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From BitcoinWiki
This is the approved revision of this page, as well as being the most recent.
Feathercoin is a global Internet currency that is independent of any central bank or institution. It offers an open source platform along with a way to conduct low-cost, secure, and private transactions anywhere in the world.
See Also on BitcoinWiki[edit]
External links[edit]
Feathercoin price and market state on Coin360


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Listen now on iTunes
Listen now on Spotify
Has the Coronavirus pandemic changed consumers' personal care habits? In episode 2, host Simon Pitman is joined by BASF, Au Naturale Cosmetics and Euromonitor for a discussion about emerging trends and opportunities during and post Covid-19. This exclusive in-cosmetics Connect panel discussion will cover the market effects, long term shifts in consumer behaviour, and the opportunities set to open up for personal care businesses.
|Christian Somigliana
|Gabriella Beckwith
|Ashley Prange
|Market Development Personal Care Europe
|Senior Analyst
Euromonitor International
Au Naturale Cosmetics
Want to learn more about the future of retail? Check out our debut episode all about beauty ecommerce

subset: commoncrawl


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Submission and approval
Manage business processes that involve submitting and reviewing requests such as permitting, inspection, data solicitation, and address change and incident management for national, state, and local governments and more.
ArcGIS Workflow Manager is an easy-to-use, scalable enterprise geographic information system (GIS) workflow management system that streamlines your production process by automating and simplifying the performance and management of location-enabled work. Reduce costs by improving data quality and accuracy, optimizing resource allocation, enhancing communication, and standardizing and centralizing repeatable work processes.
ArcGIS Workflow Manager provides step-by-step guidance and tightly integrates with Esri technology to create seamless end-to-end experiences that result in efficient, predictable, and repeatable workflows.
Bring your organization's GIS content together in one place so team members can easily find and carry out their assigned work.
Create standard business processes, automate tasks and reporting, produce shared queries and charts, and manage access to your tools and data.
Review, summarize, and update your organization's in-progress work to make data-driven management decisions and prevent work delays.
Support many types of workflows across multiple industries including GIS data editing, incident reporting, site inspections, land-use planning, cadastral mapping, permitting, and fully automated workflows like data submission or request. Here are some examples.
Maximize the value of your GIS investment by using a workflow management system that tightly integrates with other Esri technology.
Coordinate and manage your workflows in ArcGIS Pro and efficiently complete your work.
Create and monitor workflows and administer the system using Workflow Manager Server and the web app for ArcGIS Enterprise.
Create, view, and edit surveys in your workflows and create jobs in Workflow Manager using Survey123 webhooks.
Create dashboards to monitor your work in real time, inform others, and see trends.
Access documentation, videos, and blogs to learn more about ArcGIS Workflow Manager.
Join our growing list of interested users and organizations.
Get answers for your product, industry or technical inquiries
Find our Esri India office nearest to you
Talk over the phone


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Class act. Yup, that's what I am. Last week, I actually told my husband that I wanted to make these gelatin shots to have at the ready so when I arrived home from my last class, I could celebrate–just the way a college student would. He looked at me funny and nixed the idea.
He wasn't always so haughty-taughty though. Nearly ten years ago, I spent the days leading up to our wedding preparing a horde of gelatin shots to be enjoyed at the after-reception party. Yes, we had a wedding ceremony, a reception, and then an after-reception party. What can I say? My family likes to party!
Instead of the usual grain alcohol plus whatever-flavor-of-gelatin-you-can-find combination that is rampant on college campuses, I put more thought into my pairings. Grape gelatin with Grape Pucker. Raspberry gelatin with raspberry vodka. Pineapple gelatin with pineapple coconut rum. See, I'm good like that. Make it taste great and you can down more of them. That's the whole point, isn't it?
In the end, I think the groom himself consumed the most. The very man who, ten years later, was actually turning down my latest gelatin shot creation. What happened? Has he finally matured, after all?
Nah. He just didn't want to go to work with a hangover the next day.
Strawberry Shortcake Gelatin Shots
- 1 3-oz box strawberry-flavored gelatin
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 3/4 cup Pinnacle Cake Flavored Vodka
- 17 or so 1-1/4 oz paper cups
Lay out your paper cups on a tray. Add the strawberry-flavored gelatin mix to the boiling water and stir for 2-3 minutes, until the powder is completely dissolved. Add to it the cold water and vodka, stirring for another 30 seconds or so. Ladle into paper cups and pop them in the fridge to set, 2-3 hours.
I think it goes without saying, but just to be safe: Do not serve to children and please drink responsibly.
Note: I found the paper cups at the party supply store in town. If you don't find them at yours, you can try a commercial kitchen supply store.


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Orla Cronin Research
Social science research and strategic consultancy
0161 408 2047
Tag Archives: qualitative
Laureus Global Summit workshop: Measuring and communicating impact
Delighted to be convening this session at the Laureus Global Summit in London next week. Very much looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, as well as meeting lots of new colleagues.
The handout with additional resources is here, and the presentation (or should I call that a prezi?) is here.
Tagged | facilitation, innovation, M&E, qualitative, quantitative, sport for development, training
Evaluation of Coo-L project
OCR, in conjunction with Helen Lynn of Wildcard Communications, have been appointed evaluators to London Borough of Camden's COO-L (Choices and Opportunities Online) project.
Tagged | evaluation, online survey, qualitative


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'An Honest Ghost' by Rick Whitaker
Author: Kevin Brannon
December 1, 2013
"This is my own story, told in many voices," says the narrator of Rick Whitaker's new novel, An Honest Ghost (Jaded Ibis Press). The sentence, like every other in the book, has been lifted from a volume in Whitaker's own library, or that of his fictional protagonist–the reader is subtly encouraged to confuse the two. What results is an impressionistic portrait of literary subjectivity that cuts both ways, revealing the opportunities for pleasure and refuge available to the inveterate reader, despite the insufficiency of even the best crafted sentence to stand against life's tendency towards chaos and vacancy.
The novel's narrator is a forty-year-old American expatriate living in Paris with his young lover, a wealthy, alcoholically self-absorbed Englishman named David. Having abandoned a law career for a less buttoned-down life amongst the city's artist set, the narrator is "now interested only in reading and writing and anonymous sex." But the writing has stalled and the search for love never-ending–David, who chases misery with liquor and rarely comes to bed, is good for little in this regard. There is talk of Zen masters and "rules for becoming more alive." Like his literary progenitors in James and Eliot, our narrator suffers in life from rather unfashionably high expectations. "We are in fact made of the same material as Isabel Archer, as Dorothea Brooke," he laments.
An evening of futile cruising ends with a knock at the door, and into this scene of spiritual yearning steps a child, the narrator's estranged son, Joe. The boy is precocious and needy, with a particular flair for taking the piss out of the adults. "Men are such perverts," Joe says jealously, when his father broaches the subject of David. Still, the narrator finds his life re-oriented around the boy and the all-consuming love he demands. He catches Dick Cheney on television and suddenly the numbingly familiar rhetoric of the "global war on terror" echoes with a single heart-stopping thought: "My son will be hurt." This sudden mid-life unsefling jars the narrator out of orbit with David and the other extravagant neurotics with whom he keeps company. It also provides an aesthetic remove from which he can view the world more clearly, and finally begin again to write.
Whitaker's novel is preoccupied with the mimetic impulse, the mind's habit of hiding from itself and the possibility of change amongst the furniture of the past. "All of us, even when we think we have noted every tiny detail, resort to set pieces which have already been staged often enough by others," the narrator observes. Nowhere is this tendency more evident than in Joe's mother, the cruelly flamboyant Eleanor Sullivan. Middle-aged and estranged from her son, Eleanor's pleasures are limited to dining out, drinking to excess and turning her most pedestrian insecurities outward into caustic melodramas, improvised from well-worn scripts. "In this heat, champagne is so much more refreshing than tea," she enthuses, a little wink to the dark moods sure to follow a dinnertime drunk. But our narrator is far too well rehearsed in her games to fear what is to come. "She stressed her words in unusual places," he deadpans, "making them interesting and quite new-sounding."
But a novel comprised of other writers' voices cannot judge too harshly Eleanor's habits of mind, and An Honest Ghost does not attempt to. For how else are we to reveal ourselves to the world, if not as an accumulation of affectations and tastes, turns of phrase picked up along the way? The lengthy index at the end of the novel lists the source of each sentence appropriated and lets readers scan the titles on Whitaker's bookshelves. Like Georges Perec's meticulously curated lists of foods consumed and things-to-do, the index also functions as a portrait of the author as serious reader or, as the narrator of An Honest Ghost finds his lover's library, "the incarnation of both his absence and his presence."
An Honest Ghost is a wondrous Ouija board session of a read. To expect a novel that channels Nathaniel West and Henry James (and many, many more) in a single chapter to hold together with absolute cohesion is to miss the point. Life is treacherous. Children torture us with their quicksilver moods, faithless lovers return broken and contrite, one-night stands insinuate themselves into the daylight landscape and haunt us in the night when they disappear for good, all with a senseless unreason. Thus, the recourse to art, the desire for something somehow both less real and less evanescent than life.
Whitaker's novel ends with a determined renunciation of the world along with all of the beautiful sentences that have described its meanings, a dissolve into forgetfulness and silence. But many readers will find themselves turning back to the best parts, committing them to memory, saying them out loud, arming themselves with pithy, elegant lines to meet the day.
An Honest Ghost
By Rick Whitaker
Jaded Ibis Press
Paperback, 9781937543501, 236 pp.
September 2013


