marshals too were not far behind, having left their posts to follow as soon as the two bikes had passed. Even from where I stood it was easy to make out that the rider of the lone Yamaha sitting at the Paddock entrance was not best pleased. As a few brave souls walked over to console him he nodded them towards their bikes, signalling his wish to be away. They uniformly complied. Only at the last moment before their departure did he nudge his bike through the crowd around Red and pass a few words to him from within his helmet. Their subdued group then rode off for home.
Meanwhile back slaps and congratulations were still the order of the day for Red. When, eventually, there was space for them to dismount, I noticed Fred looked a little pale. His hands were visibly shaking as he pulled off his thin gloves. It can't have been an easy trip for him on pillion, and it is certainly not a position that I would have considered filling. Then at second glance, I noticed that he had been hanging on to the back of the back of Red's bike so tightly that the inside of his fingers were bleeding. As I say, there were two heroes in this particular race.


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I'm sure you've heard about the 52-week challenge. I attempted to do it last year but I failed. I tried doing it with the 50 Php increment last year. So this year, I am going to do this again, perhaps with a more realistic amount.
The concept is pretty easy. You get a container, a box or a tin can or whatever. Decide which base amount you want to start with - it can be 10, 20, 50 or 100. On the first week you set aside that base amount and then add the same amount weekly. Very easy yet the key thing there is consistency. This year I am going to start with Php 20 and hopefully I will have Php 27560 by the end of the year.
So, are you also up for the challenge?