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Listen to the Podcast by Dr. Flowers on Servertus HERE!
Back when I proudly wore the label "Calvinist" I honestly knew very little about the French Reformer named, John Calvin, or his actual writings. This label was simply a short-hand explanation of my soteriological views. When non-Calvinists would bring up Michael Servetus, a man killed under Calvin's rule in Geneva for disagreement over doctrinal matters, I would simply dismiss them as avoiding the biblical arguments in favor of ad hominem attacks on an old dead theologian who had little to do with the actual doctrines.
I suspect that is where many modern day Calvinists are on this issue. They could take or leave the label "Calvinist," and might even prefer to leave it in favor of labels like "Reformed," or affirmers of "TULIP," or "Sovereign Election," or "Doctrines of Grace." Typically, Calvinists see the personal arguments about John Calvin's harsh treatment of dissenters as a distraction from the biblical doctrines that matter to them.
Honestly, Calvinists have a valid point here. If the non-Calvinist is not willing to fully examine the biblical doctrines of soteriology as proposed by the Calvinist, they really have no ground to question the name-sake of the systematic. Proof that John Calvin treated dissenters in a sinful manner does not prove that Calvinism's soteriology is wrong.
(And yes, it is a documented fact that John Calvin did believe torturing and killing those who held to false doctrines was justified. See THIS LINK for documentation)
However, if a Calvinist does step into the arena of defending John Calvin's actions, then the non-Calvinist has every right to bring the full weight of these charges for consideration. For instance, I have seen many Calvinistic scholars argue that John Calvin "lived in a different time" and we need to understand that "he was a man of his day" because "this type of harsh treatment was the more common belief and practice of Christians in the 16th century."
Actually, it was specifically the more common belief and practice of Calvinistic reformers of the 16th century, not all Christian reformers in general. In other words, the harsh treatment of those who disagree was more commonly seen among those who affirmed a TULIP systematic.
Balthazar Hubmaier and most of the Anabaptist believers of the Reformation era taught that even atheists (and especially Christians with differing doctrinal beliefs) should be shown grace because that is what God has shown us.
Plus, to argue this was just the way things were ignores those who stood in opposition to Calvin. For instance, we learn from the link cited above:
* Between 1542-1564, there were 76 banishments. The total population of Geneva then was 20,000.
* Calvin's own step-daughter and son-in-law were among those condemned for adultery and executed.
* In Geneva, there was little distinction between religion and morality. The existing records of the Council for this period reveal a high percentage of illegitimate children, abandoned infants, forced marriages, and sentences of death.
* In one case, a child was beheaded for striking his parents. (Following Old Testament Mosaic law, Calvin believed it was scriptural to execute rebellious children and those who commit adultery.)
* During a period of 17 years when Calvin was leading Geneva, there were 139 recorded executions in the city.
Sabastian Castellio, a friend of Calvin's who urged him to repent of his intolerance, made the shocking remark,
"If Christ himself came to Geneva, he would be crucified. For Geneva is not a place of Christian liberty. It is ruled by a new pope [John Calvin], but one who burns men alive while the pope at Rome strangles them first."
Castellio also made this remark:
"Can we imagine Christ ordering a man to be burned alive for advocating adult baptism? The Mosaic laws calling for the death of a heretic were superceded by the law of Christ, which superceded by the law of Christ, which is one of mercy not of despotism and terror."
Zwingli, Luther and Calvin followed the tyrannical practices of the corrupt Catholic church by promoting the use of state sponsored torture and capital punishment against those who disagreed theologically. Could their soteriological doctrines have been an influence on their view of how Christians are to demonstrate grace and patience toward their enemies?
This is a valid question considering the common charge against Calvinists for their harsh treatment of others even in modern times. John Piper, one of the leading proponents of Calvinism today, even acknowledged this trend when he was asked the question, "Why are Calvinists so negative?"
I love the doctrines of grace with all my heart, and I think they are pride-shattering, humbling, and love-producing doctrines. But I think there is an attractiveness about them to some people, in large matter, because of their intellectual rigor. They are powerfully coherent doctrines, and certain kinds of minds are drawn to that. And those kinds of minds tend to be argumentative.
So the intellectual appeal of the system of Calvinism draws a certain kind of intellectual person, and that type of person doesn't tend to be the most warm, fuzzy, and tender. Therefore this type of person has a greater danger of being hostile, gruff, abrupt, insensitive or intellectualistic.
I'll just confess that. It's a sad and terrible thing that that's the case. Some of this type aren't even Christians, I think. You can embrace a system of theology and not even be born again. <link>
Could the soteriological belief that God chooses to effectually save some and reprobate the rest from before the foundation of the world affect how you treat others? If you sincerely believe God loves all of His enemies and genuinely desires for everyone of them to come to repentance, wouldn't you be more likely to show patience and grace to all of your own enemies? That certainly seems to be a very reasonable conclusion.
Moreover, does denying the concept of libertarian free will affect one's treatment of others? There are secular studies which indicate that affirming free will does have a positive effect on how we respond to other people.
In 2008, researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of British Columbia conducted experiments highlighting the relationship between a belief in determinism and immoral behavior. They found students who were exposed to deterministic literature prior to taking a test were more likely to cheat on the test than students who were not exposed to literature advocating determinism. The researchers concluded those who deny free will are more inclined to believe their efforts to act morally are futile and are, therefore, less likely to do so.
In addition, a study conducted by researchers from Florida State University and the University of Kentucky found participants who were exposed to deterministic literature were more likely to act aggressively and less likely to be helpful toward others." Even determinist Michael Gazzaniga conceded: "It seems that not only do we believe we control our actions, but it is good for everyone to believe it."" The existence of free will is a common characteristic of our experience, and when we deny we have this sort of free agency, there are detrimental consequences. <link>
Calvinistic scholar and Southern Seminary President, Dr. Albert Mohler, actually addressed this trend in his podcast called, "The Briefing." <link> In Mohler's argument against naturalistic determinism he states:
The subversion of moral responsibility is one of the most significant developments of recent decades. Though this subversion was originally philosophical, more recent efforts have been based in biology and psychology. Various theorists have argued that our decisions and actions are determined by genetics, environmental factors, or other forces. Now, Scientific American is out with a report on a study linking determinism and moral responsibility.
The diverse theories of determinism propose that our choices and decisions are not an exercise of the will, but simply the inevitable outcome of factors outside our control. As Scientific American explains, determinists argue that "everything that happens is determined by what happened before — our actions are inevitable consequences of the events leading up to the action."
In other words, free will doesn't exist. Used in this sense, free will means the exercise of authentic moral choice and agency. We choose to take one action rather than the other, and must then take responsibility for that choice.