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A new press release from The Texas Yoga Association re: ongoing regulation battle, addressing stance on professional standards, yoga within the medical community and the corporate slippery slope.
Previously…Opinion: In Response to Texas Yoga Regulation, Why the Brouhaha?
After a press release and email inquiry sent to many top yoga teachers around the United States from a very large yoga program in Austin stating that we see yoga as a hobby, there may be confusion about the important details with the TYA's mission and our stand for yoga in Texas. This seems to be getting messy – quite unfairly – and I think we need our supporters help to clean it up. Most of you have been there with us from the beginning and know the heart and souls behind this cause. Now some pro regulation entities have begun to challenge our position unfairly to oppose us by using glamour words and promises to steer those who will listen in through the back door to visit the idea of regulation. We see a very slippery slope on the horizon that looks like an attempt by larger more corporate entities to eliminate the more quaint studios and trainings. It is a history of "organic competition" we often see behind regulation attempts.
TYA considers yoga a way of life, and a lifelong practice. The practice is handed down teacher to student. It is the guided exploration of the breath and body. The guide, the instructor, is mindful and careful during the session so as to promote body awareness and wellness. Yoga addresses wellness from every aspect including diet, hygiene, sleeping, speaking, movement, stillness, and meditation.
The request for exemption in the bills does not mean that the TYA disagrees with professional standards. Such standards can be explored, defined, and maintained from within the yoga community itself. The TWC, as we have heard in the case of Genevieve Yellin, is NOT interested in the training curriculum or the module's standards, what's being taught or how. It is interested in the revenue! Why else would TWC REQUIRE audits of training centers and levy fees for being in business?
A new path needs to emerge. It needs to be the combination of TYA and the Professionals. If the PYTA is interested in becoming yoga facilitators within the medical community, then that association should develop its own criteria and standards in conjunction with the American Medical Association (AMA), NOT with every other Texas yoga studio and teacher. Not all yoga is medically driven. We understand that by its very nature, yoga promotes individual wellness and helps prevent serious disease and ailment. However, that does not mean that it is essentially or primarily for the western medical community. Yoga is for EVERYBODY.
Yoga should have a more prominent role in the patient's healing process as it should in the preventative stages. Yoga asana, meditation, pranayama, and yogic diet would do well for the healing patient, yet it is only ONE aspect of several curative methods.
The problem with the regulation of ALL yoga studios is that neighborhood studio owners will be burdoned by the bureaucratic rigmarole and heavy taxation. Those studios, who operate on enough profit to stay open and for the owner to live modestly, will CLOSE DOWN due to the unnecessary weight of bureaucracy and government interference. That studio is somebody's sanctuary, somebody's home, somebody's only place to go for healing. TWC and any movement toward regulation with some ideal notion that it will help yoga teachers and the health care system by being seen as a "professional" in the medical community is not only far stretched and without trend, it is a menacing threat to that sacred space we call an intimate yoga studio.
Blessings and please "like" this if you agree on facebook.


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Thai Yoga Eight Fold Path
By Anthony B. James DNM(P), ND(T), MD(AM), DPHC(h.c.), DOM, RAC, SMOKH Academic Dean SomaVeda College of Natural Medicine and Thai Yoga Center (SCNM).
When we talk about SomaVeda Integrated Traditional Therapies® and SomaVeda® Thai yoga, we are also talking about it as being based on a code of ethical conduct. It's not just a system or methodology of healing. It is the art of being. So, how do you practice the art of being? We say that there are basically eight things that you want to incorporate in your life in some way, shape or form in order to have a noble or ethical way of life as a healer. Our iteration/ formulation of the Thai Yoga Eight Fold Path is based on Patanjali's Yoga Sutra. The Yogic Eight Fold Path is literally called "Ashtanga" which means the "Eight Limbs". We additionally incorporate understandings found in the Theraveda Buddhist Noble Eight Fold Path (ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo) adapted to our particular work and practice as healers, therapist and Doctors of indigenous traditional natural medicine.


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"…I had incredible teachers. And as I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself — my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity — all of these things came from the way that I was parented and taught.
And none of these qualities that I've just mentioned — none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have made me so successful professionally — none of these qualities that make me who I am … can be tested.
I said before that I had incredible teachers. And that's true. But it's more than that. My teachers were EMPOWERED to teach me. Their time was not taken up with a bunch of silly test prep — a bunch of drill and kill nonsense that any serious person knows doesn't promote real learning. No, my teachers were free to approach me and every other kid in that classroom like an individual puzzle. They took so much care in figuring out who we were and how to best make the lessons resonate with each of us. They were empowered to unlock our potential. In other words, they were allowed to be teachers.
Now don't get me wrong. I did have a brush with standardized tests at one point. I remember because my mom went to the principal's office and said, 'My kid ain't taking that.' Actually, I have it in quotes cause she said, 'It's stupid, it won't tell you anything and it will just make him nervous.' Yes, it was the late 70's…I guess we could get away with it back then.
Well, I shudder to think that these tests are being used today to control where funding goes.
I don't know where I would be today if my teachers' job security was based on how I performed on some standardized test. If their very survival as teachers was based not on whether I actually fell in love with the process of learning but rather if I could fill in the right bubble on a test. If they had to spend most of their time desperately drilling us and less time encouraging creativity and original ideas; less time knowing who we were, seeing our strengths and helping us realize our talents.
I honestly don't know where I would be today if that was the type of education I had. I sure as hell wouldn't be here. I do know that.
This has been a horrible decade for teachers. I can't imagine how demoralized you guys must feel. But I came here today to deliver an important message to you: As I get older, I appreciate more and more the teachers that I had growing up. And I'm not alone. There are millions of people just like me.
So, the next time you're feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself being called #ThankATeacher | WagTheDog:


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4 Ways to Network Through Social Media
Networking through cold calling, professional organizations, and social events are all absolutely important and major components of a strong overall career search strategy, but it's often difficult to find and start conversations with the people who might be able to help you in your career search. Luckily, the advent of social media sites like LinkedIn offer a way around those obstacles by giving you the ability to access industry professionals, recruiters and hiring managers through targeted searches, ultimately allowing you to tap into a larger network of people through your pre-established relationships.
These social media sites come with their own pitfalls, however, as the rules of engaging strangers are often unclear, this can make many people uncomfortable and cause a legitimate fear of being blacklisted for unknowingly committing a social misstep. Don't be afraid, though! Like any social interaction, once you understand the set parameters, you can figure out how to operate appropriately and effectively within them.
Here are a few general tips when trying to build relationships using social media sites:
- Start with who you know, and then branch out. Friends, family members, coworkers and former coworkers are all great starting points when building networks on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, but use them only as starting points on the path toward your target company. Focus primarily on people you know who might know someone else who works in a company you are interested in, or people who may have connections to those companies. Also, try to network through people who currently or previously managed you, as they can support positive claims of your work ethic based on your past interactions with them.
- Ask for Help. Social media can be very beneficial to career seekers, especially those who may be transitioning into a new industry, as it gives the career seeker access to people who can give them time-tested advice about developing professionally. When searching for networking contacts, consider finding a few people who look like they may be effective mentors and simply ask if they might be willing to give you some advice about the industry. Just make sure you act professionally, give them a way out and make sure you are respecting their time.
- Be Helpful to Others. Whenever you are interacting with a networking contact, make sure they know that you are willing to help them in some way. It may be something as simple as suggesting an article related to their industry, or it could be a bit more complex, like submitting an internal reference for a job they've applied to; either way, make it clear that you are there to support them, and they will be more likely to do the same for you.
- Create Genuine Relationships. Even though you are probably networking to land your next position, avoid asking your networking connections about employment opportunities or recommendations/references up front, as it may be off-putting or inappropriate. Instead, try to let the relationship grow organically. Start off discussing a topic you both have interest in, and build off of it. The idea here is to cultivate a genuine positive relationship with the individual, in which both parties feel respected and can trust one another. Once you have achieved that, it is more than likely acceptable to ask for a referral.
Read These Related Articles:
- What Questions to Ask (and Not to Ask) at an Interview
- How to Become Known as a Problem Solver at Work
- 3 Ways Google+ Can Keep You Ahead of the Career Curve


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This 5.63 acre site is a dominant, highly visible and strategic waterfront location. Located 5 miles from downtown Ketchikan the parcel includes a 11,040 SF Hangar/Office building, large flat paved lot, deep water access with infrastructure in place to accommodate a haul out and metal pilings to support additional floats. Other structures on site include two single family residences that would be ideal for caretaker or employee housing. The potential for this location is endless, for example it could support a variety of visitor industry uses, light manufacturing, a marina, vessel/aircraft repair, boutique fish processing, small cruise ship/shipping terminal and so much more.
Compare listings