This link between moral choice and moral responsibility is virtually instinctive to humans. As a matter of fact, it is basic to our understanding of what it means to be human. We hold each other responsible for actions and choices. But if all of our choices are illusory — and everything is merely the "inevitable consequence" of something beyond our control, moral responsibility is an exercise in delusion.
Scientific American reports on a study performed by psychologists Kathleen Vohs and Jonathan Schooler. The psychologists found that individuals who were told that their moral choices were determined, rather than free, were also more likely to cheat on an experimental examination.
How Molher avoids the same charge against the theistic determinism of Calvinistic Compatibilism is beyond me. After all, the "inevitable consequence of something beyond our control" which leads to the "delusion of moral responsibility" is the same problem for the theistic determinist as it would be for the naturalistic determinists when it comes to the practical implications of how one behaves. Whether one believes those choices are determined by "mother nature" or an actual divine being would not change their inevitability and the resulting delusion of individual responsibility for those choices.
Soteriology Affects Behavior
The argument is that one's soteriology does in fact impact one's behavior. Therefore, pointing out the bad behavior of those who held to certain soteriological perspectives historicially as evidence that the perspective itself has not typically resulted in healthy behavior toward others, is a valid argument.
As Mohler himself concluded when rebutting naturalistic determinism, "If we are not responsible for our actions, then why would people do the right thing? The most immediate result of such thinking is the subversion of moral accountability."
Likewise, if the reprobate of the Calvinistic worldview is not responsible for his rejection of Christ, in that the choice was inevitably determined by someone other than the moral agent making the choice, then the most immediate result of such thinking is the subversion of the moral accountability in their rejecting of Christ.
Moreover, if John Calvin is not responsible for his actions toward dissenters, meaning he could not have done other than what he did, then why would his followers do the right thing except that God determines it? The moral accountability of Calvin is brought into question due to the same inevitability on compatibilistic determinism as would be on naturalistic determinism, with one exception: On Calvinism, John Calvin's mistreatment of others was God's determination, not mother nature's.
How different would the test results be between the naturalistic determinist and the theistic determinist given both affirm the inevitability of human choices as being determined by someone/something other than the free moral agent? How does one do any more or less harm to the concept of moral accountability?
We are Compatibilists not Theistic Fatalists!
It's interesting to me that when a Calvinist seeks to defend against the charge of being a "Theistic Fatalist" he often argues "God not only ordains the end; but also the means" as if that is a point the Theistic Fatalist would in anyway deny. <link>
That argument does not avoid the charge of Theistic Fatalism, but in fact affirms it. For what is Theistic Fatalism if not God's determination of not only the ends but every single desire, thought and action (i.e. "means") that bring about those ends?
What do the Calvinists think this qualification is accomplishing in their effort to distinguish themselves from the Theistic Fatalist? The belief that God unchangeably causes every meticulous detail of both the ends and their given means is at the very heart of Theistic Fatalism.
Are there Theistic Fatalists out there arguing, "God doesn't determine the means," while the Calvinists are going around correcting them saying, "No, no, no God does control the means too?" Of course not. Both systems of thought clearly affirm God's cause of all things, including the ends and their respective means.
So, what is the Calvinist seeking to accomplish by pointing out a common belief that Calvinists share with Theistic Fatalists?
It appears to me the only real difference between a Theistic Fatalist and a Compatibilistic Calvinist is that the latter refuses to accept the practical implications of their own claims in order to remain consistent with the clear teaching of the Bible.
The only logical argument a Compatibilistic Calvinist could bring to this charge is, "That's true but you can't think that way!" In other words, the Compatibilist has to ignore the truth claims of his own systematic in order to live practically. His actual beliefs are untenable and must be ignored in order to remain consistent with the Biblical mandate.
There is no difference in the actual claims of the Calvinist and the Theistic Fatalist. The only difference is in how the person chooses to act in response to that commonly held belief of theistic determinism. And therein lies the problem for the Calvinist, for that choice is just as unchangably determined by God as is the choice of His elect to believe.
Did you follow that? Under the Calvinistic system, God unchangeably determines those who will accept the belief that "God not only ordains the end; but also the means." And He determines if that believer will respond with evangelistic activity or inactivity. In other words, God decides if the believer of theistic determinism will become a hyper-Calvinist who refuses to actively participate in evangelism or a productive, obedient Calvinist. God also determines if a Calvinist treats unbelievers with patience and love, as did William Carey, or destain and hatred, as did John Calvin.
Calvinists are known to argue, "God has ordained for His elect to be saved through the proclamation of the gospel," But wouldn't they likewise argue that God has ordained for the saved to proclaim the gospel when they do proclaim it and not to proclaim it when they remain disobediently inactive? After all, Calvinists do affirm that God causes all things that come to pass, which would include the inactivity of the saints, would it not?
Think about this. If any particular Calvinist chooses to disobey God and not proclaim the Gospel when impressed to do so by the Holy Spirit, who is really responsible for that choice to disobey?
Has God, for some unknown reason, not granted the sufficient grace to convince the will of His messenger to proclaim the truth when told to do so? Or has that messenger disobeyed of his own libertarian free will? And what is the result of that disobedience? When an individual Calvinistic believer disobey's God's command to evangelize, did any fewer elect individuals respond in faith than what God ordained? Of course not. Why? Because God ordained for that Calvinist's disobedience with the same level of "sovereign control" as He does in ordaining for another Calvinist's obedience.
You see, a Calvinist may argue that evangelism in general is necessary for the salvation of the elect in general, but logically your individual responsibility to evangelize any particular elect person is not necessary for the salvation of that elect person. After all if you weren't ordained to evangelize that elect individual, someone else was, otherwise they wouldn't be elect.
Granted, someone (but not necessarily you) has to share the gospel with the elect in order for them to be saved. If God has ordained you to be that evangelist, then He will give you the effectual desire to do so. Thus, if you refrain from doing so you could rightly conclude that you weren't meant to be the means for that person's salvation. You are left with the perfect excuse for your inactivity and disobedience to God's command: "God unchangeably ordained the means, or in this case, my lack of participation in those means."
So the next time a Calvinist argues that "God ordains the ends as well as the means" just remember this does not avoid the charge of Theistic Fatalism but actually confirms it. In fact, their system logically affirms that the believer's inactive disobedience is as much according to God's ordained plan as is another believer's active obedience. So, if and when a Calvinist becomes "hyper" or "anti-evangelistic" in his behavior, he does so by God's decree. And, so too, if a Calvinist becomes highly evangelistic in his behavior he does so equally by God's decree (i.e. "God ordains the means"). A consistent Calvinistic scholar cannot get around this logical fact no matter how much theological rhetoric they use to placate their opponents. The best they can do is say, "Just don't think of of it that way," which in essence means, "Act like what we believe isn't true."


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Cane Creek Falls
Dicks Creek Falls
Amicalola Falls
Top of Amicalola Falls
Ammons Creek Falls
Stonewall Falls
Anna Ruby Falls
Shoals on Joe Branch
Bad Branch Falls
Panther Falls
Angle Falls
Minnehaha Falls
Barnes Creek Falls
Cohutta Wilderness
Bearden Falls
Falls on Blood Mountain Creek
Lower Falls
Third Falls from the bottom. Kids slide on this falls.
Blood Mountain Creek Falls
Upper Falls
Falls on Big Creek
Blue Hole Falls
High Shoals Recreation Area
High Shoals Falls
Tempesta Falls
Tallulah Gorge State Park
L'Eau d'Or Falls
Huricane Falls
Footbridge across top of Hurricane Falls
Tallulah River
Below Oceana Falls
Bull Sluice Rapids
National Wild and Scenic Chattooga River
Falls on Canada Creek
Clay Creek Falls
Cochrans Falls
Cowrock Falls
Deer Leap Falls - aka Crawford Falls
Private Property

subset: commoncrawl


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Forum: The Red Rocker
Forum dedicated to Sammy Hagar. Discuss his solo albums, his years in Montrose, his soundtrack work, his tours, his solo band members, etc.
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Michael Anthony is hitting the road this summer with Sammy Hagar for a series of tour dates. The two Van Halen bandmates will play an extended tour for the first time since the 2004 VH reunion shows. Post show reviews, tickets for sale, anything and everything having to do with the tour.
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Forum dedicated to the supergroup featuring Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Chad Smith. All Chickenfoot discussion belongs in this forum.
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One Mega-Dynamizer robot, one lawnmower, one lawn. Result: "nice try: bring on Version 2.0." The video is from Sugiura-san, creator of the Mega Dynamizer and ROBO-ONE champion roboticist. And while the robot doesn't whizz about confidently like a Roomba for grass, probably doing a pretty patchy mow and taking that unfortunate tumble, it's pretty impressive for a first attempt. I can see the potential: I hate mowing the lawn, and any robotic assistance would be welcome. As long as it can also do some weeding, perhaps some leaf-raking, and that dangerous trailing cable goes in future versions. Notice the dog being calm?… probably the robot's slow progress makes it less exciting than Mario. [Robots Dreams via Bot Junkie]
Meet Microsoft's New Surface Laptops