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I haven't played very many video games lately. I've racked my brain for two weeks straight, trying to motivate myself to play something new and exciting—something worth writing passionately about—but I've come up empty each and every time. I've got a shitty new job. Working there nearly every day these past few weeks, my head filled with the ambient buzz of couples arguing over brands of bacon, children kicking and screaming in shopping carts, and the persistent beep…beep…beep of checkout counters, most video games just did not appeal to me by the time I got home—there's just so much involved in them. Too many things I'd be forced to do to progress. Too much gunfire, grunting, and the clanging of swords. And…eugh…puzzles.
I'd planned to play so many games—Azrael's Tear, maybe replay Mass Effect—but even the prospect of plugging in my mouse had me searching for something else, anything else to do. I was procrastinating video games the way a student procrastinates studying for finals. Katamari Damacy's time limits were stressing me out, and even TripleTown's ninja bears proved too much for my brain to handle.
Sometimes, even the most avid games enthusiasts fall victim to the sensory overload that their hobby can induce. So during my past few weeks of inactivity, in what little spare time I managed to set aside for video games, the only one I've been able to bring myself to play is… Animal Crossing: City Folk.
Yeah, I went there—Animal Crossing—the game where you spend hours upon hours fishing, digging up fossils, tending to flowers, and paying off extortionate, impossible debts. It is, to put it eloquently, relaxing as fuck. When I was an awkward pre-teen, another awkward pre-teen friend of mine introduced me to Animal Crossing for Gamecube. It was a revelation—a video game where the only objective was to pay off a hefty mortgage at your own pace? Until then, my experience with games had told me that they were all about solving problems, saving the world, and underwater escort missions. Animal Crossing was a game that was truly about nothing, and the Seinfeld fan in me rejoiced at that concept.
While it's somehow never managed to come up when asked about my favorite games of all time, I've been a loyal fan of the Animal Crossing series ever since. Wild World was one of the first games I bought for my Nintendo DS, and City Folk admittedly played a large role in my decision to buy a Wii. I've abandoned towns countless times, returning months later to a place inhabited largely by weeds and rafflesias and ultimately deciding to start anew– but I always do return. The allure of characters as adorable as Pascal and Blathers combined with the draw of managing a small fictional world without the headache of actually having to think about what I'm doing is just too much to pass up. I love loading up my game each day to see if my gardening has yielded me any pretty hybrids, or discussing with my animal neighbors the merits and woes of eating fifty pounds of peach cobbler. I love the freedom of creating clothing patterns, and spending the in-game currency on useless things without having to worry about missing a payment deadline and hurting my credit score.
Similar games just don't do this for me. Harvest Moon is a relaxing series for sure, what with all its pleasant characters and marriageable ladies and the looking after of crops—but miss a day of watering? Fail to woo your lady of choice? You've just screwed yourself over, my friend. But the possibility of screwing yourself over doesn't really exist in Animal Crossing. The Sims brings about the same brain-usage dilemma, where rather than a life simulator it becomes a puzzle in which the objective is to figure out how to ensure your characters have time to sleep, eat, poop, climb their respective career ladders, eat, and then sleep again each day without their kids/spouses/friends/dogs dying of neglect.
Don't get me wrong—I love the stress of ruling over island nations in Tropico, the intensity of fighting off hordes of zombies in Left 4 Dead 2, and the anxiety associated with sneaking past guards in Metal Gear Solid (the alert sound still makes my heart skip a beat every time)—but when I'm trying to use video games as a means to unwind, am I the only one that feels like the aforementioned are pretty counterproductive in that regard?
This is silly. I know, I know, I know. How lazy can I possibly be if I'm in such a slump that I can't muster up the energy to do something as low-impact as lying on the couch playing video games? But sometimes everyday life is so full of crap that you're forced to retreat to an everyday life simulator to make up for the pleasant dullness you've missed out on. Sometimes, even "casual" games aren't casual enough to suit this purpose. Sometimes, you just don't feel like using your brain, but you still would also really like to sit in front of a glowing rectangle and move shapes around in a vaguely coherent fashion with absolutely no end-goal, and I know of no games series more suitable to this purpose than Animal Crossing.


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It's being reported that a new writer is being brought on board the Doctor Strange movie with Jon Spaihts.
Deadline also confirms a shortlist of actors are up for the role of Stephen Strange which include the previously mentioned actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy and Jared Leto.
Jon Spaihts is known for writing the first draft to Prometheus, The Darkest Hour as well as the upcoming film, The Mummy.
Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer are said to have written the first script for Doctor Strange.
Scott Derrickson was recently named as director.


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- Company
- Properties
- Investors
- Careers
- Taseko Talks
May 12, 2011
Vancouver, BC - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE Amex: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company") has purchased put options on its remaining 2011 copper production to protect its minimum 2011 revenue stream.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko, stated; "Copper prices have averaged approximately $4.25/lb over the last 4 months, but the price has experienced extreme volatility on a day over day, and week over week basis. We believe it is prudent financial management, while we are working on our numerous projects, that we guarantee a minimum revenue stream on our Gibraltar production by purchasing puts.
The put structure mechanism is the best of both worlds, like insurance, it allows the Company to predict its minimum cash operating profit based off of our historical cost structure, protecting the downside risk should something unforeseen happen in world metal markets, while allowing us to sell production at higher prices if the opportunity presents itself.
The various puts we have entered into have a cost of approximately 3.5% of the copper selling price which, in turn, insures that we will receive a minimum of $3.61/lb for all of our remaining 2011 copper production."
For further information on Taseko, please see the Company's website www.tasekomines.com or contact: Investor Relations - 778-373-4533, toll free 1-877-441-4533
Russell Hallbauer
President and CEO
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the information contained in this news release.
This document contains "forward-looking statements" that were based on Taseko's expectations, estimates and projections as of the dates as of which those statements were made. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "outlook", "anticipate", "project", "target", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "should" and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These included but are not limited to:
For further information on Taseko, investors should review the Company's annual Form 40-F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission www.sec.gov and home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.


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University of Moncton students speak out against unpaid internships
Student union launches campaign asking province to ease the burden of unpaid work
The student federation at the University of Moncton launched a campaign Tuesday called "My Internship is Ruining Me," asking the government of New Brunswick to put financial measures in place to help students who must complete unpaid internships as part of their degree.
The federation (FEECUM) said students in programs like education, nursing or social work complete unpaid internships in the public sector that often last several months at a time, which can take a financial toll.
"If it's in the way of paying the intern, we might be at that avenue," said FEECUM president Tristian Gaudet. "If it's in the form of bursary, we're open to that also."
Gaudet and other students argue they often end up doing what they say is essentially the work of a paid employee, all while paying tuition.
They also say internships come with many added costs, like medical equipment or vaccines for those in health professions. Others have to pay for transport or accommodation if they are placed outside of Moncton.
"It's definitely been exhausting when it comes to clinicals," said Veronique Cormier, a fourth-year nursing student. "We're there to learn and we do 12-hour shifts, eight-hour shifts, two to three times a week, and a lot of students work at the same time on the weekends, because they have bills to pay."
Sensible demand
Andrew Langille, a Toronto-based labour lawyer and general counsel to the Canadian Intern Association, believes the students' demands are sensible.
After horror stories about unpaid internships recently made headlines across the country, the federal government finally announced changes in its 2017 budget, limiting unpaid internships in the federal public sector.
Langille said the University of Moncton students' demands are in line with trends seen across the country.
He believes despite the recent federal announcement, some provinces still have work to do.
"Given New Brunswick's demographic issues, I would treat this as a pretty serious request," said Langille.
"If young people don't feel that they have the economic wherewithal to survive in New Brunswick, they will move to other jurisdictions in Canada. And I think giving support to young workers and students is incredibly necessary."
Students in New Brunswick are the most indebted in the country, racking up around $35,000 in debt after a bachelors degree on average, according to Statistics Canada.
Internships provide 'valuable experience'
But a spokesperson for the department of post-secondary education, training and labour said those internships are an investment in the students' future wages.
"Students acquire valuable experience in their chosen field at significant cost to the institutions that take them on," said Jason Hoyt, director of communications for the department. He added that no other province in Canada pays students for internships.
Hoyt believes the best method for government to assist students with the cost of their post-secondary education is to target those who need help most. He cited programs like New Brunswick's new free tuition program.
But Langille said he hasn't been able to find any laws in New Brunswick saying students are exempt from being paid minimum wage, as is the case in many other provinces, and believes there are legal as well as moral concerns around the issue.
"New Brunswick is a bit of an odd duck situation in that it doesn't regulate internships to any degree whatsoever. To such a point I would question whether not paying students is even legal," he said.
Langille said he would like to see the government take a long hard look at internships and impose a series of statutory measures that ensure fairness for young workers, including paying them the minimum wage.
"I think it comes down to a moral question of having students work and not paying them," said Gaudet.


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Associate Faculty Members
In accordance with Article 13.2 of the Academic Associate Faculty collective bargaining agreement, Unit members shall become eligible to participate in the District's health insurance plan upon completion of two semesters of 40% FTE (6 LHE) or more service within the preceding two academic years.
Unit members shall be ineligible for continued participation in the Plan if their assignment with the District drops below 6.00 LHE in two consecutive semesters (excludes summer break).
Eligibility will be determined each semester during the open enrollment periods held in August (Fall semester) and January (Spring semester). Those eligible will be notified by email.
Unit members who meet the service eligibility requirements, who do not have employer-paid medical benefits through other employment or as a dependent spouse/domestic partner, are eligible for partially District paid employee-only Kaiser HMO health insurance.
Kaiser HMO Plan
Kaiser Membership Services: (800) 464-4000
Group ID: 116461-0001
$10 Office co-pay
$10 Prescription co-pay
Mail Order Prescriptions: www.kp.org
- 2022/23 Kaiser HMO Plan Summary
- Detailed Explanation of Coverage
List of locations and other benefits: www.kp.org
- Kaiser Counseling Services - (877) 496-0450 AND/OR
- MHN Behavioral Health Option - (888) 327-0020
- 2022/23 Kaiser Chiropractic Benefit Summary
Chiropractic services provided by: American Specialty Health (ASH)
ASH Provider Directory: www.ashcompanies.com/kp or (800) 678-9133
- Kaiser Evidence of Coverage
Part-Time Classified Employees
Newly hired employees who work an average 30 hours per week in short-term temporary assignments may be eligible to participate in the District's Kaiser HMO deductible plan. An offer of enrollment will be made at the end of a one-year eligibility period (12 months from the newly hired employee's hire date).
Open enrollment will be held in November each year. Newly eligible employees who meet the eligibility criteria may enroll as of the start of the new benefit year (January 1).
Kaiser HMO Deductible Plan
Dental Insurance for Part-time Employees
The San Diego County Schools' Fringe Benefits Consortium offers dental insurance for part-time employees:
- Summary of Dental Coverage Call 858.569.5361 to request additional information.