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Public Works
The Public Works Department is composed of eight divisions: Administration, Airport, Building Inspection, Garage, Municipal Buildings, Parking Facilities, Sanitation, and Streets and Maintenance. These divisions exercise their responsibilities under the Director of Public Works.
The Administrative Division, headed by the Director of Public Works, administers and monitors the implementation of the Department's budget with a goal of providing quality services to the citizens of Orangeburg.
The Airport Division, operates and maintains the municipal airport and such other facilities as the City may lease, acquire or construct for airport purposes. This Division also provides maintenance of municipal airport hangers and other airport facilities.
The Building Inspection Division, enforces the zoning, building codes and housing codes for the City through the Building Permit and Inspection process. The weedy lot ordinance is also enforced through this Division. City street and zoning maps are maintained and may be purchased from this Division.
The Garage Division, operates the City Garage for servicing, maintaining and repairing all City owned equipment, except for the equipment owned by the Department of Public Utilities.
The Municipal Buildings Division, is responsible for the maintenance of City Hall, which includes the Stevenson Auditorium and such other buildings as may be assigned by City Council.
The Parking Facilities Division, maintains all City-owned and rented off-street parking lots as well as on-street parking spaces.
The Sanitation Division, collects and disposes of solid waste within the City Limits. This is accomplished by a Solid Waste Collection Team going into a neighborhood on the assigned day each week for the collection of household garbage, recyclable materials and yard trash.
The Street and Maintenance Division, maintains the City Street System, storm sewer system and open ditch drainage.


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Intel faces challenges in migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7, including application incompatibility and system readiness, the company said on Wednesday.
Intel worked with Microsoft to develop Windows 7 into a stable operating system, but there is still a lot of heavy lifting involved before migrating PCs to the new OS inside Intel's environment, wrote Intel staff engineer Roy Ubry in a blog entry. Challenges include issues related to backward application compatibility, Web browser support, 64-bit computing and privacy controls.
"It means that a significant amount of work needs to be invested to prepare for Windows 7 application readiness," Ubry wrote.
Intel last year announced it would migrate from the nine-year-old Windows XP OS to Windows 7 OS, skipping Vista, which was released in 2007. Now the company is starting its transition to Windows 7.
One of the biggest issues involves migrating applications that can run natively on Windows XP to Windows 7. The move from Windows XP systems to 64-bit computing in Windows 7 presents an application compatibility challenge while migrating PCs, Ubry wrote.
Windows 7 no longer supports 16-bit programs, and Intel still has many legacy applications that will require the company to support older operating systems.
"Initially, you would think this would not be a big concern; 32 bit computing has been around for many years, and most applications have been ported to 32 bit," Ubry wrote. But for companies that want to migrate to Windows 7, the 16-bit programs will need to be changed to either 32-bit or 64-bit programs.
Another challenge involves the way Windows 7 deals with 32-bit programs. Windows 7 saves 32-bit programs on a different path -- typically in a directory called Program Files (x86) -- from 64-bit programs, which are saved in the Program Files directory. That raises a set of problems while searching for specific applications, Ubry wrote.
"Applications that are hard coded to look for 'Program Files' at runtime will fail when the application is installed in 'Program Files (x86)'," Ubry wrote.
As much of a challenge as it is, the move to 64-bit computing is necessary and timely, Ubry wrote. It prepares Intel for future computing needs and takes advantage of the higher memory capability of systems available on the market today.
Intel has also delayed deployment of Internet Explorer 7 and IE 8, as they are not compatible with specific add-ons and applications written for Internet Explorer 6. Many applications like some Office add-ons and versions of Java are written to run with IE 6, and "mitigation of these issues must be addressed," Ubry wrote.
Intel is also trying to tackle some improved privacy features built into Windows 7 that could create issues when trying to run programs. Microsoft has improved security in Windows 7 with an improved UAC (User Access Control) feature, which seeks permission from a user before providing access to programs. But some programs may not seek user permission and could just fail without warning, Ubry wrote. Microsoft has provided an answer that could remedy the problem with the option to run the program as an administrator.
Intel is also taking a number of steps to migrate smoothly to Windows 7. The company has set up application inventories and test environments and has established a "safety net" to run native XP applications. The safety net includes running XP applications in virtualized environments or using XP Mode, a feature in Windows 7 that allows users to run native XP programs.
A representative of Waggener Edstrom, Microsoft's public-relations agency, said that he would arrange for someone at Microsoft to speak about Intel's issues, but no one has yet been made available for comment.


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Welcome to our group!The Solar Energy Materials Research Group is led by Senior Scientist Wladek Walukiewicz (PI) and Kin Man Yu (co-PI). Senior Staff Scientist Zuzanna Liliental-Weber is also associated with the program. The group is developing novel materials that address the immediate need for sustainable, clean energy sources. We are currently investigating Group III-Nitride semiconductors and highly-mismatched alloys for a number of energy-generating applications. Moreover, we are also developing transparent conductors for full spectrum solar cell applications. The following are a few examples:
Full-spectrum Solar Cell
The newly discovered narrow bandgap of InN Eg~0.7 has extended the spectral range of the InGaN alloy system into the infrared region. That makes InGaN an excellent material for high-efficiency multi-junction (tandem) solar cells. As shown in the picture below, the bandgap of the InGaN alloy matches the solar spectrum (Air Mass 1.5) almost perfectly [1]...more >>
InGaN-Si hybrid tandem cell
"Multiband" Solar Cell
The intermediate band acts as a "stepping stone," allowing absorption of photons at three different energy levels, corresponding to the three different band gaps. In particular, low-energy photons are captured that would pass through a conventional solar cell...more >>
Highly Mismatched Alloys
Highly mismatched alloys (HMAs) is a new class of semiconductors formed through alloying of distinctly different materials. HMAs have the electronic band structure drastically different from that of the component materials, offering unprecedented flexibility in controlling the band gap and the location of the conduction and valence band edges.
Ideal Transparent Conductor for Full Spectrum PV
absorption and reflection by high concentration free carrier gas is responsible
for low transparency of standard transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) in the
infrared (IR) region (l>1000 nm) and restricts the
applications of these materials to photovoltaics that do not utilize the IR part of the
solar spectrum. Maintaining low
resistivity and low free carrier absorption requires TCOs with the highest
possible charge carrier mobility.Recently
we have developed high mobility CdO based transparent conducting
oxides (TCOs) with exceptionally high conductivity (>104 S/cm) and transmission window in
the wavelength range from 400 to >1500 nm making this material an ideal
TCO for photovoltaics with low band gap absorbers.


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There's a long profile of Jon Gruden in this week's New Yorker, which, frankly, is a little like opening up Guns & Ammo and finding a profile of Noam Chomsky, but there it is nonetheless, a zillion finely wrought words about this guy. Two passages are worth noting.
This one should speak for itself:
Ensconced in his lair in Tampa, far from the "Monday Night Football" cameras, Gruden can sound shockingly negative. He is forever judging players who don't or can't excel—"slapdicks," he calls them, or, more familiarly, "slappies."
That's not the important paragraph, though. It's this one, from the run-up to last month's Chiefs-Patriots game:
When it was Jaworski's turn, he issued a stern proclamation. "Call me crazy, but I'm really excited for Tyler Palko tonight," he said, and a roomful of skeptical sports producers erupted in laughter. Jaworski had given himself the thankless task of building up the Chiefs, praising them as much as he could without putting his own credibility at risk. Perhaps viewers would buy into the idea, however far-fetched, that Palko would emerge as the night's underdog hero. Later that day, as Jaworski was making a cup of coffee in the ESPN bus, he tried the line again. "Call me crazy, but I'm excited about Tyler Palko," he said. He exhaled. "I've got to sell this," he said to himself.
That's right. The stupid is scripted.
"I've got to sell this"? Is there a better, more succinct summation of teeveeland morality than "I've got to sell this"? Jaworski is talking about Tyler freaking Palko. Tyler Palko isn't excited about Tyler Palko. But because the central preoccupation of MNF is to ensure that people keep watching MNF, and because television wouldn't be television if an otherwise intelligent human being didn't debase himself on air at least twice a minute, Jaws has to gaze into a camera and fake all his orgasms. The video above is the result. I dunno. I'm not buying.
Look, I get that this is television. It's not saying anything revolutionary to point out that people who appear on television for a living don't always say what they really think, and that very often they profess to believe something for the sole purpose of moving the needle. But Gruden and Jaworski are evidently smart, discerning guys, experts in their field—I love Gruden's "QB Camp" segment, which is enlightening in those spare moments when it's not surrealist performance art—and I'm not sure what the point is of having smart, discerning guys around if it's not to occasionally say smart, discerning things. You wish Gruden would actually be "shockingly negative" once or twice when the camera is hot. You wish Jaworski wouldn't smile and twinkle and ooze and gush about every damn thing, as if he were trying to snooker a lapdance out of you. You wish Monday Night Football didn't think you were a crayon-eating moron. "Call me crazy, but I'm excited about Tyler Palko tonight"? Slapdicks, the lot of 'em.
Monday Night Lights [New Yorker]


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Cleaner, smoother beams
The right amount of light, exactly where you want it. Multiple reflector facets create clean, homogeneous light distribution, without the disturbing graduations that are usually observed with spotlights. Note the smooth transition from the center of the beam to its edge.
PerfectAccent optics project a completely clean and uniform beam spread
Conventional LED optics produce perceptible 'ripples'
Colors that delight and inspire
In retail environments, customers like to know exactly what they are getting. PerfectAccent shows products at their best, by bringing out their true colors.
Uniform light distribution eliminates color-over-angle deviation, a problem which worsens the appearance of accent-lit retail displays. In addition to the honeycombed faceted reflective surface, special flat lenses (clear or frosted) help to correct color variation defects. As a result, the object is rendered more evenly.
Countless LED applications
Using PerfectAccent doesn't mean buying all new lights. The optics are suitable for most LED spotlights, and can be deployed without modifying the existing luminaire. Beam spread patterns include narrow-spot, spot, narrow-flood, and flood, giving you a wide range of accent lighting options.


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Privacy Policy
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As We Are Now AS and its affiliates ("AWAN", "we", "us" or "our") are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with applicable data protection laws. When we write "you", we mean you as our customer, website visitor or other relevant third party such as the contact persons of a company or other organisation we are doing business with and the like. The purpose of this privacy policy is to explain how we collect and use your personal data as well as how you can exercise your rights.
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We may collect personal data from you when you make a purchase on our website or through other sales channels, correspond with us by post, email or telephone, create an account for the subscription service on our website or request information from us. We may also automatically collect technical and usage data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns when you interact with our website. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs and other similar technologies.
Some of the personal data we hold about you may be collected elsewhere than directly from you, such as from a credit reference agency, a regulatory authority or other publicly available databases.
If you do not provide certain information when requested, we may not be able to fulfill our obligations to you or respond to your requests, thereby preventing us from providing you with the highest level of service possible. We may also be prevented from complying with our legal obligations (such as our reporting requirements).
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News on ABC
via veronicaspuffy
Can't remember if this was posted. Good interview.
Kristen, Chris, and Rupert's Interview with Eleven's The Loop
YouTube beautifulrk
Pic from The Loop posted here- Sydney Press Junket Day1
Kristen, Chris, Rupert Interview with News on ABC and Eleven's The Loop
News on ABC
Posted by RobStenation at 1:00 AM
Labels: australia, SWATH Australian Promo, SWATH Promo