text:
Frankincense Fragrance Oil
Product Name: Frankincense Fragrance Oil
A complex, rich, lush, floral fragrance. Top notes include muguet, ozone floral, citrus, juicy pineapple, ripe banana, raspberry, bergamot and plum. Heart notes of jasmine, lilac, plumeria, ylang ylang, rosemary, chamomile, honeysuckle, hyacinth and camphor. Amber, creamy coconut, powder and musk complete the fragrance.
* Soap * Skin and Hair Care * Gel Candles * Candles / Incense * Potpourri


text:
Financial Modeling for Startups & Small Businesses
Learn the best practices for building practical financial models and forecasts for your startup business.
Financial Modeling for Startups & Small Businesses udemy course free download:
Learn the best practices for building practical financial models and forecasts for your startup business.
What you'll learn:
- Build financial models for your startup business
- Forecast cash needs for your startup business
- Model user growth
- Model revenue
- Model expenses
- Model attrition
- Model various different business models, from tech to brick & mortar
- Use best practices for financial modeling
- Have access to Microsoft Excel 2011 or Newer
- Working knowledge of Excel/spreadsheet core functionality
- Working knowledge of Excel/spreadsheet formulas and cell references
- Working knowledge of basic algebra
Reasons why you should create a financial model for your startup or small business. A good financial model can help you:
Test your assumptions and verify key drivers of your business
Compare and contrast different business choices, like pricing models
Calculate the ACTUAL amount of capital you need to startup
Calculate your burn rate
Model out your user growth
Model out your expenses
Be more prepared talking to potential investors
And loads more.
Building a financial model isn't just a vanity exercise. When done right, it could help you better understand your business, whether it's a startup or an existing business you're growing.
But it's not easy and there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it.
Even if you have little to no finance background, if you're going to be starting or running a business, this is a skill you need to have.
A good financial model is an indicator of how deeply you understand your business model and market. But building a good one requires the right tools and the right approach.
We're going to show you how to do that with a wide variety of examples and exercises. But we'll also be teaching general best practices that will help you, no matter what you'll be building your financial models for in the future.
Why learn from us?
By signing up with us, you will be learning from two highly rated instructors that have a combined student count of over 750,000 students and 100,000 reviews!
Check out our profiles and see that we take care of your students and deliver the goods.
Evan has extensive startup experience and previously worked as a venture capitalist, where he evaluated 100's of startups that trying to convince him to invest in them.
Symon also has startup experience in both tech and brick & mortar businesses. Previously he built tons of models while working in mergers and acquisitions as well as in private equity. And he's helped dozens of startups build financial models across a dozen different business models and industries.
Together, we pull directly from our experience and put it in this course--in fact, two of the case studies use the ACTUAL financial models used to raise funding. The other case studies are inspired by well known startups you're sure to recognize.
How is this different from Symon's Intro to Financial Modeling Course?
The Intro to Financial Modeling course taught by Symon He and Brandon Young is an introductory course on financial modeling that presents a general overview covering the topic and is more relevant to those who wish to explore finance as a career option or those who want to understand financial modeling in a corporate context.
This course is all about financial modeling for startup businesses so it's more geared towards entrepreneurs or business owners who want to better understand the key drivers of a new business.
There is almost zero overlap. Even though both courses introduce a lemonade stand as an example, those examples and models are quite different as they serve very different purposes.
What if I don't have any finance or Excel background?
No worries! This course isn't an Excel or Finance course, although you will learn a bit of both. We focus more on the rationale and the logic of modeling specifically for startups or growing businesses, so you can take what you learn to other spreadsheet tools.
But it will take practice. You won't get better just watching the videos. That's why have lots of practice exercises and sample models for you to learn from.
What will I be able to do after I take your course?
After taking our course, you will be:
Able to confidently build financial models for your startup or new business from scratch
Able to apply the best financial modeling practices and techniques
Able to read and understand other financial models by looking at lots of practice models and case studies
Able to leverage financial modeling to help you make smarter choices about your business.
Able to learn a new skill set that you can take with you for any and every business venture you take up in the future.
Why lemonade stand example?
Because learning how to model on its own is tough enough but learning it while also having to learn a new business model makes it even harder.
But, even with a simple business model such as a lemonade stand, you'll be surprised by how complex and sophisticated the analysis could become.
And since this is all about modeling for startups and new businesses, this example is different from the one in the Intro to Financial Modeling course.
After the simple lemonade example, we cover 7 distinct case studies involving different business models in different industries.
Tell me again why I should take your course?
You have absolutely ZERO risk.
Udemy gives you a solid as an oak tree 30-day money back guarantee.
So if you've read this far, we welcome you to join us inside.
Who this course is for:
- Someone who wants to understand how to create a financial model for a startup business
- Someone who wants to start a new business
- Someone who wants to leverage financial modeling to make better business decisions
- Someone who wants to better analyze business opportunities
- Someone interested in doing a startup and plan on raising VC funding
- Someone interested in starting a brick & mortar business
Course Details:
- 11.5 hours on-demand video
- 13 articles
- 92 downloadable resources
- Full lifetime access
- Access on mobile and TV
- Certificate of completion
Financial Modeling for Startups & Small Businesses
Learn the best practices for building practical financial models and forecasts for your startup business.
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Demo Link: https://fastly-testing.udemy.com/course/financial-modeling-for-startups-small-businesses/


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About Me
Members Online:
Ragner Storyteller's Biography
To Authors Index
Ellis Peterson AKA Ragnar Storyteller (
earned Viking name
) is 72 and a skald and runemaster. He is a retired math professor and electrical engineer. He brings his scientific knowledge of Quantum Physics into his Runic Information Website. He offers a unique approach to Runes and Quantum Physcis. He offers free Runic and Quantum Physics essays and articles plus a free newsletter. To take advantage of his uniquely interesting stuff check out his website at [
[email protected]
Ragnar write about himself:
Before you embark on using the Runes for Rune Meditation, Rune Yoga, Rune Study, Rune Magick, or Bindrune Making, make sure that you know something about the person you are taking the instructions from.
Why? Runes are Universal Creative Energies and therefore very, very powerful. They were never meant for divination or writing. They were meant to CREATE.
Each individual Rune is a key to a very powerful energy.
Don't play around with them!
Ragnar Storyteller is my earned viking name because of all that I have written about Odin and the Vikings.
Ellis Peterson is my other name. I am a Swede. My ancestors are from Upsala. My father and grandfather are both viking berserker's. They would fight at the drop of a hat all the while biting on their tongues. My grandfather lost an arm when he fell off a 3 story roof while tarring it. That did not stop him. He would still go to the bar and when he was drunk pick a fight, even with one arm. I have their blood running through my veins.
At 70+ I fight with my mind and the runes.
They are both in Valhalla now. My grandfather was gassed in France in WWI. My father's ship was torpedoed at the Battle of Midway in WWII. I followed in their footsteps and am a Koreran War vet.
But I see now that we cannot protect our Northern European Heritage by fighting. These are not the times for that. So I am now choosing the Sword of the Mind to battle on for my kindred.
Being a greybeard I see things now a lot clearer that I did when younger. I see that man's purpose on earth is to evolve. To become godlike, so said Nietsche and others.
First of all, I am 70+, a retired math professor and electrical engineer. I am a radionics and orgone technology scientist and have made my own devices.
I am a Viking Skald and Runemaster. I have been studying the runes for 25 years. I belonged to several well known Asatru Groups in Arizona. I ran an Asatru Prison Ministry where I communicated and sent free literature to over 700 viking inmates in jails and prisons.
I wrote several books on Odin and Vikings. I have written over 200 articles and essasys (many are on my websites.)
I run two successful websites.
And, I HAVE BEEN OUTLAWED BY SEVERAL ASATRU COMMUNITIES BECAUSE OF WHAT I WRITE.
What is it I write? I am the first Viking to try and bring the Runes and the gods/goddesses of our ancestors out of the dark ages of Viking raids and into the light of the 21st century. I use the language and science of Radionics and Quantum Physics to do my rituals and blots. The god's of Arizona don't like this.
I write for the individual Viking who wants to work from home and not join one of their organizations. They do not like this. I say that I have not met a Viking Godi with any power. They do not like this. I say we can no longer go into the woods and do blots and rituals out of outdated ritual books and ask the gods/goddesses to come down and help us. They don't like this.
Why are they and us at times, so childish to think that we have earned the right for the manifestation of a god or goddess into our lives? They don't like this.Closed minds in any religion are dangerous.
Beside what would we do with the giant red bearded Thor if he were to manifest himself into our lives. He would be out of place just like axe or sword would be out of place on a modern field of battle.
Although we cannot manifest the God Thor into our lives, we can use the science of Quantum Physics to attract the RUNIC POWERS OF THOR out of the Quantum Ocean and into our lives.
Gods do not do things for us. Thor will not protect us. But by attracting Thor's energy out of the Quantum Ocean and into our lives we can protect ourslves. Same with all the energies of all the gods and goddesses.
I have been to many Asatru blots in the woods. I have never met a Godi who had any power to manifest a god/goddess of the North into our circle. Why? Because they do not have the runes inside of them. No power!
The runes are the key to the gods/goddesses. Each Rune is a key to a powerful energy and is associated with a god/goddess. So when you learn how to get the runic energies inside of you. you will not become Thor, but you will be Thor-like. You will have his energies and power.
I have never seen another site on the net that talks about bringing the runes and gods/goddesses into the 21st century.
I told the Godi's and self appointed leaders of the various Asatru groups what I thought and they marked me outlaw.
So be it!
I told you that I never met a Godi (
viking shaman
) with power. But I have met Native American shamans with power. I spent a whole summer with a Cherokee Medicine Man, Willie Whitfeather, in the Arizona desert. He had power and I saw many of his manifestations.
He told me that real magic must be done alone and with proper preparation. Sweat lodges, vision quests and getting the spirit of what you wanted to do inside of you first.
He took me to Four Corners, Arizona and introduced me to the Grandfather, the 112 year old Hopi Shaman.
Talk about power. I was allowed to enter the sacred caves where the 3000 year old pictographs on the walls fortold of the arrival of Columbus and his three ships.
Why me? Willie said he could see my spirit and it was wise, powerful and true. He named me Curious Bear because of the constant stream of questions I asked him and the Grandfather. I wanted to KNOW!
Because of my intrusion, I was chased down the Arizona Highway by Apache Warrior spirits. You can read about it on one of my pages listed below.
Willie said that the whole massacre at Wounded Knee was all about power. The Native Americans were about to manifest the spirits of their great dead warriors to help them in their fight. The government knew all about their magick and power rituals so they slaughtered them all.
We have power and the power lies in our RUNES, not in outdated rituals.
I spent the last five years doing rune meditations, rune yoga, rune magick, rune rituals etc so that I could get the runic energies out of the quantum ocean ,where ALL energy exists, and into my aura. Now I carry them around with me and use them when I need them.
I have written about these new methods in the 110 pages on this website. They are different. They use the Laws of Quantum Physics, radionics and the secrets of MENTAL MIND MAGICK, which is thousands of years old. All shamans, magicians, voodoo priests etc know about them.
There have always been enlightened men and women. They all say one thing in common using different words. There is a great medium of mind and intelligence that knows and does everything. This thinking intelligence will create whatever the mind of man thinks into it. This infinite thinking stuff is what is now called the Quantum Ocean.
The Runes are in this Quantum Ocean. Therefore the Runes and the Laws of Quantum Physics offer us the greatest challenge and the greatest hope for our children and grand children through peace. love, cooperation and creativity.
Not with the 1000 year old axe and sword, hate, war and prejudice.
We discovered the Runes, Quantum Physcis and Radionics. Let's use them. LET US OUT THINK THEM. Our Northern European minds are our greates weapon.
I know that this site and the information on it is not for everyone. But I say this: if we do not update our magic and rituals so that they are in tune with the 21st century, then Asatru will go the way of all the other religions who will not change. It will die as they are dying. You can see it all around you.
Even Willie Whitefeather is helping his people incorporate change. What do you think the Casinos are?
We discovered the sciences of Quantum Physics and Radionics. They are now our weapons of defense.
I hope you enjoy what I write and have the patience to practice with the runes. If you do then you can change your life for the better and strengthen the ancestral soul of our peoples.
Let us use the Runes and our Minds and fulfill our destiny of becoming more Godlike
Thank you!
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/636733
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Copyright (c) 2008 darkbooks.org. All rights reserved.
Please read our
Terms & Conditions