text:
Bg 4.1
sri-bhagavan uvaca
imam vivasvate yogam
proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha
manur iksvakave 'bravit
Word for word:
sri-bhagavan uvaca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; imam — this; vivasvate — unto the sun-god; yogam — the science of one's relationship to the Supreme; proktavan — instructed; aham — I; avyayam — imperishable; vivasvan — Vivasvan (the sun-god's name); manave — unto the father of mankind (of the name Vaivasvata); praha — told; manuh — the father of mankind; iksvakave — unto King Iksvaku; abravit — said.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Herein we find the history of the Bhagavad-gita traced from a remote time when it was delivered to the royal order of all planets, beginning from the sun planet. The kings of all planets are especially meant for the protection of the inhabitants, and therefore the royal order should understand the science of Bhagavad-gita in order to be able to rule the citizens and protect them from material bondage to lust. Human life is meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge, in eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the executive heads of all states and all planets are obliged to impart this lesson to the citizens by education, culture and devotion. In other words, the executive heads of all states are intended to spread the science of Krishna consciousness so that the people may take advantage of this great science and pursue a successful path, utilizing the opportunity of the human form of life.
In this millennium, the sun-god is known as Vivasvan, the king of the sun, which is the origin of all planets within the solar system. In the Brahma-samhita (5.52) it is stated:
yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam
raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah
yasyajñaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
"Let me worship," Lord Brahma said, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Krishna], who is the original person and under whose order the sun, which is the king of all planets, is assuming immense power and heat. The sun represents the eye of the Lord and traverses its orbit in obedience to His order."
The sun is the king of the planets, and the sun-god (at present of the name Vivasvan) rules the sun planet, which is controlling all other planets by supplying heat and light. He is rotating under the order of Krishna, and Lord Krishna originally made Vivasvan His first disciple to understand the science of Bhagavad-gita. The Gita is not, therefore, a speculative treatise for the insignificant mundane scholar but is a standard book of knowledge coming down from time immemorial.
In the Mahabharata (Santi-parva 348.51–52) we can trace out the history of the Gita as follows:
treta-yugadau ca tato
vivasvan manave dadau
manus ca loka-bhrty-artham
sutayeksvakave dadau
iksvakuna ca kathito
vyapya lokan avasthitah
"In the beginning of the millennium known as Treta-yuga this science of the relationship with the Supreme was delivered by Vivasvan to Manu. Manu, being the father of mankind, gave it to his son Maharaja Iksvaku, the king of this earth planet and forefather of the Raghu dynasty, in which Lord Ramacandra appeared." Therefore, Bhagavad-gita existed in human society from the time of Maharaja Iksvaku.
At the present moment we have just passed through five thousand years of the Kali-yuga, which lasts 432,000 years. Before this there was Dvapara-yuga (800,000 years), and before that there was Treta-yuga (1,200,000 years). Thus, some 2,005,000 years ago, Manu spoke the Bhagavad-gita to his disciple and son Maharaja Iksvaku, the king of this planet earth. The age of the current Manu is calculated to last some 305,300,000 years, of which 120,400,000 have passed. Accepting that before the birth of Manu the Gita was spoken by the Lord to His disciple the sun-god Vivasvan, a rough estimate is that the Gita was spoken at least 120,400,000 years ago; and in human society it has been extant for two million years. It was respoken by the Lord again to Arjuna about five thousand years ago. That is the rough estimate of the history of the Gita, according to the Gita itself and according to the version of the speaker, Lord Sri Krishna. It was spoken to the sun-god Vivasvan because he is also a ksatriya and is the father of all ksatriyas who are descendants of the sun-god, or the surya-vamsa ksatriyas. Because Bhagavad-gita is as good as the Vedas, being spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this knowledge is apauruseya, superhuman. Since the Vedic instructions are accepted as they are, without human interpretation, the Gita must therefore be accepted without mundane interpretation. The mundane wranglers may speculate on the Gita in their own ways, but that is not Bhagavad-gita as it is. Therefore, Bhagavad-gita has to be accepted as it is, from the disciplic succession, and it is described herein that the Lord spoke to the sun-god, the sun-god spoke to his son Manu, and Manu spoke to his son Iksvaku.


text:
3201.0 - Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and Territories, Jun 2003
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 19/12/2003
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Northern Territory's population the most youthful
The Northern Territory's population is the most youthful of all states and territories, according to the figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today.
The population of the Northern Territory had a median age of 30 years as at the end of June 2003, the lowest for Australia. In comparison, Australia's median age, or the age at which half the population is older and half is younger, was 36 years.
Northern Territory also had a higher proportion of men and women under the age of 45 years, nearly 75%, compared to 63% for Australia. The only state or territory that approaches the Northern Territory was the Australian Capital Territory (67%).
In contrast, the proportion of the Northern Territory's population aged 65 years or more (4.2%) was less than half the proportion for all other states and the ACT. For Australia as a whole, 10.7% of the population were aged 65 years or more. South Australia had almost 15% of its population aged 65 or more.
There are more men than women in the Northern Territory. There are nearly 111 men for each 100 women at the end of June 2003.
Further details are in Population by Age and Sex: Australian States and Territories, June 2003 (cat no. 3201.0)
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text:
Drought conditions may have leveled off across California, but nearly 100% of the state remains in the third-harshest category for dryness, according to the latest measurements.
For the past two weeks, California's drought picture has remained the same, halting a steady march toward worse. But the breather has allowed the state to recover only ever so slightly.
In May, 100% of California was experiencing "severe" drought — the third harshest on a five-level scale — but since things have leveled off, that figure has only improved to 99.8%, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor report.
Meanwhile, nearly 82% of California continues to suffer "extreme" drought, and within that area, more than half the state is under the driest "exceptional" drought category.
The figures comes as the state Water Resources Control Board authorized strict fines for water wasters in July as part of the latest conservation effort.
As cities across California start enforcing penalties with renewed gusto for over-watering, residents have felt the consequences — some incurring huge fines, others annoyed with browning neighborhood lawns.
In Santa Cruz, residents who incur penalties can even attend one-time classes instead of paying fees — the water equivalent of traffic school.
As images of dry lake beds and muddy streams continue to proliferate, forecasters warn hope for relief has dimmed somewhat.
The latest long-term forecast shows the chances of a wet El Niño weather pattern starting this fall has decreased to about 65%, and if it does arrive, it will probably be weaker than originally expected.


text:
Story of a young man of Merv who came to the saint Ali Hujwiri-God have many on him and complained that he was oppressed by the enemies
- Parent Category: English Translations
- Hits: 1897
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|THE saint of Hajwir was venerated by the peoples,
|And Pir-i-Sanjar visited his tomb as a pilgrim,88
|With ease he broke down the mountain barriers
|And sowed the seed of Islam in India.
|The age of Omar was restored by his godliness.
|The fame of the Truth was exalted by his words.
|He was a guardian of the honour of the Koran.
|The house of Falsehood fell in ruins at his gaze.
|The dust of the Punjab was brought to life by his breath,
|Our dawn was made splendid by his sun
|He was a lover, and withal, a courier of Love:
|The secrets of Love shone forth from his brow.
|I will tell a story of his perfection
|And enclose a whole rose-bed in a single bud.
|A young man, cypress-tall,
|Came from the town of Merv to Lahore.
|He went to see the venerable saint,
|That the sun might dispth is darkness.
|"I am hammed in," he said, "by foes;
|I am as a glass in the midst of stones.
|Do thou teach me, O sire of heavenly rank,
|How to lead my life amongst enemies!"
|The wise Director, in whose nature
|Love had allied beauty with majesty,
|Answered: "Thou art unread in Life's lore,
|Careless of its end and its beginning.
|Be without fear of others!
|Thou art a sleeping force: awake!
|When the stone thought itself to be glass,
|It became glass and got into the way of breaking.
|If the traveller thinks himself weak,
|He delivers his soul unto the brigand.
|How long wilt thou regard thyself as water and clay?
|Create from thy clay a flaming Sinai!
|Why be angry with mighty men?
|Why complain of enemies?
|I will declare the truth: thine enemy is thy friend:
|His existence crowns thee with glory.
|Whosoever knows the states of the Self
|Considers a powerful enemy to be a blessing from God.
|To the seed of Man the enemy is -as a rain-cloud:
|He awakens its potentialities.
|If thy spirit be strong, the stones in thy way are as water:
|What wrecks the torrent of the ups and downs of the road?
|The sword of resolution is whetted by the stones in the way'
|And put to proof by traversing stage after stage.
|What is the use of eating and sleeping like a beast?
|What is the use of being, unless thou have strength in thyself?
|When thou mak'st thyself strong with Self,
|Thou wilt destroy the world at thy pleasure.
|If thou wouldst pass away, become free of Self
|If thou wouldst live, become full of Self !89
|Who is death? To become oblivious to Self.
|Why imagine that it is the parting of soul and body?
|Abide in Self, like Joseph?
|Advance from captivity to empire!
|Think of Self and be a man of action
|Be a man of God, bear mysteries within!"90
|I will explain the matter by means of stories,
|I will open the bud by the power of my breath.
|"'Tis better that a lover's secret
|Should be told by the lips of others.'"