text: Fabienne Chapot is a new brand to Collen and Clare this Spring / Summer and we are crazy for it! Imagine a brand where the colours are deeper and richer, where the patterns are intricate and almost alive, a place for laughter, adventure and creativity. Explore our collection below for all your fashion needs.


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The great Leon Russell died in his sleep over the weekend at 74—and who among us will remember his music? The seasoned session pianist-turned-bandleader-turned solo artist, champion of the Tulsa sound, top-hat-wearing, country-fried Master of Time and Space will always be remembered by those who shared a stage with him. Leon Russell was a true musician's musician.
But while Leonard Cohen's music spoke of love, sex and death, while Phife Dawg's flow pulsated with timely political resonance, while Prince's meditations on sex and identity gained added resonance once he passed, while Bowie's philosophies of celestial consciousness elegantly telegraphed the cosmos, how does death put an elegant bow on Russell's legacy? For a man who played with almost everyone in the '60s and recorded a whopping 31 albums of his own with the boisterous boogie-woogie of country life, it can't.
So perhaps it's best to understand the extent to which Leon Russell's efforts are embedded in the story of American music.
You can hear his electric piano on The Byrds' cover "Mister Tambourine Man", and as Gene Clark sang on another Russell-backed tune, he had us on his trip right from the start. Russell's piano keeps the bright organ and the backing rhythm tied together on a little Beach Boys song called "California Girls", too. Elton John, Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Campbell, Doris Day, Willie Nelson, Badfinger, The Rolling Stones, the list goes on. Everyone in the game knew Russell, and they all felt a surge of energy whenever he sat down at the keys.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XonFZjuyc6E]
Russell's larger-than-life command of his instrument conjured a sense of seriousness that his often playful lyrics and melodies toyed around with. As a co-writer of Gary Lewis and The Playboys' "Everybody Loves a Clown", his buoyant melody met the tragi-comedy of the tune with ease.
But when it came time to play bandleader, Russell didn't fuck around. He learned both seriousness and style in the nightclubs of Tulsa, Okla., passing through Oklahoma City as a 14-year-old boy to make the trip, then lying about his age so he could play. There he cut his teeth with J.J. Cale in his first band, The Starlighters, and Jerry Lee Lewis brought him on tour. Russell also met Ronnie Hawkins in Tulsa. As a mentor, The Hawk taught him to jam years before he ever helped form The Band. Fortified by another unsung hero who merged the great American heartland with psychedelic grooves, Russell was unstoppable.
That image of Russell as The Mad Hatter was crystalized during his time as bandleader on the great Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour, which eventually resulted in a smash live album that spoke equally to Russell's mastery of the great American songbook as it did Cocker's. Listen to Cocker and Russell groove through Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire" for a particularly Gospel-tinged take on the classic.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFph0ZdjzMc]
Russell recorded a great record with fellow session dude Marc Benno as The Asylum Choir in '68, but that Joe Cocker tour put Russell in a prime position to release his masterful self-titled solo debut.
For personnel on his '70 debut, he called upon his friends—Cocker, Jagger, Clapton, Winwood, all of the Beatles but Paul. For back-up singers, he borrowed some of Ike Turner's "Ikettes." That debut's opener, "A Song For You", went on to become Russell's first hit, and has been covered by many, perhaps most famously by Ray Charles.
His versions of "I Put a Spell on You" and "Give Peace a Chance" that appeared on that record were no covers, but groovy originals, almost a joking comment on how much of his career he'd spent playing other people's music. To listen to the gorgeous righteousness of "Hummingbird" flowing into "Delta Lady" is to receive the full boon of Russell's gifts as a composer—songs as poignant and sincere as they are jubilant. Rolling Stone called his music "churchy."
That interview with Rolling Stone reveals how much importance Russell placed on a "tribal" vibe to his music, which suggests why he was so good at keeping a band on the same page. "The audience is why they have rock and roll concerts, because that's the only missing element in the tribal culture," he said. "Well, an analogy to more primitive cultures would be—'the only thing missing is the drummers.' They've got the campfire, they've got the circle, but they just don't have the drummers, and that's where the rock and roll bands come in.
"The only thing that's unfortunate about it is that for some reason or another, there's no ritual. I mean, the ritual's in the formative stages now. The tribe is just starting to recognize patterns in existence. In India the Indian music is essentially the same form as blues, in that it's spontaneity within a certain restricted format. But in India it's a religion, and the restrictions are known by everybody and they know what their participation is and it's just like a way of life. Here everybody's still seeking out the patterns, like the festivals are the closest thing I can see in our modern civilization because it's the way for people to expend non-specific energies."
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rokNTY_qLC4]
Russell seemed to own these musings on 1972's Carney, a loosely circus-themed collection of songs that broke him into the No. 2 album spot with its opening track, "Tightrope"—"I'm up on the tightwire/flanked by life and the funeral pyre/putting on a show for you to see."
As an album, Carney is kind of all over the place, but the stylistic jumble fits the theme. "Out in the Woods" conjures Dr. John vibes more than "Cajun Love Song", while "Manhattan Island Serenade" channels Randy Newman—you can hear Russell listening to his contemporaries while working out amazing songs in their mold.
Get past the 30 or so opening seconds of rain sounds in "Manhattan Island Serenade" and chew on how devastatingly fucking simple those lyrics are—"Sittin' on a highway in a broken van/Thinkin' of you again."
As Russell kept cranking out the records, he continued challenging himself as a performer capable of many moods and styles, not just the turned-up celebration. Returning to his alias Hank Wilson a year later on 1973's Hank Wilson's Back, he rejoined with J.J. Cale and reminded those he grew up with that he could still kick out the country classics with ease.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHoFvUo5nBg]
"That's the way I make my music, and that's the way I prefer to live," he told Rolling Stone, "instead of sitting around getting moldy—I've been doing that too much in my life already."
By the time he recorded his 2010 duet album with Elton John, The Union, Russell's health had been failing him and he had been out of the spotlight for a while, releasing cold and sterile MIDI music. John, who considered Russell one of his great mentors, repaid the favor to his teacher. Serving as the future connective tissue between John's Tumbleweed Connection and Russell's self-titled masterwork, The Union cemented his place in the canon. A year later, John inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
So again we must ask, who will remember Leon Russell? Surely those who've played with him, and a fair share of baby boomers are aware of the magic that came with every key the man touched.
But will my generation take the time to discover the stories and the relationships that put this man at the center of some of American music's greatest unions?
And if not, what does that say about our sense of nomadic musical tribalism today?
"Well, that's the hope," Russell told Rolling Stone in that 1970 interview. "The wondering wanderer. That's the whole bag—the songs, the performance, the whole lifestyle. Make people wonder. Make myself wonder, too. And it's great."


text:
The article UPS Thinks Out of the Box on Driver Training from Wall Street Journal via Yahoo talks about UPS needing to hire 25,000 new drivers in the next few years. The article says that their average annual pay for UPS drivers is $74,000.
I'm sure that some people are thinking to themselves that $74,000 to drive a brown truck sounds like a great wage. I don't disagree with that but there are some things to take into consideration.
First of all that $74,000 annual average figure is adding in overtime pay. A little older article I found said that pay is $55,000 and can rise to $70,000 with overtime. Given that I would estimate they are making about $27/hr and working 9-10 hr days to log around 400 overtime hours per year.
Second the work can be heavily demanding. UPS drivers have to carry heavy packages and must be in good physical shape. Plus you have to be pretty skillful driver. Driving a big truck around town all day is much harder than it looks.
Third point that is probably the biggest is that UPS drivers usually* don't walk into delivery truck jobs on day one. You have to work your way up the ladder at UPS before you become a driver. Generally people start as package handlers in UPS hub and then work their way up to driver. Working as a package handler is a part time job for 3-5 hrs a day with pay rates around $8-10 per hour. You may have to work as a handler for years before you get a shot at driving as a temporary driver during the busy Christmas season. Working your way up to a good job isn't a bad thing. But the real problem with this is that part time pay for $8-10/hr is not much to support yourself on initially. And whats more, working as a package handler is extremely hard work. The job consists of basically moving heavy boxes non stop for several hours. The UPS.com site says: "This is a physical, fast-paced position that involves continual lifting, lowering and sliding packages that typically weigh 25 - 35 lbs. and may weigh up to 70 lbs." Thats all they do is lift and move boxes. Most people can not handle it.
If you are ok with working your way up for a few years, working very hard and putting in overtime during the busy season then working as a UPS driver could potentially be a very good job.
* edit : I added the word 'usually' there after comments from several readers. My personal experience at the UPS where I worked was that drivers had to work their way up from sorting jobs. But that is not the case everywhere and other drivers are hired straight into driving positions.
April 19, 2010
Is UPS Driver a Good Job?
The article UPS Thinks Out of the Box on Driver Training from Wall Street Journal via Yahoo talks about UPS needing to hire 25,000 new drivers in the next few years. The article says that their average annual pay for UPS drivers is $74,000.


text:
Beautyrest Black Mattress Review (2023)
Disclaimer: We are owned and operated by GoodMorning.com. We hire 3rd-party engineers and use public data to rate mattresses on over 30 criteria that we believe are important. Brands we own – Brunswick, Douglas, Juno, Octave, Logan & Cove, Novosbed, Podium, and Recore – are reviewed and advertised where indicated. Views expressed here are our opinions only. Full details.
Overall Rating
This particular model of Beautyrest Black mattress may no longer be available.
From well-known mattress pioneer Simmons comes the Beautyrest Black. This mattress line competes with fellow big name, in-store brands (Sealy, Stearns and Foster), as well as the online brand Logan & Cove. For this review, we tested one of the most popular mattresses in the collection, the Beautyrest Black Devotion. The mattress is made in Canada and retails for $3,374 CAD for a queen. Fees, trial lengths, refund polices, and delivery details depend on the retailer.
The Beautyrest Black comes in multiple firmness options and configurations. Thorough testing carried out by our independent contracted engineers place the Beautyrest Black Devotion mattress at 6.7 out of 10 on the firmness scale.
- Available to try in store
- Combines foam and innerspring benefits
- Sleep climate technology
- Compatible with adjustable bases
- Made in Canada
- Availability dependent on retailer
- Fee for home delivery
- Cover is not removable
- No refunds
- Firmness levels not adjustable
You May Prefer
Logan & Cove
Luxury Hybrid Mattress
Get FREE Sheets, Pillows, Pillow Protectors, and Mattress Protector with Mattress AND MORE! ($400 Value for Queen)
Sale ends October 4th. Terms apply.
Only $999 for a Queen, Logan & Cove is our Top Pick for HYBRID MATTRESS in CANADA.
Why? Because Logan & Cove is a luxurious blend of up to 1,200 individually pocketed coils and cooling gel foam for balanced comfort and motion isolation. Delivered conveniently in a box, the Logan & Cove hybrid mattress is made in Canada and is available to try at home for 365 nights with a full refund guarantee.
Table of Contents
Jump to any section by clicking the links below:
How we reviewed the Beautyrest Black mattress
As with all mattress reviews and comparisons on Mattress-Reviews.com, GoodMorning.com Inc. tests major online mattress brands to continually update and improve its own products. Analyzing the builds, brands, and specifications of competitor mattresses ensures GoodMorning.com always offers the best possible value to its customers.
To provide a consistent benchmark for our tests, we commission third-party engineers to test every mattress in the exact same way. You can view the methodology of testing and the APEGA-stamped results document here.
Without further ado, our Beautyrest Black Mattress Review:
Beautyrest Black Mattress: Company Overview
|Company Overview
|Beautyrest Black
|2006 (launch of Beautyrest Black line)
|Price (Queen):
|Available in:
|Made in:
|USA, Canada
|Trial length:
|Dependent on retailer
|10 years
|Where to buy:
|Traditional mattress stores (Sleep Country, Leon's, The Bay);
Simmons boasts an established history in the mattress industry that goes all the way back to the 1800s. More recently, Simmons introduced its pillow-top Beautyrest Black line in 2006. The Beautyrest Black line is described on the Beautyrest site as, "smart innovation and undeniable style and luxury."
However, the Beautyrest Black line has seen significant competition in recent years from online mattress brands like Douglas and Octave, who ship directly to buyers and bypass the brick-and-mortar retail model.
Shopping Tips
Planning on visiting a mattress store in the near future? Don't make one of the most common (and costly) mistakes people make when shopping for beds. To save time and money, Read This Before You Visit a Mattress Store.
Beautyrest Black Mattress: Delivery, Sleep Trial, Returns
|Delivery, Trial, Returns
|Beautyrest Black
|Shipping cost:
|Dependent on retailer
|Shipping time:
|3–10 business days
|Sleep trial length:
|Dependent on retailer
|Return ease:
|Dependent on retailer
|Dependent on retailer
|Additional fees:
|Dependent on retailer
The Simmons Beautyrest Black mattress will vary by retailer based on stock availability and delivery schedules. The model used in this review – the Beautyrest Black Devotion – was ordered at The Brick and was delivered within 3 to 10 days.
Mattress retailers often use their own delivery service to deliver Beautyrest Black mattresses. The delivery is often 'white glove,' which means that the mattress is delivered to the room of choice, placed on the surface of choice, the packaging is removed, and the old mattress is taken away.
Each mattress retailer who stocks and sells Beautyrest Black mattresses may or may not offer a sleep trial. Beautyrest Black customers in Canada may be offered a sleep trial window, a period of time to test the mattress at home and return or exchange it within an announced time frame. These policies, along with fee and warranty structures, are dependent on the retailer.
Mattress buyers in Canada who choose to purchase a Beautyrest Black mattress at a retail store may incur restocking fees for returned mattresses; again, this is dependent on the individual retailer's terms and conditions.
Beautyrest Black Mattress: Out of the Box
The Beautyrest Black mattress is not delivered in a box. Depending on the retailer, white-glove delivery service is often included in the price of a Beautyrest Black mattress.
Beautyrest Black Mattress: Construction
|Beautyrest Black
|Mattress height:
|Number of layers:
|Comfort layer:
|2.25" GelTouch foam;
1" Micro Diamond™ Infused AirCool® memory foam
|Transition layer:
|1" adaptive memory foam
|Support layer:
|9.75" firm gauge pocket coils
|Cover materials:
|86% polyester, 13% viscose, 1% spandex
|Machine washable:
|Made in:
|USA, Canada
Beautyrest Black is a hybrid mattress, meaning that its foam pillow top and coiled support combine to bring the best of two construction methods together.
This mattress tested in this review, the Beautyrest Black Devotion, is available only in one firmness option and boasts a combination of materials that provide support while offering a cooling sleep.
Beautyrest Black Mattress Layers
The Beautyrest Black Devotion mattress contains four layers. Like many innovative mattresses on the market today, every layer of the mattress works in tandem to provide a harmony of support and comfort.
The first layer of this mattress is GelTouch foam. Combining heat-dissipating gel with an adequate amount of plush contouring, this layer was designed to provide both cooling and comfort
As its name implies, the second layer is infused with actual diamond particles. Complementing the first layer, these particles are outfitted to add cooling by directing heat away from the body.
The third layer, though memory foam, is still designed to offer gentle support to your body. This layer achieves this effect while also keeping the mattress extra cool by using pressure and not heat to contour to the body.
The fourth and final layer is 9.75" of firm gauge pocket coils. This design contains triple-wrapped coils for elevated motion isolation and durable contouring.
Unfortunately, the density information for the layers is not available on the Beautyrest website.
Beautyrest Black Mattress Cover
The Beautyrest Black Devotion's pillow top displays a subtle, textured design – mostly black or dark grey with stitched floral accents. The sides are dark with geometric patterns across the full length. All in all, the cover has an elegant look which matches the theme of this stylish, luxury line.
According to the product tag, the mattress cover is a blend of synthetic fabrics: 86% polyester, 13% viscose, and 1% spandex. Right under the top cover of the mattress is a thin layer of Tencel™ fibres that further add to the heat-dissipating effects of this mattress.
The pillow-top cover is neither removable nor machine washable. Therefore, the only option for cleaning this mattress is spot cleaning.
Beautyrest Black Mattress: Environmental Sustainability
|Beautyrest Black
|Green policies:
|None mentioned on the website
|Social responsibility:
|None mentioned on the website
|Box materials:
|No box
|Foam materials:
|Cover materials:
|86% polyester, 13% viscose, 1% spandex
|Green manufacturing:
|None mentioned on the website
Beautyrest Black Mattress: Feel and Firmness
|Feel & Firmness
|Beautyrest Black
|6.7 / 10
|Edge support:
|4.4 / 10
|Motion isolation:
|7.8 / 10
|4.5 / 10
Feel & Firmness
Like many other hybrid beds, the Beautyrest Black Devotion is a medium-firm mattress. According to the testing conducted by third-party engineers (commissioned by us), it comes in at a 6.7 / 10 on the firmness scale. The Beautyrest Black mattress has a bit of 'hug' in the pillow top but is not excessively soft due to the innerspring supportiveness.
Motion Isolation
Motion isolation on the hybrid Beautyrest Black is quite exceptional. According to the testing conducted by third-party engineers (commissioned by us), minimal motion transfer was detected with the Beautyrest Black Devotion mattress: it ranked 7.8 / 10 on the motion isolation scale
Edge Support
Mattresses containing foam are not known for their edge support; and even with the addition of innerspring support, the Beautyrest Black is no exception. According to the testing conducted by third-party engineers (commissioned by us), it ranked 4.4 / 10 on the edge support scale.
Though it does contain foam, which is known for its low bounce volume, the innerspring in this mattress does give the sleep surface a moderate amount of bounce. According to the testing conducted by third-party engineers (commissioned by us), the Beautyrest Black mattress ranked 4.5 / 10 on the bounce scale.
Beautyrest Black Mattress: Price
Twin XL
Cal King
Beautyrest Black Mattress: Overview
|Beautyrest Black
|Price (Queen):
|Available in:
|Made in:
|USA, Canada
|Trial length:
|Dependent on retailer
|10 years
|Number of layers:
|Cover materials:
|86% polyester, 13% viscose, 1% spandex
|Machine washable:
|Green policies:
|No mention on website
|6.7 / 10
|Edge support:
|4.4 / 10
|Motion isolation:
|7.8 / 10
|4.5 / 10
|Where to buy:
|Traditional mattress stores (Sleep Country, Leon's, The Bay);
Who buys a Beautyrest Black mattress?
Boasting a stylish elegance and a foam actually infused with diamond material, the Beautyrest Black line is available to Canadians across the country. Those who are looking for a medium-soft feel within the best of both memory foam and innerspring would enjoy the Beautyrest Black Devotion.
Buy Beautyrest Black if you want:
- To stick with the well-established Simmons brand
- To test the mattress in store
- A mattress made in Canada
- The option of in-home delivery