text:
To go past the mark is as wrong as to fall short.
Could you believe that the ideal person is never the best at anything? Our heads are so full of delusions about wealth and power that we run ourselves ragged trying to out do each other. We spin our wheels until we burn ourselves out and are left hopeless and exhausted.
There is great pressure to attain the highest level of achievement. We want to be the richest, most beautiful, and most well-liked because these virtues are glorified. But by indulging our vanity we do ourselves more harm than good. The only way to achieve sustainable happiness is to practice the Golden Mean.
The idea of the Golden Mean has existed for thousands of years. It is at the core of both Eastern and Western philosophy and is central to the teachings of Aristotle and Confucius. The idea is simple. Every quality has extremes at both ends. The Golden Mean is the natural balance between these extremes. At this harmonious point goodness and beauty are achieved.
Socrates used the example of extreme devotion to athletics versus extreme devotion to music to illustrate this idea. The athlete becomes overly aggressive and ferocious, while the musician becomes overly soft and effeminate. The ideal is someone who practices both athletics and music in moderation and acquires a harmonious mixture of both qualities.
Consider an example from modern times that I'm sure everyone has observed. The first person is extremely career driven. Each day he focuses on advancing himself. He spends long hours at the office, competes mercilessly with his coworkers, and flatters his superiors. As a result he has almost no personal life. The second person's only pursuit is leisure. He likes to waste time with his friends watching television and playing video games.
Which of these persons is superior? Many people would argue for the hard worker. But at second glance his life is rather cold. His obsession with success has alienated his coworkers and left him without a family. He may become rich, but how will he enjoy it? The second man is no better. He has wasted his life in laziness. He has refused to develop himself and exists as a parasitic leech. Both men are worthy of pity.
I think we'd all agree the ideal would be somewhere in between these two people. So how do we find the elusive Golden Mean? The bad news: it takes years of trial and error get it perfect, but fortunately, we can all improve if we try.
It all starts with setting the right goals. Whenever you make a goal you need to do it with the right intention. Don't set goals with the intent to dominate other people. This type of goal setting is ego driven and pulls you away from the mean. Instead, try to start with a goal that is in between total selfishness and total selflessness. If you are helping yourself and other people at the same time you can draw motivation from your ego driven side and from the part of you that wants to work for the common good. This type of goal setting is effective because whenever you start to lose motivation in one area you can draw from the other.
The next step to reaching the Golden Mean is knowing your limits. You need to know when that next drink is going to put you over the edge or when one more project is going to stress you out. The idea is to maintain balance at all times. You need to police yourself to avoid extremity. If you know when you are inclined to stray you have a head start on achieving balance.
Another step to achieving the Golden Mean is being aware of your personal needs. Sure we need money and success, but having good relationships with friends and family are just as important. Whenever you find yourself unhappy, take a moment to reflect on the reason. You will likely find that you have drifted over to one extreme and are feeling the consequences.
I know the Golden Mean is hard to live by, but it is the key to finding your inner confidence. Ben Franklin said, "The wise learn from the mistakes of others, fools, scarcely from their own." Next time you find yourself willing to do anything to be the best of the best, take a moment to reconsider. You may find it is better to be the best "you" you can be.
How to Get Sh*t Done will teach you how to zero in on the three areas of your life where you want to excel, and then it will show you how to off-load, outsource, or just stop giving a damn about the rest.


text:
Latest news
Music Commission report: a vision for music education
In 2017, we established The Music Commission, an 18-month inquiry into music education, supported by Arts Council England and led by an independent panel of experts chaired by Sir Nicholas Kenyon. The final Commission report - Retuning Our Ambitions for Music Learning: Every Child Taking Music Further – has now been published and is available on the Music Commission website. The Commission focused on how to create the conditions for every young person to get the support they need to achieve their full musical potential. The report identifies six barriers to achieving these conditions: inconsistency of music provision in schools, cost barriers to families, the inadequate response to young people's use of technology, not enough support after first access, schools needing more support to deliver a rich music curriculum, and resources and organisations not working together effectively enough. However, the report is not a negative one. In response to these challenges it identifies a ten-year vision for music education accompanied by a framework of positive initiatives and recommendations. This vision is for an environment where:
- Leaders in schools and education are confident and enabled to put music at the heart of their students' learning.
- Every school is supported to provide an effective music curriculum and the provision of a quality music offer is a key performance measure.
- The development of a diverse and skilled music education workforce is extended through enhanced training of specialist and generalist teachers, and support to enter the profession.
- Financial support is universally available to support all music learners to progress beyond first access.
- More collaborative models of music education are established, involving support for and between schools and relevant partners to help students to progress in music.
- Parental engagement is supported as a priority from the earliest years onwards.
- Young people are informed and engaged in shaping their own learning pathways and involved in the development of music education programmes.
- New, integrated approaches to the teaching and assessment of learning of music in a digital age are developed.
To find out more and read the full report visit www.muisccommission.org.uk.


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Angels look to utilize extra Spring Training time
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Angels have a lot of time to get ready for the upcoming regular season.
Too much time, perhaps.
Due to the World Baseball Classic, Spring Training started more than a week earlier throughout baseball this year. In 2012, Angels pitchers and catchers reported Feb. 19, with the first full workout following on Feb. 27 and the first Cactus League game March 5. This year, pitchers and catchers got their physicals Feb. 11, the first full-squad workout was Feb. 15 and the first Spring Training contest is slated for the 23rd.
Opening Day is five days earlier -- April 1 instead of April 6 -- but the new schedule still leaves the Angels with about an extra week to prepare. So don't expect to see many of the regulars, or starting pitchers, appearing in that first week. The Angels won't be playing in any intra-squad games before then, either. There's just no need.
"I know it sounds weird when you say it's only six days or seven days -- that's a big difference for a position player because they normally don't even need all the normal spring," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Now they have six or seven more days. So, there's a timing element of when we can take advantage of them working a little bit more to prep themselves for games a little bit."
One guy who will get in games early in the spring is shortstop Erick Aybar, who will suit up for the Dominican Republic as the only Angels representative taking part in the Classic.
At some point in early March, Aybar will fly to Puerto Rico, site of pool play beginning March 7. Depending on how well his home country fares, Aybar could be away from the team until as late as March 19, when the championship game takes place at AT&T Park in San Francisco. And with Jose Reyes the starting shortstop, he may not get much time on the field.
"I think as long as he's getting his work in," Scioscia said. "It's Spring Training; these guys aren't going to start out playing every day anyway. If he's going to play enough to start to see some velocity, enough to start to get his prep step, get some of this spring stiffness out, that's fine."