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Welcome to the Benijofar Area Guide. Benijofar is a small quiet village between Ciudad Quesada and Rojales. Benijofar has completely modernised it´s town square, making it a wonderful place to meet friends, have a drink or a meal in one of the many cafes and bars.
Benimar is a large urbanisation in Benijofar and has proven very popular with both Spanish and foreigners alike, looking for typical Spanish living. Benijofar is close to the La Marquesa Golf Club. The next village to Benijofar is Formentera Del Segura which is easily reached and has become popular for it´s indoor "British" market and auction.
Benijofar is served by many large shops and supermarkets. It proximity to the AP7 Auto Pista Mediterraneo means that Alicante airport is only a 20 minute drive away and Murcia airport is just 40 minutes away.
The nearest beaches are a 10 min. drive to Guardamar del Segura and the Aqua Parc is only a five minute drive located in Ciudad Quesada.
Benijofa Area Guide - 2015


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ICC policy statement on Freedom of Commercial Communications
The purpose of this policy statement is to present the position of world business on the issue of the freedom of commercial communication.
This policy statement is an updated version of the ICC policy statement on Freedom of Commercial Communication (240-474), that was published by the Marketing Commission in 2003 and has been subsequently updated following a mandate by the Commission at its January 2014 meeting.
The policy statement outlines ICC principles related to this freedom, to self-regulation and to business recognition of its responsibility to consumers in providing legal, decent, honest and truthful commercial communications. Freedom of advertising and commercial speech, underpinned by effective self-regulation, are cornerstones of the market economy, and should be vigorously protected and promoted by ICC, as well as governments and business associations alike.


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Jump to:
Turns out mac and cheese can also be both vegan and delicious. It can be even more delicious if you spread it over pizza dough, sprinkle bread crumbs on top of it and bake it in the oven.
You know, just a normal meal.
I found this recipe for macaroni and cheese on the Daiya website. The only changes that I made were cutting the recipe size in half and omitting the nutritional yeast and vegan parmesan cheese.
I'm not sure why I love the Daiya in this macaroni and cheese while I've found it unappealing on pizzas in the past.
Maybe it's because it's mixed in with other ingredients in this dish. Maybe it's the way it's melted down with Earth Balance and milk. Whatever the reason, I like it much better.
- 4 ounces dry macaroni pasta;
- 3/4 cup Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds;
- 3/4 cup Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds;
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread;
- 1 cup unsweetened rice milk;
- sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper;
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs;
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika;
- 1 pre-made pizza crust (or you can make your own, more on that below);
- 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and brush the outer edges of your pizza crust with the olive oil. If you want to make your own dough.
- Cook and strain the macaroni according to the package directions.
- Melt the Earth Balance in a small pot over medium heat. Add in the rice milk, sprinkle of black pepper and two cheeses and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat, pour over the cooked macaroni and stir.
- Spoon the macaroni and cheese on top of your pizza crust, spreading it evenly and stopping about 1 inch from the edges. Sprinkle with paprika and top with bread crumbs.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese begins to brown.
- Remove from oven and eat immediately. If you can somehow find enough inner strength to not devour the entire thing in one sitting, this pizza will also be very good the next day.


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I WAS off to visit one of the world's foremost philosophers of the mind, and it had got me thinking. As I started the drive to Canberra, the radio was bringing news about the riots in Britain, the collapse of world stock markets and the vicious repression of dissidents in Syria. So I turned off the distracting world at large and tried to concentrate on the world in my head. I tried to take note of my thought processes – to be aware of my unique awareness and cognisant of my singular perceptions. What was I thinking? Or feeling? Or experiencing?
Luckily it was a beautiful, clear winter's day, perfect for driving – and therefore perfect for thinking. I swept down the highway, aware of the speed limit but anxious about being late. I became conscious of my mind and its incessant wandering and jump-cutting. Associations bred thoughts, which resulted in feelings, which then changed into something else again.
Look: a dead fox by the side of the road. "Not so clever now, eh, Mr Fox?" I thought. When did I see Fantastic Mr Fox? Was George Clooney in that? Look at that, another dead fox. Two in just two… Watch out, you're nudging 120 again… A detour through Goulburn because of a truck crash – bugger, bound to be late now. Oh, the Big Merino. I went on a school excursion there when I was eleven – thought it had closed down.
Is this really my consciousness in action, all over the place like a maggot on a hot chop, I asked myself. (Phew, the Federal Highway at last, almost there!) Well, yes, I guess it is.
And then I was skirting the edge of Lake George. I focused on a single memory. My father's work as a travelling salesman took him to Canberra along this road many, many times and he once told me something interesting about Lake George.
Sometimes, he said, it's full, and sometimes it's largely empty. I looked across the vast expanse of grass that is Lake George today, towards the wind farm far on the other side. The water rises and falls, my father used to tell me, but no one knows where it comes from or where it goes; it's all a bit of a mystery. There were theories, of course – high evaporation rates might lead to sudden drops in the lake's depth; maybe hidden aquifers disperse it into the Yass River. But no one really knew for sure. At least that's how he told it. It sounded a bit like the study of consciousness.
"WHEN I was ten, I got glasses for the first time because I was short-sighted in one eye. The whole world moved into 3D; it suddenly got somehow deeper."
David Chalmers, professor of philosophy and director of the Centre for Consciousness at the Australian National University, is telling me about the first time he really became aware of the problem of consciousness. "Suddenly I had binocular vision and the world just popped out. And I thought, what the hell is going on here?"
The young Chalmers knew enough to realise that there was a scientific explanation for what he was experiencing. Yet he felt – intuitively – that there was more here than met the eye. Literally. "Why does it feel like this? From the inside? Why does it sort of just pop out, subjectively?"
Although he didn't realise it at the time, Chalmers had discovered the question that would still dominate his intellectual life nearly forty years later. "How does all that objective stuff – the processing of the brain that you might understand from a mechanical point of view – how does that produce subjective experience?" And nobody, says Chalmers, really knows the answer.
The adolescent Chalmers was a self-described "science geek," the nerdy kid who read books like Douglas Hofstadter's bestseller on the mysteries of cognitive science, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. By the time he got to Adelaide University he was well on his way to a career as a mathematician.
But the interest in philosophy, particularly the philosophy of the mind, lingered. "You scratch a scientist and you'll find a philosopher," he says. "Get them in the pub and give them a few drinks and pretty soon the physicists who've been talking about their experiments will be asking, What does it all mean? What is time? How does the mind work?"
Chalmers did very well at university – except in the one philosophy subject he took. He didn't fail, but he didn't excel at it either. Then he got a Rhodes Scholarship and went to Oxford in 1987 to do a doctorate in mathematics. But his heart wasn't in it.
He had come to the view that the frontiers of mathematics had already been thoroughly explored. "There are big problems in maths, but they're not fundamental problems. The most fundamental but unanswered questions in science were to do with the mind." He wanted to do philosophy and he wanted to study consciousness.
So a young man with a brilliant track record in one subject decided to follow his passion and start almost from scratch in another tough field of intellectual endeavour. And then of course he had to tell his parents.
It was, he says now, a bit of a difficult time. "At one point my Dad said, Don't tell me you're going to spend your life looking for the soul? And I said, Yep, that's pretty much it. But now I think he's made his peace with that decision."
When Chalmers finally decided it was philosophy or bust, he looked into using his Rhodes Scholarship to do an undergraduate degree in the discipline. "Oh, no – you don't want to do that," he was told. "You should go straight into the graduate program." Chalmers was a little taken aback: "What kind of Mickey Mouse field is this?" He remembers thinking that in maths it would be "totally impossible" to slip into a discipline in this way.
Oxford philosophy, he soon discovered, was not his cup of tea. A bit conservative, a bit too concerned with language, and not fascinated enough by the questions that fascinated him. So he wrote to the man whose book had made such an impression on him as a teenager. And Douglas Hofstadter wrote back to him, and said he should come to Indiana University. Chalmers's first thought was: "Where's Indiana?" And his second was: "When can I get there?"
When he finally arrived at Hofstadter's Center for Research on Concepts and Cognition to research his PhD in 1989, he discovered three things. He had found his life's work. He had joined the community of scholars he needed to pursue it. And, to top it all off, he had arrived at one of the world's pre-eminent research centres devoted to the study of consciousness just as interest in the area was reawakening all around the world and across a number of disciplines. His timing was perfect.
After laying dormant for a good part of the twentieth century, it's difficult to say exactly why the problem of consciousness took off in the early 1990s. But there were some key developments around this time.
The development of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, and other brain scan technologies revolutionised the study of neuroscience in the early 1990s. And when the functional MRI came on the scene a little later, scientists had the ability for the first time to map the brain and its processes as they occurred. They could watch as different parts of the brain responded to external stimuli. They could observe the neural correlates for speech, or vision or fear. So could neuroscientists armed with an MRI machine unlock the mystery of consciousness?
Suddenly, consciousness was cool and people wanted to talk about it. At about the same time renowned scientists started to take a keen interest in speculating about consciousness. Francis Crick – one of the discoverers of DNA – published The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul and declared that "consciousness is now largely a scientific problem." A little while later the American philosopher Daniel Dennett entered the arena with a book titled simply, Consciousness Explained.
So there it was: consciousness was in plain sight, its understanding easily within our grasp. David Chalmers wasn't so sure.
THE MAN who answers my knock on his front door is tall, with long, greying hair. He famously favours bright T-shirts; today it's an Aboriginal design in red and yellow. He might be one of Australia's leading philosophers, but to me he looks like the keyboardist from a band that was big in the eighties.
Chalmers lives in a large, modern brick house surrounded by bush in the hills above Queanbeyan. It has a pool and a beautiful outlook. I ask him why a man who lives alone needs such a big place. He explains it's because of the guests. Chalmers is always entertaining philosophers at his home, from visiting professors to questing postdoctoral students; he's the sort of philosopher who loves a good party almost as much as he likes a good paradox. His website contains everything from the most abstruse of his scholarly papers to a collection of jokes about philosophers, as well as an archive of photos commemorating the many conferences and gatherings of philosophers he attends each year.
But to get the work done he leads a sort of double life: alternately monkish and convivial. Chalmers maintains two studies in his house. In one he accesses the internet and deals with the myriad emails his life as a philosopher generates. "Philosophy is a very interactive subject," he explains. "We talk to each other, we argue, we bounce ideas around."
But his other study is not connected to the world; it's for the hard work, a place where he can't be distracted by the Net or phone calls. Sometimes he hunkers down here for several days at a time, working long hours, alone and focused, only emerging for a walk in the bush or meals before heading back to his desk.
Chalmers has always thrived on hard work and sociability. When he got to Indiana in 1989 he discovered he was working among artificial intelligence experts, psychologists and other philosophers. The philosophy of the mind was in foment at the time and he had landed in a place where it dominated discussion. He submitted his doctorate by 1993. And the next year he was invited to give a paper at the first "Towards a Science of Consciousness" conference, which was held in Tucson, Arizona. "I was a nobody then, but they happened to put me in the first session, and I gave this talk about the problems of consciousness," he says.
The young Australian explained that consciousness could be divided into two types of problems: Easy and Hard. And his talk proved to be a bit of a hit. "Everyone was saying, Oh, yeah, the Hard Problem, he nailed it!" He was invited to contribute an article to Scientific American, which was titled "The Puzzle of Conscious Experience." And his thesis was published as a book called The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory.
I suggest it was a musician's first number one single, and Chalmers agrees. "After the first hit single, you've got to worry about the follow-up album – if the album's crap, you're a total one-hit wonder." Luckily for Chalmers his book did well and his career in philosophy received a hard-won boost.
So what are the Easy and Hard problems in consciousness? The Easy problems are the things we know science can explain. We know from science how our eyes work, for example. Photons strike your retina, and electrical signals pass along your optic nerve to the different parts of your brain to do with visual perception. And – voilà! – you have seen the colour red. But the Hard Problem asks: what is your subjective experience of red in this instance? Does redness evoke an emotion or memory; is your red the same as my red; did red alter your private mental life and how did it do this?
According to Chalmers, the Hard Problem is a major sticking point in our understanding of consciousness. Knowing more and more about the science underlying the brain's function gets us no closer to understanding the subjective nature of experience: "What [does] it feel like from the inside; why does it feel like anything; and how can we explain that?" The core of the Hard Problem, he says, "is a simple thing like a feeling of pain." To demonstrate, he slaps his arm with a sharp thwack. "Oh boy, why did it feel like that?"
The Easy Problems are not trivial, of course. Mapping the brain in all its complexity is an enormous scientific challenge, but the Hard Problem is where the mystery of consciousness lies.
"We've got this great chain of explanation," Chalmers says. "Physics explains chemistry, chemistry explains biology, biology explains some aspects of psychology, but then where does consciousness fit in? There's this big gap between all that physical stuff and consciousness. So one of the things I've tried to argue – in principle – is that all that physical stuff doesn't add up to an explanation of consciousness. So you've got your physical fundamentals – space, and time, and mass, and charge. They explain a lot of stuff, but they don't explain consciousness."
Ultimately his argument leads Chalmers to believe that consciousness may itself be a fundamental in the universe, just like mass or time. And, he assures me, it's not such a far-fetched idea. Back in the nineteenth century the phenomena of electromagnetism could not be explained in terms of existing principles. So science shifted the electromagnetic charge over into its own box and called it a new fundamental entity, with its own laws.
Maybe, Chalmers conjectures, consciousness should be thought of in the same way. And maybe, therefore, it's more widespread than we think. It could be in many things: apes, dogs, butterflies. To some this might all sound a bit Buddhist, but has anyone got a decisively better idea? Not really. For the moment, consciousness remains pleasingly ineffable and attractively puzzling.
AFTER a succession of academic posts at several prestigious universities in the United States, Chalmers returned to Australia in 2004 as a Federation Fellow. He's never regretted it. As he looks out on the gum trees surrounding his house he tells me Australia is home, and the ANU is a great place to work, with a wonderful reputation for philosophy. And the discipline, as ever, grips his imagination.
"Philosophy is another way of seeing the connections among things and really just trying to dig deep to the foundations of what's going on," he says, warming to his theme. "You ask: why does the apple fall? Ah, the laws of motion. But why the laws of motion? Ah, I don't know. Pretty soon you're doing philosophy… It is a frustrating business some of the time, and it's hard, but I still can't believe they pay me to do it."
His next book is called Constructing the World and is based on the John Locke lectures, which he gave last year in Oxford. He's obviously excited about this work.
"When I first got into philosophy I just wanted to think about the mind and consciousness, I didn't care so much about language or metaphysics," he says towards the end of our conversation. "But it turns out if you think about consciousness, you've got to think about the structure of reality as well. What are the fundamental building blocks of reality? And pretty soon, that's metaphysics. You have to think about language. What are the words we use to describe consciousness, or to describe reality? How do you put those together?"
Many years ago now, when he was not yet thirty and still working on the book that made his reputation, Chalmers had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. At the end of the meal, he cracked open his fortune cookie and the little slip of paper declared: "Your life will be full of delightful mysteries."
I'm not a philosopher, of course, but I think it might just be a defensible description of David Chalmers's reality. •


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Easter Bunny, Smoky
Lovingly designed, with a carrot and a golden bell, the little incense smoker is an eye-catcher in the Easter nest, at the Easter wreath or on the laid Easter table and a beautiful gift idea.
Charming Incense Smoker to give as a gift and collect
• made of wood
• hand painted
• height: 5.1" (13 cm)
Incense smokers from the series "Smokies" by the Rothenburg Christmas Workshop
The unique Smokies with many charming details are designed with a lot of creativity and love for the craft. They are made by our team of artists in the Rothenburg Christmas Workshop in the romantic Tauber valley. Humorous and charming, the little incense smokers spread joy in your home in every season and on different occasions.
Kindly note: Delivery comes without incense cones. Please use only the mini incense cones from Käthe Wohlfahrt.
Safety advice: Light the incense cones only at the tip and use them exclusively in smoking figures or fireproof incense containers. Please do not leave unattended. Caution, very hot. Not suitable for consumption!


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Solar Oven & Dehydrator
35 cm wide and 45 cm high with clear zipped front for containing the heat.
Gets up to 90 degrees. You only need 65 degrees to cook a chicken which takes 4 hours
Holds four pots not included and you must use lids
Needs to be repositioned to the sun every hour
If you have the facilities to heat the pot and contents first it will shorten the cooking time by 2 hours
For dehydrating use your own shelves and lay your fruit out and leave the vent/zip at the top open a little
Free Postage in Australia
Comes with Stainless steel temperature gauge